Chapter 330

Roar of a King (XI)

The group camped at the edge of the forest facing the ocean, occasionally venturing further off to hunt down some game. For the most part, however, they stuck around the spot where they initially landed, patiently waiting. They weren’t alone, they realized immediately--dozens of groups were scattered about the nearby areas, seemingly doing the exact same thing.

Though many had died, there were still quite a few survivors. It was the nature of expeditions into worlds like this as nobody could ever know quite what they were walking into. Sometimes, their luck turned out to be good and they walked into a world full of rewards with minimal risks--and, sometimes, it was the other way around. This world happened to be the latter.

Even if Cain’s perspective on the difficulty of things was skewed, he knew well enough just how unfathomably deadly this world was. If it were not for him, it was likely that Quinn, Harmony, and Nature would have all died--possibly even Lear in the long run. Three of those were thrice-Awakened, and even if they weren’t exactly the top guns of the thrice-Awakened, it didn’t matter all that much.

The world being such a major anomaly had rung alarms in his head, especially with him having met Danny, as though the portal was opened specifically for him. He could never be certain, not unless a very specific Divine showed up and told him so, but his instincts were screaming as much at him. Nonetheless, though it hadn’t worked out particularly well for others, he did just fine, possibly far better with the fruit still in his pocket, ready to be eaten.

“Lunch’s ready,” Lear called out, inviting others over. It wasn’t just him, everyone was trying to pick up cooking and learn from Cain.

“What’s on today?” Cain asked as he joined.

“Quinn hunted down some fox-like things,” he explained as the scent of smoked meat began to permeate the forest. “So, I, uh, followed what you did with, what’d you call it? Stakes?”

“Hm. Steaks.”

“That’s what I said.”

“No, something was off.”

“Well, yeah, whatever, I did it anyway. I know it won’t be as good as yours, but I’m fairly proud of it.”

“Geez, if I told my wife I’m becoming a cooking inspiration for others,” Cain sat down and put a large piece on his plate. “She’d laugh at my face. For a long, long time.”

“Why?” either Nature or Harmony asked.

“Why?” he chuckled. “Well, a long, long while ago, I woke up before her and tried to surprise her with breakfast. Nothing big, just some eggs and a hot dog. Wound up fuckin’ up nearly a dozen eggs before finally giving up and waking her up, crying, to fix us up something. From then on, I was virtually banned from touching anything that needed more than a splice of ketchup to be edible. What about you guys? Any spouses?”

“No.”

“Once.”

“No.”

“... damn,” Cain sighed. “You kids and your promiscuity. Wow, this is pretty good,” he added after taking a bite. “A bit too salted, but good.”

“Thanks,” Lear smiled. “But on the other one, just give it time. Love turns jaded over time, especially in this world.”

“... nah,” Cain shook his head. “Keep that cynic shit away from me, man. I’m ridin’ this thunder till the end.”

“Ha ha, that’s admirable,” Quinn said, taking a piece herself and sitting own. “But do you think we weren’t as shiny-eyed as you at your age?”

“I’m sure you were,” Cain grinned. “But there’s one huge difference.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m way better than you!”

“Oh, go eat a pile of shit.”

“Boo!”

“Bah, lame.”

“Almost funny.”

“Hate all you want,” he shrugged amidst the laughter. “But you don’t get it. It’s not even love that I’m talking about.”

“Oh? What is it then, o’ ye’ better lad?” Quinn asked.

“It’s a... feeling.”

“Oh, wow, well, if it’s a feeling, then yeah--”

“Ha ha ha...”

“Fuck, lemme at least try and explain,” he grunted, taking a bite.

“Go on, go on, sorry.”

“Bah, you sordid bunch. Anyway, what I mean is... I’ve known her basically all my life. And I’ve already lost her once. I’ve lived through the void without her. Jaded. A vulture feeding on the memories of better times. And I was... miserable. Absolutely miserable. Getting her back was the best thing that happened to me. And yeah, I can’t make any claims for the distant future, but fuck it, I’ll claim ‘em anyway.”

