Something II

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 11**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"The Other Side of the World"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 11 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c1ach to 0)] (set: $c11checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 11") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Chapter 11]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

I lost count of the time. I remember counting every second of it, but somewhere along the line, I simply lost my energy to continue. It felt dreadful, having to count without knowing the end, without stopping, and only clinging on to the small hope there is. Maybe an hour has passed. Maybe two. The sun is still oddly warming and Jane's laps are a bit muscular to rest on. A bit tender. It's the only good thing I got from this curse. I wanted to, but I cannot sleep; many times I've yawned, or imagined myself doing that, only to shout at myself to steer clear of that fluffy unconscious zone. I haven't slept for more than 24 hours, and the adrenaline inside me has already pumped until its limit. I cannot see, nor move. I can only breathe, and sweat. Only the rhythmic galloping sound of the horses keep me awake, and Jane's occasional stroke on my hair. Just where are we heading? Are we even on the right path? "Noah," I hear Cliff's voice, as the rolling wheels start to slow down on the muddy ground. "Is that it?" "... Yes." If Noah is guiding the path, we're most likely in Beastia continent. Currently, only Jane and Cliff are on this carriage with me. And, from their conversation with Hugo, that'd mean that Jane's dad is in this continent, and he likely has a remedy to whatever that's currently binding my sight and movement. //NEIGH// "Whoa, whoa," Cliff comforts the horses, as the carriage comes to a sudden halt. "These are..." [[Next page0]]

I counted: 3 minutes has passed. Suddenly, I hear a voice being shouted from a distance, as the footsteps close in on us at a rapid speed. It comes from the same direction where Noah left. But it is muffled until it gradually makes sense to me. "Send them in!" "Well," the dwarf chuckles. "Great for you, magician. Lift the gate, and clear a path for them!" "ROGER," several voices say in unison. Then, they start clapping. I feel terribly honored: is this some sort of welcoming ritual or just signals to raise the gate? "Thank you." Cliff says. "Pop Pop!" Jane suddenly shouts out. Pop Pop... her dad? "Keep it brief," a new calloused voice slips into my ears. "Who's this?" "John—his forehead has a marking of a hexagonal purple seal, with three concentric circles at its center. He can't move, or open his eyes. Do you—" The carriage slightly shakes again, and feels heavier. I can feel a palm now resting on my forehead; it tingles. "An ancient mark with quite a horrendous amount of aura," the man says. "And you all, I assume from your state, just came from The Other World? Did you all meet the Sages by any chance?" "We—" "Wait..." the man says, "Inside." Suddenly, the palm smacks my forehead; I instantly black out. There's no holding back my sleepiness now... let me just rest for a moment... [[Next page->next page11.05]]

I try to move my hand away from her sticky saliva. She whispers "Mmmph" and wouldn't lift her cheek up. So instead, I sit my upper body up, and glance at her. She looks quite cute even when she's drooling; I gently swipe her hair. At this instant, followed by a knock, the door opens and a young male enters the room. He stuns there, looking at us. His right leg, down from his knee, is equipped with a wooden prosthetic. "Oh," he says, holding a glass of water. "Sorry for interrupting, I'll be back for my sis later." "No, umm.. wait, I was just—" "No no no," he chuckles awkwardly. "It's ok. You don't need to explain to me," he says, scratching his head. "It's just that my Pa sent me to check on you guys, he wanted to talk to you when you've woken up." "Oh, then you can call him in now; but, maybe you should wake Jane up first..." "Nah, my sis's dead asleep if she drools. I just need to—" he walks towards me, and puts the glass of water on a small table beside the bed; then, in one single swoop, he kneels, and carries Jane like a princess with both his arms. There's a light friction-cracking sound on his wooden prosthetic as he lifts her up. "Are you sure you're fine? Maybe I should—" "Yes, I'm fine." he looks at me, standing only a few feet away from my bed. "Despite how I look, I can still do things." "No, that's not what I meant—" He chuckles, "I know, I'm just messing with you." He has red short hair as well, but his eyes are charcoal black, and he wears a warm smile on his face. "It's ok. My sis's been asleep numerous times like this before on her desk... //coughs// ...but this is the first time she's ever been this close to anyone other than us." He chuckles. "Did she by any chance kiss you before?" If what he means is the contract-signing with God of Magica, then, "Yes." His eyes widen, but he quickly blinks his eyes to hide it. "That's a first. My sis rarely opens up, even to us."—he smiles at Jane—"Well then, I'll go get my Pa. Wait here a bit." [[Next page->next page11.055]]

I decide to let her just nap on my hand for a while; she looks tired. I sit my upper body up, and glance at her. She looks quite cute even when she's drooling. So, I couldn't help but to gently swipe her hair. At this instant, followed by a knock, the door opens and a young male enters. He stuns there, looking at us. His right leg, down from his knee, is equipped with a wooden prosthetic. "Oh," he says, holding a glass of water. "Sorry for interrupting, I'll be back for my sis later." "No, umm.. wait, I was just—" "No no no," he chuckles awkwardly. "It's ok. You don't need to explain to me," he says, scratching his head. "It's just that my Pa sent me to check on you guys, he wanted to talk to you when you've woken up." "Oh, then you can call him in now; but, maybe you should wake Jane up first..." "Nah, my sis's dead asleep if she drools. I just need to—" he walks towards me, and puts the glass of water on a small table beside the bed; then, in one single swoop, he kneels, and carries Jane like a princess with both his arms. There's a light friction-cracking sound on his wooden prosthetic as he lifts her up. "Are you sure you're fine? Maybe I should—" "Yes, I'm fine." he looks at me, standing only a few feet away from my bed. "Despite how I look, I can still do things." "No, that's not what I meant—" He chuckles, "I know, I'm just messing with you." He has red short hair as well, but his eyes are charcoal black, and he wears a warm smile on his face. "It's ok. My sis's been asleep numerous times like this before on her desk... //coughs// ...but this is the first time she's ever been this close to anyone other than us." He chuckles. "Did she by any chance kiss you before?" If what he means is the contract-signing with God of Magica, then, "Yes." His eyes widen, but he quickly blinks his eyes to hide it. "That's a first. My sis rarely opens up, even to us."—he smiles at Jane—"Well then, I'll go get my Pa. Wait here a bit." [[Next page->next page11.055]]

(if: (history:) contains "Try to kiss her forehead.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Words unspoken"//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1)(set: $c1ach to $c1ach +1) ]I keep my hand still, and slowly sit my upper body up. Then, I approach her face with mine. Despite her drooling, she looks quite cute in her sleep; I hadn't noticed that. I gently swipe up the hair covering her forehead, and give her a quick kiss. I pause for a moment to look at her: she seems exhausted. Just as I am about to back away from her, the door opens after a knock, and a young male enters. He stuns there, looking at us. His right leg, down from his knee, is equipped with a wooden prosthetic. "Oh," he says, holding a glass of water. "Sorry for interrupting, I'll be back for my sis later." "No, umm.. wait, I was just—" "No no no," he chuckles awkwardly. "It's ok. You don't need to explain to me," he says, scratching his head. "It's just that my Pa sent me to check on you guys, he wanted to talk to you when you've woken up." "Oh, then you can call him in now; but, maybe you should wake Jane up first..." "Nah, my sis's dead asleep if she drools. I just need to—" he walks towards me, and puts the glass of water on a small table beside the bed; then, in one single swoop, he kneels, and carries Jane like a princess with both his arms. But, there's a light friction-cracking sound on his wooden prosthetic as he lifts her up. "Are you sure you're fine? Maybe I should—" "Yes, I'm fine." he looks at me, standing only a few feet away from my bed. "Despite how I look, I can still do things." "No, that's not what I meant—" He chuckles, "I know, I'm just messing with you." He has red short hair as well, but his eyes are charcoal black, and he wears a warm smile on his face. "It's ok. My sis's been asleep numerous times like this before on her desk... //coughs// ...but this is the first time she's ever been this close to anyone other than us." He chuckles again. "Did she by any chance kiss you before?" If what he means is the contract-signing with God of Magica, then, "Yes." His eyes widen, but he quickly blinks his eyes to hide it. "That's a first. My sis rarely opens up, even to us."—he smiles at Jane—"Well then, I'll go get my Pa. Wait here a bit." [[Next page->next page11.055]]

"An ordinary adventurer? Rumor has it that only 30 came back, and you're the only one from your class survived. Surely, there's something to it." "My objective now is to stop the impending war, and save people; is that not good enough of a reason?" "//People//. Humans, beasts, magicians, demi-humans alike?" "Yes... all of them." Javier exhales sharply, and he turns his head sideways. "That doesn't make sense, John. You cannot save everyone, not in this world; that's a fact. Not with this weak, and vague motivation of yours." "..." "Tell me—why?" "I.... [["Because I know what it's like being strong."]]

"Puzzles, huh? That's an interesting way to look at things. But—//specialty//? Surely, there are some things that you're hiding." "My objective now is to stop the impending war, and save people; is that not good enough of a reason?" "//People//. Humans, beasts, magicians, demi-humans alike?" "Yes... all of them." Javier exhales sharply, and he turns his head sideways. "That doesn't make sense, John. You cannot save everyone, not in this world; that's a fact. Not with this weak, and vague motivation of yours." "..." "Tell me—why?" "I.... [["Because I know what it's like being strong."]]

"//People//. Humans, beasts, magicians, demi-humans alike?" "Yes... all of them." Javier exhales sharply, and he turns his head sideways. "That doesn't make sense, John. You cannot save everyone, not in this world; that's a fact. Not with this weak, and vague motivation of yours." "..." "Tell me—why?" "I.... [["Because I know what it's like being strong."]]

"... What?" "Before my daughter left for the tournament, I'd told her to meet me here after she returns. This kingdom is located at the very edge of Beastia continent. The only reason that I'm here with my two sons is because I founded this place with a dwarf, Xavier. He was... assassinated on his way to a nearby kingdom a few days ago." Javier lowers his hat, enough to cover his eyes. "That dwarf... he makes the best damn wine and is the most humble Beastian I know. All his life, he's been boasting to me about his yearning to create an equal, tranquil life for Beastia members. But... five arrows shot through his face that day; his family, his guards that accompanied him all brutally murdered with rains of arrows. His youngest son Xenos, shared to me that he wanted to create another kingdom like his dad, to shelter others and accept those who seek refuge—from all four Familia. He died in his mother's small, helpless arms." A line of tears slides down from Javier's right eye, but he quickly wipes it away. His tone becomes a bit shaky, "There were bloods splattered everywhere, John. The brown trunks, the green bushes, the yellowish leaves, and the frightened face of his children. We were too late. Too damn late." Javier grips his hands, and lets out a deep breath. "Well... there's that. I made a promise for his people that I would avenge him and his family. And frankly, it's a suicide mission. The Beastian in this kingdom don't have the ability to pull it off." "And you?" "You might have not realized it, John; but, I do not have any power anymore. My daughter was the one who saved you, I only taught her the techniques to dispel the seal with the trinket. Strange, she seems to be fond of you." He pushes his chair closer to me, his eyes scanning me. "I wonder, what does she see in you?" "Umm... so, what's the plan?" "Dodging my question, are you?" he says. "There is no plan actually." "No plan?" "Yup." "But—" "The general objective is to save the Demi-humans first, which are all in the kingdom of Deminia. You are supposed to come up with plans to reach this end." "Wait, what?" "Things I can tell you is that from our intel, at least two of The Magnificent Seven are stationed there. Entire kingdom, and The Minority's commander are taken hostage." [["What are their abilities?"]] [["Entire kingdom? How many people are there?"]] [["So what? I need to save them all, somehow?"]]

After Javier leaves, with some of my strength already flowing back into me, I walk out of the room, down the creaky wooden stair, and to the outside of the house. From what I can see, my surrounding or maybe the entire kingdom is assimilated inside a jungle. Nature's crawling around the two-story huts, wells, and fruit stalls set up by the road path that I'm standing on, which lead to the center of this kingdom. Something smells good. There's an enormous tree, taller than the 50-feet dragon, rests there. There are also some big bonfires surrounding it with tables filled with foods; locals are dancing in circles, holding hands, following the rhythm of bongo drums. I can hear their cheers and shouts from faraway. This entire scene is radiating with a nostalgic festive spirit, on this kingdom that I've never visited before. Paper lanterns are hung on both side of this path leading to the tree, with lit-up huts by each side. There's only one brick house, which is the one I walked out of. And, it is the only one with three-story. "Quite a spectacle, isn't it?" Cliff says, walking to me. "They even have a farm and plantation that's half-size of this kingdom, just on the other side." "Cliff," I call out. "I—" He slaps me, before I could finish my sentence. "You still owe me a slap for shouting my name prior to the maze, remember?" "Yeah, I'm sorry abou—" He then hugs me, squishing me between his arms and his silver armor. "You're lucky you survived this time, John. Promise me one thing: don't do reckless things again." But I cannot promise him that; there are bounds to be times where I need to act and risk my life, before I can formulate a proper plan. And I don't like making empty promises. He squeezes tighter, "John?" "... I... ca...n't." He lets go of me, and he peers into my eyes. He knows well that I can be reckless at times, but he still wouldn't give in yet. He lifts his right pinkie to me. "Then, at least promise me that you will protect yourself and those around you." That, I can promise. I smile at him, before hooking mine to his. He smiles back at me, "I will hold you to your promise, John. Don't ever break it." "Mom, mom, they're holding hands!" two goblin children points and giggles at us, as they walk pass us with their mother. The mother awkwardly smiles at us as she pushes them forwards. [[Next page->next page11.25]]

"Sure, a cup of two won't harm me." "That's the spirit," Javier says, sitting beside me. He pours the wine into two of the cups. He takes one, while I take the other. We then hold the cup to each other and dunk it down in one movement. It tastes extremely sour and bitter. It's likely made of grapes and maybe blackcurrant? This is certainly not my area of expertise. "Wooo... something smells delicious." Cliff says, approaching us after just finishing his dance. He steps behind Javier. "Mind if I try it?" "It's a small bottle, and I only have two cups." "Auughh, what a shame." "Mr. Knight, join us on this table," a few female elves then drag Cliff by his hands to the table beside us. They feed him mango, slices by slices, and pour him tall glasses of booze, with fizzy and creamy puff on top of them. I feel a bit dizzy already, so I stop drinking it. Then, I continue to munch down the foods: roasted fowl meats, minced lamb meats dipped in tomato sauce, beef on a skewer, meatballs with creamy sauce, almond cookies, fried butter breads, and grilled fishes drizzled with lemon-honey sauce. Afterwards, I top it off with a gelatin inside a wooden bowl. Noah and an ogre stare at me in awe. A few gnomes sitting across me look like they are about to puke imagining all those foods inside them. "I only have one daughter, you know," Javier suddenly blurts out. "ONE!" he shows me his index finger, glaring at me. Then he lunges his upper body at me, and wraps his right arm around my shoulder. He burps, just a few inches away from me. His breath smells like rotten grapes. "Promise me one thing, John." Before I could react, he shakes my shoulder. "Promise me!" "Ok. Ok. I promise." But without telling me what the promise is about, his face falls hard onto the table and he's already snoring. He's almost finished the whole bottle. "Hey John." a voice calls me from my back. It's Jane's second brother. I didn't manage to ask him his name. "Hey," I answer. "Is Jane still asleep?" "Yeah," he replies. "And it looks my Pa is, as well. Did you manage to have a proper chat with him?" "I did." He sits himself down on my right, as he grabs the bottle of wine and pour himself one. "This is ma Pa's favorite; Xavier made this for him because he knows my Pa loves grapes. It's a really... //intense// wine, even if we have drank it more times than I can count." He takes a small sip before pausing, as he lightly taps the table with his middle finger. Our conversation falls into deep silence; the golems awkwardly stare at us. "So... umm... I didn't catch your name back there," I say. "Oh, I'm Jacob, the supposed star of this party" he offers to shake my hand. "John." I shake on his. The laughs of the locals, foot-tapping sound of the dances, with the bango drumming background sounds settle into our conversation yet again. The golems still have their eyes fixed on us; sipping their tomato juices. I look at him; he looks like he's trying to piece his thoughts before telling me something. "Do you have anything to say?" I ask, giving out a yawn. He notices it. "It's ok, it's not really important anyway. Get some sleep." The wine is no joke; I can feel my head starts to swirl around itself, which makes it heavy and woozy. Plus, I'm already full. So, with the company of the occasional breeze that rustle the tree's leaves, with bango drum rhythm that repeats itself—I fall asleep on the table. [[Next page->next page11.3]]

"Nah, I prefer to keep myself sober for tomorrow." "That's a shame," Javier says, sitting beside me. He pours the wine into two of the cups, as he shifts his glance to me once more. "Sure you don't want any?" I raise my wooden glass of plain water to him, "I'm fine here." "Woo... something smells delicious." Cliff says, approaching us after just finishing his dance. He steps behind Javier. "Mind if I take one?" "Don't mind if you do," Javier replies. Cliff snatches and gulps down the other cup in an instant. The taste must have been hard and bitter, or sour, seeing how he squints his whole face. "Ugghaaah! Grape. Grapefruit. Great wine." "Mr. Knight, join us on this table," the few female elves then drag him by his hands to the table beside us. They feed him mango, slices by slices, and pour him tall glasses of booze, with fizzy and creamy puff on top of them. I continue to munch down the foods: roasted fowl meats, minced lamb meats dipped in tomato sauce, beef on a skewer, meatballs with creamy sauce, crispy almond cookies, fried butter breads, and grilled fishes drizzled with lemon-honey sauce. Then, I top it off with a gelatin inside a wooden bowl. Noah and an ogre stare at me in awe. A few gnomes sitting across me look like they are about to puke imagining all those foods inside them. "I only have one daughter, you know," Javier suddenly blurts out. "ONE!" he shows me his index finger, glaring at me. Then he lunges his upper body at me, and wraps his right arm around my shoulder. He burps, just a few inches away from me. His breath smells like rotten grapes. "Promise me one thing, John." Before I could react, he shakes my shoulder. "Promise me!" "Ok. Ok. I promise." And before he could tell me what the promise is about, his face falls hard onto the table and he's already snoring. That is one strong wine. "Hey John." a voice calls me from my back. It's Jane's second brother. I didn't manage to ask him his name. "Hey," I answer. "Is Jane still asleep?" "Yeah," he replies. "And it looks my Pa is, as well. Did you manage to have a proper chat with him?" "I kind of... did." He sits himself down on my right, as he grabs the bottle of wine and pour himself one. "This is ma Pa's favorite; Xavier made this for him because he knows my Pa loves grapes. It's a really... //intense// wine, even if we have drank it more times than I can count." He takes a small sip before pausing, as he lightly taps the table with his middle finger. Our conversation falls into deep silence; the golems awkwardly stare at us. "So... umm... I didn't catch your name back there," I say. "Oh, I'm Jacob, the supposed star of this party," he offers to shake my hand. "John." I shake on his. The laughs of the locals, foot-tapping sound of the dances, with the bango drumming background sounds settle into our conversation yet again. The golems still have their eyes fixed on us; sipping their tomato juices. [[Next page->next page11.255]]

I wake up, realizing that half of my face is already immersed in the sun light shining through the side windows. I'm back at that same room. My stomach still bulges at bit, and I almost feel like vomiting. I switch to the other side of the bed just to sleep for a bit more, only to hit my face on a foot. There's a little girl, with faint green spirit light surrounding her, sleeping on my bed, with her position looking like a star. I poke her foot to wake her up, but instead she snuggles up on me. She has tiny twisted horns on her head, black long hair with a hairpin of pink lily ornament, and her skin is pale lime in colour. She's of the class 'Haltia' if I'm not mistaken; they are renowned for their greater-than-Bigfoot's strength in both their arms and legs. They also value foods and sleeps more than anything. But most importantly—//why is she sleeping here?// The door suddenly opens. Then it stops halfway, "Hey John, I'm here to—" Cliff pauses as he exchanges look between me and the sleeping little girl. "Oh." "Cliff, no." "Don't worry John, people do weird things after they get drunk. But this is ummm..." "I was not drunk; I have no idea either why she is here." "Cliff, what's taking you so long? Is John—" Jane's voice cuts into our conversation; she pushes the door fully open as her eyes stop at us. She stands at the doorway. "Oh." "Jane, no." "That girl's name is Lily," Jane says. "She's supposed to wake you up." "Oh," Cliff and I say in unison. Cliff walks in and stands in front of my bed, "Then why is she sleeping here?" Jane still stands beside the door. "They say she's a bit quirky; she doesn't really look people in their eyes. My—Pa says she'd be a great help to our journey. I haven't been to this kingdom before, only my brothers did. So, I think they've interacted with her before. Anyway, we should get going now," she then turns her back on us. "Wait, Jane." I call out. She looks at me, "Do you still feel weak?" "No," I say. "Thank you for saving me." "... You're welcome." she smiles, a bit embarrassed. "Oh, and thank Jacob for me too for carrying you when you were drooling." "You mean that I... " she slams the door behind her without another word. I can hear her tapping her footsteps down the stairs. //CREAK// //CREAK// //CREAK// "I don't know if you're tactless or just dense, John. Either way, I have something to tell you as well; I'll wait for you downstairs." "Ok... just give me a moment." Cliff then leaves the room, leaving Lily and I behind. Lily is still sleeping; I assume when she climbed on my bed, and saw me soundly sleeping, she chose to take a small nap herself. So, I don't want to wake her up yet. I take the wooden shield craft that Cliff made, and hook it in front of the Silver Owl amulet that I'm wearing. I check my inventory; I have the key that Hugo gave me, maybe I'll ask them about it later. And, I still have that blade knife that Cliff gave me. Maybe I should... [[Give the knife back to Cliff]] [[Keep the knife to myself.]]

I decide to give the knife back to Cliff. After I reach downstairs, a bunch of Beastians including an elf-archer, two dwarfs, a gnome, a tough-looking goblin, Jane, Cliff, Javier, and Jacob were already waiting, circling a round marble table with a map on top of it. They are all waiting for me; so, I fit myself into the one spot that they leave empty. I then hand the knife to Cliff. He says he doesn't really need it; but, I insist. So, since others are impatiently staring at us, he reluctantly takes it back. Javier clears his throat, "Alright, here's some more information: if you didn't know, the Outcasts' continent is pretty much a barren land with nothing but desert. This is why kingdom of Deminia is located on an island in the middle of the Northern sea that separates continent of Humania and Beastia. A public execution of the hostages will be held in next 4 days there." "4 days? Why wait?" I ask. "Because the rest of The Minority wasn't amongst the captives. They wanted to round them all up, giving them chance to retaliate, showing off their own ability." "So, how many days to get there?" I trace our location on the map and compare it with Deminia, exploring this continent is something I hadn't have the chance to try, "because this doesn't look like a short trip." "About 2 to 3 days given the nature of Beastia continent, but it would take double the time to reach kingdom of Astra here," Javier slides his hand to the upper corner of Humania continent." "Wait, kingdom of Astra?" I ask. "Your friend, Cliff wants to go back to check on his family and seek aid from his master that taught him defensive arts—her name is Maple—to suppress the influence of The Dark Dwellers on Humania continent. If the intel is correct, there are at least 3 of The Magnificent Seven roaming around there, eliminating villages by villages, demolishing kingdom by kingdom. As of this morning, they started war against kingdom of Zestia, home of strongest knights of Humania." "Wait, wait, wait." Cliff cuts in. "If The Four Cardinal Sages are involved with this, then couldn't they have just flexed their power and win the war?" "They could not," Javier says. "Their ability to manifest spells have only accumulated to about half of their capacity in 300 years ago. Don't get me wrong: they are still on another level compared to the strongest wizard inside The Dark Dwellers, but now they chose to reserve their energy and let these minions or believers do their dirty job. It's effective—if they can maintain their supreme, that is." "How many trinkets do we have?" I ask. "Two," Jacob says. "But we're keeping one for emergencies." I glance at Cliff; he cares a lot about others than I think, especially his family and the fate of his kingdom that he often complains about. Since we can travel to Deminia in time then I think the other trinket should be for, "Take the other trinket, Cliff." "What? Deminia is more urgent, John. If they are wiped out, then there's no chance for us to retaliate in future." Cliff continues, "Plus, I don't think Astra will fall down that easy." He gives me a proud smile, "Don't worry, John. Vincent and I, we had planned to meet at Astra as a rendezvous point before we got separatesd. They should have reached there by now. I've also been bonding with this dwarf, Ash, since the day we arrived here; he's quite observant despite looking a bit timid. And he'll definitely be able to help us." Cliff pats Ash's head. "Master Cliff, are you sure you want me to tag along?" Ash asks, looking up at him. "Yes," Cliff affirms. "It'll be fine. Humans don't eat dwarves—//yet//." "Ok..." Ash chuckles nervously. It's true what Cliff says about Astra but, "No. It doesn't make sense for you to take the longer route. We, on the other hand, will be able to get there in time. Period." "John—" "That's a period, Cliff." He pouts, "Fine. Then I'll be leaving with Ash." I shift my glance back to Javier, "Then, who's with me?" [[Next page->next page11.4]]

I decide to keep the blade knife to myself. If Cliff needs it, I could always give it back; it's better safe than sorry. After I reach downstairs, a bunch of Beastian, Jane, Cliff, Javier, and Jacob were already waiting, circling a round marble table with a map on top of it. They are all waiting for me; so, I fit myself into the one spot that they leave empty. Javier clears his throat, "Alright, here's some more information: if you didn't already know, the Outcasts' continent is pretty much a barren land with nothing but desert. This is why kingdom of Deminia is located on an island in the middle of the Northern sea that separates continent of Humania and Beastia. A public execution of the hostages will be held in next 4 days there." "4 days? Why wait?" I ask. "We think it's because the rest of The Minority wasn't amongst the captives. They wanted to round them all up, giving them chance to retaliate, showing off their own ability." "So, how many days to get there?" I trace our location on the map and compare it with Deminia, exploring this continent is something I hadn't have the chance to try, "because this doesn't look like a short trip." "About 2 to 3 days given the nature of Beastia continent, but it would take double the time to reach kingdom of Astra here," Javier slides his hand to the upper corner of Humania continent." "Wait, kingdom of Astra?" I ask. "Your friend, Cliff wants to go back to check on his family and seek aid from his master that taught him defensive arts—her name is Maple—to suppress the influence of The Dark Dwellers on Humania continent. If the intel is correct, there are at least 3 of The Magnificent Seven roaming around there, eliminating villages by villages, demolishing kingdom by kingdom. As of this morning, they started war against kingdom of Zestia, home of strongest knights of Humania." "Wait, wait, wait." Cliff cuts in. "If The Four Cardinal Sages are involved with this, then couldn't they have just flexed their power and win the war?" "They could not," Javier says. "Their ability to manifest spells have only accumulated to about half of their capacity in 300 years ago. Don't get me wrong: they are still on another level compared to the strongest wizard inside The Dark Dwellers, but now they chose to reserve their energy and let these minions or believers do their dirty job. It's effective—if they can maintain their supreme, that is." "How many trinkets do we have?" I ask. "Two," Jacob says. "But we're keeping one for emergencies." I glance at Cliff; he cares a lot about others than I think, especially his family and the fate of his kingdom that he often complains about. Since we can travel to Deminia in time then I think the other trinket should be for, "Take the other trinket, Cliff." "What? Deminia is more urgent, John. If they are wiped out, then there's no chance for us to retaliate in future." Cliff continues, "Plus, I don't think Astra will fall down that easy." He gives me a proud smile, "Don't worry, John. Vincent and I, we had planned to meet at Astra as a rendezvous point before we got separatesd. They should have reached there by now. I've also been bonding with this dwarf, Ash, since the day we arrived here; he's quite observant despite looking a bit timid. And he'll definitely be able to help us." Cliff pats Ash's head. "Master Cliff, are you sure you want me to tag along?" Ash asks, looking up at him. "Yes," Cliff affirms. "It'll be fine. Humans don't eat dwarves—//yet//." "Ok..." Ash chuckles nervously. It's true what Cliff says about Astra but, "No. It doesn't make sense for you to take the longer route. We, on the other hand, will be able to get there in time. Period." "John—" "That's a period, Cliff." He pouts, "Fine. Then I'll be leaving with Ash." I shift my glance back to Javier, "Then, who's with me?" (set: $knife to "yes") [[Next page->next page11.4]]

She becomes flustered, as she turns her head down, standing motionless with her hands frozen on the table. There's a brief silence in the room; Cliff looks at me and shakes his head. Maybe I shouldn't point that out. "Umm..." I say, trying to get some response from Jane. "She's just used to it," Jacob says, patting both his hands on Jane's shoulder. Then he drags Jane up the stairs, "We'll go wake Lily up." "My daughter's cute, isn't it?" Javier whispers to my right ear after they are gone. I flinch, and cough because of his rotten breath. He then retracts away from me, "She used to have difficulty in pronouncing //Papa// so instead she calls me by that name. None of her brothers corrected her, and I'm fine with that; so that's why the name just stuck to her. Also, Jay is her smaller brother. He's clumsy and honest to a fault, which sometimes would stir some unnecessary trouble; so Jane's especially protective of him. Javier then slams the table, before glaring at everyone around the table. "Now, you lots. Get going, go do your job. Stop standing here, shoo, go go!" The Beastia members leave the house first, with Noah walking in to join us. Javier hands one of the teleportation trinkets to Cliff, and an apple-shaped crystal to Ash. "Upon reaching Astra, send a message to us with this apple. Jane also has one. With these, we'll coordinate you guys' movement in both kingdoms." "If you want to say anything else, now's the chance," Javier says. I just look at Cliff, with a smile. "You're their Silver Protector now." "I will do my best," he pats my shoulder. "And... I'll be yours again when we meet next time." "Don't die," I say. "Likewise. Take care of—wait, wrong person." Jane approaches us from the stairs at this moment; she holds out a fist to Cliff while peering into his eyes. Cliff instinctively taps it with his fist, and whispers something into Jane's ears. Jane becomes a bit embarrased and says, "Just get going already!" Cliff gives us a playful smile, then he salutes at us. And with Ash, their body disintegrate into particles, leaving nothing behind where they stood but dust. Before long, we also take our leave and prepare our journey to the offshore. Javier stops me and pulls me to the side before we leave. "John," he pauses before looking straight at me, "If Deminia falls, then we are doomed. They are the only ones with magical energy suffice to fight back the Dark Dwellers. You need to get on their side no matter what." I didn't realise Javier cares much more than he showed, "I understand." He pats my shoulder, "Good. Then I'll leave it to you and Jane. Best of luck." Jacob and Javier then give Jane a hug and they exchange a few words with each other before we leave; with them waving goodbyes at us—along with the elf-archers and two trolls at the entrance—I take over the horse carriage under Noah's guide, we set off to see what this side of the world has become. The sky is painted gray with large cumulonimbus clouds, it feels a bit cold and windy—looks like there will be a storm ahead of our journey. An inevitable one, that will wash away our peaceful days. [[Next chapter->Chapter 12 start]]

