Chương 72: Koi And a Cat

A large, blinding portal cut through the nightly silence of a long, fenced backyard overlooking a peaceful koi pond, over which a small red bridge led to a nice two-story Dutch-style house with a richly decorated catio connected to one of the first-floor windows. The blades of grass danced in sync with the whirring portal, while nearby apple tree branches swung up and down. Maximus was the first to appear, followed by Jade, and moments later, Silex and Vesper joined as well.

Once all four of them were there, the portal shut with a loud hum, sending a ripple through the neatly kept grassy field. Alert: Leveling is possible again, but experience gain is lowered due to not finishing the Trials. Alert: The Liberator trait has activated. Alert: Earth Realm has blessed you with the Gift of Tongues blessing.

Gift of Tongues – A realm known for its countless cultures and traditions has blessed you with an understanding of countless tongues. Note: You can now understand even those who are not participants of the Astrae Initiative.

Oh, so that's why I could understand everyone in the Trials. It's not that they speak the same language, but that the system makes us all understand each other. Amazing, and now I don't have to worry about understanding others. What a wonderful blessing. He bowed to the ground. Thank you, Earth Realm.

"Here we are. Earth!" Maximus spoke, smiling as he raised his head, inhaling fragrant summer air and observing the night sky. A large full moon shone brightly over the land, and countless stars littered the sky, making Maximus lose his breath for a moment.

"So, this is how a true night sky looks? Truly majestic. And each of these flickering lights a realm of its own?" He observed, his heart beating faster. Can these humans travel to all these realms? Unbothered by false laws and rules? His thoughts raced.

"Boss, how come this sky is different from the one back home?" Vesper asked, his lupine instincts awakened by the true moon's call.

"The sky in the planes is probably artificial, a canvas painted over by Astrae, but this here is the true sky and moon. You see, even in my old world, there were no lights in the sky, only Luna and Sol, and even if we flew into space, there was nothing beyond the sun's orbit." Maximus recalled, his fury slowly simmering.

"You see, I questioned Mother, but she was never willing to give me an answer. Still, I felt that there was something wrong there. Some unnatural emptiness, if you will. So, I turned towards my studies, and after centuries, I finally managed to break into another realm, that being the nest of the snake god." Maximus smiled, recalling the shock on Apep's face when a mortal barged in.

From his talks with the snake, after old Aurelius beat him up nicely, he found out about other realms, gods, and all sorts of wondrous things. After that encounter, Aurelius spent centuries trying to pry the truth from his mother's wooden lips, eventually inventing Realm Magic through his research, but never actually being able to find his way to true inhabitable realms, not counting the Primordial realms he managed to tap into to create all those magnificent spells.

Well, not until Mother died and the truth became clear, that, for some reason, she had held them all captive, cutting off their right to connect to the Myriad of Realms.

"I see, so this is the true world. The place where we were born is a false one..." Vesper spoke, his mind drifting to the stars.

"Oi, you two wise old men. Are we going to stand here for the whole damn night chatting, or are we going to figure out where the hell we are?" Silex grumbled.

"I might jump into these shallow waters if you prolong this any further," Silex warned as he observed the group of koi. White fish colored with blotches of red swam under the moonlight, scattering as Silex approached. He observed his reflection and grinned.

"I truly am beautiful. Look at these scales, this perfect snout, and the teeth. Oh, the teeth, what perfection." He laughed loudly.

"Hah, listen to this ugly mug." One of the fish chuckled.

"Truly delirious." Another chimed in.

"What did you say?!" Silex growled, scaring them away.

"Wait, we can understand them?" Maximus gasped as he knelt by the pond.

"Well, yes. We can speak with any animal that is not driven to madness." Vesper nodded.

"And I should only be able to speak to my beasts and weaker animals. So, this counts as well?" Maximus smiled.

"Hey, pretty fish. Can you let me know if you know me?" Maximus shouted, trying to gather some information. He was not certain if he had been returned to the exact spot he had been taken from, and if he had been attacked here.

"Oi, husband. These ugly things can understand us!" A perfectly red koi shouted to the only black, bulky one, its body long and glistening.

"Who is trying to take my woman?!" A low, raspy voice erupted, sounding as if the fish had been a heavy smoker for years.

"These bastards are all crazy. Let me eat them!" Silex growled.

"Aye, come at me then, bruh. Let me show you who the big fish is in this pond!" the black koi thundered. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"What in the Nine Hells!" Maximus muttered, truly shocked at the insane fish.

"Silex, please move away. This is going to escalate further..." Maximus spoke. Jade buzzed above Silex as if telling him to listen.

"Fine, fine. So be it. But one wrong word, and I'll show 'em!" Silex muttered, moving further to the back.

"Aren't you one, though, gecko? Fighting poor fish." Vesper chuckled.

"Shut it, furry corpse!" Silex hissed, clearly pouting.

"Oh, wise fish leader. Can you tell me if you know me? Have you seen this face before?" Maximus ignored the ridiculousness of the situation and tried to treat the proud fish with respect.

"Aye, Red, you skinny fool. How could I not know you? You fed me when I was but a sardine!" The koi rasped, clearly familiar with old Maximus.

