Exhausted from the long mission and not having a good night's rest in what felt like months, Kain and Serena imdiately wanted to head back to the College dorms.
However, first, Kain brought Malzahir to the building he'd previously gotten as a temporary HQ for his etings with Darius and any others he chooses to help awaken. Thankfully he had the foresight to add sleeping quarters to the building.
After sending off ssages to his family, friends, and his business associates like Collin, he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
His soft, high thread count, pillow.
'Ahhh… this is the life…'
Kain had no desire to pick up any more missions for a long ti, he couldn't help thinking before everything faded to black.
-------------------
When Kain woke, it was now bright out.
Sunlight poured in through the dorm windows, casting gentle streaks across the floor. For a brief, blissful second, he considered turning over and going back to sleep. But the dryness in his throat and the vague sense that he was forgetting sothing finally pushed him upright.
He blinked blearily and reached for his phone, which lay face down on the nightstand.
It was still powered off.
Kain frowned. He could've sworn he'd left it on. Maybe it died at so point during the night. He held the power button for a few seconds until the screen lit up, and leaned back against the headboard with a yawn while it booted.
Then—
BZZT. BZZT. BZZT. BZZZZZ. BZZZZZ. BZZZZZ.
The phone vibrated so violently it nearly leapt out of his hands.
247 new ssages.
15 missed calls.
3 voicemails.
Unread inboxes: Family, Collin, Darius plus god knows how many.
"…What the hell."
He swiped through the notification bar, eyebrows lifting higher and higher.
ssages from his family ca first. The director and Bridge first, followed by the rest of his siblings. All filled with relief.
---------
Director: "I knew you'd be fine, but please check in more often!"
Bridge: "About ti you ca back."
Cherry: "Kainnnn!! Did you bring back any souvenirs for ???"
Jasper: "We were taking bets on how long it'd take you. I said 20 days. I won."
lody: "Co visit, please. I miss you."
Milo: "Welco back."
….
--------
Kain smiled faintly. He typed out a quick ssage to all of them, promising to visit soon and reassuring them that everything was fine.
Then ca Collin's ssages. Dozens of them, organized in bullet-point summaries. Straight to business like always:
--------
Collin: "Quarterly report finalized. Numbers up 37% from last month."
Collin: "Three new knockoff spiritual beer brands popped up in the Capital. Sent cease-and-desist."
Collin: Surprisingly all knockoff suppliers in the Eastern region and even the Southern regions seem to be gone.
Collin: "eting request from Lord Alaric Veylen. You ntioned no longer wishing to socialize with him. eting declined."
Collin: "Your share of last month's sales profits deposited. Check ledger."
Collin: "A certified issuer certificate has been issued to almost 8000 bars and restaurants across the Empire."
Collin: "Updated storage security. We had a breach attempt. No losses."
Collin: "Spiritual beer demand exceeded projections. We'll need a new brewing facility within the month."
Collin: "Warehouse 3 is ready. Staff already rotated in."
Collin: "When you're back, we need 30 minutes minimum. A few things require your decision."
--------
Kain groaned softly, already feeling a headache coming on. But then he reached the largest stack of ssages by far:
Darius.
Dozens upon dozens of them.
Kain scrolled. Then scrolled more. And scrolled again.
And with each ssage, his brows crept lower into a deepening furrow.
They hadn't contacted him while he was away, respecting the blackout, but now that he was back…
The threads were increasingly unhinged.
------
Darius: "Mission done. Sort of. You… might want to call us."
Darius: "We got rid of the knockoff vendors like you asked. All of them. Permanently. I think."
Darius: "We didn't technically break any laws. But if anyone cos to talk to you, you don't know us."
Darius: "Okay but like, hypothetically, if a building explodes but no one reports it…"
Darius: "Can soone explain why there's a goat in our van? It bit "
Darius: "Sorry. Wrong group chat."
------
"…What?"
Kain stared blankly at the screen for a long mont.
He rubbed at his temple, slowly lowering the phone. "It was just supposed to be a basic clean-up job…"
So much for a vacation.
He swung his legs out of bed and stood with a groan, muttering under his breath as he reached for a clean shirt.
"Alright. Let's go see what disaster they caused..."
But just as he turned to toss the phone aside and get ready to leave another flood of vibrations buzzed through his hand.
A fresh batch of notifications. Except this ti, they weren't from anyone he recognized.
Nas not saved in his phone. People he definitely didn't rembered giving his number to. And people that definitely shouldn't know that he was back yet since he didn't tell them…
------
[UNKNOWN]: "is it true ur back?! omggggg 🙈🙏 welco ho legend 😭💖💖"
[UNKNOWN]: "he ca back alive from the wilderness… our planner prince fr 💍"
[UNKNOWN]: "pls co to my store grand opening?? i nad it 'Kainspiration'. It mainly sells rchandise for the 'Kain Fan Club'🥹💕"
[UNKNOWN]: "how do I get my contract to evolve like yours 😭 it's a Vespirae Queen too, like yours was, but it's so weak in comparison"
------
Kain blinked.
He scrolled again. The sheer volu was absurd—hundreds of texts, mostly complints, a few mildly creepy, and a shocking number asking for consultations.
"...I have a fan club?"
He frowned, opening one particularly persistent thread at the top. The contact na had hearts on either side (he had absolutely zero knowledge of adding this contact himself…), and the chat was… long.
------
💘Alaina Ashenclaw💘
[11:23 PM] "Hi Kain!!! I know you're super busy being amazing and mysterious and powerful but I FELT that you were back… we must have such a deep connection 💕"
[12:01 AM] "I passed by your dorm building last night (just coincidentally!! haha don't be weird 🙈) and I SWEAR I saw the lights flicker. You're back, right? You're back."
[2:45 AM] "I tried to deliver you breakfast but the security around the top 5 dorms is so tight. I will try again in the morning. 🥰"
[3:10 AM] "I am so happy I got into the sa College as you! Isn't that fate??? I decided to take so elective Evolutionary Planning courses this sester, we have so much in common ☺️."
[5:17 AM] "The security wouldn't let in again. They're so annoying! Please tell them when you wake up about how close we are!"
[7:02 AM] "Anyway text when you're free!! Or I'll find you first teehee 💖"
--------
Kain slowly locked his phone after reading that last (threatening?) ssage.
Stared at the wall.
And let out a long, hollow sigh.
Reviews
All reviews (0)