Main Street, Hubyei Settlement
Jydo finally woke up and faced his fears to go to school. He knew what was awaiting him in school, but this time he had something up his sleeve, level two pepper spray. It had deterred kidnappers before, and surely it would deter bullies. The walk to school went normally well. He said hi to Vinnie, the vendor, below his apartment building and a few more people down the main street, as usual.
Although it was nice to see his normal folks, he couldn't wait to meet his good friend Saro. Who, for who knows, wasn't coming through the intersecting street that ran across his own. Jydo in a bummed out look walked onwards. Only thinking about what was to come.
"Jydo, hold up!" Out of nowhere, Saro appeared from behind him. "Guess what's happened?"
"I thought you were dead! But where've you been?" Jydo laughed in excitement. He couldn't believe he met Saro. The two had been friends for years, but Saro went awol since the last ceremony. It was clear to Jydo that he had either gained his powers or had died.
"I've been—wait a minute, is something going on with your nose or what?" Saro noticed Jydo's minor cut by the bridge of his nose.
He'd tried to cover it up somehow, and it only amounted to more pain. Not that he couldn't bear it, he stopped bothering it and let it heal by its own.
"I had a little situation yesterday, but how've you been, man?" Jydo tapped his shoulder.
"You will not believe what just happened," Saro replied with his face uplifted.
He focused on a cat roaming around the street and using his mind; the cat began hovering. The powers would reflect through his hand and reaching out he telekinetically lifted the cat towards him.
Jydo stood dumbfounded; he couldn't believe his eyes. "I've never seen a telekinetic!"
"That's the thing, apparently I'm the first one in the settlement," Saro laughed. The settlement doctor made sure he could control his power to the best of his ability. She would call it the child-seat protocol. Where people with new abilities had to stay in the ritual house to learn about their powers. "Do you how many things I can do right now?"
"How does it feel like?"
"It's like you can touch everything, without touch it!" he explained. "You see those fruits right there?"
Across the street, Jydo gazed at a random vendor's fruit post and saw some lovely melons. "Yea, I see them!"
"Want one?"
"Sure thing," Jydo chuckled. Slowly two melons from the post levitate and streaked across the street into Saro's hands. "Here we go!"
"Hey!" the vendor yelled. "Come back here,"
"RUN," they both laughed and took off towards school. The poor old vendor tried to catch up with the youngsters. He was quite fast for his age, but after a while, he would stop to catch his breath.
"Damn you, children," he sighed. "No wonder I don't have kids,"
Jydo and Saro took a sharp turn from the main street into the school compounds. It was the only school in the settlement. Filled with classes for every age group in that would be in school. They entered the school and the gate's watchman surveyed the boys intently. He said hi after he caught their gaze.
"Ugh, I missed you man," Saro began after a quick stop.
"When did you get so weird?" Jydo chuckled. He gazed at Saro and noticed his face widen. They burst into laughter before Saro run up to him and gave him a good punch. Jydo winced amid laughter.
"So when are you getting your powers?"
"Probably never," Jydo replied. He didn't look offended as Saro thought he would be, but felt his throat tighten. Especially since Saro had a rare ability. Telekinesis proved impossible according to the settlement's doctor.
"Have hope, maybe the tests will prove something?"
"Father took me for some tests like a month ago and there's nothing," Jon responded, bummed out.
"Then it has to be the ceremony," Saro thought. However, before Jydo could reply, his pursuers from before appeared out of nowhere.
"Look at this, Saro's hanging out with the black sheep," the first of the three teenagers spoke out loud.
"Black sheep?" Jydo coughed. "You could've tried better than that. Alek."
"You know, it's surprising to see you still standing," Alek spoke. His thoughts told him how was he still alive, the impact of the water should've killed him.
"Fate sometimes tells you to breathe," Jon scoffed.
"Is that so?" Alek generated a new boulder before the gate's watchman intervened.
"I don't want blood on my gate! Please head over to class," he warned as he generated a baton.
"Alright officer, we get it!" Alek responded, "Fet, Tip let's go!" His friends accompanying him followed right beside him. Shortly after, Jydo and Saro thereafter followed and took a shortcut to avoid the three.
"If they do anything stupid, I got you," Saro assured Jydo.
-
Right after school, Haka picked up his son from school. The destination was the ritual house, but the journey was quite awkward. This was the first time for Jydo in the ritual house and the ceremony. It was important to him, finally his life could change and he could be free. For normal children, signs of abilities and gifts would've shown up sometime near the ceremony days, but for Jon there was nothing. Nothing at all.
Haka accompanied him into the house and the two checked in to the reception with all of Jydo's history medically and physically.
"I can see you're physically fit, you're a nice strong boy keep it up!" a doctor stood by Jydo and comforted him. "Don't be afraid, always think about the end goal,"
He then closed his eyes and let the light beam shine on him.
"He'll be alright," the doctor assured Haka.
As Jydo's soul peeled from his body, he finally entered limbo. He saw the surrounding room, but everyone starred at his lifeless body. He wanted to say something, but he realized he can't speak to them. Some sort of portal opened while he was in limbo and he entered the astral plane. From here, he could journey endlessly and go looking for his powers.
The astral plane was Jydo's own special world within his spirit. All his choices, fears and wants all influenced his astral world however he coursed through life. His biggest monsters would be an obstacle he had to face. The astral plane was unique to everyone, you could talk to your ancestors get special powers and attributes. Maybe even a generational gift. It was all new and exciting, but it came with danger.
A shining light called out to him, and without hesitation, he followed it. Between him and the light was only a flat pink cloud-covered surface. Nothing was going to stop his need. Need for a better life, a better chance of survival.
Suddenly, the floor leading to the cloudy surface disappeared and Jydo fell into the cloud filled void. On the way down, all he could see around him were images of people he never knew. Could it have been his genuine family? He dwindled on the thought and focused on where he was going to fall. A floor suddenly appeared and Jydo prepared for a hard landing.
Although he expected a knee crushing landing, the floor was nothing at all solid. Jydo landed straight on and kept dropping as if the floor was some sort of trampoline. He waited a moment before the floor calmed down from all the bouncing craziness and looks all around him.
"Hello," he called out into the empty world. His echo went far and wide, but the echoes came back to him. Seemingly he didn't know it, but he was talking to himself. "Can anyone hear me?" He tried again before he went forward to investigate his own echoes.
However, from his curiosity, an enormous boulder came hurtling towards him in dangerous speeds. Before he could react, he swayed to the side, avoiding the boulder completely.
"If you're out there, show yourself!" he cried out before a figure appeared before him.