Chapter 4 The Cruel World (3)

“Who are you?” Eterfinite expression is as calm as ever. Even in the face with this mysterious man, he don't reveal a bit of what was in his mind. Though he ask the question, his attention shifted back to the mountain. He continued, sounds calm as ever, “Doesn't matter of who you are, or you have an ounce of conscience for not reveal yourself for so long. But...learn to respect the every bit of my memory, will you?!” 

He face him this time with the air of complexity. His eyes pierce through the terrifying aura this mysterious man continuously give off. His words has the authority in itself, even the wind will bowed down whatever it takes. 

The mysterious man face change greatly. “Such a display of authority,” he said, sounded unbothered neither offended. “Are you wandering to this unfamiliar world without much the thought of it? What will you gonna do if you meet someone far from understanding as myself!?”

Eterfinite heart tremble. He can felt the lecture of this mysterious man affecting his mind to spun for a second. Just a second of effect, his heart become heavy and a thought came to mind. 

“What's...with you?” Obviously, Eterfinite saw through him, yet he felt like this mysterious man let him saw the pieces and not the whole of it. It cause his heart to tremble even more. “I don't know what cause you to show up, but please...” he gritted his teeth upon reminded to his business in this unfamiliar land. 

Looking at the mountain, the realization have been come into heart, deeply engrave there. It is the feeling beyond lost, and the option left in him is to go with the plan his twin sister given. Right now, the location of the ancestral house came to his mind.

The mysterious man secretly sigh. “Don't do that again,” he said, almost couldn't reach by the receiever. 

“What?” Eterfinite casually look at him before immerse to the location that he hardly to point out. It can be said that the sudden distortion of his memory cause his mind to spun, even his sense of direction pointed to everywhere, thus cause irrelevant.

This all expected by this mysterious man though. He thought, “All is willed by the heaven; fated to all living things. Now that he comes this far and blindedly choosen to experience the cruel world of a living, then it must be the time for the karma to sever!”  

This time, his black robe shone darkly, glowing unnoticely. But upon close examination, the arrow of a beak spun in almost all the sides of this robe, until it stop to point the certain direction. This time, Eterfinite haven't face this direction, only this mysterious man that reveal a slight shock in face. 

The darkness glow darkly at the direction pointed by this arrow beak, and just as all of the remaining beak of an arrow pointed certainly in that direction, the bloody eyes opened to reveal a mysterious light.

Eterfinite almost couldn't believe his eyes and blink several times. Just as he pondered the location given by the jade, he meet those bloody eyes while facing and scanning the mountain. 

“This...” His whole being trembled, as if a life and death just glaring back to each other while he's in between them. 

The feeling is ominous that sweat pouring in his forehead while he step back and forth several times.

“Stop!” the mysterious man reveal the shock that lasted for a thwice a second. To Eterfinite, his voice cold as he said, “You sure confidence earlier but couldn't even resist to dance by the presence of the phoenix? You disappoint me...” 

Eterfinite clearly don't understand the words, yet his attention was focus to one particular thing. Not even the sounds of cold with the hint of disappointment cause his focus to wavered. 

“Phoenix...” the bloody eyes slowly close and he felt the relief he never felt before. However, the feeling it brought him only gives him the cautious to avoid this strange entities in the future.

“See? You forgot the term even without my interference!” The mysterious man exclaim as if being wrongfully accuse. He even forgot the disappointment for a second and reveal a wrongfully accuse expression.

Eterfinite can only blink a few times, then sigh in defeat. “If you think so, then that so. However,” he eyed him with warning, “don't you dare do that thing earlier. What if...someone have seen-”

“That's not possible!” 

“How it's not possible...” The mysterious man exclamation cause his heart to freeze, not even willed to beat again can he possibly shook it to pump just fine. 

Strangely...he really have felt no presence lurking around now he think about ir. His face instantly change, and the dread cause his heart to beat again, but crazily. 

“Are they...”

“No!” The mysterious man cut him off, the frustration is obvious and even cause the arrow beak to pout and trembled. 

This cause Eterfinite a greatest dread he will never forget in his lifetime, he gulp as if ready to witness once again the bloody eyes. 

Obviously, that doesn't occured. The mysterious man continued, now with expression of deadly serious, “Listen, kid. Just now, no one just died. No one will die before you!”

It sounds as if Eterfinite must die before everyone else. It causing him to stop, his expression back to usual, as calm as before. The change is that he didn't ponder much about it and a defeating sigh, as strong as mountain, can be felt to the air around him.

Seeing this, the mysterious man blink for the first time. It can be said that he is much familiar with this boy than the diety of overseer can even know about. Every bit of change around him, this mysterious man can saw through it. This time, he said with his voice gentle, “Ah, what I mean just now is everything is alright. See, the ashes is just an ashes created by the aura of death!”

“If that so...” Eterfinite hold the jade in his hand tightly. Finally he able to face the same location this.mysterious man been facing. “If you have no more to say... I must go now.” 

There's a heaviness in his heart that he don't quite realize. He understand it, yet the bit of it are shallow for him to accept fully. Not even after came to mind the abandonment of his parents of him have cause his heart to felt the emptiness brought by this feeling. Not even the possibility that him go away from the green valley is a biggest mistake brought this feeling.

It's the very turning of his back from this very person. The person... who sheltered him, given him the home which is the green valley. All for himself!

“Let me...see you off-” the mysterious man gasp, unable to finish the words he barely said. Those words either force or what, yet the awkwardness came from the heart. He gasp to the light just fell from the eyes of this boy!

“Then who I am to dare refuse the offer of a senior?” Eterfinite said, barely able to contain the golden glow...that fuse to the single tear that fallen. His smile is as pure as the darkness and light that both have unique in nature. This is the smile that cannot be seen as one, yet cannot be determine as fake in any sense. Whatever, it is a form by a true nature of affection that fail to nurture.

The mysterious man can hardly believe it, and murmur to himself, “How possible it is... The cruel world able to produce the unexpected...” 

It can be said that a single tear is only for a living, and not even blood for dead. However, this boy have never cry a river before, nor possess the obsessio of the blood, and the very glow in this single tear will form an ocean if willed by the heaven. 

But either fill with blood or gold... the unexpected in this cruel world is a chaos in itself. The mysterious man's face change greatly. Now, is it right for him to let everything to fate? Severing karma...may cause the unexpected to the path of heavenly defeat...