《Tame》


 Chapter 1: A Fathers Love

    The moon hung over the open skies of the central plains of the continent of Kiya. Along the central trade route the ran from the north to south, dubbed the Sky Dragon Road by many, was a caravan. The caravan had at least twenty wagons which carried various goods and wares since this caravan was currently traveling north along the Sky Dragon Road in the hopes that they can sell their merchandise in the capital of the northern country of Lance, Klyde.


    Klyde is considered one of the wealthiest cities in all of the Kiya continent due to the fact it is situated in the middle of the northern half of the continent as well as being the capital and cultural center for the entire empire of Lance, which rules over two thirds of the northern half of Kiya.


    However the trip to Klyde via the Sky Dragon Road from the south is often traversed in caravans because the central plains of the continent are a fairly vast and lawless area. Which is why this caravan currently had its wagons situated in a circular formation off to the side of the main road. Mercenaries in heavy iron plate armor patrolled the outer area of the formation keeping a tight grip on their pikes as they stared into the dark rolling hills of the plains barely lit by the milky light of the moon.


    Within the caravan''s formation were various groups of people huddling around roaring fires covered in thick wool blankets. During summer nights on the central plains the days have a comfortable warm but at night it''s not uncommon for unprepared travelers at this time of year to freeze to death in the middle of the night. For this reason the majority of people stayed within the center of the circular formation because they know that they may not always stay this warm in the future.


    With the majority of people sleeping near the great bonfires the scene was rather warming seeing many merchants, travelers, and mercenaries so close together amidst the dimming lights of the fires.


    Outside of the formation amidst the shadows of the rolling hills were various indistinguishable figures moving about quickly surrounding the caravan moving swiftly on all fours attracted by the light of the fires. When they moved all you would see is a swaying shadowy blur but no matter how fast they moved they didn''t even make a sound. The grass swayed as they approached but it did not even rustle as they lowered their sleek shadowy bodies and creeped forward.


    One of the guarding mercenaries was half asleep standing attention with his back to a wagon when a shadowy figured seemed to half float half pounce towards him without making a sound. The beast finally crashed into the partially dozing guard disturbing the peace of the night as it sank its razor sharp teeth into his throat flinging the man backward with enough force to tip over the wagon.


    The sound of the wagon crashing onto its side awoke everyone in the area. However, it was too late for these beasts were incredibly intelligent for after that first figure pounced all of the other concealed figures in the grass followed suit targeting the rest of the mercenaries guarding the outer area of the formation. By this point all of the people within the circle of wagons was awake as some screamed and some jumped towards their weapons as the cat like figures flooded into the camp.


    Blood splattered the ground and screams formed a grand symphony of pain and agony as the beasts slashed with their brick sized paws and sword like claws. Many of the men within this now cage like formation held swords as they hacked at the monsters slaughtering and devouring their friends and relatives. Some knew in their hearts they were going to die so let loose blood boiling screams of rage and hate towards the very heavens as they smashed into the beasts trying their best to pierce their thick hides.


    One man who was over six feet tall went berserk as he swung an enormous dual-headed axe like a whirlwind as he let out pained screams of pain for his wife was among one of those killed, and he couldn''t protect her. In his rage he let go of his own life as the hundreds of beasts swarmed in. Only this man couldn''t use his full strength because in his left arm held close to his chest was his only son, just born a week prior while he and his wife were still traveling.


    Three of the tiger like creatures jumped at the man, one from the front and two from behind. The man cried out as he swung out at the beast in front of him disregarding all else and not bothering to defend because to him at that moment he was enraged and in agony. His only thoughts were that he needed to kill them, kill them all to protect his son''s life.


    Adrenaline and the pressure of all of his feelings were let out of every swing of his axe. As the two beasts pounced tried digging their claws into the man''s back he suddenly twisted his hips using the tremendous weight of the axe to follow through a horizontal slash after he smashed the head of the one in front him with his bare feet causing its brain matter to fling into the air. The two creatures didn''t even have time to regret as they were decapitated.


    Slowly but surely the beast whittled down the group until just that man and his child were left. The blood had long since started to run into the dirt making it the consistency of mud. The man at this point had various gashes all over his body except for the front his chest where he held his son, the only thing left in this world he had to protect. Currently these black tiger like monsters were staying clear of the man and only blocking his way as they encircled him.


    The man''s breathing was heavy, he was bleeding profusely, and fatigue seemed be washing over him as he stood there limply holding his bloody axe which now had multiple chips along its blade making almost look like the bloody maw of a great dragon.


    All of a sudden an inhuman sounding coarse voice roared out with an amused tone, "Humans never disappoint me, how amusing... yes, very amusing."


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    Soon after a large black tiger with purple stripes almost as tall as the man stepped slowly through the crowd of smaller beasts with a wide stride as is displaying its own pride and arrogance but most catching were its two bright purple eyes that almost seemed to pierce the dark and held a slight flicker of intelligence.


    The man sluggishly turned to look at the creature, when there eyes met the man could not help be feel an incomprehensible pressure from its gaze. Under that gaze his body shook as he released his axe letting it sink into the bloody earth before sinking to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he clutched his son close with both arms. His chest shook from his cries because he knew now he couldn''t escape because the grand creature before him was at least a Dragon Class magical beast from its aura not to mention its human speech.


    Magical beasts throughout this world are ranked based on their power and the fact that they draw power from the essence of nature to gain power gave rise to the title ''magical beast''. Magical beasts are ranked from one to seven each rank the higher the rank the harder to kill. Then there are rare occurrences where a magical beast surpasses the first seven rank those are from lowest to highest Dragon Class, Phoenix Class, and then Immortal Class magical beasts making a total of ten ranks.


    Once a magical beast surpasses the first seven ranks and steps into the Dragon Class ranking it gains ability to take human form and learn human speech as well as being endowed with superior intelligence. Once a magical beast steps into the Phoenix Class it is virtually unkillable because if one speck of dust is remaining they can easily reform their bodies much like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the only way to kill them is by smashing their solidified core after disintegrating the rest of the body once they reach Phoenix Class. Finally, the practically mythical Immortal Class magical beasts which are very mysterious and only known in legends to be invincible and having enough power to sink quarter of a continent into the vast oceans.


    It is for the very reason the man began to despair because only Dragon Class magical beasts can speak in the human tongue. Suddenly the man felt a wiggling warmth and heard childish cries. The man with tears covering his face could only look down at his crying son causing a deep pain from his heart as loosened his grip slightly on his son before whispering gently, "It''s ok... It''s ok... I''m here, no need to cry..."


    The purple striped tiger simply looked down at the man with a tinge of interest in his eyes. He felt deeply moved by the prospect of this father''s love for his child that even in the face of death he didn''t want his son to feel discomfort. The tiger had always had an interest in humans so he couldn''t help but think of a proposal for he really wanted to face this fearless man, "Human... you will fight me to the death... if you manage to mark me with your weapon even if you die I will protect your son for you"


    The man hearing this didn''t think he could ever believe this beast but as he looked down at his delicate son couldn''t help but consider. Looking at his own body and seeing marks all over his body and noticing his blood spilling from the wounds, feeling the aching pain from every inch of his body he knew he was going to die. He laugh bitterly wiping off the streams of tears from his face before speaking in a firm yet sad tone, "Either way I will leave this world... It is best I don''t drag my son down with me... I''ll put my last bit of faith in your word... beast."


    The man slowly lowered his son on to the bloodstained muddy earth before dragging his heavy axe from the mud. As he stood his legs shook from simply standing. Seeing this the purple striped tiger couldn''t help but inwardly sigh and think, This human can hardly stand yet he thinks he can still wound me?


    The man was swaying trying catch his balance as he was standing firmly gripping his axe with his right hand so hard his knuckles turned white. Determination shined in his eyes, he knew what he had to do. Suddenly the man stopped swaying standing firm in the uneven muddy ground exactly the opposite of his stance but a moment ago. Suddenly a vortex seemed to form around the man as his muscles seemed to expand as he emitted a green aura. This rotating aura suddenly magnified out covering a circumference of about fifteen feet. This is the ultimate result of a life or death technique, the man was forcibly igniting all of the inner energy in his body to boost his strength and aura if only for an instant.


    If the purple striped tiger was in human for at this moment you would likely see his face pale. This tremendous power was the worth of this man''s life, it is no small amount. The man in this moment where his aura and physical strength was at its peak lashed out with his axe. When he lashed out all of his surrounding aura seemed to converge at blade of his axe before slashing out at the large beast in the form of an enormous emerald blade. The purple striped tiger suddenly stood up on its hind legs before quickly swatting down with his front paw to meet the aura blade.


    When large black paw met with the aura it seemed to almost explode. When the aura suddenly exploded upon the descending paw it tore through flesh and slowly disintegrated half of the tiger''s arm leaving nothing but a burnt stump.


    The man seeing this let out a smile before crashing to his knees. He the then said his last words in this world in a hoarse voice, "His name... his name is... Fay... Fay Caige..."


    After speaking out his son''s name his body seemed to almost wither in front of your eyes before he finally slumped down face first in the mud and next to him was was his only son, Fay, letting out whimpering cries next to his father''s withered corpse.

 Chapter 2: Tiger Cub

    In the central plains off of the Sky Dragon Road under the milky light of the moon a hundred or so black tiger like beasts were dining on the flesh of humans. Blood formed rivers and soaked into the earth muddying up the ground beneath brick like paws. Wagons were partially destroyed after being rummaged through by the many magical beasts.


    In the middle of the gathering of beasts was grand purple striped black tiger standing at over six feet tall with a length of at least seven feet not to mention it was about five feet from shoulder to shoulder. The beast seemed to emanate a certain prideful aura as it stood tall looking down upon a shriveled up body. The odd thing was though that currently this majestic magical beast was missing half of its right arm and the end of its stump of a limb was charred while giving off faint wisps of smoke.


    Suddenly the beast began to laugh with a certain joyful and amused tone addressing the fallen man before it, "Hahahaha... human I will keep up my end of the bargain or I am not Pax the Royal Winged Tiger"


    As the tiger stood there laughing joyfully one would notice that it''s stump of an arm was regenerating fast enough to notice with the naked eye, a clear sign of a Phoenix Class magical beast. Once Pax finally had four limbs once more a deep purple fog began to coalesce around him before shrinking along with Pax''s body, swirling about, until finally it compressed itself before dispersing revealing a Pax''s human form.


    Pax stood at about six feet tall with long flowing black hair rolling down his shoulders only it appeared to have a purplish glow under the moonlight. His face was rather average but not entirely ugly either but his features made him seem dignified and kingly. The only feature the truly stood out were his bright purple eyes that seemed as though they could see through you yet stilled seemed to display a slight look at his truly intelligent nature.


    Pax walked forward in his royal purple colored robe, which was formed by the purple fog that earlier coalesced around his body, towards the baby lying in bloody mud covered earth. Baby Fay was letting out slightly whimpering cries. Pax calmly walked over and picked up the little Fay before holding him out in front of himself to get a good look at the child''s face. Once Fay was in Pax''s arms he immediately stopped his cries before opening his little eyes.


    In that moment when the baby Fay looked into Pax''s eyes he had a small smile on his face before started to giggle. Pax couldn''t help but let a grin start creeping across his face as he cradled Fay in his arms and whispered gently to the child, "What are you laughing at lil'' Fay? Don''t worry you are now one my little tiger cubs child..."


    As the moon was now edging towards the horizon and the sky was beginning to lighten up Pax yelled out to his troupe of tigers, "Brothers, this feast is over! We will now return!"


    The tigers all let out roars in response as they began to run off toward the West with a swift pace. Pax changed back into his true form only this time his purple stripes were gone rather in their place were purple leather wings that held and wrapped around Fay so he did not fall off of Pax''s back as he ran.


    As the large troupe of tigers traversed the plains they didn''t make a sound despite the fact they were all herded together like a stampede. From far away this tiger troupe simply appeared to be a black fog rolling through the tall grass.


    When the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon the troupe stopped in front of a deep hole that had a diameter of over five hundred feet. If one was to look over the edge of this hole they would first notice that they cannot see the bottom only then to recognize that along a spiral path leading downwards were hundred upon hundreds of cave entrances. This place was likely at one point in time a great mine used to supply ore in long forgotten era.


    The tiger troupe went down the spiraling path entering their respective homes. Pax stood at the edge of the hole before jumping into abyss below. The only sound that followed a splash for the bottom of this mine was flooded with water forming a sort of lake. Pax had jumped into the water holding Fay up high so he wouldn''t fall in then swam to a rocky shore that surrounded the bottomless lake.


    This shore was formed after water eroded the cliff sides of the causing part of the cliff side to break off to form a secluded place at the bottom of the mine and this is where Pax lived. The island was the most quiet area in the entire mine since many magical beasts lived here, not just Pax''s kin. However Pax ruled over them all as a Phoenix Class magical beast. Pax walked forward until reached his home, a two story wooden cottage.


    This cottage was the only wooden residence in the entire mine and so Pax was quite proud of it since he had constructed it himself. As he approached the house he once more turned into his human form and he was holding the baby Fay in his arms. As Pax pushed open the door to his house he immediately walked towards his bedroom and laid a sleepy Fay onto his grand featherbed.


    Pax had a fascination with humans so he had long since traveled about learning the various human languages and collecting many books for he truly enjoyed such things. To Pax his dream was always to be able to interact with humans however given that he is magical beast he could never enter any cities due various systems in place to keep Dragon Class magical beasts and above from entering so he could only interact and learn from a distance.


    After placing Fay on his bed he went to the second floor of his home. The second floor was completely filled with bookshelves aside from a single desk and chair. Although Pax had the entire second floor filled with bookshelves only about a third of the space actually housed books. This is because Pax believed there had to be more to read, more to learn from the humans so he would always keep space open for more knowledge.


