The midday sun blazed over Nostoria as Aaron found himself once again in the alchemist's cluttered shop. He stared blankly at the shelves of strange, glowing vials, enchanted trinkets, and dusty tomes, wondering how exactly his life had gone from bad punchlines and existential crises to magic lessons and dark prophecies.
"Alright," Aaron muttered, running a hand through his hair, "let's get this over with before I end up accidentally turning myself into a frog or something."
Gretna, standing across from him, was in the middle of preparing a new set of training exercises. Today, she had arranged what looked like half a dozen metal rods around the room, each one buzzing faintly with an eerie glow. They reminded Aaron of lightning rods, which, considering his powers were erratically zapping everything in sight lately, felt a bit too on-the-nose.
"Focus, Aaron," Gretna said sharply, turning to him with a look that suggested she wasn't in the mood for any of his usual sarcasm. "We're going to practice channeling your energy into these rods. It's a simple exercise in control."
"Simple?" Aaron raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "Simple for who? I'm just saying, last time we did this, the ceiling almost came down, and I'm pretty sure there was a squirrel that still has a beef with me."
Gretna ignored him, stepping back to watch. "Just concentrate. The goal is to direct the energy, not let it control you."
Aaron sighed. He'd been through this enough times now to know that "control" was a bit of a stretch. Most days, he felt like his magic was a wild dog on a leash, yanking him around with no regard for what he actually wanted to do. Still, he wasn't about to give up without at least trying. After all, there was something strangely satisfying about not accidentally blowing up a room full of innocent bystanders.
"Okay, let's do this," Aaron muttered, cracking his knuckles in an exaggerated display of preparation. He could feel the magic stirring inside him, like static building up before a storm.
He extended his hands, focusing on the nearest rod, and immediately felt that familiar electric tingle crawling up his arms. Sparks flickered around his fingertips, small bursts of energy dancing in the air like fireflies.
"Easy…" Aaron whispered to himself. "Easy…"
For a moment, it worked. The energy moved toward the rod, a thin arc of lightning connecting his hands to the metal like a carefully placed thread. The rod absorbed it, crackling slightly, but it stayed stable.
Aaron grinned. "See? Not so hard."
And then, of course, everything went sideways.
Without warning, the energy surged, spiraling out of control faster than Aaron could react. The thin arc of lightning transformed into a jagged bolt that slammed into the rod with enough force to make the entire shop tremble. Sparks exploded in all directions, and Aaron stumbled backward, his heart racing as the other rods began to light up, each one humming dangerously.
"Oh crap!" Aaron yelped, diving for cover behind one of the tables as the room erupted into chaos.
The lightning ricocheted between the rods, bouncing around the shop like a rogue firework display. Glass vials shattered, shelves toppled, and Aaron could hear Gretna yelling something about "control" and "recklessness" from across the room, though her words were mostly drowned out by the crackle of electricity.
Aaron peeked over the edge of the table just in time to see one of the bolts narrowly miss a stack of potion bottles, which promptly burst into flames.
"Well, that's new," he muttered, before scrambling to his feet. "Alright! We're done! I think I got the gist of it!"
With a final burst of energy, the rods stopped sparking, and the room fell into an uneasy silence. Aaron stood there, panting, surrounded by the wreckage of what used to be a fairly well-organized alchemy shop.
Gretna appeared from behind the counter, her expression a mixture of frustration and exhaustion. "You're lucky I've been working on fireproofing this place."
Aaron, ever the opportunist, gave her a sheepish grin. "See? That's called preparation. That's what makes me a responsible, self-made man."
Gretna glared at him, but he could tell she was holding back a smile. "You're impossible."
Aaron chuckled, brushing off the ashes from his sleeves. "Hey, look on the bright side. At least this time I didn't burn the whole place down. That's what we call progress."
Gretna rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "We still have a long way to go. You need to learn how to harness the magic without letting it overpower you. Right now, you're letting your emotions drive it, which is why it keeps getting out of control."
Aaron frowned, leaning against the nearest undamaged piece of furniture. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Let's add that to the long list of 'things Aaron needs to fix about himself,' right next to 'emotional availability' and 'terrible haircut phase.'"
Gretna sighed, giving him a pointed look. "This is serious, Aaron. If you don't get a handle on it, you're going to attract attention—dangerous attention."
The reminder sent a chill down Aaron's spine. He didn't need another lecture about the mysterious people Gretna kept warning him about. He already had enough on his plate trying to figure out how not to electrocute himself on a daily basis. But still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was coming—something that wouldn't be as easy to joke away.
"I get it," Aaron said after a long pause. "I do. I just… I don't know, Gretna. I didn't ask for this. I didn't sign up to be Nostoria's magic golden boy. I'm just a guy trying to get by, and now I've got powers I can barely control and a prophecy that makes me feel like I'm stuck in a bad reboot of my own life."
Gretna's expression softened. "No one's asking you to save the world, Aaron. But you do need to take responsibility for what you've been given."
Aaron chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "Right. Responsibility. That's what all the 'self-made heroes' do, isn't it? They pull themselves up by their bootstraps and take on the world... you know, with a little help from their trusty mentor-slash-alchemist friend."
Gretna smiled faintly. "You're not alone in this."
Aaron glanced at her, the weight of her words sinking in. She was right. He wasn't alone, even if it felt like it sometimes. Tobias, Gretna, Lina—they were all here, standing by him, even when he felt like he was one misstep away from a complete meltdown.
"Yeah, well," Aaron said, standing up straight and brushing the dust off his jacket, "if I'm going to screw this up, at least I'll have company."
Later that afternoon, Aaron found himself back at the theater, Tobias at his side as they prepped for another show. But this time, there was an underlying tension in the air that hadn't been there before. Aaron could feel it in the way Tobias moved—more cautious, more deliberate, as if he was bracing for something.
"You okay?" Aaron asked, leaning against the side of the stage as Tobias fussed with the set pieces.
Tobias glanced up, giving him a tight smile. "Yeah. Just... a lot on my mind."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "You? Stressed? That's new. You're usually so annoyingly optimistic."
Tobias chuckled, though it was a little forced. "I'm just thinking about the future. We've got a lot of plans for the theater, and with everything going on..."
Aaron nodded slowly. He knew what Tobias was getting at. The theater had been their safe haven, their little slice of normalcy in a world that was anything but. But now, with Aaron's powers growing stronger and the looming threat of whatever dark force Gretna kept hinting at, it was hard to ignore the cracks forming in that normalcy.
"Hey," Aaron said, nudging Tobias with his elbow, "don't worry about it. We've got this. I mean, worst case scenario, I accidentally fry a few audience members, and we start charging double for front-row seats. It's called innovation."
Tobias laughed, the sound lighter this time. "You know, sometimes I can't tell if you're joking or if you're actually serious."
Aaron grinned. "That's the fun part."