The memories Nath had of his older brother were mostly heart-warming. He used to picture him smiling under the summer sunlight. Those times spent near the sea under the fruity aroma of the season will always be remembered with nostalgia. He liked giving Nath mature peaches from a tree near their house since Nath couldn’t reach such heights himself. He started following his brother around early. Fun things happened when he was with him, and nothing is more appealing to a kid than a playful older sibling.

The big brother had always been of the cheerful kind. He liked having fun. Every time they walked together he started conversations with everyone, genuinely interested in their stories. He enjoyed making friends with everyone and talking to people. Apparently he was a mess of a kid during his earlier years of life. But the only memories Nath had of him were more recent. The oldest of the two was in his late teens, with enough experience to get involved with the adult world. Childhood was over early for him. He was raising expectations as his skills showed along the years. Growing up he matured as a responsible and reliable boy, without leaving behind his brighter side, and it was this part of him people ended up knowing and caring for.

Nath, on the other hand, was in his early childhood then. Still wondering how the world worked. So he didn’t really get to grasp the situation where his older sibling was at. The only feeling he had for him then was admiration. And it was not one to be ignored. Many people pointed it out over the years. Nath’s attention to him could have seemed excessive for him on some occasions, but if it did, his brother didn’t give any hints of it. The same feelings for him were shared among many anyways so it didn’t come off as an odd relationship. He was popular among people his age. And I still wonder if it all was because of a specific reason.

It was normal for most people to go through a pretty big change of lifestyle along their early life. Starting during childhood and ending in the late teens, kids had the chance to go through a process called rupture. After that point they would develop supernatural abilities, or powers, that could range from lighting up your fingertip to controlling the weather. The extent at which such powers could develop was still uncertain, but there didn’t seem to be any identifiable patterns that could predict the genetically inherited ability.

After society ended getting used to this fact, their culture started revolving around such special conditions. They had to build society from scratch though. Scientific advancement skyrocketed. New economic activities were born. And the population saw an improvement in their living conditions. Of course, such benefits didn’t come without their respective disadvantages. Crimes became common and security of the civil population started to be addressed in a different manner. Since not everyone had powers that allowed them to protect their own integrity someone needed to do it for them. But it wasn’t so simple. Law enforcement went through really important changes. The main one being that, instead of basing their strength on numbers and equipment, they started to focus on individuals themselves. It became then very reliant on each person’s specific ability. Especially on the strong ones.

For Nath’s brother, powers showed up early in his adolescence, and it did nothing but boost his confidence. They usually appeared later in life, but in his case the rupture happened early. Abilities have different ways of showing up. His case was of the violent kind. An explosion opened a hole on the facade of the building. Apparently he had shown elusive signs of his powers earlier on, so he already expected them to appear soon. He was trying to force his way onto his new ability, trying to do so while not raising any alarms, unbeknownst of the relevant guiding figures that such abilities required to be stabilized. It all happened while he was hiding away in one of the rooms on the roof, so luckily no one got hurt. He was carried to the hospital to evaluate his condition, even though no signs of injury were detected. It was unusual for an ability to hurt its own user, but better be safe than sorry.

Having gone through such a situation that soon ended up being a good experience for him. Maybe thinking that presenting such problems to a kid could end up being dangerous or detrimental for his health, and considering the magnitude of such ability, concerns were justified. But he was able to get along with it without no more than a few accidents. He grew with it, learning bit by bit the limits of his capabilities. It ended up becoming an extension of himself, acting as naturally as he could have, making it look as if he was born with it.

This was not only interesting for himself. Many institutions started showing interest in him and his abilities trying to get permission to tutor him in the ways of self-control and discipline. It wasn’t uncommon to do so when such kind of issues showed on kids his age. The dangers of holding such powers was obvious to society in general, so ensuring safety seemed like a smart move to take in any case. Of course… if it wasn’t because it was not only security that concerned such organizations.

It was similar to a competition. Those who were able to raise individuals that ended up contributing the most to society with their abilities saw a great increase in popularity and in the affluence of clients to their doors. The best way to ensure success was to find already promising students and sign them up to study with you. And by the looks of it, his skills, added to his ability, made him an ideal candidate.

The best chance to get a good scholarship came when a letter from the Academy of Image arrived at our door. Probably the most popular institution in the field of ability training. The name derived from the official name that was given to special powers. That’s how abilities were called: Images. It was affiliated with the Guard, since it was in everyone’s interest to have the skilled people to join the security forces. This meant that the Academy’s entrance exams were usually the ones with the most student candidates in the country. Even though only a small number of them managed to actually end up studying there. The opportunity to get into the place where many exceptional individuals learned to master their powers in the image society was too appealing to ignore. And for Nath’s brother, the fact of being invited there seemed like a free access to invaluable knowledge.

Under the name of the Academy he improved his skills to a point where there was no student that didn’t know about the so-called Shooting Star of the Academy. Different tournaments aimed to strengthen the connection between the individuals and their image were held every year. At its core it was a competition between schools, but adults always had an eye on interesting contestants. He ended up holding the trophies of every single one of them that year. He formed a team of elite students and guided them to victory, showing the skills of a true leader. The picture of him lifting the national champions’ cup, cheering and crying with his friends, was one of a kind.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

His ambition grew together with his victories. He graduated at the top of his grade and immediately many options opened to him. Different industries offered a secure place for him to earn his pay. But a person of his skill wasn’t limited to simple jobs. The academy also helped him finding a place and even offered him a job at the Guard to allow him to climb the ranks up. It was an appealing option. He would be able to work for society and he could keep improving his skills. No one could imagine him refusing such an appealing chance. Until he did.

