- June 28 in the morning: Tower of workers in the residence of the Descendants.
The sun began to shine on high, illuminating the Luminous Garden in all its splendor. The main city of the island shone with its own light, thanks to all the colored windows for all the buildings and facades of the city.
Lucy finished combing her hair in the mirror of her new room, making sure that all the hair was in place. When your bosses are a group of young people with superhuman abilities, a good appearance is synonymous with good impression!
Opening the windows of the room, Lucy looked out to see the street, full of colored posters, fountains, without any car brand... and without even asphalt to circulate.
"A new day, full of opportunities!" Lucy said in full lung, enjoying everything possible of the situation. The room that Taro had assigned to her was not too large (Lucy could almost assure that it was as big as her room during her college years), but even so the furniture was pretty, the bed super comfortable and with buttons to cool it and a huge desk with a good computer and a new mobile phone.
Mobile phone that as Lucy had checked the previous night, had blocked calls to the outside without authorization. Not everything could be perfect.
Three knocks on the door caught the attention of the reporter / assistant, a sign that Taro had come for her. "Lucy, are you ready?" The reporter could hear how Tora took a step back in the hall, away from the door.
"Good morning boss!" Lucy opened the door, full of energy and joy. Tora smiled as he reviewed a kind of tablet, pointing data. "What are you doing?"
"The Goddess has asked me to write down your punctuality, your interest and your efficiency in the work; and according to her, your salary will depend on your good will in this work!" What Tora was saying with enthusiasm and joy, for Lucy was extra pressure. The reporter had plans to smile, but... knowing that she would have to act as if the cameras were there was daunting.
"Good... I'm an expert in smiles, both false and true, so I can take care of everything!" Lucy winks an eye with confidence, something that Tora scored with good note on his tablet.
The couple began to walk down the hall while Tora was introducing Lucy to all the employees of the technical team. A kind of cooks, servants, cleaners, seamstresses, builders... informatics... carpenters... more support team that in many high-level professional teams in the NBA.
At the end of the visit, Lucy and Tora sat in the employee cafeteria, enjoying a cup of coffee. Cafeteria for employees that looked like a 5 star restaurant.
"And here's your cup, Lucy." Tora put the two cups of fresh coffee on the table, sitting on the chair facing Lucy. "Have you learned all the names yet?"
Lucy looked down, checking her phone and the list of workers she had tried to keep up. "More or less, but in a week or so I'm sure I'll remember them all! Now... when I'm going to meet the Goddess's children? I'm supposed to work for them, right?"
Taro took a long sip of coffee before looking up at Lucy. "I'm glad you asked that question, and that's why I thought that ending the visit in the cafeteria would be the best..." The tone of Taro's voice wasnt at all reassuring, causing Lucy to wait the worst.
"First, now you work for the Goddess, so you must be ready for calls at any time of the day.
The Goddess... let's say that although she need to sleep, your sleep cycle is less than 40 minutes and the rest of the time he dedicates it among his psionic investigations and leisure.
Leaving that aside, there are two clear points that you must understand: First, the Goddess has estimated that you will not receive information about who her children are- "
"AND HOW AM I GOING TO ATTEND THEM?!" The reporter could not stand the news, rising suddenly and demolishing her chair in the process, along with calling the attention of all workers. "... Sorry ..."
"Dont worry, I understand the reaction. In the words of the Goddess: Lucy is a great reporter, so she should o have trouble distinguishing who are the people she should interview-"
"GREAT REPORTER?! I AM A FAILED SPORTS REPORTER! IN ALL MY CAREER I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO MEMORIZE THE NAME OF ANY SPORTS TEAM THAT HAS BEEN COVERED!" Lucy's anger kept growing, while Taro tried to calm her down.
"Dont talk bad about yourself, Lucy... listen, you cant do anything. The Goddess has decided to discover for yourself who her descendants are and that's how it will be done... Look at the good side!" Lucy's angry look was a clear sign that there was no good side. "...well, you got rid of interacting with prepubes!"
