Asrel
Walking up, our little mismatched group came to a stop as Ms. Thavel reached into her pocket for the key, its form brought into the dimming daylight as the group kept their silence in the meantime.
My teal orbs didn't seem to mind the sudden stop of chatter and noise as they kept a firm stare on Oliver, their forms taking note of his side profile as a strange heat radiated off him at seemingly random points in time.
Every time that phonomina occurred, I also noted the reddening cheeks of Engel, his gaze already locked to the ground, becoming hazy in the same instant, almost as if he was looking at something with barely restrained lust.
The jingle and click of the cabin's keys drew me back to the front, the door of which had since been open.
"Alright," Ms. Thavel started, "you brats, try and keep property damage to a minimum and stay out of any rooms with locked doors; do that, and I won't shove your head into a wall, understood?"
It would be rude to point out that she basically said that to Oliver's face, so I declined to mention it in good faith and took it with a hint of salt thrown our way.
Oliver grinned in what could only be described as sarcasm. "You're the boss, boss lady."
I watched in mild amusement as my mo-... gardian clicked her tongue before stalking off to the kitchen.
My gaze went back to Oliver as she disappeared around the kitchen door's bend. One had to admit, even though Oliver gave off a desperate and carnal feeling, he was a real joker, a comedian even.
It was at this point that Kevin interrupted the amused silence with his pleasant yet commanding voice, cutting me loose from my thoughts and drawing me back down to the place and time I still rested in.
The Teal orbs that were my eyes glanced over to find him staring dead at Oliver.
"What are you?" He asked, uncaring of how blunt he said it.
'Wow, totally didn't see that coming,' Kane whispered into my mind, though my tail remained unmoving.
Humming in agreement but otherwise staying silent, I found that despite the sheer brashness and invasive nature of the posed query, Oliver never lost his edging smile, if only increasing the length of it.
If anything, it was Engel next to him who seemed to gape at the otherwise personal question; it was as if he was holding Oliver's own shock and dismay in a vice along with his own.
"K-Kevin! What the hell, dude!? You can't just ask something like that out of the blue, you know!" Engel harshly pushed out.
To his favor, it was honestly quite tame compared to what I was expecting, but then again, maybe he was so against talking about his and Oliver's relationship because there were too many people around to hear it in the first place.
'I don't know about you, but I can just smell the drama; there's something juicy going on with them,' Kane said, her voice tinged with amusement and caution.
My brow rose.
'You know, Kane, I might just have to agree with that notion, though I have a sickening feeling that the reason for such lengths lies within the how more than the why, and I don't think I want to know how anymore.'
Kane chuckled in my mind as she went on.
'Sorry, Asrel, but I don't think you can back out of this anymore, not with the other two wanting to know what's going on, and being out of the loop will likely cause more trouble than it's worth anyway, so just stick it out.'
I groaned silently.
'I hate when you make sense.'
Our conversation was cut short when Oliver spoke up, a strange and amused glint glistening in his crimson orbs.
"Right," his smirk grew thinner, "do you want the quick pic or the full photo?" He said, almost as if he were challenging Kevin to bite.
Kevin didn't even hesitate, bait or not.
"Photo and reel, if at all possible."
By Oliver's side, Engel sighed before dragging himself to the couch, a look of broken acceptance dancing in his gaze as the Emerald orbs quickly disappeared behind his eyelids, their forms seemingly too tired to go on.
A feeling of involuntary guilt welled up in my gut at the sight, as it was largely my fault that this situation was even happening.
'Hey, don't beat yourself up over this, Asrel, because whether he can see it or not, he needs this.'
My brows furrowed as I found myself thinking in Oliver's moment of plain brain-picking silence.
'How so, Kane?'
The tail, once inactive, now hung over my shoulder with an acidic gaze locked to Engel.
'Take a look at him, Asrel, look at the thinning complexion, the bags under his eyes, and the relatively short breaths; he can say all the shit he wants, but the truth lies in the details and blemishes. He's tired, so tired that his body seems on the brink of shutting down, with only his will and mind forcing it to keep trudging along.'
