Chapter 5.8 - Farewell

Falling asleep was not as hard as he thought it would be. It was harder to wake up. A knock on the door brought him back from the land of dreams. He was having fun in his dreams right when he heard the door.

His eyes opened, and he forgot the dream completely, left only with the sensation that he should have remembered it.

"Come in," Adam dragged his legs down and growled, feeling defeated.

"Adam?" A sweet, timid voice called his name from the door.

"Hey, Agnis!" The Earth God smiled with his eyes closed, not ready to deal with the morning light. "Come in." He sat on the edge of his bed, regretting ever going to sleep. Gods shouldn't feel that tired in the morning.

The girl didn't answer. Worried she might have left, Adam peeked with one eye.

Agnis was facing the opposite way, with her hand on her face.

"Are you okay?" the God asked, fully opening his eyes.

"Hm, yeah!" she said under her palms. "I'll just wait outside for you to get ready." Turning her body toward the exit already, Adam interjected.

"Nonsense." Flying over to her, he grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled until he sat on a chair near the window. "Stay here, and I'll change real quick. You know how fast I am."

Not leaving her time to protest, Adam disappeared inside the bathroom. Apparently, Gods didn't have bad breath, which made brushing unnecessary, but it just felt weird if he didn't.

Morning hygiene done, he fixed his hair before leaving for the next room. Agnis wavered and closed her eyes as he smiled while switching to the closet.

There, he noticed his exposed torso.

*Shit, she's gonna file a harassment complaint or something,* Adam thought while putting on a simple shirt.

"Let's go!" With a resounding clap, the Earth God announced his return, fully dressed.

"They are waiting in the library," Agnis said, standing up and fixing her clothes as a way of composing herself.

"Should we fly—"

"We walk. There's no hurry, sir." Her voice cracked at the last word. Adam raised an eyebrow at the girl, who couldn't hold her smile. "I'm sorry, Adam."

"Shall we?" In a poor, weird English accent, the God made a grand gesture to show the door to the lady.

Walking side by side with Agnis, Adam even forgot he wasn't human anymore. Such a common act had become scarce in his daily life.

With enough time to think, the Playboy was trying to come up with a subject to break the silence. It was a long way to the library; they could not stay under that awkward atmosphere.

"So, I read a book yesterday," the speaker turned to watch his face. "I wanted to know more about the Earth Temple, and I found out there's a whole village inside a mountain… it's wild."

"Oh, the Parvatans," Adam reacted, and Agnis understood he didn't know their name. "They have a very unique way of life. Some never leave the tunnels and don't know what direct sunlight is."

"I read they are healers, and some even have magical Earth powers."

"Yes, they are the best in our world. They say it's all thanks to the Earth God." She bumped her shoulder into his.

Adam couldn't help but be affected. He wasn't the same God who helped those people in a time of need and also taught them valuable lessons. They weren't the same people and probably would never be.

What could a Playboy possibly teach the world? He was only causing more trouble for everybody.

During the rest of the way, Adam soaked in the comparison with the other Earth Gods. Lost in thought, he didn't notice they had arrived.

"We are here," Agnis touched his arm to call his attention.

Agnis brought them through the ground-level entrance. On the big study table was an array of food and a few books. People were chatting around it, a few faces he recognized as scholars.

"There he is!" Calder's voice echoed throughout the room, pulling everyone's attention. "You sleep too much for a God."

"I tried to read to keep busy but it backfired."

"I didn't know you could read!" The Water God pretended to be surprised, and Adam pretended to laugh at his joke. Calder guffawed while leading the boy to the table.

As they approached, the voices quieted down, and all eyes fell upon them.

"This is our last day here in Vulcan Town," Calder said, using his typical performative tone. "We thank you for all the help and the beautiful dinners. In this time of need, we must stick together—Gods and Spirits. United, we are stronger."

All the locals bowed dramatically, taking their time with their heads down. The respect was palpable; those people really saw them as Gods.

After everyone lifted their heads, the Elementals bowed back in appreciation for their work and hospitality.

"Let's eat!" Hikari clapped, breaking the spell and allowing the folks to serve themselves.

"Are we leaving?" Adam's heart jumped; he was anxious to find more clues.

"Not yet."

Standing on his left, behind Calder and Shu, Hikari answered. The Playboy wondered how she could have such good hearing.

"There's one place I want to take you, then we leave."

She briefly glanced at Adam once she was done talking, then turned away, dismissing him.

"I can't wait," he said to himself, then heard a giggle on his right.

"She wouldn't show you if it wasn't important."

Shu was casually putting muffins on their plate while hovering near the table. Their hair was tied down in a side braid, very chic.

"Or she just wants to humiliate me and ignore me after. That's happened already." He was referring to the patio night. Even though nothing of the sort had happened, he still said it, since it was the way he understood the situation.

"Once you get to know her, you'll even like her…" Adam watched Shu take a bigger bite than fit in their mouth of some purple muffin. "It will only take a few decades. Don't worry."