Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"... heal… Tree…"

"May… immort…"

"... powers… strong…"

The first thing Cale heard after waking up was the sound of hushed, frantic whispering.

Apprehensive, Cale cracked his eyes open and scanned his surroundings. Greeting him were the walls of his room in the Super Rock villa with rays of sunlight from the rising sun, as well as the scent of flowers that On, Hong, and Raon had brought him the previous night.

'Well, it doesn't seem like I've been transmigrated again… but if that's the case, it's way too early for whatever the hell this shit is.'

With a slight urge to reprimand whoever disturbed his precious rest time, Cale sat up and looked around to locate where and who the offending voices were coming from. However, there wasn't anyone in the room. The only sound he could locate was the clang of metal on metal from the soldiers' (and Choi Han's, no doubt) early morning training session. 

Belatedly, Cale realized that the voices aren't coming from anyone nearby, but instead are from the panicked Ancient Powers inside his head.

… Said Ancient Powers who have now gone quiet, having realized that Cale is now paying attention to their voices.

A few moments passed before Cale broke the (internal) silence.

'Hey. What is so important that you all are chattering away at… ugh, way too early in the morning when I could be sleeping?'

'...' The Ancient Powers stayed silent for a few moments before Super Rock answered.

'Cale… we're sorry.'

'Something strange is happening to your body,' Glutton continued.

'We think it might be because of the World Tree's branch you stabbed your heart with,' Thief concluded.

'We're getting XXXX stronger, too!' Crazy Kid interjected.

Cale blinked languidly, his now awake mind processing what the Ancient Powers were saying.

'Huh. Didn't the World Tree say this might happen though? Something about 'traces of immortality' that would strengthen Vitality of the Heart?'

'Yes, but certainly not to the extent we're witnessing,' Super Rock replied.

'Not only are the traces of immortality doing weird shit in your body, but like Crazy Kid said, not only Vitality but all of us Powers are growing at an insane pace,' Cheapskate said. 'This isn't normal!'

Cale frowned, already anticipating the headache of a problem this could cause. Laying his head back down on his pillow, he asked, 'But, it's not like I can do anything about it, right? It's not like it's harming me either, so can't we just wait and see what happens?'

'No!' 'No way!' 'Don't even think about it!'

A chorus of voices rang in Cale's head all at once, causing Cale's hand to fly up and grasp his head in pain.

'Ngh! Don't… do that again, please,' Cale asked, gritting his teeth and squinting in pain.

'Sorry Cale,' Super Rock replied for the group, 'but we all agree that this is something that definitely shouldn't be occurring.'

'Yeah, okay, fine.' Cale groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, before lowering his hand with a resigned look on his face. 'Let's go visit the World Tree; see what we can figure out about whatever is going on with me.'

Relieved cheers and words of gratitude bounce around through Cale's head, causing a sigh to fall from Cale’s mouth.

"HUUUUMAAAANNN!!!"

A loud cry accompanied by the sound of flapping wings rattled down the hall outside of Cale’s room before the door slammed open.

"Hey, human, wake up, wake up– wait, you're already awake?"

With a sigh, Cale sat back up to respond to the excited dragon flying in circles above his bed.

"Yes, Raon, I am awake."

"Oh!"

With one final lap around the bed, the dragon landed on his human's lap, while Cale’s hand naturally settled on Raon's head to scratch his cheek.

"Human! I have learned an improvement to my shield magic from Goldie Gramps! So don't worry about using your power anymore, as the great and mighty Raon will protect you!"

"... Thank you, Raon. You know I don't like to work, so that makes me happy to hear."

"Ehehe!"

Raon giggled, his tail wagging in happiness.

"But, human. Why are you up so early?" The dragon questioned. "N-not that it's a bad thing, it's very, very good! But why are you awake?"

Cale pursed his lips in thought.

'I was going to find Raon anyway; might as well ask now.'

Cale nodded to himself with a satisfied expression, before turning towards the dragon whose eyes were twinkling in expectation.

"Raon. Can you do a task for me? I will give you two gold coins as payment."

Raon's wings fluttered while responding with, "Of course, human! What do I need to do?"

"I need you to teleport me to the World Tree," Cale smirked. "I need to speak to it about something."

Cale paused, before continuing, "However, the important part is that you need to keep this trip a secret; just between the two of us. You can't tell anyone; even your noona, okay?"

"Okay, human, but you aren't putting yourself in danger again, right? If you hurt yourself again because of that tree, I will destroy the world!"

