Cloud - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

The air in the room was intense. Nobody seemed to want to start talking. A complete silent reined in the living room. An unbearable silence.
I was sitting quietly on the long couch beside Frederick who looked lost in thoughts. Cale and Calum were sitting on the opposite couch from us, both of them playing with their fingers nervously. I didn't understand why they were nervous thought.
I was feeling many emotions right now. Angry because things were hidden from me and I was being lied to. Impatient to know the truth. Lost because I no longer knew what to truly believe. Occupied with a lot of things on my mind. Confused because of that strange meeting with myself. And a bit terrified of what the truth held.
My eyes slowly left the ground that I have been staring for some minutes now to go to Cloud. He was standing in front of the window, looking outside, not saying one word. Rain was leaning against a wall not far away from Frederick's side. His face shown only seriousness. He was more serious that I ever saw him before. His arms folded over his chest, his eyes staring into space.
Cloud, finally, sighed and I looked at him as he turned around to look at all of us. Like Rain, his arms were crossed over his chest, a serious expression on his face. Whatever his secret held, it must be important and kind of hard to tell. And it made me want to know everything even more.
"So where to start?" Cloud asked no one in particular. He looked at Rain searching for some kind of help but his brother only sighed.
"At the beginning," Rain simply replied.
"Is there even a beginning to all of this?" Cale asked, leaning his head back against the couch.
"There is always a beginning to every story," Calum said thoughtfully and Cale shrugged. It remained silent once more before Cloud spoke again.
"Where were you the whole day?" He asked me, looking directly at me. I looked back at him.
"I was with Mr. Vins," I replied and Frederick looked at me, a look of disbelief on his features.
"With Vins? Alexandro Vins? Are you crazy?" He asked me.
"He didn't do anything to me," I informed them, "He just gave me my memory back."
"This is how you got your erase memory back?" Cale questioned and I nodded, "You shouldn't go near him. He is not trustful."
"Right now, I trust him more than you," I snapped back and it shut him off. He even looked pretty surprised like everybody else.
"Okay, enough. Now I think is the good time to tell him everything, Cloud," Rain told his brother.
"Alright then. Let's begin," Cloud said at last. He glanced down, clearing his throat before looking at me, "Do you know the reaper, Luffy?"
"The reaper," I repeated with a frown and he nodded, "Yes, I heard about him."
"You must know that the reaper takes care of souls," Cloud told me,"When a person dies, it's the reaper who comes and takes the soul to bring it where it should go. Basically the reaper has power over the soul and can do everything with it."
"Okay," I said slowly in confusion, "But what does the reaper have to do with everything?"
"Trust me, he has everything to do with it," Rain said and Cloud then continued.
"What you don't know is that," Cloud started, "There is not only one reaper, there are many, twelve to be more precise."
"Twelve reapers. Why so many?" I asked.
"Because there are different beings on this earth," Rain replied and I looked at him, "The humans are not the only one who occupied the earth. There are different creatures and each reaper has a specific type of soul to take care of."
"Together these twelve reapers form part of the dark circle," Cloud continued, "The reapers are here since the beginning of existence. They are immortal. They can't die as they are already dead."
"Alright," I said understanding that, "But what do they have to do with all of you?"
"The reapers have nothing to do with Cale and I," Calum informed me, "It's mainly Cloud and Rain who are concerned here."
"You have to know more about the reapers first to understand everything else," Frederick added and I sighed.
"Okay continue then," I told Cloud and he nodded.
"So as I said the reapers are already dead so they all thought that certain things were impossible for them to do," Cloud said.
"Like what?" I asked him.
"Like reproducing," Rain replied, "They thought that they couldn't get children."
"Reapers can get children," I exclaimed in disbelief and Cloud nodded.
"Yes, they do," He started, "Reapers, like any other creatures, have the ability of walking on earth using their human form and a few centuries ago, one of the reapers was on earth and he met a human girl. Of course, the girl didn't know that he was a reaper and they slept together. The next morning, the reaper returned to his duties. And about one month after, the girl discovered that she was pregnant."
"This is crazy," I said.
"Yeah," Rain agreed, "But the reaper, the father of the child, didn't know that the girl was pregnant."
"How did he know then?" I asked, clearly interested.
"The reapers have a connection between them," Rain explained, "Their powers emerged from the same source which is death. So when a new being was born with the same kind of power as them, they immediately sensed it. They all went to see what it was but what they saw wasn't really what they expected. It was a little baby who was half human and half reaper."
"The worst type of shadows," Cale said and I frowned.
"The shadows are the children of the reapers," Calum informed me, "These new type of half reaper needed to be given a name so they were called shadows."
"Since the reapers discovered that they could procreate, they started to have children with different type of creatures," Cloud said.
"Incubus, prostitutes, humans, demons and the list went on" Rain said, "The reapers started to have children with them."
"It was one of the worst thing that could happen," Cale added.
"Why do you say that?" I asked him but it was Cloud who answered.
