Screams from the Abyss

Pain.

Jaden walked into the house, letting out a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him. The silence was palpable, broken only by the soft hum of the TV on the wall in the living room. He made his way to the living room, there was the familiar arrangement of the room.

His eyes darted to the corner of the room, where a wooden cupboard stood with a flower vase atop it. Above the cupboard, hung a picture of a bald man with a dark skin tone in military attire. The resemblance between Jaden and this man was quite obvious.

Jaden stared at the picture for a few moments, his expression sad, before he dropped his backpack on the sofa and headed to the kitchen.

The sweet aroma of his mother's cooking wafted towards him as he approached the kitchen. Jaden's mother stood at the sink, her back to him, her long brown hair cascading down her back. She had a slightly pointed nose, fair skin, and beautiful lips that always curved into a smile when she saw him. She turned slightly, acknowledging his presence without turning fully, and said, "I can hear your stomach rumble, Jaden."

Jaden chuckled and walked up to his mother, collecting a napkin from the side to help her with the dishes. She caressed his face with her hand, and he greeted her with a smile. As he dried the last dish, his mother asked him to go freshen up while she prepared the dining area. Jaden left the kitchen, and as he walked away, his mother stared at his back with a beautiful smile plastered on her face, but it started to fade slowly as she turned around.

Suddenly, she winced, feeling a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She gripped the sink with her hands, causing the water to freeze over momentarily.

The pain subsided, and she stood upright, her face etched with worry. She looked towards the door through which her son had just left and took a deep breath before continuing to prepare dinner.

Jaden's room was small and cozy, with a single bed against one wall and a small wooden table with a lamp on it by the bedside. A small box lay open on the table, and Jaden was seated at the edge of the bed, going through its contents. He picked up a dog tag and held it in his hand, staring at it with a pained expression on his face.

After a few moments of contemplation, Jaden placed the box aside and brought the dog tag up to his chest. He fastened the chain around his neck and let the tag rest against his chest, his fingers tracing the grooves and letters etched into the metal.

It had been almost a month since Jaden learned of his father's passing.

His mother answered a knock on the door, a military-clad man stood before her, wearing a solemn expression. Without a word spoken, she knew what had happened. Her eyes welled with tears as she stared blankly ahead and collapsed to the floor, overwhelmed with emotion.

Jaden emerged from his room, curious about the commotion, only to find his mother on her knees, with the military man attempting to comfort her.

Jaden's world was shattered into a million pieces. The news of his father's death was like a heavy weight that he couldn't shake off. It felt like a part of him had been ripped away, leaving him with a deep ache that seemed impossible to ease. He couldn't believe that he would never see his father's smile or hear his voice again.

As he watched his mother crumble before his eyes, Jaden felt a surge of emotions well up inside him. He was angry, sad, and confused, all at the same time. It was as if his heart was being torn apart by a tornado of feelings that he couldn't control.

When Jaden came face to face with the military man, he felt a wave of despair wash over him. The man's uniform was a stark reminder of the harsh reality of war, and the cost that it demanded. Jaden's eyes filled with tears as he struggled to make sense of what had happened.

Despite the man's attempt at comfort, Jaden couldn't help but feel a sense of bitterness towards him. It was as if the man represented all the pain and suffering that his family had been subjected to.

As Jaden helped his mother to her feet, he felt a sense of duty to be strong for her. He knew that he couldn't bring his father back, but he could be there for his mother, to help her through this difficult time.

Jaden helped his grieving mother to her feet and led her back inside.

As the man lingered at the door, he spoke softly to himself, "Why does it have to be this way, Jack," before slowly departing.

___

With a deep sigh, Jaden stood up from the bed, clutching the tag in his hand. He made his way to his table, his footsteps heavy and slow, his table was filled with books cluttered all around and a laptop that displayed different headlines of different news articles.

As he sat, he was scrolling through the articles presented on his screen. He scanned through some sentences, going on to the next one.

