Spectacular World

The Last Afternoon of Peace

He ran his hand over the cover of the novel. It was an old, faded book about knights banding together to save a kingdom from a great evil. As a kid, he had never been into fairy tales. Instead, he and his father focused on myths.

The old world was said to have hundreds of stories. People created tales about gods and their own heroes, crafting kingdoms and attempting to go beyond the stars. That had always fascinated him more than fake stories. Now that he was an adult, though, there was something oddly charming in a fictional story.

He shook his head slowly and placed the novel up on the shelf where it belonged.

"Is this seriously all you do?" Lois sighed.

"For the most part, yes. My library doesn't get very many visitors." Thaddeus chuckled. "Kids these days just aren't interested in sitting down and reading a good book. If it isn't animated, then chances are they aren't going to bother with it."

They were in the library that Thaddeus owned. Lois had somehow gotten dragged along and now rested up on one of the tables made for reading. She hadn't really done anything to help out and just twiddled her thumbs while Thaddeus rearranged books and checked on his stock. "If this place isn't that popular, why do you keep it around?"

"For someone that can see the future, I'd have expected you to already know the answer to that question." Thaddeus snorted. "It was my father's." He went quiet for a moment and stared at another book. This one was about a powerful mage turning into a dark beast of the night after making a deal with a demon. "I like to think it's my job to keep it clean. It is the least I can do, after all."

Lois jumped off of the table and looked around with a sigh. The library did look nice, but there was dust scattered about it, and it felt sort of lonely. It was the kind of place where it never got to see anyone. "When are you going to talk to the Hero Branch? They practically threw you under the bus for the incident that happened two years ago. No one, not even me nor my father, could have seen a new Calamity level threat be created instantly after the Beast left. It isn't your fault Chrysanthemum became lost. The Branch used you as a scapegoat and ruined you. Why have you accepted it so easily?"

Thaddeus picked up another book, one about a robber who accidentally discovered the people he was robbing were gods in disguise. "You weren't there. You'd have been seventeen when it went down. I was, though. I was in the heart of it all. I watched as the Beast tore Chrysanthemum apart. Watched as the Enforcers struggled to beat him. Watched as we failed to save yet another city. All the while, the only thing I could do was help try to get as many people as I could out of there. In the end, I failed that too. Then I was there when it happened. I was forced to watch as a new Calamity level threat was created. One that claimed the souls of the damned. I watched it claw my father out of the pits of the underworld and force him to change. Watched as the fallen heroes stood back up. I wasn't able to save Poseidon. Because of me, she nearly died. My actions not only left the city in ruins but nearly made the heroes lose a Lord that has been on their side for hundreds of years. Then I disobeyed orders and took her to Sky, who had just awakened her powers. I'm to blame for the state of mind Lily suffers from. As far as I am concerned, the Branch never threw me under a bus. I brought this all on myself."

"So then just fix it, you dummy." Lois snorted.

Thaddeus snapped his head over to her and frowned. "Fix it?"

"Yeah. All you need to do is fix it. Have you even spoken to Poseidon about what happened? Has she blamed you, or did she thank you for saving your life?"

"Well-"

"On top of that, have you ever considered just who you are? You shouldn't let the Hero Branch walk all over you. You're Myth! Son of Legend, brother of Fable. You fought the Emperor when you were a little kid-"