"Don't worry Raon, I have no intention of doing anything dangerous. I hate pain."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

'In fact, it might even be the opposite,' Cale thought to himself with amusement.

"Good." Raon huffed in satisfaction, then got up and flew towards the door. "I will wait outside until you are dressed, then we will go on our super secret trip!"

As the door slammed shut behind Raon, Cale chuckled and thought, 'Aigoo, this kid. Well, I want to sleep through the morning in the future, so I hope this trip will bring a satisfying answer.'

Of course, things will never be that easy for Cale Henituse.

Chapter Text

A chilly wind blew by as the human and dragon duo stood before the World Tree. The leaves of the tree shook in the breeze as if waving hello to its guests.

Cale shivered. 'It's cold… I should've brought a sweater.'

This thought was quickly amended as Raon cast temperature-regulating magic.

"Thank you, Raon."

'No problem, human! I will be over by the entrance!'

"Got it."

Cale walked over and knelt by the base of the tree. Placing his hand on the trunk, he closed his eyes and spoke in a quiet voice.

"World Tree. I have something to ask."

'Cale. I'm glad you've come,' the tree responded with unusual trepidation. Startled by the seriousness of her voice, Cale schooled his face, smoothing out the shock that unwillingly crossed his expression.

Before he could ask the question the Ancient Powers were bothering him about, the World Tree began to speak again in a hurried manner.

‘I know why you’re here. You wanted to ask about the changes in your body and Ancient Powers, correct?’

“Yeah,” Cale said. “It’s not anything bad though, right? I mean, all the Ancient Powers have told me is that they’ve been getting stronger than expected. Isn’t that a good thing?”

‘... Cale, I’m sorry. I seem to have misjudged the strength of my oldest root.’

Cale froze, before asking, “What’s wrong?”

What sounded like a sigh shuddered through the World Tree’s leaves before an explanation began. ‘The concentration of power in the tip of my oldest root had an unexpected synergy with your Ancient Powers of nature, due to my closeness with nature. Then, this effect multiplied several times over because of your human Ancient Power, Vitality of the Heart. Normally, this newfound strength would have nowhere to go, however…’

The tree paused, seemingly hesitant to continue. Cale huffed. Minor amounts of impatience and frustration laced his next words as he said, “Just spit it out. I don’t have all day.”

A sigh once again ran through Cale’s head. ‘Very well. As I’ve mentioned to you before, the tip of my oldest root has traces of immortality contained within it. That is why it has often been referred to as the ‘primordial root’ in records and stories passed through the ages. Near-conscious, almost. In order to protect you, it has been changing your body into a form more suitable for storing such power… like me.'

Cale held his breath, hoping the Tree's next words weren't going to be what he thought, wasn't going to shatter the slacker life he dearly wanted–

'Cale, you've become immortal. '

Cale’s hand clenched deeper into the tree as the world began to spin. He gripped so tight he felt splinters of the bark begin to pierce his skin. His mind felt like he was stuck in perpetual turbulence, trying to make sense of the information he just heard.

"... what?"

He focused on stabilizing his breathing - Raon was only a few paces away, and Cale didn't want him to notice anything was wrong. He mentally tuned back into the World Tree's speech, catching the end of its next sentence.

'... not the same as mine. You will become stronger, more other than I am.'

… other?

As if sensing his confusion, the World Tree backtracked to explain.

'An other being treads outside the laws of the world; outside of normal humans' understanding. I believe a similar idea in mythos would be an ‘Eldritch being?’ I don’t know exactly what you will become, but you will naturally begin to know all you should know during your growth. It was the same for me, as well, when I first was born.'

A cold lump of anxiety settled itself in Cale’s stomach. This, this was too much; all he wanted was to peacefully live out his days with his new family - yes, family , he has acknowledged that much at least - and tend to a small piece of farmland.

But now, he’s immortal, apparently. Undying, unchanging, forever. About to become not even human. Yet again, he’ll be the last one standing; the last survivor. He doesn’t know how he’ll be able to handle any of his family’s deaths again. (If at all. He was so broken when leaving his original world, it’s a wonder how he managed to pick himself up.) At least Choi Han and Raon will live a long time. He takes comfort in knowing he won’t be completely alone for the foreseeable future. At least, until…

‘Stop. It hasn’t happened yet,’ Cale thought to himself. ‘Such events won’t happen for a long time. No need to worry about it.’

