A Union of Hearts: Repairing the Familial Pillar: Chapter 1 – A Second Chance Unwasted

Chapter 1 – A Second Chance Unwasted

I look at my family and treasure being with them every day of my life as if it is my last day, especially today since it may be my last. A force of conceited people has grown in the world and is imposing their false truth on those they conquer or deceive. Many allied kingdoms have willingly fallen to their lies, are in flames, or are enslaved by the conceited.  There are even those in the Church of the Absolute who preach their falsehoods and started their own churches to convert more of the faithful, the ignorant, and the uninformed. The few kingdoms still dedicated to the truth like the kingdom I live in, Simbiosi, are attacked on all sides and the capital that I live in will soon be under attack.

Today, I am allowed to spend the beginning of the day with them before I join the troops out of the walls to help defend against a potential attack. Many times, I have lost my family, but the Absolute has blessed me with this new one. I cannot help but be in constant fear for their safety. If the conceited were to take them over my dead body, they would be enslaved or killed as they have done with many families.

“Are you worrying again, Absalom?” my wife Estella says while looking at me with concern on her face.

Since our hearts are connected, my wife can typically read me like a book. I sometimes wish she couldn’t so she wouldn’t be concerned by my useless worries and weaknesses.

“I must confess that I am. I’m sorry,” I say before looking away in shame.

Estella leans over so I can see her comforting smile.

“It’s going to be okay. I’ll be singing for you and the troops to give you strength.”

“Your singing has always been our key to victory along with yours, Mia.”

My daughter, Mia, can also sing like her mother and even summon specters like I can except she can only summon two animals whereas I can summon up to fifteen spectral soldiers to aid me in battle.

“Is there something that I can do besides that?” Mia asks.

“You can pray as you sing,” I suggest.

“I can help you in battle.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Yes, I can! This is what my Heart Absolute ability was made for.”

“You can use an elephant and a hawk for more than battle.”

“What am I supposed to be then? A performer? A clown in the circus? I know what my heart’s purpose is.”

“I don’t want you getting hurt or killed in battle.”

“I won’t get killed if I just use my specters. I’ll use them to fight and bear whatever pain comes with it.”

“How do you know you won’t get killed? Your ability isn’t like exactly like mine and it hasn’t been tested yet.”

“If I do get injured badly, then I’ll leave and get medical help, I promise! Please, let me help defend our home, father.”

“No, I will not. Not now at least.”

Mia gives me a look of bitter resignation before looking down and away from me and then leaving the table.

“Mia.”

“She’s just like you,” Estella points out.

“I honestly hope that she turns out more like you or at least takes the best of both of us while leaving out the worst.”

I go outside where Mia is sitting on the porch.

“I know how you feel,” I say.

“Then you’d let me help you fight,” Mia says.

“When the time is right.”

“I’m old enough to fight and have two powerful specters with me that I can summon anywhere I can think of like you.”

“You just turned sixteen last month.”

“That’s old enough for the prince and princess’s new children to start their training. Knowing them, they probably started their training earlier.”

“You aren’t like them. You’re my daughter and the Absolute has a different role in life for you.”

“I know that. I just feel that I found it.”

“I thought that I found my true role in life when I recklessly followed my heart. People here still view me as a villain because of the death and destruction I caused because of it it. I admit that I’m afraid of you getting hurt and even more afraid of you dying, but I’m most afraid of you making the same mistakes I made.”

“I understand. I pray I could do something to change the minds of those who still view you in a negative light.”

“They’ll change their minds in time. For now, hone your ability and after the battle, we’ll train your specters to see if they can fight. Maybe you can act as support for the troops such as using your hawk for scouting or using your elephant to break through the enemy’s walls.”

“Okay.”

I hug Mia and she hugs me. Before we can go inside, a group of soldiers come to my door and let me know it’s time to go. Turning to Estella and Mia, I promise them that I’ll be back and then head out with the soldiers to meet the rest of the army outside of the walls. The soldiers take me to Prince Caleb and Princess Kyla who are at the frontlines of the capital’s defense.

“Hello, Absalom. Is your daughter going to use her specters to aid us in battle?” Caleb asks.

“No, but she will be giving us strength with her singing just like her mother. Are your children going to be fighting with us?” I say.

