"Wait-
Dad-
Y- You can't do this to me.
I need more time!", Iono said exasperated.
"I have to take care of so many things before I leave, I can't take care of them in a month!", he thought inwardly.
His father heard his pleas and staggered for a second.
He, too, did not want to send his child away.
"Iono, you have nothing to gain from staying here. You have a destiny to fulfill. And I would much rather you were fully prepared for it.
Destiny is not just the world sending gift your way, no.
Destiny means difficult situations, close-to-death situation.
Only when you overcome them do you acquire the reward.
But to overcome them you require strength- you NEED strength.
It's best to be prepared.
I would rather miss you for a few years than lose you forever, son.", his father said.
Normally one would tear up in such a heartbreaking moment.
But Yusef's face was clear.
His life... Had been too hard, to allow him the privilege of shedding tears.
Iono understood his father words.
He completely agreed with them, while also being hesitant to.
He still was unsure.
Unsure of whether this was all a dream.
Unsure of the whether he should enjoy his parents company more now that there's a chance.
Or whether he should get stronger fast, so he could move on, relive the rest of his lives and return to "reality".
Everything was still in shambles.
But what he was certain of, was that he didn't want to lose this.
This love that they both held for him.
This wasn't something he wanted to lose, in any life.
That's why he had to protect them.
Be stronger.
Stronger than he ever was.
*Sigh*
"Alright, dad.
I'll do it.
I'll go to my Godfather's.
But only for three years.
I want to spend my last year before heading off to the Academies with you.", he bargained.
He had already created a plan in his head.
His father heard his words and wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.
He was sending his child away after all.
"Alright son, deal...", he hesitantly replied.
Anna had not stopped crying throughout this conversation.
She, too, agreed with Yusef's points but she was very against sending her child away.
Iono would, at times, slip and act much more mature than an 9-year-old would, but that does not mean that he wasn't thought of as if he were simply a child.
In his mother and father's eyes, he was nothing but their little boy.
They wanted to shield him; from danger, from evil, from racism, from anything that might stand against him and his dreams.
That is what made the decision to send him away from their safety, so hard.
That is why Iono had so much love for them.
When someone is willing to sacrifice anything for you and puts your health and dreams above anything else, that is when you know you're supposed to love them back, with everything you have.
Iono had memories of two lives.
He had never felt parental love in one of them, but he had felt more than enough in the other one. His views on what a family meant or what a loving parent was, were quite contradictory. He had no idea how to be a good child, but he knew he had too much love to express it fully.
That was the reason for his anger, that lead to Malphas losing his head.
That is the reason for his constantly doubting thoughts of this reality.
He is not mad because he is unaware of whether this is a dream or not.
He's afraid that it is.
Iono looked at his parents.
Anna was crying rivers, while Clarissa, shocked by the news that Iono was leaving, was frozen still.
The news had taken her by a storm.
His father was simply staring at him.
Inwardly thinking both about how proud and worried he was.
Simultaneously, suprised at himself.
A goblin, feeling such deep emotions about their offspring.
It only meant that his unending trials to overcome his true nature had truly paid him back.
Iono was swirling in thoughts and planning.
He had to take care of White Day, take care of Clarissa's training, take care of the increasingly suspioucious forest, take care of his parents.
So many responsibilities, so little time.
*Sigh*
"This might be for the best...", he thought.
He run to hug his mother and console her.
After a few more bouts of crying, Anna finally calmed down.
They all sat around in silence, each one more emotional than the next.
The only one who didn't express it, was a little girl, that was a stranger to them a couple of months ago.
She was simply frozen. Unable to react.
Her thoughts unreadable.
Suddenly -
*~growl*
They all lifted their heads to look at Iono, who was slightly blushing.
"DONT LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, I GET HUNGRY WHEN I'M NERVOUS", he replied, slightly embarrassed.
*Pfffff-*
Everyone burst into laughter with Iono's words.
"Come on, let's go eat.", Anna suggesed.
----------------------
The dusk came and went as fast as the wind howled.
The veil of night had already covered the entirety of the village.
Inside the wooden cottage made out of logs and granite, in a little dark room, who's window was tightly shut so as to not let the cold wind blow inside, a young boy, with green skin.
His eyes were closed and he sat in a lotus position.
His finger interlocked, as his hands rested on his knees.
His eyebrow twitched every now and then, seemingly fascinated at the contents of his visions.
His head would sometimes tilt from left to right, as if filled with puzzlement.
Suddenly-
*Whoosh*
The air surrounding his body felt like it was sucked into it.
And then-
*Phew*
It was released back out, unsettling the dust that had covered the floor.
*Sigh*
"Cell breathing. I've finally succeeded. One more step closer to Cell Reverberation.", the boy thought.
He just managed to control every cell of his body to breath in, and breath out. All in total unison.
Total control of the cells that consist the body was crucial to Cell Reverberation.
He had to make the cells able to intake, process, and store energy.
Any kind of energy.
For this particular individual it was prana.
But prana was not naturally occuring.
So how did he get prana?
His core had started working. Rotating again and again, faster and faster.
His cells would breath in the energy, the energy would go to the core, and the core would then spit out prana, to be stored back in the cells.
A cycle of give and take.
Then again it was a bit early for this pup to be mass producing prana like that.
Space was much more empty than anyone thought was possible.
Although his breakthrough was significant his thoughts raced on other matters.
Him leaving his home in a month's time.
Too much to do before that.
He sighed and looked at the ceiling, overwhelmed by his thoughts.
He lifted himself of the ground and grabbed the shirt that was laying on his bed.
He thought hunting might ease his blabbering head.
He jumped out the second floor window of his bedroom and landed behind his house.
His fists tightly clenched.
He tighten his calves and bended his body, propelling himself into the forest.
Jumping from branch to branch, stepping on some, grabbing some.
His every movement resonated vigour and gracefulness.
A somehow contradicting combination.
His eyes empty, as if he wasn't looking ahead of him, as if he was trapped in his mind.
Suddenly-
*Crack*
A huge blue paw, came crushing down on him.
The colour in his eyes instantly returned as if awaken from slumber.
His hand reached into the empty space, where out of thin air, a black hole had appeared.
He reached into the hole and pulled out a dagger, purple in colour, sharper than light.
*Flash*
The leaves of the trees a couple of meters away rustled, as if the wind was blowing.
*Plop*
A Blue Bear's head rolled on the blood-stained grassy plain.
He was now the apex predator of the outer part of the forest.
Awakened beasts of this level weren't even good enough for a warm-up.
Thinking of the time that praying mantis send him flying made it seem as if he had been training for a very long time, but, actually, only a few months had passed.
Time flowed in a unexplained notion.
He eyes fell upon his dagger, now stained with blood.
"Maybe it is time to go somewhere where I can face a challenge...", he thought...