Omen: 6, 18

“It was wonderful meeting you all,” Adam shouted, waving at the city as they began to leave on turtleback. “Take good care of yourselves!”

Those within the city watched as the strangers, and their most precious Umbra, left. The final goodbyes had been painful for Adam to watch, so he had sat to one side as the Goofs cried for Umbra to leave.

Whatever would happen between them without the shadow which had watched over them was anyone’s guess.

“Why do you have a child floating beside you?” Umbra finally asked.

“It’s Bell,” Adam said.

“Who?”

“He’s part of my story, but we can talk about that at another time.”

“You don’t want to share it in front of the others?”

“The knowledge of my story will increase your chance of dying.”

“How so?”

“It is forbidden knowledge, and knowledge which has almost gotten me killed several times by the Iyr.”

“The Iyr wishes to kill you?”

“Sometimes.”

“Then you must be cursed.”

“Something like that.” Adam smirked, before wiggling his brows to Jurot.

Jurot nodded, since being a threat to the Iyr was a good story by itself, so Adam should be proud by that fact alone.

‘Were they always this crazy?’ Umbra thought. She could barely the last time they had met, lifetimes ago.

“So, where are we headed?”

“We will island hop until we find a place which could lead us elsewhere,” Umbra said. “I do not know what could allow us to return.”

“Alright. I guess it’s not that big of a deal. I’ve got a spell that can keep us fed, though I’m sure we’ll want to find something to chew properly now and again.” Adam looked off the side of Lord Biggu, where countless fish swam. “You think fish have passports?”

“What?”

“Nothing, just a little joke from home,” Adam replied, sighing. All the issues from home seemed like nothing now, not when he couldn’t access the internet to have his own fun.

“What do you miss most about home?” Umbra asked.

“I want to say my family, but if I had to choose between them and this family, I’d probably pick this family.”

“You did not have children,” Jurot stated, nodding his head.

“Exactly.”

“No wife, no children, no savings,” Jurot repeated.

“A vicious circle.” Adam slowly nodded his head. “Thankfully, I’m less at the whims of nobles in the shadows and a government focused on funnelling money to their mates. Nowadays I can make quite a bit of money by myself, what with my abilities.” Adam noted the farmers were nearby, and he didn’t want to reveal that he was the Enchanter to them.

“I don’t know how time passes in relation to the other world,” Umbra admitted. “It may pass by quickly here, but if it’s slower…”

“If it’s slower, then I’m going to have a word with Baktu,” Adam stated, firmly.

“Do you have no respect for the Divine?”

“I have as much respect for them as they deserve,” Adam replied. “And that respect is based on how they treat me.”

Vonda cleared her throat.

“I mean, Mother Soza’s pretty good, but I’ve not met her before.”

“You’ve met gods?” Umbra asked.

“A few of them, mostly the Main Pantheon. Lord Sozain, Lady Elaveil, Lady Arya, and so on. I’ve met the Lord of Order and the Lord of Chaos too, though only one of them seemed to like me, but he’s not that dependable. You know, Baktu is pretty strong. He had these long strings of black which can keep even the Lord of Order at bay.”

The Iyrmen nodded their heads, for they worshipped the strongest of all the Divine, the God of Death, and took great pride in it.

“You’ve met them and you still don’t show them respect?” Umbra blinked at the Half Elf.

“They get exactly as much respect as they deserve.” Adam brushed along his talisman. “I like a few of them, but if they start messing around, then…” Adam glanced to the side to Vonda, before his eyes fell away. “I’ll speak with them politely.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“You’re not so bad.”

Adam smiled. “Do you see why your father liked me?”

“A little, but that isn’t good enough,” Umbra said. “You should at least be a little strong too.”

“If I wasn’t holding back against you, who knows who would have won?” Adam tilted his head, his lips forming a cheeky smile.

“You held back against me?”

“Of course,” Adam almost scoffed. “My goal wasn’t to beat you, but to get to my adorable Cousins in time. I just had to keep you a little busy before my brother and Lucy could have a go at you.”

“You speak of the Demon Lord?” Umbra eyes fell to Lucy.

“If I was in my original body, then I’d have beaten you without anyone’s help,” Lucy said, narrowing her eyes at the Dragon.

“If I was at the height of my power, then you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“You sure talk big for someone who was killed.”

“The same to you.”

“At least I got killed by someone who beat the people who killed you!” Lucy shouted back, reaching for Great Destroyer. Mara offered Lucy a fish to try and calm her down.

“It’s kind of weird to see two women try to out alpha the other,” Adam said.

“Alpha?”

“Astrology, for men,” Adam explained, but it explained nothing at all. “I’m more of a sigma myself.”

“What is a sigma?”

“Oh, it’s like an alpha, but I don’t engage within the social hierarchy of alpha and beta, but trust me, I’m also at the top, but outside.”

Jurot blinked at Adam. He couldn’t understand most things, but this was something else entirely. “Okay.”

“No, no, you see, even though it’s been debunked, I’m still a sigma, because…” Adam crossed his arms, trying his best not to kill himself through cringe. “Jurot, I can’t even be ironically cringe, otherwise it hurts my soul.”

“I am sorry, Adam.”

Adam sighed.

“Rather than being cringe, you could try to pray,” Vonda said.

Adam threw her a look. “You know, I’m still not used to the fact that the gods actually exist.”

“Do they not exist in your land?”

