Love(and death) at first sight.

We continued training like this for the next year or so. I continued learning Astronomy from the lovely Sia. It increased my gravitational abilities a bit, and I started forming another theory on bent spacetime. I continued to grow at a rapid pace - in fact, I took great pains to restructure my house to be completely sound and light proof.

No different from that jail - or the void. Inside here I grew, and within me, another sea began to layer on. The lake got thicker and the energy stronger.

I grasped the light strongly into my eye every other night, while others I would spend in the void of my room. Kaz began to teach me some techniques that use light. First, my fists coated in light as I also learned martial arts.

"Most mages ignore close quarters, but those mages all die." He said as he stepped toward me with inhuman speed, I barely dodged his punches at first and he told me I was quite talented at this.

It was surely thanks to dodging Taz's nonstop blades of gravity.

Over the months, I learned the basics of combat. He was a boxer, who used a few kicks. So - kickboxing? He said he didn't really know, it's just called martial arts. The technique's of light were taught over the years: Light fists, Light steps, Light shield.

I ignored training the light shield, because my spatial barrier far excelled it. That first technique, light fists, was certainly useful for facing any other martial artists. I made sure to learn it, and it was very simple - actually. Though I would prefer a longer range weapon.

Light poured exclusively out of my eye, which scared the hell out of Kaz the first time he saw that.

"What the hell was that?" He stepped back and put up a massive light shield like he was facing a dragon.

"It's just the way light flows out of me, it's easier this way." I held light inside my mind and eye. The lake below the moon gained a nice cosmic shine, as another layer slowly formed.

The other technique - Light step, was absolutely essential. I spent the overwhelming amount of my time training with Kaz and light in general trying to master this simple yet complex technique. Use light in your steps, it sends you faster and further, lets you stop dead and turn quickly, and more.

A movement technique was an amazing thing in the world of mages, and slowly I came together very well. Good defense, good agility, good attack,

Speaking of attack, my push and pull got many times stronger. I could pick up a small boulder and smash a few trees apart now. I could now slash like Taz always did, and very well at that. Seeing it so many times burned it into my brain.

The forest around me was being absolutely decimated, I apologize to the trees. Yet, some nature-element mages would come around and regrow all of them once and a while. I wasn't the only one using trees as target practice here.

I secretly began developing a devastating technique that simple unleashed the light from my eye in a straight arrow or laser beam.

Time passed, my tenth birthday party was celebrated with Taz and Kaz (I made fun of their names constantly) and Alvis the giant came too. I told him to hurry up already, and he said it'll only be a year or two.

I was too young to participate in the tournaments. It was only for those 12 and up. These damn ageist rules were far too suppressing.

Sometimes, Kessem came to see me, and it was always a big spectacle. I asked him if he ever saw Taran, and he said "That one…he's changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I only met him once, and he came stumbling out, a pure look of gloom and anger in his eyes. The conversation was far too awkward. To think you would become so much more normal…"

"Me? Don't go crazy on us too, we need you to become the king! The King! Haha"

And people watched on as we spoke as brothers.

Damn you, alright. The man was fine. I had grown a liking to him. Yet, on the other hand, what happened to Taran? He won't visit me at all, I can't visit him. Terrible traitor

I knew there was darkness there, I saw it flare in those eyes long ago. I hope he doesn't turn to the pale fire.

Then I was 11 years old, and my excitement flooded inside when I began to soar in space like a fish in the sky. It was slow moving at first but that first taste of flight was when I realized this was truly reaching into the infinite.

My barrier, my pushes and pulls, my slashes all improved. I asked for something new and he taught spatial compression. To take an area in space and crush all atoms down into nothing. It could be used to squeeze a head into red bean paste.

This took a long time to learn. It was a combination of pushes and pulls, but in six directions in once, forming a box. Took me almost half a year to grasp my first spatial box. In the meantime my soaring was no bird, but I could float and move freely around almost 20 feet off the ground.

In the night I absorbed starlight, and secretly sent a laser beam blast to the sky in the night. Kaz taught me every night for a few hours, my martial skills were getting dare I say competent. My light fist technique was easily used, but not my preferred method of combat.

I wondered if there were other 'light weapon techniques' and he nodded. I decided to try and form a staff of light, it was puny and small, like a stick. Still, it was better than my damn fists.

"Why do you use your fists?" I asked as I poked with a stick. He claimed "Real men use fists." whatever. Over the next months that staff grew longer and I grew more efficient with it. Kaz was no staff master but I was able to learn a lot of the staff regardless just facing his fists and kicks, again and again.

I read many books about its endless swaying maneuvers and sharp pierces. I would need to find a teacher down the line.

I also keenly made use of the light step technique, and was getting quite good at using it. Forward, backward, left and right. It allowed dead stops and quick bursts, it was amazing in a fight. I began to use it in the air

Every so slowly it feels time passed as I perfected these techniques. Flight, light steps, my staff of light, my force pushes, pulls, and cuts, spatial compression and my secret eye laser.

