As he had spent much of the night explaining to Phavian and Maggie, there was a point in his life where his Affinity Detection appeared to him as words. Though he was sure there were no actual words emblazoned on a person’s being, his mind understood it that way. Since language was such an important part of their education, he likened it to learning a new language and disjointed sounds suddenly have instantaneous meaning.
“Is this why you call my ability ‘Amplification’ rather than Singularity?”
“Yes. I must admit Singularity is much cooler sounding, but given what your powers do and their true nature, it is a bit of a stretch and somewhat of a misnomer in my opinion. Given that it is based on a technological singularity, there is an understood finite quantity to it. Your powers don’t have that. It would almost be better to call it ‘Infinity’ or something, but who am I to judge.”
“Ooh! Do me next!”
They both shoot barbed glances at Phavian. Maggie was not happy that her own questions had not been fully answered, and Anaar simply found himself exasperated by the man’s strange enthusiasm. He was not sure how to deal with it. Last time he found out about his powers, he literally tried to kill him and went on a rampage. This time it is as if he got a new toy and is having boundless amount of fun with it.
“This isn’t some parlor trick Phavian! Do you understand what this means? Anaar has been sitting here with the keys to unlocking our powers and we have totally been squandering it.”
“How can we squander something we don’t know about?”
She grabs one of the seat cushions and chucks it at him. He was evidently not prepared for it to do much to him, because he did not even attempt to negate the blow. Hitting him in the face, he flips backward over the sofa from the impact.
Groaning as he stands from the floor, his face had a distinct redness to it. Though Phavian was not exactly a dark skinned man, the level of redness was still staggering. “What the actual fuck Maggie! That was a pillow! Why does it feel like you hit me in the face with a cinder block?!” Whimpering with puppy dog eyes and a pouted lip, he leans on Anaar. “Make it better!”
“No. You should have seen that coming. If nothing else, you should have just blocked it.”
“Who blocks a pillow?!”
“Technically it is a cushion, and a heavy one at that.”
“Same thing! And it shouldn’t hit that hard!”
“It was less the cushion that you felt and more the amplified response to your face. Maggie has been practicing.”
“Wait, you can see that too? You clearly just knew I didn’t just boost the power of the cushion, but the resulting blow too.”
“It isn’t exactly that I can see it per se, it is more like intuitive? It can be a lot, so I block out most of it, but since there isn’t much going on here, I don’t bother.”
“That is really broken you know.”
“It kinda is. I have lived with it for a long time though so it just seems normal now. It wasn’t always like that. My abilities get stronger like everyone else’s.”
“Since you aren’t going to fix my face are you at least going to give me a reading now?”
Shooting him a quick shot of healing just to quiet him down, “This isn’t like tarot cards or something you know. In all honesty you guys know far more about your powers than I do. We all sense and understand our powers on a deeper more intrinsic level. For me I’m like an outsider looking in. Think of it like a doctor. Sure I may have training or the means to diagnose you, but I can’t feel what you feel, so I will never understand it like you do.”
“Well can we at least get back to the part where people’s powers are just floating words above their heads?”
“I literally just said that was not the case…”
“Whatever.”
Clapping his hands in excitement as he came up with the perfect explanation, “Hieroglyphics. That is what it is most similar to.”
“Who the fuck reads hieroglyphics?”
“That isn’t the point. Basically it is just impressions that you come to understand carries a certain meaning. Though now that I think of it that is no different from words…”
“Ha! I win!”
“Ugh, you need to hang out with Dan more. Everything is a competition for you guys. Maybe then I won’t have to deal with it as much.”
Hours passed as Anaar became weary with his search. He was happy to find he had a remarkable amount of energy for the task, something he was not sure about. Ripp had always made it seem much more taxing when it came to opening successive portals. It would only be expected, ripping two holes in space and then connecting the two is not exactly a passive feat. He decided to take a nap since he had a few more hours before his mom came home, in which he would get up to cook dinner for her.
As he awoke, he thought it was naturally, but there was something more at play. He checked the time and saw about an hour had passed, but what was more prominent was the feeling he had. It was not something new, in fact it was something quite familiar, something he had been ignoring and dampening. He had that unmistakable sense of longing that he had felt from time to time.
The feeling was strong, stronger than it had been in some time. It dawned on him however that he was mistaken. There was a time when it was even stronger, or if not stronger, it had changed. It was when he had come face to face with Yefferson. It was so powerful then it felt as if his chest was exploding. It was as if his mind and body knew that it had finally found what it had been searching for and it was within his grasp.
If this yearning all these years had in actuality been a connection to Yefferson, perhaps he could utilize that. He sensed him in Haxby, his power being that significant, perhaps there was more to his abilities he had not explored. Focusing on the feeling with all his might, he tried to his best to home in on it.
