Sound is the fundamental motion of kinetic energy that passes through the ear to the mind. Humans are not able to control what they hear, just as with sight. There is no off switch for what anyone wishes to hear. Like eyesight, there is no off switch. The very nature of senses for all humans is closed off, more controlled by the physical nature, continuous, and never truly under control.
But what if you could? What if you could control what you heard? The very hint of it focusing on one entity, allowing the ability of your hearing not to stagnate but to be stimulated by the natural sound of it. Controlling your focus to one point, allowing a great volume of hearing depending on the entity.
The body has a limit, but the mind is different. With sheer control of the fibers of my ear, I am allowed to hear whatever I wish. But the drawback: not only does this state allow me to hear all information to the maximum, perceiving it with great understanding, but also the foggy silence of all things when I focus on one. This is nothing more than my mind channeling all its energy to one valve. My mind can handle one thing at a time, limiting me in this power. But I believe I can find a way to bypass it.
Two abilities. The ability to hear all information with understanding, though it leads to strain. This ability can only seem to work for more than ten seconds.
The other ability: Silent Control. Putting my focus to one entity, allowing me to determine every focal sound of the object or thing. This is not only a great power, but has room to improve…
...
His fist was as loud as thunder as it pushed forth into the air, creating a current of wind. Its subtle force carried Charly's strength, launched with no effort wasted. His strike was clear, but his distance was easy to discern. My body tilted back slightly, missing his fist just enough for me to put all my effort into my legs and feet. My toes pointed up, my left leg shot forward, and I thrust into his balls.
"AAAAAAA!" Charly screamed with all his last strength. His mind was blank, his body leaned down, his face perfectly centered. His body aligned for my fist as it pushed through the air. My control of my body seemed more attuned—not perfect, but better than usual. It seemed just one sense growing to a higher degree allowed my body to adapt and grow more attuned to physical and mental control.
Bang! My fist hit his face. It felt like stone striking flesh, but still, my skeletal hands did the job. Blood flowed down his nose, his face pale as he collapsed to the ground.
"Fuck Charly is down! Let's get this dumb fucker once and for all!" Scar shouted, his hands jerking with force, his shoulder aligned as he threw a pebble, small as a tennis ball straight at me.
Woosh! It barely missed, sliding past my hair as I turned right, using all my senses as if there were six. My mind was on fire. I had switched from controlling SC—Silent Control—from Charly to Scar so fast my mind was already burning like fire. I tried to keep calm, breathing in my nose and out through my mouth…
Bang!! A fist as large as mine hit me. Nile smiled as I lay on the ground, about to throw a kick. I rolled sideways, missing his foot as it smashed against the cement road.
"Fucker!!" My hands clenched as I tried to get into a boxer's stance. Southpaw. My right hand was hurt, I could barely use it. Standing with my left, I looked at the boy. He seemed to mirror me, but his eyes were much lighter, blue like the sky, while mine were the sea in the storm. His Golden Ring lay flat, same as mine. We stared, but I could feel his heart stutter, his mind in wreckage. I could guess his thoughts just through his heartbeat. It raced, then calmed for a moment before he launched a wide kick toward my face.
Thud! It hit my arm. I used the block as momentum, gripping his leg as it lay across my forearm. With only one leg to hold his weight, he staggered. Using the mere nanoseconds I had, instinct drove me to sweep his standing leg.
Bang!! He hit the ground. My body fell on top of him, my legs wrapping around his chest, my hands driving toward his face.
Each time my fist hit his face, the blood in my body seemed calm, my mind chilled like ice. I had switched off my SC. My mind, in a feverish state, seemed to pull memories back, calling to the never-ending revenge I carried. But the me—that ash inside me—fought internally. Blood glossed over my hands and shirt as I looked at the boy.
His face was streaked with tears, his nose bloody as he tried to fight back. His body twisted, and a clacking sound reached my heightened hearing—the sound of silver coins. The symbol of the three-headed dragon was embedded on them, gleaming in my sight. Hunger burned in me. To end my last heaven, to lift the weight, to claim revenge. I got off Nile's body and reached for the pouch that held all my riches. My mind of Elliot felt flooded with a strange happiness. This—this was revenge. My worries for the winter were gone.
"Please stop, I need that… please, Elliot." Nile looked at me, blood flowing from his nose to his teeth, dripping down his neck and chest. His face was pale, empty.
My heart stirred. My anger shifted to the other two. Scar, all this time full of hate, now looked pitiful, like he had lost it all, his anger vanished.
