Chapter 4 Time Lord’s Decree

Chapter 4 Time Lord's Decree

After a harrowing afternoon, the evening brought much-needed happiness and respite to the family. Dinner was served, and the food not only warmed their bellies but also their hearts.

Laughter filled the small home, just as it always did.

Suddenly, Sam interjected, "Auntie, did you know that if we graduate from the same A1, we'll be on the waitlist for the 100 Cosmic Warriors, where we can challenge them for their positions? We could become commanders right away."

Ben and Isabell were taken aback; these privileges were news to them. Command positions typically took years to achieve.

After the pleasant dinner, X retreated to his room and climbed onto the roof of the house. This had always been his favorite spot, as it offered a clear view of the moon.

X sat down, hugging his knees, and gazed up at the moon with a determined smile. The early autumn breeze was just chilly enough to chase away any lingering negative thoughts. The crescent moon's enchanting presence made the night far more beautiful than the day had been.

X contemplated the wealth of new information he had acquired today. Somehow, he had traveled back in time, losing all memories of his previous life. This raised questions about the nature of his power.

His super speed had manifested earlier than most, at the age of 5, though it was not exceptionally fast. He could only double his speed briefly, which explained why he had never been able to defeat Sam.

Recalling the battle between Sam and Diana, where time seemed to slow down dramatically, X wondered if he had the ability to manipulate time itself. Perhaps he wasn't only becoming faster, but instead, he was accelerating his time. X had initially believed his power to be super speed, but now he considered it more as acceleration, enabling him to accelerate himself. He had been able to see the contraction of Diana's lightning-fast legs before she kicked indicating an acceleration of at least 100 times.

Lost in his thoughts as he gazed at the moon, Sam climbed up beside him. Seeing her closest friend lost in thought, she thought to herself, "I will protect you, X, even if it costs me my life," an oath she had upheld through all of X's previous regressions.

Sam called out, "Hey, see anything interesting on the moon? Hehe."

Startled from his reverie, X explained his thoughts and sought Sam's opinion.

Sam replied, "We've already established that your power is time travel, and it wasn't someone else's doing that sent you back in time. I refuse to believe that you would trust anyone but us with something like that. As for your power resembling speed but being labeled as acceleration, maybe your subconscious is guiding you, indicating that it's not just speed but controlling time. So, what's the question?""

With a helpless smile, X said, "The question is, how do I do it again?"

Sam suggested, "It seems to happen when you're hyper-focused. Why not try to recreate that level of focus?"

X agreed, and in response, Sam grabbed her virtual watch and threw it off the roof. Panicked, X sprinted and caught it mid-air.

Sam teased, "Not bad, huh? I threw it at full strength, and I couldn't even see you move. Hehe."

X, frustrated, retorted, "You moron. What if it didn't work?"

Sam chuckled heartily and admitted, "Well, I would have taken yours."

Virtual watches had replaced phones and wallets, handling all transactions and communication. The one Sam had thrown was a prototype acquired through her father's connections, not yet released to the public.

X, exasperated by Sam's antics, insisted, "I need to learn to activate it on command, especially that prediction ability."

Sam, with newfound intrest, said, "Yah what the fuck was that? I completely forgot about that, how did you do it?"

X shrugged and replied, "I don't know; it felt like I knew what was going to happen next."

Sam grabbed her chin and shook her head. After a moment, she said, "I feel like that is gonna be a high-level ability that might only be able to activate when you really need it. For now, let's test your speed, which was something you could improve even yesterday."

X nodded; he was getting excited. He always felt his power was useless, but now, outrunning cars, sound, or even light might be possible.

Almost trembling with anticipation, X asked, "How should we check my speed?"

Sam smiled and replied simply, "I throw my watch, and when it's about to touch the floor, you grab it."

X, irritated, exclaimed, "Can you leave the darn watch alone? What did it ever do to you?"

