ã€ŠArchangelã€‹


 Chapter 1: The two meets.

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    I was heading home from a little errand at the bazaar. We were scarce of baby carrots for dinner¡¯s stew so I decided to procure some. Just so you know, it was raining presently. Unfortunately, I did not bring my umbrella with me. Nevertheless, it did not pose any trouble for me as not a single drop of rain had touched me. I was an elemental over water. Therefore, according to my will, the water will never wet me.

    However, not everyone was as lucky as I as to not get drizzled in the rain. While I was completely dry, a mysterious figure was soaking wet. It was standing by the posterns of our temple. As I slowly approached it, my heart throbs frantically.

    Who could it be? We weren¡¯t expecting any visitors. When I finally got closer, I realized it¡¯s a guy. I caught his eyes. They were bright blue, yet so dark. At the same moment without a second to spare, a lightning as bright and as blue as his eyes cracked the sky with a loud boom.

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    Ever since I left my hometown, revenge was the only thing on my mind. No matter how crazy people think I was, I will not stop hunting ¡®him¡¯ down. I was not always like this though. But after what happened five years ago, I shan¡¯t forgive myself until I realize this revenge! I finally found out some inkling from ¡®his¡¯ subordinates of where ¡®his¡¯ headquarters might be.

    When it was nearly dusk, I had followed a suspicious character that I happened to notice that bears a tattoo that signifies ¡°his¡± underlings. But suddenly, in a blink of an eye, that person disappeared from my sight and without a moment too soon, I was stabbed right in the stomach! I could feel the dagger¡¯s sharp edges in my stomach and the pain when it was pulled out roughly from my stomach as soon as it stabbed me.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    I gasped and tried to withstand the pain while trying to stand up to my feet. But everything went too fast that my painstakingly trying to hold my vision could not keep up with that person¡¯s speed as he struck me behind my neck where the nerves that directly connected to my brain was hit and paralyzed me as I struggled to get up.

    The world around me suddenly became dark and I collapsed on the spot. I couldn¡¯t even get a good look at that person¡¯s face. Nevertheless, I may have been caught by surprise but that person did not kill me. If he truly was ¡®his¡¯ subordinate then I could understand perfectly why.

    On the contrary, it just proved me right that he had some kind of connection with ¡¯him¡¯. What surprised me was that he did not capture me but instead fled away from my sight. I pondered why as it would have supposed to be the perfect opportunity to captivate me. But I then decided to not think any further as it did not matter to me as long as I still have the chance to keep on hunting for ¡®him¡¯.

    The next time I opened my eyes, it was pouring. I was soaked in the muddy water as I was lying on the dark pavement. I cursed and gradually got up to my feet. I strolled slowly across a street until I came upon a somewhat ancient temple. I could still feel the stabbing pain on my stomach and staggered to a wall.

 Chapter 2: One-sided perception

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    It was at least a million times that mum had said this to me, never trust strangers. Well this guy was as far as a stranger can be. He looked exactly like someone who would grab you and locked you inside the trunk of a car, drive you off and you¡¯ll never be heard of again. At least in my eyes, because my mother had also been telling me to not associate with good, mysterious-looking guys. Especially with dark equally mysterious eyes. They were the most dangerous or so she said. A Ted-Bundy-Phobia, I guess. But you just can¡¯t help but to pity him. He looked tired, sad and soaked. It would seem that I overlooked the fact that he was mostly covered in blood and there was a huge injury at his stomach as though he was stabbed. My conscience and the helpful side of me were having a war to whether help him or not.

    My conscience won. I was a filial daughter after all. But I did the least that I could do. I waved a hand and on my will, every drop of water from every inch of his clothes turned into steam. At least he¡¯ll be dry when I leave him. He looked quite shocked of what I had done but I was used to it already. As I made my way through the gates of the temple, he suddenly grabs hold of my arm. I was quite taken by surprise and I was ready to drown him with rain water but as soon as I turned around to face him, he said, ¡°¡­help,¡± and puked blood right on my face. It made me realize two things, of how tall he was, and how direly he needs my aid.

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    I tried to move countless of times but I just couldn¡¯t. My body won¡¯t respond to me anymore. I was losing lots of blood in the heavy rain and I was losing my consciousness.

    ¡°I can¡¯t collapse like this! I must go on. I can¡¯t die yet! I must find ¡®him¡¯,¡± I thought. Suddenly, a small figure in the heavy rain was seen approaching towards me. I could not see properly as my eyes were blinded by my massive amount of blood. When the figure reached me, it paused and wondered about as if not knowing what to do. I expected that as much. Such encounters happened to me before. Some just thought I was dead and fled away. Some were kind enough to give me scraps of food and left. I hate them.

    I thought that it would probably turn out the same way and turn a blind eye from me. But I was dumbfounded when the figure suddenly waved its hand and magically, every drop of water in every inch of my body turned into steam. ¡°An elemental!¡± I thought. I was all the more shocked when the figure turned around and decided to leave me to my fate.

    The figure was kind enough to not let me get wet but it turned out that the figure was the same like the others. I felt disgusted. ¡°If you¡¯re just going to leave me and die then it would have been better to not do anything in the first place. It just got my hopes up but then painfully disappointed me. That¡¯s why I hate people! They¡¯re nothing but selfish scumbags!¡± I thought furiously. But right there and then, I direly needed help that I could care less and despite my body¡¯s protests, grabbed the figure hoping that this time, someone would actually help me. However, that one move was fatal to me that I immediately fainted.

    My world was dark and lonely. I have been travelling from place to place hunting ¡®him¡¯ for the past five years. My determination was strong and firm. I have faced many life and death situations and I have nearly reached the brink of death lots of times. Along with the power that I gained and my family sacrificed, I will not stop my chase until I achieved my goal.

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    The light was blinding when I opened my eyes. I found myself in a temple-like place lying on a futon. My wounds were treated and bandaged properly and I felt that my strength was replenishing. Vaguely I could see a small figure sitting at one side of the corner of the corridor. It was the figure from last night.

    So it decided to aid me after all. Well, if I had not move, it probably wouldn¡¯t. Then I observed the figure more attentively and finally realized that it was a girl. I¡¯d never thought that I¡¯d asked for help from a girl. Nonetheless, she had power, a gifted one from birth not to mention. I observed her with more focus but it seemed that she did not happen to have any signs of connections with ¡®him¡¯. I felt alleviated for a bit.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked in honesty.

    The girl turned her face to look at me. She appeared to be rather hesitant to talk.

    ¡°The question here is who are you? I found you collapsed in front of our temple gates awfully injured. If it weren¡¯t for me you would have been seeing the Vaitarna river by now,¡± replied the girl. I stayed silent. She seemed so uncouth. I was the one who was in a vile position. How can she be so inconsiderate? I guess she was the type of person that judges a book by its cover. But, I still can¡¯t make any false accusation. Somehow, she gave off a different aura than normal people and curiously I felt like I could trust her. That kind of thought that emerged within me displeases me more.

    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know who I am any more than you do. I am not the same as I was before. Though that¡¯s what I presume anyways since I¡¯ve thrown away my identity since long ago,¡± I replied and said what I could. The people I have met before have always been hateful people who were conceited and selfish aside from greed of their own personal gain. Apart from that were just enemies. Battles after battles, not once have I encountered anyone to be considered as a comrade. Naturally I did not expect her to become one.

    ¡®What the heck kind of answer is that?!¡¯ Julia thought as she furrowed her eyebrows somewhat indicating her displeasure. Julia released a breath to calm herself down. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s try this again,¡¯ she thought.

    ¡°Well, I am the priestess of this temple. Since you are injured, you can rest here as long as you like. I am Julia Wincott. How about you?¡± asked Julia.

    ¡°¡­Klaus¡­Klaus Slerpner,¡± I finally replied.

    One has to know, Klaus had been by himself for around 5 years. His ability to converse normally with other people is somewhat lacking. After years of building distrust and hate towards those that abandoned him, he mind subconsciously reject everyone and thus unable to see the slight kindness and effort Julia made to get to know him and his circumstances.

 Chapter 3: One-sided perception (2)

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    ¡°Well, Klaus,¡± I said. ¡°Luckily mother is not home or else I¡¯d have to hide you in the stable.¡±

    Beside me was a bucket of pure water I had just obtained from the well in our backyard. I filled it in a bamboo cup and add a few drops of ¡®life liquid¡¯ that I had taken from the grand cubbyhole which was where we keep all the herbs, potions and the like. With a few more slices of Mesona leaves, the ingredients were ready to be diluted. I hovered a hand over the bamboo cup and uttered a spell.

    ¡°Dysuria!¡± and for an instance, the content glowed a bright cyan before settling into a deep tone of green. As a priestess, I have to be well-versed in herbs, medicine and enchantment so this is nothing.

