Luther headed toward the distant cluster of lit skyscrapers glowing like beacons in the night. They glided past the Brooklyn Bridge, the wind rushing around them, and looked down at the busy stream of cars flowing beneath. Both boys had a sparkle of excitement in their eyes.

  Soon, they were darting all over Manhattan, weaving between glittering towers with glass walls that shimmered with reflected lights.

  “This feels just like in the movies,” Aaron said with a broad grin. “Over there’s 5th Avenue, come on, let’s go down there.”

  They descended and joined the busy crowd on the bustling street, walking shoulder to shoulder.

  “Flying is just so cool,” Aaron said. “I hope I can reach elite rank soon.”

  For the physical school, only at that level could one gain the ability to fly.

  “You can borrow. The flying spell. From me,” Luther suggested.

  “Perfect! Then it’s my turn to fly on the way back!”

  After strolling for a while, Aaron pulled Luther toward a restaurant that had a long queue stretching outside.

  “This expensive?” Luther asked.

  Even though he hardly ever ate out, he could tell from the decor and the steady stream of well-dressed customers that this place was anything but cheap.

  “Don’t worry, we don’t have to pay here,” Aaron said with a grin.

  His words drew a few curious glances from nearby diners and staff.

  “Excellent. I was getting hungry anyway. The smell here is good,” Acher remarked, lifting his head from the phone.

  The sign above the entrance read Eastern Star Steakhouse.

  It was a big restaurant built in Victorian style. Oil paintings adorned the walls, and inside, dark wooden tables with ornate carvings stood alongside plush velvet chairs. Crisp white cloths were draped over each tabletop.

  The time was around seven in the evening, and the dining room was already filled with people enjoying their dinner. Outside, a long line of guests waited for their turn to be seated.

  A host stopped the boys at the entrance and greeted them:

  “Good evening. Do you have a reservation? If not, the current wait time is about two hours.”

  The question caught Aaron off guard.

  “Uh … no, we don’t,” he admitted.

  He turned to Luther and muttered:

  “Dang it, I completely forgot about that! Usually when I come here, I’m with my family, or Uncle Adam brings me along.”

  “If you’d like, you can put your names down on the waiting list …” the host began to explain.

  Before he could finish, a voice called out from behind:

  “Hey, Aaron! Long time no see!”

  They turned to see a woman in her mid-twenties, petite in height, with short curly black hair and sharp eyes. She wore a well-tailored gray suit that fit perfectly on her frame.

  Aaron relaxed in an instant when he saw her.

  “Hi, Katie! Thank goodness you’re here. I didn’t make a reservation. Will that be okay?”

  “You little rascal, what are you talking about? You’re always welcome here,” Katie said, rolling her eyes. “Why are you here alone? Where’s Uncle Adam?”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Oh, we were hanging out nearby, so we just simply walked over. This is Luther. I brought him here today to celebrate something special.”

  Katie’s gaze shifted to the boy standing beside Aaron, curiosity flickering in her expression.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Katie, the manager of Eastern Star.”

  “Nice to meet you, too,” Luther replied.

  Katie gestured for the host to step aside, then led the boys upstairs to a private table separated by two Chinese-style wooden folding screens. A large glass window took up over half the wall beside the table, offering them a sweeping view of the crowded street below.

  “So, what would you like to eat? Just tell me, and I’ll have the kitchen start right away, so you don’t have to wait too long,” Katie asked, winking.

  Aaron didn’t hesitate:

  “We’ll have four, no, make that six of the ribeye, medium rare, plus six whole steamed Maine lobsters, the three-pound ones. And let’s get six orders of mashed potatoes, too. For drinks, lemonade is good. Thanks a lot, Katie.”

  “Got it. Give us about twenty minutes. If you need anything, just let Emily here know,” Katie said, nodding toward a waitress standing by.

  Wow, that’s a lot of food … but none of my business, Katie thought to herself.

  Aaron glanced at Luther, then turned to the waitress.

  “Thanks, Emily, but we prefer to eat on our own. You don’t need to stand here and serve us.”