The military were unable to provide his father's body so that he could be given a proper burial. This gave Jaden reasons to believe something was wrong.

His father, a Captain and an accomplished aura user at the level of a Master, was not just any soldier. He was a powerful figure in the army, capable of escaping even the most dangerous situations unscathed. Jaden had always looked up to him, admiring his strength and resilience.

But now, a nagging feeling of doubt crept into Jaden's mind. Something was not right. His father's death seemed too suspicious, too out of the ordinary. Despite his best efforts, Jaden had been unable to uncover any meaningful information, and each day felt more frustrating than the last.

As he sank back into his chair, Jaden felt defeated and overwhelmed. The weight of his father's absence bore down on him, a heavy burden he was unable to shake.

____

Jaden slowly opened his eyes, squinting as the sunlight peeked through his window. He yawned and stretched, feeling reluctant to leave the warm embrace of his bed. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment before turning to check the time on his bedside clock. 7:30 AM.

He let out another yawn, knowing that he had to get up and get ready for the day. It's Thursday, and tomorrow is the Awakening ceremony. Many teens his age would be attending to have their abilities awakened. Jaden already had an idea of what ability he would awaken, since his mother was an Acolyte with the ability to control ice.

Jaden's mother's core had hit its limit, unable to channel more energy through it. On the other hand, his father was an aura user at the level of a Master. His father, a Captain in the military, had gone up the ranks to become compelling for his level, but he too had been at the level of a Vanguard for a while now.

Humans are able to produce elemental abilities by channeling energy through their core. This core is an innate part of each individual and is responsible for producing a specific elemental ability—either water, fire, earth, or air. This means that an individual with a water core can only produce water-based abilities, while an individual with a fire core can only produce fire-based ability, and so on.

However, there are also variant cores, which are common in the world now. These variant cores can produce abilities that are unique and different from the four basic elements. The specific abilities that can be produced by variant cores are not clearly defined and can vary widely.

Overall, the type of core an individual possesses is a defining characteristic of their elemental abilities. While the majority of individuals will possess one of the four basic elemental cores, there is a possibility for some to possess a variant core and have unique abilities.

Many individuals in today's world are born with variant elemental cores due to their family heritage. Variant abilities are often passed down from generation to generation within a family, resulting in a higher likelihood of an individual having a variant core if their family members possess one as well.

There are also humans who are able to manipulate nature's energy differently.

Aura users are humans who awaken differently from Elemental users, with a blank core without any elemental affinity. Channeling nature's energy through their core, they are able to boost their body past normal human limits.

Jaden slowly rose from his bed, he stretched his arms and legs, feeling his muscles loosen up. After a moment, he made his way to the bathroom to get ready for school. Standing in front of the mirror, he examined his features: his dark skin, his slim face with high cheekbones, his slim figure. He ran his fingers through his long dreads, untangling them before getting ready.

Quickly freshening up, Jaden put on his clothes and his Snickers before heading out of his room.

In the living room, Jaden's mum was already preparing the dining area. She greeted him with a warm smile as he entered the room. Jaden walked over to the dining table and grabbed a piece of pie, gulping it down hungrily.

"Jaden, hurry, or we'll be late!" his mum called out, a hint of urgency in her voice.

"There are few new artifacts coming in to the museum today, I have to be there." she added.

Jaden finished the rest of his pie and grabbed the cup of milk beside his plate, downing it in one go.

Jaden and his mum rushed out of the house and headed towards a small red car. They got in and drove off.

As they pulled up in front of Jaden's school, Jaden's mum turned to him and said, "You have to be home early for dinner tonight."

"Okay, mum," Jaden replied, grabbing his backpack and stepping out of the car.

As he made his way towards the entrance of the school, he saw Alex walking towards him with a cheery countenance.

"Yo!" Alex said, holding out his fist for their usual fist bump.

"Bro." Jaden replied, bumping fists with his friend before they headed inside the school.

***