Isa collapsed on the floor. She was taking deep breaths, and sweat was dripping from her forehead.

"I, I don't know?" Isa gasped for breath. "I just saw that thing attack you, and I reacted?"

"H-h-hey guys, a little help here," Eli gasped.

Eli was barely able to push himself up against the wall. His arm was bleeding profusely from the deep gashes on his arm.

"s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t," I fretted. "He's losing so much blood."

Isa tore a s.h.i.+rt she found into ribbons. "Try wrapping it up with this!"

I dropped the stone and lifted up his arm to dress it, but the instant the cloth touched the wound, it was already soaked. Isa handed me another piece, and I tried again with the same results. Eli's face was turning pale by the second, and his breathing became rapid and shallow.

"f.u.c.k," I yelled. "What do I do?"

"Use the Eden," Sintra whispered.

"What?" I asked.

"Press the stone onto the wound."

I found the stone on the floor and pressed it onto Eli's wound. His face twisted in agony as the stone began to glow so brightly that it blinded us. I turned away and covered my eyes. Eli's screams grew louder and louder.

Please get through this Eli. I don't know what that stone is, but it has to help you. A minute or so pa.s.sed by, and the room went silent again. I turned back and saw Eli's arm. The wound was instantly healed, leaving only jagged scars behind in its place.

The color returned to Eli's face. In his hands, he held the stone, or what was left of it. Confused, his eyes darted back and forth between the Eden and me.

"What is this? And where the h.e.l.l did that come from?" he pointed at the sword.

"Give me the stone," Sintra whispered.

"It's Eden" -I reached for the stone- "and it's a long story about Sintra, I mean, the sword."

Isa and Eli looked at each other and then back at me.

"Ez, explain," Isa said.

I didn't know where to start. Mostly because I still couldn't completely wrap my head around it.

"Give me the stone, and I will explain," Sintra insisted.

I picked up the sword and touched it against the stone. It emitted light and then disintegrated into tiny particles which were quickly absorbed by the sword. Eli and Isa's eyes widened as they watched the sword devour the Eden. After it disappeared, I felt a physical change in my body. The sword felt slightly lighter than before...

"Uh Ezra, can you...can you explain what's going on?" Eli asked.

"Tell them to place their hand on me so that I can establish a connection with them," Sintra instructed me.

I stabbed the sword onto the ground and told them, "Touch the sword real quick."

They both gave me weird looks.

"Guys, just trust me," I pleaded.

"Alright," Isa said reluctantly.

Eli followed her lead, and they both touched the hilt. I felt our minds instantly link and we jumped back in shock, letting go of the sword. I could tell what they were thinking, and they knew what I was thinking. What just happened? And why can we read each other's minds?

"So that I can talk to them," Sintra spoke.

"Whoa, who is talking," Eli started freaking out.

"Oh my G.o.d, what's happening?!" Isa gasped.

"Guys calm down, this is my sword," I explained. "Its name is Sintra."

"How is it even talking?" Isa asked.

"And where did you get it?" Eli added.

"Well, it's a long story…" I started.

"Well, we've got the time now," Isa cut in.

"I will tell them," Sintra began talking. "Today, Ezra died at the lake. He was…"

I watched Eli and Isa's faces as Sintra was telling them what happened to me. They were shocked and confused at what they were hearing. Everything that Sintra was saying was too much to process. Even I was still trying to figure all of this out.

"...and the world is now changing," Sintra finished.

Eli looked over to me and asked, "Is all this true?"

I nodded.

Isa ran over to me and hugged me as she cried in my chest. She kept telling me how sorry she was for not being there for me at the lake.

"It's okay, Isa' -I rubbed her back- "I'm actually glad you weren't there. It was really dangerous."

That just made her cry even more. After a few minutes, she calmed down and grabbed a random s.h.i.+rt on the ground to wipe away her tears.

"I promise it's okay, Isa. Look at me, I'm perfectly fine now," I pointed at myself.

She nodded her head and sat on her bed. "I know. I'm just glad you're okay."

Eli, not one to go deep into feelings, walked over.

"Ez, I can't believe you went through that alone,"-he squeezed my arms- "but I guess that explains how you're so ripped now."

We both laughed as he lightly pushed me aside to go sit on the edge of the bed. I leaned up against the wall as we all stared at the whispering blade between us.

Eli looked at his new scars and started laughing. "I didn't really like these scars at first. But I'm not gonna lie, this could be a good conversation starter the next time I meet a girl."

We all chuckled for a bit, and then the room went silent again.

"So," Isa broke the silence. "What was that stone?"

"Yea, and how did Isa do that fire thing?" I added.

Sintra began explaining. "That stone was Eden. Many millennia ago, Earth had a natural resource that protected and nourished it. It lived in all living things, plants, animals, and humans, and made them stronger. In the early days of man, they discovered that they could manipulate Eden to do whatever they wanted by focusing their will to help them do things like Isa and Ezra did, even if they didn't notice it.

I was puzzled. "Me? When did I do that?"

"When you willed for the Eden to heal Eli's arm," Sintra answered. "You used just enough to fix his arm. I used what was leftover to unlock more of my powers and sentience."

Isa and I exchanged glances.

"But besides doing the impossible," Sintra picked back up. "Eden allowed people to become the impossible."

"Become the impossible?" Eli asked.

It sensed our confusion. "Do you know how a G.o.d comes into being?"

Silence.

"G.o.ds are not born, they are made from greed," Sintra answered. "At the dawn of time, a handful of people discovered a way to steal Eden for themselves. They plundered the world of every drop of Eden it had to offer. With all this power, they were able to transcend the limits of mankind. That's why there was no more 'magic' in your world, until now."

Our eyes widened.

"Yes. It is raw power. My master, Bel, was one of the oldest G.o.ds. When he died, his Eden was released back into the world, giving back the Earth the ability to do the impossible. That's why that bear was so huge, it had already gotten into contact with Eden."

"So what does all this have to do with Ez, I mean, us?" Eli interrupted.

Isa jumped in, "And why does this Bel person need Eden if he's already dead?"

"Ezra made a pact with Bel before he died," Sintra continued. "In return for this new life, he must gather Bel's Eden that is scattered across the world."

A thought came to my mind. "So Bel's part of the reason why there's no more Eden?"

Somehow it managed to sigh. "Not quite. Although he did take it, he and a few others did it to keep it out of the hands of those with evil intent, the Faynes."

Eli was confused. "The who?"

After a slight pause, It said, "Amongst the G.o.ds, there are two factions: the Faynes and the Noir. The Faynes are a self-serving group of individuals who each desire to gather all the Eden for themselves and use it to become THE G.o.d. Each one would jump at the chance to destroy this world so that they could make one in their own image."

The room went silent.

"Was Bel a part of that?" I asked.

"No. Bel was a Noir G.o.d," Sintra corrected. "They are a group of people who want Eden to be released back into the world, but they can't. If they did, the Faynes would instantly wreak havoc on the world fighting over it. That is why right now is a crucial time. Because-"

"The Faynes are coming," I finished.