"Reapers have one rule. A rule that all the thirteen reapers obey. They may have the power to control the soul of people but they can't play with that soul or use it as they want. They have the right to take the soul of someone only if the person is dead or is near death. And then they bring the soul where it needs to go. But the children of the reapers don't obey this rule," Cloud said.
"They do whatever they want," Cale added, "Being half reaper means that they have part of the powers of a reaper. The shadows can take the soul of someone. They have this power in them. Some of them play with the soul, torture it, kill people with their powers or even bring a person back to life."
"If you got your memory back so you must remember when I told you about Amelia," Cloud said and I nodded, "The man that her parents went to see to bring her back to life, was the child of one of the reaper."
"But all the children can't be that bad," I said and Cale laughed.
"A few are good but the majority aren't," he said, "The half human and half reaper are the worst of all. They don't know that they are half reaper so they don't know how to control their powers. The power of a reaper is enormous and dangerous and if you don't know how to control it, you will cause death wherever you go."
"But why don't the reapers go and talk to their children?" I asked.
"The reapers are really busy and they don't come in the human world really often so they don't have time for their children. Some of them only saw their child only once," Rain told me.
"How do you know all of that?" I asked him, really surprised at his knowledge, and he bit his lips.
"Our father told us about it," he replied at last.
"Who is your father?" I asked him and he looked at Cloud.
"His human name is Eldon," Cloud said slowly before adding hesitantly, "He is one of the reapers."
"Excuse me," I exclaimed in disbelief.
"Cloud and I are the sons of one of the reapers," Rain explained more clearly.
"Basically these two are shadows," Cale added.
"We are half reapers and half demons," Cloud told me and I huffed.
"I can't believe it," I said, the shock and disbelief clearly in my voice, "I knew that you weren't fully humans but I never imagined that you were the sons of a reaper. This wasn't even on my list of possibilities."
"I know that it seems unbelievable but it is the truth," Cloud said while I stood up from the couch. I wasn't feeling like sitting down right now in the state that I was in.
"You are the sons of a reaper," I repeated, passing my hand in my hair, "Are you the good children or the bad?"
Cale and Calum laughed at that. Cloud averted his eyes while Rain bit his lips. I looked at them waiting for an answer but it was Frederick, who hasn't talked at all, who answered.
"They were bad before but now they changed," he replied.
"When?" I asked.
"About fifty years ago," Rain replied thoughtfully and my eyes opened wide.
"Fifty years ago," I exclaimed, "How old are you?"
"We have a few centuries," Cloud replied, "I'm 296 years old while Rain is 315 years old."
"Oh god," I murmured, "These rumors about you are true then. You are really evil. I can't believe it."
This was simply unbelievable. This never passed through my mind that Cloud was in fact the son of a reaper and a demon as well as his brother. And a part of me never believed that these rumors were true. But now I knew that I was wrong.
"You were bad. You killed people before," I concluded and Cloud nodded.
"I did," he agreed, looking down, "I even tortured some of them. The soul is something really fragile and easy to hurt. So I preferred to torture the soul than physically torturing the person."
"That's horrible," I told him and the look he gave me told me that he knew.
"Don't be too hard on him," Rain said, "He just followed my footsteps. I am his older brother after all. I was the one to show him this way of being."
"Why?" I asked him and he smirked.
"Personal reasons," he replied, his eyes going to Frederick who was looking at him.
"And you two," I said, looking at Cale and Calum, "Mr. Vins said that you were guardians. Is that true?"
"Yes, we are," Cale replied, his eyebrows furrowed, "Why did he tell you that?"
"He was explaining to me about the prostitutes," I replied and Cale cleared his throat.
"Emma," he murmured and I nodded.
"What do you do as guardians?" I asked them.
"We are here to protect someone special," Calum replied, glancing at Frederick.
"Who?" I asked, "Cloud and Rain."
"Absolutely not," Cale exclaimed immediately, "These two are evil. Basically, they come from darkness. Us, guardians come from heaven."
"You are angels," I said.
"We are created by angels," Calum corrected me, "Some important people in the human world need to be protected so guardians were created to protect them."
"Then who do you protect here?" I asked them again.
"Me," Frederick said quietly from the couch and I looked down at him, shocked.
"You," I repeated, "Sorry but I don't find you special, Fred."
"Woah, thanks," he told me sarcastically.
"Why do they need to protect you?" I asked my cousin and he sighed.
"It's because of what I am or what I was," Frederick replied.
"I don't understand," I said.
"The people we need to protect are not humans," Calum explained.
"But Frederick is human," I told him and he looked away. They all did and I looked at Frederick who avoided my eyes, "You are not human?"
"I am," Frederick protested, "But before I wasn't."
"What were you before?" I asked him and he finally looked at me in the eyes.
"An oracle," he simply replied and I frowned while giving him a questioning look.
"Oracles are people who can see the future," Rain enlightened me, "They are precious and rare. Only a few are still alive. All the others have been killed."
