Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 52: Dinner

Her face tightened.

"So all I end up doing is dealing with old men trying to charm me, shrewd scamming merchants, jealous women, and a host of unbelievably petty and menial matters!"

"And because you two don’t ever need my services, I never make money, so I can’t buy anything to grow or prepare myself for the coming barrier fall."

Uriel chuckled, but didn’t stop her from complaining, letting her vent freely.

"Even the local baker near Crater Street has already reached the B Rank! The entire family!"

Uriel stared at her in disbelief. "The B Rank? In a week? How?"

His words only seemed to further fan the flames of her annoyance.

"You have no idea just how—!"

She continued on.

...

As it turned out, the lonely ex-housekeeper of the emporium had quite a few grievances to let out.

Perhaps too many.

Eventually, Enoch was stirred awake from his slumber by the chatter and the delicious smells spilling into the living room.

He was confused for a moment, but quickly shook the grogginess from his body with a wide stretch that sent subtle tremors through his frame, a groan of satisfaction escaping his lips.

Sitting up, he slicked his hair back and exhaled, hopping off the sofa, slipping on his slippers, and walking over to the counter.

Ayah was already seated there, the table laid out before her, a glass of wine in hand, as Uriel listened to her rambling—only half paying attention—while he tidied his station and turned off the stoves.

Enoch’s gaze swept across the table, and his mouth watered.

It was just as wide and exaggerated as the breakfast buffet they’d had earlier, with such a variety of dishes that Enoch didn’t even bother counting them.

He looked up, interrupting their conversation. "You made this? Since when can you cook?"

Uriel turned to him. "Since today. I used the cookbook I found around the house."

His expression turned bitter. "I failed more than a couple of times, and definitely wasted more than I needed to. I’ve been at it for a few hours already."

Ayah turned to Enoch and waved, clearly a little drunk. "Hey."

Enoch smiled and nodded at her. "Hey. How was work?"

He sat down beside her. "You seem to be in a festive mood, hm?"

Ayah grinned and motioned for Uriel to pass her another glass as she poured wine for Enoch. "I quit my job!"

Enoch looked genuinely taken aback, but noticing her excitement, and Uriel’s smile, he couldn’t stop his own lips from curling upward.

"Amazing." He extended a hand to take the glass, but just before he could drink, she pulled it back.

Her gaze sharpened. "Wait. How old are you?"

Uriel crossed his arms and hummed. "That is a good question. How old are you?"

Enoch looked at them both, irritation flickering across his face. "Is it not obvious?"

"..."

His eyes widened. "How old do you think I am?" There was a strange hint of panic in his voice.

The two exchanged a glance.

"I honestly have no idea," Uriel said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "You look like a hybrid between a man in his late thirties and a middle schooler. You have a very strange bodily structure."

Ayah nodded almost imperceptibly, silently agreeing.

When they both looked back at him expectantly, Enoch sighed. He snatched the glass from Ayah’s unsteady hand and downed it.

"I’m nineteen. I turned nineteen on the day of the apocalypse."

Uriel slid the bottle toward him, letting him pour more for himself. He looked mildly dazed.

"Huh. That’s weird. We have the same birthday. I turned sixteen that day too."

He then turned to Ayah. "What about you?"

"...?!"

Seeing the shock on her face, disbelief spread across his own.

"You too...? We all have the same birthday?"

Ayah shook her head quickly, her shock aimed at something else entirely as she neatly dodged his question.

"You’re sixteen?!"

...

They ate and talked late into the night, the mood steadily brightening as the three of them truly began to get to know one another.

Eventually, though, the noise faded.

Enoch exhaled and crossed his arms. His gaze lingered on Uriel and Ayah, who were both looking at him with faint solemnity, before he closed his eyes.

Moments later, he opened them again.

"Alright."

He took another breath.

"Since we’re going to be together until the end of all of this, and hopefully beyond, if we survive, we should have an honest conversation to ground things."

"Uriel and I already have a contract of companionship binding us, and you’ll be joining it soon. But before that, there are things we need to lay out."

Uriel blinked, having completely forgotten about the contract he’d signed back then, as delirious as he’d been after years spent in that prison.

’I probably should’ve read the terms,’ he thought absently.

Enoch turned to Ayah. "For your own reasons, you clearly trust us, enough to put your life in our hands. But beyond that, you must have goals."

"Tell us what they are. Tell us what you expect from both of us, so we know what to expect from one another. After that, I’ll go. Then Uriel."

Ayah nodded slowly, taking a few deep breaths. In the span of a blink, her aether cycled through her body, burning away the alcohol in her system.

Watching how casually she accomplished such a complex action, Uriel couldn’t help but guffaw inwardly in awe.

Ayah’s gaze sharpened.

"I am Ayah Lance Ygritte, an Inhuman, or rather, what we truly are: a World Sentinel," she began, her voice carrying undertones of deep authority.

Then she faltered.

It was subtle, but sudden, her aura wavering as panic flickered across her face. She swallowed hard and steadied herself.

Uriel and Enoch both noticed. Uriel felt it deeply through his spark, but neither of them interrupted, their gazes only narrowing slightly.

"I trust you... for a reason I can’t say while we’re still in the settlement. But I do. And I promise that once the barrier falls, I’ll explain everything. Even so, I’m willing to sign the contract now, if that reassures you."

"I want to survive, and become strong enough to matter in the new age of our world, just like you two. But more than that, I want to find and kill someone."

"I want to torture that person to death," she said.

Her words shook Uriel to his core, her killing intent pouring into him, drilling through bone and flesh alike, while Enoch remained unmoved.

"I also want to see the wider world beyond our own," she continued. "And if possible, become an explorer."

"That’s it."