"You mean the youngest children of the Goddess? How many children does the Goddess have? I know that the primogenite is Hope, but I have no idea which is the last..."
Taro went to answer, but in a gesture that broke Lucy's heart, the dark-haired young man needed to take out the tablet. "Tell me you're not checking the number..."
"It sounds weird..." Taro said turning off the tablet and taking his coffee cup. "But since I only work with those who are over 8 years old, it is never clear to me how many children there are younger. Currently, the goddess has 9 older patriarchs and 8 older matriarchs, and in turn the Goddess has recently been the mother of her thirty and five daughter- "
Face completely white and almost voiceless, Lucy took a long drink of coffee almost finishing her cup. "...thirty-five daughters and then as many children or all are grouped in the 35?..."
"All grouped in the 35 children, with 14 of them exceeding the age of 9. Those will be the ones who interact with you... and you should give thanks.
Lucy, you may have already seen what Hope can do... now imagine it a smaller version, less powerful but much more unconscious of it with 5 years.
There is a reason why up to 9 years old they live in the temple of the Goddess and are not allowed to move to the Descendants residence... without their parents watching them, many of them would become walking bombs"
Lucy took a few seconds to understand the situation, but at once her brain clicked. "Okay, I have to learn and interview 14 guys with enough strength to kill me! There's almost no tension or anything!" Lucy's nervous laugh was more than enough for all employees having breakfast to pray to the Goddess for her.
"Two last questions, all the daughters of the Goddess have... that extra part? and is there a real Goddess's son dangerous?"
"If you mean penises, yep, all the girls share the same genetics as the Goddess, so they all have the organs that she ... and on the subject of dangerous... one of the smallest children in your group , an 11 year old boy, if you have to worry about someone, it's from him"
"And why? and dont come saying he is a r03;r03;being super powerful, that part has already been clear to me"
And while Taro thought how to explain the situation without disobeying the orders of the Goddess, when one of the waitresses approached the table of the couple.
"Sorry to interrupt, boss Taro, but my friends nannies who work in the temple of the Goddess taking care of the little ones tell me about that son, if it is the one you are referring to ... they used to call him Fallen angel"
Lucy blinked a moment, imagining the child as a psychopath. "Fallen angel? isnt that a little exaggerated name for a child? ... and forgive me, but ..."
"Melindra, my name is Melindra and I work here in the cafeteria and in the children's catering service-"
"I think that saying Fallen angel is too much... but I'll let it go for now" Taro said while looking in his briefcase and took out a tablet identical to his. "Lucy, this is your work tool and your turn is about to start, are you ready?"
Getting up motivated and taking the table, "Of course I have an unbelievable will, an undaunted motivation and a virtue of gold!"
"Virtue of gold... and a fucking shit..." Lucy said smiling while entering the main hall of the Residence.
- Now finally, Main Hall of the residence of the Descendants
The main room was divided in two by what appeared to be a corridor to which the walls had been demolished but the floor was not even. To one side there was a huge round coffee table (the size of a king-size bed) and a lot of oversized armchairs and sofas around the table.
"They will be kids, but at least they have style!" Lucy said to herself as she ran her hand over the armchairs and sofas, checking the quality of their materials. At first glance, Lucy could imagine that each of these furniture should be worth at least thousands of dollars... and that was something really interesting.
Taking out her new phone and activating the recorder, Lucy began to put on reporter mode. "Seeing the height of the ceilings, the size of all the furniture, and the quality of the flooring, it shows that somehow this island gets money... illegal finance or-"
The recording of Lucy was interrupted when the main door of the residence was opened wide, entering a handsome young man with good looks, black ash hair, blue eyes and charming smile.
"Can I help you with anything, miss?" The young man said approaching Lucy, emphasizing at each step the height difference between them. Except Taro and other employees, everyone on this island were giants... and then there were the super-giants.
