Once Austin and Josh arrived at the bottom of the hill, they got a better idea of its appearance. After walking through the forest, the hill could only be described as strange to them. There were no trees lining the hill; instead just pale blue grass. This caused the hill to stick out even more noticeably from the forest. They could barely see to the top of the hill, but it was obvious that trees and bushes grew there.

  ?

  “Well, I think the massive difference is a good sign, wouldn’t you agree?” Josh asked Austin.

  ?

  Austin nodded and closed his eyes. As he did, he saw the massive amount of Aether surrounding them. The ribbons were now pale blue and had all coalesced into a massive current. It reminded Austin of a flowing river with how they coalesced together. Austin got the impression that it would be incredibly difficult to slowly absorb the Aether in this area. Not only was there so much, but it moved through the area at such speeds that, without proper control, a person could easily be overwhelmed.

  ?

  “Oh yeah, this is definitely it,” Austin said as he opened his eyes.

  ?

  “Sweet, let’s climb this thing then,” Josh smiled broadly in excitement.

  ?

  Despite the increased difficulty of climbing at an incline, Austin noticed that Josh had more of a bounce in his step. He could only assume that Josh was excited to become aware of his Essence. Austin wondered if he would feel the same if he were in Josh’s position. Austin went from being skeptical to becoming aware, so he never got the chance to think of getting powers as exciting. Meanwhile, Josh saw Austin use his abilities, and Austin could see why Josh would want the same abilities. Many people dreamed of becoming more than a regular human, and this was Josh’s chance.

  ?

  As they grew closer, their pace started to slow. Austin could start to feel burning in his calves. Josh seemed to slow just like him. Austin wondered if he could channel Essence into his legs to help with the burning, but he decided against it, since then he would just be outpacing Josh.

  ?

  “I was so excited, but I’m starting to get tired.” Josh’s breath started to become labored.

  ?

  “Me too, should we sit for a little bit?” Austin asked.

  ?

  “It feels like we are so close and I really don’t want to stop,” Josh said in between breaths. “But I might have to.”

  ?

  “That’s okay,” Austin assured Josh. “I don’t see anyone else right now. So I think we are on a good track.”

  ?

  The pair sat down and took several large gulps of water. Water escaped the sides of Austin’s mouth as he drank. The water was incredibly refreshing after their long walk. Austin thought it was funny how good water tasted when he really needed it.

  ?

  As Austin finished drinking the water, he wiped the sides of his mouth with his arm. Their break allowed Austin to take a moment to look at the area, and he honestly thought it was beautiful from where he sat. The otherworldly purples and reds of the forest blended together into an ocean of color unlike anything Austin had ever seen. Then, within the ocean was the pale blue hill they sat on. The color of the hill contrasted with the outside forest to create a place of peace. It was like the eye of the violent surrounding colors.

  ?

  “I used to want to be a painter,” Austin commented to Josh.

  ?

  “Yeah? What happened?” Josh asked.

  ?

  “I was convinced that I needed to go to school to get something that made money,” Austin explained. “I used to do it as a hobby. I would tell myself that one day, one of my paintings would be a hit, and I could quit working in an office. Now I haven’t touched a brush in years.”

  ?

  “Ah, yeah, that’s usually how it goes,” Josh said. “What made you mention that, though?”

  ?

  “Just looking at this world. It’s actually beautiful,” Austin said. “It’s kinda crazy. Like all this stress from such a beautiful place.”

  ?

  “Reminds me of my ex,” Josh laughed.

  ?

  Austin raised his eyebrow. Definitely not the response he expected. He was caught completely off guard by the joke, but then all he could do was laugh. “Thanks, I think we need some of that levity.”

  ?

  “If we are always serious. It’ll just make our time worse,” Josh responded. “Sort of like how your time with your son makes it easier for you.”

  ?

  “I can agree with that. So tell me more about this ex,” Austin joked.

  ?

  “Oh man, you should have seen her. She was absolutely gorgeous. Like, probably the most attractive girl I have ever dated. Which should have been my first sign something was up,” Josh explained. “I’m a pretty average-looking guy, and this girl was interested in me! I was honestly so excited at first.”

  ?

  “I mean, looks aren’t all that matter,” Austin commented. “Maybe you appealed to her in different ways.”

  ?

  “Yeah, I thought that might be the case,” Josh continued to explain. “Things went really well at first, too. We had a lot of good times together, but then I started to realize she had a lot of exes. And I mean A LOT. I was young, though, and just assumed that they were not the right guy, but I was.”

  ?

  “Then what happened?” Austin inquired. He was sort of in shock that Josh’s joke turned into him opening up some.

  ?

  “She became insanely possessive and controlling. She would get mad about the girls I worked with just existing. Then she would get mad if I wasn’t spending time with her, even if I was working,” Josh sighed. “It was all incredibly exhausting. She demanded all my time was hers. I was naive, though, and accepted it for a long time.”

  ?

  “I can get that,” Austin said. “I had relationships that continued due to my naivety. Even when they shouldn’t have.”

  ?

  “Yeah, but now that’s done thankfully,” Josh sighed. “Sorry for venting all that out to you.”

  ?

  “Don’t be sorry. Sometimes those emotions come back and you need to vent them out,” Austin patted Josh on the back lightly. “Besides, now we have a new tagline for the Survival Game, Survival Game: Beautiful and Scary like Josh’s Ex.”

  ?

  “I like that,” Josh laughed. “You can name your next painting that!”

  ?

