God’s Cube

While Inveniam did manage to breach the stronghold and tear apart much of Dagda's operation, the man himself slipped away, vanishing into the wilderness of the Alps. Many of his key figures were killed in the raid, but this likely wouldn’t be the end of it all. What remained was the looming factor that no one dared to scream, a Cube had been moved or had appeared in a place previously thought unfeasible for a Cube location. Everything we thought we knew about it in these 100 years was turned upside down that day.

Thesi said nothing, only sat silent as Flavio finished the story, allowing his thoughts to run free. Flavio leaned back in his chair, his eyes out the window, as if looking for someone. He then turned his eyes to Thesi, but sensing he wasn’t gonna speak up, Flavio continued.

"Inveniam lost a lot that day. Me too,, I lost a lot as the leader of that pack, but you know? I never regret pulling you out of that Cube. Not for one second."

Thesi studied Flavio's face for a long time.  

"You left them shortly after? Inveniam I mean."

Flavio nodded slowly. 

"I did. A few months after the raid. I was still in touch with the group, of course, but I couldn't stay. That mission made me realize I was no longer cut for the job and wanted to step back."

Flavio shook his head, took and took a deep breath before continuing. 

"After we saved you, things just got complicated. The more I thought about the Red Cube, that group and everything around it, the more I realized how hazardous this world had become. And Inveniam? We're not invincible, Thesi. That day made me realize just how close I'd come to losing everything. It might seem absurd to you, no one is invisible obviously, but we had started to believe we were, and this crashed us back to realize… Well it did for those that survived."

Thesi considered these words, he had never known overconfidence, perhaps due to how he was raised, so that emotion was still a bit foreign, but looking at Flavio’s eyes, he started sensing a bit what he meant.

“Was I involved in your decision to step down?”

Flavio chuckled and shook his head. 

"Not totally. It was a bit of everything. I understood that day the kinds of things people were willing to do. Max died, Lila too. I couldn't keep asking myself to go through that. I decided I now had a responsibility to you now. It didn’t take us long to see something was off with you, studying the bunker gave us answers, and by then I had decided I wanted to try and give you a better life."

"Must've been hard."

"Inveniam was my family for a long time. But when you came along, things shifted. Jorik. he stepped up. He took my place, and honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better successor."

"Jorik." 

Thesi muttered, remembering the few times he had met the former combat medic. 

"He's leading now?"

"Yeah, he sure is. He moved up the ranks pretty fast after I retired. Smart kid, always had a good head on his shoulders. And for leadership, he's got the temperament. Cool under pressure, good with people." 

Smiling, Flavio allowed a flash of pride in his eyes before continuing. 

"Always liked him. Knew he'd go far."

Thesi turned to Flavio, he could here the fondness in his guardian’s voice when talking about the vigilante group.

"And you still stay in touch?"

"Now and then, Jorik and Zara mostly. Zara's the oldest member left now. Still runs the digital ops like nobody else. But you know how Inveniam operates, it's not the kind of group people stick with for decades. Too many risks, too much turnover."

Thesi frowned. He knew more or less what was intended by it, but he still let his surprise take over and reflexively asked. 

"Turnover?"

Flavio's expression turned sad.

"Yeah. Inveniam isn’t a safe job, Thesi. A lot of people either die or retire pretty quickly. It's the nature of the work. You're fighting against something much bigger than you, something that keeps evolving as the people you fight against change. People burn out. Or worse."

"And you. Don't you miss it?"

Flavio was silent for a moment, thinking about the question itself. 

"I miss parts of it. The camaraderie, the sense of purpose you get only from this type of job, but I don't miss the constant danger. The uncertainty. And the lack of recognition. We don’t do this for glory, but it is hard to be considered nothing more than a group acting outside the law for ideals. I gave much to Inveniam, but I couldn't continue to give. Things change. I relocated priorities. And if I'm honest, it was time for me to step back, let the younger ones like Jorik take the reins."

Thesi nodded, some curiosity still lingering knowing his headspace all those years ago.

"What was it like those first few years? With me I mean."

“Those years weren't easy, you were quiet, detached. You didn't show much emotion, not at first. I couldn't blame you. The more we found out, the more it made sense, but slowly, bit by bit, you started to open up. We'd sit by the fire, much as this, and you'd begin to ask me questions. About the world, about Inveniam. about everything. You hadn’t experienced much of it after all."

"It must’ve been a lot to deal with" 

A ghost of a smile gently taking its place on his lips as he said that. But Flavio corrected him.

"You were curious, you wanted to understand the world around you. I was just glad to see you starting to connect, in your own way."

Thesi chuckled low in his throat. 

"And here we are now, all these years later."

"Yeah, here we are."

There was a comfortable silence between them then. Flavio glanced at the clock, softening. Suddenly, the oven's timer broke through the peaceful silence. Flavio rose from his chair, his arms stretching out in a long groan. 

"Guess dinner is ready."

Thesi grinned, standing also. 

"I'll set the table."

Flavio smiled and looked back at Thesi before saying.

“Thank you for making it through the Cube, I didn’t want you to tackle this and risk losing you, but you came back. I’m glad.”