《My Soul is Yours》 Prologue It was a cold winter night and the moon was so bright, it was almost so silent that the wind could barely be heard. At the center of a very large forest with big black trees swaying as if it were alive, a cave could be seen. The cave was not so big, it¡¯s almost unnoticeable, but what makes it peculiar is that there seems to be strange runes on the walls at the mouth of the cave illuminated by the bright moonlight. There stood five people having a discussion. All five of these people have armors and garments that looked so dazzling as if it weren¡¯t used for battle rather it was for looks. One man spoke at the other man wearing a full plate armor with a red cape holding a spear. ¡°Eckland is this the right place?, it seems like the only thing special about this place is these runes!?¡± ¡°Yes, prince Adnar, this is exactly what that prisoners map showed me. I¡¯d studied the map carefully and there seems to be nothing wrong or altered with the map¡± ¡°If this is really the place, we should be able to find an entrance of some sort. If that ancient book is accurate, this cave should be the entrance to the Vanishing tomb. I¡¯ve spent 10 years studying and finding this tomb. It''s time to see what my hard work gives me¡±. A grin is evidently displayed upon the princes face. ¡°Tomb Master Pepo, I think it''s time to test your expertise here, don¡¯t you think?¡± The prince addressed another man wearing a thick leather coat with a fur wrap around his neck while holding an odd device that gives light and said. ¡°Eehm, your highness?, truth be told, this tomb really feels like a very mysterious and dangerous tomb. Of all the tombs I¡¯ve been in, this is the first time I¡¯ve felt a very ominous feeling. Well eehm¡­ its not that tombs are not ominous to begin with but you know, this seems rather exceptional.¡± ¡°Of course, this tomb is exceptional. If it wasn¡¯t, why would I waste my time searching for this tomb in this godforsaken land. And besides, if these tombs is what it actually is as written on that ancient text I¡¯ve uncovered. We could have a weapon that no other kingdoms could contend with. After I secure the throne of my father, no aristocrats or rebels would be able to question my power anymore, hahaha. ¡± A glint of viciousness and malice is shown from the prince¡¯s eyes. As to what extent he¡¯s willing to take just to realize his dreams, no one really knows. ¡°We''ve got a long way to go, let''s not tarry anymore and move forward. Since Master Pepo is an expert on this type of thing I think it would be better for him to lead the way¡± The prince addressed all four of his companions with a firm voice. ¡°Master Pepo, I will let this two guards accompany you at the front in search for the passageway to the tomb, while I¡¯ll be at the back with Eckland. With a High Master Soul Assimilator by my side, there would be no problem.¡± ¡°Cairne and Mairne, pay attention to the surroundings and don¡¯t let anything disturb Master Pepo as he do his job. If this journey is not truly delicate I would¡¯ve brought all my royal guards here, but I guess, we can¡¯t help it.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness!¡± Said Cairne and Mairne with a firm resolve. The three at the front moved forward towards the center of the cave looking for clues. With torches and a light device in hand, they carefully inspected every inch of the cave as they move forward as to not miss any detail to find the entrance to the tomb. Following at the back, the prince and his guard were very cautious and on high alert. Since the place was very mysterious, they could not relax their guard because they have no idea what dangers lurks inside. It was a decision the prince made to make the three stay at the front not only because they have to investigate the cave first but also to alert the prince of any unforeseen events. This way the prince can react and plan on time, whether to bail out the mission or to proceed. Of course the three would serve as bait if the danger level can¡¯t be handled anymore. As the group got deeper and deeper inside the cave, they arrived at a very spacious place filled with broken stone slabs and broken stone foundation. It looked like it was a very large city under a cave but there was no sign of someone living here even a long time ago. At the center, Tomb Master Pepo stopped and looked at a very tall statue. It wasn¡¯t made from stone, but of metal. It was black and seems to be untainted with any scratch and seems like it was put there the moment their eyes laid upon it. They could tell that it was in this place for a very long time only because it was covered with dust. The surrounding stones and broken slabs indicate that there must¡¯ve been something big that trashed the surrounding place, but amazingly, the statue was intact and without any sign of being moved. At the foot of the statue there was a strange writing written like what is commonly seen on monuments. But unfortunately the words were not written with the local letters, but seems to have originated from the ancient times. The two guards who were with the Tomb Master had a blank look on their faces while looking at the writings. They didn¡¯t have any clue as to what it says simply because it wasn¡¯t taught at the kingdom''s schools or any history books they have read so far. Sure enough, it was an ancient language which was lost in time. ¡°Eeeehm, your highness!?, I think I may have found something in here!¡±. The tomb master called out to the prince at the back, surveying the mysterious place filled with rubble. Soon the prince arrived at the same place the three stood at the foot of a black statue. ¡°It seems this is the right place. According to the information I gathered this should be the ravaged city of Eloria, the city of elves.