Pain.

My head remained in searing pain. The things that we discussed, the guesses that I could make. The start to understanding the Commandments, and the small hints that slowly weaved together to form a somewhat complete yet fuzzy picture.

All of it hurt my head. I wished to plop myself back into bed and sleep like a log. Alas, we still had work to do.

I slowly made my way down the stairs. My parents were waiting near the end, worries marred their faces. Mana staid seated on the stairs, looking at the sky. Technically, I just woke up today didn’t I? Wonder why I have to deal with all this shit.

My parents soon saw me, and hurried their way up. I took a pause. Wanting to take a respite of all the things I had just discovered, I slowly drank in the sight of this modern village. Guess we could use that term to describe this place. Come to think of it, I didn’t know the name for this place now did I?

”Mana.” I beckoned. She seemed fine now, not staring at me as if I was a mortal enemy. Still didn’t know what happened there, but eh. Got more stuff to do. This could be handled later. Anyways.

She quietly waited for my next words; gazing at me with curiosity. “What’s the name of this village?” I asked. Why her specifically? Cuz she ran here while mom and dad slowly climbed back up. Was it to give the two of us time to build a rapport back up again, or was it to not disgrace this cathedral and give respects? I didn’t know.

Mana looked at our surroundings. “Is “village” even an accurate word anymore brother?” She asked with her head titled to the side. Classic look. Her question wasn’t wrong though. I may have been too occupied by the cathedral when I came here; hence not observing the shift in development pace around it.

The space around our cathedral, it could could be termed a town. The buildings weren’t too far apart anymore, and averaged a minimum of 2 floors. The cathedral made them look tiny in comparison, probably a reason for my lack of observation. Most were roofed with a slant, with only a spare few having a proper terrace. The road was different this time. Not the pitched asphalt of the outskirt, but a solid medieval path of polished rocks, perfectly aligned to form a seamless road in front of us. The poles were gone too. Did we go back in time the closer we got to the cathedral or something? Come to think of it, Mana still hadn’t given me the name.

”Mana?” I called out. She jolted from her trance, listless state. With a quick look at me, and then back to the town, she spoke of it’s name.

”Anikanotita.” She spoke, almost as if in reminiscence. Our parents arrived. I looked towards them. They were worried, probably for the past hour or so now. It would be normal if that were there the only thing that showed. They weren’t just worried, they were perplexed as well. I looked back at the towering hills, with a question once again repeating in my head.

Mom spoke, slowly moving behind me. “Mana? Are you ok?” Oi. Wasn’t that question supposed to be directed at me? Mom, you keep on mixing our na—

Sniff.

I turned my head back. There, Mana lay in Mom’s embrace, her tears slowly streaming down her face. Why? Why are you crying? Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not dead you know? Well maybe I am, but I’m not. I’ll get my memories somehow. So. Please. Please stop with that mourning look.

I felt a firm, large, yet gentle hand pat my back. My Dad stood behind me, nodding at me. I nodded back, and went to hug Mom and Mana. Slowly, gradually, comforting Mana, and calming her down.

I did not know why Mana was crying, or what I could do to help her. Hell, I hadn’t even known this family properly for a day. Sure, I might have in the past, but I wasn’t the past me. I could recognize that much. Something was different.

Mana soon calmed down, Mom wiped her tears. She fell asleep. Dad carried her on his back. In a span of 15 minutes, we were back down to the ground floor. We entered a café a few minutes or so walk from here, and ordered some snacks to get our energy back up. Taking a glance at the clock…

It was already 1. What?

My queries were soon answered by Dad. Apparently, the time inside the cathedral flowed slower than the outside. What rate exactly? No one could tell, for it was constantly changing.

We sat down for a while, talking about mundane things. Mana silently slept on Mom’s lap, now her face serene. Soon, I talked about my discussions with the elder whose name I had yet to learn. They quipped in from time to time, asking questions. Sometimes they would provide their own views. As for the matter of being cursed, they… weren’t surprised. Just, resigned. Resigned to fate I suppose. Don’t know if that exists or not.

My parents had their worldviews a bit shaken from the revelations regarding the Commandments. To now know, that what they might have been following by heart was nothing but an interpretation of events — ones filled with omen, and probably madness — filled them with dread. I could see their thoughts written on Mom’s face, she was the easiest to read. To sum it up, it would probably be something along these lines.

”What if we have already broken these Commandments before, not knowing it simply due to a fault in interpretation?”

”How many interpretations are there? How many are correct?"

And the icing on the cake.

”How many still remain to be interpreted, how many still remain undiscovered?”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Simple questions. Yet, they filled anyone with an existential crisis. Have we done something wrong already? Simply unknown, towards the whims of this world? This question alone remained enough to drive one mad.

Soon, the discussion died down, and we ate our food in silence. We didn’t know what to talk about, and remained occupied in our thoughts. The food nearly finished. Mana was woken up, and barraged with a bunch of questions. Soon she also ate, though with less of an existential dread than us. No need to burden her with such knowledge just yet.

There was one thing that remained. The final words of the elder.

”Misfortune is nothing but a representation of the direction of madness’s rampage.”

I’m 90% sure those weren’t the exact words spoken. But it would do. One thing I could conclude from the conversations I had — albeit hesitantly — was that these words were directed to my memory of the dining table. …And me being tackled down.

I did not tell any of this to my parents. I found myself unable to do so. A gut feeling if you will; pure instinct. If I did, something would happen. Good, bad, I don’t know what. Whatever it was, it would be irreversible, of great impact. But I could not tell anything related to this to my parents right now.

