Pet: Revelations - Chapter Twenty-Five (Patreon)

Remus

I feel somewhat at ease. Iris’s meddling seems to have had a positive impact. I no longer have to worry about Ezra’s physical or mental condition. He’s taken training as seriously as I’ve ever seen him. Ezra has always been powerful, which is why I trusted him with the Leviathan armada. But training as a Celestivine is much different than what our mother taught us. I wasn’t sure he would be able to grasp it, seeing as half his blood is Leviathan. But he's proven he is just as capable, learning more than I thought he would over the days.

He has a fire in his eyes that I haven’t seen in a while. Part of me knows it is because he feels he has something to prove—that he is not a mistake that Celestivine can look down on. But that is easier said than done. Celestivine are a strict race of people. They believe that by following the laws that have been laid out for us, we have been able to keep this home for as long as we have, and more. Even the servants who roam the halls with very little freedom cling to the laws of Celestivine without question. The Celestivine way of life is a delicate one, which is why it was so important for my father to bring back Xion and me.

Because we were born from him and Me’Rite, we are the only ones capable of a successful conversion. Had we not been, he and Me’Rite would have continued having children until one was born who could handle it. Unfortunately, she ran away with those hopes, leaving this world's future in limbo.

Now, it is in such a fragile place; even the elders would allow me to break their laws if it means I stay. One of which involves organic beings like Iris and Sky remaining here. Not only that, but to allow someone who is not fully Celestivine to live and learn this knowledge. It is a big taboo, that I am sure will enrage Kuron once it reaches his ears.

I smile to myself, stopping what I am doing as I hear the intentional footsteps approach from beyond the doors.

Speak of the devil.

I turn away from the maps, swiping my hand through the hologram so that it disappears before stepping from behind my desk. Ezra sits in the chair near the glass, reading through another book I gave him to study. He’s learned properly how to converge energy enough that the disruptions Kuron placed within him have dispersed altogether. But because he is only half Celestivine, I am unsure whether he will ever be able to evolve into a pure energy being. For now, however, he can convert energy properly enough to keep him at full strength.

“That’s enough for today,” I say, pulling his attention.

He slowly closes the book, standing as I gesture for the servant standing quietly near the door.

“Take my brother the back way to his wing,” I say, watching the servant's reaction carefully.

“That’s it? But I’ve barely done anything today,” Ezra says, pulling my attention from the servant.

“You’ve been working hard. Take the day, check in on Xion. Rest is just as important as training when handling this kind of power,” I say, gesturing to the book he still holds in his hands.

“Take that with you,” I say.

Ezra looks like he wants to protest, but holds his tongue. It’s another way he’s matured. He doesn’t even push back anymore. On the surface, I like it. I don’t like to repeat myself, nor do I like my commands being challenged. But something deep within me, that I am unsure whether or not is real, misses the pushback that came with him being my brother.

It’s a strange thing to miss, but I do.

“Our mother will be banished soon. Tell Xion,” I say, making sure I speak in the Leviathan language so that the servant cannot understand me. I watch his reaction, gauging whether he is as mindless in following our rules as the rest of his kind. But he doesn’t react to my words, already moving to the door on the far side of my study with Ezra in tow.

I note that Ezra cringes from the mention of our mother, but it can't be helped. I plan on ensuring she suffers as much as she made us suffer when she is banished. If that means she must face the son she betrayed, then so be it.

I pull in a deep breath, turning back to open the maps as I wait for the approaching footsteps to finally breach my doors. I wish I could see this world the way Iris does—as a marvel. But as I look at the maps, labeling the “dead zones,” I am once again at a loss for a proper strategy. I shift my attention to the darkened landmass that was once Celise’s home. A lot has been lost since my mother took us away. I am curious how much I will be able to restore when the day comes.

“You forced me to save your mother’s bastard, and I said nothing. You threatened the council to keep your beloved humans in our home, and I still said nothing. But now you have gone too far, Remus! Inviting your mother’s stain into your council and teaching him things forbidden to his kind? You dare flaunt your mother’s mistakes right in my home?” he shouts, bursting into my office with the intent to challenge me.

The air crackles with his anger, both forms of energy sifting back and forth with threatening power as he stands in front of my desk, waiting for a response. I pull in an irritated breath, swiping my hand through the maps once again to close them as I turn to face him.

“Yes,” I say.

He narrows his gaze, his hair shifting, his eyes lighting with anger as he steps closer. If I were human, the quality of the air in this moment would suffocate me and stimulate my nerve endings at the same time.

“You owe me a modicum of respect, Remus. I am still your Omniel,” he growls.

I scoff at his demand, my irritation mounting. Omniel is this world’s word for savior. On Xyrannis, they referred to me as Aureon, or god. But here, even the most base of Celestivine has the ability to do what I could on Earth.

It is the ascension to pure energy beings that sets us apart— the ability to create, convert, and sustain energy. And it is the ability to complete the conversion that makes the gap even wider. In ways, it is similar to a King, I suppose. But I laugh at the term humans coined to describe someone who only lives on the backs of their people and can die just as easily as a ruler.

“And I am your Omleyah, destined to one day become Omniel, once I’ve taken over the conversion completely,” I say sarcastically.

