13 Chapter 13: Dinner For Four

"Hey Rykar, you wanna see my book?"

. . .

"Aaaah my arm feels so weird when it activates, you know what I mean? Oh, wait…"

. . .

"Hey hey, wanna see something cool? Don't look away!"

. . .

Ooooh what's this? Looks like Bolt brought back another rabbit! Don't worry, you can put your net away again, we share after all."

. . .

They say that time passes at different speeds for different people. That was exactly what had been occurring between Rykar and Loki since the Book of Greed had first appeared.

On one hand, Loki was having the time of his life. At every opportunity he would summon and dispel the Book of Greed, black mist fluttering around him at all times throughout the day. It got to the point that he couldn't be more familiar with the process. To an extent, he could now even effect how dramatically the book materialised, throwing black mist into the air around him or having it appear without disturbance.

He couldn't get enough of showing it off to Rykar at every chance so of course he never opted for the latter. Dark mist would flare up randomly while eating, hunting or 'reading', there was always a chance to slide in some gloating in order to incense his brother.

This is also the moment Rykar fell into the pits of hell. It felt like he was being haunted by the spirits of the damned as he listened to his brother whittling on while having to pretend to notice none of it. There were countless occasions where he was nearly unable to restrain himself and resort to punching him in the face, but he always simmered his rage and turned away, pretending to fall asleep with ragged breaths.

With Rykar's rapidly increasing appetite, he was now eating around four times a day, and this definitely reflected in his physique. While his brother looked healthy yet thin, Rykar had already began toning up with traces of muscle developing as his strength already surpassed Loki by around a fourth.

There was no doubt that if it came to a fight Rykar would be the victor, but Loki would have also come out satisfied by knowing he had gotten under his brother's skin. That was the thing with Loki, he would gladly suffer a bloody nose and a few bruises if that was the cost of driving his brother insane and Rykar knew this all too well.

This was a war of attrition and for Rykar, who was on the losing side, time couldn't be moving more slowly.

. . .

"Who's there!?" A man shouted before jumping up from the ground. Standing in front of a startled younger looking woman, his right hand tightly gripped a sharp knife which flickered as the warm light from a fire glanced off its smooth surface. "I know you're there, come out! We don't mean harm."

Hearing his calls, Loki and Rykar who were crouched behind a dense bush revealed complicated expressions. Truth be told, this was the first sign of people that they had come across since leaving the village and they were eager to find out more about them. However, they also knew what kinds of misunderstandings would arise if they were to reveal themselves.

"Please, its just me and my girlfriend. If there's anyone there, we would love to share a meal, even just to talk! We could all use a friend out here…" The man continued with a softer voice as though he could smell the hesitation in the air.

His friendly voice and downhearted expression finally broke down the twin's sense of caution. "W-were sorry, we didn't realise you were here." Loki called out anxiously. Despite the chances of being chased away once they were seen, the hope of acceptance was a feeling commonly shared between both brothers as the edged forwards while still under cover.

"No, No. Please don't feel that way! To be honest were kind of lost haha, it's been a while since we saw a friendly face. You said we, what are your names?" Hearing the immaturity in their voices, the man immediately switched to using a friendlier and more playful tone before helping the woman up from the ground.

"I'm Loki. It's me and my brother Rykar, it's just us two." Loki became the spokes person as Rykar stayed silent at the side. He had a nervous feeling as he watched the conversation between the two. For some reason, he felt unsettled while seeing their warm and friendly attitudes and even felt tempted to run as the woman rose from the ground.

"Boys, you should come here and let us see you. My name is Anna, this is my boyfriend Chris. There's plenty of space around the fire, wont you come over?" Anna's voice drifted over sweetly as she revealed the identities of the unknown pair.

Both Loki and Rykar stiffened as they heard the name Chris once again as they built up a mental image of their half-brother. But a name is just a name, they already knew a few of the villagers who had familiar if not the same name, so it shouldn't have been so strange to find another Chris. Coincidence as it may be, they still unconsciously put up their guard against this man.