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    The majority of the books on Pax''s shelf were various training manuals, magical grimoires, and books the continent''s history. Although most of these things were useless to him he firmly believed that he could advance his own power with the help of humankind''s vast knowledge and history. And more precisely he wouldn''t have been able to become a Phoenix Class magical beast if he did not learn from these human techniques.


    As Pax sat at his desk he couldn''t help but think of how he would take care of a weak human child in a den of magical beasts. Pax hadn''t accounted for the fact he doesn''t know how to take care of children. Which is exactly why he momentarily passed off the little burden to his elder sister who is a Dragon Class magical beast and a mother of five little tiger cubs.


    At Pax''s eldest sister''s cave situated in the middle level of the mine.


    "Come on take him, I''m not good with kids..."


    Pax was currently arguing with his sister who was currently in her human form. She was only about five feet tall with long purple hair but her face was one that you couldn''t help but stare at due the way her beauty drew you in. In Pax''s mind this was his devil of an elder sister, Aiya.


    "Nope. Never going to happen! Who told you to make promises you can''t keep!"


    Aiya was currently rather frustrated that her brother bring a human child to her simply to rid himself of his own burdensome promise. In a desperate voice Pax tried his best to convince her to help him.


    "Oh come on! How about this... just take care of him for the first five years! I''ll will give you anything you want!"


    Hearing ''whatever you want'' is quite enticing even when it''s a human let alone magical beasts which normally run on their raw instincts and emotions. Which is exactly why Aiya would definitely take care of Fay.


    "Fine, I''ll help you... IF... you build me a wooden house just like yours here in this cave!"


    Hearing this Pax inwardly sighed while thinking to himself, When you have something others don''t it only brings envy it seems. Following this line of thought Pax detachedly answered: "Sure"


    After about a month a two story home was constructed inside of the wide tunnel. Also from that moment on Fay for five years grew up on magical beast milk and raw meat alongside five tiger cubs.


    Pax had rarely seen Fay for the last five years however in that time Pax was waiting and planning so that no matter which path to power that child chose he would be a prominent figure in this vast and dangerous world.


    Fay was standing in front of Pax on shore of the lake smiling because to him Pax was his real father. Although he rarely saw Pax he was often told stories of his great might by his aunt Aiya which couldn''t help but form the image of Pax''s grand kingly figure slaughtering his way out of any danger.


    Pax at this moment was explaining to Fay that he must choose his route of cultivating the essence of nature to strengthen himself or he could never become a powerful figure.


    There have always been two cultivation routes for human beings and this choice would change their life forever. First of all, all humans have a core space in the center of their chest next to their heart, this is the base of both paths of cultivation.


    The first and most widespread form of cultivation is that of a warrior. A warrior collects raw natural essence into their core center through meditation where they then cause it to fluctuate throughout the body and forcing out impurities using the body as a filter. A warrior will continue this process to build up battle spirit, refined natural essence. A warrior''s battle spirit often takes on certain properties due to the influence of the warrior''s body keeping it from being truly pure natural essence because it is changed based on the practitioner.


    Users of battle spirit can use it to strengthen their body or even their equipment however the output is based entirely on one''s physical limit. Forcibly igniting battle spirit while disregarding your physical limit can destroy the body, Fay''s father is an obvious example of such occurrences. It''s ultimate flaw is the physical limit and deep dependence on training the body.


    The second way humans can cultivate also starts with gathering raw natural essence into their central core however with this method one forcibly changes the elemental affinity of the raw natural essence by cycling the energy outside their body to draw in the desired affinity, the gathered elemental essence slowly combines the raw natural essence to change the affinity. Based on where one practices there are different mixtures of elemental essence formed by the natural area.


    Once one draws elemental essence within their core center to change their affinity they gain the ability to call upon power of their element and based on the purity of the elemental essence in one''s core center their respective spells'' power is also affected. Since the elemental essence in a mage''s core center is a mixture they must always cultivate near proper areas otherwise they won''t grow more powerful or be able to cast more high level spells. Also once one becomes a Mage they can never form battle spirit since the purer elemental essence would conflict with the body if it was to be filtered or used for strengthening like a warrior, instantly killing them.


    Pax stood in place waiting for Fay''s choice of cultivation method when Fay finally asked one last question before he gave his answer, "Uncle Pax... which method do you use?"

 Chapter 3: Devouring Method

    "Uncle Pax... which method of cultivation do you use?"


    Hearing these words Pax had a sort of epiphany. Magical beasts have unique type of cultivation that is fairly passive and since they are not human it doesn''t have the core center as the base. Humans cannot practice it mainly because the don''t know the methods to do so and they would rather grow intelligent and powerful at lightning speed. Magical beasts cultivation is unique but its build up is often slow unless the individual''s talent is high. Which is exactly why Pax was excited, What if a human used the Devouring Method?


    "Fay I use the great Devouring method!"


    Pax said this like he was trying to sell it to Fay. The little Fay had a smile on his face because he thought Pax was the coolest person there ever was in the world. Seeing Fay look like he was about to jump up and down he decided to start giving him a description of the method:


    "Fay this method is what makes magical beasts, like myself, so strong! The devouring method of cultivation allows you to passively absorb natural essence into your body and store it in your body. However the best thing is it also allows you to absorb natural essence of whatever you eat, hence the Devouring Method!"


    Magical beast cultivation is unique in that it nourishes the entire body by containing the natural essence in their body. Letting the natural essence sit in the body has enhancing effects but it is slow. It is for this reason they eat, they devour each other. Drawing out and storing the amount of natural essence stored in another beast''s body by devouring it. Humans also subconsciously store minuscule amounts of natural essence but not enough to help them strengthen themselves the way magical beasts due because they store and refine most of it in their core center.


    After telling Fay all of this he couldn''t help but remember he forgot one thing. So he exclaimed with great effort: "But that is not the best part! Anyone who practices this method releases their innate ability once they reach the seventh level and it gives great power!"


    Fay, whose eyes were already shining couldn''t help but wonder, What would my innate ability be? Fay already knew about the innate abilities because he had heard from Aiya that Pax''s ability is the he can manifest his purple wings to sweep through his enemies and soar in the skies.


    "Uncle Pax I choose this one! I want to be powerful like you!"


    Pax hearing this felt a tinge of warmth in his heart. So he heartily agreed: "Of course! Why wouldn''t you want to be powerful like myself!"


    From this point on Fay made a life commitment to the path of the Devouring Cultivation Method.


    Beside the lake at bottom of the mine there was a young boy who appeared to be no older than six and he was laying on the hard gravel filled shore. When he suddenly opened his eyes and started whooping and shouting with joy: "Uncle Pax! Uncle Pax, it only took me a year! I can now absorb the natural essence into my body!"


    Pax was standing outside of his house with a smile on his face. For Fay it was like a stopper was taken out so he could now start developing himself. For the last year Fay had tried to sense natural essence to store it passively in his body. This proved difficult for Fay, whereas magical beast can naturally start doing this from the day they are born but he is human. Fay had to naturally grasp this method because it can''t be taught like how one might learn to cultivate like a warrior or mage, to magical beasts absorbing the natural essence into their bodies is almost like breathing.


    At this moment Fay could feel a tingling sensation all over his body as a small amount of natural essence was slowly building up in his body. If any other human felt this much energy they would likely laugh because it is such a small amount but one must remember this process happens passively after they first start absorbing the natural essence. From this point the only thing to do is devour.


    With Pax''s own happiness plastered on his face he yelled out: "Good job Fay! You should now have stepped into the first rank! Come, we are going outside!"


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    Saying up to this point Pax transformed into an enormous tiger, his purple wings spread out. Fay with with a playful laugh climbed up Pax''s side while tugging his fur. Sitting on Pax''s large back Fay had a large smile as Pax began to beat his wings. With a whoosh they shot out of the mine and into the open air. This was Fay''s first time outside of the mine since he arrived there.


    Arriving at least a mile from the mine Pax landed in the tall grass. Fay sitting on Pax''s back could see that fifty feet ahead was what appeared to be a bear like creature with large tusk protruding from its face. It stood on its hind legs but was only about three and half feet tall. It was currently munching on what appeared to be an average hare.


    "Kill it"


    These were Pax''s only words because that magical beast was only about a rank one magical beast. A rank one magical beast is only slightly stronger than normal animals. Pax felt that Fay needed the experience.


    Fay nodded repeatedly to himself before jumping into the grass. Fay in his dirty rag like clothes crept through the grass like a tiger, making no sound. When he was about five feet he jumped at the creature. He caught the beast off guard while it was eating, tackling it to ground from behind. The beast had its face hard onto the earth causing a slight cracking sound as one of tusks was broken off.


    The beast let out an enraged shriek as it used its arms to push the ground, in the process throwing Fay from its back. Fay was now sitting in the dirt as the beast swung around. Its claws striking out at his head but before they could land Fay pushed off with his legs rolling to side.


    Fay at this moment was more beast than man, he fully relied on his instincts. As he rolled out of the path of that strike he used this moment to jump behind the beast. He grabbed the broken off tusk from the dirt then shot off five feet ahead before turning around to face the monster. The monster turned to meet Fay letting out an enraged howl as it ran at Fay while blindly swinging its paws.


    In the midst of forward risking being shredded by its claws. He dived into monster knocking it down once more but he now had cut all along his arms from those knife like claws. While on top of the struggling beast he raised his right hand holding the tusk before jamming it into its eye. Fay seemed to lose himself and take pleasure in the beast''s howls as he repeatedly stabbed at its face. Before long Fay was covered in blood and the monster''s face was now indistinguishable, nothing but shredded flesh.


    Fay''s arm was tired from stabbing, his entire body was wrapped up by fatigue. His arm slumped to his side dropping the bloody tusk. He was breathing heavily as he layed in the dirt next to the body. He didn''t want to move, it hurt all over his body and his energy was gone. The thought of killing something couldn''t help but shake his spirit a little since his face was bathed in blood.


    After laying in the dirt for about fifteen minutes he got over the shock because he knew this was simply part of the natural order of things. Sitting up he looked at the monster corpse before finally realizing what he had to do. Picking up the razor sharp tusk from the dirt he jammed it into its chest the used leverage to tear open its chest causing a spray of gore.


    He stood over the beast a hunger evident in his eyes before tearing at the beast''s raw flesh with his bare teeth. He gorged himself on its raw flesh and blood without noticing the change in his body. At that moment the flesh that held the monster''s natural essence was in Fay stomach. It''s essence was being absorbed into his body strengthening him. At this moment as Fay dined on raw flesh and blood he gained the power of a mid-level rank one magical beast.


    After about an hour only a bloody pile of bones was left in front of Fay. Eating so much with his small body made him feel uncomfortable and tired, so fell asleep. There was movement in the grass as Pax appeared next to Fay in his human form. He lifted Fay onto his shoulder before traveling back the way they came.

 Chapter 4: Rebirth

    After Fay had his first experience with the short bear like creature his power had grown to that of a mid-level rank one magical beast. After Pax carried him back he awoke on Pax''s enormous featherbed. Although he tried to move he couldn''t because his arms and shoulders were wrapped in bandages.


    After he had finally healed he noticed he had indeed become slightly stronger and faster but not enough to greatly impress. If he was to fight a warrior the same age as himself he would likely be beaten half to death.


    For the next three years Fay was constantly out hunting and devouring rank one magical beasts. However despite his initial jump to a mid rank one in power he has been stuck at a bottleneck keeping him from getting to the second rank of cultivation since he was eight, one year earlier.


    Today Fay had decided to give himself a break from fighting to the death with wild beasts. He was laying on his back floating in middle of the bottomless lake as he stared at the distant azure sky. He couldn''t help but feel like a frog in a well. He loosed a sigh as he closed his eyes. Letting cool water simply soak his body he finally seemed to relax for the first time since he first killed.


    The tension from constant battle had long since honed Fay''s instincts as well as always keeping him alert. However in this moment when he let his body release this constant physical and mental tension the passive absorption of natural essence seemed spike causing large clumps of energy to rush into his body with no prior warning.


    At that moment Fay opened his eyes before his entire body began spasm and thrash about in the water. The enormous spike of natural essence despite helping him finally reach rank two power could very simply kill his weak nine year old human body. His skin began peel and shred, Fay was now completely cover in blood as he began sinking into the bottomless lake. He couldn''t even struggle to stay afloat as his entire body spasmed.


    He could easily explode from the overwhelming energy trying to force itself into his body. It''s at this time when he sank at least twenty feet and with no air in his lungs his consciousness began to waver. All Fay could see before his vision faded was dark figure diving towards him from the surface.


    Pax dragged Fay lifeless body onto the rocky shore of the lake before immediately laying him on his back before pushing on his chest in an attempt to expel the water from his lung. One couldn''t help but want look away from Fay if they had saw him, his entire body was covered in blood making it almost look like crimson was his skin color to begin with. Eventually Fay opened his eyes weakly as he coughed out a mixture of water and blood.


    With his consciousness finally returned to him Fay finally felt the full brunt of the pain washing over his body, an indescribably torturous pain that covered every inch of his person. He let an inhuman howl as he thrashed about on the rocky ground. Pax standing over him didn''t know what to do, he could only observe and hope Fay didn''t die.


    While flailing about on the ground Pax''s muscles began convulse and noticeably enlarged to nearly double the size of earlier. His bones began to crack and break under the constricting force of his own muscles, he felt his own body was a cage. As the bones broke they constantly reformed and elongated. The feeling of having one''s vertebrae shattered only to be repeatedly regenerated then broken again was especially indescribable for Fay.


