Kiden woke up in his hard wooden bed, sweating. ‘Was yesterday just a dream?’ he pondered. He sat up and looked at his hands. He stared at them, wondering if they had changed.

“Hey, Kiden!” said a familiar voice.

Kiden looked up and saw Bert’s face two inches from his own. He jumped and hit the back of his head on the wall.

“Jesus Christ! Why don’t you just knock on the door like a normal person?” Kiden said, in pain.

“Jesus? Why’d you have to bring him into this? Anyway, I can’t use doors. They’re tricky.”

“Then how did you get in?”

“I’m a God.”

“Oh, right.”

“Come with me, Kiden.” Bert said, gesturing towards the front door.

Kiden opened the door for him, and they ventured out into the village. The sky was clear and the sun was high. They walked on a dirt road, with green grass on both sides. Flowers of all colors were scattered across the fields. After a couple minutes of walking, they sat down on a wooden bench by the river. Bert looked down into the water, studying his own reflection.

“Why is the grass green?” Bert said, suddenly.

“Why do we exist? Is there a God?” he continued and sighed.

“These are the questions that fill the mind of a so-called mortal. Have you ever speculated about these questions, Kiden?”

“Well, I guess, sometimes.”

“Is there a God, Kiden?” Bert said, looking at Kiden with his piercing, red eyes.

Kiden was confused, and did not know what to answer. ‘Why would a God such as himself, ask me this question?’ he thought. Bert noticed his uncertainty and laughed.

“Well, of course, there is. But at the same time, not really. The picture of this God that the mortals have thought up is incorrect. This almighty, all-loving, forgiving God that created the heaven and the earth, is long dead. If he even existed in the first place. There are many Gods that are nothing like that. Nothing.” He looked distraught, but was reminded of something.

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“Hey, Kiden, it’s about time. Want to learn some magic?”

“Magic?” he asked, with his eyes wide open.

“Yeah, magic. Believe it or not, just saying ‘Let there be light’ does not make it so.”

Bert moved himself to a patch of grass and sat down cross-legged. He positioned his hands as if he was praying. He closed his eyes, in deep concentration. Seconds pass, then Bert opened his eyes and reached out his arm. Light emerged from his palm, so strong that Kiden had to cover his eyes.

“That, is how you create light. Come and sit, Kiden.”

Perplexed, Kiden walked slowly towards Bert and sat down beside him in the same position.

“So, what am I praying to?”

“The stars.”

“The stars? Uh, what do I tell them?”

“Nothing, don’t make it so complicated. Just think about them. This might take a while so I’m gonna take a nap.”

Bert laid down by a tree, stretched out his legs and covered his eyes with his hood. Kiden closed his eyes and pictured the stars in his head. Shiny. He felt a slight twitch in his chest.

“I did it!” Kiden shouted with a big smile on his face.

“You’ve done jack shit, now keep going.” Bert responded sleepily and turned over.

‘Crap.’ Kiden thought to himself and continued to picture the stars. They were shiny, but whatever else he was supposed to see, he did not know. Bert started to snore heavily, breaking his image.

“Hey, keep it down, will you?!”

But Bert did not answer and his snoring just turned louder. Kiden tried to ignore it and focused on the stars. Hours flew by, and Bert’s snoring did not bother Kiden anymore. He did not hear them. It was just him and the shiny stars. Kiden lost track of time as he gazed deeper into the stars. He opened his eyes. He was on a field, lying down.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” said a female voice beside him.

He turned to his right. She seemed familiar.

“Mom?”

“Oh you must’ve been asleep, Ki.” she said and laughed.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you. Did you have a nice dream?”

“You… you’re alive?”

“What? Of course I am…”

“You must’ve had a horrible dream to say something like that.”

His mother sat up, picked him up and put him in her lap. She hugged him and patted his back. He felt her. She was real.

“Mom!” he wept. Tears streaming down his face. He hugged her even tighter.

“Don't be afraid, sweety, mommy’s here. I’ll always be here.”

“Do you promise?”

She looked up at the infinite stars, and so did Kiden.

“Always.”

His chest twitched again. Something filled his lungs. It was an amazing warmth. It spread to his arms, his stomach and his legs. It filled his whole body. He opened his eyes. He was shining as bright as the sun, hovering with his feet above the ground. Then he collapsed and fell to the ground and ceased to glow. He was exhausted. Bert reached out his hand to help him get to his feet.

“Congratulations, that was step one. You have established your connection.”

“My connection to the stars?”

“Indeed. That is the fundamental of magic. The stars gift you their power through your connection, and someday you will be able to call upon them without the use of prayer, but this will do for now.”

“Then what’s next?” Kiden asked.

“What’s next is you practicing this prayer method every day and every night. It took you a week this time, and that’s not gonna do well for you in combat.”

“I’m going to fight?”

“Well, hopefully you’ll last long enough for it to be called a fight.”