¡± The other people had a very surprised expression on their faces. They had a very difficult time processing the information because as far as they know, this place was only heard in children¡¯s stories. The way the prince said it and what they¡¯ve seen so far, it probably might be true. ¡°I didn¡¯t think such a place could really exist, I thought it was only a myth. To think that a city is built around a tomb or is it really a tomb!??.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Well your highness about that, I think based on what I know about tombs, there is a high probability that the entrance to the tomb should be related to this statue. Not only is this statue too conspicuous because of its look, I feel that there is a secret behind this one.¡± ¡°Well, Master Pepo, I didn¡¯t let you come just because your intuition says something. I need a more concrete explanation of where actually is this entrance. You know I hate to waste time, don¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°Eeeehm, your highness please forgive me about that, I actually noticed some strange cracks around this statue and when I Inspected it, I¡¯m pretty certain there is something beneath it. Honestly speaking, this thing is really incredible, if not after all the things I¡¯ve seen from my previous adventures I would¡¯ve really missed this one. If my guess is correct, there should be an apparatus or a certain incantation here for us to get inside.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The prince thought for a while and said. ¡° I think I know what to do,¡­¡± Then the prince took a strange looking object that looked like a giant plate with strange symbols written on its side which glowed brightly and illuminated the place. If someone inspected it, it seems to glow even brighter if it is near the statue. ¡°As I expected, this might be the key to the entrance. It reacted this way when I got near the statue. Then, let''s see if this really is the key.¡± After taking the key, the prince then look for a section of the statue which resembles the plate where it fitted. And surely after a while they found it and put it in place and it fit accordingly. Soon after, there was a strange vibration from the statue and the whole place followed quaking as well. After a moment the statue moved backwards and revealed a staircase downward. They checked how long the staircase was and it seems to be so far down because the light from their torches couldn¡¯t reach the bottom. The group then decided to move downwards cautiously and slowly as to avoid any traps that might spring from the place. After walking for about an hour they reached a room which has an altar at the center. It didn¡¯t resemble a tomb, not even a single bit of the place ever look like someone was buried with treasures or any signs that someone was buried. It was more like a place used for sacrificing something to someone. There were strange depictions of 6 legged beings fighting human like people If not for their long pointy ears, one could easily be mistaken. Along with the battle depicted, there were also strange spear looking weapons that seems to shoot fire from its tip carved and drawn in the walls. This seems to be a war of sworn enemies because the faces of the people carved and drawn were so vicious that it feels like if their weapons fail, they would use their teeth and bite the enemy¡¯s head off. The prince moved towards the altar at the center and observed the surroundings for a while. After that, he took a piece of leather parchment roll and unfolded it. ¡°This is it!!... As long as I recite this verses, a path should show itself leading to the weapon we have been seeking all this time!.¡± ¡°Your highness??... Eeehm, do we need to sacrifice something to open the path?, I think this place looks like it was used for sacrifices.. Maybe??¡±. The tomb master asked the prince who was so serious and excited at the same time. ¡°Speaking of sacrifices¡­ Eckland!, you already know what to do!.¡± As soon as the prince called the High Master Soul Assimilator, a vicious looking black gas was forming above getting bigger and bigger. After just a moment, a big black hand with sharp claws materialized from the gas and grabbed the tomb master like he was a stick so powerless. The tomb master couldn¡¯t even scream because he was gripped so hard by the black hand it seemed like his lungs was crushed from the pressure. The two guards assigned for the tomb master did not even flinch or showed signs of shock from what happened. It was most likely planned way before the journey to the tomb even started. Not too long after, the tomb master¡¯s eyes showed no life and was utterly dead. ¡°Eckland!... Just put his body on the altar.¡± ¡°After I recite this verses and with the sacrifice, the path should show itself after. There¡¯s no mistaking it!¡± The prince recited the verses and suddenly a loud noise was heard. -Boom- -Boom- -Boom- It was the sound of two heavy stone walls splitting apart and dust floated everywhere. After the front wall ahead of the altar opened, they saw another room filled with strange devices arranged in long racks at the side. The strange devices look the same as what was depicted in the drawings and carvings around the walls of the room. But what made them look stunned and astonished was not those things but what was floating at the center of the room. It was a giant pitch black hole floating without any support from any stones or any devices. It¡¯s as if the space was stabbed by a giant spear and that it won¡¯t close for all eternity. ¡°Your highness, please be careful!... I have a bad feeling about this!¡± Eckland was so nervous that sweat started pouring from his forhead and a slight trembling from his hands could be seen. It was more like his intuition is telling him that something really bad is going to happen. Maybe it was because of his abilities as a High Master Soul Assimilator that he discerns something before it actually happens. Not too long after, a cold wind blew from inside the pitch black hole. It was rather odd since they were inside a room underground and there shouldn¡¯t be a wind blowing from anywhere. They became more terrified after what happened next. What they saw was so horrifying that the prince fell on his butt due to the shock. ~Thud~ ¡°Wha.. what is that!??