“That’s... admirable, I suppose,” Quinn said after a brief silence. “Weird, coming from you. But admirable.”

“You’ll come to say that a lot if you keep followin’ me around,” Cain grinned. “Damn, that’s one weird-ass thing he said. Admirable. But fuckin’ weird.”

“Hey, at least following you around will be fun,” she shrugged. “And if your propensity of encountering weird shit persists, there will be no boredom for us.”

“It really does,” he sighed. “Sometimes, I genuinely think I’m cursed. I could walk into a normal room and suddenly it would turn into some quasi-dimensional butt-fucking session against an army of dragons or something. It gets super tiring.”

“Enough about him,” Lear cut in. “We already know he’s a joking jackass with no filter in his brain. What about the rest? I want to know more about you guys.”

“Good point,” Cain nodded. “You lot know all my demons. It’s only fair I learned yours. Like, what’s with the beef between you three? And will I ever be suddenly woken-up by you guys going apeshit at one another?”

“Maybe,” either Nature or Harmony said as they glanced at Quinn who replied the favor. “You can’t blame us. She’s a bitch.”

“Your mother’s a bitch, from what I recall,” Quinn fired back. “Didn’t she bed half the tribe behind your father’s back?”

“At least we had a mother,” either Harmony or Nature said. “Or, should I say, one mother. Unlike some of us here.”

“What? Jealous my father used to bed whoever he wanted?”

“Jealous? Please, it was like an orphanage for the undesirables.”

“Shit, do you think I fanned something I shouldn’t have?” Cain turned to Lear and asked.

“Isn’t that what you just... do? All the time?” Lear asked back with a smile.

“Yeah, but I usually expect people to see it in a joking matter and, y’know, joke along. This is some serious hate.”

“It’s not that bad,” Lear said. “You’re just missing a perspective. These are the kinds of hatreds that simmer for decades and centuries, Cain. It’s when they start legitimately destroying everything around them in an attempt to kill each other that you kind of have to start worrying.”

“... oh, so I just brought a ticking time-bomb under my belt, huh? Oh well. It ain’t the only one. Contrary to what I thought, turns out I’m really good at handling the unhinged.”

“Probably because you’re one.”

“Hey! But yeah, you’re probably right. But seriously, this is pretty good,” he added. “You’re a natural, honestly.”

“Thanks,” Lear chuckled bitterly. “Of all the things I ought to be a natural at... it’s cooking.”

“You’re also natural at just being there and not drawing attention to yourself.”

“Not helping.”

“Most of the issues in most of the worlds would be fixed if people would just stop thinking everyone needs to be a hero,” Cain said. “Not everyone can rock the world with their wit and charm and their tits and what have you. Besides, you know who lives through wars and revolutions? It ain’t the heroes. It’s the cooks, the hairdressers, the tailors. So, you should really look into that.”

“I’m not gonna.”

“Fair enough.”

“Were you being serious?” Lear asked him suddenly.

“’bout what?”

“That whole spiel about your wife. Or were you just entertaining us with another one of your stories?”

“Dead serious,” Cain said. “Then again, all a man has is his intentions. And if history’s a teacher of anything, it’s of the fact that men’s intentions... well, good or bad, they tend to go up in flames more often than not.”

“Well, let’s hope yours don’t.”

“Aye, let’s.”

Days and weeks and even months in the end trickled by. In the meantime, the group would occasionally spar or go out hunting for a bigger target just to kill the boredom, waiting for the portal to open.

Finally, at the six month mark, the portal appeared some few miles off from their position, suspended in the sky, shimmering and hovering like a massive lighthouse inviting travelers from all around to join. Before their group even packed up, they saw shadows and silhouettes blur toward the portal, but just before they could enter... an even grimmer shadow came flaunting from the sky and drowned out the world.

It fell from the heavens, a behemoth almost a mile tall, with runic spikes decoration metallic-like surface full of hives and eyes and protruding tentacles. It was death in the shape of a morbid, abysmal titan, and it stood perched in front of the portal, like a tall wall forbidding entrance into the garden of hope and joy.