The pain faded with the illusion as the real world blinked back into my vision. I grasped at that feeling of the golden flame, but like water slipping through my fingers, it began to fade away. In the end, all that remained was the vague memory of a dream, but even a faded dream was better than nothing. At least now I had a goal to aim for. I just hoped that when I reached for that flame, I did not actually burn myself alive.

I sunk into the water of the pool and let out a defeated sigh. With the power of the guardian gone, the black sludge had turned into crystal clear water. Across from me in the pool, my mom, Donte, and Esben all sat in the water with their eyes still closed. They started to stir ever so slightly, but the three of them kept their eyes closed as if focusing on something with all their might.

Not wanting to interrupt whatever the illusion had shown them, I climbed out of the pool first and left them to focus. My dad was standing nearby, watching us with concern. He handed me a towel when I approached.

“Nox suddenly grew giant and threw the three of them in the pool before anyone could even react. He would not let anyone else approach. You have all been unconscious in there for over three hours. Care to explain what is going on? Is everyone alright?” My dad asked.

I took the towel from my dad gratefully as the chill from the cave caused goosebumps across my wet skin. I wrapped myself in the soft fabric as I spoke. “I made a mistake. The glowing fruit was not what I thought it was. To avoid getting contaminated by foreign energy, we had to bathe in the pool and face the illusion within. They should wake up soon now that the power in the water has faded.”

My dad let out a sigh of relief as he pushed away one of the glowing vines. “That’s good. That’s good. you have no idea how worried I was. Nobody would respond no matter how much I yelled and Nox even threatened to attack me when I tried to approach.”

I reached down to pet the small kitten now laying idly by the water. “Good job Nox. You were a real lifesaver today.” The kitten purred lightly under my touch and closed his eyes in contentment. “If anyone had woken us before the illusion finished naturally, the energy in our body would not have been cleansed. If that happened, even the best-case scenario would leave us unable to use our innate talents properly until we found a way to remove the energy. Worst case, the energy might have mutated us into something similar to whatever creature the Guardian resembled. As pretty as they are, I do not want to sprout butterfly wings or antennae.”

My dad coughed as he looked at one of the fluttering butterflies nearby. “These things are…”

“Probably other creatures or insects that ate too much the fruit and were never treated. It is not a pretty fate for a human and as far as I know it is not reversible.”

“But you are ok now, right? Nothing will happen to anyone?”

I nodded as a bright green flame ignited in my hand, completely free of any of the foreign white energy. “We will be fine.”

As I spoke, I heard the stirring of water behind me. Both Donte and Esben had begun to wake up from their own illusions. Both of them looked around in confusion as they tried to separate dream from reality.

Donte shook his head as he brought a hand to his face. “That was… incredible!” Donte shouted as he jumped up.

I pointed the flame in my hand at Donte with a scowl. “Calm down, my mom still has not woken up yet. If you disturb her, I will incinerate you.”

Donte gulped nervously as he nodded and climbed out of the pool. Esben was close behind, still lost in his own thoughts, his eyes seemed somewhat blank and unfocused. My dad handed them both a towel to dry off with, which Esben took without acknowledging anyone.

“What did you two see in there?” I asked curiously.

“It was amazing!” Donte replied, barely containing his excitement, “At first I was walking in the sky with clouds all around. That continued for a while, but then I met with a mirror of myself. He said a few things then showed me what my talent could eventually become. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before as if the entire sky… the entire world was at my fingertips. Is power like that really possible?”

“It is not impossible,” I replied hesitantly, “But I would not get my hopes up. Only the thirteen leaders of the Divisions are capable of anything close to that scale.”

Donte pumped his fist excitedly as a big smile spread across his face. “Then I am going to reach it! I want to experience that feeling again. Now that I know it is possible, I will never give up!”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” I said, “Training has to be taken one step at a time. The Guardian showed us what we might become, but reaching that state is not something that can happen overnight. Focus on improving what you can actually do for now.” Donte nodded energetically as I turned to look at the silent Esben standing nearby.

“What about you? Were you also shown an image of what your power could become?”

Esben blinked a few times as he looked at me as if just noticing I was there. “Huh? Yes, I saw that… I was shown how to turn my skin into unbreakable crystal and form my hands into blades, but I am far more focused on what the spirit said to me than what it could show me. It talked about my home, about secrets hiding underground, and about… never mind.” Esben shook his head with a sigh and stopped talking. Whatever the spirit had told him, it had shaken the man in a way I had not seen from the mercenary before.