The brother was quick to respond. It was obvious his ambition was nowhere near to be stopped by anyone. So… He rejected the offer. The country was independent from others commercially and it had quite strict control over individuals entering and leaving the borders. But he wanted to explore, see the world, meet new people and encounter new opponents. “My purpose is to find the strongest, the fittest to be my opponent. And then learn and improve until he will have no chance anymore. And when I’m done with them, I’ll keep going” That’s what he said. All the land encircled by the geographic border seemed to be too small for him. He wanted the whole world to become his training ground.

And so he left… But I still wonder… if anyone could have imagined what would happen to him.

—

It was late at night. Nath wasn’t awake by chance. Someone was making noise in the corridor. It could have been a burglar or at least a person Nath didn’t know. By the sounds of it, someone was in a rush. Huffing while trying to pick up stuff and put it in a bag. But his voice. It was familiar.

—Drest?

He stopped moving completely. Did he think no one was going to notice him moving around late night? Nothing came out of his mouth. It seemed obvious he didn’t want to be seen.

—Brother? — Nath kept trying to appeal to him. The room remained silent.

A slow turn of his head. His eye fixed on me. Tiredness showed its signs all over his face.

— Sorry, did I wake you up? It is still hard to work around like this. I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to it.

Nath didn’t know what he was talking about. Did anything happen while he was away? Was he… Then Drest turned around, his chest facing his younger brother. Where his right arm used to be an empty space was now left behind. Near the shoulder, at the biceps height, a bunch of intertwined bandages tried to cover what seemed like a clean cut. It had obviously been done in a rush. The bandages were loose and some blood had wet them for a while. The wound wasn’t healed at all. Even though it looked like the aftermath of a grave incident, no one seemed to have given it the proper medical care. The blood was already dry.

But it wasn’t the only issue. His face, previously deemed as a comfortingly cheerful sight, now had a bloody crater where the left eye should have been. Unlike the arm, this one looked like it hadn’t been taken care of at all. The hole in the face laid completely open to the environment, it hadn’t even been closed. A big slash crossed the main hole diagonally. Both the arm and the eye looked really dangerous if left unchecked. Anyone would have seen it as an emergency. To rush to any medical facility would have been a priority to get it properly cared of. But the blood was dry, time had passed since the wounds had appeared on Drest’s body. Early signs of infection were getting their first grasp of his eye. It was surprising that it didn’t happen before.

Even with that. His expression remained reassuring, but tainted with a hidden expression lurking in the back of it: Fear.

—Drest…? — That was the only thing Nath managed to say, unable to understand the situation.

The brother’s expression turned sad. It seemed obvious now that he wasn’t going to be able to lay low anymore.

—Nath…— words struggled to come out of his mouth — I’m not going to stay here for long, so listen to me.

He had a calmed tone, he sounded resigned.

—Things have changed. I don’t plan on staying in this city any more than tonight, it will be dangerous for you— he was lacking breath while speaking — I will not be going to be able to train you anymore, some… issues have appeared… I need to leave you.

Nath was still confused as to what had happened to his brother.

—I just need to get some things and leave to the south — he said as he started filling his bag with stuff — It is important that you don’t tell anyone about me being here. We don’t want anyone to be worried about this… Especially Denia.

So he was just going to leave like that? No further explanation?

— You need to get a doctor now! I don’t care about the training! Get yourself a doctor!

Drest hid his expression.

—I’ve brought you something. It will be something useful to you when you grow up.

It was a long wooden box. It didn’t look too heavy; the kind of object you would carry hanging on your back. The style was simple, no paint, no colour, just a wooden box. Determining what was in was hard by just looking at the outside. Maybe some kind of instrument?

—I don’t care! What are you doing still here? You need help!

But there was no response to that. He was hiding something. The nature of those wounds remained unknown. Did he want to hide it from his family? They could do something about the person that did this. The Guard was sure to protect him if he was worried about that. Did he think they couldn’t do anything about that? Nath would have gotten even the help of a Guardian if it was for his brother. He only had to get them to…

—This is important Nath, it is not only for you that I’m doing this. I need you to keep this box from now on— the sound of a lock closing filled the air — But you will have to wait to open it. You will only open this after your rupture.

He put the box under a piece of furniture, hiding it from plain sight. He then turned around and got closer putting his hand on his little brother’s shoulder.

—Things are only going to go downwards for me from now on. I trust you will be able to take care of yourself without my help, we are not going to see each other for a long time. I’ll be going to the capital. I have matters to attend there. Take care of Denia while I’m away.

He laid his gaze down for a second, thinking…

—Nath… I don’t want things to follow the path they are taking. My idea of becoming the strongest has come with too many inconveniences. I didn’t think I could ever be so wrong. The world is a big place, too big for me. The strength of the people outside this country is unlike anything I could have ever imagined. So much so that it made me rethink my priorities. I…

His expression was serious, trying to give significance to his words.

—It is hard for me to explain how things have turned this way considering I don’t understand it well myself. My past has come down to hunt me. I cannot turn a blind eye to the latest events going on. I can only entrust you the present I brought you, with no guarantee that it will be of any help to you. The future is uncertain now. I am not the person you knew anymore, and I have taken the decision to only move forward from now on. Meaning… You will be alone from now on.

He then moved past Nath continuing towards the door.

—Wait!

His brother stopped, but he didn’t know what to say.

—Don’t leave me like this… please — tears now completely covering Nath’s eyes.

But it didn’t matter. Drest kept walking, leaving his little brother like an abandoned animal in the rain. But things would have gone better from there on if just Nath had seen his brother was shedding tears too.