The Sovereign's Curse

---

Xander walked into his room, every step heavier than the last, his mind swirling with the rollercoaster of emotions he'd just experienced. He collapsed onto his bed, pulling the strange sphere from his pocket. Holding it up, he stared at it intently, the faint glow reflecting in his tired eyes.

"What even are you?" he muttered under his breath before letting out a sigh. His grip loosened as exhaustion took over, and the sphere rested in his hand as sleep claimed him.

---

When he woke, disoriented and groggy, he blinked a few times, trying to piece together where he was. He sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair as fragments of the day came rushing back to him. The hidden workshop. The strange sphere. The glowing red eyes of the creature. And, strangest of all, his father's sudden kindness.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips. "That has to rank pretty high on my list of weird dreams." He rubbed the back of his neck, still trying to shake off the haze. "Kinda wish that glowing thing was real, though."

Glancing at his neural HUD, the time flashed in the corner of his vision—3:27 PM. His brow furrowed. "Man, how long was I out?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes groggily.

"Ten hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty-three seconds," a voice calmly responded from his left.

Xander froze mid-motion, his breath hitching. That voice—it was familiar. Slowly, he turned his head toward the sound, his eyes widening as he spotted the sphere. It was floating in the air, just an arm's length away from his face, its faint glow now more pronounced.

His first instinct was panic. "What the—!" he yelped, scrambling backward. In his haste, he misjudged the edge of the bed, landing hard on the floor with a thud. "Ouch," he groaned, wincing as he rubbed his hip.

"Well, that was dramatic. Didn't realize my presence would be that overwhelming. Should I give you a moment to collect what's left of your composure?" the sphere said, hovering closer, lowering itself to just fifteen inches from his face as he lay sprawled on the floor.

Xander blinked rapidly, his hand trembling slightly. "This can't be real," he whispered, half to himself. "Floating spheres don't just... talk."

Aeternis hovered closer. "And yet, here I am."

"I'm losing my mind," Xander muttered, pressing his fingers against his temples. "Definitely losing my mind."

"You're real," Xander said, his voice a mix of awe and disbelief. He propped himself up on one elbow, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Yes, Xander I am," the device replied, its tone steady.

Xander blinked, his mouth slightly agape. "Okay… what are you?" he asked, his voice laced with both curiosity and caution.

"I am Aeternis," the device stated simply, its glow pulsing faintly in rhythm with its words.

"Aeternis?" Xander asked, still wincing from the pain.

He stared at it, his mind racing. "I have so many questions," he blurted, barely taking a breath before rattling off, "What's your purpose? How are you hovering like that? How did you end up in that hidden workshop? Did my parents create you?"

Aeternis hovered in silence for a beat, its glow dimming as if processing his rapid-fire interrogation. Finally, it replied, "Alright, slow down, Sherlock. Let's tackle one at a time. Hovering... let's just say gravity is more of a suggestion than a rule."

"That's not an answer," Xander said, pushing himself to his feet and brushing off his pants.

"Correct," Aeternis chirped. "Would you prefer a complicated technical explanation or an honest 'I don't fully know'?"

Xander raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

"Not everything. I do not know who created me," Aeternis said flatly.

Xander raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me you just... exist?"

"Pretty much," the sphere quipped. "Welcome to my mysterious life."

Xander picked up the sphere, holding it carefully in his hand. Its surface was impossibly smooth, the faint lines of circuitry barely visible beneath the glow. "One of a kind, huh? How long were you inactive down there in that workshop?"

"Two years, three months, and fifteen days since my last activation," Aeternis replied. "Why I was there? That's unclear. For some reason, my memory seems to be incomplete. I've also been trying to access my abilities while you were asleep but with no luck."

Before Xander could press further, his phone buzzed on the bedside table. He glanced at it, his sister's name flashing on the screen with a text:

"Hey. Dad's been asking about you. Are you okay?"

He picked up the phone, rereading the message. The memory of his father's unexpected kindness from earlier flooded back. So that wasn't a dream either.

Another buzz.