There was something missing. True to her words, when he had manifested his Transporter abilities, he almost immediately had a great sense of space and coordinates. It had not been strong at the outset, but it had been growing more and more which each passing day and acknowledgement of its existence. Rather than trying to get some sort of image or clue to where Yefferson was, there could be a chance he could let his powers go on autopilot.
He remembered learning that birds and other migratory animals had a similar feature to them. They did not need to map out where they were going, or make plans, their bodies simply took over for them and led them to their destinations. If he could do the same, it could solve his greatest issue. Taking hold of that feeling, he opened a portal, not to specific coordinates or an image in his mind, but to whatever this sensation was tethered to.
Without a clear destination, portals fail to open. He could only presume teleportation was a similar concept, no doubt some built in failsafe to keep people from getting stuck in space. He could summon water or air without specifying where it came from, but this was different. The very fact that a portal was now open, despite him not having what he had come to understand as a destination was promising. Stepping through the portal he held his breath, unsure of what would come next.
Wherever he had arrived, it was significantly warmer than home, or Sophangence. There was no snow on the ground, though it was a bit brisk. There was some sign of civilization, but not much. If he tried hard, he could get a general sense of where he was. His internal GPS put him somewhere in Oklahoma. He could not pinpoint an exact location, but it was without a doubt at least the right state.
What he realized he was seeing was a highway. It would explain why there was not much in the way of civilization. Across the highway he found what he seemed to be a hotel. It was not anything glamorous, it was something you would stay in if you were on a road trip and you needed a rest. The pieces of the puzzle all began to fall into place for him as he approached the hotel.
Because of what happened in Haxby, he was the immediate suspect, especially since he was found at the scene. From what he could tell, his explosions and Yefferson’s wo
rked differently, his being the reaction of the amplified creation of water, and Yefferson’s being like dynamite. Either way, they were undetectable for those who did not know what they were looking for.
Unlike an Artillerite or a Juggernaut, their abilities were specially designed to be used without leaving a trace back to them. It was only due to that reason they were able to get away when he first manifested. No one suspected a child his age to manifest, and there was no question that a family would want to leave after something so traumatic had occurred to them. Now that he was witness to Yefferson’s explosions and they were identical for the most part, this would put a target on him.
He could travel on his own utilizing his portals, but Yefferson had no such abilities. Even he would not have them if he had not worked extremely hard to obtain them. This led Anaar to believe that Yefferson was no idiot. He must have known he had some level of exposure potentially, especially if the explosion did not kill him. Anaar’s mental acuity did not register as an ability, thus it did not show up to his Affinity Detection, but if Yefferson had the same brain power, it stood to reason he would take no chance in flying, but instead driving.
Now Anaar was kicking himself for being so hasty in his pursuit. It was clear this was not his final destination, so if he had waited, he could have potentially found exactly where Yefferson lived. He thought to possibly go back home, but he was extremely lucky utilizing the method he did. There was no guarantee he was right, or that he would get the chance again. Their time together was very brief, what if another meeting got rid of the feeling altogether? He knew he needed to investigate.
He was certain he was in the right place. The feeling was not something he could ever forget. Most people feel like rain, maybe even a splash in a puddle. Sophangence was different because there were far more people who felt like small streams or even a pond. Ixnes felt like a raging waterfall, constantly gushing and mighty. Yefferson however felt like an ocean experiencing never-ending tsunamis. He wondered if he would feel the same way to someone if they had his ability.
Because his power was so overwhelming, it made it simultaneously easier and harder to pinpoint. From one perspective it was all around him, enveloping him. This made his specific direction not easy to track. He knew that he was in the hotel, that much was clear, but he would need to go a step further to confront him. Most people were not strong enough to see through walls. He could if he really tried, but it had diminishing returns, so it was never something he tried to explore much.
Focusing now, there was a radiant beacon, pulsating red and green. It was so radiant it overlapped the individual rooms, but he was positive he could focus it even more as he got closer. Seeing as it was his first time ever doing something like this, he was curious whether his portal put him so far away because it was only picking up on the waves of power rolling off him, or if it was for his own safety. Portals had a way of doing that unless someone was strong enough to force it to break the rules.
He had never thought he would be happy to encounter the style of hotel where the entry to individual rooms was outside. Something about it just begged to get mugged. He never worried about his own safety, but he could not help but be concerned about all those people who could not protect themselves. In this case it played to his advantage as it gave him direct access to Yefferson. With a deep breath he knocked on the door.
Though he had been cautious enough to drive, he seemed to be fairly confident he was not tracked, because when Yefferson opened the door to see his twin, his eyes nearly sprang from their sockets. “How the fuck did you find me?! Better yet how did you catch up to me?”
The question was obviously rhetorical because as Anaar opened his mouth to respond, his danger sense screamed at him like never before. He barely had time to get a barrier in front of him before he was launched hundreds of feet away, tumbling and scraping along the rocky ground. The hotel was the only thing in the immediate area, the lonely stretch of road being its only company. When he had come to a rough stop, coughing and sputtering, Anaar looked around to see just how far he had been launched.
