A battle raged. Figures clad in skin-tight exosuits raced through an asteroid field. They were the vanguard of humanity’s expansion into the star, the Firstborn. Alien creatures of staggering power swarmed around the brave men and women ripping at their exosuits with claws capable of digging through asteroids like a hot knife through butter. Repeatedly, the palms of the Firstborn released blasts of condensed mana that left ripples in the intervening space. One could feel the residual heat of their power as it passed by.

The battle ended when the two highest-ranking officers of the Firstborn squadron sacrificed themselves in a spectacular display of power. Sadly, less than half of them survived the ordeal and most were severely injured. Despite their losses, the Firstborn carried on with their heads held high and the image of their two superiors locked in each other’s loving embrace during their last moments burned in their memories.

Maru glanced to his side as the theatre’s mana formations deactivated and the lights activated. A young woman sat next to him. Her hair had the same purple-black hue as the leader of the Firstborn squadron who had sacrificed herself in the movie. Her green eyes matched those of the second in command while her animated expression and steely eyes offered a unique combination unlike either of the Firstborn depicted. She wasn’t who he focused on though.

Next to her, the Father met his gaze and nodded before standing up. He offered the woman a hand. She didn’t seem to notice at first as though in a daze but eventually looked up at the Aspect.

“Oh! Sorry, dad. I… I just—,” she stopped when the Father held up his hand.

“It’s fine, Mia,” he assuaged. Her eyes glistened for a moment before she blinked several times vanishing whatever threatened to take hold. Maru appreciated the mental discipline. She got up and took the Father’s hand which he had once again extended.

The three left the theatre with the Father and Mia linked arm in arm as Maru led the way. They traveled amidst a chattering crowd on their way to the designated pick-up spot. The premier had been massive with well over three thousand individuals. It was an interesting feeling for him since he had never experienced a throng of people so large. The number of people simultaneously boggled his mind despite his rational side dismissing the number as small in comparison to the population of New Babylon, the Quiet Sector, and Partion IV as a whole.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if this outing was another lesson from the Father. His training in the Brotherhood of Kings had looked at populations as statistics to be considered from the top down. Additionally, as he listened to the Father’s story, his sense of the scale remained skewed. The Father spoke in grand terms like the entirety of the Old World and its sector, of covenants with Aspects, and the nature of souls. He did all this with a mix of expression from a casual candor to distant wistfulness. However, it was far too human creating a dissonance with the gravity of his words and how he spoke them.

Maru’s conflict as he pushed his way through the crowd reminded him of that. There were so many people around him. He could feel the body heat of those he passed and hear the thousands of voices having who knew how many conversations. They pressed in on him occasionally apologizing or telling him to watch where he was going. They were real and the scope of the crowd moving through the streets was almost surreal.

Yet, these people were minuscule in comparison to the Father.

At the seventh order of astral power, an individual was considered a demigod. The eighth order of astral power granted one the status of a true god. Not a pretender like many with the facsimile of power and followers too ignorant to know better claimed but beings capable of manifesting worlds and creating the spark of life. At the ninth order, the Overgods held their seat of power usually ruling over entire strings of planets. They were the pinnacle of what was considered achievable power yet sometimes, even they answered to higher forces.

The Aspects ruled all.

They were the forces of reality, unstoppable and beyond comprehension. Their mere presence in an Astral sector changed reality in the Physical plane. Some like the Father and the Akashic Records had benign relationships with mortals yet others like the Crawling Shadows roamed the stars with callous indifference to the affairs of mortals.

As an Aspect, the Father could wipe this planet out with just a fraction of his power. He held dominion over the entirety of the galaxy yet he walked among its inhabitants as they were none the wiser.

Maru glanced back at Mia and the Father. The Aspect chuckled at a joke the girl made as she pointed at a holoboard advertisement for the Church of the Restful Dead. He turned back, agonizing over the dissonance that gnawed at him.

Was there more the Father was trying to show him?

***

“So, now that you’ve had time to process, do you have any thoughts on the movie?” the Father asked halfway through their ride.

They had ridden in silence so far with Maru focusing his attention on the passing cityscape and his thoughts. He wasn’t sure why the Father hadn’t just teleported back home but he’d learned over the past two months that the Aspect had more than a few eccentricities.

“I don’t know,” Mia said, frowning. “It just feels weird knowing my mom and dad were famous demigods. I don’t even remember them that well. Their personalities, their relationship with their friends or each other, or even something as small as the sound of their voices.”

Maru remained silent as Mia attempted to formulate her thoughts. He understood how she felt to a degree. He didn’t remember much about his family before the Brotherhood of Kings and occasionally, he caught himself contemplating the subject when he saw parents with their children. Some might think him strange for not pursuing the few memories the Father had restored about his mother and remaining mostly loyal to the Brotherhood’s vision. He couldn’t argue with that conclusion since he was still figuring out why he felt the way he did.

“I could always pull the memories you have to the surface,” the Father offered which made Maru focus on Mia’s reaction.

She continued to frown yet gave the question several moments of thought. Eventually, she shook her head, then looked out the window.