Lucy approached the young man, taking a small turn around him. (Something that the young man did not find too weird)"... maybe, or maybe not, what's your name?"
"Cesar, or if you're like my mother and Hope, Caesar, great adviser to the primogenite and fiance of Hope!" The young man stopped Lucy with one arm, offering his hand in a friendly grip. "Are you a new employee?"
"I'll answer if you answer another question before" Lucy winked one eye at the young man as he led him to one of the sofas, sitting (or rather, letting himself fall) with one leg crossed over the other. "Do all the children of the Goddess have semi-transparent hair full of colors?"
Cesar laughed while sitting at the central table. "You are someone who goes straight to the point, right? Your assumption is correct. It is a natural feature of all of them and even then they are able to modify their color, just by touching and noticing their hardness almost diamond filaments you can discover them"
Lucy pointed everything on her cell phone, accumulating data as a good reporter. "I deserve now to know your identity, miss?"
"Lucy, Lucy Crews, reporter and I'm currently working for Tora, so I guess you're my bosses too, or I'm not sure how things work around here" Lucy stuck her tongue out as she tapped herself on the head, an improper gesture for someone his age.
"To begin with" Cesar pointed to the sofa, worrying Lucy. "Each one of these seats belongs to each son of the Goddess... being his exclusive use-"
Lucy got up suddenly, terrified while trying to fix the cushion where she was sitting. "Please dont say anything..."
Cesar couldnt contain a chukle, while helping the older woman to fix the sofa. "I will not say anything... but you should know that many times it's useless!" The reporter stood with her mouth open, not knowing what to say or do.
"Almost all the children of the Goddess can read the traces left by our movements... and this sofa specifically belongs to the first son of the Goddess, Zeke... and isnt one of those who enjoy their things being used without permission"
"I'm screwed..." Lucy sighed, sitting down at the coffee table. "What is supposed to be a Grand Counselor? It's the second time I've heard it and I'm not sure what role you play... dont get offended, please"
"That is a completely logical question for any foreigner, so dont worry. The short answer would be that we are like the assistants of the descendants... the long one is that we are, as the name indicates, the advisors of the descendants. How you can see, the children of the Goddess dont think the same way we do, no matter how hard they try.
In the moments that they arent able to dazzle the correct way or in those that need a more human point of view, there we are to help them. Most counselors are simply friends that we grow up with them, although there are cases like Buck that his counselor is Professor Giros-"
"And do you like your work? Are you happy serving beings that could kill you effortlessly?" Lucy hated being so outspoken, but people respond more sincerely to questions asked at once than to well-posed questions.
"I guess for a foreigner it must be hard to understand... but listen to my words.
I've been raised with Hope since we were both little babies-" Cesar laughed to himself, unable to remember a time where Hope wasnt huge for him. "I've seen Hope grow up clinging to her mother and always looking for ways to help the others, I have taken care of her with all her little brothers and sisters... I have seen her innocence and her humanity beyond the aura of superiority that they give off.
Surely many people from abroad ask you about the humanity of the descendants, and I cant avoid that your conclusions are different from mine; but you should know that the boys are much more human than they appear: All make the same mistakes that you and I, feel the same and laugh and smile the same way you and me"
And with a smile and a slap On Lucy's back, Cesar started walking towards the main salon exit. "I should go pick up Hope's room a bit before she comes back from the moon base, so feel free to explore- Always be careful!"
And just as the great counselor had arrived, he left again, leaving Lucy reflecting in the salon-
"Did he just say... lunar base ?! Oh my god"
- In another part of the residence of the Descendants, Mythra Sanctuary.
See compete two daughters of the Goddess was always an impressive spectacle, because when facing someone of their same level the physical and mental abilities that the descendants managed to reach were a spectacle in itself.
"Come on Mythra!" All the Brides of Mythra swirled around her, partly to encourage they beloved and partly to make sure they didnt cheat.