    ¡°Here, drink this!¡± I ordered Klaus, holding the freshly made medicine towards him. He obeyed by reaching out his hand, but just to make sure he takes it in full, I thrust the mouth of the cup right on his lips and the content shot into his mouth and streamed down his throat on my will as I have seen enough to know what¡¯ll happen next. The only thing that tastes better than it was a bitter gourd. For a while, he looked taken aback. I guess it takes time for his taste buds to reciprocate to the horrible stimuli as he stuck out his tongue in a very extreme way, showing pure disgust.

    ¡°What was that?!¡± he protested.

    ¡°So,¡± I began, trying to ignore him, ¡°That lightning outside. It was you, wasn¡¯t it? You did it?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to kill me or something?! That was the most horrid¡ª¡°

    Ignoring what he was trying to say, again I asked him.

    ¡°Do you have the mark?¡± and I pulled down my left sleeve, exposing my forearm. On it, two code-bar-like patterns were tattooed. One red and the other blue.

    The sight silenced Klaus so abruptly that I could have sworn that I was in a movie and someone just pressed the pause button. Without his consent, I took his hand and pulled down his sleeve. First, his right hand, and then his left. He bore no marks.

    ¡°This is weird,¡± I muttered softly.

    ¡°What is?¡± Klaus finally asked.

    I looked at him, puzzled. He must either be from somewhere far enough to not know the rules or my suspicion was on the verge to be proven wrong. Still, I was quite convinced that he was indeed one of us.

    ¡°I am asking you again, Klaus. That lightning when we were outside, was it you?¡± I asked rather impatiently. For a second he looked doubtful, but finally he answered.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t." ''But some part of me did. So I can¡¯t say for sure,'' Klaus did not said a few words in between. "Is it not supposed to be normal to have lightning during rain anyways?¡± he said.

    ¡°That is true, but that lightning was beyond natural. Just admit that you caused it,¡± I insisted. I could see that he sighed quite heavily.

    ¡°Think whatever you want,¡± he finally said.

    ¡°Well, Klaus,¡± I began again, ¡°You must be from another country because here, the government mark people like you and me.¡±

    Klaus looked at me with a very curious expression that I could not help but to carry on.

    ¡°The mark,¡± I showed him my forearm again, pointing to the blue one, shows that you are an elemental. And then the red above the blue indicates that you have complete control over your powers. It is like a license. You have to be tested to get it. Without it, severe punishment will you get should you used your powers without permission.

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    Klaus seemed totally offended by my explanation. I was not surprised.

    ¡°Why¡ª,¡± he asked.

    ¡°¡ªit¡¯s obvious is it not?¡± I said even before he could complete his question, ¡°The government does not trust us,¡± I said darkly.

    And then the fragrance of sweet baby carrot stew filled the air.

    ¡°Ah, the stew¡¯s ready!¡± I commented.

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    The taste of the medicine was awful. I never tasted anything like it. But then, Julia had been ignoring me. She kept talking about lightning, elemental and stuff concerning the rules and regulations in her country.

    Well, true enough. I was not from this country. In addition to that, I¡¯ll be leaving soon too if ¡®he¡¯ was not found in this country. So I really don¡¯t care whatever subjects she was talking about. It doesn¡¯t concern me after all.

    Actually, this elemental thing which she had been blabbering about since beginning had nothing to do with me as I am not an elemental. Elementals were people who have been bestowed a special gift since birth to control elements such as air, water, earth and fire.

    In fact, people who were born with such gifts do not appear very commonly from where I came from. It was just a small village after all. Free of government intervention. We lived in peace and harmony with no such feud over political power unlike other countries.

    From the way she spoke, she was undoubtedly suspected me as one of her kind. An elemental, who apparently not very trusted by the government in this country to the extent that they had to bare a mark as a license to use their powers and I know exactly why. In actuality, I knew more than she ever did. But since she seemed so worked out that I pretended to be clueless.

    I have been to many places for the last five years. Even to the darkest and violent organization in the world. I have uncovered many secrets that a nation holds at each one I traveled to. Well it was not like I had a choice. I had to, in order to find even a tiniest bit of information regarding ¡®him¡¯.

    Naturally, when I arrived in this country I hacked the intelligence regarding this country as well. It appeared that there quite a number of people who were branded as elemental. ? of them were not exactly the ¡®good¡¯ kind of people as they constantly wreaked havoc all over the place. Thus, even the ¡®actual good¡¯ elementals have small trust by the government.

    Strangely though, there had been a few cases of missing elementals. I didn¡¯t think it had anything to do with ¡®him¡¯ so I did not look deeper into it. However, it would seem that I¡¯d be proven wrong in the future. Julia on the other hand kept on persisting me that I caused the lightning and one of her kind, the elementals. I got tired and just let her think however she wants.

    But her theory was not entirely true. First, it was not me who caused the lightning. It was ¡®that¡¯ person inside of me who happened to be intimidated by the fact that I was hurt. There were many forces in this world that were unknown to people. Elemental was just one of them.

    As for me, I was not an elemental, but a contractor. They were people who were naturally born with their powers. In my case, it was entirely different. I was a normal human with no powers or whatsoever. That was, until I made a contract with Whaitiri the God of Lightning, or Wayne or so he called himself.

    An elemental and a contractor have a huge gap of difference. I do not require bearing a mark (at least not in other countries that I have been), but a sacred seal will appear at the back of my palm each time I used my power which heralded that I am a contractor with any of the gods or goddesses concerned.

    For Julia to think that I am an elemental offended me more as I was not naturally gifted as her. Still, I was granted power to achieve my goal. I wanted to inquire her why would she regard me as one of her kind but I guess she thought I was offended about the government. I stayed in silence. Then suddenly, there was a sweet smell in the air. It was Julia¡¯s stew. My stomach growls hungrily and my mouth began to water with saliva. I have not had a decent meal for awhile so I am not going to miss this one! My eyes flashed with determination.

 Chapter 4: Ah, the stew...

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    I left Klaus to his thoughts while I head to the kitchen to turn the stove off and prepare the table before mom and dad arrives. I was quite anxious as to how mom would react when she found out that I had brought a total stranger into the house. But I had a reason, a very good one. She¡¯d understand. The worst that could happen was dad trying to exorcise him out of the house.

    Anyhow, as I removed the stew pot from the stove, I heard a weird noise outside. It was as if someone was pacing in our backyard. Pacing on the wet, muddy ground. Which idiot would play around outside in this weather? The pot still in my hands, I peeked through the slits of the window curtails and saw nobody outside. I simply shrugged, and just as I was assuming that I had simply imagining things, I heard a knock on the window.

    Whoever or whatever was doing so had at least managed to paralyze me. I felt my blood draining from my face as every single particle of blood in my veins stopped in their tracks. I was so scared that I couldn¡¯t even let myself breathe. As if a single inhale would kill me. My mind was contemplating between two things----to answer the knock or to turn around and run---until crash! The window smashed open.

    Outside, staring right at me was a man whose figure gave anyone no reason to trust him. He had a bright red Mohawk and half his face was covered in a very elaborate tattoo (they were quite nice actually. I wish I had one. But it must be painful to get). His eyes were bright yellow with the thickest libel rings I¡¯ve ever seen.

    My body decided to act for itself. Without a second to spare, I screamed. I screamed my lungs out.

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    I was dazed into the space figuring how long I should remain hidden in the temple. I have no time to spare. ¡®He¡¯ might move somewhere further as I sit back and relax like this. But I just can¡¯t simply disappear from here without a word. I might cause her to worry. I pondered some more until there was a sudden ¡®crash'' sound as in someone just broke into the temple.

    ¡®What timing! The most horrible one at that!¡¯ I thought silently. But then I heard Julia screaming her lungs out. I was startled.

    ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡± I thought. I ran as fast as my feet could carry me given my condition. It was hard to breathe but I thought I had to do something. She saved me after all. I owed her my life. It was quite an opportunity for me to repay her good will.

    When I finally reached the kitchen, I saw that there¡¯s a tattooed man choking Julia to death. But then I felt I stepped on something hot. It was Julia¡¯s baby carrot¡¯s stew. It seemed to have fallen down and scattered all over the kitchen.

    ¡°Darn it! I was really looking forward to that stew! This is unforgivable!¡± I said furiously. Having said that, I gave the tattooed man a good punch right at his face with a little sparks of lightning around my fist. I knocked him out real good and he was electrocuted. The contract seal of course appeared at the back of my palm for a brief moment. But it seems even then it caught Julia¡¯s eyes even though she was struggling to breathe her life in.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with this guy? Why did he try to kill you?¡± I asked rather dementedly. Julia stayed quiet after she got control of herself.

