After finishing Dark Breathing, I strangely felt as though I were at peace with myself. It was certainly a strange feeling. I had never really felt ‘peaceful’, but something about the completion aspect of it all made me feel what can only be described as such.
I felt calmer. I did not get agitated nearly as quickly. In fact, I had not gotten annoyed once since we had finished. I felt whole.
That feeling of peace had ever so slightly morphed into one of pride as we began to learn the Destructive Arts. Most days of the week were dedicated to sword training as a result of them. They were definitely the most difficult things we had done in Switzerland, but the mere fact that we were even learning them was enough to make me feel immense waves of delight whenever I even thought about it.
I felt even more delight whenever I realised just how important it was that we were on the final Destructive Art, and we were very nearly finished with it, too. It was the twentieth of December, and Christmas was only on Saturday, and we were nearly done.
The Destructive Art in question was Fire Breathing, Destructive Art: Eruption. It was again one of those Forms that just sounded badass. William had left it til last due to its destructive nature and difficulty to pull off. And I can say first-hand that it was indeed very difficult, but we still marched through.
It felt almost strange, sometimes. I felt the most peaceful I had ever felt whilst we were practising possibly the most destructive move yet.
I do not think I will ever be able to truly comprehend just how peaceful I was. I felt so at ease, so whole, that I had not dreamt once since finishing Dark Breathing. That in itself was bizarre.
That was until the twentieth of December.
The dream began in a way that, again, can only be described as peaceful. Strangely so. The mere setting of the dream seemed to be showing off to me that I was, in fact, calm.
I stood on the northern side of the Valley, precisely where I had been standing when I said my goodbyes to everyone. The sun glistened, making the grass at my feet appear just that little bit more vibrant. It looked as though it were dancing in the cold breeze that echoed throughout my entire body. It was silent, too. I felt as though I were one with the environment. The two of us were at peace. Undisturbed.
I slowly looked to my left. And who else should be standing there but my best friend himself? Ethan Brown stared, beaming, at the Valley in front of us. The sun caused his brown eyes to shine gloriously through his square-framed glasses.
He turned his head slowly and our eyes met.
‘We’re home.’
He placed his hand firmly on my shoulder, and I felt a grin spread across my face as one spread across his.
‘We did it, Albert. We completed our training.’
I nodded slightly. ‘And everyone else should be here in a minute, right?’
Ethan nodded back. ‘Any second now.’
As though it had been scripted, a familiar crack rang through the air, and I felt my very soul become weightless. That crack told me the one thing I had wanted to be told for six months. My friends were here.
Ethan and I turned our heads back to the Valley, and there they all were. Ethan’s parents had shown up as well, and his face lit up at the sight of them. He looked almost as though he was crying.
‘Go on,’ I urged. ‘Do your thing.’
Ethan barrelled forward wordlessly. He ran straight into his dad’s arms and his mom soon joined. The three of them were wrapped so tightly in each other’s arms that they seemed to be ignoring everything else. I smiled.
Asbel slammed into me with tremendous force, sending me flying back about two feet. He pinned me to the ground, grasping my shoulders.
‘You’re back!’ he screamed, his face alight with joy. ‘You actually came back!’
I grinned at him. ‘You say that as though I were planning on leaving you.’
‘You kinda already did,’ came Jay’s voice.
I shoved Asbel off of me playfully and shot to my feet.
‘You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear your stupid jokes.’
‘I, for one, don’t think they’re stupid,’ Isaac said from behind Jay.
I grinned at the two of them.
Ethan came back from the hug with his parents, and instantly, Asbel, Jay, and Isaac began their ritual of bombarding him as they had done with me.
I locked eyes with Peter.
‘Gods, your fringe is longer than it was when I last saw you,’ I managed.
‘So is yours,’ he replied, smirking. ‘Have you not had a haircut for six months?’
‘You better have,’ Charlotte said, walking over and hugging me. ‘Filthy tramp.’
‘Don’t worry,’ I reassured the two of them. ‘There was a hairdresser there. Both me and Ethan have had haircuts.’
And, I swear to you, Charlotte’s arms had only left me for half a second before Natasha barrelled into me. She hugged me so tightly that it was a genuine concern that she’d break me in two. But I didn’t mind.
I patted her back as awkwardly as I always did, smiling awkwardly at someone else behind her. Someone who I had not expected to show up.
‘Quinn,’ I said as Natasha still hugged me, ‘long time no see.’
He smiled at me. ‘It’s good to have you back, sir.’
‘Oh, don’t start that,’ I replied, grinning at him. ‘You can call me ‘Albert’.’
‘There’s no higher honour,’ he said, beaming.
After Natasha had finally pulled away from me, Quinn and I grasped each other’s hands in a handshake. We stared into each other’s eyes, smirking.
‘Did you keep them all in check?’ I murmured.
‘I kept as much order as I could,’ he responded, still grinning.
As we pulled our hands away from each other, a question shot into my mind, and I was quite shocked that it had taken so long for it to appear.
‘Where’s Emma?’ I asked hurriedly.
‘Right there,’ Charlotte said, and I could hear the smile on her face.