Not when Mana was in sight.

The waiter came and went, taking the plates and cutlery along with him. Soon after, he came with our bill. Dad paid, and we left the café. The place was amicable, a good place to hang out and chat. Maybe I would come visit it again.

We made our way back to the streets, everyone still in thought. 45 minutes had gone by since the discussion, yet this silence remained unbroken. Only paused, when someone needed something or something needed to be done.

”Brotha?” Like right now. Tugging at my shirt, Mana called for me. She was currently feasting on a lollipop, and had two more in her pockets. Her dress had pockets. What? Anyways.

”Where do you want to go now?” She asked. Where do I want to go now huh? That was a good question. We had two places we could visit. The grassland, and the school. Grasslands, I don’t know what to even expect there. Let’s go to the school.

I informed them of my choice… and now Mom was frowning. You really want to go touch grass Mom?

”Eon dear, just which school will we be visiting?” She asked, her frown still in place.

”Huh? Wait, are there no schools here?”

”No no, it’s the opposite. There are 3 of them. And let me just clarify, the school that you went to study in, it’s outside the valley Eon. So you can’t pick that one. As for the ones inside, you teach in all of them.”

Uhh… I can’t exactly ask them to visit all the schools now can I?

Sigh.

”How ‘bout we go to the school where Eon spent the most amount of time in? Just purely going by probability, he is the most likely to find anything relating to his visions over there.” My father put his input on the situation. I still hadn’t managed to get a good read on him. It’s as if he was there, put together as an amalgamation of what one could consider to be father.

”Probability eh? Has Eon’s math brain finally rubbed off you?” Mom elbowed him in his sides, playful and trying to cheer the mood up. Either that or it was a normal reaction between the two. If it was the latter, then they both still had youthfulness and energy. That was good.

”Still, your suggestion might be the best course right now. What do you say Eon? Wanna go visit UpCross? Oh, UpCross is the name of the college in question.” She asked me, a smile finally returning to her visage. Dad, smiled softly from the side at this scene.

I didn’t really have a better idea, so I nodded in approval. As for Mana—

Shit. She wasn’t there. Mom seemed to have noticed it now.

”Manaaaa!” My mom shouted softly, towards the stalls. We had already come near towards the market area. And Mana was busy looking at a candy shop. Child, you first ask me a question, then leave off to a candy stall without hearing the answer. ALL the while you have 3 lollipops clutched in your hand.

I couldn’t help but sigh at this girl’s antics.

She turned her head around, scanned the crowd for a bit — in an exaggerated manner mind you — locked in, and trotted towards us. While yeeting a lollipop stick into a dustbin farther down the road. Mom’s frown had deepened. And Mana realized it too, slowing down her pace and not making eye contact. Me and Dad shared a look, and then shrugged.

5 minutes later… (A/N: Spongebob)

Mana was sulking, Mom was mad, and me and Dad remained quiet, not wanting to incur her wrath. Mom lead the way to the school, weaving through the mass in the market like a pro. We struggled a bit, but eventually got through.

After a total walk time of 24 minutes — most of which was spent drilling through the crowd — we finally arrived at the school. This thing, was the same building I had seen from our home. Oh well.

We passed through the gates, the guard specifically nodding at me. Guessed we knew each other enough, so I returned the greeting. The place, it felt nostalgic. The same feelings I found when looking at the stairs and rooms of our home. The family had paused, waiting for me to make a move. And move I did.

My body remembered where to go, or it found the way itself. My legs led me into the building. “Hey uhh.. “ I didn’t know what to say.

”We will go visit the principal in the meantime, go wherever you want to. Need to update him on your situation. You know this school by the back of your hand anyway.” Mom said as she and Dad proceeded to the side entrance, dragging Mana along. Huh. Didn’t Mana have school as well?

Anyways. I made my way up the marble stairs, jumping 2 steps in some parts. The 1st floor came into view. I continued to move through the empty hallways — it was class time. And then I met my parents 30 seconds after parting with them.

”Haha. Eon, where are you even going?” Mom chuckled as she came up the stairs.

”Wherever my feet are taking me I guess.” This felt unnatural. Here I was, roaming around the campus in study hours. With no actual business whatsoever. Is this normal?

”Ah! Eon! What’re you doing here?” A deep yet soothing call came from the upper stairs. My playfulness gave way to anger without me noticing.

A man, presumably in his late 20s, with blond hair that went to his shoulders made his way down. Fitted in round glasses for his handsome and sharp face, and clothes for the occasion — teaching perhaps —, the man was the definition of a gentleman.

”Hey Daimon! How’ve you been? No time no see brat!” My father came up to him shaking his hand, and then patting his back. Mom was by his side, and Mana… she had run off somewhere again.

”Eon, this is your childhood friend, Daimon Symfora. You guys have known each other for as long as you can remember. Haha! Ah your antics take me back.” Dad introduced him.

”Antics? You mean madness. Him and Eon were literal pain in the asses, god knows how much I had to clean up whenever they played.” Mom displayed an irritated expression.

”…Did you loose your memories again, Eon?” He asked, with an inquiring look on his face -- probably guessing such from his sudden introduction. Raising both his hands in somewhat of a surrender position, “ Hey, why are you looking at me like that? We good man?” he said.

I. My head was was hurting again.

I should have told my parents about that dining table memory. And everything related to it.

”Misfortune is nothing but a representation of the direction of madness’s rampage.”

This man.

This “childhood friend of mine.”

Daimon Symfora.

He was the person that Eon Aika ate the food in the garden with.