Adon

Setting the tavern up for dinner was rather easy, even with only one person doing the job. Besides for the few tables and seats that accompanied the bar, there was little to clean and little to get done. For this reason, Adon tended to read the Edenian paper to find humor in the immense stupidity that people in the world of Kian displayed on a daily basis. Unfortunately, purchasing the paper was rather expensive, and since the tavern rarely turned a profit, Adon was almost never able to read it.

As Adon was cleaning the bar’s countertop on that day, however, he noticed a discarded newspaper left by a guest from the prior night. After staring at it for a while, he reached over and picked it up.

“HEAD INFINITE ZUEKI HEADS TO EDENIAN OUTSKIRTS'' The headlines read.

How strange, this was the first time he had ever heard of an infinite, especially the Head-infinite, traveling to such a place. Adon turned the pages of the newspaper until he came across the article.

“Hello citizens of Edenia,” it began. “We have recently been informed that Head-Infinite, Zueki Raam, will be visiting an undisclosed city on the outskirts of Edenia. Although we do not know the direct cause for his journey, there have been past examples of infinites visiting poorer districts to accomplish expeditions granted upon them by the God-Infinite. And now onto the next story…”

Few people ever desired to come to the outskirts of Edenia. In fact, the area was the least visited and most despised place among all 12 provinces of Kian. For the head-infinite to come here, something serious was definitely lurking.

Shifting his focus away from the paper, Adon placed the final plates and glasses onto the bar table and fixed his gaze upon the tavern door. As the sun was barely above the horizon, the first few guests could have arrived at any minute, and when they did, he would have to be there to seat them immediately. After all, he was officially the one and only worker of the tavern.

******

By ten minutes after sundown, the tavern was truly full. It seemed Chuck had accurately predicted the arrival of all seventy-five guests, and they had arrived at a much faster pace than both of us had anticipated.

Unfortunately for Adon, a full tavern was not a great occurrence. This was due to Chuck’s inability to serve people without a full costume, which he had “forgotten to wash” the night before. Strange was it, that he always “forgot to wash” his uniform.

However, instead of serving with Adon, Chuck promised to stay hidden and cook within the kitchen, preparing the food and drinks necessary to supply the tavern through the night.

It was strange though: it was a spring night, and the usual crowd for the season would arrive an hour after sundown. For the tavern to fill up immediately after opening, something important must have been occurring.

Important or not, however, Adon was required to give the crowd his best performance either way–that is, if he did not want to experience the anger of Chuck.

But as Adon began to walk to the front of the room with his guitar, he noticed a familiar face within the crowd.

“Ankita!” Adon screamed delightfully, “You came!”

“Yeah, of course I did,” she laughed, “Did you think I wouldn’t show up or something.”

“N-no, it’s just- I’m really glad to see you,” Adon responded, enveloping her into a hug.

Ankita and Adon had been best friends since Adon moved into the tavern. Since Ankita lived in a shop next to the tavern, and since she was the only child living in the area that was Adon’s age, they saw and played with each other almost every day. At first, they connected through playing childish games such as Apodidraski, and Senet, but as they grew older and more affectionate, they resorted to other ways of playing.

“Me too,” she smiled, “I’m so excited. In just a few months he’ll be able to come here too,” she stared down at her stomach.

“I can’t wait,” Adon grinned, “Wait, how do you know it’s a he?”

“I went to the doctor with my mother today. They scanned me and confirmed it–we are having a boy,” Ankita laughed.

“That's awesome!” Adon kissed her, “I love you so much, Ankita. I honestly don’t know how I could live without you.”

“I love you too Adon,” she said smiling.

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“So,” she asked, “Are you going to perform anything tonight?”

“Yeah, I’m called in ten minutes.”

“Working on any new songs?” She jested.

“Well… if I’m going to be honest… not really,” Adon responded, “but I have been working on this one, relatively new song. You might have heard it once or twice, but want to hear it again?”

“I-”

“Boy, come clean these plates up for me,” a pitchy adolescent voice squeaked from the bottom-left corner of the restaurant.

Adon turned his head to look in the voices direction, but it appeared that not a single plate was residing upon any of the tables.

I must be hearing things, he muttered to himself. It was strange though, the voice seemed extraordinarily loud.

“Boy, I told you to pick up my plates!”

Adon once again turned around, trying to grasp the annoying caller by searching through the expressions of each guest, yet still nothing appeared out of place. Was someone mocking me? Adon wondered to himself. Trying to trick me? But why?

