It took Tyreceus several months to reach Methuselah. The Empire was large, the biggest theocratic federation in the 8th realm, and every ship he took simply landed him on another planet they controlled. He kept going, afraid that someone was following them.

He stopped shaving and grew out his hair so no one would see his distinct Ionadian ears. He spoke less so people would not hear his accent. He did not stop until he had finally reached Methuselah.

By the time he finally arrived, he was exhausted. Not by the trip, but by Acheus. He could now speak five words, and he liked to scream them often. He could walk, or more like stumble, and Tyreceus was nervous about what he would do once he could start running.

Tyreceus finally started to relax when he used the money Aeris had given him to buy a small house. On Methuselah, they guaranteed citizenship to anyone who bought some land. Tyreceus was quite proud of himself, as on Ionadis he could never own land, because of his race and status.

When he received a letter from the local government, they informed him that he could only be a permanent non-resident alien because he was from the Empire, and they were distrustful, stating that those trying to gather intelligence for the Empire would disguise themselves as normal citizens.

Tyreceus did not fight it. He was simply happy that he no longer had to keep running. But he was still paranoid. He would try his hardest to not be paranoid, even though Leofric assumed that the other baby had died, and he never thought anything of a slave that cleaned his home.

The first three years in Methuselah were quite hard for him. Tyreceus was lonely, because he was suspicious of everyone, and his only source of socialization was his son that simply spoke of things on a different intellectual level.

He soon started to realize that maybe they were in the clear, that everything would be fine. Over the next few years, he became less and less paranoid, telling himself that he did not need to bring the sword and watch everywhere with him.

He hid them in his house, and now people were more willing to approach a man who did not carry a weapon with him everywhere.

After nine years on Methuselah Tyreceus was a different man. He had a wife, and another son, and was a teacher. His wife Amara ran a hair salon. It was how they had met. He came in to take care of his long hair, and she commented that his ears were interesting, and touched them.

He yelped and she laughed, not knowing that they were sensitive, and they became close. After a few years, a marriage, and a son, Tyreceus was happy but still bitter. Sometimes he would think about the secrets Aeris hid from him.

He thought about how his father, whom he was told was his brother, was wrongfully framed, tried, and killed for a crime he never committed. At night the sword would whisper to him, that he should take his revenge.

They have taken many things from you, the sword whispered. Take it back.

Tyreceus wanted desperately to move on, but every day something reminded him of his old life.

One afternoon, his younger son, Aegean came to complain. He was five years old, and a very emotional child. Unlike Acheus who liked to run around and scream about anything, Aegean preferred to be by himself, and Tyreceus knew that his son was back to complain about the same things he complained about daily.

“Ace is mean,” he sniffled. “ He doesn’t want to play with me.”

Tyreceus stopped washing the dishes and went off to be the home peacekeeper until his wife returned. Ace was running around in the backyard with a stick, his old blanket on his back as a cape. He was a knight, and he was busy fighting an imaginary dragon.

“Come Invictus,” he yelled. “Let us slay this beast!”

Tyreceus flinched at the name, regretting ever uttering it from his mouth.

Many years ago, Ace had told him that his imaginary friend had no name. The first thing that came to Tyreceus’ mind was his original birth name. Now he wanted to punch himself in the face, because at the age of ten, for some reason his son still had an imaginary friend.

“He wants to play with Invictus,” Aegean whined. “But they always hit too hard!”

Tyreceus tried his hardest to pretend that he could not see Invictus, but sometimes he would slip up. His wife felt that he was encouraging him in an unhealthy way, but Tyreceus knew that his son was not immature for his age, nor was he pretending.

Invictus was very real. He ran around the backyard with Ace, with his little cape, and his tiny suit of armor.

Tyreceus came to believe that the ripped part of the cape was special just like the sword and the watch, and he marveled at how every year Invictus grew along with Ace as if he were a normal child.

The only person in the home who could not see or hear Invictus was Amara, and Tyreceus could not understand why. Invictus stopped running around and grinned at him.

“Hi Dad,” he shouted.

Tyreceus nervously nodded at Invictus, the two-for-one special child he had unknowingly obtained, and was thankful he didn’t eat the food in his house. Aegean began to whine again, asking why they couldn’t just color together, or at least do something that didn’t involve hitting each other with sticks.

“Let’s do something together,” Tyreceus offered.

They went inside and Tyreceus looked around inside his junk drawer in the kitchen and found a coupon.

“Mom’s coming home soon,” he said. “Let’s all go out for ice cream, okay?”

Immediately his son was no longer sulking, and instead, he pushed a chair over to the window and waited patiently for his mother to arrive.

Tyreceus smiled, and every day he became less angry and paranoid, his walls falling, now safe in his own home, with his children and his wife.

Aegean didn’t wait very long, and his mother soon arrived.

He wiggled in his chair, excited that his mother came home early that day. Amara was greeted by a hard hug, and Aegean gripped onto her leg, making a weird face and speaking fast about ice cream, sticks, and dragons.

Amara was used to the strange stories her sons would tell her daily and simply nodded and smiled, happy that her children had such an intense imagination. She kissed her husband on his hand, as customary on Methuselah, and sighed, tired after a long day of work.

“Where’s Ace,” she asked.

“Outside, with In-” Amara glared at him.

“What have I said about encouraging him,” she groaned. “He is so different for his age. Soon he will be going into his 2nd form. Will he still be playing with Invictus?”

Tyreceus knew the answer was yes, and worried about what extra problems that would bring.

“I have been thinking about how to deal with this for quite some time, and I think we should just throw out the blanket,” Amara said.

“No,” Tyreceus shouted. “You can’t do that!”

