I admit, perhaps an entire day of being a hero was an exaggeration.

The crowd of rowdy party-goers was cheering for us as the children and their mothers came
over to thank us. The tale of our heroism was not lost on them as the children mentioned snakes and
ghosts. I could understand why medieval knights take vows, train with swords, and throw themselves
into danger. We were being celebrated by crowds of people in moon and torchlight. If we had been
charismatic and opportunistic, perhaps we could have drunk ye olde ale, bedded some wenches, and
woke up to our charmed lives on Earth. We, of course, had other plans for our night. We didnt need
happy endings or physical recognition from Auroron. Our only intention was to treat that world as a
blank canvas. The people were fictional, the politics were incidental, and our anxieties were a
distraction. We were feeling fatigued from our day of travel and excitement in the mansion, but we
were prepared to go all-in with our energy on our consultation of the art in Molkento.

Well, Jack, we dont want to disappoint our audience, do we? I annunciated.

He looked at me and gave me a dramatic nod.

No, Evan. The show must go on!

I began clapping as I took a step forward. Joe followed suit, trying to get close to them. They
backed up, listening.

Joe, will you let them know who we are?

We are the Wily Walkers! He shouted with a visceral rattling from his throat.

That wasnt our name. That wasnt how we rehearsed our introduction. He gave away that we
were astral walkers as well. I was embarrassed and annoyed, but I kept my composure.

Thats right! The Wily Walkers are here to improve your art!

Build us a statue!
Plant more flowers!

Sing us a song!

The fools had no idea what we were planning. We had plenty of spray paint left. With mischief
in our hearts, we led the crowd over to the gate a few steps back. The guards were preoccupied with the
people as we began to expend our rage. Joe and I fist bumped each other as we began shaking our cans.
With one last adieu to the goodwill of Molkento and the feeling of heroism, we began spraying out the
divisive, noxious vitriol out of the cans. The paint showed up even if it was dark outside because the two
moons provided enough light to see the black and blue paint.

A guard took notice of us past the crowd.

What are you kids doing?! He hollered.

He came running up to us alone. From our incident in Tenthalia, we knew it would take more
than one guard to hinder us.

You missed a spot over here! I joked. He had his shoulders up as he came darting towards us.

We managed to trace the outline of the wall above the gate from one side to the other. The
guard put his hand on my shoulder. He squeezed with considerable force.

Youre going to explain yourself immediately! He menaced right in my face.

Get your dirty hands off me you buffoon! Weve been commissioned to do this!

He raised his eyebrow.

Then show me the contract.

I will if you get your hand off me.

He obliged. The power trip went to my head. I had no reason to lie, I just wanted to cause more
discord. I reached back into my pocket and used the strongest of my abilities: I vanished. The guard had
a look of shock on his face. I jumped into the same spot he was standing and proceeded to draw a circle
of paint around him. As he shrieked in surprise, the townspeople took notice of what was happening.
The crowd went silent to look.

Meet you at the fountain, Joe! I clamored.

He vanished right as the guard began to look at him. I looked back to see guards come down the
stairs from the top of the wall. Joes spray paint was nearby, splattering around him on the floor, and
writing a message as guards ran right by him. His message in the gravel road read, Enter here if you
failed to catch the astral walkers. He also drew an arrow going up the stairs. His devious trick worked as
every guard that ran down completely ignored the message. When we would have gotten away with our
plan, the message was sure to prod their egos and pucker their buttholes.

I spray painted the bottom of my soles and began to walk quickly through town. I had to respray
my shoes every few steps and it turned out to be an ineffective strategy. I assumed guards would be
nipping at my toes, but the problem was more so in the delivery of paint from the bottom of my feet.
My transparent existence easily maneuvered through a crowd of people that was going one way or the
other. I wanted bells to go off and cause chaos in the town. I wanted to be a terror. I stopped feeling
anxious or nervous, as I walked through the crowd, I felt zen-like. Even if this was the third time I had
vandalized property, and the second time I had done it in front of people, I felt familiar with the
landscape. I felt proficient at what I was doing.

I made it to the fountain and I found Joe Jacks had made it first. He was trying to find a pose that
looked aloof, as if he was waiting for me to arrive for a long time.

You dont look cool, youre a fool. I chided.

At least Im not slow, Evan.

Shut up and get to it.

 We shared a laugh and began to paint the sides of the fountain. We asked the children who
were running by and playing in the fountain to move and they didnt think much of it they kept
frolicking elsewhere. Joe was almost done with the second tier as I painted the outside when the guards
finally caught up to us. Some adults and elders were groaning at what we were doing. Most of the crowd
didnt seem to register that what we were doing had some sort of lasting impact.

