"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." -Leonard Cohen.
"Gabriel, my friend. How are you?" I asked as we sat down together in the desert. The other angles have left, and the night has arrived. The boy was still asleep, but it was clear he could wake up at any moment. I let him rest first; he has been through a lot in these last few days.
"I am well, but I have long waited to have this discussion with you," Gabriel said with a rather serious look.
"Then speak away..." I said.
"It is about the boy... Have you come to the realisation who this boy is?"
"No... but I do know he is powerful enough to attract gods."
"Yes, indeed. But there is more to it. Unfortunately, I can not reveal all that I know to you yet, but I can tell you this. You must protect and teach this boy until he is all grown up, for he will bring great changes to the halls of creation."
"Wait... Are you telling me to bring this boy along with me on my journey? Do you know how difficult it is to keep someone alive around me? I face entities that can wipe out a planet daily. Can't I just take him somewhere for someone to take care of him instead?"
"You need not be too careful around him. The boy is powerful, you said it yourself. He was, after all, crafted personally by Lord The Third of All."
"The Third of All made him?" I asked.
"Yes, he is a part of the lord's plan."
"Why drop him off in Arkindo then? Couldn't he have chosen any other city?"
"It is not mine nor your place to question the lord's plan. You ended up encountering him anyway, did you not?"
"He was burned alive, Gabriel!" I raised my voice in frustration.
"As cruel as it may sound, it was necessary. The boy needed to die for his powers to be awakened. The lord has planned for you to retrieve the boy afterwards."
"So now he wants me to take care of the boy?"
"Yes..." Gabriel said.
I took a look at the boy for a while. That boy was exhausted. I don't know if he has any family members left; maybe they were all burned in Arkindo. I sighed, "Fine then, I will take the boy with me, but I want to know one thing."
Gabriel looked at me with a curious expression, "What is it?"
"Who are we up against? I know the gods will be after him, but who else?"
Gabriel thought about it for a few moments, "All of them..."
"What?"
"All of them... you will face gods, demons, monsters, spirits, outergods, beasts, and even eldirtch deities."
"What the hell?"
"It is to be expected. The Third of All invest a significant amount of power to create the boy. Within him lies the power to shift the course of all of existence. But I am sure by now you are used to fighting these entities, no?"
"That is a tough ask, even for me," I said.
"Well, from what I heard. If you succeed in this task, you will be rewarded graciously by Lord The Third of All."
I couldn't help but laugh after hearing that. "Yeah, right, that dingus not screwing me up is already a great reward."
Gabriel smiled softly and then stood up. "I am afraid it is time for me to take my leave."
I stood up as well. He then gently spoke, "We will be seeing one another soon enough, Jack. Great changes are on the horizon. Farewell, and take care."
"You too," I said. Then, he blasted through the sky in the blink of an eye, and he was no more.
"I guess now it is just you and me, bo... and he is running away." I started running after him, but it seemed the boy just got further and further. Now, I am not a great runner, but I am pretty sure I can outrun a kid, a normal kid that is. I thought I could still catch him despite all of that, until he started leaping. A single leap from him was about a mountain of distance. At this point, he is going to reach the sea in a minute. With no other option, I used the sigil once more to retrieve him to my hand, holding him in the air. The boy was flabbergasted, but then began to resist.
"Let me go!" he said as he punched me in the face, decimating half of my face in an instant. The boy seemed terrified of what he did; his face was full of guilt and panic until my face recreated itself in seconds. "You! What are you?"
"I am... lots of things, but for you, I am your babysitter."
"Let go of me!" He struggled once more, but this time, the ground shook along with his movements. "Okay, okay...." I reluctantly dropped him to the ground.
"You happy now?" I asked sarcastically.
The boy looked up at me, and for a moment, I saw a moment of realization from his eyes. "You... you are the heretic! You... you caused my parents' death!"
Well, this is going to be more difficult than I thought. Within seconds, he punched a hole through my body, yelling out, "You killed my parents!" The earth behind me began to crack from the shockwave of his punch. Again, he had a moment of clarity, realising just how powerful his punches were. "What is happening to me? What is wrong with me? What am I? he screamed out in frustration. In that moment, he reminded me of myself when I had become the immortal traveller, and I did what Jane did for me... I hugged him.
I held him tight and said nothing. I slowly sync his breathing intervals to mine, calming him down. "Calm down, boy... Calm down... I can explain everything to you, but right now, I need you to calm down... Breathe... Take a long breath... Inhale.... Exhale... Inhale... Exhale..."
The boy then calmed down for a bit. I then set him down, and I sat facing him. "First of all, I sincerely apologise for what happened to your parents... I put all of my efforts into saving them, but I was too late... I know you can not forgive me right away, but I am asking you to at least tolerate me for a bit. You might have noticed that you are very powerful, and you are. Thus, a lot of entities are actively trying to hurt you. But as long as I am here, I will not let them hurt you, okay? I am going to teach you how to control your powers, but to do so, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
The boy didn't reply immediately. He seemed very lost. His gaze was unfocused. Many things are going through his head... Many sorrowful things, as tears began to flow from his eyes... and he cried... He cried, mourning the world he had left behind.
To be continued.