Xavier soared through the skies, the cool night air whipping past him in waves as he reveled in the freedom of sensations that came with flight.

  Though he was coming to terms with the fact that he may not be a Reincarnator, and if he was, he had been reincarnated longer than he had initially suspected, everything still felt new.

  The Eternal still relished the simple ability of flight.

  The endless skies before him, Forks beneath him, and the dark clouds cushions to be pierced just for a little fun.

  It wasn’t long before Xavier was soaring thousands of feet in the sky, high enough to pass by a common crane, a magnificent bird with gray plumage accented by a striking red crown and white streaks along its wings.

  It was flying too lopsidedly, earning a surge of curiosity from The Eternal.

  Extending his hand, he used gravitons to attract the bird to him – the crane came with ease due to his improved control, fpping its wings and squawking as it was drawn towards him.

  “Ange would love this,” The Eternal murmured to himself, imagining her surprise at the unexpected gift as he cradled the crane in his arms.

  It fought against him, forcing Xavier to pay extra attention to his strength, lest he accidentally crushed the creature.

  A bout of drowsiness suddenly washed over The Eternal…

  “I need to nd soon,” Xavier whispered, rubbing the back of his head to try to alleviate the headache pguing his mind.

  Still, The Eternal took a moment to feel the wind, stare at the skies, hovering just above a cloud, and watch the moon in its ethereal beauty.

  The moon was a radiant pearl against the rapidly darkening velvet skies, its surface detailed and vivid through the vision of Ikaris’s Eternal Physique.

  As Xavier inspected the moon, his pupils constricting to pinpoint granting him a vision undefiled by the space between objects, he could make out the ancient craters and subtle, shifting shadows on the moon.

  A memory popped to the forefront of his thoughts.

  “All those years ago,” He pondered. “It was me that started the rumor there was a jade rabbit on the moon,” The Eternal chuckled to himself.

  Surrounding the moon, consteltions like Orion and Cassiopeia remained clear and sharp in the crisp night air.

  Trickle of cosmic energy by trickle, Xavier could feel the excitement of his cells, the whispering of power thrumming in his blood, and the golden tint of potential tingle behind his eyes.

  The celestial sight of the moon and the stars filled him with a sense of calm, and The Eternal allowed himself a few more moments of peaceful floating.

  “Rexing…”

  The Eternal spun and twirled in the air, his body moving gracefully despite the growing fatigue – he executed a series of pirouettes and twirls, feeling the thrill of each movement as if he were back in Bronze Age Babylon, participating in The Akitu Festival near the river.

  The dance used in the festival was the ancestor of modern-day ballet…

  “Everything has its roots,” Xavier murmured to himself, feeling the traces of time passing him by, “I have a feeling,” he sighed. “—that the Xavier that is currently flying will not be the same Xavier that nds on the ground.”

  It started centimeter by centimeter…

  Then, foot by foot…

  Finally, mile by mile…

  The Eternal began to descend from the skies, his thoughts becoming more and more incoherent, muddled by the overwhelming drowsiness of his cosmic potential.

  His ability to fly faltered at random intervals, causing him to dip and sway unpredictably.

  It was close to midnight when he finally hovered down enough to see the sparse lights of Forks, flying over the log yard and making his way to his mansion on the outskirts where the town ended and the forest began.

  It could be considered an exclusive residential area, home to exactly five mansions, three of which remained empty for most of the year.

  Xavier’s mansion was an imposing structure, a blend of modern architecture and rustic charm; it had a sprawling backyard that blended seamlessly in the forest, with hidden gardens nestled among the overgrowth and a shimmering pool that reflected the starlight.

  He nded on the balcony of his bedroom – the only pce, other than the guest room where Jessie resided, where The Eternal was certain he could enter without causing any arm.

  After all, aside from The Cullens, he had not seen anyone in nearly two weeks and a half, having failed to respond to Ange’s text messages since his phone was trashed in the battle against Lagus Tradio.

  With the crane held gently in his grasp, still occasionally squawking, he pressed his hand against the sliding gss door, his strength leaving an immediate imprint on the metallic frame.

  Disoriented…

  Burning headaches…

  Tingled skin…

  The dregs of Xavier’s mind deduced that it was not merely fatigue driving his actions, it was also a sense of… euphoria.

  ‘Am I high?’ The Eternal realized.

  Groaning, forgetting his hand was already pressing onto the frame of the gss door too hard, Xavier pushed once more, the gss door shattering off its hinges.

  The door bent and crumbled under his immense strength – five tons of strength – the sound of shattering gss echoing through the night, but Xavier barely registered it as he staggered into the room.

  He trusted the soundproofing would be enough to alert anyone inside the mansion.

  But in his instability, The Eternal did not account for the lover occupying his bed even in his absence.

  Ange, wearing soft, vender pajamas that complemented her gentle, sleeping beauty, was startled awake by the commotion; her eyes widening in confusion as she snapped into a seated position.

  She had been anticipating Xavier’s return but never so abruptly…

  This was not a return…

  Ange recognized it as soon as she saw it – she had seen it many times before, though she never asked what it was…

  Perhaps, she should have asked more questions…

  Xavier colpsed to the floor, his body beginning to emit intense heat, scorching the white carpet under him; the air around him warped and shimmered with the heat radiating from his body.

  His eyes glowed an eerie golden…

  Ange, still trying to get her bearings, recognized Xavier immediately and betedly. “Xavier, are you okay?” she asked, armed, as she rose from the bed.

  Her voice was filled with concern and hints of terror, a feeling in her gut telling her that approaching The Eternal was equivalent to suicide.