Im hardly surprised, degenerates! A guard called out.

I disappeared immediately, Joe took a second to respond as he finished his ring around the
fountain. Captain Faulkner from Tenthalia was once again heading a pack of guards in Molkento. He had
his katana in tow, but he probably wouldnt swing it around in the middle of a crowd.

It wouldnt be a show without my wonderful supporting cast! Joe spoke to the crowd.

The crowd began laughing at the guards expense. He didnt look over to them, but began
charging at Joe who was inside of the fountain. I could see ripples in the water as Joe calmly waddled
out of the water. Faulkner splashed in a failed attempt to catch Joe and recoiled with a scowl on his face.
I was waving and taunting at the guards from in front of a crowd on the far side of the fountain from the
festival food. He began marching over to me, but somebody caught an arm around my neck. A helpful
citizen from the crowd was trying to assist the guards. I wouldnt have it though, I vanished and ran into
people in an elbow-to-elbow crowd. I began running through people, past the painted fountain, and
towards the castle at the north side of town.

I had full trust that I would meet up with Joe at the same place. As I glitched through people, my
vision felt distorted by the rapidly changing faces and clothes. The most surreal part of Auroron was
gliding through crowds without making contact with them. I felt as if I were in a magical competition. My
throat felt a robust surge of exertion and a metallic taste began to appear in my mouth. My legs burned.
I felt anxious because I hoped for Joe to have followed me to the castle.

He hadnt, however. Joe had taken to the rooftops. He had the opposite plan from me. Past the
communal eatery, the marketplace had a second tier of buildings on the rooftops of the ground level.
Joe strolled past empty shops and a sparser selection of people. He looked back to see no guards or
stirring from the crowd. Ironically, while being chased by weapon-wielding, magic-slinging guards, Joe
felt safer than he had in months. A moment of reprieve from the large crowd and the danger associated
with it gave him more relief than the weeks of deadening silence from within his room. The irony
stemmed from the peace that Joe was trying to find by shaking the guards was like the peace that
allowed him to sit quietly in a room surfing the Internet and craft visual arts.
 After checking and double checking that the guards hadnt found him yet, he returned himself
to visibility to casually walk into an alleyway. Two grizzled and gray men were drunkenly telling jokes
and laughing with abandon.

You looking for trinkets to steal, lad? One grumbled.

N-no, I just-

Dont let him get to you, youngin. We aint the police. Use the balconies to jack off for all we care!
The other smiled in a feigned moment of clarity.

Joe took to the rope and board ladder to climb up to the balconies of Molkento. It swung as the
grumbling old man shook it with a hardly laugh.

Hurry up, you bookish lad!

Joe managed to hang on until he climbed to the top. At a glance, the balconies had stalls
covered by mesh metal nets, white wooden floors, and improvisational architecture. Rounded ceiling
tops were interspersed with planks and bridges connecting them. Sometimes balconies would have a
flat surface of wood above them, other times they wouldnt. Some bridges had nets on them, others had
nothing. As children ran by, Joe let his nerves get to him and he disappeared as they passed him. One
looked back to see Joe, but became confused when he had disappeared. The other child laughed at him
and beckoned him to continue playing.

Right outside of a flower shop, two young adults had become romantically involved with one
another. They were strewn out on the ground and kissing passionately. Small moans came from both as
they fought their need for breath with their desire for embrace. Joe walked passed them and had made
a squeaking noise as he crossed a plank on a bridge. He looked back apologetically and saw that neither
of them had flinched. Their image festered in his mind. They had yet to undress, but their happiness and
belonging gnawed at him. He became anxious and angry. He wanted to yell out, but decided against it.
He had an ace up his sleeve. He found a bridge that had high walls of wood and no ceiling. He shook up
his can and began to write in bubble letters. He spelt out DECAY OF ART. He put detail into line that
made the words appear as actual bubbles. His vandalism was akin to calligraphy with the care he took
about writing. His anger turned to laughter as the smell of paint encompassed him.
What does it say? A feminine voice giggled.

Decade art! Her partner replied.

The two visibly drunk, would-be lovers had snuck up behind Joe. He jumped with fright as he
noticed them. He had a chip on his shoulder as he gained his composure.

You should move along before you get hurt. He growled.

I could take you on, wimpy shithead. The man retaliated.

I didnt come here for you two, just let me do my art.

Who paid him to do art? The girl puzzled.

We annoy you, dont we?

Yes.

