Chapter 367 - 367: Daily Life of Eon (ii)

Moss-Eye dragged his specialized crystalline scanner across Eon's chest. The device clicked wildly to process the residual cosmic energy lingering in Eon's veins.

He despised the daily examinations.

Eon squirmed on the reinforced examination table, swinging his legs back and forth. A sudden cough racked the child's frame, triggering a momentary spatial hiccup that swallowed a nearby tray of surgical tools into a miniature black hole.

Deputy Varek pinched the bridge of his nose and logged the lost equipment on his clipboard. The boy suffered from void-reflux after expending excessive energy.

Krug and Gorak constantly ordered Eon to restrict his powers, yet restraining a ten-year-old walking apocalypse proved futile

"Your core temperature fluctuates too much," Moss-Eye noted. He recorded the metrics on a parchment clipboard. "You deploy spatial rifts without regulating your output. This causes biological strain on your internal organs."

"I feel completely fine," Eon argued. He hopped off the slab and grabbed his tungsten teething ring. "You just want to keep me inside."

Moss-Eye adjusted his quartz spectacles. "I want your heart to continue beating. Do not exceed three localized singularities today."

Eon ignored the warning and sprinted out of the infirmary. He navigated the winding corridors of the Gildreath palace to reach the central training yard. Gorak stood in the middle of the dust, barking orders at a squad of Vanguard infantry. Eon rushed over to Gorak to ask about his favorite sparring partner.

"Gorak," Eon called out. "Did Krag come back?"

Gorak lowered his crystallized arm and turned to face Eon. "Krag went with Iron-Scale to clear a subterranean dungeon outbreak in the eastern sector. They will not return until tomorrow morning."

Eon kicked a loose pebble across the dirt.

'Tomorrow is too far away.' He tucked the tungsten ring into his pocket and wandered away from the training grounds.

Eon kicked a loose pebble across the tiles and wandered away from the barracks. He navigated the winding garden paths until he found a group of children playing a tagging game near the central fountains.

He walked through the open courtyards and spotted a group of children near the fountain. They chased each other around the marble pillars.

Eon took a step toward them to join the game. The moment the children noticed his approach, they screamed and scrambled away to hide behind their caretakers. They knew exactly what happened when Eon lost his temper.

Eon dropped his gaze to the paved stones. A profound sense of isolation settled in his chest. He possessed the power to shatter mountains, yet he completely lacked companions of his own age. Krag was fifteen and busy learning battle tactics.

Eon had nobody to play with.

He looked up at the cloudy sky and let out a frustrated sigh. "Even Glitch avoids me now."

Eon recalled the disaster from three weeks ago. He and Glitch had engaged in a contest to see who could consume the most physical terrain. The competition escalated until they accidentally swallowed the entire northern aqueduct system.

They regurgitated millions of gallons of pressurized sewage and mutated river fish directly onto the Vanguard parade grounds. The resulting mess took thousands of laborers a full week to clean.

Rubedo had grounded Glitch to the orbital sanctuary ever since.

With nothing else to do, Eon headed toward the inner residential wing to visit Julia. The deep-core guards stationed outside her chambers unlocked the oak doors upon seeing him. Julia possessed clearance to roam the inner facilities under supervision since she posed absolutely zero threat without her stolen magic.

Julia looked up from her reading desk and smiled brightly. She rushed across the room and wrapped her arms around Eon in a tight embrace.

"Julio," Julia said. She peppered his forehead with kisses. "You have dirt all over your face."

She pulled him toward a small wooden dining table. A plate of fresh cookies rested next to a glass of synthesized milk. She had spent weeks instructing the palace cooks on how to recreate Earth recipes using alchemical substitutes.

Eon grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and bit into it. The sweet flavor completely eclipsed the taste of his usual nutrient paste. He drank the milk and listened eagerly as Julia sat beside him.

"I used to go to a place called a shopping mall when I was your age," Julia explained. She wiped a crumb from his chin. "It was a giant building filled with bright lights and hundreds of stores. My friends and I would buy ice cream and play video games in the arcade until the sun went down. Nobody had to fight monsters or wear armor."

Eon rested his chin on his hands. 'A world without armor sounds boring, but the ice cream sounds nice.'

"We had beaches with warm sand and clear water," Julia continued. Her expression darkened as she stared at the stone floor. "It was a perfect life. Then Red dragged us into this hell. He is a monster who ruins everything he touches."

Eon slammed his fist onto the wooden table. The plate rattled violently. A miniature spatial rift popped into existence near his knuckles.

"Do not call the Sovereign a monster," Eon snapped. His cosmic eyes flared with sudden hostility. "He built this empire. He gave me my name."

Julia recoiled from the swirling void magic. Fear flashed across her pale face. She realized she was pushing him away by insulting his creator. She reached out and gently placed her hand over his glowing fingers.

"I am sorry, Julio," Julia apologized frantically. "I did not mean to upset you. Please do not be angry with me."

Eon dismissed the spatial rift and relaxed his posture. He did not want to fight with her. He just wanted someone to sit with him.

Julia moved her chair closer and began to sing a familiar nursery rhyme about twinkling stars. The soothing melody washed over the quiet room.

Eon finished his milk and laid his head on his arms. The exhaustion from his earlier battle with the Calamity-rank entity finally caught up to him. He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep while Julia stroked his ash-silver hair.