《For There is Will》 00 - To Be... Life is an eventful event. That can¡¯t be argued. Living is the action required to live life, otherwise a man can drown in his deepest sorrows, his darkest fears. If you had a chance to live life in a place where home cannot be reached, would you? A certain child thinks so. The story starts, in the most bustling places of life. The ocean. The dark depths are swimming with life, while the ocean itself is alive with the gravitational pull of the moon. The waves crash against the side of the metal cruise ship, the foamy, salty water arcing over the railing of the ship. The light of the moon reflects off the surface, the clear sky giving the moon room to shine. Many windows line the sides of the cruise ship, with some curtains drawn, while some windows have the face of curious kids gasping with their mouth wide open, in awe of the ocean¡¯s fury. At a window at the exact middle of the ship was a face of an older child, an adult with a child¡¯s heart. He would gasp every time the waves soaked his glass window, but for a mildly different reason from what common sense dictates. ¡°Oh lordy, Gaia is wet tonight.¡± The childish man would sometimes say, among other things, when the waves hit their peak. As for why the man would say such a thing, was his vivid imagination of the paranormal, or his belief that yes, there are other places made just for fantasy creatures. To explain his belief in such things, you would have to blame the local library of his home town for kindling the imagination of a wannabe author. Turning away from the window the man walk over on sailor legs to his bed, where a book is currently placed on. On the books cover was a dragon, something he earnestly wished he could¡¯ve been born as. Sadly, fate didn¡¯t give him scales or wings, just blue eyes and hair that was brown. With the addition of technology instead of He jumps onto his bed, his book bouncing up to his lap with the aid of physics. He smiles slightly as the ocean tosses the boat from side to side, which meant on a cruise ship that the weather is extremely bad. As the rocking of the ship causes the man to start flipping pages at an increased pace, a slight sound of ¡®something¡¯ echoes through the cabin, and reaches the man¡¯s ears. Looking up from his reading, the man sighs. Muttering under his breath about how the world is unfair, he reaches under his bed while getting off of it, leaving the book open on the page he was reading. Pulling a long, big black box from under his bed, he sets it onto the bed and opens it with a click. Taking out a long, pointed object, he caresses like he was in love with it. ¡°Ah.. the pen will always be mightier..¡± Getting up, he walks over to the cabin door with his long, pointed thing. Opening the door, he looks back into the room, and silently hopes that he could read the ending of the book. He really wanted to finish that book¡­ Another sound of something loud echoes towards his ears, and he quickly gets out of the doorway and into the hallway. Closing the door, he discovers the hallway deserted, a sandal carelessly stranded in the hallway. He rushes towards it, only to pass it on his way towards the stairs at the end of the hallway, where up is the only option available for him. Pounding up the stairs, the man held the thing in his hands like a sword, as he turned corner after corner. A scream then echoes towards the man as he reaches a door at the top of the stairwell. The man lifts up his foot, and tries to kick the door down. Sadly, the 100 lb. metal door doesn¡¯t budge in the slightest, and the sound of panicked voices comes from the other side of the door. The man grunts as he kicks the door again, but fails as the door still doesn¡¯t budge. Sighing, he looks at his hands, but a realization dawns on him as he looks at his right hand. He lifts the thing in his hand and slashes down on the door twice in a crossing motion. The door falls apart into four rectangles, as the scene in the room finally reveals itself. A man in completely black attire is holding a gun to a woman¡¯s head, her clothes revealing everything as they are currently being shredded by another man. The other man was closest to the door, holding a knife that was pressed against the woman¡¯s throat. The man holding the gun was beginning to move the gun away from the woman¡¯s head as the man with the thing holds it up next to his shoulder. ¡°Get away from the woman, and you¡¯ll be left with only bruises.¡± He menaces the two men with the long unnatural thing in his hand. The two men look at each other and begin to laugh. ¡°Ricky, didya hear that? He¡¯s gonna threaten us with a giant ass pen!¡± The man holding the gun laughs out. ¡°Gunner, it¡¯s even funnier after you just said that!¡± Ricky says while tossing the knife to his other hand. The woman relaxes slightly as she catches sight of her potential savior, though the fear of the two men attempting to rape her allows for fear to show. ¡°If you don¡¯t leave her alone, I will give you no choice but death by stabbing!¡± The man threatens, as he begins to run forward. The lights flicker slightly, just above his head, and he disappears from the duo¡¯s sight. ¡°What the fuck Ricky!? Where did that dweeb go?