My eyes widened.
'You're right, he looks like he could stop breathing at any moment.'
The acidic gaze peaking out of the pale tale grew piteous.
'He's defensive of the item he's formed with Oliver, so much so that he is physically and mentally draining himself trying to keep it under wraps, and pulling that union into the light of day could help him get better.'
Teal met ascidic as I questioned.
'Could?'
Kane hummed. 'Right, I suppose I should rip this band-aid off fast; should things go sour, which I can tell is a slim chance given his reaction and acceptance, his body will likely just stop; it'll win over his mind, and he'll fall without a heartbeat.'
My orbs of Teal widened as my mind buffered.
'You, mean, he'll di-'
I was ripped from my mind as my gaze zipped to Oliver, his voice sounding out loud enough for everyone to hear, even Ms. Thavel as she sat somewhere in the kitchen doing only 'Eko' knows what.
The only one who didn't was Engel, his breath still just as rhythmic as it was a second ago when he let his consciousness drift off.
"Let's kick this off with a warning." His crimson gaze grew deeper, more wrathful. "Should any of you even attempt to think about taking Engel away, you won't like what happens; I hope you understand."
There was a click from the kitchen doorway as Ms. Thavel walked out, a plate of sandwiches sitting comfortably in her hand.
"Keep in mind, Oliver, whether it's a warning or not, you don't threaten the host, but I'll concede on it this time, because regardless of whether you broke him or not, it's none of my concern."
She smirked like a shark as she continued.
"I'm only here because I have nothing better to do; any other time, I'd care less."
I barely noticed the glance thrown at me after the fact.
'What was that about?' I wondered.
There was a near insurmountable sigh in the back of my head at the thought.
'Eko,' I'm surrounded by tungsten blocks, I swear.'
My brow twitched at Kane's retort before I was drawn back to the play before me.
Oliver's glare lightened, but it remained stern nonetheless.
"Noted, Ms. Thavel, but the fact still stands; those who are morally weak have no place in this conversation, nor do justice seekers."
It was Kevin who spoke up next, his steely tone no different than it was a few moments ago.
"I myself would be a hypocrite if I tried to take the moral high ground, so I will abstain from commenting on ethics."
The crimson gaze fell on me next, its burning embers feeling as if they were trying to pry their way into my very mind; it was a bit unnerving.
I shrugged after a moment before speaking.
"I can't really promise anything, because while I can find things disturbing and unjust, I'm too depressed and emotionally stunted to care, I suppose."
The crimson orbs lay on me bare a moment longer before they were briefly hidden behind their cusps, a begrudging sigh of acceptance falling out of Oliver's mouth along with it.
"That's fine, Asrel, it'll work," he shook his head, "but moving on, I should probably explain something first, something that'll likely explain or give reason to the things I did to get Engel."
The statement drew an accepting hum from Kevin and a dismissive scoff from Ms. Thavel; I made it a point to keep my silence unless specifically questioned, but even then, I couldn't stop the shock from spreading to my face as I watched Oliver's back sprout sable black bat wings and a heart-tipped sable tail near his rear, both of which spouted through what seemed to be holes in the clothes he wore. It was a bit surprising that no one noticed them until this point, but given how well he hid his wings and tail, it shouldn't be unexpected.
Kevin was the first to speak, his eyes already glowing with recognition.
"This is unexpected. I knew you were from a breed related to the Carnal Line, but I wasn't expecting a Succubus," he nodded, "that would also explain your near-fatal shifts in mana, yes, because there was no logical way someone inexperienced would be able to survive such swift transitions; but that leaves me with one unanswered question, how did you live through the transition? No male has ever been recorded surviving the Gene-Seed of a sucubus unless it was that of an incubus. What makes you so different? Why are you the exception?"
