Orion slowly opened his eyes, taking in the ceiling above him. He didn't move for a while, but he then eventually swung his legs to the side of his bed to sit on the edge of it. Standing up, he yawned and looked towards the city through his window. It was quite a pleasant view as his apartment was on the 7th Floor. He then stepped out of his room, into the living room, which was connected to the kitchen. Ignoring his stepmother, Elisa, who was sleeping on the couch, he went into the bathroom and locked himself in. Grabbing the edges of the sink, he leaned in and stared at his reflection in the mirror.
He had medium-length black hair that covered his dark brown eyes slightly. His dark circles were prominent, making him look uglier than ever. His face was neither chiseled nor round. His looks could only be described as average.
'I lack sleep. And I need to stop ignoring Clara.'
Clara White was his first and only girlfriend he had in the Outer World. She wasn't the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, but she was clearly above average. Kind, patient, understanding, beautiful, she was what any man would've wanted.
After splashing his face and slapping both his cheeks, Orion did his toiletries before taking a cold shower and going back into his room to change. He wore black jeans and a white shirt before stepping into the living room once again. He walked up to the slumbering Elisa and shook her awake.
"Hey, Elisa. I'll be back in a couple of hours. Stay put."
Elisa opened her eyes, revealing their deep blue color. She fixed a lock of her black hair over her right ear.
"Hmm."
After getting a faint nod from his stepmother, Orion stepped out of his apartment and spoke in a stern voice.
"Come out. I know you are watching."
In the next second, 3 figures materialised from the shadows and knelt in front of him.
"Your highness, Orion. We are at your service."
Dad sent only 3 Chosen to protect me? However, all his doubts vanished as these people allowed Orion to take in their presence.
'!—'
"Name."
The first figure, located towards the far left of Orion, spoke in a feminine voice. It was mellow.
"I am Julia Nirvana of House Nirvana—middle Stage True Mage. I am specialized in offense and healing. My attributes are Life and Fire." The woman spoke as she removed the hood of her cloak from her head, revealing her dark purple hair, which was tied into a bun, as well as her beautifully carved facial features. Her eyes were as black as the void.
Orion nodded and flicked his to the one on the far right.
"I am Alex Nirvana of House Nirvana—Early Stage Master. I am a swordsman. My attributes are Fire and Water." The masculine voice of Alex entered Orion's ears as the former removed his hood, revealing his chiseled jaw and sharp gaze enhanced by his black coloured irises. His hair was similar to Julia's: Dark purple, which neared full black.
"I am Nicolas Ericson of House Ericson. I am the leader of the group and a Peak Stage Master. I am a swordsman as well. My attributes are Lightning and Fire." Nicolas, the one kneeling in the middle, said as he removed his hood. His voice was deep and somewhat carried weight. He had black eyes and dark brown hair as well as a chiseled and beautiful face. But his beauty wasn't the highlight, as on his face was a big scar that ran from his right ear to his nose, giving him a menacing look.
Orion nodded once more and stared at them.
"Why not stop Elisa before she could even approach my door?"
Nicolas's face sank as he couldn't give a proper answer right away. After a few seconds, he spoke as he bowed deeper.
"Please accept my most sincere apology, Your Highness Orion. We could not detect Her Majesty Elisa. I believe she was using an artefact to hide her presence.
"Hmm, I see. As of now, consider Elisa an ally; it's an order."
"Yes, Your Highness," the three of them replied with great conviction. To which Orion smiled softly.
"Good. Nicolas, Julia, stay with Elisa and watch over her. Alex, you are coming with me and protecting me as usual."
"Understood, Your Highness."
"Understood, Your Highness."
"Understood, Your Highness."
***
Orion walked along the stone path of the park silently. However, he broke the silence as he asked softly, "You three must be from the same bloodline, right? Since you all have the distinct bloodline ability of Nirvana."
Soon, Alex's voice echoed behind Orion's ears. "That's right. Since we're all cousins, we share partly the same bloodline, and we have the same bloodline ability — to become shadows, and more."
