Chapter Eleven: Meeting Young Kai Parker
During his slumber, Maximus existed on a plane of existence that teetered the edge between life and death, consciousness and unconsciousness. Essentially, he existed on a minor aspect of the Collective Unconscious for this particular Earth, viewing events that occurred long before his time.
He saw the story of Ben (Prometheus) — the demigod who stole magic from the gods and, in an act of defiance, gave it to the mortals, thereby creating the countless monsters and creatures of myth. The gods (Ken) punished the demigod by cursing Prometheus to becoming a "monster magnet," bound to a rock where monsters found and perpetually ate him alive— only to heal eternally, and the process repeating, like a morbidly off-brand version of Groundhog Day.
'Damn, Ken is a proper bastard, ain't he?' Max observed the way the king of the gods treated his own son. 'I'll be sure to help Hope kill the bastard.'
As the Age of Gods came to an end, in came the Age of Monsters and Magic. Hundreds of centuries where monsters reigned supreme, running amok across entire continents, doing whatever they pleased — gargoyles, dragons, demons — monsters from legends and folklore causing terror and mayhem wherever they decided to dwell — All the while, humans remained at their mercy.
It was the witches, werewolves, and vampires who stepped forward, combining their might to create Malivore — a mud golem made to devour monsters not of the Triad that made up its origins. He saw Malivore's story — and Ryan Clarke's story, too
"Ryan Clarke needs some peace. This guy really has it sucky," Max noted, observing the guy's story. "I've seen more somber stories. There are worse stories of orphans, I've no doubt. He's just so… lonely. Maybe I should try to get him and Landon to get along. I mean, they are brothers. First, I should come up with a contingency for Malivore and a way to free both from their father's clutches — that, and prevent Landon's death. Landon Kirby stans all day."
In Legacies, Max did like Ryan, even as a villain. He'd say it was for his sympathetic story, but, honestly, considering his reputation for who he found attractive, it was probably because the guy made a decent villain story — Or, at least, morally grey individual. And he wasn't not pleasing to the eyes.
'And that grin of his,' Max thought privately to himself. 'Yep, I definitely have a type.'
Max watched on.
He saw the origins of the witches (Prometheus), the origins of the werewolves (Inadu), and the origins of the vampires (Esther). He saw Kol's story and that of his family. He saw the Originals' rise and the founding of New Orleans. He saw them being pursued by their own father, whose intentions, naturally, were to "fix the wrongness of their existence" by, you guessed it, killing his children, but especially Klaus.
Max, personally, had not much against Klaus. In fact, he didn't mind his time in either shows. He was an interesting character, if a bit thickheaded, which often then not, only served to nip him later on. His dad, though? He was just the worst.
Max even contemplate hunting the original hunter down after watching the bastard abuse Kol a few times – as both a child and a vampire.
Sadly, he could only watch, though. Whatever level of existence Max was currently existing on didn't allow him the flexibility of interacting with the events. He'd just pass through whatever — or whoever — he tried to touch. It was disheartening, but he swallowed on, deciding to watch the flow of time pass through the scenes.
It was when he saw Kai's story that something occurred.
He was watching the isolationism and abandonment the guy was subjected to due to his irregularity. His parents and coven leaders avoided him like the plague and subjected him to harsh treatment for minor mistakes. He was even used as a guinea pig for magical experiments.
'No wonder he turned out so bad. So much pain and distaste given his way by everyone in his life since before he could even walk. Not even his twin truly trusts him — And this is before he starts showing signs of sociopathic tendencies,' Max thought, observing the boy staring detached ahead of him, locked away on his birthday while the family and coven celebrated Josette's birthday, completely forgetting the twin brother. 'I'd have gone psycho killer on my family and coven, too.
'Kai was a sociopath, though,' Max continued the thought trail. 'so there was always something wrong with him from the get go. I reckon that harsh environment only made him worse. I still think I can fix him, though,' Max thought as he reached down, dark-eyed, intending to put a comforting hand on the siphoner's shoulder.
He was 16 right now, it seemed, watching from his room window as the outside lawn was full of coven witches and warlocks of the Gemini family and its coven, congratulating his twin sister for her Sweet 16. They hadn't even considered him for sharing a birthday with her. In fact, Max would bet that they had completely forgotten about Kai was her twin and it was his birthday, too.
'What a fucked up way to live,' Max thought to himself, doubling down in effort to place a comforting hand on the siphoner. 'C'mon hand! Work!'
At first, Max's hand passed through the boy like a ghost trying to interact with something solid. It was frustrating, but Max kept trying. And eventually, he was able to make contact — the sudden weight on the siphoner's shoulder startling the witch, who nearly flinched back in bewilderment.
"W-who are you?!" Kai asked quickly before swiftly gathering himself. "What are you doing here?"
"A friend. A friend who wishes to give someone his words of a happy birthday," Max said, eyes dead ahead, out the window.
That comment seemed to annoy the siphoner, who's startled expression shifted to mild irritation. "If it's Josie you want, she's out there," he muttered.
"Oh no, Kai Parker, it's not her. I'm wishing you a happy birthday too. Admittedly, it seems there are plenty to wish her birthday well." Max turned to a wide-eyed Kai. "Her brother, on the other hand… Anyway, I'll do my best to make it to your other birthdays as well. At least, in appearance."
Picking up a rock off Kai's shelf, Max quickly enchanted it, using a bit of spirit magic — the only magic Max could seem to perform while on this side of reality. He imbued the rock with a portion of his spiritual essence.
"eubmI siht enots htiw a llams noitrop fo ym lautirips cigam." Max chanted, causing the ordinary brown-grey rock, nearly the size of a tennis ball, to glow faintly a white-blue before morphing to its normal hue.
Max turned to a narrow-eyed Kai. "Here. In case of emergencies — every warlock deserves some way to defend themselves."
Tentatively, Kai took the rock, eyeing Max in curiosity.
"Happy birthday," Max smiled, before a sudden force began pulling at his consciousness. "Looks like my time is up. I'll see you soon, I've no doubt."
With that, Max vanished from sight, still watching events play out like an invisible spectre. He visited Kai Parker four more times before his own physical body awoke itself up in his own time…