Morning arrived slowly.
The campfire had long since died.
Only gray ash remained.
The lake was calm.
The forest quiet.
For several minutes, nobody moved.
Then Dak sat up.
"Food."
Matthew opened one eye.
"You ate half the rabbits."
"I'm hungry again."
"That's impressive."
"Thank you."
"It wasn't a compliment."
Dak ignored him.
As usual.
Eventually the boys packed their things.
Or at least pretended to.
Matthew ended up doing most of the work.
Again.
Some things never changed.
The sun slowly climbed higher.
The sky remained clear.
Not a single cloud could be seen.
For the first time in days, everything felt normal.
Peaceful.
Easy.
The kind of day that made people forget their problems.
The journey home began.
The five boys followed the forest trail.
Talking.
Laughing.
Arguing.
Mostly arguing.
Dak walked backwards.
For no reason whatsoever.
"One day you're going to hit a tree."
Ozias warned.
"No I won't."
Three seconds later...
THUD.
Dak disappeared into a tree.
Silence.
Then laughter exploded through the forest.
Even Zeven laughed.
Dak rubbed his forehead.
"I hate all of you."
"No you don't."
Matthew replied.
"True."
The journey continued.
Hours passed.
The forest slowly changed around them.
The deeper trails gave way to more familiar paths.
Civilization was getting closer.
Soon they would be home.
Back to normal life.
Back to routines.
Back to reality.
For a while nobody spoke.
The comfortable kind of silence settled between them.
The kind that only existed between people who had known each other forever.
Zeven walked near the back of the group.
His hands inside his pockets.
His thoughts elsewhere.
The awakening.
The black lightning.
The strange strength.
The enhanced senses.
Nothing about it made sense.
Even now he could hear things nobody else seemed to notice.
The wind moving through distant branches.
Birds hidden far beyond the trail.
A stream somewhere deeper in the forest.
His world had changed.
There was no denying that anymore.
The question was why.
And more importantly...
What came next?
"Earth to Zeven."
Dak's voice snapped him back.
"What?"
"You've been staring into space for ten minutes."
"I was thinking."
"Terrible idea."
Matthew laughed.
Kael nodded.
"Thinking usually gets us into trouble."
"That's because you people never think."
Zeven answered.
"Fair."
Dak admitted.
The group continued walking.
The forest slowly opened.
Sunlight poured through the trees.
The town wasn't far now.
Then suddenly...
A strange feeling passed through Zeven.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Something else.
Like being watched.
His footsteps slowed.
The feeling vanished almost immediately.
Yet it left a strange sensation behind.
As if invisible eyes had briefly settled upon him.
He looked around.
Nothing.
Only trees.
Only forest.
Only silence.
After a few moments he continued walking.
Maybe it was nothing.
Maybe.
Far away.
Beyond Earth.
Beyond the sky.
Beyond everything the boys knew.
In another world.
Nythara.
Storms rolled across enormous mountains.
Lightning illuminated ancient towers.
Clouds covered the horizon.
Inside a vast stone chamber, several teachers stood around a circular table.
Watching.
Waiting.
"The Black Lightning has awakened."
A few of the teachers looked up.
Not with fear.
Not with excitement.
With curiosity.
The old woman remained calm.
"Notify the recruiters."
One of the teachers nodded.
"Already done."
"Good."
She turned back toward the enormous window overlooking the storm-covered mountains.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
For a moment, the chamber was illuminated in white.
Another teacher crossed his arms.
"Do you think he's worth the attention?"
The old woman remained silent for several seconds.
Then she answered.
"We'll see."
No confidence.
No prophecy.
No guarantees.
Having power meant nothing in Eclipsera.
Many arrived gifted.
Most failed anyway.
Some died.
Others broke.
A rare power was merely an opportunity.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
The old woman looked toward the distant horizon.
Toward a world none of them could currently see.
"Keep watching him."
The teachers nodded.
Outside, the storm continued to rage.