I peered around Quinn, and there she was. Her blonde hair flew wildly behind her as she ran toward me, just as she had done when I had left.
Quinn stepped to the side, smirking. ‘Do your thing.’
And, even in a dream, I felt an unbelievable surge of happiness as I felt Emma’s arms wrap around me. I grasped her tightly against me. She still smelt like flowers. The two of us stood, gently rocking from side to side as we desperately grabbed each other.
‘I missed you so much,’ she murmured into my shoulder.
‘I missed you, too,’ I said quietly.
We embraced each other wordlessly. Nothing mattered but her anymore. The one person I had missed the most. I pulled her in even tighter to my body.
She kept our bodies pressed against each other, but she gently pulled her head away from my shoulder to look me in the eye.
‘I’ve been waiting so long to look into those eyes,’ I whispered.
Her face went red immediately. ‘They don’t sparkle like yours.’
I smiled down at her. It was the perfect moment.
‘Emma,’ I began, my heart pounding. She stared up at me, unaware of what I was about to do. ‘I know this is sudden, and I’m really sorry, but I’ve been waiting to tell you this for months now. Emma, I really like you.’
I heard someone behind me stifle a laugh. I was gonna give Charlotte a strong word about that when I got out of this situation.
Even though I was only dreaming, those words had caused my chest to constrict and my throat to close. I had done it. Mentally, at least.
‘So, that’s how you think it’s gonna go?’ came a voice from behind me.
I didn’t even have to turn around.
‘No, that’s how you want it to go.’
I gently pulled myself out of Emma’s hold, turning to face Maltor.
His cold blue eyes stared maliciously at me. He looked at me like someone that was staring at a rat. Like a king staring at a peasant. My blood began to boil.
‘Go on, let your dream resume,’ Maltor continued. 'Show me exactly what you want to happen.'
I hadn’t even noticed that the dream had paused. When he had last appeared in one of my dreams, the people I had been talking to simply disappeared, giving the impression that it was just the two of us in the dream world. This time, however, everything other than me and Maltor had become black and white. And it had frozen. The grass no longer danced. My friends were no longer happily talking and laughing. They were lifelessly staring at one another. It was like an old film that had been paused.
Maltor had instructed me to resume the dream, but I could not remember even pausing it. Had I done it subconsciously, or was it a direct result of Maltor arriving?
Maltor raised an eyebrow. ‘Do you not care about Emma’s response?’
I glared at him. Such anger had risen inside of my body that I felt like I was going to implode. I wanted to rip Maltor apart limb by limb. Nobody had made me feel such rage since Amy herself.
‘I do. Can’t you resume the dream for me? I’ve been waiting for a dream like this for ages. I had to hear you say those word-’
‘I’m gonna tear you apart,’ I said, my voice shaking with fury. ‘For your sake, don’t show your face anywhere near RoCity ever again. You will need the Gods’ mercy if you want to live through our next encounter.’
He stared at me, smirking, for a moment. ‘Well, aren’t you scary?’
‘You say that as though I am making a threat,’ I continued, taking a single step towards him. ‘I assure you, Maltor, I am not threatening you. I am merely issuing a statement.’
‘‘Issuing a statement’,’ Maltor repeated. ‘Gods, you sound like a political brat. Oh, wai-’
‘Get out.’
‘Awh, do you not want me seeing the dark corners of your mind?’ he taunted. ‘Come on, Albert, I’m your best friend. I’m supposed to know if you’re in love with someone. Come on, let the dream play. Let’s hear her answer.’
I took another step towards him.
‘You’re clearly not taking me seriously. Maltor, I am warning you. Get out.’
‘Warning me? Warning me about what? You-’
I dived at him, wrapping my hands around his stupid neck. He fell backwards onto the floor and I pinned his chest down using my knees.
He desperately clawed at my hands.
In all honesty, I was surprised that I could even touch him. I had half expected to just dive straight through him. And I was of course unsure of what would even happen if I choked him out. I doubted it would kill him in real life. At most, it would scare him. But that’s all I needed.
‘A-Albert,’ Maltor gargled. ‘Don’t do this.’
Maybe it would kill him.
‘Shame,’ I spat. ‘Looks like you’ll never get to see my new powers. I got them especially for you, friend.’
Maltor’s eyes became wide with fear. His face was slowly growing purple.
‘Albert! Don’t!’
‘What’s one death compared to the death of billions, huh, Maltor?’ I hissed. ‘I’ll sacrifice you for the world.’
‘Stop playing the stupid hero!’ Maltor managed, his face now violet. ‘You have no idea why I’m doing what I’m doing!’
And with that, he vanished. One moment he was there and the next he was gone. Just like that.
‘They must all perish if true peace is to be obtained,’ came his voice from above me.
There it was. That was the confirmation everybody had been looking for.
‘How did you-’
‘Oh, come on, Albert! Use that stupid little brain of yours! I can exit and enter your dreams as I please! All it took was for me to exit right as you were about to finish me, and re-enter a moment later!’
I rose to my feet, glaring at him.
