THE MOMENT
"Happy Birthday, " Granny Maple smiled as she gave the small white gift box to Rufus. "And, graduation," she added with a giggle as he gave her a puzzled look.
"Ah, I was afraid you were going senile on me," Rufus laughed as he accepted the gift. His birthday had been over a month ago, but he only graduated the previous day. Granny Maple was in the stands, but she didn't stick around to talk too much. Rufus was with his friends and family, and he knew he'd visit her; but, he wasn't expecting a gift when he did. As it was, she'd given him a nice card along with a handy sum on his actual birthday.
"Ever since a brave teenage boy ventured into my forest and knocked on my door, I've been expecting to give you that on your 18th birthday. But, I decided to wait a bit longer so you can start using it right away without the responsibilities of school."
"What is it?" By the time he heard her explanation and asked his own question, he'd opened the small box. It held another smaller, more elegant box inside that was also white. Opening that one revealed a red velvet-lined interior with a glass card waiting for him. Digital numbers appeared on its face as soon as he touched it, but if it was a smartphone, it was more advanced than any he'd seen. "And what am I going to use it for?" he asked.
"Before I explain all that, I want to apologize," she said with a solemn tone. "There are things I've kept from you. Do you remember when you first visited me, and I was ready to send you away?" she asked.
"Yeah...," Rufus nodded. He hadn't thought about it in a couple of years, but it was on his mind a lot early on. She was being completely stubborn and uninterested in an apprentice until she asked him a very unusual question. It was stranger that he had an answer, and she seemed to change her mind instantly. He'd spent the first two years expecting it to come up again, and the last two years forgetting about it. "Is this about my favorite number?" he asked. Her attitude transformed completely as soon as he answered her with '35'.
"You remembered," she nodded. "There's a deeper meaning I never explained, and it's why I'm giving that to you now," she nodded at the glass card. "You have an amazing magical potential, and in your case, all that potential comes from you being a little more special than most," she said. "You are something known as a 'Unique Soul'. Your soul, your identity...," she gestured at him. "This is the only version of you that exists in the entire infinite multiverse." Rufus narrowed his eyes at her; he wanted to be in disbelief, but somehow he trusted every word she said. Other universes existing just seemed to make sense to him. "#35, La Estrella, you have the ability to channel stellar plasma through your hands, and to see the auras of other people," she said.
"But, you taught me the magic to do those...," he reminded her.
"I taught you in a way that harnesses your natural abilities; I showed you way more fire spells than anything else, didn't I?" she smirked.
"Oh.. yeah...," He nodded as he thought back to some of their sessions. Before he'd met her, he had his own ideas about how to make magic. And, he'd half-succeeded with some of his attempts. He tried to mold magical power inside himself, but Granny Maple taught him to pull it from somewhere else. He was never quite sure where, but all his fire spells began with him summoning fire from outside himself. "Okay, so you didn't tell me I'm a Unique Soul. But, you're telling me now, so what does that have to do with the card?"
"You have more to learn than I can teach," she smiled. "Your first duty is to learn how to use that 'Node'," she stressed the word communicate what it was. "Do the tutorial, then make an appointment with Mundo. They'll explain everything."
"And after that?" he asked. It was a habit at this point, he was used to asking her for guidance.
"Well, you're a man now," she smiled. "Infinite alternate universes exist, and it's time for you to go see the worlds."