¡± Gunner says as he begins to grab something from within his pocket, and flips it open to reveal it as a cell phone. Typing at an unusual speed, he brings it up to his ear. After a few seconds, Gunner curses and throws it onto the ground, shattering it. Ricky looks over at his partner in crime. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Dude, why¡¯d you do that? We need it still!¡± Gunner spits onto the ground, while sending a quick glare to the panicked Ricky. ¡°No shit, but there ain¡¯t any coverage out here. It¡¯s completely useless. You also saw how that man disappeared, like magic. Unnatural, that¡¯s what that guy is.¡± ¡°You shit heads are going to pay for touching me!¡± The woman screams when the butt of the gun hits her temple, knocking her unconscious. She falls on the floor with a natural thump, and stays silent. Ricky gives Gunner a look, and Gunner replies with a shrug. ¡°What? She would continue to yell, and we don¡¯t need that.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. Keep on the lookout for that guy. He¡¯s a crazy one, I''m sure of it.¡± They look around the room, trying to find any movement out of the ordinary. The room itself was a regular food storage room, with boxes stacked irregularly and some of them remained open. Shelves on the walls added to the effect of a cold storage room, despite the fact that the temperature was above freezing. ¡°You know, you two have been really naughty.¡± The voice of the man echoes through the room, as if he was at every single corner. The duo freeze in their search, and turn towards the center of the room. Standing there, right before their eyes was the man with the giant pen. On the pen itself, the word ¡°MIGHTY¡± was inscripted into it. The man drops the top of the pen until it points at the one with a gun. ¡°Die maggot.¡± With those two words, he disappears and reappears behind Gunner, and stabs him straight through the chest. The sound of something wet and heavy dripping on the floor is the only sound that comes from Gunner, as he drops the gun, causing it to prematurely fire. The man looks at the gun, and kicks it over to a banana box lying open on the floor. It fires once again before landing in the bananas. With a smirk, the man says to Ricky, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that painful? To be hit by those two bullets on both your ears.¡± Turning away from the dead Gunner, he slides the giant pen out of his body. Ricky falls onto his ass, dropping his knife with wide eyes, as he reaches to touch his ears. Or, at least where they were. Two gaping holes with a tiny fringe of skin showing where the ears once were at are the only things left. Oddly, the bullets shouldn¡¯t have been that big, but the man continues to smile despite the oddity. Taking very, very slow steps towards Ricky, he makes a ¡°tsk, tsk, tsk¡± sound. Ricky scoots backwards until he hits the wall of the storage room, fright appearing deep into his eyes. The man with the MIGHTY pen crouches low and looks straight at Ricky. ¡°Do realize that I am a little¡­ messed up.¡± He taps his own forehead with the pen, leaving a blood mark on his temple. Ricky begins to shake visibly, his teeth chattering while he tries to say something. The man leans in closer, letting his ear try to decipher what Ricky is trying to say. With a scowl on his face, the man urges, ¡°Hurry up left nut, an author always has to write the ending message.¡± Ricky begins to say something. ¡°F..o..¡± The man leans in closer. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°FUCK YOU!!!¡± With a roar, Ricky moves forward and bites into the man¡¯s ear. ¡°Fuck!¡± With a yell the man picks up the man with abnormal strength, and slams him against the crate with bananas in it. A discharge of the gun occurs, and a hole appears in Ricky¡¯s head as he falls forward, still latched onto the man¡¯s ear. Prying open Ricky¡¯s dead jaws, the man gets out of the ear-lock. ¡°Damn, you guys really suck at taking care of your gun.¡± Rubbing his ear, he grabs his pen from the ground that dropped while he had picked up Ricky. ¡°Well, might as well.¡± Gripping his pen, he stabs the pen into the body of Ricky, and pulls it out with a quick turn. The blood drips off the pen silently, as he chooses a clear wall to write on. He saunters on over to the wall, and leaves a clear, deep red message just below the window. He steps back to enjoy his work, and on the wall itself read, [HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN], which was his code word for justice. He nods to himself, when a bright light from outside the window enters his eyes. He squints, as he walks over to the window. ¡°What in that bastard¡¯s name is that?¡± He asks himself, receiving no reply as the light comes closer and closer. Realizing something, he grabs his pen and begins to right on himself, by digging into his skin. Grunting in pain, he finishes one sentence of a language not known to the Earth, something that he has only seen in his dreams. At first, he thought the symbols nonsense, but he began to write the symbols down since he was a kid. Nothing really happened, except recently the sentence he had just written was very important, important enough to be dreamed about for weeks, and then suddenly stop on this day. The man looks back at the light that covers the entire window, and he smiles at it. Only one last phrase escapes his lips, a phrase he often writes in the name of justice. ¡°How the mighty have fallen.