Chapter 4
Regret
"Now I would like to see where my son is." Kratos said this in a way, that it didn't sound like a request, but a demand.
The Cruxis leader was not impressed however, and also, not entertained. "For what, so you can have a lovely reunion? Why would I grant you that?"
"I just want to see if he is really here and in a good condition, with my own eyes. Nothing more."
"How trusting you are." Mithos narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "But I suppose it cannot hurt. You will not be allowed in."
Without saying anything else, Mithos went ahead and left the small office. His former mentor quickly followed, keeping a close eye on him, for any suspicious moves. Of course, he didn't trust him with his child. He already made it clear that Lloyd was nothing but a burden. Mithos could decide to 'off' him at any moment.
Kratos also knew however, to not go against the man's wishes. Or child in a man's body, rather. If he just went along, maybe he will strike over his heart, and let Lloyd go. Kratos himself would never be so lucky, he was as bounded to Mithos as Origin was bound to him.
The child had to live. Lloyd needed to stay alive no matter what. For Anna's sake. Kratos was far beyond saving, but hopefully, the kid will be.
They went to the lowest level on the comet. This was where the cells were. Why did they have cells if they never had prisoners? It was not like the angels could ever misbehave; they wouldn't know how too.
But, this time one of the cells saw use. The glass that was in place of the bars, gave a clear view, of the bare cell. It was completely empty, except for one, small shape, pressed again the left wall.
Lloyd had pulled in his legs, arms wrapped around his knees and his head buried in between. So, he didn't see his father approach, standing on the other side of the glass.
"Lloyd."
No reaction. The child didn't move. With his sharp eyes, Kratos could see him breathing, so he was alive, at the very least.
"Lloyd." He raised his voice, a tone that demanded to be heard.
His head jerked up, turning towards the glass. His eyes were red, and his cheeks were still wet, from all the crying. It seemed he had no more tears left to cry.
"Papa?"
A small and broken voice come out. He slowly managed to stand, walking towards his father, and hitting the glass in between them. Because of this, he fell back, landing on his behind. Slightly dazed and confused, Lloyd rubbed his forehead and looked up to his father.
The mix of emotions in his eyes, were a real rollercoaster. The pain and hurt, the loss and confusion. There was even a pleading look mixed in.
It was all the things Kratos pushed away. Things he didn't need to feel, or want to feel. It was complicated, not easy to explain. And he didn't want to explain to his son. He'd rather have him forget it all. But there were no such convenient things.
"Papa..." Lloyd reached out his arms, lifting them up towards him.
This truly pulled his heartstrings. He never refused to pick up his son. He loved to be picked up and lifted up high, pretending to be flying. Ironic, really. Kratos was the one who could literally fly.
The stone-cold look and unmoving stance of his father, made Lloyd lower his arms again. Something felt different about him, distant. The smile was gone, replaced by a thin line.
Only Kratos his eyes moved, looking his son over. "Good, he does not look hurt."
"Of course. His fate is in your hands now." Mithos was not far behind him, in clear view of the both of them.
Fearful, Lloyd looked at the blond man who had colorful, see through wings. He had already seen the angels now, but they seemed to have feathered wings. Why was this man different? And why did he feel like really bad news?
"Is it true?" The boy asked softly.
Kratos diverted his eyes. "I am sorry to have put you in this position. It will be like this for a while, I am afraid. But stay strong. It will get better; I will make sure of that."
A chuckle came from Mithos. One that was very cold, without cheery emotion. "We will see about that. There are things you need to do, Kratos. The trials need to be prepared, as well as some other things. It is important this Chosen succeeds."
He wished he could ignore him. Kratos wanted so much to just break this glass and take away his son. Just fly off with him and go into the world. Yet, he knew it would be bad. They would be after them constantly. They would never find rest, never find a place to settle down. Lloyd would never have a normal life. But wasn't that the case no matter what? Was this really better? To have him in a cell and eventually undergo the crystal's project?
Kratos shook his head. There was no right answer, no real solution. He could never make up for his mistakes. I'm sorry, Anna. I am so sorry about all of this.
"Let's get to work." Mithos said, gesturing his former mentor to come along.
"Papa?" Lloyd's voice pitched up. He could do nothing else but watch his father leave, laying a hand on the glass that kept them apart.
What was going on? Why did dad not comfort me? Why didn't he say much of anything at all? Did he even feel guilty? Did he even feel sorrow? There was absolutely nothing in his eyes. They were blank. All the happiness and pride were taken away. All the love and devotion, gone.
Lloyd realized he was totally and utterly alone.
Juggling several tasks wasn't really new for Kratos. He liked to say he was pretty good at multitasking. Setting up trials at some of the temples, making general preparations for the next journey of regeneration. While on the side, he made sure his son wouldn't suffer to much in that cell, as well as looking for someone who could make a good keycrest for the Angelus project.
A few angels were tasked with bringing the basic, necessary stuff to Lloyd, to make the bare cell a bit more bearable and actually livable. Things like a mattress, and blankets for sleeping. Also, some clothing and food, which he needed to remind them to bring, because angels weren't used to food in general.
Lloyd didn't really know this stuff came from his father. He figured they realized this basic stuff was necessary so he didn't really give it any more thought.