    ¡°I guess we both have secrets,¡± I said randomly and went to clean up the stew.

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    It took him long enough. After what I¡¯ve done for him, I expected him to come a little sooner. Even if he owes me nothing, he should¡¯ve come to my rescue by impulse! That is what any normal, responsible adult would¡¯ve done right?

    And to think that his tardiness was unbelievable enough, his hesitation to break me and the other stranger¡¯s struggle made it unforgivable. He seemed incredibly pissed that I dropped my stew before punching the red Mohawk guy right in the face. As he did so, a weird mark appeared at the back of his hand for a brief moment. It was beautiful yet ominous, that I can¡¯t help but to ponder what it meant. Still, I was incredibly mad at Klaus for almost letting me die. I thought he would tend to me after he knocked the guy unconscious or carry me to safety, of all things; he bent down to¡­.CLEAN THE STEW?!

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    With a wave of my hand, which was mildly burnt from touching the hot stew as it fell on the floor, the stew went splashing towards Klaus¡¯s face. He looked flabbergasted.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m dying over here!¡± He seemed angry that I yelled at him, and apparently on the verge of yelling back at me, I heard the cough of the unconscious stranger. Klaus paused in alert.

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    ¡®What the heck is she yelling at me for?! I just saved her in the nick of time! A life debt fully paid! I AM THE ONE DYING OVER HERE! Have you forgotten my injury already? Unlike me, you seemed to have a good hand in medicine?! What the heck do you expect me to do? I have no idea how to treat myself much less another person?! In fact, I never cared for anyone before. How does she expect me to care for her? I do realize that she got hurt rather badly, but even I myself did not even know how to tend to my own wounds. I almost died because of my lacking, lots of time but usually I let my wounds heal themselves in due time. I was rather irritated and wanted to fight back, but then suddenly the tattooed guy coughed.

    ¡®This guy, how quick of him to regain consciousness. I¡¯d thought I interrogate him later. Much¡­much later¡­¡± I thought silently.

    ¡°That¡¯s it! I¡¯m seriously going to put you into a deep slumber!¡± I thought again. But before I could do anything, the tattooed guy swiftly got up with a spin using his hands as a pivot and hit me to my wounded stomach with his knee. A great pain surged through me. I fall to my knees and finally on the ground. I tried hard to get hold of myself but my wounds were opened again and lots of blood gushing out.

    My consciousness was failing me. All I could hear was Julia shouting panicky for me. Everything happened so quickly and the tattooed man without a moment too soon after he hit me, choked Julia once more. I could see the anguish expression in his face with determination to get his job done this time.

    Fury was beginning to overwhelm me, as I who was horribly wounded beforehand stood up without much effort and my whole body started to spark with tremendous amount of lightning. I concentrated my lightning to my right hand and ¡®BURST¡¯ it went as I swung my hand to the back of the tattooed man¡¯s body as he was choking Julia. The man was startled by my outburst power as I landed the hit right on the spot, his heart and he was electrocuted much more aggressively than before considering how much voltage I put into it and he died on the spot, burnt to charcoal.

    I dropped to my knees once more, enduring the opened wounds pain and made an eye contact with Julia.

    ¡°He won¡¯t be choking you anymore after this. Make sure to recook the stew¡­.I was really looking forward to it¡­¡± I said as I collapse due to loss of blood. ¡®Ah man, so hungry¡­damn that Mohawk bastard!¡¯ my thoughts again steered towards the spilled stew.

    One has to know, Klaus lacks the courtesy to feel gratitude towards others after years of hardship and betrayal. Even if he did felt thankful, he won''t be able to put it into words considering his poor communication skills. Though he saved Julia in return of her saving his own before, the outcome was not the most desirable. Julia on the other hand, is inclined towards the norm and practices in courtesy that she had learned growing up. Against Klaus that does not follow the norm and more importantly the rules, she could not find his actions agreeable. How will these two polar opposites interact in the future? Will they change their perception of each other?    -To be continued.

 Chapter 5: The Wincotts.

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    The moment I saw Klaus¡¯s bandage soaked in blood; all my previous thoughts were erased. His wounds were opened. The Mohawk guy must¡¯ve punched too hard. At this rate, if I don¡¯t do something quick, Klaus was going to die. Then my eyes rested itself on the severely burnt body on the floor. It was eerie, a sight that came straight from a horror movie. What have Klaus done? This is murder, a brutal one at that. How are we supposed to dispose of the body?

    ¡°No! No! No! This is not a crime. Klaus did this out of self-defense,¡± I convinced myself. Oh yeah, Klaus. Every second of hesitation means a moment closer to his death. I don¡¯t want another body to get disposed of. One is too much hard work already. But this is not the case. I have to help people in need no matter what, even if the person is too much of a jerk.

    ¡°Stay where you are, Klaus,¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get help.¡±

    At this point, call the doctor is what I must do. My expertise is not enough for this much damage. So I phoned the hospital, and then took some bandages from the grand cubbyhole and rushed to the kitchen as fast as my legs could carry me. When I reached the kitchen, my parents were already there. Mom was trying to heal Klaus¡¯s wounds, looking genuinely worried while dad was examining the remnants of the red Mohawk guy with deep interest.

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    The soothing sound of the river flowing in the countryside was near to my ears. Distinctly, I could hear my sister¡¯s voice, calling out sweetly for me, my younger sister, Pea.

    ¡°Big brother, big brother! Mother said to come home now for dinner. Pa will be back soon as well from work!¡± said Pea.

    ¡°Thank you for the notice, little sis!¡± I replied smiling broadly. I immediately head home together with Pea while holding her little hand. She was only 8 years old while I was 14 years old. I had another little brother, who was 11 years old, Darwin. He was cheerful and playful to the extreme. Father returned with souvenirs as usual. He never failed to bring something back even as simple as a feather.

    His work required him to travel to many places, near or far so he often brought us souvenirs, some of which were weird sometimes. This time, he only went to two villages away from ours saying that he had to meet an old friend. I was given a long dark red scarf, while my little brother got a new fishing rod and Pea received a brand new pair of shoes. What I did not know was a medium sized box that my father brought home. It was neatly and creatively carved box. It was mysterious and eye-catching.

    ¡°Father, what is that?¡± I asked abruptly.

    ¡°Oh, this?! This is¡­uh¡­something I received from a friend. He told me to keep it safe while he¡¯s gone. Do not mind it. Better yet, do not even get near it. It is rather an important item,¡± my father warned me. He was rather nervous about it. At that moment, I did not know that the box would lead me through so much hardship and sorrow in the future. That particular day, the mysterious box changed my life forever.

    My eyes opened rather heavily. The feelings of unbearable pain surged through me as fast as I woke up. The light instantly and shortly blinded me. Without me realizing, I was crying. There were tears trickling down my cheek. My eyes were wet. Reminiscing the past would do me no good. It would only increase my pain which in my heart.

    Suddenly, someone came through the sliding door. It was an old man followed by an old lady and at last Julia. I quickly wiped off my tears and tried to get up to a sitting position. However, my body was heavier than a boulder.

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    ¡°Please rest yourself. Your wounds are rather deadly. Do not force yourself. Lay down gently,¡± the woman said rather compassionately. It reminded me of my own mother and tears started to well up again in my eyes. Feeling awkward and embarrassed, I shifted my head to the opposite side, the wall.

    ¡°Stay in bed until you are recovered,¡± said the old man.

    ¡°I ¡­I am not going to thank you for this,¡± I said reluctantly. The old man and the old woman just smiled and nodded silently. Julia on the other hand just dazed into the space.

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    ¡°What was that mark?¡± I spoke up finally after a long awkward silence. If Klaus was silent a few moments ago, now he was as still as a statue. Mom and dad looked at me with a you-know-this-is-not-the-right-time-to-ask-silly-questions expression.

    ¡°Juli, save your questions for later. Klaus needs rest,¡± my mum said. I ignored and continued.

    ¡°Klaus, what was that weird mark at the back of your hand?¡±

    ¡°There is no mark whatsoever, Juli. What are you talking about?¡± my mum finally snapped.

    ¡°You see, mom and dad. Klaus is an elemental like me. He can produce lightning. That burnt body at the kitchen. Klaus did that. But, you see, he had no label like you and me mom. But he had a weird tattoo appearing at the back of his hand when he used his powers just now. Well, I thought it was quite cool actually---but that¡¯s not the point! It looks evil and it makes my hair stand on end,¡± I explained.

    An awkward silence filled the air. Mum paused with her mouth half opened. Dad on the other hand was taken aback with the revelation, his eyes darken.

