Prologue

  In the beginning, there was One then there was two. Two raised three; the third found the seventh. After the seventh an accord was struck, bringing peace for the rest of time. The turbulence brought by the Seven subsided with the pace of time.

  Through the erosion that the passing of time provided, the true power that the Seven held faded into legends for the following generations to whisper about. The first six have held their place in these legends through the eons. The Seventh became fodder for debate until even those debates had become forgotten knowledge.

  The Seventh has watched as his legacy became muddled with gossip and misappropriation of credit for all that he provided.

  In a relatively quiet place among the stars, a single being held the weight of eternity together. His humble anatomy, near invisible with a Nebula of infant stars as his backdrop. He has long been forgotten but he has never felt more at ease.

  He speaks in a whisper through the empty void that space provides, “Gacha.”

  Chapter 1

  Humans are lazy creatures, we are the water that finds the crevices in society. We weasel our way into an equilibrium with those around us. Taking the easy road is our modus operandi. Those that create, create with a purpose of filling a need. Typically that need is to make the world at large simple, easier, and more efficient. This was a firm understanding that Wesley had from day one.

  He had always felt that in a world that surrounded him with much strife, he could always find the crack that brought his world back into equilibrium. With his last remaining relative being placed into the hard compacted ground in front of him. He was now alone, his sister was the one who motivated him, the one who pushed him to try to reach for more. They would fight with each other every day over his laziness, his lack of motivation to achieve more. So she became the fire under him and pushed him to get up off his ass, to reach for the stars.

  She sacrificed her body in the literal sense of the word. She became the object of relief that every man in every town in this star system sought out after a long day in the fields. His sister skimped and scraped every coin that she could. She spared nothing if it meant he got the best tutors.

  When Reed slammed his rough calloused hand on his shoulder and said, “I’m sorry for your loss kiddo. She was a real good broad. She loved your punk ass more than you deserved so don’t disrespect her efforts.” He handed him a dirty handkerchief, “wipe that shit off your face before you turn around.

  Wes had no idea that he had been crying. He felt a hole in his heart that he had no idea how to fill. He loved his sister Marny. It hadn’t been until he received word that she had passed that he realized just how much.

  Taking Reed’s advice he grasped the handkerchief that Reed still held out and wiped his tears as subtly as he could. When he turned around he was greeted by his neighbors and a string of men he didn’t recognize at first. The rage bubbled in him when he realized they were all her customers who took the time to see her off. Knowing he had no right to his rage he cast it aside as quickly as it came. After all their hard work is what allowed him to have food in his belly most nights. They exchanged their hard day's work for a couple of minutes with Marny.

  Wes steadied his nerve, “I would like to thank you all for coming. Marny would say you were all stupid for giving up a day's wages for a few minutes but I appreciate it nonetheless.” Wes bowed deeply to the small crowd of people before walking down the middle of them toward the rut that indicated the road back to the village.

  As he made it to the people he pushed through those who tried to stop him and offered words of encouragement. When he reached the line of men that called on his sister from time to time he pushed past them as well. He heard one man say, “your sister had a grade A canyon.”

  Wes stopped and turned on his heel to take the man in. What greeted him was a shit eating grin of a portly little fellow with a beard that started an inch from his eyes and disappeared in his neck fat. Wes opened his mouth to speak but felt like the oxygen in the air disappeared. It felt as if it had been replaced with water. The ugly man in front of him must have had the same thought because his face was more strained than his own.

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  Wes took in the rest of the people in his field of view and all of them had different levels of agony on their faces. A rumbling in his ears and a light pressure on his shoulders clued him in to what was happening. He tried turning his head from side to side to find the source but the pressure on his shoulders increased. He had to bring his spine into alignment and tighten the muscles in his core to resist toppling over. Those around him however slammed into the ground with their knees and hands.

  He could see those around him wail in pain but no sound reached his ears. The fabric of his summer tunic pulled toward his feet. His trousers began to pull down so he reached for the string holding them up to strengthen their hold around his waist.

