《War Torn: The Neverworld》


 Chapter 1-Nightmare

    Darkness, utter and complete. Like a void of never ending matter that swallows all the senses so the brain can''t begin to process what is real and what is not. Luke was caught in this nothingness, a void in the fabric of reality. No longer in a coherent state of mind, trapped within what could only be a dream. The nightmare felt so real, that his brain couldn¡¯t connect with his body. He should feel something but no stimuli was getting to him, nothing to provide any framework for coherent thoughts. His very soul felt heavy, like an inflated balloon that felt as though it could pop with just the wrong motion. Then something broke through the void. The balloon that felt too full suddenly felt like it was filling more, going to burst but it kept filling not stopping and his representation of his Soul kept growing larger. The heaviness of it felt like a physical thing, his heart beating like a metronome in the utter blackness that was the dream. The beat echoing in his ears.


    Time was immeasurable, seconds could be days, days could be years. It was impossible to judge something like this. Even though some deep rooted thought had him knowing it was realistically nothing other than a dream. The hopelessness though still creeping into the forefront of Luke¡¯s thoughts, the idea that maybe he couldn¡¯t wake up, that maybe he died in his sleep and this was how life truly ends. A real feeling finally permeated his consciousness, fear. Fear that he wouldn¡¯t wake up that he didn¡¯t get to say goodbye to his friends, or even finish school. Things that as an 18 year old he would never be able to do again or live a future. This went on, scenario after scenario playing out in his head, until finally¡­ He felt something.


    Subtle at first, but whatever this was seemed to push against his soul, stripping it away in layers. He couldn¡¯t stand the feeling any longer giving into the pain the second feeling he was able to comprehend. First fear, and now pain. Crying out even though he knew it was hopeless. Unbearable pain worse than if he had been set on fire tore through his very being until the power quivered and then settled around him. The pain dissipated into nothing and he knew that something else replaced it. Something that felt distinctly different, apart from what he felt earlier.


    Just as fast as the darkness came, it disappeared. Luke was left lying in bed stunned at what just occurred. While his alarm to wake up signaled he wasn''t dreaming anymore. He was left shaken by the dream.¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Luke thought to himself. Getting up stretching, and turning off the alarm. He looked down at his nightshirt to see if soaked in his own sweat. His muscles felt fatigued as if he had been training non-stop and the lactic acid hadn¡¯t been flushed out of his body. Luke couldn¡¯t help but wonder, I must be going crazy, maybe I''ve been hitting the gym too hard lately. As if that was the cause of his drastic nightmare episode. Walking over to the bathroom, Luke turned the light on and what he saw in the mirror took him aback.


    Luke would describe himself as handsomely average being roughly 6 feet tall, with brown hair, and brown eyes. He had always been muscular, but in the past month, it was as if he gained another 15 pounds of muscle that he couldn¡¯t quite explain. That though, wasn''t what caught his immediate attention though. Looking at himself he saw an even newer change than what he had seen over the last month. Sitting directly over his left chest muscle was an imprint as if someone had burned a mark into his flesh. It was foreign, a symbol he didn¡¯t quite comprehend but somehow felt intrinsic to his self. A line that curved into two P¡¯s in opposite directions. It looked red and raw as if both bruised and burned.


    ¡°Luke, you better be out of bed! Hurry up or you will be late to school.¡± His mom yelled from the kitchen. His mom''s yelling was exactly what he needed to break him from the trance the weird mark had over him. First the dream and now this weird mark, hopefully this wasn¡¯t any indication how this day was going to go. Luke threw on a pair of jeans, and a hoodie, grabbed his bag, and ran down the stairs. Luke''s mom was casually walking around the kitchen, hair up in a bun, the smell of pancakes filling the quaint little kitchen.


    As Luke made his way into the kitchen his mom said, ¡°Honey you need to stop growing, you''re emptying the house of all the food, so all I could think of to make was pancakes this morning since you ate all the eggs already. I should have gone out for more yesterday but wanted to get home from work last night as soon as I could. Working three 12 hour shifts in a row has taken its toll, but how does one consume 12 eggs in four days? I am going to have to get a second job just to feed you.¡± She finished with fawn annoyance, a smile playing on her lips.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Luke couldn''t help but appreciate his mom. She had raised him his entire life single-handedly doing everything in her power to provide the best she could for him. Luke had never known his father, and every time Luke attempted to broach the subject with his mom she would become overly emotional and explain without much detail that he had to leave them and it was for the best. Luke never pushed the subject, so as to not upset her, but always wondered how someone could leave him and his mother like that.


    ¡°I know Mom, this past year has been crazy. Last wrestling season I weighed 165 lbs, and now I am wrestling at 220.¡± His mom looked at him with a sad look, ¡°It must be your father''s genes, he used to train all the time and was considered strong in our circle of friends. Big like you too. Or it could be a boys over saturation of testostosterone she chuckled at the end trying not to let her sad eyes show too much.


    Luke processed what she said only for a fraction of a second and sat at the table and attempted to look busy studying for the test he had to take later that day. He never knew what to say when his mom brought up facts about his father. He sat back and ate his breakfast while studying in silence. Silence always seemed to be the best way to go in those instances.


    Twenty minutes went by until his mom finally spoke again, ¡° Hey before you leave for school I wanted to let you know that I should be able to make it to your wrestling match this week. Shannon is supposed to cover for me on Wednesday at the hospital, so expect me to finally be there to see all the progress you have made in person, not from how many eggs you can eat in one sitting. The hospital shouldn¡¯t burn down without me and I have already tapped into overtime for the week.


    Luke tried to look excited, but his mom always tried to make it, yet she had missed every other match this season. He wasn¡¯t upset by that fact, he knew that she was busy and that she worked hard to provide for both of them being the single parent she was. He also had this sense that she enjoyed saving people and he only wanted her happy.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright mom, I understand if you can¡¯t make it, but I will look for you as always!¡± He tried to say with as much enthusiasm as he could not as if he hadn¡¯t added the emphasis of the word ¡°always¡± to give her a little snippet into his true emotions about her never making it. The morning was not going exactly the way he had hoped after all


    Luke had forgotten that he had a big match later that week. Wrestling had been easier this year than every year before it. He had gone undefeated as the standings showed. He attributed it to eight years of technical work and all the muscle he had gained. He missed the challenge, but winning was always the goal.


    ¡°Well if you can make it to the meet on Wednesday it will be a good one. My opponent and I are the only undefeated wrestlers this season so far. If I manage to beat him I have the chance to take first seed going into nationals¡±. He looked at his mom with a proud expression. She looked back at him after taking a sip of her coffee and showed a look of happiness, ¡°that''s great Honey, like I said I will do my best to make it and cheer you on. The conversation slowly died out as she pretended to be doing the crossword in her newspaper and Luke went back to silent studying. Though her expression showed genuine excitement her inner thoughts were anything but.


    Rebecca looked at her son peeking over her coffee, really taking a look at him. A bit of her power seeped into her eyes to try and pierce his soul. Seeing his growth exceed those around him so much in only a year started to worry her. He shouldn¡¯t have grown that fast and it could only be the very one thing she had feared. He shouldn¡¯t have his power, yet she couldn¡¯t deny what she was seeing right in front of her own eyes. This world her husband created seemingly for naught as his growth could only dictate he needed to leave sooner than later. She had been watching him more closely lately, trying to discern anything unusual, any marks and he hadn¡¯t complained about any weird dreams that she knew of. She let out a big sigh she didn''t know she was holding as her power couldn¡¯t discern anything meaningful with the waning power she currently possessed. She shouldn¡¯t worry he was just growing up and maturing. Maybe it could be chalked up to the young man in front of her maturing instead of the alternative, ¡°Alright honey hurry up and finish your food. You need to head to school so you''re not late.¡±


    Luke got up from the table, his bulk in no way impeding his delicate steps as he quickly made his way to the sink, put his dishes away, gave his mom a quick hug, and walked out the door headed toward school.

 Chapter 1-Nightmare part 2

    What Luke failed to notice was that he had someone watching him from the shadows. A tall individual seemingly hidden within the dark areas around the window while his mother and him had a seemingly normal breakfast conversation.


    Luke¡¯s mom however felt what her son could not especially when she had tapped into her powers even for a second earlier.. She then felt the aura of her oldest friend and knew he had been listening. She knew Luke had gone off to school so she called out, ¡°Sean I know you are there you can come on in instead of being a little peeping tom, you know better than that.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I should have known you could  probably still feel my aura after so long. I forgot even though your abilities are all but gone, you were one of us generals.¡± The shadow spoke as he seemed to materialize through the wall.


    The shadow slowly transformed into a tall dark man, wearing a basic robe that made him seem like he was from some of those Japanese samurai movies her son loved so much. He carried two long swords on his hip, and had a lightning bolt scar under his right eye. He was an ageless man who didn''t seem like he was much older than 45, but carried himself as someone much younger. Like he was primed for action at any moment.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t aged a bit Sean, funny how that works with all that power still flowing through your veins lieutenant.¡± Luke''s mom said as she smiled at her old friend.


    ¡°Rebecca, you and I both know I can¡¯t grow old, only die at this point. If Bryan were still  here he would have laughed at your snide jokes and believe it or not I am a commander now.¡± Said Sean. Rebecca perked up at hearing her husband''s name and learning that the young kid her husband had taken in to teach had become as strong as they had been. She was filled with many emotions.


    ¡°Sean I know why you are here, but Luke hasn¡¯t shown any unusual signs other than growing up a little too fast, this pocket world was purposely set up so that he and I could live a simple life without essence interfering. A world created with no essense leaking through. It is nothing more than a young kid turning into a man.¡±


    Walking towards the table, Sean sat his body seemingly heavy in that moment and slowly examined the silverware on the table, ¡°He has already been chosen. You may be able to sense myself because of our close relationship but his power is sealed behind runes not even Bryan knew how to unseal. We may have been powerful but only a sage could understand that level of complexity. The only reason I am here is because there are signs in <i>our </i>world. Luke is a child from <i>Neverworld</i> and not even this world could change that. His name has been added to the list of new recruits eligible for training at the Academy. You and I both know that the Academies list runs on a higher level of power than what we comprehend. You were chosen once, you understand, and now he has also been chosen. How you feel about it is no concern to power operating on the level of Gods. Service is the one and only job we ever have.


    Rebecca looked at her friend with sadness in her eyes, she quickly got up from her seat and  began pacing around the kitchen, ¡° He can¡¯t be, Bryan gave the last of his life to fuel this world for us, to take the chance that he could be safe from the horrors we have had to endure. How is it that I have not been tracked but somehow Lukes soul was marked enough to register.


    ¡°We have no idea what kind of power he may have, you and I both know that he was found on that battlefield and while you may see him as your son he is something none of us understand. There is still little that is understood about how the Academies mark their personnel. Sometimes it''s from birth and others from those we have conquered in the pocket worlds. I need to bring him to Knox. He will have his own affinity come to him sooner than later  and we need to make sure that he knows how to use it so that he can survive the battles to come. He has been closed off and now that the pocket world can no longer keep him safe he must learn how our world works if he has any chance of survival. Eventually this place will not contain him if essense tries to seep through the fabric of this pocket world and into him. Even with you using your power to keep this place intact he will not be able to hide her.¡± Sean said.


    ¡°He is Bryan¡¯s son, he will be treated differently, he will not be welcomed, nothing more than an outcast. Not only that, Bryan thought the basics of the runes he carries on his soul would essentially limit the power he can use. What you are essentially saying is that me and Bryan gave our lives for nothing. How can Luke possibly manifest enough power to progress and even stay alive. He will be weak amongst the rest of you. He will not survive!¡± Rebecca couldn¡¯t control her aura and lost control shattering plates around the kitchen.


    She looked at the broken pieces, and wondered if she would ever be able to piece her life back together similar to the plate. The more she thought about it the more she knew that things were going down the path she had always known would become eventuality. There was nothing her or Bryan could have done to truly save their son from the fate of returning to their world, there lives no forfeit with there power fueling this pocket world essentially condemning themselves and not giving Luke even a modicum of a chance of survival.


