Chapter 13 – Ayill Clarence

 

…

Ayill’s life summed up as tragic. He was only ten years old, and yet he was already shouldering responsibility. Nevertheless, he couldn’t breakdown because he had someone to protect and take care of.

His mom was already bedridden when he was six.

And his father could be non-existent because of its frequent drunk acts and violent behaviors. Many years and he didn’t bother coming back. Maybe he already died in some alley, with garbage as comrades or with flies and crows feasting on him.

Even though morality was ingrained to people, blemishes still popped out. They were black sheep of the society.

He was seven years old back then. With no one to take care of their family and adding with his tiny body, his only solution was to beg for a bit of food. Although people pitied him for their family to eat, it wasn’t enough to live the day.

By chance, when he was wandering the street for food, he saw a caravan. Lines of men and carriages gathered beside the busy street. They started working like buzzing bees. Boxes went in and out. On the very front, he spotted a larger carriage. A man exited from it, unbothered to close the door.

The little guy tempted to look out of curiosity. It wasn’t as if there was no occurrence of beggars peeking on the caravans, anyway. He took a sneak peek. But his eyes soon widened.

Unadulterated shiny golds.

The shine blinded him. He didn’t see that there was something inside beside the golds.

All of a sudden, a firm hand gripped hard on his shoulder. He cried in shock and pain. He turned around to see the man before.

The boy could see rage in the man’s eyes. Only then the darkness covered the child’s eyes.

By then, he knew he messed up. But he didn’t know that it would be worst.

Now, his life before and his current life was the difference between heaven and hell. At age of seven, Ayill began the life of a traitor.

Yes, these guys in the caravan were traitors of humanity who sold their soul. What they were transporting was not goods but something else.

Or someone, for example, the worst enemy of humanity.

…

Inside a dark cellar, a tiny silhouette crumpled on the ground. Only sliver of light coming from black metallic constraints that wormed on the dark reflected the surroundings.

Up close, it was chaining a child. Morbid wounds and pus were visible on his tiny body.

This was Ayill.

During these past three years, all he felt was boundless hate. But he couldn’t do anything because they used his mother as hostage!

Even though he didn’t know if she was really with them. But he couldn’t gamble on that. And he wasn’t spared to think, anyway.

They tortured him till brink insanity. They cut off his fingers until three left while using a poor-quality knife. And they would put bugs inside the wound.

They also trained him like mad. He had to punch wooden poles until his hands broke. After that will be his legs. Then knees or elbows. And even head butt.

They said they will reward him. So, they made him drink an aphrodisiac before making him raped innocent girls. And there were even times he was raped.

These wouldn’t happen if not because of a strange powder. This powder enabled him to have the strength, speed and wisdom of an adult.

It could even regrow missing limbs!

After all, he was only a child. So he should already a retarded after these insanity-inducing tortures. Even adults would only be less persistent if not more.

But it didn’t happen. Or they didn’t want it to happen.

Even death seemed too far now.

Thus, another emotion he had was the gripping despair. This consumed him so much that he relied on that powder to live. He could only live for his mother. He could live only if he cannot die.

His first mission was to kidnap a child just like him. He was unwilling at first, but soon he still followed the orders. After many successful kidnapping incidents, his tasks changed to killing and then, torturing.

For three years, he adapted to that life. It was short, but Ayill felt it infinitely long.

Strangely, they put him into a mission where he could gain his freedom alongside his mother’s. The irony was that he once again backed in his county. Not as a local, but a traitor. He took the procedures to identify himself; treated as a missing person who finally came back. In fact, the person-in-charge found nothing wrong with him.

Walking through a corner, Ayill looks back and saw the County Lord’s deputy standing in the distance. They gave each other a look before going their ways.

…

Hundreds of years, animals and plants have already propagated and survived in this Illusory Realm.

Sarah’s guess was correct. The realm was halfway completed in turning into a world.

But the only thing she didn’t guess was this Illusory Realm wasn’t Von’s creation and had already gestated when he found it.

He found it in an ancient ruin several decades ago and used it as his own individual space.

The basic function of a realm was as storage. The individual could collect samples of animals and herbs without destroying them in the process and even have the huge chance to grow further.

Of course, Von used a massive amount of money to take the realm. Carrying him it by himself is unwise for how heavy a world was. And he wasn’t even a Combatant. Using muscles was very hard for him. So, he opted to look for experts in Formation Arts and engineering.

But because he wasn’t the one who gestated the realm, he was facing complications to continue.

The number one problem he had was energy. The energy inside was insignificant, making the living beings fought to get that supply and live the next day.

Fortunately, air existed or else, there was no salvaging the situation.

Though, the water was scarce because of improper implementation of water cycle.

