“I don’t want to know how you got it. I look up to such power as you just showed me. I am sure its core, or whatever you called it, is no longer stable. It won’t matter anymore.” Lady said in confidence.
“You are wrong. Blood is stronger than you think. Just because you believe your body is near-immortal, doesn’t mean you can’t be killed.”
“I know that.” She unwillingly said.
“Blood is in the same state or power as ourselves. I wanted to protect what is ours. You people are just way too clueless and ignorant.”
“We believe in our superiority. Of course, we are confident in the way we do things.” Lady argued, but her own truths did not matter to this man.
“That is just plain ignorance. It could be our eventual doom.” He answered back.
“But, you let my eyes open up. From today onwards, I will help you with your cause.”
“If it even matters now.” The old man sighed in helplessness.
“I even unleashed a portion of my attack on the host’s body. Ugh... Yet I failed. What went wrong?” He wondered. He couldn’t help to be angry at his peers. His objective failed, and he suffered heavy injuries.
“If only they listened. I am sure this will not end like this if someone beyond us could get involved.” The old man thought to himself in silence.
“Of course, it would not end with this. I am sure there will come an opportunity where we will strike again.” Lady said in hopeful naivety that the old man simply could not understand.
Both of them were engulfed in a blue crystal sphere as they disappeared in an instant. Lady of the azure flames held the high ground as she teleported in the ways she was proficient with.
All that was left was just a vast, empty plane. Sun was blazing as usual as if nothing happened in its presence.
Beasts were already gone away or few remained to observe the plane from a long distance. They were the most curious folks, who were left in a state of shock and anger that nothing could be done about those intruders. Scene of vast light and pressure all lingering in their minds even long after the scenes left the state of nature in a healing process.
Far away from the beasts and plains. Vast clouds were scattered throughout the sky they were not pushed by the attacks of the old man. They stayed here for already a long time. Thousands of years or even longer if one would even think to notice it. The bathing inside was a gargantuan beast, or, to be precise, just a cloudy region made of something unnatural. It was such a beast that calling it an overlord would be an understatement. Its head was protruding from beneath the sky clouds. Spikes and thick scales of brownish-red color scattered around its head and a portion of the neck.
Overseeing all there was and particularly looking at that now empty plains that went through quite an ordeal. Its gaze was filled with power and blazing heat. Intentions and thoughts were unreadable from its face, which resembled the image of what Allan read about. A dragon of majesty and fear. Blazing existences which disappeared from the human eyes.
But this was not the same planet like every other one in human knowledge. This planet and even the surrounding ones were home to many mystical and extraordinary beings. Their majesty and fame were once known to be a prime example of the power and close proximity to the raw core of the universe, which was always shrouded in a mystery of The Beginning. Now, just a semi-famous location where there are gathered clans and particularly impressive beasts from the Heavenly List.
If one would try to find another such planetary constellation, they would not find another one, even if they had enough time.
There were, of course, many who traveled here and humans started to coexist with powerful beasts. Or perhaps it was another way around, but that was a story for another time.
The dragon glanced around, looking around as if it was looking for something. It snorted chunks of flames. Anger or excitement was hardly distinguishable from its face.
“Masterminds of time began to move again? I wonder what changes will come this time.”
“Will the fate of these planets change again? I wonder, but the disturbance this time is rather strong. Is it time to make an appearance after all these ages?”
The dragon snorted and tried to look at the void, far away, as something was seen by him. Locking out into the space, there was nothing except the residual power that went from the shattered barrier, which was part of the distant order that was set up. This dragon, of course, knew what this was about. It was once his position to take care of at that time.
“They even think they could get out of their way and reach this place even after that time? What was this about? They did not even come and kidnap any beast or my kin...” Dragon mumbled, with not much understanding of what went on. Noticing the situation a slightly bit later than the rest of the beast down below, he was late to apprehend and directly watch the show.
It could just bitterly accept and wait for the unfolding of the world. Surely, something will come from this, and until then, this dragon would remain hidden from the rest of the universe, in his own place, with own fate.