After pushing down his fear and anxiety, Cale broke out of his reverie and spoke to the patiently waiting World Tree.

“Thank you. For explaining… all of this … to me.”

‘No problem, Cale. Ah, one more thing!’

There’s more ?

‘If you ever need any help adjusting, or just need a quiet place to rest, you are always welcome under my branches. At any time, understand?’

Cale relaxed, releasing a tension in his shoulders he didn’t realize had accumulated.

“Hah, fine. Only if I really need to.”

The World Tree’s laugh bounced through its leaves like bells as they said goodbye. Cale turned around and signaled to Raon that it was time to return. Hopefully, he’ll have some time to rest before the day begins. He needs time; time to process everything.

And if there’s one thing he has now, it’s time.

Chapter Text

“Cale-nim, is everything alright?”

Cale blinked, startled by Choi Han’s inquiry back into the present situation. 3 days have passed since his conversation with the World Tree, and boy was he glad the Ancient Powers convinced him to go and see it. The Ancient Powers have reported that not only have they grown, but somehow managed to grow faster than the original speed. Plus, with this newfound power has come knowledge - the kind that one doesn’t know existed until one reached out for it.

‘It’s an odd feeling,’ Cale had thought one night in bed, sifting through the bits and pieces of know-how unwittingly stuffed into his brain. ‘Kind of similar to what it was like post-transmigration, realizing I knew how to speak Western Continental.’

Speaking of new languages, apparently, Cale’s learned a new one. Though, he doesn’t think he’ll be speaking in this tongue any time soon, as when he tried it aloud–

(CuriousWaryHowDoesThisSound)

–the layers of meaning brought too much raw honesty for his liking.

(Alerted by the unnerving and almost scratchy sound, Choi Han and Ron, who were nearby, ran into Cale’s room in alarm. It took Cale a good 10 minutes to convince them both that no, nothing is broken, he was fine, and it was probably some monster in the forest outside. It took another full day for them to relax their guard.)

Realizing he hasn’t yet responded to Choi Han, Cale picks up his fork and says, “I’m fine. Just tired.”

Choi Han stares at Cale for a moment, before turning back to his lunch. “As you insist, Cale-nim.”

‘Clearly, he doesn’t believe me,’ Cale mused, ‘but he doesn’t ask further. One of the qualities I like most about him.’

“Human, you can’t be tired!” Raon exclaimed. “You were just sleeping for 12 hours, 11 minutes, and 37 seconds! How can you be tired after sleeping for so long?”

“Maybe some fresh air would do you well, young master,” Ron said.

Cale wanted to protest, but On cut him off, saying, “Hong, Raon, and I were about to play hide and seek with Rosalyn-nya, you can watch us if you want to.”

“Yeah, you won’t even have to do anything-nya,” said Hong. “You can just watch us play!”

“Human, pleeeease?” Raon asked.

Cale tried to decline the kids’ invitation, but the combined force of the three’s begging expressions was too cute to resist.

‘Aigoo, these children will be the death of me.’

Cale sighed. “Haah, alright. I’ll watch your game.”

“Yay!” “Hooray-nya!” “Thank you, human!”

A collective cheer escaped from the children, as Cale returned to eating his steak. ‘It might be nice to take a break from all the thinking for a while, and just enjoy the company of the children.’

Cale nodded. A break would be good.

—-

“3… 2… 1… 0! Ready or not, here I come!”

Cale watched from his cushioned chair as Rosalyn opened her eyes after counting down to 0, then rushed into the forest. He’d been given a communication device-turned-magical screen that’d been enchanted to follow the seeker. For the final game of hide and seek (mixed partly with the game of tag because of the need to tire out the children with boundless energy) the seeker was Rosalyn, with a range of hiding spots spanning half the Forest of Darkness in a circle around the Villa.

A brief gust of wind brought the scent of flowers from the garden nearby. The sun warmed the tips of his fingers and ears, and the sensation almost lulled him to sleep if not for the device reporting Rosalyn’s ‘Found you!’ alongside On’s screeching laughter as she ran away from the seeker.

It was… nice, to just be. To enjoy his family's company,  amidst the vast expanse of nature. To feel the breeze jumping joyfully from leaf to leaf, following the mischief of the wings of butterflies. To see the plants in the garden flowering buds and fruits to their caretaker, in offering for their continued care and protection. To watch the water condense in the air to form wispy clouds, waiting for their chance to flow down from the sky, wash everything clean, and start the cycle anew–

"– Cale !"