    ¡°Let me introduce myself, Klaus,¡± he finally said, as if talking to an enemy,

    ¡°I am Pascal Wincott, have you heard of me?¡±

    Klaus shifted a little on the futon and so suddenly, got out of it, throwing his blanket aside and made himself a shield of lightning around him. Mum and I jumped; startled but none on dad¡¯s muscle twitched even a little.

    ¡°Listen Klaus,¡± he began,

    ¡°Which devil did you had a contract with?!¡±---

    ¡°None of you exorcists ever had it right!¡± Klaus said literally, not in his own voice, but rather a low voice that echoed off the walls, very much like thunder.

    ¡°You are the one who is evil even when you seem to not realize it. The gods are simply misunderstood!¡±

    ¡°Klaus!¡± my dad raised his voice,

    ¡°What have you traded in for this power?¡±

    This seemed to be quite a sudden question for Klaus, not as easy one too and I noticed that he seemed to be on the verge of crying.

    ¡°Whatever it was,¡± dad said,

    ¡°Will it bring any good to you in the end? Or¡­will it bring more destruction?¡±

 Chapter 6: The Pandora Box

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    I was startled by Julia¡¯s question regarding the contract seal at the back of my hand. I knew she might ask but any offense would stir the god of lightning¡¯s emotions. I happen to avoid the god¡¯s appearance every time as it may cause a riot but due to my ill condition, I just did not have enough strength to keep the god in his place. The name Pascal Wincott immediately intimidated the god of lightning and instantly took over my body.

    Pascal Wincott, a very famous exorcist, exterminating demons and devils around the globe but have little belief in any goodness of gods. Probably had something to do with his past but no one knows why he does not trust Gods, much less the demons. Because of his unbound hatred towards demons and devils, he indiscriminately exorcise any that he encountered, even the lesser demons that are much too weak to even do any harm towards humans. Did you know? Sometimes you would find some of your items or objects at home misplaced or goes missing then suddenly turned up at obvious places, pranks played by these lesser demons but none could cause actual harm.

    Because of him and his compatriots, terrible rumors roam about the globe regarding the gods being demons in disguise reducing their worshipers. Without worshipers, the gods lose more and more connections to the world and hence unable to manifest their powers without some kind of vassal or a medium (to forge a connection).

    Humans kept losing faith and most gods had entirely given up on them, while few still tried regaining their sovereignty over the world that they once cared for. The number of miraculous incidents and bestowal of special gift to the world and its inhabitants continued to reduce in an alarming rate. In the end, all the gods mutually agreed to not interfere with the world any longer unless completely necessary, much like what happened 5 years ago.

    That many years ago, The Pandora Box was briefly opened and the hands of fate were greatly stirred.

    5 years ago, the Keeper of the ¡®Pandora Box¡¯ died, killed by ¡®him¡¯ who wished to obtain the power sealed in it. It is power that will bring destruction to humankind, to the world even, if used at one¡¯s own personal desire. ¡®He¡¯ wished to rule over the world alongside with his underlings. Over the years, I uncovered much information of ''him'' as much as I can.

    That person was an elemental of fire but his greed for more power overwhelmed him and turned him into a corrupted person. ¡®He¡¯ was not only an elemental, but forcefully made a contract with the god of oblivion, which allows him to control over space. The god of oblivion and the god of lightning were brothers, so ultimately the god of lightning was extremely furious of having his brother as captive bound to ¡®his¡¯ will.

    No one knows how ''he'' was able to contract the god of oblivion but the god of lightning wishes to find and free his brother from ¡®him¡¯ but can¡¯t possibly descend to the world without a vassal. He no longer had any worshipers that creates his connection to the world. The god of lightning happened to encounter such vassal which was me, 5 years ago, when ¡®he¡¯ and his cronies wiped out my family to gain the ¡®Pandora Box¡¯.

    Sensing great misfortune, sometime before the Keeper died, my father, a good friend of the Keeper was entrusted to keep the ¡®Pandora Box¡¯ safe but in the end, ¡®he¡¯ still discovered its whereabouts. ¡®He¡¯ was merciless as I saw my own family slaughtered. My house was burnt down by ¡¯his¡¯ fire. In the blazing fire inside the house I was, unable to move, crying my heart out for my siblings and parents.

    Suddenly, my half dead father grabbed hold of me, opened the ¡®Pandora Box¡¯ and took out a somewhat red jewel stone which gleams of red light and immediately inserted it inside me through my chest! I was shocked and it was a great pain.

    ¡°Now you are the Pandora Box¡­ it will be difficult for ¡®him¡¯ to obtain it now¡­ be sure to keep it safe and hidden¡­ run¡­ my son¡­ the fate of this world depends on you¡­ run as far away as you can¡­¡± those were my father¡¯s last words.

    I was too shocked and in pain to understand anything. I thought I was going to die but it would seem that someone or something protected me. Somehow I was not engulfed by the flames as a just fitting red barrier protected me until I heard a voice. It was Whaitiri, the god of lightning.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°Become my vessel, child. Form a contract with me and I shall grant you power beyond your wildest imagination to defeat ¡®him¡¯. I happen to hold a grudge towards that person as well. Join forces with me child and I will definitely without fail protect you, no matter what. You have my word,¡± said the god of lightning.

    At that time, the god¡¯s expression seemed understanding. He understood my pain and his words were the only ones that could encourage me to keep on living at that point of time. Strangely, unable to express how it came to be, I could feel the god reached out his presence towards me and I, without hesitation embraced it. I was immediately covered in light so bright that I tightly shut my eyes. Without realizing it, I was brought to safety. When I opened my eyes, there was an inexplicably beautiful person beside me. I did not need to guess who it was.

    From a distance, I could only watch helplessly as the blazing fire consumes my home, my family. I was indescribably depressed and surged with fury towards ¡®him¡¯.

    -

    --

    ---

    --

    -

    ¡°You... none of you¡­ understand anything!¡± Klaus said weakly. But then, Klaus¡¯s body suddenly staggered. The wounds were a heavy burden. It restricted my movements. I couldn¡¯t think of anything then but to calm the god down and gradually, he returned my body to me as I convinced him to leave things at my hands.

    ¡°If you harm, or in this case my body, or even the fact that if I die, then the world will without a doubt, fall into destruction. You lots could not even comprehend anything that is actually happening in this world,¡± I said at last with my own voice this time as the god did not intervene. My body fall weaker and I tried really hard to even put myself in a sitting position.

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    It was obvious that Klaus was in no position to fight. Heck, he was not even in a state to move a muscle. His electric shield was getting weaker and weaker every moment. Dad was at the edge of his seat, ready to strike. From the look on his face, I knew he didn¡¯t bought what Klaus had said even for a second¡­ with his weird voice and whatnot. I bet to my father, this ¡°god of lightning¡± was more of devil by the second. As for me, I could not really decide who to believe. Klaus did not lie when he defended his contract with the god of lightning. I know a liar when I see one, and Klaus was not one of them. But, he was still a stranger in this household. While my dad was a well-known exorcist, a person whom I know had vast knowledge on the spiritual world.

    Klaus¡¯s lightning shield slowly faded and as it vanishes, dad sent him a body-locking jinx. Before Klaus could even startle, dad grabbed Klaus¡¯s arm, and Klaus¡¯s whole body was electrocuted. The struggle only lasted for a few seconds. Klaus seemed helpless than ever before and he tried his best to punch dad right in the stomach given his ill condition. As he did so, he looked surprised. He punched the air, and repeated it many times.

    ¡°My¡­my lightning¡­ what...what have you ¡­done?¡± Klaus said weakly.

    In a cool voice and his hand on his stomach, dad said,

    ¡°I¡¯ve locked your powers for now, and I¡¯ll give it back when you leave the house.¡±

 Chapter 7: Carried away like a princess

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll leave alright! If I can even move!¡± I said spontaneously.

    Suddenly, I felt dizzy and my conscious was definitely absolutely without a doubt completely totally failing me. If I stayed here any longer, who knows what he¡¯ll do to me, that Pascal, bastard exorcist. I had to leave, especially if I want to regain my powers back. But at the same time, I couldn¡¯t move either.

    How pathetic. I even obtained power from a god and yet I am still weak like this. A sudden disturbing thought occurred to me. Will I---? Unable to finish my thought, I collapsed to the ground.

    That Pascal bastard was about to do something to me again but before he could, the god of lightning suddenly appeared before me, materializing in his physical human form. Thankfully, he did not materialize in his divine form in the spur of the moment since I can feel that he is really pissed. If he were to be in his divine state, even I would¡¯ve been blinded.

    At the same time of materialization occurs, sparks of lightning surrounded me and him as a gesture of protection. Pascal was pushed back unable to withstand such huge forces. No matter how famous he was, he can¡¯t possibly able to surpass the power of the gods. He was still just human, albeit a misconception one. But of course, none of the Wincotts were harmed.

