FATELESS: A Boy’s Bonds

Brothers

The worst had come to pass, a disaster of heretofore unseen proportions.

As I stood amidst a sea of dirty laundry, wallowing in an odor that could only belong to a teenage boy, the source of my unease stood in the doorway. Brows furrowed, glaring toward me, arms crossed intimidatingly.

Of course, I wasn’t intimidated.

Abel may have been an asshole, but he wasn’t a violent asshole. It wasn’t like he’d beat up his little brother for finding him in his room. What I was worried about was how this threw a crook in our plans.

“W-What are you doing here?” I sputtered, face burning.

Abel rolled his eyes. “It’s my room.”

“I thought you left.”

“Yeah. Well...” Abel pursed his lips and sighed. “Ma said you were afraid to be left alone, so I’ve been ordered to stay home while they’re away. Had to tell my friends that I couldn’t hang out today.”

‘Huh. Looks like you’re already changing things. Good job. Though this could bring the Apostle here earlier…’

Realization dawned on me.

Zakarot didn’t have knowledge of whichever new future was created. Like raindrops falling into a pond, I was creating ripples. Learning of the future had made me desperate, driving me to telling my mother the truth.

Now, I was faced with the consequences—staring down my archenemy.

Facing this dastardly villain with vacant eyes, I cursed internally. How would the newfound hero get out of this one?

Abel’s dark eyes were narrowed in suspicion, periodically glancing over at his precious sword. He’d clearly seen me reaching for it, but seemed reluctant to bring it up.

Though we lived across from one another, I hadn’t had a genuine conversation with Abel since shortly after his blessing manifested. In-fact, our last conversation had beeen a heated argument.

That was both the first and last time I tried to convince him to stop taking advantage of our family. Before that, we’d been mostly amiable. Despite having conflicting personalities, we’d still treated each other like brothers.

I was certain that my brother still blamed me for that. Maybe he was right. Maybe I should have tried harder to understand my brother. Was I just as bad as everyone else?

I would have scoffed at the notion, but after seeing what I saw...

The curtains were fully drawn back, filling the silent room with soft morning light. Only the sounds of nature beyond could be heard inside the room, both of us standing in silence. Even Abel’s social skills proved useless when faced with his estranged little brother.

Finally, the eldest son spoke. He repeated his question: “What are you doing?”

“I was…” Licking my lips, I tried to form an excuse. Abel raised an eyebrow. “I’m afraid.”

Abel didn’t reply and simply stared at me, waiting for me to elaborate.

“Ever since the attack, I’ve been afraid that someone is going to come after me again. And after what happened with Dav, I…” I stopped, putting on a meek facade that I hoped he’d believe. “Since I was home alone, I wanted to have a weapon nearby.”

I attempted to guilt-trip my brother, playing the role of a traumatized kid abandoned by his family. It wasn’t even a lie, since I was afraid. Afraid of an Apostle showing up at this very moment, showering us with black flames.

And I was taking the sword because I was home alone.

Whether Abel bought the story or not, I couldn’t tell. He simply stared at me with taut lips. “You can’t even use a sword.”

“I know,” I replied. “If I’d taken Father’s advice, maybe none of that would’ve happened…”

“You’re the one who left the party. There’s no way she could’ve gotten past us.”

His words, infuriatingly pompous and condescending, made my eyes widen. Irritation rose within me, and I balled my fists. Was Abel really pinning the blame on me?

It wasn’t like I wanted to be the target of an angry deity. If he’d been born normal, bound by fate and blessings and whatever else, I probably could have lived a happy life.

I’d never wanted to hit my brother as much as that moment. My brother didn’t care about me, didn’t care about what happened to me. He was bold enough to stand here, blaming his brother for nearly being killed.

My feelings must have leaked into my expression, because Abel held up a placating hand. “Nevermind. Sorry.”

Blinking, I struggled to comprehend his words. Abel was apologizing? I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d heard that word from his mouth.

“It’s good that you’re alright,” he continued. “That stuff was pretty messed up, huh?”

Scoffing, I nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”

Silence descended upon the room once more. I stared out the window, while Abel’s eyes seemed to be locked on a particular piece of undergarments. His unfocused eyes brought a disturbing sight back to the forefront of my mind, blood running from his mouth.

Clothes burned, legs…

I swiftly shoved it down.

It wasn't the time for that.

‘We have to go, Zavis.’

The spirit’s words broke through the quiet, though his disembodied voice only reached me. Knowing that my companion was right, I decided to end this encounter quickly. It would be difficult to leave with my brother present, and I’d have to leave the sword behind, but there was no stopping now.

“Listen–”

“It’s not too late.”

Abel interrupted me.

My brows rose in surprise, gaze slowly moving to meet my brother’s. Had I heard him correctly? Did Abel know? There was no way, that was impossible.

Only Zakarot and I knew about the plan. Was mind reading part of Abel’s blessing? Surely that was something we'd be aware of. A new development he hadn’t shared with us, perhaps?

Or had Abel been listening beyond my bedroom door, listening to a seemingly one-sided conversation? My thoughts were racing, heart climbing its way into my throat.

I didn’t know what to do, and various scenarios raced to mind.

My dumbfounded, panicked expression didn’t escape Abel’s notice, who rolled his eyes again. “The training? You can still learn how to use a sword.”

Jaw slackened, I stared at my brother. “Huh?”

