“Luther,” Aaron spoke, “from now on, you have me. I’ll always be your best friend, no, your best brother. I’ll always be here for you.”

  He scratched the back of his head.

  Does that sound too cheesy? Ahhhh, whatever.

  Luther looked at Aaron, his eyes brightening a little. Just as the air between them began to turn a little awkward, Acher cut in:

  “What the hell are you two staring at each other for? Hurry up and finish studying already. Luther still has to cook dinner, I’m starving over here!”

  Aaron laughed, and the corners of Luther’s mouth also curved up, his wings fluttering lightly.

  After the study was over, Luther muttered:

  “Din … dinner with us?”

  “Perfect! I can eat my body weight now.” Aaron grinned.

  Luther reheated the leftover fried rice from the day before, cooked a fresh pot of tomato egg drop soup, and prepared three glasses of lemonade.

  Aaron’s mouth fell open as he watched a boy around his age set out a complete meal in just twenty minutes.

  “This looks amazing! You’re so talented, Luther,” he said, not holding back on the praise.

  Then he took a sip of the drink, and his eyes widened.

  “Wow! This is really lemonade?”

  It wasn’t just polite talk; the drink was unlike anything he had ever tasted before. It was delicious in a way that almost felt magical.

  “Those trees were fed with purewhite etherstone by this kid here. Wasteful as that is, of course it must taste different,” Acher remarked.

  “That’s incredible!” Aaron said with genuine amazement.

  The food on the table disappeared in no time with the combined effort of the three of them. Afterward, they settled onto the sofa to watch TV.

  “Put on Netflix. Season two of Elder Scales came out today. Let’s watch an episode or two before I head home,” Aaron said, patting his full stomach.

  “What’s Netflix?” Luther asked.

  Aaron:

  “…”

  “Uh … never mind, just put on whatever you want. I’m not picky.”

  Luther switched on his favorite program.

  Aaron tried hard not to laugh when he saw him fix his gaze on the documentary The World of Animals.

  By the time it ended, it was already close to nine o’clock. Aaron looked at his phone and said:

  “Uncle Adam’s here. Good night, Luther! Thanks for the dinner, I’m coming over again tomorrow.”

  “Good night,” Luther replied.

  After the brown-haired boy left, Luther still stood at the doorway for a while before finally stepping back inside.

  …

  At the Attenborough house, after Aaron came home.

  Helen glanced at her son and asked:

  “What’s wrong, Aaron?”

  “Huh?”

  “You’ve looked like you’re thinking about something since you got back.”

  Aaron drew in a deep breath and told her about Luther’s situation.

  “WHAT?! How could something like that even be possible?” Helen exclaimed, her voice filled with shock, disbelief, and outrage as she listened to the whole story. “He doesn’t have a single relative left? And what about the staff at school, or the local authorities, were they all dead or what? How could nobody know?”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Yet she returned to her calm and usual tone in just a few seconds.

  “Such a poor boy. You should take care of him and help him out as much as you can. Oh, and make sure to pay for his tutoring and food, too. I’ll give you the money,” Helen said, without asking a single further question about how an eleven-year-old could have lived alone for three years.

  That damned cloak. Aaron let out a quiet sigh.

  …

  The next afternoon, in the cafeteria.

  Noticing that Luther seemed a little unsure of where to start with the meal in front of him, Aaron took his knife and fork and cut the beef Wellington in Luther’s lunchbox into small, bite-sized pieces, then slid it back over to him.

  “School let out early today,” Aaron said. “We will have a match against Shaw at four o’clock. Can you come and watch? Then we can head back to your house and study after that.”

  “Alright,” Luther replied.

  “Yayy! Oh, and I have something for you.”

  Aaron reached into his bag and pulled out a smartphone, handing it over to him.

  “It’s my old phone, I don’t use it anymore.”

  Old? There wasn’t a single scratch anywhere on it. Luther glanced at Aaron.

  The brown-haired boy’s shoulder stiffened, but he tried to act as if it was nothing. The phone was brand new. He had just called it “old” so Luther wouldn’t refuse it.

  “Just keep it, so whenever I need to … ask about homework, I can call you right away. It already has a SIM. You turn it on like this …” Aaron launched into a stream of instructions without giving Luther the chance to question him. “My name’s saved in the contacts as ‘0 Aaron.’ To make a call, press this and this; for a video call, press this one instead … Here’s the browser app … I’ve already installed a few games for you; you must try them, they’re super fun … This is the charger, and here are the AirPods …”

  “That looks fun,” Acher chimed in.