"You see, I've lost my memories and do not know much of my life here any longer," Maximus started, but was rudely cut off.

"Aye, I would guess as much. Holy shit, brother, you colored my damn pond red. I couldn't find my own damn woman for hours among all the red. Luckily, that woman of yours came later and cleaned it all nicely. Even feeds us daily. We thought you were sent to the brighter shores, brother..." The koi rasped, clearly sentimental about Maximus.

"I see. So, I was attacked here somewhere and fell into your pond? And do you know what happened then?" Maximus pressed.

"No clue, brother. Some crazy light hit us all like a rock, and then you were gone, though not the redness. That stayed, brother, and that shit tasted like, well, shit." The koi explained.

"I see. So, I was attacked here, fell into the pond, and before I could die, was sent into the Planes, where real Maximus died, and I took over." Maximus nodded.

"Alright, I get it."

"Did you see who attacked me, maybe? And who is this woman of mine?" Maximus asked suspiciously.

"No clue. What am I, a spy? I don't care about the land world, brother. I have a pond to run. And I don't know your woman. Why would I? I got my own, a couple of 'em, brother. All thanks to you! If you are bored, you could bring a few more, you know." The koi lowered his voice, trying to play it cool.

"Oi, you black bastard. What did you just say?!" A red koi shouted.

"Ah, damn your good hearing, you seal!" The black koi rasped back.

"Now I'm in damn trouble with the missus. Well, that's all. I have to go, brother. Try not to fall in my pond again, alright?" He rasped and swam away, his smaller children following him. A woman? Did she do it? Is she Maximus's woman? Damnit, this is going to be complicated... He sighed and stood. He inspected his left palm, which still showed the number 29, though it was barely visible now. Alright, we have a decent amount of time. Might as well try to investigate as much as possible.

It would be good to learn more about Earth and everything else. To seem less lost when I return. Oh my, I am getting all giddy. He smiled brightly.

"Haha, look at this bastard smiling. Are we going to fight something?" Silex laughed giddily as well.

"Not now, but probably. As far as I am aware, this world is full of monsters and beasts. Maybe even dragons, who knows. It will be fun, my friend!" Maximus chuckled.

"Sometimes you two are just alike." Vesper shook his head.

"Nobody asked you..." Silex muttered.

"Let's go into the house. Hopefully, we can enter without breaking anything." Maximus suggested and stepped over the red wooden bridge towards the back door, right next to the catio. He grasped the odd-looking handle and tried to push and pull, but nothing happened. Hmm, do their doors work differently? Do I need some sort of password or to inscribe a Runeword? He thought, then started to shake it until he pressed downward at random, and the door clicked open. Oh, so you need to press down and push. Simple enough!

He stepped inside, his eyes shifting to lupine, and observed a long hallway with a large kitchen to the right with all sorts of appliances, though he had no idea what any of them were. Then, as he took another step inside, a light above his head turned on, shining over the whole kitchen and the hallway that led into another room to the left, another hallway to the right after the kitchen, and the front doors at the end next to the stairs that cut to the right, leading upstairs.

"How did you make it light up? A magic?" Vesper questioned.

"No, my friend, I did nothing. As soon as we entered, this light crystal above us ignited. It would seem that it is a spell that shines light when someone steps underneath." Maximus guessed, though he thought he was probably correct. Then, before they could move forward, a mighty, firm voice echoed from the stairs, high and somewhat forceful.

"Who dares enter my home? Christina, you wench, is that you? Did you bring that expensive litter that I like? I told you that this one clumps horribly, oh, you poor excuse for a servant!" The voice continued but grew quieter as finally a fifty-centimeter-long, quite fluffy and somewhat fat ginger cat walked out. Its belly and neck were white, while the rest burned with a majestic ginger hue, as if kissed by fire.

"Ahm, well, if it isn't the one that got away? Max, you bag of bones, where were you? I had Christina look for you, but she is quite dense, so I truly did not expect you to be found. So, did you bring me any food worthy of I, Mochi the Butcher?" The cat meowed, yet Maximus understood every word.

"Haha, listen to this little one. I like you, orange rat! You are my type of bastard!" Silex suddenly wiggled behind Maximus, coming into view. The cat hissed.

"Aaaah, intruder! Damn you, Max, you useless oaf. Can't even protect your own royal master!" Mochi cried and ran to the second floor.

"See what you did? Poor little one..." Vesper shook his head.

"What? How is this my fault?" Silex argued.

"Jade, can you please watch the perimeter? If you notice anything, come get me straight away. Sprout, Embi, come on out." Maximus ordered.

"Sprout, please assist Jade with keeping watch. Embi, be alert in case of intruders." Maximus commanded his spirits.

"You two..." He turned to Silex and Vesper.

"Stay here. Do not touch anything until we figure out if there are any dangers here. You can go to the left and rest. Embi, turn on the fire in the fireplace for them." Maximus added and slowly climbed up the stairs. Well, kitty, I hope that you can help me fill in the gaps... Another odd character, huh? He shook his head. It seemed that any beast he met was somewhat crazy. Could it be me? Do I attract the crazy? He chuckled despite himself as he turned to the right. ‎