"Fine. I'll go get Lily first." Jane says. After Jane goes upstairs, Javier whispers to my ear, "Quite protective, isn't she?" I flinch, and cough because of his rotten breath. He then retracts away from me, "Jay's her smaller brother, and she's always paid more attention on him, treating him like an apprentice. It's mainly because he's clumsy and honest to a fault, which sometimes would stir some unnecessary trouble." Javier then slams the table, before glaring at everyone around the table. "Now, you lots. Why are you still standing here? Get going, go do your job. Shoo, go go!" The Beastia members leave the house first, with Noah walking in to join us. Javier hands one of the teleportation trinkets to Cliff, and an apple-shaped crystal to Ash. "Upon reaching Astra, send a message to us with this apple. Jane also has one. With these, we'll coordinate you guys' movement in both kingdoms." "If you want to say anything else, now's the chance," Javier says. I just look at Cliff, with a smile. "You're their Silver Protector now." "I will do my best," he pats my shoulder. "And... I'll be yours again when we meet next time." "Don't die," I say. "Likewise. Take care of—wait, wrong person." Jane approaches us from the stairs at this moment; she holds out a fist to Cliff while peering into his eyes. Cliff instinctively taps it with his fist, and whispers something into Jane's ears. Jane becomes a bit embarrased and says, "Just get going already!" Cliff gives us a playful smile, then he salutes at us. And with Ash, their body disintegrate into particles, leaving nothing behind where they stood but dust. Before long, we also take our leave and prepare our journey to the offshore. Javier stops me and pulls me to the side before we leave. "John," he pauses before looking straight at me, "If Deminia falls, then we are doomed. They are the only ones with magical energy suffice to fight back the Dark Dwellers. You need to get on their side no matter what." I didn't realise Javier cares much more than he showed, "I understand." He pats my shoulder, "Good. Then I'll leave it to you and Jane. Best of luck." Jacob and Javier then give Jane a hug and they exchange a few words with each other before we leave; with them waving goodbyes at us—along with the elf-archers and two trolls at the entrance—I take over the horse carriage under Noah's guide, we set off to see what this side of the world has become. The sky is painted gray with large cumulonimbus clouds, it feels a bit cold and windy—looks like there will be a storm ahead of our journey. An inevitable one, that will wash away our peaceful days. [[Next chapter->Chapter 12 start]]

"I will," Jane offers, before going upstairs. "Then, we find Jay." Javier then whispers to my ear, "Quite protective, isn't she?" I flinch, and cough because of his rotten breath. He then retracts away from me, "Jay's her smaller brother, and she's always paid more attention on him, treating him like an apprentice. It's mainly because he's clumsy and honest to a fault, which sometimes would stir some unnecessary trouble." Javier then slams the table, before glaring at everyone around the table. "Now, you lots. Why are you still standing here? Get going, go do your job. Shoo, go go!" The Beastia members leave the house first, with Noah walking in to join us. Javier hands one of the teleportation trinkets to Cliff, and an apple-shaped crystal to Ash. "Upon reaching Astra, send a message to us with this apple. Jane also has one. With these, we'll coordinate you guys' movement in both kingdoms." "If you want to say anything else, now's the chance," Javier says. I just look at Cliff, with a smile. "You're their Silver Protector now." "I will do my best," he pats my shoulder. "And... I'll be yours again when we meet next time." "Don't die," I say. "Likewise. Take care of—wait, wrong person." Jane approaches us from the stairs at this moment; she holds out a fist to Cliff while peering into his eyes. Cliff instinctively taps it with his fist, and whispers something into Jane's ears. Jane becomes a bit embarrased and says, "Just get going already!" Cliff gives us a playful smile, then he salutes at us. And with Ash, their body disintegrate into particles, leaving nothing behind where they stood but dust. Before long, we also take our leave and prepare our journey to the offshore. Javier stops me and pulls me to the side before we leave. "John," he pauses before looking straight at me, "If Deminia falls, then we are doomed. They are the only ones with magical energy suffice to fight back the Dark Dwellers. You need to get on their side no matter what." I didn't realise Javier cares much more than he showed, "I understand." He pats my shoulder, "Good. Then I'll leave it to you and Jane. Best of luck." Jacob and Javier then give Jane a hug and they exchange a few words with each other before we leave; with them waving goodbyes at us—along with the elf-archers and two trolls at the entrance—I take over the horse carriage under Noah's guide, we set off to see what this side of the world has become. The sky is painted gray with large cumulonimbus clouds, it feels a bit cold and windy—looks like there will be a storm ahead of our journey. An inevitable one, that will wash away our peaceful days. [[Next chapter->Chapter 12 start]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 12**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"Fifth Times The Odds, Sixth Times The Charm"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 12 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c2ach to 0)] (set: $c12checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 12") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Chapter 12]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

"Lily is hungry," Lily says, an hour after we trample on our journey. Receiving no response from me, she tugs my shirt, "Lily becomes angry when she's hungry; you won't like angry Lily." Ok... she addresses herself as a third person for some reason. I turn to look at her; she is looking down at the base of the carriage, averting her eyes from me. Now that she stands in front of me, I only notice she has a burnt mark on her right arm, was it etched by a fire? "We have some breads," Jane says. "No, Lily wants meat," she sniffs my shirt. "You smell delicious." I chuckle nervously; I'm in danger. Haltians are also infamous for their carnivorous tendencies, be it feasting on their foes or allies. It's likely because of their intense appetite that they are able to nurture their godly strength. So, I need to appease her. Wait, I think I have something in my pocket. She pokes my right arm repeatedly; I think she's judging the texture of it. "Can Lily bite your arm?" "Lily, wait," Jane says. I search my pocket and to my surprise, there's a fowl's meat sticking inside it. Did I stuff a meat inside yesterday? Wow. I must have been terribly hungry. I take the meat out and give it to her; it should last her for thirty minutes or something. She takes it from me and begins cleaning the meat down to the bone. I now begin to think if she was trying to eat me when she crawled onto my bed. "More meats," she says. "Now!" [[Next page->next page12.1]]

(if: (history:) contains "next page11.255")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Little Jane"//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c1ach to $c1ach +1) ]"Our Ma passed away after giving birth to Jane." Jacob suddenly says, breaking the awkward silence between us. "Jane's a kind girl and most of the times, she knows what she's doing and how to get things done. But often, she would act solely based on her instinct. That's why my Pa wanted us to look after her, keeping her away from danger, hoping that she would have a happy and carefree childhood—it's a simple request. Our hair colour is labelled as //a curse// by other casters already, she doesn't need to be burdened with those remarks if she leans on us." "She did," Jacob takes another sip. "But after an incident, it wasn't the same anymore. She would only share her happiness with us; not her anger, not her frustration. Only when she mastered certain spells, or blended new potions. Even when she's feeling down, she's always smiling, and that worried us but we couldn't show it to her too. Jay—her little brother—and I always know that deep inside her, she's still harboring some guilts over the loss of our big brother. She just doesn't show it; she doesn't want to remind us of it." Jacob gulps down the rest of the wine, as he pats his right leg. "She made this when she was 12; it was a gift for my birthday, and she has changed the design over the years. 9 times. She wears that comforting and bright smile since she was 10—until she returns from The Other World. For the first time ever, she has emotions on her that we'd never know existed; she looks worried, and after saving you, she looks relieved. She somehow has melted a part of her strong side. Willingly." He then pours the rest of the wine into his small cup, and raises it to me. "She changed, John. It's like all her pent-up emotions have been released, and she has come to accept certain regrets that eat away at her. Maybe this isn't that obvious to you, but I'm grateful for this; it's the best birthday gift a brother could ever ask for. Thank you, and I have a favour to ask of you." I lift my glass of water up to his cup. "Take care of her?" "No," he smiles at me. "You know full well that she could take care of herself." I chuckle. "Right, she was the one protecting me the whole time." "Exactly. But I want you to hug her when she feels scared. If, she feels scared. You're the only one I can request this from. And my Pa would have wanted the same thing." "I will." Then, he //clinks// his wooden cup to my glass. I'm already full, and with the company of the occasional breeze that rustle the tree's leaves, with bango drum rhythm that repeats itself—I fall asleep on the table. [[Next page->next page11.3]]

(if: (history:) contains "Let her eat the goblin.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Cannibalism?"//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c2ach to $c2ach +1) ]"Are you sure you want to eat this?" "Lily wants meat," she says. So, I put the body down for her to eat. She munches through it, with both her hands digging and tearing the goblin body apart; it's a gruesome sight that I have to look away. I check my surrounding: the houses are still intact, no trace of being burnt or anything. Maybe we can take shelter inside one of those. Suddenly, Lily tugs my shirt with her bloody red hands; her face has turned pale white. I look at the body of the goblin that's been torn open. The organs inside the goblin are dark red in colour, with strange green veins circling them. It's poisoned; the blade that slit this goblin's throat is poisoned. Then, Lily must have eaten the contaminated meats. She starts to vomit, puking out the remaining fleshes inside her mouth. I approach her and ask her if she's ok. She shakes her head. "Lily is... hungry. Lily is... angry!" I call Noah to come but before I got the chance to open my mouth, Lily swings her arm towards my head. I hear a loud cracking sound on my spine, as I lose my consciousness almost immediately. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->next page12.1]]

"Wait a moment, ok? I'll cook something for you." She only nods slightly with her eyes feeding on the goblin's body. I check the state of the village again: all the straw-bale houses are still intact, none of it shows any burnt traces; the doors are all opened, with warm light still glowing inside. So, it wasn't a surprise attack. Rather, the villagers must have been lured out, maybe attracted by something to the same place before this massacre took place. I choose a house that's three houses away from the bodies to enter. The lights that I saw originate from the small fireplaces that are still ignited, kindled with rolls of birch woods—they look similar to the trees surrounding this village. They seemed to be burning for at least a day. There are some smoked boar meats hanging inside this house, and dry clothes. I then walk back to see Lily whose eyes are still hanging onto the goblin body. I lightly tap her shoulder while kneeling down behind her, "Lily, can you close the door of every house in this village? Then, I'll give you something to eat." She pouts as she turns to me and looks at the ground. "Ok," then she runs to the houses. I rest the goblin's body under the birch tree nearest to the house that I chose. Then I return to that house, hang my clothes, wear a new one and prepare sandwiches using breads and the meats. The house is only about 8 feet tall, so Noah chooses to stay outside and guard the area. Jane helps Lily to change her clothes as Lily quietly bites the sandwich bit by bit, and Jane herself just sits near the fireplace to dry hers since they aren't really that wet. I take the key out from my wet pocket and put it into my current one; then I ask Jane about the key. She said that Hugo only mentioned kingdom of Deminia to her, without any specifics. So I'll only know when I get there. Jane begins to doze off, hugging Lily on her arms, who is still having her third sandwich. The burnt marks on her arm looked old, yet vivid, which likely was not caused by accident. "Lily," I call out. "Your arm... what happened to it?" Lily takes a glimpse at me, before continue munching on her sandwich, "Lily's mother says Lily eats too much, says Lily is a bad girl." Lily pauses and with meat juice dripping from the edge of her mouth, she looks at me. "Does Lily eat too much?" [["Yes."]] [["No, of course not."]]

He shows me a "three" sign with his stone fingers. Three hours. He must have travelled a lot in Beastia continent to know this figure. But, he's always alone; I have not seen any other golems besides him before we were transported back here. "Do you know if your family is safe, Noah?" "... Yes." "Are they all still inside this continent?" "..." Maybe I should phrase it in other way. "Is any of them still inside this continent?" "Yes." "How many?" He shows "two". I've not seen any golems as well inside Oasis Zero, but I didn't really explore the other side of it, so his family might be sheltering there. "How many in total?" I ask. He shows me his stone palm. Five. That's quite a number; maybe golems aren't as rare as I thought. But he then switches his palm to his index finger, and he pokes at my heart. I shoot him a questioned look. He swipes his hand a bit to the right, pointing at Jane's direction. Then, he shows me "two". Two? Two inside this continent. Oh... he recognizes Jane and I as his family even though we didn't.... But, five in total. Then tree more are likely in Humania: Cliff, Vincent and Valentina. "What about your real golem family?" He replies me with a "no". So, he's either an orphan raised by hunters, or he's lost his family at young age. Golems' life expectancy is longer than human; based on two rounded-edges on his chest stones, he's likely lived more than 20 years in solitude, without his real family. And, he couldn't even complain about it. I couldn't help but to gently pat his shoulder; he glances at me for a brief moment before patting my head with his stone hand. His hand is hard and cold, but somehow I feel a tingling warm sensation lingers inside me. With the sound of raindrops hitting on the straw roof the houses, occasional flashes and thundering, along with the earthly smell of the ground that covers the burnt stench, I fall asleep as well. [[Next page->next page12]]

"... Yes." "Are they all still inside this continent?" "..." Maybe I should phrase it in other way. "Is any of them still inside this continent?" "Yes." "How many?" He shows "two". I've not seen any golems as well inside Oasis Zero, but I didn't really explore the other side of it, so his family might be sheltering there. "How many in total?" I ask. He shows me his stone palm. Five. That's quite a number; maybe golems aren't as rare as I thought. But he then switches his palm to his index finger, and he pokes at my heart. I shoot him a questioned look. He swipes his hand a bit to the right, pointing at Jane's direction. Then, he shows me "two". Two? Two inside this continent. Oh... he recognizes Jane and I as his family even though we didn't.... But, five in total. Then three more... are likely in Humania: Cliff, Vincent and Valentina. "What about your real golem family?" He replies me with a "no". So, he's either an orphan raised by hunters, or he's lost his family at young age. Golems' life expectancy is longer than human; based on two rounded-edges on his chest stones, he's likely lived more than 20 years in solitude, without his real family. And, he couldn't even complain about it. I couldn't help but to gently pat his shoulder; he glances at me for a brief moment before patting my head with his stone hand. His hand is hard and cold, but somehow I feel a tingling warm sensation lingers inside me. With the sound of raindrops hitting on the straw roof the houses, occasional flashes and thundering, along with the earthly smell of the ground that covers the burnt stench, I fall asleep as well. [[Next page->next page12]]

"... No." "Ok then... do you know how long until we reach there?" He shows me a "three" sign with his stone fingers. Three hours. He must have travelled a lot in Beastia continent to know this figure. But, he's always alone; I have not seen any other golems besides him before we were transported back here. "Do you know if your family is safe, Noah?" "... Yes." "Are they all still inside this continent?" "..." Maybe I should phrase it in other way. "Is any of them still inside this continent?" "Yes." "How many?" He shows "two". I've not seen any golems as well inside Oasis Zero, but I didn't really explore the other side of it, so his family might be sheltering there. "How many in total?" I ask. He shows me his stone palm. Five. That's quite a number; maybe golems aren't as rare as I thought. But he then switches his palm to his index finger, and he pokes at my heart. I shoot him a questioned look. He swipes his hand a bit to the right, pointing at Jane's direction. Then, he shows me "two". Two? Two inside this continent. Oh... he recognizes Jane and I as his family even though we didn't.... But, five in total. Then tree more are likely in Humania: Cliff, Vincent and Valentina. "What about your real golem family?" He replies me with a "no". So, he's either an orphan raised by hunters, or he's lost his family at young age. Golems' life expectancy is longer than human; based on two rounded-edges on his chest stones, he's likely lived more than 20 years in solitude, without his real family. And, he couldn't even complain about it. I couldn't help but to gently pat his shoulder; he glances at me for a brief moment before patting my head with his stone hand. His hand is hard and cold, but somehow I feel a tingling warm sensation lingers inside me. With the sound of raindrops hitting on the straw roof the houses, occasional flashes and thundering, along with the earthly smell of the ground that covers the burnt stench, I fall asleep as well. [[Next page->next page12]]

I wake up on a wooden bed; it's small and cramped. I can feel something heavy sitting on my stomach. I open my eyes and see Jane on top of me. She's folded her legs on each side of my waist and is peering into my eyes like she is about to make a move. "Jane, what are you—" She covers my mouth with her left hand, and make a //hush// signal with her right hand. I follow her eyes to the half-open window of this house. The rain has let down but Lily and Noah are nowhere to be seen, and a few shadows are lurking outside. There are also some fireflies flying at a slow pace outside, glinting red. There's more. I can hear some odd buzzing, chirping noises inside this house. I tilt my head a bit to my left, only to see cockroaches roaming on the floors. A dozen of them, scurrying their little legs, seemingly searching for things to detect. "The horses out there... they are here, find them." a distant voice slips through the window, and into our ears. A dozen more cockroaches then sweep their ways in through the door gap. They are now filling into the four empty walls of this house. The bed I'm sleeping on is just an inch away from the walls, and Jane's head almost hit the ceiling. She lowers her body and presses it on my chest, with her hands in between. I can hear the sound of her heart throbbing as she tries to restrict herself from moving. Our face is only a few inches away from each other; I feel a sudden heat flooding into my body. Her face is red, and she turns it away from me. The bed is too small for two; my arms are dangling down from it, almost touching the ground. I wrap them around Jane; she flinches her body a bit when my hands touch her. "Why are you hugging me?" she whispers. "Hands, ground." I say, barely able to form a sentence—her weight is taking a toll on me. "Noah, Lily?" I ask. "They went out to grab some food a few moments ago. Someone triggered my trap when they were away, so I hide in here to observe." I take a deep breath, "Number?" "Three. One of them wears a large red beetle shell on his head." "Come on out, whoever you are! We mean no harm." the same voice says. "Traps. Activate." I say. "No," she whispers. "They were already set up, so I can't activate them here." "Tell you what—I'll take the first step back!" the voice shouts, and all the cockroaches retreats back outside. "Now, your turn." [[Go outside, and come clean.]] [[Remain still and silent.]] [[Try to silently escape.]]

(if: (history:) contains "Go outside, and come clean.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Honesty is indeed the best policy!"//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c2ach to $c2ach +1) ]"Off," I say. "Are you going outside?" "Yes." Jane then lifts her body away from me, the redness in her face still hasn't subdued yet. I stretch my body and look at her, with a low voice, I ask, "Can you form multiple cages simultaneously?" "I can try," she says. "Within few seconds." "Ok... leave this house after me, and cage them on my signal. I will be shouting //meat//." She nods at me. Then, I head outside, taking a torch that I made from a branch and the fire from the fireplace. I walk towards a group of three, with the man Jane was talking about standing at the center. He does have a red beetle shell on his head, also painted with black dots. Two of his hooded servants kneel beside him, with their face down. This beetle guy doesn't look right: his face is as pale as snow, his mouth looks barely attached to his jaw, and his head is a tilted to his right. "Hello," he says, moving his slanted mouth. "I'm friendly. Who are you, why did you trap us?" "Hey," I answer. "I'm just passing by, I don't know anything about traps. Were you three happened to be the ones that murdered this entire village?" The two hooded figure reflexively raise their heads a bit: they are alerted. But the beetle guy is just standing there, with no reaction to my words whatsoever. "Liar," he blurts out. "You have a friend. A lady friend, with you. We sensed her. And, we were not the ones who harmed them." We? Do they share the same ability? Maybe. Is it through manipulating insects? Very likely. Since the cockroaches cannot detect us, then it must be the red fireflies. Are they the one who did the massacre? Can't tell. But they are very dangerous, I should be aware of something that might bite or sting—"Ow!" I slap the back of my neck, and check my hand. I exploded an ant. My right arm twitches by itself in the next second. "What have you done?" I ask. The beetle guy is still motionless. "Need intel. Who are you? Why are you here?" "My name is John; I'm an adventurer; I'm trying to cross the sea back to Humania." "Cross the sea, why?" "To Deminia." "...Why?" "To end this war." He pauses for a moment before blinking his eyes in a slow manner, like he's storing and processing things into his brain. "Thank you," he says without any visible emotions. I instantly feel another sting on my right leg, then hundreds of ants make their way from my feet to my head, and into my mouth. I choke on them, before their venom react inside me. It all happened within seconds, and the last thing I can hear is Jane shouting my name. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->next page12]]

I choose to remain still. Jane whispers to me, "Not going out?" "Dangerous. Fireflies." I reply. She then looks at the red fireflies fluttering outside the windows. "They don't seem venomous," she says. "Still. Unknown. Ability." "That's it, I've had enough! Burn them all down!" the shouts elevate. The fireflies then attach themselves to the houses, including ours, before igniting themselves and bursting into flames. We have no choice but to run outside, to which we see three of them waiting nearby. (if: $knife is "yes")[I did manage to take the blade knife and hide it behind my clothes.](else:)[] The guy with red beetle shell on his head stares at us after we made our way outside; two hooded servants are kneeling beside him, with their face looking down. This beetle guy doesn't look right: his face is as pale as snow, his mouth looks barely attached to his jaw, and his head is tilted to his right. He lifts both his hands up, "Get them." The rest of the fireflies then dash towards us and separate us before circling around our body in swarms. Jane is only standing a few feet beside me, but she can't even lift one finger. The fireflies are too close to us; they are practically sticking on us. "Hello," the beetle guy says, moving his slanted mouth as he approaches us with his servants. "I'm friendly. Who are you two, why did you two trap us?" Such offensive action just to draw information from us; if we say the truth straight away, then it might not end well for us. "I am a demi-human," I say. "The three of you are surrounded by us. We have the strength of one thousand army. Cease your futile attack at once." The two hooded figure reflexively raise their heads a bit: they are alerted. But the beetle guy is just standing there, with no reaction to my words whatsoever. "Liar," he blurts out. "We sensed no presence of others in this area." We? Do they share the same ability? Maybe. Is it through manipulating insects? Very likely. Since the cockroaches cannot detect us, then it must be the red fireflies. Are they the one who did the massacre? Can't tell. But they are very dangerous, I should be aware of something that might bite or sting—"Ow!" I slap the back of my neck, and check my hand. I exploded an ant. My right arm twitches by itself in the next second. "They have concealed their presence." I say, maintaining my composure. I cannot be frightened now. "Noah!" I shout. After a few seconds, an unrooted birch tree is thrown to them from inside of the jungle. The two hooded servants evaded it, but the tree slams right into the beetle guy, propelling his body away—it was torn apart at the moment of impact. Something isn't right; the fireflies are still fluttering around us. Jane notices this as well, and is looking at both the hooded servants that have regained their footing. The beetle guy... he is merely a decoy—these two are the real manipulators. But, what are they doing here? To check on the goblins? Not likely. To record something? Maybe. There's only one way to find out. [["Who are the two of you?"]] [["State your purposes."]] [["Speak up, or you two die next!"]]

"Off," I say. "Are you going outside?" "Yes." Jane then lifts her body away from me, the redness in her face still hasn't subdued yet. I stretch my body and look at her, with a low voice, I say, "We are dashing out on the count of three, run into the jungle, meet at the carriage." She nods at me. I lift my fingers up and start to countdown, as we approach the door. **5** **4** **3** **2** "That's it, I've had enough! Burn them all down!" the shouts elevate. The fireflies then attach themselves to the houses, including ours, before igniting themselves and bursting into flames. We have no choice but to immediately run outside, to which we see three of them waiting nearby. (if: $knife is "yes")[I did manage to take the blade knife and hide it behind my clothes.](else:)[] The guy with red beetle shell on his head stares at us after we made our way outside; two hooded servants are kneeling beside him, with their face looking down. This beetle guy doesn't look right: his face is as pale as snow, his mouth looks barely attached to his jaw, and his head is tilted to his right. He lifts both his hands up, "Get them." The rest of the fireflies then dash towards us and separate us before circling around our body in swarms. Jane is only standing a few feet beside me, but she can't even lift one finger. The fireflies are too close to us; they are practically sticking on us. "Hello," the beetle guy says, moving his slanted mouth as he approaches us with his servants. "I'm friendly. Who are you two, why did you two trap us?" Such offensive action just to draw information from us; if we say the truth straight away, then it might not end well for us. "I am a demi-human," I say. "The three of you are surrounded by us. We have the strength of one thousand army. Cease your futile attack at once." The two hooded figure reflexively raise their heads a bit: they are alerted. But the beetle guy is just standing there, with no reaction to my words whatsoever. "Liar," he blurts out. "We sensed no presence of others in this area." We? Do they share the same ability? Maybe. Is it through manipulating insects? Very likely. Since the cockroaches cannot detect us, then it must be the red fireflies. Are they the one who did the massacre? Can't tell. But they are very dangerous, I should be aware of something that might bite or sting—"Ow!" I slap the back of my neck, and check my hand. I exploded an ant. My right arm twitches by itself in the next second. "They have concealed their presence." I say, maintaining my composure. I cannot be frightened now. "Noah!" I shout. After a few seconds, an unrooted birch tree is thrown to them from inside of the jungle. The two hooded servants evaded it, but the tree slams right into the beetle guy, propelling his body away—it was torn apart at the moment of impact. Something isn't right; the fireflies are still fluttering around us. Jane notices this as well, and is looking at both the hooded servants that have regained their footing. The beetle guy... he is merely a decoy—these two are the real manipulators. But, what are they doing here? To check on the goblins? Not likely. To record something? Maybe. There's only one way to find out. [["Who are the two of you?"]] [["State your purposes."]] [["Speak up, or you two die next!"]]

They lift their hoods up. There's a "5" and "6" etched on their forehead respectively. They stick out their tongue as they glance at us. The one standing on the left has half his left side of the face rotten to a sickening degree; it's almost as if worms are growing out of it. The one on the right has the same face feature, but on the opposite side. Both of them are holding a same dark brown book on their hands; they have only one arm each, that is. They look like... humans. No, something is pinned on their tongue. Something small, shiny. Ring? Ring. They are mages, but is it possible to activate spells through tongues? "Who are you two?" I repeat my question. "You first," they both say in unison as they shift their eyes to me. "John," I say. "Jane," Jane then adds. The pages inside the books that they are holding gives out a dim yellow light. "Number Five," the man on the left says. "Number Six," the man on the right says. Such peculiar names. Are they themselves being manipulated as well? The numbers on their foreheads, 5 and 6? Could they be with the—"Are you guys with The Magnifi—" "Why are you here?" they ask, in unison. "Why do you care?" Jane asks them back. "It is our duty to oversee and record," they reply. "As such, you will answer us truthfully until we no longer need you." Number Six closes his mouth; two fireflies then stick and explode on Jane's knees. The fireflies around her scatter for a moment before grouping back. Jane attempts to hold the spurting blood in; she doesn't heal herself, likely trying to not alert them. But without uttering another word, she looks at me; I look at them. We'll die either way in this situation. We cannot act faster than them with these fireflies surrounding us; I need to create a window of opportunity. "We are already late," the duo says. "We will not repeat again: why are you here?" [["Sightseeing."]] [["To infiltrate Deminia."]] [["Noah! Again!"]]

They lift their hoods up. There's a "5" and "6" etched on their forehead respectively. They stick out their tongue as they glance at us. The one standing on the left has half his left side of the face rotten to a sickening degree; it's almost as if worms are growing out of it. The one on the right has the same face feature, but on the opposite side. Both of them are holding a same dark brown book on their hands; they have only one arm each, that is. They look like... humans. No, something is pinned on their tongue. Something small, shiny. Ring? Ring. They are mages, but is it possible to activate spells through tongues? "State your purposes." I repeat after myself. "State your names," they both say in unison as they shift their eyes to me. "John," I say. "Jane," Jane then adds. The pages inside the books that they are holding gives out a dim yellow light. "Number Five," the man on the left says. "Number Six," the man on the right says. Such peculiar names. Are they themselves being manipulated as well? The numbers on their foreheads, 5 and 6? Could they be with the—"Are you guys with The Magnifi—" "State your purposes." they say, in unison, copying my words. "You two first." Jane answers them. "It is our duty to oversee and record," they reply. "As such, you will answer us truthfully until we no longer need you." Number Six closes his mouth; two fireflies then stick and explode on Jane's knees. The fireflies around her scatter for a moment before grouping back. Jane attempts to hold the spurting blood in; she doesn't heal herself, likely trying to not alert them. But without uttering another word, she looks at me; I look at them. We'll die either way in this situation. We cannot act faster than them with these fireflies surrounding us; I need to create a window of opportunity. "We are already late," the duo says. "We will not repeat again: why are you here?" [["Sightseeing."]] [["To infiltrate Deminia."]] [["Noah! Again!"]]