    ¡°You and I both know that it is not for you to know or for us to judge, he has been marked. He may not be powerful now, and he may not be able to break through the runes to help him gain adequate power in time, and in the end he might die. I do not mean to speak so cold or of the failure of giving your lives for nothing. However, you know that our world demands you to grow or you stagnate. War, violence, power, that is all there is. He can not remain hidden from Neverworld. His name has been written, and if he continues to resist its pull he will be found by those that not even I can face.¡±Said Sean looking at his friend broken just as the plate between her hands.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Rebecca, taking her eyes from the shattered remains of plates all over her kitchen she looked at Sean with an exhausted stare, ¡°He can not go Sean¡­, he is not ready, we condemned him. We were naive to think that he could be saved beyond truly leaving Neverworld ¡±. As fast as lighting her oldest friend moved in a blur to embrace her. She knew that this was only an after image of Sean, knowing that if he were to manifest in this world with all of his power it would crumble around them. However, the hug was enough and let her take stock of everything she had been told. She knew that she couldn''t protect Luke further, that she was going to have to trust his life to her last and only friend because she no longer could leave this pocket world as her power was given to keep it from crumbling already.


    ¡°I will be one of the trainers this year, he will not die if I can help it. Have faith in not only me but the son that you raised. I will do all I can to teach him that struggle is not a time to give in and die but a time to grow and expand one''s power. If anything, let''s hope that he has developed even a small amount of your determination.¡±


    Rebecca looked at her friend and felt some comfort knowing that he may be right, ¡°Alright Sean let me tell him a little bit about us, if you are here I know he does not have much time. I will have to make my goodbye fast but he should hear of where we come from, from me first. I just want him to have a normal couple of days. I owe him that much. Life will be harder from here on out, let me be his mother while I still can.¡±


    Sean could see the defeat in Rebecca¡¯s eyes. He knew there was nothing she could do any longer. Luke would have to come with him before Knox sent any of their Extractors after the kid.Those from the Academy with the sole job of finding those on the list and either forcing them to join the Academy or they would be killed and stripped of their souls. Noone, knew exactly where the souls went, whether the gods used it to try and fuel their own power or it was converted back into the world they lived in.


    Sean wrapped Rebecca back up into a hug, both knowing it was the last one they would probably ever share as when Luke was taken from this place Rebecca had to stay as it was her remaining power that was keeping this place together. As soon as her power waned her  soul would be exhausted and then it would crumble to nothing. Looking at what used to be his most trusted friend he said, ¡°Goodbye Rebecca I will do everything I can to keep him alive as long as possible, and thank you for everything you had taught me in the day. I hope to be as good a mentor to your son as you and Bryan were to me.¡±


    Slowly slipping through the wall of the house, leaving Rebecca to her own thoughts. He had been friends with Bryan and Rebecca for over a century. They had fought in many wars, and other than his own daughter, they were the only ones that he cared for. Now he had Luke, and he would be coming to the Neverworld. He knew this would be its own sort of a challenge.


    The General''s mysterious son was finally coming home. The Son that had made the General step down from his office at the Academy. That was all anyone had ever known of the situation but the truth was much more secretive. Sean remembered the battle that had shaken the very fabric of their world. The battle in which one of the many Generals had found a small child at an altar and had claimed it as his own. Only Sean and Rebecca knew of the real origin. Bryan had kept any from finding the truth and even Sean did not understand fully about the destiny that Luke had in store. Only that a child had been part of a ritual involving beings far above the power of Generals and Sages and that Bryan had managed to sneak the child away in the hopes he could salvage a life for the kid. Something good that came from all the death that had been reaped that day.


    Sean focused his essence and let it revolve around his soul, moving it in a way to activate the seal on the marble that was this pocket world on the outside. His consciousness coming back to his main body within an open field just outside the mountain range closest to the Twin Peaks. The moon was high, the wind blew gently through the knee high grass. Sean looked at the twin moons in the sky that was revolving around Neverworld that night. The air was crisp and quiet. This place had been shielded by Bryans power and only the pocket world sat on a small altar. The altar had two functions. One to hold the marble that was the world Rebecca and Luke resided in and two, as a bridge between worlds as well one that could be activated if someone knew how.


    Bryan seemed to have known all along his son would have to return. That he could only give him a life without war, pain and suffering for so long. Sean had never heard of anyone successfully circumnavigating the fundamental princples of the world. Once you were born in Neverworld, or brought through the void as a pocket world and deposited into Neverworld your soul was marked with the seal of a Gods Dominion linked to that area. If you tried to run, or spent too long in a pocket world you were pulled back or if somehow you resisted the pull Extractors always came for you no matter your rank. Extractors'' soul jobs were to eradicate those that were not loyal to the Dominion you were Linked to.


    The only issue was that Sean had such a limited time left before Extractors came to find the kid and would find a pocket world so heavily protected by what power Bryan had put into it. Sean himself could only be gone from the Army and Academy so long as he was a commander, and now a trainer for Knox this year. He however, wanted to give Rebecca her last wish to allow her son to enjoy his last few days, but he was running low on time if he was to get the kid across the Twin Peaks Valley before the term started. Thankfully Sean was the only one who knew of the pocket world and the one who held the key to get in through the enchantments placed on the altar.  They had 14 days and that would have to be enough. Give the kid two more days to be normal because from here on out it would be learn or die for him and Sean would do his best to teach him the ways of the world before it was too late.

 Chapter 2-Normal Days Are Coming to an End

    Luke walked outside, leaving his mom in the kitchen thoughts of their conversation playing out again in his head. Luke felt like today was the start of something important to come and definitely something that he couldn¡¯t fully explain. The thought that if he concentrated hard enough about what was wrong he might be able to reach out and touch it. His footfalls were the only sound this morning as he walked from one street to the other, the school only being a little less than a mile away. This walk had been cathartic to him in the past, a way for him to destress and not bring life to school with him or vice versa. He liked the idea of keeping school and his home life separate, even though with his mom always working and him in sports it felt like his life was mostly filled with school and activities there.


    Luke had grown up in the area, never knowing a different town. Polk was small and quaint. It had its perks and its determinants. Small towns were always like that full of Charm but everyone always knew everything about you. Luke had been no different growing up. His mom being a single mom was always something brought up to him throughout grade school, but him now being a senior the only thing of note people stopped to talk to him about was wrestling as he was not only a captain but undefeated this year. Newport didn¡¯t have many other sports but wrestling always held a special place in the heart of the town. This made him known but anything but popular in the grand scheme of popularity at a small town''s high school.


    As he turned the last block and the school was coming into focus, he saw the same crowds as always lounging about out front of the school talking drama, who''s dating who, and what assignments were coming up later in the week. As he made his way in the main entrance he was accosted from behind by the only real person he could call a real friend in this tiny little town. ¡°Hey dont hit me so hard there Ben, you know we have the meet this week.¡± Luke said with feign annoyance. ¡°Well maybe you shouldn¡¯t keep yourself so drawn into yourself and someone couldn¡¯t sneak up on you so easily.¡± Ben said as he hit him the arm again a little one two combo.


    Luke and Ben made their way inside heading to their lockers. ¡°Guess what, my mom actually said she was going to try and make it this week, I can only hope she does it for the first time this year.¡± Luke said to Ben as  he began grabbing books out of his Locker he would need for the first half of the day. Ben chuckled a little, saying, ¡° Well one can only hope the Beautiful Rebecca would grace her presence as this prestigious institution we call a school.¡± Luke rolling his eyes, ya know Ben you need to get over this crush you have on my mom. It''s been like 12 years now and could be excused when you were little but now we are graduating. I''d appreciate a little respect over here.¡± Luke said this with a serious tone but knew Ben was only trying to rile him up so couldn¡¯t keep the stern look he held for long. ¡°Oh stop being such a baby, you know I dont disrespect you, I just hope that once we get into college I''ll finally find someone not from this town, and hopefully just as beautiful as your mom¡±, he said quickly slamming his locker and running off towards his class as Luke was about to smack him side the head.


    Luke, shaking his head avenging to pay back the little shit closed his locker and made his way to his first class with Mrs. Chapman, his History teacher. As he walked in he took his usual seat in the back letting the voices of the class drown out his thoughts of vengeance. Mrs. Chapman came in not long after everyone sat down, and began a lesson on modern mechanisms of war that was raging within other countries around the world. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Luke let himself be drawn into the lesson learning about concepts surrounding the different wars waging around the world and how war seemed to be inevitable in some way over the years for things like nations expansion or progress. Luke wouldn¡¯t say he was enthralled by the lesson but listened anyway. He still hadn¡¯t decided whether he would go to college yet even though he managed to get into all the schools he applied to or if he would take a non-traditional route and join the Military. It always seemed interesting to him and he always felt like he needed some kind of purpose to push himself. Before his thoughts could manifest further the bell rang, and it was time for English. As he made his way to his next class he started to get the slightest headache and by the time he sat down in Mrs. Writes class it was a full blown migraine.


    The world seemed to have shifted into different hews; it was like the world around him was monochrome and the voices of his fellow classmates and teacher seemed to be heard from a continuously expanding distance. All Luke could do was grip his desk and hold on. Although Luke was having what could only be an existential crisis noone around him seemed to notice. This lasted until the bell rang to release him from the class which hit him like jumping into a frozen lake.


    Luke shuttered and realized his body was covered in sweat and he was breathing hard. Mrs. Write seemed to have finally noticed that he was struggling and as others shuttled their way out of the class room she squatted down at the edge of the desk. ¡°Luke, are you alright? You were completely fine throughout class and just now as the bell rang you let a soft gasp¡±. Luke looked at her in confusion, ¡°What do you mean I seemed fine since I stepped into the classroom I felt off and I could have sworn I was shaking most of the class.¡± Mrs. Write, looking even more concerned than before. ¡°Luke, you even answered some of my questions. I mean look at the paper in front of you.  I asked the class to write a short essay using their imagination to create a fantastical world they could see themselves living in.¡± As Luke looked down, the teacher also took a second glance to actually read what was written, and they were both stunned to see that only one word was written on the page, over and over again. The word, Neverworld.


    Luke walked out of Mrs. Writes class as fast as his legs could take him. Heading straight to the locker rooms. He knew he had another class before the first half of the day was truly over but the weirdness of the last class, and the weird essay he seemed to have written that he had no knowledge of was concerning enough he needed to cool down in a shower for a bit.


    He walked past Ben who was waiting to go into their next class together, giving him a brief, ¡°I¡¯ll see you later, and yes I''m fine¡±. Ben acknowledged him with a little bump on the arm and Luke continued his walk. He walked down two halls and into the gym which on the other side was the locker rooms until suddenly it was as if a sledge hammer had come down onto his skull. It stunned him and he fell to the ground hard. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before, worse in every way to the migraine from before. He mustered what strength he felt he still had and made his way slowly cradling his head to the Locker room. The one benefit was that no one was in the gym as they were all in class.


    He slammed open the locker room door quickly tossing his bag down and made his way to the sink where he let the water get cool. The pain now radiating from his head to his toes. Like a heartbeat pulse traveling from one part of his body to the other. Looking up from the water flowing from the faucet he looked at himself in the mirror and the image that looked back at him seemed to burn into the fractals within his eyes. He screamed as the pain increased to a new height, his body going rigid as he fell to the floor, the image of nothingness burned into his Soul, an ever evolving shroud of darkness that had reached through the mirror to grasp his heart.

 Chapter 2-Normal Days are Coming to an End Part 2

    Luke woke up, feeling as though his body felt lighter. Like the pain that  he knew had knocked him unconscious had never happened in the first place. He used his elbow to prop himself up noticing that no pain lingered, that he felt not only lighter but primed to move. He jumped to his feet, not feeling dizzy in the slightest. He worked up the nerve to look at his reflection in the mirror as he still vaguely remembered the chaotic image that was his reflection just before passing out.


