“Hey, bird.”
“Yeah?” Kael had instinctively begun to respond to ‘bird.’ He warily eyed Rowan’s bulging muscles.
“How much longer are you going to stay here?” Rowan grunted as he shifted his weight in the wooden chair. He felt increasingly irritated with each day the blue-haired man stayed in their family cottage. He had kept a close eye on the man, making sure not to let him get near his daughter, who still had yet to wake up. Rowan hadn’t told Kael about Vyx’s condition yet because Kael was still unstable.
“I’ll leave the moment I can produce my wings again.” The blue-haired man flashed a large smile, but his hands still trembled as he reached for the glass of water on his bedside table. His core was still in a state of chaos with small bursts of flame, and he had been unable to properly produce any vita in the meantime. He spent his days absorbing vita and stabilizing his core. He glanced out the window to the sunny backyard, where a two-headed bunny hopped by. The windchimes played a dull melody that startled the bunny, and it dashed into a nearby bush.
Rowan massaged his temples. He was worried about his daughter, who was snoring lightly upstairs, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave their vulnerable guest unguarded.
“Your daughter…” Kael’s voice trailed off. He didn’t really remember what had happened a few nights ago when he stumbled into their backyard. He had been badly injured by the phoenix that guarded the ‘phoenix fruit,’ but he had been able to fight off the old bird with his rapier. He had plucked a fruit from the branches of the burning tree and limped away; his wings had long disappeared after being clawed at by the sharp talons of the giant phoenix and exhausting his vita core. The fruit had tasted rather plain, but Kael soon felt a burning sensation before losing consciousness.
From what Rowan had described to Kael, Laurel had coaxed Kael unconscious with her voice and quickly dressed his wounds, but she had noticed his trembling unrest. Vyx, who heard the commotion and ran downstairs in her fuzzy pink pajamas, saved him. Rowan didn’t elaborate on what he meant by Vyx ‘saving him.’ Kael smiled to himself, seeing Rowan’s quick glances at the open door behind him that led out into the hallway. Rowan's vita-enhanced ears twitched at a light thud, nearly inaudible with normal hearing. He pressed Kael’s arm with his heavy hand.
“Don’t move.” Rowan’s stoney face left no room for protest. Kael’s arm throbbed where Rowan had crushed. Am I a patient or a prisoner? Kael laughed to himself.
Rowan moved scarily fast despite his large build. He ran up the stairs, three at a time, before grabbing a familiar carved doorframe to stop himself.
“Dad?” Vyx’s voice slipped out from underneath a mountain of feather blankets. Her parents were often…overprotective.
“Sweetie, are you okay?” Rowan treaded lighting across the carpeted floor. He looked like a large bear trembling in front of a mouse.
“Dad, I’m okay.” Vyx laughed weakly. She lifted her arm from the bed and flexed her bicep.
“See?”
Rowan’s heart ached at the sight of his only daughter being so brave. He scooped up both of his girls into his arms. Laurel giggled.
“Vyxie, we need to talk about you using your ability.” Laurel’s soft demeanor suddenly became as sharp as steel.
“I couldn’t help it. His vita was thrashing around so violently as if it was aflame. I-I know I have never tried unraveling a core or putting the strands back together, but his life was really in danger.” Vyx picked at her nails. “Is Kael okay?”
“He is fine,” Rowan said bluntly, “but this is about your safety, too. We’ve told you many times that you should never show your ability to anyone or overexert it. Do you know what they would do-” Rowan clenched his jaw at the thought of powerful hunters coveting his daughter.
“He spoke so passionately,” Vyx broke the silence, “about challenging the tower and being a hunter.” Their conversation from a few nights ago had been stuck in her head ever since. The mysterious tower, filled with treasures and monsters, would surely be fun. I want to see the vita in there, she thought.
“So I had to save him. I know a person can still live, disabled, with a damaged vita core, but it would be impossible for him to be a hunter.”
Laurel sighed. “Our Vyx is so compassionate. I thought I had taught you to act like a princess.” The icy woman sunk into her husband’s arms. She had tried to raise Vyx to be just like her, cold with high standards, just in case strangers approached her with ill intentions. She stroked Vyx’s long raven hair. After a comfortable silence, Laurel stiffened.
“Are you interested in the tower?” Laurel looked at Vyx, but her gaze was far away.
“Laurel!” Rowan raised his voice. “What are you saying?”
“You and I both know her potential.”
“That is exactly why we have been protecting her! Don’t you remember how hard it was to be a hunter?” Rowan had told Vyx many scary stories about his adventures in the tower, but he stopped when he realized Vyx’s curiosity only grew at the mention of danger. He knew very well how powerful his daughter could be. Part of him wanted to see his daughter crush monsters and reach new heights, but he wasn’t confident he and Laurel could protect her from strange people.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“I want to go,” Vyx blurted. “There’s so much to discover. The vita under my skin is nearly bursting out, itching to be released. So many new cores to add to my collection.” Her heart raced excitedly at the thought of seeing what she could do with her abilities. She knew from reading magazines and watching broadcasts that the tower was full of unique beasts, which had to mean more enthralling fights and trophies.
“I could take her,” a strained voice croaked from the doorway. The midday light softly lit Kael’s brown eyes.
“Absolutely not.” Rowan immediately objected. He looked disapprovingly at the injured man.
“Let’s discuss this later,” Laurel said with a sweet smile. She looked down at her tired daughter. “Go back to sleep, sweetie.”
