August Intruder- Chapter 212- He Is Not Watching Over You (Patreon)

The entire room was oddly quiet now. It was as if his question had scared off the sound. Ark still had one hand on his wrist, though. Even though they had released each other, Ark was not ready to let him go.

Melmarc wanted to remind his brother once more that he was fine and was not about to go all berserker because of his black eyes, but Uncle Dorthna’s reaction to his question had more of his attention.

Uncle Dorthna cocked his head to the side in curiosity as Ninra pulled a chair up to them and sat on it.

“How do you know that name?” Uncle Dorthna asked.

Melmarc shrugged. “I don’t.”

Not one to miss anything, Uncle Dorthna said, “Explain.”

Melmarc didn’t need to. Instead, he pulled up the single notification on his interface. It stared at him. From where Uncle Dorthna was standing, Melmarc knew that he could read it too.

[You have encountered Jabari]

Uncle Dorthna scratched his jaw as he stared at it. “Well, that is interesting,” he muttered. “I guess it would make sense since you saw him the space between worlds.”

Ark perked up at that. He looked at Melmarc. “You don’t remember meeting him?”

“No.” Melmarc shook his head. He did not like the idea of memory loss. He turned his attention back to their uncle. He wanted to say something but Ark beat him to it.

“You’re well put together over there, Nin,” Ark said.

That brought everyone’s attention to Ninra who was sitting on the chair with her hands grabbing on tightly to her pants. Melmarc looked from her hands to her face. Her eyes were rheumy with unshed tears.

How could he have forgotten that he had been unconscious for on God knew how long just after being sucked into a portal that nobody knew about.

Uncle Dorthna had just walked in and acted like nothing new was happening and they had gotten swept up in the entire thing.

Melmarc gave Ninra a kind smile, an assuring smile. “Hey, sis.”

His words broke her because the tears immediately began to flow. She shed them slowly, then sobbed and sniffled. Her hand relaxed on her laps, then she dropped her head and cried.

Melmarc did his best to keep the smile on his face. To her it must’ve felt like forever. He could only imagine what she had gone through, the emotional rollercoaster of not knowing where he was or what had happened to Ark or if he would ever wake up.

All the while, he had been busy fighting off an Oath to protect some bird people. After the fight, all he remembered was the pain, then waking up to Ark. He could not feel the emotional weight of what was really happening.

Every waited patiently as Ninra cried. But they did not have to wait long. Before long, Ninra was wiping her tears away and rising to her feet.

Ark watched her with a touch of skepticism. Melmarc did not blame him. Ark had a habit of doing all the wrong things around Ninra. Even if it was right, it somehow managed to be wrong. It was often an interesting to study.

Ninra came to a stop in front of Melmarc. She stared into his eyes. Then she took in his bandaged torso. In the end, her eyes settled on the massive black injury in his shoulder.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

Melmarc opened his mouth but Ark spoke first.

“Does it hurt, she says,” he snorted, sarcastically. “He has it for funsies.”

Ninra rounded on him in the blink of an eye. Ark leaned away on his bed, arms raised to protect himself.

Ninra hugged him.

To Ark complete bewilderment she just remained there, with as much of him as she could hold onto in her arms.

Uncle Dorthna rolled his eyes but said nothing and did nothing. He simply stood there, playing the role of a witness.

“Are you okay?” Ninra’s voice was soft, a gentle coo.

“Uh,” Ark stuttered for a moment. “I’m fine. Not a hundred, but the doctor says I’m healing well.”

“That’s good,” she said, now stroking his hair. “You did good, Tar’arkna.” She sobbed a little and kissed his head. “You did good.”

Only then did Ark hesitantly move his arms and return her hug.

Melmarc watched them with a genuine smile on his face. It was not all the time that Ninra displayed her love for Ark with anything akin to kindness. And it was not often that Ark was forced into the awkward discomfort of familial love. So, he took it in, keeping the question of Jabari at bay for now.

Ninra held onto Ark for what could’ve been no more than ten seconds but seemed like fifty seconds. When she finally released him, she looked down at him, still smiling.

She took his face in her hands and turned it one way then the other. She gave him a flat look. “By God, Ark. Do you even have a single tear drop to spare for your distraught sister?”

Ark grinned up at her. “Tears are for the weak. Mine were burned in the forging fire of [Demon Lord]s when—Ow!”

Ninra had smacked him on the shoulder. “You know,” she said, releasing him to rub on his shoulder, “most people’s siblings don’t put them through all this stress and discomfort.”

“And most siblings aren’t powerful Gifted,” Melmarc said.

Ninra turned to look at him. She looked up at him with a confused frown. “Is there a reason you’re on your feet, brother dearest?” she asked.

There was something in her voice that Melmarc couldn’t quite place. His smile was still on his face, though.

“I’m standing to greet my sister,” he answered simply. “It’s been a while.”

She walked up to him and placed a finger on his chest. “Has it, brother dearest?” she asked, her tone suddenly flat. “Has it really been a while?”

Only then did it click for him. Brother dearest was not an endearment. It was what she liked to call Ark when he was doing something wrong.