    Fay had noticeably grown a whole foot taller with sturdy and sleek muscles. Around this point where his muscles stopped convulsing is when all of his dark hair began to fall off of his head in large clumps and his nails slowly peeled off. Then his skin started to grow back however it was still covered by a layer of blood followed by new strands of snow white hair began to grow from his head replacing the old as it was long enough to fall to his shoulder.


    As his hair and skin started to regrow Fay turned himself over so he was on his on his hands and knees. He began to throw up what was in his stomach along with lots of blood, even his internal organs were displaced. He clenched his fists in pain as new nails began to grow on his has hands they grew to a point curving downwards slightly, resembling talons. His hand began to drip blood onto the ground as his claws dug into his palm.


    Fay''s eyes began to dilate as his dark green eyes seemed grow brighter almost becoming a neon green and release a pale green light before finally falling onto the rocky rocky ground.


    Pax seeing this bloody and disgusting transformation couldn''t help but frown because he couldn''t understand it. And the biggest thing he couldn''t understand was that Fay''s level of natural essence before the transformation was completed was equivalent to that of a peak rank two magical beast. However once this metamorphosis was over Fay''s level of natural essence his body plummeted down to the equivalent of a magical beast that was just born and just started to absorb natural essence into its body.


    If one wanted to describe Fay''s new form one would probably think that he was certainly more beast than man yet more man than beast. It is for this reason one could easily describe that transformation with one word: rebirth. On that day Fay was reborn, becoming something not human or magical beast.


    When Fay awoke he was sitting in a wooden tub full of murky water the layer of blood long since washed from his body. The first thing he noticed was that his body felt almost out of place due to the fact that he suddenly grew a foot taller than previously. He suddenly stood up trying to get out of the water after sensing his bodily changes however he was used to be a foot shorter so he tripped out of the tub hitting his head on the floor.


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    Hearing a loud crash Pax opened the door to the washroom only to see Fay sprawled out on the floor. Although initially careless Fay realized that even if it''s a bit bigger it''s still his body so he used his sense of touch to reassess his balance as he got off of the floor. Pax couldn''t hold it in any longer as he let out a burst of laughter. Hearing Pax''s laugh Fay couldn''t help but become a little indignant as he yelled: "Shut up! It''s not like I asked for this!"


    Hearing this Pax immediately silenced himself. He let out a deep sigh before responding to Fay''s anger: "Yet in the end you really did ask for this, did you not? I have told you before that no human has ever tried the Devouring Method of cultivation before, this was simply inevitable with your previously weak body. Your result based on my thinking is actually on of the more desirable, if anything had gone wrong your body could have easily been torn apart from the inside causing you to explode."


    Hearing this simply made Fay angrier as he roared at Pax: "Then did you know this was going to happen! Were you simply waiting for my body to simply explode into tiny pieces so that you can munch on my bones!?"


    Pax shook his head partially ignoring Fay''s harsh words then simply shrugged his shoulders before blandly replying: "Nope, I had no idea this would happen, didn''t really think about it."


    Hearing Pax say he ''didn''t really think about it'' only helped to fuel his misdirected anger. Right at that moment Fay was angry and he truly felt rage at seeing Pax''s face. He wanted to leave this place simply to get away Pax at that time. He swallowed some of his rage before stating: "I''m leaving."


    He walked out after putting on some loose rag-like clothes that were sitting in a basket off to the side of the room. When Fay left Pax let out a sigh before whispering to himself: "Well, he is still but nine years old... a little tantrum now and then should be quite average."


    After Fay walked out of the house he directly left the mine before heading east, towards Sky Dragon Road. He wanted to get used to his new body and let off some steam.


    As Fay was walking he noticed that the moon was in the sky, yet he could see everything as if it was day. His ears twitched as they heard sounds of movement from over hundred feet ahead. His nose could now pick up smells unlike before. Fay crouched down to hide in the grass before swiftly moving towards those sounds and the scent of burning wood.


    When he was finally within about thirty feet of his target he saw them. People, this had been the first time he had seen real humans that he could remember. The group of people formed small caravan with ten wagons which were off to the side of the main road. Only what confused Fay was that seven of the wagons were open and had inch thick iron bars lining the outside. What really startled him was that within these carts were other humans. They all wore dirty rags and were bound in shackles. They were all crowded into the carts, about twenty individuals per cart, and could hardly move or breathe. Fay could smell the stench of death hanging over them.


    The other humans mostly wore heavy iron plate armor while carrying large two-handed broadswords. Fay had heard of such people before he remembered Pax told him most caravans that travel the Sky Dragon Road hire mercenaries. The other humans all wore nice elegant clothes which made Fay think to himself, those are probably merchants or noblemen. He had heard that merchants like to display their wealth in the form of attire so they can approach high class customers easier.


    Fay sitting and watching from afar really felt an urge to interact with them because he simply didn''t understand them at all. However before he could even start to approach them a slave in one of the carts let out a pained scream. The slave was sleeping upright against the cold iron bars when he suddenly had a night terror. Hearing the slave''s howling a tall sturdy individual dressed in plain leather clothes walked over then took out a bull whip from a bag on he had on his hip. The man held the handle of the whip then lashed out at the slave''s back as he roared: "Shut up and know your place! We are trying to rest you dirty piece of trash!"


    The slave''s rags on his back were torn away to display gory flesh in its wake. The slave''s howls only grew with every crack of the whip. This scene went on for a whole twenty minutes before slave died. Seeing this all the slaves'' downcast expressions only grew to be more so. Their spirit had been broken long ago. Fay witnessing this scene was inwardly furious. Yes he had killed before but something in his heart told him what he just saw was wrong. That slave couldn''t even fight against the man with the whip.


    Fay had always fought against magical beasts to the death but he would never kill something that couldn''t fight back. Just seeing the actions of that man left Fay with a bitter feeling. However he knew he couldn''t do anything with those mercenaries there, not to mention he just had his rank of power go back to the start. Knowing he was powerless against someone only served to make him more frustrated and feed his desire to be more powerful. He quickly ran away from that place before he did anything rash.


    On his return trip home he killed and devoured several magic beasts but it didn''t stifle that bitter feeling from earlier. By the time Fay returned to the mine he had already forgotten he was ever really angry at Pax but was rather angry at himself for being so helpless to do anything at that time.

 Chapter 5: Belief

    With a bitter feeling still in his heart Fay returned to the mine. He stood at the top of the mine entrance, staring into the darkness below. That moment where the slave was whipped to death and he could do nothing replayed over and over in his head. He didn''t quite understand his own feelings, he had killed magical beasts before and heard their cries of pain yet it never fazed him before. Witnessing the death of that slave had shaken him yet he didn''t know why.


    While still pondering over his own feelings he jumped over the edge of the hole. The air beat against his face as he dived through the darkness before landing with a splash into the lake below. After walking out of the water, ignoring his dripping wet clothes, he walked straight into the house with a solemn expression on his face.


    Pax walked into the hallway to greet Fay in the hope that he had calmed down. Instead Pax was met with a sopping wet Fay who was donning an intense frown. Pax put his hand on his forehead before asking with a calm tone: "What happened to make you so unhappy now?"


    Hearing Pax''s voice broke Fay''s stream of thought. However in response to his question Fay told him what he had witnessed and how it made him feel without quite understanding why. Hearing Fay''s story Pax walked to the front door before pausing and without looking back asked: "Well are you coming or not?"


    Fay froze up a little before asking: "Wait where are we going?"


    "Where are we going? Let me tell you this Fay, if you feel something is wrong then I equally believe so, let''s get going." Pax said this with a large smile before he left the house and transformed into his true form.


    Fay rushed out of the house after Pax then jumped onto his back. Pax spread his Royal Wings then with one flap the wings kicked up dust, they were already outside. Fay pointed off in the direction where he saw the camp earlier, it was still nighttime so it was unlikely they had moved anywhere.


    Hovering in the air silently above the slave merchant caravan was Pax and on his back was Fay, whose white hair and green eyes stood out in the night. Pax wasn''t quite in the mood to make this a drawn out fight or let Fay get hurt in any way so he swooped down into the middle of the camp. Landing with a thud that caused the earth to shake and dust to fly up.


    When Pax first started to fall down all of the people looked up because he was so fast he caused the air to let out a deafening whistle causing the people in the caravan to hold their ears. What followed after was the ground beneath them shook as dirt flew up and formed a clouds in the air. Amidst the suffocating cloud of dust all they could see were two pairs of eyes that seemed to pierce through everything, one pair was bright purple while the other was neon green.


    Three of seven slave carts toppled over as the earth shook and they panicked. They were like a herd of animals startled by a loud noise. Some slaves were suffocated under each other as they squirmed to be free yet could not do to the bars holding them in. Their screams and howls as they clawed at each other for air pierced the veil of dust that hung in the air.


    Some people closer to those eyes could clearly hear a youthful voice say with a hint of urgency: "You have to free them, I don''t want them to die because of us."


    As if responding to that voice Pax''s large shadowy figure walked through the dust. Some members of the caravan felt their blood run cold when they saw his large silhouette in the cloud of dust. Every step of his foot was like a war drum as he approached the slave carts.


    With a few casual swipes of his paw the bars on one of the cages were sliced clean off causing the slaves to pour out. They had fearful looks on their faces as Pax walked away. This scene repeated two more times before Pax freed the slaves from the other wagons. The with broke everyone out their daze as he spoke: "Go, you are now free."


    The many slaves that were now freed from the cages scattered and ran off into the grassy plains. They would rather die free in this wild place than die as slaves in Klyde, the capital city of the empire of Lance, where they would work until death.


    The dusty clouds began to disperse displaying Pax''s dark figure and the young Fay hunched down on his back like a crouching tiger. The other humans came to their senses once the dust was gone. The many mercenaries were the first regain their senses. They recognized they couldn''t escape, they all heard that voice earlier and knew they would die if they didn''t fight. The mercenaries surrounded Pax and held their weapons in a ready position.


    Directly in front of Pax stood a tall sturdy individual. The man was bald and his left eye was missing and in its place was an ugly scar. He didn''t wear heavy armor like the other mercenaries instead he wore plain leather clothes and he held a bullwhip in his right hand, it was the man from earlier. Seeing him Fay felt an intense rage but at the same time he felt respect because he could sense this person''s domineering aura.


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    As the mercenaries were surrounding Pax and Fay the slave merchants escaped. Pax acted like he didn''t notice them as he looked at the man with the powerful aura in front of him. The man began to bark orders to the surrounding mercenaries: "Make room! They are likely Dragon Class beasts, if you stick together like that they can merely kill more of you with one strike!"


    The mercenaries hearing this felt their hearts go a little cold upon hearing ''Dragon Class'', they instantly complied with the order. They backed up slowly so each mercenary was about twenty feet from where Pax stood. That''s when Pax began to laugh as Fay hopped off of Pax''s back. Pax was surrounded in a purple fog as he transformed into his human form. He had a large smile on his face when he spoke: "I want to finish this quickly."


    Pax at that moment casual waved his right hand for emphasis, if you looked closely you would notice his figure flicker for barely half a second. A mercenary to his right suddenly fell down with large hole in his chest. To some onlookers Pax''s hand just waved then but a second later he was holding something round and about the size of a fist. This was that mercenary''s core center, the source of all human cultivation. The core center glistened in crimson glow under the moonlight looking like a red gem.


    Pax held the core center up to his mouth with a chuckle before taking a bite out it like it was fresh fruit. Everyone heard the crisp crunch as he bit into the core center and their faces went pale. He had a light smile as he wiped some blood from his mouth then with a certain aloofness said to Fay beside him: "You want a bite? Unlike us who have the natural essence spread throughout the body most humans have it all in their core center, it should help you advance in cultivation."


    Fay nodded a little as he took the core center from Pax''s hand. Fay looked at the core center in hand and noticed the outside of the core center was like a shell about a half inch thick. The inside of core center was a deep blue viscous fluid and he could feel the concentrated natural essence in this substance. Fay sensing this stuffed the bloody core center in his mouth and chewed it with a crunch. This was the first time Fay had ever eaten a human.


    Fay felt the natural essence from the core center seep into his body from his stomach, his cultivation immediately leaped up to the peak of the first rank. One has to remember that the average warrior is about as strong as a rank three or four magical beast. And although Fay didn''t know this at the time a subtle change happened to his body. The natural essence refined by a warrior has their body''s elemental affinity although it is often muddled between several elements, which was now becoming part of his body.


    Seeing Pax and Fay share the core center like it was just some insignicant snack several of the less hardened mercenaries began to throw up. The mercenaries in general all had solemn expressions as they looked at the too in front of them. Most of them had the same thoughts as their eyes hardened, We are just a snack to them. The leader of the mercenaries with the whip in hand seeing his comrades expressions stepped forward as he said: "I''ll be your opponent for now beast, leave them be."


    At ''leave them be'' he snapped his whip in front of him. That snap was more to get the surrounding mercenaries'' attention than to threaten Pax. He took a deep breath before he spoke once more: "I, Colenus Shyne, challenge you beast."


    Pax smiled as he told Fay to back up a little before responding with a little enthusiasm: "I, Pax the Royal Wing Tiger, accept your challenge... human."


    Once he heard ''Royal Wing Tiger'' the captain of the mercenaries face went slightly blank as he thought to himself, I sure have shit luck. He knew well that the Religious Order of Krain had documented eight active Phoenix Class magical beasts on the entire Kiya continent and one of them was given the name Royal Wing Tiger. He also knew in recent years the religious order has been adamant about sending expeditions to subjugate the beasts going as far as to offer some of their sacred treasures for the hero that can defeat such a monster.


    Colenus readied himself because he knew that if even one of the the strongest forces of the continent were wary of such creatures then he had little chance of survival by himself. His right hand clenched the handle to his bullwhip as a drop of sweat rolled down his face. He was was in a relaxed stance when he step forward, prepared to die. He just needed to stall for time, at least enough time for the others to get away.

