Chapter Twenty: Close Relatives

Oh great, I’m back in the void, again. Hopefully I can run into someone and get this over with… Actually, maybe just sitting here alone isn’t such a bad idea. I wouldn’t mind taking a break from everything that’s been happening.

“You shouldn’t come here so often. You can lose your sense of reality that way.”

I start spinning around in search of that familiar monotonous voice. In the distance, I see that man from my lav who Vensen tagged along with. What was his name again?

“Vensen told me that you’ve been wondering around in the void like a lost puppy lately.” He advances closer as he extends his line, “He’s already brought me up to speed with your latest revelations, so any questions you have for him, you may relay to me.” The man from Zemfen sounds so formal, it’s almost unnerving.

“Oh.” I’m not sure on where to start. For starters, I need my journal, but I’m not sure how I got it to appear last time. Maybe if I desire it hard enough it’ll come? After a few seconds of concentration, I look down at my feet and see just the thing that I wanted. With a smile of pride, I bend over to pick up the journal and crack it open. I recall that the guy is still waiting for me and so I gaze back towards him. “Oh, this is my journal with all of my questions-so I wouldn’t forget.”

“Clever,” he states as he steps over to my side.

My nerves start to tense up as he stands next to me with his morose personality. “Um-would you mind telling me your name again?”

“Not at all, it’s Kakashin.”

Oh yeah, now I remember. “So, um, I guess we can start with this one. Do you know where Sommi is, or at least, does Vensen know?”

Kakashin closes his eyes as he suspires, then comes back to me. “Last I heard, he was under solitary confinement within the void, and then after your talk with him he was sent to the Archives as punishment for disobedience to Vensen.”

This doesn’t make any sense. “Wait, wait, slow down. Disobedience to Vensen?”

“You know that your mother comes from Vensen’s side, yes?”

“Yeah.”

“Then Sommi must be from another family. For one to marry into the family, they must first become a servant to it, therefore, Sommi belongs to Vensen as well as being the husband to your mother.”

Okay, that’s a little better, I guess. “Okay then, so why is disobeying Vensen bad enough for Sommi to be in the trash country with people who have done worse? I mean, I can’t believe that my dad has done something, like-committed mass murder. If anything, Vensen should be the one who’s locked up and being tormented.” My intonation raises as I come to that conclusion. I can’t believe I’ve forgotten how many people Vensen has killed before my very eyes, and here I was starting to side with him just for being my grandfather! What the hell is wrong with me?

“Vensen has more power than you could ever imagine.” Kakashin simply remains calm as he reasons with me, “Remember, he can be anything, and he wields the void better than anyone else. Don’t underestimate him, Vila.”

I take a moment to think this over in a better way before going on. Now I recall Kakashin mentioning that Vensen would haunt me for the rest of my life… “So, my father is a slave to Vensen, who is my grandfather, and now my dad is in the Archives for disobedience.”

Kakashin nods to reassure me.

“Okay, so what exactly did he do to deserve that?”

“When he and your mother tried to run away with you, the two were disobeying him along with committing treason.”

I don’t like this one bit. I need to figure out a way to travel over the country to the west side and reach the Archives. I need to rescue my dad. Maybe there’s a way to use the void to travel? Maybe that’s how the two were able to get there so quickly? Wait, is what Kakashin even telling me true? I need to somehow consult this with Mom. “So then, how did they get there so quickly, over to the Archives? I mean, I was just talking with both of them about a week ago, and getting there would maybe take over a month or so.”

“One can use the caliginosity for traveling purposes, it does not always have to be a separation between the body and consciousness.” Somehow, he sounded like Vensen there…

“Oh-so, I can actually go to Catherr right now?”

“Yes, although, I wouldn’t recommend it for the sake of your friends.”

Well that solves one of my problems, now I just need a pet flying Armadon* to fix my sarcasm. Seriously, though, I have to tell the triplets about this so that we can come up with a plan to rescue my parents. How does he know I have friends with me anyway? I’m stumped, and I don’t think Dad can wait for too long. Maybe getting a better glimpse of what I’m up against would be a good idea. “So next question; who are the other members of the Stuki clan?

