A year had passed since the river incident and Kane's experience in the big city.
In the small clinic of Elysium, Darian sat in a wooden chair, his eyes locked on his son, Kane. He nodded solemnly as he looked at him, his hands folded in his lap.
"Do you understand what you're about to do?" he asked.
"I understand, Papa. I'll do my best," Kane answered.
Darian sighed. "Are you sure you're ready?"
"I've been training all year, Papa and the Elders have been studying my powers; they say I'm ready!"
Darian patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, go ahead..."
Kane nodded, a look of resolve on his face. He stood, reached up for his 'new' blindfold, and took it off, his eyes becoming visible for the first time in a year.
With determination in his gaze, Kane raised his arm and placed his hand gently over a patient lying on the examination table.
His eyes began to glow, the black holes spinning and glowing, small golden particles flowing from his hands into the patient's body.
Kane's lips were pressed into a thin line, the boy concentrating. The patient groaned, the glowing from Kane's eyes becoming brighter and more prominent, filling the entire room.
It felt like time had stopped, and the world was cast in a golden glow. Everything was silent; the only thing that seemed to be in motion was Kane's eyes.
After a few minutes, the lights began to die until they finally disappeared entirely.
Kane gasped and fell to his knees, breathing heavily. He looked at the patient, an old man, who was sitting up on the table.
Yet, he was no longer 'old' anymore. The gray hairs were now jet-black, his wrinkles were gone, and the patient looked half his age.
"What the hell?" He turned to Kane, staring at him in awe.
"You...you look younger, sir."
"What did you do?"
Kane smiled. "I cured you. You're cancer-free, and I guess it comes with a rejuvenation, heh..."
"No way, it can't be...can it?"
Kane shrugged. "Sorry, that's all I got. You were born again, it's like you're a new person. Congrats, I guess."
The man hopped off the table and rushed over to hug Kane tightly.
"Thank you! Thank you so much. You're my hero, kid!"
Kane looked to his Papa, scratching the back of his head.
"I know... thanks."
The man grinned. "Boy, if I weren't married, I'd kiss you."
Kane grinned back. "Ehehe..."
The man gave Kane's forehead a kiss, then rushed out of the clinic. "Wahoo! Can't wait to tell the wife! Thanks, kid! Really."
"N-No problem!" Kane waved.
After the man left, Darian glanced back at his son, "I knew it, you're amazing, Kane."
Kane chuckled.
"All that power...haha, am I a god yet, Papa?"
Darian grinned and wrapped his arms around Kane.
"You just might be, son."
Kane's eyes shimmered; he hugged his father and said, "You are the best father ever!"
Darian let out a hearty chuckle. "Haha, glad you think so."
Darian kissed the top of his son's head.
"Well done, my boy. I'm sure you're tired after that little performance. Why don't you rest while I see the next patient?"
Kane nodded. "Okay, Papa. Good luck."
Darian ruffled his son's hair before walking off, giving him a small smile, "Sleep well, son."
"I will." Kane yawned, dragging his feet toward a couch on the other side of the clinic. The boy collapsed onto the cushions and let out a content sigh.
Despite being seven years old, he was still very skinny, and it wasn't hard for the boy to curl up into a ball and become comfortable. Within minutes, Kane was in dreamland, snoring loudly.
Meanwhile, Darian returned to work. He saw various patients and healed them, to the point of curing them of their illnesses or helping repair any injuries.
As he continued treating the patients, he felt a dull pain in his stomach. He ignored it and moved on to the next patient.
Then another, and another.
When he finished the last one, the pain intensified to the point where he couldn't stand it any longer. He doubled over and clutched at his chest.
Darian leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples with his fingers. Then, he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his arm. He looked down to see a large gash in his arm. It was deep and bleeding profusely.
His vision started to become blurry, and his head felt light. Before he knew it, the pain had turned into a sensation of floating. He drifted off into unconsciousness.
Darian awoke sometime later, groggy and in a lot of pain. He touched his forehead and felt a sticky wetness.
Blood, thick and warm, coated his fingers.
He also noted a throbbing headache, his body ached, and his heartbeat was pounding in his head.
He looked around and saw that he was still in the clinic, but somehow, he had fallen out of the chair and onto the floor, his face landing on the wooden planks.
He managed to push himself up into a kneeling position and coughed up a large volume of blood.
'What the hell is going on? Am I dying?' Darian thought, as the pain in his body grew worse, 'That's fucking impossible.'
He glanced around, his vision blurry, and he spotted a figure crouched beside him.
"S-Son? Is that you?" he asked.
"Yeah, Papa," Kane answered, kneeling next to him. His voice sounded muffled, and his form seemed fuzzy and indistinct.
"Y-You need to get help, son." Darian urged, struggling to speak.
"I know. I'm working on it." Kane replied.
"What's going on?"
