Year 5310. 7th day of July. Castle of Brundeile. 6:30 AM.
With eyes narrowed to a slit, fingers tapping to the chair, Count Brundeile, nodding, but tightly, as if holding back from speaking an insult, started to talk. "So, why did you bring back a coffin?"
Morgan admires the strength of the Count of Brundeile. He takes pride in being one of the Lord's vassals and being the leader of the Knight of Brundeile. Usually, he speaks with confidence, but today was entirely different.
Feeling the desire to flee, Morgan licked his dry mouth as he responded. “You see, my Lord, we thought that the coffin might be an important artifact — ”
“Are you kidding me?” At a loss on what to say, Count Brundeile pulled his glasses down and looked over the rims.
“Along with the coffin, we brought all the books we can find in there, my Lord,” Morgan tried to appease his Lord by mentioning the books but to no avail.
Count Brundeile pursed his lips as if in thought. Waving his right hand, he finally said, “Did the magicians understand the writings on the books?”
“Well, no —”
“Of course, they can’t. No one can,” Count Brundeile gave a heavy sigh.
“Don’t worry, my Lord. The time will come when we can read those books.” Morgan offered a smile in assurance, attempting to hide his heart that was shrinking from disappointment.
Knowing that reading those books is close to impossible, Count Brundeile gave a weak smile in return. “You may leave now. Put those books and the coffin in the repository for the unknown.”
Leaving the study with lowered head and shoulders drooped, Morgan took deep breaths and stabilized his mind. His insides twisted, but he can’t let disappointment and hopelessness take over now. Morgan knows that he needs to do what he needs to do. He needs to fix his attitude.
Morgan, back to his usual calm and focus, proceeded to do what his Lord ordered.
***
Count Brundeile was always a man of honor. He was 48 years of age, but he groomed his lush, mother-lode-gold hair so carefully that it had a rippling quality, a sign of his rude health. His only blemish was that he was beetle-browed, and they sometimes knitted in frustration.
He carried an imperious nose well, and it complemented his prominent cheekbones. Handsome in an understated way, his flinty jaw and Spartan shoulders spoke of strength. He possessed a leonine power and always walked with purpose and authority.
People had always remarked that his magnetic, wayfarer-blue eyes were his best feature. He carried himself with a kingly air, a distinct mood of gravitas.
Seeing that Morgan had left the study, Count Brundeile pressed a hand to massage his aching temples. He slowly stood up and walked to face the window, and started to contemplate things.
Count Brundeile, or just merely Klein, has a desire to quit being a Count and live quietly somewhere where there’s no conflict, but he knows that this is his fate. As the Lord, this is his responsibility.
His lips pressed together in a slight grimace slowly showed a smile so dazzling that one might take another look with mouth agape in shock and disbelief.
Klein just stood there looking at the window while smiling and sometimes laughing like a silly boy who had thought of a bad thing.
***
Repository for the Unknown.
The servants assigned to move the relics found in the last ruin moved swiftly and finally left the dark and gloomy place.
Although the place was dark and gloomy, it was clean and well-maintained.
In the repository for the unknown, you can find all sorts of things. There were books that no one can peruse, weapons of any kind that no one knows the way to utilize, and the recently discovered coffin.
They had placed all kinds of things taken from different ruins in the repository for the unknown because no one can figure out their uses or value.
Unexpectedly, the coffin place at the center end of the repository had some movements.
"Bang, bang, bang."
It was very light at first, but it got heavier and heavier soon after.
Accompanied by the darkness and gloominess of the room, the sound of a coffin opening was horrifying.
At this time, the coffin lid thumped, jumped a bit, and slowly opened.
“Initializing Life Process”
“3%... 10%... 15%... 27%... 35%... 44%... 49%... 56%... 69%... 73%... 80%... 85%... 98%... 99%... 100%”
“Life Process Initiated”
“Returning to the Human State”
The sudden opening of the coffin may scare one silly. But seeing a human alive come out of the coffin may make one collapse from fright. But a beautiful woman is different.
Her beauty was out of this world. Seeing her come out alive in a coffin is a sight to behold. No one will be afraid of seeing her, but one may feel the quickening of one’s heartbeat.
Her snow-white curls that cascaded over pale white shoulders were as emollient as eiderdown. Her sliver-of-moon eyebrows eased down gently to her languid eyelashes of velvety-black. A sculptor could not have fashioned her duchess nose any better, and her seraph’s ears tucked away in the glorious tresses of her hair looked delicate and paired to perfection.
There is a kind of green that speaks to the soul of nature, fresh wands of grass and new buds, and her eyes were that bright color, bold and beautiful. In contrast to her eyes’ color, it was devoid of emotion and was as cold as the devil’s soul. Her lips were Aphrodite-red and looked as sweet as strawberries. She had a telegenic look and a statuesque figure.
She was staring blankly in the darkness with her white long sleeveless dress.
Moments later, her unfocused eyes regained their calm and indifference.
***
Year 5310. 7th day of July. Coal Village. 03:00 PM.
The afternoon began to get cloudy. The sun was a muted, saffron yellow, but shafts of light still poured through patches of cloud and onto the river.
The Phobos mountain stood silently in the background, a brooding presence of sky-punching majesty.
Along the edge of the river, there is a village.
The Coal Village was the nearest place in Phobos Mountain. It was not big but with only more or less than a hundred people living in the village.
A little kid was playing and unconsciously ended up at the side near the entrance of the mountain. The little kid, curious about the mountain, slowly treaded to the entrance while cautiously looking behind to see if an adult was about to see her.
Entering the mountain, the little girl, not knowing what lies ahead, ran to a tree that looks haunted.
She was curious about why it looked haunted when the tree suddenly moved, and a mouth appeared and swallowed her whole.