‘It doesn’t matter what you do to me here,’ he continued coldly. ‘I can escape. You are powerless within your own dreams.’
It was eerily quiet. I somehow had not suspected that a world where time had been stopped would be silent. There was no breeze to add ambience. Our feet weren’t even making noise as they hit the ground. It made my entire body feel fuzzy.
‘What made you choose this dream in particular, huh?’ I snarled quietly. I still wanted to rip him apart, but he was right. I couldn’t do anything.
‘Albert, you don’t even realise how important your feelings for Emma are.’
My stomach dropped. They were important to me, not to him. He had no need to know about my feelings.
‘I’ve been waiting for months to hear you say those words, and you finally did it.’
I stared at him silently, and he returned the favour.
It was truly bizarre. The sheer amount of rage I felt as I stared at him was unprecedented. My body was physically shaking with the sheer effort of containing my fury.
I entertained the thought of strangling him again for a moment. If he could just escape and come back, I could theoretically strangle him infinitely with zero consequences, right?
‘Don’t even consider strangling me again,’ Maltor cut in, breaking the silence.
‘Huh, I had forgotten just how well you could read me,’ I countered snarkily. ‘You’re the only person that can.’
He ignored my comment.
‘You may think that you hold the advantage here, and I can’t think why. Just because this is your dream world does not mean I am completely powerless.’
I scoffed. ‘Just you wait til I see you next, buddy. I will hang your head on the front of The Tower.’
‘You are not the one that should be making threats here, Albert,’ Maltor continued, still ignoring me. ‘I believe that it is I that you should not want to anger, not the other way around. I can easily make your life a living hell.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ I replied, grinning maniacally at him. ‘You think you can threaten me?’
Maltor scoffed. ‘It is not you that I am threatening, Albert. I am threatening your home.’
My stomach sank like a brick. There was no way he meant what I thought he meant.
‘And I believe I may have said too much,’ he taunted. ‘I’ll let you have your fun with this dream. Goodbye for now, Albert. See you soon.’
He vanished as quickly as he had appeared. I glowered at the spot he had been standing in. Such an indescribable rage had encompassed my entire body that I began to wonder whether or not it would actually fry my brain.
I did not even know where to begin thinking, or even if I could think. My mind was burning with pure rage, almost making it hard to see.
Time had not resumed in my dream. I glanced back at Emma, and her face was still frozen, lifelessly staring at the place where my eyes had been just a few moments ago. Gods, even in paused time her eyes were stunning.
Why was it important to Maltor how I felt about her? I considered this thought for a mere second before I realised how embarrassing it was that Maltor now knew how I felt. Just another thing for him to taunt me over.
Before I could give it too much thought, the world around me slowly faded away into nothingness. The last thing I saw before everything disappeared was Emma’s face, still staring hopefully at the spot I had been.
‘The alarm didn’t wake you up today, huh?’ came Ethan’s cocky voice. He sounded muffled and distant, but I could still just about make out his words.
As the real world slowly became more clear, I realised that Ethan was looming over me. He stared down at me, grinning.
‘I’ve been trying to wake you up for two- Are you okay?’
I slowly sat up in my bed, feeling sick. Being back in the real world unfortunately meant that I was feeling things other than anger. All of these new emotions flooded my mind and meshed together, making me immediately wish I was a deeper sleeper.
There was so much to unpack from that dream, and I hadn’t realised it at all because it had been masked by my anger. And now I had to break it all to Ethan.
‘Albert, you’re really pale,’ Ethan continued, sounding worried. ‘Are you actually okay?’
I scratched my head wearily.
‘Ethan, he was in my dream,’ I breathed. I strangely felt as though I were talking to myself, even though I had directly addressed Ethan. ‘I know what he wants now. There’s no denying it.’
Ethan stared at me blankly. ‘What the hell do you mean ‘he was in my dream’? Since when could he do that?’
‘He did it months ago, a few weeks into training,’ I murmured. ‘He said he can enter and exit my dreams as he pleases. He can’t influence them in any way or control what I dream about, but he can be present within them. We can interact with each other, verbally and physically.’
‘Physically?’ Ethan asked, his eyebrow raised. ‘What did you do in there?’
‘I strangled him. Right before he was about to pass out, he exited the dream and then re-entered. I’m powerless in my own dreams.’
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Ethan looked lost in thought for a brief moment.
‘Well, on the bright side, it’s clear that you’re in the right mindset. If you tried to asphyxiate him, then it looks to me as though you’re ready to kill him.’
I was not quite ready to explain to him why exactly I was so mad at Maltor.
‘But you said you know what he wants, right?’ Ethan continued. ‘What is it? Did he just confirm what we already speculated?’
All I did was stare at him silently. It felt as though if I were to open my mouth then I would be violently sick. But he understood. My silence told him miles more than my words ever could.
‘Okay,’ Ethan said, his jaw tightly set. ‘We have to move carefully now, right? Now that we know for certain that’s what he- Albert, please. What did he say? What were his actual words?’
He had been trying to comfort me. His façade had come crumbling down. He was worried.
