Chapter 21: First Crisis
For the first time since arriving at Arcadia Academy...
Kael Veyron didn’t feel like celebrating.
He wasn’t even really sad about losing.
What bothered him was something else.
Something much worse.
Something he had discovered during the match.
The Little Fat King did not belong to him.
It never had.
Kael was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
The house still looked strange.
Too new.
Too clean.
Too luxurious for someone who had grown up patching leaks with scraps of wood.
Courtesy of Seraphina.
A few meters away, the Fat King slept on an absurdly expensive cat bed.
A bed that was probably worth more than all the furniture Kael had owned during his childhood.
"What an unfair life..."
"Meow."
"I’m not even talking to you."
The cat closed one eye.
Clearly offended.
Luna appeared in the doorway.
"Big brother."
"What?"
"You’re still depressed."
"I’m not depressed."
"You’ve been staring at the ceiling for three hours."
"I’m thinking."
"That’s depression with extra steps."
Kael sighed.
"I didn’t lose because Aurelion was better."
"Well... he was pretty good."
"You’re not helping."
"I’m trying."
Kael sat up slowly.
"The problem is something else."
"The cat?"
"The cat."
Luna looked at the Fat King.
The Fat King looked at Luna.
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
Like two natural enemies.
"He’s always been weird."
"Thanks, Luna."
"But now he’s weirder."
"Thanks, Luna."
"And pretty fat."
"That one’s true."
"Meow."
Kael ran a hand over his face.
"If one day he decides not to help me...
I’m done."
For the first time, Luna didn’t answer immediately.
Because she knew it was true.
And that was precisely what was worrying.
After all...
What kind of summoner was one who couldn’t trust his own summon?
...
Later that night.
Kael left the house.
He needed to clear his mind.
The streets were quiet.
Most students were already resting.
A few lights glowed in the distance.
The enormous silhouette of the academy dominated the horizon.
Kael started running.
Not because he needed to train.
But because sitting and thinking was driving him crazy.
As he ran, one question kept circling inside his head.
What the hell was he supposed to do about the Fat King?
He couldn’t force it.
He couldn’t train it.
He couldn’t understand it.
He didn’t even know what species it was.
"Damn it..."
He ran a little further.
"How am I supposed to team up with you?"
Silence.
Only the sound of his footsteps.
"Do I have to bribe you with food?"
Silence.
"Talk sweetly to you?"
Silence.
"Build you a statue?"
"That would be acceptable."
Kael stopped dead.
"What?"
A voice had just answered him.
And it definitely hadn’t been the cat.
Slowly, he looked up.
And then...
The world changed.
BOOOOOOM.
The trees disappeared.
The sky disappeared.
The road disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
Kael opened his eyes.
"What the hell?"
Now he was standing in the middle of an impossible amusement park.
Roller coasters floating in the air.
Carousels spinning backwards.
Clouds shaped like giant ducks.
A volcano shooting confetti.
A castle built entirely of candy.
And in the middle of it all...
A man walked, balancing on an invisible tightrope.
He wore an elegant black suit.
Long hair.
An exaggeratedly wide smile.
And eyes full of an energy that made it impossible to tell if he was crazy or a genius.
Probably both.
The man spun around.
"Welcome!"
"What?"
"Welcome!"
"Who are you?"
"Excellent question!"
"Are you going to answer it?"
"Maybe."
The man appeared behind Kael.
Then in front.
Then above.
Then below.
As if the laws of reality had decided to quit.
"Do you know what the funniest thing in the universe is?"
"No."
"That nobody knows what they’re doing."
"That doesn’t answer anything."
"I know."
Kael watched him for a few seconds.
Then sighed.
"Fine."
The man smiled.
"Fine?"
"Fine, I get it."
"What do you get?"
"That you’re completely insane."
Silence.
The man looked at him.
Then began to applaud.
"Correct!"
"Thanks."
"You’re faster than most."
"Most?"
"Yes."
"How many people have you talked to about this?"
"That would ruin the surprise."
Kael massaged his temples.
"Please tell me who you are."
"Of course."
The man made an exaggerated bow.
"God of Chaos."
"..."
"..."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"The real one?"
"The original."
"The god?"
"The very same."
"Of chaos?"
"Correct."
Kael looked at him.
"I thought you’d be taller."
"I thought you’d be smarter."
"Hey."
"Hey."
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Well."
Kael crossed his arms.
"Let’s say I believe you."