"Were not normal… But were not monsters." Loki started before Rykar cut him off and continued, "We have a skin condition, so we look a bit… weird."

Hearing the second voice finally come out of hiding, Anna and Chris showed a relieved expression as their smiles grew. "That's fine, we have seen many different kinds of people where were from, come join us." After speaking, Anna sat down and was closely followed by Chris. They both sat on one side of the fire while leaving the other side free, showing that they would keep their distance if the brothers joined them.

Out of the shadows and under the light of the clouds, as soon as the twins stood up it could be seen how dramatically their 'skin condition' affected them. The smiles on the faces of Anna and Chris froze immediately as they shuddered while resisting the urge to shout.

Seeing their change in expression, the twins became downhearted at once, turning to leave without explaining anything but they were stopped as they began to crouch. "Hey, wait! I'm sorry Loki, Rykar. To be honest you just surprised us. We have seen a lot of people but none like you, you both have amazing eyes! Wont you still join us and forgive our mistake?"

Loki and Rykar Looked at each other shocked before looking back towards the couple with weird expressions.

A while later, four people were sat around a fire in the middle of the woods as they listened to the stories that Anna and Chris had to share with them. Apparently they had run away from a cultivation camp in the centre of the forest where people were forced to grow crops until they dropped dead. They had no freedom and weren't even allowed to be together which drove them to escape first chance they got.

They were not trying to meet up with anyone else that had escaped in order to live out the rest of their lives in peace. Throughout their narration of events, there was no shortage of attempts to question the twins on where they had come from and how to get back there.

Under their relentless questioning, Rykar's discomfort grew bit by bit as he refrained from answering. Contrary to this, Loki felt no reason to distrust them and spoke about their up bringing but only really focused on how evil people within the village were while abstaining from bringing up their mother.

Everything concerning the tree they had been staying within had also been omitted after Loki picked up hints from Rykar that he wasn't comfortable with the subject. They asked again how to get to the village, trying to convince the boys that by going back they would have a chance to talk it out with the others and get them to understand that they were normal but all they met with was "I don't know" or "I don't remember" which made sense since they had lived independently for an unknown period of time.

"Ah where are my manners, I should have asked if you were hungry a long time ago! The food has just been sitting there going cold." Anna scalded herself before placing a pot over the coals of the fire. Soon after, bubbling could be heard as the soup within began to boil over and a meaty fragrance flowed out, causing the stomachs of all four to growl.

Bringing out a round of bowls from the bag between them, Anna began to share portions of the soup to each of them. "Sorry we don't have any spoons, but you can drink from the bowl." She apologised while tilting her own bowl and taking a sip.

As Loki and Rykar did the same, their bodies shuddered which nearly causing them to drop the contents of the bowl all over themselves.

Delicious!

They had never tasted anything so good in their lives! Without bothering to ask what was inside, they practically downed the contents of the bowl before looking back at the pot with watery eyes and scalded mouths.

"No need to rush! There's plenty here haha."Anna said with smiling eyes. She then took their bowls before topping them up generously, "Ah, bread goes amazingly with it! Here, dip this in and then take a bite."

"Mhm, you're in for a treat!" Chris chimed in.

The bread felt tough as they rook it in their hands but as soon as the corner was drenched, it became moist and spongy! There wasn't much flavour there, but it seemed to capture the soup, turning it into a burst of liquid as they bit down on it.

Even if just for the soup, they were so glad they made the decision to step out of the bush and join the couple instead of leaving. Swallowing the soup and bread, this was the only thought occupying either of their heads at the moment as they fondly looked towards Anna.

Swallowing the last of the bread, their faces were still calm and content as the bodies of Anna and Chris began to defy gravity and bend sideways as the floor slanted and became a wall.

Ah, that's wrong.

They had slumped to the side like dead fish as their bodies stopped responding. The bowls of soup slid from their hands, spilling onto the ground and forming a puddle next to their heads before everything went dark and they finally lost consciousness.