A New Life

6 years later…

Cron Orus launches himself out of bed as his alarm wakes him. Excitedly, he rushed to prepare his clothes for Onyx Academy. He grabs his light blue robe and uniform for his grade. He remembers reading the pamphlet about the dress code and students' attire.

First-year students always wear light blue robes to indicate their age. After some time, they can earn marks from clocks that show their dedication to the craft of work and, of course, time.

He could smell crisp bacon and sizzling eggs being cooked downstairs. Cron rushed, finishing brushing his teeth, and gallivanted his way downstairs. As he did, his grandmother greeted him.

She wore a bright red robe with multiple clocks on its sleeves and arms. She is fantastic in terms of the power of Speed. Though she never earned any outstanding marks, she enjoyed her cooking. She used her Speed ability to be a chef in New Onyx Province.

Cron's grandmother smiled warmly to her grandson. "How did you sleep, sweetie?"

"Great!" Cron said excitedly. "I'm looking forward to today!"

Cron's grandmother smiled. "You sure do look like it. Well, here, eat up; I just finished cooking them seconds ago."

Cron looked at the masterful food his grandmother provided. His favorite was bacon, cooked just crisp enough but still chewy. He also enjoyed scrambled eggs with a slight pinch of salt.

As Cron dives into his food like a starving animal, he looks towards his grandma. His grandma is using Speed to clean up her mess faster. She affects the things around her, but they never reach him.

A feeling of envy crept back into his soul. He didn't want to think about that, but it was hard to ignore when everyone around him could do incredible things, and he had nothing left. How could he? Everyone still referred to him as The Timeless.

"Are you okay?" Cron's grandma asked.

Cron didn't realize he had dozed off for a moment. He tried to collect himself before speaking to his grandma. "Oh yes, sorry, I didn't mean to stare."

Cron's grandma looks at him with concern in her eyes. "Sweetie, you don't need to go to the academy if you don't want to."

Cron shook his head in defiance. "No, that's not it. I'll be fine. It's Onyx Academy, right? This means this is the time for a new life and new everything! A brand new Cron Orus!"

Cron's grandma smiled sweetly at him. "Your mother and father would be proud."

Cron's heart pounded at the mention of his parents. His mother died at his birth, so he never truly got to know her other than seeing pictures of her: his dad, Tez Orus, is a fantastic Stop caster. Taking away at age nine, but it was presumed that he was dead.

Cron swallowed a heartfelt moment and steeled himself the best way he could. "Yeah, I know, thank you." Cron looked at the outside through the window in the kitchen.

It was a bright morning. Birds were chirping, and people were laughing and doing their business. Cron took in the positivity of the outside world and then stood. "Thank you, grandma. I'll be going now." Cron grabbed his back underneath the table as he raced to the door.

"Be safe, sweetie. Have a good day on your first day," Cron's grandmother told him. "I hope the dorms are well suited for you."

"I bet they are, and I will!" Cron exclaimed as he left the house to the outside world.

Cron admired the beauty of his world—the stone-bricked road followed by red-bricked housing, many of which were homes and places of business. The people were pushing wheelbarrows full of items, from concrete to food, to transport along their travels.

Cron happily waved to his fellow neighbors as he jogged to school. His neighbors waved him off and wished him a great day at the academy. As Cron jogged his way to the streets, he saw people using their time abilities in every way possible. Speed was used in many construction buildings, drying up concrete fast and having bricks to start building. Stop was used in case of an accident. Slow was used in precise painting on some art on the walls.

Cron once more felt the envious feeling tugging at his soul. Cron dropped that feeling as fast as he could. He didn't want a sour mood to ruin his day at the academy.

Onyx Academy is known to have some of the top students in the province. When he sent in a form to apply, he used his dad's name, Tez Orus. Usually, there would be an interview with the headmaster, but to Cron's surprise, he was accepted.

Cron knew his dad was outstanding, but he didn't know how many people knew that. With that acceptance letter, he assumed a lot had to know who Tez Orus was.

As he approached the academy, someone decided to tackle him from nowhere. They came in at blinding speeds to take Cron down. Once the person let go of their Orgone, they stood tall.

With bright red hair flowing with the wind and a proud smile, Cron knew it to be his best friend, Lia. She opened her hand for him to grab; he grasped her hand and stood to his feet.

After the events of the Burning Skies, Lia and Cron ended up being closer than ever before. Because, on that day, too, Dez also was presumed dead. They bonded over their losses and became best friends in return.

Her smirking smile shows that she is up to no good. "So, how are you doing?"

I chuckled. "A minute ago, my robes looked brand new. So, I guess a little worse for wear."

"Oh, shut up," Lia laughed as she slugged Cron's arm. Her hit stung Cron's arm. "It's not like you can't wash them later."

Cron looked at Lia's attire. She had her uniform for the academy but not the robe. "Where's your robe? You're supposed to have it on."

"Pfft," she scoffed. "I will, it's in my bag." Lia brought out her school bag and shook it.

Cron's mouth dropped. "But, it will be wrinkled."

"And? They didn't say it had to be in mint condition."

"Actually, it did say that it needs to be nice and tidy."

"Shut up, you bookworm," Lia said, slugging Cron's arm again.

Cron rubbed his arm. "I'm going to have a bruise at the end of the day."

"They stay by me," Lia said confidently. "Since I have Speed, your bruise will heal up fine."

Cron groan. "That's not the point; the point is I still had a bruise."

"You'll get over it," she laughed. "Now, come on, let's not be late bookworm."

Cron rolled his eyes and jogged on to Onyx Academy. Lia looked at Cron with an idea as they jogged through stone streets. "You know what we should do?"

Cron smiled back, knowing what she was planning. "Use your Speed?"

She winked. "Bingo, now hold on."

Lia grabbed onto Cron's robe, and Cron grabbed Lia's forearm. Whenever Lia uses her Time manipulation, Cron gets excited because this is the only time he'll ever experience how an Orgone feels.

As she cast her Orgone, an invisible aura surrounded them in a bubble. The people around them moved slowly as Cron and Lia zipped around the traffic. Cron felt like he was a part of the world, able to manipulate time like everyone else—the flow of Speed was exciting, zipping down streets and not even breaking a sweat.

Then, as quickly as Cron was encased in the Speed Orgone, it dissipated. Time flew back to normal, and everyone was no longer a blur in his eyes. Lia let out a loud breath.

"Wow, that was draining! I need to keep up with my breathing exercises!"

"Are you okay?" Cron asked.

"Oh yeah, for sure," Lia said, feigning confidence. "Never better, but should walk the rest of the way anyway."

Cron chuckled as he nodded. They walked through the rest of the streets and saw more students belonging to Onyx Academy. Many were first-years, and light blue robes covered the academy's streets.

Once they were close enough, Cron admired the structure of Onyx Academy. The academy stood proud, with a beautiful stone walkway leading to the castle surrounded by tall green trees. It had grey stone walls, tannish orange roofs, and wooden windows. The Keep buildings could be seen beyond its entry, leading to more discoveries when someone ventured.

Cron took a deep breath in the morning air and his new environment. Then he looked towards the towering academy and was ready to start his new life!