Two weeks has passed since my first morning on Earth.

  I awoke, seeing the same ceiling as I felt I’ve seen a million times.

  ~How strange. Just a couple weeks ago, it felt so unfamiliar to me.

  I propelled myself into an upright position, turning my body to hop out of bed, planting my feet on the floor.

  Just one room over, the smell of freshly toasted bread and eggs wafted into my nostrils. With a deep, heavy sigh I plopped onto the soft furniture nearby. There were blankets on it, as if someone had been sleeping there recently. A single pillow laid on the floor nearby, leaning against the wide recliner I was currently lazing on.

  “Come and eat, Yoiya.”

  Drowsily lifting my head, I rolled off the bed and onto my feet. With Mia standing over at the kitchen counter, she gave me a gentle smile, her compassion clearly shining through.

  “Would you like butter or jam on your toast?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Here, let me show ya.”

  Mia pulls out two jars, setting them on the counter on front of me. In one jar, a strange purple substance, with the other seeming to have a redder, lighter hue to it. Perhaps, magenta?

  Along with the two jars, she sets what appears to be a tub of yellow stuff.

  Curious, I picked the jar of purple up and held it close to my face for inspection.

  “Poison?”

  The grotesque dark purple reminded me a bit of the poisonous plants Loid would show me from time to time. I was never sure why but anything poisonous fascinated him. He always mentioned how strange it was that such plants could be fatal to the mortal race.

  Mia let out a nervous chuckle. Her laughter was light, like the clinking of glass, easing the tension in the room. She then corrected me with a smile.

  “No, Yoiya.. That’s just grape jam. You put it on the bread like this.”

  Mia opened the jar, bringing the plate of toast she had set aside closer for me to see. Then, she picked up a butter knife.

  Upon seeing her pick it up, I immediately swatted it out of her hand.

  Mia looked at me and, deciding to mimic her, I gave her a nervous chuckle.

  I picked up the knife and handed it to her. “Sorry about that…”

  However, her smile didn’t falter. Instead, her eyes carried a quiet concern. She kneeled down and embraced me in her arms, rubbing my messy bedhead slowly and gently.

  “It’s okay. You’re safe here.”

  I nodded slowly, unsure why my body had reacted so violently. Maybe Loid’s surprise attacks had left more scars than I realized.

  Then, she held up the jar again. “Want to try the jam?”

  Mia returned to my side, leaning in closer as she gently placed the knife, now newly washed, in my hand and picked up a piece of toast once more.

  “Alright. Like this.”

  She guided my hand, which was holding the knife, to the jar and had me dip the knife inside. Slowly, she showed me how to spread it across the bread.

  “...And it goes on here like that. You can do that with the strawberry jam and butter too.”

  “Strawberry jam? Butter?”

  Confused, I glanced at the two remaining items: the jar with the magenta substance and the tub with the yellow substance.

  Picking up the jar, I shook it lightly.

  “You mean this solidified wine?”

  Still curious, I opened the jar. A sweet, fruity scent wafted out — deceptively innocent. Scooping a bit out with my finger, I tasted it. The taste of sweetness reminded me of something else… something far older, stirring a memory from a distant home— the Void.

  “Hey, guys.”

  Ener, who usually speaks with such formality, was speaking casually for once. With his face fairly flushed and his movements slightly wobbling, he raised up a large opaque bottle. With a hicc, he said joyfully.

  “You gotta try this! It’s been popular amongst inner gods lately. They call it wine — and it’s divine!”

  The family kind of ignored him at that point aside from Loid, who tried to take the chance to take Ener out. Despite being ‘drunk,’ Ener still won. Loid couldn’t land a single blow — a rare defeat.

  “Daydreaming again?” Mia asked me, snapping me back to reality with her words.

  “N-no. Just… thinking.”

  “Oh, I see.” She gave me a smile, patting me on the head like she always did. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you like that, so I was a bit worried for a moment. If everything’s okay, then how about we eat before it all gets cold?”

  I tried to mimic her smile. It felt strange on my face, but she didn’t seem to mind.

  After helping her set the table, we sat across from each other. Mia clasped her hands together, a common sign of prayer known even to gods of my station. With a simple pause and a small, short breath, she spoke a simple phrase.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Thank you for the food.”

  And began to eat.

  Watching her, I felt I should follow and immediately began to mimic her. Putting my hands together, though the feeling felt a bit ominous, I spoke the same words.

  “Thank you for the food.”

  Casually and curiously, I gently stabbed the egg with the rounded edge of the spoon. A gleaming yellow liquid began to seep out of it, drowning the whites and overwriting their essence of purity.

  With a slight bend of my wrist, I broke off a piece and plopped it into my mouth.

  My eyes were drawn to the kitchen, with all of the appliances: the fridge, the sink, the microwave, the blender, the stove, the oven.

  “Something the matter, Yoiya?”

  “Huh?” I quickly turned my attention back to the girl sitting across from me, the same girl who took me in just two weeks ago.

  She tilted her head, confused by my vague response. Leaning over the table, her well-endowed chest bounced a bit as she placed her hand on my forehead.

  “You seem okay.” She spoke softly, sitting back down in her seat.