They lift their hoods up. There's a "5" and "6" etched on their forehead respectively. They stick out their tongue as they glance at us. The one standing on the left has half his left side of the face rotten to a sickening degree; it's almost as if worms are growing out of it. The one on the right has the same face feature, but on the opposite side. Both of them are holding a same dark brown book on their hands; they have only one arm each, that is. They look like... humans. No, something is pinned on their tongue. Something small, shiny. Ring? Ring. They are mages, but is it possible to activate spells through tongues? "You first," they both say in unison as they shift their eyes to me. "My name is John," I say. "Jane," Jane then adds. The pages inside the books that they are holding gives out a dim yellow light. "Number Five," the man on the left says. "Number Six," the man on the right says. Such peculiar names. Are they themselves being manipulated as well? The numbers on their foreheads, 5 and 6? Could they be with the—"Are you guys with The Magnifi—" "Why are you here?" they ask, in unison. "Why do you care?" Jane asks them back. "It is our duty to oversee and record," they reply. "As such, you will answer us truthfully until we no longer need you." Number Six closes his mouth; two fireflies then stick and explode on Jane's knees. The fireflies around her scatter for a moment before grouping back. Jane attempts to hold the spurting blood in; she doesn't heal herself, likely trying to not alert them. But without uttering another word, she looks at me; I look at them. We'll die either way in this situation. We cannot act faster than them with these fireflies surrounding us; I need to create a window of opportunity. "We are already late," the duo says. "We will not repeat again: why are you here?" [["Sightseeing."]] [["To infiltrate Deminia."]] [["Noah! Again!"]]

(if: (history:) contains "\"Sightseeing.\"")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Daredevil: Sometimes, even I fear my audacity."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c2ach to $c2ach +1) ]Number Five and Number Six pause themselves for a while, seemingly processing something. Then, they look at each other's book. Suddenly, Number Six closes his mouth again; several fireflies glue themselves onto my arms and explode. Electric jolts shoot through my arms and into my spine, before the pain hits in. I yell, frustratingly. That was a reckless move. My hands are vigorously trembling. I can't feel my tongue anymore. The fleshes on my arms are torn apart, several holes are left on them, to the extent that I can almost see my bones. Bloods are flowing out uncontrollably, dripping their ways to my palm. Stupid. If they were planning to kill me, I would have died by now. But, I've confirmed two things: Number Five casts spells, Number Six execute its by twisting or swirling his tongue with his mouth closed. And, the books didn't shine when I tell lies—that's how they judge my words. The fireflies are now scattered around me. Without a moment to waste, I... (if: $knife is "yes")[ [[Throw the knife at Number Five.]]] [[Charge towards them.]] [[Call out for Noah.]]

Number Five and Number Six pause themselves for a while, seemingly processing something. Then, they look at each other's book; their books shine at this moment. "Why?" they ask in unison. "To end the war." "...Thank you." Number Six closes his mouth; the swarms of fireflies attach themselves on mine and Jane's neck. Jane looks at me, unable to utter a single word. "You're no longer needed," they add. "Weaks shall perish." In a zap, white light flashes before my eyes before fading away. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take the other choice->"Sightseeing."]]

I waited for a few seconds; no response. What happened? "Enough," they say in unison. "You are weak. Perish." I instantly feel a sting on my neck, the firefly explodes, streaming blood out from my neck. I cover it with my hand and try to stop it from bleeding. Yet, another small explosion occurs on the back of my neck; pushing me forward. I kneel on the ground. Then hundreds of ants make their way from my feet to my head, and into my mouth. I choke on them, before their venom react inside me. It all happened within seconds, and the last thing I can hear is Jane shouting my name. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take the other choice->"Sightseeing."]]

I throw my knife at Number Five, and shouts "Number Six!" hoping that Jane would understand my intention. Number Six's mouth is still closed; the swarm of fireflies horde in front of Number Five, sacrificing themselves and bursting into flames to stop the momentum of the knife. The knife drops to the ground a few inches away from Number Five's face. Number Five is standing there, unfazed at all. Several fireflies have already made their way to me, blipping at a very rapid pace, igniting the oily liquid in their abdomen. The time seems to have slowed down, as they burst right in front of my face. I'm not able to react in time. This is it. My whole life doesn't flash before my eyes: none of the happy or sad memories at all. Only my regrets—the ones I didn't get to do, the ones I had hoped to do. Ahhh... //I'm leaving behind so many of them.// "John!" Jane shouts. The fireflies explode and repel me back into a tree. The impact is strong enough to send a chill from my spine to my whole body, paralyzing it. My upper body sluggishly collapses onto the ground. My sight begins to blur. But, I can still see Jane kneeling down in front of Number Six; a bed of spike made of roots are penetrated through the ground, impaling Number Six's body. One of the roots is especially longer and sharper, as it's shot through Number Six's tongue. Number Six is not moving, his dark red blood oozes on the book that he dropped. Jane is glaring at Number Five. Number Five is calmly standing, replying her glare with his. "Why are the two of you here?" he asks. "To end the war," Jane says, as she interlaces her fingers together. "Starting with you two." Twines start to swirl and tighten around their body, keeping them immobile; their books shine at this moment. Number Six flips his heads up, detaching it from his body, and escaping from the root that binds his tongue. Jane releases her fingers and switches her hands to grips. Numerous serrated wooden shreds then spike onto Number Six and Number Five. They hit Number Six, but not Number Five. Black beetles managed to crawl all over him, defending him from the attacks with their reinforced shells. "You are strong," Number Five says. "Strong Jane deserves to live." Number Five holds onto Number Six's head that landed on his hand, as he starts marching, left and right. Repeatedly. Faster, and faster. The trees behind me start to shake, no, their leaves start to rustle. A dozen of treehoppers jump their way to both Number Five and Number Six. Within a few seconds, they disappear without any trace. Mimicry. They have camouflaged and blended in with the surrounding; they are still around here, but I can't open my mouth to alert Jane. No, that's not important—they've likely retreated. They left one of their books: we need that. Jane rushes towards me with her limping legs, and holds my body in her arms. She starts to heal my upper arm where majority of the holes are concentrated at. Her knee, it's still bleeding. She is frantically checking her surrounding and shouting for Noah in a soft voice for a few times; but, there's no response. "Jane... the book," I try to say but she can't hear it. My voice is too weak, and I have lost too much blood by now... I need to rest. My eyes start to slowly shut themselves as the book slowly blurred into blackness. "Noah! Your arms..." Jane shouts again, seemingly talking to someone standing behind me. I can't check. My vision is cloudy now. I'm exhausted. Something is shot into Jane's neck and she dozes in front of me instantly, letting go of her hands. My head fall on her lap. In the next second, I also feel an intense sting on my neck; not agai— [[Next chapter->Chapter 13 start]]

I charge towards Number Five and Number Six at this moment. They remain standing, unfazed. Number Six's mouth is still closed; the swarms of fireflies are now diverted to create a barrier between me and them. I take a few short, sharp breath before folding my arms up to cover my face. "Number Six!" I shout, hoping that Jane would understand. Then, I brace the impact of colliding into the fireflies. The bunch of them scatter away, leaving only several fluttering as they ready to explode themselves upon contact. They blip at a very rapid pace, igniting the oily liquid in their abdomen. The time seems to have slowed down, as they burst right in front of my face. This is it. My whole life doesn't flash before my eyes: none of the happy or sad memories at all. Only my regrets—the ones I didn't get to do, the ones I had hoped to do. Ahhh... //I'm leaving behind so many of them.// "John!" Jane shouts. The fireflies explode and repel me back into a tree. The impact is strong enough to send a chill from my spine to my whole body, paralyzing it. My upper body sluggishly collapses onto the ground. My sight begins to blur. But, I can still see Jane kneeling down in front of Number Six; a bed of spike made of roots are penetrated through the ground, impaling Number Six's body. One of the roots is especially longer and sharper, as it's shot through Number Six's tongue. Number Six is not moving, his dark red blood oozes on the book that he dropped. Jane is glaring at Number Five. Number Five is calmly standing, replying her glare with his. "Why are the two of you here?" he asks. "To end the war," Jane says, as she interlaces her fingers together. "Starting with you two." Twines start to swirl and tighten around their body, keeping them immobile; their books shine at this moment. Number Six flips his heads up, detaching it from his body, and escaping from the root that binds his tongue. Jane releases her fingers and switches her hands to grips. Numerous serrated wooden shreds then spike onto Number Six and Number Five. They hit Number Six, but not Number Five. Black beetles managed to crawl all over him, defending him from the attacks with their reinforced shells. "You are strong," Number Five says. "Strong Jane deserves to live." Number Five holds onto Number Six's head that landed on his hand, as he starts marching, left and right. Repeatedly. Faster, and faster. The trees behind me start to shake, no, their leaves start to rustle. A dozen of treehoppers jump their way to both Number Five and Number Six. Within a few seconds, they disappear without any trace. Mimicry. They have camouflaged and blended in with the surrounding; they are still around here, but I can't open my mouth to alert Jane. No, that's not important—they've likely retreated. They left one of their books: we need that. Jane rushes towards me with her limping legs, and holds my body in her arms. She starts to heal my upper arm where majority of the holes are concentrated at. Her knee, it's still bleeding. She is frantically checking her surrounding and shouting for Noah in a soft voice for a few times; but, there's no response. "Jane... the book," I try to say but she can't hear it. My voice is too weak, and I have lost too much blood by now... I need to rest. My eyes start to slowly shut themselves. "Noah! Your arms..." Jane shouts again, seemingly talking to someone standing behind me. I can't check. My vision is cloudy now. I'm exhausted. Something is shot into Jane's neck and she dozes in front of me instantly, letting go of her hands. My head fall on her lap. In the next second, I also feel an intense sting on my neck; not agai— [[Next chapter->Chapter 13 start]]

"Noah!" I scream. I waited for a few seconds; no response. What happened? "Enough," they say in unison. "Weaks shall perish." I instantly feel a sting on my neck, the firefly explodes, streaming blood out from my neck. I cover it with my hand and try to stop it from bleeding. Yet, another small explosion occurs on the back of my neck; pushing me forward. I kneel on the ground. Then hundreds of ants make their way from my feet to my head, and into my mouth. I choke on them, before their venom react inside me. It all happened within seconds, and the last thing I can hear is Jane shouting my name. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->"Sightseeing."]]

I open my eyes after what feels like an eternal slumber; I find myself standing inside a throne room. It's cold here. It's also different than the royal-like and warm castle of Sage Houst. This throne room emits a completely different vibe; it's gloomy and the walls are tinted with dust. Layers of it. The throne seat is nothing but a wooden chair, able to hold the weight of one. I can also hear sounds of raindrops hitting on the opened windows. A lightning strikes; the rain falls heavier; the raindrops get louder, resonating in this empty room. Is this Oasis Zero? No. No one is around. It doesn't seem like it. I take a look around. There's a note on the ground, just in front of me. Three words are written on it, no, sketched on it: "Hail King Jax". There's a drawing of a stickman with a crown below these words; the crown is made of sunflowers. King Jax—isn't he the dad of the first-generation John Doe? These memories, I thought they stopped flooding into me. Something catalyzed this. Injected these memories. Something like... a seal. I take a deep breath. I open my eyes again, realizing that I'm finally able to stretch the muscles that move my eyelids. The cider orange sun light beams on half of my face, the sky darkened; it's evening already. I now find myself lying on a soft feather bed. All my muscles still feel sore, and my body exhausted. Jane's sitting beside my bed with her right arm on top of my waist, her cheek is also pressing on my hand; she's drooling, with her mouth slightly opened. There's a line of saliva that drips down from the back of my right hand that she's cushioning on. She appears to be sleeping. But her eyebrows, she still has that worried look since the last time I saw her. Is this... the second time I see her face first upon waking up? Did she assure Cliff that she'd wait in this room until I wake up? Just how long has she been here, or awake for? Just how long has I been asleep? "Thank you," I couldn't help but to whisper to her. Then, I... [[Slowly move my hand away.]] [[Let her rest on it for a while.]] [[Try to kiss her forehead.]]

A few moments after he leaves, a man, looking to be in his 50's appears outside the door. He has a claw mark on the right temple of his face, and also red hair with black eyes; he's not particularly big but he has this intimidating aura around him, especially with the cowboy-like-hat he's wearing. "John," he states, standing at the doorstep. "May I come in?" "Mr. Javier," I reply. "Yes." He approaches me with his eyes locked on mine the entire walk, and he pats my shoulder. "Do you mind telling me why my daughter—who I have not seen for 33 days and 7 hours—was worrying about you instead of you know, hugging her Papa?" "Umm...." "Your knight friend, Cliff has told me what happened inside: how you killed a Berserker, saved a village girl, escaped from Leiden Forest, saved Demi-humans' children, survived Sage Houst's maze, and blinded him." He smiles, "It all sounds too good to be true though, but, I believe in his eyes." He lightly pats my shoulder, "But, one thing. There are some inconsistences when he pieced it all together. So John... first, tell me, what are you?" "I..." "Who are you?" [["I'm just an ordinary adventurer, who want nothing more than a peaceful world."]] [["I see things as puzzles; solving them just happened to be my specialty."]] [["I do not see myself as a hero, but I will not stand and watch people die for nothing."]]

Cliff and I quickly let go of each other's pinkie; and instead, he wraps his right arm on my shoulder and sort of drags me to the bonfire. "John," he says. "I also made you a visible reminder of our promise." He opens his left palm and presents a mini, wooden craft of his shield. There's a 'J' on its center. "J?" I ask. "John, and Jane. So that you remember who you fight for, and who is by your side." He pulls out his carving knife. "Jane has this instructions-like wood crafting and creating book. So, I borrowed a few tips from it and made this. It was a lot of work, John." "I'm not thanking you yet," I take the knife and shield away from him. I flip to the other side of the shield and carve a light 'C' on it. "There. Now it's complete. Thank you." Cliff bursts into laughter, smacking my back with his hand multiples times. He only calms down a few moments after; then, he light punches my chest, with a "Thank you." A few female elves then separate us as we approach the bonfire, pulling us to dance together with them. Basking under the white moon light, and the warmth of the locals as well as the fire, I dance a bit with them. But I then quickly switch to eating mode, sitting side by side with the locals, stuffing my mouth with every fruit that are within my arm's reach. Javier walks towards me at this moment, holding a small bottle of wine on his left hand, and two small wooden cups on his right. He lifts the cups up, "Care for a drink?" [[Accept his invitation; it wouldn't hurt to drink some.]] [[Reject him; it's better to stay sober for tomorrow.]]

"Jacob and I will stand guard here, along with the rest of the Beastian around this table. We can't afford to be hit by a sudden attack now. So, only Jane, Noah, and Lily will go along with you." "To reach the island," Jacob points at the shore near the island, "you either go on a one-day voyage trip in a sea that might or might not have Kraken, or through a teleportation portal hidden in one of the villages near this shore. Either way, you'll meet Jay before crossing the sea; he'll guide you on the process." "Jay? He's out THERE?" Jane asks, locking her eyes on Javier. Her tone indicates that she's not curious, but rather is making a scolding remark. "Ummm..." Javier diverts his eyes to Jacob. "He... was scouting the area as usual. Yes. Nothing dangerous." Jacob says. "Nothing dangerous? The whole world is in chaos right now, even if only The Dark Dwellers are the ones on the move, no one is guaranteed to be safe out there. And Jay, he's still—" "We know, we know, calm down." Javier says. "It's ok. We also sent Devin the Mischievous Elf, with him." "You sent DEVIN with him, Pop Pop? His name literally has the word //mischievous// on it!" "Ahem... well, he... volunteereed." "He volunteered to scoop a bucket of water a few months ago, but he ended up burning down a row of huts!" "Right... that's why I got a larger food portion the night we sent him away." Jane lightly slams the table. "Ok, we're leaving now, John." she looks at me. [["I've been wondering: why do you call your dad 'Pop Pop'?"]] [["Maybe we should send Cliff and Ash away first."]] [["So, who's gonna wake Lily up?"]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 13**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"Twice the Fun"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 13 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c3ach to 0)] (set: $c13checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 13") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Chapter 13]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

"So?" "I cannot fathom how it likes being weak. I dreaded that mindset. I don't want to emphatize it. I escaped from it. Because I've experienced and rejected how pathetic it is, to freeze and watch as your loved ones die saving you because you couldn't even move your legs. Deep inside, it's the hatred of feeling weak that pushed me forward." I chuckle. "Jane, and Cliff—they forced me to rely on them. And I did. It's definitely isn't a sign of weakness, but a hint of strength—to know that sometimes you can be hopelessly in need of help. I know that not all are born with the courage and skills to fight, and not all choose to learn and master them. Some can't even defend themselves, while some choose the wrong way to. They are but the opposite of strong." I take a deep breath. "But, when their eyes glint so brilliantly even after tragedy befell them, their hope and dreams still have not be forsaken—I want to protect that moment. That life, that's ahead of them." I cross my eyes with Javier. "Jane mentioned that you taught her **the strong should protect the weak**; The Four Cardinal Sages aim **to eliminate the weak with the strong**; but, I want to move the world in another direction—**where everyone, weak or strong can help each other**. They can choose to protect whoever they want, and I will do so as well—sacrificing my knowledge and strength to achieve this end." Javier pauses for a brief moment to absorb my thoughts, his expression changes slightly as his mouth edges curve a bit upward. "A world where even the weak can help protect the strong while the strong shelter them... imagine that," Javier chuckles. "You sounded almost the same like the king that they said descended into madness." Javier then moves his hand away from my shoulder, and sits facing me, flipping his chair backwards. His smile wiped off from his face, "The truth is that John, we are in the middle of war lead by The Dark Dwellers. That's why the entrance to here is enforced and restricted." He continues, "Two days ago, the overseer of Beastia was assassinated in cold blood by one of their own, and Stryker Nolan of Humania is coerced into nullifying the peace pact made 300 hundred years ago. The Dark Dwellers is already on the lead of the conquest on kingdoms that retaliate, with their very own unit on top of their power chain—//The Magnificent Seven// and aids from The Four Cardinal Sages. Oasis Zero is only safe now because this kingdom is declared itself as a neutral zone to shelter Beastia members." "And they respected it," Javier adds. [["Two days ago?!"]] [["Wait, how long was I asleep?"]] [["A neutral zone?"]]

"Yes, you were asleep for two days. You're late, John. There's no stopping it now." He then pauses and looks at me, like he's waiting for answer. Two days. Just enough to make a drastic difference on the flow of the war. That seal; Sage Houst must have planted it to target Blanks. I had anticipated it, but couldn't even tried to stop it. "How many kingdoms so far?" "Wiped two of Magica, including Tevinia." //Tevinia//—that's Elaine's kingdom, which means that she didn't manage to save it in time. Hugo—he gave me a key. The phrase is something like //Yoanna//. What's the purpose of this key? To find him? To access something? Jane or Cliff might have a clue. But as of now, I have no plan or anything. I don't know what to do, or where to even begin with. "You look worried, John." Javier says. "Cliff says you're a man of plan, so I take it you must be running some things through your head now, isn't it?" He's phrasing his sentence weirdly. If he saved me for a reason, then there's no reason to beat around the bushes anymore. "The way you phrase it, Mr. Javier, I take you already have something on your mind, don't you? You could just say it out loud; there's only two of us here after all." "Straightforward. Cool. Ok." He points at me with his index finger. And with a smile, "Die, John. Die for us." [[Next page->next page11.1]]

He makes a "two" hand signal to me. "You're late, John. There's no stopping it now." He then pauses and looks at me, like he's waiting for answer. Two days. Just enough to make a drastic difference on the flow of the war. That seal; Sage Houst must have planted it to target Blanks. I had anticipated it, but couldn't even tried to stop it. "How many kingdoms so far?" "Wiped two of Magica, including Tevinia." //Tevinia//—that's Elaine's kingdom, which means that she didn't manage to save it in time. Hugo—he gave me a key. The phrase is something like //Yoanna//. What's the purpose of this key? To find him? To access something? Jane or Cliff might have a clue. But as of now, I have no plan or anything. I don't know what to do, or where to even begin with. "You look worried, John." Javier says. "Cliff says you're a man of plan, so I take it you must be running some things through your head now, isn't it?" He's phrasing his sentence weirdly. If he saved me for a reason, then there's no reason to beat around the bushes anymore. "The way you phrase it, Mr. Javier, I take you already have something on your mind, don't you? You could just say it out loud; there's only two of us here after all." "Straightforward. Cool. Ok." He points at me with his index finger. And with a smile, "Die, John. Die for us." [[Next page->next page11.1]]

"Yes. This is sort of a safe haven for Beastian. For now, that is. And you, you were asleep for two days. You're late, John. There's no stopping it now." He then pauses and looks at me, like he's waiting for answer. Two days. Just enough to make a drastic difference on the flow of the war. That seal; Sage Houst must have planted it to target Blanks. I had anticipated it, but couldn't even tried to stop it. "How many kingdoms so far?" "Wiped two of Magica, including Tevinia." //Tevinia//—that's Elaine's kingdom, which means that she didn't manage to save it in time. Hugo—he gave me a key. The phrase is something like //Yoanna//. What's the purpose of this key? To find him? To access something? Jane or Cliff might have a clue. But as of now, I have no plan or anything. I don't know what to do, or where to even begin with. "You look worried, John." Javier says. "Cliff says you're a man of plan, so I take it you must be running some things through your head now, isn't it?" He's phrasing his sentence weirdly. If he saved me for a reason, then there's no reason to beat around the bushes anymore. "The way you phrase it, Mr. Javier, I take you already have something on your mind, don't you? You could just say it out loud; there's only two of us here after all." "Straightforward. Cool. Ok." He points at me with his index finger. And with a smile, "Die, John. Die for us." [[Next page->next page11.1]]

//THOOMMMM// A thunder roars the already dark sky at this moment; drizzles begin to fall and within a minute, the merciless rain is already showering down on us like an ice cold ocean, dropped down wave by wave. Jane hand-crafted a small wooden plank to cover her head, Noah sits there making an "X" with his stone arms, while Lily embraces the rain with her arms wide open. I pull my backpack up a little, enough to prevent my hair from being heavily drenched. Lily smiles as the rain hit on her face; it looks like the rain might be the only thing that can calm her down. "Smoke," Jane suddenly points out in front of us. She's right; we are approaching a village and there seems to be soot being released from a pile of something. It's emitting a stench, almost smell like incomplete roast of meats, mixing with the moisture of the air: it's unbearably disgusting. Are the villagers here celebrating something? However, I stop the horse carriage as we get closer. In front of our path lies a goblin with its body half-torn, arms stretched forward, seemingly trying to crawl away from something. At least, he tried. "Noah, heal the goblin. Fast," I say as I jump down the carriage and carry the goblin up in my arms. The body is sluggish like a worm, and cold like a bag of ice. I take him closer to Noah; Noah claps and release his hands. The emerald green stones embedded in his hands glints a little before entirely fade away. "John, the goblin's already dead." Jane says. "His throat..." It's been slit wide open, and the blood has already run out. This means that the village in front of us.... I run into the village to check; the goblins—men, women, children, old folks—all their throats were slit and they were dumped together in a small-mountain-like manner, before burnt to crisp. Most of their face are not even recognizable anymore, much less their lime green skin—the fire was started days ago. Only bones, and skulls are left as their fleshes being rinsed away by this heavy rain. The three of them followed behind me. Jane doesn't say a single word, she just grips Lily's hand tighter. Noah stands beside me. "Noah," I call out. "Can you flip our carriage to its side, and tie the horses away from it?" "Yes." "Jane, can you set up some traps around this village?" "You're afraid they would come back?" The village seems to not have been salvaged or anything, which is odd. "Just a precaution." She then leaves Lily by my side, before going away. Lily tugs my shirt, her eyes glued on the goblin body that I'm holding in my arms. "Lily is hungry." [[Let her eat the goblin.]] [[Promise to make her something else.]]

I didn't have any flashbacks; or, any dream in particular. So, the memories associating with first-generation John Doe are only triggered under spells or any magical enhancements belong to The Four Cardinal Sages, or maybe, King Jax himself. Just who is he? Do his people hate him, or adore him? Is he also a Blank? Is he even dead, in the first place? There's no point thinking about it: there's not enough information. I take a deep breath, and open my eyes. I find myself lying in a moving metal cage, and my head resting on something rough and raw—stones? Noah. I carefully turn to my back: Noah is sitting with his legs crossed, I'm lying on his left lap while he's also cushioning Jane's head with his right lap. Jane's knees are healed, but she's still asleep. Her gloves are taken away, and I don't have any weapon with me(if: $knife is "yes")[; the knife has been left there]. Noah's arms have been cleanly chopped off, leaving only the inner remains of the stones attaching his shoulders. "Noah, your arms... are you ok?" "Yes," he says, almost immediately. "Did they also catch Lily?" "... No." I take another deep breath to analyze this situation: Firstly, Lily is gone; she's likely to have escaped with help from Noah or they have overlooked her. Secondly, this cage is just wide enough for three, but not tall enough for me to stand up in, and a layer of half-transparent material is prohibiting us from seeing what's outside. I can only hear distant low-pitched chatter, and vaguely see three figures in front and three more at the back—somewhat resembling humans—walking in a straight line, transporting us. Their voices are not familiar. Given the methods they use to catch us, they are likely not with The Dark Dwellers. Maybe some rogue Beastian? How did they know where we are in the first place? The fights we had with Number Five and Six might have been loud enough to catch their attention, or are they simply roaming the jungle in search of something? Of what? Why? One of them lightly slaps the cage with their hand. "You're awake." Then, the slap becomes slam, and it lands once every seconds. Harder, and louder; like the one doing this is having fun. "Wake up, magician." Jane reflexively kick on the cage which creates a stronger resonating sound that stuns the one slamming, before she opens her eyes. Jane kicks the cage again after she opens her eyes. The cage isn't affected at all, and is still being moved at the same pace. "They are awake," the same voice says. "Are we close?" "Yes... so, stop pushing me with your scales, Gael." "Pushing you? Two of your nine tails are waving in front of me, and nothing good comes from twos. I literally can't see what's in front!" "That so? Then why don't you just—Walk. In. Front. Of. Me!" "Fine. Fine. I'll check it //myself//. Make way, make way!" Jane whispers to my ear "Where's Lily?" when these two figures are bickering, to which I shrug my shoulder. "Hey!" I call out. No response. They're still on each other's throat. "Hey!" I shout again. Still no response. Could it be that our sounds are also muted? "Let me try," Jane says, before storming her feet on her end of the cage, striking the metal bars violently, repeatedly. [[Next page->next page13.1]]

The only thing she shook was my heart, as the sounds of metal bar crashing against her feet thuds so loud that it affects the beating sound of my heart. The two are still squabbling, there's no response from other figures as well. This is not working. The sounds inside here are sealed off to the outside. "Jane, stop." I say. "You're playing with my heart." "What? I was just—" //PAK// It sounds like someone claps once; the cage stops moving and is dropped on the ground, crushing on several flowers. I pick a few up and prey my eyes closer at them—tulips. Purple-petals tulips with cup-shaped flowers. Their crystal leaves are dimly glowing blue-green, and are outwards in an arc shape from their roots. "Lampo Tulipa," I say. "They grow abundantly and gleam at night. They are the main food source for Redome Scorpions: these black scorpions have deadly, and venomous pincers and stinger that can pierce through anything, even hard, sturdy walls. They also have a tiny red camp on the back of their shells. And one more thing that attracts them is—" Jane shushes me. She's listening to the conversation of the few figures surrounding our cage. "Are they all set?" "Yes, ready to go, Gael." "Good. Who's gonna do it?... Wait, why are you guys pointing at me?" "Oh, because nine of my tails will get in my way when I run, //Gael//." "Fine, fine! Go, get your faces out of my sight!" The few figures run away from us, as their silhouette slowly fade out of our views. The only one remaining, Gael presumably puts his hand on the semi-transparent covering of the cage, and whispers a soft "good luck, guys" before snatching it away. At the moment the covering is lifted, Jane grabs on it. Gael, is surprisingly a lizardman with scales on his arms and legs, wearing a cross-shaped belt on his body. He's shocked by Jane's action. "Oi, let go!" he says. Jane shakes her head. He tries to pull it but Jane pulls back harder. He frowns at Jane, "Let go, magician!" Jane shakes her head again. "AURGGH" he gives in and takes off to the jungle beside us. I take a look at our surrounding: we are placed right in the middle of a flower field of Lampo Tulipa. The moon light that reflects on the crystal leaves of all these flowers make it all the more mesmerizing. Sitting on grass, and admiring them is just breathtaking. "Wow," Jane says, looking at the my opposite direction. "Beautiful, isn't it?" I say. "No. There's another smaller cage a few feet from us. A man is locked inside as well." She's right: there's a man sitting there anxiously tapping the metal bars. He's wearing torn clothes, and has wrinkly fingers, scars on both his cheeks. His front hair is long enough to cover until his nose, hiding majority of his face. Several random bumps begin to shape, budging out underneath the field out of nowhere. I just realise something: we are left here for a reason. We're right inside these scorpions' territory, and there are four embedded steel pins with star-shaped heads firmly nailed into the ground, positioned at the four edges of each of these two cages, about one feet away. [["We are their baits."]] [[Start to scream for help.]]

