The Ace

The boy fell back at the lack of pain, this aspect of reality shocking him back into a prone position over his bed. He closed his eyes at the exhausting of his emotional rollercoaster and remembered. He had had a dream, or at least what he thought was one. In this dream, a white shadow (yes, a white shadow, he had no other way of explaining it), spoke to him:

"Hello Ace", and although Ace was unable to see his face, the boy imagined the creature smiled.

"Who are you?", Ace asked, it was not the first time he had had a lucid dream, but they usually contained less dialogue and more burning alive.

"I am the One, the One that Heals, the One that Grants, the One that Helps."

"And you are here because?" Ace replied, his voice measured yet full of scorn, he had no time for this, he simply wanted to get away from the dream and back to the peace the darkness brought.

"I thought you would assume that being smart and all, but well, since you ask, I am here to help, I have decided you have suffered enough, it is time for the world to pay back the debt it owes you."

"Ok, sooooo?", Ace inquired, full of impatience

"So I have devised a way to help you", the creature answered, as if it was a forgone conclusion

"In what manner will you do so, sir?", at this point, Ace had realised that this was an existence he could not afford to offend, it was a feeling he had only felt a few times, but there was only one person that was even close to the pressure he felt from the shadow…

"Well, as I said, I have a way, I will first the pain, and then, I will make you better"

"In what way sir?" Ace asked full of respect

"Well, I think that I will first stimulate the regeneration of your cells and muscles, to make up for the atrophy you would most likely suffer otherwise, then, I will make you smarter, much smarter than anyone you have ever met, but I will not only boost your Iq, I will also boost your EQ to unprecedented levels. And since I am at it, I may as well stimulate your overall growth, including your bone and organ development." The shadow said with finality, as he spoke, the shadow became quieter, until it was merely a whisper, and it seemed to nod at itself, as if it had to agree with the things it said.

"And how long will these…. Boosts last for?" Ace enquired, now a full believer [A/N: The power of hope]

"Well I suppose it will depend, the intelligence I suppose you could keep forever, but we wouldn't want you growing non-stop now would be?"

At this, Ace nodded gravely, as if inspired by these words of wisdom, "And what will you have me do?"

"Well, I simply want you to enjoy your life, entertain me…"