They were both on the road again. Naevius looked normal this time, as if that sudden anger had never happened in the first place. The one deep in thinking was Aldric; he always knew that the boy had some great potential, but judging by how null his knowledge was from the world outside his own bubble, something in the deepest part of the older man's heart stirred in confusion.
That Tower was not the original one; it was a copy made from old legends. Fipra's — The city where the Tower was, and they're going to — was really proud of their construction, the reason being that they could almost perfectly replicate a construction made by God's hands. Simply following an old tale.
But how would that boy know? When he looked at him, his hands were shaking, his teeth grinding against each other, and in his eyes was that look of burning anger. Like an animal seeing another animal messing with their territory.
He snapped from his deep thoughts; he had to drive and a mysterious boy to take care of. His wife really was right when she said he couldn't help into raise helpless kids a hand.
"Here we are, boy, the city of Fipras!" Naevius was shocked to see the enormous number of people packed up in just a single place.
"Holy shit… There are so many people! It's really different from the novels!" Aldric laughed and stopped the car. "Huh? Oh, but there are way more cars here too…"
"More people, more traffic. Either way, we are stopping there." As the man pointed out a place, Naevius was stunned by how clean it looked. Of course, he knew that some locations were richer than others — As he saw in the small village he woke up in — but he didn't expect this city to be so… 'noble'
Eventually, the traffic continued, and Aldric could find a good place to park his luxurious car. As they got inside the store, the mood was even better than it looked. People chatting friendly with each other, having their hair and beard cut.
And of course, that store was not the only one where Naevius and Aldric got inside together. When the sun hit its highest position in the sky, they both had finished what they came to do in this part of the city.
Naevius looked at himself in the mirror one more time; his pretty face was still there, but now, it was more visible. He decided to maintain his long hair, shaving it on the sides, similar to a long mullet. Now the boy wore a black boot, Grey baggy trousers, and a simple white shirt.
But the favorite part, in his opinion, was the ear piercing set he had put in his left ear.
"Now you're looking better. Being honest with you, boy, I thought you would spend a lot more of my money." Naevius laughed slightly, messed lightly with his hair, and walked towards the entrance
"I mean, I could've spent more of your money, but I liked this. It's simple."
As both sat down in the car, silence struck again. Aldric thought, always liked to learn more about the people he met, he put his hands on the radio and clicked the on button. At first, the high-pitched volume startled the boy, but as the music revealed itself more and more, Naevius couldn't stop smiling.
"Wow… this is wonderful."
"Right? And it's unique, you won't find a better singer anywhere else in the world."
Aldric would ask the boy if he wanted to change the music, but when he looked at that young, innocent face, he knew he didn't have to; after all, the boy was on the verge of crying. It was not just any common music; it had love and passion. Something the boy had never felt before, never that strongly.
The moment the music ended, they were already at the Tower's grasp. The shadow it cast upon the land made it seem stronger than anything else in the world. Aldric made sure to see if Naevius was angry like before, and no, maybe a little disgusted by the way his face was showing a distorted expression, but not anger.
Pain. Aldric was feeling pain for not finding a SINGLE parking lot; well, that was his fault, right? And when he found, well, it was near a big, enormous puddle of mud, obviously, his car was all dirty.
"Yeah, fuck me. Of course, the only parking slot available is the worst one."
"Hey, I mean, you're not that family right there."
As Aldric looked at them, he could see a family of probably rich people doing the same as they did, but this time, they didn't have even a muddy place to park.
"Glad I'm not." The boy at his side smiled a little and opened his door. Aldric quickly grabbed him by his shirt neck. "Be careful, there's mud right below your feet."
"Oh, thanks." This time, the boy jumped to the nearest safe place, and Aldric closed the door for him. As both walked side by side, the boy raised a question to his older savior: "So, what is going to happen now?"
"You remember about the test I said, right? So, you're getting in that building, signing for the test, and doing it. Simple!" He gave a thumbs up, Naevius sighed.
"There's more, right? I mean, to your request."
"Smart one you are. Yes, there is." The man gave a weak slap on the boy's back. "Don't worry about it, it will be simple. And I will tell you after your test."
Going inside, Naevius saw a considerable number of people his age, some older, others younger. That's why it was a college but a school at the same time, it was for all ages. The inscription part was simple. He waited in line and provided information about himself to the people working there.
Eventually, he was called to a different room. Everyone there was quiet — probably because disturbing the peace could result in immediate disqualification — respecting the wishes of the man.
That man was the instructor of the test, tall — probably 6"0 foot —, black skin with his hair styled as a blowout. He was wearing the default uniform everyone else was wearing, but it looked way better on him than on anyone else.
"Welcome. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Molter, and I will probably be your future teacher if you pass, of course. Please refrain from using your phones and abilities. Answer it fairly."
After he stopped talking, a sheet of paper was given to everyone, including Naevius. The second Naevius laid his gaze on the test, he swore he would thank Aldric later. Everything in this test was in the book given in the car, as if Aldric knew what was going on in it.
The questions were simple: "What is Soul?" Naevius would respond with "Magic, Science, and where people's memories and conscience go after dying. It's everything and yet nothing."
"When it was born?" Naevius continued, "No one knows, but the only thing we know is that the words 'Soul' and 'Divine Blessing' were given by a lost religion."
"What is a Divine Blessing?" The boy bit weakly on the end of his pencil, thinking for a second, "Alive beings can use the Soul as they want, as if it were walking, but the Soul put a protection around that, the Divine Blessing. It permits us to use something specific in the Soul, but not to use everything around us."
"Soul and Inner Soul, what is the difference between the two?"
"Every being that is alive has an Inner Soul, and if another being wants to use it, they need the others permission to do it."
Easy was the best way to describe that test, and in just a few minutes, the boy was almost over. When he turned to the last page and its final question. Something shocked him. Something that he never knew was unusual.