The Rise

A comfortable feeling gradually spread across his entire body as his breathing became longer and more rhythmic. Strangely, however, the tempo almost seemed to resonate with the world directly, causing the sunlight to alternate faintly from bright to dim at a slow pace. Very subtlety, the world halted to a stop like a still painting as a calm tranquility proliferated throughout the hut.

Cyrus felt like the world was giving him a hug, just like his mother does when they sleep. That feeling of security seemed to block out everything bad in the world. Recently, he had been experiencing this sensation everyday like a routine. It was almost as if his body were guiding him to do this instinctively.

The first time it happened to Cyrus, it was not all sunshine and rainbows. No, it was especially awful because his vision went dark and his thoughts, against his will, slowed down. His consciousness felt like it was gradually seeping into a deep quagmire, with no path of return. But as he sank further in, that 'vision' returned in an x-ray like projection of his body.

Cyrus could vaguely make out specks of glimmering starlight in his blood that had a strange type of heavy quality. After staring at it for a while, the golden colored heart grabbed his attention. At first he was shocked silly considering the fact that everything else in his body was red. Calming down quickly and rationalizing the situation, he figured it might have to do with those magical arts and cultivation.

"Hehehe, I might be pretty talented. Thinking of which, Dad said that I need to work hard so I can help the rest of the family."

That excitement could barely be hidden as Cyrus was giggling to himself on the bed. Wiping off the drool at the corner of his mouth and reorganizing himself, he focused back on the surging heat that was engulfing his body. Gradually those brightly shining dots multiplied really slowly. The only reason he noticed the few that were formed was almost like some primal instinct, like breathing.

Since that day, he kept meditating by that window after his parents left and stopped when they came back. Every time after a session, he would be covered in a thick film of black, green dirt. The sweat left a smelly side effect that was a bit of a hassle to wash, especially the lingering scent. Over time, the residue became less and less until it was nonexistent, and Cyrus had a feeling as if every cell in his body was brimming with energy.

6 months later, Cyrus showed noticeable changes. From the size of a 3-year-old child, he looked around 5 years old now with healthy, glowing wheat skin. As a child he had always been extremely adorable, with those pinch-able chubby cheeks, but now he had these immature sword like brows and a budding sharpness to his face that left one taking a second look. Just from this early glimpse, one could tell this child would grow up to be devilishly handsome. Those golden eyes especially gave off an unnatural pressure for an adolescent.

After the first few months, his parents quickly took notice of these increasingly progressive changes, leaving them a little worried. However, when Cyrus tried to explain to them what happened, they were completely lost on the details. Angel stubbornly persisted to knowing the reason and kept pestering him to the point of driving him insane. Even a 3-year-old like Cyrus thought she was acting immature after a few hours.

Fed up, Cyrus said, "Mother, its fine. You can just think of it like those magical arts that dad said those people cultivate to become strong."

Angel looked him up and down, puffed out her cheeks, and said, "Fine, but you better let us know about any other changes that come about. Also watch your mouth, little kid!"

She turned around and stomped away, muttering about a 3-year-old patronizing his own mother. Seeing that, Cyrus could not help but chuckle a bit, only to see his mom look back with an evil, crafty light. With chills crawling down his spine, he almost swallowed his own tongue, trying to shut his mouth as quick as possible.

Raymond watching this whole thing from the sideline felt, if only a little, bad for the kid. He knew that when she activates her female tigress mode, bad things are bound to come.

Thinking a bit, Raymond walked over and rubbed Cyrus's head, speaking to him "Tomorrow I will take you outside. But you must remember to listen to everything I say, otherwise I will take you right back."

No matter how much he lectured, that bright light in his son's eyes only grew. "haaaa, It's not nearly as great out there as you think it is. Just stick close to me and behave yourself when we go out." He knew how energetic this kid could be sometimes. Thinking to himself, 'he probably won't cause any problems, right?'

Seeing how serious his dad was, Cyrus tried putting on that same stoic expression but failed miserably. Looking at this kid, all hope for a normal day went up in a puff of smoke. Shaking his head, Raymond could only accept the fact that this son was a cheeky bastard that would always leave him worried.

