Bab 40: Personality Disorder?
Edited by: ASaltedFish
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The next day, Orin, Darya, and Ellery visited the old couple once more before returning to the First Fleet's spacecraft. Orin hugged the couple and said his goodbyes while also promising to visit them multiple times a year.
As much as he wanted to stay, there were many things he needed to do and talk about with his family, so he tearfully said goodbye to Carl and Marla.
Once Orin settled in the spacecraft, Ellery, Akimitsu, and Edros brought Orin and Darya to a special meeting room to talk about their next plans and explain Aster's existence in Ellery's body.
"So because of Aster, you all are looking for the Beast God?" Orin felt his head hurting, trying to process everything Ellery, Akimitsu, and Edros told him.
Even Darya didn't know what to say because it was all so hard to believe.
"That's right." Ellery nodded. "Would you like to meet Aster? He's a bit shy, but he's a good person. Plus, I want him to meet you too."
Orin honestly didn't know what to expect, so he nodded his head. "That's fine."
'Aster, I am going to switch with you. Oh, you can also call Orin brother if you are comfortable with that.'
[I… Okay.]
Aster was enjoying the time spent in hiding, but he knew he couldn't be there forever. Plus, he also wanted to meet Orin and Darya officially after watching over them these past few days.
Ellery closed his eyes, and by the time they opened, Aster had already switched over. As always, the aura Aster gave off was different from Ellery's.
Since Orin and Darya were close with Ellery, they immediately noticed the change, making Orin unconsciously vigilant.
Though Edros and Akimitsu were used to it, seeing Ellery and Aster switch back and forth occasionally surprised them. The differences in auras and body language were very different; sometimes, they even caught them off guard.
"Hello, brother and sister-in-law, it's nice to formally meet you both… Can I call you all that? I… I should have asked first." Seeing Orin and Darya just staring at him, he felt his voice becoming softer and softer, unsure if he made them angry or upset.
Darya was the first to snap out of it, and she greeted Aster. "Sorry, we were just surprised by the change of aura. It is nice to meet you, too, Aster. You can call me sister-in-law or Darya. Whichever you prefer."
Aster shyly smiled. "I understand. Then I will call you Darya." Sister-in-law was a bit of a mouthful, and he wasn't sure how polite he should be.
After a long silence from Orin, he finally asked, "Are you sure this isn't some personality disorder you developed or something?"
No one could blame him for being skeptical. Most people would think that Ellery was crazy and had another personality that could take over whenever he wanted it to.
"Um, I have high compatibility with Edros, and Ellery has low compatibility with him. If we were the same soul, then he would have high compatibility with Edros too. I also have medium compatibility with Akimitsu but Ellery has just as high of compatibility with him as I do with Edros. It wouldn't make any sense if we were one soul, but our personalities have different compatibilities with other people…"
Aster found himself rambling, trying to justify himself, and when he saw that Orin was just staring at him, he wanted to retreat into their consciousness. Still, he had to be brave because this was Ellery's big brother.
"Would you like to meet Sol and Lune?"
Orin could see the difference in aura and as he continued to look at Aster, he could not see his brother. In front of him was a shy, insecure young man who could not look him in the eye. Overall, Aster was awkwardly cute.
Was his brother really sharing a body with someone else? How was this possible?
"Yes, we would like to meet them," Darya answered for Orin, who was still staring at Aster.
Aster summoned Sol and Lune from their spiritual sea. With them being summoned, Casir and Dusky came out too.
Dusky was standing on his hind legs next to Aster and reached out to Sol so that they could hug. Sol was receptive and let Dusky hug him; he seemed happy, just like Ellery.
As for the shy Lune, he was sitting on Aster's head, so Casir made himself smaller so he could perch on Aster's shoulder. Then he reached out his claw so he could hold Lune's hand.
Lune felt safer with Casir by his side and held his hand, but he didn't want to leave Aster's head.
Orin knew what Sol looked like, so when he saw Lune, there were slight differences, like their facial fur and demeanor. He had also been guided by Ellery and Sol when Ellery first became a guide, so there was no way he could forget.
It was said to be impossible for a person to have two quantum beasts because they were a manifestation of a person's soul. Having two quantum beasts would mean there were two souls in one body, but naturally, most thought that was impossible.