Cale flinched at the voice, startled out of his reverie. He noticed Rosalyn waving her hand in front of his eyes, which stopped when she noticed his attention.

"Thank goodness. You weren't responding to my voice for a bit; we were worried something happened. You alright?"

"I'm fine," Cale said as he looked around. It seemed that during the time he spaced out, the sun had moved from directly above him to somewhere below the top of the forest's trees, and the clouds had begun to gather into darker, more sinister colors.

‘That was a close one,’ Cale thought to himself. ‘I should probably practice with this new stuff a bit… I don’t want anyone to know something’s up.’

Exiting his musings, Cale noticed that Rosalyn bore an expression that was worried, and… panicked? The worry he could understand, he was just unresponsive for a bit, but panic?

“What’s up?” Cale asked worriedly.

Biting her lip, Rosalyn began to explain.

“It’s been a half hour since our game’s pre-arranged end time, and Hong hasn’t come back yet. We’re worried he might have gotten stuck somewhere.”

“There’s no way Hong got lost-nya,” On spoke up. “He probably just fell asleep somewhere comfy.”

“What’s weird is that even the great and mighty me can’t find him with my search magic!” Raon chimes in. “Smart Rosalyn said that there might be an anti-search enchantment somewhere, which is why we need to search manually using the magic device we gave you!”

“...Okay. Here.” With Cale’s remark, Rosalyn took the device out of Cale’s hands, then set it in front of the other two children in order to continue their search for Hong.

Meanwhile, the panic that had risen in Cale’s throat started to settle down. Somehow, something just told him that Hong is safe; somehow just knew Hong isn’t in danger. And as unsettling as this feeling is, it gave Cale immense comfort that his family member, his kid , is safe.

And with a similar feeling, he knows exactly where Hong is in the forest. All he has to do is…

Cale stands up from where he was sitting, seemingly looking at nothing but actually looking straight at his destination. Ignoring the inquisitive (and slightly concerned) gazes of his companions, Cale walked forward into the trees. Then, following his instinct, he pulled and tore .

Suddenly, it seemed like he was everywhere yet nowhere at all. The trees warped around him, causing the world to look like it was viewed through a fish-eye lens, yet slowly and quickly leading Cale to his destination. And in one second that felt both like hours and milliseconds had passed, Cale found himself standing in front of a tree.

Papers with odd markings were scattered all around, the curves of the roots following the contours of the inscriptions, yet none of that mattered. For Cale saw, hidden away in a hole at the base of the trunk, Hong. Shivering in fright, yet unhurt. Alive.

Directly after relief followed concern, as Hong was afraid. Clearly not of Cale himself, judging by the softening of Hong’s eyes as they looked at each other, but Hong was still shaking.

Cale didn’t like that.

And so, perhaps still under the influence of whatever whispers of instinct compelled him to pull , Cale did something that he thought he’d never do - speak in that language that could only support the rawest of truth.

Bringing the shivering Cat into his arms, he spoke in a small and low voice–

(ReliefComfortYou’reOkayNow)

–and Hong melted , mewling cries of relief and happiness while snuggling closer to Cale’s chest. Cale only held him tighter in his arms, letting Hong’s fear and worries wash away with the small pitter-patter of rain that fell on them both.

(A small part of Cale wondered if the language would have scared Hong further; scared him away. Luckily, that wasn’t the case at all. Maybe, if in a similar situation, Cale could speak this painfully truthful language to the others of his family and they wouldn’t be scared either. Perhaps this new language could comfort them. Cale sincerely hoped so.)

Now, Cale had to get back. If they stayed out any longer in the rain, Hong would catch a cold.

So he reached back into his mind, followed his new instincts–

[pull and push, warp the fabric of space, the trees will guide you]

–and suddenly he was back, facing a relieved Rosalyn, Raon, and On.

“Human, you’re back!” Raon exclaimed, followed by On’s quiet “You’re back, nya.”

Rosalyn jogged towards Cale, and asked him, “Where did you go, you just disappeared– is that Hong?”

Eyes widened in surprise as all three looked at Cale, who held a quietly sleeping Hong in his arms.

Before anyone could ask how exactly Cale found Hong, Cale decided to offer an explanation in advance:

“I remembered a spot nearby that had odd markings on it. Thought that it might be the anti-magic enchantment Raon mentioned. So I flew there with the Sound of Wind and, lo and behold, there he was.”