"Relax, I have everything under control! Have you decided at once, little sister?" Myhtra smiled proudly, from her comfort position in the game. Without queen or bishops, Celica was on the ropes... and both knew it.
Celica looked at the board with her eyes closed, calculating all the possible results. Out of 100 possible Mythra counterparts, only in 27 Celica was able to gain an advantage on the board. If we go 10 plays ahead, Celica was completely finished in 91 of the possible becomings of the game.
"Come on Cel! Relax and think well!" Lahda wiped the sweat from the forehead of her best friend, without even being able to understand the level of thought that Celica was handling. "Ethin, can you extend the duration of Cel's turn a little, please?"
The son of the Goddess denied without any consideration, pointing to the chronometer. "The rules are the rules, 90 seconds to predict as much as possible before making the play-"
"But please!" Lahda begged again, throwing herself on her knees to the ground and everything.
"You know I dont make the rules, big sister Lahda." Ethin said ringing the bell. "Arch-matriarch Valentine designed the rules so that once a week we put to the test our maximum capabilities, I understand your frustration but that is how it should be done"
"Dont act so dramatically, big sister Lahda!" Mia screeched from her seat between Mythra's legs. "I know you're desperate to get the first prize in the chess tournament, but to beg, that's very creepy!"
Doing the fuck-you to Mia, Lahda returned to the side of Celica, who had just moved piece. "Dont be discouraged, Lala!" Celica smiled sideways, winking at her friend. "I still have a lot of games ahead and I'm sure I can recover these points in another game!"
"Nice words, Little Sister" Mythra smiled moving the piece with telekinesis. "Nice words... for a loser, check in 2 moves and I doubt we need to continue playing, right Ethin?"
Ethin and Celica agreed a few moments, until Celica raised her hands pissed. "Oh, come on, I hadnt counted on that pawn!... Well, if I had taken it into account, but I didnt think you saw it!"
"Game, set and match for Mythra, and that leaves Mythra in third position in the ranking and Celica in seventh position" Ethin said while pointing on his tablet and collecting all the chess pieces. All without moving a finger.
"Hey, who's ahead of me?!" Mythra shouted without even bothering to regulate her voice, forcing everyone to cover their ears. Mia stood up suddenly, grabbing Mythra by the cheeks pulling them like a little girl.
"How can you scream like that, crazy idiot?! Plus, you know who could overtake you!"
And really Mia was right, because in another room below, the other game was just played.
"And this defeat leaves you in fourth position, Zeke!" A female and childish voice said pointed on the tablet, while Zeke was leaving the table.
"What I'm going to do? A defeat is a defeat. Well played, little brother" Zeke offered his hand to his little brother in a loving apprehension, to just then disappear defeated.
"It has been an amazing game!" The girl said as she picked up the entire board by hand, keeping it in her box so Hope would pick it up later. "We are very close to being able to challenge Hope... and once we defeat her... hehehehehe" The young girl laughed alone, letting her melodious voice mingle with the sound of the rain outside.
The young son of the Goddess smiled as he leaned back in his chair, pulling a pawn out of the sleeve of his shirt.
"≤Do you really want me to win and crush my brothers?≥"
The young man's voice was distorted manually as he always did by habit. None of the Goddess's personal psychologists ever succeeded in explaining such behavior... but it wasnt a terrible thing and the Goddess decided to let him continue doing it without punishment.
Pulling on his friend, the girl and the son of the Goddess rolled on the floor laughing, until she ended up leaning on him. "Of course, losers like us deserve a victory once in a while, right?"
"≤It's almost certain that we will not win Hope, ending up humiliated in front of everyone as the losers we are!≥"
Both shared a laugh of complicity, sharing the same thought.
"≤But if I can crush her dreams, that will leave my brothers at the same level as me and thus feel the same misery that we feel! Isnt that a wonderful dream to cling to, Maria?≥"
Maria snuggled closer to the Goddess's son, letting the beating of his perfect heart gently rock her.
"It's our dream, and that makes it the most wonderful of all, Enju"