    It would be such a waste to spend time with them if they¡¯re too stubborn to listen and Wayne was prioritizing my well-being. With that, the god of lightning swiftly carried me away in a princess style? (>////<) from the temple to a holy divine place for gods above the heavenly sky where the buildings and its architectural beauty was so magnificent and fitting to those gods. Here, the god of lightning hoped that I would be able to recover fully from my injuries.

    Wayne? Is it really okay to bring me there---OF ALL PLACES?! You are breaking the rules? Need I remind you in the Order of Khalan, preserved in the mystic tablet of Rohrah, section 32, line 27---GUH! And I blanked out. Need I say it? Wayne knocked me out cold. Oi!

    Anyway, going back time a bit---

    The Wincotts were taken aback that such a scene occur, as the god himself showed up and took me away. He appeared so brightly in a white gleaming robe and lightning sparkled around him. His physical form appeared of a person in his twenties.

    As Pascal said, my powers returned after I left the house. It would seem that his spells worked in boundaries. I was relieved but I was still not far from death. Wayne even added a bump on my head. Well, it could have been dispelled as soon as we entered the realm of gods, I don''t know. I don''t care enough nor have any vitality to investigate.

    The god of lightning seemed genuinely worried about me as he would for his own brother and immediately seek help from his cousin Hyllia, the goddess of Healings to tend to me. I fell deeply further into the dark chasm of my consciousness.

    3rd POV.

    ¡°This is the boy who became the Pandora Box?¡± asked Hyllia, her eyes and mouth twitched in agitation.

    ¡°Yes, I vouched to protect him to no end,¡± said Whaitiri (lightning god), retreating a few steps back. Cold sweat drenching his back as he confront Hyllia.

    ¡°You know, you should¡¯ve asked for the other gods¡¯ help. For you to chase ¡®him¡¯ by yourself along with this boy would be too much of a burden upon the boy. It has been 5 years. Others would contemplate to give you a hand in this matter seeing how serious this matter had become. The birth of the ¡®Eye¡¯ (red jewel stone) was all of our responsibility. We would want to protect it from falling to wrong hands as well,¡± said Hyllia.

    "Only you thinks that way. Words don''t matter, action does! The others kept their hands off and did not interfere with the world so far. Plus, even YOU did not do anything 5 years ago even when I begged you to save my brother! You were afraid of the consequences!" Whaitiri exclaimed with unstable tone of voice mixed with despair, sadness and anger.

    Why did you stupid Old gods even hid it on earth anyways. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Whaitiri silently cursed. Hyllia narrowed her eyes at him while he simply glanced to the side avoiding her gaze.

    Hyllia sighed. She knew that she owed Whaitiri a great debt. She would have to comply with his request this time. Like a few others like her, Hyllia was afraid to act. But, she also could not very well let the second Pandora Box that contains the ''Eye'' be destroyed. Hyllia began to ponder who ''that'' person was that seeks after the ''Eye''. And how ''he'' came to know of its existence. Only very selected few humans that were still worshipers of the gods were made known of its existence and became Keepers. Those were very loyal subjects that have only one objective---that is to keep the Pandora Box safe. The reason was---

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    Hyllia closed her beautiful eyes and fell under deep thought as she placed her hands on Klaus''s forehead to heal and revitalize him. After some time, Klaus was all healed and Hyllia opened her eyes with a different light to it.

    "Alright. I made up my mind," she said with a resolute voice as she looked sharply towards her cousin. Whaitiri was all but startled. He tilted his head slightly unable to comprehend Hyllia''s intentions.

    "I will help you. No---, we will help you," Hyllia finally uttered. Instantly, Whaitiri''s eyes were filled with immense hope. Not soon after, three more figures appeared in the brightly lit chamber where Klaus lies asleep, oblivious to the conversation that took place in that very room.

    --

    ---

    Klaus''s POV

    I was asleep soundly during the gods discussion and it was much later that I woke up finding myself surrounded by three unfamiliar faces.

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    The figure that took form before me was as far from evil as it can get. Its halo was so bright, it was blinding. As it took Klaus away, I began to doubt my father¡¯s accusations. How can anyone refer to such a beautiful being to a devil?

    As if he read my mind, immediately he reassured me,

    ¡°That was merely a disguise, Juli. If anything could cause such destruction to a person, it would be the devil,¡± he said, massaging his eyes.

    ¡°Still,¡± mum finally spoke, still flabbergasted, ¡°you shouldn¡¯t have done that. He was so weak, that poor boy. Why can¡¯t you just wait?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s either him, or us,¡± dad retorted,

    ¡°That gets hurt first. Before he does us any harm, the least I could do was seal his powers,¡± and turned to me, with a face so scary I swear my heart was almost bursting into million pieces.

    ¡°Don¡¯t. Ever. Bring strangers into this household ever again,¡± he warned me and stormed off into his room. Mom kneel right next to me and said,

    ¡°Unless, that stranger was direly in need of a healer¡¯s help,¡± and winked. As she walked away, she turned and uttered a line she ever so often said to me,

    ¡°When there are people in need---¡°

    ¡°A healer¡¯s always there to do the deed,¡± I continued. She smiled and I saw her lips form the words,

    ¡°That¡¯s my girl,¡±

    I was still in a state of shock to be honest. That scene earlier was more bizarre than any other cases my dad had ever handled. I could not help but to think about what Klaus is doing now.

    Then it hit me, the burnt body at the kitchen. What happened to it? I rushed to the kitchen and saw, to my surprise not even a stain on the floor.

    It was a hard task to get myself to sleep. I could not stop thinking about what had happened. The contract, the devil, the god, and whatever the struggle, It was all too confusing to me. Just as I was closing my eyes, a loud bang echoed from outside my room. It came from the living room.

    Then, more bangs followed, as if someone was trying to bang every single door in the house down. True enough, whoever it was, banged my door opened. I wanted to scream, but my voice was stuck in my throat.

    The air was suddenly filled with green smoke, and out of the blue appeared a blindfold over my eyes, and almost at the same moment, I felt at least four pair of hands holding me down to my bed. I was completely immobilized.

    ¡°Where is he?¡± I heard someone said,

    ¡°Where is the boy?¡±

    <hr />

    ----To be continued.

 Chapter 8: Olevia Planes.

    Klaus¡¯s p.o.v

    I slowly opened my eyes and shifted my head from side to side. It was blurry at first but gradually I was able to take in the view that was before me. The scenery and my entire surrounding was majestic to say the least, and I felt like floating in the air. No, I could say I could literally floats in the air if I simply wish to. It might just happen.

    The room that I was in was HUGE. There was not much furniture except the bed in here surprisingly but amazing nonetheless. The walls were golden marbles and the ceilings were ridiculously high. There were intricate murals all over the walls and ceilings that depicts godly arts. Huge pillars lined up along the walls and there were several wide open windows in intervals.

    Strangely enough, the temperature in the room was not hot nor cold. It felt just right. Downright comfortable. It has a nice fragrant too. Soothing and calming. Probably some recovery effects were taken place as well since I could feel my body becoming lighter. I noticed that all my injuries were gone and that my body was reaching its optimum every second.

    I had no doubts about where I was.

    I was in the world of the gods--- the Olevia Planes.

    Wayne told me about it sometimes. The buildings and the architectural beauty was unbelievable and fitting. I tried to get up from the comfy bed as soft as clouds to a sitting position but suddenly someone supported me at the back of my shoulders. I looked over my shoulder half-expecting it to be Wayne but it was a face unfamiliar to me. My body went stiff. Then pop out two more unfamiliar faces at both sides of me. I was quite stunned and at the same time astonished by their beauty.

    The one supported me by the shoulder had sun-colored eyes and yellow-sand colored hair that reached to his waist. He had such an androgynous face that its easy to mistaken him as a girl. But I knew that he wasn''t since I was used to Wayne''s appearance. Despite his feminine face, he exuded fine masculinity and majesty. As I look and analysed him, he gave out a gentle smile.

    The two on my sides were also beautiful beyond compare. They looked similar in appearance, with silky purple-colored hair and soft violet eyes, yet they gave out a different aura than each other''s. It would seemed that they are twins being one guy and the other being a girl. It was obvious which is which since the guy gave out such an endearing sense of manly charisma and heroism while the other gave out such an unspeakable and undeniable elegance. Though I got the vibe of a ferocious warrior inside her as well.

    -

    -

    -

    Wait.

    Where the heck did they come from?! I was absolutely certain that I was alone just a second ago?!

    ¡°They must be gods, should have expected that, huh?¡± I thought silently and somewhat begrudgingly.

