He was sitting under a tree at the casting ceremony, his eyes bloodshot red and the tears streamed down his face like the river of sadness flowing through him at that moment. The ceremony had to be done at night because of Zhou making it much more eery. Kovu walked up to his son with a authenticly heavy heart. In his hand he held a small pain looking box.
He sat down slowly next to his son Zhou. He handed the box to Zhou his, his eyes fixed on it. Through the thick blur caused by his teary eyes he couldn't see it very well. On the top was a less then detailed drawing of his mother Suvsan. Her usual pale beautiful face wasn't lost in the poor depiction.
Immediately Zhou knew what was going on. His mother was not only gone, but she her physical body was gone, turned to nothing but a handful of dust. He sat the wooden box down on the grass and looked upward.
The sky was a dull dark blue, the clouds a dark gray. He watched as they passed slowly. The branches of the tree above were blackened and dripping with dirty rain water. A large drop landed right on his face and covered his face with a splat, then more and more the water came dropping from the sky like the tears rolling down his face. As the water mixed with tears the smell of the rain calmed the anger coming from deep inside him a little.
He didn't say a word, he just stared off into the distance much like Zhou himself.
Though his young age may have fooled you Zhou was a very observant young man. Not very culturally competent but very bright nonetheless. He knew this could not be good for anyone. His mother kept kovu grounded. Without her he knew what was gonna happen.
Today he either had the best or the worst luck in a while. As he laid there he thought about the unfortunate things that had already happened. At just 3 he developed an illness that was dormant for years, his mother died 1 month later, and 4 years later this.
Only I could have this luck, I don't know if it's good or bad but only me. He gave a small chuckle then it grew to a full blown laugh.
Though he knew how sick it was he couldn't help it. The laughter just keep coming, he felt maniacal, like a mad scientist in his laboratory ofter creating a monster. A few minutes later his laughter finally stopped.
As the gravity of the moment sunk in he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Being awake now would do him no good. After a long while of looking at the back of his eyelids he fell asleep.
When he awoke he forgot about what had happened. As he looked down the moonlight shone through the small window like a spotlight focused on his father. As he gazed at his father he saw a blue spark from his back. Despite its chaotic appearance it moved like a snowflake. It drifted across the room cautiously and directly towards him. It hovered in front of his face floating on nothingness. The small spark drifted towards him and touched his chest taking the form of a hand.
The hand was cold to the touch but warm in the sence of its inviting feeling and gentleness. It stayed there on his chest for a second then, in the blink of an eye it pushed through his chest and landed in the middle of not his heart, but his soul.
He found himself in a new place, it looked like an airport. He found himself standing in the middle of it, on either side were sleek windows into nothingness. Straight ahead his father stood at the bottom of an escalator. His age had somehow changed he looked like a man in his early 20s.
Zhou walked forward to him, his feet felt heavy and slow. His bare feet felt unusually warm unlike what he would have expected from the concrete floor. He attempted one more step but was stopped by some kind of force field. His father turned around to him and waved. With a smile he turned back and after a second of waiting stepped onto the escalator and ascended until he disappeared.
When he came back to reality from wherever he had been Zhou felt no different, for now at least. A voice came from somewhere above. It felt close but he knew it couldn't be. "you have been chosen to carry on your father's legacy". "Your father's love and your ancestors strength shall carry on through you. You have gained an ability Spectral Shadow".