‘It was after I strangled him,’ I said, barely louder than a whisper. ‘He re-appeared after exiting the dream and said ‘They must all perish if true peace is to be obtained’.’
Ethan stared at me, horrified. ‘A-Are you sure that’s him? What if it really is just you dreaming that he said that?’
‘He said multiple times that he could enter and exit my dreams as he pleases. Ethan, it was him.’
His entire face dropped. It looked scarily like he wanted to break down. In the rush of it all, I hadn’t even considered how hearing this would make Ethan feel. It made me feel utterly sick to my stomach, so, of course, it would make him feel the same way.
‘Sorry,’ I murmured weakly. ‘I’ll shut up about it. We should go and get breakfast.’
I stood up as the room fell into complete silence. But it was as I was walking to the bathroom to get changed that I remembered the other thing that Maltor said, and my stomach dropped even further, which shouldn’t have even been possible.
I glanced back at Ethan. ‘He’s gonna attack RoCity.’
He made no sudden movements. The two of us let my words hang for a few moments. The weight of them felt crushing.
‘What do you mean?’ Ethan finally asked, his voice weak.
‘‘It is not you that I am threatening, Albert. I am threatening your home.’. That’s what he said. Those were his exact words right before I woke up.’
Once again, neither of us said a word. We were too lost in the depths of our own minds to formulate a sentence.
‘What? Like with an army?’ Ethan said, once again being the one to break the silence.
If Maltor wanted to attack RoCity single-handedly, he would have to break our promise. I could only think of one way he could do it on his own, and the mere thought of it sent a shiver across my entire body. He wouldn’t dare.
This, unfortunately, only left one other option. He would bring some sort of force. There was simply no chance he would resort to using his Power.
‘Most definitely,’ I replied quietly. It physically hurt to say those words.
Ethan knew that I wasn’t lying. He knew that I knew Maltor better than anybody. If I said he would do something, he most likely would.
‘On the positive,’ I tried, ‘he didn’t mention attacking RoCity already. He hasn’t done anything whilst we’ve been gone.’
‘That’s good,’ the two of us said simultaneously.
After I had gotten changed and we had gotten to the dining area, Ethan and I ate our breakfasts without saying a single word. Neither of us knew where to even begin. It was either that, or we were both struggling to cope with what Maltor had said. Either one was plausible.
I tried not to give it any thought. Army or not, nothing could stop me from getting to Maltor. I would finish him. I was even confident that I could do it in one hit. All it would take was a single Form, and he’d be finished.
The silence still remained as we headed up to the peak of the mountain, for what could very well have been our final ever training session. It all came down to how well we performed, and I doubted that we would be at our best given our current mood.
‘We gotta keep pushing,’ Ethan said quietly as we reached the peak, thumping my shoulder. ‘We just have to master Eruption and then we can go home and bash his head in.’
I smiled slightly. At least he had hope.
I tried to focus my mind on the training, but that proved to be even more difficult than it had ever been. I was dying to let my mind run as free as it could, but I knew deep down that I would never complete training that way.
I had told myself multiple times that my emotions did not matter in the grand scheme of things. It mattered not how I felt about Maltor, I still had to save the world. I had to defend my city, my home, to stop him from getting what he wanted.
The hardest part about Eruption was the flames themselves, but that was the case with most of the Destructive Arts. Eruption required such a raw intensity of flames that it was tiring. At least, it was tiring to do it constantly.
That had been the problem whilst learning Blitz, the Thunder Breathing Destructive Art. We had to move at such an incredible speed whilst controlling lightning that it got tiring very quickly.
William had told us multiple times that it would be unwise to use Destructive Arts in quick succession, as that was a surefire way to tire yourself out. He also said that unless our stamina was higher than we had led him to believe, it was risky to even use more than one Destructive Art in a single fight. I certainly understood where he was coming from; the Destructive Arts were tiring as hell.
The flames were so intense they even kept us warm through the battering temperatures of December. Even back home, it was almost unbearable to go outside in December, but on a mountain, it felt pretty much lethal, probably because it was.
I was almost sweating. That’s how ferocious Eruption was. I was nearly sweating on a mountain peak.
At lunch, Ethan appeared to be ignoring what I had said about my dream, which was a huge relief. If he was ignoring it then it would be easier for me to do so, too.
‘Gods, that’s hard work,’ he said, sounding exhausted.
‘Come on, man,’ I replied. ‘It’s just like you said, we just have to get through this and then we’re done. If we finish it today or tomorrow then we’ll definitely be home by Christmas.’
‘I guess we should be thankful William changed the schedule so we’d be done quicker. No chance we’d be home by Christmas if he didn’t.’
I nodded, not saying a word as my mouth was full.
‘We can almost go home,’ I murmured after swallowing. I spoke so quietly that I almost thought I was talking to myself. ‘We’re almost there.’
Ethan grinned. ‘Even if we don’t finish today or tomorrow, I guarantee you we’ll be done by the end of the week.’
‘You’ve jinxed things like this before.’
‘I’m serious this time.’
‘You were serious last time.’
‘You’re just a pessimist,’ Ethan retorted, smirking. ‘Now, come on, let’s finish Eruption.’
