The Magical Family

Kein and the serpent, Velial, continued to observe the family as they ate dinner over the bonfire that Febo created. Kein saw that the family of five was actually seven. Malacas came out of the hut with a toddler named Avri (April) flying around his head. The kid gathered the wind around him so he could float. He landed on Niro’s shoulder, who tickled Avri by blowing on his feet. Maganda followed suit carrying a baby who is sucking on her bosom.

Kein couldn’t take his eyes away from Maganda. He started to feel a deep longing for her. He was imagining ripping the baby off her body when the baby became twins. Both are sucking on Maganda’s overflowing breast milk.

“Huh, smart move Ma’u! (May)” Febo was impressed.

“Who is the real one though?” Arso asked

“Guess?” Maganda smiled

Avri flew away from Niro, floated in front of his mother, and pointed to the one on the left. As soon as he poked the baby, another Ma’u duplicate appeared on top of Avri’s head, knocking the toddler to the ground. Avri cried but Malacas was quick to come fetch him. The rest of the siblings guessed who the real Ma’u was, but none of them could point him out. For every wrong guess, Ma’u continuously multiplies. When it was Niro’s turn to guess. He just took the baby from his mother and right there and then, the rest of the Ma’u duplicates disappeared.

“How do you do that?” Malacas asked, impressed. Ma’u is his son but he too can’t guess which one is the real one.

“You are seeing duplicates, I’m seeing bubbles,”

“Huh, for someone who doesn’t have any power, you sounded smug,” Febo smirked.

“Well, our powers don't hold any to him anyway,” Arso stuffed herself with dinner.

“Ma’u, quit it and let mother eat!” Niro’s voice was commanding. The baby stopped multiplying himself and allowed his mother to cradle him as she eats.

“That’s his power though,” Malacas laughed proudly.

“What?” Febo asked

“He can make you do whatever he wants. The mark of a true first born son,” Malacas went to tap Niro on the shoulder as the two of them laughed together.

Febo looked at everybody. Annoyed that Arso was also in awe of Niro.

Kein immediately saw Febo as someone that needed protection. He decided to stay for a while as he found the family thoroughly amusing.

“Great, we could use some rest from all your wanderings,” The serpent tasted Kein’s decision from his skin.

***<><><>***

It took time before Kein caught the attention of the magical family dwelling within the garden he could not step into. By sheer accident, he uncovered the presence of Velial—the serpent behind the invisible resistance. Once a tempter within the sacred grounds of Malacaz and Mahganda, Velial had long been banished. In ages past, it had tried to seduce Malacaz into eating the forbidden fruit crafted by Vathala himself. But Malacaz, strong in spirit, resisted and cast Velial out of the garden. Vathala, pleased with his faithfulness, allowed Malacaz and Mahganda to partake in the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. With that, they came to see the beauty in their nakedness and the sacredness of their union, which birthed their extraordinary children.

Now, centuries later, Velial’s cursed slithering returned—its hissing a constant irritation to Kein. In a burst of frustration, Kein hurled the serpent from the garden’s edge, knowing it would take days for the immortal creature to find its way back on its belly.

In that brief respite, Kein discovered something astonishing—he could now enter the garden. Febo was the first to notice the stranger. Alarmed and protective, Febo summoned fire and engulfed Kein in flames. But to his shock, it was Febo who was burned. Kein stood untouched, his form unharmed.

“Who...what are you?” Febo asked in awe, still smoldering from the failed attack.

“A traveler passing by,” Kein replied carefully, wary not to touch anything living within the garden—knowing well that his curse would cause it to wither instantly. He built a makeshift shelter at the garden’s edge using only dead wood—fallen trunks and brittle branches that decayed at his touch.

Febo’s eyes narrowed as he noticed a basket of fruit beside Kein. “What are those?”

“My food,” Kein said simply.

“You stole fruit from our garden?” Febo accused.

“Of course not!” Kein snapped, deeply insulted. “I planted and harvested them myself.”

“That’s impossible,” Febo argued. “Only Vathala can make things grow. His creations cannot replicate His fruit.”

Kein chuckled. “Oh, child. There’s still so much you don’t understand.”

Despite their rocky beginning, Kein grew fond of Febo, especially as the youth confided in him about his rivalry with his brother, Niro. Kein listened with patience and offered words of encouragement, which Febo eagerly soaked up. Before long, even Arso began visiting the mysterious stranger who lived at the boundary of their world.

Kein, for all his power, kept to the edge—never venturing fully into the garden, afraid that his cursed presence might undo the beauty within. Yet from that boundary, he began to influence the lives of the magical family—one quiet moment at a time.

***<><><>**

Arso was young and radiant, untouched by shame, unaware of her own nakedness or the quiet effect she had on Kein. Yet Kein’s heart was set not on her, but on meeting her mother—Mahganda. There was something about Mahganda that stirred an ancient ache within him, a tender reminder of Eve—his own long-lost mother—and the longing he still carried for a love he could never reclaim.

“What is that?” Arso asked, pointing to the strange fabric that clung to Kein’s body.

Kein smiled, sensing Velial watching from the shadows beyond the garden’s border. The serpent, cursed to slither and linger outside, could only observe, not enter.

“This?” Kein gestured to his clothing. “It’s called protection. The world beyond this garden is vast... and dangerous. But here,” he said gently, “since you've welcomed me into your home, maybe I don’t need it.”

And with that, Kein began to undress, slowly and without shame.

Arso’s eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly—not in fear, but in awe. This was the first time she had seen a body that was not her brother’s, not her father’s. Something unspoken stirred within her—an unfamiliar warmth, a flicker of awareness.