The Apathetic Mage Loves Cats

Chapter 23: Truth

The sound of the fire crackling resounded throughout the cave, bouncing off the walls and circulating throughout the otherwise silent atmosphere. I felt myself moving closer to Caiden and Iban, my left arm moving so that it laid across his lap, ready to shove him away from Akan if I needed to. We sat in silence, letting my question ring in the air along with the crackling fire. Akan didn't say anything, instead, his gaze was focused on the ground, almost in shame. I felt the anxiety towards him turn over to anger, and I almost started to shout when Iban made his move.

A quick snap with his teeth against my forearm. He still sat in Caiden's lap, and because my arm was in front of him, he took the opportunity to bite my forearm with his sharp cat teeth. I felt myself jump, causing Caiden to jump as well, and I quickly retracted my forearm in alarm, staring at Iban in shock. Caiden threw up his hands and splayed his legs, causing Iban to land on the ground and we both watched as he slowly stood up and shook up his limbs.

"Don't be so cautious." I sat there, looking at Iban in shock, before glaring at him. However, it was then that I realized that there was something else strange about this. Because of the shock that Iban threw out about Akan, it didn't dawn on me until just then the fact that Iban knew.

"Wait... Iban, what the hell is going on? Why do you–?" Iban cut me off as he walked over to Akan and sat beside him, his tail swishing against the floor in a fast motion, as if he was anxiously twitching.

"Just... just listen to me." I found myself frozen as I heard Iban talk. He was never an anxious person, even when there was something to be extremely anxious about. Even when he came to me the other day in a depressed state talking about demons, I never imagined he would beg me to listen to him.

"Wait..." I asked, my mind bouncing. It was pretty rare that I was flustered and overwhelmed, but this whole thing caused me to slightly freak out. "Does this have to do with you coming to me the other day saying, 'not all demons are bad'?" I asked. Iban seemed to shrink into himself to hide away from the question, meaning that it was true. I let out a soft scoff and leaned back. Caiden looked over to me in worry, unsure what he was supposed to be doing in this situation. "What the hell..."

"It isn't as bad as you think," Iban spoke up, his voice a slight whisper. I didn't say anything, just moved closer to Caiden whose body was slightly shivering, either from the chilly night air or from stress. Iban, noticing that we weren't going to say anything, took a deep breath and began his story.

"No one knows what happened in our past unless you lived through it. And, fortunately for demons, we live for a long time." Iban's eyes slowly started to lose focus, as if he was recalling a memory he had long ago. "The first time I met the demon king, was the moment I came into this world, right after he created me, a couple thousand years ago now."

"I didn't know demons could create demons." I interrupted, causing Iban to glance back over me, losing focus.

"Of course, demons procreate. Are you stupid?" He asked almost angrily. I frowned deeply, and Caiden as if noticing the tension, leaned forward to gain our attention.

"So, the previous demon king was your father?" he asked. Iban shook his head.

"No, he created me, through magic or alchemy. He was a mage." I frowned.

"Wait, demons know magic and can use it?" Caiden asked, gripping the ends of the blanket so he could wrap it tightly around his shoulders. "How is that possible? I thought only mages could do that. And I'm not trying to be rude, but wouldn't it be difficult without... hands?" Iban looked over at Akan, who sat there staring across at Caiden. I tensed slightly and moved an inch closer to Caiden, so we were almost hip to hip. Iban watched me shift and sighed.

"How do you think mages get their power?" Iban asked me. I frowned.

"I don't know. According to the teachers, it was some miracle from whatever God they want to claim it from." Iban shook his head disapprovingly.

"Demons taught humans." I was startled when Akan spoke. Akan didn't move and instead continued to poke at the fire with a stick. "And then they betrayed us." My mind reeled.

"Us?" I asked. "You're a demon?" Akan glanced over at me at that. Our eyes connecting, his deep red ones filled with something akin to despair.

"I thought demons could only be some form of an animal," Caiden asked breathlessly, causing me to look away from Akan and stare at him.

"That's only what we want you to believe. That way demons that can pass as humans can come to the surface and live out peacefully among you guys."

"Peacefully? Then why attack? Why...?" I asked, struggling to put together thoughts.

"Humans wanted to cultivate all of the magic that we had. All demons can use magic, but not all humans. They thought we were hiding something that allowed us all to be able to use it. They wanted it for themselves." I found myself nodding, already accepting this as an answer. It made sense that humans would want to steal from anything they deemed superior or as a threat. After living in New York and working, our history and the way we acted even in the present time revealed to me the deep desire that humans had to claim everything in their path, no matter the circumstances. But, that still left so many questions.

"So, demons are people, just like us. Then, why were you created? Why not just only have demons who look like people, rather than create familiars? Just for fun?" I asked. I had never been so confused in my life, and I was struggling to input everything that was being thrown at me. But I needed to know more.

"Well... it wasn't for fun. The process of alchemy, the creation of life, is extremely illegal and a dangerous procedure." Iban stated.

"So, why did the demon king create you, if it was illegal and dangerous to do?" I asked. Iban sighed, his eyes staring off into space once more.

"Because he was lonely."

"...lonely?" Iban didn't answer right away, as if his thoughts were too much of a whirlwind. Akan too seemed transfixed, as if he was thinking about the demon king who seemingly lived a long time ago.

"The first demon king, Zing, was a very lonely man, who wanted to make friends with every human possible. However, he never could've imagined that they would betray him."

"None of us did," Akan spoke up, his voice ringing off the walls. "No one wanted to believe that Lord Zing was wrong."

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Hello everyone! Saph here! Sorry, it's a little shorter than I wanted, I feel like I should've made last time's chapter and this chapter as one instead of two separate ones, but oh well.

Either way, I really am so excited to show you guys the next few chapters. I've actually already written the entire next one (I wrote it before I finished this one honestly lol) and a little bit of the one after, so I'm thinking you guys will really enjoy it! We have so much new information now! How do you guys like it? Is any of it really that shocking? 

As always, I hope you have enjoyed reading! Please let me know if there is anything I need to fix, and don't hesitate to ask questions. I always enjoy reading your guys' comments, so don't hesitate to leave them! Please stay safe, especially if you live in the Midwest of America like I do because the weather has been really cold! Remember to take care of yourselves and don't be too hard. Take things one step at a time, we can get through it.

Goodbye, and see you next time!