Chapter 2

Ra paced the room and then suddenly turned his gaze to Aiden.

"It is most unfortunate that you have discovered the truth. Now that you know, Apocolyptica will surely see humanity as a threat he must immediately deal with. He will seek to destroy the human race. Earth, and your people, have only days before the inevitable."

Aiden and Bill's faces were petrified with shock. After a few seconds Aiden mustered the nerve to speak.

"So you're saying our actions have doomed earth? Everyone we know and love are going to die?"

Upon saying this Aiden looked at the ring on his left hand.

Ra looked concerned.

"Do not blame yourselves. It was inevitable that humanity would discover this secret. There was no way to stop it. It seems however that fate has brought you both to this place and I sense something extraordinary working in the background when I am in your presence."

Ra stepped towards them and stopped at the edge of a circle with a very intricate design held within it. There was a smaller circle in the center that had spider webbed edges going to smaller circles that were in the outer ring. There were six outer circles in total. Ra commanded Bill and Aiden to step forward into the center of the marking.

"I am about to give you both the most powerful weapon ever known. I am going to shatter the psychic barriers within your minds and unlock their full potentials. I warn you now, limit your thoughts as soon as this is completed. Your mind will be immensely more active and will be able to do things you have only ever imagined."

Bill gave Aiden a concerned look. Aiden nodded towards him and they both stepped into the circle. Ra held up both arms and pointed his palms towards them. His right palm in a direct line to Aiden's forehead and his left towards Bill's. Ra closed his eyes and began to chant under his breath. The design on the floor lit up the same brilliant blue as it had done at the dig site. Lightning began to spark from the design on the ground. It wrapped around them and forked towards their heads. It branded itself into their foreheads and seared itself into their minds. As this energy soaked into their minds, their eyes began to morph. Their pupils and irises merged and became a single black circle. As the energy was absorbed, a faint light began to appear in this newly formed blackness. It grew until it was the size of the circle, and then began to spark continuously. Ra took a few steps back.

"It is done. Remember limit your thoughts for a while."

No sooner had Ra said this Aiden turned towards the doorway. On the other side of the door, stood the two guards. Aiden could hear their thoughts through the door even though it was a foot thick and was sealed tightly. One of the guards was angry with him and Bill for jeopardizing the human race. This enraged Aiden for some reason and before he could realize what was going on, his new powers jumped into action. The huge door glowed for a split second and then burst into a billion microscopic fragments and then dissolved into midair. The guards both whipped around in surprise and before they could do anything else Aiden had pulled the one that had upset him into the room. The guard began to levitate in the air about three feet off of the ground. Aiden created a sphere around the man. It zapped to life with electricity and began to strike the guard hundreds of times each second. Each strike caused a piece of the guard to burst into its cellular pieces and then dissolve.

"Enough! Aiden control your thoughts and emotions. Concentrate on nothing other than obtaining a calm self."

Ra said this with a very calm voice. He looked at the guard and then waved his right hand. The sphere disappeared and the guard dropped to the ground. Ra glared at him and his body began to regenerate at a very rapid rate. Ra then looked at the door and blinked. The door rematerialized in an instant. Ra blinked once again and both guards memories were wiped up until ten minutes before this occurred. Ra then commanded them to leave to their quarters for the time being.

Ra looked at Bill to make sure that he wasn't going to make an incident himself. Bill was in complete concentration to keep his mind in check. Ra then turned his attention to Aiden.

"Aiden. You must calm yourself."

Ra spoke in the same angelic voice as before. The tone of his voice calmed Aiden and allowed him to regain control of his mind.

"You both will become accustomed to your new powers quickly. Even though it has been locked away within your minds, it will come as natural as breathing within the next few days."

Aiden looked at Ra with terror in his face.

"What happened? Why did I almost kill that man without me even thinking of doing it?"

Ra smiled for the first time.

"Like I stated before, you will have abilities that you only ever dreamed of. Your brain is so active right now it could be considered alive all by itself. You are upset about Apocolyptica and the news I have given you about Earth and humanity. These emotions act as catalysts and your brain acts upon them subconsciously. It is much like breathing. You still do it even when you are not thinking about it. You will quickly be able to master your emotions and block them from interfering with your actions until you need them."

Aiden now looked confused.

"What do you mean by 'need' them?"

Ra's smile persisted.

"In times of crisis where you are in a tight situation. Allowing your emotions into your thought processes can give you the upper hand. They will boost your powers significantly in different ways for each different emotion. You have already witnessed guilt."

