chapter 8

Jason sprinted to the door; Biji followed close behind, with Uddi stopping to help the frail women over to the door. As they arrived, Biji attempted to grab the handle, but Jason quickly snatched it out of her hand. “Let me go in alone, please.”

“Jason, you’re still recovering; I’ll just—”

“Biji. I got this… Please.” Despite the smile on his face, she could see a look of guilt, causing her to falter. Taking a moment to consider her options, she eventually relented, moving her hand from the knob. Not wasting another moment, Jason rushed off into the home.

…

The small apartment looked eerily earthly, with walls, a sofa, and even a furnished medieval kitchen. In the center of the dining room, a tall, skinny Raksha stood with smoke pouring from his mouth as he stomped around, drinking Rasa that had been stored in jars.

He wasn't particularly large, essentially skin and bones, and had deep purple skin, with sickly green eyes that darted around the apartment as he mumbled incoherently. Sensing Jason’s presence, the Raksha turned to him sharply.

“Who are you, weird-looking sort? “This is my house. Find your own!” he gurgled, before quickly going back to drinking the jars of Rasa on the counter.

Jason turned to the younger Raksha, who was cowering behind the couch, and pointed to the purple Raksha, who had largely forgotten his presence after a few moments. “You know this guy, kid?” he asked, trying his best to comfort the scared boy.

“N-no, he came in here when Mommy went outside, and when I told him to leave, he kicked me!” The kid gripped the couch hard as tears fell down his face. “I'm sorry for stealing your jacket, mister, but can you help? We need the rasa he’s drinking to keep the house…“ he said desperately.

Is that so? Well then I’ll have to show him what happens to guys who bully kids.”

Jason carefully removed his meteor hammer from around his torso, wrapping the string around his hands, before marching towards the older Raksha. “Look, buddy, usually I'd try to talk you down, but I don't negotiate with scumbags.”

…

Outside, from a distance, Biji and Uddi stood with the mother, who had been inconsolable since Jason ran into the house. “Should we do something, Biji? It's been a few minutes, and Jason hasn't come out yet.” Uddi asked softly; despite his question, he didn't seem particularly worried.

“... Nah. It’s not our place to interfere in other people’s stuff,” she remarked casually. “I think he might need this. although...” Despite the electricity cloaking her body, Uddi could still read her indecipherable face.

“You know, Biji, you seem awfully worried about him even though you just met. What's going on?” Uddi asked teasingly, but before Biji could answer, a loud thud could be heard coming from the front area of the house, followed by the distinct sound of choking.

Biji and Uddi turned to see Jason, a casual smirk on his face as he dragged the Raksha out of the house. As it clawed at the rope around its neck, Uddi’s smile went concerningly wide, and the mother clasped her hands in shock at the sight.

“You know, if that was any other Raksha, he might've gotten seriously hurt. He very well would have needed my help,” Biji sighed to Uddi as he laughed at the struggling Raksha on the ground. “Biji, Loba had his arm ripped off a week ago, and you told him to walk it off. Jason isn't a baby, you know.”

Uddi giggled before turning his attention back to Jason. Biji then grabbed his arm with a tight grip, not enough to hurt him, but enough to grab his attention.

“Make any more comments like that, especially in front of him or Loba, and you're next, buddy,” she hissed. “They won’t let me hear the end of it.”

Over by the house, Jason released the neck of the demon.

“You learn your lesson, buddy?”

He had not learned his lesson.

Getting to his feet, the Raksha swung at Jason, which was easily avoided. ‘This guy fights worse than Yuzo did, and I don't think I saw him move from his chair in a month. Brutal.’

"You just pulled me out of my house! I'm going to kill you!" he said, swinging his arms out in front of him wildly.

“Is this guy… Just stupid? Should I feel bad for beating him up?” Jason yelled over to the group before lightly tapping him with swings of the hammer, causing him to flinch back. “That hurts, cut it out!” The raksha groaned, rubbing his head.

Suddenly, he grabbed the string of the meteor hammer. “I said, stop it!” The string of the meteor hammer snapped under the pressure of his hand. Seeing his opportunity, the raksha then pulled Jason forward, throwing a fist directly towards his face.

‘Goddammit, I’m not taking another loss. Especially not to this guy…!’ In a split second, the purple Raksha was unconscious, with his head carrying a sizable dent. “… What just happened? I couldn't see what hit him…!” Biji said to herself, bewildered.

Jason stood, staring at the fallen raksha. His body was enveloped by what almost looked like starlight, causing a glowy mist around him. As quickly as it had come, though, it flew back out into the sky.

Uddi and Biji quickly ran over to Jason with stars in their eyes. “That was so cool!” Uddi said, jumping up and down, almost maniacally. “Like whoosh! And bam!”