Rosalyn narrowed her eyes in suspicion, having already noticed the holes in Cale’s explanation. She opened her mouth to question Cale, but he cut her off, quickly diverting attention.

“He wasn’t hurt at all,” Cale assured, “just tired. He fell asleep almost right after I picked him up.”

Rosalyn protested, “That’s not what I–”

“Human! Were there really anti-magic enchantments there?” Raon interrupted. “Where, where? I want to see them!”

Cale huffed, lips curving into a slight smile. “I can draw them for you if you’d like.”

“Ooh, sure! Here!” Raon summoned a pen and papers from his dimensional storage.

After scribbling out the inscriptions and formations, Cale handed the paper back to Raon, who immediately flew over to Rosalyn, shouting excitedly.

“Smart Rosalyn, help me look at these! Let’s decipher these together!”

Rosalyn sighed, her curiosity towards magic winning out and leading her to follow the young dragon and cat heading back to the Super Rock villa.

Cale sighed in relief. ‘I escaped, somehow. Thank goodness for Raon.’

He chuckled a bit to himself, before straightening up a bit. ‘But now - time for sleep. All that… traveling wore me out.’

He’d leave the practice of his newfound powers up to future him. Right now, his pillows were calling to him, and he’s never been one to deny himself a good sleep.

Chapter Text

Hong was having a good day.

No, it was a great day! The sun was bright and warm, seeping into his fur, and he was playing hide and seek tag with his noona (On), dongsaeng (Raon), and Rosalyn!

And the best part? Cale was there, watching them play! Rosalyn even helped his dongsaeng alter a communication orb into a viewing orb so Cale didn’t have to move from his chair. Hong even secretly saw Cale smile while watching them play!

Needless to say, everything was fun!

However, during the final round, Hong was getting tired. The last round had his noona as the seeker, so Hong was chased around for a long time. He decided that this time, he’d find an hiding spot so amazing even his dongsaeng would be surprised!

And so Hong ran further into the forest than he dared go before. Surely there’d be a great spot past this next tree! Or, this next tree! Or…!

…Okay.

So, maybe Hong was a little lost.

In looking for the perfect hiding space, he’d unintentionally lost the scent of the way back home.

But that’s okay! His dongsaeng’s search magic is strong! Even if he’s lost, his dongsaeng will find him, if he waits long enough for the game to end.

But, was it just him, or were the bushes moving? And, those shadows seem longer and more menacing than he remembered…

…Was that the wind, or a growl?

Hong tensed, lowered his body and flattened his ears. Suddenly, the forest smelled less like safety and more like danger. What should he do? What would his noona do, his dongsaeng do, Rosalyn–

A branch snapped in the distance, and Hong quickly jumped the other direction and started sprinting. He had to hide!

In the corner of his blurring vision, Hong spotted a flash of red and yellow. Turning his path towards the colors, he spotted a large tree littered with red and yellow papers with weird letters on them. Though he swiftly discarded such observations for a more important one – a large hole at the base of the tree! Perfect!

Hong skidded to a stop at the base of the tree, curling himself into a tight ball inside the hole and trying to not make a sound. Even when the sun cast long shadows across the dirt outside, Hong didn’t dare exit the hole.

Now that he had time to think, Hong’s mind wandered to his family. Shouldn’t they have found him by now?

Hong remembered the odd papers on the outside of the tree. Maybe that was why? Maybe they couldn’t find him in the first place? Then, should he leave?

No, he couldn’t! What if the monster was still out there?

Hong started to shake, tears falling from his eyes. He wanted to go home!

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Hong spotted red. He looked up to see… Cale? What was Cale doing here??

Then, something stranger happened. Cale picked him up and… spoke? At least, that’s what Hong thought it was. Still, Cale’s words(?) radiated comfort when he spoke in a small and low voice–

(ReliefComfortYou’reOkayNow)

–and Hong melted, the sound rumbling and reverberating throughout what seemed to be his entire existence.

(It sounded like the purrs of a mother he doesn’t remember, like the first giggles of his dongsaeng. It felt like pressing against his noona for warmth. It tasted like steak, and smelled of farmland. It sounded like a place to belong.)

Hong snuggled closer to Cale’s chest, so happy and tired that he didn’t even notice the strangely short journey back to the Super Rock Villa. Hearing the relieved and worried voices of his dongsaeng and noona, Hong fully relaxed and snuggled closer to Cale’s chest, swiftly falling asleep.

