It was a gift from my mother

The metals formed a small shack with a leaky roof where the two boys stood. Tiny particles of energy dissipated into the air.

Orion was panting as he stared at the silver-haired boy lying on the ground in a small crater. He assumed the crater had formed from the impact. One thing that caught Orion’s attention was the cracked glasses, seemingly made of glass.

The boy seemed fine—he was breathing and appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

“How is he not injured after falling from such a height?” Orion thought, astonished.

Lost in his thoughts, Orion momentarily forgot why he had come there. Panic set in as he remembered the little time he had.

Orion approached the boy and shook him forcefully.

“Hey!”

He shook him again.

“Wake up!”

The boy’s eyes slowly opened, clearly irritated.

“What?” he asked, confused, looking around. “Where am I?”

Orion grabbed his arm, trying to pull him up.

“Can you stand?”

“Yes” The boy regained his strength, stood up and put his broken glasses in his bag, but he was still confused. ”Wait, who are you?”

“There’s no time. I’ll explain later.”

The boy stopped and crossed his arms.

“Why should I follow you? You haven’t even told me your name.”

“Orion! My name is Orion!” he replied, frustrated.

“Now we’re talking!” The boy smiled. “I’m Caelus.”

Orion walked toward the exit of the “metal shack,” with Caelus following him.

“And where did you come from, Orion? The sky?”

“I should be asking you that—you’re the one who fell from the sky!”

“I fell?” Caelus rubbed his head, trying to remember. “Oh… I was doing some tricks and… Yeah! I did fall,” he concluded, as if just now accepting the reality.

“Yes, that’s what I said!”

Outside, Caelus looked around, amazed. A large crater stretched all around him, filled with metals in white and colorful paint.

“So, this is the part below the clouds?” His eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Don’t stop walking,” Orion ordered.

“I need to fly around a bit. Wait—” Caelus looked around. “Where’s my Pulseboard?”

“Pulse what?”

“Pulseboard! It looks like a flying metal board.”

“I saw something falling with you—it landed over there.” Orion pointed toward the middle of the crater, and Caelus immediately headed in that direction.

“No! Forget about it!” Orion shouted, grabbing him with his metal arm. Caelus grew irritated.

“Orion! I need my Pulseboard!”

“There’s no time, Caelus! We’ll die if we stay here! Your life is more important than that!”

“Let go! You don’t understand—it was a gift from my mother!”

Hearing the word “mother,” Orion was stunned and reflexively released Caelus, who took the opportunity to run off.

Loud alarms blared across the sky like trumpets, and heavy metal debris began to fall, one piece nearly hitting Caelus.

Orion covered his ears, closed his eyes, and crouched down. Dust began to rise, and Caelus used a piece of debris as a makeshift roof for protection. From there, he spotted his Pulseboard, its tip embedded in the ground and its body glowing with light.

Through the limited visibility, he saw two groups approaching the crater—one wearing red and the other blue.

Suddenly, the debris stopped falling, and Caelus dashed toward the board, pulling it out of the ground. Another alarm sounded, and large crates began falling from the sky.

Visibility worsened as the dust thickened, but beams of light pierced through the haze. Screams, bombs, and condensed energy filled the air.

A massive explosion cleared part of the dust, revealing a path for Caelus to escape. For a moment, he thought everything was fine.

“Orion was wrong,” he thought. “Where is he, anyway?”

Looking around, he couldn’t see him. His heart pounded harder, a chill running down his spine.

Retracing his steps, he finally spotted the small boy crouched, covering his ears.

He sighed in relief.

“He’s okay.”

Ahead of him lay a storm of light beams and immense dangers. Caelus glanced back at the escape route, then forward again, activated his Pulseboard, and stepped onto it.

“I’m not leaving Orion behind.”

“It’s showtime!”

His shout was drowned out by the noise.

His first instinct was to rise above the dust for better visibility. However, this left him exposed, and armed soldiers quickly aimed their weapons at him. Startled, he dove back into the dust.

“Flying high isn’t an option.”

Flying low made it hard to gain speed and increased the risk of collision. He dodged debris piece by piece.

More men appeared on the crater’s edges. As Caelus neared Orion, he saw some of them aiming their weapons at the boy on the ground.

With no time to spare, he sped up. Dodging the metal debris required risky maneuvers, and his concentration peaked. Even so, his stomach grazed a sharp piece of metal.

Reaching Orion, he grabbed him by the waist and tried to lift off.

“Heavy!”

Caelus strained to pull the boy up as the Pulseboard carried them forward. Orion, confused and panicked, struggled to understand what was happening.

The two clumsily flew at a steady speed while soldiers prepared to shoot at them.

Orion snapped out of his daze, and, frightened, managed to climb onto the board with Caelus. With both of them balanced, they gained speed and flew far away.

Caelus slowed the board, and they descended gently.

“You saved me, Caelus. Thank you!” Orion said.

Seeing that Orion was okay, Caelus replied, “Good.” Then he collapsed.

Panicked, Orion rushed to check Caelus. Opening his jacket, he saw a lot of blood. Without hesitation, he laid Caelus on the Pulseboard, unsure of how it worked, and pushed it like a stretcher, moving as quickly as he could.

Arriving at the camp:

“Someone help!”

“Please! Is anyone there?”

Bursting through the door of what served as his house, he startled the old man inside.

“BOREAS! I need help!”