  Still, she took a step towards him…

  Xavier, due to his eagerness to grasp the st bits of his sanity, turned his eyes to Ange, attracted by the promise of love and concern in her voice.

  His eyes, brimming with cosmic potential, were wide with terror, and in that moment of confusion, a golden beam erupted from the depths of his pupils, where his optic nerve met his cosmic potential.

  The Eternal had tried to fight it, straining to regain control, but it was no use.

  The cosmic beam, so strong it could melt through stainless steel with ease, fshed brightly for an instant.

  A moment of confusion…

  Then, two…

  Even Ange, in her semi-awakened state, took a while to feel the sting to her chest, and when she felt the sting, her eyes had already lost their glow – she plopped to the ground lifelessly.

  Two holes had been burned through her chest; her life was extinguished in an instant.

  Xavier, finding the will to fight through the flood of memories, the disorientating headaches, and the absurd euphoria, cleared his mind an instant ter.

  Every thought was banished…

  The age settled onto him all at once…

  The Eternal took everything in stride, perhaps too stunned to think about what had just happened or maybe, even used to it with the memories of centuries flooding his mind.

  The disturbing thought that he felt better after losing Ange echoed in his mind, causing his heart to lurch – a scream of anguish tore from his throat.

  The crane, forgotten, fluttered away in panic, escaping through the broken gss door; the room was filled with the acrid smell of burnt carpet and the metallic tang of cauterized blood.

  Xavier crawled to Ange’s side, his hand trembling as he reached out to touch her, only to pull back, horrified by the sight of her lifeless body; his instability was evident as his cosmic glow alternated between brightening and dimming as if a bomb being primed and disarmed.

  Finally, mustering all of his courage, The Eternal reached out to embrace his lover.

  “No… no…” he whispered, his voice breaking with grief.

  He clutched Ange’s hand, his tears falling onto her still form; the realization of what he had done hit him like a tidal wave, and he colpsed beside her, his body wracked with sobs and weakness.

  Only, his weakness was not only due to emotional instability…

  The Cosmic Thread linking the lovers, constantly siphoning cosmic energy from The Eternal to Ange, caused it…

  Two incompatible systems – one having to consume itself for the other to function adequately, leading to instability in both systems…

  A cosmic glow surrounded Ange’s lifeless body and suddenly, there was a shift in the room.

  Xavier was bombarded by an all-encompassing sensation of weakness so profound he could tell it would be akin to an Eternal Slumber.

  ?

  Ange stirred from her sleep, the soft sound of groaning pulling her from her dreams.

  For some reason, a pit immediately formed in her stomach.

  Her eyes fluttered open just in time to see the gss door shatter off its hinges, the frame bending and crumbling under the immense strength of whatever was outside.

  The red bindi on her head linked with the several smart systems in the mansion – all of which were refusing to sound the arm.

  That meant someone with higher authority than herself was intruding – and there was only one such person.

  Ange’s heart leaped in her chest when she watched the vacant eyes of Xavier, barely registering the chaos he had caused.

  Something was cking about him…

  Ange almost felt repulsed when she id eyes on him, wishing to storm out of the room due to an unnatural premonition twisting her insides.

  It felt as if, if she stayed, she would die…

  Ange snapped into a seated position, her eyes widening in partial confusion and partial concern.

  Countless questions rang hollowly in her mind…

  Middle of regaining her bearings, Ange felt a bout of intense heat – something that reminded her of baking in the oven, unveiling the final product after two hours of relentless heat.

  The room had become an immediate furnace.

  “Xavier, are you okay?” She asked, her voice filled with concern and hints of terror; the premonition in her mind growing more and more vivid.

  ‘I shouldn’t have called out to him,’ her mind echoed. ‘Why did you call out to him? Quick, don’t say anything else!’

  Ange rose from the bed, her premonition roaring to tell her that approaching the current Xavier was akin to suicide; yet, her love for him outweighed her fear, and she took a step towards him.

  Their eyes met…

  Xavier’s eyes glowed golden, shimmering with unshed cosmic potential…

  However, this time, Ange’s eyes matched his golden intensity and two golden outlines emerged from her body, almost as if a reality unwilling to be cemented into reality.

  One of the golden outlines stepped backward, causing Xavier’s cosmic beam to tear through her arm instead of her chest – she would survive without a left arm.

  The other golden outline threw her body to the right, spraining her ankle but avoiding the beam altogether.

  Xavier’s cosmic beam was a combination of all that his unique brand of cosmic energy entailed; force – to hit harder when necessary, heat – to burn through anything and everything, and light – to ensure it could not be dodged.

  When the golden beam erupted from Xavier’s eyes, it was already too te for Ange to dodge, but when her golden glow solidified into one of the outlines stemming from her body, another possibility cemented into reality.

  ‘What if I had slept on the right side of the bed instead of the left?’ was the question Ange asked herself at the critical moment.

  And it became the possibility that changed her outcome.

  The Cosmic Beam, strong enough to melt through stainless steel effortlessly, passed through the mansion wall, leaving smooth, eye-sized holes behind.

  But Ange was no longer standing in its path…

  Ange, breathing heavily, eyes wild with panic, id exactly two feet to the right, clutching her ankle and wondering how exactly she had managed to survive.

  It was nothing short of a miracle…

  The Eternal stared at his girlfriend with an incredulous expression on his face, almost uncertain how to feel about her miraculous survival.

  Was he more curious… surprised, or terrified?

  “You need to leave…” Ange whispered, ending their tense staring contest.

  Without a word of objection due to his own instability, Xavier hovered off the ground and shot into the skies through the shattered balcony door.

  He had to go somewhere to center himself, lest another moment of instability harm more than just Ange.