For the first time since the unlocking, Bill spoke.

"If that was just guilt, what are we capable of if angered? This is a terrifying feeling. There is so much power at our disposal. It almost feels like too much. Like it isn't really happening and this is all a dream. Why us? Why Aiden and I Ra?"

Ra's face became serious again.

"I cannot answer that question Bill. Fate has brought you here and even I will not argue with it and its motives."

Bill looked confused.

"You speak of fate as if it were a living breathing thing."

Ra let out a deep sigh.

"If you had witnessed the many acts of heroism that I have; all of the horrific tragedies I have had to witness over the millennia. If you only knew what I know, you would believe the same. Get some rest. I will begin your training tomorrow."

Ra exited through a door at the opposite end of the room. Two guards, different from the previous two, came in and instructed them to follow. They took Bill and Aiden to a large room and then left. The room was rather simple. It had two panels towards the back of the room that were spaced about fifteen feet apart. There was another panel on the left side of the room that was next to a door. Aiden and Bill each walked to one of the panels towards the back of the room. They recognized the symbol in the center of the panel as the same one the guard put the strange object in to gain entry into Ra's room. Aiden took his hand and put it over the console. With a simple thought the console came to life and object made of what seemed to be pure energy appeared. Bill did the same. Aiden took a few steps and sat down on the object. It was supportive, but felt like he was literally sitting on nothing but air. Bill and Aiden retired for the night. Aiden's mind was alive with images. He saw Mariya. He stroked her hair and kissed her cheek as if she were standing in the room right beside him. Then the images shifted. Now he was viewing earth from space. It was shattered into pieces. It was a dead planet now.

"Is this what is to come of earth and humanity?"

He asked himself. The images shifted once again. Now he was deep within a cave. He couldn't identify where the cave was exactly, but he knew for a fact that it wasn't on earth. A bone chilling voice spoke to him through the darkness.

"Aiden, do you realize the magnitude of your actions?"

Aiden stood still, terrified.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

There was a faint, evil laugh before it spoke again.

"Your mind has been released. I sensed it the moment it happened. Ra is foolish in his actions. You have not learned to control your mind yet. Because of this I can establish a psychic link with your mind. I can also see he has told you the tale of our being. I am the one you call Apocolyptica."

Something began to appear towards the back of the cave. A man shape figured made its way towards him. As it got closer the cave began to glow an eerie shade of green. Apocolyptica was a being of pure energy just as Ra had described him. There was no visible facial features other than a nose and eye sockets. He was just one solid object.

"Aiden, I am going to destroy earth. I won't stop there though. I will destroy everyone you hold dear to you and more. Humanity as you know it will be exterminated."

Aiden became enraged. He felt the power inside him amplify one hundredfold. Every single cell in his body pulsed with energy. Apocolyptica held his hand up. As he did this Aiden released the energy in a shock wave of destruction. The cave around them split into pieces as the shock wave slammed into it walls in every direction. The pieces of cave dissolved into nothing after just a few seconds. Sunlight began to shine into the cave. The release of energy had created a massive hole in the mountainside. Apocolyptica's evil laugh pierced the thunderous sound of the mountain crumpling under the stress of the shock wave

"You are strong Aiden, but you still have no control over your power. It is useless against me. If you learn to hone your powers however, you could be a valuable ally. I will make you a deal. If you join me, my side of this war, I will spare the one you hold most dear to you..."

There was a short pause.

"Mariya."

His voice trailed off and there was complete silence.

"It seems we are no longer alone. Consider this offer Aiden."

Aiden's mind went pitch black.

"Wake up Aiden."

As Aiden sat up he found Ra standing at the entrance to their room. Aiden looked over to where Bill had slept and noticed that he was nowhere to be found.

"Bill has already eaten breakfast and is at the training grounds I have prepared for you both."

Aiden looked a little irritated.

"Are you always going to be able to read my mind Ra?"

Ra gave him his usual serious look.

"I will teach you both today how to keep your mind free from the prying of others. Aiden, I need to know everything that Apocolyptica told you before I was able to sever the link between your minds. I will link our minds together so you can show me. It will be much faster."

Ra closed his eyes and before Aiden could even blink, Ra opened his eyes again.

"I see. Aiden, Apocolyptica is a master of deception. You have heard our story. If he was able to deceive so many that had already honed the abilities of their minds, don't you think that he would be able to deceive yourself?"

Aiden took a second to consider this.

"I suppose your right Ra. Did Bill experience the same thing that I did?"