    ¡°Pfff!........¡± *cough cough* The one behind me suddenly stifled his laughter and coughed twice to cover it up. Oi, what the heck? I furrowed my eyebrows and frowned but said nothing except for giving him a questioning glance. I wanted to ask who they were but before I could utter a word...

    "Ah, I know what you are thinking," unknown God 1.

    The god behind me interjected.

    "Let me introduce ourselves, I am Victorudis Valturi, God of Wisdom, you may call me Victor. These two are my younger siblings, Ithica Goddess of Wind and Ashval God of Rain and Illusion. You may call them Tico and Ash respectively," Victor said with a cheerful beam while Tico and Ash nodded in acknowledgement.

    "....I see," I replied and then---

    *silence*

    "......" Victor.

    "......" Tico.

    "......" Ash.

    "......" Klaus.

    -----

    -----

    *The awkward silence continues...*

    ---

    ---

    How long are they going to stay like this?!

    I can''t help but refute. Without much choice, I spoke up.

    ¡°Um, why are you all clinging to me?¡± I asked rather embarrassed. Victor was hugging me from my back while the twins each hugged my arms each.

    ¡°Making sure you are protected,¡± said Tico with a smile so elegant that it could kill. My eyebrows twitched.

    Protected? What? I heaved out a resigned sigh.

    ¡°Okay, I can accept that, but isn¡¯t this a bit too much? I mean I¡¯m not in danger right now, am I?¡± I said in an uncomfortable fit. Just what on Olevia is going on?!

    The trio released me and made innocent cute faces towards me. Again, my eyebrows twitched in slight annoyance. I placed my hand at my chest where the ¡®Eye¡¯ is located and went silent. Since that day 5 years ago, Wayne warned me to keep it safe, hidden just as my deceased father did as I had become Pandora Box. Wayne had kept on insisting and plead the other Gods in protecting me as I¡¯ll be pursued by those who wishes to obtain its power, ¡®him¡¯ especially, but it fell on deaf ears since none of them wanted any part of it. Wayne was enraged and threw a fit. We were left to our own devices since then.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    So, what about being protected now? Ain''t that a bit late? I shook my head at the thought. None of it matters either way. All I want was my revenge, saving the world or whatever was secondary to me.

    Before I got hunted down by any other power-hungry individuals, I must be able to reach ¡®him¡¯ first and defeat him before worst comes to worst. As time goes by, the ¡®Eye¡¯ settled in and made itself comfortable inside me to the extent of becoming one with my heart. Just like how the Pandora Box was destroyed 5 years ago when the ¡®Eye¡¯ was taken out from the box, I too, just like the previous Pandora Box, will presumably die as soon as the ¡®Eye is taken out from my body. It is a moment that I definitely am not looking forward to.

    ---

    Regaining my focus, I asked the trio the present circumstances. I was not pleased when I found out that they will be my ''guardians'' in my journey hence forth.

    ---

    Appreciation to Hyllia, the goddess of Healing, I was recovered from my near death situation perfectly. Time was not friendly with me. I need to hurry up and find him as soon as possible before time runs out. I don¡¯t want to mention why I need to hurry, as it is a really a depressing and stressful subject. Such was my excuse from talking about ''him'' and the ''Eye'' when the trio asked.

    The ''Eye'' was a very mysterious thing. None of us knows what it actually do. The Old gods did not bother to reveal anything while the new generation of gods like Victor, Tico and Ash had no real conclusions either. All they know was that its a very powerful godly item, created long ago for a purpose.

    While I was unconscious, Wayne was dragged to the Council for breaching against the rules in the Order of Khalan, for bringing a mortal to the Olevia Planes. But lets just skip that since Wayne came out unscathed. He even had a triumphed look on his face, or so Ash had recounted the event.

    In any case, along with Wayne and the trio, I descended to earth in order to pursue ¡®him¡¯ again. I thought I¡¯d be more agile to roam about if I went by myself but I can¡¯t seem to shake the trio off my trail. They persistently followed me saying that it was their mother¡¯s wish. With much argue, I finally gave up and had them tag along. In accordance to the information that I have build up, Victor was able to point certain areas that are highly likely to be in ¡®his¡¯ dominance. Feeling that they were useful, I compromised and accepted their presence in our journey and went to those areas concerned.

    --

    ---

    --

    Wait. My mind was occupied before so I did not bother checking---

    Those are your vassals?!

    Julia¡¯s p.o.v

    On the other side of the blindfold, I did not know what was happening. I was going to say,

    ¡°He¡¯s gone,¡± yet I was not sure if that could be the right answer since I was not sure who ¡®the boy¡¯ was referring to---- but who else could it be if it wasn¡¯t Klaus. But what do these men want from Klaus? So many questions were filling in my head that I felt like it was going to burst.

    ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about! The boy with the lightning----,¡±

    Suddenly I felt a weird gush of wind over my body. It was familiar alright, I¡¯ve experienced this countless of times. It was mum, and her power to control air, probably clearing up the air of the green gas.

    ¡°Get your hands off my daughter,¡± she roared.

    ¡°Mum!¡± I screamed for her as tears began to trickle down my cheeks.

    Then I felt the hands on me jerked away and I knew it was on dad¡¯s command.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Juli, we¡¯re here for you!¡± I heard him say. The rest of the night was filled with countless curses and the sounds of crashes, and a lot of bangs. There seemed to be a dispute between my parents and whoever the intruders were. The next thing I remember was the scent of chloroform. I woke up to find myself still blinded, but on a different surface. It was a harder surface and colder air. The only source of heat was that of a person lying next to me. From the fragrance, I knew that it was mum.

    ¡°Stay silent, Juli,¡± I heard her whisper. Then I knew why. She was listening to the conversation of the drivers.

    ¡°We¡¯re here, the person on the front passenger seat said,

    ¡°The Atrium,¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said the driver,

    ¡° ¡¯He¡¯ is going to reward us big time,¡± Driver.

    <hr />

    The chapter is finally out!  \(>v<)/

    ----Well, to be continued.

    <hr />

 Chapter 9: Klaus Laments.

    Klaus¡¯s POV.

    In the seemingly lush green forest, I leaned my body as close to the tree as possible, on high alert. My ears twitched to every sound, my eyes shifted in every direction on quick intervals, and I drew out my short knives, on the ready.  I moved from one spot to another on quick succession, hiding my figure in the shadows, without so much as a noise. Finally, when the target was in my sight, without any hesitation, I swiftly threw my short knives and hit the target, ending its life.

    I breathed out a quiet sigh and came out of the shadow. I quickly grabbed my prey and put it in with the rest of my haul in the holding bag that I slung on my back. Done with that, I quickly climbed a tree and jumped from tree branches to another until I arrived back at the camp that I tediously set up.

    ¡°Welcome back~¡± Victor greeted me as he waved his ¡°hand¡± in glee as he rested himself beside the fireplace and the boiling pot of soup. The sight made me frown. I can¡¯t even begin to say how weird that is. I mean, he¡¯s a DAMN FUCKING WHITE WOLF!

    ¡°What did you get?¡± The alluring voice sent tremors down my body as I felt a slight increase in weight on my left shoulder. I turned towards my left and found a black crow. It was Tico. Damn. Where did her beautiful appearance go?

    Hey! I am still a guy! A guy in puberty! Uh, well I am already 19¡­but hey, manly desires haven¡¯t left me!! So don¡¯t look at me like that, Victor!

    I huffed and quickly said,

    ¡°Around 5 rabbits.¡± Ignoring Ash who is grooming himself like the cat that he is, I proceeded to skin the rabbits and cut the meat in pieces then put them in the soup. Some of the meat was put on skewers and I started to cook them by the fire.

    Once they¡¯re done, I began to lavish myself with the food I cooked as if I had not eaten in years. The Gods did not disturb me at this time as they quietly watched me eat, seemingly contemplating.

    As soon as I finished washing the dishes and the pot using the water Ash had created out of thin air and put them away, I planned to head inside the tent and get some sleep.  Before I could, the Gods lined up in front me and began to materialize their physical human form. Wayne too left my body and materialized with them.

    Victor stepped forward and said,

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight.¡±

    ¡­¡­..

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    What?

    ¡­.

    ¡­¡­

    It has been a couple of days since we have descended unto the earth realm. At first I tried to shake the three Gods off my trail, but it was impossible. It was like they were stuck to me like glue. In the end, I ended up coming to terms with their presence as they are useful in their own way.