My mind was still somewhat reeling from Oliver's grand reveal, and Kevin's sudden mini rant wasn't helping the recovery process, but thankfully, it didn't seem to be just me who was in a state of shock, as Ms. Thavel was also in a similar boat, with her Hazel orbs locked in a deadlock with Oliver's wings, seeminly in a trance.
I reached over to see if I could knock her out of it, but my attempts were cut short when my curious attention was drawn back to Oliver, his voice sounding just as perplexed by Kevin's open thoughts.
"What the hell are you on about, Kevin? I've done well over a thousand hours' worth of research on the sucubus Gene-Seed, and at no point in time did I ever find anything on an incubus? And what the hell is up with mana? What are you going to tell me that actual tangible mana exists?"
'He didn't know about mana? How strange,' my mind quipped.
There was a faint snicker as Kane spoke in the back of my mind.
'It's not really surprising, Asrel, as far as I can tell, the dimension we're in now barely has enough mana to keep a weak 'Divine' being intact, let alone a full-on Deity; honestly, it's so bad that I feel like something is deliberately quelling it, or at least sending it somewhere else.'
My mind tuned out as Oliver started talking to Kevin.
'What do you mean, Kane? I can use my magic just fine, and from the looks of it, so can Kevin, so how can the mana be as thin as you claim? And that also brings up the point that despite there being so little, there are quite a few practitioners in the profession; how would they be able to practice magic if there was nothing to practice with?'
The teasing tail snickered in mockery.
'Asrel, my poor, naive child; I never said magic wasn't possible in this realm. I merely pointed out that the severe drought in Mana here wouldn't allow anyone to draw from it; there are still plenty of pocket dimensions with mana to spare, of course, so if one really wanted to become a practitioner of magic, they'd just have to find a way to make contact with one of those pockets.'
'Right, and these pockets, they are?'
Kane rolled her metaphorical eyes as she went on.
'The pocket dimensions I speak of are just as I said, places or plains of existence with nothing but an abundance of mana; that said, no two pockets have ever been found to be the same, with each having its own unique ability or element to build and manipulate upon. Think of a dresser, or locker room; each drawer or locker represents a different reality, like, for example, the locker closest to your left could have the mana closest to light magic, while the locker on the left could have the closest to darkness, and as you continue on the infinite near endless hall of lockers, you'll find billions of other different types, like, fire, water, earth, lighting, air, matter, anti-matter, anti-magic, digital, law, concept, space, time, and so on; those are the most talked about in our birth place, and I'm sure this realm is no exception to the matter. Honestly, the types of mana one can find and use usually rely on the kind of character the summoner is, with an example being you, your very essence and soul are so intertwined with the realm of fire that you yourself became your own pocket for it, which by the way, is also where I come from; without that tight nit relationship you have with your fire, I wouldn't have ever exsisted, and you wouldn't have had such mind numbingly hot flames.'
'...Wow, I never expected it to be so complicated...'
My Teal orbs found themselves staring at my tail as I willed my flames to life.
Immediately, the room heated, and the nearly transparent flames burst to life with vigor, their forms contained to a mere candlelight.
The conversation around me had ceased the very same second the flames burst forth, and I was left as the center of attention, Crimson, Hazel, and Lapis orbs focused on the tail hanging over me with caution, exasperation, and fascination.
Realizing I had zoned out, the flames were quickly snuffed out, as I turned my head away, an embarrassed blush painting my ever-paling face.
"Sorry," was all I could say as the feeling of shame wheeled up by a few inches, snatching a bit of the place embarrassment used to hold, leaving the hybrid of both to churn in my gut.
Kevin, the ever-blunt one, was first to speak his mind.
"Honestly, I'd care less if you set the entire countryside on fire," he smirked, "there's just something so mesmerizing about the color; it makes me eager to run some tests."
However, he was quickly smacked on the head by Ms. Thavel as she took her turn.
"Ya, save it for when you're three miles away from my home, please; I don't need any absurdly hot and nigh invisible fire ripping this forest a new one," she sighed, "I'm so buying a fire extinguisher after this."