¡± Something was coming out of the pitch black hole. A large head with 3 huge horns was slowly emerging with no eyes. It has a large crooked mouth with very sharp long incisors and 2 white stripes running down from its forehead up to its chin. Only one thing is for certain, the thing that was floating in front of them was not a weapon but rather a gateway from another world. ¡°My prince, I think its time to bail out on this mission!... I feel a very powerful aura from this thing!... Even I don¡¯t know if I could last a minute fighting it¡± Sure enough after half of the things body was emerging, the High Master Soul Assimilator readied into a fighting stance as he shoved the prince to the back. ¡°Both of you! protect the prince at all cost!... I¡¯ll buy us some time¡­ you better start moving now or it might be too late!¡± The prince was so overwhelmed with fear not just because of how terrifying that thing looked but he could also feel it¡¯s menacing aura. One of the 2 guards carried the prince who was frozen in place in order to escape. They could not wait any longer and needed to get out of the place as fast as they can. While they were running, Eckland was left in the room readying to battle the thing that emerged from the pitch black hole to buy them time to escape. Unfortunately for them, in order for them to escape they needed to scale up the very long stairs they came, so it will probably take a lot more time escaping than going down to the room they were in. The 3 of them ran as fast as they could to escape. But before they could feel safe from running away, a loud roar was heard from the room they came in. Then there were 2 roars, 3 roars, until the sound drowned their ears. The 3 of them really felt terrified this time. The prince who was frozen in place frantically tried to outrun the 2 guards he was with to escape the place. He couldn¡¯t believe what was happening. What he thought to be a treasure trove turned out to be a disaster. This could even spell the disaster to the world if those things get out of the cave. ~Boom~ ~Rooaaaar~ ~Boom~ ~Boooom~ Even if they have gone far enough that they were almost at the entrance of the tomb, they could hear loud sounds of fighting. For a moment it was so chaotic, and then silence crept in the place. ¡°Is it over!?¡± Said the prince who was out of his wits and breathing heavily. ~Kada-kada~ ~kada~kada~ Something was heard running towards them from below. It shouldn¡¯t be the High Master since the sound seemed very big. Then it started to speed up drawing closer and closer. Panic struck the prince and started running again towards the entrance of the tomb. And then eventually they reached the top. As they heard that the thing that was chasing them was getting closer and closer, the prince decided to take out the key which he placed in the statue at the entrance hoping that it would close it. And yes it did close, but unfortunately it was too slow. The prince thought that it may not close in time so they ran towards the mouth of the cave of which they came in. ~Baaaang~ After a while they heard something hit the statue. It rocked the cave and made a small quake of the place. Sure enough, the thing that was chasing them was too big that it couldn¡¯t get out of the half closed entrance. Only its hand was sticking out trying to grab something. It was a very scary sight. The prince look back and saw what happened. He felt relieved for a moment and started running towards the mouth of the cave again. ¡°I don¡¯t think that statue will hold for a long time!!¡­. but just in case, you 2 stay behind and look if it gets out!!... I¡¯ll send a signal outside to ask for reinforcements. Those things should never get out of this place!¡± The two guards look at each other and with no other choice they followed what the prince ordered them to do. As soon as the prince was outside of the cave, he pulled out something from his waist. It was a sword and it was glowing. It was a special kind of sword which was enchanted with power. The prince then struck the sword at the mouth of the cave. After a while, large boulders fell from the mouth of the cave and started piling up covering it completely. ¡°Damn it!... How did this happen!?... to hell with this, no one should know about this... maybe I¡¯ll start cleaning up any traces of what happened here today¡­ if word got out and if those monsters ever escape this place¡­ that would surely be the end of me¡± The moon hung up at the sky and the cold winter night was the same as it was. Chapter 1 - Knowing the truth 1 On a bright sunny day, under the shade of a tall tree, sat a young man gazing at the sky. He had gray hair, green eyes and sharp eyebrows which made him look imposing and stoic. Although he was just 16 years old, he looked older because of his lean body and tall stature. If you look at him, the first impression you would get is that, he has probably done a lot of hard labor as a kid. He got thick callouses on his hands from chopping wood and fetching buckets of water every day. His name was Basile Veer. ¡°It¡¯s almost noon, I better get home or I¡¯ll get in trouble again¡­ uuugh¡± Basile thought. He picked up the bundle of wood at his side and carried it as he started to walk home. He had a tiring morning chopping wood, so he really looked exhausted. It was getting hotter as it was almost noon time and sweat was dripping from his forehead like a river. He needed to get home fast. While he was walking in a hurry, he suddenly bumped into someone. Since he couldn¡¯t clearly see there was somebody in front because of the wood he was carrying, he bumped so hard that he fell on his butt. ¡°Aaargh!... What in the seven god''s!!... Are you freaking blind!?