  “Maybe, I’ll have to get back to painting to do that,” Austin sighed.

  ?

  “You brought it up. So now you have to paint it,” Josh insisted.

  ?

  “Fine, when we get back, I will paint it,” Austin relented.

  ?

  “Now I have another reason to get back,” Josh smiled. “To see the finished thing.”

  ?

  “I guess so,” Austin said as he started to stand up. “I think we’ve taken enough of a break, though. You ready?”

  ?

  Josh nodded and stood up. “Yep, let’s get this done and get back to camp. Then you can play with your son.”

  ?

  “And give him all these berries,” Austin smiled as he patted his pack.

  ?

  The summit was not too far; the pair had already gotten more than halfway there. This made the second part of their walk a lot easier. As they grew closer to the summit, they started to notice blue streams of light. The streams danced through the wind and were very similar to the ribbons that Austin saw when he closed his eyes.

  ?

  Austin followed the streams of light with his eyes. He was completely awestruck. Every time a stream got close to him or Josh, it flowed around them and did not touch them. Austin even reached his hand out, and the stream split around his hand and reformed after it. It was like watching a dancer completely unobstructed by anything in its way. It just kept dancing and carefully ignored anything that would stop it from dancing.

  ?

  “This is incredible,” Josh’s eyes were wide with almost childlike wonder.

  ?

  “It really is,” Austin replied. “I think the Aether is just so thick there that you can actually see it.”

  ?

  “So this is like what you see when you focus on the Aether?” Josh asked.

  ?

  “Sort of, when I focus, I mostly just see the various streams of Aether surrounding me. When we were in the forest, it took on a red and purple color,” Austin explained.

  ?

  “That’s just so incredible,” Josh replied. “You talked about beauty earlier. Meanwhile, you have been surrounded by it.”

  ?

  “I guess so,” Austin replied. He did not really get the chance to think about the beauty of the Aether because he was so focused on moving ahead. “We should probably stop gawking and move ahead, though.”

  ?

  The pair continued forward to the summit and got the full view of the trees and bushes. After the last couple of days, it was almost shocking for Austin to see that the plants were green just like the ones on Earth. Throughout the bushes, various colors of flowers grew. Austin could also make out pale blue within the trees. He was certain the blue he could see from a distance was the fruit they were looking for.

  ?

  The ribbons of light flowed past Austin and Josh as they grew closer. They grew denser and more numerous, but they danced around the two. Despite avoiding Austin and Josh, the ribbons were attracted to the plants and flowed into them. The ribbons disappeared as they flowed into the plants, seemingly absorbed by them. The fruits in the trees rhythmically pulsed with light as they absorbed the ribbons. The glow of the fruits reminded Austin of winter lights.

  ?

  The two walked into the overgrowth of plants. The area was difficult to move through due to the massive amount of growth. It made the forest at the bottom of the hill seem tame by comparison. Branches and thorns pricked at them as they walked through.

  ?

  “Looks like I might have to get the fruits,” Austin said as he looked upward. The fruits were high up on the trees in the forest and looked to be difficult for a regular person to get to.

  ?

  “Might be best, I can pick herbs down here while you do that,” Josh replied.

  ?

  “I think it will be best if we leave some herbs,” Austin said. “So how about you pick them while I grab the fruits. Then, when I am done, we head back to camp?”

  ?

  “Good idea, we don’t want to be too greedy,” Josh agreed.

  ?

  After deciding on their plan, Austin started to focus Essence throughout his body. He carefully let it flow throughout himself, feeling the slight warmth of it in his extremities. Once he felt that it was at a good level, he allowed more to flow into his legs for just a moment. At that moment, he jumped as high as he could and soared into the air.

  ?

  As Austin flew upward, the air raced past his face, and he felt a sense of freedom. Just as he was about to reach the peak of his flight, he grabbed a thick branch and pulled himself upward. To conserve energy, he stopped the flow of the Essence as he balanced on the branch.

  ?

  Austin focused on the area around him to find the fruits. Luckily, they were not far from where he landed, and he carefully walked across the branch to reach them. He felt his heart beating intensely as he walked. Despite his newfound strength, he still felt an intense fear of falling.

  ?

  With each step Austin took, he could feel his legs shaking. The branch was sturdy, but Austin still feared what would happen if he slipped. He tried to control his nerves by focusing on his breathing. As he did, he felt a slight comforting warmth through his body and with it confidence.

  ?

  The newfound confidence allowed Austin to continue forward and not worry about his legs still shaking. His legs now moved with ease, and he made it to the fruits that he identified. He reached upward to the hanging fruit and plucked each one from the trees.

  ?

  Austin took a moment to look over the strange fruit. It was that pale blue color that was described in the book, but the size and texture shocked him. The fruit was twice the size of his hand and was incredibly soft. Austin felt if he was not careful, he could easily squash it.

  ?

  After carefully placing the fruit in his pack, Austin started to channel Essence through his body once more. Then he jumped out of the tree and onto his feet outside of the thick growth of plants. He did not feel any pain as he landed; instead, the drop felt easy. For some reason, he did not feel shocked at this fact; instead, it was like he knew he could jump off the tree and not get hurt as long as he channeled his Essence.

  ?

  Austin turned around to tell Josh that he was done, but before he could, he felt a strange sensation. The sensation was a mix of fear and adrenaline. He looked outward from the trees, and the ribbons of Aether stopped gathering at the trees. Instead, they gathered at a central point that moved up the hill. Austin squinted his eyes to identify what was at the location, and he realized it was a person walking up the hill.