The final bell of the day rang. Everybody finally heaved a sigh of relief. Everybody was naturally happy to go back home after a long and boring day at school.
Adrian was naturally one of them. He packed his bag, stood up, and left. Unlike the other kids, he had no one to walk home with or talk to. Marie was someone he could talk to, but she had her own friends to go home with.
He walked out of the school and started walking toward the direction of his favourite restaurant that he always went to before school and after school.
There were no mishaps. He quickly got to the restaurant and saw that there were many people. Just as he stopped and started slowly walking toward a seat, the gentle voice of a man entered his ears. He looked and saw a handsome man with an umbrella bow to him.
"Greeting, Adrian Blackbell. I am guessing your sister Lily is doing okay and your parents are fine in Egypt."
Adrian stared at Eric's face in disbelief. He couldn't digest the fact that there was a random man on the road who knew his and his sister's names and where his parents were right now. His gut told him to run away and consult an adult. However, the man's face had such a shine to it. His smile was so mesmerising; his sky-blue eyes shone like two beautiful gems. He couldn't help but trust the words that came out of this man's mouth.
"So, what I thought was right. I do feel some sense of familiarity with these ones. Max also feels a little of these emotions but they are not as intense. The one who is called the first one, the supplementary feeling is that of respect, as I look up to him. I wonder if Max will feel the same? Then, was someone in that family also a 'one' because I also felt a sense of familiarity from them? The voice even told me to kill them. Sigh, it is too mysterious and I know too little. I should focus on the task given first." Eric had thought a lot in his mind, but it was just a second in real life.
"Who are you?" Adrian asked the charming man with an umbrella resting on his shoulder in front of him. Eric, in his Mike Jackson persona, widened his eyes for a second to show his shock. He smiled at Adrian and removed his right hand from his umbrella, let the umbrella down from his shoulder, closed it, put his right hand on his chest, and bowed slightly as he started to introduce himself.
"My name is Mike Jackson. I am a freelance journalist. I have been tasked to give you some information and an item. Can you please give me a moment of your time?"
Every action of his—be it moving his hand, the movement of his lips, or the movement of his eyes—let out extreme elegance and beauty that Adrian couldn't help but consider if he actually was straight or not. He couldn't help but inwardly praise his smooth skin and shining eyes. Adrian noticed that there were people also noticing the charm and elegance of this journalist in front of him and were just staring at him from a distance away.
Mike put his umbrella in his right hand and started to walk toward a café. Adrian followed him without any further questions. By now, he fully trusted the man in front of him. Adrian remembered feeling like this a while ago when he met a clown who gave him an invitation. It made him remember that he had a performance to go and witness, but for now, let it be for the future.
Eric and Adrian sat opposite each other on a round table outside a café. Eric ordered some coffee for himself while Adrian didn't order anything.
"I don't want any other person to hear our conversation so I will have to make some adjustments." Eric told Adrian as he stared at the air, not looking at anything particular, and whispered something as the pink liquid came out of his body and formed a barrier around them before disintegrating into nothingness. Adrian couldn't tell what he was exactly doing but he just stayed quiet.
Normal people can't see the liquids that these people with powers use.
"Now no one will be able to hear us." Eric assured with a 'matter-of-fact' tone.
Eric then glanced at Adrian's face with a mischievous smile as he put his right leg over his left, clenched his hands together, put them on the table, and rested his chin on his clenched hands.
"So, may I ask how your life is at home?" Eric questioned Adrian. Adrian didn't think anything of his question and started to earnestly answer it. "It is nothing of much significance. If I have to choose a word, then it would be boring. It is very quiet at night, which I like very well, but how long can one be quiet and not talk at all? How long can one stare at a screen and scroll down shorts? However, my younger sister Lily's interests and mine are completely opposite. We don't sit well. I sometimes wonder how we are even siblings?" Adrian let out all his thoughts bare in front of Eric without a second thought as he stared at the ground.
"Truth is very effective. Even if this boy in front of me is just a regular human, it just took a few minutes to make the passive ability of Truth start to work on him. It seems he is quite trusting of others and doesn't suspect others that easily but he is still young and inexperienced. It is nothing weird. Also, it feels quite weird and amusing to have someone tell you anything you want without a second thought," Eric thought inside his head, even chuckling a little inside.
"You don't have any friends?" Eric asked another question, this time using a softer and gentler voice.
Adrian shook his head in refusal and gave context. "I am not the sociable guy who can make friends with anyone I just talked to once. I am more of the quiet type. In the morning, I usually have a bad mood, so no one talks to me because they think I have attitude, and me not talking is also another problem. There is just one person who talks to me. I guess she does it out of pity or some other reason, but I just don't know." Adrian had a complicated look on his face as he answered. It was clear that he wanted to have friends, but due to his flaws, he couldn't fit in, and he didn't seem to trust the only person who was friends with him.
"So he has a problem socialising? Noted." Eric took a mental note about Adrian.
