Chapter 3 You Have To Train

• "Oh! Where is it mom!" Mathew was so excited as it wasn't rare for his mother to give him a gift but it was rare for her to not tell him the name of the gift that he was going to receive. She always gave him everything that he needed without being so secretive.
• "Calm down, just wait for me there, I'll go and bring it. Am very sure you'll like it, hehe!" Sandra got to her feet with a mischievous smile plastered over her face as she left the living room. This was the complete opposite of what she looked like whole scolding alex.
• Mathew's hands were itching while pondering on what kind of gift his mother would give him. He kept on looking at the side that his mother left and continued to pace around. He was very eager to see what his mother had for him.
• A few minutes later, Sandra came back carrying a small wooden box that was locked. The box was painted brown and had a small lock sealing it, preventing anyone from seeing what was inside. When she reached by her son's side, she smiled and began teasing him by giving and retracting the box which made the boy want to cry. "Look at you, you can't even grab the box from my arm huh? Where is my strong boy?"
• "Mom, stop teasing me and give me the gift already! You're going to make me die of anxiousness and anticipation!" replied Mat as he jumped left and right trying to grab the box. He was after all a twelve year old and was much childish at such a circumstance.
• "Oh? You have to try harder young man, or do you want me to give it to Elton?" answered Sandra with a teasing voice and a smile planted on her face.
• "No you can't!" Shouted Mat as he increased his speed in order to reach the box.
• "And why can't I? mmh?" Sandra continued her teasing. Since she was taller than Mat, once she raised the box above her head, there was no way that he could reach it no matter how hard he tried. He could only wait till she lowered her hand so that he could jump and try grabbing the box.
• Mat didn't dare give up on something that even his mother considered a gift. This was something that he had to get his hands on. One had to remember that he was getting all the resources that would be needed for cultivation as he was being groomed to be the family head.
• He jumped up several times without the intention of giving up till Sandra let him get hold of it. Sandra was happy by her son's resilience when he needed to get his hands on something that caught his interest, that will make him stand at the top where he would be peerless. "Come on, open it up and see what you've got in there," urged Sandra.
• "Sure," said Mat as he opened the box. 'Clink!' The box opened revealing a crystal that was shining so brightly. It was the size of baby fist. "W-whooa! T-this? Mom! A martial monster core! Hehehe! Thanks a lot mom! You are the best." Mathew hugged his mother while he was filled with so much joy.
• "Fufufu, who else can be the best mom other than I? Mhm?" Sandra was happy that the gift she gave her son made him happy. Then, she continued, "Don't worry, that core is a core from a wind element rank 7 peak stage wolf. It will be usable to you when you turn fifteen. At that time, it will be used to make a pills that will help you in improving your cultivation. That would be before you head to the academy."
• "A-a rank 7 monster?! Did dad kill the wolf? Was it strong? I knew it, dad is the strongest, I want to be strong like him. No, I'll be stronger than him." Mat was so excited that he began dreaming about the future. Sandra was pleased to see that her son's ambitions weren't small. This was a great relief to her.
• "Mom, this is the best gift ever. With this I'll be able to reach at the top and become the strongest among my peers! Forget my peers, even those older than me wouldn't be able to beat me!" Mat continued showering his mother with praises while imagining how the future would be. This made him so ecstatic. Who was a child whose father was strong and didn't wish to be stronger?
• Mat, with his mother Sandra teaching him, although he was still young, he was quite ambitious. He was already planning on what to do after being the family head when he grows up.
• Of course, the first thing that came into his mind was how to chase Alex out of the family. These kind of thoughts were planted into his mind since he was young by his mother who had been educating him since young age.
• "Okay, you should make sure that you've kept it well until your fifteenth birthday. See this as an early birthday present from your mother, it cost me a fortune you know," Sandra said as she left. "Good night!" she added as she headed straight towards her room.
• "Sure mom, I'll keep it safe until am fifteen. Good night too mom!" replied Mathew as he too headed straight to his room full of smiles.
• .....
• While all this was going on, Alex was still on top of hay. Winter was closing in and the temperatures had already began dropping thus he felt like he was freezing. He curled into a ball to try and minimize the cold.
• After a few more minutes, the temperatures continued to drop as the ground continued to loose more heat to the atmosphere. This became a little bit too much that Alex decided to stack some hay and form a blanket to cover himself up. This reduced the cold he was feeling thus reducing the chances of catching a cold.
• This was something that he had been doing for some time now. The only advantage was that in winter, he was never punished to sleep outside his small cottage or else, he would be frozen to death.
• Now that the amount of cold had reduced and his body temperature had increased, he could finally sleep.
• .....
• "Alex, Alex," he heard faint whispers of someone calling his name. The voice was feminine and it felt so familiar and at the same time unfamiliar. It felt so warm that made him feel warmth spread in his chest. For some reason, this voice made his heart tremble and beat faster.
• "Wake up and listen well, you have to accept what you have and what you are. Embrace the feeling and don't fight back. Let the feeling spread and free your mind of all thoughts. Embrace who you truly are," continued the voice.
• Alex opened his eyes and found himself in a space where everything was snow white. At some distance, he saw another Alex but who was older than him sitting in a lotus position.
• "W-what's going on here?" Alex stammered. He was so shocked. He could remember very well that he was sleeping in the stables. But somehow, he got to this place. What's more, he could see that there was someone that looked exactly like him but more mature.
• After looking around and noticing nothing, noticing no signs of danger, he decided to move closer to observe what was going on. As he was closing by, he saw his older version standing up while his head was lowered.
• He was first startled by the sudden movement and then after seeing that there was nothing else happening, he calmed down. Just as he was wondering what was going on, some changes occured.