  The people around him began to flatten. He was about to join them when the pressure vanished. His body jolted as the pressure in the air around him subsided. His lungs burned at his first breath, the overinflated feeling from gulping down his lungs made keeping a wince from his face impossible.

  A voice called out, “not bad boy. Foolish but you pass for being Marny’s ankle weight.”

  Wes, still trying to keep himself from falling over, as it turned out the blood in his body was getting pulled down like everything else.

  He found himself becoming weightless and turning in mid-air. The man that came into view was well into middle age. He was bookended by two young men who bore a striking resemblance to him. The man saw him take in the two around him. “Bold of you boy.”

  Wes slammed his eyes closed before opening them again and trying to bow while in the air. He succeeded a little by bending at the torso. “My apologies sir. I have done something rude, please forgive me.”

  The man brought Wes closer, “when she forbade me from meeting you I could not fathom why. It seems she was right to keep you from me.”

  Before Wes was about to respond a gurgling sound came from someone behind him. He snapped his head to the side instinctively and could make out that everyone was still under the pressure of this man’s mana. He brought his eyes back to the man. “Let them go, this is my sister's funeral, do not disrespect her.”

  “Oh! And what if I don’t?” The man shot back.

  Wes got himself in a bit of a sticky situation. Not wanting to back down he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I’LL KILL YOU!”

  The man dramatically raised his hand and made a motion like he was going to snap his fingers.

  As it registered on him what the man was doing he reactively slammed his eyelids shut. When nothing happened for a moment he opened them slowly. Wes found himself high in the air. He looked down and all he could see were barren lands and small blotches which he thought to be a village or two. The man was hovering in front of him. He still looked like he was standing on solid ground. His hand was still up with his index and thumb crossed like he had already snapped his fingers.

  Wes went to speak when a thunderous sound crossed his ears. He felt his chest reverberate as the sound worked across his body. The pain coming from his ears was the single most painful thing he had ever felt. He felt the pressure on his ears build until all ceased. And the world was silent. The reverberations in his body continued for several more seconds until they were gone as well. As soon as his body stilled itself once more a rush of cold air rushed in. The wetness behind his jaw that met along his Adam's apple let him know his eardrums had been blown out.

  The man across from him smiled as he saw the realizations hit him. “My name is Argyros of 18901B. You will remember it well boy. I do not take disrespect lightly. I suspect you have a fair bit of time before you meet the ground. Be wise on how you allocate that time.” Argyros pointed toward the ground.

  Wes looked back up at Argyros after looking at the ground but before their eyes could meet he felt the pull of 29744C again. The rush of air passing his ears clued him into his ears being healed. The wetness along his neck and throat was gone and he found himself rocketing down toward the ground. His body tumbled end over end. The horizon’s light flipped with 29744C’s copper surface over and over.

  Wes gathered himself as he fought with the air pressure battering his limbs. He brought them closer to his torso all at once to stop the tumbling but he continued. So he experimented with throwing out a limb at a time until he figured out that whatever limb he threw out made his body roll in the direction of the sky. After a few more quick tests to confirm he was right. He snapped his arms and legs out as far as he could send them. He wasn’t strong enough to hold them steady but they stopped the roll. He found himself looking up to the red tinged sky. He turned his head as much as he could, taking in a full blast of air into his recently repaired eardrum. Directing his head back up to the sky he sighed.

  After taking in the horizon and ground he estimated he would be dead soon. He thought to himself. If this is how it ends, so be it. That view was magnificent.

  Argyros was back on the ground. He walked up to Marny's shallow grave. “If only you hadn’t been so stubborn.” He looked up into the sky, “I guess you weren’t a complete fool to stay.” He took a deep breath before turning away. Argyros stood there for a moment looking at those still on the ground in agony. He swept his arms out and all those around vanished. He turned back to the shallow grave and crouched while gathering some of the red soil resting atop Marny’s grave. “I will bid to mold him the way you should have. If he succeeds this first test then I will take him back home with me. I hope you consider this my last gift for what was. Be at peace.”