<Kaula POV>

I wish to know if Tokito is fine.

Slowly sinking into the water, my vision fades. Before my eyes sink below the water line I see in the steam, a vague shape of a hand reaching out to me.

……

 

*****

<Tokito POV>

“I’m okay now Makamae.”

I stand up from the ground to find I’m covered in dirt. Fixing myself up, I ready myself for what is to come next. To fulfill the wish for children.

Aaaauuuuugghh! I don’t like the fact I have to have kids with this guy. I mean, I know there no need to worry about giving my actual body to the jerk for the wish, but still….if this stupid stomach bug the result of me not finishing my end of the bargain. I don’t want to see what else might happen.

After finishing patting the dirt off myself and putting my mask back on, I stare at Amahte in contempt. Without giving him warning, I grabbed his hands. “Let’s finish this now.” I don’t want to be around you more than I have to, so please don’t make this weird.

“Oooooh! You’re finally ready to have kids.” Amahte smiling eyes turn serious as firmly holds me. “Yes! Come, come. Let us make the wish.” He closes his eyes as if in prayer.

Closing my own eyes, I feel the air grow thick with chaotic energy. However, the presence that controlled me from before didn’t come. Hopefully that was the last time I will ever be taken over. Feeling my hand being squeezed I get back into concentration.

Our legs lose their shape, becoming fog. Our hair whips into a tornado and, as if by instinct, at the same time we say, “We wish for children.” The air pulsates, thrumming and cackling with energy as the chaos slowly condenses. Leaving the surrounding in silence, the chaos ebbs away from us, compressing into four orbs. Like eggs, the orbs start shattering from the inside, spider web lines dancing across its surface.

The first two orbs open, each baring a greened toned boy and earthen skin toned girl around their early teens. Remarkably different from their siblings, the next orbs bore a completely green child and a child with my original skin tone, appearing around the age of toddlers. However, the green child had no face but both genders, while the other having facial features matching my original appearance didn’t have any gender to speak of. 

My smaller kids not having proper genders didn’t bother me. No, something else much more important hit me at that moment. My cheeks redden, as I realize my children were not wearing any clothes.

I hurriedly take out wolf pelts to cover up the kids, but was promptly stopped by Amahte. Shit! Don’t at the look at my kids you perv. However, my worries were unneeded. Amahte snipped his finger and clothes of both our styles appeared on the kids.

….Ok….. I was expecting he’d do something much more disturbing to my children…. Dang I’m already attached!.... Ok breath… back on track… where was I? Oh yeah! I guess even this perv can have his good moments. Paying more attention to my children now I give each one a look over.  Inspecting my children more closely I find the older boy has a blue tint to his green skin, and the girl with a red tint to her brown skin. Their hair and eyes are mixture of mine and Amahte. They didn’t really do anything but watch me. No. that’s not right. They were studying me as I studied them. Seeing them staring back at me, some weird part of me felt a puzzling elation, wondered if this is what parents feel when their children are put in their arms after birth.

I hug them close and share my breath as our nose touch, greeting them into the world, as my parents and grandparents did with me when I was born. My daughter and son didn’t react, but their younger looking siblings did. Huddling at my feet they tapped my leg. I release the first two siblings, only to quickly grab up their tinier siblings, and shared my breath with them.

Then I hear notifications I wasn’t ever expecting.

Ding! [You’ve successfully wished for four Djinns to be born! You have earned the title Father of Wishers.]

Ding! [Your negative karma has been cleared!]

Ding! [Due to extended time of not fulfilling the deal a punishment has been dealt to you and can no longer be undone! You’ve been tattooed with a Cursed Dimensional womb!]

Ding! [Due to your wish fulfilling more than the required amount, the punishment has turned into a reward! Cursed Dimensional Womb ~> Random Buff Dimensional Womb]

Ding! [Due to extended time of not finishing the deal the system had previously planted a Jinn into the Dimensional womb! Due to the change of the Dimensional Womb, the Jinn will no longer eat you from inside, but instead follow you like a faithful child.]

Ding! [Your chaos emission has increased in reaction to your title Father of Wishers! You can now solidify chaos energy to feed your children faster!]

Ding! [ERROR! ERROR! Beware! There may be random after effects despite your negative karma being cleansed! Due to an abnormally high increase in the amounts of chaos flowing from your person, chances of corrupting wild life has increased!]