Why? He challenged.

No reason.

Why?! He pressed.

Its too late to get the girl I like. Joe conceded.

Thats bullshit! The girl exploded. You know that excuse bullshit.
Im an astral walker, my friend and I cause trouble here, we arent a part of this world.

People from Tenthalia live a couple hours out and they tell us they dont belong in Molkento, we
should all belong here.

Just shut up and go fuck somewhere else! Joe shouted with a red face.

Both smiled and kissed. Joes eyes had begun to water.

What if I told you that the two of us met tonight? The girl inquired.

Joe remined silent.

We met under this same moon a while back. The guy corrected her.

I dont care about you guys or your lies! Joe screamed.

Joe felt a wash of shame over the last 23 years as he realized his lack of capacity for mature
conversation about male-female relationships.

Keep crying. The girl instructed. If you couldnt tell the difference between short term passion and
long-term relationships, then all you have left to go on is your feelings. Dont deny them! If you keep
exploring, then youll keep feeling, if you keep feeling, then youll find what youre looking for.

Feeling is all you have in this world; your mind is a trap. The guy added.

Youll be fine, just keep growing and never look back! The girl smiled.

The two walked off with arms around each other. Joe was taken back by the lack of animosity
about his freak out. Since he had met Kealii, only Faulkner and his goons had a bad word to say about
him and me. Being uncomfortable about sex seemed to be taboo on Earth, but on Auroron, a couple
used it as an opportunity to connect with someone without even touching them!

Meanwhile, an unsatisfying thud greeted me.

By all that good and scared in our world and yours, stop! A guard pleaded with me.

I had found some chain as I was running into the courtyard. Maybe the encounter with the giant
snake left me a little edgy. Maybe I was drowning in adrenaline. I had used the chain to topple one of
the two sculptures in the castle courtyard. Unfortunately, it hit grass and, even though it broke, it didnt
sound like porcelain plates breaking. Nonetheless, I was a revolutionary without a cause! I was
disappointed only by the lack of destruction and it made me feel free. The intimate details of bear fur,
paws, and teeth were strewn and lost in the grass. The other statue was a depiction of an ox. I tried
painting over it to little avail. The ox was simply colored black with paint dripping down. It was
vandalized, sure, but I hadnt enhanced it, there was no racing stripe, no initials, no colors, just paint
dripping off it.

The courtyard was as large as the town center with the fountain. I left an arrow with a dotted
tail up to show that I was going up the stairs, north of the city. I drew some boobs in the grass and
signed them with my initials, EI. I was going to draw more, but my paint can was starting to feel light. I
left some circles of paint in the grass where guards were standing. There were slashes into the dirt
where Faulkner was swinging his Katana. I would occasionally reveal myself and taunt the guards I
mooned him once. He was screaming and foaming at the mouth in rage. Every second word was
degenerate or a curse.

I was satisfied with my game. The light from two moons was enough to illuminate his face to the
point where I could make out the new stress lines that I had created in his forehead. Two guards were
waiting by the stairs as I began making my descent. I painted my shoes with paint to let them know that
I had my fun. Feeling proud, I put my hands on the back of my head and began strolling away from the
scene laughing. The guards were following my footsteps. They slowly got closer and closer to me. It
made my heart beat fast, but I assured myself that I was invisible.

I felt resistance. I saw a net overcome my vision it didnt fall through me. I tried to pull it off
me, but to no avail. I tried to remain calm at first, maybe they could see the net, but they couldnt lay a
hand on me. Then I felt a guard on each side grip my wrists. I was startled, so I thought about waking up,
but I felt weak. I felt a small current of electricity disabling my ability to move or cry out.
Oh, Faulkners a dumbass, Faulkners incompetent, Faulkners impotent! He cant get me! The captain
mocked me as he walked over.

He was clapping his hands together as I had done earlier in front of an audience.

Give me a break, kid! What kind of fantasy book do you think this is? Do you think your fate is written
in the stars?

The kind of book with an uncreative kings guard.

I was forced into visibility and he grabbed at my chin. He put his face incredibly close to mine
and kept the same scowl he had in the courtyard. My lucid dream world was turning into a nightmare. I
felt like I lacked the lucidity to simply wake up without some sort of jolt to the system.

That was an uninspired response, walker. Still, and Im being honest here, Im afraid your fate is written
in the stars. Thats why were going to take you into that castle and cut your astral ties. You will be
severed from your fate, however insignificant it may be.

I managed to let out a yell. As they began dragging me off, I heard a yell.

Evan!

Joe had to begin a pursuit of the guards.