Chapter 13: 10. A Day of Sin (Part 2)

“Aye lad, we were battlin’ a massive mole ‘at wouldn’t stop diggin’ holes all over the battlefield. The bloody beast kept evadin’ us, so the mages – including yer aunt – had ta place a magical marker on it.” Bort was recalling an old battle with a giant mole.

Rai listened intently, he loved hearing Bort’s old stories about his time as an adventurer. “Aunt Elly was there? Why didn’t she use ice magic to freeze the mole?”

Bort swung his dangled legs from the raised bar they were sat on, “Yer aunt is a great ritualist, but she bloody sucks at in-the-moment spell formations.” He let out a deep laugh, as if he’d made a perfect joke.

Rai was about to ask another question when a hooded figure about his height approached him and Bort.

Bort recognised her immediately, “Well lad, I’ll be inside, you two better not stay out late or I’ll be gettin’ an earful from yer ma.”

Sindyl lowered her hood, revealing a smile. She then ran at Rai and gave him a big hug. “Been a little while.”

Happily returning the embrace, Rai replied, “Yeah, it sucks we can only meet once a month.”

Sin let go, “Well, I do have to sneak out every time. This time was especially good though, I planned it out and everything.” She spoke with pride in her voice. She truly believed she was a criminal mastermind.

Rai was excited to hear about her escapades, just like last time, “Really? What happened, how’d you sneak out this time?”

Sin was waiting for him to ask, “You see, I’m the daughter of the Deceiver.” She declared with a puffed out chest full of pride, “So I got a maid to distract my teacher, while I jumped out of the window and ran to the gate! She thought her House was being attacked by a hydra!” Sin couldn’t stop giggling to herself as she spoke.

Rai was very impressed, “Woah! What if her house really was attacked by a hydra though?”

Sin thought back to the exchange. She remembered everything going smoothly... Wait... Wasn't it a man's voice that called for her? Joy slowly faded from her face. It wasn’t my maid who told her about the hydra. And she looked really worried... Uh oh.

Rai looked at her expectantly. She simply returned his gaze with an awkward smile that said she didn't know if there really was a hydra or not.

Rai realised he was probably spot on, and tried to move the conversation somewhere else, “I’m sure she’s probably fine. Probably. How’ve you been the last month?”

Sindyl seemed to jump where she stood, “OH! You reminded me; I have something to show you!” She grabbed his arm and dragged him through the Inn, which was fortunately somewhat empty since it was midday. She dragged him upstairs to an empty room.

“Sin, what on Zenith are you-”

“Just sit down and watch.”

Rai was anxious since this was a completely foreign situation that he had no idea about whatsoever. But when he sat down on the bed, he saw... himself?

“What the... how? Are you me? But then... who am I?” Rai was extremely confused.

The mimic in front of him laughed with his own voice, “No, I’m Sin! Your friend Sindyl!” She then morphed from top to bottom into Bort. Rai noticed that it looked like space was folding in on itself as she morphed, like a bunch of mirrors folding over.

In a gruff voice that was uniquely Bort's, she spoke, “I don’t know how he talks like he does, dwarves always have their unique ways of communicating.” She then morphed into a... cat? In the form of a black cat, she hopped onto the bed next to Rai.

The mirrors unfolded from the cat. Now she was Sindyl again, sat next to him. She beamed at him, with a massive smile on her face. “I awoke my Divine form! It’s better than my dad’s, since I can become anyone I’ve seen and heard before, and any animal I can imagine!” She was practically shaking with joy.

Rai looked at her, reflecting her happiness, but when he spoke he carried an air of sadness, “I’m happy for you Sin, I really am. I’ve heard that awakening to a unique Divine form like yours is a great feeling. My aunt's a dragon you see, and she's in love with her Divine form.”

Sin picked up on his bittersweet mood immediately, “What’s wrong? You’re not jealous are you?” She teased him, hoping to get a witty comeback from him like he’d usually do. She half expected him to one-up her with an even more spectacular Divine form.

Rai shook his head, “I have no Divine form.”

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Sin's eyes widened, That’s not fair. Everyone gets one, why can’t Rai have one?  She tried to convince him that it was still possible. “Maybe your Divine form won’t awaken until later, I heard Bort say that his form didn’t awaken until he was seventeen!”