Ra looked concerned.

"If he did I am not able to tell. It is possible that Apocolyptica was more intricate with his defenses in Bill's mind than he was in yours. It is also possible that Bill's own mind shielded itself after Apocolyptica had made his way into Bill's mind. It is not uncommon for the mind to defend itself out of habit."

Aiden started walking towards the door.

"I'll find out whether he did or not. He would tell me if he did."

Ra started out the door and told Aiden to follow him. Ra and Aiden walked down the hallway and took a right at an intersection. This new hallway dead ended at a massive set of doors. As they got closer the doors seemed to just fade away as they walked through them, and then reappear after they had passed. This new room was massive. Ra and Aiden stepped on a platform that began to move across the room at a slow rate. To Aiden's left there was a Cliff side with a massive waterfall that dwarfed Niagara Falls. It fell into a large body of water. The body of water itself came all the way to where the platform was and then dropped off again as if it were another waterfall. When Aiden examined this more thoroughly, he noticed that the water just simply disappeared. Aiden was so preoccupied with the waterfall that he failed to notice the sky. It looked directly into space. There was a planet in the distance that was a royal blue color with land masses that were a brilliant silver. He concluded that they were in a different solar system at this point. To Aiden's right there was a dense forest and a pathway that lead deeper into the trees. Aiden wondered what was at the end of the pathway but quickly dismissed it for the time being. The platform came to a halt at the other end of the room after a few minutes. Ra and Aiden regained their pace and came to another set of massive doors that yet again, melted away. Bill was sitting inside this new room, waiting for them. He looked at them and then focused his gaze on Aiden. A smile lit up on his face.

"I hope you're ready Aiden."

Ra began to lecture Aiden and Bill.

"The greatest thing you two will be able to do with your abilities is manipulate the elements themselves; fire, wind, earth, water, and life. Humans only consider four of the elements. However, life is present all over the universe and is just as key to the balance of the universe as the other elements are. Using the capabilities of your mind, you can manipulate any of the five elements."

Ra held his arm out and opened his hand. The air became visible as it swirled into a sphere floating above his palm. He arranged his fingers in a different formation and the air ignited into flame. Ra took his other hand and motioned it towards the flame. Dust particles collected and swarmed into the flame. Ra took his hands and crushed the sphere in between his two hands. Steam began to spew into the air through his fingers. When his hands pulled apart, he had a sphere of glass in his hands. It was very intricate in its design. As Aiden and Bill examined it, they realized that it was a perfect replica of Earth.

"This is but a small demonstration of what can be done with the elements. Now, I want you both to concentrate. Focus your mind on solely manipulating the water particles in the air. Once you are focused, you will see the billions of particles within the air around you. Once you see them, create a focus point in the center of the particles. Concentrate on this point and will the particles to collect there."

Bill and Aiden both followed Ra's instructions. Bill was the first to form a sphere of water.

"This. This is amazing. I can see every individual molecule, and can control where and what it does."

Upon saying that, Bill's sphere of water collapsed on itself and dissolved back into the air. Ra smirked.

"You must maintain your focus for now Bill. It will take a little time before you can subconsciously control the elements."

After a few more minutes, Aiden finally managed to form his sphere. Ra nodded at him.

"Good work. Take some time to learn to control this action. Release your spheres and reform them. In one earth hour I will return and we will move on to the next step."

Ra turned and left the room. Bill looked at Aiden.

"Don't worry bud, you'll get it down. I think I am just adjusting faster."

Aiden looked a little concerned. Bill took notice and tried to comfort him further.

"Look Aiden, you have always been slow and meticulous in your work. That being said, you always get the job done flawlessly. It may take you a little longer, but it'll pay off for you in the end like it always does."

Aiden smiled.

"Thanks Bill. Let's get to work. We need to learn as fast as possible."

By the time the hour had ended, Aiden and Bill were both able to form spheres of water simultaneously in both hands. They had even figured out how to throw them to each other and keep them from dematerializing back into the air. Ra entered the room and took notice of this.

"I told you that you would learn quickly."

He said this with a smile.

"Let's move on now. Things are about to get a little more complicated. You will now have to learn to manipulate two elements at the same time. You will need to form your spheres of water again."

Bill and Aiden both did this.

"Now, while keeping your sphere intact, focus your mind once again on the air around you. This time instead of focusing on the water particles, concentrate on the air current flowing through the room. Once you see them, you can use your hands to articulate the direction of the current to wherever you are pointing. I want you set your spheres slightly off of the ground, and then direct the air current to them. Then I want you to move the air around the sphere to create a vortex. Manipulate the air until there is a water funnel spinning in front of you."

