《THE FALLEN ONE》


 1 Prologue

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    At the moment of enlightenment, the boy named Hei Long was struck by a sudden cold, hard truth--his father, family, and friends would no longer rise from their graves, which he had erected himself. Filled with regret, longing, and hatred, the young boy decided to set forth for an adventure to gain power so strong that he wouldn''t be able to feel despair, and sorrow ever again. But luck was not on his side, and days had already passed, and yet he was still searching for something that can grant him limitless power. If "it" even exist in the first place, he didn''t doubt it... Days had turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months to years. So many years had passed he''d already lost the track of time. When he was at the last line of his flicking life, he suddenly realized that his wishes wouldn''t come true-despair, rage, and helplessness overcame him. But then an old hunchback with a black cane on his hand approached him, and he stared down with his blood-red eyes at the man who was kneeling in the vast prairie.


    "How much is your soul, boy?" He asked.


    At that moment, hope was brought forth. The man''s eyes lit up, he said, "Devil?"


    It was then that the wheel of fate took a new turn¡ªaltering everything in order to make a new ending!@@

 2 Death

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    There was a small village within a forest called Peach Evergreen, and in that place lived a boy named Hei Long. At a young age, he had already known a lot of things¡ªthat a normal kid couldn''t possibly imagine possible. His father started to train him every single day and night for him to become the most influential man in the village, and the neighboring communities, which he didn''t even get.


    However, as a child, Hei Long had always questioned the necessity of the training he''d received from his great father. "Why do I have to this, Father?" Only to receive the same answer¡ª"You will know when the time comes"?¡ªover and over again. How he wished to play, and live a life like a normal kid in the village instead of training every single time. Having spent all energy he has, Hei Long snuck out of his room, went to the forest, slept in the most beautiful, and biggest tree, which was his most favorite spot in the wilderness.


    But one day, the small village that he loved the most was struck by a calamity. Bandits had pillaged the whole village he had always cherished ever since he was a child. Everything he had was lost in a single night''s raid, everything he thought he wouldn''t lose, vanished in a single day¡ªhis father, mother, friends, and family, buried in the sea of time!


    By the time he woke up and came back to his home, the only thing that he could see, through his own green eyes, was a black world¡ªDespair!@@

 3 Encounter

    In the middle of a restless night, within a little courtyard, a handsome, young man stood like magnificent spear buried in the land. With his eyes closed, he faced his face at the starry sky above him. The night was unlike any other, the moon was brimming with red light¡ªit was as if death was on its way. And just by looking at it, can make anyone tremble with great fear.


    The boy gradually opened his wistful eyes, and locked it at the starry sky. If anyone could see his eyes at that very moment, they would think that it was just simply beautiful, so beautiful it would take their breath away. His left eye was brimming with red light like the bloody moon above¡ªand the other one was dim green, as though life itself was getting weaker and weaker every second that passes by.


    "Why did you leave me behind in this ruthless, unforgiving place," he punched the ground.


    --Boom! The earth trembled as he kept on pounding the ground.


    "... t-this hell why does it exist, and why do I have to suffer!"


    His gaze, livid and wild as his red eye, looked at his trembling hands.


    He said, "I-I became a fiend, a monster... a devil! These hands of mine were soaked in the blood of my enemies." A drop of tear fell as he stared at his trembling scarred hands. "I didn''t want to kill them, but I have too in the name of revenge and to quell my raging heart. But was it right? Tell me! They also have their families and friends!" He let out a bellow,"Agghhh! Gods, tell me was I wrong in killing them, the killers of my family and the innocent!?" He screamed again and again, rampaged around the place but no one answered his calls.


    Hours had passed, but the blood moon was still there.


    He fell to the ground, panting, "D-dad, mom..."


    The wind whistled as it brushed against his hair. Exhaustion overcame him after letting out a long rampaged, so he slowly closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep.


    ...


    At a certain vast plain, where blood was splattered everywhere and mangled corpses could be seen littering around the battlefield. A young man bathed in blood stood at the center of the battlefield, filled with corpses, and gore.


    "How many years has it been?" he asked with anguish.


    Having fought into a thousand battles against several groups of bandits and criminals for roughly four years after his parents, and family were massacred. For four years of fighting against the villains and tyranny of the strong, Hei Long didn''t care even the slightest bit whether they were the small groups or the big groups of bandits. Determined to end them all, he would ravaged his brain to find a way to fight, and kill those he deemed "beyond-redemption" with everything he had in his arsenal¡ªyou name it, he had it: poison, traps, and mainly using the beasts of the wilds to exterminate criminals, were his favorite things¡ªat least, the only thing he''d done in the past few years¡ªto do when he does not rest, that was his life, his relief from grief is what he called it, a routine that was repeated for over, and over again. If you''d asked him questions like what do you normally eat? He would probably answer you with the "Mmm, bandits, criminals I guess"?


    Four years, Boy, someone said.


    ...


    A few years later, after avenging his family, Hei Long was already 16 years old. Hei Long had killed the killers of his family, he''d killed all those bandits which had once feasted upon his village. However, unfortunate things happened in the moment of a fight. While he struggled, and fought with his enemies in their camps, he got stabbed in the back by a knife covered with poison. And the one who stabbed him was the leader himself. His name was unknown to him, but his title had been quite notorious in the city. It was he who massacred Hei family; it was also the man who was bound to be killed by Heilong ¡ª The Great Pillager.


    "You''ve almost killed us all, but remember this! I will bring you down with us, and we will have a reunion in hell!" The man laughed hysterically, and later on, he died while staring at the blood-soaked Hei Long.


    "Then in hell we shall meet, my friend, in hell we shall," said Hei Long while letting out a grin.


    the surrounding areas were covered with lush plants and trees


    ...


    After killing the bandits, Hei Long unhurriedly came back to the place where his parents laid rest. He sat on a big mountain rock near the gigantic trees, the lush, green plants and trees covered the surrounding areas making it a mesmerizing place, and right in front of Hei Long stood a Great Tree, which was standing hundreds meters tall. This is the place where his parents and his people were buried.


    "Father, mother, I have finally avenged you all ¡ª you can now rest in peace..."


    When he''d tried to stand up on the rock, he staggered and struggled to maintain his balance, pungent pus also dripped as he stood. He strolled his way towards the Great Tree of the mountain, and althought he was in great pain, he still smiled along the way. When he arrivedat front Peachtree; he took a long stare at it, and paid his respect.


    "You had once protected me. I''m very grateful for what you''ve done, yet, I''m also resentful for what you''ve done. I think I''m about to pay a visit to my family... I want to request something from you O'' Great Tree... I want to die and buried here, with my family. Can you do that for me?"


    The tree showed no sign of answering his request; it only stood there without moving,


    Without waiting for the tree''s reply, he bowed his head toward the graves.


    "I have lived in this world like a prisoner being tortured by the passing of time. And every time I slept, I''d always remember Dad''s lessons¡ª about the sword, and everything else. In the end, I wasn''t able to love someone again. I-I was afraid to lose something again; I wasn''t strong enough to protect those who are in need of my protection. I wasn''t ready to take the family''s responsibility at that time, dad. I am sorry. But, can all you forgive me for what I have done, and let me rest in peace here?"


    "..."


    His face was white as a sheet of paper, the light of his eyes was slowly losing its brimming brilliance , his black hair unhurriedly turned white, his youthful face aged bit by bit ¡ª he was dying. Dying at an unhurried pace; his eyes leisurely became lifeless.


    "The day that all of you died, was also the day, your son died... Demons consumed my soul for revenge that I desired; the powers I got was in exchanged for my soul ¡ªyour child''s soul." He started to cry his eyes out, his left crimson eye that had always shined the brightest was slowly losing it red tint: changing from crimson-red to golden-white -- it was breathtaking to behold. He said, "I-I''m tired..." He fell to the ground.


    Light wind caressed his head as he quietly went to sleep.


    But in the nick of time, the leaves that was swaying around stopped moving¡ªtime seemed to stop¡ª then, a verdant green light gradually covered Hei Long who was asleep on the ground soundlessly with a slight golden touch on it. After a few moments, the light eventually dispersed as well as the body of Hei Long.


    The tree, which Hei Long had always respected, cherish, and loved, swayed its branches back and forth as though it was saying it long, sad, good-bye. The Great Tree''s branches and leaves withered non-stop. After a few days, the leaves and branches of the Great Tree withered to the very root itself ¡ª it was dead.

 4 Purpose

    In a dark, cold cave in which even the light of the day struggled to reach, a young man appeared out of nowhere. The man''s eyes were unusually eye-catching with those two-different colors made a quite odd combination: Left golden-white eye which could probably devour anyone that would block its way, and his right green eye which almost transpired nature itself was just as beautiful as the other one, the Golden-white eye.


    "Where am I?" Hei Long asked his surrounding with expectant eyes present in his eyes. "Is this hell, or heaven?"


    Before anyone could even answer his questions, the dark, cave that he was currently resting in, shuddered.


    "In god''s name, is it going to collapse?" Hei Long frantically turned his head left and right. If anyone could see the world through his eyes, they probably wouldn''t believe that they can see the tiny crooked places inside the cave, it was as if a cave so dark itself, was as clear as day in Hei Long''s eyes. The eyes that could see even in the darkest of place in "any" world were one of his most outstanding abilities. He acquired this skill when one of his enemies made him blind after a fight. The Great Tree was distressed to see that he became blind at such a young age, so it healed Hei Long when he was still recuperating. By the time he woke up from his long slumber, his brown eyes, turned crimson in color, while the other set green. He didn''t know, that every time he got wounded or ill, the Great Tree would sacrifice great thing¡ªits life-force¡ªto heal and nourish him, but while doing that. The Great Tree itself did not know that Hei Long''s body was changing over time; he became stronger and smarter, ''what doesn''t kill you makes you stronger!'' was Hei Long''s favorite phrase. Sadly, he didn''t know that every time ''The Great Tree'' helped him, it would also kill its own-self¡ª It''s love when a person who helped you, and doesn''t expect something in return.


    He only sat on the ground, even when everything seems to be chaotic, it as if everything was normal for him. "What am I getting flustered? If I''m dead, what''s worse that could happen?" he looked around at his body to find if the things that he''d always carried were still there. However, to his dismay, his clothes were the only thing that was present, and the sword that he''d always held dear wasn''t there. After looking for a moment, he gave let out a sigh, "Ha, Father and Mother, I thought we''re going to have a family reunion after everything that happened, but who would have thought that I''ll be in this damned place..." Sadness gripped his heart.


    After the shaking of the ground had stopped, an angry-thunderous growl had reverberated 10-meters ahead of Hei Long. "Moooooo!" The echoing sound of footsteps of the infuriated beast rang through his head as it went "boom, boom!" His penetrating eyes looked in the direction of where the sound came from; he frowned and said in a rough voice, "Now then, what''s this, a battle?"


    It was getting nearer and nearer by the second. The dusts had yet to settle when the beast that was slowly making its way toward him had shown itself. The first thing Hei Long saw through the dust were its two giant horns protruding on its head, then its eyes which turned out to be red(it was probably thanks to that red eyes that it could see through the dark place). And in moment time, the face of the creature finally appeared, a cow¡ªsimilar to a cow¡ªyes, a cow that can stand on its two truck-like hooves. The creature standing in front of him was 5 meters in height and 3 meters in breadth, it was humongous compared to Hei Long who was only 2 meters tall. Its arms and legs were black as an ink, yet some of its hide was spotted with white. When it opened its mouth, white gas came gushing out of its mouth as it formed white clouds above its head just below those white horns.It bellowed. "Mooooo!"


    Good, now its horns looks like a mountain, thought Hei Long.


    Without a weapon in hand, Hei Long took up a fighting stance; he lifted his hands up, and prepared his feet to run to the creature whose mouth was drooling like an open faucet. When he''d tried to run at it, he''d heard a feminine voice saying,"


    "Don''t fight it, how can you even fight it without a weapon?"


    Hei Long turned his head left and right in search of the owner of the voice. He saw a woman around the age of 16-18, and a group of Orcs was chasing her. Hei Long only gave her a glimpse and thought. What are you doing by bringing those things over here, aren''t you trying to kill me, indirectly?


    By the time he''d saw the girl who didn''t stop running to his direction. He said, "You should be concerned about yourself first!"


    The girl didn''t understand what he had just said, and she shook her head in dismay. "Another person is playing hero again, why is there a lot of "Hero" in this place?"


    Hei Long who was barehanded ran straight to the Minotaur that was eyeing him in the first place. The minotaur didn''t wait for Hei Long to lauch his attacks, so its left hand¡ªwhich was as big as a Hei Long''s body¡ªcame crashing to the ground where Hei Long stood earlier. The ground shook gazillion times, when the minotaur''s fist reached, and punched a hole through the ground, Hei Long was already at the right side of the minotaur''s, then with its right hand, it tried to grab Hei Long, which, had also failed to even touch the single strand of his hair. After those two attacks, the dust of the first two blows had already scattered, a gaping hole marked the ground. The Minotaur slowly retracted its fist and launched its new barrage of attacks; nevertheless, Hei Long avoided everything the beast had thrown him by a paper-thin margin. In spite of the fact that he''d evaded all those attacks without much problem, he knew the pressures of the minotaur''s punches gave him a scratch on his left shoulder despite having evaded those fist. He looked at the hole where the minotaur''s punch landed, and unconsciously simulated a plan in his mind. It is stronger than I thought, though, I overestimated its speed.


    After missing its target multiple times, the minotaur let out another angry cry, "Moooo!" The minotaur''s fiery fist had started to shake things up again. It was louder than the first one, thought Hei Long as he covered his ears with his hands.


    "Bam!"


    This minotaur''s punch is basically like a dynamite explosion. A punch could deal a lethal blow if it hits me, thought He. Before the dust dispersed through the air, Hei Long decided to battle it head-on. The Minotaur released another punch, "Bam" the punch missed Hei Long yet again. He ran over the Minotaur''s hands and climbed on its head. Then he grabbed one of its protruding horns that were roughly half his size. Hei Long gave out a cry, "Haaa!" a mechanical voice resounded through his head, it was unknown if the voice belonged to a man or lady''s mouth, the only thing he''s sure was that it was mechanical voice, and it gave an overwhelming power.


    "War Cry¡ªgift from the War gods above¡ªactivated!"


    However, Hei Long didn''t bother thinking anything about it, as he felt his body surged with energy beyond what he had had before, and even anyone wouldn''t bat an eyelid because of some gibberish he thought he''d misheard¡ªparticularly, in an important fight, which determined his life and death. Without further ado, he concentrated all of his strength in his ballistic like arms, and he tried to pull one of the protruding horns off of the minotaur with everything he''d got. "Crack~" the horn he was pulling out made a crackling, breaking sound. As he struggled to pull the horn out of the minotaur, the horn shone, and the beast let out a painful cry, "Moo!" It staggered as it tried to swipe Hei long off of its head, or even better, grab him with those metallic-steel like hand, but Hei Long knew its actions were acts of a creature in desperate struggle for survival. In the eyes of the great hunters, the struggling beast that was at the last line of it life was at its deadliest state. The minotaur tried to grab Hei Long, but Hei Long wouldn''t let those truck-sized armed reach him. Dodging those truck-sized arms, he started to rain the minotaur''s horn with his own fiery-fist again and again as sound "Bam Bam!"


    And his barrages of attacks didn''t seem much weaker compared to the Minotaur''s¡ªas a matter of fact, it was even deadlier as it was aimed at the weak spot of the beast, its horns and head. He kept on bombarding the massive beast on top of its head. After a few seconds, he finally tore out the horns out of its head. Before it died, the minotaur gave out its last anguish cry as blood covered its body. The monster''s body was slowly dispersing in the form of black smoke, and from smoking black-air to a bright white light. The white light moved towards Hei Long; he tried to grab it. However, it passed through his hands as if it was intangible. He didn''t know where it went, so he became worried. After a few moments of being baffled, a bell sounded continuously in Hei Long''s mind. "ding~!"


