New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

908  Heavenly Sandwich

Kary was stupefied, for a moment, taking in his words like thunderbolts to her brain.

"Excuse me, what?"

Alex looked at her with regret-filled eyes.

"I think I caused Zagan to feel wronged enough that he decided to do an unthinkable spell and created the demon lord…"

"You're going to have to walk me through this in detail. Your words are reaching my brain, but they aren't computing…" Kary said, stunned.

So Alex did just that. He took the time to explain the situation that had happened with Constantine, first, since that was a part of the story, before he moved on to the incident with Asmodeus, that led to the one with Solomon.

He remained seated on the cold cement floor of his balcony, his back against the glass railing, for what felt like an eternity recounting the events. By the time he finished, Kary was also on the ground, her mind reeling in disbelief and shock.

Alex looked at her with saddened eyes, wondering what she would think of him.

But contrary to his thoughts, when she looked up at him, there was no blame in her eyes, no disdain or anger.

She leaned in to hug him, realizing the weight he now had to carry on his mind. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Yes, he had inadvertently caused the birth of their biggest threat. But the fault was not his alone to bear.

"It's not your fault. I think the situation escaped all of you. I don't think Solomon wanted this, either. Or Zagan. Your hand might have been forceful in your demand for loyalty, but it would have to come at some point, wouldn't it?" Kary asked, keeping him in her embrace.

Alex took a second to reply, trying to imagine what he could have done differently. But he knew he would eventually have to confront the kings for their loyalty.

Even though Asmodeus had lent him his power on multiple occasions, he always had hidden intent. He was always waiting for that moment of weakness, the one that he had jumped on today.

Given their demonic nature and cunning minds, Alex knew that this day would have had to come at some point.

Would it have turned out differently? Probably.

However, Alex knew very little about Zagan, aside from his powers. He had no insight into the demon's inner musings, or how his mind worked.

The chance of Zagan never bowing to him was ever-present. Maybe with more power, he could have stopped him from committing the irreparable.

But Zagan looked prepared when he cast his spell, as if this had been on his mind for a while.

Would he ever have let Alex stop him?

Realizing the implications of all these moving pieces alleviated Alex's guilt a little.

"Eventually, I would have had to confront them and demand their obedience, yes," Alex replied to Kary's question.

"Then I guess it was just a matter of when. Not how. If Zagan was ready to go through with this, and pulled it off without too much of a hitch, then he knew what he was doing," Kary said, trying to ease his guilt more.

She refused to blame him for something that he had no control over. A spell this intricate, she knew as a magic user, was something that required time to learn, craft, and prepare for.

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment action. If he hadn't done it today, it would have happened in the near future.

"Let's just go inside and have a moment to rest. I think you need it," Kary said, getting back to her feet.

She helped Alex up, as he looked downtrodden, and pulled him inside by his arm.

Alex let her pull him along to the kitchen island, where she sat him down, before she started pulling out ingredients from the fridge.

"I will make you the best sandwich you ever tasted, and I hope that cheers you up. Okay?" she told him, softly.

Alex nodded his head, still lost in thought.

He wanted to stop blaming himself and believe that this was not his fault. To believe that it would have happened eventually, regardless of what he did.

But it was easier said than done, especially given how it had happened today.

He barely saw Kary zooming around the kitchen as she toasted bread, lightly seared some bologna, cut some crunchy lettuce and tomatoes, and built him a monster of a sandwich.

There were three slices of bread in there, along with what looked like an ungodly amount of meat, plenty of vegetables, some cheese slices, white, of course, and what looked like mayo.

She pushed the small plate in front of him, leaning on the island across from him, smiling brightly, as she tried to get him to perk up.

"Cmon. Eat up before the tomatoes make the rest of the sandwich soggy. It'll cheer you right up."

Alex looked at her and smiled weakly.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

But the moment he bit through the mountain of ingredients before him, his eyes widened.

He munched on the sandwich like it owed him money and looked at her with disbelief after every bite.

"What did you put in there?!" he asked, his mouth still full of half-chewed food.

"This tastes like heaven just ejaculated in my mouth!" he added.

Kary burst into laughter at his choice of words.

"Well, that is an image that will live rent-free in my mind forever, hahaha!" she exclaimed, burying her face in her elbow to laugh, face down on the counter.

Alex wasn't sure why she found it so funny, given it was the most accurate way he found to describe the taste and texture of what he had in his mouth.

The creaminess and the sweet-sour taste mixed perfectly with the meat's crunchiness and the lettuce's crispiness.

It was perfect. The perfect fucking sandwich.

"Seriously. What did you put in there? You should have this on a menu somewhere…" Alex said, stopping his scarfing, to tell her.

Kary shook her head.

"Nope. This is a secret recipe that my mom made for me when I was a kid. I'm not selling this to anyone. But I can tell you, if you promise not to tell anyone else," she said, winking at him.

Alex's eyes widened as he nodded frantically.

"My lips are sealed!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, then. The secret ingredient is in the dressing. You see, I didn't use mayonnaise, like most people would in a sandwich like this. I made my own dressing," Kary said, leaning in closer to him.

Alex hung on her every word like they were gospel, waiting for her to reveal her secret dressing.

"Instead of plain mayonnaise, I mix whipped cream cheese with a drop of lemon juice and some sweet mayonnaise, like Miracle Whip.

Alex shrugged, diving back into the sandwich. In a sense, she knew she was right about her claim on simplicity.

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"Once all mixed up together, it makes this rich, creamy, yet refreshing dressing. It goes perfectly with lettuce and tomatoes and boosts the crunchiness of the roasted bologna. But you can't tell anyone else," she revealed, winking at him.

It sounded so simple that Alex had trouble believing it was just those ingredients.

"Nothing more to it than that? Three ingredients?" he asked, baffled.

"I'll have you know that most good recipes don't require an arsenal of ingredients, love. Sometimes, simplicity is the way to go," she said, smirking at him.

Alex shrugged, diving back into the sandwich. In a sense, she knew she was right about her claim on simplicity.

He rarely ever saw his mother make complicated meals, and he never complained about taste. Her claim had to be rooted in the same logic he imagined.

He devoured the sandwich in minutes, asking for more, but Kary denied him seconds.

"One is enough. Don't overindulge, piglet," she jokingly called him.

"I want some too, you know?" she added, making a second sandwich for herself.

Alex watched her eat the sandwich with greedy eyes. Kary almost felt like she was eating something in front of a hungry dog.

It was almost cute if it wasn't that she was sure that Alex would jump on the sandwich if she left it unattended for a second.

Once that was done, she cleaned up the kitchen, putting everything away before she dragged his ass to the sofa.

"Let's just lay down and cuddle. That should help you relax a bit and forget what just happened, if only momentarily. What do you say?"

Alex wasn't sure it would help him forget, but it would ease his regret temporarily, at least. And he could use that.

They lay down on the massive sofa, Kary on the L part of it, as Alex rested his head on her lap, and she gently stroked his hair.

In minutes, Alex was already falling asleep, forgetting everything about the situation that had transpired. He fell into dreams of a peaceful life somewhere away from the city, where he and Kary enjoyed each other's company.

The dreams went from them alone, to them with kids, and them raising grandchildren, as age caught up to them.

Alex would have liked to never wake up from these dreams if he could. But fate was a cruel mistress.