Kane didn't answer. Instead, he turned and knelt beside his father, who lay there weakly, struggling to breathe. His eyes began to spin and glow.
"Kane... help," Darian begged.
Kane replied. "It'll only be for a minute. That's all I need to heal you."
He took his father's hand, the one stained with his blood, and grasped it tight.
Darian coughed violently, spitting up more blood.
Golden ripples of energy enveloped Kane's hand, a pulsating, vibrant light that moved toward Darian, the bones inside his body rearranging themselves and breaking themselves all over again.
'STOP!'
'KANE, STOP IT!'
'STOP TORTURING HIM, YOU MONSTER!'
Everything went silent.
"Oh no...Papa...?"
Darian's neck was twisted unnaturally, the wound in his arm deeper than before. He let out a pained, unearthly moan, his lips barely moving.
"NO!" Kane screamed.
Darian coughed one last time, blood pouring from his mouth.
Kane scrambled to his feet and ran to the door of the clinic, opening it and rushing outside.
"MY PAPA!"
"HELP, SOMEBODY! ANYBODY!"
"PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, HELP!"
Cries of panic and horror echoed from his mouth.
...
And then he woke up.
It took him a few seconds to realize that he was still on the couch, in the clinic, and that this had all been a dream.
"AH!!"
Kane leaped to his feet, his head whipping around to scan the room.
His voice, filled with a primal terror, shattered the silence in the room, "Papa? Where are you!?"
"Did you have a nightmare, son? You're sweaty." Darian says as he walked in from the other room.
With quivering hands, he clutched his chest, feeling the erratic thump of his heart beneath his trembling fingers.
Kane shook his head, breathing heavily.
"No, uhm, it was really real." He stuttered, his voice trembling.
Darian offered a reassuring smile, his eyes full of concern. "There, there. Just calm down, son. Sit back and take a few deep breaths."
Kane shakily sat back on the sofa, his eyes flicking about frantically.
"Kane, breathe. Try to relax."
Inhaling and exhaling deeply. His breathing soon slowed, and his panic receded.
"Better?" Darian asked.
Kane nodded, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"I think so."
"Good. Now, what happened in your dream?"
"You died." He replied, his tone matter-of-fact.
Darian's eyebrow arched in curiosity, "How?"
"It's complicated. I did some weird stuff to you. Like you were paralyzed or something, and I...tried to heal you. Then you just...died."
Darian was shocked. "Kane. What kind of weird shit is that?"
Kane sighed and closed his eyes, and he could still feel the image of him in his arms, still hear his screams.
"I don't know. In the dream, it seemed like I did everything wrong. I must have messed up and ended up hurting you instead of healing you."
"That's what you were doing in the dream, healing me?"
"Yeah," Kane scratched his arm awkwardly. "It felt so real. I thought you were dead. I thought you died because of me. That I killed you."
Darian shook his head, stood up from his chair, and flexed his bicep, pointing at it he said, "I'm very much alive, and I think that's enough work for the day. Let's go home."
"B-But," Kane looked through the window at the patients lined up outside, "We have more people-"
"We can't save everyone, son. This world will beat you down, kill your soul if you try. Get used to it. That's just how it is. Now, come."
Kane looked down. "Sorry, Papa..."
"Let's go now. Leah should be done cooking. Maybe dinner will lift your spirits."
"Okay, Papa."
Darian guided Kane out of the clinic, as the latter put on his blindfold, and into the streets of Elysium,
They passed the houses and neighborhoods, walking in silence. Kane walked beside his father, his hands deep in his pockets, his head downcast.
They arrived home after a bit, walking through the front door,
Darian called out, "Ms. Leah, Kane, and I are home."
Ms. Leah appeared, wearing an apron and covered in flour. "Welcome back, Lord Darian. How was work?"
"Rather tiring. Set the table for us, please; we'll have dinner soon."
"Of course, sir," She said, removing her apron and placing it on a hook in the hallway. "Shall I start a pot of tea as well?"
"Please."
She bowed. "Very well, sir."
She hurried away into the kitchen.
Darian turned to Kane and smiled. "It's nice being powerful, isn't it? You can do whatever you want and nobody can stop you. We're pretty lucky, don't you think, son?"
Kane simply nodded and headed toward the table, sitting on a chair. He was so tired, his head hurt and he felt sick. Darian followed him and sat at the end of the table, waiting for dinner.
After a few minutes of silence, Darian broke the silence, "Take off the blindfold at dinner."
Kane hesitated but sighed in the end.
"Sure..." He reluctantly slid off the blindfold and threw it on the table.
He still wasn't used to being in public without a blindfold, but he tried to take it off occasionally, even if only when it was just the two of them and the maid, Leah.
Leah served them their dinner and stood off to the side while they ate.
Kane stuffed his face with meat and potatoes while Darian slowly chewed his food, seemingly in deep thought.
The dinner was quiet, no one spoke, no one laughed or smiled.