    Level: ?; Exp: 67%; Strength:?; Agility: ?; Dexterity: ?


    Intelligence: ?; Magic: ?; Battle Aura: ?; Life-force: ¡Þ- (Unless your heart and head is cut into a thousand pieces, you will not die) God''s Gift¡ª


    "What''s this?" he asked."I''ll check it later after I finish this mess."


    He picked the horn on the ground, and ran straight to another fight.


    Before Hei Long could even try to check if anything-peculiar''s happening inside his body, he was already running straight to the girl''s location, which was currently the venue of the fight. The beautiful girl against the massive number of Orcs. With great haste, he exterminated many Orcs on the way; using his newly acquired weapon (the minotaur''s horn) he gave out an awe-inspiring air on the battlefield. At the same time as Hei Long, himself, had wreaked havoc on the battlefield like a beast on the loose, he slaughterer that could use anything in his arsenal and annihilate anything that blocks his path; he was unconsciously letting out an overwhelming and domineering aura around him. The surrounding monsters grew stiff upon seeing that their own kind slaughter like a fish on a cutting board ¡ªwaiting to be gut helplessly.


    When he came near the girl, he had already killed all the nearby monsters that encircled them. With every swung and smash of his great weapon, and every time it hits its target¡ªit would either sent the enemy flying straight through the roof of the cave, or smashed them to the ground like grounded pork.


    After a few minutes of fighting, he had already killed all of the enemies¡ªthat he had lost count after scoring 50. His penetrative eyes stared at girl who was recovering on the ground with her face¡ªpale, and panting. By the time, he''d saw the girl''s complexion was ashes, he knew the little lady had been exhausted in the fight against those numbers. Without saying anything to her, he looked around the place and thought that it was safe, so he decided to leave the girl right there.


    However, before he left, he did something, which was out of tune if you based it according to personality¡ªan introvert.


    "If you want to survive in this place, you need to follow me," he said. "This is not a good place to die."


    He pat his head in confusion beyond imaginable, thinking that he never said something peculiar ever before, so he tried to throw it away farther to the back of his head.Am I familiar with this place to begin with? Never mind, I''ll just deal with those whoever block my path- politely, thought Hei Long. Searching for something, he glanced to his left and right side; nevertheless, it slowly sidetracked, so his vision landed at the girl who was sitting on the ground, her face pale. Then his imagination went astray as he started to question himself when he had seen, and imagined how pitiful the girl would have felt all alone in this dark cave.


    Is she really-really injured or exhausted? Is she sleepy? Is she hungry? Can''t she stand up? A plethora of question started to fill his mind. He put his right hand underneath his chin, and carefully thought to himself, What would Dad do if Mom can''t stand up on her own?


    If it was years ago, he''d never would have imagined that he''d asked himself questions like: what if(s). Particularly, when it''s not about killing bandits and such, but for him to ask and speculate the things his dad would do for his mother made him feel the sorrow of being alive, and happy at the same time. The first time he arrived in this place, he thought he''d finally met his family and friends, but what came to greet were the beasts of the unknown land. As sad as he was glad that he was alive, he really had hope a lot to met his family, yet, god gave him something worst¡ªthan meeting a bandit on a vast battlefield¡ªa girl, yes, a girl and an attractive one at that. Although she looked pale and lonely, it only made her look more attractive. When she subconsciously tried to fix her resting position, her golden-white hair cascaded over her shoulder, and her long eyebrows fidget¡ªonce in a while¡ªmaking her look like a small yet lovely animal.


    After a few moments of thinking, he moved forward. After he arrived, he knelled down with one leg, and carefully placed his right hand towards the girl''s neck to check if she was ill without waking her up. But, by the time, he tried to place his hand on top of the girl''s neck. The girl suddenly opened her blue-eyes, with a cold-gleam, and sprung up away from him. Then she hurriedly took a dagger out of her sleeves and pointed it toward the young man with her hands, trembling. She''d already seen how the man had fought the minotaur, and she knew how hard it was the bring down such a giant beast¡ªsingle-handedly, and without a weapon! She could even imagine the looks of the people, who would never believe her, if she told them what she''d seen in the cave.


    "What are you doing?" she asked.


    "I''m sorry for scaring you," he said. "My dad once told me to protect the weak and that once you started to help someone, you must see it through the end. I thought you were in great danger as you looked very pale... Therefore¡ªI¡ªI thought maybe you were injured, weak, and cannot stand up. I also wanted to check if you had a fever, you were panting a lot. But, when I tried to, but you suddenly woke up and pointed that thing at me..." he paused for a moment, to stabilize the awkward atmosphere he''d currently face. Glaring at him, she didn''t know what he was currently thinking¡ªspecially, when she very, very weak and all. He continued, and clapped his hands, "I think you''re quite well, alright, so I''m going to leave you here." He waved his hand, he said, "Careful."


    Although he''d sounded very concern, Hei Long''s face remained cold, and stiff. He looked at the direction where he thought the exit would probably be. Without waiting for the girl to reply, Hei Long walked on the way to the opposite side of the girl. Before he could even take his 3rd step, a soft hand had suddenly reached his right. He faced the owner of the hand, he did not speak. The girl pulled his right hand and put it on her neck, with a reddened face, she spoke as she staggered and almost fell to the ground. Looking at her struggle, Hei Long caught her on the waist, he said, "Are you alright?"


    "Lily... you can call me Lily, c-could you carry me, and bring me outside of here?" her crestfallen face took Hei Long''s breath for a few seconds,


    "Thump," His heart was beating frantically, but he didn''t know how or what he felt at the moment, he just simply took Lily''s right hand.


    "I can carry you as long as you are willing to fulfill one of my wishes."


    Lily was taken aback by what he had said, and she struggled to free herself, and covered her ample chest, and shyly said, "What do you want me to do? A¡ªAre you planning on doing something to me?" Her head was full of exquisite-imagination¡ªthat only she, herself could ever understand. However, the action of the man in front of her made her thought otherwise, and that maybe she was merely overreacting, so she tried to cover her reddened face. She said,


    "What do is you wish?"


    Nevertheless, to her dismay, Hei Long only grabbed his chest that was madly beating; he panted that he''d scared the pitiful Lily.


    "As of now, I don''t know... I am not sure if it is a sickness, but my heart is beating like crazy after you touched my hand. It hurts. Did you poison me? Why?" He gave her a questioning look. However, Lily also had an amazed look across her face, and secretly thought,


    Is he hitting on me? she glared at him. "What poison? What is there for me to poison you, my savior?"


    Hei Long grabbed her hands, Lily''s face started to turn red like a ripe tomato. She moved her head down when she suddenly felt her hand¡ªwhich Hei Long was holding¡ª received a drop of water, "Is there leak inside the cave?" She asked. Without waiting for the answer to her question, she decided to look up, only to see Hei Long''s crying face. She asked in panic manner. "Why are you crying?" she was so entranced when she saw that sad figure crying in front of her, Lily''s heart shuddered when she saw how miserable Hei Long was. She was confused as to why he suddenly changed from a powerful man into a helpless chap.


    Maybe he is powerful as lonely he is right now... Weird how can he turn like this? she thought. What a turn of event.


    "It hurts. I do not know why it hurts... Father, mother, please forgive me. I cannot protect you... I''m tired, too tired" His hand continuously trembled as he held his chest. His mind went blank. Lily caught him when Hei Long was about to fall to the ground, and slowly laid him to her lap, which was much better than to be laid on the floor. Lily¡ªwho had been two head shorter than Hei Long¡ªstayed close beside him, comforting him from his nightmare.


    "Dad, mom sorry... can''t protect you..." Was all he said in his sleep, over and over again. The pure-child Lily sympathized with Hei Long for she knew that he had indeed gone through many trials in life, and carried a weighty burden on his back¡ªevery single day of his life.


    "There, there," said she as she slowly, and gently caressed Hei Long''s head. "I''m still here, you can protect me instead."


    Unexpectedly, when Hei Long heard those words of hers¡ªhis nightmare and trembling had come to a stop, and he began to sleep soundlessly. Although it started her. She''d released a sigh of relief. "What an unexpected day," she said.


    By the time she thought of what she had said and everything she did, her face began to turn red, Lily you brat, what are you doing, how can you take advantage of this pitiful man? She hid the knife inside her sleeves, and thought of how wicked she was.


    Unlike Hei Long who could see through the dark, Lily, however, didn''t have the ability to see in the dark. She didn''t have the impression of whether he was a prince-charming on a white horse, or otherwise. The only impression she had on him were that he had a big build, and had a beautiful white hair, which hid most of his face. Out of curiosity, Lily''s right hand tried to move the glossy white hair which was covering Hei Long''s face. But Hei Long¡ªwho was sleeping¡ªsuddenly woke up, and caught Lily''s hand.


    Their faces were so close to each other that their hearts began to fluster in unison. She was so attracted to Hei Long''s eyes: the left golden-eye and right verdant green eye of his were so beautiful that she became flabbergasted. Hei Long''s face was so beautifully-handsome it definitely wouldn''t lose to a girl''s beauty and charm, especially with those eye-catching eyes of his. She bet that any girl, who would see him and his eyes, would find it hard to resist his charm. She touched his face, thinking that it was only a dream, ''How could a man like this become so beautiful?'' But, it wasn''t a dream, it was genuine... it was her who started to become delusional, believing it was only a dream. Fortunately, someone brought her back from her delusions and spoke to her in a very gentle manner.


    "What exactly are you doing?"


    "..."

 5 Resting Poin

    Inside a cave in a certain part of the empire, a young man sped past the boulders with a girl on his back. It was like a scene where the hero protected the girl from the wicked monsters that tried to hurt her.


    "Time is of the essence, we need get out of this place fast. And find out what happened to me."


    Hei Long kept running, glancing at his back to see if the girl was fine. However, much of his concern was unnecessary. Lily slept like a log on of his back. Although she''d put a smile from time to time, he remember the time when he''d first saw Lily smile¡ªthe very first time. The glimpse he caught made him think that being stuck in this dark place wasn''t so bad.


    "It keeps on coming back," he said.


    He became dumbfounded because of the new sensation that he had not felt for so long since his parents died.


    Hei Long grabbed his chest and pounded it, confusedly said.


    "What is this feeling?"


    He glimpsed at the girl on his back; he was so enchanted that he forgot that he was transported to another world.


    "What is this feeling, it hurts."


    After a few hours of running, he''d noticed something weird was happening inside the cave. He said, "I''m running in circles here, if this continues to happen¡­ I''ll be stuck in this place with her."


    He stopped running, and started to look around for a corner, place where they can rest for a while. He believe it would futile to navigate this maze like place.


    "I will just wait for her to recover, and have her navigate this place out," Hei Long said.


    ¡­.


    Dragon forest, Champion Country, Solar Continent.


    It was already afternoon, and the dusk''s sunlight covered the entire forest. Outside the cave, many people were on patrol, they seemed to be waiting for someone, or something to emerge out of the cave. A middle-aged man with a warrior''s clothes stood near the cave without moving, his hands were subtlety shaking as he stared at the cave. Facing the man''s back, thousands of warriors awaited his orders. He faced them with his hand cupped behind his back. His were deep, and rough. He said, "Men! Check the perimeters of the Dragon Cave. If anyone of you spot a monster¡­ Kill it! We cannot afford to be careless, so kill it silently if you can¡ªdon''t let it cry for help. Also avoid making the old beast of the forest go awry." He paused and looked around his men, with his raging eyes. "Do you get me? If you bunch of morons mess this up, I will let you patrol this cave for your entire life as a soldier of the empire! Do you get me?!" The poor soldiers'' spine turned cold, but they still answered in unison. "Yes, sir!"


    "Say what? I didn''t hear you!"


    "Yes! Commander!" the thousand soldiers'' eyes turned savage.


    "Well, we will play a game," he said. "What do you think about it soldiers?"


    "Yes! Commander!"


    "If anyone of you could kill a monster, cut its right ear."


    Every ear that you have collected will be exchange for one silver."


    "Furthermore, for those who can kill the most in this mission. His


    Majesty promised to reward that person with [Grade D] Ability. So, get your lazy asses moving!"


    The soldier became restless when they heard the commander said that "the King will reward those who can kill most of the monsters in this mission." For the soldiers, who loved their King, meeting him would be an honor that would be engrave into their family. Even after their death it would still be an honor. The ability however, could change their lives, from a commoner to being a noble. Having had an ability in the kingdom symbolizes honor, and power of the family, so if a household have a person¡ªwho gained an ability over time, or a much rarer one which is being born with it¡ªwith such an ability; they would be send them to the Elder''s assembly to be assessed as to what grade of ability they have, if the person''s ability is categorize in the lower tier, then that person will become a noble. However, if it goes beyond the lower tier and become middle tier ability, that person will either become a count or duke and so on, depending on his ability''s grade. In the kingdom, strength and intelligence had always been the bases of having a higher position in life.


    The commander looked at them with his demonic eyes, which could probably even send the strongest lower-tier beast trembling with fear if they look at it.


    "Do any of you object?"


    "No, Sir!"


    "Then, what the hell are standing there like a group of lethargic person, are all you dumb? Aren''t you supposed to be killing those beast out there?" He looked at them once more, and shouted, "Scram!"


    The sudden change of attitude of their commander left them dumbfounded in the field, a young man around the age of 18-20 came forward to their commander and bowed,


    "Sir, why are you anxious?"


    "Oh," when the commander saw that the young man came forward and tried to ask him¡ªthe commander¡ªa question, he almost shouted at him for questioning his authority. Until he saw the one who spoke to him was Mark Gonzales, the 3rd son of Duke Gonzales. He calmed down his fiery attitude, but he didn''t directly answer the young man, and instead he faced the soldiers, "We are currently looking for the 1st princess, if the princess cannot be found today. Our heads will be served in a hot plate in front of his majesty." He turned his gaze at Mark, who had a pale appearance, and said,


    "Lad, will you still ask me? What I''m getting worried for?"


    "This lowly one will not question sir again," Mark said. "But what are we supposed to do right now, sir?"


    "Just follow my plan and we will eventually go through this predicament, and enjoy some fine drink after." the commander said. "Soldiers, since we are in the same boat we need to help one another, or else we''ll be buried together."


    "United we stand, united we fall!" they cried.


    The soldiers crazily shouted this phase repeatedly until they slowly disperse to look for their ''1st princess'' in the forest.


    "The morale is high," said the commander. "Good!"


    ...¡­..


    Lily''s point of view


    I kept on glancing at the young man''s back, but because I knew how things works in a dungeon, and it was fundamentally dangerous to distract one-another''s concentration when fighting against these stacks of monsters, which could probably surround us in any seconds if anyone of us gets distracted. ''But still, he should have asked me if I''m okay, like a handsome gentle-man should do. Humph! This man is a no-no!'' she coquettish grumbled inside her mind, before involuntarily stomping her foot to the ground¡ª mentally¡ª like an anxious child would do if they''re anxious.


    "But he''s strong, stronger than me!" the girl had a yearning look on her face, when she saw how the man defeated the gigantic Minotaur barehanded, "But such a cry-baby, minus points! Hmph,hpmh"


    Unexpectedly, when she thought, how she acted back then, her complexion began to turn red like a ripe cherry ready to be pluck.


    "But, what a handsome man, it would be great if he were my fianc¨¦, unlike that brainless noble brat who keeps on irritating me..." Her thoughts were disarrayed when a fascinating voice reached her ears,


    "Lily, are you hurt somewhere? I can carry you on my back if you like." Such gently voice would melt anyone''s heart and mind.


    ...¡­.


    Seeing that Lily was daydreaming, Hei Long decided to make sure, if she is okay.


    "You look pale."


    "N-n-no, I can still walk, I-I will tell you if I can''t walk any farther. So you can rest assured." She looked like a scrambling lamb when she tried to answer¡ªwhich Hei Long found so lovely.


    He genuinely smiled at her.


    "You don''t have to be polite to me," he said. "I''m just an unintelligent man, did you know that all I know is how to fight and nothing more..."