¡± A man groaned in pain as he was hit in the face by the bundle wood Basile was carrying. As the man fell, a slight tremor was felt on the ground. It turned out that this man was fat; really fat. He had a very strange looking mustache, which was of the color gold. His hair was black and shiny which was parted evenly at the center. It was so slick that even after the man was hit in the face, his hair seemed as if it was a block of stone; untouched and glossy. The fat man was then held up by two other people who seemed to be his companions. Both of the man¡¯s companions stared at Basile as if they were going to eat him alive. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m so sorry I didn¡¯t mean to do that; it was an accident. I¡¯m really really sorry¡± Basile felt really apologetic about what happened. One of the man¡¯s companions then looked at Basile¡¯s face carefully, and a grin was seen on his face. It turned out that he knows who Basile was. ¡°I know this guy young master¡­ I could not be mistaken about it¡­ He¡¯s Basile, the son of that wench who had no husband and sells wood and other measly stuff¡±. Basile¡¯s Eyebrow creased because of what he heard. Hearing somebody call their mother a wench and demean their person is just too uncouth and below the belt. He immediately changed his countenance as to not rouse anymore ire from the 3 men. Since it was his fault to begin with, he forced to swallow his pride and remained silent. ¡°Oh?... Not only is this guy blind¡­ he¡¯s also a bastard. Hahahaha¡± ¡°If I were him, I¡¯d just jump off a ledge and end my life. Such a horrible life!... Hahahaha¡± Even though the fat man was holding his red, swollen cheek, that smile of ridicule could still be seen through his face. ¡°Boy, if it wasn¡¯t with your miserable life, I would¡¯ve cut your hands off and fed it to the dogs by now. Since i feel like being merciful today¡­ Hmmm¡­ How about this¡­ You take your shirt off and we¡¯ll write ~My mother is a wench~ at your back and then you can go home?¡± A mischievous smile lingered around the fat man''s face as if he invented the cure for a deadly desease. ¡°And don¡¯t even think about trying to take it off because I happened to have a special kind of Ink here, it won¡¯t get washed for like¡­forever?... Hahahaha.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this perfect? father wanted me deliver this to the banner maker at the next village and it turned out that, it has other uses today. Hahahaha, how convenient. Aaaw!¡± He laughed so hard at his idea but then covered his cheek because it hurt even more. As it turns out, this fat man is the son of the current mayor of Basile¡¯s Village. Basile had heard of him before but this was the first time he saw him. Based on what Basile understood from what this fat man said, he seemed to be going to another village for a banner. The only one who uses a banner around the village was the mayor. The banner was a way to signify that a current house was where the leader of a village lives. It also shows what family the mayor of the village belongs to since the banner has a symbol drawn in it. Then based on the description he heard about the mayor¡¯s son, it would be most likely that this fat man is indeed the mayor¡¯s son. ¡°I bet you would look better with this. So how about it??. It¡¯s a fair deal no?¡± Basile¡¯s hand started to shake and clenched into a ball of fist. He was so angry, he stared at the fat man like he could see through his soul. ¡°Hey!!. Why are you looking at me like that?. Have you really grown tired of living?¡± the fat man was slightly taken aback by those sharp eyes. ¡°You know, a pig with a horse tail on his face shouldn¡¯t be talking about what looks better no?¡± Basile said angrily without even flinching straight at the fat man¡¯s face. The fat man was speechless for a moment and then slowly touched his mustache and asked his companions ¡°Is he talking about my mustache?¡± His companions wanted to laugh, but couldn¡¯t and it made them look like they were constipated. They immediately held their breath because they were afraid that their young masters anger will be diverted to them. ¡°It seems to be the case, young master¡± One of the fat man¡¯s companion said with a straight face. Basile added ¡°While you were busy letting your cows lick your hair every day, many people in town try to work so hard but can only get by for a day!¡± The fat man subconsciously touched his hair as if it will fall from his head. ¡°You are just arrogant because you have it all, you don¡¯t even need to work to get something. You¡¯re just one of those parasites who eats a lot and take people¡¯s money for nothing!¡±. Basile was so pissed that he seemed to forget who he was talking to. He glared at the fat man and gritted his teeth so hard.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It was more like he was blurting out all of his frustrations in the world. He was really pissed about his life at this moment. He really had a miserable life, not knowing who his father was and living poorly; barely getting by each day. ¡°Whaa¡­ What did you say?... you truly don¡¯t want to live anymore!!!¡± ¡°Men!... grab that dog and break his limbs!!!... I want him to suffer; don¡¯t let him die easily understood?