    He prepared himself for the worse, for the inevitable return of whatever his mind created before. However, the reflection he saw in the mirror was himself, though sweatya and a bit disheveled. He took a long calming breath and began pulling his shirt off and that''s when something did finally look out of place. The mark that previously seemed to look no more than a terrible bruise or cut now could be seen more distinctly. It now more resembled a faint tattoo that seemed to seep into his skin. He pressed his hands to the mark and it felt warm to the touch more so than his typical skin temperature.


    Though he knew he should be scared of the mark, he couldn¡¯t help but think he had seen it somewhere. That''s when a memory hit him. He had been a child at the time no more than six or so. His mom had brought him to a waterpark with Ben, it was a distance from their small town but it being Luke''s birthday his mom went all out. She had woken him up early that morning and had told him their plan. He had been swimming as a kid but never had the chance to play at a waterpark. They had picked up Ben and made the two hour drive to the park.


    When they had arrived his mom had told him that she didn¡¯t care for the water rides and stuff but would let Ben and Himself run around the play area. They were just old enough to be able to do some of the smaller stuff without parental guidance. The day went super well untill Luke and Ben decided they wanted to help his mom cool off. She hadn¡¯t been too happy covered in water but had taken the initiative to wear a bathing suit under her clothes. When his mom had feigned annoyance with them and then took off her shirt to reveal her bathing suit Luke noticed what was a mark on her back, one that now he could not erase from his childhood memory. His mom rarely left her back uncovered and now he knew that something strange was going on because the same mark he remembered as a six year old boy was now tattooed into his own flesh.


    The realization made him take another deep breath. He didn¡¯t know what this meant. The mark was too similar to a tattoo in the way it sat on skin but still deep enough to look almost like a birthmark. He ran his fingers over the design two P¡¯s connected together but going in opposite directions. It really captivated his full attention, so much so that he didn''t hear the voices approaching the door that led into the locker room


    Two young men walked through the door and gave Luke a look as he was covered in sweat with his hand tracing a mark on his chest. Not particularly the best way to find someone upon entering a locker room. Luke quickly covered the mark, but gave them a quick nod, ¡°Hey fellas, sorry I went a little hard in the gym, was seeing if I could see a good chest pump.¡± The two boy¡¯s didn''t seem to care, nodding in return, ¡°no worries man, odd to see someone in here at this time of day we were about to get ready for our practice.¡± Luke looked at them a little odd, ¡°Practice? Wait, what time is it?


    The two boys looked at Luke again with a little unease, probably thinking that he was on drugs or something. ¡°It¡¯s 3pm, school has been out for about half an hour now. Wait aren¡¯t you on the wrestling team. Your guy¡¯s practice was canceled today on account of the basketball team needing the space. I am assuming that''s why you were working out, unless you thought you guys still had practice at four. Sorry if you missed the memo. You''re good to shower though¡±. Seeing Luke was still half undressed, his shirt in his hands.


    Luke, still processing what they had told him, took a minute to respond, putting his shirt back on as he talked,¡± Oh yea just wanted to get a quick lift in since there wasn¡¯t going to be practice today or tomorrow. Big meet on Wednesday. I''ll just head home and shower.¡± Luke walked past the two boys who gave him a look in return that said they didn¡¯t believe what he said and were a little weirded out by Luke acting funny. He paid it no mind. Grabbed his bag and decided to head home.


    The air was cool on Luke''s skin on account for him still being covered in sweat. He walked briskly on the sidewalk taking the usual street home. His footfalls were the only sound that he processed as his mind was elsewhere. Not only had he had that weird incident in English but he somehow passed out on the locker room floor for the remaining day. That was a not so insignificant loss of time in his mind. Never had he had something like this happen. It started with that weird dream, his mom acting funny, school being a little odd and then passing out. He couldn¡¯t help but think he needed some sleep and the sooner the better.


    His brisk pace had him on the street in no time, his mind still going over the day''s events. As he walked in the door an empty house greeted him.  A note on the kitchen table from his mom letting him know that she would be home later in the night tonight and that there were leftovers in the fridge. Luke thought about food, but what he really needed was a shower and then a little nap. Climbing the stairs his body responded in an unusual way he practically glided over the stairs, not thinking much about it he continued to his room down the hall. He stripped down, grabbed a towel and went to the bathroom.


    Turning on the shower to let it warm up, he took a look at himself in the mirror. He wouldn¡¯t consider himself vain but will all of these times looking in the mirror today some might think otherwise. He didn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary, the same freckles that were on his skin since birth hadn''t moved, his scars from being an adventurous kid were all still there. The mark was the only new addition within the last 24 hours and was the most prominent by far. He had no idea if it was some fluke that it resembled the same one his mom had. Maybe she would think he was being a bit rebellious but got the same tattoo as her. As quickly as thought that came he knew that he wasn¡¯t ready to talk to her about it. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    He didn¡¯t want to dwell on it more than he had already and jumped in the shower letting the warm water roll over his body, easing some of the tension he hadn¡¯t known he was carrying from the events of the day. He sat under the water and allowed it to relax him to the point he could feel himself almost dozing off. The chaotic day was taking more of a toll than he thought. Turning off the shower and toweling himself off he went to his burrow and grabbed some sweats. Throwing the comfortable clothes off just added another sleepy layer to his over exhausted brain. He thought about food but quickly dismissed it and instead found himself laying in his bed staring at the empty ceiling. This last all of 30 seconds before sleep fully consumed him and he fell asleep.


    ¡ª-


    Luke found himself waking up feeling like he had slept in way too late. He immediately knew that his little nap was far longer than he wanted it to be. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing the grogginess from his eyes he finally opened them fully to see that far more light was coming into his room than he thought possible, until he looked at his phone to not only see two missed calls from Ben, but that it was 6:30 am the next day.


    Luke sprung out of bed, threw on some jeans and hoodie, and sprinted downstairs. He half expected his mom to be waiting to for him to berate him for sleeping in too late, but then noticed there was another note on the kitchen table letting hiim know that his mom had worked late and was going to be asleep when he got up for school.


    He managed to find himself a quick powerbar, and filled a cup full of orange juice to take with him on his walk. He sprinted out the door and took off at a casual space. He knew he should have given Ben a ring back, but knew that he would see him as soon as he got to school. Low and behold Be was waiting for him sitting on one of the benches outside the school as Luke crossed the street to walk towards the main entrance. ¡°Luke, where in the hell have you been? I called you twice, and even looked for you everywhere after you ditched our class together.¡± Though Luke knew it looked bad, he was a little irritated with Ben¡¯s  attitude about it all. ¡°Listen I am sorry that I didn¡¯t give you a call back, I started getting the worst migraine of  life, and ended up going home early. Dont worry about it.¡±


    Hearing the grumpiness of Luke''s voice Ben seemed to back off the attitude with his response as he got up and started walking next to Luke into the school. ¡°Listen, I am sorry that you had a rough day yesterday, I won''t bug you about it, just remember practice is canceled today on account of the big meet tomorrow, just don''t go to the gym and hurt yourself we need you tomorrow.¡± Ben then walked off to go talk to some other people leaving Luke alone.


    He felt bad that he gave Ben a half truth response and was a little rude towards him. He didn¡¯t want anyone to know what had happened yesterday, and to him it had seemed to be a normal day so far. He would apologize to Ben later, but he wanted to get the day started hoping like hell it wouldn¡¯t be a repeat of yesterday.


    Lukes¡¯s day was by all means normal, he had found Ben prior to their class together giving him a brief run down of the migraine and then heading home to sleep it off all night. Ben accepted his apologies without so much of a retort as being his closest friend he knew things happened. They managed to get through their class together and get on with the rest of the day. Luke felt as though the day before had been almost just a dream, and nothing more as today was a day like any other. Simple without any weird things going on.


    As the day ended he walked himself home per usual. He made it to the house and walked inside to see his mom in the kitchen.  A smile on his lips as he smelled the scent of his favorite food filling the small kitchen. His mom had made a little feast. Steak, green beans, mashed potatoes, and what looked like a blueberry cobbler still in the oven baking away. ¡°What''s the occasion mom, it''s not like it''s my birthday?¡± She looked almost sad as she answered, ¡°Well I wanted a good night''s meal with my son. Is that so hard to imagine?¡± Luke gave her a little look but walked up to her and gave her a quick hug. ¡°No mom, I love the idea, let me throw my things upstairs and we can eat together, maybe we could find a movie to watch too.¡±


    Rebecca smiled at her son as he went upstairs, a small tear slowly falling down her face that quickly faded before more could come. She finished  setting the table as Luke came back into the kitchen. ¡°Alright lets eat!¡± She said with enthusiasm. Luke didn¡¯t need to be told twice and started piling on his plate. The night continued in the same way the day had gone. Simple a day like any other.


    Luke made his way to his room after giving his mom a hug, and thanking her for making his favorites. They had watched a family movie together with Luke eating half the cobbler she made himself. He was stuffed. He did his usual bedtime routine, taking a quick glance at the mirror with his shirt off. He almost second guessed himself but managed to look at his reflection which surprised him. The mark that had seemed to be so foreign to him yesterday looked almost gone now. All his worries about the following day and the weird stuff that had happened to him seemed to be a dream at this point. Maybe he had really been sleep deprived. Today was normal and he could only hope that tomorrow would be the same minus a hopeful victory at the wrestling meet.


    ¡ª


    Luke drifted off to sleep that night ending a day as normal as a 18 year old could hope for while in the Neverworld Sean was slowly whittling down the protections that resided over the pocket world Rebecca and Luke called home. The process was lengthy and took a lot of control of essense. Bryan had been meticulous with his protections. Thankfully Sean had the ability to do so without too much trouble knowing his old mentor well enough. The bridge would be the next part though and that took complete and under control of one''s essence. Most of the time it took someone advanced in the control of essence within a void space like a pocket world but Bryan had given Sean the directions in case there was ever a need to bring Luke or Rebecca through .


    He hoped the boy was living his life as normal as he could to give Rebecca her wish, though a part of him knew it was not necessarily a kindness as she should have been preparing him to leave instead. He wouldn¡¯t question her too much as he knew what it was like to love a child, but the kid hopefully would learn quickly or struggle would be all he could hope for, for his future.

 Chapter 3-Unravel

    Luke woke up to his alarm blaring, but this morning he was ready for it. He had actually been awake for about 10 minutes due to his mild anxiety for the match that day. The one caveat was that he felt like things were back to normal. The beginning of the week was a jumbled mess and felt like now he could move on from the weirdness that seemed to have happened on Monday. He was looking forward to wrestling today, and hopefully pushing himself further up on the brackets.


    He got out of bed, grabbed his wrestling sweats as the students were always allowed to wear them the day of a meet at school. Luke went downstairs in the hopes he could get more out of his mom if she would go or not. He walked down the stairs and turned the corner, but no mom. Seemed to be that she was already at work which was good news, and meant that she might actually make the match like she said she would.


    He made a quick meal of some eggs and toast. Heading out the door he was ready to take on the day. He arrived at school with some time to spare meeting up with Ben on the way and as they walked in they noticed all the other students that would be competing that night as they were easily recognizable by the sweats. The school had only a few sports and luckily wrestling was one of their biggest so many students would be coming and others just got into the excitement of it all. As Luke and Ben walked down the halls many students gave them a quick hello, and wished them best.


    "Hey, Luke! What''s up? Ready for the big match?" One said, another saying, ¡°Hey hope you guys bring the win to  Polk tonight.¡± While others just gave them the typical high five or fist bump. Luke was happy today, and felt as things were falling into place. Today would mark hopefully another notch in his undefeated record. He made it to his Locker with Ben and then he felt something odd. His chest started to feel warm that quickly sent a shock through his body. His toes and fingertips feeling like they had been electrified, and then the dreaded migraine started to permeate his thoughts as his hand reached into his Locker to grab his textbook for class.


