Baby Blues, Ones and Twos

Being a human infant was one of the worse experiences of Seth Storm’s life. Humans were already weak and awkward even compared to the other races of the world but infants were truly defenseless creatures. He was aware of his own soft body, the total lack of muscle and power within was alarming. Even sight was a challenge with the world beyond anything not directly in his face being little more than a blur as his eyes developed the muscles required to see correctly.

Oh, and the messes were horrible. Often Seth laid motionless in his own feces and urine choosing to suffer the stench and cooling waste rather than be reliant on Sieg or Clet to clean him.

His sister, or rather his other self Azura Storm, did not have the same stubborn refusal. If she felt a damp spot on her the waterworks kicked on without a care. She even cried out if Seth remained silent about his own dirty diapers for too long.

"Why do you cry, my other self? Does it not shame your pride?" Seth spoke through the soul of Allmaxon that directly connected them.

"Not in the least. I consider it fair penance that my murderers wipe my ass clean."

It was a wise answer and one he believed he should have thought of himself. From that day forth they both cried in unison at any soiled diaper or other discomforts between them. Inwardly they giggled with delight as the silver-haired priestess was forced to handle their shit with a disgusted face. Or when she'd yelp in pain as they clamped hard on her nipple during feeding. It was the minimum inconvenience that they could muster given the situation.

Seth noted that both parents cared deeply for him and his other self despite the trouble they gave them. Clet held him gently and made soothing sounds or worried expressions if either of them refused to silence their cries. She’d let her long silver hair roll over Seth’s face for him to tug when playing with him. He naturally responded by trying to rip it from her scalp with no success. Sieg was never too far from his children either at the beginning and always played with them. There wasn’t a single day Seth remembered his absence during the first three months of his new life.

During that time Seth’s control over his body increased with his vision gaining clarity and focus. Depth perception and the development of the muscles needed to crawl were welcomed additions to his limited arsenal of skills. Initially, it was a little maddening that his body was so underdeveloped at birth. Humans didn’t have the muscles to hold their own head up without support much less walk when born. It was drastically different from his birth as a demon.

The first time Seth crawled in front of Clet she exploded with joy and celebration. She claimed that he was developing so quickly but for him, it felt like an eternity. Still, perhaps his new mother was right. His other self lagged in basic physical achievements.

“Are you not training?” Seth asked. “We must build our soft bodies into proper warriors.”

“There is more to train than just muscle. Our spell index must be rebuilt as well.” Azura responded.

“We can’t even utilize our mana or cast. Spellwork is impossible.”

Seth had tried numerous times to access his former powers. Even if his form was human he still was a demon king in his soul. There was a wealth of spells, enchantments, magical armaments, and summoning contracts tied to the soul of Allmaxon. The reserve of mana in his soul alone could destroy cities but it felt as if it was barred behind a stone wall.

“It is impossible but only for the moment. Do you not feel the mana seeping through from our soul?” Azura asked.

“No.”

“Then you must train too.”

Seth pondered the meaning of this in his own thoughts. The thought of Azura accessing the mana reserves was welcoming on one side and worrisome on another. All she could do was feel the flow but that alone was a milestone. Still, it was pointless without a strong body. A puff of cotton enhanced with the hardness of a stone is worse than a regular rock.

With that mindset, Seth attempted to feel the flow of mana from his demon soul but prioritized his own physical strength first. He started to crawl a full month before Azura and walked two months before her.

Seth took this as his duty to explore the house and inform his other self of possible weaknesses to exploit. In honesty, there wasn’t much for him to discover; three bedrooms, a water closet, the kitchen, and a small living area adjacent to the even smaller dining area. At some point, he found a locked closet in the hallway which would have yanked off the hinges in his former life.

“Weapons.” Seth guessed even if he couldn’t verify at that moment. Logically the home of a couple of former world-saving adventurers has weapons in it.

“Hey, hey, Seth stay away from there.” Sieg broke into a light jog from the end of the hallway and scooped his son with one arm.

“Maybe one day, when you’re older, I’ll show you what’s in there. But you are in such a rush my son.”

“Well, there is a score to settle, father.” Seth thought.

“At this rate, you’ll be sprinting before your first birthday.” Sieg told his son.

“He gets it from his father.” Clet yelled from the kitchen.

Sieg returned the down hall with Seth in his arm and into the kitchen. Scents of seasoned meats and boiling potatoes filled the air with a delicious aroma. Seth hadn’t eaten solid food yet with this body but knew quality cuisine when he smelled it.

“I hope so. I always wanted an energetic son.” Sieg smiled at his wife who didn’t return it at all. A hard expression crept over her face and the room fell into a heavy silence.

“You can call him,” Clet said. “At any point in time. They have a phone in town, you can go right now-”

“If I wanted to speak to him I’d go see him, not talk at him through some piece of Arc-Tec!” Sieg stopped abruptly then sighed and placed Seth in a baby carrier near the dining area.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” He tried to explain.

“You never do. Goddess bless you, you never mean to hurt the people you do.” Clet went back to preparing food and left Sieg to his own brooding. Seth knew he needed to confer with his other self over this new information.

“They have another son I’d guess,” Azura said. “It’s probably been years since our defeat. Logically they’d have had an older child.”

“First off, we took a dive.” Seth corrected her. “That score will be settled. Beyond that, I agree.”

“I do have a question; what the fuck is Arc-Tec?”

“No clue.” He admitted. “Have you made any progress in accessing our mana reserves? I know you’ve been working at it.”

“...There is something interesting. Here, I will show you.”

As Azura spoke Seth felt the tug on their connection stronger than ever before. His body slacked, his vision blurred to white before his mind was whisked away. In the next instant, his mind was in a space divided into halves. One side was a void, vast and blank. On the other, there was a giant dark mass that squirmed underneath a network of chains, locks, and bars that imprisoned it.

“What is…all of this?” Seth asked.

“This, my other self, is the lost part of us. This is our former power.” Azura said.

“Impressive, as expected of us. How do we free…us?”

“Still sorting that out. Without Kaldoth here this is quite the chore.”

“You’re able to feel our mana from this?”

“You can’t?” Azura asked. “It’s not much but the traces are clearly there.”

Seth strained his focus on the imprisoned mass and felt powerful feedback of his mana. It crashed into him like waves breaking against the shore and shocked him to his core. The immense power threatened to crush him if he continued so he broke away.

“That’s more than just a trace!” Seth exclaimed.

“You tried to access it directly. I meant to just sense the treads of mana radiating from it.”

“I can’t.” He admitted. “My sensitivity to the flow of mana is lacking.”

“Then let us postpone this issue. We will solve this issue in time.”

“Right. It will take time to cultivate that ability. A few months, I’m sure.” Seth assumed.

He was wrong. Their first birthday came and went within months and there was no progress on Seth regaining his sensitivity mana flow. The leaves blossomed, browned, fell, and blossomed again without Seth making any headway on the issue.

A second birthday arrived and Seth sat blankly staring at the cake in front of him. His mind still racked away at the problem as his parents sung happy birthday to him and his other-self. Blood pumped to his head, his eyes burned with strain, and his hands shook in pent-up anger. The song ended and his parents looked at him expectantly while oblivious to his frustration.

“Fuck.” Seth said aloud and everyone gasped.