9 My Dream

"So, Michael, what have you been up to these past few days?" My mother asked casually, her eyes tentative as she took a sip of her wine. "What have you been doing that's so important to keep you holed up alone in the castle for three days?"

Ethan, who was seated on the other side of the dining table, directly opposite her, cut a piece of his truffled and grilled beef steak with his silver knife and ate it using his fork, looking at me with curious eyes and a sorry smile.

He was a tall and handsome middle-aged man with short dark hair speckled with a little gray, small brown eyes, thin lips, and a styled dark beard.

He had a face that made him easy to approach and friendly, and together with his casual long-sleeved blue shirt and black trousers, he looked easygoing. He was my stepfather.

My mother married him a few years after my father died. During that period, I isolated and kept myself in school to deal with the pain, leaving her lonely and very fragile.

She needed someone to help fill the void my father left in her and since I was dealing with my own stuff and couldn't help her, she met Ethan and the two of them feel in love, him so than her.

Honestly, she couldn't love anyone the way she did my father, not even me her child, and certainly not Ethan. Even he knew that and he'd accepted it.

I couldn't see him as my father, it was impossible, but he was there when my mother needed someone the most, and he made her happy so he was okay in my books. Plus, he was a pretty cool guy.

"Nothing much, Mom," I said with a smile after taking a bite of the juicy wagyu steak. "Just practicing."

"Practicing for what exactly?" My mother raised an eyebrow as she took a scoop of the mashed potato side with her fork, eyeing me with suspicion.

"This." Smiling, I extended my left hand forward with my palm facing upwards. My hand glowed for a second, and instantly, a complex golden six-pointed star appeared above it, brightening up the place.

My mom's eyes widened in recognition while Ethan's eyes practically bulged out, his left hand that was sending a piece of the steak into his mouth frozen with his mouth open in shock.

"...You've awakened it," my mother muttered, her eyes staring at me seriously, and sighed helplessly. "I knew this would happen eventually as your father said it would, but I always prayed it wouldn't."

"It was inevitable, mother," I simply smiled at her as I made it disappear in a flicker of light and cut another piece of the steak. "Nothing could prevent it from happening."

"...Has it started then?" She questioned, her eyes filled with worry, and her voice serious. "The hunger?"

"Everything's alright, Mom," I assured her. "There's no need to concern yourself with that. I know how to deal with it."

She was aware of what this power did to us, the intense hunger it stirred up in us, and that we were prone to feeding on the life force of humans.

My father made sure to explain it to her before they even got married. He was the type of guy who couldn't keep secrets from the people he loved or even lie to them.

Despite knowing this secret, she still accepted him and even helped him a couple of times. She was his anchor, one of the things that prevented him from going sideways.

But unlike him, I didn't need any emotional support. I could handle it myself.

My mother sat there silently, just staring at me, and after a while, she just sighed and took up her wine glass as Ethan continued to stare at us as if we were strangers or aliens.

Ah yes, he didn't know...

"...Alright. If you say so. I'll believe in you, for now at least," She remarked, downing a considerable amount of the red wine. "I take it, you want to follow in his footsteps then and become a plumber?"

"Pfftt," I laughed, almost spitting out the food in my mouth. "Hell no. It would be a waste using this pretty face of mine to become a space cop. Don't you agree, Mom?" I asked her with a playful arrogant smirk that made her eyes light up.

"Yes, it would be a fine waste," She giggled, and I could see the worry and anxiety dissipating from her eyes. "So you'll come and manage the company then?"

"Not at all. I have other plans in mind," I shook my head and smiled meaningfully and warmly at her. "Besides, I don't think I can do a better job than you. So I'll still be counting on you to take care of it."

My mother had been managing the company as the CEO for more than twenty years. She had generated more income than anyone ever had in the history of the company.

Her knowledge and experience was invaluable. I'd have to be the biggest fool to even think i could do a better job than her.

She smiled beautifully at my words and nodded, looking at me with pride and love, as she took up her cutlery again to continue her lunch, "You can count on me, Michael. Always."

I smiled at her and shifted my eyes to look at Ethan who looked incredibly lost and surprised by what he was hearing and seeing.

"Hope I can still count on you to help her, Ethan?" I chuckled and asked with a smile, bringing him out of his reverie.

"...Yes, yes, sure," He answered and nodded absentmindedly, and then broke out of his reverie to look at us with a wry smile. "...Looks like there are still a couple of things I don't know about this family." He sighed and shook his head pitifully, looking down at his meal.

"Sorry, dear, I'll explain everything to you later," My mother apologized with a sorry smile plastered on her face. "I promise." She extended her hand to touch his gently and assured him affectionately.

He raised his head, gazed into my mother's loving eyes, and then smiled, nodding his head in understanding, "Okay. If you say so dear." He bent his head down to kiss her hand and placed his on top of hers.

I smiled at this scene and took the last piece of the steak into my mouth, savoring its rich and buttery flavor, and swallowed as I stood up after wiping my lips with a white napkin, attracting their attention.

"I'll be taking my leave first, guys," I announced, stepping to my mother to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, and walked to Ethan to pat him on his shoulders. "I have matters to attend to."

"Alright, Mike. Your mother and I will finish up here," Ethan nodded with a smile. "Do well to join us for dinner."

"I'll try." I smiled at him and waved to my mother, who just shook her head at my words with a smile, "See you later, mother." I said as I turned to walk out of the dining room.

"Bye, Michael. Have fun." She remarked just as I left the room.

Briskly, I walked through the luxuriously decorated hallway to arrive at the foyer and pushed the ornate wooden double doors that served as the secondary entrance to step out into the gardens.

As I walked through the pathways that cut through them, leading to my mansion, enjoying the sweet scent of the flowers and the beautiful sight of the greenery, my mind raced with thoughts.

Back when I was a child, I always told my father that I'd follow in his footsteps to become a Plumber anytime he asked what I wanted to become.

Even when I left for Harvard, that's what I told him. I mostly said that to make him happy and proud, but a part of me also wanted to do that.

After all, the Plumbers were the most influential force in the Milky Way Galaxy. They enforced the law and held power across millions of planets.

My father being the youngest and unofficially the strongest Magistrate would've helped me climb the ladder smoothly to gain political and military influence, and it wouldn't have been impossible to become a Proctor or even the Magistrata in time if I played my cards right.

At that level, I could do almost anything I wanted to do in the Galaxy. I saw the Plumbers as a nigh invincible force. I didn't really understand anything about this universe at the time

, so I could dream.

But that all changed when he died. After that, my mind cleared, and I understood this reality a lot better. The Plumbers weren't invincible; they never were, and they'd never be.

If I wanted to become the person I wanted or achieve the things I dreamed about, I had to rely on myself and not on anyone.

I came to realize that my true aspirations were much bigger than I previously thought they were. I wanted to be great, greater than this world.

Philip II Of Macedonia, Alexander The Great, Attila The Hun, Qui Shi Huang, Suleiman The Wise, Augustus, Caesar, Napoleon, and Genghis Khan were all very accomplished conquerors and equally great men.

But I wanted to be greater. I wanted to be better.

These men put their eyes on this tiny world, but my eyes were on the galaxy and the universe at large.

If these great men built enormous empires that stretched from continent to continent, I would build an empire that stretched from galaxy to galaxy until it covered the entire universe and beyond.

Being a Plumber, the richest man in America, or even the President I wanted to become paled awfully in comparison to that. Everything else did.

This was my dream, my ambition, my vision, the future I could see. And I was going to make it a reality... or die trying.