    ¡°Luke, wake up! You¡¯re supposed to be taking the test!¡± Mrs. Chapman¡¯s voice was like a thundershock to his senses. Startled, Luke blinked, trying to orient himself. He had no memory of sitting down for the test, let alone walking to class and sitting down. ¡°Uh, sorry, Mrs. Chapman,¡± he stammered, rubbing his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened.¡± ¡°Finish the test, you have thirty minutes left,¡± she said, her tone laced with irritation.


    His cheeks burned with embarrassment. The entire class staring at him as he managed to commit the cardinal sin that was falling asleep in Mrs. Chapman¡¯s class. He couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was seriously off. How had he zoned out so completely? The last clear memory he had was reaching his hand  into his locker. The rest was a blur. He shook his head, trying to refocus. <i>It''s only the migraines</i>, he told himself. He thought that this whole migrain weird things happening was over and now all of a sudden he managed to black out again. It scared him to admit it, he might actually need to get checked out, but first he would try and make it through the day and his match later.


    Finally, the bell rang. It was a welcome sound, signaling the end of History and hopefully the day wouldn¡¯t continue to have unforeseen issues. The next class went without a hitch, followed by the next going well too. On monday he hadn¡¯t even made it this far. This could mean that it was a one off incident, but as soon as he thought that exact thought he felt his head start to spin again. Thankfully it was half way through school and the remainder of the day was study halls, and a free period where he usually went to the library to read something or get even more work done. He decided to just walk on home to take a little nap before he had to be back for wrestling preperations. He let Ben know he would be heading home for the remainder of the day and would catch up with him later. Ben agreed to catch up with him later and Luke headed home.


    The air outside was crisp and a stark comparison with the heat that was raging inside his body. He could tell that if he took his sweatshirt off his body would start to steam. His footfalls were like a metronome coupled with him taking deep breaths he was able to push off the feeling of passing out as his head pain hit a new height. He was glad he made it to his front door before his vision began to swim. He quickly threw his bag off in the entryway, rushed up the stairs where he ripped his clothes off. The feeling of his bare skin from the touch of his fingertips felt like an inferno. His only thought was a cold shower. As he went into his bathroom he caught a look in the mirror and noticed the mark on his chest was red, raw, and caused his skin to look like it was currently being burned with a hot iron. He let out a scream as something foreign took control of his body connecting the mark to his soul.


    Luke woke up to the shower running the only sound he could hear in the otherwise quiet house. His body, a tangled mess on the floor. He didn¡¯t try to get up right away. He was too scared. Scared that he might just collapse again. There was no hint of a migraine but instead the mark on his chest that he originally thought might have been starting to fade now felt like an open wound tingly as the humid shower air connected with his bare chest. The feeling did not instill confidence that everything was alright. His only thought, <i>What the fuck.</i> He was tired of this. He wanted a normal day, yesterday now felt like it had been a dream now that two of the week''s days were filled with an oddness. He still couldn¡¯t bring himself to get up, thankful the water droplets splashing over him seemed to be warm still so it meant he hadn¡¯t been on the ground too long this time.


    He needed to get his mind right, he wasn''t even going to look at the mirror that lately had its own unforeseen outcomes. He wasn¡¯t ready to face any more weirdness and knew that he just needed to calm down, and weigh his options. He could forfeit tonight''s match and tell his mom about all the black out spells. He could just do nothing and lay on the floor for the foreseeable future. He also had the option to take a quick shower and just rest his head trying to clear away any negative thoughts. All of these seemed to be a viable solution but he knew what he wanted the most. He wanted to have a normal day. That had already been thrown out the window so the next best option to him was to try and  have the remainder of the day be as normal as possible. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Finally working up the nerve to get up, he went to grab the edge of the sink and his fingers sank into the granite as if it was made of playdoh cracking it and seeing parts of it fall to the ground. Luke just stared at his hand with a mix of concern, excitement, and fear. He slowly took his hand off the sink, and then went to grasp the sink again with his other hand. However, this time no broken granite. He looked at his hand one more time and chalked it up to him both being heavy and that part of the sink being a weak point. He pushed the curtain aside, stripped fully bare, and jumped into the shower. The water seemed to rejuvenate his body and hopefully in turn his mind.


    Finishing up in the shower, he made his way to his room where his discarded clothes were thrown on the floor. Gathering them up he took stock of himself carefully to keep his eyes from the mark that seemed to still tingle. He didn''t see any bruises or anything from falling to the ground. He felt better after the shower. The cold water was much needed. He ran downstairs and decided a snack was in order. Whipping up a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he located his phone and saw Ben had shot him a text to let him know he was staying at school till the warm ups for the meet tonight and told Luke to do what he needed to get ready for the big match that night. Luke was happy to have a friend like Ben, didn''t ask too many questions and always wanted the best. He took his advice, finished his sandwich and decided to do some light reading before he had to leave.


    Feeling better than ever and hoping the worst of the day was behind him Luke drank a quick glass of water and headed back to school. As he got to the school and entered  the gym, the locker room was buzzing with excitement many of the other kids offering their encouragement to each other hoping for everyone to have a good meet. This was the time where Luke didn¡¯t revel in the comromady like the other individuals on his team. His approach to wrestling was more intrinsic. He often put headphones on while he got ready and listened to music that might help soothe him.


    After he was done getting changed, his coaches came into the room followed by the scale they would all weigh in on. After that followed the rival team, and then the judges for the various matches that night. Typically this was done in a larger room, but Polk wasn¡¯t a very large school. Instead they started at the lightweights and moved up in weight class, both teams sending their respective candidates forward. When they got to weight class before  Lukes own he respectfully took his headphones out and lined up across who would be his opponent. It was Fredric Killgore. Not only did he have one of the most intimidating names of any highschooler Luke had heard of but he was built just like Luke. Both young men eye¡¯d eachother up and down hoping to use their eyes to somehow detect how one would find an advantage over the other.


    Luke¡¯s name was called next and he walked by him opponent confident in his stride and weighed in exactly on point. Next was Killgore who also weighed in perfectly. Both shook each other''s hands and said good luck. That was the only interaction Luke had with anyone since he had gotten to school and got ready. The rest of the weigh-ins went without incident and the coach brought the team together, giving them a short pep talk to then release them for warm ups.


    Being as Luke was a captain  along with Ben, and Nick they got the team lined up just outside the gym entrance where the Locker room was tucked away. Luke gave them the que and the team ran out on the mat finding their own little spot to begin their warm ups. The other team did the same and both teams gave each other room to get ready for their matches  as the gym filled with onlookers.


    The beginning of the warm ups went without a hitch and then moving on to more dynamic work doing air squats, a searing pain shot through Luke¡¯s chest. His vision blurred, and the world seemed to tilt sideways. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor, clutching his chest, gasping for breath.


    "Luke! What¡¯s wrong?!" Ben¡¯s frantic voice pierced the fog of pain. He was at Luke¡¯s side in an instant, kneeling beside him. Luke had managed to deal with the pain the last few days alone and was weary to show weakness in front of not only his best friend but the team. However, the pain was unlike anything Luke had ever experienced.An agonizing heat that seemed to burn from the inside out, spreading through his body like wildfire. But it wasn¡¯t just physical. It was something deeper, something in his soul that was being tugged, pulled in ways he couldn¡¯t explain. The power, the energy, it felt like it was reshaping him like he was slipping between worlds.


    "Luke, talk to me! What hurts? What happened?" Ben¡¯s voice was panicked, but Luke couldn¡¯t respond. All he could do was clench his fist, the pressure in his chest unbearable.


    Then, as suddenly as it came, the pain faded; there was no blacking out this time. The burning in his chest was gone, replaced by an odd lightness similar to the energized feeling he had before. It was as if a weight had been lifted from him, but the sensation was unsettling. Luke slowly sat up, the world around him coming back into focus. His teammates were staring at him, a mix of confusion and concern on their faces.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, guys,¡± Luke said, trying to sound normal. ¡°Just need a minute. Finish the stretches, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± He jumped to his feet feeling none the worse for wear and ran inside the locker room. Ripping off his sweatshirt and glancing in the mirror he looked at his chest to see if the mark that now seemed a part of him changed in any way, but couldn¡¯t find anything abnormal. The pain had started at his chest but it felt more like a tug than a tingling pain this time around.


    Ben¡¯s voice startled him from behind. "Luke? Are you okay, man? What¡¯s going on? I¡¯ve never seen you like that."


    Luke spun around, quickly pulling his sweatshirt back down to cover the mark. "I¡¯m fine," he said, though his voice sounded distant even to him. "Just a bad migraine, I think. Nothing too serious. I have been getting them all week."


    Ben eyed him skeptically but didn¡¯t press the issue. "Alright, but that was some crazy stuff earlier. Let¡¯s focus on the match. Killgore¡¯s not going to be an easy opponent for you regardless of how well you have been doing this year. He also saw that little display you just had, and I believe he thinks he has an easy win now."


    Luke nodded, understanding that Ben was right but couldn¡¯t come up with much more to say, ¡°I understand, I won''t let it dictate the outcome of the match. I am ready for this and hopefully I can move to the number one seed after tonight.¡±


    Luke and Ben exited the Locker room to find that the team had finished their warm ups and standing in the entryway of the gym Luke¡¯s eyes scanned the crowd, searching for a face he hoped would be there, his mother¡¯s. But she was nowhere to be seen. It wasn¡¯t a surprise. She was always busy, always working. Luke had long accepted that she most likely wouldn¡¯t make it even though she had told him more like promised she would. It was inevitable she always said she would but sometimes he felt like her job came before him at times.


    Ben noticed his lingering gaze. ¡°She¡¯s saving lives,¡± he said, as if reading Luke¡¯s thoughts.


    Luke gave a faint smile. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s why I love her.¡± His voice was distant, but he quickly added, ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to win tonight. For her.¡±


    Just then, their coach, Carl, barked from across the gym. ¡°Get your asses over here! It¡¯s almost time!¡±

 Chapter 3-Unravel part 2

    What Luke didn¡¯t know, however, was that his mother wasn¡¯t absent because of her work. She was engaged in something far more significant to Luke''s future. Rebecca and Sean were working together, in tandem across two worlds, to prepare him for his transfer to Neverworld.


    In the Netherworld, Sean was carefully dismantling the layers of magic that had been placed around the pocket world. The process was slow, deliberate, each rune he unraveled bringing them closer to the moment that would pull Luke from his world into this one using the mark on his soul as an anchor to pull him through to Neverworld.  The magic wasn¡¯t meant to be tampered with. It had been designed to protect Luke from the forces that sought to claim him, but Sean knew the time had come for the magic to be undone.


    It took more control than he had thought previously. Bryan did an incredible job at shaping the protections that were in place. Sean felt almost bad for destroying such intricate work. Even after so long Bryan still surprised him. Concentrating further he strained his control of essence and unraveled the runes further.


    Within Lukes world Rebecca was unraveling the protections that were sealed within her very own Soul. Rebecca had used her body as a medium to add another layer of protection to the pocket world. Bryan had created the outside and she had used her own soul to protect from the inside. She knew that Luke wouldn¡¯t understand any of what was going on and she wanted to be there for him while he still had hours of normal life, but this was necessary. As Sean was deconstructing the runic magic that sealed the world from Neverworld, she deconstructed her own protections and little by little let in more essence establishing a bridge that Luke would be pulled through.


    She knew this might affect her son but she needed to do it. She felt the essence start circulating the world and it even gave her a little jolt of power, yet it was a trickle compared to what she needed to ever regain her full strength. She knew that when Luke was pulled through and the protections were reduced it would cause a cascading event bringing the world crumbling down with Rebecca unfortunately trapped.  A tear fell down her face not for her own death to come but for what she was bringing Luke into unwillingly.


    ¡ª


    The matches seemed to fly by. Wins were being exchanged back and forth. As Polk would pull ahead, Claremont High would win the next. After the 189 weight class match started Luke began to prepare. Stretching out in the back, he felt none of the pain from earlier. He thought that maybe there would be some residual pain but there was nothing. He actually began to feel refreshed, and even more excited for the coming match.


