A Trip to The Unknown

Kaelen was taken aback by the old man words

"I'm sorry old man, but are you saying that there's a way to help my mother?"

"Hohoho yes there is, but it's not that simple young man."

After hearing the old man's response, Kaelen felt a sense of relief and happiness with hope enters his heart yet again. But as the old man said, its not that simple -- Even so, as long as there is a slight glimmer of hope, he will do anything in his power to cure his mother. Kaeden immedietaly ask a question to the old man

"i'm sorry old ma.. i mean.. mr. Cronos? when you said a curse resides in my mother, what type of curse exactly?"

Before the old man answers Kaelen's question, he gestured his hand to the chair beside the bed. Kaeles, who looks a little bit clueless at first, understand the old man's motive so he quickly grab the chair beside him and place it near the old man.

'Why am i suddenly become his errand boy?'

the old man took the chair beside him and sat down once again, he then answered Kaelen's question

"First you will call me Master Cronos, and secondly, about the curse.."

Master Cronos sighed

"I guess it's best if i start from the beginning, as you already knew by now, i came from another world, a world called Celestoria. Boy, what do you know about the terms 'parallel dimension'?"

Kaelen gave him a questioning look

"Not much i guess, apart from reading comics and webtoon, i really didn't pay any attention to it"

Master cronos shook his head

"Listen here boy, in my world we have what we called the Veil of Aetheria, this system centered around the manipulation of Aether, a mystical energy that permeates all dimensions. The Aether is divided into different Veils, each representing a layer of existence with unique properties and abilities. And some chosen individuals that has managed to attuned to the aether can pierce these veils, drawing on their power, these are what we called a Seeker."

Again with the questioning look, Kaelen asked Master Cronos a question:

"when you said that this Aether permeates all dimensions, does this applied to my world too?"

Master Cronos nod his head

"Yes, if you consider your home to be the tangible, physical world that you're familiar with, you could say that my world represents a mystical counterpart with its own set of rules and phenomena. 

Kaelen looks at Master Cronos with a confused look, it seems like he had a hard time to grasp these information. Not waiting for a response, Master Cronos speaks again:

"I'll continue.. my world and your world are linked through a hidden, magical veil that separates them. This veil allows for limited interaction between the two realms, influencing events and individuals across both worlds. But this veil that connect both our world is considered weak and fragile, that is why not often do you see a Seeker manifest in this world of yours due to the lack of Aether energy. And now, about your mother's curse... i believe her condition is caused by an Aetheric Siphons"

"An Aetheric... Siphons?"

"These siphons are rare nodes scattered throughout the world where Aether is concentrated. A seeker usually tap into these Siphons to greatly enhance their powers, but doing so is dangerous. The stronger the Siphon, the more volatile and unpredictable the effects get."

Which bring us to the question that Master Cronos was thinking about, this world lacks a massive amount of Aether energy due to its weak veil that connects to his world. What in the world has this boy's mother has been doing to incur this dreadful curse. Unless --

Master Cronos shook his head

"Now, back to my objective in coming here. The reason I am searching for Seekers in your world is because of a prophecy given to the King of Calaria. The prophecy foretells the emergence of a new power that threatens my world. So i asked you Kaelen, would you be willing to help our world with your strength as a future Seeker, and in exchange, i promise that i will do anything in my power to help your family."

Having asked the question, Kaelen turn his gaze to his sombering mother, in exchange for him risking his life to protect a random world, there is a slight chance that he'll be seeing his mother again in good health.

'Hell, i can't think of a better offer than that'

"If i do agree to go with you, will i be able to see her again?"

Master Cronos smiles and nod his head

"Of course, just give me your word, and i will act as the bridge between you two."

Satisfied with Master Cronos answer, Kaelen strengthen his resolve to embark on this new journey of his. "When do we leave?"

"Soon, just give me a few hours to prepare"

*** 

When he looks at the boy in front of him standing beside his mother, he can only think about the other prophecy that was given to him.

'the stars will align, and the Chosen from the twin world shall rise to lead the Seekers to victory.'

With the prophecy that keeps echoing inside his head, the old man can only hope the best for the boy in his sight.

***

Not long after, some sort of dimensional rift that emits a dark ooze appeared in the middle of the room. It looks disturbing to be seen but somehow has a warm feelings to it

The old man, who looked at the distressed boy, asked him a question

"Are you alright there?"

with a perplexed look, the young boy response to the old man

"Yeah, yeah, I just... wondered what's going to happen with school, knowing that I won't be attending for a while..."