“I think I’m fine. They brought me into the world and I’m thankful to them for that but having my memories of them would just make me sad,” she said after another pause. “Does that make me heartless, do you think? That I’d prefer for my birth parents to be strangers even after watching a movie about how they sacrificed themselves for others because it is easier for me that way.”

Neither of the men answered immediately. Maru had his thoughts but hesitated. The Father gave a nod in his direction once again encouraging him to speak his mind. It was typical of the Aspect; both he and Mia treated him like a member of the family. The problem was that in the Brotherhood, family meant duty, obedience to one’s seniors, and loyalty. In the Father’s home, it had a much softer expression which was why Maru had issues acclimating even after the compulsions placed by the Brotherhood had been removed.

“I understand why you feel that way but…,” Maru started only to stop and glance at the Father once more before continuing. “I believe averting one’s gaze when allowed to glimpse the truth is a disservice to oneself and the truth itself. You should do all that you can to better yourself and accepting ignorance and lies only hinder that process.”

“An admirable outlook but what if the Truth posed a threat to you or those close to you? Ignorance can be a mighty shield when wielded by the wise,” said the Father.

The young man didn’t know if he should respond to the question. After hearing about the Father’s encounter with the Crawling Shadow, the Aspect’s statement had more depth that Maru wasn’t sure he could comprehend in his lifetime. There were grand Truths that the mere knowledge of spelled ruin for those who knew. Maru didn’t even know if the Father had been able to learn the Dark Truth spoken by the Mad Titan or if this was his way of saying that there were things not even an Aspect should know.

Still though…

“I would try to face the truth even then. I think ignorance as a shield is fine but only so long as you endeavor to reach a point where the shield is no longer necessary. If you continue using it past that point, then it’s just a crutch.”

“Hm,” was all the Father said in response.

Mia regarded Maru with a puzzled expression. “So, you're saying that it’s fine to pass up the opportunity to remember if I’m not ready but if I am, it’s wrong to avoid the truth even if it’s awful? What’s the point in that? Sure, maybe I learn something from the memories or I gain more appreciation for the parents I never got to know but even if those things happened, it might leave me worse off emotionally. I don’t need the memories. I’m doing fine as is and I have a loving parent. It is not like I have some secret hole in my heart.”

Her words had steel in them but there wasn’t any aggression in her tone toward Maru. He frowned yet met her gaze with steel of his own.

“Even if you ended up worse off for it, you should still face the truth. Wisdom, power, and competence come from journeys that are full of suffering and tribulation. You have no idea what your memory holds so any speculation on how you’d feel or what you’d learn is just that. What’s for certain is that you are the legacy of two demigods and denying a chance to remember them means denying a piece of who you are.”

“By the Father, do you hear yourself?” Mia said, turning to face Maru in the spacious backseat of the cruiser. “Power? Wisdom? Tribulations? I’m seventeen, Maru. I may be ahead for my age but I’m not even done school yet. My parents were over a hundred years old and were in the military for most of their lives. Who says I want to inherit that legacy? I could be an artist, a scientist, a mana technician, or anything I choose as long as I put in the work. The only thing I owe them or their legacy is to live as best I can and maybe improve the lives of my fellow man if I can.”

He averted his gaze choosing to look out the window. Perhaps his outlook was a bit skewed by his time in the Brotherhood? He didn’t necessarily believe in a grand destiny or purpose for humanity but the Brotherhood of Kings taught that the potential of man was near-limitless. Not everyone could realize that potential but it was the responsibility of those who could to do so and guide the masses by leading them. Mia’s birth parents had been demigods and though she only had suspicions of his true strength, her adoptive father was the Father. She had all of the opportunity to be truly extraordinary if she would just reach for her potential.

Then again, the Father had raised her as an ordinary human with only cursory engagement with sorcery and mana techniques. Maru considered that he might be projecting unreasonable expectations born of a skewed perspective onto the daughter of a “café owner”. Was the life provided her by the Father a lie or just a different truth that Maru found hard to accept? Even if that were the case, he didn’t hesitate to speak his response once the words were formulated in his mind.

“You’re right. You could be anything. You’re intelligent, talented, well-spoken and you have people looking after you. However, people don’t start as the sum of their will. They are the result of their genetics, the care of their family, and the nature of their environment. You are where you are because your parents were successful and competent individuals who made sure you had the funds to do whatever you wished and left a network of comrades and friends willing to look after you in their absence.”

Mia threw up her hands in exasperation. Traces of annoyance flickered in her eyes and she adjusted herself so she was more comfortable facing him.

“So, this is about gratitude now? I thought we were talking about the truth. I said I was grateful to them for giving me life and all that so why does me not wanting to dig up old memories make me ungrateful?”

He met her gaze with the same resolve that he had given the Father when he asked for the Aspect’s story.