The way he spoke was strangely motivating, causing me to stand up hastily. Even though our conversation had been short, it had filled me with enthusiasm. I was ready.
The second half of the day followed the same structure as the first half. William had been extra strict about the Destructive Arts; he wanted them to be perfect before he let us leave.
By the end of the day, both my mind and body were so fatigued that it was a struggle to even walk back down the mountain. I already knew that I would be asleep far before my head even came anywhere near the pillow.
William, on the other hand, seemed to want me to stay awake.
‘It is almost saddening to say this, boys, but I believe that you may finish training tomorrow.’
Ethan and I, who had been walking in front of him, stopped abruptly. My eyes had certainly widened, and I no longer felt nearly as tired as I had a moment ago.
Ethan turned shakily to look at William.
‘I-I beg your pardon?’
I turned, too. William smiled almost sadly at the two of us.
‘I did say you’d be home by Christmas, did I not? Tomorrow is the twenty-first, so we’d be pushing it close, but you made astounding progress today, and if you work as hard as that tomorrow, you will certainly be done by the end of it.’
All I could manage was a blank stare.
‘You really think we’re that good?’ Ethan tried.
‘Of course, I do, my boy,’ William replied, still smiling. ‘Just train as hard as you did today tomorrow, and you can fly home on Wednesday.’
‘You mean,’ I breathed, ‘after all this time…we’re ready?’
‘Almost, Albert, almost.’
The corners of my lips subconsciously curled upwards slightly.
‘Yeah, we’ve just gotta get through tomorrow, right?’ I said confidently, curling one of my hands into a fist and swiping it through the air like I was in a film. ‘Then we can show the world what students of William Johnson can do.’
William smiled at me. ‘I’m flattered, boys, truly, but I believe we shall save the inspirational conversation for tomorrow, yes? That is, presuming you can keep up with what I tell you to do.’
He added a hint of cheek on the last sentence, and Ethan and I beamed.
‘Definitely, sir,’ Ethan replied confidently.
‘I suppose I should say goodnight, then,’ William said, patting our shoulders as he walked past. ‘And rest well, boys. Tomorrow will be difficult.’
‘Goodnight, sir,’ Ethan and I replied simultaneously.
After William had disappeared through the main entrance to the camp, Ethan and I stood staring at the ground for a moment. Neither of us seemed to be able to believe what William had just said. As much as we had wanted to go home a few months ago, the closer we got to the actual day the harder it became to accept.
I felt not only like I had grown as a person because of William, but that the two of us had actually formed a bond. During our first month, our relationship felt strictly mentor-student-like. Now, however, he was almost a friend, which was strange considering he was in his eighties. He was almost like Rob, in a way.
Sighing, I turned to Ethan. ‘He’s right, we should head to bed.’
He nodded slowly.
The two of us wordlessly made our way into the camp and then into our room. I got changed in the bathroom as usual, and he got changed in the main room. When I came out, he was already asleep.
I found myself smirking at him, lying there without a care in the world. I wondered if that’s how I looked whilst I was asleep. I hoped I did. There was simply no chance I looked anywhere near that peaceful whilst I was awake. Horrific thoughts plagued my mind way too much to make that even possible.
As I began to lie on my bed, I immediately felt myself falling asleep. And, as I had predicted, everything went black just before my head hit the pillow.
***
I am not quite sure what should be considered a worse fate. Waking up to an iPhone alarm was bad, yes, but what I woke up to on the twenty-first of December should be considered straight torture.
‘Rise and shine, handsome!’ Ethan yelled at the top of his lungs. ‘It’s the final day!’
I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes.
‘Did you just ‘rise and shine’ me?’
He grabbed my shoulders tightly. ‘Albert! It’s the final day if we pull ourselves together!’
‘That doesn’t mean I wanna get out of bed.’
Ethan smirked. ‘You can see Emma tomorrow if you get your lazy ass out of those sheets.’
I scoffed. ‘Well, you got me there, didn’t you?’
He grinned. ‘Get up, you lazy sod.’
It took a few more words of encouragement, but I finally stepped out of bed. My entire body still ached for rest, but Ethan was right, we had to push through today and then it would be over. We could go home.
‘And, for the record,’ I grumbled as the two of us headed for breakfast, ‘never ‘rise and shine’ me again.’
‘You got it, boss,’ Ethan said, but I would’ve been able to hear the sarcasm in his voice even if I had no ears.
We ate our breakfasts in complete silence, and I presumed that Ethan’s mind was reeling just as fast as mine was.
This could be it. As I took bites of my toast, I wasn’t too sure how to feel knowing that I could be flying home in twenty-four hours. All we had to do was complete one more Destructive Art. We’d done twelve of them already, of course we could do one more.
As demanding as Eruption was, I was certain we could do it. I mean, come on, I’d survived seven years of brutal torture, a sword manoeuvre was absolutely nothing in comparison.
Strangely enough, Ethan was done with his breakfast before I was. I hadn’t realised it, but I apparently ate a lot slower whenever I was in deep thought.
‘Apologies,’ I said, smirking, as I rose after finishing. ‘Was I keeping you?’