¡± With those words, the bright light hits the window, instantly vaporizing it as the light shows its true nature. A meteor. 01 - To Be Part of the Cycle... The man is standing in a dark, place. The sound of water dripping expands beyond his horizons, echoing across the entire place. He looks around, and looks at his arm with the inscribed words he had just previously written on his arm. They glowed with a pale, blue light, and the words flashed slightly, showing the area around him had a fog hanging about him. ¡°Hello?¡± He yells out into the darkness. Oddly, there was no echo coming back towards him. He shifts his feet nervously, and begins to take a step. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡± A voice echoes around him. He quickly turns around to discover only the darkness, and the fog. The man looks around. ¡°Who are you? Did you bring me here?¡± The answer was a low, mirthful laugh that made the air shake. ¡°Answer me!¡± ¡°Be quiet Justice. You only just returned.¡± The voice scolds, and the man named Justice stops with his mouth open. From the fog, exits a man in the exact same appearance to Justice, except for the curved horns on his forehead. The horned man walks up to Justice, until he is only a few inches away from his face, looking directly into Justice¡¯s eyes. ¡°I am Pride. That is what I grew up to be, and that is my namesake. You may think that Justice is not your name, but it is what you are.¡± Pride backs away and turns around. ¡°Follow me Justice, to meet your siblings.¡± Justice closes his mouth, nods and follows Pride into the darkness. Only a few seconds pass, as Justice and Pride walk into a doorway in the darkness. Neither pause as they pass through the doorway, or as the doorway crackles with the sound of¡­ something. On the other side of the doorway, a giant chamber is laid out before the both of them, with torches hanging on the walls with an unnatural white flame burning. Banners of various creature adorn pillars that support a balcony, with the strange lettering that is inscribed into Justice¡¯s arm is also on each banner and pillar. ¡°Sit at your seat.¡± Pride gestures towards a table in the middle of the chamber, where at the end of the table rests an empty throne. Justice begins to walk towards a seat with a specific banner, one with a man with 8 wings of white. Sensing a familiar feeling, he sits down at the seat under the banner. Pride nods with a pleased smile, as he walks over to a seat with a banner that had a man with black flames at his feet, with horns just like Pride¡¯s. He sits down, as the sound of various voices echoes around Justice. ¡°He¡¯s back. Justice is back!¡± ¡°Innocence! Be quiet!¡± ¡°Shut it Envy! Only one being can order him, and you know it.¡± ¡°Ohhoho. Finally back from your trip, Justice?¡± ¡°Ah! My brother! Tis¡¯ good to see you!¡± Many more voices echo from behind each pillar, as their voices begin to pile up in a numerous chorus of tone and emotion. A lamia, a small golden eyed child, a red six-armed man, an old man with a white beard, and many others began to show their appearance to the newly arrived Justice. A tear ran down Justice¡¯s face, as he looked upon each person or thing, and he didn¡¯t know why. But on each figure that he could see, words in the familiar language were all written on their body, and not just on their appendages. ¡°Everyone, sit down. I have news.¡± Pride shouted to every being in the room, and they all sat down instantly, except those that had no legs to use. Justice looked at the golden eyed child and widened his eyes slightly, because to him, the child was the most dangerous. The child smiled and put his finger to his lips, and Justice looked back to Pride. ¡°Give me the good news first!¡± The man with 6 arms said, as he slammed his fists into the table, causing the table to shake slightly. Pride gives the man a look, and he instantly becomes sheepish. Looking away, Pride smiles. ¡°Well, since Anger decided to ask, I will go along with his wish.¡± Pride continues to smile, but looks at Anger before continuing. ¡°Justice is back! That means the cycle continues.¡± ¡°The cycle? What do you-¡± Pride waves his hand at Justice who had suddenly spoken up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will explain. First though, did the world you were on have any idea of dying and living?¡± Justice nods, thinking of some Asian cultures back on Earth. ¡°Good. Well, we call this reincarnation here in our personal void, and you had just returned from your turn at the cycle. This means that someone among our peers will be chosen for the next cycle. Then onto other news.¡± Justice nods once again, but tilts his head as to why he doesn¡¯t remember all of this. The being that sat next to Justice, an old man with a long white beard clothed in a blue robe, speaks to him. ¡°Hoho, the reason why you don¡¯t remember is because it¡¯s a side effect of the cycle. Do not worry young Justice, it is basically being reborn.