    When Lily saw him smiled at her for the first time, her pouting heart began to soften, and as to why it happened¡ªshe did not know. All she knew was that his smile could melt even coldest heart of hers¡ª he was like the sun, which illuminated her world when everything seemed to be hopeless and dark. Lily wasn''t able to reply verbally, thought, she voluntarily nodded her head while savoring his radiant smiling face.


    Hei Long knelled in front of Lily as he spoke in a gentle manner,


    "Come, I''ll carry you all the way outside."


    "Why are you so good to¡­ okay~ I''m also tired, since you''re so earnest. I''ll give you this honor to carry me."


    Hei Long could only scratched his head when he heard this, and smile at her before picking her up on his wide back.


    After a few minutes, Hei Long asked,


    "Lily, I''ve been circling around this cave, why can''t I find the exit of this place?"


    "This isn''t an ordinary cave?" She spoke to him seriously, "this place is a dungeon, where monster are commonly summoned to block adventures in going farther down. The farther you go down, the stronger the monster you''ll encounter."


    "Ohh," Hei Long absorbed what she had said to him, and asked her a question.


    "Where are the monsters in this dungeon, why haven''t we encountered one after we finish the first wave of them?"


    "That is also what I''m thinking right now, where are those monster? We''ve been walking in circles."


    "Thomp, thomp,"


    As the loud treading sound reverberated across the dungeon, Hei Long and Lily suddenly found out, that the things they were looking became a horde of monsters!


    Lily''s facial appearance turned pale, her hands were subtlety shaking¡ªshe was scared. Hei Long grasped her hands, and told her while he smiled, "You don''t have to be afraid, I''m here. We just have to find you a place where they cannot see you."


    Lily shook his hand, and thought that he was turning crazy, "Are crazy how can you face those monster, and what right do you have to order me to hide?"


    Hei Long spoke with a very icy tone, "Then do you want to die with me?" he stared at Lily, whose hands were turning cold, and spoke gently, "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you. You hurt your leg, and you''re exhausted. You cannot even fight the weakest of them¡ªmuch less, all of them... You just need to hide behind me."


    "I insist, I will fight with you, whether you agree or not. I am a noble with a noble heart. So how could I just stand there and watch you suffer alone?!"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking, but fine."


    Seeing that Lily was a girl hard to please¡ª Hei Long could only helplessly shook his head, letting out a sigh. "However, you have to use your bow and quiver, use them to cover me¡­ Wait! Are you proficient on using it?"


    Lily stared at him, like looking at an idiot, "Yes! In our empire, I am rank seven of the top 10-bow user, Lily the Sharpshooter," she glanced at him, who had a question mark on his face, and said. "Haven''t you heard of me?"


    "No, I haven''t."


    "W¡ªwhat! You haven''t? Where did you came from then?"


    "¡­" after a long pause, Hei Long answered with a bitter smile on his face.


    "I don''t know¡­ I was already here when I woke up, then you came."


    "Never mind, you don''t have to lie if you don''t want to." Lily continued, after she looked at the surrounding,


    "I can''t see well here,"


    She looked at Hei Long with genuine gleam in her eyes.


    "I can see everything in this dark cave." Hei Long said.


    "Y-you could actually see?" she asked. "I-I thought you were just lucky enough to not encounter any walls on the way here. But, to think that you could see through the dark like some dungeon monsters¡ªremarkable." Lily came back to reality and shook her head.


    "No! It''s unbelievable!"


    Hei Long ignored Lily who had been having her own serious discussion with "herself", which was rather normal for a person who and ''would'' encounter Hei Long, the son of the Great Tree. While Lily was having a debate with herself, Hei Long had decided to dig a hole beside the wall where they''re having their rest. Tapping the wall, he tried to find if there was a supple wall near. When he touched something smooth like water, he asked Lily beside him.


    "What''s this? What kind of wall is this, Lily?"


    Lily woke up from her contemplation, walked beside Hei Long, and touched the wall.


    "This is the "holy" wall of the dungeon¡ªthe resting point." She smiled and cheered merrily, "A resting point, a resting point."


    "Ohh," Hie long poked the wall, and his hand went inside, he asked, "what is a Resting Point?"


    "A resting point is a special place inside the dungeon¡ª a lifesaving place. It''s a place where you can recuperate endlessly, and considered to be a treasure vault by many."


    "Ohh," Hei Long said, "good. Since, we''re tired and exhausted."


    Lily said, "Let''s go before the monsters gets here."


    Cheering excitedly, Lily subconsciously grasped Hei Long''s hand hard, and went inside.


    When the monsters arrived, the earth trembled as flocks of gigantic beast searched the area, where they disappeared.


    A 4 meter-long wolf-like beast sniffed the ground. Having found nothing on the area in questioned, it started to howl. Then the other beast followed. The beasts eyes'', red and maddened, shifted from time to time.

 6 The Other Side

    Avoiding the vicious, wild monsters that resided the dungeon for many eons, and eons to come, the couple had unknowingly avoided some nuisance, and saved themselves some precious time, and energy.


    Lily had said that the resting point is a special place. But regarding the truth of the claims she made¡ªit was still in doubt since she''d only heard it from the rumors spread by some mysterious organisation, and she hadn''t really come to one before.


    In the end, the matter regarding the things that she had said were all nothing but the truth and without any blemishes by falsehood, at all. And since they don''t have a choice to choose from, rather than leaving Hei Long with the blood-thirsty monsters, and probably dying a unsightly, horrible death. Even if she knew the things weren''t exactlyreal, she would still rather made it the truth and be with him in the trouble that might come, though, that was really her point¡ªto be with him period.


    So she thought she might as well trust the rumor, and indeed she did. After they passed through the wall between the danger zone, and the safe zone¡ªor so she thought, they could feel the air changing from the foul putrid smell of a corpse, which littered the dungeon, to a freshly delightful of different kinds of floras around. When they''d got through the other side. "Finally," Lily breathed in the surrounding air. "Some fresh air to keep me calm and steady."


    "What a fresh air," Hei Long said. "Indeed, it also calms me down."


    They saw the that wall which they had had passed through had mysteriously became a colossal tree with its branches spreading wide and free throughout the place becoming a forest of its own. Small creatures like critters were roaming around, and climbing up and down the tree, and while the bird-like creatures flew over the blue sky, the fishes were swimming around the miniature falls. They were everywhere, and definitely weren''t afraid of the people of the outside world as they stared at the incoming people¡ªHei Long and Lily. The couple stared at the weird sight before them. The residents of this particular, and peculiar place became quite as the chirping, bleating, and the bubbling of the fishes seemed to stop. Hei Long asked," What the! The fishes can also make a sound?"


    "Obviously," she said," can''t you hear them well?" He seemed baffled that it made Lily think, You weren''t even baffled¡ªseeing and fighting a minotaur!


    She urged him. "Let''s look and find out about this elusive treasure vault."


    "Wait," Hei Long said," don''t you find this place very peculiar?"


    "Not much," she said. "According to the people who were spreading rumors in the kingdom, it''s been years since they''d last heard of someone stumbled into one. They''d also said that this place was ever changing."


    "Then," Hei Long said," how did you know that this place is one of those things in the rumors?"


    "It was said that in every dungeons¡ª" Hei Long glared at her, then she grumbled and pouted, then she continued. "¡ªokay, I know that the rumors aren''t reliable as it sound."


    "They really aren''t reliable, Lily," he said.


    "But I¡ªwe didn''t really have a choice, don''t we? I can''t always rely in you¡ª"


    "Ohhh, can''t rely on me?" he asked, "cause I''m a stranger, is that it?"


    she said,"No¡ªno¡ªno, you don''t understand¡ª"


    He cut her short. "Don''t worry, I understand it quite well." Silence overcame the two of them. By the time Lily had tried to reason with Hei Long, a strong storm raged on the vast luscious forest, and the animals that were silent as a rock¡ªwhimpered, bleated, and chirped. The hairy ones scurried into their bushy bushes, some hid onto their trees, and the others hid in some holes beneath the ground. Although they may have seemed fast, but in-truth, some of them had failed to find a ground to withstand the strong gale. And so they lost their grounds and flew where wherever the winds had planned to take them. The anguished cries of the animals brought Agony throughout the peaceful forest. Having washed by the raging vigorous winds, the forest seemed untouched.


    Time passed swiftly, calmness once again overwhelmed the forest. And the curtains of mystery hasn''t been lifted yet¡ªbut the couple will.


    Hei Long held Lily in his hands, and concern overpowered the fear he felt during the calamity that had passed them.


    "Ouch," Lily said.


    "You," he said, "alright?"


    "Better than ever," she said. "But can you please unfasten you hand, it''s hurting me."


    "Sorry," he said. Then he put her down, and he began to stick to her as close as he can fearing the mysterious force might strike at any time, and try to take her away from him, which he didn''t want to happen¡ª not on his watch! "Don''t try to stay away from me," he added.


    "Thank you," she said. She fidget for a while while turning her head left and right. Seeing her acting like that made Hei Long confused, so he asked,"Where do you think that vile wind had come from?"


    "I don''t know," she said. "I didn''t hear strong gales would come and go inside this place whenever it want. At least not as strong as that one."


    "Oh,Lily!" he pulled her. "Look at them, they''re starting to come out of their holes."


    "T¡ªthey looked as if nothing happened," she said.


    The beasts of the wild started to go outside of their safe zone¡ªor holes. They looked dazed and dreamy. When they saw the two strangers, they acted the same they did when they first saw the two of them. They simply stared, and stayed quite the whole time, which weirded the two of em.


    Being a veteran, Hei Long felt a prickly feeling at his back, like a needle poking at him, and screaming at him¡ªDanger! "Let''s get out of here," Hei Long said. "This place is not for us."


    "But," Lily said, "the treasure might be around the corner of the place."


    "Lily," Hei Long said, "this is not a normal place. And I don''t want to take any risk with you here¡ªbesides, do they look any normal to you?"


    "If you have tried to compare the wind with these furry friends, I''m might have been convinced. But them?"


    "You don''t believe me?" Hei Long asked. He caught a white-furry bunny¡ªwhich he was eyeing, in the first place, because of its appearance¡ªwithout any resistance, and showed it to her.


    "Look at this,"he said as he heaved the white rabbit to Lily


    Seeing the cuddly dazed rabbit, Lily, who had this glimmering wet blue-eyes, said, "It''s quite cute at a closer look." She added. "Can I hug it, please?" She tried to resist the urge to hug it, but in the end, she couldn''t even wait for a moment''s time¡ªmuch less, Hei Long''s permission.And so she hugged it after asking, which happened in a breeze that Hei Long can''t react to it. The rabbit yelped, and struggled out of her, but to no avail. Having failed to untie those scrambling demonic hands, the white rabbit eventually stopped struggling, and crossed its arms like a pouting kid on Lily''s hands as she nudged its head back and forth. Although, the action it made was rather baffling in Hei Long'' eyes; on the contrary¡ªto Lily¡ªit just made it more irresistibly cuter.


    "Cute?" he asked. "Although you have a point¡ªbut that''s not really the point here! And can you please put it down."


    "No!" She turned her back at Hei Long. "I don''t wanna put Mr. White down, and Mr. White doesn''t want be put down either." Caressing and hugging the white-cuddly rabbit, she almost forgot that there was actually a man besides her in this world. She added, "What''s your point then?"


    "Look," he said, "I''ve been trying to speak with them¡ª


    "What! You can speak to them¡ªthe animals?" Although she sounded surprise, she actually wasn''t, and her eyes was still focused on Mr. White, the rabbit.


    "Let me finish first," he said. "Yes, I can."


    "Wow, but these are not animals¡ªthey''re beast of the wild, a being with a much higher level than those found in some towns. Those and these are different a matter. Although it might have been a useful ability, it doesn''t really count much here. Just a lower-tier ability, thought, not everyone can have them. The thing is, maybe you can''t talk with either one of them because the level of your current ability isn''t par with the levels of these beast¡­" Shock by her foresight, Hei Long became silent.


    "What''s this ability level you speak of?" Hei Long asked in a very formal manner, which made Lily widen her eyes. She tugged his shoulders¡ªwhile tiptoeing because the difference of their heights were shown at the moment. "You also don''t know this? Were born under a stone?"


    He didn''t answer the question and shrugged his shoulders, and stopped her from asking him like¡ªwhat kind of stone was it?


    "What''s this ability you speak of, and can you please elaborate?"


    She let Hei Long go, and it was then that she realized her rabbit¡ªMr. White¡ªwas gone. She yelped while turning head anxiously, "Where''s Mr. White!" Her face was turning red from screaming, and her eyes were forming mist. Hei Long couldn''t bear to see any of it, so he said, "At the back of that tree."


    Looking all over the place, she asked, "Which tree and which one, can you please point it out?" Seeing that there were many trees at her back, she flooded Hei Long with varying questions in which all of them can be translated into "Can you get it for me." Feeling helpless, Hei Long scratched his head. "The one on your "very" back." Lily turned her head, and looked around the tree¡ªwhich was facing her back. It was probably hundreds of years old as the trunk of it were very big that Lily had to run all around it to see if her Mr. White was hiding in the back of it. "Mr. White, where are you?" she repeatedly shouted while looking for Mr. White. Disbelieving that a creature can be so smart, Hei Long saw that the rabbit was cautious as it repeatedly run around the tree as if it knew that the Lily was the other side of the tree looking for him. Whining, the rabbit looked at Hei Long with pleading eyes. Hei Long thought, "Smart, indeed!" When it stopped moving¡ªLily smile and grinned as she spotted a white tail twitching from time to time and whipped from side to side. She tried to catch it. "Gotcha, Mr. White. Don''t you try to run away from me again." Seeing the rabbit struggled no more, she smiled and the smile blew the anxious air around her. Punishing the rabbit, She said. "Bad, Mr. White. Bad." The person at the other side of her smiled, and shook his head in defeat. "You were played by Mr. White, he was playing hid and seek that''s all."


    Awoken from her short-lived fantastic adventure from finding the mischievous white rabbit, which she called Mr. White. "What were you saying again?" With flushed face, she asked.


    "Were talking about this ability thing."


    "Oh, okay," while scratching rabbit''s ears, she said. "Abilities are the deciding factor of the warriors in the empire¡ªand in any empire to speak of. It can also either be innate or an imparted one¡ªbut most often they are innate. Although, some of ability may differ from person-to-person, but some of them are quite common that they appeared frequently from one person to another, especially for the low-tier ones." After a long speech, she gasped, then she added. "And I think you have a low-tier, Spirit Of The Beast."


    "So, can I train it, and make it a higher grade one?"


    "I always thinks it is possible, but I haven''t heard anyone attaining such achievement."


    "How about the imparted ability?"


    "Oh, that one is quite a creep''s way of giving an ability to a person."


    "Why is it?"

 7 The Wind Stirs

    Unknowingly, she began to gradually treat Hei Long like an illiterate person but a kind who was thirsty for common knowledge, which she found very outlandish.


    She looked up at him, and asked, "Do you really not know any of these "common knowledge?""


    Feeling troubled, Hei Long glared at her for a moment. "Would you really think I would ask such questions if I had already know about it?"


    "Okay," she sighed, and raised her hands up. "I give up. Let''s continue, shall we?" Seeing Hei Long nod, she continued. "The beast of the wild also known as the demon¡ª"


    "Such as short one, why did you have call it "the beast of the wild?" when you can call it demon?"


    "¡ªBecause the old people, and the elders preferred them as such. We just simply followed the traditions¡ªbut most of the time we call them demon cause it can cut us some slack."


    "Oh," he said. "Such thing happened?"


    "Yes," she said. "It happened. Time changes people over time. Just like it did to my father."


    Suddenly, He felt the changes in Lily when she mentioned her father. So he asked, "You alright?"


    "Yes," looking tired, she said, "Just a little tired from the journey, and looking out for Mr. White."


    "Well, we''ll take a rest here if you don''t mind."


    She smiled at him and said, "Thank you."


    He said, "I''m tired as well." He lied and the truth¡ªhe was never tired in the first place, and he will never be tired unless he wants to. He didn''t know why, but he had this hunch that he felt it that way.