“Are bedridden people now allowed to stand up and do as they please?” she continued. “Are they allowed to grapple with their brothers and look down on their sisters with black eyes like demons from a movie.”

Melmarc paused, then swallowed. Ninra applied pressure to her finger, pushing him back ever so slowly. Melmarc allowed her, because it would be worse if he did not.

She pushed him back until he was seated on his bed once more, waiting patiently for what would come next.

Ninra sighed, as if she had just handled a very mentally taxing ordeal.

With that done, she ran her hand through her hair, scratched her scalp for a moment, then went back to her chair and sat down.

Melmarc didn’t want to admit it, but he felt a little sad that he didn’t get a hug. But he understood that for all her relief, Ninra was justifiably angry that her brothers were running around trying to get themselves killed.

Unwilling to continue to think about it, he returned his attention to their uncle.

Standing with folded arms over his chest, Uncle Dorthna asked, “Done with the family reunion?”

“For now,” Ark chuckled. “Can’t wait to have to deal with mother.”

Melmarc hadn’t even thought about that. But that was not what he was trying to think about right now, it was something else.

Uncle Dorthna saw the look in his eyes and understood.

“Alright then,” their uncle said, sitting on the ground. “Time for a little pep talk on good ol’ Jabari.”

Ark looked at him. “Do you know him personally?”

“We can call him an old acquaintance,” he answered. “We’ve crossed paths enough times in the past.”

“And he is?”

Uncle Dorthna shook his head at Ark’s question. “Before we can speak of who Jabari is, we must first speak of the Endless.”

Melmarc could’ve sworn he’d heard the name before. “Who are the Endless?”

“What,” Uncle Dorthna corrected, “not who. And the endless are Existence’s version of Oaths. Concepts that exist beyond human creation. There is an argument that they were the first things of any form of sapience before sapience itself.”

“They sound ominous,” Ark commented.

“Well, they aren’t.” Uncle Dorthna shrugged. “They are just… concepts. Just the way we have our Oaths of War and Joy and Love and the likes, the same rules apply to the Endless. But remember, they are nothing but sapient concepts. Love given consciousness but not a body, if you will.”

“So, they are like gods without bodies?” Ark asked.

Uncle Dorthna bobbed his head from side to side in a contemplating gesture. “Yes and no. they are like gods in the way that people think and worship gods, but they are not like gods in the sense that the gods cannot fight them even if they try. After all, you can’t kill something that has no form.”

“I see,” Melmarc muttered, not truly seeing, not completely at least. “And why are we focusing on them right now?”

“Because while the Endless do not have form, they do have something they call Envoys,” Uncle Dorthna answered. “Beings that they choose to represent them, granting them their powers to work in representation of them. in the wider cosmos, everyone knows better than to cross an Envoy. However,” he added, with a raised finger when Ark opened his mouth, “they are not rulers of Existence. The Envoy of Love is only supreme when the Endless love chooses to interfere, and it only interferes in matters of or relating to love. And even then, they interfere very rarely.”

“That means that Jabari is an Envoy,” Ninra said, piecing everything together easily.

“That is correct,” their uncle confirmed.

“And what Endless is he Envoy to?” she asked.

“None.” Uncle Dorthna returned his attention to Melmarc. “The good thing is that he left you alone, deemed you unfit for whatever interests he has in mind. If he saw potential in you, it was not potential that suited his machinations.”

“Potential that suited his machinations?” Ninra asked. “You make him sound like a villain in a bad story.”

“He’s kind of worse. You know plot armor?”

Ark chuckled. “The concept of plot armor is not a person.”

“I never said that he was plot armor. He is more of a plot mover, a story initiator. In multiple worlds across Existence, Jabari has done something to ensure that things happen or do not happen. If he doesn’t like the story being told here, he could very well decide to come and change it.”

Ninra’s jaw dropped in horror. “Why?”

“Because he can,” Uncle Dorthna said simply. “What is important is that he deemed Melmarc too unstable for his most recent… plans after having a conversation with him.”

Melmarc definitely didn’t remember any conversations. “And what plans are those?”

“Unimportant,” their uncle replied without missing a beat. “It affects another story not this one. Bottom line is that you’re in the clear.”

“Uncle Dorthna,” Ninra said, her voice level. “What plans?”

Both of them stared each other down for a moment before their uncle submitted with a sigh. “I’ll tell you on one condition.”

“Deal,” Ark said.

Melmarc gave him an incredulous look. “You didn’t even hear the condition.”

“I guess.” Ark shrugged. He looked at their uncle. “What’s the condition?”

“You don’t tell anyone that is not currently in this room.”

“Even mom and dad?” Ark asked.

“Yes.”

Ark waited for a moment, pretended to think about it. “Deal.”

Everyone looked at Melmarc.

Melmarc sighed. “Deal.”

“In the beginning, there were people called Observers,” Uncle Dorthna said simply. “They stood at the pinnacle of the cosmos, doing nothing but observing. Then, some of them decided that observing was not enough, so they decided to be more. Already powerful enough to do more than observe, some of them branched out and decided to become Influencers.”

