- CHAPTER TWO -

𝓑𝓾𝓰𝓼, 𝓕𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓢𝓹𝓮𝓮𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓼

 

Steam rolled around over the marble floors and out the shower doors. Boiling water cascading down from the shower above, mixing with drops of crimson that fell freely as they both swirled together into the drain below. The frantic sound of George’s scrubbing was drowned out by the sound of water hitting the tiles as he rubbed his arm in disgust, not caring as he pulled back layer after layer of white skin.

Five minutes of scrubbing later, his arm raw and bleeding, he finally fell against the glass wall of the shower, breathing raggedly. His body shivered slightly, holding back the rising bile in his throat. Even though he had finally stopped, it wasn’t enough; his arm still felt like it was covered in dirt and tiny creatures were crawling over it. 

Resting his head against the warm steamy glass as his hair fell in front of his eyes and water rolled over and off his reddened, naked back, he felt utterly revolting as he thought back to what he had done earlier. 

"Your Highness, did you say something?" Rylee questioned, not having quite heard him, having been more concerned with pulling herself up and straightening her uniform.

Glancing at Rylee from the corner of his eye as he faced the window overlooking the city, he couldn't help but compare her to Mae, and Alish. Her slightly tanned skin looked dry, her hair dull and filled with split ends, and her face terribly unsymmetrical and hollow. And while it was terribly unfair to compare her to a goddess of lust and a goddess of fire – two divinities that were bound to make their holders attractive if they weren’t before – he still couldn't believe how hideous mortals could look. Sighing to himself again, he just closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, I was only thinking that you look more ugly than usual today."

Feeling his ever distant and cold maid practically burn a hole in his back at his words brought a small smile to his lips as he stood there silently, until, not even a moment later, he realised he had not only touched but pressed his arm against her filthy mortal body, and his stomach twisted.

Turning around, he ran towards the bathroom, making sure to not touch the visibly paling Rylee as he did. 

Bursting into the bathroom, not bothering to take off his underwear as he jumped under the shower, he violently turned the knob as high as it could go. However, it was too late. Even as the burning water splashed over his back and he released a muffled groan, he could already feel them crawling over him. Dirtying his body as they moved about unseen on his skin.

Pulling himself out of the shower, George grabbed a towel off the nearby rack and dried himself off, chucking it away once he was finished – Rylee would make sure to chuck out the bloody and ruined towel.

“What an awful way to start the day.” He told the pale, curly, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed teen in the bathroom mirror, his knuckles white as he gripped the base. “Who knew being a mortal was so disgusting and came with so many annoying problems.”

“If these people did not live on such a barren rock, I wouldn’t have to live like this. And now, as if my Mysophobia wasn’t enough, I have to deal with the fact that I dream now” he grumbled to the mirror before muttering. “If indeed it even was a dream…”

The reflection shook his head in exasperation, then turned and left as George walked over to another cabinet and grabbed some bandages. He didn’t want to think about the dream and was glad for something to distract him.

Nineteen years since I’ve been reborn, and I still can’t believe being a mortal can be so challenging, he thought, while twirling the white porous fabric around his arm and walking out the bathroom.

He had never been afraid of getting dirty before, the world he lived in not making it possible, but here, here the people were so backwards that they still hadn’t completely separated themselves from the low animals and the even lower creatures which crawl on them. Granted it wasn’t their fault, the low amount of ambient mana on this world gave their bodies no incentive to take control over it and purify itself.

Thankfully, his predicament would soon be over. With the ambient mana in all things rising as the wild mana in the storms dissipated into mana in the air whenever a lightning strike hit, humans were being forced to evolve. Unfortunetly this did also mean that what little of humanity remained had been given another ultimatum after they survived the first one: either their bodies took control over the mana that would get more and more chaotic in their bodies or they die as mana sickness takes them. 

While they wouldn’t get turned into ghouls if they failed and it was a lot less violent process than those who were outside of London's protection where they only had a 0.01 one per cent chance at surviving due to the higher ambient mana, it would still no doubt kill half the population of London.

Annoyingly, other than his younger sister and brother who he had helped before they were born, this also meant his Grandmother and a few others would be affected. He couldn’t even help any of them because he was too weak and their own bodies too stubborn; it was why he was trying to develop a medicine to shock the body into accepting mana and unravel the knot they had all unknowingly developed.