In the absence of my attention Amahte grabs the hands of my two older children, pulling them away from me.

Keeping hold of my daughter and son he says, “Thanks for having my children. Ta Ta for now!” And proceeds to disappear in a plume of smoke. 

Astonished, I’m unable to react in time. Barely a second passed before Shaking off my stunned state. I swiftly run into the smoke waving it away in the hopes of finding them. But to no avail. The smoke clears to reveal Amahte and my children gone. All that was left in their place was a bag.

I stare at the bag not knowing what to do. Everything inside me froze. My other two children, dropped out of my grasp, try slapping my cheeks to bring me back to my senses. Unconsciously, I pat their heads and sit down, never moving my eyes off the bag.

A voice that seemed so far away whispered to me. “Tokito, are you ok?” Calamity asks. I say nothing, but begin taking out mask I prepared for myself, cover the heads of my little ones.

Calamity, silent for a bit, seeing me not react, starts a conversation all by itself…. Or was about to, but a loud squeaky yell stops its actions.

“Excuse me! Do happen to be-” the voice stops abruptly, then a thud is heard. The voice then picks back up saying, “Ah curse this long dress. Why’d that guild master have to choose a maids outfit for our uniform?! Um, excuse me! Are you the quabet that happens to be accompanying a Miss Belace?”

 I look up to find a mouse running my way. My nerves that was about to go for a free for all takes a 180 as I become engrossed in the fact a mouse wearing , a maid uniform?

The mouse, ignoring my inability to reply, presumes, “ Miss Belace has been taken away by the Fox Caravan and has asked me to send a message going ‘Lad, me and the young priest are in a bit of trouble and might not be back for some time. Either go on ahead of me or come inside, but don’t stick around if you can’t.’” Having finished the message the mouse turns around and heads back in the direction of the gates.

….What the hell! I back track my thoughts. First I get ordered around by more gods to do quest and told if I don’t stay alive the world will end. Then I have kids and two of them get taken away without me being able to do anything to stop it. Finally my teacher is now in trouble and I have to decide whether or not to head into this jungle of a city or leave her behind and hope to meet her again later….. What the fuck is going on?! Can’t I get a break for one goddamn minute!

In light of what just happened, I bend over as my head pounds into an aching drum roll. I feel little hands rubbing my back and sand paper tongue licking my hands. Makamae and my children try to comfort me as I attempt to soothe my head and heart of what’s happened, and what’s to come.

 

Little did I know or understand the implications of the systems recent actions. Unaware of what was happening under my shirt, a tattoo of a hook in the midst of rain manifested in the center of my back above my heart. 

 

******

< 3^rd Pov>

In the center of Horiz, in the most decorated office, a white cat paces back and forth disturbed at his findings in the most recent tax reports. From the monthly merchant guild reports, a shortage of money was found in the paper work. Especially, coming from the selling and trading points of the mercenary guild. For as much work as they’ve been receiving, they have yet to report their taxes and annual obligatory resource findings.

Someone’s being naughty. It might be time to crack down on that new mercenary guild leader-

Before the elderly cat can finish his thought, a nock can be heard from his office door.  A young voice goes on to say, “Excuse me, uncle Ucleos. An alchemist has found odd readings of chaos near the capital. Unfortunately, we cannot pinpoint the precise location of where the chaos is coming from.”

But first, I’ll have to deal with this new ordeal. Ucleos harrumphs, before saying enter. “Mischievous little kit. How many times have I told you, Cheshis, call me governor Ucleos while working, okay.” Ucleos berates fondly. Sighing he goes on to ask, “Where is the general direction of chaos coming from?”

Ucleos stops his pacing, watches the door open to reveal, a shy purple spotted female cat kin walking in, holding an odd shaped compass. Ucleos watches his niece set the device on the table, her tail fidgeting in freight of what she was told by the alchemist.

  “Well uncle the reading show that the chaos is coming from the direction of the south gate. However, for some unknown reason, the alchemist has found their readings to become obscured.” The purple haired cat kin shows the device. At first the arrow turns south, but slowly begins to spin, indicating the chaos spreading. “The closer the chaos gets the harder it is to track it. The alchemist doesn’t know what to do uncle.”