“What’s wrong with you?” Abel asked, his tone grating. “I said it’s not too late for you to learn swordsmanship.”

My cheeks were burning again. My habit of overthinking simple things had gotten the better of me. I wanted to slap myself for my stupidity.

“Oh, you think so?” I asked, holding back a great sigh.

“Yeah, well. You’ll need some exercise but I don’t see why not,” Abel said, shrugging. “Not that you really need a sword when you can just use magic.”

It was somewhat surprising to hear Abel address my gifts so openly. Lara seemed hesitant to mention it, and I wasn’t sure how much my siblings had been told.

They were aware that Mother and I were magic-users, but I knew for a fact that they didn’t know about the latter’s background.

As busy as I’d been, with my lessons and everything, I hadn’t really considered how my siblings would feel about it.

Abel had witnessed a glimpse of cryomancy during the scuffle with Dav and his goons. I remembered how terrified he’d looked, my arrogant brother hadn’t even been willing to meet my gaze at the time. My siblings were simple, like Father. Perhaps moreso.

I realized that we were going to live in very different worlds from then on.

“I can’t just use magic,” I lied. “Mother hasn’t taught me or anything.”

“Oh.”

For a third time, silence fell between us. A part of me wanted to stay and talk to Abel, who seemed to be acting differently than usual, but time was short. I had to leave before our parents returned.

Unfortunately, I now had to slip out without Abel noticing.

“I would like that,” I said. “I’ll bring it up to Father later.”

Abel’s eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected that. Well, I couldn’t blame him. “Oh? He’ll be glad to hear it. Might be good for you; women love swords, you know.”

“Uh-huh,” I felt like his eyes were going to roll back into my head. “Thanks for the advice. Sorry for coming into your room but I–”

“You want to hang out?” Abel asked.

For a long moment, I wondered if I’d heard wrong.

My brother just asked whether I wanted to ‘hang out’.

Abel and I hadn’t ‘hung out’ in close to a decade. Had the Demiurge taken control of him? In theory, turning my own brother into a Disciple would be a rather clever plan. In addition, his blessing would prove incredibly useful for the Demiurge.

A follower who could practically control everyone he met.

Though Zakarot had told me that those who had their fates changed by a Fateless couldn’t be controlled by the Demiurge. My family members, like me, were ‘removed from the story’. Which was why the Apostles killed not only the Fateless, but also those around them.

As I stared at him in shock, Abel scoffed. “Never mind, forget about it.”

The spirit’s past words echoed through my mind:

"Have you tried to look at things from Abel’s perspective? From any perspective beyond your own? To understand the pain that he feels? No, because you’ve never cared."

Was this my elder brother’s real face? Was his blessing really affecting him, emotionally, psychologically? While our mother was traumatized from losing Iris, and I was ‘dealing’ with my own host of difficulties, perhaps Abel had spent years hiding his own.

Knowing that everyone adores you because of something outside of your control…

“No, I just…” I frowned, feeling guilty. A surprisingly large part of me wanted to stay, to hang out with my elder brother, to continue investigating. But I couldn’t. “I’m sorry, I have something to do. Maybe we can hang out some other time.”

Without waiting for my brother to respond, I quickly walked away from my spot near the dresser and approached the door.

I glanced at Abel warily as I passed, but the older boy simply waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, whatever. Yell if you’re being attacked again”

The boy’s usual disposition returned and I couldn’t help but sigh. That was nice while it lasted, but I still wasn’t sure what had caused my brother’s change. Maybe his younger brother nearly dying was a wake-up call?

Maybe, just maybe, Abel would start treating everyone better in my absence.

Glancing over my shoulder one last time, I saw my brother’s back. He was slim, but had broad shoulders. Just like our father.

I etched the image of his back into memory, just like my parents’. When deciding to leave Flykra Village, I certainly hadn’t expected to miss my brother. But now, for a brief moment before leaving his room, I wondered if I’d been too hard on Abel.

“Wait.”

I stopped. My brother had turned toward me, brows furrowed and staring intently at my back. My heart leapt when I realized what he was staring at. Abel pursed his lips, eyes narrowing, and jerked his chin at the leather pack strapped to my back.

Had he just noticed it? Well, Abel Invidia would never be winning any academic trophies. He truly did take after our father.

“What’s that?” He asked.

Swallowing, I licked my dry lips and looked back. The pack was practically overflowing, the frayed strap keeping it closed straining beneath the weight. I’d received it from Mother when I was young, a means of carrying books while out and about.

Not that I ever found much use for it, considering my penchant for staying in my room. Abel had probably never seen it, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared enough to remember.

“Books,” I replied. “Mother gave them to me.”

Again, not a complete lie.

There were books within, and Mother had given them to me. Abel’s suspicion seemed to abate as soon as he heard the word ‘books’. In-fact, just hearing the word seemed enough to make him sleepy.

His demeanor changed, shoulders slumping, and he stifled a yawn.

“Oh, whatever.” Abel waved me away, walking toward his bed.

Both of my siblings are literate, unlike most of the villagers, but I’d never actually seen Abel read a book. Mother taught all three of us, as well as Father (though he still had struggled), but I was the only one who found a passion for it.

After watching my brother fall onto his bed, apparently intending to go straight to sleep, I shook my head and walked out the door. The disaster averted, it was finally time.

Time to leave Flykra Village.