Seeing Rylee still standing there once he walked back into his room, the usually stoic girl shivering and as pale as a sheet as she stared at his bandaged arm, he shoved his worries to the back of his mind and sighed helplessly. Another good maid lost, he lamented.

He knew why the girl was scared, terrified even. The stories swirling amongst the maids about him, stories that said he had killed a maid after they had touched him, often overheard as he walked through his Grandmother's home – he wasn’t oblivious. It was why someone weird like Rylee had been picked to serve him; no one else could stand in front of him without becoming a shivering and bumbling mess, worried that he might one day kill them.

Walking over and into his wardrobe and grabbing a pair of pale chinos off the hook, he started talking to Rylee outside as he pulled them up. “I will inform Grandmother that you will be requiring a new position after today,” hesitating as he grabbed a blue shirt when he heard her starting to breathe heavily, he glanced outside. “Is something wrong?”

“Your Highness, p-please don’t s-send Rylee away!” she stuttered. “I-it was an accident, Rylee promises s-she won’t do anything like this again!”

“I thought you would want to quit,” he said out loud, voicing his confusion. The girl was clearly afraid so why would she want to stay? “Were you not shaking because you thought I was going to kill you?”

A small silence followed before Rylee answered, sounding terribly confused. “Why would you kill Rylee, your Highness?”

The visage of a smile tugged at his lip as his shoulders relaxed hearing her. “Indeed, why would I kill you for something that was clearly my own fault?” Why had I expected her to act like the other maids when she had put up with me this long? He questioned mentally. The girl had served him for four years and she had never been afraid of him even after she had watched him do some questionable things. During all that time she had never once acted afraid of him.

“Why are you shaking then?” 

“R-Rylee thought you were going to fire her and Rylee r-really, really needs this job!” she burst out, fingers rolling over each other the only physical sign the stoic girl was stressed. Ah, she was probably scared she won’t be able to find a job if she gets fired from here, he thought.

He mulled it over for a moment. He had read a little of her file and knew she had a brother that came over with her from Europe so it wasn’t surprising that she needed money and was scared he would fire her. “I see…” he said, turning back around. “Then I guess everything is fine then.”

“Then you won't fire Rylee?”

Waving off the question with a brief flourish of his hand, he rolled his eyes now that she couldn’t see his face. “No, I won’t fire you.”

Slipping on a white denim jacket and grabbing some white gloves off the side, George checked himself out in the mirror quickly. Looking at the clean-cut and well-fitted outfit, his mood lifted. Despite his grievances with the less than appealing appearances of everyone around him he had to admit they had style, the fashion often taking him by surprise with their simplistic and comfortable designs. Having long ago gotten bored of the flashy and bombastic robes everyone seemed to wear in the higher realms – and after his sister said he dressed like a creep – he had decided to take an interest in mortal clothing.

Once he was satisfied he walked out and headed towards the kitchen to get something to eat before he had to head for class. He wasn’t in a hurry he just tended to draw a lot of attention when he walked into class late and that was something he didn’t need today with his mind preoccupied with his recent experience in dreamworld.

Opening the cabinets he glanced around a bit before grabbing some flour, butter, baking powder, and sugar before reaching into the fridge and grabbing some milk, strawberries, blueberries and eggs; planning to make some pancakes. If it was before he had been reborn he would have only eaten when he was celebrating or forced to try some exotic meat by Alish, let alone cook something for himself; however, needs were a must when all the morals around him apparently couldn’t cook for the life of them. 

Honestly, despite how bothersome it was, he found the process of making food enjoyable and was glad he had asked his Grandmother to find someone to teach him after he got annoyed at having to force down the wet flavour cardboard they called food every day. Granted he could only do so much with the basically manaless ingredients but it was still something.

Finishing up, he plated it all up and sat down at the centre island and began eating as Rylee finally walked in, her fingers no longer trying to play an invisible instrument as she handed him his phone in a gloved hand. Reaching for his phone he spared a glance at Rylee.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Rylee is feeling much better your Highness. Thank you for asking,” pausing for a second she continued. “Rylee will be sure to never let something like this happen again.”

George scoffed as he went back to eating. How was she meant to stop him if he did something like that again? Overpower him? Unlikely… 

Shifting through his notifications, the usually bright and uplifting news that keeps everyone's mind off the outside world, he stopped at a news report on the tenth-anniversary commemoration of the southern London disaster that his family appeared to be holding.