“They’ll fight if the fighting gets inside the walls. What’s with that look on your face? I only asked because she told me that she wants to fight. What’s the harm in letting her? She won’t die if her specters are dissipated in battle like yours, right?”

“I don’t know if she will or not.”

“Caleb, he’s afraid of his daughter getting hurt or dying,” Kyla says.

“Given his record of dead wives and daughters, I understand.”

“Caleb!”

“What? I’m just speaking bluntly and mean nothing by it. I’m sorry if what I said hurt you, Absalom. It’s just that…I feel as uneasy as you do and want to use every resource I have to obtain victory for us.”

“And you’d use my daughter?”

“No, I won’t force her to fight like the enemy does. Forget I said anything. Anyways, this is our first time fighting together. Do you think you can fight as well as you did when you fought us? I’ve heard good things from the commanders you were under.”

I’d prefer it if Caleb also forgot when he and Kyla brought me to justice. Leave the past in the past. I’ve already served my penance for my sins and need to look forward to the future.

“Just wait and see. Has your downtime weakened your skills?”

“Parenting has done that a bit, but Kyla and I have been sparring to keep in shape. We’re also competing to see who wins the most sparing match. I’m winning by the way.”

“Not if you’re counting my victories,” Kyla says.

“You mean the ones I let you have?”

“You always say that as an excuse for the times I beat you.”

“It’s the truth, not an excuse.”

Despite Caleb’s manners, he’s still a good prince of justice. Kyla is also an amazing princess of mercy. Both are faithful servants of the Absolute who is the king of this kingdom and the guide of our hearts. Even though I’d like to forget the times when I wasn’t myself, I am thankful for them and the Absolute for bringing me back to my senses whenever I remember my shameful failings. Kyla and Caleb will be flying around the battlefield where they are needed while I and the other soldiers will defend other parts of the outer walls.

Soon after I take my defensive position, the enemy goes pouring in. We heard they were coming and rushed to get ready. Caleb and Kyla didn’t have enough time to do their battle speech to raise morale, but at least we made it on time. I spawn fifteen specters with a variety of weapons to aid me and my fellow soldiers in battle while they use their variety of Heart Absolute abilities as well. The conceited use their abilities as well, but since their abilities are inversions of their own or weaker versions of others, we have the advantage in terms of power. For example, one of them that I face that lights himself on fire and can manifest weapons is defeated by my simple sword and shield whereas one of my fellow soldiers who can use similar fire powers can take on multiple foes without being hit. It also helps that I can feel strengthened by Estella's and Mia's singing which gives me the strength I need to endure the hits that my specters take.

Kyla and Caleb eventually fly over us and use their dragons of mercy and justice to spray their flames upon our enemies. The ones who still have some good in their soul are simply knocked out by the flames while the ones who are judged to be damned are burned to ash. These flames are the manifestation of the Absolute's judgment and seeing them reminds me of when I was purified of the temptations in my head by those blessed flames. I, along with the rest of the soldiers, cheer for them as they fly by. Wait. What's that near Caleb? Is that a white hawk with grey wings? Sending up one of my specters to check, I find that my eyes do not deceive me. It’s my daughter’s hawk specter who is telling Caleb where to go.

Through my specter, I catch my daughter’s hawk by the wings before she can escape me and then say, “What do you think you’re doing, Mia?!”

“I’m doing what I’m called to, father,” she says.

“Don’t worry about her, Absalom. We’ll take care of her,” Caleb says.

“But-”

“It’s a promise and an order for you to leave her in our protection.”

“Fine. Be careful, Mia.”

With nothing more to say or do, I focus on the battle and try to end it on my side so that it ends quicker and any threat to Mia is erased. Eventually, the conceited retreat. We think victory is ours until a rumbling in the ground puts us on our guard until a giant black and white dragon with five heads that seems to be half as large as the capital appears in front of us in an explosion of fire. Caleb, Kyla, and I along with the other soldiers focus on this creature and attack it with everything we have. The conceited that retreated moments ago come back in full force to defend the dragon as it charges forward to the capital. It’s about to charge through the walls until Mia’s elephant appears which is about the size of a castle’s wall and stops it by charging into it. This allows the wall’s defenders and we keep the dragon in place as we cut at its legs to cripple it.

“Our hearts and strength become one and closer than they ever have before,” Caleb and Kyla say in one voice, “Face the judgment of a pure heart!”