Still, he tried to strike up conversations with the angels. Sometimes, it was one with white wings, other times, one with black ones. It was hard for him to tell the difference between them beyond that, because their faces looked the same. He didn't understand how or why. He was still just a little kid after all.
Books came after that, and they weren't light reading material. Not for a young kid at all. And Lloyd had trouble concentrating as is. How could he be expected to read all this and be able to understand, without any one to explain it to him?
He did try. There was not much else to do. Sometimes he ripped out pages to fold them into shapes, out of sheer boredom. It was also a distraction he needed. He was getting frustrated with being penned up in this place, where nobody really talked to him or looked after him. Where was his dad? Why did he show up once, and then just went out and disappeared without much of an explanation?
Then finally a sign of him came, in the shape of a very specific stuffed animal. It was a dog, white of fur and green mane like features. The ears were comically large and its beady eyes had a purple color. A tag told the name of this creature: 'Noishe.'
There were times that Lloyd asked about having a pet, to play with. And he specifically mentioned a dog. His dad played along and asked for a name, but the boy could not really think of one. So Kratos suggested Noishe. It never came tough. Maybe this was his way of apologizing?
Lloyd held the stuffed animal close, hugging it. He'd rather just have his father here, to have him to hug instead.
Time was hard to keep track of in this strange place, made of steel and purely for practical use. No sunlight to be seen and the angels didn't seem to age at all. This didn't go for Lloyd however. He was the only one growing, as well as eating and sleeping for that matter.
Mithos of course noticed what Kratos had been doing. But it didn't really matter. Small, material things that were practical for the most part, he couldn't really complain about. He intentionally kept Kratos busy, away from home base, just to see what kind of impact it would have on the boy.
He wasn't satisfied. Lloyd still tried to talk to the angels, just going on about his day, and sometimes he even asked questions about the books he had lying around. He mostly was ignored, but the boy didn't give up. He was stubborn, a real go-getter. Despite his situation, the boy kept his head up and even smiled from time to time.
This kind of attitude, Mithos did not appreciate. It was not welcome on Derris-Kharlan. This was meant to be the place, the home for all lifeless being. Yet, here was a 5-year-old, in a cell, grinning like an idiot.
He approached the cell, which was no longer bare, but littered with all kind of stuff. Books, folded papers, clothing. Mithos narrowed his eyes as he spotted the stuffed animal on the mattress, which was also an absolute mess. Not a neat freak like his father, that was for sure.
"Oh, hey there sir." Lloyd greeted the blond man, standing up. He did hear mention of his name, being addressed as Lord Yggdrasil.
"You seem to be in good spirits, boy."
"Uh, well as good as I can be. The situation is what it is. There is no use moping about it. Just make the best of it instead."
This made Mithos decide it was time. The next step needed to be made. His patience was tried enough with this kid. So, he opened the glass door and stepped in.
Lloyd didn't try to run past him. He knew it would be no use. He had tried in the beginning, but the angels were much faster, flying and all.
"Are you right or left-handed?"
Such a random question. But Lloyd indulged none the less. "I use both my hands, but if I don't really think about it, I mostly use my right."
Mithos raised a brow. This was rather curious. "Ambidextrous, huh? And I see you are also pretty creative."
His eyes went to the papers folded into different kinds of animals. There were also some drawings, which were pretty good for such a young kid.
Shy, the kid scratched the back of his head. "I get bored pretty quickly, though. I wish I could just get out and move some more."
None the less, the child was skinny. It seemed that he exercised, probably because of his boredom.
"Then how about some training? Learning how to fight."
Lloyd's eyes lit up, almost sparkling as he looked up at the blond man. "Really? That would be awesome!"
"Hold out your left hand, palm to the ground."
Again, Lloyd didn't question this. He just did what he was told. No one has done anything bad to him up to this point, after all.
The pain that followed hit harder, because he didn't expect it. It pressed on top of his hand, being forced on by Lord Yggdrasil. It burned like crazy, like his whole hand was on fire. He wanted to retreat his hand, but the man had a strong hold on it.
After a few moments, the pain passed and Mithos let go of the child's hand. The Angelus project was now planted, ironically on the offspring which it was actually meant for.
Lloyd stared at the gem, that now was on the back of his hand. His skin had already formed around it, veins lining it, throbbing. The gem itself had a red glow before dying down to a calm blue color.
"Your training will be started soon. You are to take it seriously, or your 'good time' here will be at an end."
Mithos stepped back, letting the glass close of the cell. The boy clearly needed a moment to let it all settle.
"Wait, what is this? Get it off!"
He tried to pull on it, but it hurt when he touched the edges of the gem. The skin around it was very sensitive.
"I would advise you to not do that. Unless you want to die." Lord Yggdrasil stated, deadpanned. "Play time is over, Lloyd. You aren't here for fun. You will be useful, otherwise you will regret it."
After saying this, Mithos flew up, getting out of the kid's field of view. He intentionally left him up to his own devises. Let's see how he deals with this. Kratos will no doubt be not entertained, once he calls him back up to start the training sessions.
But what was done, was done. The deal was at five years old. He didn't care if Kratos did not have a keycrest. That was his to worry about. He just wanted to see how the gem will develop further and how it will affect the child.
Hopefully it will dull him out. Even better, it would make him to join Cruxis. If he became strong enough, he would be welcome too. They could use some more good fighters, after all. Now it was just a matter of patience, waiting to see how the cards play out.
