The boy looked up at a dark figure standing in the sky above the forest, his mouth agape. The small animals had scampered away at the mere feeling in the air. With a hand on his chest, the boy felt how his heart thrummed. It wasn''t a dream or a vision, but it was hard to believe. He''d never seen a man float before, and if he wasn''t mistaken, the man was peering back at him. Suddenly, a hopeful thought occurred to him.


    "Father?" he asked.


    The man in the sky moved. It spurred a sudden fear in the boy, who turned and began scrambling towards home. Fallen leaves crushed beneath his feet as he ran over mossy rocks, trying his hardest not to trip on tree roots. He made it quite a long way. Then the man fell from the sky, landing in front of the boy with such force it blew the boy''s golden hair back.


    The boy went still in shock as he watched the man rise from a firm crouch after a fall that should''ve shattered his legs. Shock turned to awe as he beheld the man''s mature but youthful visage. One of his eyes was hidden under a patch, but the boy only paid attention to the uncovered one. It was bright and unfazed.


    The man promptly dusted off his clothes before noticing the boy''s stiff posture and wide-open blue eyes. "Oh, I''m—" he coughed a little. "Please excuse my landing," he said before raising his hands. "I come in peace." Aurelius couldn''t help but note the polished leather the man had around his waist while he had a broken rope to tie his pants. "It is an honor to meet you, Aurelius. I''m Gabriel, a subordinate of your father."


    Aurelius'' vibrant eyes went wider, his pupils dilating despite the light of day. "My father? Is he here? Is my father with you?!" He pumped his fists. "Oh, oh, if he''s here, tell him it''s my birthday." He laughed to himself. He had planned it for years. "I want to make it like he returned at the perfect time."


    Gabriel''s friendly expression faltered. "There''s a lot we have to discuss. Could you show me to your home?"


    Despite his mother having forbidden exploring the forest, Aurelius had explored enough to navigate back to the farm with ease even as he bombarded Gabriel with questions about his father.


    The polite man brushed off most of the questions. The rest he answered with words that didn''t quite make sense. At times, Aurelius was convinced Gabriel was speaking another language all together.


    "What about that floating thing you did? What is that?"


    Gabriel looked at Aurelius weirdly. "That? It''s just an application of essence."


    "Oo, what''s that?" Aurelius asked.


    Gabriel paused. He looked at Aurelius seriously before glancing around with his mouth open and eyebrows knit together.


    Aurelius pumped his fists. "Well, what is it?!"


    "Essence is..." Gabriel rubbed his forehead before talking normally again. "It''s a power you can use to shape reality in a way. With it, you can strengthen your body and senses. Even make things out of nothing. But it can be dangerous."


    Aurelius'' eyes shined. "Cool." He probably wouldn''t have believed it if he hadn''t seen it. "How does it work? Tell me, tell me!"


    "I''ve answered your questions, so how about you answer some of mine for a change?" Gabriel suggested.


    "What? But you haven''t told me anything!"


    Gabriel chuckled and ruffled his hair as he glanced around the forest. "You like nature, don''t you?"


    Aurelius moped for a total of two seconds before beaming up at Gabriel. "I think nature likes me."


    "Pfft, right. You sure have your father''s... lack of inhibition."


    Aurelius squinted. "What''s that mean?"


    "I don''t know. They''re just words." Gabriel waved a hand and smiled. Aurelius had never seen a smile like his. It made him smile too. "But tell me, Aurelius, do you have any friends around here? I was under the impression you had company beside your mother. Some children around your age."


    "Ah, well, there''s my uncle and my cousins. But I''m not really... I''m more..." Aurelius struggled before pivoting his tone. "We play around. Sometimes. Often, actually. We''re friends." Gabriel let the silence linger, and Aurelius frowned, casting his gaze down.


    "Did something happen?" Gabriel asked.


    Aurelius looked around and mumbled something. "Wait a second. I think we''re going in the—"


    Gabriel grabbed his shoulder. "Did something happen?" Aurelius turned to look up at him. "You can tell me."


    Aurelius shook. "It''s okay. It''s resolved. We''re family."


    "What is?"


    "Well, we were playing, and I did something wrong, and..." He gestured with his hands. "His arm went in the wrong direction. It''s still not healed. But once it''s fine, we can all play again, so it''s resolved."


    "Ah, alright." Gabriel rubbed Aurelius'' shoulder and assured him, "I''m sure it''ll all be okay."


    "Y— Yeah," Aurelius said with an uncertain nod.


    Gabriel''s face suddenly froze, his eye shifting as he stood up. "Aurelius, I think your mother wants to see you."


    Aurelius turned around, and in the distance before a large cottage, he saw his mother''s eyes, wrinkled and teary.


    ''What is...'' he thought as Gabriel walked past.


    Aurelius ran up behind him and asked what was going on. Gabriel just walked ahead. Then he saw his mother''s hard expression. They were both like statues. Aurelius ran to his mother and clung to her, asking her the same question. She just caressed his cheek.