¡± The old man smiles a toothless grin as he turns his attention towards Pride, although he does whisper to Justice, ¡°I¡¯m known as Wisdom, do not forget.¡± Justice then turns his attention back to Pride, as Pride is looking around at everyone else. ¡°Do you understand? No more arguing. Why do you think Justice had so much trouble remembering our language? It¡¯s because of you fools, excluding Foolish surprisingly, that Justice just about died!¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Wondering about this portion of the conversation, Justice raises his hand like a student would ask a teacher. Pride motions for Justice to go ahead. Justice then asks, ¡°What is this about me almost dying, and our language? Those are actually words?¡± Pride opens his mouth to answer, but then a voice echoes around the chambers. ¡°Yes, dear Justice. That is our own language, the language we made to represent power.¡± Every being in the room all lower their heads, as Justice looks around, trying to find the disembodied voice. That is, until his eyes fall upon the child with golden eyes. The child is standing out of his chair, the banner above him flapping with a nonexistent wind. Justice widens his eyes as fog exits from the child¡¯s pores, and floats over to the throne at the end of the table. ¡°Greetings, myself.¡± The voice comes from the cloud, as it begins to take form of a man, albeit foggy and see through. The heads lowered at the tables all look up as the sound of the child¡¯s body falling snaps them out of their trance. ¡°Greetings, Will.¡± Every being says to the fog man known as Will. Some begin to visibly shake in some manner when they see Will, although a humanoid shadow shows the back of the chair with it¡¯s smile. Justice continues to look in amazement at Will, as will points to the doorway that crackles with something. ¡°Through that doorway, is the next cycle, and I¡¯m going to take it.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT???¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°You heard me, you are me after all... I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d need to explain myself but I apparently I must.¡± Will stands up and simply floats onto the table and begins a slow walk down the table, passing through tableware set for appearance only. ¡°I am going in the cycle of reincarnation with memories intact, because.. I feel lonely.¡± Throwing out his arms, Will pretends to balance with his arms out. Wisdom stands up shakily, and points a wrinkled finger at Will. ¡°You sensed their presence. You sensed their.. intent, didn¡¯t you Will?¡± Will looks over to Wisdom and gives a thumbs up, while heading towards the doorway still. ¡°You are indeed correct Wisdom, I did find what opposes us once again, where only you and I were the survivor of that extermination.¡± ¡°Sire! What do you mean ¡®opposes¡¯?¡± Pride jumps up and shouts, visibly shaken by this event. Will stops and turns around smoothly, while he begins to sit cross legged and in the air levitating. ¡°There are those who wish to devour the souls of the One God¡¯s children¡¯s children. You may not know this, Pride, but we are not alone, we are not omnipotent, we are simply the first defense on a steep mountain.¡± ¡°But, there is no reason to risk your life for--¡± ¡°Pride, do not let your nature control you. You are too afraid to say that you don¡¯t want to die, am I right? I¡¯m right, for I am Will. I have known how you act, Pride.¡± Will crosses his arms at Pride, which causes him to shrink back into his chair, defeat apparent Pride¡¯s shoulders. Looking around, Will finally gazes upon Justice. He smiles as Justice continues to wonder what is going on. ¡°Those that oppose us, we call the Shepherds. Simply because they guide the lost souls to their untimely demise. For that, power will be necessary, as will reincarnation. I need a body to attack the Shepherds, and I cannot kill indiscriminately for that body.¡± Will smiles slightly as if an old memory surfaced from his past that didn¡¯t go well with him. Shaking his head, Will turns around and stops levitating to reach the doorway, where he holds his hand against it. The crackling energy on the doorway enters Will, and the foggy state of body disappeared to a pure white, as if made from metal. Justice stands up with his eyes locked on Will¡¯s form, ¡°Wait! I still don¡¯t understand!.¡± Will pauses before entering the doorway, as he turns his head to look back at Justice. ¡°In time, you will understand. Like all the others I govern, I provide the way.¡± Will looks down at the ground for a second, ¡°I do not agree with your method, Justice, but you provide your namesake well enough. Do not mistake yourself as a hero, for only humans can become such¡­ mistakes.¡± Will turns his head towards the doorway, and fades into the ethereal darkness. In the chamber, the rest of the beings stay in silence. The boy named Innocence groggily picks himself off the floor, and shakes his head. ¡°What did I miss?¡± A being in a jester''s outfit begins to hysterically laugh. Pride looks up at the jester with a scowl on his face. ¡°Shut up, Humor.