Rise of the Rejected Deity from Chaos

Hayne rang the doorbell as they stood on the porch, waiting for the resident to come open up for them. A second later, a man creaked open the door, meeting Hayne and Seiya.

The man, Hayne’s uncle, his eyes spread wide in shock seeing the both of them outside—but without letting the man’s shock linger or waiting for any proper invitation in, Hayne walked in, followed by Seiya.

The man remained frozen on his spot at the door, mouth agape with facial expression dark with mounting dread. After some moment, whatever feeling of mixture he felt gradually faded. He shut the door, walking into the house to meet his nephew.

As he made his way to Hayne, he was heavily cautious of Seiya who seated on the couch, avoiding any eye contact or even getting closer to him. The man grabbed Hayne by the back of his clothe, pulling him away into another room for privacy.

Hayne let out a soft awkward chuckle at him, knowing how Seiya’s eyes work that he could still see them even if in this other room.

"You," his uncle began in a desperate whispery tone, eyes wide with disbelief. "You brought him to my house?!!" He asked, unbelieving of what he saw.

Ever since he found out from Hayne while still in the hospital that the person behind the city’s uproar regarding the Blind Fangs, was none other than Seiya, he had been more scared and cautious of him.

He had always known Seiya not to be ordinary but didn’t expect that he was capable of such a feat. While some people openly rejoiced, delighted that someone they now regard as a hero was delivering justice by taking down members of the Blind Fangs, others shared the same joy but remained cautious, fearful of provoking the wrath of the Blind Fangs and drawing their ire upon themselves.

The reason Hayne’s uncle was paranoid was because he’s afraid of Seiya and having him in his home where his kids and wife live, seemed too dangerous.

Looking at Hayne with eyes filled with dread, he continued. "Why would you—" he didn’t get to finish his words when Hayne interjected.

"Uncle," Hayne called quietly. "Nothing is going to happen, it’s fine," he assured. Though there wasn’t any smile on his face, his expression was soft. "So, let’s get it started already. The sooner you start, the earlier you finish, the earlier we get to leave—don’t you think?"

The man’s tight expressions loosened, thinking over what Hayne had just said.

"W-well…I guess you’re right," he said. "But even so, I already stopped tattooing years ago," he sighed. "But I guess your stubborn ass just doesn’t listen." Discover stories at NovelBin.Côm

"Oh c’mon! You’re the only one I trust who can do this, so please."

"Don’t blame me if it doesn’t come out any good."

"Yeah, yeah," Hayne sang as he walked back to the living room with his uncle to meet Seiya.

The man’s gaze went straight at Seiya, a chilling nervousness shrouding him in an instant causing him to shudder.

"I-I’ll g-get my tools," he announced in a nervous stammer before awkwardly making his way out.

Hayne walked over to Seiya, sitting beside him. "You must be quite surprised, aren’t you?" He asked, a prideful smile curling his lips. "That my uncle is the one to cover up the imprint."

Seiya merely watched his proud smile in silence, a little exasperated. It was true that he had indeed been shocked by being brought to Hayne’s uncle’s house instead of a store, and then finding out his uncle would be the one covering up his imprint.

Hayne’s uncle returned a while later, nervously asking Seiya to follow him to another room where he had set up everything. Seiya complied without any protest, following the man with Hayne strolling behind them.

The man nervously instructed Seiya to take off his clothes and lay down on a metal table that was arched upward a little. Seiya rested still on his back, half his upper body raised a bit.

With a little cold sweat beading his face, the man took his own seat on a stool beside Seiya. He rummaged through his tool case, finding a piece of paper with the symbol drawn—one Hayne had previously handed over to him when he informed him about this.

The man placed the piece of paper aside on a table where he could see it, picked up his tool and switched it on. As he leaned over to Seiya, his hands hovered tremblingly over the spot he was supposed to be working on. He couldn’t help but feel so unsettled that he was about to touch Seiya’s skin to draw something—he felt overwhelmed and at the same time, unease.

The man’s hand lingered shakily over Seiya for several moments, sweating with no hint of carrying out what they were here for.

Exhaling out loud, Hayne drew his uncle’s attention. "What are you doing?" He asked quietly while the man merely gazed up at him, puzzled—because he hadn’t yet started anything.

"I understand that it is okay to have some fear toward him," Hayne began in a low voice. "But do not regard him with such eyes like you would a monster," he chided. The simmering anger within his eyes as he stared at his uncle was evident

"He’s just a boy…like me," Hayne continued. "And while he might possess some unnatural, unsettling powers, he’s a human like you—a child. So why do you treat him this way?" Hayne asked, clearly hurt.

"While I understand that it is natural and normal for us to fear what we do not comprehend, there are levels of disrespect and you’ve crossed them all."

The man’s hand holding the tool fell limp on his laps, eyes slowly spreading wide. His gaze flicked from Hayne to Seiya, eyes glistening with a hint of guilt and regret as he took in the slender form of the child before him.

Seiya merely laid there in silence, unbothered and uninterested.

Several moments go by, the weight of Hayne’s words settling into the man. After a while, he straightened up on his chair, exhaling out loud.

"Indeed," the man finally spoke, his voice soft and quiet. "I apologize for such an act unbefitting of me," he said in earnest.

Taking up his tool and switching it on once more, he leaned in close to Seiya. Though still wary and cautious, he surpressed it, working his art on Seiya’s collar—peeking at the piece of paper for reference as his hand moved professionally and gracefully.

After hours of meticulously tattooing on Seiya and covering up the imprint, he told Seiya he was good to go.

The symbol—an infinity mark drawn horizontally across the imprint on his collar—was designed with a delicate circular loop at its center, further concealing the imprint beneath it. At the end of one loop, facing inward toward the center of his chest, a small opening revealed a vivid trail of blood. The crimson lines, thin, clean and straight, descended toward his chest plate but stopped just above it, then curved upward again in the same clean trail into the infinity symbol, creating an endless loop.

The tattoo, though tiny, effectively masked the imprint. Hayne had explained that, with so many lost children and no way to count them all, the infinity symbol was a fitting choice—its endless form symbolizing every soul lost, the blood traces representing their lives, eternally looping in remembrance.

"Wow, you did a good job," Hayne clapped, praising his uncle, as he checked out the tattoo.

"My skills are a bit rusty now but I think a talent never dies," his uncle remarked, earning a look that spelt ’shamelessness’ from Hayne.

"I’d like to take a photo of it if you don’t mind," the man said.

Hayne looked to Seiya for approval but he merely shrugged in response.

"Sure, it’s your work anyway and Seiya couldn’t care less. But what do you want it for?" Hayne asked.

"I just want to gawk at my handiwork and be proud." The man brought out his phone, snapping the tattoo when suddenly, in an instant, Seiya grabbed his wrist in a bone crushing grip that got the man yelping.