"Dad's acting weird. He keeps asking what you've been up to. Call me."

Xander sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He tapped the call button, and Elaine answered almost immediately.

"Xander?" Her voice was tinged with concern.

"Hey, sis." He leaned back against the bedframe, the sphere still glowing faintly in his lap.

"Hi. How are you?"

"Fine. Wanna tell me why Dad's suddenly so interested in what I've been up to?" Xander asked, trying to sound lighthearted.

"I was hoping you'd tell me. What did you do?"

"Nothing... nothing that should warrant this kind of attention," Xander said, a touch defensively. "But I need to talk to you. In person."

Elaine paused. "Xander? You're scaring me now. What's going on?"

"I'll explain when I see you," Xander said firmly.

"Alright, but I'll be busy for the rest of the day. Later?"

"I'll come to you," he insisted, his tone leaving no room for argument. "It's important, Elaine," he added.

Elaine sighed. "Must be serious if you're willing to come all the way here. Alright, I'll see you soon."

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever." He replied ending the call.

After a brief silence, Aeternis started hovering again.

"So you're going to tell your sister about me?"

"Yes... You can't access your memories and abilities."

He stared at Aeternis, as it hovered towards the window, the weight of its mysterious origins pressing down on him. The hidden workshop, the unexplained sphere, his father's strange behavior—too many threads were unraveling. Elaine always saw things differently, noticed details he missed. If anyone could help make sense of this, it would be her.

"I need another perspective," Xander muttered to himself. "And Elaine's the best at connecting dots."

"Looks like you've made up your mind," Aeternis said.

"Well, I need answers, and I won't find them trapped in these four walls," Xander declared. "I can be persistent—I always try to get my affairs in order."

"Fascinating," Aeternis quipped, spinning to face him. "Maybe you could start with the affairs of this room. The state of it could use your legendary persistence. It's the cluttered reflection of your mind."

Xander's room was indeed a mess. Clothes were tossed across the floor, books and papers piled up in no particular order on the desk. The bed was tangled in blankets, and the air felt thick with neglect. Personal items—photos, mementos—were scattered, almost forgotten, as if pushed aside in favor of more pressing distractions.

A moment of silence followed with Xander still sitting on the edge of his bed, looking around his room. He felt embarrassed at how unorganized it was.

"Right. I should do something about that," Xander said finally.

"Best get to it then," Aeternis teased.

---

About an hour later, Xander was standing in the middle of his room, hands on his hips and a proud smile on his face. He had cleaned up the mess and even taken a shower because Aeternis wouldn't stop teasing him about it.

"All done. We should go now," Xander said, reaching out to Aeternis. The device buzzed softly as it landed on his palm.

---

Xander sat in the plush leather seat of his sleek, silver-black car, the low hum of the engine barely noticeable as it glided effortlessly through the city streets. Outside, the world was a blur of chrome and glass, shining under the artificial light of towering skyscrapers.

At last, the Hawthorne Tower appeared ahead, its sheer presence overwhelming the surrounding skyline.

"You've been awfully quiet," Xander muttered to Aeternis, trying to ignore the unease that had been building since he left the mansion.

Before it could respond, the streetlights ahead flickered, plunging the road into patches of eerie darkness.

"Slow down. Something's wrong," Aeternis flared to life, its glow bright and its voice urgent.

Xander's grip tightened on the wheel, his eyes scanning the road. A chill ran down his spine as his headlights caught the faint outline of a figure standing perfectly still in the middle of the street.

The figure stood motionless—no, not just motionless, but impossibly still. Like a glitch in reality, perfectly formed yet somehow not quite solid. When the streetlights flickered, the figure seemed to dissolve and reform, its edges blurring like smoke.

Xander's breath caught in his throat. Not fear. Something closer to recognition.

He swerved to avoid them, the car's engines whining as it skidded sideways before coming to a trembling stop.

Heart racing, Xander whipped his head around to the road.

The figure was gone.

"Did you see that?" he whispered to Aeternis. Aeternis chimed again, this time softer, almost trembling.

"Someone is watching you."