˙˙˙˙˙
When Vyx woke up again, it was late into the night. She rose slowly from her bed and leisurely stretched her neck, stepped into her slippers, and draped on a fluffy black robe. The cool night breeze drifted through her open window, and the raven-haired girl leaned her elbows against her wooden window frame. She inhaled the sweet night air and exhaled. She felt the lively strands of vita dancing through the air. They were slippery and cool to the touch but not fully tangible. Vyx hummed lightly, taking in the sparkling night sky. A beetle rested near the rooftop below the wooden frame. Vyx hated insects. She made a slicing motion with her right pointer finger and quickly turned to shut the window.
The iron-shelled beetle crawled a few more steps before stiffening, its body split cleanly down the middle, and the two halves rolled down the slanted rooftop.
˙˙˙˙˙
Vyx slept through the next day. She woke up once more in the middle of the night in a daze. Outside her window, she could hear the sounds of grunting. Slipping on her robe and slippers, she opened her window to see what was in the backyard. Her face was illuminated with a blue light, and she stared, amazed, at the sight before her. Kael stood in the grassy field, panting. His newest borrowed shirt was dark with sweat, and some parts of the fabric stuck awkwardly to his skin. From his back sprouted two large wings, each nearly as tall as him. The tips of his feathered wings were fried to a crisp, and a delightful smell of roasting meat wafted under Vyx’s nose. She grabbed both sides of her cool window frame and launched herself into the air.
“Wha-” Kael looked up in surprise to see the young girl falling from the sky in her nightgown and slippers. He reached his pale arms out to catch her, only for Vyx to slow down before she landed as if caught by an invisible net. The girl readjusted her robe as she walked over to the panting man.
“I thought you couldn’t show me your abilities.” Kael wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced at the smiling girl.
“I want to go with you.” Vyx locked her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth. Her dark eyes glossed over. “I’m desperate to know.”
Kael paused and looked at the young girl.
“Desperate to know what?” Kael was curious.
“Your core…is covered in ashes.” Vyx stared intently at Kael. A single chill ran down his back as he made eye contact with her gaze.
“Stop forcing the flames, or my hard work will be undone.” Vyx reached out her hand and grazed the air. Kael felt a wave of relief.
“Hah. What would you know?” The blue-haired man looked nervously at Vyx. He is really bad at hiding his intentions, she thought.
“I know a phoenix rises from the ashes.” She patted her knees and stood back up.
“I’ll wait for you, so come back when you’re reborn and show me to the tower.” Her gaze was ominous. A sudden gust of wind blew her long hair up into the air, and the thick strands danced like snakes.
Ahh…there’s a terrifying monster in these woods, Kael smiled nervously.
˙˙˙˙˙
Kael left the cottage the next day. Rowan swore that he would strengthen his illusion barrier so that Kael would never find his way back to their home. The winged man quickly glanced at the young girl, who was barely awake, wrapped in her father’s jacket. She hardly looked as fierce as she did last night. The girl yawned and rubbed her dark eyelashes before turning to head back inside. Kael watched as the large wooden cottage wavered and disappeared into forest scenery as if it had never been there. He extended his sore wings and lept awkwardly into the air, feeling the cool wind breeze in between his warm feathers. The illusion on the forest ground below quickly wrapped up so that the cottage was fully gone, and the blue-haired man pushed off toward the city.
By the time Kael reached his agency tower, the sun had already begun to set. The sleek glass building gleamed in the burning light. He landed in front of two sliding glass doors with a tired thud and wobbled into the lobby. He sighed as a wall of air conditioning engulfed his sweaty body. Unfortunately, his rest was short-lived.
“Kael! You’re back! Where have you been, man?” A low, raspy voice echoed through the empty space. Kael sighed and glanced at the approaching black-haired man.
“You should really shave that stubble. It’s gross.” Kael tugged off his soaked shirt and hurled it at the other man. The cloth remained suspended in the air before floating over to a trash can.
“Ew, man. But seriously. You’ve been gone for nearly two weeks.” The older man combed back his shoulder-length hair with his fingers. “We were worried.”
Kael stilled and finally made eye contact with the messy-looking man. He observed the other man’s dark undereyes and bloodshot eyes. A pang of guilt took a swing at his conscience.
“Sorry, Mammon.”
“At least tell me you succeeded.”
“...Yeah. I ate the damn thing. Nearly killed myself in the process.” Kael thought back to the raven-haired girl. Mammon’s dark eyes gleamed with excitement.
“I can’t wait to see it.” The messy man cracked a grin.
“I’m going to need a cultivation room with as much vita as possible. I nearly exhausted my core flying back here, and something tells me I’m going to need an insane amount of vita to break through.” Kael clutched his chest, feeling his core fluctuate. If I can get past this, I could be at the top of B class or maybe even A class, he thought.
“Yeah, I’ll prepare it. I think Alvie just collected some 'candies' from his expedition. He just came back, too.” The dark-haired man flipped over his wrist and tapped on the screen of his sleek black watch. A small holographic panel appeared, and he clicked a few buttons.
“It’s done. Nineteenth floor, room five. It's all yours. You want some food? We have some leftover chicken wings.”
Kael shot a horrified look at Mammon. He snapped ‘no thank you’ at the yawning man and walked past him to the elevators. The airtrack arrived quickly, and the doors slid open silently. Kael stepped onto the airtrack and turned to Mammon.
“Be ready. Big things are coming.” Kael pressed the ninth-floor button.
“I was about to say the same thing,” Mammon said, surprised. “I’ll tell you later.”