    ''Why is nobody saying anything?'' he thought in a panic, just this once wanting for his mother to wag her finger and swear if he went into that forest one more time...


    "Aurelius, go inside," his mother said sharply.


    Aurelius furrowed his brows and looked at Gabriel who seemed to agree. "Is this about my father?" Aurelius asked. Gabriel nodded. "Then I''ll stay."


    Gabriel glanced at Aurelius'' mother before turning his gaze to the ground and kneeling. "The truth is... I have failed you," he said, his voice breaking and his words filling the air with something heavy.


    "What?" Aurelius turned to his mother. "What''s he talking about?"


    Gabriel looked at him with sad eyes that Aurelius realized had been hidden before. "Your father, Aurelius. My commander... 106 days ago, he passed away."


    Aurelius'' feet stuck to the ground. He was being pulled in. Sucked into the depths. He wanted to move. To lash out, but he couldn''t. It was his father''s friend. He had joked and laughed with him just a minute ago.


    He stared at Gabriel, his empty eyes starting to turn red as he refused to blink. Then he saw it. He was a traitor. It was a trap. He launched himself at Gabriel with a faraway scream. "Mom, run!"


    He attempted to tackle Gabriel, but as Gabriel stuck in place, he wrestled and tried twisting him. He looked back. His mother was still there, hands trembling, her gaze on the ground. "Go, Mom! Go." His voice turned weaker as he exerted all his force to no avail.


    ''Come on, show me who you are,'' he thought as he squeezed his arms around the man as hard as he could. If the man hit him or flung him, it meant Aurelius was right. He was there to hurt them. That''s why he lied.


    But when nothing happened, he looked up. And when he saw Gabriel''s tears, his strength faded, and he broke. His face twisting as his lips quivered and his hands shook.


    ''Don''t cry. Strong people don''t cry,'' he thought, but when the first tears came, there was no stopping it. Soon he sobbed with his face against Gabriel''s chest.


    What was he supposed to wait for now?


    ***


    It was already evening when Aurelius sat against the frame of his bed in the V-shaped attic. His eyes were bloodshot and tired as he stared at his mother''s bed opposite his own.


    He had been sent away while the adults talked downstairs. There was no sound coming from there, though. Maybe they were just sitting around a table and staring at each other. Uncle didn''t like him. Mother had barely said anything since he came.


    There was a sound, and Aurelius turned his head. Gabriel walked up the stairs with his head down. Then he came into the room and sat down, leaning against his mother''s bed.


    Aurelius wanted to snap at him. Tell him he had no right to touch his mother''s bed. But he saw the pain in the man''s eyes. He was haunted, a hundred ghosts at his back.


    As they looked at each other there with pained expressions, not sure what to feel, Aurelius wished for the first time that he would never have met Gabriel at all.


    "I''m sorry for the way I acted. I—" Gabriel paused and took his gaze away from Aurelius and directed it at his feet. "I wasn''t sure how I was supposed to tell you. Ares was my commander, but he was also like a father. In a way, you and I are like brothers." He looked up at Aurelius and smiled with a tired curving of his lips. Aurelius'' mouth twitched, still unsure what he was feeling.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "When will you leave?" Aurelius asked.


    "I will depart immediately if you wish," Gabriel responded firmly. "I volunteered to be a messenger as I am the sole survivor of your father''s troop, but I have things to take care of on the other side of the world. However, I could teach you the ways of essence manipulation before I leave. The incident with your cousin... I can help you make sure that you will never hurt anyone like that again. I will help you control that power. With it, you can even help others. Like your father."


    Aurelius'' eyes opened just a little wider, some of their vibrancy reborn. "I can be like my father?"


    Gabriel nodded. "I''m sure of it." He moved forward and went to a knee, putting a hand on Aurelius'' chest. "You are a very special person, Aurelius. Never restrict yourself. The possibilities for you are infinite. Always remember that." He put a hand on Aurelius'' knee, and Aurelius'' heart was filled. And then he spoke those words. "The world is yours."


    ***


    Those four words echoed in Aurelius'' mind for four long years. The beauty of his art reflected them.


    In the middle of his tensed hand, streaks rippled around a ball of essence that gave off a faint glow. The ball wasn''t very large and at times struggled to exist, but it was mesmerizing nonetheless. In it, he saw an abstract reflection of his 16-year-old self.


    When he let his hand loosen, the ball disappeared. Then he took out his gray notebook and jotted something down as he sat on a rock in the forest.


    "Close-range essence usage: no progress."


    Then he looked over the other categories. Long-range essence usage, reinforcement, enhancement, and defensive essence usage abilities had all started to stagnate almost a year ago. Now his progress was just pathetic.


    Aurelius breathed out slowly and rubbed his forehead. He did it harder and harder until he lashed out, squeezing his hand into a fist and pumping it three times before hitting the rock he was sitting on. The rock crumbled, sending him stumbling off to the side.


    He grumbled as he dusted off his clothes.