Guess they can’t really ignore an incident that killed over ten and a half million people and refugees, he thought absentmindedly as he swiped up the live video attached, the video silently appearing on a TV across the room. 

His Grandmother sat delicately on a chair in the White Drawing Room with her hands crossed in front of her, medical equipment beeping at the side as she talked to the camera.

[“...you, and to the honoured heroes, our country is forever grateful.

“Regrettably, it would be a mistake and a great disservice to the people who laid down their lives on that day and the people watching at home if I was to say that something like this will never happen again. 

“We witnessed that our walls were vulnerable, fragile to the world we had once governed over. All of us witnessed the viciousness of the world we now live in, the disaster and destruction those monsters that lurk outside our walls revealed. All of us could hear God’s terrible silence. Many will struggle with the loneliness that was cut into them that day, the loss of family, friends and loved ones too much to bear.

“However, to those who choose to hide away from these trying times, to those who choose to give up and not to battle on as we fight extinction, I can only say humanity does not need people like you. From now on, times will continue to challenge in ways we had never expected, more people will die and fall due to our mistakes.

“But, my comfort to you at home who is worried about your children and their future; I say this…

“Not all is lost. In these trying years, we have learned a lesson that we as humanity dearly needed: The world we live on is not here for our comfort, it is not here for us to trample over as we move forwards. No, the world is against us, its armies gathered. And now, just like every other creature we once looked down upon, we will have to fight for our place on it.

“My subjects, while my words were harsh, I hope you will not see them as a deterrent but the motivation that pushes you forwards and helps you overcome this challenge.

“Till next time”]

The connection cut off as the video ended. Placing his fork down, his meal unfinished, George leaned back in his chair. Maybe it was his dream that had made him feel lonely but he decided to strike up a conversation with Rylee.

“What do you think? About my Grandmother's speech, I mean.”

Rylee shook for a second before replying. “Rylee thought her Majesty’s speech was excellent your Highness.”

Humming lightly, he nodded his head. His grandmother was one of the few mortals, and the only adult in his new family, that he had any respect for. When he had been reborn he didn’t speak to a single person and just sat in his room ignoring everyone unless they had come to feed him, unable to even bring himself to talk or even learn the language of something so clearly beneath him – he probably would have done so till he was allowed to strike out on his own given his own stubbornness and patience he had crafted during his time as a god. But, one day, his Grandmother had come to his room and despite being ignored she had just sat there and talked to him about random things. 

There had been two things he had realised back then: one, his Grandmother was very crafty and within three weeks she had managed to get his attention; and two, his Grandmother was a fledgling devil, her wrath and childishness only restrained by her ageing body. Two things which he only saw again, and displayed in front of people, once the storms had gotten close to the country and she took back control of Britain.

“Yes, I thought so too. It was also very much needed. People were too lazy and weak-willed before this disaster, and now, now that someone has forced their hand, they are struggling to see anything but the mess in front of them.”

All of a sudden a thought popped up in his head. “Were you amongst the refugees during that incident Rylee?”

“Rylee was your Highness.”

“And?”

“Rylee was rescued?” she replied, clearly confused about what he was trying to ask.

I meant what it was like, you silly girl… Palming his face, he gave up trying to have a meaningful conversation and got up. “Is the car ready?”

“Yes your highness”

“Then let us get going, I don’t want to show up late.” Saying so, he got up and headed to the elevator that would take him down to the garage floor.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Watching his Highness leave, Rylee felt her muscles relax. It is always stressful looking after his highness but today had been one disaster after another for Rylee, she thought as she quickly grabbed a piece of Tupperware from a cabinet and started putting his highness leftover food inside – her brother would like the pancake his Highness made.

Rylee had just been having a normal day: she had done a quick clean of his Highness's big apartment, making sure everything was in its place; then she had grabbed his Highness’s clothes she had made sure to wash the night before and quietly hung them up in his highnesses wardrobe always making sure to wear gloves while she did. 

All of sudden she paused, looking down at her skin like she had done a thousand times. Still no bugs, she thought. His Highness had once told her why he made her wear them but she didn’t understand, something about bugs crawling over her skin that he didn’t want to get on his body. 

Shaking her head, she continued packing away the food. In the end, it didn’t matter, she would just do what she was told like she always had.