¡± ------------------------------------------------ Thanks for reading, it''s nice to change pace with stories I''ve been making and putting off. This story is interesting, very peculiar when compared to my other stories. But I like my character(s), as far as I have introduced them. The next chapter will be just as short as this chapter, before I begin the ''lengthy'' chapters. Keep reading, to find out what the background is, since I will explain it next chapter. 02 - To Be Born... Will steps into the darkness, and waves his hand to close the doorway. Simply because it is his gate to the mortal realm, and he does what he wishes. The aspects of himself all can do it anyways, as he remembers the times when insanity come but at a moment''s notice. Will sighs, as he looks at the expansive area of the void, or as on the Earth Justice lived on, the edge of the universe. ¡°Damn the God who made this universe with such flimsy defences.¡± Will mutters as he looks upon a solar system slowly being crushed by its own gravitational pull. The star in the center of the system is already beyond hope, a black hole already existing inside the star. The God that Will is talking about, is actually one of many that exist in Space/Time, a feat only possible for beings like Will, and beyond. Will himself however, was once mortal, and can sympathize with the planet¡¯s inhabitants, himself being a victim of the Shepherds. Shepherds were beings eerily similar to Will, but corrupted beyond the reach of the Gods. The reason why Will exists with nothing mentally or astrally wrong, was in fact the division among himself, as well as the cycle which allows a rebirth for his aspects. Although he does have an aspect named Crazy... He''s best friends with Humor too.. Stopping his thinking, Will passes the beginnings of the universal takeover, and begins his search for suitable planet with suitable life. His specifications were similar to his previous lifetimes, beginning a human life on a magic-induced planetary civilization, one that has already spread through space. Sadly, after spending several decades speeding through the universe currently being corrupted, he couldn¡¯t find a technological/magical planet. Many lush green planets came in varying sizes, some containing the most dreadful of intelligent beasts, while many contained humanoids of varying sizes and heritages. Will sighs as the last planet to appear almost fulfills his requirements, as the blue world glistened under the gigantic sun miles upon kilometers away. Two moons, one gray and the other an odd purple, orbit around the blue planet before him. The moons were of the same size, but the problem was that there was nothing on the surface of the moons, no human or other kind of identification of life. Will sighs, as he begins to drift closer to the planet. ¡°I hope there will be some humanoid here that matches my signature.¡± Will says this, because every being that is on a different plane of existence must find a host body that resembles their own structure. If Will was to compare a God¡¯s structure to his, it would be easier to find a body for Will than for the God itself. Reaching the big expansive mass known as the ocean of the planet, Will floats just above the surface, looking in the directions with life on them. A smile forms on Will¡¯s lips, as he shifts himself over to the land mass closest to him. Everywhere around Will, humanoid beings walk side by side. Looking upon them, Will frowns. ¡°What is this strange substance in their bodies?¡± He mutters to himself, as he uses his eyes to peer into the air, and bodies around him. Some of the humanoids look over to his position, but look away quickly as nothing is there, according to them. Will reaches his hand out, and waves at the light blue strands of energy in the air. They shift slightly at his touch, as he twirls it around his finger. The blue line unravels slightly, as Will lets go of the substance. It was massively different from the green energy he himself used, and could be something indigenous to this planet. Will slightly wonders at which God or Goddess made this substance, but then his senses pick up on a signature closely resembling his on this mortal plane. ¡°Got you, my new vessel.¡± Smirking, Will swiftly shifts himself over to the other side of the landmass, catching glimpses of the humanoids and humans fighting over a shrine, and of a massive center of worship in the mountain range. He saw many others, but these caught his attention the most. However, he ignored these spots of conflict, for a woman peddling on a dirt road. Will floats towards the woman in clothes that have seen better days, woven with what appears to be cotton. A horse draws the carriage, a man that seems close to her age tending to the steering. Will chuckles, as a bird drops its glory upon the man¡¯s head, his beard bristling from the fragments of crap. The man cusses in a language Will doesn¡¯t know, and the woman gets up from her spot in the wagon to comfort the man, whispering what appears to be words of sweet love. Will ignores the two lovebirds, as he looks at the woman. More specifically, her womb where two children are just beginning to form. Will senses the mana from around him beginning to make its presence known in the bodies of the baby, and he approaches the womb. Reaching his hand inside of the woman¡¯s stomach, which the mortal plane has no jurisdiction over him, he tempers with the body of one of the children. Trying to grasp the center of the odd energy core in the child¡¯s body, he fails to do so with the core. Will¡¯s fingers however, intertwine with the energy entering the core. Feeling a subtle shift in the energy flow, Will begins to tug at the string of energy, and carefully place it upon the sibling¡¯s mana core, one strand at a time. The energy flowing upon Will¡¯s hand was of this world, as far as he knew, and he didn¡¯t want to tamper too much with the table of fate. