Ten years ago.

Edge of the Solarian jungle.

"Visualise the flow of Cosmo deep within you, as it flows through your body. You won't be able to see it with your naked eyes but only with your spiritual sense," Healer Salem Said, her voice slow and calm.

Damien focused deep within himself, trying and failing to find his well of power. His spiritual senses were only just recently awakened, so he didn't have much range to it. On a hunch, instead of trying to visualise the well of Cosmo already within himself, he focused his senses on the ambient Cosmo energy around him and then began tracing it back to the stream leaving his body. Finding that too, he focused on the silvery stream of energy flowing out of his body. He then began tracing its paths back inside himself. He followed the stream until it led him to a gathering of silver energy located just under his stomach.

"For those of you that have successfully sensed where your Cosmo well resides, I want you to slowly run your senses through it. Familiarise it until you have a better sense of it, what it feels like to your senses. Remember, Cosmo is the building block of the cosmos, it is in everything and everyone, a neutral force, but it is an energy that everyone senses differently. It can be perceived in different ways,"

Damien breathed in, sinking deep into himself. He ran his senses into the well and around it, getting a feel for it. To him, it came off as a force of pure destruction. One that would annihilate all in its path, leaving nothing remaining.

"Now that you've done that, I want you to run your se throughout your body, starting from your well. Trace a path through to your chest area where you will find something shaped like an upside-down five-pointed star, that is your heart meridian. Your heart meridian connects to every other meridian in your body through your pathways. I want you to trace the pathways connecting to your hands, feet and head,"

Finding the line connecting to his chest area, he found what the healer called a 'meridian', It was a dull silver-coloured upside-down star. But there was something off with it, like it was blocked. He traced the pathways running to his heart meridian again and found it blocked, barred to the cosmic energy trying to fill it. Tracing the pathways from his heart meridian to his hand meridian, he found the upside-down Star. It was placed in his palm section, and like the chest meridian, it was also blocked. Doing the same for his feet and finally, his head yielded the same results.

Opening his eyes, he looked up to the healer from where he was sitting, legs crossed. "I traced the pathways to my heart meridian, but it's blocked, same as my other meridians," He said.

Someone snorted from the front. "They are meant to be blocked until you awaken them, idiot. Seriously, where did this idiot come from?" Borvin said.

Sitting next to him, Keilan was about to stand up to go confront the other boy but was stopped when Damien grabbed hold of his hands, Shaking his head. "Don't give him attention, that's what he wants, just ignore him," Damien said, not bothering to lower his voice.

Hearing that, Borvin turned back to glare menacingly at him, his glare deepening when Damien only gave him an amused smile.

Healer Salem loudly tapped her walking stick on the ground, bringing the class's attention back to her. "Boring, interrupt my class again and see what I'll do to you. And you," She pointed at Keilan. "Learn to control your anger. Damien is not so fragile that he'd need you to constantly come to his defence like a mother hen," She said, making Keilan blush. He turned his face away, avoiding Damien's eyes.

"Now for your question," Healer Salem said, getting back on topic. "Your meridians are always blocked until you awaken them." She said.

He was about to ask another question when he was stopped by a raised palm.

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"Yes, you will be taught how to open your meridians. All of you," She said, looking around the room at the other students. "I will be there to monitor all your awakenings,"

"Normally, I'd immediately start you all with learning how to channel Cosmo, but since none of you has already opened your meridians, I'll have to postpone that. Class dismissed," She said, gesturing for them to go away.

Standing up, Damien and Keilan began making their way out of the room, nodding to some of the kids they hadn't had time to converse with at the beginning of the class.

"Keilan! Wait Up!" Somebody called from the other side of the room.

Looking in the direction, they spotted Boria walking fast towards them, smiling at Keilan with her two incisors missing. Boria was the mayor's daughter and also Borvin's twin sister. It didn't help that she was also ugly, with two incisors at the top of her mouth missing, and her nose was so long that it could be used as a weapon. Damien didn't see what Keilan was attracted to in her.

She pointedly ignored Damien when she reached them, raising her chin and sniffing at him. "Keilan, why didn't you come sit with me?" She said, sounding like a mewling cat. Damien almost snorted but held himself, instead, turning his face away to hide his amusement.

"Uh, Damien and I were already late for class, so we just sat anywhere," He replied, face wincing and voice uncertain like he was waiting for something.

And he was right

"Damien this! Damien that! Why do you keep defending him? You even chose him over me," She screeched. Her face was so scrunched that she almost looked like a bird. She turned to Damien. "And you! It isn't enough that you're not from this village, coming from god's nowhere, probably from a group of bush people. You have to steal my Keilan away from me too!" She screamed.

They were already a distance from the healer's home and were making for their place. People who were walking down the streets turned to look as she screamed.

Damien said nothing. He didn't even look at her.

"You see! See how he ignores me, his lack of manners. Don't let him corrupt you," She said, turning to Keilan and completely forgetting the fact that she ignored him at first.

"I'm sorry, I'll ta—," What Keilan was about to say was interrupted by the group of boys who were now blocking their path, led by none other than Borvin.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Borvin said, trying for a mischievous look and instead, looking like he was holding down a fart.

Damien and Keilan stopped. Looking at the cronies and then to their leader. "Go home Borvin, I don't have time for this," Damien said.

Borvin's face quickly turned red with anger. "You don't talk to me like that, you nobody," He said.

"You've got some nerve, publicly trying to start a fight like this. You know your daddy won't help you out if all hands are pointing at you as the instigator of this fight," Keilan said, ignoring Boria as she tried to drag him away from Damien.

Damien saw the way some of the boys were fidgeting, signifying that some of them didn't even want to be there.

"For those of you that don't want to take part in this nonsense, you can go, I won't hold it against you," He said.

Their nervousness intensified, looking at Borvin with fear.

Their leader looked back at them. "If any of you take one step backwards, I'll make sure you regret it," He said.

"Keilan, don't risk yourself for him, I'm pretty sure he deserves what's coming for him. His lack of manners and not knowing when not to insult his betters," Boria mewled. Keilan ignored her.

"If any of you join him, you'll be leaving here with broken bones and bruises," Damien said to the cronies.

This time, three of the boys left, running away and leaving only three to back up Borvin.

"Seems we're now in a fair match," Keilan said, snickering.

"Count the odds, dimwit, we outnumber you by two," Borvin replied, but now his cockiness was starting to disappear.

"If you follow him, don't bother coming to meet me," Boria said to Keilan, which he ignored, but Damien saw how he winced when she said those words.

Borvin threw caution to the wind when he saw twin sister being ignored. He attacked, followed by his three cronies.

The fight didn't last long.

Damien took Borvin and one other, while Keilan handled the rest.

He stepped in, kicking backwards the leg of the second boy, who fell on his face when he lost his balance. He stopped cold the fist Borvin threw at him, returning in kind with another punch to the nose. Borvin screamed in pain as his nose was broken, bleeding blood.

Turning to the other boy who had just stood up. He kicked him again on the side of his calf, watching as the boy fell on his arm, screaming as his arm snapped.

He turned just as Keilan was just finishing his fight. He saw a boy bleeding from the mouth and another sitting on his butt with a black eye.

"Well, nice meeting you all. We should do this again sometime," He said, laughing as he and Keilan made their way home, leaving Boria who screamed while she rushed to her brother's aid.