Years Later
The night sky hung heavy with stars, the kind of night where secrets whispered between shadows and winds carried echoes of the past. The farmhouse stood on the edge of nowhere, surrounded by fields that stretched endlessly into darkness.
Inside, a young boy with wild curls and curious eyes crouched by the window. His name was Elias, and trouble clung to him like burrs. Tonight was no different.
"Elias," his mother's voice called from the other room, "bedtime means bed, not window-watching."
"But Mom," Elias whispered, his breath fogging the glass, "the stars are talking."
Silas couldn't help but smile as he leaned against the doorframe. His son had inherited more than just his curiosity—it was in the boy's very bones. But deep inside, Silas knew that curiosity could be dangerous, especially with Potenus lingering in their lives like an unspoken shadow.
Silas had kept the truth from Elias. He had told himself it was to protect the boy, but the real reason gnawed at him: fear. Potenus was still with him, though hidden deep in the farmhouse basement beneath layers of security and spells he'd learned over the years.
The plant had only grown stronger. Its tendrils were thicker now, pulsing with raw energy. Sometimes it whispered to Silas in dreams, filling his mind with images of ancient jungles and fragmented timelines. He had tried to abandon it once, years ago, but it always found its way back to him.
Tonight, though, something felt...off.
Elias suddenly straightened by the window. "Dad," he whispered, "there's someone out there."
Silas's stomach tightened. He crossed the room quickly and peered through the window. The fields were dark and still, but a faint flicker of light glimmered near the treeline.
Damn it.
He knew what that light meant—agents, trackers, or worse. They had hunted him relentlessly in the past, but he'd always managed to stay ahead of them. Now they were back, and this time they had found his family.
Silas turned to Elias, his voice low and firm. "Listen to me, son. Go to the cellar. Lock the door. Don't come out until I say it's safe."
Elias's eyes widened. "Dad—"
"Now!"
The boy hesitated, then nodded and sprinted toward the hidden door beneath the kitchen floor. Silas watched him go, heart pounding. He couldn't let them take Potenus—or his son.
Grabbing the rifle from the wall, Silas moved to the front porch. The night was unnervingly quiet, the wind rustling through the fields.
"Silas Dane!" a voice boomed from the darkness. "You know why we're here. Surrender Potenus, and no harm will come to your family."
Silas's jaw clenched. "Funny. You said that last time too. But I remember bullets, not promises."
A shadowy figure stepped into the faint moonlight. Tall, armored, and flanked by two more operatives. Their helmets glinted ominously, but Silas noticed something else—none of them carried weapons.
He tightened his grip on the rifle. "No guns this time? Getting soft?"
"We don't need them anymore," the operative said with a smirk. "Potenus is calling us now."
As if on cue, a tremor rippled through the ground. Silas felt it in his bones—a pulse of energy that seemed to come from deep beneath the earth. His heart raced. Potenus was awake.
"Damn it," he muttered.
The farmhouse shook, dishes rattling in the kitchen. A faint green glow seeped through the cracks in the floorboards, growing brighter by the second. Silas knew that glow all too well. Potenus was reacting to the threat, and if he didn't control it, there would be nothing left of this place but ash and ruins.
The agents advanced, their eyes gleaming with unnatural light.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with," Silas warned, stepping back toward the door. "Potenus isn't some tool you can control."
The operative chuckled. "And you think you can? It's bonded to you, Silas. And now...it wants your son."
Silas's blood ran cold. "Over my dead body."
He raised the rifle and fired. The shot rang out, but before the bullet could hit its target, Potenus unleashed its power. Green tendrils burst through the ground, wrapping around the agents and lifting them into the air. The energy was wild, chaotic, and blinding.
Silas shielded his eyes, his heart pounding. He had never seen Potenus this powerful before.
"Dad!" Elias's voice rang out from the cellar door.
Silas turned, panic surging through him. "Stay back!"
But it was too late. Potenus's glow intensified, and Silas knew there was no stopping it now. The plant's power surged toward Elias, enveloping the boy in a shimmering cocoon of light.
"Elias!" Silas shouted, but his voice was lost in the chaos.
The world blurred, time fracturing around them. Silas reached for his son, but Potenus's energy was already pulling them into something vast and unknown.
And then—silence.
When the light faded, Silas found himself kneeling on the ground, trembling. The agents were gone, and the farmhouse was eerily still.
But Elias...
Silas's breath caught in his throat. His son stood before him.