¡± the fat man was pointing his shivering finger at Basile out of anger and embarrassment. He thought that if he let this man get away today, he would die of shame tomorrow. Basile then felt a chill down his spine. He realized what he had done just then. As if he had been drenched with cold water; he immediately stands on guard. The two men beside the fat man sprang into action. They moved quickly at Basile¡¯s left and right side as if to trap him. That way they could react easily if Basile ever tried to escape. The man on the left, then initiated to pounce on Basile and the man on the right followed afterwards. As soon as both of them was near, Basile¡¯s heart skipped and started beating faster and faster. Since the man on the left side was the first to come closer; out of instinct he grabbed the nearest object he could get which was the bundle of wood and threw it at the man. The man on the left side was caught off guard at the sudden object that flew towards his head. After he was flustered for just a moment, he decided to catch the bundle of wood. As the man successfully catches the bundle of wood, he suddenly felt a burning sensation down his crotch. It turned out that he was kicked in the crotch by Basile. While grimacing in pain, the man on the left side felt his knees buckle and dropped the bundle of wood. As he was trying to grab his damaged crotch, a fist was hurtling towards his face. Since it happened so fast, he had no time to dodge and was hit in the face, which left him bleeding from his nose. All of this happened in seconds ¡°Oh, Laawd ov ferzilizy!!¡±. The man grumbling with words, then kneeled down and dropped his face to the ground. The man was unconscious. Soon after, the man on the right side closed in and started punching at Basile. Since Basile was facing the man on the left side, he had little time dodging what was coming. As soon as he turned his head, Basile was hit in the face and fell face up. The man on the right side started to attack again and tried to strangle Basile. He was going to choke him. Basile had no time to think and grabbed whatever he can grab near him. Around him was a bundle of wood and dirt only, so in the heat of the moment, he threw what he can throw based on his position. ¡°AAAAARGHH!!... My eyes!!¡± the man who tried to strangle Basile shouted holding his eyes. It turned out that the man¡¯s eyes were hit by dirt. Basil then rolled sideways to move away from the man. As the man was holding his eyes, who tried to open them but can¡¯t, Basile grabbed the bundle of wood and smashed it at the man¡¯s head heavily. Now both the fat man¡¯s companions were unconscious. The fat man who was looking at what happened looked incredulous. He was shocked! ¡°Waaaa??.. What are you going to do??... do you know who I am??¡± The fat man blurted out in a desperate attempt to stop Basile from what he was about to do. He was scared. Because of what happened, the fat man¡¯s instinct told him that this guy might really be out of his mind. This guy probably knows him and still went on to oppose them; Or is he just like a wild beast who don''t understand reason at all? Basile stared at him without doing anything. He thought that if he smacks the hair out of this fat ass, this would probably his last day living free. He thought of many bad things that could happen to him especially to his mother. Even if he was poor, at least he gets to see his mother every day. So Basile decided to turn around and run away. He wanted to see his mother as if this was the last time he could probably see her. ¡°Yeaaah!!... you better run!!... the next time I see you will be your last day on this planet!!... Just you wait until I tell my father about this.¡± The fat man shouted at Basile looking like, a giant thorn was just removed from his throat. Basile turned around to look at the fat man one more time and saw him so frightened that he jumped and ran like a bloated frog who was trying to escape from a chasing dog. It was so ugly to watch. Basile ran back towards the village where he lived. The village was quite far from where he had an altercation with the mayor¡¯s son, so it took him about an hour to run back. He also knew that the mayor¡¯s son probably had not reached the village earlier than him because he had no mount to ride on the way back. If the mayor¡¯s son had any mount, he should¡¯ve used it already going towards the next village. Plus, the fact that the mayor¡¯s son was so fat, the man probably had a few stop overs before he could reach the village. The mayor¡¯s son was probably walking because his father wanted him to lose weight or some sort. After sometime, Basile reached the Village. It wasn¡¯t a very huge village, but it wasn¡¯t small either. At the entrance of the village, one could see a sign board where the name of the village was written. The village was called the Artesia Village. The Village was a well-known destination for wood crafts and other wood related products. Since the village was surrounded by a large plot of forests, it was reasonable to create businesses related to wood. Basile entered the village entrance and proceeded towards his home. There he saw someone watering plants in a backyard. She had a long black hair, blue eyes and a skinny body. One could tell that if she was not sick, she probably has not been living well. She was not that old, but she looked like she¡¯s 10 years older than what her actual age really is. She is only 36 years old. This woman is Basile''s mother, Lesile Veer. ¡°Mother I¡¯m home!¡± Basile called to her mother looking happy. His mother looked who it was that called and her eyes lit up and smiled back, but immediately after she responded, she noticed that there was a bruise on his son¡¯s face. ¡°What happened to your face? Did that hurt? Come here let me take a closer look¡± Basile¡¯s mother felt worried about what happened to his son as any mother would do. Basile looked ashamed and pensive. He did not hide anything that happened and told his mother everything. He felt very apologetic and just wanted to bury his head in the ground out of shame. He brought trouble to their home and it seems to have a dire consequence along with it. ¡°Why would you do that!?¡± She looked angry but mostly worried about his son. ¡°You know we can¡¯t afford to offend anyone right?... whats worse is that of all the people youd get in trouble with, it had to be the mayor¡¯s son?¡± Basile¡¯s eyes started to get wet. His tears started falling down and like a dam, it burst forth. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry mom, ~sob~ I just had enough of this people beating us down. They could belittle me, mock me, beat me, but I could never take it if they started insulting you!