 Ucleos thinking, twirls his whiskers between his furry fingers, walks to his desk. Pointing at the chair in front of his desk, he sits down and peers through his papers, replies, “we don’t have the resources to put a stop anyone from entering and leaving the gates at this time. This situation couldn’t come at a worst time, especially since it’s peak season where we get the most travelers and traders to visit.” Looking at his documents on the missing cash, Ucleos remembers a monster that was the most sensitive to chaos without having to rely on it to live. Like how silver cups change color when reacting to poison, sliver slimes turned from silver will change when it near dense areas of chaos. Continuing to go through his documents, he orders, “Send out small elite team who have tamed silver slimes. Also, while at it, go along with them to check up on the mercenary guild. Their leader is starting to be a bit too presumptuous for my liking.”

Cheshis nods her head, then as if hearing sniffling on the wind, her furry tipped human ears twitch  and turn in the direction of the south gate.

She swiftly leaves the office to carry off her duty, leaving her uncle in silent solitude.

*****

Right before Tokito wished for the children.

<Kaula POV>

……

…………..

……………………?

Hm?

Why am I still breathing? I open my eyes, but instead of being in my bathtub, I found that I was in a space of deep blue water with no barrier in sight. At first alarmed, I scream but then realize I was underwater and attempt to hold my breath, but soon felt there was no true reason to do so. If I was to drown it would have happened by now. Soon accepting my non-impeding death, I precede to try to look around to see if I could identify anything familiar. The only thing to witness though was the vast ocean of emptiness.

Where am I? And how could I have possibly gotten here?

“You are in the door ways between worlds my dear.” Says a thunderous womanly voice. The voice crashed against me, and like waves pounding on the rocks for thousands of years, I felt as if I would turn sand with each word spoken. 

My vision, no my head, no my entire body spun, the strength of the words twirled me ferociously without any way for me to stop. Then as soon as it started it ended.

I felt warm, something I could not see was engulfing me into its embrace. “Oooh dear. E kala mai e kuʻu keiki. Don’t be scared,  l shall lift you on high to witness all of my glory in its true expanse.” The voice whispers gently.

I’m tugged upwards out of the water, clasping myself to hide from the cold air hitting my naked skin. Looking to see what brought me up I find myself swaddled by a large hand made entirely of water. I gasp, my eye traveling up from the hand, past the arm, and all the way up to the face of a giant woman. Stunned, I instantly recognize her from the stories passed down through my family and bow . The woman was exactly as my grandparents described her. Shells and seaweed woven throughout her moon lit hair, her dress reached from sea floor, and her skin, the color of the encompassing deep ocean.  She was the goddess of the Sea and the executioner of taboo breakers, Na-maka-o-kaha'i.

Bowing down, I wondered; Have what I done so terrible the goddess of the ocean must step in.  Have my transgressions of not throwing my sister and brother in law to sea so bad that even my soul will not be allowed to be forgiven. I felt a light tap on my head and braced for the worse. She really is punishing me!

However, what I thought to come didn’t happen, instead the sound of light laughter could be heard from above my head. “Look up child of the land, I want to see you properly.” I look up afraid. Na-maka-o-kaha'i only smiles at my shivering form, simply moves my hair from my face, closes the gap between us. “Child, there’s no need to shake in fear. I’m not here to punish you for something so small as funeral rites. Besides that’s one of my other siblings responsibilities.”

Mustering my courage, I ask, “then mother of deep waters, what pray tell have you summoned me for?” As if to answer, she takes her other hand and points past my head. Looking to where she pointed, I spot a beach in the distance.

“Didn’t you want to know how your nephew was?” Na-maka-o-kaha'i inquires back.

Paralyzed for a momentary second, I stare hard and saw several strange looking individuals on the beach. In the middle of all of them was a boy in hula festival clothing. My eyes widened, dumbfounded, I yell “ Tokito!” I did everything I could to get his attention; screaming, shouting, and finally flailing my hands into the air. Nothing worked though. Unable to get his attention I decide to jump.

However, I didn’t feel the engulfment of water, but instead felt a palm catch me into its hold. “Wait my darling. The boy can’t hear or see us. This door way can only be seen through by higher beings and those close to death.” Saddened, I watch me nephew through the goddess’s finger as he disappears to who knows where. I cry.

“Please tell me, does this mean he has already joined my sister in the realm of Lono¹ or that he’s been whisked away by spirits beyond this plane?” I plead the sea goddess of what has happened.