“Right here!” A young boy, who looked as if he had just barely surpassed his tenth birthday, stood up from the turbulent crowd.

Oh, a stupid child. Adon thought to himself angrily. He’s the reason why I had to leave Ankita. Great. Maybe a little embarrassment will teach him who truly has control of this tavern.

“What are you doing in a tavern?” Adon questioned the child, loud enough so that the entire restaurant could hear, “And why are you calling me a boy: you're at least five years younger than me, if not more. Get out of here, boy.”

Although Adon had expected a great applause from the crowd, as they normally sided with the removal of rude children from the tavern, they fell into a deathly silence instead.

“What did you say to me?”

It was at that moment Adon realized he had seriously messed up. The child’s high-pitched voice and adolescent manner had completely deceived Adon from the tell-tale signs of the boy’s true identity. Adon knew that he would be here; he had seen it in the paper just an hour before. Yet still, Adon had not been cautious; How dumb could I be? If Adon had only noticed his blond spiked hair, ferocious furrowed eyebrows, and pounding red pupils a few moments earlier, he could have possibly survived. But due to his sheer stupidity, he was surely dead.

“It-it’s y-you-” Adon stuttered, unable to complete a single word while in his presence.

“I said,” Zueki boomed, saliva and crumbs projecting through his gritted teeth, “what did you say to me!”

“N-no, y-your great lordness, you-you are surely wrong. I-I was just… c-calling myself a boy. Th-that's all,” Adon whispered weakly.

“I was wrong? Is that what you just said, boy? Did you just call me wrong?”

By then, the entire restaurant had turned to them and was watching their conversation with pitiful stares.

“I-I am so sorry,” Adon fell onto his knees and clasped his hands, “P-please, great lord Zueki. Please spare me.”

“Oh, my boy, my intention was never to kill you,” Zueki laughed dramatically, “No. I desire to do something so much greater.”

“Whatever your great lordness desires,” Adon whispered.

“That girl you were talking to earlier,” Zueki continued, “where has she fled to.”

“What do you want with her?” Adon questioned shockingly, “I thought only I would be punished; what does she have to do with any of this?”

“Why,” Zueki cackled, “her demise will be your punishment.”

“Her demise!?” Adon shouted, “No please, you can take me. Torture me, burn me, kill me. You can do anything to me. Anything you desire, just please not her. Oh please, she did nothing to deserve any of this.”

“Why no. Killing you will not bring me enjoyment. It will be so much more satisfying to see the look on your face when she screams and writhes on the ground, begging for it all to end; Oh, just the thought of it makes me so ecstatic.”

With every word he spoke, Adon’s muscles and face tensed into a solid and hardened grimace.

“You-” Adon roared through his gritted teeth, “I used to look up to you. When I was little my father used to read your great books and scriptures to me. I learned everything about you: your invention of the Infinite trials, your great battles against the Divgin kings, even the greatness of your own self. I wanted to be you. But now, I realize that it was all a lie. You are truly just a small, cowardly boy, hiding behind the facade of your own scriptures and history. You have disgraced both your family and yourself. It would be a sin against the Divine One to call you an Infinite.”

Zueki turned to Adon, his eyes filled deep with the most luminescent of red, “I’m a disgrace to my family? You couldn’t possibly understand what happened to my family. Have you ever had to watch as everyone you ever loved died right before your eyes? No, I don’t think so.”

He took a deep breath, “You mortals go tossing around words like ‘disgrace’ and ‘coward’, yet you don’t have the power to back them up. I should understand. You mortals are like sheep in a herd: of course you step out of line one or two times, but with a little discipline, you are always sure to get back on track.”

Zueki stood up and walked to the front of the room. There, he raised his fists and shouted, “Ikhurites stand!”

All seventy-five members dining in the tavern stood in unison. It was as if they were mindless zombies, following any order that their master commanded.

“Find the girl, and make sure to do it fast. The first Ikhurite who brings back her body will be awarded,” he paused, “I, on the other hand, will deal with him.”

“If you hurt her, I swear-”

“Those who ignore the call of the divine will never be saved,” Zueki stated solemnly.

With that final remark, Zueki clasped his hands together and formed a massive yellow bolt. In a singular motion, he pulled his clasped hands behind his head and threw, with full force, a massive lightning bolt directly towards Adon’s face.