The calm before an impending storm

"Wait, are you guys really complaining because you saw a male genital which is something you also have!?" Thana exclaimed, surprised by their reaction.

But Gerick replied, "You won't understand, Thana. It's something … you will never understand."

"You don't understand what that freaking old elf did to me," Thana continued, still in pain. "When I was training on shooting fireballs, she told me that 'you will never understand the power of the flame until you burn yourself,' and she was dead serious about it."

"Oh, just look at what they've done to our Thana," I remarked, noticing the burnt traces on her training gear.

"Oh my god, that's horrible, but guys … have you ever thrust your spear?"

"Gerick … you just thrust spear what is so tormenting about it?" asked Aeron in a mocking tone.

"Aeron, thrusting is not tormenting, not even in the slightest way. Thrusting is just thrusting, but if you thrust again, it becomes two thrusts. And then two thrusts become many, until you reach a certain point where you forget how much you've thrusted. That's when the fun stops, and you just stand there, looking at the blade to see your reflection. That useless bastard, that weak-minded p---y, forgot how much he thrusted. If you forget how much you've thrusted, then why don't you just forget yourself?" Gerick cried out passionately.

"Guys, do you know that while some were burning and others were watching d--k, I was thrusting? While you guys slept and dreamed of a better future, I dreamed of myself thrusting. And while you guys feed yourselves every morning, I wonder to myself if my spear is hungry for blood or for thrusts."

"Gerick is the first person to have a spear crisis just three months after starting his training." I whispered to Thana.

Thana laughed. "I'm not even surprised. Gerick was always so hardcore in anything he did." Then she asked me "what are you doing now?"

"I was actually planning to make something to eat … I just finished training, although it wasn't quite as intense as yours. But for me, it counts as an effort for a starless."

"I see you're preparing for the second evaluation … Do your best. And if you find out you have a fire elemental affinity, I'll be happy to help. At least I won't tell you to burn yourself like that old elf lady did."

"I'd appreciate that," I said, smiling warmly at Thana. "Well then, see you soon guys."

"Ciao,"

"See you later,"

"Don't forget to thrust your spear -- I mean, goodbye," said Thana with a chuckle.

I wonder how much my charisma has risen.

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.

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[Gustavo?]

"Yep!"

[what do you think you are doing?]

"making a breakfast, can't you see … Oh, silly goofy Brook!"

[No … I mean like why are you wearing a bit too formal?]

"The other clothes smell of sweat,"

[yeah sure … That aside … what the purpose of the candles and more importantly ...]

[Why did you have 'Careless Whisper' on your laptop?] he asked not in a curious tone but in a terrified one.

"Zagreus downloaded it when I was on earth, he told me that someday I will need it, I should thank him later."

Zagreus…

[that is fun and all but, why are you doing all of this?]

"shhhhh, Brook shut the f--k up…"

"I accidentally invited a girl to have breakfast in my room, and she actually accepted," I explained nervously.

"I want to make sure it's a great experience for her, even though I don't have much experience myself. If I focus on the etiquette and the food, it should be a safe bet, right?"

"Yeah right!" a voice exclaimed from behind me

…

a voice exclaimed from behind me?

"it's rude to get to sit on someone's bed without permission, Ruby"

As I turned around to greet her, she was already laying on my bed in a red tracksuit, it seems she just took a shower, I blink a thousand times a second to engrave this image in my memory.

"Is it? … it seems I am just in time for a second breakfast …"

'Knock knock'

I was then suddenly startled by a knocking sound. It wasn't coming from the door, but from the window behind me.

I approached the window and pulled back the curtains just to meat a surreal sight of Liam suspended in the air in front of my window which is in the 12th floor … guess that's what gravity users can do.

"What the hell do you think you are doing there?" I asked him still didn't open the window

"I'm up for a second breakfast" he answered confidently

Then .... I pulled the curtains back, and returned to the omelette I was preparing … then I remembered that he was the one that gifted me this suit 'sniff' I got emotional maybe, when I pulled back the curtains after five seconds from closing it, I was met by the sad puppy face of Liam, who was bad at cooking by the way.