‘Yeah, you selfish sod,’ Ethan replied, smirking back at me.
I turned to face him, and I noticed that his eyes were flooded with strong determination. That was one of my favourite things about him; nothing could stop him once he put his mind to something.
‘Let’s ace this damn thing,’ I said, my voice full of pride.
‘Yeah,’ Ethan responded, his voice full of the same wild determination as his eyes. ‘Then we can go home, and end this thing once and for all.’
I knew that it would never be over, but I didn’t tell him that. I couldn’t ruin the moment for him.
As the two of us slowly walked to the peak of the mountain, it became more apparent that each step was harder than the last. It felt as though my feet grew heavier every time they hit the ground. The last time I had felt such a strange way had been the day that I had been called to Olympus. And it had happened on the night I killed Amy. It was never a good sign.
What we found as we reached the top was nothing short of extraordinary. I had known William Johnson for six months, and he had never struck me as the type of person to cry.
He stood with his back to the stairs that we now stood at the top of. And as he gazed out upon the countless other mountain peaks, it was clear that he was rubbing his eyes. His shoulders trembled slightly as he did so.
Ethan and I glanced at each other. Somewhere within the new look of worry, I could vaguely make out that same cold determination that had been there a moment ago.
‘Sir?’ Ethan called, and I’m glad he did, as I did not have nearly enough confidence to do so.
William froze. He lifted his arms to wipe his eyes again before slowly turning to face us.
‘Let us begin,’ he said tightly, but a smile coated his face. ‘I think today may be the day.’
‘Are you okay, sir?’ Ethan continued.
If Ethan hadn’t picked up on what William had said, I certainly had.
‘We won’t forget what you’ve done for us, sir,’ I said, staring straight at William. ‘Today may be the last day that you train us, but you’ll be with us every time we use one of the Forms.’
‘Oh, Albert, don’t say such things yet, wait until we’ve finished Eruption. I would rather save any emotions I have left in my old body for when you leave.’
‘Whatever you say, sir.’
William’s sudden display of emotion was one of the many strange factors that pushed me through that day. We meant something to him. Even if I made a million friends, it would still mean the world to me whenever I meant something to someone. I had spent my entire childhood feeling worthless, so even something as simple as being called ‘bro’ by one of my friends lifted my spirits.
So, it was he who topped my mind as my sword lit up with flames for the first time that day.
And I felt strangely calm. Seemingly calmer than I’d ever felt since arrival. I could feel myself getting better every time I performed the move. It was finally happening. Our training was finally drawing to a close.
I also reflected on how training allowed us to set our minds free. Due to William’s style of teaching, he rarely interrupted us, only doing so when there was a glaring problem with what we were doing. The isolation allowed us to think about whatever was pressing us most, which had proven to be both a blessing and a curse.
In my opinion, it was a great method. Although I had thought about bad things more often than not, the freedom aspect was a good idea.
As I worked, the inevitable person crossed my mind. Emma. I felt bad for thinking of her more than my other friends, but I couldn’t help it. As Ethan and Hannah had pointed out to me, I liked her. Like, I like liked her. And, as excited as I was to see my other friends, I was definitely looking forward to seeing her most. I yearned for another hug.
‘For them,’ I found myself murmuring. I was immensely thankful that my words were drowned out by the noise of the roaring flames.
The closer we got to lunch, the more my muscles ached. But I couldn’t stop. I had to keep going. For the world. For them.
I smirked to myself. It really didn’t matter. The wheel wouldn’t stop turning just because I felt tired. It was my job to keep up with the spin.
The snow around our feet had melted once again, and I felt a strange sense of pride upon realising it. My mind twisted the lack of snow into the fact that our flames were immensely powerful.
We were powerful.
‘Boys!’ William called over the noise of our flames. ‘It’s time for lunch!’
Ethan and I stopped abruptly, confused. It wasn’t lunchtime. I knew that even without a watch.
‘It’s not nearly late enough for lunch, sir!’ Ethan called back.
‘Yeah!’ I added. ‘I reckon it’s barely even eleven yet!’
William smiled sadly. ‘Fine, fine, you got me. What I mean to say, boys, is that you’ve finished.’
Ethan’s sword dropped to the ground, making a loud noise as it did so.
Not even the terrifying winds seemed to make a noise in that moment. The world itself seemed to have descended into silence.
‘I-I beg your pardon?’ I murmured.
‘Well, I do tell a lie,’ William began again. ‘You were performing to my standard a little less than an hour ago, but I didn’t have the heart to say before now.’
I stared at him, my eyes wide. He had to be joking.
‘No. That’s impossible.’
‘We can’t be finished!’ Ethan joined in. ‘Surely not!’
William smiled again. ‘I say we go for an early lunch and recap everything afterwards. Tomorrow you can fly home.’
Within an instant, Ethan and I were inches away from William. He had certainly increased our speed.
‘You’re joking, right?’ I breathed. ‘We can’t be done. There’s simply no way.’
William crouched, pulling the two of us in tightly.