The animals hunted each other for this pitiful energy.

Von could only keep putting animals into the realm to replenish the wild life.

The floras were illusion by now. Only the strongest existed. Von mended it by going as far as buying all stocks of herbs in the market.

But then, a strange thing occurred. One day, a crack emerged on top of a lake. From it, something wiggled through as if struggling in a confined space.

A drop of liquid fell out from the crack and landed on the lake. This drop had a mercurial property. It had a color of black. Light emitted from it like sunshine, so holy but bizarre.

The moment the liquid touched the lake, a miracle happened.

It transformed into a real lake!

The surroundings became humid. Even a faint breath of fresh air could be felt. The plants beside the lake became vigorous. Fragrant smell of orchids and mint diffused in the air.

Life began to spread on the realm. Valleys, mountains and rivers became real. Towering trees grew and flowers blossomed.

The animals took noticed of what transcribed. One wary animal beside the lake checked what was happening.

But just imagined how scarce water was?

The animal only took a temporary pause before licking the water.

An indescribable satisfaction screamed by its very being.

It felt alive. As if one saw an oasis at a desert.

It was energy!

It had been a long time since it felt energy.

The animal already felt its death as the hunger and feebleness enervated its situation.

But a miracle occurred!

The animal wept and plunged itself into the water.

The other animals observing in the bank saw this. And without ado, they also plunged down into the water and began drinking. They swam into satisfaction.

Soon, they couldn’t stop anymore. They drank and drank until they choked and die. But there were still others who remained alive.

But they didn’t see what was happening around them, they continued to drink.

Later, the water began to recede and before then, the lake water dried.

It was not only on the lake that this happened but in every corner of the realm with water. Bizarre things emerged later on. A few animals exploded like pricked inflated balloons. They turned into mist, which shrouded the entire realm.

While others mutated by growing another pair of arms or legs. Their fur grew longer and thicker. And their eyes reddened. Even trees and plants transformed into horrifying creatures.

Suddenly, they began slaughtering each other.

They sensed the energy within each other’s body which they crazily desired!

Until only one left standing. It howled as if expressing its anger. It quivered until its skin contorted.

Its color became black. Furs grew even longer. Arms became bulkier and its torso became robust.

After the transformation, it sluggishly laid down on the spot. It became haggard and listless. But in its red-colored eye was a hint of intelligence.

This happened a long time ago.

Interestingly, the current owner of this realm noticed nothing... as if something masked the realm.

…

Ben closed his eyes, imagining a faint outline of a man sitting cross legs. But a thought crossed his mind. It was about the conversation he had with Sarah earlier.

“Sister.” Ben touched his nose. “Can I ask you about Foundation Arts?”

Sarah sneered. “I thought you are disdainful to ask me.”

Ben hehe’d and Sarah shook her red hair. “Okay. It is not much to me, anyway.”

Sarah discussed Foundation Arts. Almost what she said was the same as others. The only difference was the analogy she gave.

“Your mind is water, Ben. Just think. It is stable if you don’t stir it. Also, if you pour nothing, it won’t make waves. So, maintain your mind, like a silent and calm water.”

Ben exhaled. Everything went blank to him. The brushed of leaves didn’t change a thing. Nor sound affected him. He was in a wondrous state. But it was short and woke up in an instant.

But Ben’s eyes were gleaming. He felt a strange breeze crept on the surface of his skin. He knew what he felt was true and the implication of it.

“T-that is…” His eyes lit up and blurred. He looked at the proud figure sparring with Jed. She was nimble, but not as fast as Jed. Her toned body was smaller than Jed. If just looking at their body features, the boy should suppress her. Yet, she wasn’t.

Ben laughed and cried. “Sisterrrrr!” He spread his arms wide and lunged towards Sarah. The latter’s countenance changed and kicked him in the face.

“Get lost!”

Ben flew and Jed was gob smacked. There was a large footprint on his face, but the latter was smiling like an idiot. “Thank you, Sis!” Ben kneeled, skidding towards Sarah.

The girl clicked her tongue. “You want me to accept your thank you? Let’s spar then.” She cracked her knuckles and chuckled.

They ended up sparring, which ended badly to the two boys. Sarah enjoyed the feeling of playing with other kids. It was since when she played with others.

Ben kept trying for days. Although he was still failing, he was relaxed by now. The creeping sensation became clearer as he tried. He tidied himself before looking at his teammates. Jed sat on the branch of an enormous tree and scanned their surroundings while Sarah did curl-ups while muttering the word Faso repeatedly.

The trio learned a few tricks during the journey. In an unknown location, they must adapt vigilance. And they learned it the hard way. A snake almost bit Ben, but Sarah caught it by a second. They earned many injuries and patches of blood have gathered in their clothes in these past days. Although they washed their bodies every time, the stinky stench still unavoidable.

