“I'm here to discuss the contract we made when you moved to Ria.” His mother said, sending a dagger of anxiety straight to his gut. There was no way she would hold this against him. His mother wasn't that cruel…

“You can’t be serious, I haven't asked you for any help that Reggie wouldn't if he were in my shoes. It’s not fair either, I have friends here, I have a job and I got a gym membership. Look, i'm in super good shape for the first time. Ever”

“Sweetie, you can come back. And besides, if they were true friends they wouldn't let a measly year ruin your relationship.” She said with the tone of a sweet little lady, but the words rang hollow in Nathans heart.

“Please, when did I even ask for help?” He argued.

“I'm not taking you home because you asked for help, im taking you home because you I have deemed you to be unsafe in this cruel city. Its because I love you.” She explained before handing him a bottle from her oversized purse. Nathan was like, 80% sure it had spatial formations in it. She never ran out of anything she kept in there. Taking a sip he discovered it to be an elixir with high density ather in it. Tangy, and helpful to his recovery.

“Look at me, I’ve exercised so hard these past few months.” He said pulling up his shirt to reveal a thin gut that you could see three pairs of muscles through the skin. As though just realizing it the aura bubble in his chest burst, quickly being reabsorbed into his aura. A solid gain, increasing his aura by maybe a fourth its previous power. “And my aura is way, way stronger.” He finished quite pleased with the timing.

“And imagine how much stronger you’ll be when-” She was cut off by a rattle on the door, followed by a pretty female doctor.

“Nathan Crest? I see your wounds are healing nicely, I just wanted to check on your soul defect before sending you on your way.” She said.

“Oh, my asthma is doing great actually. The Steel Body technique has basically gotten rid of it. Haven't had an attack in two months. Not even a little one.” He said pride building in his chest. He had come so far. And now his mom wanted to snatch him away.

“That's great, I actually wanted to recommend it to you. So strange how that works sometimes. Anyways, if your doing fine and you feel well enough to walk we can get you out of here in an hour. Your insurance already covered everything.” The nice doctor said before checking some of the machines near Nathan and promptly leaving. His mother was staring at him oddly, so he quickly started back their previous conversation.

“I am a grown man, I have grown greatly in my independence and I will not move back home for a year.” He said with the utmost certainty. There was no quiver in his voice, and certainly no fear of his mother.

“You cured your asthma?” She said simply. And that threw him for a loop. Was that so much more impressive than his six pack?

“Ya, thanks to the people here in Ria” He half-lied. She thought for a moment. Then she let out a huge sigh.

“Nathan, if you really want to stay in the city where you have been robbed and beaten, living in a run down apartment and going to a cheap gym you can. I just want you to know what your going to be missing by not coming home and training.” She said before reaching into her purse. It took awhile for her to find what she was looking for, but soon enough she brought out a small box. Inside was a pamphlet about the company she worked at. She handed it to him and as he read over it he found himself sorely tempted. The elixirs and training manuals just listed on the front would be worth giving up a year of his life. But would it be worth losing the relationships he had built up. Nathan didn't think so.

“Oh, one more thing. While you are back home I will be out a lot for work, so I’ll be relying on a couple of people to give you combat training. Im sure you remember Tanya and Liz. Their top notch trainers who have great experience.” She tempted. Tanya was a six foot beauty and Liz was his childhood crush. Having them train him would be horrendous. Mainly because he was certain they would spar with him, and both of them would annihilate him while giggling. Nathan tried to argue some more but every time he opened his mouth, his mother had a new temptation at the ready. Scheming master of manipulation was a title his mother wore with pride. And Nathan had never been good at resisting his mothers demands.

Eventually he was in a car headed to his hometown after getting his affairs in order. As he left the huge coastal city Nathan made another aura oath, once again dedicating a fifth of his aura to a promise. ‘I will return and when I do, im going to conquer an arena.’. A difficult task, but one he hoped he would have a chance of after this year of training. To ‘Conquer’ an arena one had to become the highest ranked fighter in it and challenge the current ‘Champion’. As they drove Nathan thought of all the awesome ways he was going to beat the champion. Eventually as the sun set, he drifted to sleep to the feeling of healed wounds and an ache in his soul. He was going to miss Ria.