“The mirror talked to me too,” Donte said, “I am supposed to look for a legacy hidden underground. Do you know what that is?”

“No…” I replied with a frown, “But I am very curious. As the previous protector of this realm before me, she must have been very powerful. Anything left behind by a being like that should not be underestimated.”

“Awesome! Where do we start looking?”

“Down.” I said simply, “If this legacy still exists, then we should try to find it, but do not put too much stock in the words of a Guardian. They are not all-knowing, and this one has been long dead. There is no guarantee whatever was left behind is still there or if it will really be useful to us.”

My speech was interrupted by a deafening clap of thunder as the nearby pool of water erupted into a shower of electricity. Everyone stumbled backwards as water spray was sent flying in every direction. Arcs of electricity flashed between the water droplets and struck the ground around us. the sound of thunder roared out twice more, creating lightning that struck the roof of the cave above us. it was only after several seconds of this that the lightning began to die down and I was able to see its source.

“Mom? are you ok?”

My mom opened her eyes as she stood up from the pool. Her entire body arced with electricity that sporadically discharged into the nearby ground. my mom smiled as she looked down at the electricity covering her. “Better than ok. I feel amazing!” my mom clenched her fist and all the electricity on her body flowed towards her hand. all the electricity gathered into a single point before my mom pointed her finger at a nearby plant. A massive lightning bolt, followed by the deafening drum of thunder, arced into the plant. The lightning blasted the plant to pieces, leaving nothing but a smoldering ruin in its wake. My mom smiled even brighter as the electricity began to fade and her glowing eyes returned to normal.

“You learned how to control your electricity?” I asked in amazement.

My mom nodded. “Ever since you got me my new blade, I have felt like I was just missing one final push to figure out how to use my talent in another way, but it was only once I felt it for myself that I was finally able to understand what I needed to do. Still, this is nothing compared to what I experienced in the illusion. I wish I could have had more time to understand that feeling.”

I nodded, knowing too well what she meant. I was about to reply but found myself biting my tongue, staring at my mom as the lightning faded from her skin. my dad was frozen in place as he was about to hand her a towel.

“Mom… you look… younger,” I said as I examined her carefully. She looked like she had aged backwards more than ten years. There were no wrinkles around her eyes and her skin shined with a youthful light. It would be hard for me to say she looked a day over twenty.

“Younger?” my mom asked as she held her hand to her face.

I nodded and ran over to the wagon waiting nearby, before grabbing a mirror we used from inside. handing the mirror to Mom, I watched as she stared at her reflection for what seemed like a solid minute before she could speak.

“I really do look younger. How is this possible?”

“Large jumps in power can rejuvenate the body and slow your aging,” I replied as I took the mirror back, “Usually it only happens when someone reaches a stable domain level of strength, but you achieved it early. It might have something to do with us eating the foreign energy of the guardian and that strengthened your body, but… I am not sure.”

My mom looked over at my dad. He was still staring slack-jawed at her as he tried to stutter something and failed. My mom took no time slugging him in the arm before she put both hands on her hips. “Are you just going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to get me a change of dry clothes?”

“Right- right away!” my dad stuttered while trying to hide a big smile as he hurried back to the wagon.

My mom shook her head with a sigh before turning back towards me. I could not help but notice her suppressing a small smile as she spoke. “Is this permanent?”

I shrugged in reply. “As permanent as any age is. Give it another twenty years and you will be back to normal…. probably. Do not worry, there should be no downside to this effect. Just be happy you did not age further backwards into a kid. I have seen that happen before. It was hilarious.”

My mom laughed as she started stretching her muscles. “I do not want to sound vain, but this feels really nice. Even my old injuries from when I was serving in the military are completely gone. It is like I have gained a whole new body.” Walking back towards the wagon, my mom grabbed one of the training swords that hung from the side. She twirled it lightly and stuck out at the air with a crackle of electricity. My dad stepped out with a set of fresh clothes and my mom smiled at him. “You might have been getting stronger than me recently, but now you are in trouble. Get ready, because the two of us will be sparring together until I get used to being like this again.”