"Are you alright, boy? Wake up! Do you hear me? Wake up!"
The boy slowly opened his eyes as bright rays of light welcomed him. How long had he been dreaming? It was a long nightmare, almost eternal. He was alone, running desperately in the darkness. Everyone was dead. Only he had remained. The sole survivor in a ruined world. Was it a nightmare, though, or the precognition of a possible future? He didn't care. He already knew what destiny held for him, an inescapable trap he couldn't avoid.
"Did you finally wake up? You like to take your time, eh?"
Who was that? The boy turned his head toward the voice, scared, facing the woman who was staring at him. She had short gray hair and a pair of big round eyes. Although her face was young, its harshness disclosed the struggles and the suffering she had incurred, making her look older.
It was her! The woman he had tried to help! So, she was alright! However, the boy started to feel regret. Why d
"Well, well, you are here. How was your journey?" The Chief welcomed with a smile the Great Shaman who had come together with Sirius at his house."It was fruitful. Shall we talk about it in private?""Come inside! Guys, you'll have to train alone again today. Don't laze around!" He said with a stern voice and gestured to the Great Shaman to follow him.The two men entered the house, whose decoration was simple, having inside only the bare necessities. If there was something that was sticking out, it was the countless heads of beasts that decorated the walls of the building, trophies the Chief had earned during his hunting days."It's been a while, Great Shaman," Juno, who had just got out of the kitchen, lowered her head respectfully."Nice to see you again, Juno. Every time I see you, you look more beautiful.""Don't flirt with my wife, old man. Have some consideration of your age," the Chief commented w
"How many laps you think you'll make today?""All of the ten," Sirius's voice contained confidence this time. He was running like there would be no tomorrow the past two weeks. Today, he truly felt he would finally achieve his personal goal."Where is Ajamu, by the way? I haven't seen him today," the boy wondered. He would see him almost every morning, but because he usually finished far too sooner than them, the two of them rarely talked to each other. However, it was the first time he didn't see him at all the whole day."He woke up unusually early today. Having finished with his training, he went somewhere together with his friends. Why? Did you miss him?" Anders asked while carrying a mocking smile."Yes! As much as he misses me every day," Sirius replied ironically. The two of them were incompatible, like water and fire. The only reason they conversed sometimes was that Ajamu wanted periodically to mock him during the training. Luck
"Look! It's him! The boy who slew the beast!""He is so skinny! How did he do it?""Hey, Astar! Come! I have just collected some fruit. You want some?"Sirius wanted to run away as much quickly as he could. On his way to the Chief's house, the villagers would often detect him during their works, cheering him with loud voices, making the poor boy want to hide in some dark corner. He didn't enjoy being the center of attention. The embarrassment wouldn't allow him even to raise his head to look straight. Although it had become a part of his everyday routine since that incident, he couldn't become used to it, despite the fact it had already been a week. It was not that he wasn't proud of his accomplishment, though. He had managed to achieve something similar to David's feat when he killed Goliath. No, his might have been even more formidable. He was only a kid, after all, neither a soldier nor a fighter. However, he still won against a beast
Sirius was standing still under the bright sun with his eyes closed. His senses sharpened as he began regulating his breathing. The calming song of the cicadas became trenchant; the fresh air of the bush revitalized his mind. The more the boy immersed himself in that addictive feeling of peacefulness, the more he felt distanced from reality. And then his eyes suddenly opened. They were bright, like they were shimmering stars in the dark sky. Sirius took a step forward and punched the air hard and fast. Again and again, his attacks were carrying vivid emotions he had forgotten for a long time. He jumped back as if he wanted to avoid some unseen strike and raised his knee, getting himself into a defensive stance. Although the boy seemed to fight some non-existent enemy pointlessly, Sirius's moves were intense, his face already filled with drops of sweat."How is it?"The boy turned his head to face the girl who had just talked to him. She had long black hair
"Maybe I should explore the area a little?" Sirius muttered as he watched the man disappearing into the darkness. Waiting alone in the wild was too nerve-wracking for the boy who had just experienced a forest's dangers first-hand. Since he had to be patient anyway, Sirius thought it would be better to listen to the man's advice and walk around the place.His eyes scrutinized the surroundings excitedly as if they were trying to engrave the landscape to the boy's memory. Sirius wondered how great was the size of the forest that seemed to spread infinitely. If a forest was so big, how vast was the sea that surrounded the island, then? Despite the fact he had been here for a year, he realized he was living until now in a microcosm, ignorant of the new world he had found himself in. The boy kept on daydreaming while admiring the sight, forgetting about the former worries that were bothering him previously. Unfortunately, an abrupt sound coming from some bushes, similar to on
Sirius saw a man, a black-clad man with an invisible face. He was smiling at him; the boy could somehow tell for some reason. He was standing on an old wooden jetty. And behind him, there was a boat, a boat that was ready to set sail in the immense foggy dark sea. Dragon Tribe’s village: Dragon Village"Welcome, little boy. Do you have the coin?" A rasping eerie voice suddenly sounded. A voice that couldn't belong to a living person, a voice that was like it came out from the fog. Yet, it w
It was a full moon tonight, beautiful and breathtaking, yet so much hateful. I hate the moon, the stars, and that dark sky. I hate them with all my heart, yet I am doomed to never escape from the night. And there were also these burning torches surrounding me, torches which their intense flames seemed like they were about to devour me. But no matter how much I hated all of them, they didn't hurt me. They couldn't. Not like these dozens of contemptuous gazes around me."Do you have anything to say for your defense?"Was I supposed to say something? Would they hear me out if I shouted that I was maltreated? Would they give me an answer if I asked them why I was not any more welcome here?"This is the only chance you'll be given to redeem yourself. Are you sure you want to remain silent... You dare to laugh?"How could I not laugh? They had condemned me even though I hadn't committed any crime, treating me like I was some kind of sinn
He saw the fiery blue flames approaching him; the raging fire was about to devour him, yet, Apollyon never tried to move. The boy stood still, determined, his face expressionless. Apollyon opened his arms, extending them as much more as he could, indicating that he wasn't afraid of the imminent catastrophe that was about to find him. He looked like he welcomed it, instead.And as if they wanted to grant his request, the flames also covered him rapidly. The boy's figure disappeared inside the vast fire. And while everything seemed to turn into ash and disappear, the fire's bright light ironically revealed the hidden by the darkness's veil majestic cave the dragon resided in."How did you know?" A deep, loud voice sounded. A voice that seemed like it was intentioned as a mutter, yet its volume rocked the cave's walls. But the giant blue dragon that was supervising the area with its sharp gaze didn't seem to care about the blunder it had almost caused. It was carryi