 Chapter 6: Pests

    About five minutes before Pax and Fay began their assault on the slave merchant caravan. Several miles to the north traveling south at a steady pace on horseback were around a hundred soldiers riding in orderly lines. These soldiers all wore silver armor that reflected the moonlight as they slowly inched southward. Looking at their left shoulder one would would notice a triangle with its point downward yet the triangle was divided into four smaller triangles within, one in the center then three forming the points of the larger triangle.


    Somewhere in the middle of their ranks some soldier were having a conversation as they road:


    "Ugh... We have been up and down the Sky Dragon Road for the last three years searching for this illusive beast by the orders of head yet we haven''t found a shred of a clue to where the damned thing is... Ugh..."


    "Don''t say that, you know three is a holy number and I doubt the gods will forsake us after all of our efforts to search for the evil creature."


    "You know well the Royal Wing Tiger is a Phoenix Class beast that has been alive for the last several hundred years hounding caravans on this route... just because some prophet says that our mission will be a success means we must seek it... who is to say how many will die even if we truly do succeed."


    The other man''s face went solemn before looking to the front of their group at their commander before he smiled a bitter smile before responding: "You know well that the commander is an anomaly raised by the order just for the purpose of freeing humanity from such monsters... I dare say that the beast will have its hands too full to deal with people like us."


    "You may just be right."


    The commander was at the front of this large group. He was wearing special armor that seemed to glow. The armor had golden etchings on its surface that seemed to swirl around the chest piece of the armor. In the center of the chest piece was the same upside down triangle etched in gold except three of inner triangles, that formed the points, were inlaid with odd crystals.


    This symbol was the religious insignia of the Krain Religion. The top left triangle was red to symbolize the god that governs the morning, the blazing rising son. This god is one of the three gods of time in the Krain religion, also known as the god of beginnings who governs over all past events. The top right triangle was a yellowish orange, almost gold, color to represent the god that governs the midday sun and is the god of the present. The bottom most triangle pointing down was black to represent the god of the night and death as well as the unknown dark future. The god of the night is rarely named or revered and is often referred to as the ''Cruel God''.


    In the Krain religion there are five gods. The three gods of time, then the god of origin and nothingness which is represented by the open center triangle. Then there is the god that rules over all physical things as well as the other four gods, represented by the whole large triangle.


    With this symbol on his chest the commander had a sense of pride as he held his head high and looked forward into the darkness ahead barely lit by the quarter moon. His shoulder length golden blonde hair and light blue azure eyes and handsome face gave him a holy air as his white horse strode forth in the night.


    Suddenly ahead of them they heard a sharp piercing sound that could shatter glass. Then about eight seconds later the ground shook slightly, startling some of the horses. Ahead of them on the horizon highlighted by the moonlight was an enormous dust cloud. The commander tightened his grip on the reigns as he shouted: "Quickly! Full speed, we can''t miss this chance!"


    The entire small army of a hundred men suddenly sped forward along the dirt road forming a dragon of dust behind them, the time had come for them to finish their objective after three years of searching.


    Back at the camp just after Colenus steeled himself to fight Pax for his comrades safety. He took his step forward before tensing the muscles in his shoulder as he lashed out in front of him aiming directly at Pax''s chest. Pax casual sidestepped as he took one step forward almost like he was on a casual stroll. Suddenly like it was alive the whip changed direction as it curved through the air lashing out horizontally. All this time Colenus was completely concentrated on the whip, Pax''s position and movements, as well as maneuvering himself to best strike with his whip.


    Pax''s eyes suddenly sharpened because he saw that the whip had a thin glow over it, Colenus was infusing the whip with his battle spirit. Although it wouldn''t hurt him much it could still easily cut his skin. The whip was just about to hit Pax''s left shoulder when his entire body suddenly blurred. Suddenly it appeared as Pax was standing at three places at the same time, the three spoke at the same time: "You wish to use such a method to harm me and protect your friends human, try harder."


    At that moment the three figures disappeared like mirages and standing about five feet in front of Colenus was Pax, happily chewing on another core center as fresh blood ran down his hand and leaked from the corners of his mouth. Pax suddenly smiled as wiped away the blood from his face, displaying his bloody teeth, as he chuckled and said in a playful voice: "Humans are always so fascinating... Show me your limit and perhaps you can keep me from killing them."


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    Seeing the blood on Pax''s hand Colenus''s face darkened. He gripped the handle to the whip so hard his nails began to tear at his palm, blood began to run down the length of the whip. He remembered the faces of his comrades earlier, how he struggled up the chain of command in the mercenary company, the smiling faces of his friends the pain and laughter. He had been with these people for a long time and thinking that a beast was simply toying with him at this moment, killing his friends. Colenus''s blood ran cold as he was overcome with emotion.


    His vision went red as rage overcame him as he pushed his battle spirit to its limits, to the point he was at the threshold of igniting it. He knew he could at most sustain this peak condition for around three minutes before the energy in his core center was forcibly ignited. Pax smiled as he saw the dim orange-red glow on the whip grow brighter. Pax suddenly appeared ten feet back from his previous position before stating in a simple manner: "We will start again."


    That single statement was like a match that set Colenus''s inner rage ablaze. He was nothing but entertainment, a toy. His whip came alive in his hands as it lashed out in front of him. The whip was so fast that to normal person it became a blur. This time Pax didn''t dodge and instead walked forward to meet the slashes. The whip met Pax''s chest with a loud crack as it tore apart his robe and left a deep cut on his chest, you could almost see his ribs.


    If that was all then there would be no problems for Pax however like a snake the whip kept drawing back before lashing out again repeatedly, within a second the whip already formed three large cuts on Pax''s chest. The loud cracks echoed in the air followed by spraying blood. This scene continued for three whole minutes.


    A bloody mist hung in the air. Colenus suddenly dropped to his knees as he could no longer hold his battle spirit at that level. In front of him Pax stood like a mountain. Pax''s chest was now simply mangled flesh but even in the midst of that flurry of strikes he was healing the entire time. A mere fifteen seconds, this is how much time it took for Pax to heal after the strikes stopped. Pax had a large smile on his face as he watched Colenus''s face. A face filled with resignation as he watched Pax heal so quickly before his eyes.


    Fay who was slightly worried seeing Pax surrounded by a mist of his own blood now settled down slightly as he noticed Pax''s healing speed. In that moment he could feel a certain unmoving might coming from Pax as he looked down at Colenus. Like a king passing judgement on a subject.


    The surrounding mercenaries were trying to decide what to do after witnessing this display, some of the weaker willed in their company already deserted. However most wished to face their fate along with their brothers in arms, they all had serious looks as they waited to see the verdict.


    Suddenly Pax''s smile seemed to erode, he quickly turned to grab Fay. Fay was confused as Pax transformed and began to fly off at an unbelievable speed. Fay barely managed to voice his confusion as the wind beat at his face: "What''s wrong Pax, why did we leave?"


    Hearing Fay''s question Pax spit out an agitated growl: "Some annoying pests have come our way."


    Around fifteen minutes later at the caravan camp. The forces sent by the Krain religious order had already been informed of what happened. The commander was standing in front of where Pax was previously being whipped. He looked at the dirt that was covered in small droplets of Pax''s blood. He then called to one of the nearby soldiers: "Get the Kalek beetle. Quickly before blood dries!"


    Almost immediately after the order a man in a white robe came over holding a cage, that he held with a handle on top of the cage to keep from getting hurt by what was within, and a small glass vile. The man kneeled down and with deft hands collected some drops of blood into the vile. He the quickly poured the several drops into the cage.


    Within the cage was a Kalek beetle. It was shiny green blue and was covered in spikes, most noticeable was its mouth that appeared to look like a shredder. The Kalek beetle is known for often hunting in small hordes. With simply a taste of blood they can sense their prey''s natural essence signature allowing for them to sense the prey''s general position. In small hordes they will latch on to the target''s whole body causing cuts as they shred their flesh with their shredder like teeth.


    However for their purposes this beetle was the perfect tracker. As soon as it tasted Pax''s blood it began to ram against the cage. The commander seeing this was pleased as he ordered his men to mount their horses. They quickly left the Sky Dragon Road and the hundred or so soldier stormed west, following the direction the Kalek beetle pointed them to.

 Chapter 7: Seal and Despair

    Along the Sky Dragon Road heading north was a large group of about seventy people on horseback. They all wore good quality armor but if one looked closer they could see large dents and scratches were gathered on the surface of the armor. All of these men donned the insignia of the most prominent religious organization on the continent of Kiya, the Krain religious order.


    Leading the men on horseback was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Perhaps at one time he could have been considered handsome however the left side of his face was mangled and he was missing an eye. His armor which at one point could have been a work of art had the worst damage out of everyone in the company.


    The armor looked like it was through a shredder. The plate armor that once protected the left arm was long since been tossed due its uselessness after being torn to scrap metal. Part of the chestplate over the man''s heart was simply missing leaving a gaping hole over the left side of the man''s chest. The armor was missing pieces here and there making the commander look almost like a beggar that was wearing junk metal held together by worn leather straps. However he didn''t care about his appearance as he looked down at what he was holding in his right hand.


    In his right hand was a hollow crystal ball about the size of a grown man''s skull. This hollow crystal ball refracted the light from the sun hanging in the sky displaying what was within. Within was a smaller solid ball that had a metallic luster and had a deep purple color. Most people wouldn''t know the meaning of this object but to the commander of this small army it made him smile in joy, an almost sadistic smile. With that grin on his face he turned his head to view what was behind him only to laugh in ridicule.


    At the back of the group was a young boy. He had snow white hair that had long since become tangled and matted, covered in dirt. His face was swelling on one side along with various bruises. He was stark naked and covered in cuts and bruises all over his body. Currently he had his wrists tied together by thick rope which was in turn tied to the back of a saddle on a horse. Under the hot sun the boy dragged his feet through the dirt trying to keep pace with the horse as he hung his head low. He wanted to cry but he couldn''t. This boy was Fay Caige.


    Fay was currently lost in a daze as he dragged his feet. His eyes had become lifeless. He had wanted to be free, he could easily cut this rope with his claws. However, he had tried that the night before only to be tortured. After freeing himself from the ropes he couldn''t get away quick enough. They smashed off his nails using rocks before beating him half to death. Currently the the only thought in his mind was, Why?


    Every thought brought him flashes of memories from several days before this point.


    He had returned with Pax to the mine. Although he was confused he knew it was serious. His Uncle Pax was unprepared. This was all he knew, they had gotten there much faster than expected. They were stuck in that hole with no place to escape to.


    In Fay''s mind repeatedly went over that moment, the moment Pax was fighting the commander. It was at the bottom of the mine on the small island Pax had built his house. Fay had been watching from a window in secret since Pax had told him to hide. From where he was all he could hear was there indistinguishable screams and howls of magical beasts. At the time Fay had been afraid and indescribably confused. That was when he took a peek outside.


    He could see blood running down the mine''s cliff walls and flashes of light. Bodies were splashing into the lake staining the waters a crimson red. About twenty feet from the window was Pax facing off against that commander. He couldn''t see much but he could tell something was wrong. Pax was in his tiger form. A deep purple fog hung in the air forming a barrier preventing others from approaching them.


    Fay could hardly tell what was happening, they were moving too fast. They appeared to be blurs that would clash and dodge, twisting about each other. At least that was how it was before the commander displayed his true abilities, he was an anomaly. From where Fay was he could he see the commander''s mouth move and suddenly orbs of lights began to float in the air.


    These bright glowing orbs were the size of a baby''s fist. Their glow was nearly equivalent to a miniature sun. Fay had to squint from his position at the window and shield his eyes due to the sudden influx of light. When his eyes adjusted he saw something startling. Pax standing across from the commander in his busted armor. The commander was clearly displaying battle spirit on his raised sword. Yet he clearly just cast a spell.


    This spell lit all of the surroundings. The light orbs were all a foot''s distance from another forming what appeared to be a grid. This wouldn''t be a problem if it were only a few but there were thousands upon thousands of these orbs floating through the air. Also in the moment it was casts it blew apart Pax''s purple barrier. With no choice left Pax tried to get the purple fog to return to his body.


    Purple fog flooded towards Pax, only to be completely disintegrated by the glowing orbs that blocked its path. In this moment Pax seemed to partially collapse as he spit out blood. That purple fog was was part of his innate ability. Destroying that fog that was essentially part of Pax injured him deeply. Although Pax was often rather intelligent he was still a magical beast. Having something like that destroyed meant he could never again use his innate ability, this threw him into a rage.


    An intense pressure radiated from Pax as rushed at the commander. He ignored the glowing orbs that disintegrated his flesh as he ran at the man who was trying to take his life. Fay nearly cried out as he saw whole pieces of flesh be torn from Pax''s body some orbs even drilled holes into his chest. He became even more troubled as he saw that the orbs behind the commander moved to make a path for two individuals.


    These two individuals both wore white robes. The orbs of light moved allowing them to run up the sides of the commander, they knew that this spell could only be held for so long and that it was impossible to cast more in this time. Like a ghostly wind they appeared at the commander''s side quickly raising their right arms before shouting out with all of their heart a single syllable: "Fa!"


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    At this point Pax was already closing in, just as the two men began to shout his pax had already met the left side of the commander''s face. His paw easily crushed an eye and mangled flesh as it swept downwards. It''s at this moment flames that roared with the fires of the abyss and the screams of a distant hell streamed from the palms of the two men, they were mages. In the midst of the crimson flames the commander hacked at Pax with his sword clad in battle spirit.


