Chapter 5

"Wait really?!The one responsible for that huge explosion was you?! THAT'S AMAZING!" The huge man, whose name was Albert, exclaimed as he stood up from his seat.

Why... Just why did Maria have to marry a man so enthusiastic to the point it's scary?

"Now now honey it seems my brother is a bit exhausted, take it easy on the poor guy!" The woman said as she nudged the man gently with the biggest "Ohoho~" face that could possibly exist.

You evil woman.

"Ah yes yes, young dragons must have a good rest, and good food!" The man exclaimed as he sat back down on his chair, followed by him putting more oxiry meat on my plate. Which I'm thankful for but... this feels weird. I feel like I'm being babied all over again...

I quietly stared at the other end of the house where the fetus I picked up and the baby that came from my sister's belly were snuggling with each other.

"Ah Mono, I forgot to ask. What's the name of the fetus you decided to raise?" Maria asked as she drank some water.

"... It doesn't have one." I mumbled, followed by her spraying the water in her mouth all over me.

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY NAMING IT?!" She shouted in what seemed to be, shock? Wait, why is she being like this? I didn't even get my name until I was 5 years old.

"I didn't." I said as I wiped off the water and saliva on my face. Disgusting. I readjusted my seating position as I looked at the married woman's face that looked like she was preparing for a 5-hour lecture.

"So all you do is call it something weird like Human Fetus?" She asked as she wiped her own mouth.

"How is that weird?" I asked, I am now literally confused. What's the big deal?

"SO YOU ADMIT YOU CALL IT A HUMAN FETUS?! SERIOUSLY?!" Her daughter popped in.

"Hey now, you two should calm down too..." Albert said as he patted the backs of Maria and Aria.

This was followed by the two doing breathing exercises for a few moments and me eating as I tried to deal with the awkwardly silent atmosphere.

Maria was the one who broke the silence first. "Okay so, why didn't you think of at least the most simple name you could come up with?"

"I didn't think it was necessary..." I said slowly, praying she doesn't go berserk again.

"But uncle, names are really important! If you just keep calling the baby 'Human Fetus' it's like you're only talking about the shell and not the baby itself! You must give it a name!" My niece had said with what seemed to be a pout as she slammed her tiny hands on the dining table. I sighed quietly.

For the next few seconds, I was staring at the ceiling as the 3 individuals stared at me expectantly. A variety of images had entered my mind, so many that I almost couldn't clearly see some. Some were aesthetically calm, while others were screaming total chaos. And in most pictures, there was a variable that kept reappearing.

"Fier." That was the one thing that came out of my mouth.

"... That's the laziest naming session I've ever seen. All you did was flip the places for E and R for the word Fire." Maria said as she shook her head.

"Listen to yourself. Your kid's name is literally your name without the M." I shot back at her.

"Fier has a nice ring to it!" Albert said as he patted my back, probably trying to keep the conversation steering to another awkward silence.

The rest of the night after that overly awkward conversation was quite peaceful, with Aria, for some reason, cooing Fier, a lot of times, calling the baby by the name I came up with.

I never ended up sleeping, and ended up drinking cocoa while having a conversation with my step-sister.

"It's quite shocking Mono, you're already 16. You've grown so much, yet your mind is like that of a child." Maria chuckled as she blew on her cup that had steam escaping it.

"Is that an insult?" I asked as my expression became that of a frown. This was obviously followed by the woman laughing. I'm never going to understand how she finds almost everything, worth laughing about. I shook my head as my brain shifted to remembering Albert in an apron.

"I'm actually a bit relieved that you still act like a child. It may sound a bit stupid, but I was scared of how that event might have affected you." She said as she stared out of the window. The moon was shining so brightly, it felt sickening at some point.

"... Maria. What happened has happened. Even if I had changed, you shouldn't wish I didn't. It would offend me if you did, since I am quite content with how I am right now." I said quietly as I put down my cup on the table.

"... Right. Sorry, I must be coming off selfish right now." Maria said as she formed a bittersweet smile.

"It's fine." I sighed.

"Are you leaving when the sun rises?" She asked as she looked into my eyes, as if she was hoping I would answer in the way she she hoped I would.

"I don't want to leech off you any more longer than I already am. It'll make me feel even more indebted to you." I said as I picked up my cup again, sniffing on the now warm cocoa.

"... Will you come visit us again sometime?"

"I'll think about it."

With that, the woman stood up. "I'll retire to the bed now dear brother." She said as she put her hand on my shoulder for a few moments, before entering the master bedroom. That woman... Why was she acting like that?

I looked at the night sky, quietly observing the stars dancing without a care in the world, and the moon that seemed to be staring at my entire existence.

Beyond the moon and stars, what existed beyond that? I tried again and again to find the answer, but all I saw was an unending void.

Surely, there was something else. But... maybe it wasn't the time to find out yet.