In the void, not too far away from the location of the planet, which underwent a fierce clash between two tremendous forces. The speck of the red beam was traveling at a slow pace. Inside, Allan’s body, or to be more specific, what was left of him, was madly trembling. On his chest wound, swirling specks of the small remains of the red orb were trying to reconnect.
The earlier attack was a success. In a true sense of the word, it died as it was smashed from the few lands which broke through its defenses. For some reason or another, it remained in Allan’s body, as the failure only meant death and continuation meant a small chance. Nonetheless, it could only extract what remained and sent itself with Allan towards another random location with the last remaining bits of its power.
It was the last struggle. Its fundamental base for full reconnection would now slowly crumble apart, but death would be much worse. It still had the slim possibility of full possession and a small opportunity for retaining its bearings.
The surrounding void moved on as asteroids, stone, and debris around it moved away instead of being destroyed. This journey went for much longer than anything else. Days upon days went on. The crimson comet came to a planet it did not choose, as the last strands of its bearing were almost gone. It was around a good time to land, so the luck was pretty good. It could have been being stranded in a void for quite some time. Years would definitely cause its demise.
It once again did not struggle at all as it slid through the atmosphere of the planet.
It looked very similar to the previous one. Maybe it was because they were near each other or were formed like this from the very beginning. Clouds, oceans, and continents were on their surface. Hundreds of thousands of kilometers wide as the previous one. Truly extraordinary planets.
This planet was home to potentially billions of lives. Comet landed on a mountain range, which was surrounded by big trees and a forest that spanned beyond the horizon.
Somewhere else.
In the darkness, no light, and no life was a place it held. Only nothingness and absolute peaceful silence were solely what made this place.
Unknown to anyone, outside of planets and perhaps even the universe itself.
Stranded there was a floating body. Without injuries and calm face. Like a person who was sleeping. It was Allan’s body. Lines of bright and dark were circling him in a mystical way.
But there was something strange about this body. There was another him, which was trying to escape from his chest, right to the outside, but it only managed to go halfway up. It wanted to escape, or perhaps it was a natural course of action it wanted to do?
This was The Underworld, a place that no living could get into.
After all, Allan’s actual body was beyond salvation. He died against the onslaught of attacks before he realized it. It was a strange thing to consider where death held no meaning in the past life. Allan went through something and, before he was given a choice, died.
Time began to be irrelevant in such a place. No concept of days, seconds, or even breaths was there. Every death would come here, beyond the comprehension of humanity. Into a place in between the reality, but still very close to it.
Allan’s ghostly image was not like the body beneath it. It cried, screamed, and struggled in pain. No voice was heard from it as it was trying to shake his hand beyond, upwards, and away. Only terror and confusion were on its face. Inaudible screaming went on and on.
It went like this for an unknown amount of time, and since the ghostly Allan held no relation to time, it almost remained here for eternity.
Suddenly, the shaking stopped as its lucidity came back. Line of that previous light and dark slowly crept closer to the bodies of Allans. The light inside the ghost's eyes started to show signs of life. It no longer seemed like a glance of a lunatic who was trying to shake some ghost or demons.
“Huh? Where... What... Am I?” It struggled to say, but nothing came out.
Allan’s conscience came back. It should never happen, as this place of death should not have life.
Ghostly body madly looked around. Confusion and unconditional fear filled its mind. It looked down, up, around. Seeing the familiar yet so unfamiliar person below, its memories floated back in wild strides.
Allan’s mind came forth from the place beyond return.
“Am I dead? What is this place?” He began to see and understand what was around him. Nothingness and space were around him, but there was no up and down in this space. Only his ghostly body, which held a remaining consciousness of what he had. He couldn't see a thing around him apart from the body beneath and lines of light and dark that illuminated the darkness slightly around.
He couldn’t understand what he should do. His thoughts were in a shambling of turmoil and confusion.
