First Demonic Dragon

It was hard to see everyone in the house moving like they were in a fog. And yet, that was what was happening.

A depressed air hung over everyone present like rolling storm clouds.

In times of hardship, it was not unusual to see groups of people coming together as one to make their shared burdens a little bit easier to deal with.

If life was going to do its best to be cruel, they had to do their best and put that much more effort into being kind to one another.

That notion was understood even by those who weren’t necessarily family.

Gaia wasn’t sure how long she had been staring at Bashenga’s back.

He hadn’t turned around or moved in days. Sometimes, she thought he was asleep. Other times, she could hardly hear anything else other than the sound of his mind running.

“…You should get something to eat, you know..?” Gaia finally said. “It might help you feel a little bit better.”

Bashenga didn’t turn around. He hadn’t even flinched.

“…When is the last time you went to see your nephews?” She tried again.

Just like before, she got no response. Bashenga hadn’t made a single sound.

He continued to float horizontally in the vast void. His mind was a foreign thing to her, and she knew not whether she had a chance of deciphering it.

But Gaia was afraid to leave him as he was.

For an immortal being, Bashenga struggled with the idea of permanence.

It was the reason why he kept his room empty, and generally intracted with others outside of the house very little.

Bash still struggled with the weight of his own existence. No one is more aware of all that is fleeting than a being of apocalyptic destruction.

His deeply held belief is that his mere presence speeds up the counter on the destructive timer of those around him.

For years, his parents had been the only universal constant in his life.

No matter how old he became, he could always count on one of his mothers coming in to bother him at odd hours of the morning, or hearing his father yell at the TV from two rooms away.

Bash knew that they were supposed to come back at some point. Asherah said that his parents would be disoriented and likely not be able to use the full scope of their powers right away.

But every day that went by without them returning was another opportunity for his mind to wander.

What if something happened to them on the inside? Over the millennia, Abaddon, his sister, and his Aunt had returned many of the horrors back behind the gates where they belonged.

No doubt they would be seeking revenge. And they would probably be able to take it.

And then what would happen?

Would he be an orphan?

Would the opportunity to tell his parents that he loved them, even once, just slip through his grasp due to his own negligence?

If such a thing were to actually come to pass, it would prove that the curse of his identity, of his bloodline, was infallible after all.

And he knew not what he would do with himself if that were to be the case.

As Gaia continued to monitor him, she decided that maybe things would go better if she utilized more aggressive tactics.

“…I’m going to touch you. Okay..?”

For a moment, Gaia thought she might’ve seen Bash move. But it could have been a trick of the light.

She lay behind him and wrapped one of her arms around his back, placing her hand on the middle of his chest.

She buried her face in the nape of his neck- with her chest pressed against his broad back and her warmth flowing into him.

“…They’re going to come back. Your parents have never let you down before. And maybe when they do… you’ll finally accept that things going wrong in life have nothing to do with you.”

This time, Gaia didn’t see him move so much as she felt it.

With her hand over his chest, she could so clearly feel his heart beating at an unsteady rhythm.

It actually put a smile on her face.

“I knew it. You still had some feelings for me, didn’t you?” She cheesed.

Gaia was positively giddy. Even if their mouths say nothing, Tathamet men have bodies that don’t lie.

“….It’s a possibility.”

When Gaia heard that familiar, deep, and brooding voice, her excitable expression changed to one of potent shock.

Her face took on a deep scarlet blush that was utterly unlike her.

At this moment, she was more than a bit grateful that her face was hidden behind a curtain of her hair,

She would take this moment to wherever immortals go when they die.

–

In another corner of the house, Belloc was just rising from bed.

The bodies of two women were left behind once he vacated the sheets. With the bed growing cold, Melanie and Stheno crawled together for sustained warmth.

The demon woman held her human companion’s head between her breasts as she watched her husband grab a hoodie off the back of a chair and pull it over his shoulders.

“…Should I carry concerns that our husband has been replaced by someone who shares your looks and mannerisms?”

Belloc would have laughed if he weren’t still dead tired. Being depressed does tend to do that to individuals.

“I’m a little bit insulted. Having trouble recognizing me after all this time? Maybe we are finally getting ol-“

“Don’t you dare finish.”

Belloc wisely kept his mouth closed.

He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and slides before he turned back to the grey-skinned woman in his bed.

“…Gotta keep the family together, you know? Or at least keep everyone’s spirits up.”

Stheno had no words, but she was once again wondering just what had gotten into her husband as of late.

He’d been outside of his room more times in the last couple of days than he had been for months beforehand.

“…This side of you has my approval.” Stheno nodded.

Belloc knew that was high praise coming from her of all people.

He kneeled beside the bed and folded his arms across the mattress while he stared at her.

Stheno stared back at him curiously. “…What?”

“Do you ever think that… maybe…”

Stheno tilted her head.

For some reason, Belloc couldn’t bring it upon himself to ask anything further.

“…It’s nothing. I’m going to go around and see if I can get everyone out of their room for a bit.”

Belloc stood up and swiftly exited the room. Maybe faster than Stheno had ever seen him move in his life.

When he got out, he let out a large sigh of relief that he hadn’t even known himself to be holding.

Scary conversations could wait for a moment when his parents weren’t missing. For now, Belloc had to see to his siblings.

He moved through the hallway with his hand in his pockets and a usual laid-back attitude about him.

As he moved through he and his siblings’ wing of the house, he noticed something odd.

Mira’s door was wide open. Belloc poked his head inside and found his sister in the middle of a project.

“…What are you doing, kid?”

Mira barely seemed to notice her brother show up. “…Cleaning.”

She moved through her room with a garbage bag and each of her pets on assistance duty.

Belloc could hardly believe what he was seeing.

“…Any particular reason?”

Mira shrugged. “I guess I just… felt like it was time.”

Belloc smiled wryly at her. “Want some help?”

“That’s okay. It’s actually kinda peaceful.”

Belloc now knew exactly how Stheno felt when he started doing out-of-character things earlier. It was a level of jarring that nothing can really prepare you for.

“…I’m sure they’ll be happy to see it when they get back.” He smiled.

Mira paused what she was doing and smiled proudly. “…Yeah. I hope so.”

Belloc tapped on her door twice and moved to let his sister continue her work.

He continued his walk through the hall, and not long after, he ran into an uncommon face in the kitchen.

“Hey, stranger… Surprised to see you out here.”

Thea looked up from her kids’ high chair and rolled her eyes at him.

“Some of us have things to do, little brother.”

“Yes, how can I forget. But still, it’s nice of the all-powerful queen of Neverland to grace us with her presence.”

Thea scoffed as she flung a spoonful of baby food at her brother. He didn’t even bother to avoid it.

Instead, he walked towards his nephews and pointed to his chest.

“You see how your mom just wastes your food like this? She’s so irresponsible…”

“Shut up.” Thea nudged him hard with her shoulder.

Belloc chuckled to himself as he took the spoon and began feeding the young twins their pureed vegetables.

As he did so, Thea watched him out of the corner of her eye.

She raised a hand to his head and ran her fingers through his hair. Just as she had when they were children.

“…When did you get so big, huh?” She smiled softly.

Belloc met her smile with one of his own. “Probably around the same time that I… Thea..?”

He didn’t know what happened. He couldn’t explain it.

All Belloc knew was that he blinked, and when he opened his eyes, his sister had disappeared.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!