Will took a minute to process the transformation that took place in front of him. Of course it made a little sense, he did see Michael take a fully grown sword out of his pocket before, having this demonstration explained what he thought was impossible. Though if he hadn't spent as much time in Crystallia, he still would have thought it would be impossible.

“Your blade is the next step in your training,” Michael said as he held his own sword, giving Will a smile. “I want you to try to summon your own sword within the next week. All other exercises besides agility will be postponed.”

Will groaned when he heard he still had to make his laps, it was the only thing he hadn't mastered since he started his training. Though he couldn't shake the feeling of excitement as he clutched his pendant. He couldn't forget the flaming sword Michael used in Colorado. He had been able to completely fend off all five wraiths as if they were equals.

Taking his pendant from his neck, Will summoned his aura to his clenched hand though nothing happened. Giving a confused look, he tried again, and once more nothing happened. Will looked at his uncle expectantly.

“This is your training, William, you will get no help from me,” he said as he drenched the sword in flames, returning it to his normal sized pendant and pocketed it.

Walking back to the cottage, Michael looked back at his nephew. “Take the rest of the two hours before breakfast to train, don't worry, you will have full portions from here on,” he said with a chuckle. “You're going to need them,” he said before shutting the door behind him.

Will looked from the door back to his pendant. There's a reason he chose now to show me the blade, he thought as he looked at the small cross. He couldn't shake the feeling he already knew what to do.

When he saw Michael activated his blade, his face was completely calm as the flames spread from his hand extending into the sword. Will tested the same act multiple times; trying to feed his flames into the blade, each time was a failure.

Getting irritated, Will couldn't stop. He had to master this weapon; it was the only thing he had seen that could hold off the wraiths. How am I supposed to save anyone if I can't even use the sword? he thought as his flames continuously went out on the blade.

Two hours went by fast with no pause in Will's training. He had made no progress on the blade by the time Michael opened the cottage door. Seeing his nephew train so hard made him smile. “William, it's breakfast time, come in and tell me what you've learned of the blade,” he said as he walked back to the table.

Will only objected a little bit, he wanted to figure out his blade as soon as possible though his stomach had other plans for him. Walking into the cottage, Will sat himself at the table and picked up a fork.

“Have you made any progress on the blade?” Michael asked as he took his own seat. His nephew looked up at him and shook his head, his mouth too full of eggs to say anything.

“I see,” Michael said with a shrug. “What exactly do you think a lineage blade is?”

“I think it's a weapon I can use to protect myself against the wraiths,” Will said with a slight hesitation. “What else could it be? I've seen you use it twice now, and you're still alive.” Michael scoffed at his nephew's ridiculous response.

Michael shook his head, clearly not happy with the answer. “Finish your food. We are going to take a little trip.” Clearly happy to go anywhere other than the training field, Will nodded and began shoveling food in his mouth as fast as he could.

After breakfast, Will met Michael outside of the cottage. He was allowed to wear his normal clothes which made him curious as to where Michael was taking him.

Back in his blue jeans, white shirt, and leather jacket, Will felt more like himself than he had in a week. His cross and dog tags took their usual spot around his neck.

Michael was sporting his usual business suit and overcoat. Calling Will over to him, he extended his hand. “We are just going to make a quick supply run.”

Taking Will by the arm, they plunged themselves into darkness, the same sensation Will was just starting to get used to.

When the light came back, they stepped through a gate into a house Will was all too familiar with. His eyes opened in surprise as he found himself in his old home in Minnesota.

“Why would you bring me here?” He asked his uncle, but he was no longer next to him. Michael had disappeared within the instant they stepped through the gate. Why doesn't this guy ever give me a warning before he disappears? Will thought as he rolled his eyes. The least he can do is put a little bell around his neck. He had to chuckle at the image his mind came up with.

The house was abandoned still, no retail sign or any proof anyone had been living there since he left. Will took out his phone and charger, testing whether the outlets were working.

The moment the power went on, his phone started going off the walls with messages. Some of them were from Leo, but most from Bianca.

“Where are you?” “Why don't you ever turn on your phone?” “Are you alive?” The more Will scrolled through the phone, the more he got worried. It had been a while since he last checked in with the both of them.

Instead of making a call on the phone, he summoned his flame. Tapping his phone with it, the reflection turned to Bianca. She was yet again in her room wearing her usual pink tank top and jeans. Even though it was a little creepy that he could see her no matter where she was, he still liked this way of contacting her better than her phone though he'd never tell her that to her face.

