The day of the shopping spree was coming to an end. It was time for Zahn to go back home. He had only one more day before it was time for him to leave Grith for who knows how long. The three of them stopped by one last shop before leaving New Proxon. The last stop on the list was a very colorful building. The shop was littered with lights, and strange paint. Lyam told Zahn and Aiden to stay inside the car and he would be right back. After a short time he returned with a strange case. They started their journey back to Grith as the sun set in the distance.

“This is the coolest thing you have probably owned!”, Aiden shouted.

He opened the case to reveal a holopad and a phone. The holopad looked unreal to Zahn. The center of it was a completely clear glass-like material. The outer rim was a strong metal that he could feel was coursing with energy. The phone was similar to the holopad as it was also made from this metal.

“These are for you. You will need them for the academy and also your way of life from now on.”, Aiden went on. “The phone will be your main way of communicating with everyone and there will be times when the bureau will need to contact you as well. The holopad is a completely different beast. You will not be able to fully access everything it can do just yet because we had them put a lock on it. The holopad will help you complete your work in the academy as well as track and maintain your progress as you grow stronger.”

Zahn took the phone and began looking at it. He has seen and used one before, but he had never owned one himself as there was no point for him to. His house never had enough extra energy to charge a phone and keep his light in the living room on for the month. He clicked on his contacts and saw four numbers that had already been saved–”Aiden, Bureau, Lyam, and Yuu”. Zahn was puzzled at who Yuu was, but before he could ask, Aiden answered his question.

“Yuu, is your personal driver. We of course can’t be around all the time since we have to see to other newly awoken Immortals. Yuu is contracted with the academy to be your personal driver as long as you are there. He will also be the one picking you up to take you.”, Aiden finished.

So many new changes have made their way into Zahn’s life. He was beginning to feel overwhelmed. A new phone, a new holopad, a personal driver, what else would his new life bring him?

They arrived back at Zahn’s house. After a brief exchange of goodbyes Zahn walked into his home. He looked at his clock and saw that it was eleven o’clock at night. He took a moment to look at his home and walked up to his window looking out at the town. He could only see the shimmering lights from other’s windows. He went to lay down on his couch and began thinking about everything that has happened these last few days.

Zahn’s life was forever changed in less than a week. He would no longer have to harvest energy in the mines. He would have access to everything he ever needed now. Everyone treats him with respect and kindness. He began feeling sad, but not normal sadness. He was tearing up with happiness and hope that he could change everything for his town.

He closed his eyes and began thinking about each and everyone in the town. He was thankful for every one of them. They influenced his life and made him into the person he was. He was thankful for his life and everything he had. He hoped that his new life would not change him from his past. He finally drifted off to sleep to be awoken to a new day.

The new day brings new light as Zahn wakes up bright and early to go help in the mines one last time before he must leave. He was up before anyone else in the town. As he made his way down to the mines he grabbed all of the empty energy pods he could find along the way. The hours pass as he continues to wear himself out manipulating energy. He could feel the energy becoming easier to control as time moved on. It was still difficult, but it was less tiring for him as time went on.

Time went on and Zahn passed out onto the ground. An hour vanished as he woke up. Everyone was going to be heading to the mines soon. He started loading the energy pods onto carts and pulling them up to the town. He leaves them by the warehouse and walks back to his house to take a shower.

Zahn walks out of the shower and begins to get dressed as a knock sounds at his door. Jeremy was standing at the door waiting.

“Zahn, why would you go out of your way to harvest all of that energy alone? You didn’t have to do that!”, Jeremy said with tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Mr. H, I have the power to do more to help. I wanted to help you and everyone else in the town the best that I can. I have harvested over a year worth of pods. You can use those to help power the town and turn in some to the city and everyone would get to relax for a while. I promise to do more for you all one day.”, Zahn replied as tears began to form in his eyes.

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Jeremy reached out and hugged Zahn. He was flooded with so many emotions that he was not sure what to say. Zahn could hear him sobbing over his shoulder.

Jeremy said through the tears, “I have been so worried about you becoming an Immortal after all the torture that we have been through and the way the city looks down on us. I’m so sorry that I haven’t been better to you and happy for you, Zahn. You’ve done more than we could have ever asked. You’ve made us so proud! I want you to enjoy this last day home, and I just want you to do me a favor when you leave.”

“Anything you need, Mr. H, I will take care of it for you!”, Zahn responded.

Jeremy stepped back and looked at Zahn with a smile on his face as tears were drying on his cheeks. “Forget about us when you get to the academy. Focus only on the academy. We will be fine thanks to you, so please think about yourself this time, ok?”

“I’ll never do that, Mr. H. I’ll still do my best at the academy, but I’ll never forget about any of you.”, Zahn replied back with a smile.

