***
"Listen well Val, in the future you'll have to pick a path for your Lus. "It doesn't have to be right away, but eventually, you'll have to make them," Isadora said, her voice gentle yet firm as she rested her hand on the shoulder of the ten-year-old in front of her.
Her gaze held a mix of warmth and resolve, as if trying to instill courage in the young child, whose wide eyes mirrored uncertainty.
"These paths for your Lus will form the foundation of your power and in some cases intelligence. All Lus have are unique, and have different characteristics. You can focus on different aspects of these to bring out different effects. For example your dads Void Lu, it has extremely strong purification and harmonising abilities."
Valerio interrupted while grabbing Isadora's hand, a curious glint in his eyes "I've never heard of harmony in the Void."
Isadora spoke with a slight chuckle, "That's a conversation for another day my love, listen to me for now okay? Your father's chosen the path of purity for his Void Lu, and so his abilities in purification using Void Lu is much better than those who focus on harmony. Another example would be Fire Lu. There are many ways to interpret and comprehend Fire Lu, but some of the most common are healing and burning. Those that comprehend how the healing factor or burning factor of fireworks will form a path through that comprehension. Though it is possible to completely master a Lu, exploring all of its paths with the same breadth, it is very difficult.
You don't have to worry much about these right now, but it's good to start thinking about which paths of different forces of nature fascinate you. Okay Val?"
Valerio responded with a soft humm and excitedly jumped into Isadora's warm embrace.
***
A slight smile tugged at the corners of Valerio's lips as the memory resurfaced, filling him with a bittersweet warmth. He refocused on the task at hand, channeling his energy back into isolating different aspects of Void Lu, his mother's words echoing in his mind like a quiet, guiding melody.
***
Meanwhile in a faraway planet, stood 5 youths. Lucius could be seen gazing upwards, seemingly staring into a vast expanse of space outside the atmosphere of the foreign planet they had crashed in. Next to him were Felix and Lucy, their mischievous antics having come to an end for the first time in years. They exchanged glances with each other wondering the consequences of the events back in Luminara. Behind them were Oliver and Aurora, already discussing the next plan of action.
It had taken a whirlwind of panic and frayed emotions before the cohort managed to regain their footing. Aurora had finally managed to get her immediate thoughts off of Valerio and like the rest, her family. It was in the midst of their planning that Felix spoke up.
"I genuinely think our parents are fine, I– I… I'm not supposed to know this but I have strong reasons to believe they're much stronger than they ever told us."
"What do you mean?" inquired Aurora.
"I'm not sure myself, but I saw a map in the family vault, when we were stealing Valerio's gift. It depicted a small bubble, with our planets lined up in a circle and outside that bubble… outside that bubble was probably thirty times ours. I know it doesn't make much sense for me to assume they've been lying just because of a map. However, its intuition, ever since that fight, I could feel it getting better and better. The universe partially agrees with my sentiments."
A mixture of expressions painted the features of the cohort. The intuition of a Decimus was not something to underestimate. Though Valerio hadn't known the true ability of their bloodline, how could the rest not? The most fundamental ability of the Decimus was to gain insight into the workings of the universe, at least that's what their parents had said it was.
A sigh rang out from Lucious, "I don't know if you're right… but I hope you are. Regardless, let's start moving, we can't sit here thinking about things we can't do anything about."
Over the course of a few hours the cohort made plans and started taking action, a small fire was lit in one of the craters their pods had left, the warm embers bringing a sense of comfort to the lost heirs and Lucius. Everyone had transported their own pods into their spatial rings, not wanting to lose a method of transportation, if the planet they were on didn't have any life. Though they found it unlikely as the living conditions were ideal for life.
Lucius, Oliver and Aurora were sitting by the fire, not because they needed to but because it was a comforting feeling. Even Solarion, who could by all means raze the forest down with a bit of Fire Lu seemed to find comfort in their small fire. Perhaps the flame reminded them of those who they couldn't see, the flickering of the flame reminded them of the battles they must be fighting right now. Fortunately the flame never wavered, almost as if the world itself wouldn't let it go out. It was in the middle of each other's company and silence that a loud voice rang out.
"WE FOUND DINNERRRRRRR!" the overlapping voices of Felix and Lucy seemed to rattle the forest awake.
The twins appeared from behind a few bushes, a dead beast the size of a man floating beside them. It seemed their joyfulness was back in full motion, the cheeriness of the twins infecting the mood of the rest and bringing a slight smirk upon their faces.
Felix waved a hand as he extended a leg over the log on the edge of the crater to sit down, the beast following tandem and stopping above the fire. A set of runes were suddenly drawn on the bottom of the beast, and then they almost seemed to stamp themselves into reality.
A sigh of relief left Felix as he leaned back and released his control over the Lu around the beast., "Ahh, that's better."
Soon enough the chattering of youth filled the silent forest of an unknown planet. Left without their parents and support for the first time in their lives, the youths would need to adapt and survive. Yet their resolve to survive shone the brightest in these conditions, clearly depicted by their optimistic mood even when left with a world less than they had grown up with. They cast their worries aside as they weren't strong enough to make it back home, not yet.
If someone were privy to all that had transpired, they might find one aspect perplexing—why wasn't the group truly worried about Valerio, a cherished friend to most and a complicated crush for one? The answer lay in a truth known only to his family and these friends: they understood the kind of person Valerio was.
He wasn't just resilient; he was relentless, a force of nature who refused to bend under pressure. His unyielding stubbornness and determination coupled with his quick wit would carry him through the worst this world had to offer. It wasn't complacency that kept their worry at bay, but a deep-seated trust in Valerio's true self to shine forth, awakening his ability to survive and thrive, no matter the odds.