After Aaron was finished exploring the large, expansive cave, he walked back outside to the nightly wind. Aaron lifted his hand into the air as a small bird appeared in his skeletal palm. The bird flew out of his palm, leaving to find a home in the night sky. Aaron looked at the bird in amazement. He had no limit to his potential, and all because of an early choice to limit himself. The choices Aaron had made a while ago would have drastically changed his circumstances. If he had chosen something like the ability to make weapons of any kind with any status boost to them, sure, he'd be powerful, but it would still be somewhat limited.
"You know, life itself is such an impressive thing," Aaron said out loud, drawing the curiosity of Monument. "For without life, things wouldn't exist. Some ideas can only be achieved with life around it, such as humans, monsters, and other lifeforms. Without life, we wouldn't be here, and we wouldn't have even been around to realise. I was human before, in a world much different than this one. Because of the mercy of a god, along with the intervention of something unknown, I have become something much grander than what I was created for. I can make life, as you saw with the bird. I can take away someone's power and use it for my own. I could theoretically become one with everything, and then we'd have no arguments. No more wars. No more violence. Everything would be peaceful. I know that, in reality, I couldn't stop every single quarrel, but it's a nice idea to think about."]
"Aaron, I honestly think you have way too much power. That part is something we should talk about. I mean, the ability to do anything? It's unheard of! You could create entire universes or even destroy them, all with the thought of doing so, amplified by the will. If you wanted to kill me, you could do it in infinitely differing ways. Your fun could be infinite. However, you decide not to and have kept me alive, all for the reason of enjoying my company. You could have gained an ability to read thoughts, but that wouldn't have been fun for you, I presume?" Monument guessed, laying out Aaron's thoughts in the open.
"You are correct in everything there. It wouldn't have been the same if I had just known everything right away. I enjoy being surprised. It grants me happiness, especially when I have the power to steamroll through anything. Surprises are a rare but appreciated commodity for me." Aaron admitted, sighing. He turned his hand into an arm made entirely of shadows, waving it around like it was a flag. It felt numb. He had no sensory receptors in a shadow, after all. "Not even other gods can do what I can do, and that makes me unique. Although, when you can do anything, everything gets boring after a while, so I might try restricting my powers. I might bring them down to that of an above-average human." Aaron admitted while turning his hand back into a skeletal hand.
"Now, why in the hell would you do that? If you have such an amount of power, you should use it!" Monument exclaimed, putting his hands on Aaron's shoulders. "If I had your power, I'd stop the wars from ever occurring again, and I'd just lead a quiet and peaceful life. I, the Superior Earth Guardian, Monument, just wish for a quiet life." Aaron laughed at this response. Was it funny? To Aaron it was, hearing such a thing.
"I understand where you are coming from, and I know that power is a blessing few possess, but when you possess too much is when you become complacent. It gets boring, just destroying everything in your way. On the last planet that I was on, I suppressed my power level and fought my final enemy on equal terms. He used his skills to defeat me, and I loved it. I fought him as equals. I never had to worry about the environment, as we fought in the air. I wonder if any of the other guardians could do that with me. Imagine if Alec unlocked his true potential and fought me like that. I'd be so happy. I'd get to experience a rush of energy once more, and this time I wouldn't be portrayed as the bad guy." Aaron admitted as he lifted his arm into the air, watching as it became coated with human flesh. His whole body was coated with skin, as his body became what it was before. His original body, clothed and all. Think of Hakuto kunai. Search him up for reference.
"It might be fun to see what people think of a human just standing here, fighting against other people. I could even come up with some attacks that have reference to what I used to do in my old life." Aaron realised as he put his hands into his newly formed clothes. He dragged out knives made from shadows as he flung them towards the sky. They went flying into the air at an astonishing speed before Aaron forced them the fall back down to him. Aaron laughed as the knives of shadow fell into his hand like feathers, except for the fact that they were actually affected by gravity like a normal weapon. Aaron tapped the tip of the pointed blade, only to realise that it didn't hurt him. Well, he wasn't expecting to take any form of damage, but it was still nice to know that it wouldn't hurt.
Alec continued his lonely walk, wondering how long it would take him to reach Spert again. He had been walking for around four hours, and it was starting to take a toll on him. He had contemplated sleeping for the night, but amongst the stars, one guided his vision by a strand of light. It highlighted Spert, his destination. He smiled, tired tears in his eyes, as he tried running towards the Capital City, but his legs weren't able, so he decided on walking. He walked towards the city so that he could check up on his mother to make sure that she was alright.
"Jack...you know what we have to do, right?" A voice asked a man named Jack. "Yes, Jill, I know. I've sent them out to retrieve her. They should be back momentarily." Jack responded, causing Jill to laugh. Finally, the research her dad was working on wouldn't be wasted!