Eric obviously knew many details of Adrian's personality from Edward's information but someone else telling you about someone and the person themselves telling you about themselves—the latter is much more detailed. He then continued to ask questions regarding Adrian's personal life and the like before finally being satisfied. It was just their first meeting. He would have more than enough chances to ask him more questions. For now, it was time for his awakening.
Eric's cheeky expression suddenly turned serious as he looked at Adrian's face and asked, "Adrian, I have a question. Just answer in yes or no. Would you like to become an Aura user?"
"An aura what?" Adrian asked with a confused expression. He clearly had no idea what Mike was talking about. He even thought he might be making a joke regarding the sigma males and Aura memes on social media but the serious look on his face told him the opposite.
"An Aura user. It may be very hard and confusing for you to understand but I won't give you any knowledge regarding them before you become an Aura user as it can endanger your life. If I have to say it in easy words, Aura users are people who can use a power called Aura. They are superhumans with powers who live in an entirely different world than normal people. I am also an Aura user. Let me demonstrate."
Eric had long finished the cup of coffee he ordered while asking Adrian questions. He raised the cup above in the air and threw it in the air. The cup fell down quickly. However, just when it was about to reach the ground, it suddenly stopped and started to float. Eric quickly grabbed the cup and put it back on the table before anyone else could see.
Adrian's mouth gaped open as he stared with widened eyes, showing his clear surprise. Eric chuckled at his shocked face and said, "If there weren't people around, I would have it float back to me." He tried to stay calm but his emotion got the best of him. He doubted that this man might be playing some tricks on him or pranking him but from the start, Adrian couldn't doubt this man. Even if he were pranking him, he would like to play along with the prank.
"Will I also get an ability like this?" Adrian asked Eric with a loud voice and excited expression. He has always wanted to have powers for one reason or another. He especially loved heroes like Superman and Spider-Man who have cool powers and always uphold justice and fight for others. He always thought to be someone like them if he ever gained powers like them. He couldn't believe he could fulfil that dream of his!
Eric looked at his smiling face and looked down with a sad expression on his face. He remembered the times before he became an Aura user and was just a normal person. Life was hard but he went through it with Max. He was also very excited and happy after naturally awakening his Aura. However, now, after years of being an Aura user, he has changed. He understood the weight of being an Aura user and the changes it brings to a person. He has grown through the pain that it brings. Now, looking at this teenager in front of him, being happy at finally being able to have powers, he can easily guess that he is thinking about those comic book heroes like Superman and eager to become like them, upholding justice and saving Earth from cosmic threats.
He can imagine the changes this kid will go through in his later years after experiencing the changes brought by being an Aura user. He felt like stealing this kid's innocence. However, he has no choice.
Eric looked up at him with a smiling face after a few seconds of contemplating and told him to sit down which Adrian obediently did like a disciplined child. He didn't want to misbehave in case this man got angry and left.
"I know you are very excited and eager to become an Aura user. It is your destiny to become an Aura user. However, I would like to warn you that the road an Aura user takes is full of thorns and suffering. There is an ordeal waiting for you at every turn. In this journey, you can die at any time. You will also have to do questionable things that will go against your morals and being. You will suffer in all ways—be it physically, mentally, emotionally, or any other." Eric put an emphasis on the last 'will'.
He stared straight into Adrian's eyes with a serious expression. His charm mixed with his heavy gaze made Adrian feel a lot of pressure on his body and mind. He gulped the saliva that had formed in his mouth and looked straight in Eric's eyes, though with a scared expression, his brows a little furrowed. He spoke with confidence, "I know that everything has a price and suffering will naturally come with it but I am ready to take it all. Forgetting that, what do you mean by 'destined'?" Adrian asked a question with a confused look.
Eric placed his back against the chair and folded his arms together. He continued to maintain eye contact with Adrian without looking away and spoke, "Every person is born with their own destiny that they will fulfil at one point or another of their life, like you and me also will. Do you think that the decisions we make are truly our own? I also used to think that but with a mix of determinism and I still uphold this idea but only for my personal satisfaction. In reality, we are all puppets and slaves of the strings of fate and chains of destiny. Even if I were to not help you awaken today, you will eventually become an Aura user in one way or another."
Adrian couldn't understand one thing that Eric was speaking. He just wanted to unlock his powers asap. Eric understood his intentions and didn't warn him any further. Not like it would matter or anything.
Eric put his hand in his left pocket and took out a ring case from his pocket that was sent to him by Edward with the note and put it on the table and slid it toward Adrian, opening it and revealing a ring with a pitch-black layering.
"Is this gonna give me powers?" Adrian couldn't believe but imagined the show Miraculous. The characters in that story also get their powers from magical jewellery. Maybe this is also something like that. It was a total coincidence that the male main character and he share the same name. He is not like him at all, but it is also due to this that he is his favourite character in the entire show. Adrian wanted to take a closer look at this ring but he held himself back as it wasn't civil to touch others' stuff without permission.