"Baits?" Jane asks, as the bumps explode into a few bed of scorpions, crawling their way out. "We are intruding these Redome Scorpions' feeding area; and, the pins seem to be some sort of traps set up to catch them when they are in the range." I point at the pins—they seem to be electrified. The man in another cage starts to yell for help and viciously shake the cage. He slips his hands through the gap between metals bars and reach out to us. He oscillates his hands up and down, twitching his fingers. "AHHHH—Help, HELP ME young man!" "Calm down," I say. "Stop screaming, you'll only make it—" He further presses his face and his body on the metal bars. "OUYEEEEEAWWW—they are coming, THEY ARE COMINGGG! HAALPPP, boy!" About fifty, no, double that amount of scorpions are marching their tiny four pair of legs toward us. But, they are attracted to the other man in particular because he's screaming; Redome Scorpions are fond of high-pitched sounds, as they are a sign of mating. "No no no no no..." Noah starts to mumble under his breath. "Noah, calm down" Jane says to him. "We've got this covering; if they do get any closer, we can just flip it inside out and cover ourselves with it." "HALLLLLP YOUNG BOY! AERHHHH, DEY COMING, DEY COMMIIING!" "You, what's your name?" I ask in a low voice, crossing my eyes with the man fidgeting his hands. "Vile. Vile!!!" "//Vile?//" "YAS, YAS. HALPPP." [[Shush him.]] [[Let him lure the scorpions away.]]

(if: (history:) contains "Start to scream for help.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"When in doubt, scream for help."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c3ach to $c3ach +1) ]"Doomed! We are doooomed!!" I shout. "That's your plan? Give up?" Jane asks. She slaps my face. "Get a hold of yourself, John." I take a deep breath. She's right. It's not over yet. I revaluate the situation. "Assuming we are the intruders for these Redome Scorpions, then it'd only makes sense for the scorpions to target us; and, the pins seem to be some sort of traps set up to catch these scorpions when they are in the range." I point at the pins—they seem to be electrified. The man in another cage starts to yell for help and viciously shake the cage. He slips his hands through the gap between metals bars and reach out to us. He oscillates his hands up and down, twitching his fingers. "AHHHH—Help, HELP ME young man!" "Calm down," I say. "Stop screaming, you'll only make it—" He further presses his face and his body on the metal bars. "OUYEEEEEAWWW—they are coming, THEY ARE COMINGGG! HAALPPP, boy!" About fifty, no, double that amount of scorpions are marching their tiny four pair of legs toward us. But, they are attracted to the other man in particular because he's screaming; Redome Scorpions are fond of high-pitched sounds, as they are a sign of mating. "No no no no no..." Noah starts to mumble under his breath. "Noah, calm down" Jane says to him. "We've got this covering; if they do get any closer, we can just flip it inside out and cover ourselves with it." "HALLLLLP YOUNG BOY! AERHHHH, DEY COMING, DEY COMMIIING!" "You, what's your name?" I ask in a low voice, crossing my eyes with the man fidgeting his hands. "Vile. Vile!!!" "//Vile?//" "YAS, YAS. HALPPP." [[Shush him.]] [[Let him lure the scorpions away.]]

"Vile, take a deep breath and shut up." I say. "Look at the pins, they are there to protect you. But if you—" "AHHHHHHHH—SHOO, SHOOO!" That's it: we're doomed. The bed of scorpions stops before the pins and align themselves around the cages. The red camps behind their shells begin to radiate in red. If I'm not mistaken, it takes 10 blips before they spray their astringent juices. It won't harm their owns, but it'll definitely sear through even the covering, and eat at our skins. They have blipped for five times now. That idiot is still screaming. I tap at the metal bars. "Vile, I need you to shut up now. Cover your mouth and hold it in for 20 seconds." "But—BUT—" Jane makes a throat-slitting sign at him; he flinches and frantically covers his wide mouth with his trembling hands. "Deep breath now," I say. "Deep breath." He continuously nods at me, as his chest slightly expands and contracts in a rhymthic pattern. The red camps of the scorpions have also reverted back to their original glowing state. But, all of them are not moving forward, their pinchers are raised and are opening, closing every few seconds. Did they detect the small vibration produced by the electrical fluctuation of the pins? Likely. Wait, if he didn't stop screaming... the scorpions would have released their juices, which would momentarily mess with their sensors. Then, a bed of them'd walk right into this trap. So, that's why they capture us here—to make us scream. I don't know if this plan is ingenious, or just plain risky. The scorpions remain still for a while before finally retreating back through their bumps, with their collective hissing sound. Jane and I sigh with relief; Noah lays his back on the metal bars like his life has been shorted by 10 years; Vile prostrates and prays with both his hands clenched together, murmuring "thank you, thank you." The lizardman, Gael, approaches us, and stands beside our cage. He looks down at us as he scratches his head, "Sharks! The plan failed." [[Next page->next page13.2]]

I choose to ignore Vile, and sacrifice him. He's annoying, and I should set my priority in the right order first—we are on a quest, and we need to break through this cage before the lizardman comes back and checks on us. The bed of scorpions then stops before the pins and align themselves around the cages. The red camps behind their shells begin to radiate in red. If I'm not mistaken, it takes 10 blips before they spray their astringent juices. It won't harm their owns, but it'll definitely sear through even the covering, and eat at our skins. They have blipped for five times now. That idiot is still screaming. I take a deep breath. Wait, why are the scorpions surrounding our cage as well? Eight. Nine. Ten. Son of a goat. Acids spurt out from their red camps and onto our faces, bodies. They instantly corrode our skin and drip into our bones. Veil screams in pain, covering his throat that is bleeding, prohibiting him from saying another word. The scorpions continuously shoot their acids as one by one, they walk closer towards us. One shot of acid lands of my eyes, and slips through my eye socket. I attempt to hold the pain in, but the unbearable sting blacks me out. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take the other choice->Shush him.]]

"Hmmmm..." he points at me, "You, human: what's your name?" "John." "John, you'll be responsible for this. I'm taking you guys back." "Wait, what?" Gael whistles at the jungle, lifting his right hand and swirling his index finger; the cages are then levitated and gradually hovered into the direction where a few figures are standing at. One of them has fox ears, nine white fluffy fox tails, wearing a long-sleeves bathrobe-like cloth and holding a paper fan. Behind her is two hooded figures hiding their faces. Two more lizardmen without the belts—they are likely Gael's subordinates—are also standing beside them. The one with fox ears taps our cages with her paper fan as soon as we close in on her. The cages land back onto the ground. "Wha—Why are they still alive? You planning to make them snacks?" "Eh," Gael dismisses her questions. "Let's just go. The scorpions ran away, and I'm not bearing any of the responsibility for that. Now we have nothing to open the vault with. I already mentioned nothing good will come from twos. We'll just pin it at this John." One of the hooded figures coughs at this moment, the other taps him/her with his/her elbow. Weird. "Seriously?" the fox-girl says. "We're gonna get scolded again? Last time he threatened to tear one of my tails off! I told you we should only put one cage there!" "Damn it Kumiho, we both agreed on putting two. You nodded, strongly. Fine. Fine. No matter. Let's just report back. I'm sure leader will understand." "Wait," Kumiho looks at the other cage. "Do we still need this human then? It's exhausting to carry two cages." "I don't think so... he was trying to steal our foods in the storm, so maybe we just leave him in the cage here to starve." "It was a dark, and stormy night," Vile starts to say, showcasing his hands flamboyantly, like he's putting on a play. "Then, someone dies. Wow, this rhymes." he then wheezes and laughs, slapping the metal bars. "Ok..." Kumiho says. "He's crazy, I see no reason to bring him with us." [[Help Veil.]] [[Say nothing.]]

(if: (history:) contains "Help Veil.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Same, but different."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c3ach to $c3ach +1) ]"Wait," I call out. "He still has some values." "Oh? And what would that be?" Gael asks. "Umm... he..." "Ok, we're leaving him behind." Kumiho says. "Wait!" I shout. There must be something he could be useful for. I stare at him. He smiles at me. Screaming? Right. His screams. I look up at both Kumiho and Gael, while still half-lying on Noah's stone lap. "He was partly to be blamed as well. If he didn't stop yelling, then the plan would have succeeded, right?" Gael pauses, and looks at me. "That... is true." He then snaps, with a half-grin on his face. "Or maybe we can feed him to our leader's pet. Wouldn't be a bad choice as well,"—his grins becomes wider, with all his short teeth visible—"and we might be able to get on our leader's good side as well." "Seriously?" Kumiho asks, eyes widened. She lifts Veil's head up a bit with paper fan, "It's been ages since I last saw Pete ate! It'd be fun." she then chuckles with a cute baby voice. I hold my breath in. I could feel my fight-or-flight response kicking in, I want to run but I can't even stand. These people—they are not joking. I can see drools at the edges of Kumiho's mouth. Vile opens his mouth but no voice comes out of it as he peers deep into Kumiho's eyes. His entire body is quivering in fear, and only his head is being held still. A sharp chill runs down my spine. Who are these people? "Enough, Kumiho." Gael holds her back with both his sticky hands. "Terrified humans don't taste as good." Kumiho moves her head closer to Vile and observe him one last time, "Really?" before withdrawing her paper fan. "Fine then. Let's not waste any time here anymore." She taps our cage again, but in the next split second, a pillar of mint-green light bursts at the end of this jungle, which lasts for a few seconds before it shrinks and seemingly absorbed; we can hear the sounds of trees collapsing onto each other as deers, boars, monkeys and even lions run past us. Two owls resting on the trees near us also hoots and takes off flying, leaving only a sloth behind, hugging the tree branch. The fallen leaves swirls through the gap between the metal bar and land on my stomach. It's like the whole jungle is awaken. "That colour... something happened," Gael says, his eyes locked on where the light faded. "Walk fast." [[Next page->next page13.3]]

"Wait," Jane calls out. "You can't just leave him like that." "Oh? And why is that?" Gael asks. "He can... maybe..." Jane stammers, as she looks at me. "Ok, we're leaving him behind." Kumiho says. "Wait!" I shout. There must be something he could be useful for. I stare at him. He smiles at me. Screaming? Right. His screams. I look up at both Kumiho and Gael, while still half-lying on Noah's stone lap. "He was partly to be blamed as well. If he didn't stop yelling, then the plan would have succeeded, right?" Gael pauses, and looks at me. "That... is true." He then snaps, with a half-grin on his face. "Or maybe we can feed him to our leader's pet. Wouldn't be a bad choice as well,"—his grins becomes wider, with all his short teeth visible—"and we might be able to get on our leader's good side as well." "Seriously?" Kumiho asks, eyes widened. She lifts Veil's head up a bit with paper fan, "It's been ages since I last saw Pete ate! It'd be fun." she then chuckles with a cute baby voice. I hold my breath in. I could feel my fight-or-flight response kicking in, I want to run but I can't even stand. These people—they are not joking. I can see drools at the edges of Kumiho's mouth. Vile opens his mouth but no voice comes out of it as he peers deep into Kumiho's eyes. His entire body is quivering in fear, and only his head is being held still. A sharp chill runs down my spine. Who are these people? "Enough, Kumiho." Gael holds her back with both his sticky hands. "Terrified humans don't taste as good." Kumiho moves her head closer to Vile and observe him one last time, "Really?" before withdrawing her paper fan. "Fine then. Let's not waste any time here anymore." She taps our cage again, but in the next split second, a pillar of mint-green light bursts at the end of this jungle, which lasts for a few seconds before it shrinks and seemingly absorbed; we can hear the sounds of trees collapsing onto each other as deers, boars, monkeys and even lions run past us. Two owls resting on the trees near us also hoots and takes off flying, leaving only a sloth behind, hugging the tree branch. It's like the whole jungle is awaken. "That colour... something happened," Gael says, his eyes locked on where the light faded. "Walk fast." [[Next page->next page13.3]]

Our cages are brought to a stop when we arrived at a village built near the sea coast. An enormous pit that was created has swollen half of the village houses, crusting over the sand around it. Everything that stood there has been wiped clean, without a trace. Gael and Kumiho stand frozen; Gael lowers his body and crosses his hands on his waist, ready to sheathe out his daggers, Kumiho slips her hand into the bathrobe sleeves. They hold their breath in, as their eyes transfix on a unique figure kneeling beside three bodies. The figure's touching one of their chests, no—no, it's a half-werewolf and his heart is being gouged out, as the figure clumsily trying to hold it as the blood slips between his fingers. The unique figure resembles a clown but with way too many superfluous decorations: a large round black nose, a few balloons tucked behind him, red shirt with white dots, tens of arm wristbands, and a tiny hat. The clown grins at us. An instant chill is sent down my spine. Looking at us, he licks the heart once. Then, he steals another look at us and licks the heart again whimsically. "PUT IT DOWN!" Gael warns. The clown stops, smiles and waves at us. The four other members of our kidnappers are already highly alerted, their breath are unstable and one of the lizardmen grabs his other hand to stop himself from trembling. "NOW." Gael says. The clown starts to giddily munch the heart, and in a few bites, there's nothing left. He starts to suck his fingers. Five of them charge towards him without another word: Gael, with his two daggers; Kumiho, with her two paperfans; two lizardmen, with their shortswords and one of the hooded figure who upon lifting up the hood reveals to be Ivy. Then, the one who stayed should be... I turn my head to check and it's Iris. "hello mister john." "//Mister John?// Do you know her?" Jane asks, looking at me. "Iris is that light half-elf that I mentioned to you." I explain to Jane before grabbing the metal bars and crossing eyes with Iris. "Iris," I say. "You need to let us out—we can help." "no, mister john. gael is the leader in this group. i can't." //BOOMMM// A wave of sand sends in our way and splashes on us. The clown is now half-floating on the air, and under the moon light, a painted '2' is clearly visible on his forehead. With his wide-smiling black mouth, he asks us, "Do you want to see the sand goes pew pew again?" "Yes. Yes!" Vile replies him, excitingly clapping his hands. "Ok, ok!" he orchestrates his hands, and a few mini explosions—scattered around the sand below him—starts to occur. The two lizardmen instinctively kneel down while Gael jumps on their back, and with their help, he leaps on the air and swiftly drives his daggers into the clown's heart. But right when Gael's close enough, the clown pounds Gael's head with a squeaky rubber hammer, saying "Pop!" before teleporting a few feet back, and a few feet up. The intense force breaks the spell barrier surrounding Gael's body, and drives him straight down, dispersing the sand around him. He didn't have any chance to react at all. Ivy, clicks her tongue. However, the two lizardmen still engage the clown without stopping for Gael; one of them throws his sword up, while the other steps on it and storm on the clown with his sword being held high above his head, preparing to be hammered down. Kumiho draws a circle around her with her paper fans, and swipe them on the clown's direction. Two small sand tornados form and whirl at the clown. She's creating a cover for the lizardmen to sneak in attacks. Their attacks are coordinated, and systematic; it's like they know and are trained against threats like the clown. [[Next page->next page13.4]]

It appears to work, as the clown stuns there briefly. But he teleport a few feet in front of him again, putting almost zero distance between himself and the lizardman, blocking the lizardman from landing his sword. He "Pop" another hit to the lizardman's head with his rubber hammer but this time it's bounced back by the barrier. He instantaneously teleport to his right, swinging his right punch at the lizardman instead. A layer of sand is splashed between them both, and the lizardman changes his postures and slays his sword to his left at this moment. It's a clean, sharp cut through the sand but the clown has teleported up by a few feet once more. "Oya, oya," he shouts. "Now you all go plink plink." An explosion is then ignited right at center of the body of the two lizardmen, splattering their crushed hearts and lungs to the ground. The one still in the air die instantly as his body falls to the ground like a broken doll; the one standing on the ground pukes blood and became lifeless kneeling down. A lit-up dagger flies up from the ground as the explosion occurs, barely making a scratch on the clown's face as he teleports to a few feet to his right again. Kumiho signals for Ivy, as she herself creates a larger circle and sends a much furious sand tornado at the clown. Taking that as a cover, Ivy compresses her barriers into small stepping stones for her to approach the clown face-to-face. As she closes in, she creates a spherical barrier around the clown and the sand surround itself around it. He can't teleport away now, nor sees any of them to deflect their attacks. But, the clown... he explodes himself. Son of a goat—he explodes himself, shattering the barrier, leaving his skin dark and red, and his own arms torn apart. "Plink, plink." he smiles, at Kumiho. "Pain, pain." Kumiho's chest suddenly explodes, propelling her away towards us. There's a large empty hole at where her heart used to be. Ivy managed to erect another barrier around her before the explosion also pushes her towards us. Gael stands below the clown helplessly, as the clown dances in a circle, merrily attaching his arms back and clapping his hands. Gael's glaring at the clown, both hands uncontrollably shaking. Ivy is breathing heavily, as her eyes glue on the dancing clown. So is Jane's. Kumiho is lying on her blood-soaken tails, as red fresh blood drips from her mouth edges, and her eyes, wide and frustrated. Ivy turns to Kumiho's direction before puking out piles and piles of blood. Son of a goat. Just what have happened? I need to—no. What can I do? [[Next page->next page13.5]]

"Iris! You need to get us out now!" I shout. She's still standing there motionless, looking at the clown. "IRIS!" She snaps out of it and looks at me. "I need you to listen closely: he's killing for fun, and we are next. You have only one chance against him—which is to let us out." She seems to be on the edge of breaking down, laying her eyes on Ivy yet is unable to move; she doesn't know what to do anymore. An enemy this fearsome with these much abilities, it's impossible that he could manifest by himself. He must have assimilated them in somehow, sucked them... the heart. He ate the hearts of three of the bodies. If I know what their powers were, and have enough time, we might have a chance to win this. One at a time. "Iris," I say, taking a deep breath. She needs comfort, first. "It's ok. I can save your sister. I can save Ivy. I have a plan. Let us out first." She grips her trembling hands, before finally giving in as she pours a potion at the four edges of the cage before it pops open. She then gives Jane her gloves and her pouch back, and me, my bag. Gael storms at us this moment, "Iris! You traitor! No wonder you insisted on treating them after we took down this golem. How could you? We trusted you—This is not right—You—" "Enough," Jane says, suiting up her gloves. "John here was the one that helped to save those demi-children at Pantheona. I'm sure you've heard of him somewhere." "John? He's //that John?//" he asks. Iris nods at him. He kneels down before me, "John. I have heard of your analytical skills and bravery from our leader, Kenzo before. He mentioned that you are the first human that he can entrust his life to, if it ever comes down to it. You do not falter under danger, and you treat demi-humans as equal." The clown is still dancing, clapping in joy, immersing himself in his own world. There's still some time. Gael looks up at me, before looking down again. "So now I request for your help, John of Humania. They are my brothers and they—they"—he lands his right punch on the sand, as it caves in—"at the very least, I need to save our leader." That half-werewolf... it's Kenzo. "What do you mean to save? Do you know of ways to do it?" "I was briefed that //Number Two// of the Magnificent Seven can steal up to the abilities of his latest three victims. He's consumed our spatial warper that generates power for the teleportation portals on specific planes, the explosion creator that transmute air particles and our leader's strength. Taking his heart out will revert back the positions of the hearts he ate. That's the only way." So, that's why they all opt for close-range battle and desperately launch attacks at him one after another. "Hello. Are you guys done planning there? Sevy said not to be late... even though it's tomorrow. But, time to pew pew again." the clown says, now sitting while he's half-floating on the air, playing his mouth with his hands. Sevy? What is he talking about? Another character of him? "Wait!" I shout. I'm not ready yet. I need to stall him. Do I do it the normal way or use reverse psychology against him? [["We need more time."]] [["We'll not play with you, and your stupid hat."]]

"Noah, can you kick this cage open?" "No." Right, the cage is too cramp for him to even stretch his legs. But, he uses his head and starts to knock on it. "Wait, Noah, you—" "No," he says, continuing to crash his head against the metal bars. Iris snaps out of her thoughts and looks at me. "Iris. I need you to listen closely: this clown's killing for fun, and we are next. You have only one chance against him—which is to let us out." She seems to be on the edge of breaking down, laying her eyes on Ivy yet is unable to move; she doesn't know what to do anymore. An enemy this fearsome with these much abilities, it's impossible that he could manifest by himself. He must have assimilated them in somehow, sucked them... the heart. He ate the hearts of three of the bodies. If I know what their powers were, and have enough time, we might have a chance to win this. One at a time. "Iris," I say, taking a deep breath. She needs comfort, first. "It's ok. I can save your sister. I can save Ivy. I have a plan. Let us out first." She grips her trembling hands, before finally giving in as she pours a potion at the four edges of the cage before it pops open. She then gives Jane her gloves and her pouch back, and me, my bag. Gael storms at us this moment, "Iris! You traitor! No wonder you insisted on treating them after we took down this golem. How could you? We trusted you—This is not right—You—" "Enough," Jane says, suiting up her gloves. "John here was the one that helped to save those demi-children at Pantheona. I'm sure you've heard of him somewhere." "John? He's //that John?//" he asks. Iris nods at him. He kneels down before me, "John. I have heard of your analytical skills and bravery from our leader, Kenzo before. He mentioned that you are the first human that he can entrust his life to, if it ever comes down to it. You do not falter under danger, and you treat demi-humans as equal." The clown is still dancing, clapping in joy, immersing himself in his own world. There's still some time. Gael looks up at me, before looking down again. "So now I request for your help, John of Humania. They are my brothers and they—they"—he lands his right punch on the sand, as it caves in—"at the very least, I need to save our leader." That half-werewolf... it's Kenzo. "What do you mean to save? Do you know of ways to do it?" "I was briefed that //Number Two// of the Magnificent Seven can steal up to the abilities of his latest three victims. He's consumed our spatial warper that generates power for the teleportation portals, the explosion creator that transmute air particles and our leader's strength. Taking his heart out will revert back the positions of the hearts he ate. That's the only way." So, that's why they all opt for close-range battle and desperately launch attacks at him one after another. "Hello. Are you guys done planning there? Sevy said not to be late... even though it's tomorrow. But, time to pew pew again." the clown says, now sitting while he's half-floating on the air, playing his mouth with his hands. Sevy? What is he talking about? Another character of him? "Wait!" I shout. I'm not ready yet. I need to stall him. Do I do it the normal way or use reverse psychology against him? [["We need more time."]] [["We'll not play with you, and your stupid hat."]]

Noah lightly kicks my head, seeing that I'm also frozen. He's the only one who's still unfazed, and is without a hint of fear. "Noah... what should I—" He kicks my head again. I look at him; he nods at me. "Can I, this time as well?" "Yes." I smile, "Let's do our best this time too, yeah?" There is a slight pause before he says, "Yes." Sometimes when these things happen, despair kicks in first, followed by waves of confusion and uncertainties that I made up myself. And Noah, a being that remains calm with a sense of tranquility, is one that will always remain by anyone's side. Observing, accompanying. 'Courage and intelligence is important, but warm words of comfort can inspire even the weakest and helpless human.'—somehow this quote pops up into my head, just whom did I hear it from? I nod at Noah. I then take a deep, deep breath before kicking the cage, he follows my lead but does it with his head instead. The clinking noise that we produced shocks Jane out of her state. We need to get out of this cage now or we'll die together, without any chance to retaliate. [[Convince Iris to open the cage.]] [[Ask Noah to bust the cage open.]]

"Time?" he asks, clamping his mouth between his hands. "Do clowns gez to sleepi on their job? No! They do notz." "It's just a small break; so we can perform better." "Smallzzz? Hoooww smull? Sevy can get angry if I come late." This is insane. I'm negotiating with a psychopath that we're planning to kill. "Umm..." I clear my throat. "How about 5 minutes? Then we'll play and entertain alongside you." "Nooo," he says. "5 minutes 1 second. Then you die. I win. I return back." "Ok." He then closes his eyes and start to mumble something: he's counting down. The clock starts ticking now. "Ok, Ok," I say to everyone that's standing around me, except Vile who is still locked up and calling out my name; he's likely picked up on it after eavesdropping into our conversation. I kneel down in front of Gael, and starts to draw on the sand. "The way he awkwardly teleports, I assumed there's a limit or range imposed on it, sort of like a—" Suddenly, someone runs out from the jungle and bumps into Jane's legs. Lily. Her whole body is filled with scratches, she's somehow followed us here. "Lily don't like clowns," she says. Her mouth is filled with animal fleshes, still dripping in red. Was she eating something and only come out when the clown closed his eyes? No, no, no. Focus. "As I was saying, judging from his movements, the clown can freely teleport in six directions, a few feet away from his original one: up, down, left, right, back and forward. Think of him like the core of a cube, with three different planes of movements. We need to restrict him by cutting off his choices instantaneously, leaving only one path to—" I pause myself, because I see Kumiho standing up on her feet, with her wounds already been closed. But, one of her tails is gone. Whoa. Whoa. Nine lives. Iris also supports Ivy on her shoulder, and together, they all walk to me, anxiously waiting to watch my mouth move. "I've been conscious the whole time, human." Kumiho says. "Continue, other matters come later." "Don't waste our time!" Ivy says. Ok, ok, ok. 3 minute left. [[Next chapter->Chapter 14 start]]

"Stupid hat?" he shouts. "Your hat is the one that's stupid!" But I'm not wearing any hat. He shouts "plink" at me and I can only feel the inside of my head being heated up, without recollection of things that happened afterwards. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take the other choice->"We need more time."]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 14**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"A Stone Heart"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 14 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c4ach to 0)] (set: $c14checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 14") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Chapter 14]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

Time's up. This plan is not perfected. Facing against such an unpredicatable villain, I feel like something's bound to go wrong. But I can't pinpoint it out, there's only moving forward and improvising now. The clown opens his eyes, as he stands up and does some warm stretches. He yawns. "Are you ready?" This clown, what a comical villain. He could have killed any of us instantly if he wanted to. Yet, he chooses to mess around with us instead of exploding us all in a snap. Not a glint of fear or worries in his face even though he has lost his arms, his mouth trembling with excitement. No enemy is more frightening than one who doesn't value his own life, yet with the capability to wreak havoc before taken down. Survival of the strongest... let's see about that. "Plink!" //BOOM// The area a few feet in front of me explodes, splashing the sand on me. I instinctively shut my eyes and squint my nose and mouth as well. "Again, are you ready to perform?" he asks. Everyone's looking at me once I open my eyes again. Gael and Kumiho looks more nervous than the others, standing in their posture. I can see Gael restraining himself from trembling as he deliberately diverts his eyes away from two of his brothers that are lying in their own puddle of blood. Although Iris says he's the leader of their group, but he looks like he's the youngest amongst them. I take a deep breath. This plan can only be executed in one-straight-go with no chance to redo. All their lives cling on it, their hands and legs ready to react, as their eyes await my mouth to say that one word that'll start and end this battle—//for better or worst//. How many times have I been put in these situations? I've never failed before, and this time is no exception. I need to make sure it stays that way. Stop overthinking. Noah walks towards me, and kicks my right knee. I smile at him. "I know, I know." Then, I cross my eyes with the clown. He's finished his stretches, and is pushing up all his wristbrands up to his elbows. "Number Two!" I shout. He grins at me. "I like that look on your face." [["We're ready."]]

It begins. Kumiho, Jane and Ivy stay back to provide long-ranged attacks; Gael, Noah, and Lily—reluctantly, only after the promise of roasted meats afterwards—will act as the direct assault team; Ivy as the central role of restricting the clown's movement. "Kumiho!" I shout. Kumiho draws circles around her, one after another, continuously to send waves of sand towards the clown—blocking his view to prevent him from creating those little explosions. Then, Gael draws out his lit-up small daggers and throw them into the sand, igniting full frontal explosions to push the clown back. "Ivy!" Ivy creates a huge warping hole at the clown's back, which will suck him in upon contact. This limit his options to move to only four directions: up, down, left, and right. The clown starts to cackle amidst the sand, "Fun! More! Plink! Plink!" He starts to blindly explodes the area around him, creating holes as the sand splashes and overlap each other, clouding our views even more. Gael now has to dash around the area, evading bumps that manifest into explosions within seconds. "Jane!" Jane snaps her fingers on both her hands, followed by a stretch of her arms wide open. All in one smooth movement. Two rows of sharp branches are created, as they overlap perpendicularly, continuously, being fired with a gap of less than one second in between, above the clown. It's creating a form like a flowing stack-by-stack of cross pattern. "Iris!" Iris teleports Lily and Noah to the clown's left and right respectively as Lily tries to land her punch, and Noah, his kick. This is the trickiest part. The clown could explode them straight away if Iris did not manage to create shields for them in the next instant. I will not be able to see what's going on except to listen for clues. The clown is only a few feet from the ground, so, if he teleports down then surely there will be a thumping sound when Lily's hand meet Noah's stone feet. From there on, Gael will only need to thrust his dagger into the clown. If not, two explosions will be heard as they impact on Lily and Noah. I hold my breath in, as my eyes glue on the clown's supposed position. A few seconds pass like they have been considerably slowed down like they will never come. This is it. [[Next page->next page14.1]]

//BOOM// One explosion. One single explosion. He blows himself up, sacrificing both his legs this time. The wave of the energy send Noah and Lily flying separated ways. Son of a goat. Again? This is insane. This is ridiculous. "Weaaaaak!" he yells, before he teleports to his left. In a split second, he casts an explosion on Lily. A loud bang resonates across the sea shore, followed by another. //BOOOM// //BOOOM// "Weak! Weaaaak! No good!" //BOOM// //BOOM BOOM BOOM// The sand splashes again, and again, and again. Lily cries in pain with every loud bang, until eventually all becomes silent. Iris pukes out blood and falls face flat to the ground. Ivy has stopped erecting her warping hole and runs towards Iris. Gael has run out of his daggers but one. The time taken to execute this is too long. The plan is failing. This is not a mindless Berserker, this clown can think. We are not facing a horde of skeletons, but a one-man-army that is not afraid to die. Once the formation is disrupted, there is no recreating it back. "NO!" Noah's shout slices my thoughts. He's sheltering Lily—curling around her, wraping her inside his arm-less body, attempting to protect her from further explosions. He hasn't given up yet. That stupid golem. "Jane, cage!" I call out. Jane is frozen, looking at Lily and Noah. "E-he!" the clown notices me and tilts his head at me, as he raises his hands up. I start to run towards Jane, "Cage, JANE!" Explosions of the sand burst a few inches beside me, knocking my head sideways and slamming my body down. I see Jane slapping her face as she looks at the clown, and interlaces her fingers before grasping both her hands together, binding and the clown to the cage as he created before dragging and dropping him to the ground with a large slamming sound. Gael seems to have noticed it, as without wasting a mere blip of a second, he leaps and thrusts his dagger and his whole body into the sand, reaching as deep as he can. The clown cast another explosion in front of him, but Kumiho boosted Gael's leap, making the explosion barely hitting him. Kumiho's legs give in as she falls half-sitting on the ground. Her hands tremor, and her breath uneven. The sand disperses a few seconds later, revealing what's at the end of Gael's knife as Gael tries to regain his breath. I stand myself up; we are all stunned at the scene. The night suddenly becomes silent again, devoid of any signs of life. [[Next page->next page14.2]]

The clown managed to teleport a few feet behind from where Gael is standing. He's staring at us blankly, and starts to cackle as he takes his three balloons out. "He dead! He dead!" Vile shouts from his cage, happily tapping the metal bars. He's right. There's an open hole at where the clown's heart used to be. In that split second, Gael managed to skewer his dagger into the clown's heart, pinning it before the clown teleported away. The clown takes off his hat, and slowly places it on the ground. Then, he releases the three balloons. The first one flies and hovers above us, the second sticks on his back, while the last one flies towards Lily. He claps his hands with grace, as he cheerfully looks at me. "Splendid! Wonderful! Hats off to you. It's a shame though, that I won't be able to attend that annual dinner Sevy so graciously prepared." But after he finishes his sentence, his expression quickly switches to a sad and depressed one. He starts to sob. "But... the weaks shall perish. No. Matter. What. You. Do." He then becomes all hopeful again as he glances at two of the balloons, and softly rubbing the one behind him. "You know why hearts are spectacularly attractive? Because they are the ones that can make people cry, or laugh. Without them, we are nothing but a lifeless pile of stones. Without hearts, we cease to exist. That's why I loveeee them! Especially when they become A PART OF ME!" Something's going to happen; I need to prevent it. The balloons start to glow already, brighter and brighter. Three of them. Given the time, I can only choose one. But, which one? [[Pop the first balloon.]] [[Pop the second balloon.]] [[Pop the third balloon.]]