‘Well done, boys, but I do not think I need to remind you that I want to save all emotional conversations for tomorrow when you leave.’
I stared at the landscape behind him, my mind blank.
‘So, let’s go for lunch,’ William repeated, standing up. ‘Come on.’
I heard his footsteps slowly get quieter behind me as he walked down for lunch. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan turn to stare at me.
‘We’re really done.’
I didn’t reply.
‘As he said, all that’s left to do now is recap everything. Then we can go to bed and then fly home tomorrow.’
‘He seems sad.’
‘I kinda am, man. After six months, I’ve kinda gotten used to the old man, huh?’
‘Yeah, I understand,’ I said quietly. ‘But we should go and have lunch with him. It might be our last.’
He nodded.
It was an almost sombre walk down the steps to the main camp. I can only describe my feeling as bizarre. I, of course, felt an immense sense of pride from completing our training. On top of this, I was extremely anticipating returning to RoCity and seeing everyone again. There was obviously the weird tingly feeling that came from thinking about seeing Emma in what literally could have now been twenty-four hours. But then I felt sorry. For William. I was sad that we had to leave, and I didn’t quite know what he would do with nobody to train like us.
He of course had other things to do, but something told me that he wouldn’t enjoy them as much as he had enjoyed training me and Ethan. He had seemed legitimately upset when he informed us that our training was over.
After grabbing food, Ethan and I sat with William, who was eating his food slowly, staring at the table absent-mindedly. We didn’t attempt to make conversation with him. Ethan and I silently agreed that it would be best to just leave him to his thoughts.
‘Come on, let’s push through to the end of the day,’ William said after Ethan and I had finished eating.
He rose quickly and walked sombrely to the camp exit. Ethan shot up after him, and I quickly followed.
Hannah was at the door, and she eyed us strangely as we passed.
‘Do you think William’s okay?’ I heard her murmur to the other girl on duty. ‘He seems off.’
I glanced back, murmuring, ‘We’re done with training.’
The girls stared at me.
‘You’re certain that’s it?’ said the girl I didn’t know. She had short black hair and dark blue eyes.
‘Positive. When he told us we were done he was the saddest I’ve ever seen him.’
I chose not to tell them that we had caught William crying, but even so, they seemed to believe me.
I continued walking, watching William ahead as I did so. He was definitely ‘off’, as Hannah had put it. His steps were slower and heavier, as though he dreaded each and every one he took.
Gritting my teeth, I quickened my pace. I had no time to ponder such things. I had to get to the top of the mountain and train for the rest of the day as I’d never trained before. I had to show William who he’d sculpted me into.
Once at the top, Ethan and I followed William’s instructions to the T. He wanted us to briefly go over every Breathing Technique and all of their Forms. And, as it turned out, there were a few minor nitpicks that William had about our performances. We weren’t perfect.
As we got nearer to evening, William wanted us to recap the Destructive Arts, which I was both looking forward to and not. They were exciting and powerful, but in quick succession, they were tiring.
But we still gave it our all. Both Ethan and I were determined to show off to William just how much we had improved. He had to see.
Watching William slowly grow more and more impressed as the day went on fuelled me even further. The recap had distracted him from his emotions. Even if it was only temporary, distracting him was good.
And as tired as I was when the sun finally went down, it signalled to me that our training really was almost over. Sure, it was December, the sun set wildly early, but it meant we only had a few hours left at most.
‘Hey, sir!’ I called over to William. ‘Watch!’
And, wordlessly, I jumped in the air and spun three times.
‘How’s that?’
‘Brilliant, Albert,’ William said, smiling.
From that point on, Ethan, William, and I were just having a laugh together. Yes, Ethan and I were still training, but we found ways to be funny about it.
William was almost tearing up with laughter at the sight of me and Ethan trying to spin four times in the air, and it put a smile on my face to see him so happy.
At some point, I noticed Hannah watching us from over by the top of the stairs. I stopped what I was doing and stared at her.
‘Hannah? You okay?’
‘Sir!’ she shouted, and it was strange to hear her speak English rather than German. ‘It’s almost midnight!’
William leapt to his feet.
‘Pardon?’
Ethan ran over to me. ‘I’ve never heard her speak English before.’
‘Yeah, it’s weird,’ I whispered.
The day had certainly felt longer than usual, but I hadn’t realised that it was almost midnight. I don’t think William had, either.
‘Well, come on, then, boys,’ William said, striding past me and Ethan towards the stairs. ‘And congratulations.’
As William began to walk down the stairs, Hannah smiled at me and Ethan, and we returned the favour.
Before we even had chance to begin a meaningful conversation, Ethan and I began to follow in William’s footsteps. We needed rest. Tomorrow was the flight home.
And the two of us didn’t say a word to each other until the next day. Presumably, we were both too busy with our thoughts. Saying that, however, my mind was strangely blank.
I climbed into my bed expecting a somewhat peaceful night. And nothing could be further from that than another surprise trip to Olympus.
***
Not even a second after closing my eyes, I found myself once again in the Gods’ throne room. At the beginning of my first visit, I had been at the base of a huge flight of stairs. They could’ve brought me straight to the throne room.