    This method of attack was chaotic yet effective. The flames themselves destroyed and devoured all in their path. The commander raised his left hand signaling them to stop. In place of Pax''s body was his Phoenix Core this was the core of his existence as long as this existed he could draw from the natural essence in the world around him to regenerate. However it was not to be.


    The commander took out two halves of a hollow crystal ball before quickly placing the Phoenix Core within one of the halves he was holding before placing the other half on top, forming a complete crystal ball. He began a quick chant. The two halves began to glow as they melted together forming one cohesive whole. This crystal ball cut off the flow of natural essence within meaning that Pax could no longer regenerate.


    Fay in a panic hid under Pax''s bed as he thought about what just saw, he was confused and didn''t know what to do. He was just nine years old, he wasn''t familiar with the world, so all he could think of was to listen to Pax''s earlier warnings and hide himself. His heart began to beat heavily as he could only view everything in the room at floor level. The silence only served to make his heart beat faster. It was a half an hour since he hid himself before he finally heard noise.


    People were in the house. He could hear various voices:


    "Search the house for anything valuable."


    "To think a magical beast was pretending to be human... Haha"


    Fay could hear people upstairs in Pax''s private library. From his point of view he could see people moving around on the lower floor. He heard the sounds of paper tearing and bookshelves being toppled. Someone finally walked into the room. He could only see the man''s boots. The stomping of the boots against the floor echoed in Fay''s mind every time they hit floor approaching the bed step by step.


    Fay held his breathe as the man near the bed, he could hear the crisp sound of metal. It was the sound of a blade being drawn from its sheathe. Fay heard the tearing of cloth as he saw feathers fell lightly upon the floor. The man tore at the large featherbed bed before simply tossing the featherbed off of the bed frame. Fay looked up at the man. They could clearly see each other, he had been found so easily it made him angry.


    The soldier grabbed Fay by his hair and roughly pulled him from one of the gaps in the bed frame. The soldier had a vicious smile on his bearded face as he heard Fay cry out due the suddenness of having his hair nearly ripped from his scalp. All Fay could recount immediately after being found was that he suddenly felt repeatedly sharp blows to the head as his vision faded to black.


    When he awoke he was tied up on the rough gravel of the lake shore with his face in the dirt. He had been stripped of his rags and with his hands and feet bound he could hardly move. Suddenly he detected movement in his daze. He tried to move his head to see what it was when someone grabbed his shoulder. He was now sitting on his knees. In front of him was the commander. The commander had a hardened look as his face as he looked down at Fay as he asked: "What is a human doing with magical beasts?"


    Fay didn''t answer his question and simply stared at him with wild and vicious eyes. After a long pause the commander nodded to someone he could see. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain his side, he had been kicked full force by a warrior. Fay screamed out as several of his ribs shattered. He was only nine years old and was not yet accomplished in the cultivation of his power, how could he defend himself from a full grown man who was an accomplished warrior?


    "Waaaaaaaaaa!! Emphmmph..."


    In the midst of his sharp wails he had a wad of cloth shoved in his mouth to act as a gag. Tears hung on the edges of Fay''s eyes. The commander casual chanted causing light to surround where he had been kicked. The feeling of having one''s ribs broken only to have them reposition themselves and heal. The healing magic caused elemental essence to flow into his body to fix it. For Fay it felt like someone''s hand was crawling through his flesh. This feeling caused,his stomach to churn. He was throwing up.


    The commander coldly looked down upon Fay as he choked on his throw up due to the gag. After thirty seconds of Fay choking the commander signaled the other man to remove the gag. As soon as it was removing the stomach fluid had a place to go, all over Fay. Fay sitting there realized the pain on his side was gone but that only helped sow the seeds of fear. They could simply break him and put him back together, an unending painful cycle.


    Bound hands and feet and covered in his own stomach fluid Fay looked like a broken doll. The commander smiled as he looked at the fear in Fay''s green eyes. He spoke once more in a light hearted tone: "I''m sorry about being rude before. I guess I should have asked your name first. Well my name is Wilt Kern how about you young man?"


    With his head hung low he dejectedly answered: "I am... I am Fay... Caige..."


    Hearing an answer to his question Wilt had a broad smile he clapped while lightly saying to Fay: "Well I''m certainly glad you are being a good pet. I''m truly glad you didn''t miss the show. To think that a magical beast was pretending to be human here, even built a house. No need to keep it here now that it''s sealed now is there?"


    At first Fay wasn''t listening to what he had heard until Wilt said something about a seal. That crystal ball was a seal. While thinking about it he was suddenly jerk around, he was now viewing the house that he had spent nearly half his life in so far. All he could remember were the words: "Do it."


    The house was set ablaze. They forced him to watch his own burning home.


    Everything else passed in a misty haze. Now Fay was here, heading north. They were on their way to the capitol of the empire of Lance, Klyde.

 Chapter 8: Movement

    A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR: Sorry this is so late! Had some writer''s block. Well I also changed up my writing a bit. Please feel free to tell me what you think. Is it easier to read? Harder? Also, I''m always cool with feedback and your ideas. Although I might not always listen. :P Well enjoy the chapter, I hope if you already read up to this point you can continue to enjoy my writing! :)


    -----------------------------------------


    A day after the mine was attacked, in the depths of one of the mine tunnels.


    Ash hung in the air amidst the stifling cavern air. The walls of the cavern were scorched black. The source of the fire was a wooden home which was collapsed in the wide cavern. Hot air emanated from the pile of burnt wood and ash.


    Suddenly something crawled out from amidst the hot ash. It was a tiger. Most of the fur on its back was seared and charred. You could almost smell its burning flesh amidst the overwhelming scent of burning wood. It was not too large in comparison to perhaps one like Pax. However it stood tall enough to be up to the average person''s waist. This was one of Aiya''s cubs.


    It staggered out of the cave. In its sharp beastly eyes was a certain restrained rage. If one was to look into its blue eyes at that moment they would feel a sharp unrestrained chill run through their body. It looked for a long period of time before it found her, Aiya. His mother was missing the lower half of her body and an arm. She was slumped against the cool mine wall and surrounding here bloomed flowers of blood. Almost as if to accentuate her figure.


    Almost as if sensing her child her body stirred lightly. She opened her eyes to see him, her child. Despite the blood around her and the organs nearly falling out of her abdomen, she smiled. Her only arm moved. Her hand pressed into the center of her chest as she took something out of her body. It was a Phoenix Core. However in comparison to Pax''s Phoenix Core her''s was only about half the size and misshapen.


    As she was fighting and shredding her enemies in the previous battle she had suddenly broken through. However this blessing became a misfortune. The step from Dragon Class to Phoenix Class involves forming a solid core in the body. It was impossible for her to complete the process thoroughly amidst the attacks from the warriors of the Krain order. When something like this happens it causes a severe backlash, weakening the body. Thus she ended up in such a state.


    Holding the misshapen Phoenix Core in her hand she put it before her son''s mouth before simply stating, "Take it."


    She coughed up blood as her body inevitably lost all ability to move. She died a pitiful death but she knew that her eldest son, the one before her, was already a rank four magical beast. This core was the crystallized natural essence formed from her entire body. Although not complete it could at least help him step into a higher realm of cultivation.


    The tiger nudged the core center lying in his mother''s lifeless palm with his nose before swallowing it whole.


    As he was leaving the mine he turned back with his new appearance. His first words were like flower petals at the mercy of a cool breeze, "Thank you... mother..."


    A few days later, in a cave somewhere in the Kiya continent.


    The cave walls were practically doused in a collage of colorful and elegant tapestries. The floor was formed from ancient wood planks. The entire room had a warm feel that was entirely indescribable. It was especially accentuated by the enormous fireplace carved into the cave wall.


    The only person in this section of the cave was an old woman. She rocked calmly in a rocking chair in front of the fireplace. She was calmly knitting in the light of the fire. Her eyes were closed as she hummed a soft tune. If one was to see her at that moment they might feel a certain sense of belonging, like she could be your own grandmother.


    Her long white hair and wrinkled face held a certain warmth. She suddenly turned her face to greet a younger man. He wore solemn black clothes. Almost like he was just arriving from a funeral. Suddenly the old woman spoke, her voice was reminiscent of the sharp yet delicate twining of threads, "Ardon, the threads were cut... what did you find?"


    Ardon''s black eyebrows twitched slightly before relaying the information, "Pax is nowhere to be found... and the creatures under his protection were slaughtered along with Aiya, madam..."


    Hearing this the old woman''s warmth seemed to become a raging fire. She clicked her tongue and clenched her fist, easily snapping her knitting needles. She opened her eyes to reveal a blood red glow. She had no whites in her eyes nor pupils, simply red. An intense killing intent swept over the room. Her previous voice seemed to be nonexistent when she spoke this time, "Find out what happened immediately, I don''t care what you have to do."


    Ardon wiped some sweat from his forehead before diligently responding, "Yes, madam."


    Ardon bowed slightly before leaving immediately. When he had left the old woman closed her eyes and loosed a breath. That breathe seemed to hold all of her rage because a thick smoke followed it. She tossed the broken knitting needles into the fire before grabbing another set from a small coffee table at her side. Now that she was alone she once more released a sort of grandmotherly vibe.  Only to completely release her anger she only said one phrase, "Pax, you damned bastard of a son."


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Along the Sky Dragon Road, about thirty days since the attack on the mine.


    The large group of soldiers devoted to the Krain Religious Order were moving at steady pace northwards. The large group of people were rather excited since they were nearing their home country, Lance. Although national borders are relatively obscure due to lack of constant communication and boundary markers which caused various disputes. They were nearing the first village near the border.


    The village was comprised of at least a couple hundred rundown wood houses. They all were fairly small one floor houses. The houses all had dirt floors and a room or two for sleeping in. The center of each house was the dining room where they would spend a good part of their day when not working. Each house had an outhouse in the backyard. The way of life here was fairly simple.


    The only really decent place in the town was the in which unlike the other places in the village had wood flooring and three floors. Other than this there was also a ranch near the edge of the town which primarily dealt in horse trading. A large part of the village economy depended on these two businesses. Other than this a large majority of the villagers were either farmers or hunters who gathered the vast majority of the village''s food supply.


    Once the soldiers arrived on the border of the town the residents were already preparing themselves. The entire village was alive with movement. They did not have enough room in the inn to accommodate the entire group so as a courtesy they would allow them to rest in their homes. These forces of the Krain Religious Order had already passed through this village multiple times in the last three years.


    This world has a ten month year, each month has 35 days. To see the soldiers returning after a mere two months, when it usually takes almost half a year for a round trip, meant they had accomplished their mission. These villagers were all happy and willing to give up their homes for these people. After all these people had helped clear out magical beasts along the Sky Dragon Road. This meant that their village could prosper as a rest stop for travelers in the future.


    A group of three walked out on the road to meet them. In the center of the three was an old man. Although he had an aged and wrinkled face his body seemed as sturdy as a mountain. Underneath his tanned skin was dense muscle forged from years of hard labor. This man was the head elder for this village and made the majority of the decisions. To his right was his wife. She was relatively frail and if it wasn''t for the wooden cane she was leaning on you might have thought she would blow away.


    The third person was a young girl. She was about twelve years of age. She had long dark brown hair and dark grey eyes. She seemed relatively calm at her grandfather''s side. She stood there holding tightly grasping his hand. She wore a plain brown gown. Her entire attire and the way she held herself made her feel ordinary. She was just an average village girl.


    The head elder bowed slightly before greeting Wilt, "Our village opens its doors with open arms for the enforcers of the gods."


    He lifted his head with a smile and stretched out his right hand, the one that wasn''t being held captive by his granddaughter, to shake Wilt''s hand. Wilt smiled slightly as he happily shook the old man''s hand, with his left hand on the reigns of his horse. He spoke with a light smile as he talked to the head elder, "No need to be so formal with me Graham, how many times have I been here already? Rather I have a great story to tell ya."


    Wilt was laughing lightheartedly as he pointed to the left side of his face. Although a grim expression flashed across Graham''s face for a moment he instantly regained his bright smile as he responded, "Please do tell."


    Saying as such Graham began to lead them into the village. As they were walking back Graham''s granddaughter turned around. That when her eyes fell upon Fay. His hair matted, body beaten and bruised. Dried blood and dirt stuck to his skin. He looked malnourished, he appeared to be a walking skeleton. His wrists were bleeding due to the rope being tightly bound. His feet were covered in blood and blisters from the long trek along the dirt road. Not to mention he was completely naked.


    If someone told you he was a corpse returned to life they wouldn''t argue with you. At that moment when Graham''s granddaughter saw him she quickly turned her head. A hint of pity could be seen in her dull grey eyes.

 Chapter 9: Emotions

    Fay tried to turn his head to look around. He was slightly more aware than previous days. He had just realized he was no longer moving. He was tied to a wooden post outside of a small wooden house. His hands were behind his back and he was finally sitting down with his legs in front of him. Although it was slightly uncomfortable it was unlike the past month or so.


    Within the last month he never had a chance to rest. If he even tried to stop walking for a moment the horse would simply drag him. When the group of soldiers stopped to rest at night they would bind his wrists to his ankles so he had to sleep all he could while sitting on his knees.


    During that period of time Fay was often lost in a mindless daze. He was constantly replaying the scenes of what happened in his mind. Always asking himself the same question, "Why?"


    He finally came upon his answer today, "They were too weak. Pax was too weak. I... was too weak..."


    This strain of thought thoroughly burrowed its way into his mind. He was finally emerging from his daze but he knew he couldn''t fight back. He had already resign himself to his fate. After all he was merely a child. He had yet to experience the world like other children his age might. He had grown up with beasts. Always sheltered from human society. He was fairly indifferent to death yet this felt completely different. He couldn''t understand it. All he knew at that moment was that he was weak.