Did I not get my barrier up in time? How in the hell-
His danger sense blared at him again, this time much more insistent. He barely had time to roll out the way before Yefferson came crashing down on the spot he was just occupying like a meteorite. The force was enough to rupture the ground and cause a localized earthquake that made Maggie’s look like gentle vibrations from a massager. Anaar scampered backward farther, but it seemed like Yefferson was not happy to see him, and not planning on letting him talk.
“Please! Wait! I didn’t come here to fight! I just wanted-”
Another punch came his way, this time he did not even need to sense it because it seemed so slow. With his body in fight mode, his expectations were that Yefferson would strike as quickly as he did, but that was not the case. He dodged deftly, which did not make Yefferson any happier.
“How did you fucking find me?!”
“I’m trying to answer but you keep hitting me!”
That was all he was able to get out, because instead, Yefferson charged him again. He never understood why people asked questions if they never wanted the answers to begin with. He was already finding things about this sibling of his that he found annoying. Instead of dodging, he simply put up a barrier, hoping the buffer would allow him to finally have a conversation with his reflection. What happened next was enough to cause Anaar to wet himself if he had anything in the tank to come out.
Yefferson punched his barrier, something Anaar expected, but knew to be futile, but instead of it holding, it shattered like glass, becoming unstable and shooting him backwards another hundred feet. Anaar laid there on the ground aching and confused. This was something he had never experienced before. Even people who had weak barriers could confidently withstand forces like gunfire and even a missile strike.
Anaar knew his barriers to be best in class, even though they used Water based energy which was inferior to Earth based, but still his power alone made them far better than any barrier an Earth Affinity could make. He had even taken the time to make sure it was strong, seeing as how he expected Yefferson to continue his aggressions. For his shield to simply explode like some amateur, he was beyond perplexed.
He now knew that he had indeed been able to get his barrier up before, but the incomprehensible strength of this man was enough to make his barrier, easily capable of withstanding nuclear assault, about as effective as a plastic bag. He stood up, groaning, not used to being able to be harmed so easily, when he was hit again, sent spiraling in the air, but the force had literally exploded half of his body.
“Damn, you are so fucking squishy! What kind of pansy shit is this?! Are you really my brother?! You got shields but you ain’t tough worth shit! I thought we had the same pow-”
Yefferson stopped mid-sentence because what he was seeing was something that brought on a wave of disgust and fury. He had felt the destruction of Anaar’s body, that was nothing new, there had been many others who had met the same fate. What he had not expected was the mutilated pulp that Anaar’s body had become, more than half of it missing, was twisting back into form and rapidly regenerating. As his body returned, a skintight suit was forming along with it. He was not the most informed, but he suspected this was one of the grossly expensive suits for True Quintessences, something he could have never afforded.
Anaar was unconscious, meaning his body was acting on its own. He noticed the shield he had put up was blue, but he thought nothing of it. Now he understood. If he was an Earth and Fire Affinity, that must have meant Anaar, instead of having the same attunement, was instead Water, and he could only suspect Wind if the same model held true. He now understood why his body was not tough like his own.
The entire situation was unbelievable. Not only had Anaar been given everything he could have only wished for, he was also both an Air and Water Affinity. He no doubt felt he was entitled to everything he had, just like all of the other
snooty scumbags he had ever met. All his life, if there was ever an Air or Water Affinity in the group home, they were always picked, no matter how useless they were. Because all that was left was the dirty Fire and Earth Affinities, he had only known those like himself. If he had his way, he would rid the world of all of them. Since there were so few, it would not be much of a loss.
Here was his chance to start the cleansing in a grand way. What better than to get rid of someone who embodied both the people who had kept him down all his life. The more he learned about Anaar, the more he hated him. He was going to kill him anyway, but this made it so much more delicious. He knew that regeneration would be a problem, so he made sure he would stop him here and now.
He never had much talent for his Earth attuned abilities outside of his passive ones. He took that as being acceptable though because they were so strong it allowed him to still take pride in what he was. He liked using his explosions when he was feeling flashy, but his true talent came in the form of his ability to wield flame. There was nothing his fire could not burn away if he wanted it.
With Anaar’s body almost completely regenerated, something he had always loathed, Yefferson summoned up a ring of fire so hot, the ground almost instantly scorched, and magma began to form. It was a shame Anaar was so weak that he could not even put up a fight. What was even worse was that he took the coward’s way out and was unconscious so Yefferson could not hear him scream. The screams were always the best, they were practically orgasmic.
When he was done, there was nothing left but a bowl of lava carved into the earth. Now that Anaar was gone, it would mean he had no one to blame his activities on. In the end it was good riddance. He could now begin his real story, free of the weight that pockmark of a brother been on his life. There were already responders to the panic at the hotel, his room and all the ones around it were completely gone. All he could think about was the nice jacket he wished he had put on before opening the door.
Apotheosis (Song of Sophangence Book 3) Page 37