¡± Basile was crying so hard and hugged his mom. He was frustrated and angry. Angry about everything that, his life only amounts to nothing up to this day. His mother started crying too and hugged his son tighter. She looked like she aged even more after hearing the situation. She didn¡¯t want her son to suffer anymore. She thought that if only there¡¯s something she could do to solve this problem, but she knew there was none. All that she could do was cry until a thought came to her. ¡°Son, you know that the mayor does not tolerate violence in this village right? Especially now that his son was involved... I¡¯m really sorry for giving you this kind of life Bas¡­ You worked so hard for both of us and I couldn''t change a thing" She was crying harder while hugging Basile tighter. After a moment of crying, she looked at Basile and resoluteness could be seen through her eyes. "Let¡¯s get inside, I have something to tell you¡± Basile didn¡¯t what her mother meant about what she wanted to tell, but he went inside the house and followed her mother anyway. After they got inside the house and sat at their dining table. His mother then took something from their room. It was a box that looked so old and dusty. The box probably has something special since it looks so special. Even though it was old, it looked like it was crafted by a very famous craftsman. It has intricate designs and has several gemstones around its sides. One thing worth noting about the box is that, if they sold this box, they would probably live for 5 years without working. It was that expensive, at least that was how he appraised it in his mind. ¡°I never thought I would give this to you so soon, but I think there¡¯s no time¡± Basile¡¯s mother look reluctant while holding the box. ¡°When I told you there¡¯s something I need to tell you, it was about this¡± ¡°Mom? What do you mean?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s time to tell you about your real birth¡± Chapter 2 - Knowing the truth 2 ¡°Mom? What are you talking about?¡± Basile looked puzzled and shocked about what he heard from his mother. Though he wasn¡¯t sure what his mother was about to tell him. He felt that this could probably change his life. ¡°I should¡¯ve told you this a long time ago, but I felt that you weren¡¯t ready yet and given the situation now, I think you should hear this before it¡¯s too late¡± his mother looked apprehensive as she was about to tell the truth. ¡°You see when I was younger, I met a man. He was strong, handsome and very charming. We loved each other so much. We even decided to get married, but something happened to him that changed him¡± ¡°He was part of the militaries special force called Soul Assimilators. I think he was a captain of a squad. Back then, he told me that he had a mission to go somewhere to investigate a disturbance from a faraway village, so he left¡± ¡°He was gone for two years. I haven¡¯t even had any letters or any news about him in that 2 years. I tried to ask some of the military officers I knew who were associated with him, but they had no idea where he went¡± ¡°For 2 years I waited and then he went home. I remember clearly the look on his face that day¡­ it was sorrow and emptiness. That day he carried something, it was this box and¡­ you¡± ¡°I asked him who you were, why would he bring a baby to our home. I was confused that day, I thought he had another family, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t write me or even tell me where he went. But he hadn¡¯t answered anything.¡± ¡°The next day, I saw a letter on this table. He wrote ~I need to go to the capital and report~. He was gone again. Since that day I tried to ask other military people about what happened to him, but no one knew and no one wanted to help me either¡± Basile¡¯s mom started crying again. It¡¯s as if the clouds listened and started to cry too because of the melancholy she felt. Basile¡¯s face couldn¡¯t get any gloomier than he ever could. He felt like he lost his life in that moment. He regained his composure and asked ¡°So mom, you mean that we are not really related? And that man left me without even saying anything about me?¡± ¡°Even if we aren¡¯t related son, I¡¯ve always treated you like my own flesh and blood. You are my son and no one can ever tell me that you aren¡¯t. You know I will always love you right?¡± ¡°And you are always my mother mom. No matter what happens nothing can change that fact!¡± After telling the truth about Basile¡¯s birth, Basile¡¯s mother felt the burden from her heart seemed to be slightly alleviated. All she wanted was to protect her son from getting hurt, but it seems that she was really helpless because of the situation. ¡°Son, I wan¡¯t you to look for that man. He might be your father and he can probably give you a better life than I can. I¡¯m sorry for being so useless¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that mom, you are not useless. You are the most important person in my life. And I wont leave you mom. Why would I look for the man who left me and leave you?. I will never do that!¡± ¡°Son please! we have no time left. The mayor probably found out about what happened by now. I can¡¯t let you suffer any more than this¡± ¡°Mom but¡­ What about you? What will happen to you?