Chapter 246 (2/2)

His dad left…. but maybe it was because he was the broken one. And in his fury and resentment and need, Randidly had never given him a chance after that. Slowly, his father had adopted that persona, giving Randidly harsh lessons in life, all the while ignoring that Randidly always took his mother’s side.

Sighing, Randidly looked at Sydney with pity in his eyes. Were these things true…? Had she been struggling against this fucked up narrative she had in her head their entire friendship? Was that why it had always felt so weird and unnatural, and why, out of the blue, she forced this immense burden on him, hiding her sickness, which would destabilize both their relationships.

“You should have told Ace.” Randidly said, his voice breaking. Then he turned away.

“Randidly, wait-”

But Randidly was back in the 5th stone circle, and the illusions faded away, leaving him with nothing but a deep melancholy. It had started as a memory, but it had gone very different than he had expected. His influence had a palpable effect there, and shifted the events. Were the things she said true?

It would explain a lot. In a lot of ways. But perhaps it was just his mind trying to fill in answerless questions.

But what it did do was fill Randidly with a burning fury. The Aether in his veins began to vibrate, rising to follow the pitch of his emotions. This place was fucking with him. It was time to start fucking back. So Randidly used Haste and Empower, leaping forward, just throwing himself through the air, heading deeper into-

Blink.

The images hit him like a truck, making his head spin, but very quickly Randidly oriented himself, finding himself in the back of the car. They were going to visit his mother in the hospital, Randidly remembered. He was 7 at the time. His father was in the front of the car, his hands locked on the steering wheel in a death grip.

In the past, Randidly had sat in the back, confused and scared, saying nothing the entire ride. He wasn’t exactly sure why. From his memory, his father had been home alone with Randidly for a week or so, very tight lipped and strict. Although it was strange to think of this as unusual, this was the first instance of Randidly seeing his father’s true colors, his bitter and cold indifference.

In fact, his parents would probably be divorced within the next two months.

Still, if he was brought here by the trial… Randidly wasn’t sure whether to believe the things he saw, but they all felt true. They all felt like they were real things, he hadn’t witnessed. Times in the past where he had refused to take action, and let himself and those around him walk down a path into a deeper darkness, heedless.

So Randidly spoke to the father he would grow to hate and resent so much over the next 15 years. Or at least he tried to. He opened his mouth, but the words seemed to escape him. They were beyond him. His whole body was trembling, crushed by the brutal weight of the silence of the car. In the same way that the steering wheel was being crushed, so too did it feel like his father’s vice like grip was around Randidly’s neck, keeping him silent.

Safe.

Randidly’s chest vibrated, even here in the illusion, and he felt the tight grip of the mood loosen. The Aether in his chest hummed its concern. Shaking his head in wonder, Randidly raised his small, seven year old hand and pressed it to his chest. That strange voice inside of him, through the Aether… perhaps it was the… Spirit of his Soul Skill? The Soul of his new world…?

Either way, it gave him the support he needed.

“What’s wrong with mom?” Randidly asked.

Hearing his voice, Randidly’s father seemed to crack, sighing and slumping back in his chair. “I… don’t know, kiddo. She’s been gone for a while, and won’t-.... I just don’t know yet. That’s why we are going to see.”

The silence continued, and Randidly was somewhat at a loss of what to say. After all, his experience with his father… they were extremely limited. After this point, he might see him once a year for a day. And most of that was clouded by his own anger towards the man, so-

But it seemed like the silence still bothered his father, because he continued to speak after a long pause. “She just left for a while, and wouldn’t tell me why.”

Randidly opened his mouth, then hesitated, and closed it. Honestly, he didn't’ remember that his mother had left for a bit, but in the grand scheme of things, it was swiftly covered up by the divorce and its aftermath.

Then, in a move that shook Randidly to his core his father turned around and said to him, “Rand, I hope you know that I will never leave you like that, okay?”