I chuckled awkwardly.
"Uh, Ms. Thavel, I don't think a fire extinguisher will do you any-"
"Asrel, do not finish that sentence; I need at least one piece of mind around here, and you pointing out the futility in it will not help with that."
"Right, sorry, Ms. Thavel."
At my apology, Ms. Thavels' eye twitched, seemingly struck by something.
Rolling her eyes, she spoke.
"It's okay, Asrel; just try keeping your fire to a manageable size, please."
I hummed, before finding myself turning back to Oliver, his crimson gaze seemingly stunned into understanding.
He spoke after clearing his throat.
"Right, before I drag us off topic with the revelation of magic, let's get back on track."
There was another hum from Kevin as he nodded along.
"That would be for the best, as the discussion of mana tends to leave me straying."
Ms. Thavel just shrugged, giving the impression that she already knew about magic and its vices and wasn't all that interested.
Oliver nodded.
"Moving on, I suppose I have to explain my condition, that being my 'Borderline Personality Disorder,' or 'BPD' for short, which, if you didn't know, can make me particularly volatile at times, a sign of which is when my eyes turn pink," and seeminly as a diminstration his eyes lit up, a smile full of malice and lust painfully cracking forth like a starved animal, before it disappeared all together, his Crimson orbs returning to their place, "what you just saw was me but filld with nothing but lust, obsession, and a yerning hunger for control; two of the three were mainly acumilated through the Gene-Seed while the last one was of personal relation."
He sighed while turning his gaze to Engel's still sleeping form.
"During my childhood, my parents were avid worshipers of a cult, one that took great joy in injecting Gene-Seeds of Volitil and otherwise bloodthirsty entities and folklore into their sacrifices before they started their ritual," he paused in thought, seemingly lost for a moment before he went on, "during I think it was my Seventh birthday, I had been sleceted to be their next victim, their next gift to whatever being they worshipped, and as such, I was to be injected with a Gene-Seed, a task seeminly so easy, yet was botched in the most terminal way possible."
He scoffed with irony in his eyes as they fell back onto our trio, the same malice but lessened, painting his gaze.
"The one task they had been carrying out for so many years fucked up because their precious son had been selected as a gift for their master, and to this day, I assume they only fucked it up because of their excitement for such a thing; the result of their screw up likely haunts them in hell at this very moment, because instead of injecting me with what I later learned to be a Manticore Gene-Seed, they injected me with a particularly volatial Succubus Gene-Seed, one that went by the name of Susano-o before it vanished off the face of the Earth decades ago. How they got it, I have not the faintest idea, but they had it nonetheless; after the needle pierced my skin, I had felt the most excruciating pain I'd ever had the displeasure of feeling," his left hand came up to his right shoulder, "and to this day, my right arm is still as numb and staticky as the day it was pricked; I can't feel a damn thing in it."
His gaze fell solely on Kevin after a moment's silence.
"You know what it's like, right, the feeling of your body shifting, and ripping itself apart to accommodate its new genetics, to feel your very blood ignite like magma in your veins as it pumped through you; you know, don't you, Kevin?"
Eerie silence came forth after the question, seemingly pressing down on all but the quested to keep its place in existence.
Moments later, the eeriness faded, Kevin's voice smiting it like it was a sworn duty.
"Personally, Oliver, I can relate, but not to your scale; Gene-Seeds, no matter the originator, whether that be Folklore or 'Divine', are chaotic by nature. They are forces meant to rip and tear, to create a suitable place for them to mature in; some may rip apart your arm, a small muscle, or even your heart, but in the end, they are just doing it to replace what was tossed out," Kevin sighed, "from your description and the nature of your originator, its more than likely your entire body was seen as in the way, and was thus ripped to shreds in wake of its exsitence, a phonmena not uncommon in the Succubus line. Though it was likely yours was made to be far worse due to the fact that the Succubus Gene-Seed is only compatible with females, and thus, for whatever 'Ekos' reason, yours chose to adapt to you instead of outright self-distructing inside you like it's done to so many before you; it's truly an enigma in today's day and age."