    Time passed by as the wind rustled throughout the forest, and down into the beautiful valley ahead of them. Lily had already fell asleep in the laps of Hei Long, who was sitting under the shade of the tree beside the river. He had never expected to be in this situation¡ªtransferring into an unknown world, fight monsters he had never heard or seen before, and most of all¡ªhaving a beautiful lady sleeping on his lap, which he would definitely say if she wasn''t around, it ain''t bad at all, ain''t bad at all!


    But good times never last long, and he had always believed that they were going to get separated from each other once¡ªand after this journey was completed.


    But wouldn''t it be good for things to stay as it is, he asked himself.


    A dark light of ball flew out of his body, and appeared in front of him, and said. "You are a demon¡ªa fallen¡ªmonsters like us don''t belong here!"


    He looked up at the person, who looked exactly as him but with a black wing on his back.


    "I know," he said. "I just wished we can live a life free of trouble. How good would that be?"


    The winged-one sighed, Free of trouble? Don''t mock yourself, our existence is¡ª


    Hugging the sleepingwhite rabbit, Lily, who was currently asleep, began to shiver restlessly, she murmured, "Don''t leave, I''m scared."


    The two of them looked at each other as if saying what to do? But as fast as Hei Long, he showered her with his gentle caress. "Even if the world falls down, I''ll be there to hold it you." The winged-one came closer and said. "Don''t worry, little one, everything''s alright." Smiles covered their faces. Hei Long said, "The world brought us pain, but we can handle it. But if the world brought pain to our family, I will never tolerate it. The world may fall but I will remain standing to hold it up for them, but where are they, our family?"


    "I bet they are worried about you¡ª"


    "Us," Hei Long corrected.


    "Yes," the winged-one smiled. "Yes, us. Indeed. I bet they are worried about us right now. Wherever they may be, I hope they''re happy, and worry less for us."


    "They are, and don''t worry." Hei Long shrugged. "You shouldn''t stay outside, it''s bad for you."


    "Okay¡­" he looked at Hei Long for a while. "Careful, this world is very¡ª"


    "Beautiful?"


    "¡ªDangerous as it is beautiful." He added. "If you come to a point where you can''t handle any of these, call me as soon as possible."


    "I understand." The winged Hei Long warped into a small black speck, and fussed with Hei Long. Hissing sound was brought forth as he absorbed the black winged version of himself. "Come out and play you feisty creatures." Eyeing his surroundings, he whispered. "Haven''t you seen enough of this?"


    No one answered his calls, but he didn''t stop. "Black, make this two sleep nice and easy." A black shadow appeared, and covered the sleeping beauty and the white rabbit. After covered the two with its shadowy magic, it nudged Hei Long, who was staring ahead with his fierce eyes, as if saying, "It''s done."


    "Hey, why don''t you come out and play?" Hei Long said as chill covered his eyes. "Don''t try to hide from me, I can see you."


    The winds rushed through the forest, and down into the valley as the dry leaves rustled in the cold breeze. Hei Long frown. " Sending another storm, aren''t we?" The winds became stronger and stronger as the he kept on talking. "Send me your strongest winds, let''s see who''s stronger than us!" he let out a bellow and cast an incantation with his arms wide. "O great nature, I call forth¡ªDivine Fury!" The volatile winds stopped, the tremors stopped, and so did the time¡ªeverything stopped at the moment in time. Then an explosion burst out in the deep, luscious forest ahead. A beast brought forth its windy presence with its eyes closed. When Hei Long sensed¡ªthat the creature he had felt the time he first set his foot here¡ªhad come out of its lair, he punched the ground, and gigantic earthly roots shoot out from the ground and straight to the creature, who was standing mid air, the surrounding tree vines started to sway and eventually it attacked the creature with its sharp, green poison-needles like vine. But the humanoid beast didn''t let any of his attack brush it, so it avoided his attacks, roots and vines, with ease. Then it whipped its hands across and a sharp flashing light appeared and headed toward Hei Long''s long. Somersaulting, he avoided the attack and saw a huge vertical line, where he once stood. He smiled and said at the ghastly creature. "Not bad for a stalking fellow. Now it time to get end this!" He let out a bellow, then a sound rang into his head and ears. "War Cry¡ªgift from the gods above¡ªactivated!"

 8 Fight I

    Feeling the wild surge of power from his surrounding, coming straight at him, Hei Long clenched his fist, and took a single step ahead with his left foot. He bend his foot while mustering his strength and gathering the energy he accumulated from his surrounding and directing it to his hand. Glowing with energy, then he looked at the creature, that was floating several meters away from him while avoiding his variety of attacks. He then released the accumulated power, that he gathered, out in a form of a single punch. As he unleashedhis move, a colossal green fist burst out, sped straight to the beast ahead.


    "Disintegrate!"


    Perceiving danger, and seeing the incoming attack, the beast let out a cry, and hurriedly made a grabbing motion while floatingmid-air, and crossed its arm towards its chest. As fast as the wind itself, the surrounding air current rustled through out the deep forest while making a crackling sounds from time to time. And around the creature the vigorous wind had formed into a revolving shield, which were about the size of a car. With its revolving nature, the windy shield had sucked, and cut the giant, razor sharp vines and roots around the radius of 3 meters¡ªdestroying them in the process with great ease. With the shield at the front ready to take the incoming attack, the creature curled up like a ball.


    The gigantic fist and the revolving shield made a head-on collision.


    "Bam!" The earth and trees burst asunder. The collision was so strong that it made an exploding sound when the two collided. Shock wave burst forth, blowing away, and scattering the dust of the earth, splinters of the trees, and the leaves and vines into the battlefield. In the center of it, a huge crater as the size of a big truck could be seen curving inward, and a crisscrossed wound the earth stretching across the forest and unto its trees. The once paradise of the beast was now wrecked with havoc and full with wounds¡­ The solemn beasts, which was the resident of the place, made an agonising cries, that could invoke a intense emotion of sadness and grieve.


    Covered with multiple damaged black wings, Hei Long came out unscathed after the ordeal. When he first fought the beast with his nature magic, he had never thought that beast would be this strong¡ªand neither did he thought that his attack would be this strong, After hearing the cries of the beast, Hei Long felt ashamed for he had never wanted this kind of conclusion. He walked towards the center of the collision, trying to see if the beast was dead or not. And by the time he arrived at the center, he saw that the humanoid beast was lying down, curled up and unconscious, on the very center of the crevice. When he first saw the humanoid beast, it was covered wind-based magic forming as full-body green-armor, so he never saw what "it" really looked like. At a closer looked, Hei Long thought that it might be a bandit¡ªwhich is really bad for that poor thing if it really was the case.


    He bend down, and grabbed the person in question, on the neck.


    Feeling the pulse of life from its neck, he frown while contemplating, "Although it may seem weak and unconscious, this thing is dangerous."


    Then out of sudden, someone nudged his head and said, " Get your hands off of her!" A voice so small and weak that he barely noticed it. He turned out to see what kind of vile beast it was¡ªto suddenly appear at his back and nudged him without noticing anything peculiar, at all! But when he turned his head, the first thing he saw made him yelped. "The heck, it was actually a fish?"


    When the little one heard him say fish, it glared at Hei Long and said, "Me? A fish? Hmmph!"


    "Then what are you, if you''re not a fish?"


    "I''m a Dragon,the future of the great Dragon Race, and great Dragon!"


    "But, you''re so small, and you don''t like one." Hei Long had this cynical tune when he spoke with the small thing. The beast was fuming in anger, and fire like sparks appeared on its nose, with a snort, splinters ofsparks and smokes emerge out from it mouth and nose.Opening its gapping jaw, and revealing its razor sharp teeth, the beast puff a ball of fire at Hei Long''s face. Scared by the sudden outburst of the beast, Hei Long covered his face with his two hands and jumped at his flank, to avoid the attack. Breathing a small fire, and seizing the advantage of the current situation, the small feisty beast flashed beside the curled up figure lying on the ground, and the small one quickly grabbed the big one on its collar¡ªusing its mouth¡ªand sped past the crevice with its small scaled legs and with a big load on its back. Having past the crevice, the small beast released a sigh of relief when it got out of the hell hole.


    "What a beast! To call me a fish when I really look like a dragon. Although a smaller one, a dragon is still a dragon." Triumphed with the feeling of success, the beast snorted, and sparks and smoke flew out of its orifice.


    Back at the crevice, Hei Long mouth''s twitched, and blood veins were starting to form on his head. Feeling tricked by that fish. he shouted, "You can run but you can''t hide, Fish."


    When the fish several meters ahead of him heard that, it replied with anger and mockery. "Come and get me dumb ass!"


    The bulging and twitching of the veins on the forehead were becoming more pronounce. Someone said,


    "Hei, are you aware that you''re getting angry?"


    "I''m not angry!" he shouted at his side.


    "But you certainly are, look at this mirror." The black-winged Hei Long emerge out of his body, and waved it sleeves and a mirror took form. He added, "Look! You angry¡ªremember what we are. We must not let our emotion overcome us, or else¡ª"


    "I know!" seeing the figure in the mirror, Hei Long shouted in a smaller voice. "I know¡ªwe must not let out emotion¡ª" Before he can even finish talking, the vile beast shouted¡ªyet again!


    "Come to papa, slowpoke!"


    "Arrrggg," he let out a bellow so strong that the world shook, the black-winged version of him tried to stop him. Unfortunately, his efforts were fruitless and futile¡ªHate and Anger had already consumed Hei Long.


    "Don''t let anger over¡ª"


    Hei Long didn''t let him finish what he was going to say, so he slapped, and sent him flying 50 meters away from him. Having been sent flying through some trees, and rocks, before stopping in the marsh, the black-winged one''s eyes were glimmering with great hate and anger. "No! I can''t let this anger overcome me as well! I cat let him affect me or this place''s going down¡­" Having found no solution, the winged Hei Long screamed while pulling it hair in the process. "Arggghh, I''m going to eat that fish! Oh no! Lily''s still there!" He flew as fast as he could, and he spotted that the black cocoon wasn''t touch , then he heave a sigh of relief.


    "Thank the gods! Nothing happened to her!" Seeing the cocoon wasn''t damage in the very least, he took it with a flip of his sleeve, and it floated at his side. Then he flew far away from that place trying to find a safe spot to put the cocoon before he starts waking Hei Long up.


    "What a dunce," he said. "I said don''t let that lowly creature anger him, yet he still did, and he ever punch me!" Tracing the bulged on his face, he came to a stop to put the cocoon down. "This place is good enough far away from him¡ªand the opposite side of where he''s heading." Looking at the cocoon, he bend down, touched it on the center, and dark energy like substance appeared from his sleeves, and covered the already covered cocoon once more. Having seen the cocoon covered once again, he said.


    "This should be enough, no one can break this unless I want to."Preparing to fly away, he looked at the cocoon, and plucked a feather from his wings, and attached it to the center of the cocoon. Nodding his head, he saw the feather enlarged, and wrapped the cocoon making it look like a big-black-feathered-egg, which is true.


    "Now, this is a master piece¡ª" Having been mesmerised by his own protection piece, and narcissistially appreciating it, he almost forgot that a beast has been unleashed in the wild¡ªa few moment ago.


    "Bam!" exploding sound reverberated from far away onto his location, but with his enhanced hearing ability he could hear it quite clearly.

 9 Curse

    Enraged by the feisty little beast¡ªthat had come to rescue the already injured nymph-like creature who was covered with a sturdy, green armor from head to toe, and was curled up, lying on the ground¡ªHei Long tried his hardest to resist the burning urge to destroy, and to kill whatever he could see in the world around him. Gasping for air to breath, he kneeled on the ground with his bare hands on his head. He shouted,


    "No, no! Not here and not this time!"


    But Hate and Anger had already began to grow inside his head, and heart. They were very gentle when they whispered on his ears, as a matter of fact, it was just like listening to the sound of water flowing down the stream, from the river to his thoughts.


    "Yes, you should destroy everything you could see, Boy¡ªthat is the only thing that could appease the pact that we''ve made. The more you kill the stronger you get¡­ have you already forgotten?"


    "Begone! You devil! I have already offered, and fulfilled the required deeds to undo the pact! Yet you are still here?"


    "Oh, I ain''t no devil," it laugh, but the gentleness in its voice it had once had, was gone¡ªreplaced with an eerie, twisted voice that most people could only, and probably hear in the midst of night where the vicious devils likes lurk and to feed on the people who are in their direst state.


    "You are right, the pact has been undone. But I ain''t dead, I''m you, and you are me¡ªwe are one!"


    Feeling severe pain in his back, Hei Long had to bend low with his limbs close to his body just to relief the pain a little bit. "How could that be! I already have Shadow!"


    When it heard Hei Long questioning its existence, and even comparing itself to Shadow, it snorted.


    "That inferior being is only an innate ability¡ªbut I, on the side of the spectrum, am different!"


    While he was confused by his own thoughts, the severe pain in his back was getting worse. Then, within a matter of time, two lesions were bulging out-wards on his back. "It''s coming out!" turning his head, he saw two lesions. He shouted. "Shadow where are you, come and restrict me!"


    "Don''t try to evade the inevitable, Boy. You will never overcome this ordeal. Quickly embrace destruction, that is the only way for you to no longer feel pain!"


    "Shut up, you lying bastard." he said. "Shadow where are you, come out fast!"


    The evil voice laugh inside his head, and said, "You are alone, once again. Come embrace me!"


    "You¡ªyou better shut the fuck up, or else you''re going to be the first one who''s going to be destroy."


    To what Hei Long had said had actually made it laugh. " Destroy?" it asked. "Me? You can only dream of it, Boy!"


    "I will! Just you wait."


    He had never expected that the voice would actually quite down, and unless he had some kind of ability to block that certain kind of voice from travelling to his ears and mind¡ªwhich was something he''s not sure if there are something like that out there, but ever if there were, it would certainly be expensive for poor bloke like him¡ª he was certain that he could never make it quiet down unless it wants to.


    Feeling troubled by the severe pain caused by the two lesions growing on his back, he frowned, and thought, "Where are you shadow? Why are you not here?"


    Dismayed, at the same time, feeling betrayed, he swayed and felt a drizzle of vertigo. He had never thought that the only person¡ªin whom he had always placed his trust¡ªwould gone, just like that!


    If only he had time and ability to reminisce the things he did before, he would certainly cry, for he would have never thought that the person, who had been his friend for as long as he could remember, was actually swatted like fly, and sent flying through the woods, making him land in dirty marsh.


    Flying not far away from Hei Long, Shadow was in deep contemplation. "What am I going to do?"


    After trying to restrain Hei Long¡ªin which he failed¡ªin the "soft" way, which he had vowed to never-ever try again if ever he got to come in a situation like that, Shadow decided to restrain him in a hard way¡ªthe only way¡ªsince that was the only best thing he could ever think of after falling into a deep contemplation, in the myriads of ways.


    Knowing that Hei Long could never hold long after being corrupted by his emotion, he flexed his big pair of black wings¡ªwhich were spanning a staggering 5 meter-long¡ªpicked up his speed, and sped past the slight elevation ahead of him. Dry leaves swayed side by side as he flew in between with great haste.


    He said with grave expression on his face, "I''m coming, just hold on!"


    In the direction where Shadow was flying to, a person could be seen from away. Sweating profusely, Hei Long lied on the ground while shaking from time-to-time.


    Writhing, he mumble weakly, "Shadow where are you?"


    But before anyone could answer his weak calls, someone said, "Give in already! This is fate!"


    Having heard the demon again, he replied, "I will never let you get the best of me. And the only person who can decide my fate is me, and not, nor anyone!"


    He laugh at Hei Long''s stupidity. "Foolish mortal!"


    "Foolish old man!" he replied with a laugh. "Die then!" His voice disappeared once more.


    At his back, a half-meter black wings were already growing and having a unprecedented level of speed. It would only be a matter of time when it grows as big as Shadow''s wings, and by the time, that happened, he would no longer be able to control himself¡ªand that would spell disaster to the beings that were living here.