    ¡°And now one of the captains of the Polk High wrestling team, with an undefeated record, Luke Xavier, will wrestle against Fredric Killgore in the 220-pound weight class¡±! The announcers spoke over those in attendance. This was the most anticipated match of the night. One individual would retain their undefeated record and one would lose. There was the chance of a draw but very unlikely at this weight class.


    Luke ran to the middle table signaling that he was prepped and ready to go to the judges and team managers keeping track of points, as well as wins and losses. Lining up on the line opposite his opponent he locked eyes with Killgore. They were both equal in terms of muscle, but Killgore had a height advantage, and his eyes bore into Luke like daggers. This man was a completely different one than the one he had met in weigh-ins.There was confidence in  his stance. Luke knew that he hadn¡¯t been idle during warm ups and got himself as primed as he could. No doubt seeing Luke have his little episode it was as if Killgore just had to show up in his mind and the win was his.


    The whistle rang, and Killgore lunged forward hoping to catch Luke off guard. Luke managed to lunge into the takedown Killgore was trying, catching his opponent''s weight and wrapping his arms around his body, tucking his head under his arm to try and gain the upper hand. With Killgore still attempting to grab one of his legs as he was in a precarious situation and the only hope was to grab Lukes leg and hope to pull him off balance. Luke instead used the advantage he had with his hands  locked around the torso and Killgore being slightly lower; he lifted his opponent''s arm and performed a duck-under, shifting his body under the arm and around the back of Killgore. Luke grabbed him around the waist, extending, lifting, and began to pivot to throw Killgore to the ground with all the force he could muster in the hope to take the large man down. Luke however, overestimated his strength, or maybe he was as strong as he previously thought because as he lifted he felt little to no resistance like a paperweight and Killgore went flying through the air dangerously fast towards the ground. Luke slammed him hard into the mat, and what followed was a loud audible snapping and cracking noise. The whole gym who was previously shouting and getting excited instantly became quiet. Luke quickly got up and backed away to see what had happened. The adrenaline quickly dissipated and he finally had the chance to see what that one move had done.


    Killgore was lying on the ground screaming in agony much like Luke had done over the past week although this was caused by Luke himself, not some unforeseen mystery migraine. Killgore''s arm, and leg twisted opposite of how they should have been. Not only that but there was bruising already appearing around his ribs indicating something else was broken.


    Luke had never been one to want to hurt someone that bad, but what he saw resonated within him. He should have felt sorry, but for some reason, it felt right like he needed to vent some power he didn''t know he had. His body seemingly energized before the fight building over the last few days needing a release. As seconds ticked by immense, sudden exhaustion overtook him.


    The screams came next breaking Luke out of his thoughts, and he quickly ran off the mat as the athletic trainers did their best to comfort, and aid Killgore Luke giving them the space they would need.


    ¡°Luke, how did you do that¡±? Ben asked as he broke away from the onlookers to find Luke on the bench seemingly trying to get as far away from the chaos as he could. ¡°What do you mean¡±? Luke said, trying to not look too concerned as if it was all just a big mistake. ¡°You threw Killgore so fast, and with such ease it looked unnatural. As if he weighed no more than 30 lbs. When he lunged you moved incredibly fast. I didn''t know you had moved behind him until he was already on the ground¡±. Ben said looking at his friend with a little trepidation mixed in with excitement.


    ¡°I have been wrestling you for years and you have never been that fast,¡± Ben stated.


    Luke took a minute to think about what couldn¡¯t have been longer than a few seconds. To him it had seemed fast but it also seemed like an average wrestling scenario. He couldn¡¯t have moved that fast, Killgore had managed to try and catch him off guard initially. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Honestly I have no idea. I just felt in the zone and everything was just going smoothly, I was just doing what I thought I should¡±. Luke said, trying to not sound as concerned as he was feeling. The screams of his opponent still rang throughout the gym as the ambulance had just arrived and first responders were helping hoist Killgore onto a stretcher, the athletic trainers doing all they could for him at that point.


    Luke knew he had done what he had practiced a thousand times, but Killgore was a state champion, and he had beaten him so easily. He thought there would have been even a little competition. He replayed the match over and over again as he sat in his chair for the remainder of the night. His coach was the only one who came up to him throughout the remainder of the night, his teammates understanding that he needed a little space. His coach, only telling him to tell him it happens and that he shouldn¡¯t beat himself up too much about it. Things happen and this wasn¡¯t a sport where others don''t occasionally get hurt.


    The rest of the matches went without incident. Polk took the win for the night and with Killgore in the hospital, there wasn¡¯t much morale from the opposing team resulting in easy wins. Everything seemed to come to a close for the night fast as Luke was lost in his thoughts about how he could have hurt someone so badly. He had been wrestling for a long time, seen broken arms, and occasionally other small injuries but nothing as extreme as what he had caused. That thought permeated more and more of his mind. That he did it so easily.


    Before he knew it, Luke was already walking home. He had brushed off the congratulations and appreciation of those while leaving the gym. He had learned a little later as he walked home from a phone call with Ben that Killgore''s wrist, arm, leg, and shoulder were all broken in various locations. As well as cracking four of his ribs. They at the hospital had asked if he had been hit by a car. Ben had friends at the rival school and was able to find all of this out, not that it gave Luke any piece of mind. He had initially hesitated to tell Luke but Luke thanked him for the information nonetheless.


    The night air was crisp as Luke went down the familiar street leading to his house. The once comforting sound of his sneakers hitting the pavement now felt distant and hollow the more he let his mind wander. He didn¡¯t even notice how the streetlights flickered above him or how the cool breeze tugged at the sleeves of his sweatshirt. His mind was elsewhere, lost in a whirlwind of thoughts he couldn¡¯t understand.


    There was the mark on his chest. He still couldn¡¯t get over how it had changed right before the wrestling match. The pain had been excruciating like fire spreading from his heart outward, and when it finally stopped, it felt as if his entire body had been reset. But the mark¡­ it was darker now, more distinct, like an imprint burned into his flesh. It felt wrong as if it was never supposed to be there, yet it felt right at the same time, an unsettling feeling that gnawed at his gut. Something almost felt like it was calling to him. Then there was the match with Killgore. The speed, the power, the way he had thrown his opponent so effortlessly, it didn¡¯t make sense. The week had started off in such a strange way, then got normal. He thought the worst was behind him and he knew he needed to find out what was wrong with him before he kept passing out or hurting even more people.


    He tossed his keys on the kitchen counter as he got home and made his way down the hall. His mother¡¯s room was at the end, and the door was slightly ajar. He pushed it open without thinking, expecting to find her on the bed, exhausted from another long shift at the hospital. Instead, the room was empty. A small note sat on her pillow. Luke picked it up, unfolding it slowly as if he already knew what it would say.


    Luke,


    I¡¯m sorry I missed your match tonight. I will be home shortly. I had something incredibly important to attend to. Get cleaned up and I am sure I will be back when you are finished. I have something I need to tell you.


    Luke folded the note back up, his stomach sinking. He wasn¡¯t mad¡ªhe never was when it came to his mom. But the strange feeling in his chest, the gnawing unease that had been building for days now, wouldn¡¯t leave him. His mom was always working, always saving lives, but something about this felt different. There were too many things going wrong or feeling different today. Maybe she somehow knew what was going on with him, maybe it was genetic from his fathers side. With a sigh, he turned away from the room, heading for the bathroom to wash off the sweat from the match. Maybe even washing the thoughts from his addled brain as well. The bathroom light flickered as he flicked the switch on, casting shadows across the small space.


    He stared at his reflection in the mirror. His face and eyes were tired, and his body felt heavy like he¡¯d just run a marathon. But beneath the exhaustion, there was something else¡ªsomething deep within his eyes, a flicker of something that he couldn¡¯t quite place. As he turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on his face, his mind wandered again to the mark. The one that now burned like a brand on his skin. He¡¯d tried to ignore it, but it seemed to pulse with life as if it had a mind of its own.¡°Luke?¡± The voice came from the outside of the bathroom. He turned around quickly, his heart jumping into his throat. His mom stood there, looking concerned, though there was a hint of something else in her expression. ¡°You don''t look the best hun, why don''t you get cleaned up and then head downstairs I want to talk with you a bit about your dad and probably why you look in the state you do. I have some of the answers you might be looking for.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything more, just walked down the stairs allowing Luke to mull over what she just said.


    Luke stood frozen in place, the echo of his mother''s words lingering in the air like a riddle he wasn¡¯t sure he was ready to solve. Answers. The word pulsed in his mind, just like the mark on his skin. Was this the moment he''d been waiting for? The one where everything started to make sense? Or was he about to step deeper into a world that he wasn¡¯t prepared to face? He glanced back at his reflection, wondering if his mom could somehow see through him. Could she tell what he was feeling? Could she tell that the mark was more than just a physical thing, that it was somehow tied to everything that had been happening since that strange dream?


    He wiped his damp hands on his jeans, the cold water still prickling his skin. The fatigue in his body seemed to have worsened, and his head felt heavy like it was filled with too many thoughts trying to escape all at once. The match, the dream, the mark, and now his mom''s cryptic offer to explain it all, it was all too much. But something inside of him, some part that he didn¡¯t fully understand yet, told him that this was the moment. The moment he had no choice but to confront whatever was coming next. Slowly, he turned off the faucet, took a deep breath, and started the shower. He cleaned up, threw on some comfortable clothes, and walked down the stairs finally looking forward to having some modicum of answers to explain how this week was going.


    He entered the kitchen to find his mom fumbling with her tea bag in the tea she must have made while Luke cleaned up. ¡°Mom, are you okay?¡± Slowly walking around the table so he could look at her in full. He could see unwashed tears staining her cheeks and knew this must be more serious than he thought. He slowly slid the chair opposite of her out of its spot and sat down. Looking at her like this made him feel more fear than hope. He wanted answers but he did not want those answers to bring such sadness to his mom. She looked up from her cup taking him into her gaze. He saw something there, something more than he had seen before. He almost was afraid she had heard about his match and was disappointed in him. However, she promised answers and knew this wouldn¡¯t be about the match. She took a deep breath and finally spoke, "Son, we don''t have much time, soon you to leave this world, but know I love you with every part of my soul.¡±

 Chapter 4-The "Essence" of Change

    Luke looked at his mom with confusion, ¡°What do you mean leave this world, what are you even saying?¡± She took another steady breath and he knew that his need for answers was going to make this a heavy conversation but what she had said didn''t even properly register.


    ¡°Luke, let me explain this by asking you a couple of questions. In the past few months have you had any weird dreams, maybe experienced some feat of strength or endurance that seemed unnatural? Or have you developed some kind of mark on your body that you can''t fully explain?¡± Luke looked at his mother as if she read his mind suddenly aware that he knew to some extent of what he had been through this week


    ¡°Today during my match I hurt someone, I didn¡¯t mean to do it, and to make it worse I did it with such ease. I beat the state champion today throwing him around as if he weighed nothing more than a paperweight. Monday started everything, I woke up from some dream which gave me this strange mark on my chest. What followed next was weird periods of feeling energized and passing out after horrific migraines. Do you know what''s going on with me?¡± He looked at his mom with hopeful eyes.


    Rebecca finished her tea in front of her motioning Luke to have a seat opposite her and with a steady voice she said, ¡°Luke you''re not from this world. Neither am I. The world we currently live in is what we call a pocket world that we have had the opportunity to live in, protected so that it can¡¯t be disturbed by those that might wish to cause us harm or more importantly take you away.¡± Before Luke could say anything she continued.