“I guess I died... Truly died... Is this the underworld, where the dead come to rest? It is so eerie and empty.” He wondered as he looked around in sadness. The young life he held was being taken from him without a chance to fight back.
Many philosophists in the past and present thought about life and death. It was a profound way to make the meaning of life seem more interesting. Religions in the past made some inquiries about it, but it all came back to nothing as no place of The Underworld was within the reality. No one could guess or know what went behind life itself, or past the life as well. Kings, peasants, mortals, and immortals alike could not know. Perhaps some were close to some vague answers, some beings were close to comprehending the course of The Beginning and the sources of everything.
Records were made, and many kinds of ideas popped into the history of mankind. It was wildly believed that if one lived without sin, they would get another chance after death. Perhaps it was all just wishful thinking. Allan did not think much of it as he learned about these ideas. In history, all kinds of lunatics made some ludicrous claims and beliefs and he, for one, believed in individualism where one could stay firm in oneself and respect the surroundings. As for the future or the so-called fate? He was not keen on that as any future was something that could not be understood at the present.
“Life beyond death. Huh? Sounds so unreal.” Allan thought. He was experiencing something that perhaps no one ever did. Or, no one was brave enough to tell it? He was just floating there, nowhere near anything, in a place that was eerily calm and terrifying at the same time.
After an unknown period of time, which now Allan possessed with his conscience. Allan could not really tell how much time passed exactly. He was in a weird state where he did not feel anything physically. Hunger, thirst, and other senses, such as tiredness, were not something he felt.
He tried to go back to his actual body, but his hand just glided through it.
“Am I a ghost? What is the meaning behind this? My mind is stranded outside of my body and can’t go back. Only halfway outside. What should I make of this?”
From his chest was the ghostly half-body of Allan. Around him were revolving lines of light and dark that he could not recognize.
“The last thing I remember was a bright red light. After that, I lost my senses. I can’t remember anything afterward.” He wondered about it, but could not understand it. He tried to touch the lights that surrounded him. They were too far away as the stiff ghostly body could not be moved more than halfway up.
Current him could only curse for his fate. He felt like a statue that could not move away. Its fate was to be unmoving and still.
Time, what felt like days or even years, passed by. Lines of light and dark shrank and moved closer with almost no telling if it would not be for his tries to reach them.
The rhythm of the heartbeat started echoing from the surrounding space. It began low, barely hearable, and slowly echoed into a wild, thunderous noise.
“What is happening?” Allan noticed the gradual noise as well as some other things around, in the distance of the void.
Mysterious vibration shook his ghostly body. Pressure amid the noise made his mind hurt.
“Ugh... Ahhh! Stop! Whoever is doing this?” He tried to put his hands against his ears, but it was completely ineffective.
Barking noise was noticeably echoing behind the endless darkness.
“D-d-dog? Huh?” Allan wavered, as his mind was slowly turning mushy. Hardly discernible words were shouting within the void.
“Belong... Not....you....away....you....next...time.”
Few words were uttered that could be understood as if someone who was hardly proficient in the way of language spoke it.
Allan struggled and extended his hands towards the last light before him. Lines of light and dark colors went around him now at rapid speed. It was now hardly distinguishable to make light and dark apart. But it still emitted shimmers of brightness that could only mean a light that was mostly known to illuminate the dark. That was a well-known fact.
Allan touched it in his struggle to free his mind. He did not know what was it. All could be better than the pain he felt in him.
A screeching sound sounded from the sudden collision with Allan’s hand. Sparks and lines of the previous appearance of the lines slowly floated into his hands. It connected his body below and ghostly body with vines made of light and dark, but most of it was swirling around his ghostly chest. It was by no means pleasant or uncomfortable, but it all became a scorching pain as it pierced deeper into the regions of deeper meanings. Both to his body and mind, including his body and a ghost. All was pierced, but nothing that went afterward was something Allan was aware of.
His senses slowly returned as his vision blinked away. Darkness made his vision once again.