Bill and Aiden started to concentrate on the task when Ra let out a very short laugh.

"And once you have finished that task, I want you to work on controlling the temperature of the air that is spinning your funnel. While maintaining the sphere, the air spinning around it, and the funnel I want you to cause the water to boil while it is still spinning. I want you to then perform the same action, but freeze the vortex in mid spin."

Aiden and Bill looked at each other with shocked faces. Ra smirked.

"I will give you two earth hours this time." Once again Ra left the room.

Bill and Aiden both set their spheres inches above the ground. They concentrated like Ra had told them. They were amazed that they could actually see the air currents around them. They continuously tried to manipulate the air towards the sphere. Each time they finally got the currents to actually change directions; their spheres would dissipate back into the air. Aiden looked at Bill.

"This is much more complicated than the first task Bill."

Bill looked at Aiden with a desperate look. Sweat poured down both of their faces.

"Aiden we can do this, we just have to concentrate harder."

As soon as Bill had said that, something in Aiden's mind clicked. He thought back to how computers worked on earth; how they multitasked. A computer with a quad core processor basically took whatever work it was given, and split it up between the four processors and tackled it in that approach. If Aiden could figure out how to split the processes that he needed to accomplish between portions of his brain, then maybe he could overcome Ra's challenge. Aiden concentrated like he had been. His sphere of water formed. He took this concentration and realized he was able to place it in a section of his mind. When he did this, it felt like he wasn't thinking about anything at all anymore. He looked down and his sphere was still spinning on the ground. He then started to concentrate again. The air currents became visible. Aiden motioned his hand towards the sphere. The currents quickly moved towards the sphere. He imagined that the air was circulating. As he did this the air currents began to quickly move around the water in a clockwise motion. As it spun faster and faster, the water began to elongate and move upwards. A water funnel now stood there, spinning in place. Bill was staring in amazement.

"How the hell did you do that Aiden?"

As soon as he said that the funnel collapsed and Aiden's sphere was just sitting there once again.

"Bill, imagine your mind as a computer with a billion processors. You can literally take thought processes that your focusing on, and separate them in your mind. You can put them off to the side and your mind will subconsciously do them and allow you to think freely again."

Bill laughed loudly.

"Aiden you're a genius. Leave it to you to figure something like that out."

Only about forty five minutes had passed and Aiden and Bill both had their funnels going. Aiden copied his actions earlier except this time he took his concentration that was keeping the funnel going and put it off in the back of his mind. Now he was free to work on the temperature. This would be tricky to figure out on his own. Ra had told them how to use the water and see the air currents. He didn't say anything or give any hints on how to manipulate temperature. Aiden began to concentrate and could tell that the rooms temperature was seventy degrees. Aiden began to think of ice how cold it was. The room rapidly began dropping in temperature. Aiden let go of the thought immediately. He started to concentrate again, but this time he focused his eyes on his water funnel. The water started making cracking sounds and its pace started to significantly slow. It creaked and cracked and then came to a stop as it froze completely over. Aiden turn to see how Bill's progress was coming along. Bill's water funnel was alive with bubbles and steam was billowing into the air. Bill gave Aiden a triumphant smile.

"Looks like we beat Ra's test; and with a forty minutes to spare at that."

Aiden sprung on this moment to talk to Bill about the dream he had had last night.

"Hey Bill?"

Bill turned his gaze to meet Aiden's.

"Yeah? What's up man?"

Aiden had a troubled look on his face.

"Did you have any..."

There was a long pause.

"Strange dreams last night?"

Bill seemed to know what Aiden was getting at.

"I guess it wasn't just me then. Aiden, did Apocolyptica talk to you in your dreams?"

Aiden nodded his head.

"He confirmed what Ra told us about the destruction of earth. He also made me an offer. He offered to spare Mariya."

Bill looked like he knew the answer before Aiden had even said it.

"Aiden, Apocolyptica is just trying to trick you to pull you onto his side of this war. What ever you do just please, don't join him. I don't want to have to end up fighting my best friend."

Aiden gave him a smile.

"Don't worry about me Bill. I won't be joining his side anytime soon."

Bill put his hand on Aiden's shoulder.

"I am glad to hear that my friend. We may not be able to save the earth, but god as my witness I promise you we will save Mariya and as much of humanity as possible!"

Aiden smiled.

"Thanks Bill, I needed to hear that."