Ann, Aden, and Alain advanced toward the border, heading back to their kingdom.
"What does it mean that I got the power of darkness?" Alain asked his mother, confused and lost.
Ann was silent. She tried to think.
Eventually, she gave a not-so-satisfying answer.
"To be honest, I don't really know... It's supposed to be something rare... Maybe it's related to what you two went through in the center of the world."
Alain felt a bit anxious. He hadn't expected, let alone wanted, to receive the power of darkness.
Aden sensed the mood and tried to distract Alain from the bad feeling.
"Hey Mom, what other powers exist in Hesmirion?"
"like I told you, There are eight powers:
Darkness
Light
Passive Element
Active Element
Flora
Inanimate
Time
Space
These are also the eight types of kingdoms in the world, exactly in that order."
"Then why did you say there are sixteen kingdoms?"
"There are actually two kingdoms for each type.
Each one lies opposite its counterpart.
To explain better, if we tried to circle the world starting from this kingdom, we'd go in this order:
The Light Kingdom of Apollo
The Passive Element Kingdom of Gaia
The Active Element Kingdom of Thor
The Flora Kingdom of Demeter
The Inanimate Kingdom of Shiva
The Time Kingdom of Chronos
The Space Kingdom of Aether
The Darkness Kingdom of Hades
The Light Kingdom of Ra
The Passive Element Kingdom of Poseidon
The Active Element Kingdom of Prometheus
The Flora Kingdom of Osiris
The Inanimate Kingdom of Hypnos
The Time Kingdom of Zurvan
The Space Kingdom of Anshar
The Darkness Kingdom of Erebus
And then, we circle back here, The Light Kingdom of Apollo."
"So that's what that old man meant when he corrected you, saying this Light Kingdom is the most advanced."
"Yes, exactly."
Alain listened to the conversation but still had a gloomy feeling about what had happened.
"Hey, Aden," he called out "Wanna spar using our new powers? It'll help us train and gain better control."
"Not now," Ann cut in, "We need to hurry through the other kingdoms. You'll have time to train along the way."
"Yeah, yeah..." Alain replied half-heartedly.
Aden and Alain didn't remember much from their lives before entering Zaya's house.
But somehow, they knew each other well, as if they'd always shared this dynamic.
Aden could tell how Alain was feeling. He would've gladly swapped powers just to make Alain feel better.
"You know," Aden began, "I honestly think darkness is the most interesting power. You could say it's the foundation of everything, the page upon which creation is written."
"I don't want to be a black page... If we're talking foundations, I think light is the real base of everything."
Ann overheard and decided to add her own take.
"I think Alain's right. Light really is the foundation of all creation. But Alain, you shouldn't feel bad for not getting what you wanted."
"Yeah, I know... but it still sucks..."
"Let me teach you a principle I learned from the master who trained me when I was younger."
"You had a master, Mom?"
"Everyone had a master. Or at least someone who guided them in some way. A teacher, a mentor, or even a parent," she said, smiling at her two sons.
"Except the first human ever born," Alain muttered sarcastically.
"Even he had God as a guide. No human is meant to find their path alone, everyone need someone to guide them."
Aden didn't respond out loud, but something in her words bothered him. Maybe the true value in the mentor-student bond is for the mentor more than the student. People have always guided others, perhaps because they longed for someone to share their knowledge with,someone to reflect their worth, someone so they wouldn't be alone.
In the end, she was right, a person can't find their path alone. But maybe they don't need a teacher, maybe they need someone to guide.
Of course, Aden kept his thoughts to himself, and let his mother continue.
"My master used to tell me that whenever we want something, we're thrown into struggle and conflict.
Can we get what we want? And is what we want even moral?"
Alain listened and related to her words. He himself didn't get the type of power he had hoped for.
"Try to imagine the body as a house," Ann continued. "And desire like a little person inside wants to step outside the house. He feels suffocated staying in all day and wants to move from body to reality.
But sometimes, he can't. The door is locked. And the lock is either inability or immoralitythat blocks the little person named 'desire.' What happens then?"
"The person stays stuck and frustrated in the house," Alain answered thoughtfully.
"Yes. Desire clashes with reality. The person remains inside, and the more time passes, the more he loses his mind."
"So what's the solution in cases like that? You can't really break the lock," Alain said, frustrated.
Ann looked at him with a smile, ready to explain, but something unexpected happened.
A large group of soldiers suddenly approached them, moving at insane speeds, legs glowing like beams of light, gliding over the ground like ice skaters.
Ann, Aden, and Alain stared at the incoming soldiers, confused and a little alarmed.
The soldiers reached them and instantly grabbed Ann.
"Lady Ann, the witch of Gaia's Passive Element Kingdom, you are under arreston suspicion of murder."