Chương 50: BONEFACE

June had spent the last three days helping people during the storm To the average Joe, June was basically a superhero who appeared out of nowhere, pulled them out of mortal peril, and would, once in a while, rest for ten minutes before taking off as if nothing had happened. But to June, rest meant home; the nightrealm was a hint of normalcy in his mundane life of heroism. June continued knitting with the Queen and started a project with the aid of the Kings and Alison.

He still spent a portion of the day training with the twins and getting pointers on his archery from Eleanor. His training with Mortimer hadn't started yet, and from what the Kings told him, Mortimer was doing exactly what June was doing in the mundane world, except in a more low-key way. The nightrealm was ever peaceful, and the hell of the mundane world made every moment that June spent with Lilia worth a million more.

Lilia also seemed to be pampering June recently; it seems that his effort to hide the toll of his waking world escapades was vain to her eyes. June had no complaints; he even got one hug from her. He wasn't sure if he messed it up or something since he wasn't used to hugs, but a hug from her made him feel all powerful for some reason; he felt invigorated, healthier, stronger, faster, and just overall infinitely better.

In fact, it's one of the reasons he hasn't broken down in tears looking at the several dead bodies in front of him. He saved a couple of people from the rapids and pulled them onto a rooftop, but they weren't always guaranteed to survive. Sometimes the most dead-looking things were alive, and sometimes the most lively-looking things were dead; each dead one he pulled out was another failure, a painful notch on his mind. It's been four days since he left the studio, and it's been three since he left the hospital.

They tried to stop him when he left. It never crossed June's mind, but most medical supplies that required a certain temperature to keep their effectiveness were drowned in water. Maybe some survived, maybe some lost their effectiveness, but it didn't matter since a helicopter with more supplies landed a while after June left. People also started calling him 'Boneface' when they saw him. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

It looks like, despite the ongoing natural disaster, people still seem to find a way to access their socials; Some people directly asked if he was 'Golden eyes' too, since he wasn't bothering to close his eyes in this circumstance. June typically ignored them; he rarely spoke in the mundane world, since there his body was constantly being overtaxed. June was starting to regret not learning some subtle magic, since his ability was too supernatural for the mundane world's comfort.

He primarily got by, often by making unnoticeable augmentations to his body or just strengthening it through will. He was already really good at shaping his will, but the disaster really forced it to grow by bounds, and his flesh-shaping abilities have also grown in unnoticeable ways, mainly his understanding of his body has increased.

His life had been a constant battle against wanting to go home and being comfortable in bed, or wanting to constantly escape and cry in Lilia's arms, but he forced himself to stay strong. He left home with a purpose, and he has gone too far to go back on it.

June saved dozens of people, as many as he could without shaping his body too much, of course he had made a couple of mistakes by using his ability in slightly noticeable ways sometimes, some people started regarding him as some guardian spirit, or some sort of cryptid since some accounts would talk about a glowing eye behind the mask, and others would talk about how his body would seemingly contort impossibly to save others.

June was totally unaware of his new titles, but he knew that he was pushing it by using his ability in noticeable ways. He left his phone at the studio, so he was in the dark, other than bits and pieces he either overheard or things people had told him about. On his third day out, people would stand on roofs and wave lights around if someone was in danger, and other than the occasional prankster or attention seeker, June was able to effectively save hundreds of people so far.

On the fourth and current day, the rain finally cleared, and the rushing rivers on the streets had either begun to slow or stagnate. June spent his entire day saving people; he was getting really efficient at it, too. The end of the rain carried the promise of respite. Going home would also get him some privacy when he slept, since during the past few days, he had to anchor himself into structures by growing bone stakes through his feet and into the ground.

Of course, people never realized so, but sometimes he would wake up and see camera flashes from distant buildings.

'And here I thought modelling was a paid job.' And finally, now, it was nearing evening, June made an effort to clear the drains when he could, which eased the flood. He was finally done; things had cooled down enough for actual qualified people to step in. He may have saved hundreds, but he had failed more. He was tired.

When June got near, he finally turned the mask back into a bracelet, and for the first time in forever, it felt like he could breathe; the cold air rushed to lick his face, and it felt nice. He would have walked to the studio at a leisurely pace if he could, but the flooding around hadn't cleared yet, so he ended up having to wade through the waist-high water. It took June a couple of seconds to notice that the glass door wasn't looking particularly clear today; instead, the door to the studio had been shattered.

Unfortunately, a brick was in the lobby without a scheduled appointment.

'Shit'