    He had thought about how he himself had killed weaker magical beasts. It gave him a sense of realization. In the end the weak are subjected to the strong.


    For the first time in a while an emotion had shone on his face, sadness. The pain of this realization shook his heart. He hung his head and quietly cried. He truly didn''t know what to do. A deep sense of helplessness washed over him. He couldn''t even wipe away the tears that stung the raw cuts on his face.


    He could hear the laughter and celebration coming from inside the homes of every person in the village. He could hear what they were saying. They were praising the "Holy Enforcers of the gods'' will." He heard the praises. They were being thanked for killing his family. They were the only people he had ever known. He couldn''t help but blame himself. He wanted to help others yet his family had to pay the price.


    Fay cried himself to sleep. The moon didn''t shine its light upon the earth that night.


    Fay had awoken the next morning from a kick to the face. It was Wilt. He had a smug smile on his face as he squatted down to meet Fay''s gaze. "Welcome to human civilization beast child. We will be here for a few days. Just don''t move." He laughed as he walked away.


    Fay stared blankly at Wilt as he walked back into the heart of the village. He looked up into the sky only to squint his eyes at the overbearing midday sun. He sat there for a long time. He didn''t quite know how long. When he had finally turned his face to the sky once more the sun was already setting. Everyone in the village was at their dining tables around this time.


    Fay could smell the fresh food. He didn''t know what it was but it aroused his hunger. Before he was captured by these soldiers all he ever ate was meat. However over the course of the last month he had barely eaten anything. They only fed him burnt clumps of bread. The horse feed would have been more nutritious than what he had eaten.


    Then at that moment in time looking at the light of the setting sun he had forgotten about his hunger for at least a moment. This was not because he liked the view, it was because he heard movement behind him. He could hear light footsteps. Using his primal instinct he knew that it wasn''t any of the soldiers, who had heavy thumping footsteps. These were light and steady footsteps. The steps were spaced out such that Fay knew it was a human being.


    Fay''s entire body seemed to stiffen. This was someone he didn''t know. If it was perhaps one of the soldiers he at least knew what to expect. He relaxed his tense muscles slightly once a small girl came into view. It was the head elder''s granddaughter. She had a shy expression as she looked at Fay or perhaps it was the expression one might have when looking at a bird with a broken wing.


    She was looking at Fay with her deep grey eyes. She had small loaf of stale bread in her hand. She tore off a piece and held it up to his mouth.


    Suddenly a loud thump came from behind Fay. It was Wilt, he had rapped his fist on the wall of the house. The young girl was startled and dropped the bread. Wilt gave her a stern look and reprimanded, "Watch your fingers, he may just eat them along with the bread. He was raised by beasts you know... whatever..."


    Wilt waved his hand as he let out a sigh and walked away while shaking his head, he didn''t feel like trying to convince children. He walked back into the house. That house was the home of the head elder, Graham, and his family. Fay was in their backyard.


    Once Wilt had left the little girl sat down her knees in front of Fay as she picked up the loaf of bread. She dusted it off with her small hands. She suddenly looked at Fay and asked with a hint of a condemning tone, "Is it true?"


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    Fay for the first time in a while actually focused on something other than his own problems, this little girl in front of him. He opened his mouth but found only sharp scraping tones come from his throat. He hadn''t had water the last couple days. His throat was parched and his dry lips were cracked and bleeding. He began to cough violently but he couldn''t even cover his mouth due to his bound hands.


    The girl got up and left. Fay at that moment thought that perhaps she lost interest in giving him anything to eat. This didn''t bother him much, he had grown accustom to the hunger the last month. However unlike his expectations, she returned. She looked rather awkward trying to carry a large bucket of water with both hands. She also had forgotten about the bread when she ran off without thinking, so she held it in her mouth. She stumbled over next to Fay before sitting down the bucket.


    She took the bread out of her mouth holding it in her left. She picked up a wooden ladle that was already in the bucket, filling it with water. She held it up to Fay''s lips. Fay sipped the water readily. He hadn''t met someone willing to actually help him yet and his current view of human beings was rather poor. So knowing she was help him despite Wilt''s words made him a little warm inside his heart.


    After drinking several ladles worth of water Fay finally spoke to her. "Thank... you..." these words sounded like a grinding stone. He hadn''t spoken in relatively long period of time so his voice and words were rough sounding. This didn''t deter the young girl.


    "So is it true... that you were raised by beasts... I mean..." she looked at Fay and asked him once more, she really wanted to know. It was because she had a child''s curiosity and innocence that she had helped him, if only a little.


    "Beasts? Family, they were my family." This was his only answer. They raised him, took care of him, "they were my family," these were his honest thoughts. He loved them even if he didn''t quite understand what they meant to him before this had happened.


    She looked at Fay with a sour expression before picked up the bucket and angrily doused him in the cold water. She shoved the bread in his mouth and walked away after angrily tossing the bucket to the side. Fay was undeniably confused by this reaction.


    The cold water stung every cut on his body as it flowed down his body and washed away the dirt. He tried his best to chew the bread without it falling from his mouth. However he ended up choking on it, he spit out the bread. The bread was now laying on the, newly dampened, ground. Fay sat there and shook his head before returning to staring at the sky. What had just happened to him was fairly negligible considering the other things that had happened to him. He sat and let his back rest firmly against the post.


    As if on cue Wilt walked up from behind Fay and leaned against the post he was tied to. He let out a gentle laugh before saying to Fay rather playfully, unlike usual, "You know Fay you are indeed quite the little ladies'' man."


    Wilt''s change of tone towards him made Fay rather angry. "What do you want?" He sounded like an indignant child. The entire situation was rather comedic if you ignored the fact that Fay was naked and beaten and that Wilt killed most of his family. However Fay did not enjoy this at all, he was being made fun of. Little did Fay know was that this situation raised an emotion other than sadness from his heart, anger.


    Wilt walked over and grabbed the bucket that was on its side on the other end of the yard, from when the young girl had tossed it. He turned it upside down and used it as a seat. He sat in front of Fay, resting his chin in the palm of his right hand and his right elbow resting on his right knee. He spoke like a teasing father, "Oh, I just thought you might have wanted some advice about women, but I guess you don''t need it."


    Wilt chuckled after he said this, even more once he had saw Fay''s enraged expression. Suddenly he stopped his laughing, his face turning serious. "But do you not want to know why she reacted that way? Did growing up in a cave take away your ability to feel sympathy or ask questions about others? Then again I guess you can''t take away what you never learned to have."


    Wilt pointed out the fact that Fay had become fairly indifferent to the feelings of his own kind. However earlier he certainly felt warmth from when that girl had help him. Suddenly he felt a sour feeling dwelling inside his heart, he asked himself, "Why was she angry?"


    Sensing bitter feeling in Fay''s expression he had a smug smile on his face. He looked up to sky, it was growing dark and stars were already in the sky. He suddenly clapped his hands together as he looked at Fay. "Oh, look at the time... you know where I come from children love bedtime stories, I''ll tell you a really good one."

 Chapter 10: Bedtime Story

    Hearing that Wilt was going to tell him a ''bedtime story'' Fay was rather uninterested. Not to mention Wilt''s change of attitude towards himself really pissed off Fay. "He is going to beat me, tear off my fingernails, and burn my home before my eyes. He took away my family... and he wants me to try and understand his feelings? What about my own feelings? What about my pain!?" These thoughts had surfaced in his mind, he was furious inside.


    In the end though he had to listen. He was not strong enough to fight back or argue with Wilt. Not mentioning the fact that he was tied to a post. So he listened after managed to swallow his rage. It felt to him as if the anger was tangible. It was as if fire was welling up in his chest, searing his insides.


    With a large smile on his face Wilt began his story, "When I was very young, a bit younger than yourself..."


    About twenty-two years prior to Wilt telling Fay about his childhood. Wilt was five at this point in time. He lived in a small village on the eastern border of Lance. His village was situated near cliffs that bordered the ocean. In the distance surrounding the village was also a fair expanse of mountains and forest areas. The village was essentially isolated from the world. It could easily be described by the phrase, "The towering mountains at your back and endless ocean before you."


    The young seven years old Wilt was running around the village, albeit with unsteady legs due to excitement, with his friends. Laughter filled the air as the small children chased each other back and forth. They were enjoying the best time of their life. Wilt''s mother stood in the doorway to their house. Her long brown hair draped down her shoulders. Her blue eyes shined along with her smile. She was wearing a cloth apron and the smell of food hung in the air as she called out, "Wilt it''s dinner time."


    "Bye guys!" Wilt waved goodbye to his friends with a smile before rushing inside. He quickly sat down at the table with a smile. A large cauldron was hanging over the fire in the fireplace. It released a comforting scent, the scent of freshly made stew. Along with the stew, already on the table, was freshly baked crackers. They let off a warmth and filled the air with the smell of freshly baked bread.


    Wilt eyed the crackers with a devilish smile before shoving one into his mouth. It was crunchy, with a texture equivalent to burnt toast, yet the taste was sort of sweet yet at the same time salty. The crackers were made from a variety of plants and such native to the area. It gave them a certain charm and balance. While Wilt was munching away at the cracker in his mouth his father walked in.


    He had short blonde hair and crystal blue eyes along with a stocky build. He was in charge of keeping an eye out for magical beast at the border of the village, a warrior. He snuck up behind his wife and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek. Wilt''s mother jumped before turning around and embracing him. Wilt put his hand to his mouth to keep from spitting up his food, he was gagging at their display of affection.


    Wilt''s father laughed before practically jumping into his seat to get away from his red-faced wife. They were sitting down for dinner just like any other day. Wilt''s mother put the stew into wooden bowls before placing them on the table. Wilt''s father took a cracker and dipped it in the stew before piling meat, and some vegetables, onto the cracker before shoving it into his mouth.


    The dinner had went by with the only sound one could hear being the munching from chewing on the crackers and the slurping of the broth of the stew. Once everything was eaten and everyone was full they put the wooden bowls and utensils into a basket so that Wilt''s mother could wash it in the stream the next day.


    The sun was already set by this time so Wilt had stayed inside. His mother kissed him on the forehead before laying him down to sleep. Lying in his dark room he slowly drifted off to sleep. Suddenly he awoke to a crashing sounds, he could hear movement. Suddenly bright red lightt drifted through the cracks in the wooden walls of his room. There was a fire.


    He could hear the splintering of wood and the stomping steps of a large creature outside. Suddenly his mother rushed into his room with his father behind her. Before Wilt could register what was happening they were already running through the dense woods. His father had unsheathed his short sword and was constantly glancing back.


    Wilt glanced by for moment and through the branches and brush he could see the entire village in flames. Amidst the flames was a roaring figure that seemed like it was from the depth of the underworld. It appearing to be a large bear, it was standing on its hind legs. Standing there on its hind legs amidst the raging fires it stood at about fourteen feet tall.


    Wilt seeing this enormous shadow was scared witless, nearly tripping over a tree root. His mother tugged him urgently to keep him from falling behind, practically dragging him. Wilt witnessing this realized he had never seen his mother so concerned. He did not look back after that moment.


    They ran for a full ten minutes or so before they heard it. The crashing of trees. Trees were being brutally swatted to the side by the enormous bear. Its entire body was covered in flames, igniting the forest. Wilt and his family ran faster, Wilt was swept into his mother''s arms because he could no longer keep pace.


    A dead end. This what they had reached. It was a cliff. Down below they could hear the pitch black ocean waters crashing against the rock wall.


    Wilt''s father quickly turned around, putting Wilt and his wife behind him. Suddenly from the edge of the forest in the distance he could see bright flames. They got closer and closer until the bear''s enormous figure crashed through the brush, meanwhile setting it all ablaze. The bear growled and released a deafening roar into the night sky.


    It suddenly crashed its forepaws into the ground, lifting up a cloud of dirt and dust, before rushing at them on all fours. There was only a distance of about twenty-five feet between them. It cleared that distance in an instant. In a panic Wilt''s father pushed Wilt and his mother off the cliff, flinging them with all of his strength put them a good twenty feet or so from the cliff wall.


    Wilt''s father was not so lucky. In that moment he made his decision to give his family a chance to live. In that moment for Wilt it was as though time had slowed. As he was falling all he could see was his father being engulfed in flames before smashing his skull against rocks protruding from the cliff wall. His father had died a pitiful yet honorable death.


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    Wilt and his mother were instantly submerged in the murky water. Although Wilt could swim well this was ultimately different. Against the rough current trying to pull them toward the sharp rocks near the cliff his small body could not be considered to have enough power to fight it. On the other hand his mother, who had lived in this area since she was a girl, would often go cliff diving for clams and other crustaceans for food. This was a common practice amongst women in the village, who were all known for being strong swimmers.


    His mother kept Wilt firmly under one arm, being careful to keep his head above water, she kicked off strongly with her slim legs and paddled with her other free arm while using it to steer. Even she didn''t dare fight the current however due to her years of experience in the water she knew to swim to either side of the current to escape it.


    With her back to the cliff wall she swam to her left with all of her strength while trying to stay afloat. She was familiar with this area. There was a small sandy beach towards the North. It took her nearly two hours of hard swimming in the dark nonstop to reach it.


    By that point in time she was simply moving on pure willpower. Wilt was shivering from the ice cold water as his mother dragged him to shore before collapsing.


    When Wilt opened his eyes he clenched his teeth, trying to keep them from chattering. He was shivering cold and had sand sticking to his wet clothes and skin. He looked to his side to see his unconscious mother. She was pale and her skin had a bluish tint.


    Due to the immense stress on her body from trying to carry her son to shore while swimming in the dark allowed the cold to seep into her body after she fell unconscious. Her body wasn''t in the condition to fight back the cold in her sleep, she died.