"Jane!" I call out. "Pop the balloon above us." Jane looks at the hovering balloon and snaps her finger, directing a branch straight into it. It pops, along with the one behind the clown. But the balloon that was heading to Lily has now been attached behind Noah. It starts to glows more intensely, enveloping the whole area around Noah and Lily in mint-green light. Noah swings his leg and kicks Lily away. The round area showered in the green light shifts a bit as he moves his leg. It marked him. "No," I whisper. It can't be. Noah seems to have noticed as well because he remains standing there alone with his legs frozen, and his arms gone; the green hue becomes more and more vivid before my eyes. "NOAH! MOVE!" I shout, as I quickly charge at him. A tear drops from his eye. "NOAH!" It glints in the dazzling green light, as he looks at me. "No." he says, with a soft, helpless voice. The light zaps into a concentrated orb before rapidly expanding out. "NOAH!" Within seconds, the explosion incinerates his stones to dust, bursting me away from him before completely fading away. My ears ring loudly. No... I push myself back onto my feet and run towards the hole created. There is only a hole remained. A big, hollow hole. Nothing's left. Not even the dusts to remember him by. I kneel in front of the hole, with my hands gripping fists full of crusted sands. I take a heavy, shaky breath. "Noah," I call out. "Please..." ... ... ... "What could I have done?" The rest of them run back to revive Kenzo and their members, hugging each other while I peer into the empty hole. Right, they have no attachment to Noah, and only knows him as a healing golem. And I, used to think so too. Until he... family... I knock my head down onto the sand, laying it there, as my tears start to flow out. "Please..." my voice breaks and my grips tighten. "Just this once." Damn it. Goddamn it. "NOAH!" I yell, frustratingly and hopelessly. As loud as I can. There is no response, only his name echoes in the empty hole where he was standing, alive, a few moments ago. Someone kneels down beside me and gives me a warm hug, wrapping my neck in her arms, gently patting my head. She doesn't say anything, not a single word. Just her hand, continue to stroke my hair. And I realise that this is the most powerful comfort there is. But, I wish... that I don't need to learn of it this way. [[Cry my heart out.]] [[Calm myself, hold my tears in.]]

"Jane!" I call out. "Pop the balloon on his back!" Jane looks at the clown's direction, as he waves at her. She snaps her finger, directing a branch straight into the balloon behind him. It pops, along with the one above us. But the balloon that is attached behind Noah starts to glows more intensely, enveloping the whole area around Noah and Lily in mint-green light. Noah swings his leg and kicks Lily away. The round area showered in the green light shifts a bit as he moves his leg. It marked him. "No," I whisper. It can't be. Noah seems to have noticed as well because he remains standing there alone with his legs frozen, and his arms gone; the green hue becomes more and more vivid before my eyes. "NOAH! MOVE!" I shout, as I quickly charge at him. A tear drops from his eye. "NOAH!" It glints in the dazzling green light, as he looks at me. "No." he says, with a soft, helpless voice. The light zaps into a concentrated orb before rapidly expanding out. "NOAH!" Within seconds, the explosion incinerates his stones to dust, bursting me away from him before completely fading away. My ears ring loudly. No... I push myself back onto my feet and run towards the hole created. There is only a hole remained. A big, hollow hole. Nothing's left. Not even the dusts to remember him by. I kneel in front of the hole, with my hands gripping fists full of crusted sands. I take a heavy, shaky breath. "Noah," I call out. "Please..." ... ... ... "What could I have done?" The rest of them run back to revive Kenzo and their members, hugging each other while I peer into the empty hole. Right, they have no attachment to Noah, and only knows him as a healing golem. And I, used to think so too. Until he... family... I knock my head down onto the sand, laying it there, as my tears start to flow out. "Please..." my voice breaks and my grips tighten. "Just this once." Damn it. Goddamn it. "NOAH!" I yell, frustratingly and hopelessly. As loud as I can. There is no response, only his name echoes in the empty hole where he was standing, alive, a few moments ago. Someone kneels down beside me and gives me a warm hug, wrapping my neck in her arms, gently patting my head. She doesn't say anything, not a single word. Just her hand, continue to stroke my hair. And I realise that this is the most powerful comfort there is. But, I wish... that I don't need to learn of it this way. [[Cry my heart out.]] [[Calm myself, hold my tears in.]]

"Jane!" I call out. "Pop the balloon heading to Lily!" Jane looks at Lily's direction, the balloon has almost sticked on Noah's back. She snaps her finger, directing a branch straight into the balloon. Two other balloons pop. But the balloon that was heading to Lily didn't; it has now been attached behind Noah. It starts to glows more intensely, enveloping the whole area around Noah and Lily in mint-green light. Noah swings his leg and kicks Lily away. The round area showered in the green light shifts a bit as he moves his leg. It marked him. "No," I whisper. It can't be. Noah seems to have noticed as well because he remains standing there alone with his legs frozen, and his arms gone; the green hue becomes more and more vivid before my eyes. "NOAH! MOVE!" I shout, as I quickly charge at him. A tear drops from his eye. "NOAH!" It glints in the dazzling green light, as he looks at me. "No." he says, with a soft, helpless voice. The light zaps into a concentrated orb before rapidly expanding out. "NOAH!" Within seconds, the explosion incinerates his stones to dust, bursting me away from him before completely fading away. My ears ring loudly. No... I push myself back onto my feet and run towards the hole created. There is only a hole remained. A big, hollow hole. Nothing's left. Not even the dusts to remember him by. I kneel in front of the hole, with my hands gripping fists full of crusted sands. I take a heavy, shaky breath. "Noah," I call out. "Please..." ... ... ... "What could I have done?" The rest of them run back to revive Kenzo and their members, hugging each other while I peer into the empty hole. Right, they have no attachment to Noah, and only knows him as a healing golem. And I, used to think so too. Until he... family... I knock my head down onto the sand, laying it there, as my tears start to flow out. "Please..." my voice breaks and my grips tighten. "Just this once." Damn it. Goddamn it. "NOAH!" I yell, frustratingly and hopelessly. As loud as I can. There is no response, only his name echoes in the empty hole where he was standing, alive, a few moments ago. Someone kneels down beside me and gives me a warm hug, wrapping my neck in her arms, gently patting my head. She doesn't say anything, not a single word. Just her hand, continue to stroke my hair. And I realise that this is the most powerful comfort there is. But, I wish... that I don't need to learn of it this way. [[Cry my heart out.]] [[Calm myself, hold my tears in.]]

(if: (history:) contains "Cry my heart out.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Noah."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c4ach to $c4ach +1) ]I cry my heart out: knowing that an expressionless golem I met in The Other World has been reduced to nothingness. The time he healed us from the Peace Squad mage, the time he saved us from the skeletons, the moments he princess-carry others, and his feelings that he carries with him as he stumps his heavy feet—to live even without a heart—all wiped clean by a pillar of light. Our whole journey, gone. He couldn't even say goodbye. What could I have done? "Noah," I say with a soft voice, trying to form a coherent sentence. "He saw us... his family..." Jane only nods. And like a powerless children, I embrace Jane's hug and shed my tears. I've never known how bitter and painful it is to own a heart. Jane doesn't let me go yet, but, my eyes hurt. I just want to close them and sleep. I feel weak. No more. I don't want to sacrifice anything dear to me anymore. [[Next page->next page14.3]]

I take a deep, shaky breath. I sniff to force the tears in. But the sadness still lingers around my heart: knowing that an expressionless golem I met in 'The Other World' has been reduced to nothingness, all the people he healed, the times he saved me, the moments he princess-carry others, and his feelings that he carries with him as he stumps his heavy feet—to live even without a heart—all wiped clean by a pillar of light. He couldn't even say goodbye. What could I have done? "Noah," I say with a soft voice, trying to form a coherent sentence. "He saw us... his family..." Jane only nods. And like a powerless children, I embrace Jane's hug. I hold back my immense grief and heartache. I've never known how bitter and painful it is to own a heart. Jane continues to caress my hair, but, my eyes hurt. I just want to close them and sleep. I feel weak. No more. I don't want to sacrifice anything dear to me anymore. [[Next page->next page14.3]]

I don't know how long has passed, but I'm still crouching in front of the hole. The sun has risen on the horizon, vibrantly casting its orange gold light on my back, touching my skin. My shadow lengthens into the deep hole in front of me. It's like I've fallen into it. Lily is unscathed, likely because Iris created powerful defensive barrier—that was beyond her limit—around Lily when the multiple explosions were cast. She is now standing down at the center of the hole, crouching and seemingly digging for something. The clown's body has been burnt to crisp. He did that to himself. They say there's both a satisfying smile and a drop of tears on his face before the sea wash away what remains of it. Kenzo, is alive, and well. The spatial warper, and the air-particles-transmutator however, are still out cold, and are being treated by Kumiho as Jane briefs Kenzo on the incident. They are talking about boarding a ship and head to Deminia. While, Gael, wants to take his brothers' body back to Deminia. I can only vaguely hear pieces of their conversation without turning back. My eyes still rest on Lily playing with sand. She blacked out after Noah kicks her away, and doesn't seem to understand what just happened. It happened because I was too reckless. Because the plan wasn't as great as they praised. Because I didn't take into consideration of how it would endanger their lives if things gone wrong. I couldn't have thought of better plan at that time, but maybe attempting to escape was another option to avoid this tragedy. "John," someone pats my shoulder. "Wolfie!" Lily points behind me. "I'm sorry for your loss, John." he continues. "Your golem friend, he saved us, all of us. And, we won't ever forget about him." [["I'm ok."]] [["I cannot do this now."]] [["His name was Noah."]]

(if: (history:) contains "\"I'm ok.\"")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"I'm not."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c4ach to $c4ach +1) ]He grips my shoulder with his hand-paw before tapping it. "We'll wait for you." His footsteps recede away from me, but Lily still has her eyes on my back. Jane crouches down beside me, and waves at Lily; Lily continues to play with the sand. "John," Jane calls out, looking into my eyes from my side. Her tone hints that she's concerned about my state. "A boat will be picking us up in a few minutes, to a ship enroute to Deminia. They will all be boarding, including Vile who is tagging along. They say there's a Jay on board too." Her eyes are still glued on me, awaiting any slight change of emotions that I might or might not show. "I'm going too," she declares. "I hope... you can be by my side as well. The dead stays dead, but I... still need you—"—she clears her throat as her face turns red, and she turns away from me. The dead stays dead. I know. I understand. But, why is it so hard to accept this? It's an universal fact across all members in all four continents. None can escape from this. Magic can't revive the dead. Forcing revivals will only make it worst, which many has tried to. The Four Cardinal Sages, included. This is war. People die. I can't—I can't save everyone; even if I want to, even if I desperately hope to. I know. I understand. But, how can this still feel so bitter? Anne, Alice, Jane and likely Cliff and everyone I've ever likely met experienced this pain before, without knowing what to proceed. They lost something they loved dearly. My mom died when I was a child, my dad disappeared without a trace. So, it never really hits this hard... to feel when I lose something. Noah, he's a Beastia member. And Beastian—they value bonds of trust and friendship. I've made a promise to Jane's father, that he holds on to, as the ruler of every Beastian inside Oasis Zero. And, another to Cliff that I'd protect people around me. I've failed, and I can't afford to break it again. I have no choice, not for now. I grip the crafted shield that Cliff gave me. "Noah," I breathe, glancing at Lily. "I can't heal them... but I promise you.. I—I will protect them in your stead. There will be no more deaths from this point on. Even if I have to sacrifice myself." Even if I have to sacrifice myself. "What was that?" Jane asks, she's still blushing over her own words that she stopped at. I... [[Stand up, and hold my hand out to her.]] [[Pat her head, and offer to help her up.]] [[Pinch her cheeks, and see her reaction.]]

He retracts his hand-paw. "You're right. I'm sorry." His footsteps recede away from me, but Lily still has her eyes on my back. Jane crouches down beside me, and waves at Lily; Lily continues to play with the sand. "John," Jane calls out, looking into my eyes from my side. Her tone hints that she's concerned about my state. "A boat will be picking us up in a few minutes, to a ship enroute to Deminia. They will all be boarding, including Vile who is tagging along. They say there's a Jay on board too." Her eyes are still glued on me, awaiting any slight change of emotions that I might or might not show. "I'm going too," she declares. "I hope... you can be by my side as well. The dead stays dead, but I... still need you—"—she clears her throat as her face turns red, and she turns away from me. The dead stays dead. I know. I understand. But, why is it so hard to accept this? It's an universal fact across all members in all four continents. None can escape from this. Magic can't revive the dead. Forcing revivals will only make it worst, which many has tried to. The Four Cardinal Sages, included. This is war. People die. I can't—I can't save everyone; even if I want to, even if I desperately hope to. I know. I understand. But, how can this still feel so bitter? Anne, Alice, Jane and likely Cliff and everyone I've ever likely met experienced this pain before, without knowing what to proceed. They lost something they loved dearly. My mom died when I was a child, my dad disappeared without a trace. So, it never really hits this hard... to feel when I lose something. Noah, he's a Beastia member. And Beastian—they value bonds of trust and friendship. I've made a promise to Jane's father, that he holds on to, as the ruler of every Beastian inside Oasis Zero. And, another to Cliff that I'd protect people around me. I've failed, and I can't afford to break it again. I have no choice, not for now. I grip the crafted shield that Cliff gave me. "Noah," I breathe, glancing at Lily. "I can't heal them... but I promise you.. I—I will protect them in your stead. There will be no more deaths from this point on. Even if I have to sacrifice myself." Even if I have to sacrifice myself. "What was that?" Jane asks, she's still blushing over her own words that she stopped at. I... [[Stand up, and hold my hand out to her.]] [[Pat her head, and offer to help her up.]] [[Pinch her cheeks, and see her reaction.]]

He retracts his hand-paw. "I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone." His footsteps recede away from me, but Lily still has her eyes on my back. Jane crouches down beside me, and waves at Lily; Lily continues to play with the sand. "John," Jane calls out, looking into my eyes from my side. Her tone hints that she's concerned about my state. "A boat will be picking us up in a few minutes, to a ship enroute to Deminia. They will all be boarding, including Vile who is tagging along. They say there's a Jay on board too." Her eyes are still glued on me, awaiting any slight change of emotions that I might or might not show. "I'm going too," she declares. "I hope... you can be by my side as well. The dead stays dead, but I... still need you—"—she clears her throat as her face turns red, and she turns away from me. The dead stays dead. I know. I understand. But, why is it so hard to accept this? It's an universal fact across all members in all four continents. None can escape from this. Magic can't revive the dead. Forcing revivals will only make it worst, which many has tried to. The Four Cardinal Sages, included. This is war. People die. I can't—I can't save everyone; even if I want to, even if I desperately hope to. I know. I understand. But, how can this still feel so bitter? Anne, Alice, Jane and likely Cliff and everyone I've ever likely met experienced this pain before, without knowing what to proceed. They lost something they loved dearly. My mom died when I was a child, my dad disappeared without a trace. So, it never really hits this hard... to feel when I lose something. Noah, he's a Beastia member. And Beastian—they value bonds of trust and friendship. I've made a promise to Jane's father, that he holds on to, as the ruler of every Beastian inside Oasis Zero. And, another to Cliff that I'd protect people around me. I've failed, and I can't afford to break it again. I have no choice, not for now. I grip the crafted shield that Cliff gave me. "Noah," I breathe, glancing at Lily. "I can't heal them... but I promise you.. I—I will protect them in your stead. There will be no more deaths from this point on. Even if I have to sacrifice myself." Even if I have to sacrifice myself. "What was that?" Jane asks, she's still blushing over her own words that she stopped at. I... [[Stand up, and hold my hand out to her.]] [[Pat her head, and offer to help her up.]] [[Pinch her cheeks, and see her reaction.]]

I stand up first, lending my hand out to her. She accepts it, and gives me another hug as she stands. "Noah will always be with us." She then let go, and calls Lily. Lily climbs up the hole, where she grabs her hand and pulls her up. Lily says something to Jane, and Jane pats her head before she walks towards the shore, where two wooden boats are being rowed at us from a distance. Everyone is waiting there already—Kenzo, Gael, Kumiho and the rest of them. Lily walks towards me; she's holding something between her small hands. I kneel down at her. "Open your hand." she says. I lift up my right hand and extends my palm at her. She relaxes her grips, and drops a heart-shaped pebble on my palm. Then, she hugs me with her small arms attempting to wrap around my whole neck. "Mr. Stone will always be with us," she says. I look at the pebble I hold on top of my palm. It's shining, and reflecting the sun light. This is likely Noah's inner core that didn't get destroyed, and was buried beneath the sand. Maybe Lily saw it glistering and dug it up. Ah... how uncool I've become: needing a child to comfort me. She didn't even cry. A line of tears slide down my cheek but I quickly wipe it away. Then, I lift and carry her up on my shoulder as we stand in front of the empty hole for the last time. Our shadows have already shortened and about to leave the hole. I take a deep breath. [[Rest the heart here.]] [[Take it away with me.]]

I pat her head, as I stand up first, lending my hand out to her. She accepts it, and gives me another hug as she stands. "Noah will always be with us." She then let go, and calls Lily. Lily climbs up the hole, where she grabs her hand and pulls her up. Lily says something to Jane, and Jane pats her head before she walks towards the shore, where two wooden boats are being rowed at us from a distance. Everyone is waiting there already—Kenzo, Gael, Kumiho and the rest of them. Lily walks towards me; she's holding something between her small hands. I kneel down at her. "Open your hand." she says. I lift up my right hand and extends my palm at her. She relaxes her grips, and drops a heart-shaped pebble on my palm. Then, she hugs me with her small arms attempting to wrap around my whole neck. "Mr. Stone will always be with us," she says. I look at the pebble I hold on top of my palm. It's shining, and reflecting the sun light. This is likely Noah's inner core that didn't get destroyed, and was buried beneath the sand. Maybe Lily saw it glistering and dug it up. Ah... how uncool I've become: needing a child to comfort me. She didn't even cry. A line of tears slide down my cheek but I quickly wipe it away. Then, I lift and carry her up on my shoulder as we stand in front of the empty hole for the last time. Our shadows have already shortened and about to leave the hole. I take a deep breath. [[Rest the heart here.]] [[Take it away with me.]]

(if: (history:) contains "Pinch her cheeks, and see her reaction.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Thank you for being here."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c4ach to $c4ach +1) ]I pinch her cheeks. "Why are you so cute?" I ask. She replies something but I can't understand it with my hands on her cheeks. Her face reddens almost to the colour of her eyes, as she slaps my hand away. She stands up and turns her back at me. "Stop playing," she says. "If you're ok then let's go already!" She then calls Lily. Lily climbs up the hole, where Jane grabs her hand and pulls her up. Lily says something to Jane, and Jane pats her head before she walks towards the shore, where two wooden boats are being rowed at us from a distance. Everyone is waiting there already—Kenzo, Gael, Kumiho and the rest of them. Lily walks towards me; she's holding something between her small hands. I kneel down at her. "Open your hand." she says. I lift up my right hand and extends my palm at her. She relaxes her grips, and drops a heart-shaped pebble on my palm. Then, she hugs me with her small arms attempting to wrap around my whole neck. "Mr. Stone will always be with us," she says. I look at the pebble I hold on top of my palm. It's shining, and reflecting the sun light. This is likely Noah's inner core that didn't get destroyed, and was buried beneath the sand. Maybe Lily saw it glistering and dug it up. Ah... how uncool I've become: needing a child to comfort me. She didn't even cry. A line of tears slide down my cheek but I quickly wipe it away. Then, I lift and carry her up on my shoulder as we stand in front of the empty hole for the last time. Our shadows have already shortened and about to leave the hole. I take a deep breath. [[Rest the heart here.]] [[Take it away with me.]]

I kneel down and place it in front of me. Then, I grab a small stone laying around and carve on the crust of the sand: (align: "=><=")[**Here lies Noah. A loyal golem. An exceptional healer. A friend, with a noble heart.**] This way, not the sea nor the rain will be able to wash it away. I lift Lily up on my shoulder again, as she looks at me staring at the heart-shaped pebble. With a heavy heart, I say to her, "Time to say goodbye." "Bye bye, Mr. Stone." she says, before chewing at her ham sandwiches, waving at the pebble. The front zip of my bag is opened, with a few more packed ham sandwiches—which I didn't know were there. And, the back zip seems to be tampered with as well. Did she stuff something inside? "John!" Jane shouts from behind me. "Time to go!" I nod at Jane, before taking a deep bow in front of Noah's stone heart. "I won't let anyone die again, Noah. I promise, with my heart crossed." Then, alongside Lily's soft munching sounds and the cold sea breeze that swipes across my face under the bath of warm sun, I pick up my steps and get myself and Lily into the rowboat nearest to me. Iris, Ivy and Jane are on the same rowboat. Iris and Ivy only shoot me occasional glance of worries; Ivy closes her mouth, refuse to say anything as she rows the boat while Iris looks like she's hesitating whether or not to say anything. "I'm fine." I say, to both of them. "... are you really?" Ivy asks. "No," I reply her. "But I'll be, eventually. As long as I can remember Noah." I give a comforting smile to both Iris and Ivy. Iris smiles back at me, while Ivy dismisses me with a "Hmmph! Just don't cry like a baby next time!" Jane chuckles. "They sure care about you, John." "yes." "I don't care about humans! He's just an acquaintance." Jane then properly introduces herself to both of them, and Iris opens up a conversation with her—telling her what kingdom of Deminia is like in the inside, how the locals interact and their peculiar customs. Ivy only //reluctantly// answers when Jane asks her things. They continue to share and compare things about their kingdoms and classes, even after we board the ship. The ship seems to be built for royals, having three sturdy masts with four layers of wide, white sails each, and its deck large enough to be separated into spacious forecastle, main, quarter and poop deck—which is at the tail of the ship. There are, however, no cannons of any sort on deck, only tens of long metal poles at each side of the main deck, and a mermaid sculpture as its figurehead. I stand at the poop deck, aimlessly glancing at the land of Beastia as the whole continent slowly fades away from my sight. A heavy, bitter realisation sinks into my heart: the ship is setting sail to Deminia, and Noah... is no longer with us. [[Next chapter->Chapter 15 start]]

I decide to take it away with me. His noble heart. But, when I just about to put it into my bag, Lily stuffs something into it before opening the front zip and taking out some ham sandwiches that were already packed inside. I didn't know that. I put the pebble into my bag. Then, I lift Lily up on my shoulder again, as she looks at me staring blankly at the hole. With a heavy heart, I say to her, "Time to say goodbye." "Bye bye, Mr. Stone." she says, chewing at her ham sandwiches, waving at the deep, painful hole created. "John!" Jane shouts from behind me. "Time to go!" I nod at her, before taking a deep bow in front of Noah's stone heart. "I won't let anyone die again, Noah. I promise, with my heart crossed." Then, alongside Lily's soft munching sounds and the cold sea breeze that swipes across my face under the bath of warm sun, I pick up my steps and get myself and Lily into the rowboat nearest to me. Iris, Ivy and Jane are on the same rowboat. Iris and Ivy only shoot me occasional glance of worries; Ivy closes her mouth, refuse to say anything as she rows the boat while Iris looks like she's hesitating whether or not to say anything. "I'm fine." I say, to both of them. "... are you really?" Ivy asks. "No," I reply her. "But I'll be, eventually. As long as I can remember Noah." I give a comforting smile to both Iris and Ivy. Iris smiles back at me, while Ivy dismisses me with a "Hmmph! Just don't cry like a baby next time!" Jane chuckles. "They sure care about you, John." "yes." "I don't care about humans! He's just an acquaintance." Jane then properly introduces herself to both of them, and Iris opens up a conversation with her—telling her what kingdom of Deminia is like in the inside, how the locals interact and their peculiar customs. Ivy only //reluctantly// answers when Jane asks her things. They continue to share and compare things about their kingdoms and classes, even after we board the ship. The ship seems to be built for royals, having three sturdy masts with four layers of wide, white sails each, and its deck large enough to be separated into spacious forecastle, main, quarter and poop deck—which is at the tail of the ship. There are, however, no cannons of any sort on deck, only tens of long metal poles at each side of the main deck, and a mermaid sculpture as its figurehead. I stand at the poop deck, aimlessly glancing at the land of Beastia as the whole continent slowly fades away from my sight. A heavy, bitter realisation sinks into my heart: the ship is setting sail to Deminia, and Noah... is no longer with us. (set: "heart" to "yes") [[Next chapter->Chapter 15 start]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 15**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"The Curse of Marga"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 15 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c5ach to 0)] (set: $c15checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 15") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Chapter 15]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

"Cheer up, John." the centaur—a half-human, half-horse mix—Captain Eiden of the ship says. "It'd be an insult to the food if you eat it unwillingly." I sigh. We are about a few hours away from Deminia; it's already noon. In front of me, is a 20-feet-long wooden table with the about same long loaf of bread on top of it. I'm sitting on one of the two benches by its side; Jay sits on my right, in the middle between me and Jane, Lily sits on Jane's right, while Gael sits on my left. Iris and Ivy sit across, only their eyes are visible, the rest of their faces are blocked by the long loaf of bread. As for Kumiho, she's likely still tending to the two that still remain unconscious. Earlier, Gael drags me from the poop deck to this dining hall that is one floor below the main deck, connected by a rusty metal stair. He introduces me to Captain Eiden, the ship's masterchef and main captain, who has a dashing beard, his hairs diverged into two long ponytails, wearing a leather armor with a few badges around his upper human body, a purple clover bracelet on his right wrist. Jay's heartily talking to Jane, while I stare blankly at the plate consisting of a few slices of breads, covered in jam and honey. Captain Eiden smacks my back. "Come on John. Restore some energy of yours, eat up!" I obligately takes one slice and bite on it, before putting it down. It's biting into sugar coated with a layer of sugar: just too much of sweetness. The rest of demi-humans frown at me, like I'm a weirdo depreciating their meal. Humans, are not exactly welcomed here. Or anywhere, by demi-humans. Especially by a dullahan—a headless guy with muscular human body—standing in the corner, crossing his arms. I notice some of the demi-humans' stares are in disgust, while some, in anger, when I made my way to the table. Half-elves, fauns (with horns and lower bodies of goat), harpies (female creatures with wings), all alike. They sprawl out like ants leaving their nest when I choose a seat. And honestly, this is a norm anywhere in four continents. Demi-humans are called so because of their humanoid resemblance, it's one of their great features but is also the same reason they are discriminated—like they are half-breed monsters that don't suppose to exist. People don't like to be around them, just as they are, uncomfortable around us. Human knights, in particular. There's been a long-lasting tension between the two of because of the exploits of demi-human by generation of knights. So, it's quite an magnificent feat that Hugo managed to bridge United Knights Association with The Minority. They might have heard of me before, but maybe, it's just more comfortable to stay true to their norm. "John," Kenzo calls out, standing in front of the door supposedly leading to the captain's room. Another man—with a hair knot on top and two katana on each side of his waist—is standing inside the room, crossing his arms, waiting. "John," Kenzo calls out again. "Can you come in here for a moment?" "... Sure." I leave the table and walk inside. Jane tries to stand as well, but Jay pulls her hand down and tell her not to worry. Kenzo shuts the door behind me as soon as I walk in, and he turns the knob with a loud click. [[Next page->next page 15.1]]

There are three people inside this small room including me. No, four. A female half-elf is leaning her back against the wall, hiding her presence behind the door when it was opened. I didn't see her. The samurai-like guy has a small sharp horn on his forehead that I hadn't notice, and his right hand is rested on the tip of katana by his right. "What's going on here?" I ask. "John," Kenzo stands in front of me. "I need you to listen calmly to what I'm about to say next. It's important that you answer truthfully." I lift my right hand in attempt to scratch my head. "What are you—" //PAM// The female half-elf slams my face on the table in front of me, one hand choking on the back of my neck, while the other stretches my left arm behind, twisting it enough to restrain me. The samurai guy has half-way drawn out his katana as he glances at me, without any change in emotions. "Tris, let him go." Kenzo says. "No." Tris, the female half-elf says, as she presses my head deeper onto the table. "I don't trust him like you do." "He helped us save the children. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" "Shut up, Kenzo. Based on what you said, I don't think the knights just happen to flock there together. For all you know, it can be just one of another //devious// plot of theirs." she twists my wrist by a few degrees. I let out a muffled scream. "We can't proceed like this, Tris. Loose his arm." "Enough trying to boss me, Kenzo. You're the same rank as me. So, I suggest you ask the questions now, while his miserable arm is still attached." she folds my arm and pulls my face up from the table, enough to talk or scream. Kenzo then pours a green jelly-like potion into my mouth, as he forcibly moves my jaw to gulp it into my throat. "John, bear with it. I've only got three questions." Tris slaps my neck, forcing me to gulp a chockful of it down. Yuck, it tastes like fresh soap and it lingers around my throat, seemingly draining my energy bit by bit. "The first question, John." Kenzo says. "What do you know about The Big Five?" [["Nothing."]] [["One of them is a Shapeshifter."]] [["One of them saved us from a Basilisk."]] [["A pair of them was in the Berserker fight."]]