They were all sat on their huge thrones, once again at a height that had to have been about thirty metres tall. Their thrones were still arranged in that backwards ‘U’ shape, which again made me feel surrounded.
I stared up at them all, and they returned the favour. It was quite condescending, actually, and I was not a fan.
‘Where’s Hades?’ I said, staring at Titan.
‘Couldn’t make it,’ Zeus said, looking at me with sheer distaste.
A Goddess scoffed. ‘As if. My uncle wouldn’t miss a chance to see Albert.’
I glanced at her and was immediately struck by her sheer beauty. She had flowing brown hair that fell gorgeously over her shoulders. Her eyes, grey in colour, were immensely difficult to describe. They seemed to portray every emotion possible at once. An elegant white dress further complimented her beauty, and I knew at once that she was Aphrodite. Apart from one thing. Hades was not Aphrodite’s uncle.
‘Excuse me if this comes across as rude, ma’am,’ I said quietly, ‘but which Goddess are you? I feel as though you are Aphrodite, but she is not Hades’s niece.’
The Gods roared with laughter. The sound echoed around the room, and I began to feel embarrassed.
‘Oh, aren’t you a charmer!’ she said, her voice an octave higher. ‘As flattered as I am, I have to say I am not Aphrodite, for I am Athena.’
I felt my face flare. ‘O-Oh. Sorry.’
I began to look around the room for who was Aphrodite, and I found her almost immediately, and I am not quite sure how I did not spot her sooner.
Upon looking at her, it felt strangely as though my entire body had shut down. Her stunning dark brown hair was slightly curled towards the ends that fell over her shoulders, and her sparkly green eyes could’ve lit the dark side of the moon. The makeup she wore was nothing short of perfect, and the red satin dress she wore completed the picture perfectly.
I had forgotten where I was, and it also seemed as though I couldn’t speak properly.
‘Albert?’ I heard Titan’s voice say, but he sounded distant.
‘Okay, I’m definitely dreaming,’ I murmured, some of my words jumbled. ‘Cuz there’s no way she’s real.’
Once again, the Gods laughed.
‘I assume you’ve found Aphrodite, then,’ I heard Athena say.
I shook my head vigorously, trying to snap myself back to the throne room. It was tough to take my eyes off Aphrodite, but I stuck to my decision once it was made.
‘A-Anyway,’ I tried slowly, determined not to look at Aphrodite. ‘Where is Hades?’
‘I already said, boy,’ Zeus said through gritted teeth. ‘He couldn’t make it.’
‘Don’t listen to him,’ Athena cut in. ‘My father isn’t too fond of his brother, so he ‘forgot’ to tell him that we’d be calling you here today.’
‘I don’t forget,’ Zeus mumbled, but nobody replied.
‘Anyway,’ Titan said loudly, ‘we all seem to have forgotten why exactly we called Albert here.’
‘Yeah,’ I said defiantly. ‘What do you need me for now? Do I have to go and train with John Williamson or someone else?’
Titan smiled down at me. ‘No, Albert. I just wanted you to know that we’re all proud of you. You did it. You completed your training.’
A light, very light, applause rose from the Gods.
It struck me quite suddenly that they had not called Ethan to Olympus as well. Surely, they had the power to call two people at once. Unless they were doing something similar in Ethan’s dream, then it looked to me as though they almost didn’t care about him, which began to make my blood boil.
‘I, for one, can’t wait to see how you perform now,’ Ares chimed in, his appearance the same as it was six months ago. ‘You should destroy that other boy.’
I opened my mouth, ready to make a comment on how he couldn’t even remember Maltor’s name, but I doubted that Zeus would spare me if I argued again.
‘Believe me, sir,’ I replied confidently, ‘I will.’
‘Oh, I like you a lot better now,’ he said, grinning at me.
I smiled weakly back at him, not knowing what to say.
‘Hm, and I will have a few choice words if you lose to him again,’ Zeus said quietly.
I bit the inside of my cheek. Now was not the time to argue. It didn’t matter what any of them said, I had to take it.
‘But, Albert,’ Titan cut in quickly, as though he were trying to distract me from Zeus. If so, it worked. ‘I believe Maltor contacted you in a dream recently?’
My stomach dropped as I turned my gaze to him.
‘How did you know that?’
‘I asked Hypnos to monitor your dreams whilst you trained,’ he explained simply. ‘I was worried that Maltor would try to contact you whilst you were away, and I was correct. He alerted me both times he appeared in your dreams.’
I didn’t say a word.
‘I believe it would be best if you were cautious as you headed back,’ Titan continued. ‘Maltor may be planning something, as I’m sure you are aware.’
‘He might’ve mentioned it,’ I replied, barely louder than a whisper.
‘But promise me, Albert, that no matter what he does, you will fight.’
‘I’ve just done six months of training, haven’t I? I think my only option right now is to fight him.’
Titan smiled and replied after a moment’s silence. ‘Well, good luck, Albert, from all of us. And have a safe journey home.’
The entire room shattered like glass, and the last thing I saw was Ares beaming at me. Trust the God of war to find the situation exciting.