Three days passed.
At dawn, Zyon sat cross-legged atop a flat rock overlooking the wasteland. He closed his eyes as he drew in slow breaths, letting the warmth sink into his skin.
Time passed and the sun climbed higher.
The cool morning air disappeared.
Still, Zyon didn't move.
Sweat rolled down his neck and arms, soaking his dirty shirt, yet the growing heat never seemed to bother him. If anything, he looked more comfortable the brighter the day became.
Lorenzo stood at the entrance of the cave, looking at Zyon, who was sitting outside under the direct sun.
"He's still going," he whispered to Hound.
Hound glanced up from where he sat sharpening a wooden spear. "Mm, yeah, he started before sunrise."
Lorenzo shook his head. "He did? The rest of us would be dead by now."
"This surely isn't normal, but it is to him," Hound replied.
Neither could explain why the scorching sunlight seemed to strengthen Zyon instead of draining him.
While Zyon continued meditating, Hound focused on Lorenzo's training.
Lorenzo was focusing and channeling his Heka. In his mind, a copy of himself appeared. A faint light-illusion flickered several meters away before collapsing.
"Again," Hound said.
Lorenzo groaned. "That looked good."
"Keep going, Lorenzo. I know you can do this."
The illusion reappeared.
This time, it lasted slightly longer.
"Better," Hound admitted. "But remember, realistic illusions aren't created from nothing. Anchor them to something real. A shadow. A sound. Moving sand. Give the brain enough pieces and it fills in the rest for you."
Lorenzo nodded and tried again.
A second Lorenzo appeared nearby. The duplicate managed three steps before flickering into static light. "Whooaa, I am starting to get the hang of it."
"That's what I call progress, good work, Lorenzo!" Hound said with a thumbs-up.
"I'll take it," Lorenzo said proudly, pumping up his chest.
Hound pointed at the illusion. "And don't forget your Flashbangs. A support fighter controls the battlefield. Blind them first. Confuse them. Then strike."
Lorenzo grinned. "So basically fight dirty?"
Hound narrowed his eyes a little. "If dirty keeps you alive, then yes."
By the time Zyon finally opened his eyes, the sun was already well above the horizon.
Lorenzo gave him a cup filled with water. "About time, Sunnyboy."
Over the past three days, the cave had slowly transformed. Stacks of branches lined one wall. Carefully shaped stones rested in neat piles. Bundles of dried vines hung from cracks in the rock ceiling.
Their temporary home no longer felt empty.
It felt useful.
Zyon picked up his club before joining the others.
The weapon was crude but sturdy. Hardened wood formed the shaft while sharpened stone fragments had been embedded near the top, creating a brutal striking end.
Lorenzo carried a lighter spear crafted from a straight branch reinforced with river vines. A small pouch full of throwing stones bounced against his hip whenever he walked.
Hound shouldered his own club and nodded toward the river. "We leave the cave today."
The boys immediately became attentive.
"Normally we'd travel at night," Hound continued. "But after what happened, I'd rather see potential threats coming."
None of them argued.
The three set off northward, following the river.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
The water remained beside them for most of the morning, cutting a narrow green path through the endless ocean of sand.
For long stretches, nobody spoke.
Then Hound finally broke the silence.
"Everything we taught you at school barely scratches the surface."
Lorenzo perked up immediately. "Now that's how you start a conversation."
Hound chuckled.
"Back then, I became an adventurer because I wanted answers. The farther I traveled, the more questions I found."
Zyon adjusted his makeshift weapon. "What kind of answers were you looking for?"
"The dangerous kind."
That got both boys' attention.
Hound followed the riverbank for a while before continuing. "Tell me. What were the two great incidents that shaped our current world?"
Zyon answered first. "The Great Shift that occurred a thousand years ago… when people first started gaining powers. Before the Great Shift, humans were just normal?"
"And after the Great Shift, what happened?" Hound asked.
"The Continental War. The war that nearly ended humanity."
Hound nodded.
Even Lorenzo looked serious. "We learned that part. I will never understand us humans. We finally get some powers and then we go killing each other..."
"Sadly, that's correct, Lorenzo," Hound replied. "The scars of the Continental War remain visible even today. Coastlines changed, rivers shifted, deserts swallowed fertile lands, and entire regions were lost to the sea. The world we walk through now is not the same world our ancestors knew."
The older man glanced toward the sky. "Before all of that, humanity lived very differently."
"How differently?" Lorenzo asked.
Hound smiled faintly. "There were no Ethereals."
Both boys stared. "No way," they almost said at the same time.
"There were no wars," Hound continued, "humans found a way for world peace. People crossed continents in hours. Diseases that once killed millions had almost vanished."
Lorenzo blinked several times. "That sounds fake. No wars and no Ethereals?"
"How do you even know this stuff?" Zyon asked.