    ¡°I know this is all going to be hard to believe but I need you to do your  best to let me talk without interrupting me. We don''t have unlimited time, and I need you to know what I can share. I promise I''ll try to do my best, but Neverworld is the world that you and I and even your Father originally come from. We are but outworlders within this pocket world.  A world called Earth that has no Essence found within.¡±


    ¡°Essence, in the most basic way is magic, but is also so much more. Essence makes up the Neverworld and most worlds from what I have come to understand which allows those living in it to develop what you could call power and grow in strength. The best way of putting it would be that we come from a world in which power rules all. Those with power are the apex beings and those that fail to progress are used as fodder during war. War in this world is currency. There is no money, no goods for exchange. Only on the field of battle can you carve out even a sliver of a life.¡±


    This was so much to take in that Luke stumbled over his words to try and ask any questions. ¡°So what are we aliens? How does this have anything to do with Dad? What do you mean by a world at war? So many other questions were running through his mind, but Luke was only able to get those out before his mom put up her finger to tell him to stop. ¡°Luke I will answer what I can but soon you will have to leave¡±...before she could finish Luke slammed his fists on the table clear frustration written on his face, ¡°What do you mean Leave? At Least answer me that, why now of all times.¡±


    Rebecca knew this was hard, Luke didn''t grow up in a world where those who were born in there were put through trials even at a young age hoping to gain even the smallest advantage before they were taken in by the Academies. Not having to live in a world that only cared about strength over all else. She looked at her son and knew this would not be easy answering his questions. They had little time, knowing Sean was finishing up the ritual to pull Luke through.


    ¡°Listen, son, this is hard for me, and I know you will never be satisfied by the answers I give you and hope Sean will be able to fill in some of the blanks I will inevitably won''t be able to tell you.¡±


    Luke was about to interrupt her but she slowly let her aura fill the small kitchen seeing Luke flinch not forcing too much power over his already overstimulated mind. She needed to give him the basics so that he did not fully resent her after he was pulled through to the other world. She retracted her aura seeing he was calm or atleast quiet enough to continue, ¡°Listen, what I just did was use the essence of what remains I have left to suppress you, allow me to finish before you interrupt again. I can feel the connection between worlds opening and soon you will be pulled through by me and your father''s best friend Sean.¡±


    Luke sat there, his hands gripping the edge of the table as he tried to absorb the weight of his mother''s words. His mind was a whirlwind of disbelief, anger, and confusion. None of this made sense. He wasn¡¯t supposed to be from another world¡ªhe was just a regular teenager, living a normal life, playing school sports, worrying about grades, and getting into college. This wasn¡¯t his reality. But the mark on his skin, the dream, and the strange sensation he¡¯d felt in the match, it was all too much of a coincidence.


    His mother sighed, the lines of stress deepening around her eyes as she reached for her teacup again,though she knew it was empty just to give her trembling hands something to do. "I know it''s hard to accept, Luke. Believe me, I wish things could be different." She paused, slightly taking a deep breath, "But the Neverworld... It''s not like Earth. It¡¯s a place of constant struggle. The very fabric of that world is built around power and survival. The strong dominate and the weak are either crushed underfoot or used as tools in the endless wars between factions. We were given this chance, this world, as a refuge. A way for you to grow up outside of that brutality, to be normal for a time."


    Luke¡¯s thoughts raced, but he couldn¡¯t find the words to respond. His mother¡¯s eyes, filled with sorrow, locked onto him. She could see the storm brewing in his chest, and she knew how much more difficult this would all be for him to understand once the veil was pulled back. "You don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like," she said softly, "to live in a world where survival depends on strength alone. To know that every moment could be your last. It¡¯s not something I wanted for you. I thought... We thought if we could just keep you here, keep you safe, we could protect you from all of that."


    Luke felt a sharp pang of guilt at the hurt in her voice. Protect me? It didn¡¯t feel like protection. It felt like a lie. Like the world he thought he knew was an illusion, and the truth was something far darker. ¡°But if this Neverworld is so bad, why did we have to talk about it now, why am I being pulled to that world as you say? Why not just leave it behind?¡± He spat the question out before he could stop himself, frustration flooding his voice.


    Rebecca closed her eyes for a moment, her expression turning even more weary. ¡°Because it seems you can never truly leave that world as we once thought. Maybe if your Father had been a bit stronger, fully developing his authority, he might have been able to bend the fabric of the world to suit his needs, protecting you further. This world was meant to be a sanctuary, Luke, but it''s not permanent. And it can¡¯t hold you forever. You¡¯re different¡ªYou have been chosen by the Academy of Knox to train. When the connection between worlds opens fully, you¡¯ll have no choice but to go because if Knox sends their Extractors to find you and you are not willing to subject yourself you are considered useless to the world.¡±


    She leaned forward, her voice lowering. ¡°The world was born from Chaos and is linked to other worlds cascading through the void. The only way to survive is by growing stronger. The academy will train you to be a part of the army and dominion of the God Korack. You were found within his domain so it''s his power that binds your soul to his training Academy. You will learn to fight to bring glory and items to your God. There is no currency because this world has the ability to be an anchor to destroyed worlds for a brief time allowing all of their treasures, people, and other such things to be brought into Neverworld. Your only goal is to gather all you can for your dominion.¡±


    Luke recoiled, his chest tightening as if the walls around him were closing in. He was supposed to be part of some war, dominion, gods, even the idea of magic was foreign to him. The more he heard the more he was confused.  He wasn¡¯t ready for any of this. He couldn¡¯t even handle the idea of the mark on his skin. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Rebecca¡¯s eyes flashed with an intensity that made him pause.


    "I''m not asking you to understand all of this right now, Luke. But you need to know that your father and I did everything we could to shield you from this. To give you a chance to live a normal life, free of the wars, the factions, the endless power struggles. I was na?ve though in those thoughts, and now bringing you to this world has only hindered you." She paused again as if searching for the right words. "But it¡¯s time, Luke. The connection is opening, and soon you¡¯ll be pulled through to  Neverworld, where everything you¡¯ve ever known will change."If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Luke''s heart was racing. Everything he thought he understood was slipping away like sand through his fingers. His mother reached across the table and took his hand, her grip firm yet tender. "I don''t want this for you," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "But it''s not about what we want. It''s about what the World wants, Luke. The ritual Sean is performing... it''s pulling you back to where you truly belong. And there¡¯s no escaping it. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be when the time comes. I wanted to at least be able to tell you what I could before you left because I can not go with you. My power, what is left of it, was keeping this pocket world from falling apart from the inside.¡±


    She gripped Lukes hands even tighter seeing that her words were doing the opposite of helping, but she needed him to understand that she and Bryan did their best to try and save him from this fate.


    ¡°Your dad burned up his power to create the protections that shield this world from the outside. He found this pocket world on one of his campaigns and managed to keep it, they are rare and this is the first of its kind not allowing essence to permeate its depth, however we couldn¡¯t prevent your soul from being marked when you arrived on Neverworld. He was a General, far from the most powerful individual  but powerful in his own right. Our friend Sean was a trusted Lieutenant in the armies of Knox but is now a Commander and he is the one you must learn from now. Those who go to the Academy have lived in this world and prepared for it since they were born. You will be at a disadvantage. You will have to work harder than everyone else since you come from this world and not one of any power.


    Luke squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the tidal wave of emotion crashing over him. This wasn¡¯t real. This couldn¡¯t be real. But deep down, he knew there was no denying it. Whatever was happening, it was too big for him to run from, he understood that much. The mark on his skin, burning with an increased intensity with each passing second, seemed to mock his earlier attempts at denial. He couldn¡¯t escape this. Not anymore.


    Luke sat in stunned silence, his hands falling from his mothers, resting on the table, numb from the weight of her words. The world felt like it was crumbling around him, slipping away piece by piece. He had never been one to dwell on fantasy or things that couldn''t be explained, but this was no longer some distant idea. This was now his life. His reality.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be real¡±, he whispered. Gripping the edge of the table so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He had felt it before¡ªthe burning sensation in his skin, the pull at the edges of his consciousness. The mark, that had somehow called from this other world a calling to him, even if he couldn¡¯t understand what. But now, it was becoming impossible to ignore. He felt it deep and knew something was building, he had felt it before during one of his migraine spells but over the course of the last few minutes. The more his mother spoke, the pull seemed stronger and stronger. The mark on his chest growing in temperature. His body is feeling more and more energized.


    His mother¡¯s eyes softened as she watched him struggle with the truth even the little she had been able to share. ¡°I know it¡¯s a lot to take in, Luke. And I can¡¯t pretend it won¡¯t be hard. It will be. You¡¯ll face challenges you can¡¯t even imagine, and there will be times when you feel like you¡¯re losing everything.¡± She paused, her voice breaking slightly. ¡°But you¡¯ll be stronger for it. Stronger than you ever thought possible.¡±


    Luke¡¯s gaze flickered toward the door, half-expecting it to swing open and someone¡ªsomething¡ªto drag him away from all of this. Maybe this is just some crazy nightmare, he thought. Maybe I¡¯ll wake up in my bed, and it¡¯ll all be gone. But as his eyes wandered back to his mother, the reality of the situation sank deeper into his chest. ¡°No, you won¡¯t wake up,¡± she said, almost as if reading his mind. ¡°The ritual has already begun. The connection is opening, Luke. The fabric of this world is weakening, and soon you¡¯ll be pulled into Neverworld, whether you¡¯re ready or not.¡± Luke recoiled, his thoughts spiraling into chaos. Pulled? He felt his heart race, his pulse thundering in his ears. "I don''t want to go," he muttered, his voice barely audible. Luke shot to his feet, his breath coming faster. The room seemed to close in on him, suffocating him. He looked at his mom no longer with sadness but with a touch of childlike anger, "you can¡¯t just send me into this! I don¡¯t know anything about war. I don¡¯t even have any power!¡±


    Rebecca¡¯s expression softened seeing her young man take on the traits he carried as a little boy. She loved him so much, she needed him to be hard now, to use the anger he had for her and her long gone husband. "I never wanted this for you, Luke. I wanted to keep you safe, away from the power struggles and the wars. I wanted you to have the life your father and I never had¡ªa life where you could just... be. But now... now you have to face the inevitability. I know you can feel it now, the essence leaking through to this world. Your body is being energized."


    As Luke struggled with everything she had said, She stood up hoping to comfort her child one last time but feeling something shift, and open within the fabric of the world they were in. Rebecca looked at her son with new teary eyes and knew that their time was down to a handful of minutes. Soon Luke would be sucked into Neverworld and she would never see him again. She had only been able to gloss over the very basics, and she knew he would have countless more questions. He had just found out he was from a different world in which Power and War ruled everything and he was going to go from his ordinary life into a world that he would know nothing about. She thought she had given him a better future but now in this moment she knew they had made a mistake. Bryand and Rebecca had set him up for failure. Hopefully Sean could give him an ounce of a chance at survival before it was too late.


    The air in the room seemed to thicken, as if the very walls were closing in around Luke. His mother¡¯s words echoed in his mind, each one heavier than the last, until he thought he might suffocate under the weight of it all. But the mark on his skin¡ªburning hotter with each passing second¡ªreminded him that there was no escape. This wasn¡¯t some bad dream. He wasn¡¯t going to wake up. His world was slipping away, and there was no way to stop it.


    Rebecca¡¯s voice was steady, though the tears in her eyes betrayed the depth of her emotions. ¡°I¡¯ve given you everything I could, Luke. But the world is much bigger than either of us. Much more dangerous. Your only chance to survive is to grow strong. I don¡¯t want to see you go, but I can¡¯t stop this. The connection between the worlds is opening now, and soon you¡¯ll be pulled through. The ritual... it¡¯s almost completed.¡± The words hit him like a punch to the gut. A physical force, an invisible hand reaching for him, drawing him toward something far bigger and far darker than anything he¡¯d ever imagined.


    "I don¡¯t want any of this," Luke choked, his voice cracking. "I don¡¯t want to fight, I don¡¯t want to be some soldier... I don¡¯t even know what to think!" His words came out in a rush, a desperate plea for his life to go back to normal. But as soon as they left his mouth, he knew it was pointless. He couldn¡¯t unhear the truth. He couldn¡¯t unlearn what he¡¯d just discovered. His body¡ªhis very soul¡ªwas already tied to a world he didn¡¯t understand, a world that demanded blood and strength.