Rai looked at her with a soft look in his otherwise bright blue eyes, “My mum has no Divine form, and apparently neither did my dad. The odds of me awakening one are really small.” He said it so matter of factly that Sin couldn’t even try to deny it. “That shouldn’t make you feel sad about your Divine form, it’s amazing. You can mimic anyone or any living thing, which is far more useful than most people’s Divine forms!”

Sin was happy that he complimented her, but she could sense the heavy emotions Rai was feeling at the mention of Divine forms. It wasn’t something she could fault him for, since it was such a big part of life for most people, at least she thought. She wondered about what she could do to lighten the mood.

She got up from the bed, and started to drag him out of the inn, “Okay! Then let’s go have some fun!” She decided that they would make the most of the day, and go to the commercial district and have a good time.

Rai’s mood brightened shortly after, as they spent time in Acies together. They caught each other up on the things that happened in the last month, then talked about the things that interested them, like magic, swordsmanship, and history. Rai was particularly interested in history because he wanted to know more about the world, like his mum said his dad was interested in. Sin had a similar reason; her mother was a history buff and she’d heard historical stories from her dad.

They ate jellied tiger meat at the Inn, free of charge thanks to Bort. Sin talked about the nobility in the Underworld, and how stuck-up and pompous they are, which Bort laughed at. She then bragged about how many boys lined up to just talk to her, which Rai blushed at, prompting another hearty chuckle from Bort.

The evening went on, and Bort noticed the two of them growing more tired as they both socially interacted beyond their own limits. He remembered something he hadn't thought about in a long time. “Oi. You two. Follow me.”

Both Rai and Sin looked at each other with confused faces, but they followed Bort upstairs. They reached a point of the inn that they'd never seen before. There was a door on the ceiling. Why's there a door on the ceiling? As the two of them looked up at the square door, Bort pulled a ladder from the utility room. He went up the ladder towards the door, then opened it. Through its opening, Rai and Sin saw the warm evening sky.

Bort went back down the ladder, “You'll love this. Go on, the view is breathtaking.”

The two went up to the roof.

Sin picked up on one of her dad’s habits, and she let out a soft whistle as she looked toward the horizon. She whispered, more out of exasperation than intention, “Wow, he wasn’t wrong.”

Rai’s jaw dropped when he saw the twin suns sat together on the horizon. Normally you couldn’t look directly at them without damaging your eyes, but when they were on the horizon like this, for some reason you could. The inn wasn’t that big, but it was big enough to eclipse the rest of the town in height, so there were no obstacles blocking the view.

Rai and Sin sat on the roof next to each other. The roof was at a slight incline, but flat enough to not slide off of. They looked out into the horizon in comfortable silence. Sin leaned her head onto Rai’s shoulder, which he was initially surprised about, but eventually found comfort in. He returned the gesture by resting his head on hers.

Bort and Dorothy were peeking through the roof entrance, when he whispered to his wife, “All the magic in the world couldn’t match this scene.” She simply nodded, then looked longingly at her husband while remembering something similar that they experienced together.

It was an eternity to them. Rai and Sin just quietly enjoyed each other’s presence as they watched the suns slowly drift beyond the horizon.

A few minutes after the suns fell, Sin sighed, “It’s time to go back.”

Rai enjoyed her presence, and didn’t want her to leave, “Does it have to be now?”

Sin solemnly nodded, “There’ll be a big hassle for dad if I go back too late.” She gave Rai a tight hug as they stood up.

He’d just noticed, “You smell like roses, it suits you.”

Sin could feel her face heating up, “Y.. Yes.. I- I begged the m-maids to use t-this one on m-me. D-dad said my m-mother liked to use it.”

Rai could see her face growing redder, She’s so easy to fluster, and she stutters when she’s nervous. He found that trait of hers somewhat adorable.

She quickly let go of him and got ready to leave, “O-okay, this was r-really f-f-fun. I’ll see you again n-next month.” She went back to give him a final hug and then left. Sin made a beeline straight for the hidden house. Her face was still burning hot.

She still had the wherewithal, however, to make a mental note to stock up on rose-scented perfume.

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