I feel a tingling sensation on my index fingers, like ants are crawling all over it; I look at my left one which is not being held hostage, and see it gradually turns green. "Nothing, huh?" Tris slams my face onto the table again, before cracking and breaking my left index finger. I let out another long, muffled scream in pain. She then lifts my upper body up again and softly whispers to my ear. "Lie again, and I'll break your arm." "John, please." Kenzo says. "We need to know which side you are on." "I'm on neither side," I say. "I just want to end this stupid war." "John, you—" Kenzo exhales sharply. "It's not that easy, John. The Big Five is an elite team that poses direct threat to each of the continent, especially our small kingdom. Now, if you know anything, just share it out." "Fine," I say. (set: $finger to "broken") [["One of them is a Shapeshifter."]] [["One of them saved us from a Basilisk."]] [["A pair of them was in the Berserker fight."]] [[Scream for help.]]

"Details," Kenzo says, as he stands across the table with his hands on it, looking down at me. "That drunk dwarf that you traded with," I say. "... What? Why would a Shapeshifter do that?" Tris asks. This will reveal my identity if I'm not cautious enough. That potion is likely something like a truth serum, which reacts when it detects changes in my breathing rate or the speed of my heartbeat, or both. Kenzo knocks on the table. "Why are you hesitating, John?" "The—the shapeshifter needed something from all the classes and sub-classes of creatures in order to achieve his goal—which is to eliminate the threats of the Sages." "How so?" "By summoning a Blank." Kenzo pauses, his eyes shift away from me, like he's analysing what I just said. A second later, he shifts his glance back at me. "And how do you know this?" Because I'm a Blank... is what I'd like to say, but it'll only make this situation more complicated than it already is. "Sage Houst summoned me first to his castle where he planned to kill me for interfering with those children involving Mr. Wick. The shapeshifter happened to be there, and explained his methods out loud. But eventually, he failed to kill Sage Houst. I was then teleported back to maze." Tris lifts my right hand up, and nods at Kenzo. "Ok, how about other members of The Big Five? What are their abilities?" Except Magissa's, I learn of Blaze's and Bossman's. But they did help me back then, so doing this is just betraying our bond. "None of them shared me anything about their abilities." "... Fair enough. Next question." Tris lowers my hand, as Kenzo speaks again, turning the miniature globe on the table. "Who is Hugo Leviathan to you?" [["He's a friend of mine."]] [["We were acquaintances in 'The Other World'."]] [["I have not heard of such people."]]

"Details," Kenzo says, as he stands across the table with his hands on it, looking down at me. "She's a witch; jumped down from a Griffin and decided to toy with our emotions in order to spare our life." "... And how do you know she's one of them?" This will reveal my identity if I'm not cautious enough. That potion is likely something like a truth serum, which reacts when it detects changes in my breathing rate or the speed of my heartbeat, or both. Kenzo knocks on the table. "Why are you hesitating, John?" "I met her again after I was teleported to Sage Houst's castle, she was a part of a plot to eliminate the threats of the Sages." "How so?" "By summoning a Blank." Kenzo pauses, his eyes shift away from me, like he's analysing what I just said. A second later, he shifts his glance back at me. "And why were you the only teleported?" Because I'm a Blank and Jack needed me... is what I'd like to say, but it'll only make this situation more complicated than it already is. "Sage Houst summoned me first to his castle where he planned to kill me for interfering with those children involving Mr. Wick. Her identity was revealed there, after the plan failed. I was then teleported back to maze." Tris lifts my right hand up, and nods at Kenzo. "Ok, how about other members of The Big Five? What are their abilities?" Except Magissa's, I learn of Blaze's and Bossman's. But they did help me back then, so doing this is just betraying our bond. "None shared their abilities to me." "... Fair enough. Next question." Tris lowers my hand, as Kenzo speaks again, turning the miniature globe on the table. "Who is Hugo Leviathan to you?" [["He's a friend of mine."]] [["We were acquaintances in 'The Other World'."]] [["I have not heard of such people."]]

"Details," Kenzo says, as he stands across the table with his hands on it, looking down at me. "A metal, and a fire caster," I say but I pause myself. This will reveal my identity if I'm not cautious enough. That potion is likely something like a truth serum, which reacts when it detects changes in my breathing rate or the speed of my heartbeat, or both. Kenzo knocks on the table. "Why are you hesitating, John?" "They needed information on safe zones in Leiden Forest at that time. So, I traded the map for their help." "That so?" Kenzo pauses, his eyes shift away from me, like he's analysing what I just said. A second later, he shifts his glance back at me. "And how do you know this?" Because I'm a Blank and Jack told me everything... is what I'd like to say, but it'll only make this situation more complicated than it already is. "Sage Houst summoned me first to his castle where he planned to kill me for interfering with those children involving Mr. Wick. There was something going on there where their identity were exposed. Their plan to kill Sage Houst failed. I was then teleported back to maze." Tris lifts my right hand up, and nods at Kenzo. "Ok, how about other members of The Big Five? What are their abilities?" Except Magissa's, I only learnt of Jack's. But I'm not going to reveal it. "None shared their abilities to me." "... Fair enough. Next question." Tris lowers my hand, as Kenzo speaks again, turning the miniature globe on the table. "Who is Hugo Leviathan to you?" [["He's a friend of mine."]] [["We were acquaintances in 'The Other World'."]] [["I have not heard of such people."]]

(if: (history:) contains "Scream for help.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"When in doubt, scream for help (II)."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c5ach to $c5ach +1) ]"Jane!" I shout. But my face is quickly slammed to the table, as the samurai guy draws out his katana and cleanly swipes it at me. I lose my consciousness within seconds, after I heard a loud door barging sound. Everything becomes so... dark. (set: $finger to "notbroken") [[Take a step back->"Nothing."]]

"A friend of yours?" "We've been through some stuffs together, and without him, I wouldn't be here. But then again, I'd prefer not to get on his bad side. It's like owning a wolf that can chew through anything or anyone but if you step on its toe, it will bite and crush your windpipe without hesitation." "I see. Then you're not gonna like what I say next." Kenzo exhales sharply before looking away from me. "Kingdom of Zestia has fallen two days ago. And rumor has it—//Hugo Leviathan//... is dead." "... What?" "A massacre took place in their kingdom. And their king, queen, are all burnt and swept away in a huge fire. It burnt for one whole day, their entire kingdom and all the villages nearby. Thousands of corpses, and ashes coating them. A new director has already been appointed for The United Knights Association. Kingdom of Zestia, is no more." Two days. That was when we departed from Oasis Zero, so the execution—it's taking place tomorrow. And Hugo is—no, that guy wouldn't let himself stupidly die in a fire. He'd crawl out of it even if he's burnt to nothing. Sonia and Igor wouldn't just let him die. I don't believe this. Kenzo looks down at me from the corner of his eyes, as I cross my eyes with his. "That's a shame," I say. "He'd make a great commander for you guys." Tris push my neck down, slamming me to the table before lifting it up again. "I dare you to say it again, human. Our commander only agreed on teaming up with him because he promised the protection of The United Knights Association. That promise that Hugo made is now thrown away like his life. Useless." Kenzo rubs his eyes. "Can you NOT do this every time? You're gonna break him." "See if I care," Tris replies. "Next question, //leader// Kenzo." "John. Last question: if you were to choose—//freedom or hope?//" [["Freedom."]] [["Hope."]] [["Both."]]

"Merely acquaintances?" "We were tangled through various stuffs before, and we share a mutualism relationship: he helps me, and I help him back. But then again, I'd prefer not to get on his bad side. It's like owning a wolf that can chew through anything or anyone but if you step on its toe, it will bite and crush your windpipe without hesitation." "I see. Then what I'm about to say shouldn't be too much of a shock to you." Kenzo exhales sharply before looking away from me. "Kingdom of Zestia has fallen two days ago. And rumor has it—//Hugo Leviathan//... is dead." "... What?" "A massacre took place in their kingdom. And their king, queen, are all burnt and swept away in a huge fire. It burnt for one whole day, their entire kingdom and all the villages nearby. Thousands of corpses, and ashes coating them. A new director has already been appointed for The United Knights Association. Kingdom of Zestia, is no more." Two days. That was when we departed from Oasis Zero, so the execution—it's taking place tomorrow. And Hugo is—no, that guy wouldn't let himself stupidly die in a fire. He'd crawl out of it even if he's burnt to nothing. Sonia and Igor wouldn't just let him die. I don't believe this. Kenzo looks down at me from the corner of his eyes, as I cross my eyes with his. "That's a shame," I say. "He'd make a great commander for you guys." Tris push my neck down, slamming me to the table before lifting it up again. "I dare you to say it again, human. Our commander only agreed on teaming up with him because he promised the protection of The United Knights Association. That promise that Hugo made is now thrown away like his life. Useless." Kenzo rubs his eyes. "Can you NOT do this every time? You're gonna break him." "See if I care," Tris replies. "Next question, //leader// Kenzo." "John. Last question: if you were to choose—//freedom or hope?//" [["Freedom."]] [["Hope."]] [["Both."]]

I feel a tingling sensation on my index fingers, like ants are crawling all over it; I look at my left one which is not being held hostage, and see it gradually turns green. "Nothing, huh?" Tris slams my face onto the table again, before cracking and breaking my left index finger. I let out another long, muffled scream in pain. She then lifts my upper body up again and softly whispers to my ear. "Lie again, and I'll break your arm." "John, please." Kenzo says. "We need to know which side you are on." "I'm on neither side," I say. "I just want to end this stupid war." "John, you—" Kenzo exhales sharply. "It's not that easy, John. Tell us what you know first and we'll tell you ours." "Fine," I say. (set: $finger to "broken") [["He's a friend of mine."]] [["We were acquaintances in 'The Other World'."]] [[Try to struggle and run.]]

I try to flip my body to the other side. But my face is quickly slammed to the table, as the samurai guy draws out his katana and cleanly swipes it at me. I lose my consciousness within seconds, after I heard a loud door barging sound. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->"I have not heard of such people."]]

"Why?" Kenzo asks. "Freedom is what people strives for—the desire to break free, in physical or emotional or both senses. It's the end goal of hope. It's why we fight for things even though sometimes we know we might lose. So, in another sense, hope does play a role as well. These two intertwine each other, and are both needed in order for us to move on." "John, you almost sound like—" "Who told you this?" Tris slams my face onto the table again. "Where did you hear it from?" "What are you talking—" "Enough, Tris." Kenzo separates her away from me, freeing my almost-broken arm. "He's answered everything on the list. It's clear that he means no harm now." "So you say." Tris says before she punches my stomach. I kneel down and puke out the green potion. I feel much more refreshed and re-energized now. (if: $finger is "broken")[She grabs my right hand and put it on the pile of puke; my finger heals and restores back to its unbroken state.](else:)[] Then, she opens the door, and slams it behind her. "I'm sorry, John." Kenzo says. "Things have been tense since our commander is captured. Tris was very fond of her—given that she saved Tris's entire village of half-elves that was about to be sold as slaves a few years ago." "Wait... //she//? I'm pretty sure you told me your commander is a //he//." "Right... I don't think I need to hide from you anymore—that was a cover. People are more cautious and less daring if our commander is depicted as a strong, stern male. She came up with this herself, and to prevent us from slipping, we normally refer her as 'the commander'." "Does she have a name?" He smiles at me. "That, you'll have to directly ask her." I smile back at him, politely. The samurai guy coughs. "Oh, this here is," Kenzo wraps his arm around the samurai guy's shoulder. "Wade. He's a half-oni and specializes in slicing things and throwing shurikens. He's also the top helper in the kitchen." Wade smirks. "Oni? Shurikens?" I ask. "Oni is sort of a rare demonic race. Their whole tribe was annihilated, and only Wade here survives. Shurikens are..." Wade reveals and pulls out a weird-star-shaped dagger that was hidden beneath his long-sleeves cloth. Now that I've noticed it, he's also wearing his pants weirdly high, like it's consisted of a huge piece of cloth wrapping around his waist only. "Can't he speak?" I ask. "I can." he says, menacingly. A sudden fear strikes into my heart as I take a step back from him, I feel like he's about to stab my heart and burn those who I know alive. And, I will never be able to run away from him, and that I will never be able to relax myself again. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down. "What just happened?" I ask. "You see, John. It's their demonic and hypnotic accent. The whole tribe has it, and they were all poisoned and muted before the annihilation took place. He was away in the jungle when it happened, that's how he survived." [[Next page->next page15.2]]

"Why?" Kenzo asks. "Hope is crucial in developing our desire and initiating our action to achieve something, even though that something is far out of our reach. Because without hoping for anything, anyone can free themselves. But then again, without freedom, hope will cease to have a value. So, in a sense, I guess they intertwine each other, and are both needed in order for us to move on." "John, you almost sound like—" "Who told you this?" Tris slams my face onto the table again. "Where did you hear it from?" "What are you talking—" "Enough, Tris." Kenzo separates her away from me, freeing my almost-broken arm. "He's answered everything on the list. It's clear that he means no harm now." "So you say." Tris says before she punches my stomach. I kneel down and puke out the green potion. I feel much more refreshed and re-energized now. (if: $finger is "broken")[She grabs my right hand and put it on the pile of puke; my finger heals and restores back to its unbroken state.](else:)[] Then, she opens the door, and slams it behind her. "I'm sorry, John." Kenzo says. "Things have been tense since our commander is captured. Tris was very fond of her—given that she saved Tris's entire village of half-elves that was about to be sold as slaves a few years ago." "Wait... //she//? I'm pretty sure you told me your commander is a //he//." "Right... I don't think I need to hide from you anymore—that was a cover. People are more cautious and less daring if our commander is depicted as a strong, stern male. She came up with this herself, and to prevent us from slipping, we normally refer her as 'the commander'." "Does she have a name?" He smiles at me. "That, you'll have to directly ask her." I smile back at him, politely. The samurai guy coughs. "Oh, this here is," Kenzo wraps his arm around the samurai guy's shoulder. "Wade. He's a half-oni and specializes in slicing things and throwing shurikens. He's also the top helper in the kitchen." Wade smirks. "Oni? Shurikens?" I ask. "Oni is sort of a rare demonic race. Their whole tribe was annihilated, and only Wade here survives. Shurikens are..." Wade reveals and pulls out a weird-star-shaped dagger that was hidden beneath his long-sleeves cloth. Now that I've noticed it, he's also wearing his pants weirdly high, like it's consisted of a huge piece of cloth wrapping around his waist only. "Can't he speak?" I ask. "I can." he says, menacingly. A sudden fear strikes into my heart as I take a step back from him, I feel like he's about to stab my heart and burn those who I know alive. And, I will never be able to run away from him, and that I will never be able to relax myself again. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down. "What just happened?" I ask. "You see, John. It's their demonic and hypnotic accent. The whole tribe has it, and they were all poisoned and muted before the annihilation took place. He was away in the jungle when it happened, that's how he survived." [[Next page->next page15.2]]

"Oh?" Tris says. "Now I'm interested in you, human. Care to say why?" "Freedom itself is born from hope—the desire to break free. Without hoping for anything, anyone can free themselves. Without freedom, then hope will cease to have a value. They intertwine each other, and are both needed in order for us to move on." "John, you almost sound like—" "Who told you this?" Tris slams my face onto the table again. "Where did you hear it from?" "What are you talking—" "Enough, Tris." Kenzo separates her away from me, freeing my almost-broken arm. "He's answered everything on the list. It's clear that he means no harm now." "So you say." Tris says before she punches my stomach. I kneel down and puke out the green potion. I feel much more refreshed and re-energized now. (if: $finger is "broken")[She grabs my right hand and put it on the pile of puke; my finger heals and restores back to its unbroken state.](else:)[] Then, she opens the door, and slams it behind her. "I'm sorry, John." Kenzo says. "Things have been tense since our commander is captured. Tris was very fond of her—given that she saved Tris's entire village of half-elves that was about to be sold as slaves a few years ago." "Wait... //she//? I'm pretty sure you told me your commander is a //he//." "Right... I don't think I need to hide from you anymore—that was a cover. People are more cautious and less daring if our commander is depicted as a strong, stern male. She came up with this herself, and to prevent us from slipping, we normally refer her as 'the commander'." "Does she have a name?" He smiles at me. "That, you'll have to directly ask her." I smile back at him, politely. The samurai guy coughs. "Oh, this here is," Kenzo wraps his arm around the samurai guy's shoulder. "Wade. He's a half-oni and specializes in slicing things and throwing shurikens. He's also the top helper in the kitchen." Wade smirks. "Oni? Shurikens?" I ask. "Oni is sort of a rare demonic race. Their whole tribe was annihilated, and only Wade here survives. Shurikens are..." Wade reveals and pulls out a weird-star-shaped dagger that was hidden beneath his long-sleeves cloth. Now that I've noticed it, he's also wearing his pants weirdly high, like it's consisted of a huge piece of cloth wrapping around his waist only. "Can't he speak?" I ask. "I can." he says, menacingly. A sudden fear strikes into my heart as I take a step back from him, I feel like he's about to stab my heart and burn those who I know alive. And, I will never be able to run away from him, and that I will never be able to relax myself again. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down. "What just happened?" I ask. "You see, John. It's their demonic and hypnotic accent. The whole tribe has it, and they were all poisoned and muted before the annihilation took place. He was away in the jungle when it happened, that's how he survived." [[Next page->next page15.2]]

"Pleasure." I say, getting up on my feet. "Now that we have got it all sorted out... we'll call you again after we discuss some things." Kenzo says, as Wade opens the door. I walk outside and I can see Jane's already eye-ing it for a while, sitting beside Lily. "Are you ok?" she asks, as she walks to me, wiping her greasy hand. I almost died. "Never better," I smile at her, shifting my eyes to the main deck. The sky is ominously dark and it's already raining; I can feel the gale bursting into my face. The other demi-humans have also left the table, only Lily is calmly sitting there eating some specially-made sandwiches with smoked ribs' meat in between which were torn apart from their bones. "You're forcing your smile," Jane states, peering into my eyes as I shift my glance back at her. "And... looking away from me. Something happened. Tell me, John." I look away from her for a brief moment, before locking eyes with her again. "It's about Zestia, Jane. Kenzo said the whole kingdom was set on fire. And Sonia... she went missing with Hugo and Igor. They likely died." She stuns for a moment, her eyebrows softened. "But, Jane." I add. "I don't think that's true. At least, not about Sonia dying, or Hugo, or Igor. Not even Leo. They wouldn't give up like that." She peers into my eyes again. "... Do you really think so?" "I know so," I reply. "There's something else," she says. She leans closer and whispers into my ear. "Elapp—the apple crystal—is in your bag, use it when you're alone." "Hey John!" Jay, who is standing behind Jane, waves at me with his right hand. Strange, he didn't engage in any conversation with me at all after I climbed aboard this ship; his sole focus was on chatting with Jane after she hugs him. He has a red low taper haircut, black eyes, and dressed almost like a wizard. He's also wearing the same gloves as Jane, which I notice as he walks to me and offers to shake my hand. "I'm sure you already know, but I'm Jay—Jane's brother." [[Next page->next page15.25]]

"Is that all?" Jay asks. "Yes... and she's cute when she blushes." "Yeah, she, wait—WHAT?" "And when she cries, you just sort of want to hug her and tell her everything's gonna be ok." "Pff—" Jay brushes me off. "Jane wouldn't cry. //Or blush//. She just doesn't." he turns his head away from me. But I can see him sneaking a peek at me from the corner of his eyes. "Does she?" "Then that'd mean only I have seen that side of her." I reply, realizing now why Jacob and Javier trusted me enough to leave with her. "You—She—" he stutters, as he dangles his index finger back and forth, struggling to pick the right word from his mind. "I—I challenge you to a magic duel, John. If you win, then I'll give you my approval. But if you lose, don't try anything funny to her. Either way, if you ever make her cry again, I'll—I'll—" his right glove glows momentarily, but it quickly subdues. He slaps his glove, "Stupid—crystal." "I'm a human though," I say. "Oh... right. Then, umm... I'll let you know later. In the meantime, I have my eyes"—he makes a 'I'm watching you' posture with two of his fingers—"on you." Then he tries to walk out first, slipping pass me; but, the ship suddenly rocks to one side and he slips onto me. I hold his shoulders back with both my hands. The door is opened from the outside at this moment. Of course, he forgot to lock the door. It's Iris and Ivy on the other side of the door. "... what were you two doing inside together?" Iris asks. "Son of a goat. Unbelievable... you perv! You're into men as well?" Ivy hides herself behind Iris. Iris lets out a small gasp but she covers it with her right hand, she seems to have realized what Ivy is talking about. "No. I was just catching him from falling." I then move Jay by his shoulder to the door and let go of him; he falls face flat to the ground. "See? Gravity." "Ow! That hurt, you stupid—" "Yeah, sorry." I lend my hand to pull him up and he grabs on it. I then look at Iris, who has her arm being grabbed by Ivy behind her. "What's going on outside?" "we were told to inform you two that we have entered the mermaid zone." [["The Mermaid Zone?"->next page15.3]]

"... WHAT?" Jay asks. "She was, technically on top of me." "You did that with—" "Also, she was blushing at that time." "Pff—" Jay brushes me off. "Jane wouldn't blush. She just doesn't. You're just lying." he turns his head away from me. But I can see him sneaking a peek at me from the corner of his eyes. "Are you not?" "Well... it was true. But, we weren't doing the things you were imagining. She does have a cute blush." I reply, realizing now why Jacob and Javier trusted me enough to leave with her: she's shown me her sides that even they have not seen before. "You—She—" he stutters, as he dangles his index finger back and forth, struggling to pick the right word from his mind. "I—I challenge you to a magic duel, John. If you win, then I'll give you my approval. But if you lose, don't try anything funny to her. Either way, if you ever make her cry again, I'll—I'll—" his right glove glows momentarily, but it quickly subdues. He slaps his glove, "Stupid—crystal." "I'm a human though," I say. "Oh... right. Then, umm... I'll let you know later. In the meantime, I have my eyes"—he makes a 'I'm watching you' posture with two of his fingers—"on you." Then he tries to walk out first, slipping pass me; but, the ship suddenly rocks to one side and he slips onto me. I hold his shoulders back with both my hands. The door is opened from the outside at this moment. Of course, he forgot to lock the door. It's Iris and Ivy on the other side of the door. "... what were you two doing inside together?" Iris asks. "Son of a goat. Unbelievable... you perv! You're into men as well?" Ivy hides herself behind Iris. Iris lets out a small gasp but she covers it with her right hand, she seems to have realized what Ivy is talking about. "No. I was just catching him from falling." I then move Jay by his shoulder to the door and let go of him; he falls face flat to the ground. "See? Gravity." "Ow! That hurt, you stupid—" "Yeah, sorry." I lend my hand to pull him up and he grabs on it. I then look at Iris, who has her arm being grabbed by Ivy behind her. "What's going on outside?" "we were told to inform you two that we have entered the mermaid zone." [["The Mermaid Zone?"->next page15.3]]

"Is that all?" Jay asks. "Yes... what else do you want to know? That she kissed me before?" "Yeah, she, wait—WHAT?" "Or... how cute she is when she blushes?" "Pff—" Jay brushes me off. "Jane wouldn't blush. //Or kiss you.// She just doesn't do this kind of thing." he turns his head away from me. But I can see him sneaking a peek at me from the corner of his eyes. "Does she?" "Then that'd mean only I have seen that side of her." I reply, realizing now why Jacob and Javier trusted me enough to leave with her. "You—She—" he stutters, as he dangles his index finger back and forth, struggling to pick the right word from his mind. "I—I challenge you to a magic duel, John. If you win, then I'll give you my approval. But if you lose, don't try anything funny to her. Either way, if you ever make her cry again, I'll—I'll—" his right glove glows momentarily, but it quickly subdues. He slaps his glove, "Stupid—crystal." "I'm a human though," I say. "Oh... right. Then, umm... I'll let you know later. In the meantime, I have my eyes"—he makes a 'I'm watching you' posture with two of his fingers—"on you." Then he tries to walk out first, slipping pass me; but, the ship suddenly rocks to one side and he slips onto me. I hold his shoulders back with both my hands. The door is opened from the outside at this moment. Of course, he forgot to lock the door. It's Iris and Ivy on the other side of the door. "... what were you two doing inside together?" Iris asks. "Son of a goat. Unbelievable... you perv! You're into men as well?" Ivy hides herself behind Iris. Iris lets out a small gasp but she covers it with her right hand, she seems to have realized what Ivy is talking about. "No. I was just catching him from falling." I then move Jay by his shoulder to the door and let go of him; he falls face flat to the ground. "See? Gravity." "Ow! That hurt, you stupid—" "Yeah, sorry." I lend my hand to pull him up and he grabs on it. I then look at Iris, who has her arm being grabbed by Ivy behind her. "What's going on outside?" "we were told to inform you two that we have entered the mermaid zone." [["The Mermaid Zone?"->next page15.3]]

Mermaids are infamous for their soulful songs that reach even deepest valley of heart, and sea. Not in a good way. Some say it bring out the darkest and most desperate side, while some who cannot bear it, jump into the sea to seek salvation. Which, were chewed on. Down to their bones. Rumors has it that it attracts creatures like Kraken as well. The mermaids' screams, however, can scare even their own species away. "yes, we normally have a protection barrier that hinder their influence, which lasts long enough for them to give up before Kraken rises. but, one of the long poles is broken." Iris switches her glance to Jay, "they say your goblin is responsible for it, mister jay." She then shifts her eyes to me, which is not a scolding look but more of a calm and passive-aggressive one, "and that messy human too, john. we were to help if you need any." "What?" Jay says. "Aren't they locked inside... oh no." "You forget to lock the door, didn't you?" I ask. He rushes to the main deck, as I tag along with him. The demi-humans crew are running around the deck, most of them are dumping barrel of wines to reduce weight of the ship. Captain Eiden is struggling to helm the ship as it rocks left and right, dipping its nose into the waves. I see Jane pinning Vile down as Vile shouts "It was a dark and stormy night! I'm a mighty knight! But the goblin bites! He kidnapped me when I was not alrite!" "Devin!" Jay shouts. "What did you do?" I track Jay's eyes to a goblin, a few feet shorter than I am, large pointy ears, dark purple short hair, bandages around both his wrist, wearing children-sized cloth and pants, with a piece of blue cloth wrapped around his head. "Jay.... It wasn't raining when I tried to clean the poles... I slipped and this..." "It's a metal pole, Devin! How did you just—" Jay pauses himself, as all the nine poles glows with sizzling orbs on their tips, but only one is left in dark without any orb, and bent into half. Devin stands right below it, holding a rugged cloth between his hands, and a clear guilt on his face as he stares at the ground. I pat Jay's shoulder, "It's ok. Take him and Vile to the dining hall first; what's happened's happened, blaming him won't do any good now, I'll talk to Captain Eiden and check the situation. Also, watch Lily." "I... But...", he looks at me again. I nod at him. "Fine," he then signals Devin and taking Vile along with him, he escorts them down the stairs. I go to the quarter deck with Jane, where Kenzo and Tris are already standing beside Captain Eiden. The waves continues to splash on us, getting more ferocious by seconds, and the rain has evolved to a heavy downpour. Looks like the barrier only filter out the mermaids' songs, and it's their songs that thunder and shower this whole area. Their songs are slipping inside this ship through the one unprotected section of the barrier, which is on the left side of the main deck—the port side. Although it's vague, but it carries this melancholic feeling with it. "Take the main sails down!" Captain Eiden shouts. "These damned schools of mermaids," he says. "They are clashing with Marga's body, trying to sink this beauty down and have a large feast. We need to separate the manpower: either to stabilise the ship or find ways to erect back the barrier. There are four of you here; two, two, work it out." Let's see: Kenzo has strength, Jane has skills, while Tris has half-elves power which include creating defensive barrier, time manipulation, and teleportation. But she's fiercely snarling at me, like it's my fault that things turn out like this. [[Choose Kenzo: stabilise the ship.]] [[Choose Tris: stabilise the ship.]] [[Choose Jane: stabilise the ship.]] [[Choose Kenzo: restore the barrier.]] [[Choose Tris: restore the barrier.]] [[Choose Jane: restore the barrier.]]

