Chapter 27: ~Grandfather and Grandmother.~ (1/2)

***Norfolk, Sarn-Valley***

Ascathon is sitting directly in front of me with an earnest face while holding my hands. After a few minutes he buries his face into my lap and starts to laugh like a maniac.

“Kukuku...hahahaha.... hihihihi!”

I am astonished by his strange reaction and start to pat his head. “Heey. Is it really that bad? Come on. It can't be that bad. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have tripped over that bowl. I will never again set a foot into your lab.”

Then he stops and sits up again. “There are good news. And there are bad news. And then there are news which are neither good nor bad.”

My expression drops. “The good news at last please.”

“Ok. The ritual went seriously wrong which resulted in our three souls being mixed and mashed together. The result is something which would be best described as a soul-bond between the three of us. I don't know the exact implications yet but most likely we are somehow bound together for ~eternity~!” His expression is really accusing.

“Et...ternity?” Forever? Always? Even the next life? “And what's with the third soul?”

“The other news is that there is a parasite inside your body!” He points dramatically at my belly. “This is a problem that concerns just you so I deemed it less......”

“Parasite!? What!? Which sort!? How can a parasite have a soul!?” This whole event took a heavy toll on me!

And now a parasite?

My head is spinning!

What horrible sorts of parasites are there in this world?

“Yes. It's the intelligent sort which can only be removed with dire consequences for our morality. The other choice is that you will slowly swell up as it is growing inside you. Then one final day you will burst open and it will leave your body. There will be blood and it hurts like hell. But a few healing spells should be able to fix you up right away. The whole story will be very messy and leave some permanent marks on your body. Afterwards it will leech on you until it finally grows big enough to be thrown out of the house.”

He raises a box with a lens and points it at my face.

*Klick*

A shutter opens while a flash of light blinds me.

I blink my eyes while the gears in my head finally start to turn again and I realize that he is making fun of me!

*SLAP*

“It's yours too! How can you call it a parasite!!!”

I cover my face with my hands. “Haaah. I thought I had always kept track of it. How could I make such a stupid mistake. I wanted at least a few more months as newly weds! I even made some medicine to stop it from happening!”

Ascathon rubs his red cheek while he pulls a sheet of paper out of his camera. “Actually it didn't really surprise me. You are like a succubus when you get frustrated. And I don't know how good your medicine is but I don't expect much from the raw materials which are available in this world.”

He starts smiling and shows me the picture. I look like I got told that I am going to die. Completely shocked. “I improvised this camera but it works better than expected! You can show this to the kid when it's old enough. Don't forget to mention that it was the moment when you learned about your pregnancy.”

I glare at him. “That's why I said that I had hoped for a few more months.”

“Well. The last news is that it looks like we all got away with no permanent mental damage. Our memories and personalities all seem to be intact. We won't know for the child but it should be fine too since we got away without obvious damage.” He stands up.

I get out of my chair too. “Let's go and eat dinner. We are seriously late by now.” This is horrible. hopefully this soul-bond wont become a serious hindrance in the future. Ascathon doesn't seem to be worried about it.

“Ah, I forgot. Stefan has a suspicion about me having knowledge beyond this world because he took a look at my clocks. He shared the knowledge with your mother and she will probably talk about it with your father. We should think up a good explanation for them.” He casually drops another bomb on me and I turn.

“Knowledge from another world? Those were their words?”

He nods with vigour. “That's true. They are probably thinking that I am some kind of demon or god by now.”

I sigh and turn to walk to the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen I find my parents. The kids are already done with their food and gone. Only my parents seem to have taken their time with eating. Their plates are still filled and they look with suspicion at Ascathon as he enters the room.

“It's nice of you to wait for us. Unfortunately it took longer than expected.” I sit down and start to eat my cold food.

Ascathon takes his place beside me and starts eating too.

“We have thought about many things Celestial.” Idala looks at me with suspicion. Eeeh? Why am I the target of mistrust now?

“These artefacts aren't of this world according to Stefan.” Arduin looks at Ascathon.