Chapter Text

After a nice, long nap sprawled out on his luxuriously silken bed, Cale woke up, unusually clear-headed, to moonlight streaming in from the curtained windows and balcony door. Rubbing his bleary eyes, he pushed himself up to a seated position and looked around his bedroom for any sign of the kids. Luckily for Cale, tonight it seemed like they’d all decided to sleep somewhere else than his bedroom (most likely with Eruhaben), leaving him alone to ask his Ancient Powers the question he’d been holding on to ever since the game of hide-and-seek.

‘Are you all there?’ he asked internally.

‘Yep, here!’ Cheapskate responded, with the intonation of a kid answering the teacher at roll call.

‘We’ve been waiting for you,’ Super Rock said with his uniquely soft yet firm voice.

‘Good,’ Cale stated, ‘because I have a question that needs answering.’

‘We’ll all do our XXXX best to help you!’ shouted Crazy Kid. Mentally, Cale imagines her pumping a fist in the air like a shounen protagonist.

‘...right. Well, let’s start with what happened earlier, when I was watching the kids play hide-and-seek with Rosalyn.’

Cale shifted to sit cross legged on the bed and set his elbow on his knee and chin on his hand, trying to recall the strange sensations he felt earlier during the day. ‘I went into some sort of trance there, right? I could feel every blade of grass and drop of moisture as if it was a part of me, like an extra limb. What was that?’

The Ancient Powers fell silent for a moment, before Glutton cautiously spoke up. ‘We’re not exactly sure, but at that time, we all felt you were slowly assimilating with your natural surroundings,’ she said with trepidation.

‘Being a separate entity, yet merging with nature; it’s an odd state to be in,’ Super Rock remarked. ‘It was as if you were spreading your very existence among the air and flora around you. If Rosalyn hadn’t awakened you, things might have gotten dangerous. The closest concept we can grasp is that it has something to do with your new existence - that is, your unique self-identity as an ‘otherly’ being… though perhaps you’d know more about that than we do.’

Cale blinked in surprise, before replying back, ‘That’s… a lot.’ He sighs, relaxing his posture and leaning back on the headboard. ‘If any of that is true, then my current lack of control is concerning, to say the least.’

A moment of silence passed, while everyone mulled over the revelations that were just discussed.

Breaking the quiet, Thief spoke up, ‘So then, let’s practice control! Establishing a gradient of power, and finding the point of no return.’ She continued on excitedly with a low tone, as if showing off a newly discovered gemstone. ‘I think this can be utilized similarly to how I see my surroundings through conversing with my elemental friends. If you practice, you might be able to gather new information without even moving!’ 

‘That’d be nice…’ Cale mused. The impressions he got from the slip in control were still vividly imprinted in his mind - if properly controlled, wouldn’t the ability become something like an incredibly advanced CCTV system? ‘I’d be able to see and understand things far away that’d normally be impossible.’

Crazy Kid spiritedly shouted, ‘Yeah! In a fight, we’d be able to wipe out the XXX commander with one spear! How XXXX cool is that?’

‘We’d set the backline aflame without anyone even noticing! Hahaha, a blazing sea of fire!’ Cheapskate agreed vigorously.

No, why did the topic switch to fighting all of a second? I just want to watch over my family in peace, Cale thought, as the cheerful Cheapskate and Crazy Kid laughed even harder.

‘Shut up, you’re too loud,’ he said, scrunching his nose.

With a wavering voice betraying barely restrained humor, Glutton said, ‘Well, regardless of potential use, we need you to be able to control your abilities first.’

‘The Priestess is correct,’ affirmed Super Rock, ‘control should come first. Luckily, as an essential part of you, we also have gained partial access to your new knowledge. We all had taken the liberty to study it while you were asleep, and we believe we are now able to help you approach your new… sense. So, how about allowing one of us to guide you?

Hearing the other APs’ sounds of affirmation to Super Rock’s claim and suggestion, Cale thought for a moment, before nodding. "Okay. Let’s do it," he murmured.

The APs, receiving Cale’s quiet agreement, began to whisper amongst each other about who would be the spokesperson and teach Cale. Eventually, through a quick debate and vote, Thief was chosen to lead the practice session as the only one with any similar experiences to Cale’s situation with her Wind Elementals.

With a small fake cough, she began talking.

‘Ahem, well, let’s begin. First, sit up in a position that you’re comfortable with. Once you’re seated, then close your eyes and relax. We’ll continue when you’re ready.’

