Genesis

02 - Shackles

Cale traced the incinerated, gold and foreign design that was painfully etched around his neck with his cold fingertips.

It would be a beautiful design, if only it was not a shackle to remind him that he is a sinner and a Fallen God.

The sound of mirror breaking fell deaf into Cale's ears. There were beads of cold sweats running down from his forehead as he gritted his teeth in annoyance then looked at his appearance.

The pair of wings were spread half out in its entirety that the space in the bathroom didn't even suffice. Cale repeatedly attempted to hide the wings in his back and currently, it's his twenty third try.

Not far too long, he successfully hid the feathery wings with a trail of blood trickling down his back as he could feel it forming hideous bruises.

"Young Master, are you in the bathroom?"

The redhead flinched in surprise as he felt a pang of pain, both emotionally and from the stuffed pair attached in his back.

Cale started to tremble as he squeezed his eyes shut, then bit his lips to stop a whimper coming until it was enough to draw blood. It took all his will to calm his nerves down then answered nonchalantly as he could to Ron.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute."

Cale picked up a feather that fell of in the sink and turned it into a bandage that has a similar color to his skin tone.

There is no need for them to know about his divinity yet, he thought to himself as he gently wrapped the bandage around his neck.

Cale went out of the bathroom as he steeled himself to not run towards the vicious butler and hug the old man. The redhead could see Ron handing him a cup of lemon tea as he took it and drank it in one go, making the old man raise his eyebrow in surprise.

Ron couldn't read any emotion from his puppy young master, all he could see was his reddish-brown eyes are sunken and have a distant look on them.

Cale then handed back the empty cup as the redhead didn't even have a look of disdain like he always did. Instead, he's even smiling slightly.

"Young Master, is there something wrong?" Ron couldn't help but ask as he was suspicious at the weird action before proceeding to pat the redhead's back.

Cale flinched away on instinct as he could feel the painful sensation emanating from his wings that wanted to spread free like it should be. But he continued to kept it tucked away as he began to sweat once again, his face paling as he wished he should have taken anesthetics to numb the pain.

The Vitality of Heart have no affect against a God's pain or injuries, so Cale was left alone to deal with it.

<I'm sorry...Cale.>

Cale remembers the time where he found out that he's a God of Creation right after he stabbed himself with the World Tree dagger. The sky suddenly roared as he was bedridden for a week due to his back pain.

It must only be the second week after the war, and Cale also noticed another pair sprouting just right below his fully grown wings.

It didn't take long for him to realize that another was growing since he suddenly went back in time.

The redhead only smiled in melancholy as he looked at Ron again.

"Sorry, I just had a terrible nightmare. Where are the children?" Cale immediately changed the topic as he wore an extra robe since it was quite chilly in the morning.

"They are currently having breakfast, Young Master-nim." Ron softly fixed the creases and such that are evident in the clothing.

As the butler was about to touch Cale's back again to check his suspicions, the redhead had already walked away from the vicious butler.