  “I still have a few more old ones at home. I will bring you another one tomorrow,” Aaron offered.

  “Don’t,” Luther said.

  “No refusing. No saying anything else. That’s settled,” Aaron cut him off right away.

  Luther:

  “…”

  Why is this guy so domineering?

  “… thanks,” he said at last.

  “No problem. We’re brothers, don’t you remember? I’ll freeload at your place a lot from now on. You have no idea how terrifying my mom’s cooking is,” Aaron said, putting on an exaggeratedly pitiful expression.

  “Alright,” Luther agreed, feeling a little sorry for Aaron.

  He was unaware that the Attenboroughs had a personal chef and two assistant cooks on standby at all times.

  “By the way, have you thought about what to do in the future? I mean, with our powers. I’m only doing some light training in the gym, and I don’t dare use my full strength. I also don’t even know what I’m going to do with these abilities later on,” Aaron continued. “I’m not exactly dying to become a superhero or something like that; it’s exhausting.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. Keep doing missions,” Luther guessed.

  Acher had never talked with him about this topic before.

  “My plan is to have him continue his duties as a reaper so he can gain more experience and wealth until he reaches the level of a master or arcane mage,” the raven spoke up. “Once he’s ready, we’ll start traveling to the outer realms. Those places hold richer resources, more difficult missions, and greater challenges. Such trips will give him different experiences and broaden his horizon.”

  “The outer worlds? Take me with you, pleaseeee!” Aaron’s eyes lit up.

  “What are they?” Luther asked.

  “From the memories Orpheus left me,” Aaron began explaining, “since ancient times, the gods began shaping worlds beyond Earth, and those places are called the outer realms. They’re divided into four different types: the sandrealms, the archworlds, the divine kingdoms, and the heavens, which are also called the major worlds. When the magic on Earth began to weaken, the gods, supernatural races, and humans with power gradually migrated to those lands.”

  “There, you can find swords and sorcery, witches and knights, dragons and naturekins, gods and demons …” His voice was filled with an excitement he couldn’t hide.

  “You seem thrilled, kid,” Acher chuckled.

  “Of course! I love exploring new places. My parents let me travel for an entire month every summer, and I’ve been to all continents except Antarctica,” Aaron said. “My friends and I were supposed to go to Hawaii and then Japan on my last birthday, but Tarisel ended up turning everything upside down. That damned demon!”

  Luther:

  “…”

  “Letting you come along wouldn’t be bad. In fact, having a Sunkindler as a companion would save Luther quite a bit of trouble since not everywhere welcomes a dark mage. But you must reach the rank of elite or lord knight first, and you also need to work more on your skills.” Acher nodded.

  “I can perform the blood etherization ritual any time, but I’m not too sure if I should do it now because it seems like the failure rate is pretty high,” Aaron admitted.

  “That’s true for ordinary people, not for someone carrying an Everbright Heart like you. If you were to fail, then there wouldn’t be many across the whole cosmos who could succeed,” Acher replied. “I’ll admit, eating that heart raw did help a lot. Within just a few days, you’ve already reached this level. Even the small remnants of divine power it held have been a huge boost to you.”

  “Could you please not use the words ‘eating the heart raw’?” Aaron grimaced. “And I don’t even know how to train properly. Two days ago, I tested out a few skills and almost caused a fire.”

  “I have a suggestion. If you want, you can go along with Luther on his missions,” Acher said.

  “That would be awesome!!!”

  Acher went on:

  “Every messenger of the Underworld can form a companion pact with a living being to get help with their work. Although Luther doesn’t need one since he’s a living reaper, but if you want, I’m sure he’d be willing to help.”

  Luther nodded to show his agreement.

  "Thanks a lot! I’ve always thought being a reaper is the absolute coolest thing ever!” Aaron grinned from ear to ear.

  "No problem."

  What Acher didn’t mention, however, was that once a Covenant of Companion was signed, neither side could ever intentionally harm the other.

  If one of them had even just a malicious thought toward the other, it would be sensed right away, and whoever broke the pact first would suffer a heavy punishment from the Great Current itself.