Chương 2: Episode 1: Leaving the Nest

I packed everything I owned—comics, worn books, a toothbrush, and every small trinket scattered around my room. Clothes and food went straight into my orange backpack until it zipped shut. I stepped into the corridor where my family waited. Mom had her usual look of warmth and worry. Dad stood with his arms crossed, his gaze steady. My siblings leaned near the doorway, grinning.

"I know moving out sounds heavy," I said.

"But I'll be fine."

"Don, Iris Town has been under attack more times than I can count," Mom said.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure."

"Anything could happen," she pressed as my hand reached the knob. Dad exhaled, letting his arms drop.

"If you're doing this because you believe it's right, then go. Iris Town might be the place that makes you the Hero you're meant to be." I nodded, opened the door, and stepped outside. I turned back one last time to grin at them.

"Don't worry. I'll be the best there is." Purple light crackled across my wings, and I launched upward, leaving a small shockwave as I rose over the Enchanted City. Below, dragons and humans in Celestianite forms darted between golden skyscrapers while cybernetic cars glided along glowing highways. My name is Lens Don. I'm ten years old, a crystallized dragon, and the owner of a rare celestial energy called Cosmonimbous. My scales shine like amethyst glass, burning with a violet hue.

I used to train at Brightened Elementary, but now I was heading to Insane Middle School in Iris Town, where future legends are made. A sleek yellow cybernetic train glided along golden rails below. I angled downward, landed at the station, and slipped through the closing doors. I took a seat and leaned my head back as the train accelerated under the evening sky. Outside, the city blurred into streaks of gold until the hum put me to sleep. When the air brakes hissed, my eyes opened. I ran out into Iris Town.

Night had fallen. Cottages glowed with lantern light, sturdy brick houses lined the streets, and sharp mountain peaks stood against the starry sky. A man in a suit approached with an outstretched hand.

"Great to meet you, Mr. Celestianite. Ready to see your new home?"

"Yeah!" We walked down the street while townsfolk finished up their evening routines, stopping before a deep-blue brick house with a stone roof. The man swung the door open.

"Welcome to Iris Town, Don." I took a breath and stepped inside. TWO MONTHS LATER Life didn't explode right away, which was weird. I thought moving to Iris Town meant stepping straight into constant action, but for a while, it was just quiet. The kind of quiet where the world lets you settle in before it tests you. I filled that quiet with Power. I was obsessed. Every single day after school, I dropped my bag on the floor, flopped onto the couch, and started hunting for anything with him in it.

News clips, battle footage, interviews where he tried to sound humble while looking like a walking thunderstorm, even those over-the-top action shows that turned his fights into cartoons. If he was on screen, I was locked in. I studied every movement, every decision, and every moment where he moved without second-guessing himself. He never hesitated. I hesitated all the time. In my room, I struggled through push-ups while a replay of Power fighting a Lunaranite played in the background.

My arms shook halfway down, and I collapsed onto the floor.

"This is character development… I think…" The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Out in the backyard, my fists glowed faintly as I tried to focus my energy the way he did, only to blast a gust of wind that knocked over a trash can.

"…Nailed it." Sometimes I paused slow-motion footage of one of his kicks, rewound it ten times, then got up and tried to copy it, only to slip and land flat on my back.

"… The form was there, though." Other times, I just sat cross-legged, staring at the screen and muttering, "That's gonna be me one day." Notebook pages filled with his emblem over and over again, messy at first, then sharper. I thought if I drew it enough, I could understand it, and if I understood it, I could become it. Then it stopped being a hobby. I wanted to get into Insane Middle School because that was where people like Power were made. But the tuition was brutal. So I worked.

I did yard work until my arms gave out. Took out trash, ran deliveries, and picked up odd jobs for anyone who needed help. Every coin stacked up slowly. Whenever I thought about quitting, I pictured Power standing there, unshaken and unstoppable, and I kept going. I didn't just want to admire him. I wanted to stand next to him. That night, Iris Town was peaceful. Lanterns glowed, kids laughed down the street, and I was in my room unpacking the last few boxes, trying to figure out where anything went.