Oliver's gaze fell to the floor while his arm fell back to his side as he seemingly tried to digest Kevin's words, but it wasn't for long, as a few more moments of pungent silence made way for his voice, its form riddled with disappointment and acceptance.
"That explains a bit, I suppose," he sighed, "but moving on, after the injection and all the pain, my mind became clear with focused agony, one that made me so... so angry."
My Teal gaze watched as Oliver's fists clenched and his eyes grew toxic pink. The pressure he was putting into his fist was seemingly monumental as blood sprang free from his palms, their red form leaking out from between his knuckles and onto his black jeans, their existence becoming hidden in the depths of darkness.
"From what I remember from that night, I had gone into a rage, and every blink had me blacking out and waking up at a later moment, for instance, one second I was writhing in pain, and the next, I had found my fingers tearing into my mother's chest, her gasping screams being the last thing I heard from her as I woke up doing a similar act to my father, his own dying gasps filled the same terror from mother," he chuckled, "I told Engel I drained them of there life after I told him about 'Gifting', but the reality is, I just killed them, I didn't drain them of their lives, I just took them... and it felt great, euphoric even."
His fists unclenched as he let out breath, his rosy gaze falling back into pools of blood they were before.
"After the deed was done, I went on with life, though a bit more twisted in a sense; after the incident, a day or so give or take, I felt something shift, almost like I had been ageing fifty times faster; I grew stronger by the day, smarter, and more cunning. Within a week, every asset my parents owned became mine, and I was left in complete control of their cover company for their cult. The company has since been given a makeover and is now a weapons company; it sells to over twenty different states, and three more countries outside of this one."
He was interrupted by Ms. Thavel as she spoke up fr the first time since the beginning.
"Ignoring the shity parent and cult activities, you've done well with that company, even if you are just a little brat with anger issues."
Oliver smirked at this.
"Oh, would Ms. Thavel be a customer at my fine establishment?"
There was a huff in return before he continued.
"I ain't, but Ms. Circle and Ms. Bloomie are; I was there when they were talking about getting new prosthetics and overheard where they were looking at," she smirked, "and I got to admit, 'Vicksion's Toy Store' is a unique name for a Weapons manufacturer, real cunning."
Oliver's smirk turned into a smile as he went on.
"I thought those arms looked familiar, but I didn't actually expect them to be them."
Ms. Thavel's brow rose in question as she motioned for him to continue.
Nodding, he did so.
"Those designs were actually custom jobs, jobs I had taken up in my spare time while running the company; they were the most frustrating fucking things in the world to make, simply because they were specifically meant to mimic and function as actual limbs, and not just an arm blade or gun," he chuckled in remembrance, "I managed to work ot a design for the smaller one, and got that done in about a month, but 'Eko' be my witness I had to spend nearly a year on the larger one, all because the apendage inquestion was asked to be able to withstand over forteen million pounds of presure from all derections; you know how many fucking favors I had to call in for that? To many, to this day, I still have about three folklore entities and one blind bat hassling me over the resources; the Bat is a work in progress, but a few more custom weapons and armor should get me out of his debt, hopefully."
Ms. Thavel snickered at the tale, but stayed quiet, giving Oliver back the stage before the interruption.
Oliver yawned, and a glance out the window showed the reason as to why; the sun was setting.
"Ok," he continued, "picking up the pace, running the company eventually got me to notice how much I was reaching for, and how greedy I was getting; I had bought out hundreds of other weapons manufacturers and had plans to buy the rest later, until something went wrong. One of the deals I had set up fell through, and though it was a minor inconvenience, it shouldn't have been anything to rage over; key keyword shouldn't, because I did. When I found out what had happened, I went mad with anger, so much so that I had all but dismantled the company in question; however, I didn't stop there, no, I found the owner of said company, and all but ruined his life, leaving him homeless, broke, and with a missing arm. It was around there that I had realized how much I was doing, and how obsessed with control I was."