"Kenzo!" I shout, amidst the downpour. "I need your strength!" "Huh?" he shouts back. I tap Jane's wet shoulder and shout beside her ear, "Jane, work with Tris. Get help from Iris and Ivy, try to close the barrier!" She nods at me; I signal Kenzo to come at me. He shakes his head, and signals me back instead. I walk to him and yell, "Gather the remaining barrel of wines! And take the spare orb to me!" "Why why?" "What?" "Why WINE?" "I need you to attract them into a single area!" Kenzo then takes down the bell tied on the main mast and rings it, which clearly isn't loud enough to grab the crew's attention; but, a sudden roaring thunder managed to silence the chaos and got them looking at him. He points at the barrel of wine that one of the fauns is preparing to throw away, followed by a 'stop' signal. He then shouts something into a half-elf's ear as he passes it down to others that are carrying the wines up to the main deck. I grab a long rope lying on the deck; then, I clap my hand and signal Kenzo again, pointing between him and my ears, hoping to send a message that he'll need something to cover his soft-boneless-looking wolf ears. He raises his thumbs up to me as he runs to the deck below. The ship rocks extremely hard to its port at this time; I lose my balance as my whole body is thrown out of the deck, almost slipping into the abyss of the unforgiving sea. Barrels of wines that are transported out all rolled down and out into the sea. A few half-elves cling onto the main mast. One that let loose of it, I managed to grab her hand and pull her back, when the ship rotates even further. The entire ship has now re-positioned almost horizontally to its left, like it's about to be swollen whole by the sea and the mermaids swimming, burying us all underneath it; in the nick of the time, Captain Eiden steers it back, with his four horse feet standing firmly on the planks of the deck. "3 minutes before the next one!" he yells. "That's your limit!" "Snap out of it!" I yell at the female half-elf who's holding my hand, she looks a bit shocked. "Keep the barrels coming!" I then take the rope and tie a few knots with one end of it to the main mast, waiting for Kenzo to come back so I can tie him up with the other end. A few seconds later, he returns with a large ball of paper stuffed inside each of his ears. And an orb that he's juggling with his hands. [[Next page->next page15.4]]

(if: (history:) contains "Choose Tris: stabilise the ship.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Daredevil: What Did You Expect?"//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c5ach to $c5ach +1) ]I turn to Tris, she glares at me. "Tris, lend me your strength to—" "NO." "//Ok.//" [[Choose Kenzo: stabilise the ship.]] [[Choose Jane: stabilise the ship.]]

I tap Jane's wet shoulder and shout beside her ear, "Jane, how many crystal do you have left!" "More than enough!" I signal Kenzo to come at me. He shakes his head, and signals me back instead. So, I walk to him and yell, "I'm working with Jane to deal with the mermaids! Re-form the shield with Tris in case we fail!" "How do you suppose we do that!" "She's a half-elf!" "... OK! I got it now!" Now, I need a way to lure the mermaids together. Sounds that can catch their attention and is available in an old sailing ship like this... a bell. I then take down the bell tied on the main mast and rings it at the ledgar of starboard, which clearly isn't loud enough to grab their attention; but, a sudden thunder roar managed to silence the chaos as the sound of the bell resonates amidst the downpour. Still, not enough. I need to go lower, down to the level of the hull. Something to tie myself on. I grab a long rope lying on the deck; then, I clap my hand and signal Kenzo—who is aimlessly standing beside Tris, Iris, and Ivy—pointing between my ears and the sea, hoping to send a message that I'll need something to cover my ears. He raises his thumbs up to me as he runs to the deck below. The ship rocks extremely hard to its left at this time; I lose my balance as my whole body is thrown out of the deck, almost slipping into the abyss of the unforgiving sea. Barrels of wines that are transported out all rolled down and out into the sea. A few half-elves cling onto the main mast. One that let loose of it, I managed to grab her hand and pull her back, when the ship rotates even further. The entire ship has now re-positioned almost horizontally to its left, like it's about to be swollen whole by the sea and the mermaids swimming, burying us all underneath it; in the nick of the time, Captain Eiden steers it back, with his four horse feet standing firmly on the planks of the deck. "3 minutes before the next one!" he yells. "That's your limit!" "Snap out of it!" I yell at the female half-elf who's holding my hand, she looks a bit shocked. "Keep the barrels coming!" I then take the rope and tie a few knots with one end of it to the main mast, and the other end on my waist. A few seconds later, Kenzo returns with two large balls of paper, which he stuffs inside each of my ears. [[Next page->next page15.5]]

"Kenzo!" I shout, amidst the downpour. "Let's restore the barrier!" "Huh?" he shouts back. I tap Jane's wet shoulder and shout beside her ear, "Jane, work with Tris; try to do something about the mermaids!" She nods at me; I signal Kenzo to come at me. He shakes his head, and signals me back instead. I walk to him and yell, "Get Iris and Ivy!" "Chilly? Of course it's chilly!" "What?" "Huh?" I pull his soft-boneless-looking wolf ear. "Get IRIS and IVY! And something to cover our ears with!" Kenzo then nods at me, before running to the deck below. A thunder roar, silencing the chaos at this time as I walk, while maintaining my balance, to port side where the songs can be heard the clearest. I cover my ears with both my hands as I stare at the empty section of the shield—like a puzzle which has lost one of its pieces. It's a 10 feet wide square that is softly radiating red, like it's alerting us that something's missing. The ship rocks extremely hard to its left at this time; I lose my balance as my whole body is thrown out of the deck, almost slipping into the abyss of the unforgiving sea. Barrels of wines that are transported out all rolled down and out into the sea. A few half-elves cling onto the main mast. One that let loose of it, I managed to grab her hand and pull her back, when the ship rotates even further. The entire ship has now re-positioned almost horizontally to its left, like it's about to be swollen whole by the sea and the mermaids swimming, burying us all underneath it; in the nick of the time, Captain Eiden steers it back, with his four horse feet standing firmly on the planks of the deck. "3 minutes before the next one!" he yells. "That's your limit!" "Snap out of it!" I yell at the female half-elf who's holding my hand, she looks a bit shocked. "Keep the barrels coming!" I then take the rope and tie a few knots with one end of it to the main mast, and the other end on my waist. A few seconds later, Kenzo returns with Ivy and Iris that are still wearing their hoods. Their ears, however, are stuffed with large balls of paper. Iris also stuffs two in each of my ear. [[Next page->next page15.6]]

(if: (history:) contains "Choose Tris: restore the barrier.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Daredevil: What Did You Expect? (II)"//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c5ach to $c5ach +1) ]I turn to Tris, she glares at me. "So Tris, can you—" "NO." "//Ok.//" [[Choose Kenzo: restore the barrier.]] [[Choose Jane: restore the barrier.]]

I tap Jane's wet shoulder and shout beside her ear, "Jane, how many crystal do you have left!" "More than enough!" I signal Kenzo to come at me. He shakes his head, and signals me back instead. So, I walk to him and yell, "I'm working with Jane to deal with the barrier! Do something about the mermaids in case we fail!" "How do you suppose we do that!" "Get their attention first and then wipe them out!" "Tris's a half-elf! Use teleportation or something! Wipe them all with barrels of wine, ignite with the orb!" Kenzo half-nods at me. He likely doesn't know what exactly I'm talking about but he should be fine with Tris around. She seems smart... and dangerous. I then walk back to Jane, "Get Iris and Ivy! And something to cover our ears with!" She nods at me, before running to the deck below. A thunder roar, silencing the chaos at this time as I walk, while maintaining my balance, to port side where the songs can be heard the clearest. I cover my ears with both my hands as I stare at the empty section of the shield—like a puzzle which has lost one of its pieces. It's a 10 feet wide square that is softly radiating red, like it's alerting us that something's missing. The ship rocks extremely hard to its left at this time; I lose my balance as my whole body is thrown out of the deck, almost slipping into the abyss of the unforgiving sea. Barrels of wines that are transported out all rolled down and out into the sea. A few half-elves cling onto the main mast. One that let loose of it, I managed to grab her hand and pull her back, when the ship rotates even further. The entire ship has now re-positioned almost horizontally to its left, like it's about to be swollen whole by the sea and the mermaids swimming, burying us all underneath it; in the nick of the time, Captain Eiden steers it back, with his four horse feet standing firmly on the planks of the deck. "3 minutes before the next one!" he yells. "That's your limit!" "Snap out of it!" I yell at the female half-elf who's holding my hand, she looks a bit shocked. "Keep the barrels coming!" I then take the rope and tie a few knots with one end of it to the main mast, and the other end on my waist. A few seconds later, Jane returns with Ivy and Ivy that are still wearing their hoods. And for some reason, Lily, as well. Their ears, are all stuffed with large balls of cotton. Jane also stuffs two in each of my ear. [[Next page->next page15.7]]

I hint at him to come closer, and tie a knot around his waist. There are about two more barrels of wine ready to be disposed, with one more being carried over. It should be enough. I pat my hands on both Kenzo's arms. "I need you to jump down there, Kenzo! Order them to throw the wines into the sea on my signal!" "Careful, the orb is hot!" "Exactly!" He then grabs one of the flauns and passes his message down before handing me the orb; I pull the lower part of my cloth out and wrap the orb inside. All the raindrops that fall on it is evaporated instantly. What a fearsome device. The crew seem to be ready, rolling the barrel to the starboard of the ship, and Kenzo is standing on the ledge. "Kenzo, jump down there and get their attention!" He slowly climbs down to the hull, with his back against the sea. Then, I hear a loud howling sound followed by a few, then several, before a school of the mermaids popping out from the dark blue sea, opening their arms widely to welcome Kenzo. They are all wailing, like praying for help that never came, for foods that would never able to satisfy their hunger; one of them is trying to grab Kenzo's drenched furry leg. Suddenly, an intense drowsiness hits and floods into me. I freeze. Kenzo's shouting for my name but I couldn't do anything, like I've been hit by a spell. (align: "=><=")[**"It's a cold, cold night, please share me your warmth. Every inch of me trembles, knowing that you might not come. You are the one I need, please stay until the storm is gone."**] It feels like I should go. That, they desperately need someone to be with them. Someone, to just share their stories to. It's sad, and lonely. How can there be such creatures in the world, living with nothing but their emptiness. This is just wrong. I need to give them warmth. So that they'd be happy. I've known them for ages after all; now I only to give them a big, big hug... //PAK// A hand smacks the back of my head. "Wake up JOHN!" I shake my head to snap myself out of it; I'm standing right on the ledge of the ship, the female half-elf that I saved earlier and Ivy are hugging my waist, preventing me from plunging into the sea. Kenzo is directly below me. The mermaids that clung onto him has already crawled up until his shoulder. "Now, now, now!" I instantly shout, pointing in front of me. The crew then throw barrels of wine—now five of them ready—on top of the mermaids. I instantly fling the orb from my cloth, and shout "PORT!" to Captain Eiden. The orb ignites the wine as the flame starts to burn the mermaids. They shriek in pain, as they dive themselves back into the now sea of fire, and circle under it. The ship is steered to the left to prevent any of the fire from catching onto it, albeit it's raining and we are in the middle of the raging sea. But, there's a problem. The mermaid that was on Kenzo's back is looping her arms around his neck, and trying to bite it. Kenzo attempts to shake her away but the knot on him, is starting to untangle. [[Quickly pull the rope up.]] [[Hold my hands out to grab him.]]

"Hold onto me!" I shout at Ivy and the female half-elf. They grip my waist harder as I pull the rope back up. Kenzo seems to have noticed, and with a few more heavy shakes, the mermaid let go of her hand and plunge back into the sea. However, almost immediately, the knot is untangled and Kenzo falls into the sea. The ship rocks to the side I'm facing and the three of us are thrown into the sea as well. I try to swim back up, but a mermaid pull my leg down. I open my mouth, as I struggle to breathe. The last face I see, is the mermaid eerily smiling in front of me with her wide, split open mouth. She then lunges at me. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->next page15.3]]

"Hold onto me!" I shout at Ivy and the female half-elf. They grip my waist tighter as I swiftly stretch my hands out to Kenzo. Kenzo grabs on them right away and put his weight onto my arms, trying not to let go. I've almost pulled him back aboard the deck, but the mermaid is still clutching his neck, and growling at us. Tris walks to the ledge at this moment and swings her leg back before kicking the mermaid in her face—as merciless, and as harsh as this storm that befalls us. The mermaid let go; I muster all the strength I have and pull Kenzo back up. Right after he's been dragged up, the ship rocks to the side we are facing, where my head is slammed on the deck. I think I might develop a mild concussion. But if Tris didn't land that kick... we would all have been served as free meals to the mermaids. "Is the barrier up?" I ask Tris. "What?" "IS THE BARRIER UP?" I yell at her. She grabs my collar. "Don't you yell at me, human. I don't take orders from you." she then let go of it, as I fall sitting on the planks. I sigh, and turn my head to the port side. It's fixed. Jane's removing the temporary shield that she created with her branches, while Iris is leaning against the ledger, exhausted. Is it finally over? The wail has died down, and the clouds have gradually begin to disperse. I lay my back on the planks of the main deck as I aimlessly glance at the sky that is beginning to clear up. The brisk, trashing wind has become a gentle breeze, as the salty taste of it lingers on my tongue. I take a deep breath. I almost died, for the second time, on this ship. Marga is cursed, at least for me. But then, a foul smell chokes my nose. It smells like... wet squid or raw octopus. No, it can't be. The mermaids have already retreated. Yet, the ripples are closing in on us, and the ship has floated a few feet higher than the sea level. That thing... it was hiding behind the raging waves, preying on us the entire time. [[Next page->next page15.8]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 16**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"The Minority Hunt"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 16 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c6ach to 0)] (set: $c16checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 16") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Chapter 16]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

I scream at Jane, "Wait for my signal, then rain down on them, specifically their tails!" She nods at me, with a few balls of cotton inside her ears. "Do you need someone to hold the rope?" "... I should be fine!" I cannot waste any time now. I don't know many minutes have passed, but the next big wave could hit earlier than anticipated. I then slowly climb down to the hull, with my back against the sea. My left hand desperately cling on this thin shaky rope, while my right hand is holding onto the bell as the gust slams my face. If I relax just for a bit of second, even the rope might not save me from plunging into the sea. After climbing down to half of the hull's level, I start to frantically ring the bell. A few, then several, before a school of the mermaids pop out from the dark blue sea, opening their arms widely to welcome me. They are all wailing, like praying for help that never came, for foods that would never able to satisfy their hunger; one of them is trying to grab my drenched leg. Suddenly, one of the Kenzo-made ear stopper falls out of my ear; an intense drowsiness hits and floods into me instantaneously. I freeze. Jane's shouting for my name but I couldn't do anything, like I've been hit by a spell. (align: "=><=")[**"It's a cold, cold night, please share me your warmth. Every inch of me trembles, knowing that you might not come. You are the one I need, please stay until the storm is gone."**] It feels like I should go. That, they desperately need someone to be with them. Someone, to just share their stories to. It's sad, and lonely. How can there be such creatures in the world, living with nothing but their emptiness. This is just wrong. I need to give them warmth. So that they'd be happy. I've known them for ages after all; now I only to give them a big, big hug... //SCREECHHH// A shriek wakes me up. I shake my head to snap myself out of it; someone is pulling me up, but at the same time, something is pulling me down. Jane's raining her branches down on the mermaid, piercing through their tails as they jump up like dolphins to evade her. She then snaps her finger to create a large enough cage to prison a few of them before impaling their tails. They continue to weap in pain, hitting themselves against the cage. The tug on my back is more intense now, as a pair of webbed frog-like hands make their ways over my shoulder. My hands start to tremble; I'm losing my strength. The mermaid is directly whispering to my ears, "Come stay with me, John. I'm lonely." She presses herself on my back, and loops her arms around my neck, as her breath becomes louder, "Let go, John. You're tired. Let go." She gently touches and strokes my chest with her slimy, scaly hands as she rests her head on my shoulder. "Let's do it together. Three... two... one..." //CRACK// The mermaid plunges into the sea, with a branch spiked into her skull. But the knot on my waist, it is starting to untangle. I could only try to grip on the dented hole on the hull, enough to fit both my hands or muster the little strength I have left to cling on the rope. [[Grip the hull.]] [[Cling on the rope.]]

I decide to grip the hull, desperately. And, almost immediately, the rope untangles and my body slips down. My entire weight is now resting on both my hands. I try to calm my trembling hands down; but they are already shaking hard. No, I cannot let go: my very life depends on them. "JOHN!" Jane yells from the ledgar. "HOLD TIGHT!" Suddenly, the ship rocks towards me, dipping both my legs into the cold, heartless sea as the few mermaids that are still lingering under it grab on them. They grab my feet and drag me down; I open my mouth, as I struggle to breathe. The last moment face I see, is the mermaid eerily smiling in front of me with her wide, split open mouth. She then lunges at me. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->next page15.3]]

I decide to put all of my weight onto my arms and grip the rope tightly, as they pull me up. However, almost immediately, the rope untangles and my body slips down. I managed to grab the end of the rope with my right hand, as I desperately try to calm my trembling hands down; but, it has already started to shake. No, I cannot let go: my very life depends on it. "JOHN!" Jane yells from the ledgar. "HOLD TIGHT!" Suddenly, the ship rocks towards me, dipping both my legs into the cold, heartless sea as the few mermaids that are still lingering under it grab on them. They grab my feet and drag me down; I open my mouth, as I struggle to breathe. The last moment face I see, is the mermaid eerily smiling in front of me with her wide, split open mouth. She then lunges at me. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->next page15.3]]

"Barrier!" I point at the empty hole. Ivy and Iris lift their hands up; the shield slowly but steadily regains back its complete shape. However, seconds after, Iris coughs and falls down on her knees. Her energy hasn't been completely restored yet. Yet, she's forcing herself. "Ivy! Don't stop! No matter what!" I shout at her loudly, as I attend to Iris. She looks extremely exhausted. I suddenly think of Noah. No, she's too weak in this state. I need to get her away from this first. I carry her on my arms and shout at Kenzo. "Kenzo! Take Iris down—" The ship rocks to our side and I lose my balance again, being thrown along with Iris to the ledgar. My upper body has plunged out beyond the ledgar, with my arms carrying Iris like I'm about to release her into the sea. She loops her arms around my neck as I slide my feet against the ledgar, hoping that the rope wouldn't let go just yet. I calm my breath and attempt to take a step back; but, I slip forward instead. My feet are half-lifted up from the planks, as my entire upper body is ready to be dived into the sea. Kenzo and Ivy managed to grab my feet, but, the rest of my body slips down to the level of the hull. They grab my legs. A few mermaids pop out from the dark blue sea, as they open their arms widely to welcome us. They are all wailing, like praying for help that never came, for foods that would never able to satisfy their hunger. Iris let out a small gasp as she pulls herself closer to me. Suddenly, one of my Kenzo-made ear plugs drops into the sea. An intense drowsiness hits and floods into me. I freeze. Kenzo and Ivy are dragging me up, shouting for my name but I couldn't do anything, like I've been hit by a spell. (align: "=><=")[**"It's a cold, cold night, please share me your warmth. Every inch of me trembles, knowing that you might not come. You are the one I need, please stay until the storm is gone."**] It feels like I should go. That, they desperately need someone to be with them. Someone, to just share their stories to. It's sad, and lonely. How can there be such creatures in the world, living with nothing but their emptiness. This is just wrong. I need to give them warmth. So that they'd be happy. I've known them for ages after all; now I only to give them a big, big hug... "please don't let me go." Iris' breath wakes me up. I shake my head to snap myself out of it; my hands are already starting to tremble, and the knot on me is untangling. It feels much heavier than before. "Iris, is something—" She only nods her head with tears in her eyes, as she grips on me tighter. "please, john." I can't see it but I think a mermaid is clinging on her hood. My hands start to shake. I clench my teeth. I'm reaching my limit. I look up: a large portion of the shield has been formed. [[Call Kenzo to pull up now.]] [[Tell Ivy to get some help.]]

"KENZO!" I yell. "UP. NOW!" "3, 2... 1!" They drag my legs up, but stop half-way. The pain tugging my muscles is more intense now, as the mermaid starts to fling and shakes herself. I'm losing my strength. "Come stay with me... I'm lonely..." I can hear her whispering, infiltrating our thoughts with her sweet, sweet voice. Iris only shakes her head, as her hood is on the edge of being torn apart. "KENZO!" I yell again. "John—the weight!" I hear Kenzo shouting back. One of my foot is let go, as the other slips away from their grasp. Iris and I dive into the sea. I try to swim back up with her, but a mermaid pull my leg down. I let go of her as I open my mouth, and struggle to breathe. The last face I see, is the mermaid eerily smiling in front of me with her wide, split open mouth. She then lunges at me. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->next page15.3]]

"IVY! GET LILY!" I yell. One of my foot is let go, as a part of my body suddenly drops down. But, Kenzo likely pulls me back up. The pain tugging my muscles is more intense now, as the mermaid starts to fling and shakes herself. I'm losing my strength. "Come stay with me... I'm lonely..." I can hear her whispering, infiltrating our thoughts with her sweet, sweet voice. Iris only shakes her head, as her hood is on the edge of being torn apart. "3, 2... 1!" In one single swoop, my whole body is dragged up and the mermaid plunges back into the sea. My head then slams on the planks; it feels like I'm going to have a mild concussion. Iris' hands are still wrapped around me as her body is pressed against mine. Her face is rested on my chest, and her legs are on curled on top of mine. "Iris," I call out. "You can let go now." She doesn't say anything at first, and would only let go after she calms herself down. "...sorry... thank you... again." she kisses my right cheek before standing up. Ivy hugs her as soon as she stands, sobbing like there's no tomorrow. That must have been a horrifying experience for both of them. And, for me. I almost died, twice on this ship. "Was that fun?" Lily asks, poking my right cheek. "No... stop poking me." "Ok..." she says, but she pokes my left cheek next. The ship rocks to the port side and I roll my eyes to check the situation there; Jane and Tris should have handled it. I see Jane's trying to catch her breath, one hand resting on the ledgar while Tris is standing on it, holding two metal pans, peering into the sea. The wail has died down, and the clouds have gradually begin to disperse. I aimlessly glance at the sky that is beginning to clear up. The brisk, trashing wind has become a gentle breeze, as the salty taste of it lingers on my tongue. I take a deep breath. Marga—this ship is cursed, at least for me. But then, a foul smell chokes my nose. It smells like... wet squid or raw octopus. No, it can't be. The mermaids have already retreated. Yet, the ripples are closing in on us, and the ship has floated a few feet higher than the sea level. That thing... it was hiding behind the raging waves, preying on us the entire time. [[Next page->next page15.8]]

"Kraken!" I shout, standing on my feet, but it's too late. An enormous and sticky tentacle slams and chops the ship into half in the next second, while two of its tentacles curl on the main mast before crushing it. The mast falls apart as the impact force sends me back, with some of the wooden shards shot into my chest and the right temple of my face. My head is slammed on the deck, again. My vision begins to blur. The section of the ship that I'm lying on begin to tilt and sink. I grab onto the rope tied around the bottom of the foremast as the ship flips completely vertical, as if it's standing on the sea. I try to pull myself up, but I can't. I'm barely holding onto it. "John!" Jane yells. I can vaguely see Lily clinging on her arm, holding my bag. They are on the other side of the ship that is half-sunken, with some figures standing behind them. She says something to Lily; Lily hurls my bag to me. "Elapp... Two times...!" Jane yells again. I grasp the bag with my right hand, and intuitively tangle the straps on it. And before I could say anything, the Kraken lifts five more of its tentacles up, casting their shadow, blocking the sun as one of it hammers down on me. I let go of my hand, as I watch the tentacle gets closer to my face. Within seconds, my whole body dive into the sea as the sea water rinses and rushes into my ear holes, and blinds my sight. The surge envelopes itself around me, and gush me down its swirling current that seems to reach no end. Soon, my counciousness is slowly swept away with the flow. Ah... //so cold.// [[Next chapter->Chapter 16 start]]

"Barrier!" I point at the empty hole. Ivy and Iris lift their hands up; the shield slowly but steadily regains back its complete shape. However, Iris coughs and falls down on her knees seconds after. Her energy hasn't been completely restored yet. Yet, she's forcing herself. "Ivy! Don't stop! No matter what!" I shout at her, as I attend to Iris. She looks extremely exhausted. I suddenly think of Noah. No, she's too weak in this state. I need to get her away from this first. I carry her on my arms and shout at Jane. "Jane! Can you take Iris down—" The ship rocks to our side and I lose my balance again, being thrown along with Iris to the ledgar. My upper body has plunged out beyond the ledgar, with my arms carrying Iris like I'm about to release her into the sea. She loops her arms around my neck as I slide my feet against the ledgar, hoping that the rope wouldn't let go just yet. I calm my breath and attempt to take a step back; but, I slip forward instead. My feet are lifted up from the planks, as my entire body is ready to be dived into the sea. Jane and Ivy managed to grab my feet, but, the rest of my body slip down onto the hull. They grab my legs. A few mermaids pop out from the dark blue sea, as they open their arms widely to welcome us. They are all wailing, like praying for help that never came, for foods that would never able to satisfy their hunger. Iris let out a small gasp as she pulls herself closer to me. Suddenly, one of my Jane-made ear plugs drops into the sea. An intense drowsiness hits and floods into me. I freeze. Jane and Ivy are dragging me up, shouting for my name but I couldn't do anything, like I've been hit by a spell. (align: "=><=")[**"It's a cold, cold night, please share me your warmth. Every inch of me trembles, knowing that you might not come. You are the one I need, please stay until the storm is gone."**] It feels like I should go. That, they desperately need someone to be with them. Someone, to just share their stories to. It's sad, and lonely. How can there be such creatures in the world, living with nothing but their emptiness. This is just wrong. I need to give them warmth. So that they'd be happy. I've known them for ages after all; now I only to give them a big, big hug... "please don't let me go." Iris' breath wakes me up. I shake my head to snap myself out of it; my hands are already starting to tremble, and the knot on me is untangling. Somehow, it feels much heavier than before. "Iris, is something—" She only nods her head with tears in her eyes, as she grips on me tighter. "please, john." I can't see it but I think a mermaid is clinging on her hood. My hands start to shake. I clench my teeth. I'm reaching my limit. I look up: a large portion of the shield has been formed. [[Ask Jane to pull me up instantly.]] [[Get Lily to help.]]

"Jane!" I yell. "Pull up!" "But John, we should—" "NOW!" They drag my legs up, but stop half-way. The pain tugging my muscles is more intense now, as the mermaid starts to fling and shakes herself. I'm losing my strength. "Come stay with me... I'm lonely..." I can hear her whispering, infiltrating our thoughts with her sweet, sweet voice. Iris only shakes her head, as her hood is on the edge of being torn apart. "Your weight!" I hear Jane shouting back. One of my foot is let go, as the other slips away from their grasp. Iris and I dive into the sea. I try to swim back up with her, but a mermaid pull my leg down. I let go of her as I open my mouth, and struggle to breathe. The last face I see, is the mermaid eerily smiling in front of me with her wide, split open mouth. She then lunges at me. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->next page15.3]]

"LILY!" I shout. But Jane interrupts me, "3, 2... 1!" In one single swoop, my whole body is dragged up and the mermaid plunges back into the sea. My head then slams on the planks; it feels like I'm going to have a mild concussion. Iris' hands are still wrapped around me as her body is pressed against mine. Her face is rested on my chest, and her legs are on curled on top of mine. "Iris," I call out. "You can let go now." She doesn't say anything at first, and would only let go after she calms herself down. "...sorry... thank you... again." she kisses my right cheek before standing up. Ivy hugs her as soon as she stands, sobbing like there's no tomorrow. That must have been a horrifying experience for both of them. And, for me. I almost died, twice on this ship. "Was that fun?" Lily asks, poking my right cheek. So, that's why Jane got Lily to come with her in advance. "No... stop poking me." I answer her. "Ok..." she says, but she pokes my left cheek next. The ship rocks to the port side and I roll my eyes to check the situation there; Kenzo and Tris should have handled it. I see kneeling down to catch his breath, both palms on the planks while Tris is standing on the ledgar, holding two metal pans, peering into the sea. The wail has died down, and the clouds have gradually begin to disperse. I aimlessly glance at the sky that is beginning to clear up. The brisk, trashing wind has become a gentle breeze, as the salty taste of it lingers on my tongue. I take a deep breath. Marga—this ship is cursed, at least for me. But then, a foul smell chokes my nose. It smells like... wet squid or raw octopus. No, it can't be. The mermaids have already retreated. Yet, the ripples are closing in on us, and the ship has floated a few feet higher than the sea level. That thing... it was hiding behind the raging waves, preying on us the entire time. [[Next page->next page15.8]]

I shake on his. "John." "Yes, John." he stands in front of me, a feet shorter than I am, trying to level with my eyes. "I've heard //all// about you from my sis for the past half an hour. And, I've just got a few questions. Mind if we have a private chat?" "Well I actually prefer—" "That's settled then." he gives a broad smile to Jane as he tries to wrap his right hand around my shoulder and drag me with his pace. "Do you want me to lower myself?" I whisper to his ear. "No." he says, retracting back his hand. "Shut up. Just follow me." "Ok..." I say, as I awkwardly walk behind him to the room at the end of the dining hall. As we walk in, I realise it's a bow—or, more accurately, a bathroom. Clean, and fragnant. Spacious enough for two to stand, but is definitely designed for one to use. He stretches his hand out and closes the door behind me. It's cramped; I can barely move my hand. "I think we should just choose a corner in the dining hall if you want to talk, it's quite cramped here." I say. "No, I need a room. And I lock Vile that you brought, with Devin that I brought inside the guest room." "Why?" "Because they are not welcomed here. And, Devin almost burnt down the ship with the barrel of wine he spilled." "No. Why would you need a room?" He then pushes my right shoulder against the wall, and put up his right palm a few inches in front of me, leaving a gap enough for him to see my reaction. His hand is lightly trembling. "Tell me... what's your relationship with my sister?" This feels like a deja vu. Jane wasn't kidding when she said they were really protective of her. I take a deep breath. [["I really care about her, and would like to protect her smile."]] [["Well, we did share a same bed."]] [["I respect her, and she's just fun, reliable to be around with."]]