Coming out of the house, the child ran to his mothers’ eyes in tears before the two of them joined Biji and Uddi in surrounding him. “Thank you, sir! Thank you!”

Jason couldn’t hear them, though. Blood dripped from his nose, and in the next moment, he was on the ground. From above him, in the corner of his eyes, he saw a shadowed figure before everything faded from view.

…

‘Did I just have an aneurysm?’

“Once again, dear boy, you are off the mark.”

In his mind, Ukali had appeared to him. Everything went black except her voice and eyes in his mind's eye.

“Oh, uh, hi, miss. I'm not dead… Am I?”

“No. You are not. I have, ah, pulled you under, to speak to you for a moment.”

“... Could you have done that without knocking me out?”

“It will only take a moment.” She said, almost sounding impatient, “You have finally tapped into the power I had left for you, but it seems to have overwhelmed your nervous system. I will need to adjust how much of my energy I put towards healing your damaged circuits."

“All of this to say…?”

“You have responded to an act of heroism, as opposed to survival, dear boy. Surprising, but commendable. The power of a Crest activates in response to the desire closest to one's heart. Tell me, Jason, do you wish to be a hero?”

Jason froze for a moment.

“... I just want to save my brother, that's all.”

“Are you sure that’s all?” Despite her neutral tone, there was a hint of disbelief in Ukali’s tone, causing Jason to sigh.

“One time, when I was still in high school, I brought Yuzo and Emma out to the park with me, since Emma kept coming by our house, asking us to hang out with her. At that point, it had been a while since I was hanging out with those two, but my mom insisted I tag along to look after them.” He grimaced. “It was blazing hot, so I didn't want to leave the house, but she got a bit, so I ended up on babysitting duty anyway.”

“I sent them to the park before heading to a convenience store down the street. I grabbed three sodas, put them in my jacket, and then walked out. Looking back on it, I think the guy who owned the place knew I was taking them and felt bad for me.”

Jason lowered his head; he had stopped drinking soda after that. “When I sat down, I threw the two their drinks, and we sat for a while talking. They told me about their middle school drama, and I told them about how hard the work in high school was, making sure I was exaggerating enough to scare them.” He chuckled, “I don't remember how it came up, but the topic eventually shifted to our plans when we got older. I didn't really have an answer.”

“Yuzo said that he wanted to be like Bluejay, a character from a comic book we both used to like.” Jason chuckled.

“He’s cool, and he helps Ratman save people, so that's my pick.”

"Why wouldn't you want to be Batman? He's way cooler!”

He turned to me, “Because you’re way more like Ratman, obviously. So you be Ratman, and I’ll be Robin.” Jason went quiet for a moment before continuing.

“Emma got upset, saying she wanted to be a superhero too, but she doesn't know any, and Yuzo then spent the next ten minutes trying to convince her that Ratgirl is also cool. After that, I would go into Yuzo’s room once in a while to read his comics.”

‘I forgot about that afternoon. Funny remembering it at a time like this. I haven't seen him smile like that in a long time.”

“Your dreams are admirable, dear boy. As I said before, I cannot meddle in the world beyond this, but I am sure the strength I've given you should save many, including your brother. If you desire it enough, strength will come.”

“Wait, you’re leaving again? Did you really do all of that to ask me one question? No instructions, nothing?” Jason said with alarm, but Ukali’s eyes then shut, leaving his mind blank as his eyes flicked open.

“You’ve got to be kidding.

…

“… he's awake!” Jason woke up with Uddi and Biji looming over him, a light frosting of snowflakes having piled on his face.

“… This better be the last time I wake up with a cold face, or I'm going to freak out.” He simmered to himself.

“Y’know, Jae, I don't think I've ever seen someone pass out as much as you. Is that a condition or something?” Biji helped Jason to his feet as he cracked his neck. “I really, really hope not. Thanks for looking out for me, you two. The goddess called a little meeting in my head.”

“I think you just hit your head, Jason.” Uddi said with a grin, catching a light blow to the arm as they started to walk out of the common district.

The snowfall increased as the three made their way back up the mountain, to Jason’s irritation. His legs had started to ache hours ago, and that was before what happened in the common district. Preoccupied with the pain, Jason felt someone bump into him.

“Ah, sorry about that. You alright?”

“I'm fine, thank you,” the voice called back good-naturedly.

Jason’s eyes widened; a human.

The man was pale and thin, with black hair that sat in a messy bowl. He looked like he had been here a while. Jason stopped in shock, looking for words to reply with, but the man spoke first. “I had heard there was another person here, and I just had to come find you. My name is Nikolai.” He then pulled Jason down to his face level, eyes glowing with intensity. “And I’ve found a way out of here, and I need your help.”