"M-Mother?" William whispered, his voice cracking and it was getting difficult to breathe. He felt like someone was squeezing his throat.
He couldn't do it, he couldn't see the woman he loved the most in that state. Just as he was about to run towards her, the world of chaos and despair began to turn into dust, dissolving into the void.
"NO!" He screamed in desperation, he lunged towards Ara's body which was disappearing like smoke. His fingers grasped at the blood-soaked ground, but he could only clutch at the vanishing air where she had been. "MOTHER!"
He kneeled in the place as it slowly turned to dust, he could still smell his mother's scent, the sweet flavor that always hit him whenever he hugged her. "No ... .No…No." he choked out
The mysterious man gazed at William, tears forming in his eyes, 'Just like you, they are experiencing pain, William. You have to get strong and make sure that their sacrifice wasn't in vain.'
WOOOOONG
The celestial tree behind him let out a sad hum. Its branches swayed radically, like a child wailing for his lost parents.
The man took a deep breath, he hardened his expression and walked over to William, who was crying his eyes out while choking out 'mother' once in a while.
"What I have shown is a certainty if you don't become powerful enough." The man muttered solemnly, there was no sympathy nor pity in his voice, it was….devoid of any emotions.
William slowly lifted his head and turned towards the man, "How can I do it? *Sniff* I-I am just a child" HIs voice broke midway, his eyes that were like the beacon of joy were now lifeless, staring blankly. Tear stains marred his face that was once full of life.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" The man laughed, his laugh echoing through the void
WOONG WOONG
The celestial tree, too, seemed to sway in response, as if it had heard something incredibly amusing. The man, still laughing uncontrollably, began rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach as if it were the funniest thing he had ever experienced.
"Ah!" I haven't had a good laugh in a while. The man muttered as he stood up, he straightened his posture and turned towards the celestial tree, "Don't you think our little William is too funny?" He asked, with a small smile on his face.
The tree, as if agreeing with him, swayed slightly.
William, however, remained still. The sight of his mother's death had killed any spark of will within him. He was beyond caring about the man's actions or the tree's response.
"Listen here kid" The man said, grabbing William's attention. "If you can't do it then the entire creation might as well be damned."
"I have shown you that because I want you to prepare for the future, not sit here and cry like a loser."
The man's harsh words made William tremble, his lifeless eyes flickered as he looked at the man, hope slowly filling his eyes.
"You can change the future. Heck if you wish to you can even change the past. You are powerful William. And the only reason why you are still weak is because of you."
"B-Because of me..?" William muttered weakly.
"Yes. If you wish to, you can become the most powerful. I will help you along the way. Now are you with me?" The man asked, his voice serious. The celestial tree too leaned forward, curious about William's response.
"Can I do it?" William mumbled to himself, but then the image of his dead mother flashed in his mind. "No, I will do it."
"Good. Now stand up." The man commanded.
William slowly stood up, a relentless fire began to burn in his eyes ready to take on whatever he was thrown at.
"Every day when you go to sleep you will come here. You can continue to train during the day, but I don't think it will help you much." The man began.
"Then what should I do everyday?"
"I don't know, play!" The man said while shrugging his shoulders.
"Huh?" William exclaimed, confused by the man's words.
"The people around you don't know how powerful your attribute is. So, any training with them is just pointless."
"But I can at least spar with them, right?"
"Well you can. But it won't teach you anything, people your age are too weak to fight against you and the rest are too powerful for the current you."
"Then all I have to do is do nothing?"
"Hmm, you can spend time with your family, if you are capable, that is" The man muttered while smiling mysteriously.
"What do you mean by that?" William asked while squinting his eyes at the man.
"You will know in the future." The man muttered before changing the topic. "You should go now, your family is worried about you."
At the mention of his family, William's expression turned to the worst. His eyes began to moisten and tears threatened to spill out.