    Years ago, back in the time when he was still starting to make a name for himself as a subjugating enforcer¡ªor what he personally called bounty hunter¡ªhe once stumbled upon a unconscious person, which was a actually a wounded soldier, at a closer look, on the mountain, that he was scouting. As soon as he saw that the soldier had multiple inflicted wounds, that was big and scary, littered around his body, he decided to help him. So he bend down, and slowly and carefully put the man on his back. After that he climbed down the ravenous mountain with difficulty, considering he was he weak and small at that time. Climbing down the mountain, he brought him to the place where he was staying. He tended him for days, feeding him with the food he procured with great difficulty, and yet the soldier was still unconscious and weak. And when the time Hei Long had no longer food to eat for himself, he decided to pick some in the mountain, thinking the wounded man in his place would die without drinking and eating. In the end, he did a lot of things in order for the soldier to survived, but, unfortunately, in the end, the soldier never regained his consciousness and died in the winter snow. The time he came back with raw material on his hand, he made porridge¡ªconsisting of the herbs and spices that he found on the mountain¡ªfor the two of them. He would always check the pulse of man in front of him once in a while, but while checking the pulse of the soldier, the bowl of porridge he was holding dropped.


    Unknowingly, he had treated the man as his only kin, but to suddenly know that the soldier died on his bed all alone. A drop of tear dripped on his rosy cheeks¡ªhe cried and cried till he can''t cry no longer. Then blood started to drip from his eyes, wings started sprout from his back, and darkness took over. Burying the man, and everything at the time of winter snow, Hei Long saw that the mountain and its surrounding were wreck, he clearly knew that grieve overcame him once more. By then, he discovered that every-time his emotions would fluctuate beyond his means of control, disaster would absolutely follow.

 10 Unsealing

    Lying on the ground,Hei Long curled up, as he firmly grasped his head trying his best to suppress the painful memories, that he had already long sealed into the deepest depths of his mind, from coming back to him, bringing him more pain and sufferings. Memories that reminded him of who he was before, and the memories, that forcefully molded him to become what he was now, were gushing out from its blockade, flooding his mind to destruction. He didn''t want this to happen, and he¡ªcertainly!¡ªdidn''t want to suffer the agonizing torments of Sadness and Agony, searing through his mind, breaking the walls that had blocked the memories, and making him remember what he didn''t want to remember. But he can''t stop it from happening.


    "Stop!Stop! please!" he shouted.


    He could vividly see the varying faces of everyone¡ªthe criminals he killed, the orphans that he adopted and later on became his comrades, who died, unwillingly and young, in a battle against the bandits, and lastly his family from Peach Evergreen. They looked at him with red eyes, telling him to accept death and damnation. Stretching his hand above the sky, and gasping for air, he could hear the cries of the people who were screaming out of pain and anger, and some of them begging him mercy. And not a single one of them offered their thanks¡ªnot even his family!


    "Why did you kill us!" A man clad in a damaged black suit with wounds all over over his body, pointed at him.


    "You deserved death!" Releasing frustration, Hei Long shouted at the man. "You killed a lot of people when you were still alive, Bandit!"


    "I did that for my family!" the other strongly protested. "They were starving, and, as a father and the bread winner of the family, I had to do what I have to do¡ªeven if it''s wrong! Had I not become a bandit, they would''ve be long dead! But since you killed me, who will they rely on, and who will feed them!" He vanished. But the things he said still lingered around his mind. Thinking how he indirectly killed someone''s family, he became muddle head, and his eyes became lifeless.


    A skinny child, who was barely eight, limped over to him, and asked, "Big brother why did you leave us?" To Hei Long, it was like the world was thrown into chaos after the child had asked that question.


    He could still vividly remember the day when he picked the poor little child, who was probably disowned because of its deformity on its legs. It was crying its eyes out, in the cold winter snow. At that time, the temperature was cold enough to send even the healthiest man around to an endless sleep, much less a child, who was only placed in a thin box like it was some cabbage, and with barely anything to keep it warm. Having failed his bounty hunting mission, which he spent most of his time and money planning, Hei Long was left with nothing to eat.


    "Poor thing," he said. "What am I going to do?"


    The poor child cried, so he had to nudge the box, where the child was placed, and swayed it back and forth to make it stop crying. "Everything''s gonna be alright." The child became quite after being swayed in a gentle way. As a matter of fact, it actually laugh. Although, it was quite weak and feeble. It still made a difference, He thought.


    Looking at it with sad eyes, he contemplated. He place his hand onto the child to check if something was wrong. And to his dismay, there was, indeed, a problem. The child was probably left here long enough in order for it to catch a fever, which was why the child''s body was burning hot... After another deep but quick contemplation, he decided to end its suffering. With his hands shaking, he tried to place his hands over the child''s nose and mouth. Then, he pinched its nose closed. Only the mouth''s left, he said to himself. When he was about the to do the same thing to the mouth of the child, the cold winter winds blew the box lifting it for a moment. The winds were so strong that it almost blew the box away with the child on it, but Hei Long was quicker than the wind and snatched the child back, from the winter winds. "Gotcha!" he said while holding the child tightly on his arms. The child bubbled some words that weren''t very understandable, but that made Hei Long more guilty. He took off his winter clothes¡ªlong, blue scarf, a jacket made from thick a leather, and white T-shirt¡ªand wrapped it around the child, who gasping heavily, and moving it a very weird manner.


    "Don''t move child," he said. "These will make you warm, and happy."


    With his bare upped body, he ran across the town, and down the aisle, screaming, "Someone help! My child needs help!" While running, he could feel that the child doesn''t have much time left. He blamed himself for hesitating. Feeling guilty, he screamed and screamed that he didn''t realise that his voice was gradually fading. He knocked every door he sees, but every single person that came out of those aforementioned doors had quickly denied his entry without even bothering to hear his request, thinking he came to their doors only to beg for money while bringing a skinny child to gain their sympathies,which actually just made them angrier for destroying their good evening. In the end, they had the same statements¡ªthe soft ones would say, "Sorry, we don''t have much to give." And the rough ones would say, "Please leave!" then with a slamming door at the end. With head lowered, and dry eyes, he thought that maybe hope was already lost by the time he hesitated back then.


    With a growling voice he said to himself, "You fool! You should have taken him right away!"


    If only he didn''t indecisively decided what to do with the child, he sighed. Walking in the cold winter, without much energy, he was feeling dizzy, cold, and very exhausted. Then, he tripped, and fell on the ground. Putting the child on his bare chest, he fell with his back facing the ground. Breathing heavily, he cough and made a worrying smile. "What am I going to do with you?" he said. "Help us! Please! Anyone!"


    Then, the rumbling of the winter night became serene, and temperature seemed to drop as patches of ice slowly melted.


    "Boy," someone said, "stop shouting, you''re ruining my winter sleep!" The voice was old and had this authoritative influence to make anyone listen attentively.


    He turned his head, only to see a old man, who was a hunchback. He wore faded suit with holes with varying sizes everywhere around it, black hiking boots, and he had an old cane, which was made from a skeleton of some kind of animal, on his hand supporting his weight¡ªwhatever kind of animal it was, thought, he wasn''t familiar.. His winter-white hair was long and braided beautifully, with thin strands running down his back. Wrinkles ran across his face making him looked really old, and sickly. Which might be the truth if we based it according to his looks. And the most eye-catching "feature" of all was that his eyes were red as his, and fierce as a tiger, that it brought chill on Hei Long''s spine, though, it might be because of the wind that the snow had brought. He wasn''t entirely sure, but he had this feeling, telling him that the old man was not a normal being, and that he needs to run away as fast, and far as he could¡ªor else he would be damned, and it would the end. In the end, his concern for the child outweighed the danger he felt from the old man.


    "Sir," he fell onto the ground, on his knees. "please save this child! I beg of `you!"


    The hunchback didn''t reply. He only stretched his arm and snapped it. Then, a book, that was very thick, big, and wide appeared, and floated in front of them. Opening, and flipping it with a flick of his flimsy hand, he looked at the book, Hei Long, and, lastly, the child, who was still on Hei Long hands. He said, "If the price is right, we''ll make a trade."


    "Sir," he said while feeling troubled, "I don''t have money to pay you sir!"


    He stopped flipping his book, and looked at Hei Long.


    "Money?" he laughed. "Money doesn''t bother me, boy. And first let''s me fix your voice. Can''t you see I''m old? It''s giving me a hard trying to understand what you''re saying, Boy." He smiled at him, and a faint golden light burst out of his hand, and onto Hei Long''s body. "You okay, kid?" he asked.


    The light had bathed him, made him float for a while, after that it made him feel much better. He felt like he had just had a good day rest despite ofthe things that he had done today.Touching, and feeling his throat, he knew that his voice before was very strained from all the shouting, but now it was different, the pain was gone. Confused, he stretched his body without feeling miserable. My body was even healed. I thought the Great Tree would be my only healer, he thought.


    "Thank you, sir." He took a bow.


    The old man laughed, and then he started flipping his big book once more, at a much faster rate.


    "Small thing, small thing to do, Boy."


    "Sir, what are you looking at that book of yours?" he politely asked. "Can you please set some time aside and help this little one, sir?"


    "Oh, don''t worry, I''m on it¡ªI''m looking for his time, boy, the record of his time." He pointed at the little one. "If it''s not his time yet, I will save him. But the same goes vice-versa¡ªOh, peculiar, indeed!"


    Anxiety surged his body, he came closer and asked. "Can he be save?" he''d already forgot his manner.


    "I¡ªactually don''t know. This "thing" should be dead long ago."


    "Sir, please save this boy. I''ll do anything and pay you anything, just please save this child..."


    "Okay, deal!" he said. "I guess I can break some rules for you, boy!"


    Hearing that, Hei Long kneeled down and said his thanks.


    "Thank you, how can I repay you, sir?"


    "You have already paid it, Boy. You may have forgotten but I have not." He smiled, and vanished. Then, the silent child began to cry. "Uwaa, Uwaa¡­"


    "Forgotten? Who are you?" he mumbled as he gently swayed the child.


    "There, there child, everything''s fine now," his face was full of love and confusion."From now on you''ll be called¡ªhope!"


    Recalling the memories he sealed.


    "I-I¡­" he stuttered with tears streaming down cheeks. "I''m sorry, I didn''t wish to leave¡ª." Hand shaking, he tried to hold the child. And so he did. The child smiled, and kissed him. "We miss you."


    "I also miss you lot." He smiled and closed his eyes to try to feel the warmth he longed for¡­ Feeling the tinge of warmth on his cheek, he feel asleep on the ground. Seeing Hei Long sleeping, the dog on the child''s hand leaped on the ground, and transformed into a hunchback man. He said to the child, "You''re pure soul in exchanged for his soul, are you satisfied with this?"


    Hope smiled at the old man, which made the old man sigh.


    "Yes," From head to toe, they gradually turned into clouds of fine particles, flew around, and entered Hei Long''s body.

 11 Chapter 11 - Transformation

    Floating in the middle of his consciousness with eyes closed tightly, Hei Long could vaguely hear the churning of gentle water current around him, drifting him everywhere it wants.


    Water? he thought. Where am I? What am I doing here? Water bubbles went plop, plop as they burst apart as they touched him, turning into smaller ones and moving up once more to see the light of the day.


    He tried to open his eyes but he couldn''t move it as the way he wanted it to move. It was unexpected because it was his body¡ªhis very own body¡ªyet, he couldn''t do what''s needed to be done. He was helpless. It was as if the water surrounding him restricted him of such simple movement.


    Move! Move! Move it, you damn body! He mentally shouted.


    After struggling hard yet obtaining nothing but mental frustration, all of a sudden, he felt lonely, cold, and tired. The fire that was burning inside of him was extinguished in the middle of his struggles. His struggles stopped. He was sure that some kind of magic was at work here. Moments of time had already passed by, but the flow of time felt slow and it seemed a second he spent staying there lasted for more than what it actually was in terms of how he views time.


    Gradually, he lost the track of time. And when almost fell asleep in the cuddle of the water, he felt a burning pain from his heart and a flash of golden light erupted out his heart, and the extinguished fire was lit anew¡ªstarting from the most center of the heart, the unknown light started to crawl up and down from his heart. The thumping of his heart went Thu-thump!


    Gradually it went to his other organs through his pulsing veins, and started to lit and spread more throughout the very pigments of his existence.


    Soon, the unmoving Hei Long was glowing with golden light through the cracks of his skins making him looked like a big light bulb.


    At that moment, he could feel the power that was hiding and dwelling inside of him, and he knew that it was something powerful beyond comparison. Although it was powerful and mighty to the point that the current him couldn''t face it head-on, he could vaguely feel that it was harmless and it even made him feel comfortable to the point where he felt sleepy and safe. It was as if he was just spending his time with his most beloved family.


    But what he didn''t know! The golden light was slowly but surely decaying a seal hidden deep inside his body, making him drowsy and confused.


    ''What is this thing? It feels familiar...''


    Having covered with a peculiar substance, Hei Long once again tried to move his body. But again, he failed. He put his mind to rest in silence to calm it down.


    ''Come on, Hei Long, you can do this. If not, your fate will lie here, no, Lily''s fate will be at stake. Calm down and focus your will!''


    After a long time of recovering his mental state, he was no longer able to feel the "love and care" that the golden light had showered him. He was indifferent to everything about him, and everything around him.


    He willed his mind and resisted the golden light from taking over his body, which was covered with glittering golden light. A thought ran through him.


    ''Stop or be vanquish forever!''


    Feeling the hostile air and intention coming from Hei Long, the light gradually came to an abrupt stop, and receded back from his body to his forehead without waiting for another word from Hei Long.


    Having all the weird light gone, he "mentally" released a sign of relief.


    ''What a headache, and what was that thing? It was so comfortable that it made me feel so uncomfortable!'' he thought while feeling mentally exhausted from all those concentration. He knew that if he''d truly fallen to that kind of state he would have lost something inside of him. Although, he didn''t know what it was. He still didn''t want to lose that something without reasonable reasons. Which was why he''d fought hard to overcome the weird state he was in, and forcefully breaking it apart with his meager will without bother the consequences of using it.


    The gushing of all of the golden light from his body to his forehead stopped, and all of the golden was gone. Except for the one on Hei Long''s forehead.


    Lying motionless on the sea of nowhere, Hei Long''s finger moved.

 12 One Winged Angel

    The restless churning of the water made him feel lonely and sad. And although the restriction around his body was gone, he wasn''t really that happy after having the thought of being with himself in this vast unknown place with no one but him to rely on. He drew his feet close to him, and sank into the silence of the dark.''You''re doing a good job, Hei Long. You''re all alone once again, huh? I guess this is all I am, and it might never change.''He tried to humor himself, but it didn''t turn out well. ''Well, at least you can move your body¡­''


    Just as darkness was about to make him fall to his sleep, a vague voice resounded into his mind calling up to him.


    "Big brother, big brother!"


    The voice was so gentle and so full of enthusiasm that it rendered him speechless.


    ''Someone''s here with me? And he''s calling somebody, and if he really was calling somebody else. It means that there are three people here including me. But what if he was reaching out to me?''He shook his head, and crossed the thought out of his mind because he knew that it was near impossible for somebody to be here without his permission¡­ ''Who could have entered my soul without my permission? I might be hearing things. Yes, yes, I might be hearing things¡­''


    "Big brother, I''m here!" The voice sounded like a little boy, who literately was calling up to his brother.


    Hei Long Ignored the voice, and tried to enter the state in which he can calm his mind with ease in order to see through this illusion. But no matter how many times he tried to convince himself that it was just an illusion, and he was just hearing things because he really was feeling lonely and sad.


    "Big brother, I''m here." It just kept on coming back and it was as if someone was tugging his arm. Annoyed, he unconsciously said, "What is it?"


    When he opened his eyes, he was already standing on something. The first thing he saw was the endless blue sea, which even occupied the ends of which his eyes could see. He looked up and saw an object similar to a sun hung above the glorious skies, bringing and pouring the world with its light and love.


