Advent of Cataclysm.

"I just realised, I don't actually know anything about you," Ava spoke from behind the door of her bathroom, and Kai having accepted that she was a force of nature he could hardly avoid huffed, standing and walking around the small room. 

Small bed, a table that looked like she ate around it, a small study area with two PCs, a drawing tablet and a gaming console as well as a small art corner, Everything was carefully organised for maximum efficiency.

Seeing how she earned online was evident, the room was warm and surprisingly tidy considering the mess the rest of the house he had seen was, and it was pleasant to his sensitive nose as well. 

It was small, but it was cute. 

"There's not much to know, as far as people go, I'm pretty one-dimensional," Kai answered, picking up an ugly little plushie from her pillows after his small exploration and sitting with it. 

"Well," She hummed in thought. "Is there anything you want to know about me?" She queried again, and he seemed to think about her question for a fair minute before he looked at the door and shrugged.

"I'm naturally not a curious person when it comes to people's business either, but if I think of something I will ask right away." Kai answered diplomatically and then went quiet the same as she did, retaining that solace until she opened the door and walked out, already dried and wearing plain pajamas.

"I already placed some extra stuff in there for you to use," She smiled at him when she found him staring at her like a helpless child with her plushie choked in his grasp.

"Let me know if you need anything at all," Ava went into a drawer on her dresser and took out an extra towel along with her baggiest T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for him. 

"This is enough," Kai gracefully accepted her gestures and flung them over his shoulder. "Thank you," He finally said the words she thought his pride would have prevented him from saying, and he did it so gently that the girl let out a long sigh and turned away, rubbing her cheeks and nodding with her back facing him. 

"He is so gentle, like a sleeping dragon," She blushed again after hearing the bathroom door shut and bolt behind her.

Ava spent the entire time Kai was inside of the bathroom cleaning up her space, by the time he returned clothed in her pink T the place was the tidiest it had ever been since she moved in there, even her guest was impressed by the transformation.

"Alright; this is us," She tapped the bed next to herself smiling innocently at him after seeing his reservation. "Again, you can make yourself at home," She continued tapping the bed until he slowly shimmied over and sat next to her. 

The silence that followed was an awkward one, he had no intention of starting a conversation, and she had no idea what to do after getting to that point, so like most people with absolutely shits worth of free time, Ava turned on the television and started browsing through the channels, funnily enough, after almost ten minutes of it neither of them saw anything related to what they had gone through the past evening. 

"I thought the local news would be going crazy at least, but nothing?" Ava furrowed her brows in confusion, picking up her phone and searching as well, but even there nothing showed up, over a dozen people died on the streets in a seven mile radius of each other in a little over three hours and there was no news on it; that was beyond weird. 

"Ah, this wasn't normal to begin with, maybe someone is covering it up?" She tried fishing for an answer but that only left more questions; who would cover something like that and hide it, and how was it being completely suppressed, almost as if it never happened?

"I honestly don't care to know at this point, I just want to forget and move on," Kai respomded lowly, looking at her when she inched closer and rested her shoulder against his. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Claiming my prize for a job well done today." 

"All you did was get in the way and nearly die..."

"I know, but I also fed you and gave you a place to sleep, right?" She looked up at him. 

"... Okay, fine," Kai conceded with a sigh resting his other hand on her head while she hugged herself to his arm and closed her eyes, accepting the headpats gracefully. 

"What will you do after tonight?" Ava asked softly, slightly turning herself in her seat until she was looking up at him. 

"I don't know, when I meet my stepmom tomorrow, I can ask her opinion on that," He responded, looking in the opposite direction of her gaze, now in such a clearly intimate setting Kai had slowed down enough to get a proper look at her, he was pleasantly surprised by the fact that she was this attractive.

Granted, she never stood out before because she tended to stay out of the attention of others, he was still shocked. 

"Her hair was a light almost sandy shade of brown, with her round eyes giving a doe-like innocent appearance to her face, her lips naturally pink and her cheeks were the flavour of roses, he could tell she had applied no makeup.

This girl who had become unnaturally infatuated with him was naturally cute, almost unrealistically cute. How and why were people bullying her at school? 

He helped her that day because he saw that she was an outcast much like himself, but now, he was wondering why that was.

Instead of asking as he said he would though, Kai kept the question to himself and stayed there, sitting and talking to her until they were both laying down shoulder to shoulder.

"Can we cuddle?" Ava asked when she started feeling sleepy. 

"Ava," Kai called.

"Mhm?" 

"Don't think for a moment that I am some sort of saint, if you keep testing me I will take full advantage of you," He warned her, but instead of the hesitance he expected she chuckled and turned to him smiling.

"I kind of wish you would," She chuckled again, leaving him sighing in disbelief once again for that night. "I wouldn't mind, you are my hero, how else do I prove my faith in you than to trust you completely?" She asked and he closed his eyes and pressed his palm against her forehead. 

"In that case, I may think about it," He admitted. "We're just too early in to already have that kind of spice, it's only chapter eleven." 

"Hah," She nodded and closed her eyes. "I still want to cuddle though, can I trust that you won't attack me?" She asked, opening her eyes once more and Kai nodded and opened his arms, playing the bigger spoon when she turned her back and scooted into his embrace, hugging his hand with a long deep sigh. 

"Good night, Kai," She continued wiggling herself against him finding the most comfortable fit while he did his absolute best to restrain his urges.

"Go to sleep, Ava, you're torturing me." 

Both passed out, Kai and Ava found comfort in each other, and that comfort remained undisturbed even as a shadow came through the window and walked across the ceiling, stopping and staring down at them while they slept.

It was shades darker than anything else including the night sky outside, and it had a single round white eye-like phenomena on its head which was bordered with a chaotic sketch-like edge that pulsed.

"Kai Mora," It spoke his name in a deep almost inaudibly low and raspy bass, reaching from the ceiling and looming over him on the bed leaving even a hair undisturbed as it slowly began seeping into his body like ink. 

"The boy who rejected Hél and defied the will of The Red One, you are worth this much, as the Shadow of the Apocalypse, I shall offer strength unto you when you find the task too heavy to bare on your own, I will guide you; child of the apocalypse, until we are no more," It disappeared within his body and a few seconds later Kai's eyes opened and he sat up abruptly, waking Ava in the process. 

"What is it?" She sat up as well, rubbing her eyes and resting her hand on his leg. "Kai?" 

"I don't know, it felt like someone was breathing in my ear just now," He answered, rubbing his eyes as well. 

"No, no, any demon that ruins such a beautiful night can suck my imaginary cooaaaaaawww-" Ava's curse turned into a yawn and she turned to him, hugging him and pulling him back to lie down with her. "Come on, nobody's there, sleep," She covered his eyes with her hand and snuggled onto his chest. 

"Soon enough, you will hear my voice, Kai Mora, but until then... my name is..."