CHAPTER FIVE: BACK TO THE BASICS

"Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions."

- Dalai Lama

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Everything was just too much to take in all at once so I stood up and excused myself. I exited the library, looking for a way out of the castle. When I got to the same doors Kane and I entered in earlier, I asked the guards to open the doors for me. Stepping foot outside of the building, I took a deep breath and went back to the beach. I needed a break from all that explanation. It just didn't make sense. Why was it such a big deal that I was born with some weird sorcery or something? I wasn't even important not until 20 minutes ago.

I wished to have a better life with both my parents alive. This was the total opposite of what I wished for.

The waves were crashing against the shore and it calmed me. I gazed into the horizon and sat by a tree nearby. The sun was still shining brightly. I let my mind wander until I got so lost in thought I didn't even notice Kane was already sitting next to me. He gave me a small smile and didn't say anything. He just watched the ocean in silence beside me.

I turned to him and asked, "Is this a dream?". He looked at me and answered, "Unfortunately, no. It's not a dream. Everything you saw, from the river to the portal and how you ended up here on Hali Beach are all real, Lyrmie." He gave my shoulder a soft pat and looked back at the water. "Why does it have to be me? Why is this happening to me?".

Kane looked at me again but had pity in his eyes. I buried my head in between my knees as he spoke. "All this is happening to you because you were born with abilities that could protect not only our people but also the rest of the universe. You were chosen to become the greatest sonric of all Zerk and an heir to the throne."

"Me? Destined to be some princess? No. I don't want that!", I said in disbelief. He nodded his head in understanding. "I know it's hard to believe, Princess. I really do.". With that, he smiled and stood up. He headed back towards the direction of the castle. I watched as his figure slowly disappeared from view.

Maybe I needed to at least give this a try? If I was really destined for something insane, then I'd rather choose to have crazy adventures over boring ones. And besides, I really wanted to know who and where my father was. If he was the only left then I'd like to make most of the time I still have with him. I could already imagine what he might look like. Maybe we had the same eyes? Or maybe the same color of hair? I didn't know but I wanted to find out.

So, without hesitation, I got up and started running after Kane. I caught up to him just as he was nearing the castle gates. He turned around to look at me and he just smiled. "So? Are you ready to accept this life that has been waiting for you for 18 years?".

I've never felt so terrified in my entire life. I turned my gaze back to him and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Hell, yeah.".

*.*.*.*

There were a lot of things I needed to learn in just 3 weeks. I already had a lot of lessons I needed to remember in school. All this magical shinanigan was giving me a headache but I was so curious about all this sonric stuff so I just sucked it up and paid attention to what Kane was explaining to me.

We went back to the library and he got a few books from the farthest shelf to the left and came back to the table I was sitting at. He placed the books down and grabbed an old purple book and opened it to the first page. There were illustrations of different constellations and oceans that had waters so blue.

"Let's begin," he said with a serious tone. "Long ago, the universe was like a vast ocean that was hardly occupied by any living matter. Meteors started to clash and eventually formed planets in different dimensions. Our ancestors came from saplings that grew on the ground when these planets were formed. This dimension has 4 main planets which form what they called 'The Pyramid'." He flipped to next page and continued with his story. "The Pyramid consists of the 4 planets which are: Metis, Hori, Zerk and Earth. All planets except Earth have people who know magic. Zerk is in the middle of all these planets because our ancestors consisted of both star and water sonrics. We also have people whom we call 'rictors'. These people are a non-magical species. Basically, Zerk is the planet with all three types of civilization in this dimension.".

I nodded, signalling that I understood what he was saying. Surprisingly, I wasn't having a hard time remembering all of what Kane had been saying earlier.

"What do you call someone who mastered both the star and water magics?", I asked.

"They're called a 'Numpa'. Numpas were only born into the royal blood which started from King Humi and Queen Kipt. They were only in the family every 1000 years. You are the 12th numpa in the royal bloodline.", Kane said.

"Numpas had the power to both control living elements of a planet and create portals to the other worlds. They are very powerful heirs to the throne that's why the royalties always made sure that the numpas that were born grow up righteously. It just so happened that some people were tired of living in balance and wanted to conquer the other worlds because we had the power to. Your parents did not want that and so they hid you on Earth and forbade water sonrics from using portals so that you were never found."

"After you disappere, there were many wars against the people of Zerk. Up until this day, the only people who know you're still alive and are in Zerk are the people here in the castle. We needed to keep your presence a secret until you learned how to control your magic and take over the throne."

I looked at Kane in confusion. "Why couldn't one of my relatives just take over?".

He looked away and his mood changed drastically. I felt the negative energy radiating from Kane as he replied, "Because they all wanted to have your magic and take over the other worlds."