Kakashin glances up to play the answer through his head. He then stares at me and replies, “I’ll explain this like a family tree for your sake. We start with Vensen who is the head and original Stuki, as you already know. Then came Roukuu who was the eldest child, but he’s on prohibition-for certain reasons. From him came his son, Omen, who had three children: Jirike, Okar, and Yumi. Back to the main line, I am the second offspring of Vensen and produced a son name Kron, who you may know as the second leader of Duahe. From him came Ketsu and Uren. Ketsu had a boy named Tumma, who is the current leader of Duahe, and Uren had a daughter named Shila. From Tumma, he and Kupo had a child named Urak.” This is already too much for me, but he goes on anyway. “The third and last child of Vensen is Kyyu, your mother, and then finally you came who is the most recent member of the Stuki clan.”

Wow, that’s a lot to take in on a short notice. I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into, and there’s probably more that he’s holding back from me. “S-so- does that mean-you’re my uncle-and the current leader of Duahe-is my third cousin?”

“You’re sharp, that’s good, means I don’t have to repeat myself.”

Something is fishy here. If I remember correctly, in school the teachers said that Kron was the son of Danton Konohaka, the founder of Duahe. I should ask him about this while I still can. “But I thought Kron was born from the Konohaka family?”

“Wrong,” Kakashin is stern with his response, “he was adopted. Danton stumbled onto Kron by a mere coincidence. Not everything that they teach you in school is accurate.” He stops for a moment to think it over.

The urging question creeps into my mind. “What happened?”

He stares at me blankly with his soft red eyes. “I-We, Gree and I-Did something similar to what your parents did for you.” Kakashin looks away and stares off into the nothingness. “She tried to escape while pregnant with our child. I stayed to ward off Vensen … He killed her in the process of her labor and delivered the child. As for me, I had to endure torture from my own brother.”

I feel really stupid now for bringing this up. I could tell that talking about it pained him “I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

He tries to hide it, but a small curl of his lips rolls up on the side of his cheeks to show his good heart. “You don’t need to be, it wasn’t your fault.”

“But-I made you talk about it.”

“It’s fine, really.”

I’m quick to walk over and wrap my arms around his neck. It takes a little longer than I expected, but I eventually feel his arms lock around me as mine did for him. I somewhat whisper these words to him as my chin remains over his shoulder, “You seem like a cool guy, Uncle.”

Kakashin pulls me back and gives me a more serious face. “You shouldn’t let your assumptions of people guide you so much, it can cloud your judgment.”

“Yes, Sir,” I blankly reply to him. He just lost his cool-guy act and became that person I don’t like who pulled me back from the door forcibly. I’m pretty sure that he means well, so maybe being patient with him would be best. “Uncle Kakashin.”

“Yes, Vila?”

“Do we have time for more questions?”

He allays his look at me and replies tenderly, “Yes, just enough for one more, then I must attend to an errand.”

I nod with seriousness in my action. “Okay, I want your honest opinion; what do you think about Granpa Vensen? Do you think he means well, or is he as evil as my parents say he is?”

“Your parents?” His voice seems rather tense.

“Y-yes, I met both my parents and they both told me that he’s evil.”

His red eyes widen to the enlightenment. “You met Kyyu, your mother?” Kakashin’s tenor sounds more panicked, like at the lav.

“Yes, Sir.”

My uncle lets go of me to pace with a few fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You left her alone?” His voice becomes hoarse and quivering like before.

“W-well, we were-interrupted, and then I woke up from my slumber.”

He stops and looks at me with horror, then pulls his gaze away from me again. It seems that he’s calming down and then walks up to me. “Vensen has probably already dealt with her then. What her punishment may be, he has yet to inform it to the rest of us.”

“Oh…” I become quiet with fear. I hope that running into her didn’t cause it… This is all my fault. My parents wouldn’t be in trouble, and so many people would still be alive today-if it wasn’t for me.

A hand on my head disrupts my thoughts, it’s Uncle Kakashin’s. The twinkle in his eyes comfort me as he forces another grin onto his stubborn lips. “Don’t worry so much for her, she’ll be fine. I should maintain my posture as well.”

I smile back and take in the moment. A sudden lurch disrupts the moment and I wake up to Haru standing over me. The moonlight barely illuminates her figure. My brain manages to process the warmth of her hand as it stays plastered onto my shoulder.

Before a single noise passes my lips, she covers my mouth with her hand. In a subdued whisper, she relays to me the words that no one wants to hear in the middle of the night,

“There’s a holin outside.”

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Armadon- A giant lizard-creature that is used as a mobile house, they are usually used in Aishy and cannot fly.