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. It was tricky after the first dozen strands, but Will began to increase his proficiency in the task at hand, while the world around him began to change at a faster pace. So absorbed in the task at hand, Will finally looks up to discover the woman making dinner in a kitchen, the sun just beginning to descend below the horizon. Startled, but Will brushes off the time, until he looks at the woman more properly, and the sight makes him stop in his handling of the strange energy. The woman had the most obvious sign of pregnancy, and Will had to check the womb for any signs of a mortal soul. Oddly enough, only one soul inhabited her body, and Will realises that in getting rid of the strange energy strands, to where only a few dozen out of thousands are left, caused the child that received the extra energy to flourish, and gain a soul. The other child was barren, and exactly what Will needed since the body would be able to handle his¡­ presence and experience, as well as his power. The utilization of that power would come when his body reaches maturity, which shouldn¡¯t be long in human terms. While Will was thinking of his soon-to-be new body, the woman/mother drops the knife she is currently using to cut vegetables, and holds herself while crouching. Will returns his focus upon the woman, and just in time to see her have a contraction, with liquid splattering against the floor. ¡°Is it time?¡± the voice of the echoes from outside the kitchen, and the woman screams out a short ¡°YES!¡± where the man from before runs through the kitchen, picks up the woman, and stands there doing nothing. Confused on what the man is doing, Will notices strands of energy gathering at the soles of the man¡¯s shoes as the man himself chants, ¡°Wind of under, winds abode, grant me passage to the sanctuary above!¡± As the man finishes his chant, the howling of wind, as well as an invisible force pushes Will away from the father, and Will only sees splintered pieces of falling upon the floor. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s close to godlike. WHICH god or goddess made this place?¡± Will mutters, as he moves through the roof and just in time to see the man fly towards the nearest town. Apparently, the couple lived in a forest at a base of a volcano. An odd and dangerous place, but Will wouldn¡¯t mind. Following the flying man, Will reaches a hut in the center of a wooden village, with many people in home-woven clothes clamoring about. Oddly, a little girl points at where Will is, and Will looks back at the little girl. ¡°Ghost.¡± One word is enough to show that the girl can actually see things not in the human realm, but Will just waves his hand as he dashes towards the couple. He has to deal with getting a body suited to him, after all. Passing through the door, he manages to make it to the birthing area of the house. Cupboards of various sizes adorn the walls, and strange looking plants line the shelves. In the center of the room, a bed was laid out for the woman in labor. The man, holding onto the woman¡¯s hand whispering comforting words as she screams in agony. Will shifts himself over to right above the woman, and reaches his hand to the empty place in the kid¡¯s body, and throws himself into the tiny place. Thankfully, Will succeeds as his vision goes dark, or rather his lack of vision makes itself apparent. Now all Will has to do is wait for his birth. and it takes forever¡­ ¡®Any second now¡¯, Will mutters like a chant inside his head. ¡®Could my new mother make herself known?¡¯ The thoughts of impatience was endless. Will had a mission that needed to be done after all. That¡¯s when Will finally felt things moving around him, and he discovers the light shining into his eyes. He smiles, and like a baby, begins to cry. His crying dies down as the cold hands that first held him, changed to the warm arms of his mother. He had his eyes open, and the mother looked at his. ¡°Well, he has such pretty eyes¡­ Come look.¡± Says the mother, as the father bends over from above, and smirks. ¡°Green eyes¡­ looks like he takes after your Great Uncle.¡± The mother nods, and Will bursts into smiles, and closes his eyes. Perhaps, this was enough exercise for his new body. ¡°I think his name should be Gerbert.¡± The mother says, as Will flashes open his eyes and begins to cry. His brother who is in his new father¡¯s arms, is laughing instead of crying. Will sends an errant thought to the mother, as she smiles worryingly. ¡°No, I think your name will be William.