    Wilt desperately tugged at his mother''s corpse in an attempt to wake her up, but she would never wake again. With his small body he grabbed his mother''s wrist and dragged her body closer toward the tree line. He gasped from fatigue due the fact that he was cold and putting his back into pulling her. With no other option to think of he out himself under her body, despite the cold, and supported her corpse on his back. He walked slowly up the beach as his mother''s legs dragged trenches into the sand, as if asking him to leave her behind.


    With Wilt''s strength it took about two hours to drag his mother''s corpse to the tree line. He placed her back gently against a tree before cuddling up next to her and falling asleep.


    Over the next week he tried his best to construct a shelter. It was a poorly arranged shelter made from some sticks and branches he had found nearby, he didn''t want to leave his mother''s side. He had believed to be simply unconscious. It''s not that he was ignorant about the concept it is simply he had never seen someone die before, let alone someone close to him. Deep down in a forgotten corner of his mind he had buried the thought that she had died.


    To keep him and his mother warm while she was ''asleep'' he tried his best to generate a fire. He had never done this before but he had heard stories of people rubbing dry sticks together to create it. He sat near the entrance to the poorly built shelter with two sticks in hand. He stuck one in the ground and held it near the top with his left hand to keep it steady. Then he took the other stick and rubbed it repeatedly against the side of the other stick.


    He had done this till his hands were sore. On several occasions he even broke the sticks due to excessive force. His hands were now covered in splinters and bleeding, blisters were also taking shape on his palms.


    Before this he had lived a relatively carefree life, he never thought he would need to learn such survival skills. He sat in front of the pile of broken sticks and hugged his knees as he cried himself to sleep.


    He had awoken to a pungent odor and the sounds of buzzing insects. He had ignored the growing smell but when he just woke up he had yet to steel himself. In a childish fit of anger he kicked over the walls of the makeshift shelter, that his mother was inside and screamed as he shooed away the hover flies.


    He kicked the the grass and punch tree trunks in blind rage. Tears trickled down his childish face. He, in the end, could not deny his mother was dead. In his heart he already knew the truth, she was dead.


    Suddenly he stopped his childish fit and simply stood there, terrified. There was movement in the nearby bushes. He didn''t even try to move, his entire body tensed up. He was scared that perhaps the noise along with the stench of death had attracted a magical beast, but he was lucky.


    From out of the bushes appeared a man. He had scraggly white hair. He wore a plain brown robe and had a pack slung over his shoulder. He also was armed with a long sword that was sheathed at his hip. The only thing out of place was the silvery emblem on his chest. It was in the shape of a triangle that had four smaller triangles within itself.


    Stopping his story at this point Wilt took a deep breath, he was actually quite serious when he told Fay his story, and that breathe seemed to release the pressure in his chest at that moment. He had obviously stopped because there were some things he wished to hide about his past.


    He then concluded, "That man was the one who took me in... I became an orphan adopted by the order... raised by the order to exterminate monsters, like the one that killed my family. And for the record, I know you can''t sympathize with me, I am the same... I will never give you my sympathy... however I do understand you."


    Saying up to this he dusted off his knees before standing up, looking down at Fay with a certain a glint of pain in his eyes. While turning to walk away he said simply, "This is goodbye for now Fay. Be nice to the girl will you, were aren''t all that different..."


    Fay hearing this was confused but was even more confused when he heard Wilt mutter under his breathe, with a hint of sarcasm, "Try not to die at the Sky Well will you?"


    Before Fay could even ask what was going on, Wilt was already gone. He was utterly confused, why did Wilt tell him all this...

 Chapter 11: Transition

    It was dark in the woods. Mist swirled through the air, blocking out all possible details. The trees appeared like looming shadows in the darkness, only accented by the white fog that hung in the air.


    A deep white figure seemed to move with the mist. It prowled through the dense woods and weaves between the tree without making a sound. Its sharp green eyes seemed to pierce the endless mist and darkness.


    It circled endlessly around a figure lying helplessly in the grass. The boy simply stared into the night sky that was enshrouded by a thick veil of fog. His breath stirred the mist as he layed sprawled out on the blackened grass. This forest had no life. It was as if a forest fire had ravaged everything except this boy and the monster prowling in the mist.


    Suddenly the large white tiger disturbed the curtain of mist, walking towards the boy who was still lying there quietly. The boy didn''t even turn to meet the creature, he simply spoke with an intrigued tone, "Who are you?"


    The tiger circled the boy before responding in a scratchy voice, like if one was scraping stones against each other, "I am you."


    The boy finally turned to meet the tiger''s gaze. Their matching eyes met. There was an indeterminable pressure within that gaze. It was filled with expectation as well as an unyielding determination. The tiger stopped its movement before releasing a roar into the night. It was as if the sound itself carried the tiger''s noble presence and overbearing aura with it. The fog was ushered back by the mere shock wave from its demanding force.


    What was revealed startled Fay. It was an endless forest. Ash covered the ground and the ground was scorched and the sky swallowed all light. All light except the light from those piercing green eyes. Those eyes that stared with an authority, the authority of a being that had the right to look down upon all others, a god.


    Fay suddenly awoke.


    He was lying in small bed, that was stuffed with hay. He was covered in sweat and his heart was thrumming in his chest. He was feeling wide awake and also indescribably startled. That overbearing presence left an undeniable pressure on him. He didn''t know what it was. "Just a dream... wait... where am I?" He peered around to get and idea of where he was.


    He remembered falling asleep after Wilt left. At that moment he took notice of his surroundings. He was lying on a bed with his left wrist tied to one of the bedposts. The room he was in was small and had no windows. He also took notice that he was now wearing a new set of clothes. Some roughly made trousers and a sleeveless shirt. He unconsciously ran his hand through his hair only to realize something, it wasn''t matted. It was no longer a long matted mess, it had been cut short while he was asleep.


    While he was still running his head back and forth, the door opened. Fay was alerted by the creaking of the door hinges. His eyes turned to meet those of the young girl from before. She was so startled to see him awake that she stumbled backwards out of the doorway before slamming the door shut. He could hear her yelling, "Grandpa!"


    Fay calmed down slightly once he realized he had not been dragged off too far from his original position. Some of his uneasiness from Wilt''s words the night before was relieved. He could still hear his question, "Try not to die at the Sky Well will you?"


    He had played these words over and over in his mind before falling asleep the night before. This only granted more questions for him to think about, "What is the Sky Well? What is so dangerous about it?" These questions that had made him uneasy were pushed into the back of his mind after Graham opened the door.


    The old man calmly walked in before closing the door behind himself. He then pulled up a small wooden stool that had been sitting in the corner of the room before sitting down next to the bed. Fay twisted his body to sit up but was stopped by Graham who used his strength to force Fay to lay back down. "You''re in no condition to move just rest here. Wilt may have gone a little overboard... but trust me he is good guy..." This was what Graham told Fay, and it really sounded like he meant every word.


    Fay reluctantly laid back down. Seeing this Graham nodded his head in approval before leaving Fay with the words, "Good, I''ll have Adaline get you something to eat... you''ll need it..."


    Fay''s first realization was that the little girl from before must be Adaline, his second realization came after he heard the last part of what Graham said. He realized that he was in trouble. He immediately thought about the Sky Well. "What kind of place will it be..." Was all he could keep thinking about. Dying certainly wasn''t what was unsettling. Rather it was the fact that he didn''t know where he was going or what the danger was that caused him to have anxiety.


    Fay decided to just rest with his eyes closed as various thoughts ran through his head. He was slowly falling asleep. That was when Adaline walked in.


    She was carrying an old iron serving tray in both hands. She came into the room and sat down on the stool where Graham had sat before. She sat the tray on her lap. On the tray was a bowl of some kind of warm soup, a loaf of bread, and a hunk of some sort of meat, probably from a type of stock animal, that had been roughly broiled.


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    After she sat down she quietly sat down for a few minutes with her head down. The silence was finally broken by her soft whisper voice, "I-I''m sorry..." She obviously felt embarrassed herself after what she had done to him before.


    Fay simply stared at her for a moment before realizing what she was talking about, he hadn''t really thought about it as something to worry over considering his other problems. But to get her to stop worrying over it Fay just plainly stated, "It''s ok, I didn''t really care."


    Hearing Fay accept her apology Adaline had a beaming smile sprout on her face. It was rather cute. She bent forward while saying, "Really?" It was obvious that she had felt bad after acting in such a way towards him. Fay just nodded his head in confirmation. He really didn''t care about it.


    Only he did care when the soup bowl slid off the tray because Adaline was leaning forward. He bent his body in a strange angle in an attempt to catch the bowl with his right hand, while his left hand was still tied up. Only Adaline noticed the soup bowl in time to startle to catch it, completely forgetting about the try on her lap. Fay was splattered in food. He just kind of sat there. Until he said with a hint of playfulness, that surprised himself, "Do you always assault your guests with food?" He said it with a light smile.


    He himself didn''t quite know why he was teasing her or why he was trying to be nice to her, perhaps it was because he was trying to return her kind feelings in some way. Or maybe Wilt''s words had really gotten to him in some way. However Adaline didn''t see it that way, she thought he was picking on her for what she had previously done to him.


    Her little face was like a tomato. She angrily stomped before hitting him over the head with the tray. She slammed the door shut on her dramatic exit. He could hear her furious yell as she left, "Jerk!"


    Fay really didn''t understand this girl at all. However his sharp ears could pick up her muffled little cries outside the door. Adaline had her back to the door and was clutching her knees. She sniffles out little whispers to herself, "...You said you didn''t care... Liar... Jerk..." She wiped her tears and sat there for a while.


    She clearly cared way too much about what Fay thought of her. However Fay just shook his head and ate the chunk of meat that was now lying on his lap. He had a feeling he wouldn''t be here too long anyway.


    Over the next few days Fay had finally discovered what the Sky Well was and why he was being taking care of so well compared to before, which always seemed to be accompanied by Adaline''s dramatic screams and him being hit in some way, from Graham.


    Graham described to him the traditions of the annual Transition Festival. It was always held towards the middle of the year to represent the change in weather from warm to cold. It was also considered a time to worship and sacrifice to the gods of time as worshiped by the Krain Religious Order. It is for this reason every year around this time the country of Lance is at its most lively as it is the birthplace of the Krain religion.


    And the Krain Religious Order had long since declared that a large sacrifice must be offered to the gods over the span of the festival. That is why every town that is registered under the country of Lance must offer at least one person to fight in the Sky Well.


    The Sky Well was built in the center of the capital city Klyde. It was said have a radius of over a thousand feet and almost just as deep into the ground. Not to mention it had a towering building above ground to house spectators. And during the festival a thousand people at a time would be thrown into the Sky Well to fight to the death. They would fight until they died in the name of the gods of the sky. The only way to live was to survive until sunset.


    This is because the people of the order believe that commencing sacrifices at night would be a sin. They believe that the god of the night is a cruel one who can only bring despair so giving him their offerings would only bring misfortune. However for those who are sent as sacrifices the god of the night is their savior.


    Many people sent to the Sky Well are criminals but in small villages like this one where everyone knows each other and they rely on one another the Transition Festival is a nightmare. When there are no criminals you can only choose someone else. In the end they were saved by Wilt who promised to give them a way out. That was why Fay was there and according to Graham taking care of him was but a simple courtesy for someone who will later fight for their life.


    However according to Graham even if one survives during the length of the festival they will simply be inducted as one of the Sky Well''s gladiators, along with all of Klyde''s criminals. The Sky Well on ordinary days will have constant fights running throughout the day. The only way to escape was to complete three hundred fights as a gladiator at the bottom of the Sky Well.


    *********************************


    Author''s Note: Well this chapter in and of itself was a transition chapter... I had to re-write this chapter three times because I was unsatisfied, so I hope you enjoyed it... or not, that''s ok too... I guess... :) on another note...  Action will start soon! Hurray! Growth of my wimpy MC!

 Chapter 12: Arriving to a New World

    It was early in the morning when the clanking of metal and the murmurs of half dead men resounded through the silent village. There were three caged wagons. They were at about half full, yet there was barely any room to sit on one the wooden plank benches that lined the cage walls of the wagon.


    There were about ten to fifteen soldiers on horseback riding next to the wagons. They wore an intricate appearing armor. Its base material was a type of durable leather that was dyed a dark red. This leather armor then had small steel plates sewn into it that shined with a bright white luster. Then over their hearts they had a larger steel plate that was engraved with the empire''s insignia. It was a an image of a dragon being stabbed through by spear and appeared to be trying to squirm free.


    The imperial insignia represented all of Lance. It is said that the first emperor, Klyde Daimus Lance, who had united the various small warring nations that once made up the land that once made up Lance was a master with the the spear. There is a legend that on the land that the capital of Klyde was built on was once subjected to a monstrous battle. It is said that the Sky Dragon was a beast of the Immortal rank that looked down on humanity and suppressed their growth with its might.


    However, the ruler of the newly unified Lance was not satisfied with such torment. So he fought back against the monster himself on the barren plains that later became Klyde. It is said that fighting a beast that ruled the very heavens and cast off mortal bindings was considered a trial for Klyde. They fought for three days and nights until Klyde made a breakthrough in his spear techniques.


    They say on the final day a monstrous howl could be heard over the entirety of the Continent of Kiya. Then a light pierced the clouds tore apart light itself. The entire area around the battle was momentarily cast into darkness. When the light returned the Sky Dragon had been run through by Klyde''s spear. However, after the battle about six days later Klyde died due to his injuries.


    His eldest son then took over the empire in his father''s place. No one dared to oppose him because they were afraid of the might of a family who had the methods to "forge a spear that can pierce the very heavens." The second emperor later built a city in his father''s honor over the site of his heaven shattering ordeal and made an imperial decree that from that age on that the city would be the capital as well as a "holy land."


