The steady tap-tap of the old man and the young boy filled the air, as both sides moved and captured pieces one after another. The nature of draughts was that an opportunity to capture must be taken where possible, something that the little kid had turned to his advantage moments after learning the rules.

As for how Weiwu came across the game, Gaius had no idea. But it was interesting to watch the two play, and after setting the stove to simmer, he turned to watch a child pit his wits against a great god.

He turned away, unable to watch anymore, after the Chanter of Innocents was beaten down. The great god, for some reason, was playing too defensively, which turned around to bite him in the rear the moment the kid tossed out a piece and forced him to capture it. A few moves later, Weiwu was getting ravaged by the kid’s incisive push, and soon, a bunch of kings were slaughtering his remaining forces.

Gaius had a feeling that the great god had chosen draughts to make a certain point, but since he was the one getting thrashed by his opponent, Gaius had no idea what Weiwu wanted to tell him in the first place.

“Alright, stew’s ready,” Gaius announced, after the kid wiped the floor with Weiwu. “We can continue this game later.”

Ignoring the pleading looks from both sides, he carried the pot over. After removing the mittens that covered his hands, he filled up three bowls and slid two over to the two…rivals. Or friends. Or competitors.

He wasn’t too sure which, but the senior-junior pair had some kind of intense rivalry emanating from their eyes now, if Gaius didn’t get it wrong. The great god’s stare alternated between the little kid and the gameboard filled with black pieces over and over, while the kid’s eyes were alight with what looked like joy.

Gaius cleared his throat. “Alright, eat up before it gets cold.”

Without paying attention to the rest, he began to drink from his bowl. The sounds of slurping filled the air a moment later, and after a few minutes of continuous drinking and eating, the pot of stew was gone.

“How’s it, kid?” Gaius asked. “Was it good?”

“Good. Yes.”

Gaius closed his right eye and looked at him with the other. There was definitely something a bit off about the child, but he couldn’t place it. It was probably an issue with an incomplete soul, though, and his parents would be worried if he didn’t come back on time.

“It’s late,” he said. “You should go home to your parents.”

“No. Parents.”

Gaius glanced at Weiwu. “What’s going on?”

“He is, to use the words of people here, a newborn like you,” Weiwu replied. “Newborns are people who do not have a familial relation to anyone; they appear randomly. In truth, however, it is a problem that happens only to those with incomplete souls, since it’s possible that the missing bits happen to store information about familial ties.”

“In other words, he’s an orphan.” Gaius drummed his fingers on the table. “It’s not like I have no experience in taking care of them, but what happens when I leave?”

“You could, for instance, make sure that he at least has some skills,” Weiwu replied. “Aren’t you sculpting now? Make him your apprentice.”

Gaius opened his right eye and turned to the kid. “You heard the old man. Do you want to learn from me?”

“Learn? Food, get?”

“Yes, yes. You’ll get to stay here too. And play draughts with him whenever he drops by,” Gaius replied. “How about it?”

“Happy. Want to!” The kid smiled, and Gaius breathed out slowly. Back on Earth, people usually dropped off children who had lost their parents, or little babies that were abandoned on his orphanage’s doorstep. Times where he convinced homeless children to live with the others in the orphanage were few and far between, and—

It seems that my memories are returning more and more. Is it a side-effect of being Weiwu’s chosen? Gaius glanced at the great god, but he didn’t seem to be capable of reading minds like what he did back then. He tossed the matter to the back of his head and said, “Do you have a name?”

“La-Ti,” the kid replied. “I. Think.”

“La-Ti, eh? You’ll be my apprentice for now on. Make sure to learn as much as you can from me,” Gaius said. “After all, I’ll vanish in a year or so.”

“Or slightly faster, depending on your healing,” Weiwu said.

“You heard the old man.” Gaius got up, bringing the pot with him. “You two can continue playing. I’ll ready a small mattress for La-Ti to sleep in.”

The regular tap-tap resumed moments after these words left his mouth. After doing the dishes, he went to the only general store in the street, tossed an energy crystal at the shopkeeper there, and then came back with a full set of bedding and children’s clothes.

He was just in time to see Weiwu’s utter defeat once again. Concealing his urge to snicker, Gaius laid out the mattress, placed the clothes on it, and then got the kid to shower and change.

“How are you still losing?” Gaius asked. “You’re a great god. You’re supposed to be the crystallisation of power, intelligence and everything else in this world.”

“My opponent is just a child,” Weiwu replied. “I can’t go around using my divine powers just to beat him at draughts.”

“But you’re going to let it get to him. Can’t you at least put up a decent fight?” Gaius asked.

“No.” The great god stood up. “I’ll be dropping by tomorrow again. But make yourself free for the afternoon. Something’s going to happen then, and you need to familiarise yourself with yet another key duty of the Abyss Sovereign.”

“Another key duty?”

“You’ll find out soon,” he replied. “See you tomorrow.”

Before Gaius could say anything, the great god vanished. That said, Gaius knew that he could simply exit Cybral and talk to him from there, but it would scare his apprentice if the kid came out to see no one around.

Restraining the urge to chase after Weiwu, Gaius packed up the draughts set, and then tossed himself onto the bed, and began to think about Orb.