¡± Will closes his eyes and stops crying. Looks like later on in life, he will have to teach these new parents some lessons. ------------------------------- {Author Note}: I just want to say that I am trying my hand at writing, and that I always try to write more than I should. Sadly, it doesn''t feel like it''s enough, so I will be trying to write longer chapters. This is my 3rd story, I hope I do better with it than my other ones... 3rd person is my main objective, with world building and character building too. 03 - To Be Found Out... Tooo mmmmuuuuuuccccchhhhhh rewriting. Sorry for the late chapter. I will update Torn Asunder next since I have a chapter for it. Thank you for reading. ------------------------------------------------ The sound of heavy breathing wakes up Will from his nap next to his brother. Attempting to stand up in his crib, Will shakingly reaches out with his hands, and grabs the wooden frame of a baby¡¯s crib. Will looks up just in time for his newest mother to be standing over him, a blank look on her face. In her hands, a lantern hung with a purple tint to its flames. ¡°Mother, how old am I again?¡± Will asks his mother, and receives no reply from her blank face. Will sighs, and begins his shaking ascent to standing in his twin-sized crib. Will finishes with his head over the railing, his chubby legs and arms trembling from the effort. ¡°Look, Mother, Mom, Mummy, or whatever else could be considered an appropriate name for you stinking woman. I have a schedule to keep to, and if I can¡¯t reach that point in time, with all my strength, then the world is doomed. Do you understand?¡± Will begins to tirade, shaking his tiny fist of doom, and in response to his little fit, Mother smiles and reaches out to pet his head, as if to soothe his anger, or crying, depending on who was watching. Will sighs, and looks down, while letting go of his strength and falling on his cataclysmic butt, wrapped in an underwear that was meant to be burned. Although Will understands what he is saying, sadly, his Mother is an entirely different story. After 10 years of being on this planet, Will has developed his body to the highest it could possibly be, and finally realized something. He was still a baby! Which also meant, there was no such thing as the homo sapiens, nor neanderthals, not even a simple human being. Instead, it was a look-alike being that had a weird, and odd growth rate. This may be beneficial to Will in some way, but if his plans aren¡¯t going according to the guidelines, the future would be for naught. Will looks up at his mother and gives a shallow glare, releasing only the tiniest of killing intent. Will gets an appropriate reaction from that however, and the mother does something that even startles him. She reaches into the twin crib and picks him up with his arms reaching outwards. Will begins to smile at the first reaction of his mother¡¯s, until he feels the sense of weightlessness. The sound of glass breaking, and his mother becoming but a distant figure gives key points as to what is happening. Will was thrown out of the window. By his own mother! Will immediately starts utilizing the energy he is most familiar with, and the qi inside his body flows to his arms and legs, allowing the growing muscles to experience true strength. 10 years is a long enough time for Will to formalize his qi core, as well as let the strange energy mold with his qi core, becoming a strange combination. But this is enough, as Will hits the ground and skids to a halt on his chubby baby legs, 10 years of crawling showing their true capabilities. Will places his little baby hand on the ground, and looks back up with his strange energy enforcing the muscles in his neck. And just as well, as he sees his mother smiling down at him not 5 meters away from where he stood. Startled at the surprising tact of his mother¡¯s, Will pushes off the ground and back flips towards a tree, landing at its roots. A slow clapping is heard from the direction of his mother, and Will looks back to see her slowly walking forward. A purple/white robe flaps in the wind, or at least it seems to as the very forest is silent. Will narrows his baby blue eyes. ¡°That is really good, my son. Or can I truly call you my son?¡± The words echo over the distance to reverberate in Will¡¯s ears. Will opens his eyes in shock as the woman known as his mother nods. ¡°It¡¯s hard to call someone my son when they are belittling me in a language thought to be lost to all but a known few. Luckily, I¡¯m the historian in our wide, diverse family. But what I would like to know, is why you are cursing the race you said you wanted to be?¡± Will begins to fidgit, and since his body is that of a 1 year old, he shakes his head and begins to stutter. ¡°Well, that is.. Um.. I¡¯m human? I¡¯m speaking in a lost tongue? I¡¯m confused Mother¡­¡± The mother gives him a sharp glare and Will stops speaking altogether. ¡°Don¡¯t call me Mother, for I am clearly not your ¡®Mother¡¯, spirit.¡± Will nods shyly like a 1 year old, and she smiles bitterly. ¡°If you must call me something, call me Kaylene. Now, onto your questions.