    It was not over yet, above the sea where he stood, he could see various balls of light with varying size floating and flying around with no specific direction. A ball of light flew to his direction in a very slow manner. He touched it and it went "plop, plot" as it vibrated and bounced towards another direction.


    He murmured as he looked at his finger, which he used to touch the ball of light. "It felt like a ball, but a kind of ball with an amazing amount of power hidden deep inside of it." He looked around, and bunch of light was all over the place. "Amazing¡­" He felt so proud and amazed for seeing such a beautiful place that he could stay here and stare at the amazing place for the rest of his life without feeling tired and sick of it.


    While Hei Long was undeliberately thinking of staying here forever, somebody beside knew that he was mesmerize of such view. So somebody had to grit its teeth and had to decide to do something for him in order for him to wake from his amazement. Somebody looked at Hei Long, and then at the world around them, and cutely blinked. Finally, after a quick deliberation, somebody tugged Hei Long''s clothes, waking him from his reverie.


    "Big brother, look¡ªlook what I''ve found for you!"


    Hearing the same voice over and over again, Hei Long knew that he wasn''t hearing things nor was he seeing things. Because the owner of the voice had actually tugged his clothes, and spoke clearly at him. Turning his head, he saw a boy who had a small white wing on his back.


    ''One wing, is he some kind of a half angel?'' Humoring himself, Hei Long looked back at the back of the young boy to see if the rest of the wing was hidden in his back. But he saw nothing but a single wing. Still not convinced by what he saw, he undeliberately ignored what the young boy had said to him, and turned his sight at the boy''s white toga, which resembled the clothing of the gods wear at mount Olympus.


    "Hmmm." He lifted the boy, took as peek on the inside of the boy''s clothing, and saw that the boy had clearly had one wing. Convinced, he put the child down, and patted the boy''s head and smiled. "What a good boy you are!"


    Not bother by his inspection, the boy gave him a smile and laughed. "Yes¡ªyes, I''m a good boy!"


    Seeing the happy and harmless countenance of the boy, Hei Long had the urged to ruffle the child''s hair, which he did without much deliberation.The boy''s eyes shone with golden hue similar to the color of his hair, while his face still had his baby fats making him look adorable that no girls¡ªwho love always cute things¡ªcould possibly resist. But Hei Long had this feeling that he had already seen this young boy, who was flapping his wing similar to how a puppy wagged its tail after being ruffled.


    Hei Long stared at the young boys, and frowned. "Child, you look familiar. Have we met before?"


    Hearing that, the child''s shook, and looked down.Hei Long sworn the boy looked sad for some reason.


    "Child, have we met before?" he asked again in a much gentler way. "You look sad for some reason, are you feeling not fine?" He knelled on his right knee down to look at the boy''s face.


    The boy stared at him with his doe eyes, and asked, "Big brother, don''t you remember me?"


    He didn''t want to betray the look and expectation in the kid''s eyes . He released out a sigh, and said. "Child you wouldn''t believe me if I say that I was abducted by a god and was forced to forget some of my memories. So¡ª"


    "I believe you." The boy nodded, as if saying, ''Go on, and tell me the whole story.''


    "Yes, you wouldn''t believe me. How could such an event¡ª say what!"


    The boy laughed at him and said, "I said that I-believe-you."


    Hei Long decided to drop the bomb down. "Child the truth is that I don''t remember you. No matter how hard I try to remember. I don''t recall seeing you in my memories." His arched brows deepened.


    The cheerful smile on the boy''s face subsided, but he still tried to put his brightest smile because he knew that Hei Long was the one who was having a hard time since he was the one who lost his memories, and not the other way around.


    "Since you don''t remember, I''ll tell who I am, and what you are to us. I''m your brother.And, I''m one of your little brothers."


    "So, I still have a lot of brother?"


    "Yes," the boy said, "in fact, you still have a ton of sister, although they''re little. They are still your sisters." The boy laughed as if he was recalling a happy time they spent together as a big family.


    "But are you doing here, and what am I doing here?" Hei Long asked. "How exactly did you get here in the first place?


    "Oh," the boy said, "someone told me to help you unseal something inside of you." The little boy spread his arms wide with great enthusiasm. "And poof, here I am to the rescue! Finally, I am able to help, big brother."


    Hei long smiled when he saw his antics. He really felt that the boy in front of him was telling the truth and meant him no harm. But he still couldn''t shake the uncomfortable feeling while watching the kid smile all the way.


    He put his hand on his chin, and thought, ''The kid''s harmless, but why do I feel that something wrong is going to happen''


    For as long as he could remember, he had always been in the battlefield sleeping with the dead and mutilated bodies of everyone he had slain. Although he was able to survive every battle that had come his way, it didn''t mean that he didn''t face any danger at all. Back in those days, death was his best friend, and danger was his neighbor. Death, who was his best friend, had always followed him wherever he goes, and danger, who was like a neighbor to him, was always knocking and greetinghim in his doorstep. They never let him live a life free of death and danger. He always had this thought this whenever he felt alone. ''What a good friend and a neighbor.''


    But because of those two, he developed an ability to feel and sometimes see what the future has in-store for him. Although, he didn''t see what the future has in-store for him now. He was 100% percent sure that something bad was going to happen. ''I can feel it in my stomach.'' It might sound hilarious but it had already saved his life he''d already lost count.


    He got closer to the boy, and put his hand on top of the boy''s hair, and started ruffling it.


    "If you really are one of my siblings, then why are you the only one who came here? I don''t get it. Did something bad happen to them while I''m away?"

 13 Chapter 13 - Family

    Feeling the warm and gentle hand ruffling the top of his head, the boy closed his eyes with pure bliss present on his face.


    "He-he." He gave out an angelic laughter, smiled, and shook his head while his wing flapped back and forth. Anyone could see how happy the boy was when Hei Long ruffled his hair to a mess and fix it again.


    ''What a cute child,'' he thought. "Child, are you still there? Hey, can you hear me?" He shook the child up.


    The child woke up, and wiped the smile on his face, and tried to put a funny face, but he couldn''t really hide the happiness exuding from his body. So he blushed with shame.


    "I can hear you! I can hear you¡ª"


    "Then what did I ask you?" Hei Long asked. "Where was I¡ªOh, why are alone here with me? What about our other siblings? Why aren''t they with you?"


    "Oh, they?" the boy asked. "They''re fine and happy¡ªoh-oh, I almost forgot." Smiling foolishly, the boy said, "Thanks god, big brother asked me that, or else I would have forgotten."


    Feeling a sense of urgency, Hei Long said, "Quick, tell me."


    The boy looked down at the sea beneath him while playing with his toes.


    "I-I-I tell brother, b-but brother has to agree that he won''t be angry with me. Okay?"


    "Okay, so tell me quickly." He didn''t have the time to get angry with him cause he didn''t really know whether the kid was his real sibling or the child might had just made some story up. But he didn''t throw out the possibility that the kid might be telling the truth, and he might be just the kid''s long-lost relative.


    The child took a deep breathe, relaxed himself, and looked at Hei Long in the eyes. He could see and feel the profound worry hidden beneath those colorful eyes, which made him more resolute.


    "They''re fine and happy¡ª"


    "You''ve already said that part, so what exactly happened to them?"


    "Nothing happened to them," he said. "Before I left our house and everyone to find you, I told them the truth behind my sudden actions. I told them I would look for you. But many of them disagreed, they said that they should come with me, and that I shouldn''t be selfish..."


    "I-I what did I lose?" he muttered as his body subtlety shook. He tried to hide it from the person in front of him, but the kid noticed. He was always observing him, so his subtle movements were detected by the kid before he could even hide it from him.


    "Continue," Hei Long said. "Don''t stop please."


    "Yes, I will." The boy gave him a nod.


    "I tried to reason things with them, but they all looked at me as if I was the most horrible thing in existence. They always emphasized that I should bring them away, and then look for you for good. But when I told them that it''s hard to bring all of them with me. And I need to pay certain prices to travel in order to look for you."


    "Price?" Hei Long asked. "Come to think of it, how did you find me in the first place?"


    "Big brother, let me finish first, okay?" The boy said while puffing his rosy cheeks."I''m almost done, the story''s almost done. Big brother, hmmp! You never let me finished! Not in the past, and not today either."


    "Okay fine," Hei Long ruffled his hair, and gave him a warm smile. "You don''t have to pout, okay?"


    "Hmmp! But since big brother said so, I will reluctantly agree." The boy''s wing flapped back and forth as he felt his favorite spot being ruffled by Hei Long. "Where was I¡ªoh, oh, everyone didn''t say much because they already know that you already knew how much you mean to us. Everyone said that you need to take care of yourself, and that everyone will always wait for you to come home."


    After hearing that, Hei Long''s mind went blanked. Somebody shouted, "B-b-big brother?"


    Hei Long vaguely heard any of it. He felt great pain coming from his head. So he grabbed the ends of his hair, stumbled down, and crouched on the surface of the solid water while bearing the pain that was wreaking havoc in his mind. At that moment, it was as if he saw some fleeting images of some kids¡ªrunning along a narrow road, laughing, smiling, and their faces were full of bliss¡ªas they walked with him along the road toward a big shabby house then the images vanished like it were made out of bubbles. He had forgotten. Yes, he had forgotten something. He had never dreamed that some part of his life would be removed by something, and what he couldn''t accept was that the only memories he had about his family would be lost without him knowing. He felt like his heart was being gripped by an invisible hand and was being torn to pieces. It was so unbearable that it made him cry but tears didn''t rush out of his eyes. It only made his eyes blanked similar to the eyes of a dead fish.


    He had always thought he was impervious to any kind of suffering, and that he was immune to any of its kind. But the pain he felt at the moment wasn''t something within the realm man could bear and forget.


    Under the gentle rays of the blazing object above the vast sea, he climbed his way up, knelled down on his right knee, and grabbed the boy who wore a worried expression while helping him up.


    "Please, child." He begged. "Please tell me everything I should know. You seem to know something. I want you to please tell me everything that I should know."


    With a slumped head, he said, "Big Brother, please don''t beg me. The first time I saw you, I''ve always wanted to tell everything straight away, but certain actions need certain cost. And one of the conditions I promised someone in order to find you were to never, ever, let you know certain things that might ruin the things that you planned for us and yourself."


    "Planned?" he blanked out. "I planned this? When?Who told you this?"


    "We never saw day after day of waiting, but we still kept the hope hidden beneath our hearts. You will certain come back home¡ªlike you always do. We were certain. We waited, and waited." The boy screamed in his heart. "But you never came back!"


    After a moment of silence, a sound went zzzzt, zzt, zzzzt, zzt as the boy''s hand went incorporeal for moment.


    The child''s countenance went pale. "I don''t have much time, Big brother."


    Hei Long frowned. "Where are you going?"


    "I going nowhere," he said with a smile. "I''m going to do something. Please, don''t disturb me.


    The boy performed some kind of ritual: he slowly stretched his arms wide, drew his arms close to his chest, crossed his arms across his chest. Hei Long felt temperature suddenly rose high for some reason. Suddenly, the child gentle, and slowly took something out of his chest, making the temperature higher and it made the sea churn.


    Outside where the physical body of Hei Long lies, powerful energy surged from the surround forming a giant whirlpool of energy. Hei Long flew 20-meters up from the ground, and the whirlpool of energy above him, which was forming a giant vortex of pure energy, gradually came closer to his head.


    When it touched the golden-tear shaped on his head, the giant vortex of energy was sucked into the forehead of Hei Long, and through the golden-tear like a tattoo. The vast energy was brought forth into the hidden world of Hei Long. Sucking the energy endlessly, Hei Long, who was floating midair, shook as the energy was too much for him to absorb. And because of that, the excess energy was stopped by Hei Long''s subconscious mind from sending more energy inside his body. Unable to move forward, the giant vortex of pure energy started to disperse, and ended up forming a giant ball of energy, placing him in the center of the ball of excess energy. It made him like a nucleus of a cell.


    In Hei Long''s sea of consciousness, the boy slowly but gradually pulled a golden colored object from his chest which was absorbing the energy around the sea of consciousness. But because the energy inside this world was abundant beyond measure, the golden object continued to feed from the surrounding energy making its form clearer as the time passed by.


    Soon enough, it felt full, and so it stopped its feast. Hei Long at it, he was sure that it was a golden flame. The golden flame came out of the child''s chest. After a long time of pulling it in and out, it finally came out.


    "A golden flame?" Hei Long muttered. "What is that supposed to be?"


    The child with the golden flame place on his palms presented it to Hei Long. Hei Long tried to touch it but it seemed to have some barrier making him unable to touch it. Although he couldn''t touch it first hand, he can feel the warm heat exuding from it. It had a different feeling from the first time he felt it when it was initially summoned¡ªnow, however, it was gentle yet strong, making him feel comfortable.


    "Take this," the boy said. "This is the only thing that could help you suppress the Devil living inside of you, which is your volatile emotion!"

 14 Chapter 14 - Offer

    Seeing the mysterious golden fire flickering about from time to time, Hei Long could feel the power hidden within that flickering light, but Hei Long wasn''t stupid enough to not know that it was beyond precious. Just by the aura it emitted, even the dumbest person in the world would know and recognize, after seeing it first hand, that it was a precious thing¡ªand to be given something like that? Hei Long wasn''t shameless to do that. He declined it without hesitating.


    "Boy, what are you saying?" Hei Long gave the little boy a strange look in askance, and then pointed at himself. "Me¡ªin danger? Me? Are you sure? And this thing''s very precious¡ªanyone can tell just by looking at it¡ªand you shouldn''t give me something like that. It would make me look and feel bad."


    Of course, Hei Long knew that he was always in danger, and never had such a thought that such thing would drift afar from him. Danger was always sticking close to him, never leaving him alone, and accompanyinghim throughout his life. Without it, he wouldn''t be Hei Long.


    "No!" The little boy shook his head, looked him at his eyes, then at his surroundings. "The worlds around you are the ones in danger! Not the other way around! And this not that precious, just a rare treasure¡ªit will help you solve some problems, please! For me!"


    The little boy looked at Hei Long with his big doe eyes, begging him to accept the gift he offered.


    Hei Long body shook, his eyes widened. He knew the boy wasn''t saying nonsense for he always had this kind of feeling every time he blacked out for some reasons god knows.


    "Then why do I need that if I''m not in danger?"


    "Cause you''d be hurt whenever you destroy something innocent. There was a time¡ªoh, yes¡ªI remember the time when you got so riled up because one of us, your precious little ones, got chased by a group of bandits, and got lost in the middle of the forest wandering without anyone to rely on. By the time¡ª"


    "What happened to them?" Hei Long''s eyes widened. "Are they alright, did they got hurt?"


    The little boy smiled. " Yes and no, big brother, they''re okay. Actually, no one got hurt besides the hoodlums that chased them."


    Releasing a sigh of relief, Hei Long looked at the sky above. "What exactly happened to me, and what''s happening right now? How could I forget such important things. It''s making me worry," he thought.


    Hei Long looked at the little boy, who looked like a little angel who was sent from above to make him felt various emotion¡ªworry, confusion, and happiness at the same time.


    "Little angel, please stop making me worry, okay?" Hei flicked the boy''s forehead, making it red.


    The little boy covered his forehead after being attacked, and puffed his chubby round cheeks. "Aiya, big brother''s bullying me again. Hmmp."


    Hei Long laughed as he poke the boy''s cheeks while appearing awestruck. "Wow, you can also do this?Let me see." Bright light appeared in Hei Long''s eyes as he gave out an evil laugh. Then his hands started to tickle the little boy. "Aiyou, this is for making me worry."


    The two of them tumbled, laughing, and rolling along.


    The little boy''s laughter was full of delight. "B¡ªbig brother, stop!"


    Hei Long thought that it was time to stop the torture, so he laughed. "Any more tricks, boy?"


    After stopping Hei Long from "torturing" him any further, the little boy squinted his eyes at him while trembling. He had a look like he was seeing a devil and not his big brother,which made Hei Long''s indifferent face smirk. As if seeing the evilest smirk of all, the little boy took a step back, and then pointed at him.