Orion nodded as he asked while walking, "Hmm. You all share the same affinity. Is fire common or a specialty of House Nirvana?"
"Both your highness. While it's common, House Nirvana specializes in Fire. The affinity is also passed through our bloodline, which gives us a greater talent in Fire."
"What about lightning?"
"Lightning is uncommon but not for House Ericson, which also passes down lightning affinity through bloodline."
"Nicolas must be quite strong then, for him to be related to both Houses, and to have both Nirvana and Ericson bloodline abilities."
Alex chuckled at Orion's analysis. "Strong is an understatement, your Highness. He is one lucky bastard."
After a couple of minutes, Orion arrived at a particular spot, which he usually comes to with Clara. Orion glanced at his shifting shadow until it stilled.
'Alex looks restless. Is he nervous as well? Or laughing behind my back? Weirdo...'
Orion walked around a bush and saw a girl sitting on a bench. She was wearing a simple outfit composed of blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a sky blue hoodie. She fixed a lock of her black hair over her right ear as she frowned.
"You've been ignoring me... and you look like shit... everything okay?"
"Um... yeah. I– I... I needed to talk to you about something." Orion replied awkwardly.
'Gosh, I sound like a scared puppy. Fuck me'
Orion walked up to the bench and sat next to her. Looking down at his lap, visibly nervous, he said, "Um. I've been busy lately, and I need some time off."
"Time off?" Clara tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean? You talk like something bad happened... You okay?"
"Actually... my Dad p–... I mean, my Dad passed an interview and got a new job in the Inner World. I'll be moving. I'm sorry, I don't think I can keep seeing you."
Orion kept his gaze to his lap as he gripped his knees tightly. He added softly, "I'm sorry, but I can't stay."
Orion lifted his gaze and turned to meet hers. Clara glared at him. "Seriously? Couldn't you have said so earlier? We could've spent more time together. You simply ignored me..."
Clara retracted her gaze and stared at the blue sky. "I understand. You know, I really like you. A lot."
Clara sighed before adding, "I'll wait then. It's not like you are going to be living there permanently, right? Just for college and to be close to your family, right? We can just keep it long-distance. Like um... You know what I mean...
Orion's eyes widened. He opened his mouth, unsure of how to respond. He originally came here to break up. He was determined to. But every second he spent alongside her made him feel regret. In the end, he couldn't do it. He knew his path wouldn't be kind to him, to anyone. He needed strength for survival, to protect the people he cared about, and... for revenge. He wanted revenge. The strength he needed to accomplish his goals needed time. And time wasn't infinite.
In the end, he still couldn't bring himself to refuse her. He could only stare at her beautiful blue hazel eyes.
"Ugh... I'll try. Communication between the second and first layers of Earth is hard. But I'll try."
After a couple of seconds, he opened his mouth to speak, but the words remained stuck in his throat. "Sorry... I've had a busy week..."
Clara was obviously sad and annoyed at Orion, but she also knew he was hiding something. She also knew that it probably wasn't something that concerned Clara if he decided not to tell her. At the end of the day, Clara trusted Orion a lot.
Clara stood up and reached for a small box from her handbag. It looked fancy. She handed it to me while averting my gaze.
"A gift. For your birthday, but I'm a day late. But it's your fault anyway. My sister recommended it. I have a second one, which matches the one I am giving you. Now um. I'll be off, I have tuition soon... Don't forget to call me." With that, she turned around and left.
Right at the heels of that, a low, grumpy voice came from my shadow. "She'll probably cry."
Orion turned to stare at his shadow. "Probably... but it was necessary."
Orion opened the box and took out the item. It was a simple-looking ring with 3 characters engraved.
'O & C'
Despite looking simple, the ring felt heavy, and the fancy packaging screamed 'money'.
'Yep, her family's loaded. Well, not as much as mine...'
Orion put it on as he looked down at his clothes. His clothes looked cheap.
"Sigh i guess they were right when they say 'the richer you are, the poorer you look' .... I hope people do say that..."