  I gave her a small nod, attempting to assure her I was fine, as I continued to eat the breakfast she so graciously prepared as well as the toast that she taught me to spread jam on.

  “It’s good.” I uttered the words so softly so none could hear.

  Mia smiled at me, as if to make my attempt to hide a pointless charade. She stood from her seat, and walked over to stand behind me. With a gentle touch, she placed her hands upon me; one on my shoulder, the other on my head.

  In a whisper, she said the phrase so naturally with a calm, soothing tone.

  “Thank you.”

  My eyes widened, a bit startled by her words to me. The genuinity of them struck a chord in me, though the feeling was still a mystery to me.

  I could feel heat gathering in my cheeks and my lips formed a smile, one that felt natural on my face.

  “Oh! Hey!”

  I jumped from my seat, scared out of my wits. I quickly raised my hand to swipe the air, fully prepared to cast my magic.

  Mia burst into laughter. “What the hell kind of reaction is that?” She held her stomach as she keeled over, her chuckles causing a single, concentrated uproar in the apartment. “Ah, I’m so sorry for yelling in your ear, Yoiya but there’s something important I wanted to tell you.”

  “Hm?” I muttered a simple sound as I continued to chew on my food, the golden yolk of the egg leaking from the corner of my lips.

  Mia’s laughter faded into a softer smile. She tapped her fingers against the table, as if weighing something. “You’ve grown a lot since you moved in… and, well, I’ve been thinking.”

  “Mhm?”

  “Yeah. You’re practically already family to me, Yoiya. So… I decided to adopt you!”

  “Adopt?” The word felt foreign, heavy. Ener had lectured me on morals, but never on this. Adoption was a human ritual, not a god’s.

  “Oh right. I suppose you wouldn’t know what that means… Uhm… Let me think… how to explain.”

  Mia scratches her head and squishes her cheeks together as if deep in thought, struggling to come up with a proper answer.

  I just stare at her in a daze, unsure how to react to her proclamation.

  “Uh. I think. It might be easier to just show you. Give me a moment, please.”

  Mia raises one finger and hoists herself up, walking over to the couch and begins rummaging through a bag there. A bright smile covers her face as she holds up a small rectangular item, or I suppose it’d be simpler to call it a card. Quickly and excitedly, she returns to the table and places it before me.

  “Now it’s only provisional, so it won’t get you into anything fancy but you should at least be able to go to school with this.”

  I picked the strange flimsy object up, inspecting it and finding strange writings etched into it.

  Thanks to the omni-linguistics of godhood, I was able to read these texts, reading the first line aloud.

  “Yoiyami Yuruichi… Yuruichi? Isn’t that…”

  “Mhm. That’s my last name. Mia Yuruichi. This makes us family, though only technical right now as I’m still having to go through months of paperwork and processing. But, that aside, you can consider me your big sis!”

  “Big sis?”

  Mia hugs me from behind tightly, her chest pressing against the back of my neck.

  Feeling the warmth of her embrace, it felt as my heart had lightened in weight, as if weak anti-gravity magic had been cast upon it.

  Carefully, I continued to inspect the small item in my hand.

  Yoiyami Yuruichi.

  Age: 12

  Hair Color: White | Eye Color: Amber

  This was followed by some kind of familiar code, something that I could only assume to be the location of Mia’s apartment as it read under “Residence”. Then numbers and symbols I could not make anything of.

  But something here was far more concerning to me.

  I blinked a few times and focused my vision on it, trying to double-check to ensure my vision wasn’t tricking me.

  But no, it did indeed say my age— was 12.

  ~I look that young? That’s pretty young for most mortals, isn’t it? Like practically a baby for the races of greater longevity!

  Thinking back, I do recall the other primordials in my group looking fairly young, especially the pups Soul and Vessa.

  ~”I had abandoned my old family. Is this what family is supposed to feel like?”

  I let out a sigh, the light in the room shifting without notice. I reclined back into the chair, going to look up only for my head to press against something rather large and soft.

  Mia looked down at me, brushing her hand against my forehead. “Are you okay?” She asked me softly.

  “Yeah. It’s just a bit much to take in.” I gave a light chuckle and held the card up to the light shining through the window by the table.

  Then the number twelve shimmered, warping in the morning light. I blinked once more and it stilled — but unease coiled in my chest.

  Mia leaned in closer, shielding me from the window’s glare.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” She asks me again, worry sharpening her tone.

  I open my mouth to answer, but behind her, the glass betrayed me. At this distance, no reflection should have been so sharp — yet it was, smiling a smile I had not made.

  Static noise filled my ears. Colors drained to grey. Light faltered. Sound slipped away.

  “Yoiya? Yoiya!” Mia reached for me but I was already falling, my connection to reality wavering and severing.

  …

  Drip. A water droplet falls on my cheek, jarring my awareness to its peak.

  Splash. Ripples form beneath me, shuddering at the disturbance my movements make.

  I find myself laying down on the surface of dark waters, staring up at a blinding white moon.

  A familiar sphere. Familiar black aqua. And most of all: the chill of lonely darkness pressing against me. That chill seeped into my skin, the empty emotion washing over me like a tide.

  “Oh. It’s this place again.” I said, sitting up and pulling myself to my feet.