And on Earth...
Five boys continued walking home.
Completely unaware that eyes from another world had already begun watching them.
The boys returned home shortly before sunset.
The forest disappeared behind them.
The town welcomed them back with familiar sounds.
Cars.
People.
Dogs barking somewhere in the distance.
Normal life.
The same life they had known for years.
Yet somehow...
It didn't feel quite the same anymore.
The group stopped near the center of town.
The place where they usually split up.
Nobody seemed eager to leave.
Not after spending nearly two days together.
Dak stretched.
"I'm going home."
Nobody answered.
"I'm serious."
Still nothing.
"Why is nobody reacting?"
Matthew shrugged.
"You say that every thirty minutes."
"Fair."
The boys laughed.
A few minutes later they finally went their separate ways.
None of them knew that by tomorrow...
Things would be different.
Dak arrived at a nearby basketball court.
A few local teenagers were already there.
Playing.
Talking.
Messing around.
The usual.
"You finally showed up."
One of them shouted.
Dak grinned.
"The star has arrived."
Nobody appreciated his entrance.
As usual.
The game started.
Chaos immediately followed.
Dak wasn't particularly skilled.
He simply played like a maniac.
And somehow it worked.
Then it happened.
A pass came toward him.
Dak caught it.
Turned.
Jumped.
Threw.
The basketball shot across the court.
Far too fast.
Everyone froze.
The ball slammed into the backboard.
The metal support bent.
Then the ball continued flying.
Straight over the fence.
Silence.
Dak blinked.
The others blinked.
Nobody spoke.
"What..."
Dak stared at his own hand.
Then he immediately pointed at the ball.
"I meant to do that."
Nobody believed him.
Not even Dak.
Elsewhere.
Kael wasn't having a peaceful evening.
Three older teenagers had decided to bother him while he walked home.
A terrible decision.
"Move."
Kael said.
One of them laughed.
"No."
Kael sighed.
He really wasn't in the mood.
The boy shoved him.
A mistake.
Anger flashed through Kael.
Only for a second.
Then...
BOOM.
A burst of force exploded outward.
The three teenagers were thrown backward.
As if hit by a speeding truck.
They crashed into the pavement.
Groaning.
Confused.
Terrified.
Kael stood frozen.
"What..."
The words barely left his mouth.
Because he didn't understand either.
Meanwhile.
Ozias sat at his desk.
Reading.
Normal.
Or at least it started that way.
Page after page passed before his eyes.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Then he stopped.
Something felt strange.
Very strange.
He could remember everything.
Not parts.
Not fragments.
Everything.
Every sentence.
Every paragraph.
Every page.
Perfectly.
His eyes widened.
That wasn't normal.
Not even close.
Across town.
Matthew sat alone inside his room.
The house was quiet.
Peaceful.
He stared out the window.
Thinking.
Mostly about Zeven.
The awakening.
The lightning.
The changes.
Something about it bothered him.
Then suddenly...
A glass fell from a nearby table.
Matthew saw it happen.
A full second before it actually happened.
His eyes widened.
The glass hit the floor.
CRASH.
Silence.
Matthew slowly stood.
His heart was racing.
Because for one impossible moment...
He had already seen it.
And finally...
Zeven.
Night had fallen.
His room was dark.
Silent.
Yet sleep refused to come.
He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.
Thinking.
The forest.
The awakening.
The strange feeling.
Being watched.
The memory refused to leave.
Eventually he closed his eyes.
And somewhere far away...
Beyond Earth.
Beyond the stars.
Beyond everything he knew.
A lone figure stood at the edge of a cliff.
Watching a portal slowly form in the darkness.
A long black coat moved in the wind.
Cold eyes reflected the storm.
"The Black Lightning."
The figure murmured.
A faint smile appeared.
"Let's see if you're worth the trouble."
The portal expanded.
Without hesitation...
The recruiter stepped through.
And for the first time...
Someone from Nythara was coming to Earth.