SNIFF
But he took a deep breath and gathered his wits, "I will not let that happen." He muttered while clenching his jaws. His body began to dissolve and turn to dust and William could sense that he was going to gain consciousness soon.
"Oh! And by the way, no one should know about me." The man muttered.
"Why?" William asked, confused as to why he wants his identity a secret.
"I am just too shy!" The man exclaimed with a playful smile.
....
"Ugh! Where am I?" William mumbled as he slowly opened his eyes.
"William!" Ara cried and hugged him the moment William opened his eyes.
"Mother?" He was startled, but them the scene of her dead body flashed in his mind, 'I will definitely not let that happen'
"William, are you okay?" Carina, who was sitting on the other side of the bed asked, concern evident on her face.
"Yes-"
"I told you to do something. But No, you said leave it be and now look what happened!" Aquila yelled, her voice booming throughout the mansion as she glared at Gaia.
"Ugh!" Gaia grumbled, she wanted to retort and yell at her back again but she knew, 'I caused this'
"Mother, It's okay. I am alright. It's not aunt Gaia's fault." William tried to calm her down.
"Bu-"
"I was exhausted, mother. I exerted too much power and fainted."
"Are you okay now?" Gaia asked.
William nodded in response and replied, "Yes, I am. And I have also found a way on how to properly use my attribute."
Everyone turned silent at William's words, not believing him. As they were about to question him, William cut them off by saying, "Call everyone in the family, I want them to know about this too."
"...Alright." Carina muttered, sensing seriousness in William's tone.
A few minutes later, everyone in the family arrived in the bedroom. Ophiscus and Orion arrived together while Lyra and Vela arrived after them.
"William, are you okay? What happened?" Orion asked, he could still vividly remember his demonic smile and the taunting he did before he killed the leader.
"Yes brother, I am fine. I just lost control back there." William replied.
"Sister-in-law said that you wanted to talk about something little nephew, so What is it?" Vela asked curiously as she sat on the bed beside William's legs.
At her question, everyone present leaned in, eager to know what this was all about.
"I found a way to use my attribute correctly, rather, I found a man who can help me use my attribute correctly." William began.
"A man?" Lyra asked, narrowing her eyes. She knew her brother didn't meet anyone in the mansion and according to her Orion he didn't meet anyone while he was outside either.
"Yes…." William then began to explain to the family about what had happened to him while he was unconscious.
"...He said he would help me train when I am asleep and that my training here is useless." William ended, silence befell the room.
Each of them had various expressions adorning their faces. Ara was in tears that her son had to experience something painful, while Gaia was thinking about the burning world in the background.
'As I thought, he is the key to our survival' Gaia mumbled to herself, reasserting her belief that William was indeed the one who was going to save her.
'What is his purpose?' Ophiscus questioned as he thought about the mysterious man's goals.
"So you are saying that he is the one who helped you two years ago?" Aquila asked.
"Yes" William answered, while nodding his head.
"What does he get by helping you?"
"I-I don't know."
"Do you think we can trust him?"
"I-I don't know."
"Then, how can you train under him?"
"But we don't have a choice sister-in-law." Vela said, grabbing everyone's attention. "If What the man was saying is true then we are hurting William. We should at least put some faith and see what happens for a while."
"I agree" Ophiscus added, nodding his head, "If William can truly benefit out of this, then we should not stop him." He then began to walk out of the room, "Let him rest, If what the man said is true then he will need it."
At his words, the room slowly began to empty out and the only one left was William, "Alright, I will wait for an hour before I go to sleep."
William then meditated for an hour before he laid down on the bed and went to sleep, he could feel his consciousness slowly drifting away into the void.
….
"Hoh! You have come early!" The man commented as he looked at William materializing.
William met the man's gaze with a serious expression before turning to the celestial tree. "So, can we start?"
The man raised an eyebrow at William's demeanor, a satisfied, amused smile spreading across his face. "Yes. Are you ready?"
William only nodded in response.
"Then let's begin."