Minutes passed as Magnolia finished polishing the rocks. When Isamu returned to the room, he stopped in mild surprise.
"Mag, you're done already?"
"Mm-hm!" Magnolia said brightly.
Isamu glanced down at the stones, then at the chain in his hands. "Didn't you want these carved?"
Magnolia shook his head. "No. I like them this way. They're like my own creation."
He picked up the rocks and the chain, then turned away from his father. A dark orange glow flickered in his hand as he brought the pieces together, fusing them into a single necklace.
"Father, can you put it on me?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm on it," Isamu replied.
He fastened the necklace around Magnolia's neck, and the boy immediately hurried outside to admire it in the reflection of a nearby pool of water.
"Wait up!" Isamu called, chasing after him.
When he caught up, he looked at Magnolia with a strange feeling in his chest. The necklace stirred a memory of Nadia, and for a moment, the pain of losing her came back fresh and sharp.
"You look great, Mag. But it's getting late. Come inside."
"Okay, Father," Magnolia said, still pleased with himself.
Later that night, Isamu sat beside Magnolia's bed until the boy drifted into sleep. Once he was sure Magnolia was resting, Isamu quietly rose and left the room, closing the door behind him. He returned to his own bed, but the image of the necklace lingered in his mind, pulling him back toward memories of Nadia until sleep finally took him.
Then, in the dark hours of the night, Isamu woke with a start.
Something rustled outside.
He sat up, listening.
"Is someone there?" he called, his voice low and tense.
No answer came.
He rose and stepped carefully toward the sound, but found nothing. After a moment, he tried to convince himself it had only been the wind.
A few minutes later, just as he began to settle again-
BANG!
The house shook.
Isamu's eyes flew open.
"DAD!!!!!"
Magnolia's terrified scream split the night.
Isamu bolted upright and raced toward his son's room, nearly ripping the door from its hinges. What he saw froze the blood in his veins.
A dark, snake-like creature with a human shape towered over Magnolia, a black dagger raised high above the boy's bed.
Without thinking, Isamu threw himself at the creature. His shoulder slammed into it, and both of them crashed through the window and into the night outside.
He pinned the thing to the ground, his forearm pressed hard against its throat.
"Why?" Isamu snarled. "Why are you here? Why are you trying to kill my son?"
The creature gave a low, twisted hiss.
"Kekeke… Lord Apophis demands the blood of Ra."
Then its body dissolved into black smoke and vanished from his grip.
Panic seized Isamu. He scrambled back inside.
"Magnolia?! Magnolia!"
"Father, I'm right here."
Isamu turned so fast he nearly stumbled. Magnolia stood beside him, small hands trembling, but alive.
Relief flooded Isamu, and he pulled the boy into a tight embrace. A tear slipped down his cheek.
Magnolia looked up at him, fear still lingering in his eyes. "Father… who is Apophis?"
Isamu shook his head once, grimly. "That doesn't matter now. We have to leave. Immediately."
"Yes, Father."
They gathered what they could and fled north, not stopping until they found a small isolated shack with a bunk bed inside. It was meager shelter, but it was enough for the moment.
As they settled in for the night, Magnolia removed his necklace and hung it on the end of the bed.
"Father," he asked softly, "why was that snake-man attacking me?"
Isamu lay down without answering properly. "It doesn't matter right now, Mag. Rest."
Magnolia frowned, unsatisfied, but he was too exhausted to argue. He closed his eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
By morning, when he woke, the bed beside him was empty.
"Father?"
"Mag! I'm outside, in the back!"
Magnolia rushed out to find Isamu gathering wood, building a fence to keep wild animals away.
"Hey, Mag," Isamu called, glancing up. "Where's your necklace?"
Magnolia's hand flew to his neck. His eyes widened when he found only bare skin. He rushed back inside, only to breathe out in relief when he saw the necklace still hanging where he had left it.
"Father, I've got it. Can you put it around my neck again?"
"Yeah, sure," Isamu said.
He took the necklace and set it around Magnolia's neck.
The moment it touched his skin, the stones flared with a reddish-orange light.
Isamu yelped and jerked his hand back. "Ouch!"
"Father?! Are you okay?" Magnolia asked, alarmed.
"I'm fine, Mag. Just nicked myself, that's all."
But the burn on his hand left him uneasy.
Later that day, Magnolia helped finish the fence. Once it was done, Isamu decided to go out and gather more rocks for his son's collection. Hours passed. Night fell. And Isamu still had not returned.
Magnolia waited as long as he could.
Then, unable to bear the worry any longer, he made up his mind and stepped out into the darkness to search for his father.