"Wahhhh"
The cries of the newborn baby before Barden echoed out throughout the large cavern as the cocoon of Qi finally faded away fully. Barden stood there in stunned silence for an incredibly long time as the baby floated before him.
After standing there for some time, he reached out and embraced the baby, cradling it gently in his arms. He stared closely at the child in his arms, whose cries softened as it snuggled in his embrace. The mysterious sphere was still in the baby's embrace, as if it belonged to him alone and brought him comfort.
Barden rocked the child in his embrace for some time, before his gaze shifted to look forwards. A soul spirit floated before him, incredibly powerful, but also ethereal, as if it would fade away at any moment. It took the form of a woman, who took Barden's breath away at her beauty. However, her aura was also incredibly intimidating and strange, unlike anything he had ever felt before, making it hard for Barden to look directly at her.
"What is his name?" Barden asked.
"John," the soul form replied gently, love and warmth in her voice.
Barden looked back down at the baby in his arms, and felt lost at the moment. "What am I supposed to do with him? Do you intend for me to raise him?"
"Yes," the spirit replied gently. "You will raise him as your own child. You will show him love, care, and a good life."
Barden frowned at these words, as he considered himself not fit to raise a child, let alone someone else's. However, the spirit's next words made any potential rebukes of him vanish into thin air.
"If you do not raise this child, and you do not raise him with love and care, if anything happens to this child... I will be sure to destroy everyone and everything you hold dear."
There was no bluffing in the voice, which sent a chill up Barden's spine. The power of the spirit before him was beyond his comprehension, and he did not doubt it was capable of it.
At that moment, the baby shifted deeper into Barden's embrace, and fell into a deep slumber. Both Barden and the spirit smiled at the scene, and Barden felt a wave of emotions enter his body.
After a long silence, Barden sighed deeply and nodded his head at the spirit.
"It seems that I have no choice in the matter. I will do as you say, and raise this child as my own."
The spirit stared at Barden closely, as if inspecting the truth of each of his words. After another moment of silence, it spoke up once more.
"The sphere is his hands contains secrets far beyond your comprehension."
Barden's eyes locked onto the sphere as it was mentioned, and he felt as though his soul was being drawn into it. A feeling of both holy relaxation, and also sinister malevolence entered his mind at the same time, causing him to shift his gaze in fright.
"What is this thing?" Barden couldn't help but ask.
"I cannot reveal that," the spirit replied. "The only thing you need to know is that it belongs to John, and that it must never be found or used by anyone else. Do you understand?"
Barden immediately nodded his head, as he found both the spirit and the sphere beyond frightening.
"Good. Listen to my words carefully. You must keep this sphere and John separate, until he is old enough to handle its power," the spirit instructed.
"How old is old enough?" Barden asked for clarity.
"Fate will decide when he is old enough," the spirit replied. "Hide it away from view. When he is ready to obtain this item, he will naturally find it."
Barden remained silent for a moment, not really believing in fate, but nodded his head nonetheless.
"Good. Then I only have one last instruction for you. When the child has found this sphere, and has had ample time to adapt to it and accept his own nature, you will lead him back here."
Barden nodded his head once again, acknowledging the spirit's instructions. The spirit's gaze shifted from Barden to the baby in his embrace, and a warm smile appeared on her face.
Her gaze lingered for some time, before the familiar power wrapped up Barden and his vision turned white. He immediately found himself back in the cave, as if he had never left the dead end. In fact, it all appeared to have been a dream.
However, the baby he held in his embrace revealed that everything that had happened was reality. Barden stared at the baby in his arms for quite some time before a wry smile appeared on his face.
"How do I even begin to explain this to grandfather? Or Rachel?"
He shook his head at himself, before he turned and walked back up the cave towards his grandfather, an unexpected newborn child in his arms.
…
"After that, instead of going to the Holy Land, my grandfather and I returned to the clan. We hid your identity for many months so that we could let the others believe that you were truly our son and a member of the clan."
John stood there in stunned silence as his father explained what had happened in the cavern, and what the spirit had said to him. He was unable to muster a single sound, as his entire reality was shattering before him. Every word his father spoke felt like a war-drum booming in his mind, shattering what he knew about himself.
After Barden finished speaking, the only sounds filling the room was the soft sobs from Rachel. She had not wanted to reveal the truth to John, but knew there was no other way.
Barden sighed once more as he saw his son unable to process what he had heard. Rachel Fenix turned from Barden's embrace and walked forward to embrace John, who stood there staring off at nothing.
"Son, while you now know the truth, that does not change the fact that you are our son," Rachel said as she hugged John tightly.
Barden walked up as well and placed a heavy hand on John's shoulder.
"That's right, son. At first I'll admit that I was a bit hesitant about the whole thing. But...after spending more and more time raising you, I truly do consider you my son. While we may not be linked by blood, we are linked by our hearts and our souls."
"That's right," Rachel said as she nodded her head. "No matter what, you will always be our precious son. None of this changes that at all."
John finally snapped out of his stunned daze and looked at his two parents who stood before him. Tears streamed down his mothers face, while his father stared at him with heavy eyes. John could clearly tell that both were broken by the truth they had hidden from him, and also that they had to reveal to him today.
"We both love you, John. That will never change," Barden said to John.
After standing there in stunned silence all this time, John finally snapped out of his stunned daze and raised both his arms, pulling his mother and father into an embrace. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes as he felt their warm embrace.
"I love you both," John replied before parting from their embrace. He stared at both of them with blurry eyes.
"Despite what you've told me today, you'll both always be my mother and father...but I need some time to process this all," John replied with a heavy tone..
Even now, he could hardly believe what he had heard. It came from nowhere, and was the thing he was never expecting to hear. It was as if his entire world and life was a lie, and he needed time alone to sort that all out.
Barden nodded at his son. "Take all the time you need. Return to us when you are ready to leave for the Great Desert, and find out the truth for yourself."
John nodded his head before his body suddenly vanished from Barden's and Rachels sight. Rachel turned and embraced Barden tightly, as they stayed in that embrace for the rest of the night.
...
John sat on the very precipice of one of the Skycleave Mountains, overlooking the mountainous region before him. He had sat here all night, his wild thoughts running rampant as he tried to process everything he had heard.
The morning sun crested over the horizon, illuminating John and the land before him. His eyes suddenly hardened, and his soul entered his spatial realm. He found himself standing before the holy gate, which continued to permanently radiate its holy aura.
John frowned as he stared at the gate, of which the mysterious man resided within. He stared at the gate for a moment, his questions, uncertainty, and confusion building by the moment.
"Who the fuck are you?" John suddenly shouted out at the holy gate, his voice booming out as loud as possible.. He wanted answers, and was certain the mysterious man had them.