Chapter 4: A Family, Together Again. / Flint

“Yumi….” the emperor started

“Mom. Dad. I apologize. I was wrong.” Yumi said, bowing down to them

“Yumi! Get back on….huh? You…” the emperor said

“Yumi, are your legs working… or am I dreaming.” The queen asked

“I can’t walk. Actually, I probably can’t even get back up into my wheelchair. But they move. I can use my waist properly for the most part, so kneeling is something I can do now. Evan said that I’d get better over time.... Eventually I’ll be able to walk. I’m not sure why he helped us, though.” Yumi said

“I don’t give a damn about why.” The emperor said

“Why he did is the least of our concerns, I agree.” The queen said, helping Yumi back onto her chair

“I...we understand everything, right? We don’t need to have one of those… drawn out conversations right? I’d rather not cry with god right outside the room.” Yumi said

“Too late for that, damnit!” The emperor said, crying

“Ahem. No… I agree with Yumi.” The queen said, tears falling from her eyes

“You should take a look at your own face before you say that, mom.” Yumi laughed, crying just the same

“I….can’t deal with something that heartwarming. Sappy.” Evan said, walking around the palace, and exploring.

“Who are you? State your name. I don’t remember anyone like you being allowed in the emperor's gardens.” A voice said

“I barged in here on my own. I’m god, it’s nice to meet you.” Evan said

“Hm. It’s nice to meet you, too, but I’d like to take you to the emperor for questioning.” The voice said

“I really suggest not doing that right now. He’s kinda busy with his daughter. It’s been a while since they've talked.” Evan said

“You mean, Yumi is here? To see the emperor?” The voice asked

“Yes. Wait, Yumi? Who are you, anyway?” Evan asked

“Ah. Apologies. I’m the captain of the palace guards. My name is Flint.” Flint said

“Flint? Awfully odd to hear as a girl's name. No, that red hair… you can use fire mana quite well, can’t you?” Evan asked

“How, exactly, did you know that?” Flint asked, surprised

“The red coloring of your hair occurs during the process when fire mana and a person's genetic code mix, making their DNA similar to mana circuits. Your hair no longer gets its color from any normal kind of pigment, the fire mana directly transfers to the hair. For people far removed from you, the hair can turn red when they use enough fire magic, for you it’s permanent. If you use fire magic enough, your hair seems like it catches alight, conducting fire mana from the ambient mana and increasing both your amount of mana and the strength that you can output your flames. The same goes for all mana infused genes. Water, wind, fire, earth, and others. Normally, it is always passively conducting fire mana, hence why it is always red. Basically, you are always stockpiling fire mana, but the longer you channel it for at a time, the hotter your flames burn. That’s a small description, I guess.” Evan said

“What. Wait, what? Are you one of our scholars then? Those are my family's secrets, nobody else should know them.” Flint asked

“No. As I said. I’m your god. The one everybody worships? That’s me. Hallo! Nice to meet you!” Evan said, waving

“Oh. Oh, dearie me. That’s impressive. Were you born a god, or did you become one?” Flint asked, curious

“Awfully trusting, aren’t you. I worked for it. Made everything you see here using my own two hands.” Evan said

“I can tell if people are lying. You aren’t. You also don’t seem hostile at all. Rather, you seem calm.” Flint said

“Hm. An interesting ability. No wonder. I thought it was weird for the captain of the guards to be this nonchalant with a potential intruder.” Evan said, raising an eyebrow in curiosity

“Well, if you are god, and you did make everything, aren’t we the ones intruding?” Flint asked

“Not at all. This place was built for others to live in. But…...Technically, it is a prototype, and we are still working on the final version.” Evan said

“So….are we going to be thrown away?” Flint asked

“No. I’m not planning on throwing you away. If you develop nicely I’ll leave you guys alone, but not throw you away. Oh, right. Actually, Flint. Could you tell Yumi I’ll be gone for a bit? I need to check on someone. They should be fine in less than half an hour.” Evan asked, remembering something

“Oh, sure. I’ll see you later, then.” Flint said

Evan poofed away