¡± ¡°Son, don¡¯t worry about me. Although I¡¯m weak, I can still manage to live by myself. Besides, I think the mayor isn¡¯t that unreasonable as to punish me also. ¡° While Basile and his mother were talking, a commotion was currently happening outside. There were many people that stared gathering outside their home. Many bystanders were baffled at the sight because the people that gathered outside were not just ordinary people, they were the village guards. What¡¯s more intriguing is that the mayor¡¯s son is along with them. Based on the situation outside, everyone deduced that somebody was going to get arrested. Not too long after, a person that looked like the head of the village guards spoke through a device that seemed to amplify his voice ¡°Basile Veer; Son of Lesile Veer. As the Chief of the village guards in Artesia city, I order you to hand over yourself in violation of assault and battery! If you don¡¯t show yourself, we will not hesitate to use force and take you out¡± Immediately after the Chief guard announced, the Mayor¡¯s son who was so irritated wrested the device the village chief was holding and schout through it ¡°You fucking dog!!! You better get yourself down here right this minute or I¡¯ll burn your house. You useless trash, filthy, wood eating mothe!@!#!%---!¡± Before he could finish in his rant, the Chief Guard took the device again. Since there were so many bystanders, he could not let the mayor¡¯s son get out of hand. It would be a big problem if the people spread bad rumors which will affect the mayor¡¯s position afterwards. ¡°Young master, please calm down¡­ Rest assured, that boy can¡¯t get away no matter what he does. There are many people watching so it¡¯s best we do the proper arresting procedure¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care how you arrest that dog! Just smash that house already!¡± The mayor¡¯s son was so furious and seemed like he lost all kinds of reason. As they were deciding how to arrest Basile outside, Basile and his mother was preparing for the situation. ¡°Son, they are here now, you need to escape!¡± ¡°Mother, didn¡¯t you hear what that fat pig said? He said he was going to burn our house down! How could I let him do that!¡± ¡°Son you don¡¯t need to worry about me, even though the mayor¡¯s son sounded like a tyrant. The Chief Guard seemed to consider the mayors position so, I doubt he¡¯d do anything to me. Especially now that many people are gathered around our house¡± Basile was unreconciled but he needed to make a decision for both him and his mother. He thought that there was no other way out of this situation but to do what his mother suggested. He needed to escape this predicament right now. He understood that being caught would just bring his mother sleepless nights and endless worries. If he resigned his fate now, all the future he could get is darkness and solitude so he decided to leave. ¡°Ok mom, I will do as you, but someday I will definitely take you away from this dump. I will change our lives; I promise you that!¡± Basile looked resolute about his decision. It was an oath to himself and to the heavens that no matter what happens; even if the heavens do not permit it, he will change their fate.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No son, I only need you to promise one thing for me. You don¡¯t have to worry about me. You just have to live a good life and before you go¡­ here take this box, this will serve as your identity if you look for your father. Here, take this money also, I managed to save some so you can at least survive out there. Remember, your father¡¯s name is Edgar Revmont. You should be able to ask around about him since he is a well know captain. Please take care of yourself son, I will always love you no matter where we are¡± Basile¡¯s mother hand over the box and some money to him as she hugged him. Parting was really hard for Basile since he hasn¡¯t gone anywhere in his 16 years of existence in this world. All he really knew was about the village and he doesn¡¯t have any clue as to what is really out there in the world but he needed to do this, he needed to leave. ¡°I guess this is goodbye mom, I will surely comeback for you. Just stay strong for me ok?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, you should know where to exit right? Do you remember the hole on that wall outside our house where you used to escape to play? Get out at the back and go there while I buy you some time outside¡­ go!¡± As soon as both mother and son said their farewell, Basile slipped at the back of the house while his mother came out of the front house and confronted the guards. Basile didn¡¯t know what happened outside while his mother was buying him sometime. He slipped by stealthily at the back of their house and reached the wall that his mother mentioned. He noticed that no one seems to be following so he thought, his mother really succeeded on that part. He could not worry about anything anymore and only thought about how to escape. If he dallies for just a bit, it might cause a lot more trouble for both him and his mother. Everything would¡¯ve been for naught. As Basile escaped through the hole in a wall of their village, he found himself outside a large forest. Since he was always playing outside when he was just a kid, he knew everything about the forest near their village. So he ran and ran not looking back at the direction he came from holding a sack that has the box and some money. Soon he reached a river. It was about 50 feet wide and the current was strong. To be precise, it was a torrent with large rocks inside. If one needed to cross it, doing so while swimming is certainly a bad idea. He hasn¡¯t reached this part of the forest when he was playing before so he knew that he must¡¯ve gone far from the village by now. He thought that if he turned back now, he could just imagine his fate so he mustered his courage. He decided to cross the river. Of course he didn¡¯t throw his life just like that so, he secured himself with a large vine and tied it to a tree. As he tried to cross the river, an unexpected event occurred. The water seems to be rising and fast. Basile started to slightly panic, but at the back of his mind, he knew that he was halfway through the river so he thinks he can make it to the other side before the river swallows him up. Unfortunately, the river rose up faster than he could swim plus, the strong current of water made it even worse. Basile tried so hard to swim across but eventually grew tired. He was really close in getting