“Don't say anything, Bianca,” he said into the phone. The moment he said it, her head came up in surprise. “Come next door and don't forget a jacket,” he said as he allowed the flame to dissipate. He knew he only had a few moments before she was there. He took the opportunity to check if his service was still up. Of course his location settings were on, Will bet Leo already knew he was back.

Within a minute, there was a hesitant knock at the door. As Will opened it, a hand came out of nowhere. His aura alerted him, but he allowed the slap to connect to his face. Will rubbed the hand print that must have been on his face. He looked at her for a moment, glad she had listened and grabbed a jacket on her way out; the snow was coming down pretty good.

“Where have you been?” Bianca screamed in the doorway. “We have been so worried about you, did you even care?” Will had seen this coming every time he thought of her. He just allowed her to take her frustration out on him. Seeing tears in her eyes, all he could do was hold her close.

Looking up at her recently missing boyfriend, her eyes grew large. “Will, what happened to you? You've changed.” Not knowing what she meant, Will took his phone from the charger and turned it to camera, he put it on mirror and looked at himself.

It was true, his hair was a mess covering his eyes, but even then, his face looked leaner as well. He looked almost like a better version of himself since he left. He didn't really feel different though, all of the challenges that he had faced so far probably shaped how he looked. He had suffered a lot, but he had also grown stronger because of it.

“You have anything to eat? I'm starving,” Will said with a sheepish look. He hadn't been able to really enjoy his food as much as he should have since he was in a hurry to get out of that damned cottage.

“I haven't seen or heard from you in six months, and the first thing you ask is about the food?” She asked incredulously. Will shrugged at the question. “Well at least you haven't changed much on the inside,” she said with a sigh. “My mom isn't home right now, so you can come over for a little while and tell me what's been going on with you,” Bianca said as she went back outside.

Will made sure to grab his phone and charger before heading out into the cold January air. Luckily, they were only going down the street one house over.

Stopping in front of the house, Will took in the familiar view. It seemed so nostalgic; he had lived next to that particular house for most of his life. He remembered all the times his parents dropped him off, so they could have some time alone. All the times she had played with her dollhouse when she was younger to experimenting with new clothes when they got older. Will had some fond memories with just him and Bianca. It was the best thing about having the one person he cared about living next door.

Walking into the house, he saw that nothing had truly changed. There was still a shoe rack by the door. Walking into the house, he saw the familiar coat rack that had been behind a recliner since he was small. Will followed his memories up to Bianca's room. The door was shut so he decided to wait for permission to enter; it was a long standing rule since Will had always walked in at the wrong time. More often than not, he would have a hand print on the side of his face that put the most recent one to shame.

Will knocked on the door as he would usually do when he came over. Over all the times that he had visited her, the least he could do then was to knock. “Come in,” Bianca called out. Will opened the door to see her in her usual pink tank and jeans sitting on her bed with a few sandwiches next to her.

Sitting next to her, Will thanked Bianca for the meal while she could only look at him. It was true he had changed a little. From all the training he did when he was in the desert to the training with Maya and the most recent training from his uncle. Will got chills just thinking about it. But he couldn't have changed all that much, he still wore the same clothes as he did the last time he saw her, and he still wore the same jacket.

As Bianca stared at him, he noticed there were tears in her eyes. He instantly put down his meal and put his hand on her leg. “Hey, I'm okay,” he said in a soothing voice, “I'm here now. You can stop worrying.” He gave her a smile as she thought of what to say.

“You were completely out of touch for six months, Will,” she said as she found her voice. She became a little nervous after she calmed down a little. “Hey, I was wondering,” she began; her face had taken a slight pinkish color. “Did I hear you call me a month ago and then today without using a phone or anything?” She asked.

Will had to keep himself from laughing at her face. She must have felt as if she was going crazy. Who exactly hears voices? In her defense, Will did remember talking to himself in the desert. “Yeah, you did,” Will tried to find the right words to tell her that she wasn't going crazy. “I want to tell you everything, but now isn't the time.” Taking a deep breath, Will prepared himself for the unavoidable outburst.

“Alright, as long as I wasn't going crazy,” she said as if nothing unnatural had been said. “Besides, now Leo owes me a hundred bucks.” Bianca giggled as she put her jacket back on.

“Going somewhere?” Will raised an eyebrow.

“I figured you would want to go to the field, after all it's been a while.” Bianca winked at him as she left the room.