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I was almost 12. But today was a very big day for this academy, and the kingdom at large. Kessem, the king consort, was turning 12 at last, and would be able to participate in activities like the battle rankings, and occasional trials and sports.

The first real mark of age in the academy.

Yet so many of the rats were running around in this maze today like the cheese was gold. I had asked Alvis - who had now entered the middle ring as a magi, what all the hustle was about.

"How can you not know? Today the queen is making an appearance herself, the first meeting of the future queen and king consort, Ha!"

"Oh? She's appearing, when?"

"At Noon. Too bad for you, huh?" Whatever, I would not miss the sight of the queen, who would take my dear brother's hand.

As everyone gathered around noon at the platform the queen would be arriving. It was five minutes before the "golden doom" when an ornate, gold, and large circular flying vehicle indeed. It was engraved with the Sun's of Solari.

Across the way, Kessem entered, he stood across a path directly facing the ship, after a while it opened. First a flood of guards came out and made a parallel line. So many suns on so many men - such a terrible sight, disgusting light.

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Then came out Athena and her mother.

Oh my god. I instantly at that moment felt my heart lurch as if on a fateful wire that this woman was a snowflake of god(or whatever such thing) sent for me to keep preserved for eternity.

They looked so alike and both of them inspired so much delight inside my mind it began to swim like it did with the sun. But in this way it was fun, let me describe the mother in which the daughter shall turn into.

I loved them both so much I would pull my other eye out just for the smallest peck, the smallest caress, it would send me a memory of infinite bliss.

Athena the second stepped out like a graceful blossom-floating leaf in a river swaying so wonderful soothefully. Her robe appeared gold and was skin tight on her flesh and a small strip was left just to show her legs, oh lord.

From her head was true long beautiful webs of hair produced by mothers finest silk of light, it so sweetly flowed in the wind like a banner that sang to my heart forever. My eyes sank down to her sinciput which seemed perfectly concave and vexed into a royal crown. Her eyebrows sang the same lovely tune as her hair.

Skip the eyes, down to the cute little small nose I wished to rub mine against with like an ice cold, old-fashioned eskimo kiss. Nostrils seemed perfectly bean shaped and shaven, free of any defilement.

Her ears seemed to dance and play as those wavering lines of cartilage played along like groves in the earth, they were all proportioned in perfected perspective. The perfect mirth.

Those cheekbones were truly a genetic lottery spun and won. My goodness they looked like angels if angels were flawless. Royalty it spoke of, and they sunk in like wonderful statuesque queens, lovely and clean

A jaw so fine and pure it was like the sip of the purest nectar collected at a drop and dipped on to their skin, it ended in a thin yet soft point that would be perfectly held in my hand. Their skin was of a pale daisy-like light that made them seem a cosmic delight.

Downward I turned, eyes on the mother. Lovely little plump mounds sitting on a torso that turned in and out like an hourglass, perfect in the nature of all eyes. They were so well positioned and fitting, they did not burst out the seams. They contained a mild grace that consisted of idealized milk makers.

Further below, these hips. Oh no, my fifth limb turned straight up into the air as I saw those hips flow in the splendid V shape that is of Venus. The perfect vessel for all life, mothers grace, lovely womb, I could only imagine what was beneath the robe.

Those legs simmered out of those tight robes, the mother, oh the mother, had thighs that could spell all men (and women too) doom. Lovely cylinders that spiraled down in two twined diaphanous splendid legs of jadestone, consisting of calves that curved in and out like a wave.

Her whole body a wave, one day this is what the third Athena would look like, oh god. I'm in love with them.

At the bottom of the mother, she was barefoot, not covered in a bit of soot. She did not step on the ground but on the light. Those feet had given me the urge to beg and plead just to suck the toes, little plump plums on the tip of a plant. Curving in concave, gently bending at the tendons.

I don't know if this was love or insane infatuation but I made it my goal to have them. I would have them. That older one had a husband, a mage of the sun - the younger one engaged to my brother. Obstacles to overcome.

The little Athena and Kessem walked toward one another, I didn't have the wherewithal to try and find out what she was thinking. The mother loomed in the background, I couldn't help but obtain more visual Elysium

Back upwards, into the deepest part of her. Athena the second stared deep in my eyes, and I saw it twirl so madly inside, I saw a smile of light impart on those eyes and it seemed that a rainbow-faded dust shot out and entered mine, twisting into pieces what was once a mind.

I was blank as I saw the spinning golden oblivion come to her eyes, and my mind screamed it was about to die. I stumbled about and looked at the sun.

It was the image of Athena, either one.

It laughed at me sweetly and told me I was done. It was more intense than any attack yet, my emotions flaring so much at this moment, and the sun knew, it sought to take advantage. Not even the flames came, I abandoned it all.

The sun laughed at me as I began to fall.

In Between that sweet reunion, I dropped like a sack of lead, convulsing for a solid minute, until I was dead