He started laughing with loud bursts of laughter. He felt amazing at the moment. He jumped a few more times in the same spot and watched the magnificent view created by the clouds. You wouldn't see such a sight in any other way. As far as he understood, he couldn't fly, but his muscle strength allowed him to jump up to the sky. While in the air, he had seen an empty lot. He wanted to test his abilities there a little more. This lot belonged to a canceled construction site. There were empty barrels around. Magni used his Cosmyth and punched one of the barrels. The barrel was shattered by the impact of the blow. Then he picked up a pebble. He threw it at the barrel. The stone was so fast that it pierced the barrel and hit the concrete column behind it. The column cracked and exploded with the force of the impact. Although Magni was a little scared, nothing happened. He worked on his power for another hour or two. The work had exhausted him. Still, he ran back home. As he ran, it was as if time was slowing down.
He thought that if he could improve his speed, he could instantly displace himself. The only thing he had to do was learn to change his form. He would work on this. When Magni entered the house, his mother told him she had prepared the basement for him.
"At least you can stay there until you learn to control your power," she said.
Magni was understanding of this situation. If he continued to sleep in his own room in this state, they wouldn't have a house left to live in. When he went down to the basement, he saw his carefully prepared bed. While he was away, his mother had brought down the sponge of his bed, changed his sheets, and prepared it. He went upstairs again and asked if he could bring down the bed base. His mother said they couldn't bring it down because the base was heavy. Magni went up to his room, grabbed the base from the middle, and lifted it with one hand. His mother and sister stared as he came down to the lower floor with the huge bed base in one hand. Magni paused and turned to them,
"What's wrong?". He spoke as if what he did was something everyone could do. Thrud,
"You have the bed base in your hand, what kind of reaction do you expect!" she said angrily.
She was right. Magni put the base down and came back to the living room.
"Is there anything else I can do? I'm going to bed." Demeter,
"Actually, yes there is. I'd appreciate it if you took out the trash. Also, since you're so strong, someone parked their car in front of the garage, can you take it from there and put it somewhere else?"
"Consider it done, Mom!"
He opened the house door and went to the kitchen to get the trash. After grabbing them, he suddenly darted off. Without the family even understanding what happened, he threw the trash in the bin across the street and came back.
"I'm going to lift the car, who wants to watch?"
The mother and daughter went to the door. Magni focused. He hadn't lifted anything this big before. He grabbed the car from the front and lifted it. His mother and sister watched him in awe. After he put the car away from the garage, the car's alarm started sounding. Their neighbor, Mr. Haris, the owner of the car, came out of his house.
"Hey, what's going on here? Did you hit my car?"
Magni stepped forward,
"Mr. Haris, was that your car? You parked your car in front of our garage. So, I moved the vehicle away from the garage."
"The furniture I ordered for the house will arrive tomorrow morning, that's why I parked it there. Also, how did you change the location of my car?"
"I put your car there."
"Are you, by any chance, a Cosmyth user?"
"Yes, I just found out recently, actually."
Mr. Haris's face turned white. His hands were shaking, and cold sweat was pouring from his forehead. Magni understood this at that moment. People were afraid of Cosmyth users. Just as his mother had said, most Cosmyth users were ruthless. There could be no other reason for this fear.
"Ah, I sincerely apologize, Mr. Hyperaspis. Please show mercy to this man."
"Mr. Haris, are you okay? You look pale. Is there someone you'd like us to call?"
"No, no, I'm fine, I just need to sit down for a bit."
Mr. Haris was an old man. He had a small shop where he sold fishing supplies. His wife had died 2 years ago. His children had started their own families and only visited their father on special occasions. He was trying to live alone in the house he had lived in with his wife for many years. Although Magni felt sorry for him, Mr. Haris never told anyone anything. That's why Magni hadn't talked to him much. Now, without meaning to, he had scared him. Magni, in a soft tone,
"Mr. Haris, if you need any help, you can ask me for it."
"Thank you, Mr. Hyperaspis."
Magni approached Mr. Haris and shook his hand,
"Please call me Magni. You are old enough to be my grandfather. I feel bad when you address me like that."
"Alright, Magni. Thank you for showing respect to this old man. You are not like the other young people. Today's youth are very disrespectful."
Magni walked him to his house. After dropping Mr. Haris off, he returned to his family. Magni was very tired. His only wish was to put his head on the pillow and sleep as soon as possible. He wished his mother and sister good night and went down to the basement. Today had been the best day of his life. School, friends, his power... With the peace these gave him and his aching body, he fell asleep.
That night, Magni saw his father in his dream. He was the man in the picture on his mother's necklace. The same small house stood behind him. His father was fishing in the lake in front of the house. The man called his son over.
"Magni, shall we talk for a bit?"
Magni didn't know how to answer.
"Sure, Dad."
"Happy birthday, son. How old are you? I haven't seen you in a long time."
"17. Dad, why aren't you here? Couldn't you have run away with us?"
"I couldn't, son. You will learn why when the time is right."
"Alright. Even though I know I'm dreaming right now, why do I feel like you're next to me?"
"Because I was always next to you. Now that your power has been revealed, I'm even closer."
"Mom never told me about you. What's your name, Dad?"
"Bjorn. Bjorn Ottar."
Magni chatted with his father until he woke up in the morning. He didn't know how true the things the man in his dream said were. He would ask his mother about the things he remembered from their conversation. His mother came to wake him up for school.
"Wake up, sleepyhead. You'll be late!"
"Good morning, Mom," Magni said, yawning.
"Come on, breakfast is ready. We're waiting for you."
"Mom, can you sit next to me for a bit?"
Although Demeter didn't understand the reason, she sat next to her son.
"I saw Dad in my dream last night. We were at the house in the picture on your necklace. He was fishing. He called me over. We talked for a while. I need to ask you something. You never told me my father's name. Was his name Bjorn Ottar?"
Demeter was astonished. Indeed, she had never told Magni his father's name.
"Yes. Ah, Bjorn. So, even years after his death, you are looking out for your son. I made the right choice."
"Was that his name? He said he is closer to me now because my power showed itself."
A smile appeared on Demeter's face.
"I'm happy about that, son. Now, if you don't get up and eat something, you'll go to school hungry. Come on."
Magni smiled. He got up from his bed, got dressed, and ate his breakfast. He chatted with his sister a bit. Thrud,
"If I have any trouble at school, I'll tell you right away. You can beat someone up," she said, laughing.
"Why not, if necessary?" Magni replied.
Their mother, "Magni! Thrud! No beating anyone up! Don't cause trouble."
"Isn't Magni a high-level citizen now? Can't he do whatever he wants?"
"Okay, Mom, we were just joking. I don't intend to beat anyone up anyway."
"I hope so. Don't forget what we talked about yesterday. You almost scared poor Mr. Haris to death already."
They said goodbye to their mother and rushed out of the house. They must have been too caught up in their conversation because their school bus had already left. They waited for a few minutes without knowing the bus was gone. Demeter came out to the door and asked what was happening. They said they might have missed the bus. As they were about to call a taxi, an idea came to Magni's mind.
"Thrud, can you give me directions to your school?"
"I guess so... Why?"
"I can take you to your school. We won't need a taxi. And you'll be there faster than a car."
Although his mother and sister weren't thrilled about the idea, they accepted. They wouldn't have to pay for a taxi, and they would make it to their classes. Magni picked up Thrud in his arms.