Ark snickered. “Like those online people.”

“Not really, but you could say that. Anyway, they went out into the cosmos, creating problems and initiating things. They were powerful, beyond anything anyone had ever felt.”

“Until Jabari,” Ninra said.

“Nope,” their uncle corrected. “Jabari didn’t do anything about them. They rose and ultimately fell by their own hands. In the end, the Influencers forced the hands of the Observers. They fought against each other and died by their own hands. Their souls scattered all over Existence. In recent times, Jabari has been collecting their scattered souls and imbuing them into children.”

Ninra shivered visibly. “Sounds disgusting.”

“It really isn’t,” Uncle Dorthna said with a chuckle. “All it does is just give the children the same powers of the Observers, that’s all. The only problem is that the child has to be a fitting candidate for each soul.”

“And what about the child’s soul?”

“Nothing happens. Think of getting an Observer soul like feeding your soul all the nutrients it needs to be better and stronger.”

Ninra paused. “Oh.”

“And what per chance would qualify a child to be a viable candidate for a soul?” Ark asked innocently. “And what would you say is Jabari’s impression of the demon class variety?”

“You are not getting an Observer soul,” Ninra chided him.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Uncle Dorthna said. “Ark won’t be able to handle the grueling requirements of having it.”

“Says who?” Ark protested.

“You are motivated by a limited number of things, Tar’arkna. Power is not one of them. Give up on the idea of the souls and of Jabari. There is a reason he is feared across Existence.”

“Because he steals kids?” Ninra asked.

“No,” Uncle Dorthna answered. “It’s because no one knows what his agenda is, and he has the ability to achieve whatever he put his mind to achieve. It doesn’t matter how ludicrous his goal is. It’s bad because no one knows his motivation. Generally, everything in Existence prefers to just leave him alone.”

“Okay,” Melmarc said carefully. “But why me?”

Uncle Dorthna blinked. “I don’t understand.”

“Why me?” Melmarc repeated. “Why did he come to me?”

“Oh, that. He didn’t.” Their uncle shrugged. “He just happened to be passing by and stumbled on you. Then, either your pure mana or your connection to me made him stop and have a conversation. Whatever he got out of the conversation convinced him that you are not fitting for his machinations. It’s really just that simple with him.”

Ninra raised her hand.

Uncle Dorthna groaned. “What?”

“I don’t get it,” she said.

“What don’t you get?” he asked.

“The Observers. What is his connection to them besides wanting to bring them back.” Her eyes narrowed on him in suspicion. “What aren’t you telling us? Was he an Observer?”

That was a good question. The only reason Melmarc hadn’t thought about it was because he didn’t care. He was more concerned about why Jabari had singled him out and then wiped his memory of their meeting. But that had been answered.

“He was not an Observer,” Uncle Dorthna answered.

“Then what is his connection?” Ark asked before Ninra could.

Their uncle sighed. “He was the one who created the Observers.”

“You’re joking,” Ninra sputtered.

Melmarc did not take his eyes off Uncle Dorthna when he said, “He is not.”

“So, you’re trying to tell me that he single handedly created a race of beings so powerful that they stood at the pinnacle of the world watching over it?”

“Watching it,” Uncle Dorthna corrected. “Not watching over it.”

Melmarc paused, remembering something Uncle Dorthna had once said when they were smaller. He’d said it to Ninra once upon a time.

“God is watching you,” he muttered.

Ninra’s gaze moved to him as she completed the sentence. “But he is not watching over you.” her eyes returned to their uncle. “Jabari is not an Envoy of an Endless, but he is an Envoy.”

Uncle Dorthna nodded, while Ark barked an excited laugh. “He’s the Envoy of God,” he said without missing a beat. “Isn’t he?”

Uncle Dorthna nodded slowly.

“But you told me that God doesn’t exist,” Melmarc pointed out, a little displeased at being lied to.

“He doesn’t,” their uncle confirmed, “not in the way that you know him.”

Ninra got up from her seat, realization dawning on her. “But you do. You know God.”

Uncle Dorthna pressed his lips into a thin line. He looked like someone who didn’t want to say anything on the subject.

Ninra’s expression changed slowly, from realization to worry, then horror. Her voice dipped as she asked a different question.

It was as if their uncle was reading her mind, because his expression turned into one of warning before the words even came out of her mouth. She held her tongue, but Uncle Dorthna wasn’t the only one reading minds.

Jabari was the Envoy of God, not a god but God. And Uncle Dortthna had all but just confirmed his existence. The problem here was why Uncle Dorthna was suddenly very careful about saying more.

His Envoy had created the Observers who had stood at the pinnacle of Existence before dying out. Now said Envoy was working towards recreating them. And Uncle Dorthna was hesitating to say more.

God is watching you. The words sat in Melmarc’s mind as he realized the question Ninra had wanted to ask. But he is not watching over you.

Melmarc’s eyes settled on their uncle, and their uncle’s face hardened. His lips parted, and the words were out of his mouth before he could even stop himself.

“He’s watching,” he said, suddenly scared of the omnipresent. “Isn’t he?”