    Tico had demonstrated the minimum of her abilities as she used wind to somehow boost our travelling speed, reduces frictions and air resistances as well as comfort against the weather. She used the wind to scout ahead as well for threats. Ash had wanted to use his powers and boasted his abilities to bend fiction, but Wayne protested, saying that such grandiose way of movement from place to place will attract much unwanted attention.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    This much is true since for 5 years, Wayne and I had been very discreet in our travels around the globe. We were like fugitives, being hunted here and there, unable to settle down at any place for a long time. I asked Wayne what did he meant by ¡®grandiose¡¯ and I regretted it instantly. Ash eagerly showed me when he suddenly brought forth and outstretched his arms in front of him. As he did so, mists started to form and gather in front of him at rapid speed, swirling and whirling like the eye of a hurricane.

    Suddenly, the vortex bursts to all directions like an explosion albeit a quiet one. The mists cleared and in place of it was a white and sparkly luxurious limousine. Ash indignantly said that he could even create a supersonic jet if he wanted to.

    Illusion and reality seemed to twists around him. He could manifests things that were not there as well as makes things as if they were not. His powers have much versatility in them that I could only call him a cheat existence. I decided to not say anything as he is practically a God. A capable one. But he was proved to be useless this time as Wayne reprimanded him and had him dismiss the limo. Ash slumped his body in a dejected manner, while Tico and Victor amply laughed at him.

    Victor had access to vast knowledge. He regretfully said that he could not have access to any knowledge or information about ¡®him¡¯ nor about the ¡®Eye¡¯ in his arsenal. Ancient knowledge in regards to the ¡®Eye¡¯ seemed to be highly classified as the Old God of Knowledge, Yhonethep himself restricted him any access.

    Victor does not have the knowledge itself, but have access to them through Yhonethep, his ancestor. What makes him the God of Wisdom is that he is able to derive many possibilities, schemes and plans that is most effective and efficient in the application of the knowledge that he had access to. He is able to utilize and bring about the optimum result out of those knowledge.

    Let¡¯s say that he has access to all martial arts and mystical techniques ever existed on earth, then Victor can surely perform those martial arts and technique to its utmost potential and capabilities in its most effective and efficient manner. Truly a godly existence. I could not help but frown however, as the most wanted information remain unattained.

    Wayne¡¯s powers had been obvious to me already as I had been bounded with him for 5 years. Wayne had been adamant about increasing my strength and prowess as he trained me these 5 years. Even when I almost died in life to death struggle, injuries from battles, Wayne had left me to deal with such situations myself unless I was truly on the brink.

    He was able to judge whether or not I could actually break through those circumstances myself. Being inside me most of the time, he was able to feel my body¡¯s limitations. It would seemed that Wayne had deemed me impossible to break through when I had faced against the Wincotts back then. My powers were unexpectedly sealed at that time too aside from them being old nemesis.

    Contracted to a vessel and materialize in human physical form, the God¡¯s powers were slightly restricted. Even then, they are plenty powerful. So I clearly had taken note not to mess with them.

    Imagine the dread I feel when they had all taken a stance against me and declared for a fight?!!

    It felt like the world is ending! Ah!

    <hr />

    ---To be continued.

 Chapter 10: ....I am Broken?!

    **Klaus**

    I woke up with wounds all over my body. I couldn¡¯t feel my legs. Were they broken? I tried to look around and get a vague image of where I was, inside the tent that I set up previously.

    I turned to the side and saw Ash, Tico, Victor and Wayne grinning at me.

    I tried to recall vaguely what happened.

    ----

    ------

    Ah¡­ now I remember. Victor invited us to have a brief training session. Ash suddenly smirked and his eyes shone devilishly. Out of the blue everything became blurry. The surrounding seemed to evaporate and before I knew it we were standing in some sort of vast plain.

    I could feel the deadly vibe everywhere as the four of them stood before me in their menacing fighting stances. It was quiet.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Due to confusion, I could not define who asked as such.

    ¡°Uuh¡­¡± I was slightly distracted, then right before my eyes, Ash evaporates and disappears. I looked around trying to find and discern his presence but out of nowhere Tico was standing right under my nose and gives me a strong hit to my chin.

    OOPH! SSSK!

    I was lifted up slightly above ground upon impact and pushed back. I skidded the ground with my feet, stopping myself from falling back any further.

    Her speed did not surprise me, as I knew her ability boosting up her speed with the application of wind elements. But her powerful punch caught me off guard. I could feel her restraining her strength as much as possible though. I shuddered as I imagined what would have happened otherwise. I staggered back in pain and Ash reappears right before me and lifted me up in the air by the throat. I struggled in suffacation as I tried to get out of his grip. From Ash''s sudden disappearance to Tico''s punch and finally to Ash again, it all happened in a split of a moment.

    Knowing that I could not win in terms of physical strength, I immediately focus my energy in the palm of my hand and transfer a strong amount of electricity into his body as I grip his hands. He squinted in pain and lets me go. I fall flat on the ground but quickly stagger back up and put some distance as the rest might attack me at any moment I put my guard down. I stared at Ash who was caressing his smoking hand.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯d say, that actually stung a little.¡± Ash exclaimed, albeit calmly. His eyes turned into small slits as he scrutinized me. Damn, he''s so cool. Of course, for a guy like him, why would that amount of power bothers him.

    The four of them swiftly surrounded me. Tico was the first to launch an attack. I could tell from her preemptive strokes, punches, diagonal, vertical and horizontal slashes that she is an all ranger. As the goddess of the wind, it is an established fact that she could attack from mid to long range distances in any battle. But from her fighting style and warrior spirit, as well as her herculean strength, she proved to be deadly in close combat as well.

    I tried my best to mostly evade and block her hits. Everytime I blocked one of her hits however, I could feel my bones threatening to crack and break. We danced around the plain for a couple of minutes, testing each other''s combat techniques, exchanging blows and kicks. The other three gods did not join the fray for the moment, which I am thankful for. Though I know that I will have my hands full once they do.

    With a slightly more force, Tico punched towards my face. A dread feeling crept up my back in that split of second, so I quickly tilted my head, dodging the punch by a hair''s breath. As her fist missed my face, I could feel the sharp pressure of wind grazing my cheek. A straight line of cut formed on my cheek and a trickle of blood flowed from it. My eyes grew wide in astonishment, and seeing her other fist coming in succession, I bend my body down, almost in impossible way to the side and made a roundhouse kick, my feet crackled with lighting. Tico evaded and I managed to earn myself some distance in that short time.

    However, as we were both seen pulled back in opposite directions, creating distance...

    Tico flexed her hand and behind her a thousand small and sharply pointed wind cyclones materialized and pointed directly at me.

    Wow, that looks nasty. I need to evade that or I will be full of holes! Beads of sweat started to form on my forehead.

    I prepared for the worst. I instintively casted a high level barrier of lightning energy. The small but thousand wind of terror whizzed through the air but once they reached me, the barrier I created, halted them. Tico grunted, dismissed her attack, retreated, and signalled the others.

    Immediately, Victor initiated a distant chi attack with a few motions of his hand and I felt a strong wave of energy heading my way. The chi attack, to my great surprise, bypassed my lightning barrier and rather punctured me. Victor smirked seeing my reaction. Since the chi attack was not literally physical in nature, my barrier seemed to be useless against it. It appears his knowledge on Jujitsu and a wide range of martial arts and energy like Qi Gong really paid off. I clenched my body in pain but I know that I do not want them to think that I¡¯m that weak.

    I give them a cold stare as I analyse my surroundings, fixing my disoriented body while my barrier flickered, threatening to collapse. As the gods (kindly) waited for me to get back on my feet, I tried to flow my energy through the ground without them knowing. In the meantime, I must lead them to the spot that is a few metres away from me. It was hard to divide my concentration like that but I had no choice. I tried to launch a divertive attack. I hit a few distinct blows towards them. Of course they dodged most of them rather easily, but it was my intention to occupy their defensive measure to my continuous and relentless lightning attacks. I focused my attention towards Wayne and smacked a high bolted surprise attack on his chest right after a speed transport to his exact location. He looked shocked and I grinned.

    But I should have paid more attention. Wayne is a Lightning God. So my attack did not faze him. Rather, I was a second too late to realize that I chose the wrong target. Since I could feel Wayne''s presence strongly compared to the other three, it was a lot easier for me to speed transport to him. My brain must have short-circuited for a moment to make that kind of mistake. In the meantime, Ash went quite further away from our location, calculatively stayed out of my attack range and transformed himself into an eagle and flew around above us. He playfully manifested a snake-like creature around my feet and let it crawled over my body as my hands was forcefully seized by Wayne when I attacked him. I writhed in disgust as the snake slithered around.

    As I was squirming, Wayne redirected my electricity and shocked me with ten times as much volt power. I arched back and struggled to get my hands free from his grasp. My knee went limp and I tried to channel out the electricity that was flowing through my veins before it reached my heart and kill me. In that instant, I had an idea and channelled the electricity out of my body, and towards Ash in the air.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    The unsuspecting and gleeful Ash was successfully hit by an amplified lightning and was electrocuted until his skin turned charred black. Ash fell from the sky and hit the ground with a SPLAT!