    "You evil being! Get out of my brother''s body! If not, I-I-I will let you feel the power of this golden light." The little boy gave him a look don''t-you-dare-get-close-or-else.


    Seeing the naivety, and innocence within those eyes, he sighed once more as varying emotions flooded his heart and mind. Before waking up in this world, the only thing he had in mind was to meet his family, his dead family to be precise. Because the last thing he knew, and remembered before waking up were¡ªthe great tree that towered through the sky, his death, and nothing more. He didn''t remember having this little angel as his family¡ªno, he didn''t remember having kids around him. If he did, he wouldn''t leave them to fend for themselves¡ªthat would be horrible, and he wasn''t able to imagine doing such thing¡ª he was sure of that.


    Hei Long was a person who longed for familial love, but never had a second chance to feel it again after his family left him behind because of death. Or so he thought. Although, there might some times that he might not look like one, he was definitely 100% sure that he was an emotional, and a protective kind of a person.


    "How could you leave them behind, Hei Long? They''re kids for god sake! But since the kid''s here you can make up for the time you were away from them before regaining back your memories." Hei Long thought as he convinced himself with a yes yes mutter.


    Hei Long smiled as he tried to get close to the little one. "You don''t havr to be afraid¡ª"


    "No!" the boy cried. "Bring me back my big brother!"


    Out of a sudden, the little boy''s antics stopped, and his face became serious. He looked at the golden fire lying on his tiny hands with indifference, then a golden ray of light burst out of his eyes as his voice turned into something ancient. "Take this light. And let this light bring luck, warmth, and peace to your new world!"


    "W-what¡ª"


    The world around them rumbled as the the vast sea underneath them rippled, sending massive waves from their very spot. The golden light dazzled more brightly, bringing the world more light and comfort.


    Humming sound resounded from the little boy''s back.


    The little boy''s wing shook as it grew bigger and bigger, tearing the white toga apart, and spreading behind his back. By the time the wing stopped growing, various light, and sound started to emit out of it. Then the fully grown white wing started to suck the excess energy around them, which earlier was sent inside from the outside world.


    "God''s bestowal¡ªGather!" the ancient voice rang throughout the world within, leaving Hei Long frozen. He then saw the wing spread out in the open air, sucking something from the surroudings which later formed a small vortex, whirling about before entering the wing.


    In truth, the wing gathered the excessive scattered energy before transmitting it to the golden flame in order to make it more pure and powerful.


    After a few moments, the wing slumped down, the vortex of whirling energy gone, making the chaotic world at peace for quite a moment. Finally, the wing stopped gathering the energy around.


    With his wing slumping behind his back, the little boy''s left hand hovered over his chest, before the ancient voice rang. "Energy condense!"


    After hearing the command, the slumping wing hummed, as the light from the wing gathered in the chest of the little boy, making the wing dim a little bit. Then the little boy started to transform the stored energy within the wing into a white ball of blazing light¡ªwhich was similar to the golden flame but was smaller in terms of scale,and weaker in terms of power.


    The left hand of the boy took the white ball from his chest.


    "Yes, finally!" the ancient voice said. "This wing has finally produced its final product, which would be used to strengthen the golden flame¡ªmaking it more lustrous and powerful. Next step is¡ª "


    "Hey!" Hei Long moved closer to the boy with arched brows. "What happened to the little boy? You didn''t possessed him, right?"


    "Possessed?" the little boy laughed, but his voice was still that of an ancient, coarse and rough, similar to a thunder rumbling about. The little boy pointed at his head. "He''s here."


    "Is he fine?" Hei Long asked. "What exactly did you do to him?Y-y-you old man!"


    After the magical words, Hei Long sworn to every god kind of god in existence that he saw the little boy''s delicate forehead twitch. "It wasn''t a vein, was it? Aiyo, I might have made the old man angry."


    The little boy laughed as he stared at Hei Long, his "gentle" laugher rang throughout the the world.


    Hei Long also began to laugh, though, it was a bit forced. "Laughing is still laughing" he thought. At that time, Hei Long knew that he got himself into trouble without even trying.


    Finally, the little boy stopped laughing, and so did Hei Long.


    With indifferent face, the little boy said, "He got scared by you¡ªthinking that you might be possessed¡ªso he called, and told me to cleanse you." The little devil grinned at Hei Long. "He-he, now that I look at you. Uh-huh, you might really be possessed, don''t you think so?"


    "Well," Hei Long said, "I don''t have time to joke with you, whatever you are. But since this is my place, please introduce to me who you are, and what you are doing here collecting that mist. Please."


    Hei Long had never thought that the scared kid would be frightened by his joke to the point of being possessed out of nowhere. "What kind of mouth did that kid have?" Hei Long though as he grimaced with tsk tsk sound. Although, the current little boy right wasn''t the original little boy, Hei Long still didn''t felt that he was in danger being with this little boy even after it was occupied by another. Strangely enough, he felt secure, and anxious at the same time, which was contrast to one another.


    The little boy smiled at him. "No need! For the time will come when the Will will arrive, bringing you your long lost friend burried underneath the white land."


    Hei Long frowned, and ask, "Will will¡ªwhat?"


    "The time will come, and Will will come. And by then, you will know who I am!"

 15 Chapter 15 - Kindness

    Hei Long was baffled by the complex language used by the ancient being. "What exactly do you mean by that? Can''t you just say it right away who you are?"


    "Knowing who I am isn''t important." The ancient being shook his head, then he pointed at Hei Long. "Let me ask you the right question, do you really know who you are, and what you were before you came to this place?"


    After staggering momentarily, Hei Long came into a conclusion with pale face. This ancient being, who currently possessed the little boy''s body, knew some secret about him that he, himself, didn''t. Faced by such harshness of reality, Hei Long got confused to the point of questioning his very existence, and purpose coming to this world. Breathing heavily, he could feel and hear the whispering of the creepy voices inside his head, asking him who he was, and telling him he was hopeless.


    Hearing the various voices within his mind, Hei Long, who looked lost and pained, suddenly felt his head was starting to fall apart. He felt pain, he didn''t want to feel. He began to doubt himself. "Am I really cursed with a bad end," he thought.The question who are you echoed deeply within his mind.


    "Ahh!" he screamed. To appease and stop the pain from further consuming him, Hei Long had clutched his head tightly. With squinted eyes, he gave the ancient being, who was exuding with ancient aura, a strange look while struggling to stand his ground. "I-I a-am¡ª" ''Who am I? What''s my goal?'' he thought.


    While he was contemplating, a tattoo, that looked similar to the great tree, which was situated behind his back, shone with respledent light, purifying everything poisonous his mind¡ªdoubts were gone. Then he knew who he really was after all. "Hei Long, the son of the great tree! I am Hei Long. And i will bring Lily outside of this place." Hei Long''s shout reverberated across the world.


    The ancient being laughed, and tapped his head with a tick, tick sound.


    "See? Didn''t I tell you that he wasn''t possessed? Look at him¡ªlooking energetic while shouting with great enthusiasm about his name and origin. It''s good to be young."


    On top of the little boy''s head, a miniature version of the "real" little angel peeked outside, through the gaps of the little boy''s hair, to see what Hei Long was doing. But when he peeked outside, he saw his maddened big brother shouting his name with great conviction that could peirce through the souls of every being who came close to him. Although, the little angel was shivering with excitement, he was sure that most of it was because of fear. He feared that Hei Long was really possessed by some unknown forces, with some unknown powers.


    "Eh," he said, " why is he doing that, grandpa?"


    "He didn''t want doubt to get the best of him, so I lent him a hand, helping him see through the lies of Death and Danger. Those two really are doing their best to make him fall, but they failed, time and time again."


    The little angel gently tugged the hair as he didn''t believed any of it. "Grandpa, didn''t you said he''s alright?"


    "Boy," the ancient being said, "he''s fine and dandy. It''s just some effects after "finally" seeing and encountering hope, within a hopeless place."


    "But Grandpa! He doesn''t really looked fine to me!


    "He''s really fine."


    "Really?" the little angel asked. Concern was written all over his face as he looked at his big brother, who was standing still with eyes closed after unleashing a beastly roar to the heavens.


    "Really," the ancient being said. "And I''m done here. From now on, you need to take over the situation, and continue the plan."


    "Yes," the little boy said, "I will take over."


    The ancient being took the boy, who was on top of his head, and gently placed him on top his palm. After staring at the little angel for some time, he released a significant sigh. The ancient being knew that it was out sorrow and pity for these two''s fate. Then he pointed at him, and asked, "Can you really do it? You still have time to back out. And you know that If he gets to know what you plan on doing. Although, he won''t get mad at you. But the other can''t be said to me, cause he will really get mad at me."


    "I''ll will do it," the boy said with resolution. "I won''t back down, and he will understand."


    "Boy." The ancient being still reminded him. "Remember that once you take over now, you cannot back out even you want to¡ª"


    "I won''t!" the boy shouted with conviction. "Please, this is all I can do for him, and them."


    "Then I can''t do a thing about your decision," said the ancient being. "Your made your choice... This is where you step in."


    "Okay," the little angel said.


    The ancient being closed his eyes, and by the time, he opened them again. The light that was once there changed. He was gone¡ªno, to be precise another being took over.


    He walked over to Hei Long, nudged him.


    "Big brother," the little angel said, "wake up, wake up!" He repeatedly shook him, but Hei Long just wouldn''t wake up. He stopped nudging him, and a light flashed through his eyes as a plan to wake his brother up, made him released an evil smile.


    "Pay back time!"

 16 Chapter 16 - Sprou

    With two different flames in hand, the little boy thought that since Hei Long still looked spellbound and preoccupied, why don''t he merge the two objects for the meantime, and give it to him after everything''s done. He was sure Hei Long would accept it without much resistance if he''d do it without him knowing. He looked, and weighted the beautiful flames, on his left hand he had the white ball of light, and in the other he had the flickering golden flame. After weighing everything, the little boy closed his eyes, and enjoyed the sunlight on his face for the last time.


    "Here goes nothing," the boy said, as he began to merge the two objects, colliding the two of them and letting them devour each other, and within a few seconds the two were fused as one.


    Eyeing the golden flame, he was sure it looked exactly the same as the golden flame. It looked exactly as it was before, as if it was never fed or merged. It looked nothing new, just the old golden flame flickering from time to time. However, the while ball of light was gone, no traces of it could be found on the flame on his hand.


    "This is?" he said. "It''s the actual thing?


    It was actually the first time he did something like this and maybe it was the last, which was why he was baffled after doing the whole thing.


    "Yes, boy, that''s it." the ancient being said from his mind. "What did you expect?"


    "N-nothing!" face red, the boy said. " I thought there would be something, like booming and whooshing, that might happen while fusing, and after fusing it.


    The ancient voice said, "It''s called phenomenon, boy, not booming nor whooshing, but a phenomenon. It only happens when something extraordinary occurs, so do you thing it''s easy to invoke a phenomenon?"


    "But didn''t we invoke some?" The boy nodded as he remember that they did invoke some of it, inside of this place. "What about the energy that barged its way through to get inside here, didn''t that invoke a phenomenon?"


    "Yes..." the ancient being trailed off. "We did because it was supposedly hard to gather such energy much less summoning your--"


    Before the ancient being finished talking, something behind them cracked. "C-c-crack-crack!


    The little angel slowly turned, and saw what it was, that made such a crisp sound. Behind him, it were actually spiderweb-like-cracks caused by the small hole, a black hole with electricity coming out of it, to be precise.


    "Quickly put it on his body or else the world will crumbe to pieces! And everything will be for naught!"


    The little boy who was now pale as snow saw the cracks had spread its way to the sky above them, and the sea beneath them.


    "Yes!" the little boy scrambled his way toward Hei Long, and placed the golden flame on Hei Long''s chest. But it had some sort of resistance against Hei Long as it didn''t merge as quickly as he thought it would.


    It didn''t want to go inside of him, merge, and move on. It was simply resisting, and it was resisting hard.


    The spiderweb-like-cracks never let every moment go, as it seized the valuable time, spreading its destruction.


    Seeing the cracks, the little boy pushed the flame with greater power. "Come on, you can do this. They believe in you, and don''t it let go to waste!" He was scared, so he tried to bolster his courage with self-encouragement. Although he was scared, he never stopped doing what could. "Everything will pass," he said as he trembled.


    Meanwhile, Hei Long, who was most likely the cause of all of this, was still standing still. He didn''t seemed to notice any of it, as if everything wasn''t visible to his eyes, and senses.


    "Grandpa, what do we do?" the boy asked. "The flame won''t accept him, and he''s not reacting!"


    "Boy..." the ancient voice sighed. "Just get out of this place, you will both die if you keep this on."


    "But big brother will--"


    "He will die if you keep that thing here, cause the cracks in the void is because of that thing on your hand. "


    "W--what?" the boy asked. "Why is that?"


    "It''s because of the phenomenon, boy. It''s just too strong for Hei Long''s world to shelter and keep."


    The boy shook his head, and yelled, "No, this can''t be! Brother needs this!"


    "I know, my boy, " the ancient being said. "But both of you will die if things go on."


    "Grandpa!" the boy begged as he choked down a sob. "Please, I don''t want to leave, and I won''t leave. He''ll eventually die without receiving this, and I can''t let that happen, not now and not on my watch!"


    "Boy, don''t do this."


    "Please, tell me what to do." he begged down on his knees. "I''ll do everything, so please tell me, what to do, Grandpa."


    "Boy, I also want to help him. But if this is his fate then we can''t do a thing about it. I do have a way to save him, and if the gods pity him then he will be save."


    Eyes shining with hope and joy, the boy asked while trembling with great joy. "W-what it is?"


    "You won''t like, so don''t get your hopes high."


    "Grandpa," the little angel said, "quickly tell me!"


    "Pray," the ancient being replied, "boy, pray. If the gods, good or bad, hear your prayer, they might considered after looking at Hei Long."


    "Pray?" the boy said with anger present on his face. "But the gods hate him, they brough him nothing but death and sadness. They tore him down like he was their toy, t-t-they--"


    "Boy, calm your anger. Not all the gods hated and treated him like garbage, there were some who helped him.


    "Help? Help him? If they did helped,everything would''ve been fine. But, why did they have to let him suffer and forget eveything who he was, and let the cycle go on and on. And they even planted something even they, themselves, feared in his body!"


    "The gods have their own plans," the ancient voice said. "And we have to abide by the rules they''ve made. And in this moment... all that we can do is pray, and hope that some righteous god pass by and help him pass this test."


    Although the little angel hated the gods, he didn''t really hate all of them. In this world, the gods could interfere whenever and however they want. Nothing could really stop them but the gods themselves.


    In the end, having no choice, the little angel swallowed his anger and pride. For his love ones, he could do almost anything. So he closed his eyes, clasped his hands over his head, and knelled down, while the whole world, this world, was undergoing destruction. Yes, Hei Long''s sea of consciousness was crumbling down to pieces, the spiderweb-like-cracks were spreading all over place in an unprecedented rate. The sun, which was once hung above the sky, was slowly falling down, heading towards the ravaging sea where they stood.


    "If his sea of consciousness dies, then he, as the owner, will also suffer the same fate," the ancient voice murmured. "Boy, you need to leave. This place will fall in a matter of seconds."


    He heard everything, but the little angel continued to knell and pray. He just wouldn''t listen. If he dies, he thought, then what''s the point of coming here? The smiles, the trusts, and the hopes that I brought from our home, where will I place it?


    Fleeting images of his home passed through his mind as he prayed.


    "Hope, you should bring hope to da--big brother, okay?" A boy similar to his aged hugged him and whispered. "You should also take care of yourself, or we will get mad and sad."


    Around the little boy called Hope, various kids who looked similar to his age said the same thing, over and over again, reminding him to take care of himself, and that he shouldn''t force himself to do the impossible.


    A little girl, who was much smaller than Hope, grabbed him on his sleeves. She looked at him. Her eyes were blank and white. She said, "Hope, w-w-will it take too long for you to find Dad?"