“Anyone who turns away from the truth when given the opportunity to grasp it, understand it, and grow from it because it might be hard or uncomfortable lack appreciation for the individuals and events that went into providing that opportunity.” Maru gesticulated as he continued, “Your potential is a seed capable of growing to the pinnacle of mortal power and beyond. You said you should live as best you can but how can you do so when you are willing to turn away the truth when it's unpleasant? Admittedly, this is most likely something small but our actions today are the foundation of our actions tomorrow. Those memories aren’t a risk to anything but your emotional security and if you aren’t willing to risk that you won’t get anywhere close to your best.”

Anger flashed across Mia’s face. She glared at Maru yet his gaze was unwavering. Finally, she turned away.

An awkward silence hung over the vehicle leaving him unsure of how to proceed. He let his eyes wander to the cityscape again. The Father chuckled breaking the tension in the atmosphere.

“I see your passion is not limited to our sessions, Maru,” the Aspect said. He leaned forward and squeezed Mia’s hand. “The offer is an open invitation and if you’d be more comfortable with a more mundane matter, we could go meet some of the members of the Firstborn who survived that attack. A few are on the planet for the premiere event and they’ll be here for the next few days.”

Her scowl softened at his words. She squeezed his hand back and nodded.

“Thanks, dad. Meeting with some of them might be a good start.”

The Father’s only response was a smile.

***

Later that night, Maru stargazed on the roof of the Father’s home. His confrontation with Mia had left a bad taste in his mouth. He didn’t have any doubt in his beliefs but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d done something wrong. He sighed leaning onto the stone ledge at the edge of the rooftop. All of his talk of truth yet he found one about himself hard to face head-on.

He was changing and he couldn’t tell if it was for the better.

Ever since the Father removed the compulsions placed by the Brotherhood of Kings, the iron-clad grip that he had had over his thoughts and emotions had begun slipping. The Maru of two months ago, or rather Project C-41, would have never gotten so worked up. He would have let the discussion go, dismissing Mia as nonsensical and deemed any time spent trying to sway her as a waste of time. He might have engaged her if he felt that it could deepen his connection to the Father but the effort would’ve been far less emphatic.

Now though, he had been passionate, almost to the point of confrontational, for a matter of no concern to him especially since he was so far from realizing his potential or learning all he could from the Father’s story. How would these changes affect his mana control once he began cultivating? What about his combat skill? It was already permeating his decision-making.

“You know, stargazing hasn’t lost its majesty even though I’ve walked across the surface of some of them,” came a familiar voice from behind him. The Father joined him in leaning over the ledge. “I have to limit my vision but the tapestry of an unpolluted night sky has a special beauty to it.”

Maru stared at the Aspect for several moments before nodding slowly in agreement.

“It's hard to believe you’re the same entity that you talk about in your story,” the young man said.

“People change,” the Father answered as though that explained all.

“And you… consider yourself a person?” Maru asked after hesitating for a few seconds.

“Yes,” the Aspect said, a smile curling onto his lips and his eyes falling to the ring on his finger. He turned around resting his elbows onto the ledge before he let loose a chuckle. “It wasn’t an easy process for me though. I hurt more than a few people close to me before I accepted what I became.”

“Did it have something to do with the vessel provided by the Akashic Records?”

It had been a week since they had left off with the Father’s story and Maru was eager to continue. That said, he wasn’t foolish enough to press the Aspect on the matter reasoning that they would resume when they resumed.

“Hm,” the Father said throwing a glance at him. “Somewhat, but like any person, it was my environment and the people around me that ultimately cemented the change.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Maru replied.

Silence followed his word. Instead of filling it, they watched the stars and the distant lights of New Babylon for a long while. Maru realized that he found the Aspect’s presence comforting rather than terrifying or awe-inspiring.

That alarmed him more than a little.

It was the Father who eventually broke the silence.

“Ah, that reminds me!” he said slamming his closed fist into the palm of his other hand. “I wanted to make a change to our story time.”

Maru almost laughed at the ridiculous casual manner in which the Father referred to his tale.

“What do you have in mind?”

The Aspect held up his open palm. Within, an ethereal light ignited with whispers filling the air around it. A nod from the Aspect enticed him to reach out for the light. As soon as his fingers breached its aura, images, sensations, and knowledge entered his mind. Pain, fear, the smell of blood, a horrible scream penetrated the core of his being.

He pulled back as though he’d been shocked.

“What is that?!” he exclaimed. His heart raced, beating loudly in his ears.

“This,” the Father said willing the light to ascend to eye level. “Is the soul of one of the first men I killed in the Great Trial after receiving my vessel. As we progress, I will allow you the opportunity to experience the feelings, sensations, and insights of certain people. I think it’ll increase your comprehension of key events to view it from the perspective of a human who was there.”

“I—,” he began before being cut off when the Father saw his concerned expression.

“The process won’t cause any harm as long as you will is strong enough and I’ve judged it to be. And don’t worry, I don’t plan on using this often for a multitude of reasons.”

“I understand,” Maru said reaching out for the light after taking a moment to steady himself.

The light dissipated before his hand reached it and he aimed a confused look at the Aspect.

“Not yet,” He chuckled. “Before that, I must describe how I obtained my vessel. Now, where to start…”