"Just touch the ring and let the magic happen. Don't be stressed or have any negative thoughts." Eric told Adrian with a small smile. He had already put both of his hands on his right knee.
The moment Adrian got the permission from Eric, he raised his hands and picked up the ring case and brought it closer to him. His hands shook when he tried to touch the ring. Adrian took a deep breath, calming himself down, and touched the cold surface of the black ring in front of him.
The moment he touched the surface of the ring, time seemed to stop around him. Mike, the cars, bikes, people, birds flying in the air—everything stopped. The surrounding slowly turned blue, black, red, and to colours he never knew even existed. Adrian couldn't understand what was happening.
Suddenly a sharp pain came from his head as if someone was stabbing his head with a needle time and time again. "Aghhhh" Adrian growled in pain as he closed his eyes and grabbed his head. The pain in his head subsided after a few minutes and Adrian slowly opened his eyes. However, what he saw was not the café, Mike, roads, cars, or anything—just a black world where he was still sitting on the table. He realised he couldn't move his body. He raised his head a little to look at the sky using all his strength. The sky he saw was not the clear blue sky that he had grown up under all his life.
The sky was that of myriad colours. A colour has its own space or region you might say in the sky with every region having its own boundaries that didn't allow the other regions to assimilate them. There were also some small regions that didn't have any boundaries and were getting mixed up with the bigger regions. Adrian looked around and saw a white region, which had white strings and black chains coming down from it and connecting to the ground while coiling each other. Adrian felt like he could hear music from that region when looking at it. There was a green region which seemed to have time stop, start, end, loop at the same time. It was something that shouldn't be possible, an indescribable scene.
There was a red region from where screams of mortals and the running of armies could be heard. The entire sky of myriad colours roared and shook, as if looking at Adrian. Adrian just stared at the sky of myriad with fear in his eyes. Suddenly, a thread of purple string came from a purple region with no boundary across the horizon and connected itself to Adrian.
Adrian closed his eyes when the purple string pierced his chest but he felt no pain whatsoever. He slowly opened his eyes and could feel a connection between him and the purple region. Just then, three threads of white strings appeared out of thin air and coiled themselves around the purple string. The purple region roared but couldn't do anything. It was too weak. The three threads of white strings split apart the purple string, breaking the connection between the purple region and Adrian. After breaking their connection, the three threads of white strings coiled around each other and formed a single thread. One end connected itself with Adrian while the other end connected itself with the black region with a boundary—the region that can make anyone feel the coming of the end just by looking at it. The white thread soon turned into a black string, as if tainted by the black region. A black light came from the black region and travelled through the black string and entered into Adrian's body.
The moment the black light entered Adrian's body, he saw visions—visions of the entire city being destroyed. His sister lying on the ground, under her was a pool of blood. Her eyes were dim and lifeless; she was dead. Marie was hanging from a building. She had no head and blood was coming out of her neck continuously that fell on the top of a baby who looked at her dead body with cold eyes and drank her blood calmly. Everyone around him had died and he was there, standing in the middle of the rubble and dead bodies.
"Ahhh!" Adrian opened his eyes and screamed at the top of his lungs. However, no one looked at him. It was clear his sound hadn't reached them due to the thing that Eric did before they started talking. Adrian touched his face with both of his hands and felt cold sweat forming on his forehead. His brows were drenched and his hair stuck to his forehead due to the sweat. He then started to laugh as tears continued to drop down from his cheeks.
Why was he laughing and crying? Let me explain. He was laughing at his past self for being so ignorant and thinking that he could be a superhero so easily. This realisation came to him after the black light entered his body and he couldn't help but find it funny. He was crying due to getting a vision of such an apocalypse happening in Paris. All his loved ones died. If not one cry after seeing such a terrifying vision, then they won't be human.
After crying and laughing for a few minutes, Adrian looked up and saw Mike (Eric) staring at him with a cold expression. He was still in the same sitting position. He didn't ask any question or speak. He was still stabilising. He could see the colours around him becoming saturated, the black became blacker and the blue became bluer. He now felt as if his full potential had been unlocked. He looked at his hands and could feel something stirring inside his soul—something deep inside him that had been slumbering had awakened.
He felt that he was no longer gloomy or lacking energy. He felt like he could walk on the river, break down mountains, beat up demon kings. His mind was sharper and he could perceive things better.
Eric started to clap his hands on the successful awakening of Adrian. He stood up and offered his hand to Adrian for a handshake. He still had a gentle smile on his face, his eyes shining. An aura of empathy and elegance was overflowing around him. Even if Truth's effect had decreased on Adrian a little due to his awakening and him becoming an Aura user, Adrian could feel the effect of Eric's charm and elegance on him. He was still overwhelmed. Adrian shook his hand and Eric said, "Congratulations on finally becoming an Aura user. Now, let's start your history lesson."