Then the ground shook. First a small flinch, then a heavy rumble that rattled the floorboards. My hands froze, the windows shook, and dogs started howling outside. Outside, massive shadows stretched across the grass. Black and violet dragons dived from the sky—the Lunaranites.

"TO ARMS!" one of them roared, his voice hitting the street like thunder. Doors slammed and people ran for cover. Kids cried while parents yelled over the noise. I stood by the window, frozen, my hands shaking as my brain told me to run. I took a step back, then stopped. Underneath the panic, one thought stayed clear: Be like Power. I closed my eyes, took a breath, and threw open the window.

"HEY! STAY BACK, WILL YA?!" I shouted. The noise below died down as people looked up. My fists clenched as the Lunaranites turned, their glowing eyes locking onto mine. My wings snapped open behind me. Fear was crawling up my spine, but I forced myself to hold my ground.

"You leave this town alone," I yelled, "or I'm gonna make you leave!" The Lunaranites cracked their knuckles, launched off the pavement, and shot straight toward my window. My eyes widened.

"Oh crap—" I shot forward, celestial energy bursting around me as I flew over the crowd below. My fist hit one Lunaranite across the jaw, and I uppercutted another into the air, sending him tumbling into the dirt. I landed hard, sliding across the street.

"I DID IT!" My jaw cracked sideways as a third Lunaranite hit my cheek, launching me through the wall of a house. Windows broke, wood shattered, and dust filled the air. I burst back out through the wreckage, purple energy crackling around my hands.

"HERE WE GO AGAIN!" I fired a blast of celestial energy. The shot was wild and unrefined, but the hit still threw him backward through the air. I swung at another, missed, dodged an uppercut, and took a knee straight to the chest. A backhand caught me across the face, sending me crashing into another house. Bricks collapsed around me. I pushed myself up from the rubble, gritting my teeth as blood dripped from my nose while holding my chest where the knee struck.

"Damn…" I coughed.

"You guys are—" A Lunaranite dropped from above and hooked me across the face. I flew across the street, smashing through building after building. Before I could recover, another appeared above me and slammed both fists into my chest, driving me straight into the ground. The street cracked beneath me. I couldn't get a full breath in. I staggered back up, clutching my stomach while people watched from the sidewalks, and the Lunaranites closed in. I was losing control of the fight.

I swung wildly, missed, and caught an uppercut. I tried to kick, but a Lunaranite grabbed my leg, spun once, and threw me across town. I crashed through a train display in the park, metal tearing apart as I tumbled through the dirt. I scrambled up and fired another blast, but it went wide, hitting a nearby building. The structure exploded into purple light.

"Oh no…" A Lunaranite rocketed toward me, claws open. His hand clamped around my throat, lifting me off the ground as he flew higher. I grabbed at his wrist, looking straight at his sharp teeth and glowing eyes.

"I'll defeat you…" I gasped out. He laughed, tightening his grip. His fist drove straight into my gut, dropping me flat onto the street.

"Geez…" I muttered. The other Lunaranites surrounded me. One raised his claw, aiming straight down while I stayed pinned to the floor. A streak of blue light tore across the street. Power landed hard on the pavement, his blue energy erupting around him as the ground cracked under his boots. He moved without wasting a single movement. Every strike connected, dropping Lunaranites one after another across the broken road. The crowd started yelling his name.

I stayed on my knees near the curb, breathing heavily and watching him work. Power finished the last one with a single strike, sending him skidding down the alley. The noise died down as smoke cleared off the asphalt.

"Thank you, citizens of Iris Town," Power said, looking over the crowd. He turned and walked over to where I sat.

"You fought well, kid," he said.

"You've got the spark." He held out his fist. I looked at it for a second, then bumped it with mine. He noticed, and I kept my eyes on the road ahead.