Seeing his irritated expression, Sam burst into laughter, so much that she grabbed her stomach and started rolling on the roof.

While they were both on the roof, they heard Isabell's voice, "Kids, it's time for bed. Tonight is a school night."

Hearing these familiar words they had listened to for years brought content smiles to their faces. A lot had changed today, but some things had not changed. The most important one was the love each person in the house (and on top of the house) held for one another.

They climbed back into the home. Sam's mattress was ready on the mobile bed, and all her bedding was perfectly arranged for her already. X was, of course, sleeping in his own bed. Isabell and Ben could be seen standing in the doorway, watching the two kids that they cherished.

Isabell reminded them, "No going on your watches; go to sleep, and everything can wait till tomorrow."

Both nodded and entered their beds, saying, "Goodnight."

Ben slowly closed the door. X had a smile on his face as he remarked, "We are so old now, but Mom treats us the same as she did when we were in elementary. Haha."

Sam smiled as well and agreed, "She does. It feels really good. Auntie never changes. It feels really good."

She said it twice, confirming how Isabell's unchanging, loving nature always brought both of them so much peace.

X closed his eyes and said, "Goodnight, Sammy."

Sam laughed at the annoying nickname he called her and thought she would beat him harder when they sparred again. "Goodnight, X. Hmph."

The morning sun came with more brilliance than ever before. After the dream in the afternoon, X was afraid that dreams would haunt him, but last night was a sweet, dreamless night. As he slowly arose from his bed, the soft, gentle sun's rays caressed X's face. He felt newfound hope in the warmth of the sun. Even his body, which had seen nothing but darkness to its depths, felt warm.

X smiled widely and turned to his right, finding Sam still sleeping and breathing softly. Her sleeping posture was still as horrible as when they were kids. She was laying upside down with her butt in the air and her knees tucked under her.

Witnessing her, X couldn't help but laugh. No matter how powerful they both became, moments of their youth remained.

X got up from bed, straightened it out, and entered the bathroom. After washing up, he started his morning training.

Walking down to the backyard, the sun was now fully risen from the east.

X got into his stance. He remembered the conversation he had with Sam from the previous day. He, for whatever reason, had a body that had more strength than even the super-strengthened Sam. So he should try attacking as fast as he can.

Sam had drilled into his head many martial arts techniques that her father had taught her. So when the inclination occurred to him to start an attack, he simply emptied his mind and began shadow boxing. However, he noticed that his attacks were strange.

Whenever he punched his fist forwards, instead of a straight punch, it was a circular upward jab. Then, whenever he kicked, it was not a commonly seen sidekick; instead, it was a forward kick while taking a step forward with the other leg. The movement also carried every inch of strength he had, as if every punch and kick would be his last.

X was considered slightly taller than average, but instead of using his height advantage, which is often seen in straight punches and kicks, the attacks he was using were meant for trading blow for blow.

This was a destructive method of attack, one a person who has no hope of living would often use in a fight. The goal of a person who fought like this was not winning the battle, but killing the enemy. It was a combat style determined to destroy everything including oneself.

X's attacks were crude but callous. Each blow was devoid of emotion for his enemies and himself. He became increasingly more engrossed in his rehearsal. As he was going through his practice, his face distorted into an angry expression. This wild and enraged look did not fit the face of a 15-year-old boy; it would look more at home on a rampaging beast.

His speed increased more and more. Soon, wind blades began to appear around him. He stopped and recalled that speed and knew he had yet to even activate any abilities or even reach the maximum speed this body could perform. Just as he was about to start again with much higher velocity, he felt a hand holding his wrist.

The man holding his wrist said, "I think that's enough, son, unless you want to destroy our beautiful home."

X was being held by his father, Ben. Tears were coming out of his eyes, the expression on X's face broke his heart. He had to make him stop because he simply could not bear to look at the enraged and wounded look on his son's face.

X, looking at Ben, instantly smiled but was startled looking at the streams of tears on his father's face. X asked in confusion, "Dad, why are you crying?"