  “Alright, I’ll wait down the hallway. If you need anything, just let me know,” Emily replied with a smile before leaving.

  Aaron chuckled when he noticed the tension easing out of Luther’s shoulders.

  “Knew it, you’re not used to having someone standing there, right?”

  “I can eat. By myself,” Luther said, shaking his head.

  Once the food arrived, the three of them began eating. The two boys devoured their portions eagerly, and Acher, well, he was always ready to eat.

  “Good, right, Luther? This is my favorite place for steak,” Aaron said between bites.

  “It’s really. Good,” Luther admitted. “Thank you.”

  “What are you thanking me for? We’re brothers! Mr. Acher, you want more steak or mashed potatoes?”

  “Give me two more steaks.”

  “Alright, coming up!”

  Luther looked around, then asked:

  “How come. We get this. For free?”

  Aaron took a sip of his ice-cold Coke before answering.

  “My grandma founded this restaurant chain years ago. She’s too old to cook now, so my dad brought in managers to keep it running, so my grandma can come by every now and then to see how things are going.”

  After dinner, Aaron brought Luther and Acher to Morgenstern’s, where he bought two huge tubs of ice cream and three cups of hot chocolate.

  “It’s too cold out here, let’s save the ice cream for when we’re home. Luther, let me borrow that flying spell, pleaseee!”

  “Alright.”

  They took off and flew to the top of the One World Trade Center. The two boys and the raven sat there together, gazing at the breathtaking night view of New York below.

  “Having the ability to use magic really is a blessing,” Aaron said.

  Luther nodded, holding his cup of hot cocoa with both hands, letting the warmth seep into his fingers.

  It had been just over a month since Halloween, yet his old life already felt like something far away, almost belonging to another person.

  He never wanted to be alone again.

  “Of course,” Acher said. “Even becoming an apprentice mage is already a dream many can never reach.”

  “I wonder when we’ll get to visit the other worlds, Mr. Acher,” Aaron asked.

  “In truth, you two could already travel to small or medium-sized sandrealms now, but they’re still quite dangerous for you guys. It’s better to wait until both of you become an arcane mage and a lord knight. At that point, even if you run into a grand being, you’ll at least be able to escape,” Acher advised.

  “Oh, so that’s still far away. Anyway, before that, we can travel around the Earth first. Those places Martin talked about sounded really fun,” Aaron said. “Luther, when we have the chance, we must go to the Solonos sea at night, to see the Emerald Sky at dawn, to climb Soltice and watch the sunset, to walk along the branches of Chlorarborion, to ride dragons around Volcantheon. And there are so many other places too! We must travel the entire cosmos together.”

  “We will.” Luther nodded.

  On the way home, Aaron playfully flew higher and higher.

  “Be careful,” Luther said.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not even using a tenth of my magic yet.”

  He shot upward until they were above the clouds.

  High in the air, Aaron pulled Luther close and activated the noon armor to block the freezing wind. The two boys held their breath for a moment, taking in the Great Flow above and the glittering city lights below.

  “Wow … this is incredible!”

  “It is,” Luther said.

  Without thinking, he let his cloak dissolve so they could see the scene better.

  They felt as if they were suspended between heaven and earth, between reality and myth.

  In the far distance, an airplane drifted by.

  Inside it, a boy of about seven sat by the window. He was playing on his phone when a sudden flash of light outside made him look up and then press his face against the glass.

  “Mom! Dad! Superman! Superman!”

  He shouted as he raised his phone to snap a picture.

  “Shhh, be quiet, Eden! People are sleeping!” his mother scolded him.

  “Mom! Dad! I just saw Superman out there!” The boy’s voice filled with shock and pure excitement.

  “Go back to sleep, and you’ll meet him again.” His father chuckled.

  “I’m not dreaming! I swear! Look!” The boy shoved his phone toward them.

  His parents’ mouths fell open when they saw the screen.

  In the photo, amid a glowing light floating above the clouds, two faint figures could be seen holding onto each other. Behind them was the magnificent night sky glittering with stars, making the scene look like something out of a movie.