Bent World: Epilogue

Epilogue

Alone on a hill, Sal sat in a lotus position. His movements were simple, slow, and deliberate.

Out here at the edge of another world, Sal finally found peace. At first the silence was and lack of direction was almost too much to bear, until finally he realized that the only thing stopping him from succeeding was himself. Once he determined that one fundamental concept, the idea that without relegating himself or his future actions based on the predisposition of others, his future was only as bright or as dim as his actions.

The first thing he did was construct a home, which he arrogantly tried to do with his sword techniques, before realizing that his power and precision with Telekinesis was such that he would only dull his weapons on cutting down trees, when his powers could easily grab, bend, and snap pieces along desired paths. From there it was just a matter of dragging heavy smooth stones gained from river beds to help form each piece of wood to a desired shape and size. After a few adjustments were made, he built first a raised log cabin, with a roof. Nothing too intricate, especially after he considered this first attempt to just be a trail and error phase.

From there he went about hunting, which was easier as the animals of the alternate world all but burned with a different form of energy. Energy that instantly resonated danger in his mind. At first, there were challenges, especially when he found himself only incorporating Telekinesis in easily explainable ways. This led to a slight scar on his left arm, from the tusk of an enraged elemental boar. The wound normally would have been treated immediately by Auntie, but now served as a reminder that he was on his own, and he was too complacent with his methods.

After that one incident, his hunting expeditions went much smother. Snapping the necks of most monsters easily, setting up spike traps to capture larger prey that were not able to be dealt with so easily. Fire was the second concern, and one that was instantly fixed when Sal realized he was looking at things incorrectly.

Yes, it would have been much easier to wield flames and create giant pyrokinetic bursts on command, but that was not the power that Sal had been granted. Instead, he just needed to apply logic and science to his method and get as good or perhaps even better responses. Thus, Sal used two flint stones to strike against each other at extreme Telekinetic forces to generate sparks easily. Then once he got used to the system, any two rocks would do, so long as he struck them in the right way and with enough force and speed.

From there, just boiling water, and finding different ways to carry large quantities of cured water were his final concerns. Concerns that were again easily solved when he resolved to work smarter, not harder. Cooking clay vases and barrels soon became second nature, especially as the weight held within the barrels didn’t matter when you used Telekinesis to move the sealed and sterilized vessels to his lodgings.

Thus, with his basic survival needs quickly taken care of, Sal began to focus on the important matters. Breathing in, he felt the power of the world. The same power that the animals and predators of this world used to alert Sal of his presence were now being pulled from the world around him. Once inside his lungs, Sal would focus and hold his breath, focusing on the energy. Then finally exhale air. Air that was increasingly devoid of the normal ambient energy of the world.

Tingle.

Finally, after enough practice, Sal began to feel the odd burning sensation of power accumulating into a new dot on the back of his left hand. Opening his eyes, Sal saw the new mark and let a faint smile crack his lips. A smile that seemed to stretch his otherwise expressionless face in new ways. This was the first time he felt true accomplishment on this alien world, and the first time that he let himself enjoy his success.

Then standing up, Sal called his sheathed blade to his outstretched hand using Telekinesis. Instantly, he relaxed as the familiar grip of the hilt seemed to form itself to his hands. Then closing his eyes, he continued on with the next step of his training, focusing his mind to strike and slash at the air in a way he had done thousands of times.

Crack, sparkle.

Yet, this time things were different, as he could already feel his blade warping the world around it. Opening his eyes, he saw the faint unmistakable markings of his slashes causing a residual after glow. If he kept cutting, he knew he could eventually carve a new rift that would lead to another world, but that wasn’t the task that Sal had assigned himself.

“Not good enough,” Sal posed, then holding out his left hand he drew in the residual energy. Then focusing his mind and blade he slashed again, at a slightly different place. This time the tear appeared almost immediately and was slightly longer, measuring about the width of his thumb, but this still wasn’t good enough. Thus, Sal reached out his left hand, sealing the rift, only to try to form a new rift instantly.

Thus, Sal soon found his time passing in a state of peace. When he was hungry, he hunted. When He was thirsty he drank and purified gallons of water at a time. Then if he was too tired, he slept. But mostly he trained, not even certain if what he was attempting was possible.  Logically it shouldn’t be possible, but then again Sal had no other obligations other than to himself.

And, thus Sal found his youth quickly slipping by, as he prepared himself for the future he wished to follow.