Na-maka-o-kaha'i smile perks into a smirk, “Second star, you were definitely the smarter of your other half. Your guess is more closer to the truth than you know” She points to the beings still standing on the beach. “It’s more or less that he’s been stolen to another world, by its Gods. Unfortunately, at the time of transference, my family nor I had any power to stop them. But you’ll be happy to know his body was healed in the process of transfering, so some good came out of it.”

So my nephew is alive and physically healthy. What about his mental state though? It feels like she’s holding back. Before I can ask anything more, I see one of the figures on the beach flying towards us.

As the being came closer, I saw its clothes moving in strange ways. What I thought was a flower crown and vine skirt would bob or curl as if alive. Suddenly, the being disappeared, only to appear right in front of us, allowing me to clearly see that the being was entirely made of plants.

As if meeting old acquaintances, the flowery crown greeted us pleasantly, “Hello water friends. What are you-” and then stopped. I felt my skin grow goosebumps, the vines of the flowery being tried to reach me through the fingers of Na-maka-o-kaha'i  . “Are you that child’s family?”

I nodded in answer, scared of what this being might possibly do if I spoke out of turn.

Seemly figuring out something the flowery being clapped its leafy together, “ Oooh, this is great! Maybe I can pay back that child after all.” The vines proceeds to touch my forehead. In doing so, my body seemed to lose energy and I fell into the still warm embrace of the Sea Goddess.

Na-maka-o-kaha'i  folds me into her hand and yells at the flowery one, “Now look what you’ve done! This one hardly has any energy left. And I still have much to say!” Na-maka-o-kaha'i brings me closer to her face. “Listen closely for there isn’t much time. All the misfortune that happened recently isn’t a coincidence! An anomaly from an entirely different plane has crossed over and has been kidnapping people left and right. Your family was only supposed to go through-”

Her face starts to fade, her voice becoming an echo, and feeling myself free falling from her hold my eyes close tightly expecting impact.  Suddenly, as if I hadn’t breathed for hours, I heave. Trying to take in air, I open my eyes to find my bathroom ceiling, returned. However, I wasn’t in my tub, but on the floor. A towel covered me and a glass of wine sat next to my head.

What?! How did I get on the bathroom floor?! Why is there a glass of wine- Then flashes of memories come to mind. I thought it was an illusion from too much blood loss, but I vaguely remembera hand reaching for me. Now I’m sure that hand was real! A person all in black picked me out of the tub and said something. A young male voice said ,“your not allowed to die yet. Things are just starting to get interesting now that your worlds gods are taking interest.’

My whole body shivers, feeling violated, I comprehend whoever broke in must’ve known the layout of my house pretty well to pour me wine. I sit up from the floor to retrieve my phone only to see writing on the wall. I cried in disgust and fear at what was there.

Your body is as beautiful as your sister and nephew. Hopefully the next time I see it, you’ll be fully conscious!

You bastard! When I find you I’m going to strangle you!

 

<3^rd POV>

Na-maka-o-kaha'I and Xofilipas stare at each other contemplating what could have interrupted the connection. Although the time was shortened due to Xofilipas inference it shouldn’t have ended that abruptly.

 Na-maka-o-kaha'I is the first to break the silence, her voice fierce, “Wild flower from across the plain, do you know what you’ve done to that woman?!”

Xofilipas nod showing a white orb above the vine she used to touch Kaula with. “I’ve taken a little bit of her soul, but she’ll heal eventually. Besides I need it to gift to the little one for when he wishes up kids. With this and the other two souls of his family, I’ll have repaid him for what he gave my children!”

Na-maka-o-kaha'i shakes her head,“ And in the meantime you’ve caused a poor fragile soul to feel intense pain. It may not show now, but the scar left on her soul will be apparent in every action she does. Her mistrust in people will intensify, and her faith of us gods lower.” And the worst of this situation was that I was unable to let her meet her parents. They waited so long to talk to her…..Sighing, Na-maka-o-kaha'i watches the flowery goddess return to the beach giving the souls over to a woman in black clothing. The woman then proceeds to reincarnate the souls through her orb, is she sending those souls to the nephew to be reborn as his children? Wouldn’t the memories become sealed?...... Na-maka-o-kaha'i shakes her head pondering what these gods could be up to. At least I know the anomaly didn’t come from that world, but then where did it come from? And where is it now?

 

 

 

E kala mai e kuʻu keiki = Sorry my child.

¹ Lono : the God of peace, Music, Learning, and cultivated foods.