The two of them shared a mutual understanding for the first time in a long time. They said their goodbyes and Jeremy left to start working on storing the energy pods left by Zahn. Zahn went out to walk through the town one last time before the day was over. He walked through the streets waving to everyone he passed. He reminisced on his life in Grith and every experience he had ever had. A few people would stop and thank him for helping out so much with the energy pods and some even hugged him with tears in their eyes. They all wished him the best of luck during his time at the academy.

Daylight faded as time went on, and Zahn went back to his house for his last night home. He cooked himself a big bowl of soup–mostly just broth. He enjoyed his meal and laid down for bed. He was feeling much better tonight than he was previously. His mind was finally clear and his emotions were stable. The feeling of excitement was taking over as he drifted off to sleep.

Morning came with a bright shine of light and a fresh layer of dew. The windows of the town were covered in fog and there were birds chirping in the distant trees. Zahn woke up to a knock at his door. He stood up and stretched as he walked to his door with a yawn. Upon opening the door he saw a young man standing at his door. They had slick black hair, covered in hair gel it seemed. They wore large black framed sunglasses with a black suit on. The suit was very similar to the ones Lyam and Aiden wore, but the material seemed to be a little more luxurious and silk-like.

“Good morning, sir, my name is Yuu. I believe you already have my contact information. I am your personal driver as you attend the academy.”, the man said in a very calm and smooth voice.

“Oh, hey! I’m sorry, I was not expecting you so soon.”, Zahn replied.

The man looked at him and smiled. “Thank goodness you are so informal! I can’t stand having to speak in a formal tone all of the time; it’s exhausting!”, Yuu responded in an alarmingly laxed tone.

“You remind me a lot of Aiden.”, said Zahn.

“HAHA! We get that alot! Aiden is actually my former teacher. I am an Immortal just like you. He was mentoring me as we have similar abilities.”, Yuu responded.

“Similar abilities?”, questioned Zahn.

“Oh, that’s right you are very new to this. So every Immortal that awakens has some kind of innate ability in them. Some of them can be very similar to others while also being different. A good example of this is two people with the power to control fire. They may seem the same, but until you really start studying them you won’t realize that actually one of them controls fire and manipulates it, while the other can only create fire and launch it. Aiden can sense emotions and can even dig inside your head to feel the different chemicals in your brain and also alter them. He is incredibly strong in a fight against someone who can’t stand mental attacks. I myself can’t do that, but I can create, control, and take people in and out of mental subspaces.”, Yuu answered.

In that instance Zahn looked around and they were no longer at his front door. He looked down and saw nothing but endless clouds. When he looked up it was nothing but stars and planets. The two scenes bled into each other at the horizon and created a stunning space around them.

“Our bodies are still at your front door, but our minds are locked here. It’s an endless space that I can control at will. I am still working on the development of it to try and improve its efficiency.”, Yuu said as he began walking around and making shifts in the space with his hands.

The shifts were like ripples in an ocean or lake after something breaks the surface of the water. Zahn was completely mesmerized by the stunning site.

“What do you mean by more efficient?”, Zahn asked.

“Well, to put it simply, I can’t really fight alone very well. I have been working on making these subspaces able to deal damage to whoever is inside of it. I also have to maintain complete focus on the subspace or it can become unstable and break apart or the person can easily escape it. This limits me from attacking from the outside.”, Yuu answered once more.

“Oh, ok that makes sense.”, Zahn said. The truth is, he was very confused and did not really understand what he meant completely.

Within a blink of an eye Zahn was back in his body standing at his front door once again. He felt slightly lightheaded after coming back to his senses and had to sit down for a second.

“That will go away soon. Mental attacks are powerful because they are nearly impossible to defend. Since you are also a newly awoken you are much weaker than most and even the smallest of attacks will have a decent effect on you. I would love to stay and chat some more about abilities, but I think we better get going. It’s roughly an hour drive to New Proxon and then we need to get to the academy and get you checked in. You are a slightly late enrollee, but classes don’t formally start until tomorrow. You will just have to wait and meet your instructors and find the rooms on your first day.”, Yuu told Zahn as he started checking his watch.

Zahn agreed and grabbed his things and they loaded up into Yuu’s car. The car was very luxurious compared to what Lyam and Aiden were driving. The back seats were like fitted sofas with holoscreens in front of them. The middle was an entire console that could be used for storage and also had a control panel for the lighting and window tint.

The car began to drive away from Grith as Zahn heard a loud noise from behind them. He turned to see what it was as his eyes filled with tears immediately. The entire town of Grith was out in the street waving to him and screaming “Goodbye and good luck! Do your best, Zahn!”. Zahn started waving back to them from the back of the car as the tears continued to fall from his face onto the seats.

He turned back around and looked ahead to the road forward. “Thank you so much everyone. I won’t let you down.”, he said to himself