    Rebecca grabbed his wrist pulling him into her hugging him. Then let him pull away just slightly. Her gaze was not leaving him. ¡°I know, Luke. I wish more than anything that you didn¡¯t have to face this. But we are not strong enough to alter the reality of Neverworld. Luke stumbled back, his mind spiraling, his body trembling. The pull from the mark was growing stronger now, surging like a tide inside him. It was a calling he couldn¡¯t ignore, a force dragging him toward an inevitable future he didn¡¯t choose.


    He opened his mouth to say something¡ªanything¡ªto keep this from happening. But before the words could form, he felt the air around him shift. The space between him and his mother seemed to warp, as if the very fabric of reality was beginning to tear. His mother¡¯s voice, though calm, was tinged with sorrow.


    ¡°Luke,¡± she said, stepping forward. ¡°This is goodbye. There¡¯s no more time.¡±


    The room was spinning now, the walls dissolving into mist. Luke gasped, reaching out to his mother, his hand trembling as he tried to grasp onto something¡ªanything¡ªfamiliar. But it was already too late. The connection was pulling, pulling him toward a new world, a world where everything he thought he knew would be shattered.He felt himself lift off the ground, his feet no longer touching the floor. His stomach lurched, the sensation of being sucked into a vortex overwhelming him. His mother''s voice seemed to fade into the distance, as though it were coming from the other side of a thick glass. ¡°Remember, Luke, everything you do now will shape your future. Learn, survive, and become stronger than you ever thought possible. I love you.¡±


    Before he could even process her words, a sharp pain shot through his body, and the world around him splintered. His vision blurred, colors shifting like a kaleidoscope, and the world as he knew it shattered like glass. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out.And then, just as suddenly, everything went still.


    He stood in an unfamiliar place¡ªin a grassy open field surrounded by a forest on all sides. In front of him was a pedestal that contained a small sphere that oddly looked like what some in his old world would describe as a perfect spherical representation of Earth. Old world. His breath came in shallow gasps, and he instinctively reached for the mark on his skin. Thinking further on that thought, he was no longer on the world he called Earth and was in what his mother called the Netherworld. Burning with a searing intensity now, like a live wire pulsing beneath his skin, his body felt like it was a sponge being filled with some weird energy. The pain building, Luke fell to his knees feeling the energy coming, something alive inside his body, the pain hitting a crescendo till his mind couldn¡¯t take it anymore and he collapsed unconscious on the ground.

 Chapter 5-Embracing Change

    Sean watched quietly as the boy Bryan and Rebecca had named, Luke, slumped to the ground, his body a tangle of exhaustion and confusion. A long, deep sigh escaped Sean¡¯s lips. <i>Essence</i>. The lifeblood of this world, the very pulse that coursed through everything. From the moment a being is born in Neverworld, their body is infused with this ethereal substance.


    In many ways, it¡¯s as fundamental as atoms would be in the world that Luke had known. It makes up everything. Every rock, every tree, every creature, every breath of wind. It¡¯s the very fabric of reality. Yet this boy was taken from the Neverworld and cut off from the stream of Essence in his body. Which inevitably would have made him weak by this world''s standards. Now he got that infusion back, Sean felt when he had been pulled through his body had taken in so much of it, and absurd amount like an ocean filling the boy''s body, no wonder he had been rendered unconscious.


    In Neverworld, the ability to manipulate Essence was not exclusive to only the gods. Mortals, too, could tap into its power those that fought for their very survival in this world. But the question always came down to <i>how much</i> Essence one could control, and <i>how effectively</i>. That was the complication that is what allowed others to rise to more power and those that couldn¡¯t to be left behind or used as fodder whenever necessary.


    As Sean gazed down at the boy, he understood. Luke¡¯s soul really had been different¡ªempty, like a vessel waiting to be filled.  As he had crossed over that vessel filled for the first time. The Essence had finally found its way into him, flooding his being in a way that felt almost unnatural. And yet, even as it revitalized his dormant body, it was trapped, unable to flow completely freely.


    Luke¡¯s soul was shackled by runic symbols that encased it, sealing away something that couldn''t quite be discerned. Sean felt something though just at the edge of his senses. Something vast, and untapped, potentially greater than anyone he had scanned in the past at least at this level. What he did notice was that the boy¡¯s meridians were clogged, the flow of essence stifled as it filled. It was like a raging river blocked by a dam after it had just entered his body.


    Leaning over the unconscious boy, Sean used his skill as an Academy Assessor, a rare talent that allowed him to peer into the depths of another¡¯s soul looking deeper at the flow. However as he looked deeper a shroud like existitance covered the deepest layer and all that was discernible were the runes that Sean had had seen but upon further glance he noticed that they were unlike any he had ever seen.  This could explain why he could only sense potential and the meridians were closed off. His gaze lingered, trying to find any answer, but the more he searched, the more elusive the truth became.


    Luke was an enigma, a puzzle with pieces hidden away. Only time would reveal if the boy could awaken these seals through some arduous trial or internal struggle. Though he was an Assessor, Luke would get tested by others and <i>Assessed </i>in a more difficult way at the academy. Their assessments were not just peering at ones soul but seeing how malleable it was by any means necessary. Potentially one of the others in the Academy could discern what the runes meant. It wasn¡¯t common but had been seen before.


    That was the way with Essence users sometimes though. Recruits could have all the potential, vast quantities of the stuff but no way of properly wielding it, shaping it into magic or some aspect of strength to be used on a battlefield. The Academies were a way to teach and help those reach for that potential however, some could never grasp the intricacies of utilizing that power. Help, was also a carefully used word. There were those that would offer guidance and help, but only if it could garner them more power in the end. Shape a tool to use later when the recruit joined under their command.


    It was then that Sean realized how much time had passed. From opening the gateway to scanning the poor kid''s soul. Before continuing their journey through the Twin Peaks  Sean would let Luke ask some questions and rest from the transfer through to the new world. They sat at the edge of the field where the pocket world had once lingered, its existence barely a memory in the shifting winds, though a little gem almost resembling a little marble still lingered.


    Sean knew over the course of the next few days that the power that could still be felt would be Rebecca''s last little bit of life. It was rare for an essence user to die this way, but she essentially shackled her soul to the pocket world so as her power waned it would break down the world. It should have happened in about 100 years but pulling Luke through had taken almost all of  the remaining strength she had.


    Deep beyond the forest  they currently resided in lay the winding valleys that cradled the Plague Mountains, their jagged peaks rising like teeth from the earth. This range was a place of both beauty and danger, where the air grew thin and cold, and the land was scarred by time¡¯s cruel hand and battles waged in which Koracks Faction was able to grow. At the very edge of this foreboding region stood the Twin Peaks, two towering mountains that flanked a high valley, known as the  grand entrance to Koracks true stronghold and of course the Academy of Knox.


    The Twin Peaks were notorious for their shifting mists, unpredictable weather, and the strange creatures that made their home within the labyrinthine paths that led through the mountains. The valley between them was both a natural gateway and a dangerous threshold, where the border between worlds seemed thin and fragile from the scars many battles had created. It was said that those who passed through the Twin Peaks never quite left the same¡ªchanged by what they saw in this area. The truth really was that Korack was one of the most powerful dominions and the true secret rise to that power was the mountain valley¡¯s and even the great forest just beyond his dominion was that the veil between worlds was truly thin. More pocket worlds were discovered in this region than any other.


    Though they may be small glimpses into various pocket worlds they tended to drop off things into Neverworld above the typical rate. Whether that be people, items, or monsters from various worlds in the great void. Korack had various battalions at his command that scoured the region in campaigns never having to mentior too far from the dominion as they were able to acquire many things to increase the Dominions power very close to home. It would be a challenge to somehow get Luke through the Valleys without one, dying, and two without any battalions wondering why Sean was traveling with a marked recruit by themselves.


    For now, however, they could afford to rest just for the night for the journey ahead would not be an easy one and Sean knew the boy was a virgin to the ways of this world. So that he managed to survive it would take some time to get him up to speed. Luke would have questions, too many for him to be ready to take off immediately anyways. It would be more difficult to try and travel with someone who constantly asked every little question. He needed to teach the boy at least the basics of manipulating essense if he were to have any chance of making it to the Academy before they sent those looking for him.


    Not only that it was important to understand the power structure of things here, and of course the very basics. In Luke''s world Sean had seen very briefly that things were safe, and a lot less hard than they were here. That would be the true measure if the boy was able to survive here. Thankfully Sean would be there to see him survive at least until he was a recruit at the Academy, but then it would be difficult to keep an eye on him without others being suspicious of his motivations.


    As Sean gently lifted Luke and propped him against a nearby tree, he retracted his presence from the boy¡¯s soul. The tension in the air seemed to ease, though only slightly. He began gathering dry wood, preparing to build a fire. It was going to be a long night but an even longer trip for Luke. At least he would start his time in this world with something familiar, a little time around a warm fire. Give the kid the chance to grasp the situation he found himself in.


    ¡­


    Luke¡¯s eyes fluttered open, the haze of unconsciousness slowly lifting from his mind. It was as though his very consciousness had been submerged in a thick fog, only now beginning to clear. His body was sore, an unrelenting ache that gnawed at every muscle, yet there was an odd energy within him, a pulse of life that hadn¡¯t been there before. He tried to move, but his body refused to obey, sluggish and stiff.


    As his senses returned, he became aware of his surroundings. He was sitting beneath the canopy of trees, the distant rustle of leaves catching in the breeze. He could see a vast field stretching out before him, the remnants of a pedestal and a marble statue, oddly familiar, yet entirely out of place. The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in, but his mind felt fragmented, the pieces not quite fitting together.


    Then the scent of smoke reached him, a campfire, crackling softly somewhere nearby. His body wanted to move toward the warmth, to find comfort and escape the lingering chill of the night air. But something stopped him. It wasn¡¯t just the fire that beckoned him; it was the presence of the man sitting near it, calmly tending the flames.


    In an instant the man¡¯s gaze pierced Luke like a sharp blade going from looking at the coals into the fire to what felt like a look at one''s soul. It wasn¡¯t the kind of look one would give a friend or a fellow traveler. It was the kind of look one reserved for prey, or an enemy. Instinctively, Luke¡¯s spine straightened, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down the small of his back. He couldn¡¯t explain it, but his body was locked in place, every muscle screaming to flee, yet his limbs felt heavy, as though an invisible weight was pressing on his very soul. A fight-or-flight response, he could feel it, raw and primal but his body was frozen, unable to move.


    The man¡¯s smirk, though subtle, was a challenge. As if toying with him, just for a moment. And then, as suddenly as it had come, the pressure lifted. The invisible weight was gone, and Luke found himself able to breathe again.


    ¡°Well done, kid,¡± the man¡¯s voice came, smooth and low. ¡°At least you can recognize the difference in power when you meet someone who might not be a friend.¡±


    Luke stared at him for a long moment, struggling to make sense of everything. The last thing he remembered was being in his mother¡¯s kitchen, a strange pull in the air, and then... the pain. A sharp, agonizing pain that tore through him, the memory still vivid in his mind. He couldn¡¯t make sense of it. His mind was a fog, a swirling mess of images and confusion.


    Finally, after a long silence, he managed to croak out the only words that seemed to matter. ¡°Where am I? And who are you?¡±


    The man didn¡¯t immediately respond, his gaze unwavering. Luke, sensing no immediate threat, slowly pushed himself to his feet, his legs unsteady beneath him. He limped cautiously toward the fire, drawn to its warmth. The chill in the air gnawed at him, but the man remained unmoving, seated on the log as if he had all the time in the world.


    Luke was aware of every step he took, his senses heightened, watching the man carefully. Despite the absence of the earlier pressure, the lingering tension was palpable. The man could be dangerous. He <i>felt</i> dangerous. But Luke was still alive, and that meant something. If he hadn¡¯t been killed yet, maybe there was still a chance to get answers.


