His Ramblings:Broken Reflections

The question triggered many memories within Josh, mostly happy ones - memories of his mother smiling brightly and reading him books. Josh's eyes drifted shut, his mind carried away on a tide of memories. The way his mother's eyes would sparkle as she read to him, her voice weaving a spell of wonder around him.

He recalled the countless afternoons they spent together, his mother's duty shift ended, and she'd devote herself to him. She would read poetry, her voice infusing words with magic, as they sat together on the couch, and he would snuggle up close to her. "Listen to this," she would say, her eyes shining with excitement, as she began to read from a worn leather-bound book.

The words would dance in his mind, painting vivid pictures of far-off lands, mythical creatures, and romantic tales. When she finished reading, they would play together, laughing and chasing each other around his room. His mother was a master of games, able to conjure entire worlds from imagination and creativity.

His heart swelled with love and longing as he remembered those carefree days. As the memories faded, Josh felt a pang of sadness. He missed his mother dearly, the ache of her absence still a fresh wound. But even in grief, the memories still comforted him.

He turned to the princess with a sad smile. "She was a happy soul, one unbothered by the world's cruelty. Despite everything, she would smile and tell me it's okay, even when it wasn't. She sheltered me from those who would discriminate against me and wiped away my tears when I cried. She was my mother through and through, but she also missed home. I could see it in her eyes whenever she spoke of her home; her eyes would be filled with sadness and tears. Whenever she had a chance, she would tell me stories of the land she hailed from and promised to take me there one day."

The princess listened to him with tears in her eyes. For a moment, there was nothing but silence, the only sound being that of the soft breeze that brushed against their skin. Tears gently rolled down the princess's face, but she had a soft smile on her face.

She took in a deep breath and looked at Josh. "Sounds like she was a good person, and a wonderful mother. My greatest regret is that I will never be able to experience my sister's love as you had. For that, I envy you."

"Can I ask you a question?" she added.

"Go ahead," he answered.

"Why were you out at sea?" His body stiffened as he had forgotten all about his pursuit of power. Sighing, he turned to her and began explaining his reason for leaving behind his studies.

At the end of his explanation, the princess had a strange look on her face, her brows scrunched up and her eyes locked with his. Eventually, she looked away and shook her head. "I guess Anko never told you the truth about your heritage. You see, a child between a high-blood and a Mesa cannot possess a blood gift; it is forbidden by the world.

"While the high-blood draw their power from the Origin, we draw it from spirit. But we do not possess blood gifts; what we do could be categorized as sorcery. We call it the ascending absurdity, while the high-blood call it bizarre sorcery. Being one of the first races to walk the earth, we are the most spiritually connected beings in the world, so in turn, we can harness spirit to make the impossible possible."

She paused to steal a glance at him and found him listening to her very intently. She smiled and continued. "If you decide to stay, we can teach you all you need to know about the world, the outer worlds, and the history of our people, and you can finally gain the power you are searching for."

Josh appeared conflicted; he could not bear being around the chief, but at the same time, this was his mother's home. "I might need some time to think it through. Can you help me with a place to stay while I make my decision?" The princess nodded and took him by his hand, dragging him away. "Your room is already prepared; let's go." And from there, his training began.

"I left Sato after six years and returned to the Unified States," Josh continued. "I kept everything that I had learned a secret and went back to school to finish my studies. Afterwards, I decided to become a wandering poet - well, on the surface, that's how it appeared. But really, I was on a search for ancient ruins and extensive knowledge of the outer worlds.

"All up until I met you." Eve's eyes were wide open with disbelief; everything he had told her so far seemed like a work of fiction. But hearing the sincerity in his voice, she could tell that every word he had spoken was true.

With a trembling hand, she held his hand and rubbed the back of it slowly. Josh looked at her, chuckled, and grinned at her. "My backstory is pretty neat, right?" he asked, and she clicked her tongue and let him go.

"Anyways, what now?" Eve asked seriously, and Josh sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I guess we have to return and find out how long we were stuck in that dimensional pocket, and then it's back to the drawing board."

They both stood up and started walking in a random direction. As they emerged from the forest, the dense canopy of trees gave way to a warm, golden light. The air was filled with the sweet scent of blooming wildflowers, and the gentle hum of bees as they flitted from flower to flower.

The rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs beneath their feet gradually faded, replaced by a soft, lush carpet of grass that stretched out before them. The earthly smell of damp soil and moss introduced them to the fresh, clean aroma of the open meadow that they had just entered.

A gentle breeze carried the distant sounds of birds, their melodies intertwining in a joyful chorus. A few birds soared overhead, their wings beating rapidly as they trilled a happy tune. Unlike the dimensional pocket, the sky above was a brilliant blue, with only a few clouds scattered across it.

As they walked, the silence between them was comfortable, disturbed only by the occasional bird call or noises from small creatures in the underbrush. The warm light of the sun cast shadows behind them as they walked. The forest's edge gradually receded, leaving Josh and Evelyn standing at the threshold of a rolling meadow.

The grass swayed gently in the breeze, and in the distance, the faint outline of hills rose. Josh turned to Evelyn with a smile. "Would you look at that, the beauty of nature. It's not something that you see every day, now is it?" Josh asked with a smile.

She shook her head and continued walking, leaving him behind. "[A rootworker that does not appreciate nature, well that's contradicting]," he thought as he silently followed her, their destination a small town in Angel's Canon called Huggo.

A town far away from the influence of the noble houses, it was the only place he could lay low and gather information without the law enforcers finding out. The law enforcers here were all greedy, scum that only cared about their pockets more than anything, unlike the ones found up north who deemed to be brainwashed by the congress and the government.

Most of the information he searched for was deemed classified information and was not available to the general public. So, gathering that type of information would usually attract unwanted attention, and he did not want that. He had learned that the hard way.

Right now, the only priorities Josh had were to figure out how long they had been gone for and try to come up with a plan to access the real Mirror Realm this time around. And hopefully, this time he had something that could be of great help, only if he knew how to use it.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pure white feather and smiled before returning it to his pocket. Back when they had stepped into the pool, Josh had snagged a handful of feathers and hid them in his pocket, hoping to study them once he returned.

And now, all he had to do was find an inn and begin his research. Eve turned around to find him grinning from ear to ear like an idiot. "Why do you have that stupid look on?" she asked with a raised brow.

He chuckled and shook his head gently. "It's nothing." He answered without looking at her. She shrugged, and they continued walking for what felt like hours before they started hearing a cacophony of sounds mixed together, and they both smiled.

"Ah, yes, we can finally eat proper food again."