    "It won''t take long, Nina."


    "Nina misses Dad. Did Dad leave because Nina eats too much?"


    Everyone choke down a sob as they heard her. They hurriedly said, "No! How could our little Nina think of such thing. Da--big brother was just gonna get some help to heal your eyes."


    A kid with a missing leg interjected, "Yes, yes. He said that he will get some cure from the great tree."


    Nina nodded like a pecking chicken as her brothers and sisters comforted her. She let go of Hope''s sleeve, hugged him, and whisper into his ear. "Tell daddy that Nina will eat less, and that Nina loves him very much."


    "God, oh mighty one, please hear our calls." Hope strengthened his will and prayed hard. "I beg you, they still need him!"


    As if some mighty being heard his calls, a tattoo, which was similar to a tree, shone behind Hei Long'' back, then tree roots began sprout out of his back. Some of the roots were big and small, it had not definite size as it could simply grow as it wanted. The smaller tree roots inched its way toward the flame, and gently started enveloped the golden flame on his chest, trying to seal the flame. Covered with roots, the flame started to resist, and so it burned the roots, but all of it was futile. The roots were simply indestructible, as it devoured the flame. By sealing away the golden flame, the world''s destruction had finally come to a stop, as the roots sucked the chaos inside the sea of consciousness, closing the voids and black-holes, and reparing the cracks that littered the world.


    "T-t-that''s t-the Tree God! How did that thing came out of his body!" the ancient voice shouted inside Hope''s mind, waking Hope from his hopeless situation.


    "The world is changing?" Hope asked as he looked around.


    "It is being repaired by the god inside him, but everything comes with a certain price."


    "But that thing is one of the gods, right?"


    "Boy, you need to remember that every action comes with a certain cost, whether it''s big or small, certain prices must be paid. Let me ask you, how will you feel after running for a long time?"


    "Tired, of course." Hope answered it as a matter-of-factly.


    "Then what do you think will that tree feel after stopping the power of destruction?"


    "Tired?" Hope looked confused. "Didn''t you tell that it was a Tree God? Aren''t they powerful and mighty?"


    "Yes, maybe some of the gods won''t feel tired after doing that. But that god is just a sprout, I don''t know what happened, why it became like that, and why it''s inside him."


    Hope was too tired to get all of that, but he still got the point.


    "Sooo, Grandpa? Is he fine?"


    "Fine..." the ancient being said. "He''s fine for now, but I can''t be sure if the Tree God will devour him in the future."


    Hope shook his head, and smiled, "I think I know who gave that to him. He''ll be fine."


    "Who?"


    "The Tree God itself, it was big brother''s guardian."


    "Hoho, I see. So do you think that the your prayers reached it?"


    "Yes... It reached right exactly where it should." He smiled, and the world turned hazy.

 17 Oblivion

    After cleansing the chaotic energy out from the world, repairing the wounded space, and stabilizing the crumbling world, the mighty and majestic roots, that came out from Hei Long''s back, started to slip away from the cracks of the sky and the ravaging whirlpool of the sea. Swooshing and swishing sound whistled out from his back, as the giant roots retracted back to his while the roots were shrinking in the process.


    After a few moments, the giant tree roots were gone, leaving only a tattoo of a tree on his back, which would sometimes glow with green lights proving that it was active and alive. Either saving him from another calamity or devouring for eternity, no one knows when exactly it might strike back.


    Looking from afar, anyone could see everything: the sun was no longer falling down from the sky, the sky was no longer littered, and scarred with spatial cracks that spread far and wide, the vast sea wasn''t filled with ravenous waves and undercurrents like a hungry beast waiting for a feast, and the balls of light weren''t stuck inside the void like prisoners--now, they were moving in their unpredictable paths, free and happy. Everything was back normal, except for the little angel who was weakly lying on the solid sea surface. Strangely enough, Hope was breathing without a problem, but one particular surfaced, his body was jumping from a tangible and intangible state, as he curled up like a dying pup.


    "Am I dying?" Eyes dimmed, he mumbled as he looked at the man, who was standing still, from the corner of his eyes. Then he blanked out as darkness devoured the light of the sun. Night came, lording over the sun for the meantime.


    ...


    As rays of light crawled out from the darkness of the night, and onto the vast sea, bringing the warmth of life to the desolated place, Hope awoke from his unplanned rest, with a little energy to spare. Despite the time it took for him to rest and save energy, it was still insufficient.


    I must get up, he thought. Struggling to fight against exhaustion, which was constantly whispering him a demonic chant that verbally portrayed sleep and rest were his best friends, Hope had to bit his delicate tongue in order to make himself more active and awake. But by doing such a struggle made him more weak and lethargic.


    He looked at his translucent hand, then he knew that his time was coming to an end, an end that he didn''t really want to come. But every beginning that he remember was always accompanied by endings.


    I can''t leave like this! I need to do something! he thought. There are so many things I want to talk about!


    With all of his might put together, Hope mustered his strength to stand up. You can do it, he mentally encouraged himself. Although he was shaking, he still did it. He stood up.


    "Yes, I did--"


    But his feets failed him after a few seconds, making him tumble his way towards Hei Long.


    In the end, Hope had to lean and grabbed the unmoving Hei Long in order to stand up once more.


    He grabbed Hei Long''s sleeves, tugged it, and said while smiling his most beautiful smile. "Big brother, wake up. Wake up."


    Only a few moments had passed since he started to wake Hei Long up, but for Hope, it felt like years had come and go. He couldn''t afford to waste any of it. Calling out, he was having a hard time holding on for a little more longer. He himself was barely awake. From time to time, he was blanking out as if he had lost his soul somehow, then when the time came that everything came back to him, he would just continue all over again, waking up his brother from his deep slumber. Although Hope didn''t know what destiny had in store for him, he knew that he needed to make a choice. Yes, a choice that he wouldn''t regret.


    Seeing this, the ancient being, who remained silent for a long time, could no longer bear to see this scene.


    "Boy," he said, "that''s enough! He won''t wake up, and it''d be best if you stop bothering him. Boy, our purpose here is done. I hate to say this, but we''re nothing but ghosts of his past now..."


    As if he heard nothing, the poor little angel smiled and continued to tug and wake Hei Long.


    Being ignored, the ancient being wasn''t angry at the boy, but he was angry with himself. If only he was brave enough to take out his soul and gave it to Heilong. Then the child wouldn''t have to make such a cruel sacrifice. But he was scared, he knew such a thing would lead to a disaster. He knew Hope was barely conscious, so he had to try to at least make the most out of Hope''s time.


    "Boy, that''s enough. We''ve both made and took our own fair share of sacrifice. Now, let''s leave."


    "No!" Hope yelled," Big brother still hasn''t remembered me. I don''t want that, and I still want to say good-bye."


    "So what!" the ancient being snapped. "You want him to believe your story? And what--tell him that you are dying because you were feeling "valiant" and you needed him to live because he still had his "family" left behind in another world? Hope, think about this: what about you? Your divine soul is gone!"


    "No! You don''t understand, and you won''t cause you''re a reaper!"


    "Then what do you want! Maybe you want to see his lovely expression as he processes the whole thing regarding his origin!"


    "No! You are wrong..." Hope looked confused. "I-I, you don''t understand..." He smiled as tears and snot covered his face, he tried to wipe everything away but he didn''t have much strength.


    "Kid, you''re dying! No matter what you do and tell him, he won''t believe you. To him, you''re nothing but a strange angel, who appeared out of nowhere, with a strange story to tell. You''re just making things hard for him and yourself."


    "If we leave now, I might lose the chance to talk to him forever."


    The ancient being didn''t want to be harsh, but if he can save the kid more time. Then he would do anything.


    "Stop this farce, and accept the truth... He''s different from what he was before. He doesn''t have memories about us. It''d be best to go home, and spend the remaining time you have left with your siblings-- siblings who remember for who and what you are."


    As if it had hit his sore spot, the poor little angel finally stopped, and choke down a sob, as he knelt down, wiping the tears on his face with his tiny hands. "I-I just want him to ruffle my hair and say bye-bye!"


    Out of a sudden, as if the gods had heard his pitiful calls, a big hand had gently wrapped his head, while ruffling everything. Because of habits, Hope involuntary closed the lids of his eyes, put up a smile that made the surroundings more colorful as he flapped his wing side-by-side.


    "Why are you, my child?" the owner of the hand asked. "Are you hurting somewhere?"


    "Daddy, you remembered...?


    "Dad--?" Hei Long knelt down, saw Hope''s dirty face, and frowned. "Are you fine?"


    "So you don''t remember?" Hope smiled. "I''m fine, your child''s fine."


    Hei Long didn''t mind the words, but his arched brows deepened.


    "Then why are you crying if you''re not hurt?"


    Hope didn''t answer but smiled as he remembered something. He eyes blanked.


    The little angel, Hope, was full of smiles all the time, but he didn''t smile because he liked it, nor did he smiled because he found something funny. No, he was full of smiles because he was taught, at a young age, that his smile could relieve anyone''s pains and sufferings.


    "Hope, someday if you ever feel sad, just smile. If you ever feel lonely, just smile. If you ever feel you can''t handle everything--"


    "Just smile!" the little one interjected while smiling.


    Hei Long laughed, "Right, we won''t let such emotion drown us to the bitterness of despair. We are mighty and strong!"


    Little Hope nodded, eyes glimmering with passion. "We are mighty and stwong!"


    Hei Long laughed, "Not stwong, it''s strong!"


    Inclining his head sideways, Hope asked, "Styong?"


    "Strong," Hei Long pointed out with patience. "Baby, stro-ong!"


    "Stwong!"


    "No...."


    Memories of the past vanished like bursting bubbles, waking him back to reality.


    Hei Long check every inch of his body., "Are you sure you''re fine? You just blanked out!"


    "I was having a dream," Hope said. "A good dream."


    "Dream?" Hei Long put his hand in front of Hope''s eyes and moved them from to side to side. His eyes are clearly out of focus, Hei Long though. He was fine just a few moments ago, what exactly happened?


    What Hei Long didn''t know was that he was forced to enter a lethargic state by the ancient being to stabilize the world around by letting him see and realize what he truly desired. Many events had already happened, yet it appeared to him that only a few minutes had passed.


    "Kid? Hey kid! Oh, finally, got through--your hands are fading! What going on?"


    "Oh, this?" Hope looked at his translucent hands. "I''m leaving, so this is normal." He lied.


    Hei Long wiped away the sweat on his forehead and released a sigh of relief. "I was panicking for nothing." Hei Long stared at the translucent hand, touched it, but his finger simply passed through it. Hope winced in pain, and quickly pulled hands back.


    "I''m sorry," Hei Long said. "I didn''t know it would hurt." Hei Long was suspicious. "What''s exactly happening to your body?"


    Hope pointed at his body, which was slowly becoming hazy and disintegrating. "This? It''s about time for me to leave this place, so I should do the fade-fade thing to return home." Idiot, someone shouted inside Hope''s head.


    Hei Long smiled at his antics. "Then you should take care, okay?"


    The angel inched closed to him and hugged him tightly as his body slowly disintegrated into nothingness while saying his final good-bye with a smile. "Bye-bye, Daddy." Until the end of his time, Hope kept his smile, and a teardrop rolled down from Hei Long''s eyes.


    He caught it, and it shook him. "Eh, what is this--a teardrop?" Hei Long felt very sad, for some reason that he couldn''t even stop his tears from flowing down. No matter how many times he tried to wipe it away from his eyes, it just wouldn''t stop.


    "What''s going on?" He closed his eyes as he tried his hardest to remember everything the child had said.


    "Wait--what!" His body moved on his own as he gathered the particles around him, with his bare hands. Unfortunately, he was already too late. Hei Long was suspicious about himself, the kid, and ancient voice, but he couldn''t do a thing about. The meeting was too abrupt and everything happened too fast, he didn''t have the convenience to ask.


    At the very start of their meeting, he felt joy, worry, and pain out of a sudden after seeing the kid, but he was sure he didn''t meet him before. Therefore, not knowing the kid was fine, yet for some reasons, it dealt him great pain because the emotions the kid invoked inside of him were real.


    "This is a dream, right?" Hei Long laughter resounded to the high heavens. "Yes--a dream! Please, anyone, tell me everything''s just a dream!"


    As if someone heard his calls, he heard a bell ringing, shattering his doubts and bringing him back to reality.


    -Ding!


    "No!" He raised his hands towards the sky as darkness surged and drown him in.


    -Assimilating divine soul starts within 3-seconds!


    -3!


    -2!


    -1!


    -Compatibility rate: Calculating...

 18 Awakening!

    Flying straight-ahead with jet-like invoking speed, a human figured who was covered with dark light and oozing with death-like pressure sped past the vast land that was overgrown with life, over the mountains, and finally through the dark depths of the verdant forest.


    Meanwhile, beneath the sky. A deer was carefully foraging for food when its ears twitched, then raised its head as it noticed the world was turning dim and hazy...


    Black streamlined followed wherever it passed thus leaving and turning the empty space behind into a river of darkness, which left some of the beasts below shivering with fear, anxiety, and urges to flee as far and as soon could.


    It was still noon, and the sun was supposed to be blazing the prairies, mountains, and forests with light and heat. The phenomenon left the creatures trembling with fear as they never faced something so unknown and so dangerous.


    Frightened and petrified, they carefully hid and holed themselves wherever possible that even the restricted lands of the kings weren''t spared; thus, it became one of the many hiding places. They were so scared the creatures forgot absolute death would come to those who step their foot in the lands of the kings.


    Meanwhile, somewhere within the dark depths of the forest, for the first since the last dying cry of a king, sparks of buzzing lightning brought light to the ever-darkness that shroud the forest. The innocent creatures that were planning to go inside the forest pause for a while, looking at the surrounding place, and then when they thought that it wasn''t dangerous, they proceeded moving forward. Slowly and carefully as they seemed, but what they don''t know was that they were actually unknowingly plucked from the flock.


    At first, there was the only pair of eyes like lightning, then it was followed by another, then another followed the other, feasting on the flesh of fools who came to seek refuge to the coming of darkness. The sound of some creature which was eating crunchy bones crept through the surrounding as blood flowed down unto the ground bringing rancid smell on the air, which was then followed by another awakening of another monstrosity of the same kind. "I smell blood in the air!"


    In the end, the awakened creatures were too many.


    The beasts that were much stronger and much mightier that than the rest, that busy was only busy running away from the invoker of the river of darkness, roared as they looked at the humanoid figure who was flying away with fierce light on their eyes. These creatures were different from rest that didn''t dare to face the unknown. They were bigger, more vicious, and braver. If they die, then they would accept death wholeheartedly. It was as simple as that. But ruining the peace in the vast land, it was something they couldn''t bear to watch. They could hardly wait for the hunt to start.


    Gathered and prepared, they started to move to the center of the forest, where they stayed at the base of an altar and stopped making sounds as they were trained soldiers. The creatures all looked different except for the glow in their eyes, which resembled lighting itself, and the raw red juices on their bodies.


    After waiting for a long time, below the altar, an old ape with eyes closed was escorted by a bunch of monstrous beings. The ape was small, and it looked very weak and old compared to the one that was on its side. When the group finally reached the base of the altar, the ape climbed up alone, but the rest stayed at the bottom looking at the ape with respect on their eyes. With its eyes closed, the ape reached the peak of the altar which had only a complete knight armor.


    It stroke gently it weak finger on the armor while it opened its eyes¡ªit was cloudy white and nothing more.


    "Master, where are you?" It smiled. "We are still waiting here for you to come and save us."


    He carefully looked at the creatures at the bottom of the altar and at the skies, waived his hand and a staff made of unknown wood flew unto his hand. Smiling, he looked at it and said, "It''s been a long time, old friend. " He struck the ground with it. "Boom!" Shockwave traveled from where he was to the surrounding area, causing a little disruption to the creatures that were waiting like a soldier down below.


    "Hoho." Looking at the fierce glow on the creatures eyes then at the skies above, he said."It seemed like we still have it, partner. Seems like we have been sleeping for a long time."