“Are you punishing me because I did not know you and your sister were not slaves to that—”

“Ezra. His name is Ezra,” I say, slowly releasing my own energy as a quiet threat. I do not like engaging in conflict these days. I am not as patient as I once was, nor do I have the understanding of anyone’s point of view other than mine. Mine will be followed. It is mine that has been made without biases.

I step out from behind the desk and make my way to the nearest bookshelf.

“And no, I am not punishing you. You are the Omniel, are you not? I am merely setting myself up for success,” I say, reaching for an old book that I remember reading as a child.

“I cannot fathom why breaking our most sacred law could set you up for success,” he says.

“Ah yes. Not to teach anyone outside of our home our ability,” I say, turning to face him.

Celestivine laws are clear and simple.

One, you cannot kill another Celestivine. We are not a populated people, and since we live for thousands of years, repopulation is extremely low. But there is no need when you are simply as powerful as our kind.

Two, you cannot teach our way of life to others. We are, as far as we know, the oldest civilization since the beginning of time. Some believe we are the universe incarnate, experiencing itself physically, which is why our ability to create and destroy is so coveted, yet chaotic.

Three, while we encourage mating in our society, if you do mate, you are never to bring that child here. That child is never to know its true history. It could mess with the delicate balance that we have.

Every law is directed towards preserving our way of life, including the servant’s role in it. Unfortunately for Kuron and everyone involved, there has never been an instance where a high-powered Celestivine ran away with the heir, exposing him to different ways of life before he was old enough to see this one as the only way.

“What is it all of you are afraid of? Do you really think Ezra is a threat? Or maybe the humans that have barely made a peep since arriving?” I ask.

“Look at what taking you has done. Do you really mean to mess with the balance of our lives like this?” he asks.

I can’t help but laugh.

“Ezra is as much a Celestivine as I am—”

“Do not compare him to you,” Kuron growls.

“All I mean is, I am not relinquishing my throne to Ezra. I am simply padding myself with people I trust, and that just so happens to be the brother I conquered galaxies alongside. Whether you like his parentage or not, he is still Me’Rite’s son,” I say.

My words anger him beyond giving a response. Kuron turns away from me and makes his way to the glass. His fists are clenched as he battles his anger. I know he hates the mention of Me'Rite, but she was a powerful Celestivine, which is why Ezra is able to learn what he has.

“You have no idea of the emotions I battled when I returned from the conversion to find you missing. I scoured galaxies for you, but your mother…she was always talented in the art of manipulation. Whether it was minds or energy,” he says.

“And now you have returned to me, a stranger. Both of you have,” he adds, and I know he is referring to Xion.

“Xion is grieving,” I say.

“Over a being who could never hold a flame to her,” he says, disgusted.

“Careful, Kuron,” I say, my mind drifting to Iris. “You underestimate these beings because they do not have the same ability as you. But that does not make them useless, and that does not make them less threatening,” I say.

“And you do not?” Kuron asks.

I shrug.

“I did. Which is why I now have one that will stay by my side,” I say.

Kuron shakes his head.

“You know you can only keep her alive for so long, Remus. This place has a way of weeding out who should not be here,” he says.

I pull in a deep breath. “I know.”

Now that Iris and I have crossed the line together, I find it more difficult not to bond with her. I have no idea how she feels about it, however. I know that she still tosses and turns in her sleep, her mind bombarding her with terrifying memories of Xyrannis, including my mother almost killing her to remove my essence from her veins.

I planned on bonding with her once we were on better footing. But with each day she grows more curious, and more resentful of me not trusting her enough to give her the information she wants.

She wants equality between us, and I don't know that I can give that to her. Especially when she threatens me with her life to get her way.

“There will be pushback for the boy. And you will not have my support for his existence,” Kuron says.

I laugh, pulling his attention.

“I wasn’t aware that I needed it,” I say, letting the challenge linger in the air.

Now that Kuron has begun training me for the conversion, and my mother’s blocks have been removed, my mind has been opened in ways that Kuron could never oppose. He should have been more like Me’Rite. Though I have nothing left for her in my heart, I admire her calculations. She knew how to keep me on her side. Kuron does not, relying much too heavily on the hierarchy of our history.

I quietly approach Kuron, standing beside him as we look out the glass at one side of Eoua. Eoua is the center of this planet, if you can call it that any longer. When I was a boy, three more portals existed. Now they have been closed off.

“I do not do these things to challenge you. In fact, your feelings have never crossed my mind. I am doing what I need to protect my family. That includes both Ezra and Xion. It has always been my place to protect them. That doesn’t stop because I know the truth,” I say.

Once again, Iris’s determined expression crosses my mind as I speak. She was right in that instance. When we were on Earth, I spoke very highly of my siblings, and how important it was to me that they remained protected. My mother may have manipulated my memories, but my life alongside my siblings was never a lie.

“Even though you know she only released you to protect him?” Kuron asks.

“Well, now that I’ve seen what you did without even clarifying who he was to us, I understand her a little more,” I say, walking away from him.

“I thought you hated her,” he calls to me. “It sounds like you are beginning to admire her.”

I ignore his quip. She was willing to do whatever it took for the one she cared about. In her case, it was Ezra. In mine, it is Iris. No moral compass matters when it comes to her. Xyrannis almost became an example of that.

Maybe I do admire her. Though I still look forward to her banishment.