They took turns in training and guarding the perimeter. This way they could expect and dodge danger.

While doing their own things, roars and cries of fear suddenly appeared from the distance, followed by a massive noise of hooves. A smoke appeared coming from the hooves of a massive gathering of animals scampering in all fronts.

This alarmed the trio. “What the?” They turned around and ran without hesitation. Ben stumbled but backed himself. They didn’t notice the gigantic shadow behind the tide.

An animal overtook them and accidentally clawed towards Jed. The latter's eyes narrowed before sidestepping.

Beside him, Sarah timed her punch and made the animal flew in the air. It hurled towards Ben, whom immediately connected with a punch.

This seemingly perfect coordination made Ben grin. “Hehehe.”

More shadows overtook them but only some targeted the trio, others were running for their lives.

Sarah dodged an attack, cutting a few strips of her hair. A few scratches appeared at Jed’s face while Ben had bruises on every part of his body.

The trio didn’t stop running, but neither they had stopped dodging and countering any attacks. Their teamwork was still not seamless, but they were getting there.

Suddenly, a chill crawled on Sarah’s skin. She looked back and saw an immense blur shooting towards them.

Boom.

An explosion appeared beside them, creating an earthquake and fierce shroud of smoke.

A turbulent wind brushed the smoke and what appeared was a huge gorilla-looking animal. It’s black color build towered, muscles protruded and vividly red eyes shot. It looked at the trio and growled.

The gorilla-looking animal dashed towards them with increasing momentum.

A few animals turned into a mush instantly when the monstrosity overrun through them.

This horrified the trio. They used their all to run. Jed was leading while Sarah and Ben followed him.

A gigantic palm appeared behind Ben and slapped him. His pupils constricted. “What do I do?” With no time to respond, he could only forcibly block the attack.

Bang. Ben tumbled in the air. “Argh.” He felt his lungs moved to his throat.

Sarah saw what happened. She stopped and roared. Her fist shot and connected, but her arm instead became numbed. She looked up and saw the thing looking at her with contempt.

Roar. The monstrosity swung its arm. Sarah noticed this and ducked on her side. The gorilla-looking animal wanted to respond, but it saw the other kid shuffled behind him with a knife at hand. Jed plunged the knife, but the hole wasn’t too deep. A break neck wind gushed above him so he dove to the ground. Then a massive foot came from above.

Bang. The ground cracked, but Jed rolled, looking clumsy. Then, from behind the creature, Sarah squatted before punching the animal. The fist impacted through the animal’s side. The latter took a step back and emitted a small groan. Its pupils flashed in confusion. It wanted to revenge itself, but a shadow rammed his body.

This time, the creature toppled, although clearly fine. Only Ben was dizzy and slumped down beside Sarah. Then a shadow appeared before the duo. Both Sarah and Jed carried Ben as they ran to the forest. Behind them, a terrifying roar echoed for a very long time.

...

“What is that thing?! How can it be so terrifying?” Ben asked, horrified. His shorts were soiled and didn’t how he got confidence to attack that monster. Jed thought of something, but he still shook his head.

Eyes narrowed, Sarah thought before saying, “Do you think the teacher placed a true Life-Threatening trap here?”

The two remembered it too. This should be impossible if what the teacher said was true.

“That’s weird.” The confused Sarah said.

“Was it a Beast? You know them right, Sister?” Ben asked.

“I thought it too, but that thing is… very different.” Sarah feared it was something else.

“Regardless, it is a Beast or not, defeating that thing should be near impossible for us. We can only run and hide from it.” Sarah realized it when they clashed earlier. But insider her, a fire sizzled as a terrifying thought burned in her heart. She actually wanted to fight that creature!

Though, looking at the duo, she had to stop herself. It was a trump card that she could not show to others, Ben and Jed included.

 The trio rested behind a large bush. The adrenaline exhausted them. They needed to calm their nerves and think about their next move.

But it wasn’t even an hour when the gorilla-looking animal appeared once again. It started sniffing the surroundings. And they were just a few leaves away. The trio felt weak at heart and quickly controlled their breathing. Ben feared they would expose themselves. He gripped the soiled part of his shorts.

The monstrosity felt a presence before rushing towards it, scaring a small animal. The latter ran opposite where they hid but was easily caught by the monster. Not before long, the small animal became its food.

The gorilla-looking animal continued sniffing before rushing towards another direction.

Then, the whole surroundings quieten. The trio exhaled in relief. Ben laid prone without strength, still dizzy about the incident.

…

Unbeknownst to them, there were already one group ejected because they failed to cope with sudden ambushes of animals or traps.

There were only four groups remaining.

…