The walk back to Everhurst Village felt long and painful.

  All of Leox's injuries were healed, so the pain he was feeling wasn't physical. However, every time he looked at Ivy's hand, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. A pain that immortality couldn't heal. Yet still, she didn't wince or complain. She swallowed her pain and remained silent until they arrived back at the village.

  Once there, Leox screamed for help. Doctor Frost was no longer in Everhurst, but they still had other doctors who could help.

  Tens of people rushed out of their houses. When they saw what had happened to Ivy's arm, they all shouted words over one and other in a frantic frenzy.

  "Has it come? Tell me the apocalypse hasn't come!"

  "The fourth apocalypse is upon us. What else could do this to such a poor girl!"

  "Doctor Jobeth, come quickly!"

  "Someone call the priest. We need prayers. The apocalypse has arrived! Oh, mighty Allfather, please give me strength!"

  The foolish people didn't even wait for Leox to confirm whether or not it was a monster that had done the damage. Luckily, the doctor eventually arrived and carried Ivy to the apocethary to care for her.

  That left Leox standing at the centre of the village, surrounded by the chaos.

  "Young Leox, tell us what happened." An old man asked. "Is it true? Is the apocalypse upon us?"

  Leox reluctantly explained the story. Right up to the part where he was eaten by the fish. Instead, he changed the events. He kept his ability to come back alive a secret, and instead mentioned how he had somehow controlled the waves and saved Ivy from death.

  For a moment, the village went silent. Then they muttered amongst themselves. There was a mixture of belief and disbelief. Some people thought Leox was making up tales to make himself the hero.

  He didn't care for what they believed. He only cared that his friend was alive.

  After telling them what they wanted to know, Leox began to return home. It was then that two figures made their way towards him from the crowd.

  "Son!"

  It was his Father, with his Mother following close behind.

  He pulled Leox into a tight hug as his mother watched with a look of disgust on her face.

  "Son... I'm so glad you're alive." His father said as he hugged him.

  Leox returned the hug. As he did, his mother added from the sidelines.

  "Of course he's alive. His curse doesn't let him die."

  The words didn't affect Leox, but he felt his father's arms wrap tightly around him due to his rage.

  Afterwards, the usually calm man turned and punched his wife in the face. Mary stumbled to the ground with a look of shock on her face. She pressed her hand to her nose, which was broken and leaking blood.

  "You dare hit me, Kyle!" She growled, unable to process what had just happened.

  Kyle didn't care.

  "You're a sick woman. I should have left you years ago!"

  "Yeah, you should have!" His mother returned. "Then perhaps we would have never taken in this demon child."

  After that, she rose to her feet and ran back into the house, probably locking herself in her room. That left Leox and his father standing there beneath the night sky. The rage was still evident in him.

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  "What does she mean, 'taken in'?" Leox asked in confusion.

  The words confirmed a suspicion that he had had for years, but refused to believe. His father turned to him. His cheeks were still red, but he let out a sigh that seemed to calm him down a little bit.

  "Son... There's so much that I need to tell you. Please, follow me. And don't be mad."

  Without saying another word, his father and Leox made their way towards the outskirts of the village. They ended up on the stone road that led to the capital city of their country. It was a long winding road that stretched out across a giant grass field.

  There was a wooden bench at the beginning of the road. His father sat and asked Leox to sit beside him.

  He did.

  It took a while for his father to finally start speaking. Leox could tell that he was struggling to get whatever it was off his chest and had to mentally prepare himself.

  Eventually, he stopped struggling.

  "Leox, you are not my son."

  "..."

  "..."

  "..."

  There it was. The suspicion was confirmed.

  When Leox had started to grow faster than his mother and father, the suspicions started to rise. Despite them all having black hair, as Leox approached his teenage years, it became clear that he carried almost no resemblance to his 'parents'.

  He stayed silent, uncertain of how to feel.

  "I know you probably hate me. I should have told you earlier. I am a terrible father."

  This wasn't entirely false, but Leox didn't tell him that he thought that. Instead, he let him continue.

  "One day, during the first year of your mother's and I's relationship, a man approached us on this very bench. He was carrying a young child, an orphan who had been abandoned by his true parents."

  "Who was the man?" Leox asked quietly.

  "Doctor Frost. He was once a traveller, according to his words. I guess he still is."

  Doctor Frost.

  It made sense. In Leox's childhood years, he always remembered the man having a deeper care for him than the other adults did. Even more than his own parents sometimes.

  But that only left a thousand more questions for him to ask. A thousand more questions that he needed the answer to.

  His father answered one of them.

  Where had Leox come from?

  "Doctor Frost claims to have found you on the other side of the sea. Back then, we laughed and thought he was some sort of jester. We took you in because your mother was unable to have children, and we raised you as our own."

  "The other side of the sea? Such a place doesn't exist. There's nothing there but water." Leox responded confidently.

  This was common knowledge to everyone. This giant island was all that existed in the fourth world.

  "I know. When we asked him later on what these words meant, he claimed to have not remembered saying that. Instead, he said that he found you on the corners of a street in Glassneck Town. There were inconsistencies in his story, but we never pressed him about it. We were just happy to finally have a son..."

  A homeless orphan.

  No, Leox didn't believe him. There was a reason why Doctor Frost said what he had. A reason why he found Leox in the first place, and brought him to the tiny village of Everhurst.

  And perhaps it is all linked to the reason behind Leox's inability to die.

  Suddenly, Leox felt himself being filled with the strong desire to find out the secrets behind his life that his 'parents' hadn't bothered to pursue. Secrets that he thought he would never be able to find the answer to.

  "Do you know where Doctor Frost went?" Leox asked curiously.

  His father shook his head. "No, unfortunately I don't. However, if I had to make a guess, he would be at our capital city, The Undying City. Doctor Frost was a man who always wished to seek greater knowledge of the world. He always spoke of wanting to visit the capital, to continue his practices. Afterwards, he wished to explore the entire world."

  The Undying City. Capital City of the Country, Varadna. Their country.

  Leox nodded his head. Just like that, he had come to a decision.

  "Then that's where I'll go."

  His father turned his head to him, confusion thick on his face. "W-what? What do you mean son?"

  Leox stared down at his hands, recalling the events that had happened earlier that day. The time he had controlled the waves.

  "I've Awakened, father. I know others don't believe me, but I seriously controlled the waves on the beach. I don't know how to access my magic or use my powers correctly, but in a few days, the collectors from The Undying City will arrive, searching for children who have awakened. We all know this."

  "You can't mean..." His father stuttered.

  Leox nodded his head. "I'll go with them. They'll teach me. During my time in the academy, I'll be able to search for Doctor Frost and uncover my truth."

  "And you'll be made to fight against the demons!" His father spat with anger. "You'll risk dyi—"

  His father's words stopped halfway out of his mouth. He stared at Leox with wide eyes. At that moment, Leox smiled at him. He realised the mistake in his words.

  "I can't die, Father. There's nothing to worry about."

  ...

  With that, Leox and his father returned home. Multiple times, his father seemed to want to talk him out of his plan, but he was unable to.

  After all, what reason could he give?

  Leox wasn't his son, and his mother hated him. Not to mention, the Forever Empire were always looking for awakened to help fight against the apocalypse. Kyle was in no position to stop his son from chasing this newfound goal of his.

  So with that, the Lether family rested and waited for the next day.