Following Thief’s instructions, Cale sat up and shimmied his body to the edge of the bed. Once seated comfortably with his legs dangling off the edge, he cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders, and performed a few simple arm stretches before finally relaxing. Exhaling, Cale closed his eyes, then told the patiently waiting Thief he was ready.

‘Alright. What we will be trying to do is mentally attach your new sense to something more tangible that you can visualize, which will make it easier to fine-tune your strength, filter unwanted or unnecessary information, and set boundaries for yourself. Now, turn your focus inward, and conjure an image that is familiar to you; like an ocean, a street, or perhaps a house. Pick whatever feels most natural to you.’

Cale mentally flipped through an assortment of images, before an impression of a four-way blacktop street with white painted crossing paths from his days on Earth floated to the top of his mind. With an intuitive feeling that this is the one, he grabbed and solidified the image of the blacktop street, adding in towering yet ruined buildings straight from the apocalypse he used to live in, while vaguely hearing the quiet voices of his Ancient Powers exclaiming softly over the unfamiliar scenery.

Once the image solidified, five small colored lights appeared, looking similar to elementals. Cale intuitively understood that they represented each of his five speaking Ancient Powers: vermillion Fire of Destruction, yellow Super Rock, pale green Indestructible Shield, cyan Sound of Wind, and indigo Sky-Eating Water.

As the other four colored lights backed off so as to not interfere, the cyan Thief floated closer to Cale, steps lightly bouncing in a similar way as her Wind Elemental friends. She continued to speak, her voice along with the others sounding slightly unclear and echoed, reverberating with undertones reminiscent of a broadcast over an old and decrepit PA system.

‘...I don’t recognize this kind of place, but as long as it works, I suppose. Now, imagine yourself clearly on one side of the… street… as if you were there. Feel the breeze on your skin, how it lifts your hair to dance around your head, the…’

As Thief continued to speak, Cale listened lightly while he followed her instruction. He visualized himself on one end of the street, placing himself on one of the sidewalk corners; he felt the asphalt beneath his feet, and the slightly smoky smell of old ruins.

‘Now, imagine yourself crossing the street – slowly now, don’t rush – with the intent of making it to the other side, but deciding to instead stop halfway in the center. As you walk, feel every step you take while tapping into your senses.’

Cale did so, still focused intently on his five senses. But as he got closer to the center, he couldn’t help but feel something was changing. Every step felt more difficult to take, like he was wading through a rushing river, slowly pushing through to deeper areas. Eventually he stopped, having reached the center of the crossing, with the strange feeling of force that surrounded him akin to water that reached up to his knees – powerful, yet still allowing him to move freely within.

‘Good job. Now, standing in the center, look around you. While keeping a firm grasp on your senses, expand them to reach as far as possible. Making the first leap will always be the hardest; if we were successful, you and the rest of us will know.’

After taking a deep breath, Cale looks out at the scenery around him. The skyscrapers, though most were collapsed, still lived up to their namesake, looking like pillars reaching out to support–

[look up]

–the sky. The sun must be trapped beneath the earth, as the bending of its light kept the darkened partly-cloudy dusk sky lit with a dull yet rich red glow. Cale could vaguely make out some familiar and unfamiliar stars, the constellations a mishmash of those from Earth and Rowoon; however, most were blotted out by the sheer presence of–

[higher, almost there, close]

–the moon. It was also dyed a soft, pale red, and its light appeared to bleed out over the rooftops and asphalt. Cale himself was not exempt from this either, and soon even he was bathed in its beautiful scarlet beams. As if on instinct, Cale raised his hand up to the sky and towards the moon, as if it were an apple on a tree to be plucked–

[grasp it in your hands; take hold of what cannot be held, it is yours to command]

–and pulled.

Suddenly, a rush of… emotion? Sound? Color? Movement? Flooded Cale’s senses, freezing him in place; his eyes were widened with surprise, and his raised hand came to rest above his slightly open mouth.

The sensations (there were no other words to describe it) felt like a flash flood; sudden and rough, the force carving out pathways inside his body, then looping back to rest at his heart. It felt like learning how to breathe from scratch; the first taken ever-so-carefully with full attention, then suddenly realizing you could somehow do so naturally with the ease of someone who’d known the whole time. It was as if he stood within a vast and endless meadow, the grass beneath his feet growing at an uncontrolled pace, flower stems and vines wrapping around his legs to reach for his heart–

‘Maintain your focus; think of the street!’

