15. Kal: Magic and Family

  Kal’s first experience with the Inner Eye was the wildest thing that had ever happened to him.

  It was like walking in space – on space – but without a spacesuit. There was no air, no ground, yet he could still walk, stepping on something.

  And then there was the ring…

  A massive, glowing golden ring, suspended in the vast cosmic void.

  It pulsed when Kal approached it, releasing a soundless vibration that resonated deep within him, making his very soul tremble.

  Then, a voice followed - something divine.

  “YOU ARE WORTHY.”

  The space around him suddenly shifted.

  For a split second, everything warped – streaks of gold flashing across the never-ending darkness, reminding Kal of shooting stars. Only these left a golden trail behind them that lasted.

  It was still mostly cosmos, but now it wasn’t just blackness and stars.

  The trails were threads. Golden threads stretching infinitely into the void. Seven of them, to be precise.

  Some were thin as a single strand of hair, barely visible against the darkness surrounding them. Others were thick, woven together like a rope. All of them shimmered and glowed.

  “THIS IS YOUR COGNITION MADE MANIFEST.”

  Kal blinked. “Uh…what?”

  “THESE THREADS ARE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD.”

  Kal’s confusion only grew.

  ‘If these threads are my understanding of the world and there are only seven of them, does that mean I’m that stupid?!’

  “EVERYTHING YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING YOU HAVE LEARNED, IS WOVEN INTO THESE THREADS. THEY ARE YOUR MAGIC.”

  Kal squinted at the golden strands surrounding him.

  He reached toward one.

  It was thin, almost fragile, and when his fingers brushed against it, it trembled, sending a ripple through the cosmos.

  The sensation that followed was…strange. It was almost like he had just plucked a guitar string tied to his very being.

  And then, a whisper followed.

  “Air.”

  Kal froze.

  “What the hell…?” He whispered.

  Then, his gaze fell on one much larger thread – it was woven from four smaller ones.

  Slowly, he reached for it as well. The moment his fingertip touched it, another ripple was sent through space, this one sounding lower.

  “Emotion.”

  He was still confused, so he began touching the other threads.

  “Fire.” A single Thread.

  “Water.” A single Thread as well.

  “Rhythm.” Three Threads woven together.

  “Light.” Another single Thread.

  “Gravity.” Yet another single Thread.

  The ring’s words finally clicked.

  Each Thread was a different type of magic he could control. The thicker the Thread, the deeper his comprehension and…power of magic?

  “There are only seven…” He murmured, shaking his head. That still didn’t seem right.

  Surely, he understood more than these seven concepts.

  He lifted his head, addressing the ring cautiously, wondering if it would help him.

  “Hey, Mr. ... or Mrs. Ring, how come I have so few Threads? Surely, I understand more than what I see here. What about…” He thought for a moment, then his eyes brightened. “Electricity!” He exclaimed. “I know how it works scientifically! I learned about voltage, current, conductors and…” he rubbed his chin, trying to recall. “Circuits…I think it was circuits.” He shook his head. “Anyway, shouldn’t I have a Thread for that too?”

  For a moment, there was silence. But then, the answer came.

  “KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT EQUAL UNDERSTANDING.”

  Kal blinked, but he was glad the ring responded.

  “REPEATING FACTS IS NOT COMPREHENSION. A TRUTH MUST RESIDE IN YOUR SOUL, NOT JUST YOUR MIND.”

  Kal frowned. “What does that even mean?”

  The ring’s light flared before it replied.

  “MAGIC IS THE REFLECTION OF ONE’S SOUL. EACH PERSON’S THREADS ARE SHAPED BY THEIR INNER WORLD, THEIR EXPERIENCES, THEIR PASSIONS.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “YOU DO NOT POSSESS AN ELECTRICTY THREAD BECAUSE YOU DO NOT TRULY KNOW ELECTRICTY. YOU KNOW ITS DEFINITIONS BECAUSE YOU’VE READ ‘FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE: GRADE 8’, NOT ITS ESSENCE.”