Rylee frowned as her thoughts go back on track. However, that was when things had gone topsyturvy for Rylee. She had come out of the wardrobe and seen his Highness wiggling about like a worm. In the ten years since she had been picked to serve him, she had come to accept that his Highness was a robot, unmoving and unfeeling while he was recharging in his bed. She was sure of it. After all, all humans have dreams and nightmares, but his Highness, his Highness didn’t, not a single one in the entire time she had served him.

Even Rylee has dreams and nightmares, she thought. But that didn’t matter, she had made a mistake when she had tried to check up on his highness like she did when her brother had nightmares, and his highness had suddenly grabbed her and started shouting at her.

When he finally stopped and got off her, she had found it very hard to breathe and she didn’t like it. Rylee nodded to herself, another thing to add to her small list of dislikes, Rylee definitely doesn’t like not breathing.

Unfortunately, her mistakes seemed to come in pairs as she quickly realised she had made another one, and, for the first time since she had been saved by the Empire, she felt a feeling she recognise bubble up inside her. Fear. And as his highness had run past her, she could only stand there templing.

Rylee frowned to herself as she finished packaging the food. Luckily his highness is nice and didn’t fire Rylee for her mistakes. Rylee will do better next time and not get grabbed by his Highness. 

Nodding to herself, she quickly put the food in the fridge so she could pick it up later when she got off work and ran over to the emergency staircase so she can arrive at the same time as his Highness.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Walking out the elevator as Rylee slipped in to step behind him with a slightly red face, and making his way through a decompression chamber, George gracefully made his way across the underground garage and to the car park only a few metres away. 

He couldn’t help relaxing slightly already as he bent low, ducking so he could get his tall frame in the highly modified Rolls-Royce spectre as his driver, Alvin, held the door open for him; because, if there was one thing other than fashion he enjoyed, it was the comfort these humans could come up with.

Relaxing into the comfortable leather seats, he thought back to all the modes of transport the gods realm had. Since the place was the epitome of power you got beings from all over, and as such the place had more than enough options, yet despite that, not a single one had ever explored the road these people had travelled on. 

He smiled lightly. Then again, how often do you find a planet still containing intelligent life yet also having such little mana? If they didn’t want to be sitting on hard lumps all day of course they would come up with something like ergonomics and push it to the extreme.

Just as he had gotten comfortable, his body tensed again, his mind wandering back to things he didn’t want to think about. Trying to distract himself he looked out the window as the car pulled out from a second decompression chamber at the exit and out onto the streets of Shaftesbury Avenue.

The streets were utterly packed with workers rushing about as they tried not to be late for work, not a single one not wearing a metal mask across their lower faces; the roads barren apart from buses and the occasional car that only the most important people could now own due to the ban and shortage of materials; the horizon filled with towering skyscrapers that had been built after his Grandmother tore down most of the historical buildings in the centre of London; and finally, the sky filled with its ever-present display of magical lightning bouncing off the invisible shield.

It had started looking like this for the last eight years since his Grandmother managed to restore some semblance of order in the two years after Russia condemned the world to its storm hell. 

George shook his head. While most people condemned Russia for what they did, he didn’t. They may have started it but it wasn’t completely their fault. War is just part of the cycle for most species and they couldn’t have known that their nuclear weapons would break something they had no clue about. If they hadn't done it, someone else would have done it eventually. It was inevitable.

When he had first found out what a nuclear bomb was and how it worked he had been astonished; humans had actually succeeded in a forbidden type of magic only the gods allow themselves to use. In higher realms, what people here called Atoms was actually known as Matoms, a conduit from which all mana flows. Extensive research had been done on them and it was well documented what would happen if you broke one open completely – such was why it was forbidden in the first place. Humans till how had only managed to deform the outer casing causing them to split apart and release a small amount of wild mana but this time they completely shattered them causing wild mana to explode out continually till the conduit manages to shut itself. If this had been done in the higher realms, and on a magically attuned material, wild mana would have exploded out so violently that the entire universe would collapse on itself and created a small ball of metal called Luominium. George had sweated profusely that day and thanked the Source that this was a barren rock in the lower realm. 

Feeling the car begin to slow down, George stop his wandering thoughts and took another look outside. The car had just pulled into the gates of the Imperial Royal College and was heading towards the medical district.