chapter 4 ~ Fallout
1133 Words
The room was silent.
No one moved.
No one even knew what to say anymore.
Orion stood in front of them quietly, his blue eyes filled with exhaustion they had never noticed before.
For the first time…
He looked tired.
Not physically.
But emotionally.
"I really wanted to wait until you were older," Orion said softly.
His voice lacked its usual calmness.
"But I don't have a choice anymore."
The nine children stared at him.
Some confused.
Some scared.
Some angry.
Orion slowly looked at every single one of them.
"You will have to fight."
The words alone already felt heavy.
But the next sentence shattered the room completely.
"And you will have to absorb the corrupted stones."
Silence.
Pure silence.
Even the air itself felt frozen.
The children could not process it.
Fight?
Absorb corrupted stones?
What did that even mean?
For years they had laughed together.
Played together.
Trained together.
Pretended to defeat imaginary villains while Orion watched them from afar with a soft smile.
But now…
None of it felt like a game anymore.
Tash suddenly stood up.
"What the f**k…?"
His voice shook with anger.
"We were chosen for THIS?"
Nobody answered.
Tash clenched his fists tightly.
"I don't want to talk to you right now."
He looked away from Orion.
"You kept all of this from us…"
Then he walked away toward his room.
A loud slam echoed through the mansion as he locked the door behind him.
The sound felt heavier than it should have.
Rai lowered his head quietly.
Tears slowly formed in his eyes.
"Onisama…"
His voice cracked.
"It isn't fair to us…"
Orion remained silent.
Rai wiped his eyes quickly, trying to stay composed.
"We don't blame you…" we could never ..
He paused.
"But…"
The sentence never finished.
Because he himself did not know what he wanted to say anymore.
Anger?
Fear?
Sadness?
Maybe all of them together.
"I don't know anymore…"
Rai slowly walked away toward his room.
One by one…
The others followed.
No shouting.
No dramatic arguments.
Only silence.
Heavy silence.
The kind that hurt more than screaming.
Sei walked away while staring at the floor.
Aria bit her lip hard to stop herself from crying.
Ange looked completely numb.
Lane avoided looking at Orion at all.
Mia quietly followed the others without saying a word.
Soon the massive room became empty.
Only Orion remained standing there alone.
For a moment…
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Then Orion quietly sat down.
"I understand…"
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"You all need space to process this."
He looked toward the dark hallway leading to their rooms.
"It's a big revelation."
A painful smile appeared on his face for only a second.
"It isn't like your little game of defeating the final villain anymore…"
His eyes slowly lowered.
"You won't be heroes here."
He paused.
"And you won't fully be villains either."
A long silence followed.
"You will become both."
That night became the heaviest night they had ever experienced.
Nobody slept properly.
The mansion felt different now.
Colder.
The truth had changed everything.
For years they thought they were simply special children being raised by Orion.
Now they knew the truth.
They were successors to powers beyond mortal understanding.
And one day…
They would have to fight others like themselves.
The next morning felt unusually quiet.
No laughter echoed through the halls.
No arguments.
No running.
Only silence.
Sei sat at the dining table while staring blankly at a cup of tea.
"I wish yesterday was a dream…"
Her voice sounded tired.
"I literally pinched myself last night just to make sure it was real."
Aria sat beside her with dark circles under her eyes.
"I understand…"
She leaned against the chair weakly.
"I couldn't sleep at all."
Sei let out a bitter laugh
"It's honestly messed up."
Before Aria could respond, footsteps echoed through the hallway.
The two girls looked up.
Orion entered the kitchen carrying grocery bags.
Both of them blinked in surprise.
"Morning, Sei."
"Morning, Aria."
The two exchanged confused looks.
"Onisama…" Sei said slowly.
"What are you doing here this early?"
"You're normally never home at this time."
Orion placed the bags down calmly.
"Well…"
"I wanted to make breakfast for all of you."
Aria stared at him in disbelief.
"It's been months since you cooked for us."
She crossed her arms.
"Aren't you busy?"
"The robots already do everything whenever you're gone."
Orion looked at her dramatically.
"Come on."
"Don't be rude."
"When someone says good morning, you reply properly." siena , aria he looks at them
Aria looked away awkwardly.
"…Good morning, Onisama."
Sei ( seina ) sighed.
"Good morning."
Then she muttered quietly,
"Even though there's nothing good about it."
Orion heard it.
But instead of scolding her, he simply smiled weakly.
"I understand."
The room became quiet again.
Orion slowly began preparing breakfast
himself instead of using the machines.
It felt strangely normal.
Strangely warm.
Like he was trying to preserve something before it disappeared forever.
After a while Orion finally spoke again.
"I know yesterday was heavy for all of you."
His movements slowed slightly.
"And honestly…"
"It would be heavy for anyone."
The girls remained silent.
Orion continued quietly.
"I wasn't your parent."
"I wasn't around much either."
"The robots handled most things while I worked."
A guilty expression crossed his face.
"But I still cared about all of you."
Aria's eyes slowly watered.
"Tell me something honestly…"
Her voice trembled.
"Will our life ever become normal again?"
The question hurt more than any accusation.
Because everyone in the room already knew the answer.
Orion stopped moving for a few seconds.
Then he turned toward her gently.
"Things will change."
The honesty in his voice hurt.
"But that doesn't change how I see you."
"You're still my family."
"And I'll still treat you the same way."
Aria looked down quietly.
Sei clenched her hands together.
"We're basically mortals carrying responsibilities far beyond us…"
She forced out a laugh.
"And we all belong to different races too."
She looked toward Orion.
"Our life spans are different."
"Some of us will die within a hundred years…"
The atmosphere became heavy again.
By now the other children had slowly entered the kitchen one after another.
Nobody spoke.
They simply listened.
Then Orion said something that completely stunned all of them.
"You're actually… somewhat immortal."
Silence.
"…What?"
Every single one of them spoke in unison.
Orion nodded slowly.
"As long as you have your powers…"
"You can live as long as you choose to."
Nobody reacted immediately.
Because the statement itself felt impossible.
Immortality?
Living forever?
The children stared at Orion as if hearing him for the first time in their lives.
And slowly…
The terrifying reality of their fate truly began sinking in.
- Writer