Amara was taken aback by his sudden outburst. She took off a rubber band from her wrist and put her long blue hair into a ponytail. She rubbed her husband’s back and tried to be understanding.

“I know you said you found him in it, but I think his obsession with it is well, strange.”

“I didn’t mean to yell,” he mumbled.

He tried to not fight in front of his children, and he told Aegean to wait upstairs. Aegean grumbled a few things about ice cream, and he went up to his room to draw in his coloring books.

“I think that would be too harsh is all,” Tyreceus said. “We can’t just take it away. He’ll become depressed.”

He also didn’t want to abandon poor Invictus, as he was a child as well.

“ Ace can’t take him everywhere,” Amara complained. “We finally made progress by getting him to leave it at home during school but he insists we take it with him everywhere! That's impossible!”

“I-I know,” Tyreceus replied. “I know, dear.”

Amara sighed in exasperation and moved the chair in the kitchen back over to the small dining table. She sat down, and Tyreceus sat next to her, wondering how he could explain that their son was not immature, but like all children, he wanted to be around his best friend.

“What if there was a way to keep the blanket and him together without it being a problem,” he asked.

“I don’t see that happening,” Amara said. “Soon it's not going to be cute anymore.”

Tyreceus wondered if he could take a piece of the blanket and turn it into something else. A hair tie or some kind of decoration. He wasn’t sure what he would do, but he was too soft-hearted to get rid of any child.

His wife was agitated, and she stared at him, waiting for a reply.

“I, I’ll take care of this,” he mumbled.

Tyreceus went outside and he scratched his brown hair, uncomfortable with what he had to do. “Ace,” he said. “Come here.”

Still holding the stick in his hand, Ace ran over to him.

“You have to leave Invictus at home from now on,” he told him. “I’m sorry.” Ace did not expect that and started to argue.

“Mom needs to stop being mean to him,” he hollered. “He didn’t do anything!”

“I’m sorry,” Tyreceus whispered. “Let’s just leave him at home until I can find out-”

“No,” Ace screamed. “No! You’re mean!”

Tyreceus tried to be patient, but Ace was very stubborn compared to Aegean, and he was always pushing him with screaming and tantrums. Tyreceus knew that his wife was right, that he had been spoiling his first son, but he never wanted to admit it.

“I never said you can’t have him,” Tyreceus explained. “You just have to leave him here.”

Invictus was crying, and he stared at the ground.

“It's okay,” Invictus cried. “I’m never coming back!” He disappeared in the blink of an eye, and Tyreceus was overcome with guilt.

“Oh no,” he whispered. “I-I didn’t mean-” Ace began to scream, blaming his father for everything.

“Ace stop,” he said. “We’re going out. You can talk to him when we get back.”

“I’m staying here,” Ace shouted.

“Ace, I’m not leaving you alone. The last time you were here alone you started a fire.” Ace glanced away and stopped screaming, unable to deny it. The mark from the fire was still on the kitchen ceiling, from when he attempted to cook spaghetti.

Tyreceus squatted down at eye level with his son and tried to cheer him up. “I’m trying to find a way that he can always be with you,” Tyreceus said. “So be patient for me, okay?” This seemed to be enough for Ace, and he nodded, still red in the face and angry.

Amara was pleased when she saw her son fold up his blanket and leave it on the kitchen counter. “He will be right here, near the door so he can greet us when he gets back,” Ace announced. Amara was relieved that her son would soon stop having strange fantasies and maybe make more real friends.

They all walked a few blocks away to the local ice cream shop, and Ace soon forgot about Invictus. He had a sweet tooth, and for a short while, everyone wasn’t arguing. It was impossible to argue with food in your mouth, the fun pop music over the speakers, and bright and colorful walls.

Aegean was no longer upset as well, and he was finally happy that he and his brother could do something together that didn’t involve hitting each other. They were at the ice cream shop longer than usual because the owner installed a prize crane near the front entrance, and much to Amara’s annoyance her husband spent a lot of money until he won twice.

She didn’t complain though after she saw the smiles on her kids' faces and tried to let it go.

When did I get so uptight, she wondered. Having children really changes you. He gets paid next week anyway.

They all left, the sun setting, and made the short ten-minute walk back home. Aegean and Ace were up ahead, running around and yelling. Ace had a plastic shark and Aegean had one as well. Tyreceus made sure to get the same thing, as he was tired of their constant bickering.

Tyreceus and Amara heard loud noises and looked up in the sky. They saw fighter planes zipping through the sky. “Is this a drill or something,” he wondered aloud.

“Why would it be out here,” she wondered. “The military base is three hours from here.”

He shrugged and they went along with their business. Amara took his hand, and Tyreceus’ heart began to race. He was embarrassed that seven years later he was still nervous around his wife.

Amara grinned, enjoying his flustered face as she loved to tease him. They started to flirt until they noticed their children had run off, far ahead. They walked faster until they were finally back in view.

They were in front of the house, and they groaned, just grateful they hadn’t run off to the park the last time they took their eyes off them. Aegean was pressing the doorbell rapidly, enjoying the noise it made while Ace laughed next to him.

“At least they aren’t fighting anymore,” Tyreceus said.

Amara laughed, but it was interrupted by a flash of light. Aegean stopped ringing the doorbell, and they all turned to look.

“Get inside,” Tyreceus screamed.

He had an iron grip on his wife’s hand as he shuffled in his pants for the house keys. A loud boom was heard as he found it, and debris went flying into the air. The roof of the house tore off, and large pieces of shattered buildings and landscapes crashed all around them.

The last thing Tyreceus heard was Aegean’s screams as he blacked out from the force of the blast.