Chapter 45: Thank you, father.
(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don’t hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)
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After a while, he toured around the Nexcraft and satisfied his curiosity.
Orion picked a spot to sit before slipping into his thoughts.
’Status’
He checked through it again, analysing his growth and improvement in his journey; it was somewhat underwhelming, but it was substantial. He still had questions, though.
’System, I noticed my strength and agility stats increased after my fight against the Field fangs, but against Barnes, there was nothing, any reason for that?’ He asked.
IT’S AS SIMPLE AS IT COMES. IF THERE IS NO IMPROVEMENT, NONE WILL BE RECORDED OR SHOWN ON YOUR STATUS.
’So, despite how hard that battle was, there’s nothing to show for it?’ Orion asked, exasperated.
GROWTH DOESN’T COME ONLY FROM BATTLES ORION. BESIDES, IT IS YOUR BODY, ALL THE STATUS DOES IS REPRESENT IT IN NUMBERS. YOUR COMPLAINT HOLDS NO VALIDITY.
’Fine, if you say so.’ Orion said with a sigh.
’You know, I managed to do something new with Temporal distortion, doesn’t that count for an increase in proficiency?’ Orion asked.
NO, IT DOESN’T. I SUGGEST YOU TRY REPLICATING IT.
’Tch, what a useless fight, ’ Orion thought.
He rested his head, his mind wandering, and before long, he fell asleep.
Elara watched him throughout, her spatial senses allowing her to record every minute change in expression on his face. He was doing it again.
She had always been curious about what always went through his mind, but it wasn’t her place to ask, and so she watched on until he fell asleep.
She dragged him closer before resting his head on her lap. He had gone through a lot and fought battles meant for no six-year-old, but he had survived.
It seemed the patriarch’s expectations for his heir hadn’t been biased; he was a prodigy, one who would make the Chronos rise higher than they already were, and she would protect him until then; her life was his after all.
All this went through Elara’s head as a small smile formed on her face.
"He succeeded, I take it," she heard a voice ask.
At some point, Zion had appeared not too far from them.
"Eh, did you doubt the patriarch’s words?" She asked with a smirk.
"I live on the patriarch’s words, you should know better, Elara", Zion said, his expression unchanged.
Elara chuckled.
"He is a Chronos through and through", Elara said, a dreamy expression on her face as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"It would seem, you truly are the best one for the job", Zion remarked.
"Of course, I fought tooth and nail for this responsibility; there is none more suitable for him than I am", Elara said.
"As long as you perform your duties well", Zion said before leaving.
A few minutes later, Orion was awoken. He felt a large and sudden fluctuation in space, enough to rouse him from his sleep.
"What was that?" He muttered groggily, rising from Elara’s lap.
"We are about to enter the Chronos territory", Elara replied.
Orion raised an eyebrow, as though asking her to continue.
"The Chronos territory is locked in another space; hence, we need a pass to enter. Us breaching through to it is what you felt earlier," Elara clarified.
Orion processed the information; it didn’t really surprise him. The Chronos were a family of space; of course, they lived in another dimension.
"But I didn’t feel anything when we left", Orion asked, puzzled.
"The fact that you can feel it now is remarkable in itself. Your attunement to space is frightening, but I believe you yourself should have an answer to your question," Elara said.
"Father", Orion muttered,
"Correct, the patriarch most likely prevented you from noticing", Elara said.
"He can do that?" Orion asked, impressed.
"Of course, his spatial control is far beyond yours after all," Elara said, straightforwardly.
’Wait, if he can do that, he’s most likely the one who sent us to the pound,’ Orion thought. He already had a feeling it was his father, but this confirmed it.
The Nexcraft slowed down for a while as they breached into the Chronis territory before picking up speed once more.
A few minutes passed before they arrived at the mansion of the patriarch.
The hatch of the craft opened, Orion and Elara already at the helm.
Elara slowly picked the two of them up before taking them down.
Orion looked at the mansion he’d been raised in. As much as he hated to admit it, he missed home.
It hasn’t been a month since he left, but so much had happened that it seemed like a year.
Soon, their legs touched ground in front of the mansion. He was about to walk forward when he sensed something approaching, before he could do anything.
He was wrapped in a warm hug, his hands about to resist immediately dropped, he’d recognise this feeling anywhere.
"Mom," He muttered in a strangely meek tone.
The hug was firm yet comfortable as though wanting to absorb him.
"Oh my boy, I’ve missed you so much", Aurora said, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"I’ve missed you too, Mother", Orion replied, his voice muffled due to the hug.
"I’m sorry, I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. I can’t believe your father would put you through such a thing," Aurora said, her tone becoming somewhat bitter at the end.
She reluctantly pried herself away from Orion before squatting and taking his face in her hands, her thumbs caressing his cheeks.
Orion was greeted by those bright gold eyes he’d come to cherish. His eyes wandered over her tear-stricken face. Although it was far from obvious, he could see signs of stress on her face, evidence of her distress over the past few days.
She was as beautiful as ever with her golden hair and eyes.
"I’m sure you have a lot on your mind and you are going to tell me every single thing, absolutely nothing left out ", she said with a worried expression.
"Of course, mother", Orion said with a smile.
’To have such love directed at me, even in both lives, I truly am blessed, ’ Orion thought with a smile on his face.
"Alright, let’s head in, young man. You need a comfortable bath and a warm meal, then you tell me everything." Aurora said, standing up fully.
Orion turned back to call Elara, but.
At some point, Elara had returned; even the Nexcraft that had delivered him was long gone.
Orion tried to feel or sense Elara, but nothing. Still, he knew, she was with him, and that brought some degree of comfort.
He smiled and followed his mother.
On their way, they encountered Isolde, who also embraced Orion while crying. It took a while to console her before they moved on.
Isolde’s appearance led to Orion’s next question.
"Is father around?" He asked.
"Yes, he’s in his study" Aurora hesitated before replying in an annoyed tone.
A wry expression appeared on Orion’s face.
"Uhm, Mom, I don’t think you should be angry at Father", Orion said, trying to appease her.
"Oh, don’t worry, young man, that’s not for you to be concerned about", Aurora replied with an unsettling smile.
’Oh, the man’s in it now,’ Orion thought, pitying his father.
"Can- can, I go see him before my bath?" Orion asked, hesitantly.
Aurora turned to him, staring at him for a few seconds before acquiescing.
"Fine, you have two minutes," she said, releasing his hand.
"Thank you, mother", Orion said before bolting towards Erevan’s study.
He soon arrived in front of his father’s study.
He knocked. For some reason, he was kind of nervous; the last time he’d seen the man was the night before the wedding.
"Enter,, He heard his voice.
Orion opened the door and walked in to find his father sorting through paperwork.
He was used to this scene, one way or the other; the man was always busy, and paperwork always arrived on his table despite the absence of any delivery individual.
He waited like usual until Erevan was ready.
Erevan dropped a bundle of documents before sighing and facing Orion.
He smiled,
"A lot has changed since the last time we were in this scenario. And I find it important to inform you that a lot more will change." Erevan said
Orion nodded.
"I’m sure you have many questions concerning all that has happened-"
"On the contrary", Orion interrupted.
"I do not, I have no questions, only requests, but those are for another day," Orion said.
"Is that so?" Erevan asked, somewhat surprised by his son’s statements, Orion had always been the curious type, to say he had no questions meant he either didn’t care or he already had his answers, Erevan was leaning more on the latter but how he got his answers was the real question but he wasn’t bothered, one way or the other, he’d find out.
"For today, I came to thank you. It has been a wonderful experience, scary but enlightening," Orion said.
"So, thank you, father", Orion said with a bow.