  Kal opened his mouth, then shut it.

  ‘The hell…it even knew the school book?’

  One thing was clear though – to weave Threads, one must truly understand what they’re talking about.

  “Can I get more?” He asked.

  “YOU CAN.”

  “How?”

  “BY UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD BETTER.”

  ‘That was vague…’

  “Is there an easy way to do that?”

  “THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. AT LEAST NOT THOSE THAT ARE WORTH CHASING.”

  Kal sighed, deciding to drop it for now. He would just ask Azmira later.

  His attention shifted to his existing Threads.

  Out of the seven he possessed, Rhythm and Emotion were the thickest – forming something deeper.

  But why those?

  It didn’t take him long to figure it out.

  “Music!” he yelped.

  Rhythm – he had spent years immersed in it, playing, feeling the flow of a song, keeping perfect timing. It wasn’t something he simply knew – it was ingrained in his entire body.

  And Emotion…wasn’t music all about emotion? The way a song could fill someone with joy, make them cry, or stir something deep in their soul?

  A wide grin spread across his face, proud of himself for figuring it out.

  But then…the excitement wavered.

  It still didn’t make sense.

  If he truly understood Emotion, then shouldn’t he be able to explain it in detail? Put it into words like a psychology professor could?

  But he couldn’t.

  Emotion wasn’t a thing he could explain in words. It was just something you…feel.

  So…why did he have four threads in it?

  ‘Is four even a lot?’

  His gaze flicked to the thinner Threads – Air, Water, Fire, Light, and Gravity – and his stomach twisted.

  ‘Wait…what if four isn’t high at all? What if I actually suck?’

  If four wasn’t impressive, then having just one thread in the others meant he was even worse than he initially thought.

  Then, the ring spoke again, as if reading his mind.

  “THE MAXIMAL UNDERSTANDING OF ANY CONCEPT IS FIVE THREADS.”

  Kal froze.

  His heart pounded in excitement.

  So…four in Emotion was high. Three in Rhythm was too – relatively speaking.

  His worries melted slightly as he realized – he was actually good at something.

  His new parents made him feel special every day, constantly reaping praise on him and especially on his musical talents. And still, he felt like a fake.

  Kal could only play so well at six, because he wasn’t actually six. Of course, he couldn’t tell anyone about that, though.

  But this…this was different.

  It was the first time the universe gave him something – a proof.

  But recalling his parents made him remember something else – something he was afraid to learn the answer to.

  ‘What if the golden ring suddenly realized this was all a mistake and took my magic away?’

  Still…he had to ask.

  Swallowing hard, he spoke, his voice cautious. “Ring, why do I…have magic? My parents aren’t mages, so…how?”

  A long silence stretched across the cosmos and Kal felt that this was it.

  ‘This is where I lose it.’ He thought. ‘I was only a mage for like five minutes.’

  Then, the ring spoke.

  “A PRICE WAS PAID, KALVIN CLARK.”

  “GARTAN IS TO BLAME.”

  Hearing his real name – his name from Earth – snapped him out of focus.

  The cosmos around him began to disappear as he couldn’t keep his concentration and stay in his Inner Eye.

  And then he opened his eyes, back on the floor of his living room in a lotus position.

  Reality rushed in as he was met with an ecstatic Azmira grinning at him from ear to ear.

  “Well?!” She asked excitedly. “Tell me how it went!”

  ***

  Kal’s parents watched in silence as he recounted everything he had experienced within his Inner Eye to Azmira.

  Well…almost everything.

  He didn’t mention how the ring called him by his Earth name. Or that it had blamed a certain Gartan – whoever they were – for him having magic.

  “Talking ring…” Azmira repeated, then suddenly cracked into laughter. “It’s not a talking ring, silly – it’s a projection created by Eludranth, the God of Magic. In a way, it’s almost like he spoke to you through messages he had already recorded in your Inner Eye. He does this for all mages. The Ring is there to advise and help us.”