Ellery and Aster were the anomaly.
Finally, Orin spoke up, "I understand, Aster. You and Ellery are definitely two souls sharing the same body. I would like to thank you for keeping Ellery company while I have been gone…"
As his brother and the only person who was biologically related to Ellery, he felt guilty for being gone for so long. Everyone had thought he was dead, but no one knew that he was still alive, just trying to find a way back home. Ellery must have been lonely since he had 'died', especially because Darya was still grieving for the two years he had 'died' so she did not reach out to him either.
"And you can call me brother or Orin. Whichever you prefer."
Aster was a bit shocked, but then he smiled. It was one of the rare smiles that brightened his demeanor and made him look softer and kinder. "There's no need to thank me, brother. Ellery saved my life and has helped me to become a better person. I am grateful to have met him."
Everyone in the room was stunned. Even Ellery wanted to cry because it was rare for Aster to be so vulnerable, especially because Aster was only comfortable in front of him and no one else thus far. Even Edros was not as important to Aster as Ellery was to him.
[Aster… I love you!] Ellery couldn't help but say, even though only Aster could hear him. It was a friendship type of love, but he still wanted Aster to know.
'Hmm… I love you too, Ellery.' Then he felt shy and wanted to hide.
Ellery vowed that the first thing he would do was to hug Aster if they were able to get their own bodies!
"Um… Since we are done talking about my soul being in Ellery's body, I'm going to go!" Aster quickly retreated, and Ellery forcefully came back to the forefront.
"That little rascal! What is he going to do when he gets his new body." Ellery sounded like he was complaining, but he could not hide his doting tone.
Darya smiled. "Aster is very cute though I am worried that he will retreat every time he is embarrassed. He needs to get thicker skin."
"I agree," Orin said while nodding, "In the future, let's help him or it will be hard to navigate in our society."
The two were not wrong. It was also something that Ellery was worried about.
If they were able to get their own bodies, Aster would not be able to switch places with anyone and could not retreat into their subconscious for as long as he needed to. What could they do to help him out?
Well, that was something they should think about in the future.
"Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about our next destination." Akimitsu coughed to get everyone's attention. "From the reports, the Beast God and their lover have not shown up on any habited planet as of late, so it is best if we focus our efforts on the uninhabited planets. We can leave some soldiers behind to scope through any sighting rumors."
"I agree," Edros said, his first sentence since the meeting had started. "We can land on a few planets and let Ellery use the orb. Then we can see if we can narrow down our search that way."
There were more uninhabited planets around the border, and also many unknown ones. It would take some time, but the orb the Emperor gave them should help them find the Beast God before they leave this region. Well, they technically had several years, but everyone had lives to live, so they didn't want to search for more than six months.
"Then let's go to MPE06. It's close by, and it's said to be a barren wasteland with some low-level Ineks," Akimitsu suggested.
"Sounds like a good idea." Ellery thought it was best to start somewhere close.
"We second that," Orin spoke for both him and Darya. She nodded to agree with him.
"Alright, then let's do that. Meeting dismissed." Edros thought it was the perfect time to end this meeting, and since they were all close, there was no need for formalities.
Plus, it was best to get ready as soon as possible. They still had enough supplies, so it should be fine to land on MPE06 without having to restock.
Since the meeting was over, Darya and Orin went to find their former colleagues; Ellery went to rest, while Akimitsu and Edros went to the command room.
It was finally time to go look for the Beast God.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
MakusCorner
MakusCorner Grandpa Marky: Hello everyone! I'm sorry for not updating earlier (and not updating last week). I was so busy these past two weeks but I have amazing news :D I got accepted for a full-time remote customer service job! I start training December 16th but I should be able to post at least once a week (hopefully). Last week I was going through the interview, onboarding, and the drug and background tests so it took a lot of my time. Then this week with the holidays, it was just too chaotic. xD Now, I am waiting for the equipment to come in. I will finally not be so broke T_T I've been rationing my food these past few months...
Anyway, that's it from me! I will see you all next week. Thanks for being patient with me. Have a lovely day/night my beautiful grandchildren.
Status Power Mingguan
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