Adam looked to Vonda, realising he had said too much. “It… don’t worry about it.”

Vonda decided against pressing Adam, though curiosity burned through her. “Though Mother Soza does not reach to this world, I still feel her in my heart.”

“Your heart, eh?” Adam sighed, staring up at the sky. “I still feel the Iyr in my heart, I guess?”

Jurot nodded. “An Iyrman may leave the Iyr, but the Iyr does not leave the Iyrman.”

“That’s a saying from my land too. It’s why I’m drooling thinking about beans, and cheese, on toast.”

“Nirot said she tried it, but she did not enjoy it.”

“It’s not the right beans,” Adam said. “I haven’t tasted the proper beans in the Iyr to recreate it.”

“Perhaps one day you will.”

“Perhaps. Right now, I just want to get back to the Iyr, to see my beautiful babbies.”

Jurot placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “If they grow up, then they will give you grandchildren.”

Adam’s eyes met Jurot’s. ‘Whoa. Is Jurot a genius? If we take a while, won’t they each have one or two children? So then I can have more than five babies to spoil, can’t I?’ “What if we get back and they’re teens, so they don’t have children, but they are too grown up for me to spoil?”

“Teens can have children.”

Adam winced. “Not my children! They need to be proper adults first!”

“They will learn well in the Iyr.”

“If the Iyr makes them have children when they’re too young…”

At first, Jurot thought Adam was joking, but seeing the way his head flushed red with heat, and his brow pulsed, Jurot realised this wasn’t one of his typical jokes. “Mother will not allow it.”

“Right, your mother is still looking after them…”

“When grandfather returns from the war, he will look after them too.”

“We need to get back before then, before he corrupts-,” Adam paused, remembering how much like Jarot was like him. “Let’s hope he returns back soon so the Iyr doesn’t corrupt them.”

“The Iyr will not corrupt them.”

“You’ve already corrupted our sister, so leave my children in peace,” Adam retorted.

“Lanarot will grow up big and strong.”

“That’s what I mean!”

“Does he always talk about his children like that?” Umbra asked, biting into a fish.

“Yeah,” Lucy replied.

“I can see why you’re always quick to anger.”

“I!” Lucy bit into her fish harder, chewing it slowly. “Yeah.”

“If the Iyr writes his story, they will need to summarise each time he mentions his children.”

“Yeah, but it’ll still be annoying.”

“He’s just like my father.”

“Your father wasn’t annoying,” Lucy said, thinking about Emperor Hadda. “He was a hunk.”

“A… hunk?”

“A handsome guy.”

“…” Umbra threw her a queer look too.

“Don’t look at me like that! I’m not as bad as Adam!”

Umbra remained silent.

“Seriously!”

The days continued to pass as they rode on turtle back and rested on the various islands. Umbra and Lord Biggu coordinated to head to the various magical spots along the land.

Adam checked his XP, which had increased a little. ‘Should I spend some of it?’

“What is that?” Adam asked, seeing as how the sea was basically torn apart in a way there were two large waterfalls.

“It’s a wound in the world, left by the battle between Gods.”

“The what now?”

“The Gods fought across the world, the worlds,” she said, staring up at the streaks of colour in the day sky. “Many vestiges of their battle remain, from the wounds within the world, to the majesties within the skies.”

“Wow…” Adam stared up at the colourful sky. “So that was the result of the Gods fighting?”

“The laws of this world were uprooted by the gods, hence why you can cast an infinite number of first gate spells,” Umbra informed, holding up her hand as lightning crackled between her fingers. “Even I can feel my magic is greater within this world than within our own.”

“I don’t mind the whole magic being widely empowered bit, personally,” Adam said, innocently.

“Unfortunately, it means that the world won’t survive after a few thousand…” Umbra stared at the wound within the sea, before she leapt up into the air, and shifted into her Dragon form.

All the while, a hand reached up from the wound, a giant hand which was as large as the wound. Lord Biggu himself, who could carry Adam’s entire party comfortably on his back, was barely as large as the first digit of its pinky.

“What the hell is that?”

“A rat bastard who should have died thousands of years ago,” Umbra replied, as the clouds around them began to darken, and lightning began to fall.

The lightning illuminated the forms of the large Dragon and the giant hand. However, while thunder rumbled in the distance, Adam was more focused on the waves around them, which shifted and jolted the giant turtle about.

“Damn it!” Adam grabbed onto the shell of the giant turtle, trying his best not to fall. For once, he had the good idea of not wearing his armour, but meant it was free to slip and slide around. Nirot grabbed part of it, while the other teen Iyrmen grabbed the other bits, more than able to keep their balance while carrying his equipment.

“I’ve got nothing!” Adam shouted, staring at Bell’s stomach, trying to see which of his spells would be useful in this situation.

“Can you fly?” Vonda asked.

“I can, but…” Adam looked to Jurot, who was probably the strongest in that regard.

Mana: 21 -> 19

Spell: Fly

“Jurot, just in case,” Adam said, before grabbing the shell of Lord Biggu, who was shifting himself around to make sure the others were mostly stable.

The sea around them continued to part as the giant hand loomed over them, causing a giant wave to form. Lord Biggu crashed up against it, while the wind and water around them began to pick up. Umbra’s giant form darted down towards them as a whirlpool welcomed the group, almost tackling Lord Biggu, as they fell into the tsunami and were swallowed whole.