to the other side but just couldn¡¯t get through because of the fatigue. Eventually he thought that if he wanted to survive this predicament, he needed to lighten his weight. In order for him to do that he needed to throw away the sack he was carrying. Since the sack only carried money and the box, he decided that maybe he could at least spare something out of the 2. So he decided to discard the money which was heavier because it was all coins; copper coins to be exact. He was reluctant at first but eventually released it. He might live a couple of months with that money if he survives with it but the risk was just too much. After a long grueling swim, Basile felt relieved because he eventually survives the predicament. He reached the other side looking very exhausted and battered. He knew he had no time to relax because somebody might still be looking for him. He was cautious as to not leave any traces as he ran but he could never tell if he missed something. After breathing heavily for a couple of minutes he started to push forward again not knowing where he ends up. Back at the village after Basile escaped, his mother Lesile Veer was talking to the Chief Guard trying to buy time. ¡°Chief I don¡¯t know what you are talking about, how could my son do that? We never had any problems with the authorities before so why would he do that to the mayor¡¯s son?¡± Lesile asked the chief as if not knowing what really happened. ¡°You see lady; you can¡¯t be thinking that our young master here is lying do you? Even if he did, we would eventually find out the truth anyway. That¡¯s why we need to see your son for further investigation¡± The mayor¡¯s son with his temper couldn¡¯t take it anymore and blurted out ¡°Chief! just ransack the house already, she might just be buying that dog some time¡­ Come on move it already!¡± The chief then look at Lesile and ordered his men to get inside the house by force ¡°I¡¯m sorry for this, but we have to do this. With or without your permission we will check your house¡± As Lesile looked kind of hesitant, feigning innocence at what really happened, she was sure that her son was not in the house already which left her feel at ease for a moment. She could only wish that they could not find any traces of her son so they could track him down after he escaped. ¡°You don¡¯t need to force your way in chief, I agree for you to check the house. I only ask that you will leave my home intact after this. I haven¡¯t seen Basile come back yet and I don¡¯t really know what happened so please, I beg you¡­¡± Lesile had the look of pleading in her eyes as she was asking the Chief Guard. ¡°That bitch is lying through her teeth chief, I know it. How could those people that seen him pass by the gate lie about this? He might be a nobody but that ugly ass hair of his is uncommon. There is nobody else like that!¡± The mayor¡¯s son gritted his teeth in anger and some of his men looked at each other trying not to laugh. It was simply because his hair was as he said. Ugly and uncommon. Soon the village guards entered the house and looked at every nook and cranny of the house but they couldn¡¯t find anything. Even Basile¡¯s clothes and other ugly stuff was left behind. They thought there was some truth about what Lesile said and got out the house to report to their chief about their findings. The mayor¡¯s son was so pissed that he stormed inside the house himself to look. The chief couldn¡¯t help it and got inside the house also in order to control the mayor¡¯s son from breaking so many things. ¡°God damn it! Chief! I really think he got out the back. I don¡¯t know how he got away with those tall walls, someone should¡¯ve seen him jumped or something. Damn it!¡± The chief really didn¡¯t want to aggravate the situation and just told his men to follow through with the search outside the house and look for clues. Soon they did see something in the wall. A guard reported that he found a hole in the wall which looked like somebody that was not fat could get through. Soon many guards were dispatched trying to look for clues outside the wall and into the forest. The search was spread out because the forest was just too huge to look for a single escaping person. It¡¯s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Some guards eventually reach the river and found clues of someone trying to cross it. It was the vine attached to a tree for support but they couldn¡¯t figure out when it was attached there plus the fact that it was snapped. The person who tied it probably drowned because of the strong current which explains the vine snapping. They thought, that person probably was desperate in crossing the river and was running from something or someone to pull this kind of stunt. The guards eventually came back to report about what they found out and didn¡¯t search any further since they didn¡¯t find any relevant clues anymore. The village chief assumed that the person who crossed the river was probably Basile but he had no other evidence that it was indeed the case, so they end up with nothing. The mayor¡¯s son was left with a bruised ego and a salty face. He couldn¡¯t do anything about it anymore. He felt slightly at ease knowing that the person who drowned at the river might be Basile. At least there was something that could appease his mind. Basile had walked for an entire day and eventually reached the end of the forest. There, he saw lights shining from afar. It turned out that it was already night time and what he saw were the lights from a village. He stopped for a minute and thought about the bad things that happened to him. In just a single day, his life changed. The only thing that was certain now for him was, he now had the chance to change his fate. It could be a turn for the worse or for the best. He couldn¡¯t think of those things anymore and accepted the fate that was given to him. Basile moved towards the village and looked forward to what was waiting for him.