Paradox Saga: Rising Sun

I Hate Being The Only Man

I woke up late. The previous night, Nami and the others were busy talking to each other about how big the house would be or how many rooms there would be (Nami wanted to have only one bedroom for all of us to sleep, which I didn’t approve). I didn’t join in, not only because I was the lone male on the room, but also to the reason that my tummy was so full I thought it would burst out any moment. I just sat down on the bed and read some books. Minutes later, I drank a glass of cold water, told them goodnight, and slept.

The weirdest part was they woke up early. They woke me up with a slap on the arm. I looked at the clock on the table beside my bed.

“10:00 AM?! Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” I asked.

Fritz rushed in – bringing some clothes and putting it inside her bag. “We prepared our things the moment we woke up. We were too busy packing up our things that we forgot about you.”

The other girls suddenly came and brought their clothes. “Sorry!” they yelled altogether.

Packing my things took less than fifteen minutes. I didn’t bring a lot of stuff; I only brought some clothes (which aren’t that many), some books that I managed to get quickly before we went here to the hotel, and my toothbrush and stuff for hygiene. On the other hand, the girls took forever to pack their things. They got their clothes and other stuff from their closets and put them inside their bags. I don’t even know how so many things could fit inside a single bag – must be some Spatial magic or something. I just sat on the bed with my bad and briefcase beside me as they ran to the closet and to their bags like patrolling policemen. My eyes got dizzy as they turned around back and forth endlessly.

After thirty minutes and a hundred to’s and fro’s, they managed to get all their things inside their bag. We hurried downstairs (the elevator was full). A black limousine was already waiting outside ( I do hope they didn’t wait for the whole time the girls were packing their things) as a man opened the door and urged us to go inside.

As the car ran, the girls talked excitedly about what to do when they got home or how the house and their rooms would look like.

“Hey, Shiro,” Nami patted me. “What are your thoughts about how the house would look like?”

I shrugged. “I really don’t have any idea. I just hope that it still looks similar to the previous one – the house where I grew up.”

“Don’t worry,” Saiko smiled. “Gramps promised that the house won’t change a lot. It’s your remembrance from your parents, after all.”

“Besides, they’d have a difficult time reconstructing your house,” Midorima said.

I furrowed my brows. “Why would they? Is it because our house is a little bit old?”

“Not just that, Shiro. Your house has enchantments and protective barriers. Removing the enchantments would be an easy thing for mage and support-type Figures. The protection and barrier tools, however, would be a tedious task for the Craftsmen, especially since one your Dad’s comrades in the Heptagon is a Beta-Tier Craftsman,” Midorima replied. “Dispelling the protection tools could be so complicated that even by moving a single rune stone can turn someone within meters into a harmless sheep for a whole hour.”

“But why– ”

I wanted to ask why there were some enchantments and magical security stuff around our house but I didn’t have to know why. Days ago, my History teacher, who later revealed himself as an aswang, tried to eat me for lunch. With my special ability of acquiring more than a single Metaphor, no wonder why monsters see me as a delicious meal.

“Shiro?” Nami asked.

“Never mind,” I said. “By the way, I remembered days ago, several monsters attacked the school. I kept thinking that it was an Anaphora Break but it turned out that Kiba-sensei, who was a monster disguised as a monster, has been around and spying on us since the first day of class. How did it happen?”

Nami got something out from her bag. It was her phone. “Monsters don’t only come from Anaphoras, Shiro. They also live here in Earth, frequently disguised as people or hidden within the mundane sights of normal humans. From yokai to the Sphinx, creatures of legends commonly reside here on Earth,” she said as she looked down her phone and scrolled down.

[A/N: (1) The Yokai are Japanese demons that are said to affect the everyday life of people. Each of them are different from each other and can be good or bad.

        : (2) The Sphinx is a creature depicted in Egyptian, Asian and Greek myth. One account states that it is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon (Greek myth). It is known for asking people riddles and eating the unfortunate one who are unable to answer correctly]

She showed me the screen of her phone. It showed pictures of mermaids, phoenixes, dragons and other creatures that I only see on movies and books. One image showed five girls in a rocky shore facing something big and long. I thought they were flying a dragon-shaped kite on the horizon until I realized it was a green gigantic scaly monster with four legs and sharp nails that could skewer boats like barbecue.

“A ketos…” I uttered unknowingly. “How’d I know that?”

[A/N: Ketos – sea serpents or monsters of Greek myth. On one account, Ketos (Roman form: Cetus) was the monster sent by Poseidon to devour Andromeda and was killed later by Perseus]

“You would’ve seen it on a book. However, I believe it’s because of your ancestors’ essences,” Nami answered. “Don’t worry, you’ll know why soon,” she added, seeing my confused face. “Anyways, yes, that’s a ketos, a giant sea serpent that we encountered on a certain Anaphora. You see, Shiro, most creatures that you hear on stories and see on the books are real.”

“Including the aswang…”

She nodded. “Yes. The point is that’s why you’re heavily guarded by us, Shiro. There are good monsters but most are bad, especially to Figures like us. Our blood contains special essences that monsters commonly use to increase their strength.”

“So, I have to be aware of blood-sucking vampires and the like now?” I joked.

“Yes, you do, Shiro,” she answered with a serious face.

I pouted. These girls do know how to ruin a joke. I munched an apple that I managed to get before we went out (hey, we paid for this, okay?). The girls kept talking. I didn’t mind, though. Even I am a bit excited about the changes on the house. “What would my room look like?” I asked myself.

The car stopped after a few minutes. The girls got out first. I went to the back and helped the driver get the bags out (he was having a hard time carrying out the heavy bags) before the car drove away.

“What the– ”, the girls muttered.

I turned around. I slapped myself just to clear out if this was a dream or not, because if this is, someone has to wake me up.