"Wise decision... So why are you here?"
"Why am I here?"
"Because you were depressed."
"I wasn’t depressed — and why ask if you’re going to answer?"
"You were. A lot."
"Not that much."
"A lot."
Kael decided to ignore him.
"Was it you who gave me the system?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
The God of Chaos smiled.
"For fun."
"..."
"..."
"Just for fun?"
"Of course."
"No prophecy?"
"No."
"Destiny?"
"No."
"Chosen by the gods?"
"Absolutely not."
"Saving the world?"
"Sounds terribly boring."
Kael blinked.
The god sat on a shark-shaped cloud.
"Look, kid."
"Uh-huh."
"The other gods love order."
"Uh-huh."
"Rules."
"Uh-huh."
"Hierarchies."
"Uh-huh."
"Perfectly organized systems."
"Uh-huh."
"And I got bored."
"That seems about right."
The god pointed upward.
"So I invented memes."
"..."
"..."
"You invented memes?"
"The best divine joke in history."
Kael didn’t know how to respond to that.
"Why?"
"Because they’re absurd."
"Fair point."
"Because they break logic."
"Also a fair point."
"Because they make the other gods angry."
"That explains a lot."
"And because it’s fun."
"That also explains a lot."
The God of Chaos smiled proudly.
Like a child who had just set something important on fire.
"So..."
Kael took a deep breath.
"What about the cat?"
"The Little Fat King?"
"Yes."
"He thinks he’s wonderful."
"I already noticed."
"He thinks he’s perfect."
"I noticed that too."
"He thinks he’s superior."
"Very obvious."
"And technically, he’s right."
"Damn it."
The god burst out laughing.
"Your problem is simple."
"Which is?"
"You treat him like a pet."
Kael frowned.
"And he isn’t?"
"No."
"A companion?"
"Sort of."
"An ally?"
"Closer."
"A cat?"
"Also."
"Then I don’t understand."
The god pointed directly at Kael.
"You give orders."
"Because I’m the summoner."
"And he believes no one has the right to give him orders."
"I already noticed that."
"Tell him."
Kael fell silent.
"Fair point."
"Thanks."
The god smiled.
"If you want him to cooperate...
you must prove you are worthy of his magnificence."
"That sounds ridiculous."
"It is — and that’s why I love it. That’s how he thinks, at least."
"I hate you."
"He hates you too — but you’re his reason for existing, so he tolerates you. You should do the same."
"Perfect. So now I scratch his belly and point a laser at him?"
The god stood up.
"Besides..."
"Yes?"
"He won’t be your only summon."
Kael blinked.
"What?"
"There will be more."
"More memes?"
"Many more."
"That doesn’t reassure me."
"Some will be worse."
"WORSE?"
"Much worse."
"What do you mean, worse?"
"Chaotic."
"That tells me nothing, you know?"
"Funny."
"..."
"Troublesome."
"..."
"And probably illegal."
"What does ’probably’ mean?"
"We’re still voting on that one."
Kael felt his head hurt.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
The God of Chaos shrugged.
"Because I want more chaos."
"Very honest."
"If you die because your cat won’t cooperate, I’ll have to find another bearer."
"Thanks for the confidence."
"It was hard to find you."
"Why?"
"You have something very strange."
"What?"
The god smiled.
"The power of the script."
Silence.
"What does that mean?"
"No idea."
"What do you mean, no idea?"
"It sounds important."
"THAT’S NOT AN ANSWER!"
But the God of Chaos was already disappearing.
The park began to crumble.
The roller coasters exploded into fireworks.
The sky split into thousands of colors.
And the god’s voice echoed one last time.
"Have fun, Kael Veyron."
"Wait."
"And try not to die."
"WAIT!"
"The next memes are even weirder."
"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?"
"BYYYYEEEEEE!"
BOOOOOOOOM.
Everything disappeared.
...
Kael found himself standing in the same street.
Silence.
The night was exactly the same.
The stars were still in the sky.
And the academy still glowed in the distance.
As if nothing had happened.
Kael stood still for several seconds.
Then looked up at the sky.
"..."
He took a deep breath.
"My life is stupid."
And for some reason...
That made him smile.
Because for the first time since he lost to Aurelion...
He felt like he had taken a small step forward.
He didn’t understand the Fat King.
Not yet.
But at least now he knew something important.
He didn’t need to control it.
He needed to earn its respect.
And strangely enough...
That seemed much harder.