• The air in the sorounding him began to surge around his older version. It trembled and twisted as if it was being compressed by some great pressure. Some black cracks formed but disappeared almost instantly only to appear again.
• "When the storm comes, I'll surf through. The darkness shall never hinder my path for I am the shinning star of the night, the light that will shine in the dark and light the way." he muttered. It was at that time when a pair of wings with golden feathers sprouted out of his back.
• At the same time, orbs of the size of an adult's fist, all of different colours formed and began circulating around him. Red, blue, silver, yellow, pink, black, white and green.
• "This is my power. This is the power of the chosen. I will embrace it and all shall bend to my will. This is the power of a star, and I am the 'Golden Star'! With the golden light shining on me, I shall slay all the obstacles that hinder my path, I shall conquer the darkness and bring back the light!" he continued. He had began with a lower voice but as he continued, his voice rose higher.
• At this moment, the head that was bowed rose. Alex who was still astounded by the words of his older version tensed up as he felt his blood running cold.
• He stared fixedly at the eyes that were shining with a bright golden hie that were looking back at him. He could feel great pressure holding him in place in that he felt great suffocation. He was having a hard time breathing.
• Alex's heart began beating wildy as this was the first time that he had found himself in such a situation. But what surprised him the most was the fact that although he could feel the pressure, he wasn't hurt nor did he feel any malice from it.
• It was exactly at that moment that his older version turned into a golden light and shot towards him. Alex instinctively wanted to move and dodge but his body failed him. With the pressure locking him in place, he couldn't move even an inch.
• Whilst his mind could clearly think, his body was paralyzed. It was like the brain was disconnected from the body and no matter how much he ordered his body to move, there was no reaction at all.
• The light came and struck him in the chest. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth while waiting for pain but it never came. Instead of hurting him, the light entered his body and settled near his heart, forming a small golden crystal.
• Warmth spread through his body and he felt nothing but bliss. This was the first time in three years that he felt so comfortable. He felt like he could sleep at that time.
• It was then that it struck. Pain washed all over his body making him scream in agony. He fell on the ground while clutching his chest as that was where it hurt the most. The pain was so much that, when compared to all the pain he got after the beatings that he received till present date would be like a child's joke. This was the real deal!
• Alex felt as if his whole body was being burnt. His body temperature rose as he began sweating profusely. This was just one of them.
• Bones began breaking and reconstructing themselves. The skin being shed and being regenerated again and again. Internal organs felt as if they were being roasted. The pain was truly unimaginable. Time seemed to stop as pain continued raging in his body. It seemed that pain would never end, this was torture!
• "Arrgh!" Alex released a painful groan whole lying on the ground.
• It had been three hours since the pain struck and Alex had been curled up on the floor as his body writhed from the pain that he was experiencing. It seemed as if years had passed yet it had only been hours.
• Then, the pain in his body began subsidizing and his muscles began to relax. He groaned as his entire body felt weak but at the same time strengthened. This was such a weird feeling.
• After taking several mouthfuls of air, Alex finally calmed down and stood up from the ground.
• Then up ahead, light shone brightly and a silhouette of a woman appeared. As the light dimmed, a woman with black hair that reached her waist could be seen. Her brown eyes shone brightly as she stared at Alex who was dumbfounded by the appearance of another person. She was wearing a plain white robe. As for her beauty, she could be said to be the most beautiful woman that Alex had seen till this time.
• Did that mean that he was going to experience that pain again? No! He wouldn't accept such a thing to occur again!
• "Who are you?" asked Alex as he tried to take a few steps backwards. Although he didn't know how to get out of here, at least being far from the pressure that had suppressed him before might help him avoid being stopped from dodging.
• "I am sorry, I can't answer that question for you, it's not yet the right time," replied the woman with a smile that was full of calmness but if one stared deep within her eyes, he could see deep grief hidden there.
• "What do you mean by time is not right? And what's going on around here? I simply can't understand anything here."
• "Right questions but wrong timing. I'll ask you to be patient and wait for the right time when everything will be revealed to you."
• "Then what is the right question? What is the right time?"
• "The right time will depend on you. You will decide on when the time is right."
• Alex stared at the woman with a blank expression on his face. What was she implying? If he could decide the right time, then why was she telling him that the timing of his question was wrong? Before he could ask, the woman spoke.
• "Your actions will decide the timing. So, in essence, you'll be the one deciding when the time is right."
• "What actions will prove that the time is right?"
• "For now, all I'll ask for is for you to train hard and keep on persevering till the time comes. No matter how harsh the journey is, you must keep on moving and don't falter. Don't let the past hinder you, let it be your strength that ensure that you'll keep moving forth. Don't forget that when it's time to take a step back, don't hesitate and take it. Even a sheep will always take a step back before charging forth. And when it does, the results are always better than before."
• "Train? What training? Am already twelve but I haven't even awakened. How am I going to train?"
• "Train your physical body. Don't rely on awakening, just train the Brite fashion."
• "Okay, I get it. So all I need to do is to train hard and improve. That way, I'll be able to ask you the questions?."
• "Not really, that will lead you to the answer that you'll be seeking. Maybe, it will heal your heart that has suffered."
• With that, the lady didn't wait for Alex to talk anymore and with a wave of her hand, Alex disappeared from the place.
• "I know things are bad now, but hold on. Don't give up, just keep holding on. Things will end soon," the woman muttered under her breath as her eyes revealed a hopeful light. A tear slid down her face until it dropped onto the floor. Just as it touched the floor, the woman also disappeared from the room as the place was enveloped by darkness.
• *******
• Author's note:
• Well thanks guys for being with me till the end of this chapter. Please don't forget to leave your comment about the chapter and the one before. Let's surge on.