    The fire crackled, the only sound in the otherwise silent night, and Luke took another step, closer to the warmth.


    As he got comfortable on a log opposite the man he asked his Questions again, ¡°Who are you and where am I¡±. Luke truly looked at the man in front of him and knowing he was dangerous was one thing but he felt so odd and out of place different from the world he remembered. He was wearing a dark robe that still showed he was muscular in the places you would expect of an athlete. Two swords on his hip and he seemed to have an edge to him that gave off the impression the swords were not just for show. Dark features, and tall about the same height as Luke with a distinct lightning bolt scar under his eye.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The man sat back on his log dropping the stick he used to tend the fire, saying, ¡°Your mom never mentioned me huh, that wasn¡¯t very nice of her. I was, let''s say, her most trusted ally and friend. Her and your Father were my superious once  and if not for them I would not be alive to this day. It was your Fathers wish to look after you in what way I could in case the Academy drew you in. I am not sure what your mother had time to tell you, but I am sure it was not enough time to fully get you caught up so first tell me what she was able to tell you.¡±


    Luke took a moment to process what he had said, he was both a friend of his mother and father. The father he had never known and a mother that had ultimately lied to him about his origin.


    It took  him a minute to process all that had happneed over the short period of time that he had been suposdely brought through to the world he originally came through. That thought alone had him thinking this could potentially all be a crazy dream. However, a feeling he had never felt before, one of home. He noticed it now sitting under the starry night, the air was cool, and the wind rustled the nearby trees ever so slightly. He could feel something more though, something he never could in his old world. A thought came to him then, a word his mother had used.


    ¡°Essence¡± he said in a whisper, which originally he had hoped it stayed in his head. The man opposite of him finally let his serious look go and gave a look and assessing gaze.


    ¡°Essence is right, this world is unlike the one you came from. It''s actually unlike most worlds that I have had the privilege of glimpsing into. Essense can be felt almost like a heavy mist, or fog as some would describe it. It coats everything around you. Whether that be alive or not. Essense makes up every fabric of the world. It also resides within you as a person. Though most cannot see it with their true eyes, some develop ways of seeing it around themselves. That is typically a very rare ability. What you are feeling now is what most of us can, the basic sense of for essense. Which, I am thankful that you can at least do that.¡±


    This last bit was said with a little venom in Seans voice, that Luke picked up.


    ¡°What do you mean thankful I can <i>atleast </i>do that¡±? He said with a little bit of argumentative influxition in his voice.


    Sean gave him an assessig look, ¡°Look while I have the utmost respect for Rebecca and Bryan. They have crippled you in a way you have yet to find out. Not only did you grow up in a world where you have no basic concept of affinities, but of even essence. Your world is baren to that, not only that, but you lived a life of comfort. When I was your age, I had already developed a knack for my affinity which is the reason your dad took me in and taught me along with my basic studies.


    Luke wanted to bark back, to argue with this strange man in this strange world, but for some reason he couldn¡¯t make himself continue. To snap back at him. He was exhausted in a way he had never felt.


    ¡°I know nothing of this world, you are right. However, now that I am here I need to understand what I can. Please teach me something, anything that will give me a chance. My mother tried to give me some idea of what to expect, but you are right it was almost nothing. I feel it though, in the air, in the wind that is whipping my hair,, even the fire in front of us. I feel some dormant connection there.


    Sean gave the boy a look. He half expected this entire night to be an argument fest, to have to calm the boy down. Maybe he was in shock. He seemed almost sensible. For that he would give Luke credit. He needed a decent head on his shoulder or else he wouldn¡¯t make it the first week.


    ¡°Alright let''s start with this tonight I will give you the very basics, and then tomorrow morning we will rise with the sunlight, and from there we will begin a short lesson every morning on what you learned from the previous day and move on to the next. We have little time to get to the Academy before you are brought back by those that do not wish to see you live; they do not care. They will strip you of your soul and you will be gone forever¡±


    Luke sat upright, exuding the look of someone who might actually take things seriously. Sean thought over what the lessons would be. ¡°Listen kid, we will have five lessons. They will be the most basic things that will see you through this short journey to the academy. If you can''t seem to grasp those, then you have no hope. Do not interrupt me, and if you have any questions, wait till I am done and we will go from there.¡±


    Though Luke took on the persona of someone willing to learn his internal struggle was anything but calm. His mind was racing, a storm of conflicting ideas and thoughts and he needed this right now something to grasp on too. To calm his beating heart, and to soothe his addled brain.


    ¡°Understood, what are the five lessons¡±? Luke said.


    Sean using his fingers to give weight to five lessons, ¡°They are as follows¡±.


    <ol><li>Essense and affinity</li><li>Power structure</li><li>Void, and pocket dimensions</li><li>Academies</li><li>Gods and their Dominions</li></ol>


    Putting his fifth finger up he continued, ¡° These are the five most basic things. Things that every recruit no matter if they were born here or brought here will be able to understand intrinsically. These will atleast give you fundamentals. Since you already can sense in some way the ebb and flow of the essence around us, let''s try something I have not done since I was a small child.¡±


    Luke Looked on, not interrupting this man in the slightest, watching him reach behind him and grab a small twig. He then watched as the man broke that twig off into five little pieces and arrayed them on the dirt in front of him.


    ¡°You will have five chances to light these twigs. While you may not have the knack for fire magic. Everyone on this planet can start a modest flame using essense to light a fire. Now for every failure these twigs will have an adverse affect on your body.¡±


    Luke gave Sean a look, adverse affect sounded daunting but he would give it a go what was the worst his moms old friend would do to him.


    ¡°Alright, so where do I begin¡±.


    ¡°That''s simple, since you are night using essence within yourself but the essence found all around us to perform a simple task you do not have to shape it, or even run it through your soul''s channels. Take a deep breath, clear your mind and picture the essence, what you are feeling all around us in your mind and project it as a flame onto the twig.¡±


    Luke, not understanding half of what the man was saying, still listened and did as he was told. He closed his eyes and shut off his senses. He let the sounds of his own breath grow quiet till all he could hear was the fire crackling, and felt the energy that was all around him. He felt and then he used his brain to think of a flame. As he thought he might grasp that flame. He opened his eyes and pulled thinking of a flame on the tip of the small twig. He saw the twig quiver and what resembled a small burnt mark appear on the ground right at the tip, but no flame.


    Then all of a sudden his mind reeled, and he felt pain unimaginable pain lace his mind. He let out an exaggerated grunt as he fell off the log he was on to one knee. As he sat there panting for dear life trying to calm his head he heard laughter.


    Sean watched as the world around Luke had sent essense feedback upon not being able to bring forth any power. That power had sent a shockwave through Lukes system and all he could do was laugh.


    ¡°Hahaha, I knew this was going to be hard but we are in for a real challenge now. Listen, the world around you has all the power in the world, but if you do not will for that power with all of your concentration. That power will send a shockwave back at you 10x as strong as what you wanted. In this case it wasn¡¯t so bad. Hopefully you only thought of a small flame at the tip of the twig, if you had thought of a burning  inferno to engulf the twig the feedback would have been much worse¡±


    ¡°To break it down even further, the world will allow us to use its power but only to a certain degree. You can use the essence around you for a small campfire like this. To do more, you have to circulate that essence that is inside of you and bring it through your soul''s meridian channels. Power as abundant as essense has its own set of rules, it will allow you to take some but not too much. Because of your lack of knowledge of its manipulation my thought was you thought of a fire and it was too much and so you got a whiplash effect.¡±


    Luke, finally recovering from the splitting head pain, looked up at Sean. ¡°I did exactly as you said to do. I thought of the edge of that stick with a small flame. I''ll try again, doing exactly as you said.¡±


    Luke no longer kneeling sat back down, and focused all of his senses on the twig and fire. He took a deep calming breath, closed his eyes and felt for the power around him once again. As he felt it he pretended he pinched some of that power and used his mind''s eyes to create a small flame, a flame that would typically be used to start a campfire and still with that pinch in his mind''s eye he set that flame on top of that second twig in the row.


    Pain again this time in his fingers sent his body upright in his seat. Luke looked down at his fingers, the same ones he thought of in his mind''s eye and saw that not only did they look broken, but were blackened like a small burn. Radiating nothing but anger he rounded on Sean. ¡°What is this, you said there is power and all i get is broken fingers and pain. How the fuck am I supposed to do this. How can i get power if it turns me into some cripple before I even get started¡±.


    Sean, not letting the outburst stoke his own anger towards those so far beneath him gave him the look of someone who told someone to do something but they didn''t listen. ¡°First of all, I explained that your mind must focus, you are still trying to do too much. This task is as simple as I can make it. You need to understand that while the power around you may seem malleable to your touch it is not, it has its own rules. I said that you can take a little but let me guess you expand your thoughts. You thought of the twig as a large flame.¡±


    Luke still looking at his broken fingers, breathing hard, trying not to loose too much control. ¡° I tried to pull the littlest amount of the power, a pinch worth, and thought of a small flame that could create a fire like the one in front of us.¡±


    Sean shaking his head, hands on his chin. ¡°See that is where you went wrong. You can not take the power, pinch it and manipulate it at your will; that is only something reserved for Gods and Sages. You can direct it but not attempt to touch it. Only the essence within your own soul can you touch and manipulate. Second, you can''t let your thoughts wander outside its goal. You thought of not only a small flame. But of a flame that could start a fire like this one. Trying too much.¡±


    Luke finally understood something, he broke it down in his mind. Essence is malleable from my own soul. The essence around us can help but there are rules to it. It can¡¯t be touched or used in any way that it doesn¡¯t want to, however can be guided for simple tasks. Luke looked down at his fingers, seeing that all of a sudden they were back to normal. He knew the pain had dissipated but didn''t feel the slightest change in them until now.


    Sean, seeing the change, grinned. ¡°That is probably the biggest lesson you will learn as you are alive. This world is a part of you and when you understand the basics, when something clicks there are times it will reward you. You had some understanding now that the world around you saw fit to heal you of what it did. That is something that should be taken away from this moment and never forgotten. Now lets begin again.


    Luke flexed his fingers, seeing no issues with them concentrated once more. This time he didn''t pull. He felt the power, the energy around himself and guided it. Afraid to touch it with his senses but helped guide it down to the twig when he thought he had the grasp he thought of a tiny flame. Even less a spark of which can cause a tiny flame. Then he kept that thought and focused every fiber of his being on that. Guide the essence, spark the edge of the stick, like a match stick from a box. His mind hyperfocusing on this one task was finally a success. He watched as the edge of the small twig in the dirt lit up. A small flame dancing along its edge.


    Before Luke could get too excited, he again fell to one knee. Breathing heavy he looked up at Sean for confirmation this was something other than another fail.


    ¡°You did well, I would say that''s a success if I have ever seen one. However, there is still a price to pay, for you it''s a lot. Through your lack of understanding it still took something from you, and the world sought to take some energy from you. Be glad that is all. There is a price for everything. Now what I want you to do is get some rest. Tomorrow we learn how to manipulate the essence within ourselves, and on our first leg of the journey we will go over affinities.¡±


    Seeing Luke about to protest, ¡°Listen you did alright kid, you had a long day do not exhaust your mind anymore than you already have. We will have plenty of time to learn tomorrow. Get some rest while you can, and I''ll wake you at first light. Do not worry my presence has drowned out this, nothing will bother you.¡±


    Sean actually meant what he said, throwing Luke a blanket. The boy didn¡¯t even protest, some understanding must have crossed his mind that if he tried to push anymore it would harm him more than he had already felt. Sean watched as he laid down on the blanket and not more than a few moments he was softly snoring. Sean had to give it to him, he didn¡¯t think he would be able to grasp the ability to use essence around himself. That took fine essence control, and was essential for anyone to know, but to pick it up in the span of a few hours was very assuring. He hoped the symbols sealing some of his channels would not hinder the boy overly much in tomorrow''s lessons. Or what started out as a good start could deteriorate fast.