    One DOWN! And the annoying snake disappeared too!

    Wayne grunted at me as he finally let go of my hands. I dropped to the ground as I feel weakened by the shock.

    I looked up and found Victor looking at me with new eyes. Tico similarly watched me with a newfound feeling. My barrage of lightning attacks must have stopped when I was intercepted by Wayne. Victor just stared at me and I don¡¯t really know whether I should make a move or not. I try to get up to my feet when I realized that I suddenly have no control whatsoever of my body. In the corner of my eye, I could see a smile started to form on Victor''s lips. Victor was controlling me. He had successfully captured my body with mind control. It seems that Victor managed to hack into my self-consciousness and take over my mind. Not a moment too soon, I could feel my body being lifted into air.

    **Wham**

    **Crack**

    **Crash**

    **Wham**

    **Crack**

    **Crash**

    **Wham**

    **Crack**

    **Crash**

    **Wham**

    **Crack**

    **Crash**

    **Wham**

    **Crack**

    **Crash**

    **Wham**

    **Crack**

    **Crash**

    **BAAM!**

    **COUGH COUGH**

    I coughed in desperation. I AM NOT A DOLL!!

    Victor slammed me onto the ground countless of times until he dropped me one last time with a loud crashing sound. By the way, Tico assisted him by boosting the crashing speed. By this time, I could feel my bones that were broken and others breaking. The cracking sounds of bones breaking was a nightmare to my ears. I could also detect that I suffered several internal injuries. My broken ribs slightly punctured my lungs making it difficult for me to breathe.

    I gasped for air when suddenly, the air seemed to taste toxic. I realized that Tico had changed the air compulsively to a toxic gas. I held my breath as I brainstorm for a way out of this predicament. Should I persevere and see it through to the end? Or should I raise the white flag, then and there?

    As I was struggling with my thoughts, Victor then stood me up and punched me multiple times like a punching bag. I puked up blood and finally Victor let go of my mind. He was probably disgusted since my blood kind of went all over him.

    I looked above me expecting them looking at me with triaumphant faces, but I can¡¯t see Victor or Tico or Wayne. I thought they had vanished somewhere and plan to ambush me so I tried to sense their energy.

    ----

    ------

    "......"

    They are standing right above me!

    With no time to react, Tico slams a storm ball on me and I am flung to the ground like a rag doll. I suddenly feel as if my body was in chains. Victor was controlling my nerve points.

    GUH.... I hate his ability!

    Nonetheless, with whatever self-control I had, I focused on my energy flow and try to loosen his grip on my nerves as I strengthen myself in the process.

    They levitated towards me and landed at the exact spot I wanted them to. I accidentally smiled but they didn¡¯t notice. As Victor chained me to the ground, Tico was building up a strong field of wind around us, almost like a tornado. Wayne created bolts and bolts of lightning and focused all of it into a small ball that rested on the palm of his hand.

    With all my years of experience, I knew that even a speck was able to kill a dragon and Wayne was actually making a ball of that stuff. Does he seriously want to blow up his plain?

    I kept my focus until, Tico and Wayne struck me at the same time. Feeling that my nerve was finally out of grip from Victor¡¯s control, right before the impact by two simultaneous attacks, I shifted my body and transformed into pure lightning energy to avoid the devastating hits. Transforming my entire being as lightning is a very high level technique or skill that Wayne taught me. But since I have not mastered it to its fullest potential, the backlash from it after use is severe. But at this point, I do not have many options at hand.

    I have no idea why but the explosion the two attacks caused, practically blew everything away, creating a huge crater at where I was. I was hit by a strong wave of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. That explosion reminded me of¡­.

    A sudden strong force of emotions waved inside me as I remembered that explosion. -----

    --------

    The dust clouded everywhere and Victor, Tico and Wayne couldn¡¯t see me.

    And I have no idea where Ash disappeared to¡­.Did he got lazy? Sure he got charred black by lightning but he should have recovered by now....

    I reappeared in the smoke, half lightning energy and half human body as I reformed myself physically again. That skill was a risky one. But I had no other choice. Though I know by instinct that they were going easy on me but such manner of attack could still potentially kill me.

    A terrible glint shone in my eyes. Victor suddenly took a step back as he suddenly felt a strong aura that was circulating me. I don¡¯t know what happened to me but I supposed it was a good thing.

    I channelled electricity through the ground and straight towards them. They sense the electricity and immediately jump out of the way but I redirected my energy and sparks came shooting out of ground and followed them. They were startled and so was Wayne.

    But that wasn¡¯t the end just yet. They tried to dodge by any means possible but the sparks continued to tail them. At an attempt, Tico blurs my vision with a dusty stand storm. Nonetheless I can still feel their energy so I can still track them down. I try to rely on my other senses and I sense someone behind me.

    I flash rays of lightning in that direction but it is as if I hit nothing. I stand puzzled but a sudden blow from behind got me whizzing through the air. Wayne stands above me and gives me hard slam to the ground. He didn¡¯t forget to add some electricity in the blow. I tried to resist focusing on the sudden intense power I felt earlier but Wayne continued to force me to the ground as I lay weakly as I let my body give away.

    The three of them stood before me. Wayne focuses some energy and a shining blade appears in his hands. He points towards me and says goodbye. What! I thought this was just a training session!?!

    Damn it! If it¡¯s like this¡­..I¡­..

    Wayne hovers above me and delivers the sword to my neck. I closed my eyes and a sudden smoke engulfed me. Wayne, Victor and Tico wiped dust of their faces and were surprised to see me not chained to the ground anymore. I disappeared.

    Tico and Wayne looked around and Victor sighed as he said

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have underestimated him¡­¡±

    I appeared high amongst the clouds. I used a teleportation talisman. I stole them from one of those crazy hunters once upon a time. A guy like me needs resources, but those talisman are one of the rare ones so I avoid using them. I couldn¡¯t just depend on my lightning powers. I saved those talismans to escape sticky situations. When my powers were sealed by the Wincotts, I probably would have used it if Wayne did not intervene.

    I summoned electricity from all around me. From the ground, the air and the clouds. I channel everything into one attack. From the ground, Tico, Wayne and Victor can only see the skies darkening around them.

    Seriously¡­where in Olevia is Ash?! I can¡¯t sense him at all¡­

    Wayne flies up to investigate but Victor holds him back. He shakes his head in disagreement. They stared up and light starts to flash in the sky. All the electricity waves are flowing within me and with whatever energy I have left I¡­.

    BAAAM!!!

    Wayne suddenly appeared behind and hit me to the ground and shot me again until I was paralyzed.

    No fair¡­.I was so close¡­maybe¡­.

    Having a contracted God who always knew where you are if he wants to is just plain cheating¡­.you should continue to play ignorance and fight me on equal terms¡­..stupid Wayne¡­.but I guess I already expected that, huh.

    My thoughts started to dwindle as I was losing my consciousness.

    Luckily I¡¯m still alive. Apparently Wayne didn¡¯t listen to Victor and wanted to end the fight here.

    ¡°It¡¯s over Klaus, ready to call it quits?¡± Tico smirked.

    ¡°Hehehe, not just yet¡­¡± I passed out at that moment. The three of them looked at each other, puzzled. Suddenly they hear strong sparks coming from behind them. They turn around and the sky turned dark red. Lightning bolts started to rain heavily and each bolt had over a thousand volts. The ground itself was starting to electrocute them so they flew up and they got hit directly by the overwhelming storm of thunder and lightning¡­

    ¡°Just what is he exactly?!?...¡±

    ZzZaaaappppp!!!!

    ----

    -------

    While I passed out with satisfied grin on my face. The three gods were painted charred black, their hairs stood erect with little fires sizzling at the ends before completely vanish. They simply stared at the unconscious me with half closed eyes.

    Phew! Glad I did not get caught up in that! HAHAHAHAHA. You guys should look at yourselves in the mirror! Hilarious! AHAHAHAHA! Look Tico! Your hair! They all stand erected! HAHAHA!!!

    The three gods slowly turned their attention towards the little figure where the voice came from, having a laughing fit.

    Ash, who suddenly appeared after the aftermath and the storm calmed down, began to laugh and make fun of them. In his cat form. They later found out that he was grooming himself under some hole of a dead tree trunk.

    The three gods stared at him with accusing eyes.

    ¡°What?! It is just that time of the day!¡± Ash simple state, inappropriately feeling wronged. Victor sighed and said.

    ¡°Enough. Let¡¯s get cleaned up and addresses Klaus¡¯s wounds. We have quite the journey ahead of us.¡±