    He had done everything, reviewing the advice Gabriel had given him during the months he was his mentor. It was now evident that he was stuck. After having mastered the fundamentals, his progress had died down. Trying to better his setups without a teacher was like stumbling in the dark. And of course, Gabriel had refused to give him advice too far off into the future because he would''ve started skipping steps.


    In other words, there was no escaping this slump. Unless...


    ***


    "No," his mother answered as she devoted her attention to the stew she was cooking.


    "Please, just consider it," Aurelius begged.


    "I have considered it, and my answer is no. How many times do I have to tell you?"


    Aurelius stood and walked over to her. "Listen, we can''t stay here. We can''t keep living like... Can''t you understand that we have a better life waiting for us?"


    She kept her eyes on the pot. "Where? A world away in the Great Zalfarian Empire? You just can''t get him out of your head, can you?" Then she turned. "Aurelius, we are here because your father thought it best."


    Aurelius shook his head. "No, he wouldn''t have wanted this. He''s the Hero of Zalfari. If we go there, they''ll welcome us and—" He stopped when his mother glared at him.


    "The last thing your father would have wanted was for you to go to Zalfari. He fought for that nation so that you wouldn''t have to."


    Aurelius bit his tongue. He may have been smart enough to know what was right, but he was still too stupid to say it in a way that made it undeniable. "Then not Zalfari. We can go elsewhere. Somewhere I can put my skills to use. A place like Mircrest where I can help people. And help us." He gently grasped her mother''s shoulders.


    "Mircrest?" She shook him off, her face hardening. "Stop it. The answer is no. Do you have any idea what that place is like? All the corruption, crime, and debauchery. There is not a single upstanding citizen to be found there."


    Aurelius squeezed his hands into fists. "You know that''s a lie."


    "I won''t put what we have here at risk for what is... out there." She pointed her finger disdainfully and put her attention back on the food.


    ''What we have here?'' Aurelius thought, his eyes narrowing. ''What we have here is a chance for you to die working the fields and me becoming a useless failure. I have no friends, no property, no community, no purpose. Nobody wants me here except for you. So what do we... What do I have here?''


    He returned from his thoughts as his mother looked at him like she disapproved of the thoughts he''d had. It truly felt like she could see all the dark thoughts in his mind he covered up with shame. If she really could see them, of course, she would think him unfit to continue his father''s legacy.


    Then she brought her hand up and patted him on the head with a slight smile. "I''m sorry that you''re unsatisfied. I know you have dreams. But life isn''t what you think. Often our dreams lead us into our nightmares."


    Aurelius opened his mouth, but no words came. Was he wrong to want to follow his heart? Was it so selfish? He didn''t know, so he didn''t argue against his mother.


    He nodded and turned away, heading for the back door of the cottage. The door opened and a man came inside. When he noticed Aurelius, he gave a smile to mask the spite he held for him.


    "Good morning," Aurelius said with a nod.


    "Is it? You haven''t destroyed more of my land, have you?"


    Aurelius gave an affirmative sound as he walked past, only to be stopped as the man grabbed his arm.


    "When did you grow to be so rude as to not even answer your uncle?" he asked.


    Aurelius looked to the side and down, a dark thought passing through his head. His uncle wasn''t a small man by any measure; however, his head barely reached Aurelius'' shoulder. "Sorry, I thought I did."


    "Tch." He shook his head and patted Aurelius harshly on the shoulder. "Go on. You have work to do just like the rest of us."


    Aurelius shrugged the man off and headed out. There he saw his eldest cousin.


    He raised a hand in an awkward greeting. "Hey."


    She just pursed her lips and walked past. Aurelius'' eyes went to her elbow, and he grimaced slightly. It was a sight that haunted his dreams. The arm never fully healed.


    He was about to walk into the backyard when he heard something and looked back to see his mother conversing with the two. Despite whatever his mother said, it was obvious that he had no place there.


    ***


    Months went past with Aurelius spending entire nights staring at the roof, thoughts about that conversation and all like it spinning in his mind. Every day his beliefs were further reinforced. He wasn''t improving anymore, and his time was wasted on pointless work when it should''ve gone into training, but there was no way to convince his mother.


    He couldn''t stay in place any longer.


    Making up his mind, he took his large bag from under his bed at past midnight and silently made it out. It was a struggle to get out without having the floor creak under his feet, but he managed. Only when he was out could he think again.


    So simple was the act. Just take your stuff and go. But under the night sky, the forest was so dark, and the cottage unusually familiar. Nevertheless, it had to be done.


    His mother thought she knew best, but it was her selfishness that kept him trapped in this place, useless and without purpose. But he had a purpose. He existed in this world for a reason. He was there to continue his father''s legacy.


    Without restrictions, he could do so much good. To others and himself. The world would be better for this choice, so it was one he had to make.


    He thought of his father. He represented the strength he sought to achieve, the adventurous spirit he reached for, and the determination to face and conquer the world.


    ''I''m going to be just like you,'' he vowed with his wondrous gaze on the stars and felt an irrepressible boost of energy within.


    Under the night sky, he felt as if the stars were smiling at him. He looked back at the cottage one last time, wishing his mother goodbye before entering the darkness and beyond.