"Because I broke into a place I shouldn't have."
"That sounds exactly like a Hound story," Lorenzo said jokingly.
The older man chuckled at their expressions. "Years ago, I infiltrated a library inside the Radiant Theocracy. It contained an old Atlas compiled shortly after the Continental War. It compared the current world with the one that came before. The book was very old, so most of it was unreadable. Nevertheless, I learned so much that day."
"What happened after that?" Zyon asked.
"I ran."
"You ran?"
"Yeah. I was chased by ten guards. Almost died that day."
"Fair enough," Lorenzo chuckled.
As they continued walking, the conversation shifted toward the world beyond the desert.
"The Nocturn Empire controls these lands," Hound explained. "But it isn't the only power left in the world."
He began naming kingdoms and nations neither boy had ever heard about. "Old Scandinavia is now known as Jarnreich. And the floating cities of Skyguard are built where a continent called America used to be."
Endless wars far beyond the horizon.
Every new revelation seemed even harder to believe than the last.
Then Hound said something that made both boys stop walking. "You can't share this information with anyone we meet in the future, but it seems that Light users originated from the Nocturn Empire, our very home..."
Silence.
Lorenzo blinked. "Wait." He pointed at the ground. "Here? Here?"
Hound nodded. "The Atlas mentioned an old kingdom called the Dawn Sovereign."
Zyon's grip tightened around his weapon. "A kingdom of light users?" he asked.
The boys exchanged stunned looks. Nothing they had ever learned suggested such a thing.
Lorenzo finally found his voice. "Then why are light users hated so much?"
The smile disappeared from Hound's face. "I've spent years asking the same question."
The answer clearly frustrated him. "For a long time, I told myself it was because people see Light as weak. Others blamed the old prophecy." I went ahead with this excuse to make life easier for the people in the village."
Hound's gaze settled on the flowing river. "But there's more to it."
Lorenzo held one hand at his chin, deep in thought, and then spoke up. "The fact that this light kingdom is gone, the Nightvoid attacking us, and the general hate towards light users in this empire. Could it all be connected somehow?"
Hound allowed himself a small smile. "You've got a sharp mind whenever you get serious, Lorenzo. You're asking the same questions I am. The problem is that I still don't have enough answers to tell you if you're right."
For a while, nobody spoke.
Several hours later, the river curved around a beautiful clearing. Soft grass covered the ground beneath a cluster of trees while sunlight danced across the water's surface.
Hound stopped and raised his hand. "We camp here."
The boys didn't need convincing.
After a short break, Hound stood and held out one hand. "Time to train."
A bright white glow gathered above his palm.
The light compressed, condensed, and slowly took shape.
A dagger.
The weapon looked solid enough to cut flesh despite being made entirely of light.
Hound flicked his wrist.
THUNK.
The dagger buried itself into a nearby tree before dissolving seconds later.
"Solidified light," he said. "One of the hardest techniques for a light user to learn."
He looked at Lorenzo. "Your turn."
Lorenzo stepped forward.
The result was... less impressive.
A shaky blade appeared above his palm before immediately collapsing.
The second attempt lasted slightly longer.
The third actually flew forward.
A whole two meters.
Then it dissolved.
Lorenzo groaned. "It feels like I'm trying to hold water."
"That's normal, keep trying," Hound encouraged the boy.
Zyon stepped forward next.
Golden light gathered around his fist.
Immediately, the difference was obvious. The glow looked denser.
Heavier. Almost tangible.
The air itself began to shimmer.
Hound's eyes narrowed.
The light condensed further until a solid-looking gauntlet covered Zyon's hand.
Lorenzo stared. "Okay." The boy pointed dramatically. "That's definitely cheating."
A small smile formed at Zyon's lips, but it vanished as he tried focusing more on his Heka again.
He stepped toward a tree and threw a punch.
-CRACK.
The bark split apart and several leaves drifted loose from the branches above.
The gauntlet dissolved moments later, forcing Zyon to take a deep breath. "It burns through my Heka."
"Of course it does," Hound replied. "Your light isn't behaving like normal light."
That got Zyon's attention. "What does that mean?"
"It means your power is dense, never just shines, and it's always in a solidified state." Hound tapped the damaged tree. "And it's dangerous."
Lorenzo whistled from the tree to Zyon. "Whoa… yours looks way heavier than mine. And it's actually hot? As I said, this is cheating!"
Lorenzo tried again, this time layering a faint illusion over his own light blade to make it look longer. "Hey, can I combine them like this?" he asked excitedly.
"Smart thinking," Hound replied. "But don't spread your focus too thin early on. Master one before mixing."
The older man looked directly at the golden glow fading from Zyon's hand.
"There's still a lot we need to learn about your light, Zyon, and there are a few theories I have.
We will test them soon!"