Aetron began to speak while looking at the shelter ceiling in his mind. His physical body sat at the base of a tree in a lush green forest, but his consciousness was between those familiar and safe metal walls.
"Let's make a situation assessment," Null's voice said, echoing in his mind. "Data: Physiologically, you're 14 years old. Planet: Syros. Clan: Selenae. Family members: Father Kadros (leader), mother Niyara (healer), and younger sister Thera. Clan structure: 5 different families exist besides Selenae. Current Edgium Level: Resonance. Target: Vision. Obstacle: An unknown barrier surrounding the forest and defined as a 'curse.' Access to information: When leadership qualification is earned at age 15..."
"My life, wait a second," Aetron interrupted, silencing her with a mental hand gesture. "You're doing something terrible right now."
Null's mental avatar looked at him in confusion. "What am I doing? I'm summarizing the current situation most efficiently."
"No," Aetron said, his voice serious. "You're information bombing. Readers hate this. Before they can immerse themselves in the story, you're presenting everything as a list. Yes, we've moved to a new world, but is it necessary to introduce it all this quickly? Let them discover it with us. Mystery must remain."
Null's avatar paused for a moment, then rolled her eyes. "Understood. 'Show, don't tell' protocol activated." Then suddenly, as if coming to her senses, she frowned. "Wait a minute... Your nonsense has affected me, too! Now I'm thinking about readers too!" she complained. "Whatever. Then let me add this: You've been missing for three days. How do you plan to 'show' this to your family?"
"I'll say I was meditating," Aetron murmured. "Technically not a lie."
"Technically, sitting on a rock for three days trying to solve the mysteries of the universe is sufficient reason for your family to think a monster ate you. Your definition of 'technically' doesn't comply with my survival protocols."
Aetron complained. "Hey! You could be a bit gentler in this situation, my life. I'm practically on the verge of an identity crisis."
"What you need isn't gentleness, I think, my life," Null replied. "You need to start walking toward those tents before you worry your family more."
Aetron laughed. "Wow, somehow 'my life' really suits you."
Null's avatar sighed. "These slang terms got carved into my database because of you. Now go."
As he approached the clan's tents, he heard worried voices. Kadros and Niyara were making search plans.
"Aetron!" Niyara shouted as soon as she saw him. When he saw that pure worry on his mother's face, the old reflexes in Epsilon's mind were triggered. They'll be angry. They're disappointed. Punishment...
Niyara ran to him and hugged him tightly. "Where have you been for three days? We thought you went for purification, but you didn't return!" The hug was warm and full of love. But Aetron had frozen, tensed as if waiting for punishment.
"Calm down," Null's voice said from the calmest corner of his mind. "She loves you. She's not angry, she's worried."
"I-I'm sorry," Aetron stammered. "I went into a deep meditation. I lost track of time."
"Why are you so tense?" Null asked worriedly.
"I don't know... I just... thought they would be angry at me," Aetron whispered in his mind, taking refuge in Null's presence.
"Epsilon, these aren't your old family. Look at their faces. There's love there, not anger." Null's mental hand left a feeling as if she were stroking his hair.
Niyara pulled back and examined her son's eyes. "Something's different. Your Edgium... It's much more intense." A greenish-blue light scanned his body when she touched his shoulder. When the scan finished, Niyara's eyes widened. "This... this is impossible. You... you've reached the Resonance level!"
"What?" Kadros was shocked. "In three days? This is a process that takes months, even years!"
Aetron's heart was pounding in his chest. This was the moment. Danger. I developed too fast. I'm abnormal. They'll suspect.
"Wait a minute," Null's voice said, cutting through his panic wave. "Breathe and look at them. Analyze their facial expressions. They're not suspicious, Epsilon. They're amazed. There's a big difference."
"I think... I think I was ready and just needed one last push," Aetron said, clinging to Null's logic.
Kadros looked at his son with pride. On his face was pure admiration he'd never seen before. He placed his hand on Aetron's shoulder. "This is an incredible achievement. Resonance level at 14... You truly are special, son."
"See?" Null whispered. "They look proud. This means someone is happy with your achievement, Epsilon."
"This... this is so strange," Aetron thought. "My family was never proud of me."
Just then, a slight scream was heard. "Brother!" A tiny girl child burst from behind her mother's legs and ran to hug Aetron. Thera. The memories of this new life flooded into Epsilon's soul like a flood. But Thera's pure love and her calling him "Brother!" created a pang of guilt inside him. I wasn't her brother. I was a stranger.
Despite the turmoil inside, Aetron bent down and picked up his little sister. "I promise, little warrior. I won't disappear like this again."
"What... what is this?" Null thought. "In my systems, there's an anomaly labeled as 'cute aggression.' The urge to bite... Why am I feeling something so unbalanced?"
Aetron smiled in his mind. "Null, are you getting this feeling too? People sometimes feel strange urges like wanting to bite things they find extremely cute."
"No matter how well I think I know you, you can still surprise me."
"Which means," Kadros interrupted them, with a thoughtful expression, "you can participate in the Auryan Dynasty Tournament starting next month."
Aetron paused for a moment. The word felt foreign on his tongue. This man's pride was real, but he wasn't his real son. With this feeling of fraud, he asked, "Can I participate... father?" "What exactly happens when you receive a leadership qualification?"
"If you win," Kadros said, lowering his voice. "We'll tell you everything. The forest's curse, why we're here... And you'll be allowed to read the sealed parchment in the Luminis House archives that explains the path to Level 3."
"This... this is everything we're looking for!" Null said excitedly.
"Agreed," Aetron said, with steel-like determination in his eyes. "I'll win that tournament."
That afternoon, when Aetron returned to the shelter in his mind, he wanted to test his new ability. "Now it's time to test this Resonance thing."
"In theory, yes. But in the hands of a klutz like you, you can probably only move a stone one centimeter."
"Don't underestimate me, my life. Watch and see."
Aetron closed his eyes and focused on an empty corner. He imagined a simple wooden chair. When he opened his eyes, the chair was there, but one leg was shorter than the others, and the back was crooked, almost resembling a modern art piece.
Null's mental laughter echoed in his brain. "Wow. We can call this 'The Anatomy of Imbalance.'"
"Shut up and help me concentrate! I need your logic."
They closed their eyes again. While Aetron felt the Edgium energy like dough, Null shaped this dough with perfect engineering. A flawless, carved wooden chair stood before them when they opened their eyes. Aetron sat proudly. "That's it! Great teamwork."
"Thanks to me. You only provided the raw power."
"Don't be jealous, my life." Aetron smugly created a soft cushion on the chair, too. "Look, I even made a pillow. Do you want one too?"
Null remained silent for a moment. Then, right above Aetron, a stool made of hard metal suddenly appeared and fell on his head. THUD!
"Ahh!" Aetron shouted. "Hey! What was that for?"
"Your pillow looked too soft," Null's voice said innocently. "I prefer... more durable designs."
"You... you literally just tried to knock me out!" Aetron exclaimed, his voice both reproachful and shocked.
"I was just showcasing my creativity," Null's voice said, emotionless as if reading a laboratory report. "Besides, we're in your mind. I needed to test whether this was possible." Her mental avatar paused momentarily, as if realizing a new possibility. "Which also means... I can now hurt you without physically touching you. Interesting."