He looked down at his palm for a second before he continued, its visage I had noted to have been perfectly fine, despite the blood I had seen a little bit ago.
"After that, I took a step back from the company, letting a figurehead take my place, after which, I tried to put a lid on my yearning for control, to learn to keep it tame lest it control me, but in the end, that lid wasn't anything but a brief respite, one that held back the urges long enough for them to simmer, for a few years no less," he grined, "when I started going to this school, everything was fine, and the lid was only slightly pressured, and it stayed like that for a bit... that was, until I saw him."
His gaze fell on Engel's sleeping form, a gentle yet possessive tone coloring his red orbs.
"After that, everything went wrong. Whenever I was around him, reason and self-control just seemed to slip away from me, and a part of me detested that fact, but I told myself whatever it was that was making that happen would go away soon enough. But as the year went on, it became blindly obvious that it was only getting worse, so I did what any psychopathic teen would do: I smothered it and threw it behind the lid, hoping it would shut up like my urges, and for a while, it did. Things were quiet, I was content, and I made a friend or two; however, as they say, nothing ever lasts forever."
He clicked his teeth in frustration.
"The lid I put everything behind, cracked, and after being shaken, mixed, and boiled together, what came out was Engel."
I grew stiff as Oliver's eyes went pink, my tail raising in instinctive defense; the other two grew tense as well, not enough to indicate hostility, but just enough to show a bud.
A psychotic smile bloomed on Oliver's lips as he went on.
"It was hard to see through the blissful anger at first, and I wanted nothing more than to ruin him, to make him submit to me like I did with so many others, but he refused. I couldn't touch him, I couldn't make him do what I wanted, so I grew angrier, more volatile, until eventually, things grew into an all-out war with him. I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to make him wish he had never been born, I wanted to crush him into a fine powder until there was no Engel, only a pile of scrap that I could build with, and I almost succeeded, too," his smile fell as rage overtook his seering gaze, "but then, she disapeared, and everything was thrown to the wolves, not long after, another left, and then another, and in the end, he had lost everything without me haveing to even lift a finger."
He sighed with barely restrained control.
"After that, I was left confused. My long-term plan to get over him fell through when they found someone else, and Engel was cracking by the day; I knew it wouldn't have been long before he went next, so I had to come up with something quick, something I could use to assert control over him."
A chill ran down my spine as the most twisted smile I had ever seen split Oliver's face.
"But then, I stumbled upon something that changed everything, something that made the lid I had so desperately kept up snap, and what flooded into me can only be described as bliss, as I knew what I had to do, what needed to be done to make him mine."
He giggled before looking up at the ceiling, seemingly reminiscing about something.
"So, I made a plan, placed the players, and set the board, all the while I waited in my spot, eager to finally break him, to make him mine, and mine alone; I needed him, I wanted him," a blush of madness spread over his cheeks, "I loved him."
'Fucking 'Eko' this kids... insane.'
I didn't get to retort as another chill locked me still; this time, it was because Oliver's manic stare was trained on me, seemingly finding joy in my discomfort.
"Then," Oliver started again, his toxic gaze staying trained on me, "I caught him."
"You should have seen the look on his face, the fear and desperation in his eyes as he lay on the ground, a part of his skull caved in; he couldn't speak, hear, or even recognize me."
His smile grew impossibly wider, and my gut churned with disgust.
"Then, like the good person I was, I fixed him, made him whole using a part of myself," Oliver giggled like a schoolgirl, "And when all was said and done... I raped him, raped him until he was a weeping mess; the look on his face, oh that look, it was pure bliss."
My eyes widened, and my heart stopped, my gaze falling past Oliver and to Engel, his exhausted form still lying on the couch, fast asleep, and like a switch, something flipped, leaving my Teal eyes to grow dark.
It was only thanks to Ms. Thavel that my fist stopped mere inches away from his face, but all the same, my glare remained, and so did that fucking smile.