The dim light of a single lamp flickered in the corner of Zazm's cluttered living room, casting elongated shadows that danced across the walls like phantoms.
The air was thick with the scent of old books and the faintest hint of incense, remnants of Zazm's latest experiments. Outside, the night was a velvet blanket, muffling the world beyond the window, but inside, the atmosphere crackled with an electric tension.
Jahanox leaned forward, his brow furrowed in concentration, the glow from the lamp illuminating the intricate patterns etched into his skin—marks that seemed to pulse with a life of their own.
"When are you going to tell me how the threads are connected to these marks?" His voice was barely above a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the fragile reality they were teetering on.
Zazm, perched on the edge of his table, ran a hand through his tousled hair, his eyes glinting with a mix of excitement and trepidation.
"These marks," he began, his tone low and conspiratorial, "gave us superpowers or something along those lines." He paused, letting the weight of his words hang in the air, thickening the atmosphere around them.
Jahanox's eyes widened, disbelief mingling with a flicker of hope. "Co-come again?" he stammered, leaning back as if the revelation had physically pushed him away. The shadows seemed to lean in closer, eager to catch every word.
Zazm's gaze was intense, as if he were peering into the very fabric of the universe itself. "If one were to ask," he continued, his voice steady yet laced with an otherworldly cadence,
"my ability is to manipulate Time and Space itself." Each word rolled off his tongue like a spell, weaving a tapestry of possibilities that hung in the air between them.
Jahanox's heart raced, the implications of Zazm's claim swirling in his mind like a tempest. "Time and Space?" he echoed, his voice trembling with a mix of awe and fear.
"You mean… we can bend reality? Change the past? Shape the future?" The very notion sent shivers down his spine, igniting a spark of wonder that battled against the shadows of doubt.
Zazm nodded slowly, the gravity of his revelation settling over them like a shroud. "Yes, but it's not just about power. It's about responsibility. The threads that connect us to these marks… they're delicate.
One wrong move, and we could unravel everything." His eyes glimmered with a fierce determination, yet a flicker of uncertainty danced behind them.
Jahanox swallowed hard, the weight of their newfound reality pressing down on him. "What if we're not ready for this?" he whispered, the words escaping his lips like a prayer. "What if we lose ourselves in the process?"
Zazm leaned closer, the flickering light casting a halo around his figure. "That's the risk we have to take," he said, his voice a low rumble, filled with an unshakeable resolve. "But think of what we could achieve. The worlds we could explore."
The room felt silent for a while before Jahanox spoke, "So... What are my superpowers? What can I do?" He spoke his tone low and concerning.
Zazm leaned backwards putting his hands on the ground for support,"We will find that out soon enough. I'll have to explore your threads in detail and reach their origins."
Jahanox looked at Zazm with a suspicious looks, "I understand that these threads can flow out of living beings and stuff but.." he paused before letting his words sink.
"You can't just tell that, I feel like 'I can control Space and time'.... You must have a valid reason?" Zazm raised a brow at his question. He straightened his posture and spoke, "No! I'm sure that's what this mark helps me do and I have enough proof for it."
Hearing his friends voice above a whisper Jahanox got curious, "So, what's the most incredible thing you've done so far with these threads?"
Zazm's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Well, I've been working on something that might just blow your mind."
With that, Zazm reached into a drawer beside him and pulled out a small figurine, intricately carved and shimmering in the dim light.
It was a delicate representation of a mythical creature, its wings poised as if ready to take flight.
"Check this out," Zazm said, holding the figurine in one hand. "While it's true I can't control the threads... for now, that is, I can do this."
He closed his eyes, focusing intently. Jahanox watched in awe as the figurine began to shimmer, a faint glow surrounding it. In an instant, it vanished from Zazm's hand, only to reappear in his other hand.
"What the—?!" Jahanox exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. "How did you do that?"
Zazm opened his eyes, a triumphant smile on his face. "Simple, I guided my own threads through it. Since it's a nonliving object, it doesn't have any threads of its own. I used my threads to move it."
Jahanox shook his head in disbelief. "So you're saying you connected your threads to the figurine and transferred it to another point?"
"Exactly!" Zazm replied, his excitement palpable. "Since I have millions of threads flowing from me, I simply connected one of them to the figurine and guided it to my other hand. It's like using a fishing line to pull something closer."
Jahanox's jaw dropped as he processed the implications. "That's incredible! But can you do it again? Can you make it move around the room?"
Zazm nodded, his expression serious. "Watch closely." He closed his eyes once more, concentrating deeply. The air around him seemed to hum with energy as he focused on the threads flowing from him.
With a flick of his wrist, the figurine began to levitate, hovering in mid-air. Jahanox gasped, his heart racing as he watched the small creature dance gracefully through the room, guided by Zazm's unseen influence.
Zazm's brow furrowed in concentration, and the figurine began to glide around the room, tracing intricate patterns in the air.
It swooped low, then soared high, as if it were alive, responding to Zazm's thoughts and intentions.
