Through The Fractured Lens

After a few days of village hopping, we finally made it.

Eldoria. The big city.

The moment it came into view, I was filled with awe. While it may not have been a steeping city with high-rises that went to the clouds, it was beautiful in its own many ways.

The bustling streets of the city, the winding streets with markets lining the sides, everything worked in harmony. It was truly an amazing sight from afar, and I was eager to actually enter the city.

***

We had just barely entered the city and we were already being hounded by people who wanted to sell us something.

It seems the economy here is quite—interesting, to say the least.

As we ventured further down, we passed all sorts of different areas that fit people with seemingly different lifestyles.

Some areas seemed to have nature itself woven into its very foundation, as vines purposefully stretched around roofs, blossoming with flowers, while others seemed to be more industrial. Blacksmiths and other lines of work covered their own areas.

However, judging by the direction we were going, we seemed to be heading to the northside, which appeared to have a lot of farmhouses.

Farms stretched into the endless horizon as farmers passed by carrying different loads of goods—some were simply transporting, other moving them to their markets—or even selling.

There was a simple beauty in the peaceful order the city had, vey different from the village.

No obvious or rising tension, everybody just living day by day.

After a long walk, we seemed to have stopped at a house in the outskirts. It was quite a nice house, nicer than what we lived in before. Based on its location however, it was pretty obvious it was cheap to rent out—until, or if, we can return to the village of Millbrook.

"Well, it seems we've made it—quite a long journey, eh?" my father spoke, startling me.

My mother looked down at me, before looking up at my father. "Definitely was. My legs are tired, and I couldn't image how tired Lucian's legs must be."

She was almost teasing me in a way, as I tried to walk on my own as much as possible, feeling a bit weird being carried around everywhere, or even riding on my dads back.

"Not too tired," I spoke, hoping to ease my mothers over-worrying.

"Well good, but I'm starving. I'll cook up something quick." My mother replied, eager to enter.

We all stepped in, and took in the surroundings. Not long after, a man jumped out and greeted us. It was Hayes, or 'Uncle' Hayes, I suppose—which still sounded weird.

"Thanks so much for letting us stay with you for a few weeks," my mom spoke, clearly ashamed of having to rely on him, which I sympathized with. 

"It's no trouble at all, I enjoy the extra company from time to time." My uncle replied.

"Anyways, you guys can unpack, I'll show the little man to his room. He's probably tired after all that walking, If I had to guess."

My mom formed a grin on her face. "Well, according to him, he can walk a few more miles."

"I never said that!" I shouted, my face clearly flushed. I was also annoyed, as I still didn't really connect to these people well enough to be joking around all that much.

Both my father and Uncle Hayes let out a chuckle before Uncle Hayes waved a hand, directing me to follow him down the hall. As I walked down the hall, it reminded me of the hall in the foster home.

The hall that I'd been in moments before the best, and the worst, days of my life.

Well—previous life now, I suppose.

We stopped at the end of the hallway, as he gestured me to enter. I took a second to observe everything. There was a nice bed tucked away in the corner, along with a simple desk on the other side.

I had a window as well, which rested just to the side of my bed.

"Not the most luxurious, but it's comfortable I promise." My uncle spoke.

I let out a little laugh, hoping to keep the energy in the air. "Thank you very much." I said, trying to dismiss his as quickly as possible.

It wasn't his fault, no it wasn't, but I couldn't see him as my Uncle—and that was something that I had to live with in this life, no matter how well he treats me.

"I'll be helping your parents now, make yourself at home of course." He said, before walking away.

I slumped down on my bed, exhaustion starting to kick in now.

This life was so much more… hectic, I suppose, over my last life. So much was happening, so much to do.

I closed my eyes, letting the weight of my new reality settle over me. The soft bed beneath me was quite comfortable, to my surprise. Despite the physical comfort, I still was never able to get rid of that hollowness in my chest.

Nothing could fill that hole, and just like every other day in this life, I felt empty.

A gentle breeze drifted through the open window, carrying with it the scent of freshly tilled earth and livestock. It was quite the reminder of just how far we truly had travelled over the past few days.

I wonder how different this life will be, now that we'll be living here for quite a while. My mother didn't want to say more than a few weeks, but I knew we would have nothing to return back to. It was a sad reality, but this place will provide better opportunity for me in the end.

After a moment to rest my eyes, I got up and walked over to the bathroom across the hall.

I picked up a stool resting in the side closet to stand up on, unable to fully see myself in the reflection of the mirror with my height yet.

Never once had I taken a good look at my new appearance in this life. Funny enough, I didn't really look anything like I did, which for some odd reason—I would've thought I did.

I had blonde hair this time. It was a bit messy right now, but quite short.

Along with that, I had a nice set of golden eyes, similar to my fathers. While I liked my old appearance better, I couldn't help but appreciate how I look now.

After all, nothing I can really do to change that now, could I?

'I'm too tired for this,' I told myself, before dragging my legs back over to the bed, where I practically collapsed.

However, just out the corner of my eye, I spot an array of books underneath the desk. Ah, books. My favorite thing in the entire world.

I never cared to read, but it was a good distraction. And maybe I'll learn an extra thing or two.

The books were riddled with dust, but I grabbed one of them and brushed all the dust off. It looked quite dated—definitely has seen better days, but I took a second to really capture the front of it.

[ Introduction to Spirit Manipulation ]

This was the perfect book. While I already knew quite a lot about what one would consider the basics, this was still all fresh to me. Any information is helpful.

I cracked open the book and started reading, eager to see what this had.

***

"Lucian, come get dinner!" My mothers voiced echoed throughout the hallway.

I looked out the window and noticed the last bit of light slowly fading away. How long was I reading this for? I had gotten about halfway, so a few hours if I had to guess.

Snapping out of the state I was while reading, I realized how hungry I actually was… dinner sounds great to me.

I sprint out the hallway and into the dining room, where both my parents and Uncle already sat.

"Woah slow down, the food won't go anywhere." My father spoke, while both him and my Uncle threw out another chuckle.

"Hungry." I replied.

I found my seat and sat up as my mother slid me a plate of food. Stewed meat with variations of different vegetables, and I rushed to eat every last drop of it.

While it wasn't exactly the most favorable meal, I wasn't going to let it go to waste.

That was something I learned to value in my past life.

After enjoying the meal and enjoying watch everybody else converse, I headed back over to my room. It was going to be a long few years of training If I wanted to unlock these 'abilities.' However, I was prepared, after all—I had nothing else to live for.

I sat back on my bed and cracked open the book to where I left off, ready to start reading again.

As I delved deeper into the book, the more deep my understanding became. Hours passed unnoticed as I absorbed every detail I could, before finally reaching the end of the book.

I snapped it close, bits of dust flying everywhere, before putting it back where I found it.

"Lucian? Why are you still awake?" My mother spoke, unaware of her presence.

"I didn't know it was so late," I replied, which was the truth.

"Well get some sleep now, long days to come." She replied, before leaving me alone.

She was right, however, she probably didn't realize just how much weight her words really had. There were longer days to come, and to be honest—I was prepared.

Regardless of what will happen, I will be strong enough to be above it all.

After talking to myself for a bit longer, I finally called it a night before getting more comfortable. I laid back, and I began to doze off almost immediately. 

It had been a long day, and I was excited to finally get some rest.