"Get in… and don't you ever do it again guys, just because you're powerful doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, there are rules, policies, privacy, what if I was b----- -- ---- I mean, you wouldn't like it right?"

"…"

F--k I totally forgot the darkness user with us in the room

"… Hey Ruby, I didn't mean it like that---" I tried to justify myself before being interrupted by another intruder.

"Guys! If you finished your second breakfast, how about a third one?" interrupted Zagreus who was walking on ceiling…

"Get the hell out of my room right now, Bob"

"B-b-but you let them in… augh never mind, I brought with me an apple pie that you like, I guess I will just eat it alone" he said in a complaining sad tone

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"What do you mean?"

"put that apple pie down! It's an intrusion fee."

'Knock knock'

Ruby stood up from my bed and said,

"I'll open the door."

At that moment, I froze in place.

Everything I had planned for a breakfast between just Clara and me crumbled to dust.

[Just give it up Gustavo]

"Oh, would you look at that, I totally forgot about your date," Zagreus teased, before suddenly splitting into two and teleporting in front of Liam and Ruby. Each Zagreus took one of them on their shoulders, and with a smirk, they all disappeared in a teleportation to an unknown destination.

"…" How?

"Uh Brook?"

[yep?]

"Someday, I will be able to do something like this, right?"

[how much are you willing to sacrifice to be as powerful as him]

"Anything, as long as I--"

'Knock knock'

"Just a second…"

I quietly opened the door and met Clara's gaze. Oh gosh, I want to touch her horns.

"Feeling refreshed?" she asked as she noticed that my hair is still wet.

"Ah, more than just refreshed … come in"

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.

.

"Who were you talking to, when I was at the door?" asked Clara as she was wiping her mouth.

"Hmm? Really? I was probably singing"

"Do you sing with a multi-voiced style that includes a feminine voice?"

"Eh? You really caught me off guard, to be honest with you…" deep breath "I have some weird hobbies" Sometimes when you make a choice, you have to choose the thing that feels the worst, the thing that will make you feel the worst - and you might have to make that choice again and again, until you beat down the thing that's holding you back.

"You didn't have to go that far, to keep the fact that your friends were here a secret, to begin with … why would you keep it a secret in the first place?"

"I didn't mean to hide it because it's forbidden or anything like that. It's just that their departure right before your arrival could have caused a misunderstanding."

"No, I wouldn't mind at all. In fact, it would be awkward if they were still here. I don't know them personally like I know you, and I don't want to ruin the mood of your reunion."

Our conversations are often random and nonsensical, and sometimes we just walk beside each other in silence or stare at each other like weirdos. But I don't mind it at all; in fact, I actually enjoy it.

Maybe one day…

"That aside, you didn't tell me you were Mister Bob's son."

Who told her? I never did mention it.

"Well, he is not my biological father, so please don't speculate that I might have the potential to become a six-star blessed like him."

"I'm sorry"

"You don't have to be sorry…"

"I'm sorry, to be honest, for a moment there I thought how lucky you were to have your parents by your side, especially since he's the strongest in Chamenopolis. But I was wrong. It turns out you're just like me."

"Even though I may sometimes hate Bob, I can't imagine a better fate than when he found me. Losing someone you love teaches you how to cherish the ones still beside you. It reminds you to hold them a little tighter, love them a little stronger, and never take them for granted."

'sniff'

"Clara….?"

"Thank you for the meal" she said, her eyes welling up with tears

"No never mention--" Huh!? What's wrong.

The silence was suffocating, the kind of hush that felt like a weight on the chest.

The air became thick with tension and unease, like the calm before an impending storm. We both felt it, the sense that something terrible was coming.

Just as we looked at each other's eyes.

the silence was shattered by a low, guttural roar in the distance.