Ben hugged X tightly and let go of him quickly so as not to embarrass him. "Let me show you," he said.

The backyard had a monitoring device for security, and the recording could be seen on any of their virtual devices.

On the television, Ben made the recording start. Within it, X saw all the strange moves he was performing and thought they looked rough and uncouth. Looking at them made one think of a barbarian fighting.

Then X noticed his own face; he was angry, angrier than he had ever been.

Shocked gasps were heard behind him. X turned to see his mother and best friend looking at his own face on the television with pain.

Ben broke the silence and explained, "That body of yours knows only suffering. That expression—I have never seen it on your face."

A short silence followed, and then Sam's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts, "Uncle Ben, please play it again at a lower speed."

The recording was shown until he stepped in and stopped X from continuing his practice.

Sam then began, "Firstly, of course, these are not the moves I taught him, but they look like they stem from them, then altered. Like this punch, it's similar but it has abandoned all defense in order to give the enemy the most powerful blow possible."

She looked at X and concluded, "It's as if you changed the moves to match only one criterion: that both you and your opponent die."

X nodded. He felt this analysis from Ben and Sam was correct. He felt no pain in his heart or body, but he felt the body's urge to become stronger and land a final blow. Each attack was a final attack, no room for retreat. It was a combat style determined to destroy.

Sam's voice was heard again in the silent house, "I hate it! I hate your face like that! I hate the fact that if you fight like that, you will get hurt! I hate that you are not happy when you fight! I hate it!"

All three smiled and agreed with Sam completely. X expressed everyone's will, "I hate it too. I don't want to fight like that. I don't want to destroy; I want to protect. I don't want to die; I want to live."

Hearing this made Sam smile. Then, after her tension was gone, her stomach produced an opposition. The gurgling of her stomach announced that it was breakfast time.

Isabell instructed, "Sam, go shower in my bathroom, and X, go shower in yours. It's almost time for school. Your homeroom teacher will have your butts if you're late."

X nodded and unconsciously said, "Yeah, he's just like you. I thought he could be my uncle."

Isabell took out a butcher knife from nowhere and asked in anger, "What did you just say?!!!"

X ran as fast as he could while Isabell chased after him.

Sam and Ben started laughing uncontrollably.

Even with slight chills, the morning sun was shining brightly on top of the happy family.

Both Sam and X returned with their khaki-colored uniforms. The uniform fit perfectly for them, allowing all types of movement for combat. They were presented with a sight of the dinner table filled with food.

Isabell loved to cook, even though she was a proud scientist. She always made time for this passion of hers.

Ben believed that she loved to cook more because she loved to feed her family rather than the joy of cooking itself. The meal, as it was every day, was a grand feast that could feed forty people. Powerful ability users like Sam and X often needed more calories to ensure their bodies could function adequately.

X was the last to eat all of his meal and expressed his gratitude. He was about to head out but was stopped. Feeling a slightly cold small hand on his, he knew it was his mother's hand, thinking she was still upset about his joke. He began to have cold sweat run down his back.

"Hey, Mom, did…" Before he could finish his sentence, his mother tightly embraced him. His face was getting red, embarrassed to be hugged by his mother at such an old age, but his complaints stopped when he heard her crying. He hugged her back just as tightly. Ben came over and called Sam too. All four hugged X. Ben knew why Isabell was acting so emotionally. His heart was crushed seeing his boy's face like that; of course, Isabell would feel the same. Through her crying voice, Isabell said, "Do anything and everything you can. Your dad and I will do everything we can. But be happy. No matter what it takes, always be happy. Never make that face. And be happy always."

Sam supplemented, "I will also make sure you are happy no matter what."

Ben finally said, "Son, I want you to promise us that you will be happy, you will strive for your happiness no matter the cost."

X nodded with reddened eyes, "Yes, I promise to always seek happiness."

And thus, the Time Lord reaffirmed his decree.