Caleb and Kyla’s dragon becomes a singular dragon that they ride on. This dragon called the Judgment of the Absolute breathes its gold and black fire on the multiheaded dragon while flying around it until the dragon burns to ash and the only thing left of it is a single conceited man with many heads on his body. What they just did is something that I wish to try with my own family since people who love each other and have Heart Absolute abilities can combine their abilities into a powerful singular ability they both control with one heart and mind. I along with Caleb, Kyla, and the other troops surround this man ready to bring him in for questioning.

“This isn’t over. You’re going to wish that you lost this battle,” the man says.

“What are you talking about? You’re the one who has lost,” Caleb says.

“Heh, I’ll give you a hint. You don’t think that everyone in your kingdom is loyal to you, do you? We were going to take the capital with as much minimal damage as possible, but you leave us no choice. You’ll have ruins for homes.”

After the man says this, he dies and then multiple explosions happen throughout the capital. From where we are, we can see the largest buildings collapse and be blown up from the inside. If that’s not enough, a black fog emerges in the capital as we rush in. Screams and sounds of fighting echo from every corner of the capital that forces the army to disperse to quell the chaos. At a time like this, I wish Mia would disobey my order so she could tell me where she and her mother are and what’s happening.

I send out my specters in haste to help every citizen I can and send out two extra ones to find my family. Making these two extra ones takes more strength, but thankfully, I can still feel the effects of Estella’s and Mia’s singing, so they must be alive. As I rush back home, I see people disappearing into the dark through my specters. My specters try to save these people, but those that disappear are gone without a trace which means that whatever is in the black fog teleports its victims to a different place. We’ll have to find these people later. Meanwhile, the only threats I can deal with are the conceited that are trying to kill whoever they can.

Have mercy on us all, Absolute. Do not let the conceited take our families from us and make the conceited see the error of their ways. Keep everyone safe and give us the strength to get through these challenging times.

“Father!” I hear the sound of Mia and the sons and daughters of Caleb and Kyla say.

My specters catch their cries and do what they can to save them from the many conceited that are targeting them. To combat the growing number of enemies, I summon more specters so that I have a total of twenty out with ten protecting my family and ten protecting Caleb and Kyla's children. Mia uses her elephant to help defend her mother and Caleb and Kyla's children don't have much of a problem defending themselves. Still, I have to take some of the hits for them by making my specters block the enemies' attacks with their bodies. The pain slows me down a bit, but my determination and offering up the pain as penance keep me going until I finally get to where my family is.

“Estella! Mia!” I yell out to them.

They call back out to me before Estella and Mia continue their singing. I'm comforted at the sight of their safety, but even more on edge to keep them safe, especially since it seems like the conceited are countless and endlessly come out of the dark fog.

Turning to Mia and Estella, I say, “We should combine our Heart Absolute abilities together to push them back!”

“I've never done it before,” Mia says.

“What would mine do to help? I think it'd be best if I kept singing,” Estella says.

“Look at me and don't worry. Grab my hands and join your hearts with mine. The Absolute will take care of the rest.”

Mia and Estella look at me and then do as I told them.

With one voice we say, “Three turns into one as the three are one in the Absolute. One family, one heart, and one Absolute.”

A light bursts out from us. From it comes hundreds of soldiers on unicorns, elephants, and griffins all clothed in a bright white light that dispels the darkness and overwhelms the conceited. The soldiers and their animals sing to everyone in the capital to lift their spirits and strengthen them while also demoralizing the enemy and piercing their ears with our songs. Together, we drive them off along with the black fog. Victory is finally ours despite the many lives lost and the destruction done to our homes.

We combined our hearts and used a powerful ability just like the prince and princess. Father, that was amazing! It was and so were you, Mia and Estella. The Absolute saved us in our time of need and I came back as promised. This is all great and I don’t mean to spoil the mood, but can we stop using this power of ours, Absalom? Using it for this long makes me feel like I’ve been running for hours. Oh, of course, Estella. I’m sorry, mother. I didn’t notice the strain it put on you. Show offs. Acting like it was nothing.

Estella was right. It feels like a heavy weight is taken off my shoulders now that we’ve stopped using our combined hearts’ ability. Anyways, I’m glad that we’re all safe now. Even though the capital is in ruins and we’ve lost many, I’m confident that this isn’t the end for us and we’ll come back stronger and ready to fight again.