"Heh, think you can cause me so many issues without being disciplined!" A malicious smile grew on his face as he stared at Cyrus with shinning eyes. Before the kid could run, screams of pain and hearty laughter rang out as a delicious smell covered the home.

Speaking of eating, that familiar delectable scent from his mother's porridge had his belly grumbling almost immediately, which soured his good mood. Since young, Cyrus was self-conscious of his enormous appetite that consumed a majority of the little rations they had. Recently, it almost felt as if his stomach was replaced with a bottomless abyss, but even then his parents refused to compromise and made him eat till he was full. With the opportunity to go out tomorrow, he picked himself back up and looked forward to easing some of his parents' responsibilities.

Running in the kitchen to help his mother, he considered what his plans would be tomorrow. Logically speaking, he did not have much of an idea of what he could do, however, based on what his dad had told him, he should look for a magical art.

"Besides the magical art, I should also pay attention to the directions. Dad said not to get lost so that would help just in case." Cyrus thought inwardly, then continued, "However, I definitely need to find something to train with. I probably can't get a weapon, seeing that my dad doesn't have one either. Maybe a wooden one would work?"

After washing the plants, roots, and nuts, Cyrus quickly began cutting them into smaller portions to mix into the porridge. While cutting the vegetables and caught up in his train of thought, in a lapse of attention he accidentally cut his finger. Surprisingly, the wound barely broke skin, shocking him even out of the pain he was currently feeling.

"What the....." like a rapid time speed up, Cyrus watched his finger stitch itself up. The worst part being the unbearable itch but the speed of its healing was within 30 seconds.

After it completely closed, he muttered under his breath, "I definitely didn't use to heal this fast. It has to be from the morning meditation. Or maybe, just maybe, it's after that black stuff came out...".

His mom, however, looked over and seeing him holding a knife and with blood dripping off his finger, her eyes bulged out unnaturally.

"CYRUS! Are you alright? Who allowed you to use a knife??" Angel rushed over in a panicked manner as she washed his hands with the meager amount of water left. However, she was left astonished that there was no wound on his hand, confusing her greatly.

Cyrus, almost immediately, took advantage of her quick lapse in attention said in a hurried manner, "Mom, don't worry, I just got a little distracted thinking about tomorrow. I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back later!"

And just like that, he was out of the room before she could even recover her senses. Now that she got over being stunned, she realized his hand must have healed very quickly. I mean, Angel definitely was not a dumb person or else she would not be able to survive until this day. Quick observation abilities and reading the situation were almost a 101 survival requirement.

Just as she was about to look for Raymond, he arrived and quickly asked about what happened earlier.

"Speak of the devil and he arrives." she muttered under her breath, then said out loud, "That little monster of yours seems to get weirder and weirder lately. You need to keep an eye out for him tomorrow."

After that she quickly explained what happened earlier she also asked, "Did you teach him how to use a knife by the way? Because I most certainly did not." As she was asking, she also looked at those vegetables that were perfectly cut. They resembled her cutting skills to an almost identical degree.

Raymond, on the other hand, was surprisingly smiling after hearing her speak. Not wanting to keep his wife in suspense, because he knew all too well that was a bad idea, answered "Yeah, I taught him and he memorized it really quickly. Angel, I think our son might be really talented. I overheard some of the people say that those children that passed the guard test seemed to have special qualities when they were young!"

Angel, however, did not care as much and stared at him fiercely for a good minute before saying really forcefully, "Just make sure my baby doesn't get hurt or will have issues."

Noticing the situation, like any smart man, admitted his mistakes and appeased his wife with all sorts of compromises and sweet nothings. Inwardly though, Raymond kept thinking back to that idea he made with a few of the guys. It seemed he might still be able to pull it off with the talent Cyrus was showing.

Pondering deeply, he realized he needed to start his preparations, because being too special had its own problems as well.

With dinner passing and the night slowly taking over the day, the family of three went asleep a bit earlier for a head start in the morning.