"Elliot… we will stop. Truly. We were just being idiots, please…"
Why should I show mercy? Just this little force pulled them back to their innocent faces. They were children scavengers, homeless dumps. Was I really about to throw my life away for them? This was my revenge. There was no need to give mercy, right?
"Why? Why do you torment me? Why do you fight me until I lose my life and hope? Me, who had nothing to give but a grain of bread. What meaning was it?" I asked, knowing full well they were just bullies who hated looking at me, who began stealing and beating me after I gave them the wrong look.
My mind eased as Charly and Scar lifted Nile in silence. They knew it was pointless. I had won. I felt control over the situation, but before leaving, I looked at them and at myself. Who was I? Yes, I was Ash. But was I just as foolish as Elliot, who had nothing but the will to survive, eating dead animals and dirt from the ground? No. I did not want that. My child's instincts needed to go. I had to wake up, accept these were just children. Their lives were hard. They had nothing but their wits to survive.
But those thoughts fled quickly as I stared at the silver.
Thirty silver coins. So much money. How could these scumbags get this? My thoughts scattered, then sharpened as I noticed them—their hair was cut, their shirts cleaner than mine, their shoes nicer, nails and skin without dirt. Not a scent of filth clung to them.
"Wait!" I shouted, trying to sound strong.
"What, Elliot…" Nile stopped, and the three turned back.
"How did you get this?"
"What the hell, you think we'll tell you?" Charly spat, fury in his voice as he let Nile go.
"Wait, wait, Charly, let's just—" Nile began, but I cut him off.
"I want to know. And I'll give you ten silver as payment for the info."
"Even if we told you, you wouldn't be able to do it. It took us months and days; we nearly lost everything for the winter. Now you think we'd tell you?"
"No. I want to know. Maybe I could help you succeed one more time. If you don't, we'll all go hungry through the winter."
"Come on, Nile, there's no point. Let's go." Scar's voice was tired, his eyes dead, his messy hair falling across his face.
"What makes you think we could get help from you?" They looked at me, wondering. A slum boy, with no money, filthy hair, torn clothes nearly withering off, offering help.
"Because I can see the future. I know that if I took all this silver, there would still be no end to hunger. I showed mercy. Now I offer allegiance—to survive this war, and this winter."
Nile stared at me. I used my power to feel his thoughts. His heart pumped steady, calmly. This kid was smart. Not stupid. He knew how to lead. He was logical, but still a child. Barely touching puberty. Would he use logic, or would he turn stubborn like the others?
"Elliot… the boy of the slums, with no hope, now speaks with might. But do you think we've given up? That we won't stop? That maybe one night we won't steal from you again? Do you think we don't know where you live, in the slums, at the edge of the village?"
"You can try again, Nile. Try a thousand times. But next time, I will break your teeth. I will show no mercy. Keep stealing from me as you steal from your people." I turned away, my feet striking the pavement. Less than an hour before work.
"YOU THINK WE STEAL FROM OUR PEOPLE?!" Nile roared so loudly that bystanders began to turn their heads.
"Shhh, not so loud," Charly whispered, pale.
Nile rushed toward me. His hand touched my shoulder, no violence in him. His face close to mine, his mouth trembled as he spoke:
"I steal not from my people. Not from anyone I love. But maybe from you, yes. Sometimes. But those coins—they are from the Alden. They took our land. They stole my father's eyes as jewelry and others for medicine and decoration. I steal from them. The ones with the three-headed dragon as their emblem. The ones who call us bastards of the Golden Sun. The ones who spit in our faces, call us rash, take our homes, and demand payment for the gift of their so-called hospitality. I steal from them. And for being stopped—for stealing from you, Elliot, and I am sorry." His voice shook with anger, grief. The unknown truths of this child, Nile, became known to me.
"But why me? Why steal from me?"
"You were weak. You showed us are worst side. You reminded me of myself. I wanted you to grow strong, to fight back. But you never did. Not once. Until now. Until these past two times. You've changed. You've grown. You've shown you're not a bastard—you're the lineage of the great empire. A child of the Golden Sun."
"I'm not weak anymore," I said, continuing. "I understand why you did it. And why you might again. But I am not weak, Nile. I am stronger than you think. You can try to fight me, all of you, and I'll win every time."
"But there's no need anymore. I am a child of the Golden Sun. And you—you are my equal."
I reached into my pouch and pulled out ten silver coins. "Now we're even. I forgive you. I'll keep the rest."
"All right, Elliot. All right."
"But there's something else. We need more silver. I want to understand fully how you stole."
"Why?" Charly asked.
"Because," I said, smiling, "we will steal again."