–ah, right; focus. Asphalt, pebbles, smoke. A light but noticeable heat beneath his feet. Red sky, bright moon. And, not-quite-strangely, a semicircle of red flowers that bloomed through the cracks in front of him. 

(He recognized the types of flowers present, as On had recently regaled him with information she learned from her newly formed interest in gardening: dahlias, spider lilies, hyacinths, and baby’s breath.)

The petals fluttered in the wind, and as he slowly breathed in and out, the wind flowed to breathe with him.

But only the sounds refused to quieten; remained too much, and too loud, like a fly buzzing in his ear that just won’t go away. To avoid this particular… annoyance, Cale subconsciously took a single step back, then a purposeful second; the static fading to what felt like a reasonable, tolerable level of white noise that easily faded into the background. For a while, Cale just stood there, bathed in the afterglow of the sensations that just overtook him.

‘Woah…!’ Cale flinched, startled at the echoed voice of the audience he had momentarily forgotten. ‘That was… so XXXX BADASS!’

Cale turned around to face the five colored lights that excitedly surrounded him. He blinked, briefly watched the indigo light zip around, before he cautiously asked, ‘...Did you, ah; feel what just happened as well, Crazy Kid?’

‘Hell yeah I did!’

‘We all did, Cale,’ Glutton interjected. ‘That was certainly something; a one-of-a-kind experience, feeling that kind of growth.’

As the Ancient Powers chatter away excitedly, Thief bounded closer to Cale. ‘Good job, Cale. It seems you were successful,’ she joyfully said. ‘Congratulations.’

The others quickly joined in on the praise as well: ‘Yeah, that was so cool!’ ‘Congratulations, Cale!’ ‘Congrats!’ ‘Congratulations, you got it!’

Cale dipped his head, smiling. ‘Thanks, everyone. Especially you, Thief; thank you for your guidance.’

‘It was no trouble, Cale; anytime,’ Thief said, kindness audible in her words. ‘Now, time to practice!’

‘Alright.’ ‘‘‘‘Yeah!’’’’

For the next half an hour, Cale practiced his control over his new… ‘sixth sense,’ for lack of a better term. Although control over it now felt as easy as walking from one point to another on his imaginary street, Cale knew that experimentation was still needed in order to completely master this mysterious force.

Eventually, he felt comfortable using it at any intensity, which marked the end of practice. As he prepared to open his eyes, the yellow Super Rock suddenly noticed something different.

‘...Hm? What’s that?’ he said, clear curiosity in his voice.

As Cale and the others turned to look, Cale spotted what Super Rock had noticed – a small, tan-gray butterfly slowly flying over to where they were standing. Looking closer, it turned out that the butterfly was completely made up not of chitin, but slates of cobblestone!

Baffled, Cale watched as the stone butterfly flew closer to him, and subconsciously put out a hooked finger as if about to pick up a mug for the butterfly to rest on. As it landed softly on his finger, he could feel a delicate coolness from the cobblestone, while flakes of stone peeled off the surface of its stone wings like autumn leaves falling from a tree.

Super Rock, who had floated closer to the cobblestone butterfly, gasped under his breath.

‘Ah, this is…’ he trailed off, before laughing incredulously under his breath. Cale could almost picture Super Rock smiling, as if… greeting an old friend?

Slightly furrowing his brow, Cale opened his mouth to ask Super Rock what was up, but was interrupted as the butterfly suddenly spoke:

(FamiliarCuriousHappyGreetingsHello)

Startled, Cale opened his eyes, the image of Earth’s street crossing fading as it was quickly replaced by the very real room before him. The Ancient Powers and Cale fell silent as they tried to process what just happened. Heart calming down, Cale deliberately stretched his neck and arms, before he looked around his room. Soon enough, he noticed that something had changed – the door to the hallway was flung wide open, still moving from inertia. Quickly raising his newly-developed senses, Cale felt around outside, but found no one close enough nearby.

Wait – the door being opened with no one around, that language spoken by the butterfly, Super Rock’s reaction as if greeting an old friend, the cobblestone butterfly… perhaps?

‘Super Rock,’ Cale started, pausing for only a moment. ‘The door, and the butterfly… was the one that spoke, maybe, the Villa?’

Incredulous gasps of shock came from the other Ancient Powers, as Super Rock sat in silence.

‘...I think so, Cale.’

‘...Okay.’

‘I think it likes you.’

‘...Great.’