Valerio looked up and saw a life-sized photo of all of his friends. The first was a selfie of Lucius, his carefree smile causing Valerio to tighten his fists.
The photo moved to the side and got slotted to the back of the stack. The next picture was… Aurora. Her stunning blue eyes and a cheery smile stared right into the camera, she was holding a hovering sphere that she was hugging.
The photo disappeared to the back of the stack, the next one was of Oliver, holding an obviously newly wrapped pan. The next photo was of Felix and Lux holding [World's Voice].
The images danced like living memories, shimmering with an iridescent quality that made them seem almost tangible, and Valerio stood at a standstill, watching memories his friends had left in front of him. The photos shone warm, bright lights onto Valerio's face, though the camera could not emit warmth; perhaps it was the memories themselves that made Valerio feel warmth. He didn't move the [Soul Camera], watching the photos flick through the stack for quite a while before a video popped up.
[---]
"Wait, are you already recording?" asked Aurora as she tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Yes, quick." Lucius chuckled.
"Ok ok," Aurora looked straight into the camera, "Hey Val, I hope you're seeing this after I've left Fluxara, then again, though I doubt you'll hit Tier 7 as fast as me." Aurora giggled a few times before composing herself again. "Anyway, happy birthday, Valerio Augustine." A warm smile appeared on her face.
"I hope you have a great birthday."
Valerio's emotions couldn't seem to decide between a chuckle or plain misery, 'So much for a great birthday.'
Though Valerio didn't have much time to feel out his emotions before the next video started.
[---]
Lucius held the camera in selfie mode, with the entire friend group in frame.
"Okay, 1, 2, 3." Everyone counted down.
"Happy birthday, Valerio! Woooooooo!" shouted the entire group, everyone holding colorful gifts of various sizes.
Lucius brought the camera close to his face, maybe a little too close.
Valerio couldn't help but smile a little as he watched Lucius's eyes dart across the screen and his nose cover up just about the entirety of the screen as he said the absolute minimum for a birthday message.
"See you Val."
The video faded the black, but before Valerio could gesture to replay it, the screen quickly reanimated itself, a new image flashing onto the screen as his parents came into focus
[---]
"Alright I'm recording."
"Happy birthday son," Maximus muttered while he was picking up food from the buffet.
"Happy birthday Val." smiled Isadora as she waved towards the camera and drove an elbow into Maximum, prompting him to drop the round delicacy in his hand, though it never hit the ground, levitating into Maximus's mouth as he waved at the camera.
The videos were finished.
Valerio stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the shifting photos and videos projected by the [Soul Camera], which were repeating now.
He had long gone through each photo, and yet he couldn't bring himself to separate his gaze from the photos. They kept looping one by one, Lucious, Aurora, Video with his friends, video with his parents, Lucious, Aurora, Video with his friends, video with his parents... He had long lost track of how many times he had seen each photo and video.
The silence in his soul was absolute, yet if one listened closely, one might catch the faint, random sound of water droplets falling into the azure sea below. The droplets seemed to echo softly, their delicate impacts resonating through the stillness, creating a quiet yet strangely sombre atmosphere.
Though no matter how many times his emotions wanted to spiral out of control, no matter how many times he clenched his fists or bit his lips, he didn't lose composure. His face was calm with a slight smile; the only imperfection was the slight trail of tears from one of his eyes to his chin.
The tenth loop of memories came to an end, but the sound of dripping water continued, random and quiet, as though the soul sea itself was mourning. After the 20th loop, the holographic images flickered and dissolved into the void, leaving Valerio alone with his thoughts and the suffocating silence that remained..
Time seemed to stretch and lose meaning. It could have been minutes or hours before Valerio finally moved. He carefully placed the [Soul Camera] back down on the lily pad, its shimmering surface reflecting the faint azure glow of the sea below.
His eyes, once distant and unfocused, now sharpened with clarity.
He had already promised.
This would be his turning point.
From here on out, he'd be stronger.
He'd be better.
Valerio stared at the camera for a little longer, his thoughts in an impossible state of clarity and disarray simultaneously, and though he wasn't quite sure about his feelings, he knew enough.
Did he know who he was? No.
Did it matter? Maybe.
Did that worry him and almost throw him into a panic? Maybe so.
But did it ultimately matter?
No.
Because he knew who he wanted to be.
He had thought himself to be strong, yet what did that amount to? He was crying in his own soul pathetically as the life and death of his loved ones remained uncertain.
Valerio smiled as a certain memory replayed in his mind.
"The problem is never who you are Valerio, it's what you'll make of yourself from that moment onwards that matters. For you at least." Maximus laughed.
"I could send myself a message back in time if I really wanted. Listen, all you can do from the present is to focus on the future and to learn from the past, and remember. It is not our thoughts that define us, but our actions. If you are not who you wish to be, then start acting as if you were. If you respect your own goal and if you show persistence, eventually, somewhere along the road, you'll have become the person you once wished to be, without even realising."
"..." He hadn't replied then; he was too small to understand what he'd meant.
"Thanks dad," the words came out in a whisper.
Valerio finally looked away from the camera and started walking around.
He'd listen to his dad and act.
After a few minutes of not finding anything and trying to clear his mind, he peeked over the edge of the lily pad, gazing into the deep azure sea.
Underneath the sea was a massive sigil.
A circle with a cross inside that penetrated the boundaries of the circle by a tad, the inside of the circle had small circles on each side of the cross. The longer Valerio stared at the circles, the more it felt like they were rotating. The sigil almost seemed to pulse with power as the sigil lines slowly became brighter and dimmer, in a slow loop.
'[Shifter's Mark] huh. Dad did say it'd move into my soul sea at the seventh tier.'
Valerio felt a strong link to the sigil; he felt he could deactivate it anytime, though he knew he'd be stuck in a half-shift state if he did.
After looking at everything he'd wanted, Valerio left his soul sea and directed his Spiritual Lu towards his finger, excitedly delving into his void ring for the first time.