"See how it moves?" Zazm said, his voice steady despite the effort it took to maintain the connection. "I'm using my threads to guide it, to give it a path to follow. It's like I'm weaving a tapestry of movement, each thread representing a potential direction."
Jahanox watched, mesmerized. "This is unbelievable! It's like you're controlling the very essence of reality!"
Zazm smiled, but his expression turned serious again. "But remember, this is just the beginning. I'm still learning how to navigate this power.
Each time I guide the figurine, I'm also learning about the threads themselves-how they interact, how they respond to my intentions."
Jahanox felt his heart race his thoughts rushed, for a moment he lost himself into the excitement and awe of what he just saw, "Why dontcha hurry up and tell me what cool things I can do?" A mischievous grin appeared on his face.
His thoughts calm down and his rationality coming back to him, he looked back at Zazm and before his friend could speak he interrupted,
"But how can you tell what my power is by looking at threads? I mean you can understand yours. Since, you can influence threads, so that's a natural conclusion but what about mine?"
Zazm put a hand on his forehead massaging his temples, "Why are you so dumb? Fine, I'll explain. You see how we can zoom into everyday objects using a microscope? Or find microorganisms and bacteria on them using the same method?"
Jahanox nodded, "Just imagine me as the microscope and these threads are those objects, and the powers I spoke of--"
"Are bacteria and microorganisms" Jahanox put a hand on his chin and completed his friends words. Zazm also nodded at him, his eyes were filled frustration.
"So, you zoom into those threads and can discover the powers." Jahanox's tone was thoughtful.
"No!" Zazm explained and Jahanox shot a straight eye at him, "You can't use your powers unless.... I help you?" A wide smirk appeared on his face.
"Huh--? The hell do you mean by that?" Jahanox shot back at his friend and was ready to beat him.
Zazm noticed his anger and shrugged, "I told you the power are like microorganisms, but it's not simple to bring them outside. I'll need to use the threads to guide that power to come outside."
Jahanox looked even more confused now, Zazm put a hair through his hair and rubbing his hair he spoke, "Let's say there is a pandemic going on. You have the cure for it but you are stuck in a huge city. You don't know the way out and the world can't be saved unless you are out."
Zazm paused before he looked at his friends surprised expression a smile appeared on his face, 'this dude... How many times is he going to change his face like this haha.'
"Now if someone guided you to the exit of the city, you can go outside and finally use the cure to heal others." Jahanox looked at Zazm lost at words.
"So you are telling me you have to play with the threads again?" Jahanox's tone was eerie.
"That's right! I'll make your threads to move in different manners, until the special threads, the ones that flow out of the mark reveal themselves.
And then..." Zazm paused straightening his arm on the desk and leaned on it, "That means another hellish session of colliding threads and creating the energy to bring the power out"
He wiped an imaginary tear and slammed his head down. Looking at his friend like that Jahanox felt somewhat satisfied, "So, when are we going to do that?" He spoke his eyes glowing.
"HAVE MERCY ON ME" Zazm shouted and Jahanox covered his ears, "what's wrong with you after you used teleportation you look quite exhausted."
Zazm didn't bother to look at him and spoke in a low voice, "My head hurts like hell... If I overuse the powers my brain won't be able to take it and I'll fell unconscious again."
"So that's the reason you fell unconscious back them." Jahanox looked at the condition of his friend and concern flowing in his eyes.
"Ok you just rest now, I'll come back tomorrow." He spoke in slight smile and concerned look etched on his face. He was about to leave when Zazm suddenly called him back.
"You say that but you don't seem concerned in the slightest..."
"Can't you just tell how I feel just by looking at the threads?" Jahanox went back to where Zazm was sitting.
Thud
Zazm threw the figureine straight at his friends head "Ouch... The hell you did that for?" He spoke in an angry tone.
"Didn't I just say that threads are connected to the consciousness...- to the soul. They have nothing to do with damn emotions." Zazm also got up and shot his friend with a stare.
Jahanox looked confused, he gestured Zazm to calm down,"But didn't you say you say my threads reach differently and you also said something about golden colour aswell."
"Guess, that's what I said. But no, threads have nothing to do with this. The reason it looked to me back then was because, I couldn't see colours in any other threads except yours but now I can.
When I look closely I can see threads of every colour flowing around. Threads are physical representation of the souls, their colour represents the colour of soul. The more ugly the colour the more tainted the soul. Those who have committed heinous crimes have black souls, while the purest colours are white and gray"
Jahanox put both of his hands on his hands, "Ahh... I'm so fucking tired... But what about the part when you said they move differently?"
"I was so focused, I was unconsciously influencing your threads... Yeah sorry for the misunderstanding." Zazm smiled and looked back at Jahanox.
Jahanox was looking around as if to find something..... to throw at Zazm? "I would've beaten the shit out of you, if it wasn't for your condition. Now go and rest."
Zazm smiled and went to his room. Jahanox walked on the empty streets, he looked up to the moon thinking that they were just normal kids a few days ago but now there lives are forever changed and not even they knew what's in-store for them.
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