"That's why we are here," Calum added, "To protect the few who are still alive. Each oracle was given two guardians, twins, at their birth. Cale and I are Frederick's guardians."
"Oracles can see the future and with enough practice they can focus on the vision they want to see, even see the future of the person they want. That's why we protect them. Some people might use them to their own advantage and I'm talking about demons here," Cale said.
"Oracles are also used by angels," Rain added, glaring at Cale.
"We all know why," Cale said, glaring back, "Oracles can see great disaster and it is a way for us to prevent these."
"But at what cost," Rain said, "We all know what happen to the oracles at the end."
"Rain, please not again," Frederick pleaded him.
"What happen to them?" I asked and Frederick looked at me, hesitant.
"We can control our visions," Frederick started, "But sometimes some visions need to be seen and they kind of force their way to us. And each time, we get a vision something is taken from us."
"What?" I asked him.
"Our life is shortened. Each vision we get brings us closer to death," Frederick explained.
"But you are still alive," I said in confusion.
"Thanks to me," Rain said, "I guess being part reaper has its advantage. When Frederick's soul was trying to leave his body, I maintained it in place and it worked. He is still alive."
"But I am no longer an oracle. I'm human now," Frederick said and it fell silent.
This was getting out of proportion. My own cousin damn it. He wasn't human all of this time that we passed together. I never saw it coming. I never knew about that. I thought that I knew Frederick but I guessed that I didn't know everything about him.
He was like a brother to me. Despite our constant fights and even thought that I said that I didn't like him, he was one of the closest member of my family that I had. I grew with him and played with him when I was a child. He seemed completely human to me at that time.
"Why didn't you tell me anything before?" I asked Frederick at last, feeling slightly betrayed.
"Because I didn't find it necessary to tell you as I couldn't explain it myself," he replied, "I had my first vision when I was about five. I thought that it was a dream at first but then I realized that everything that I was seeing were becoming reality."
"And what about you two? I never seen you before. Why are you appearing now?" I asked Cale and Calum.
"We were ordered to only appear when he was in danger," Cale replied, pointing to Frederick.
"When did you appear exactly?" I asked them.
"When I met Rain three years ago," Frederick replied, "He was a potential danger to me."
"The only fact that he came near you was considered as a danger," I said, "It is a bit stupid."
"We didn't appear when Frederick met Rain," Cale protested, "We appeared when they were-"
"I don't think that he needs to know that part, Cale," Frederick said interrupting him.
"Don't tell me that you are still embarrassed about it?" Calum asked Frederick and Frederick told him to shut up. I looked at them waiting for someone to tell me more about it but nobody did so I sighed.
"Okay but if you are no longer an oracle. What are Cale and Calum doing here?" I asked.
"Ask Cloud and Rain," Cale said and I realized something.
Cloud. He wasn't talking at all. He was still standing at the window, lost in thoughts. Was it because of what I just learnt? I glanced at him before looking at Rain.
"What did you do?"
"They tried to kill me so it was a payback," Rain said proudly.
"You were maintaining Frederick's soul in his body," Calum exclaimed like it was something horrible, "He had his last vision. He was supposed to die but you, you were trying to change things that weren't supposed to be changed. It was normal that we tried to kill you."
"I don't understand," I said, "You are supposed to protect Frederick. Why would you want him to die?"
"Because he is an oracle and he needs to die when he got his last vision ," Cale replied, "Each time an oracle dies, a new oracle is born but now that Frederick didn't die not only he is no longer an oracle but also no other oracle was born."
"You are just angry because of what I did to you," Rain concluded.
"What did you do?" I asked him again and he smirked.
"I imprisoned them," he replied, "Now they are forced to serve Cloud and I."
"How?" I asked again.
"By using special chains," Calum replied showing me his hands. Suddenly a black chain appeared around both of his wrists and my eyes widened slightly. The chain then disappeared into smoke.
"Okay," I said slowly before turning to Rain, "When are you going to remove them?"
"Never. They are forever and ever chained to me," he replied before adding, "And besides, now we are all very good friends."
"Interesting," I said with a sigh, "So is that's all? There is no other things that I need to know, do I?"
"There is one last thing," Cloud spoke at last and I looked at him, "You need to know about Frederick's last vision."
"Cloud no," Frederick warned him, "Not now."
"He needs to know," Cloud protested and I frowned.
"What do I need to know?" I asked him and Cloud opened his mouth to reply but Frederick beat him to it.
"I'm going to tell him," he told Cloud before looking at me, "My last was about you, Luffy."
"What did you see Fred?" I asked him and he cleared his throat.
"Luffy, I...I saw you with the Vins," he replied hesitantly.
"What? But what was I doing with them?" I asked him confused.
"In the vision, you are surrounded by a forest and you are standing with the entire clan of Vins in front of you," Frederick explained.
"Was I a prisoner?" I asked him, hoping that it was it.
"No," Cloud replied instead and I looked at him, "You were one of them. You were ruling them all."