Today was the 22nd day of the month of Vantuar, a very auspicious day on the Pridorian Calendar.
Axel woke up an icy cold floor with rubbles all around him. The cold air penetrated his lungs as he inhaled sharply.
His entire body hurt so much from the fall. He had fallen from steep edge of a cliff while trying to get some Sycamore fruits for dinner with Grandma Alanna but he got hurt in the process, though there was no physical scratches on him.
He had always had a strong body and such falls wouldn't hurt him normally but today seemed different from other days.He had no idea his cells were mutating into something more supernatural.
He couldn't move an inch from the spot for awhile but he twitched his fingers and toes to make sure he could still move his body.
The reason he'd climbed the dangerous cliff to get the Sycamore fruits was to surprise Grandma Alanna on his birthday today. Since he noticed he couldn't get injured from ordinary accidents three years ago, he'd become a bit too daring for a human.
Any normal person would have been on death's door by now but Axel was different from normal human beings. But of course, he wasn't a human, even though he doesn't know that and Grandma Alanna had never told him about his heritage too. He only knew he was very different from Grandma Alanna but she loved him regardless.
Axel was handsome, dark-skinned, 6'4 in height and had short curly hair that was as dark as ink. He had a large frame and very little beard on his chin, even though he was turning 21 today. He also hard strange markings unlike any other person and he'd yet to know why, most especially his very obvious birthmark on his right cheek. Luckily, it didn't hamper his handsomeness.
After what seemed like a very long time, Axel finally recovered enough to flip over and crawl towards a large Boulder nearby so he can sit up. After he sat up, he noticed some Sycamore fruits on the floor not far away from him.
"At least, I got something out of the fall, not just injuries" Axel said as he whizzed in pain.
He crawled towards the fruits and counted them, there were 8 Sycamore fruits and he took one to eat so he can recover some of his strength.
"Hmmm, this is so good!!" Axel said as the cool juice of the Sycamore fruits slid down his throat and into his stomach gradually being assimilated into his cells. He quickly ate another one, and another, until there were only three fruits left. He put the three fruits into a special box in his low-level Voidband.
He burped satisfactorily then got up swiftly and put his palms together for some seconds and bowed towards the tree which had been half destroyed in the fall.
He had to change his clothes that had torn in many different places so he took out new clothes from his Voidband that looked exactly like the one he had been wearing before. He always prepared two sets of similar clothing to avoid worrying Grandma Alanna in case he encountered any trouble.
He turned around and started jumping from rock to rock till he was out of the ditch he fell into previously. He smiled and lifted his hands up as little rays from the very distant sun touched his skin. This was his little victory pose whenever he had finished an adventure and come out unscathed once more.
The distant giant sun was already getting enveloped by the dark of the night so he ran as fast as he could for thirty minutes and he could already see the usual white smoke from Grandma Alanna's cranky Thermovent Spire. He began to slow down and he reached her little home in five minutes.
He carefully sneaked to the back the house and entered the old body cleanser device that Grandma Alanna had. He came out looking fresh and clean, just like he had left home.
He sneaked back to the front door, opened it and slowly tiptoed into the parlor with some rising tension in his veins but the floating orb at the center of the parlor came on suddenly and scared him.
Grandma Alanna was seated on her rocking chair and she smiled widely and said, "Happy Birthday Axellll!!!"
"You didn't have to scare me at all Grams" Axel muttered grumpily but he quickly lightened up and brought out the box containing the three Sycamore fruits from his Voidband.
"Thanks Grams but look at what I got you!" Axel said excitedly as he opened the box to reveal the Sycamore fruits he had gotten for her.
"Did you get into trouble just to get this for me Axel?" Grandma Alanna asked worriedly. She had notice some slight differences in his appearance compared to when he left the house some hours ago.
"No Grams, it wasn't a big deal at all. I'm strong enough to provide for both of us now" Axel said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.
Grandma Alanna has always been very observant, no matter how little the detail was she'd notice it at first glance. She was always concerned about him even though they weren't blood related.
She didn't ask any further questions but said firmly but reluctantly "You should always be careful because from now on, you're a full fledged adult and you will have to leave and explore the world out there"
"What are you saying Grams?? I'm not leaving you at all, I still have more birthdays to celebrate with you", Axel said with a little frown on his face.
'Grams seems a little strange today, maybe she's just expressing her concern for me as usual' he thought and brushed off the uneasiness he felt.
"I'm ready for your trial Grams, I will pass in one try this time around" Axel said confidently.
Grandma Alanna instead brought out a very tiny box from her own Voidband, she stretched her slim smooth fingers and gave it to Axel as his present for his 21st birthday. She was well into her sixties but she looked as young as someone in their late twenties.
She usually comes up with what she calls the "Age Ascension Trial" for all his previous birthdays, testing either his wisdom, growth or ability to lead people in dire situations but this birthday was different and he wondered why but he proceeded to open the box either ways.
There was a tiny white hexagonal dipyramid crystal with some markings like the ones on his body. It was glowing softly and it seemed to be calling out to him as soon as he laid his eyes on it.
He took out the crystal and as soon as it touched his palm, his entire body glowed softly with a warm white light and the evolution of his cells increased rapidly and he noticed it this time around. It felt like tiny ants were crawling inside his skin and his bones but felt strangely comfortable at the same time.
His cells were greedily absorbing the seemingly endless energy contained in the crystal.
This continued for awhile till his cells could no longer absorb anymore and they became quiet.
He woke up, opened his eyes and marveled at the crystal his Grams gave him.