  Kal frowned.

  ‘So, the messages were recorded? That doesn’t make sense…How would a recorded message know I was Kalvin Clark?!’

  His thoughts were interrupted when his father spoke.

  “So…my son is a mage?” Reinar murmured, shaking his head as he covered his face with his hand.

  Kal couldn’t understand his reaction. ‘What’s the big deal? Shouldn't he be happy?’

  “Definitely is.” Azmira jumped up with a grin. “Tooooold you.”

  His mother, on the other hand, was absolutely elated.

  “Our son is a mage!” She called out, beaming as she pulled Kal into a crushing hug, raining kisses all over his forehead. “My little genius!”

  Reinar shook his head again, exhaling sharply. “Our son? I’m not sure about that anymore…”

  Kal’s breath caught in his throat.

  ‘What?’

  Elara stiffened with anger, but she kept her defining calmness.

  “If you’re insinuating what I think you’re insinuating,” she said, not even looking at her husband, “then you better stop now before you say something there might be no coming back from.”

  Reinar clenched his fists. “Well, tell me I’m wrong to think this!” he snapped.

  Azmira’s smile vanished. Her gaze dropped to the wooden floorboards.

  “Of course you’re wrong, you big oaf! Why would I cheat on you?!” Elara shot back, her voice rising. “With who?! Oh, right, because there’s an abundance of mages in Terenhill! I just need to pick one, right?!”

  “I don’t know!” Reinar barked. His hands moved wildly as he spoke. “Maybe the mage you’re seeing opens a portal and appears here while I work the fields! How the hell would I know how they operate?!”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t talk about things you know nothing about!” Elara snapped. “I was the one who insisted Miss Morvain check Kal. Would I do that if I wanted to hide that he could be a mage’s son?!”

  Kal’s heart pounded.

  His parents had never argued like this before.

  He wanted to say something – anything – to make them stop, but the words lodged in his throat.

  The Ring had been pretty clear: This Gartan was the reason he had magic.

  But who was Gartan?

  Could it really be possible that his mother…No. No way. He knew for certain that she wouldn’t. She only ever had eyes for Reinar.

  Luckily, Azmira interjected. “Mr. Varren, like I told you before, magic doesn’t have to pass down every generation – “

  “Stay out of this, Miss Morvain!” Reinar snapped.

  Azmira flinched, taken aback by the hostility in his voice.

  And then, the arguing continued.

  Kal stood there, helpless, his mind racing.

  ‘There has to be something I can do!’

  He assumed that the Emotion Threads allowed him to influence emotions. If that’s the case…couldn’t he just calm them down?

  He focused hard on that thought.

  He wanted to take away their anger. He wanted to make them see it was just a misunderstanding.

  But nothing happened.

  Fantasy novels and movies always made it seem so easy.

  The young prodigious protagonist just had to think about something hard enough, and it would happen. Because…plot reasons.

  But this wasn’t a novel. This was real.

  And in reality, nothing was happening.

  The fear in his chest twisted.

  He couldn’t let this happen.

  He had already lost his first parents. He missed them every single day. Even now.

  Then, he got his new parents. They were one of the best things that ever happened to him.

  But now…he was going to lose them too?

  No. He refused.

  He did the only thing he could.

  “Stop!” He shouted, his voice cracking as tears welled up in his eyes.

  The room fell silent.

  His mother’s eyes widened before she immediately dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around him.

  “Oh, baby,” she whispered, pulling him close. “I’m sorry. Don’t cry. Everything will be okay. Your dad and I just…”

  Reinar, his face shocked as well, knelt down beside them and hugged them both.

  “Yes, don’t worry, Kal.” He said. His voice softer now, far from the anger that had filled it earlier. “We just…get heated up sometimes, that’s all.”

  They stayed like that for a long while, holding each other close.

  Kal hoped this was the end of this issue. That after tonight, it would all go back to normal.

  Maybe it would. But tonight…His father slept on the couch.