¡± Kaylene begins to strut forward in her robes, and the grass around her flattens. Will¡¯s eyes pop out at the sight. Kaylene chuckles at his surprise, and reaches him in a step, crouching low to meet him eye to eye. Will steps backwards but Kaylene grabs him with both her hands. ¡°First, I need to make it clear that I do not consider you my son. But for appearances I must. Secondly, the lost tongue is of the Ancients, before mana appeared on Earth. I believe it was called Engrish.¡± Kaylene looks sideways and begins to mumble about the ¡®lost tongue¡¯, but Will raises up his stubby hand with a finger pointed at her. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°English.¡± ¡°What?¡± Kaylene lowers her eyebrows and gives Will a look. ¡°English. That¡¯s the name of your ¡®lost tongue¡¯,¡± Will explains. ¡°Uh-huh..¡± Kaylene nods slowly, and Will reacts with a shrug. ¡°Well, don¡¯t believe me Mother dearest. But the deadline I was speaking of is something you wouldn¡¯t believe anyways.¡± Will turns his baby face away, and pouts. Kaylene quickly looks away. ¡°So.. cute..¡± ¡°Hah¡­. A mother to the end,¡± Will says after letting out an exaggerated sigh. Kaylene reacts with a slight reddening. ¡°You sure as hell aren¡¯t a baby.¡± Will chuckles at Kaylene¡¯s words, and replies. ¡°If I was from hell, I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t look this adorable.¡± Kaylene frowns. ¡°That place exists?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t tell you. And you are getting off track.¡± ¡°No.. wait, sorry. But it¡¯s hard to take a 10 year old seriously.¡± Kaylene apologizes with a soft smile. Will smiles back to his ¡®mother¡¯. ¡°So why did you possess my son?¡± ¡°Um¡­ you can¡¯t call it possession if the body had no soul to begin with..¡± Will mumbles, but Kaylene easily hears what Will says. She picks Will up and cradles him in her arms. Will looks at her startled by her actions. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong William, I still don¡¯t think of you as my child.¡± Kaylene looks down on the toddler body of Will. ¡°But I can¡¯t leave you alone until you body matures. And don¡¯t get started about your age. Growing up is really¡­ sudden.¡± Kaylene smiles sweetly at Will¡¯s face, and walks back to the house, in almost three steps. ¡°It¡¯s pretty amazing how fast you are, Kaylene.¡± Will says to her, the mana-qi energy leaving his body like smoke, but with no vapor. The weakening and sore muscles protest at her every movement, from the shifting of her arms to the lifting up of her feet. ¡°Well, I am a mid-level practitioner, William. This is nothing to be in awe of.¡± Kaylene says humbly, a little smirk on her face. ¡°I was complimenting you, not praising your existence. I am much more¡­ unique in my ways of the arts.¡± Will scorns, and his little baby eyes squint slightly at his ¡®mother¡¯s¡¯ face. Which earns him a little flight through the air and into his crib. Luckily, Will lands on his brother with an ¡®umf¡¯. ¡°What was that for?¡± Will yells in his tiny, baby voice as he moves off of his birth brother very carefully. Kaylene looks back to Will as she is walking out of his room. ¡°For being an asshole.¡± Mouth open, Will stares as she walks away. Will shakily and painfully stands on his chubby baby legs, shaking his fist as he yells, ¡°There are children in here! You sorry excuse of a mother!¡± Will pauses as a slight groan comes from behind him, as his brother begins to wake up from the yelling. Will stands shocked at the energy called mana navigates around his brother¡¯s body, and easily enters his very core, building it up in size. His brother stands up on shaking legs, as he toddles on over to Will, a distance of 2 feet. ¡°What the heck! When did you learn to walk? Oh wait, we had 10 years...¡± Will exclaims, as his brother also reaches the railing. But instead of replying like Will would, his brother begins to cry, and loudly at it. Kaylene rushes into the room almost instantly and picks up Will¡¯s brother. ¡°Shh, shh, it¡¯s alright Tyler. It¡¯s okay to cry. You¡¯re still a child, just wait for your turn to grow up.¡± Cradling Tyler¡¯s body, she pats his back as he cries into her shoulder. She looks down at Will, and promptly looks away. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to grab Elder Brother for this one¡­¡± The words that Kaylene mutters causes Will¡¯s interest to pique. Was this the Great Uncle character mentioned at his birth? Will opens his mouth to ask, but Kaylene gives a glare that shuts his mouth instantly. After some consoling, Kaylene gets her son to sleep and pats Will on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t wake my son up, spirit.¡± Kaylene whispers. ¡°Call me a spirit, I¡¯ll be a spirit for you. But reality is different for you, mother dearest.¡± Will responds. ¡°I¡¯m infinitely more powerful than a mere spirit.¡± Will puffs his baby chest out slightly. And that¡¯s when the mana around him vibrates, and the qi inside of Will resonates with it, the small core inside of him vibrating along with the energy inside and out. The most unlikely of coincidences stimulated what should have happened naturally. Kaylene looks as if in shock for a second, and instantly does something no mother usually thinks of doing. She moves and grabs Will, moving to the closest exit, a window in his room, and is thrown out of the window.