    Fay was being dragged out of Graham''s house to go to the very site of that battle, that "holy land." The grand capital city of Klyde, the heart of the north. Where he would later fight to the death amidst hundreds upon hundreds of people.


    Fay was led from Graham''s house with his hands bound behind his back. When they had arrived at the wagons a soldier with a list and ank stamp was on standby next to his horse. After seeing Fay he had understood and nodded his head. He stamped a marking next to the village''s name on the list. Another soldier walked up to Fay and he shackled both of his feet together before cutting the rope bindings on his wrists then cuffed his hands in a similar manner. Fay was led to one of the wagons were he was forced inside.


    After Fay squeezed between two burly men to sit he heard something at his ear, a soft voice that was tinged with sadness and loneliness, "Can you promise me you''ll come back?"


    Fay turned his head awkwardly so he could see between the barred walls of the wagon. There was Adaline, she had ran outside. She wanted to see Fay off, even if it hurt her. For her Fay was like a friend even if their relationship was rather odd, considering that every time they talked he would be tied up and she would hit him due to her unstable emotions. Fay was the first person her age she talked to after her parents died before her eyes several years ago.


    Although Fay did not know why she acted the way she did he knew that she felt everything more deeply than others. So he simply nodded in recognition lest he make her cry due to tactless words. The soldiers ushered Adaline to the side before they made the trip out of town, they turned back around to go north. They would later branch off of the Sky Dragon Road to head slightly east. They had many stops to cover.


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    Fay sat in the wagon and looked at the men around him. They were quite the ragtag bunch. Some of these men had a hard look in their eyes, the eyes of a killer. Some had looks of despair. They were ranged from criminals to farmers. There were also a few that nominated themselves so that they could release their bloodlust, those individuals had ecstatic expressions that formed an odd atmosphere when accompanied by the aura of dread radiating off of the others.


    Fay had sat quietly with his back against the cold iron bars. He ignored the glances of the other people within the wagon, he simply stared into the background. He sat and stared until the open plains turned into rolling mountains and hills. He was thinking of Pax and his stories about his experience in traveling the continent. He was also thinking about how Pax had once promised to take him to travel the continent and possibly the world.


    These thoughts caused complicated feeling to rise in his heart but he suppressed them. He subconsciously clenched his fist tightly. His claws that had recently regrown dug into his palm, he let the blood trickle through the cracks in his fingers. That was when the burly man to his right grabbed his right grabbed his hand and forcibly unfurled his fingers. The man held his hand tightly. The man looked into Fay''s eyes.


    This man was quite large and he had menacing tattoos all over his body. Yet his eyes still shone with a certain kindness that few can exude. As Fay looked at the man he realized what he was doing and relaxed his hand before loosing a breathe. Seeing this man nodded his head before saying in an almost whispering voice, so that only Fay could hear, "I have a son back home... when I look at you it reminds me of the one''s I have waiting for me. So please don''t hurt yourself. I don''t want to imagine him hurting there without me to comfort him, because I will get back there, to my home."


    Fay didn''t know what to say so he simply nodded but the man''s words gave him a lot to think over for himself. So he sat and thought over his experiences and how he felt for the rest of the journey. For Fay he simply felt there was too much he didn''t understand. For him the world outside the cave was simply a mystery, it was the same with humans. He came to realization by the end of that trip that he didn''t even truly know himself as well as he should.


    Fay''s thoughts faded into the back of his mind after he heard a large commotion. The road was lined with people heading towards enormous stone gates. There were people big and small, black and white, people of all kinds. They were all there to celebrate and cheer while watching the deaths of thousands.


    Among the crowd of people entering the city were many wagons that were being led by members of the imperial army. In fact most of the space on the road was taken up by the wagons that held the mass of people that were being sentenced to die a dog''s death among hundreds of others.


    Once they had arrived at the gate Fay looked up at the wall that towered over them. Fay had never in his life had seen structures on such a scale. In a childish manner he couldn''t help but be rather intrigued by such things. His childish heart was grasped by awe, although it hardly shone on his face, as the wagons were led down a main street. He saw people in bright clothes, colors he had never seen, some he had only ever seen when looking at flowers. There was lively trade between competitive merchants as well as the sounds of customers attempting to haggle down prices.


    The colors, the many people, the sounds, the very experience was completely new and refreshing to Fay. He had stepped into a brand new world, an expansive frontier. It was in this moment Fay first developed a certain thirst for knowledge, for understanding, and this would only grow in the future. Once the seed of curiosity it planted in one''s mind it is an ever daunting task to shrug it off and this seed would forever grow in Fay''s young mind and become deeply routed before he knew it himself.

 Chapter 13: Festival of Blood

    Fay on his first ride though the capital city of Klyde had finally felt like he was no longer some frog in the bottom of a well. He saw things and didn''t know what they were or what they were used for. However, he suppressed his curiosity because at the time it simply wasn''t what he needed. He understood that as long as he was in a cage he could do nothing, he was confined. He wasn''t strong enough to get Pax back and not strong enough to even attempt to escape.


    The roaring sounds of the main streets and market dispersed as they neared the center of the city. People were all quietly standing to the side of the street watching the fighters for the Transition Festival. There were hundreds of wagons rolling down the street that day.


    Fay lifted his head when he saw it. It was tower an enormous tower the stood at least several hundred feet tall. All of the wagons were led to a ramp at the side of the tower that went into an underground tunnel system. One by one each cart had entered. Each cart stopped and the people within would be led into smaller branch tunnels.


    Fay was unloaded along with the others in his cart. They were prodded like sheep down one of the many branching corridors. They eventually were crammed into a large cell where others were sitting on the cold floor or leaning silently against the walls. The only light that was in the room came from outside the cell, a single torch.


    One of the men sitting near Fay was mumbling complaints while hitting the cuffs that bound his ankles. "Fucking things, they absorb battle spirit... fuck... fuck this... let me out damn it..." Despite the man''s stream of curses his will to fight back was broken, he knew that no one would help or even could help him. Those around the man kept their heads down while trying to fight off the despair that was trying to devour their hearts.


    Fay sat silently in the dark for several hours. That was when some soldiers came by with a cart. The cart was filled with stale bread. Some people had been in that cell for several,days without eating, but they didn''t move because they knew what would happen next. The soldiers sat at the entrance to the cell and clanked on the iron bars with a smile on their faces.


    "It''s dinner time my good friends!"


    One soldier with an almost despicable smile was kicking the iron bars. His face was cast in cascading shadows, due to the ever flickering light of that single torch, as he reached within the cart and began pulling out loaves of bread. He tossed a loaf in the center of the room before shouting with a certain sinister intent, "There is only so much to go around you know!"


    Before the man even said as such people were already fighting over it. The man who grabbed the loaf of bread was brutally beaten. It wasn''t long before the entire cell was fighting over the several loaves of bread that were thrown.


    "Ah looks like this is the last one... would you do the honors my friend." The sinister man from before was laughing at the people who were fighting over the bread. When the fighting had died down he finally announced the last piece of bread was about to be given out. He tossed it to another man beside him. The man pulled down his trousers and pissed all over it before giving the soggy bread a casual toss.


    Some of the people who had yet refused to give up their humanity didn''t budge. However, an old man who hadn''t eaten in several days crawled up to the bread. He stuffed it into his mouth without caring because he knew that that piece of bread was the best he could get, his spirit was broken. The soldiers pushed the cart down the corridor as their laughter echoed off the cold rock walls.


    Fay had been tripped over and trampled during the fighting. He was simply sitting in the dark while eyeing that old man. He truly felt rage at that moment. He had been surpassing his rage because he knew he wasn''t strong enough, all he could do was submit or die. He remembered the new and beautiful things he saw outside. He thought in silence, "How can they make such a complicated society yet still accept such cruelty? They have created many things, they know many things, yet they don''t know how to understand each other. They can''t understand someone else''s pain..." With this thought he drifted into a deep sleep.


    Fay was sitting there on the burnt grass amidst the black trees and before his was that same tiger. It spoke with a hint of disgust, or perhaps it was disbelief towards such ignorance, "Is that not the way it should be? People grow stronger for themselves. People create glorious things for their own use. People covet treasures so that they may profit. You killed so that you may gain power yourself. To think thoughts of selflessness and understanding when you contradict yourself... how selfish of you.


    "You are still young. I am here, part of you. I will tell you what you must do. Rely on yourself, be selfish within reason. Be selfless within reason. Come to a balance. Other than this all I can tell you is to seek knowledge, the knowledge you find could very well grant you power... or destroy you. Remember the man who took your family. You must never submit to them again. They wish to make you complacent. To tame you and make you nothing more than cattle."


    The tiger''s tail swept up ash as he roared in indignation, "Now go! Don''t let them tame us!"


    Fay awoke startled. He wasn''t even able to ask the tiger anything due to its suffocating dominance. He let the tiger''s words resound in his head, the words caused Fay to feel a certain fanaticism that made his blood boil. He thought to himself with a growing resolve, "It''s right..."


    Not long after Fay had awoken there was the sound of metal meeting metal. The clicking of a lock broke the silence that prevailed over that place. One by one people were led through the gate. Fay was led along with the line towards what appeared to be an iron basket. The basket had enough room to hold around a dozen or so people. They were lowered in groups of five along with five soldier that stayed in the basket.


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    The basket was lowered with the sound of clanking chains. Once they were lowered they were pushed out of the basket by the five soldiers before watching the basket ascend into the dark above. Once out of the basket they were grabbed by several guards who one by one unlocked their bindings before pushing them through an iron gate before locking it once more.


    When Fay was pushed outside he was momentarily blinded by the light of the afternoon sun. He covered his eyes as they began to adjust. When he could finally see he saw hundreds of people. They were all spread out within the bottom of the Sky Well. He looked up and saw floors that were open to the public as well as those of more noble heritage. They were all cheering in anticipation for the coming slaughter.


    Fay quickly moved toward the wall so that he wouldn''t be caught in middle once the fighting started. All around the bottom of the well people were being ushered through the gates one by one. Finally a horn sounded after the last man was pushed through one of the iron gates.


    Fay looked down at the cold stone beneath his feet that was covered in an inch of sand. The sand was a deep brown-red, from all the blood it had soaked up over the years. He stared into the sky, only to be shaken. It reminded him of the mine, that narrow view of the sky. Fay clenched his fist as the ceremony was about to begin.


    After the series of horns resounded off of the walls of the well a certain man stood and raised his arms to signal silence. He was in a bright red gown that was adorned in gold and atop his balding head was a crown. The crown was in the shape of a screaming dragon, it was known to the public as the "Tortured Dragon Crown" and it represented the weight that the emperor bore as the representative of his whole people, an entire nation.


    Despite age his voice carried a certain weight and domineering aura. It was like thunder. "In the name of the gods of the ever shining sun that blesses us with their light we offer your souls. Be proud and fight til death knowing you let the nation prosper through the aid the gods bestow upon us! We will not tolerate cowardice in the face of death and neither shall the gods! Begin!"


    At first no one moved. That was when the emperor beckoned for a spear. It was an ordinary spear, it wasn''t even adorned with jewel or gold despite the emperor''s status. Just a plain iron spear. However in his hands it was death itself. He did a casual toss, like one my flick some dust off of their shirt. The spear was so fast that it seemed to disappear. There was no sound in that moment. Suddenly a man fell to the ground, a hole in his chest. Behind that man was a hole so deep that you couldn''t see the bottom and it was the circumference of the spear.


    The emperor sat down casually like that man meant nothing to him. As if the emperor''s action was the signal to start everyone began to ready stances, display battle spirit, and some began to chant.


    The people above cheered with fanaticism. Children bought wooden swords from vendors and tossed the into the well. Citizens threw in their old and broken cutlery. Some nobles threw in freshly smithed blades simply because they wanted to see blood.


    Fay watched as hundred of blades fell from the sky. Some people before him were instantly impaled. Several feet in front of him was an old kitchen knife that was probably once used for dicing meat. However, that blade was cracked in several places. That knife due to the velocity from the height of the fall was directly lodged into a man''s skull.


    Fay ran towards the corpse as quickly as he could handle while dodging sharp objects raining down from the sky. He grasp the handle of the crude blade and fiercely yanked it out of man''s skull in a spray of gore. He took it in his right hand before jumping backwards. A blade cut his left cheek before lodging itself into the dead man''s back. It was a cleaver, its blade was a perfect rectangle sharp. However along its spine was an obvious crack. It was a surprise it even survived the fall.


    Fay took it in his left before dodging to his right. He stumbled in a roll. All around people were dying and people were fighting. At his left was a man who was lucky enough to get an enormous two-handed blade akin to a claymore. He had a blood thirsty smile as he ran towards Fay. He swung out with such force that the air trembled. The brute''s battle spirit lightly coated the sword yet it was enough to let off an intense heat.


    Fay ducked and rolled once more to the side. Although the man missed Fay the sword was long enough that it severed a nearby man''s spine. The man''s back sizzled under the influence of the brute''s battle spirit.


    Taking advantage of the brute''s slow movements Fay got in close. He fiercely jabbed the kitchen knife the brutish man''s calf. The knife hardly went and inch into the brute''s skin before it couldn''t go any further. Fay immediately retrieved his knife and tried to back away from him. Fay was too slow and was kicked heavily in the chest. The brute roared in anger.


    Fay was flung towards the wall of the well. His chest had a seared black imprint from the brute''s foot that was cloaked in his battle spirit. Before the brute could continue to attack Fay however he had his throat slit. The brute crumpled as a dark figure jumped from his back with a bloodied knife in hand. The dark figure faded back into the chaos, the festival of blood had begun.