"B—But King Jax! They are merely peasants, how could you do this to them?" "SILENCE. You dare question my methods? You're talking as I'm torturing them; I merely want them to be free." "King Jax, please, for the sake of us, reconsider!" "I will hear no more of your nonsense, Duke Alps. Take the other dukes and get out of my castle." "King Jax! I have wife and a newborn baby to take care of. Please, this is—this is pure madness!" "General Leviathan! Escort these scoundrels out." "Ad Zestia, Your Majesty." "No, no—no! King Jax, I'm warning you: you'll be the worst king the history will remember. Your descendants, they all, they will suffer!" "Take him out at once!" "Mark my words, Jax Doe! You will die a ZERO!" [[Next page->next page16.1]]

I open my eyes, as I choke and spit out the sea water that lingers around my throat. It tastes salty and fishy. Disgustingly so. I find myself half-sitting on a beach—an island beach, with my left hand supporting myself on the gritty, smooth sand, while my right hand is somehow holding the Elapp. The dream—was it transpired by this apple-crystal? And my bag... great, they are washed ashore as well. I open my bag: I still have (if: $heart is "yes")[the stone heart, ](else:)[]the key, two books where one of it belonged to Number Six—so this is what Lily puts in when she ransacked my bag for sandwiches, and a vial containing black potions. I stuff the key in my left pocket, and the black vial in my right—albeit not knowing what it actually does. I then take a deep breath. The sea breeze is amazingly refrshing. I don't see anyone around me; behind me is a jungle; and I'm on an island. Have I reached Deminia? I can't tell; it's awfully dark here. The moon light that reflects on the ripples is my only source of light. Then, a realisation hits me: it's already night. How far have I travelled? Even though we lost Noah just yesterday, it feels like a long time has passed. Right to the execution, there's only about two days left. Elapp, is humming and dimly blipping. Emerald green, with a blend of pale blue. Such a beautiful colour. Wait, how do I operate it? Jane shouted at me about this. Two times? [[Shake it twice.]] [[Hit it on the ground twice.]] [[Lick on it twice.]]

I shake it twice. It starts to heat itself up; I drop it on the ground. Its stalk retracts, and after a moment, a familiar voice comes through it. "Jane?" Cliff asks on the other side, with some chattering noises in the background. "Jane, are you there?" "Cliff," I call out. "John? JOHN!" Cliff shouts. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, I think I'm on the beach of Deminia now. It's dark but—" "No, no. Not that. I heard about Noah from Jane. She... she said you were overwhelmed by it." I grip my hand and reflexively smile to hide it. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. It's fine. What's happening on your end now? There seems to be some ruckus going on." "You're lying, John." he says. "I bet you're wearing a smile now, don't you? ... I want to but, I can't go to you now, John. The situation is worse than I thought here. Ash and I—" "THAT VOICE. HEYYYY JAMIE!" Valentina. "Hello Valentina, glad to know that you're alive and well." "OWW.. do you miss me? Too bad, I'm Cliff's. Isn't that right, //honey?//" "AH, STOP pinching my nose!" "Valentina... about Noah, I couldn't reach him in time—I'm sorry." "What are you talking about? Who's Noah?" "The golem healer," Cliff clarify. "Ohhh... I didn't know he has a name. He was always there when we need him, so we didn't bother giving him a name. He healed that stupid brother of mine more times than I can count, and helped many of the old villagers with their backpains and headaches as well. So, I don't really think he has any regret, you know? It's his life and if he chooses to sacrifice himself doing what he seeks out to do—then why would you feel bad about it, Jamie?" "... I'm surprised, Tina. You can be awfully nice and perspective sometimes. Even though you don't realise it." Cliff chuckles. "Right? Right? Do you want to pat my head now?" "ARGH, stop rubbing my chest with your head!" I chuckle, before bursting into laughter. She's right, in many sense. I didn't know I needed her words. "Thank you, Valentina." "Anytime, Jamie. Cliff, can we be alone now? I want youuu..." "Get—Get off! Go back to your position, I still have something to tell John." "Fine. I'll be waiting for you there. Don't be //late.//" I then hear her footsteps recede and fade away in the background. I lean closer to Elapp. I switch my tone to a softer one, and whisper, [["What is it?"]] [["Looks like you and Tina have progressed far."]] [["Have you met or heard anything about Hugo's group?"]]

I lift my hand and hammer it down to the ground, twice. No response. I shake it twice. It starts to heat itself up; I drop it on the ground. Its stalk retracts, and after a moment, a familiar voice comes through it. "Jane?" Cliff asks on the other side, with some chattering noises in the background. "Jane, are you there?" "Cliff," I call out. "John? JOHN!" Cliff shouts. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, I think I'm on the beach of Deminia now. It's dark but—" "No, no. Not that. I heard about Noah from Jane. She... she said you were overwhelmed by it." I grip my hand and reflexively smile to hide it. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. It's fine. What's happening on your end now? There seems to be some ruckus going on." "You're lying, John." he says. "I bet you're wearing a smile now, don't you? ... I want to but, I can't go to you now, John. The situation is worse than I thought here. Ash and I—" "THAT VOICE. HEYYYY JAMIE!" Valentina. "Hello Valentina, glad to know that you're alive and well." "OWW.. do you miss me? Too bad, I'm Cliff's. Isn't that right, //honey?//" "AH, STOP pinching my nose!" "Valentina... about Noah, I couldn't reach him in time—I'm sorry." "What are you talking about? Who's Noah?" "The golem healer," Cliff clarify. "Ohhh... I didn't know he has a name. He was always there when we need him, so we didn't bother giving him a name. He healed that stupid brother of mine more times than I can count, and helped many of the old villagers with their backpains and headaches as well. So, I don't really think he has any regret, you know? It's his life and if he chooses to sacrifice himself doing what he seeks out to do—then why would you feel bad about it, Jamie?" "... I'm surprised, Tina. You can be awfully nice and perspective sometimes. Even though you don't realise it." Cliff chuckles. "Right? Right? Do you want to pat my head now?" "ARGH, stop rubbing my chest with your head!" I chuckle, before bursting into laughter. She's right, in many sense. I didn't know I needed her words. "Thank you, Valentina." "Anytime, Jamie. Cliff, can we be alone now? I want youuu..." "Get—Get off! Go back to your position, I still have something to tell John." "Fine. I'll be waiting for you there. Don't be //late.//" I then hear her footsteps recede and fade away in the background. I lean closer to Elapp. I switch my tone to a softer one, and whisper, [["What is it?"]] [["Looks like you and Tina have progressed far."]] [["Have you met or heard anything about Hugo's group?"]]

I lick on it, twice. No response. Of course, what was I thinking? I then shake it twice. It starts to heat itself up; I drop it on the ground. Its stalk retracts, and after a moment, a familiar voice comes through it. "Jane?" Cliff asks on the other side, with some chattering noises in the background. "Jane, are you there?" "Cliff," I call out. "John? JOHN!" Cliff shouts. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, I think I'm on the beach of Deminia now. It's dark but—" "No, no. Not that. I heard about Noah from Jane. She... she said you were overwhelmed by it." I grip my hand and reflexively smile to hide it. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. It's fine. What's happening on your end now? There seems to be some ruckus going on." "You're lying, John." he says. "I bet you're wearing a smile now, don't you? ... I want to but, I can't go to you now, John. The situation is worse than I thought here. Ash and I—" "THAT VOICE. HEYYYY JAMIE!" Valentina. "Hello Valentina, glad to know that you're alive and well." "OWW.. do you miss me? Too bad, I'm Cliff's. Isn't that right, //honey?//" "AH, STOP pinching my nose!" "Valentina... about Noah, I couldn't reach him in time—I'm sorry." "What are you talking about? Who's Noah?" "The golem healer," Cliff clarify. "Ohhh... I didn't know he has a name. He was always there when we need him, so we didn't bother giving him a name. He healed that stupid brother of mine more times than I can count, and helped many of the old villagers with their backpains and headaches as well. So, I don't really think he has any regret, you know? It's his life and if he chooses to sacrifice himself doing what he seeks out to do—then why would you feel bad about it, Jamie?" "... I'm surprised, Tina. You can be awfully nice and perspective sometimes. Even though you don't realise it." Cliff chuckles. "Right? Right? Do you want to pat my head now?" "ARGH, stop rubbing my chest with your head!" I chuckle, before bursting into laughter. She's right, in many sense. I didn't know I needed her words. "Thank you, Valentina." "Anytime, Jamie. Cliff, can we be alone now? I want youuu..." "Get—Get off! Go back to your position, I still have something to tell John." "Fine. I'll be waiting for you there. Don't be //late.//" I then hear her footsteps recede and fade away in the background. I lean closer to Elapp. I switch my tone to a softer one, and whisper, [["What is it?"]] [["Looks like you and Tina have progressed far."]] [["Have you met or heard anything about Hugo's group?"]]

"Ash and I reached Astra about three days ago," he states. "We've been trying to connect to Oasis Zero ever since, but there's no luck. Not until earlier this morning, Jane reached out to us. She said the signal to Oasis Zero is unreachable to her either, so she bypassed it directly to us." Then that'd only means—"Something has happened to Oasis Zero after we left." "That's not all, John. Kingdom of Zestia has been burnt to ground. Hugo, Sonia, Igor and their whole troop have gone missing, presumably dead. The loyalty and unity of knights in all Humania kingdoms has been sworn to a new director. His name is Hector. He joined the United Knights Association and quickly rise through the ranks after taking down multiple corruption cases. And they said he is ridiculously strong. All the knights next-in-line are inferior to him. He ordered the knights to keep the folks of their own kingdoms inside, and not to retaliate, in order to be spared." Cliff exhales sharply. "It's a big, fat lie, John. They are being used to massacre their own people before they themselves die. But they don't know what's coming until it hits them. It's unstoppable. I tried to convince the knights of Astra. They wouldn't listen. They just—these knights—we have choice to ambush the wizards and wrap them all up now. Still, they outnumber and outskill us—" "Cliff," I interrupt him. "Who do you have there beside Valentina?" "Elaine," he emphasizes. "And her elite team. My master, Ash and several young villagers that Vincent gathered. Vincent himself left a few days ago, without another word after receiving a letter." "Why is Elaine there?" "She said she wanted to use this chance, to change the flow of the war and seek revenge; she has been on her edge these several days, most of her group members were wiped out the day we arrived from 'The Other World'. Chloe, Zoey included. Only my master can handle talking to her, eye-to-eye. They are both commanding this mission." "Time?" "Tomorrow morning, John." "The execution here... they should be happening the same time as well." "Really?" he asks. "Elaine also mentioned something about a larger plot at play, being that one of The Magnificent Seven will show up here tomorrow. But, I think you might have a better chance at uncovering it than we do. Hugo mentioned that Deminia must not fall before he sent us away." "Right. The key. The key he left me with. What is it for?" "I have no idea, John. The—" "...Cliff? ...Can you hear me?" I lean back from the Elapp; it has stopped glowing and its stalk has been rose up again. Our line is cut, and I have no idea why. I take a deep breath. More issues have arose. This plan that is being executed is more intricate and coordinated than I realise. Every seconds' a waste here. I need to gather what I learn so far: I've met Number Two, Five and Six. Javier mentioned there being two in Deminia. If one of them is killed, then only one is left here. Suddenly, I indistinctly see a half-floating fire coming in my direction from the jungle. There might be some wizards scouting this area for intruders, or any runaway demi-humans. I grab my bag, putting back Elapp inside, before hiding behind the tree closest to me. I check my surrounding; I can see a sea cave near me. There are some movements inside as well, shadows casted by a small bonfire. Could it be the survivors of that Kraken attack? If so, I need to alert them. [[Stay where I am.]] [[Go to the cave.]]

"John—she—well, it feels comforting to see familiar faces again, you know. And, I've been listening to her different stories every night when we have time. She's cool, loving and... eccentric." "Well, I'm glad you're able to got that out." //COUGHS// Cliff coughs. "Ok, so, Ash and I reached Astra about three days ago. We've been trying to connect to Oasis Zero ever since, but there's no luck. Not until earlier this morning, Jane reached out to us. She said the signal to Oasis Zero is unreachable to her either, so she bypassed it directly to us." Then that'd only means—"Something has happened to Oasis Zero after we left." "That's not all, John. Kingdom of Zestia has been burnt to ground. Hugo, Sonia, Igor and their whole troop have gone missing, presumably dead. The loyalty and unity of knights in all Humania kingdoms has been sworn to a new director. His name is Hector. He joined the United Knights Association and quickly rise through the ranks after taking down multiple corruption cases. And they said he is ridiculously strong. All the knights next-in-line are inferior to him. He ordered the knights to keep the folks of their own kingdoms inside, and not to retaliate, in order to be spared." Cliff exhales sharply. "It's a big, fat lie, John. They are being used to massacre their own people before they themselves die. But they don't know what's coming until it hits them. It's unstoppable. I tried to convince the knights of Astra. They wouldn't listen. They just—these knights—we have choice to ambush the wizards and wrap them all up now. Still, they outnumber and outskill us—" "Cliff," I interrupt him. "Who do you have there beside Valentina?" "Elaine," he emphasizes. "And her elite team. My master, Ash and several young villagers that Vincent gathered. Vincent himself left a few days ago, without another word after receiving a letter." "Why is Elaine there?" "She said she wanted to use this chance, to change the flow of the war and seek revenge; she has been on her edge these several days, most of her group members were wiped out the day we arrived from The Other World. Chloe, Zoey included. Only my master can handle talking to her, eye-to-eye. They are both commanding this mission." "Time?" "Tomorrow morning, John." "The execution here... they should be happening the same time as well." "Really?" he asks. "Elaine also mentioned something about a larger plot at play, being that one of The Magnificent Seven will show up here tomorrow. But, I think you might have a better chance at uncovering it than we do. Hugo mentioned that Deminia must not fall before he sent us away." "Right. The key. The key he left me with. What is it for?" "I have no idea, John. The—" "...Cliff? ...Can you hear me?" I lean back from the Elapp; it has stopped glowing and its stalk has been rose up again. Our line is cut, and I have no idea why. I take a deep breath. More issues have arose. This plan that is being executed is more intricate and coordinated than I realise. Every seconds' a waste here. I need to gather what I learn so far: I've met Number Two, Five and Six. Javier mentioned there being two in Deminia. If one of them is killed, then only one is left here. Suddenly, I indistinctly see a half-floating fire coming in my direction from the jungle. There might be some wizards scouting this area for intruders, or any runaway demi-humans. I grab my bag, putting back Elapp inside, before hiding behind the tree closest to me. I check my surrounding; I can see a sea cave near me. There are some movements inside as well, shadows casted by a small bonfire. Could it be the survivors of that Kraken attack? If so, I need to alert them. [[Stay where I am.]] [[Go to the cave.]]

"That, is one of the things that I need to talk to you about." he states. "Ash and I reached Astra about three days ago. We've been trying to connect to Oasis Zero ever since, but there's no luck. Not until earlier this morning, Jane reached out to us. She said the signal to Oasis Zero is unreachable to her either, so she bypassed it directly to us." Then that'd only means—"Something has happened to Oasis Zero after we left." "That's not all, John. Kingdom of Zestia has been burnt to ground. Hugo, Sonia, Igor and their whole troop have gone missing, presumably dead. The loyalty and unity of knights in all Humania kingdoms has been sworn to a new director. His name is Hector. He joined the United Knights Association and quickly rise through the ranks after taking down multiple corruption cases. And they said he is ridiculously strong. All the knights next-in-line are inferior to him. He ordered the knights to keep the folks of their own kingdoms inside, and not to retaliate, in order to be spared." Cliff exhales sharply. "It's a big, fat lie, John. They are being used to massacre their own people before they themselves die. But they don't know what's coming until it hits them. It's unstoppable. I tried to convince the knights of Astra. They wouldn't listen. They just—these knights—we have choice to ambush the wizards and wrap them all up now. Still, they outnumber and outskill us—" "Cliff," I interrupt him. "Who do you have there beside Valentina?" "Elaine," he emphasizes. "And her elite team. My master, Ash and several young villagers that Vincent gathered. Vincent himself left a few days ago, without another word after receiving a letter." "Why is Elaine there?" "She said she wanted to use this chance, to change the flow of the war and seek revenge; she has been on her edge these several days, most of her group members were wiped out the day we arrived from 'The Other World'. Chloe, Zoey included. Only my master can handle talking to her, eye-to-eye. They are both commanding this mission." "Time?" "Tomorrow morning, John." "The execution here... they should be happening the same time as well." "Really?" he asks. "Elaine also mentioned something about a larger plot at play, being that one of The Magnificent Seven will show up here tomorrow. But, I think you might have a better chance at uncovering it than we do. Hugo mentioned that Deminia must not fall before he sent us away." "Right. The key. The key he left me with. What is it for?" "I have no idea, John. The—" "...Cliff? ...Can you hear me?" I lean back from the Elapp; it has stopped glowing and its stalk has been rose up again. Our line is cut, and I have no idea why. I take a deep breath. More issues have arose. This plan that is being executed is more intricate and coordinated than I realise. Every seconds' a waste here. I need to gather what I learn so far: I've met Number Two, Five and Six. Javier mentioned there being two in Deminia. If one of them is killed, then only one is left here. Suddenly, I indistinctly see a half-floating fire coming in my direction from the jungle. There might be some wizards scouting this area for intruders, or any runaway demi-humans. I grab my bag, putting back Elapp inside, before hiding behind the tree closest to me. I check my surrounding; I can see a sea cave near me. There are some movements inside as well, shadows casted by a small bonfire. Could it be the survivors of that Kraken attack? If so, I need to alert them. [[Stay where I am.]] [[Go to the cave.]]

I decide to stay where I am; it's risky to simply move around, and I should be able to conceal my presence using this tree. I can see from the corner of my eyes, the light of fire that glints on the leaves and the bushes. Someone, or something is approaching me. The shadow cast by the fire reveals a man holding a fire torch. The footsteps on the sandy ground becomes clearer, sharper by seconds. The man stops at the opposite side of the tree I'm hiding behind. I hold my breath in. "I know... someone is here. Your footprints on the sand gave you away. Show yourself now." I slowly kneel down and grab a branch on the ground, cautiously lifting it up and resting it on my chest. "Come on out, I'm not playing!" He thumps one of his foot, and it crushes a leaf. Instantaneously, the tree branches shakes, and the leaves on top of me rustles, followed by a sound of a body slamming against the tree. Is he... caught on a trap? "Ha! You think you can catch me? I... will... escape... in... " //THUD// "Ouch." I chuckle. How... clumsy. Wait, this voice—I walk out from the tree; lo and behold, Jay's kissing the ground, dedicating his whole body to do it. He's holding a fire torch on his right hand. I tilt my head up, the rope of a snare that he was caught in has burnt mark on it. "Clever." I say. "Thank you," he replies, before scanning me with his eyes. "John?" "Glad to see you again, Jay." "But," he stuns. "You fell into the sea." "Well, consider me lucky. This is Deminia, right?" "Yes," he brushes the sand away as he stands up. "But we were separated. Only Vile and Devin are with me. Well, technically, they //were// with me." "That's why you are roaming around this jungle? Searching for them?" "No..." he looks at me from the corner of his eyes, before he turns away from me. "Yes. Devin... volunteered to scout the area, but he didn't return; Vile then went to search for him, and well..." A sudden gust from the sea blows off the fire and send chills down our spine, literally. I can hear our whispered names echo around us. Jay looks at me weird, like I'm playing a prank on him. I widen my eyes and cross them with his, as I shake my head in denial. We then hear a distinct woman screaming sound deep inside the jungle, likely where the kingdom itself is. We stare blankly at that direction as we vaguely see a short figure closing in. "BOO!" "AH!" Jay and I scream in surprise. It was Vile. He taps both our shoulders. And the figure in front of us, is of course, Devin. "It was a dark and stormy night," Vile whispers. "I found a way in: unguarded. Shhhh... follow me." [[Next page->next page16.2]]

I decide to go to the cave. If there's any member of The Minority there, I can seek their help or get clarification as to what they are trying to do. Before the light gets close enough, I shuffle between a few trees as I make my way to the cave. There isn't a dry path into it, so I half-dip my legs into the water, and peek inside. A few wizards are sitting around a bonfire, wearing whistle on their neck, eyes closed, mouth mumbling something. They wave their hands in unison, up and down at the bonfire. That can't be good. I slowly back away from them but I slip on a smooth stone beneath the water. //SPLASHHH// The moment I regain back my footing, three wands are already pointed at me. "Human? Not in our hunting list. Should we?" I quickly tug my hand into my right pocket in an attempt to use the black vial but one of them zaps and paralyses me at that instant. "What a bother." He then zaps again, as my head dunks into the sea, and I cannot do anything but feel the salty water flooding inside my head. Soon, my consciousness fades away. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take the other choice->Stay where I am.]]

And so we did. He leads us to the back side entrance of Deminia. The small metal gate has been opened, widely. And, a few wizards are lying unconscious outside—with whistles hanged around their neck. None of them is holding a wand, which means that either they are attacked by one of their own or they are all taken down in one swift and strong strike. "What happened to them, Vile?" Jay asks. He shrugs his shoulder. "They just sleep like this when I came." "Is this safe?" Jay asks. "Or could this be a trap?" "Trap? Naaaaah..." Vile slips past us, and charges at the gate. He pokes his head inside, before waving at us, and going inside by himself. "Vile, wait!" I pause myself and cover my mouth. All were silent. No noise from the inside. I think it's clear. It's better to slip in now when we have a chance. No use hesitating. "Let's go," I say, as we quickly creep through the gate. What we then see in front of us, is a back alley. A dark, long, windy alley. Only some of the second floors of the buildings before us are lit up. The shops are all closed, the door to the brick houses all tightly shut with extra locks outside. There are also a few cluster of grape vines extending up the wall from the ground, as well as plotted plants of lily, rose, orchid and a strange bushy plant I've never seen before. I look at the display windows before us, it's only reflecting Jay and I. "Where's Vile?" Jay whispers, as he walks and looks around. "Damn it, where's Devin?" "Devin!" he softly shouts. "Vile!" //DEEEEEERRRRRGGG-TEK-TEK-BLING-WEEEE-WOOOO-WEEEE-WOOOO-// All of a sudden, the alarms scattered inside the kingdom start to bleat. I can hear footsteps marching on the main street, closing in our direction. How did they detect us? I look around: Jay's stepping on something. "Jay, lift your feet up now!" He quickly leaps backward. A broken wand. Do all the wizards here have their wands marked or specially made to track their movement or something? "PSSST... PSSSTTT..." "John," Jay slaps my shoulder, and points to a house at the edge of the alley. Beyond that, is another main street which looks deserted. Vile's standing at the doorstep, hurrying us to run at him. Jay steps on his own foot as he starts to charge, I drag him by his arm and pull him up. "Quick!" I whisper loudly. My heart starts to throb as the sounds of whistles drastically increase in both its volume, and the quantity of it. They—whoever they are—are desperate in catching us, and is storming here in a large number. We start to run— "TWO OF THEM!" I turn my head back, a bunch of wizards of wizards are charging at us; while some, are lifting their wands and waving them above their head. That can't be good. I need to do something about it, fast. [[Throw out the item in my left pocket.]] [[Throw out the item in my right pocket.]] [[Shout at Vile for help.]]

(if: (history:) contains "Throw out the item in my left pocket.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"You forgot."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c6ach to $c6ach +1) ]I tuck my hand into my left pocket and throws out whatever's inside it. //DING// I turn back to check as I run—the key. I threw out the key. Stupid. "John, in front of you!" I slip on a potted plant of rose, and falls on my face. "Get up, John!" Jay drags my arm, as he attempts to continue running with his pace. I pull myself up, but a fireball blasts at the back of my head. I feel dizzy, and my entire strength is drained out immediately. I thump on the ground, as my vision begins to blur. Jay shakes his body before another fireball blasts him away from my reach. Soon, my consciousness fades away. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->next page16.2]]

I tuck my hand into my right pocket and throws out whatever's inside it. //BLIANK// The vial breaks, and a cloud of black mist starts to gush out of it, sweeping and engulfing the entire alley. Jay and I keep on running forward, as the ominous haze preys and chases a few feet behind us. I then hear the few people behind us start to distinctively shout, and scream in pain: this gas is dangerous. "Faster!" I shout, at Jay who is close behind me. I can see Vile holding out his hand outside the door; I'm about to reach him. I leap, and the moment I grab his hand, he pulls me in. Jay jumps in behind me, where Devin slams and locks the door with a click. The haze continues to burst across the house, and into the deserted main street, spreading and dispersing upwards. [[Next page->next page16.25]]

"Vile! Lend us a hand!" Vile stands in daze, "UMMM..." Devin comes out of the house instead, and throws a black potion at us. "Run! It paralyses!" Devin and I split as the vial is thrown past between us. It lands right at our back, and //poof// out a huge cloud of smokes that starts to sweep and engulf the entire alley. Jay and I keep on running forward, as the ominous smoke preys and chases a few feet behind us. I then hear the few people behind us start to distinctively shout, and scream in pain: this gas is dangerous. "Faster!" I shout, at Jay who is close behind me. I can see Vile holding out his hand outside the door; I'm about to reach him. I leap, and the moment I grab his hand, he pulls me in. Jay jumps in behind me, where Devin slams and locks the door with a click. The smoke continues to burst across the house, and into the deserted main street, spreading and dispersing upwards. [[Next page->next page16.25]]

//BAM BAM BAM// "On the count of three, we will barge in!" "THREE!" The grandma walks pass each of us, as she taps our shoulder with her staff, mouth mumbling something. Her grandchildren follow closely beside her, gripping on the mantle clock tied on her waist, as they make their way to the door. A filter seems to be added into my vision, as my surrounding dim into a darker, greyer tone. "TWO!" Jay blocks in front of the door, opening his wide arms as he whispers, "Please, we are here to help you." "ONE!" All of us stand up as she looks at Jay before switching her glance at the door knob. Without a moment to pause, she unlocks it and pushes the door open. We froze, as two wizards instantly step inside and glare at us; or at the very least, it's what we initially thought. The two just screen the room with their eyes before running pass us to check the room upstairs, as the doors are slammed opened, one by one. As they stomp their loud footsteps on the creaking wooden floor, we exchange our confusing look. Half-bunny... half-bunny...? No, I've not read about any of them before. She somehow concealed our presence with her staff; we are physically here, invisible to other naked eyes, but might or might not be untouchable. Another wizard that was waiting outside has now only gracefully tip toed his way in, then he stops and stands in front of the grandma. He then pauses at her grandchildren, before giving them a friendly smile, "Such lovely children." [[Next page->next page 16.4]]

As Jay grips his hands, ready to rush towards Horus, Horus takes his wand out, stating, "So, tell me, half-bunny. How many are here?" Jay stuns. The grandma wraps her arms around her grandchildren. "Leave! Leave at once!" she yells, before coughing. She's... is she signaling us? "Lift her up!" Horus shouts, as the two wizards point their wand at the grandma and levitate her against the wall, making her drops her staff. The children cry louder, trying to reach their grandma with their small, short arms. They are not even fighting back—no, they didn't even know they have such options. "Put her down," Horus says. And, they did. But he grins, "Lift her up again." The children start to jump and stomp their feet in desperation, eyes fixed on their grandma, calling out for her. "Either you tell me what spell you cast," Horus points his wand at the grandma. "Or I kill these two before your eyes. DO YOU HEAR THAT, INTRUDERS? They are... going to die because you won't come out." I grip my left hand, which is on Jay's shoulder. His breath has also become heavier and more unstable. Devin looks at us, likely awaiting our response while Vile has his eyes fixed on Horus. Horus walks in a circle, waving his hand with a slight lip movement. He then continues, "No?... Ok." he points his wand at the boy and lifts him up. The boy covers his neck with his hands, as he struggles and continues to kick the air; the girl's body shakes as she falls on her knees, reaching her hand out to her brother. "On the count of two, I will snap his neck," Horus declares. "TWO." "no no noo!!" the girl yells. Jay shakes my hand off, then he runs by leaping towards Horus. He balls his hands into fists, and thump them on each other. Horus looks at Jay's direction from the corner of his eyes, and half-grins. "One." Branches shot at Horus, into his body from random directions, impaling his hearts, hands, knees and face. But, he doesn't respond or anything. The filter that I have instantly get removed, as I feel myself being warped back into present. The two wizards drop the grandma as they shift their wand to Horus, surprised. Jay's attacks didn't hit his body, only what appears to be a illusionary figure of him, after which the branches fall on the ground. But someone else managed to land a punch on Horus, as soon as the illusion casted on Horus fades away. I smile. Vile. He was waiting for it, and now his hand just stuns there. "Well, well, well." Horus shifts his wand at Vile, before kicking him back. The boy drops onto the ground at the same time, as his sister hugs him. The grandma shelter them both with her arms, trembling with her staff on one of her hands. "Four intruders," Horus grins. "This sums it up." "Alright then." he declares as the two wizards point their wand at their own neck, hands trembling. Horus shifts his glance at them both, "Do it. In the name of God of Magica." "Stop. What are you making them do? Horus, HORUS!" Jay charges at him, before what we see in front of us is bathed in white, as screams overlap in the background. "Praise God of Magica." I black out. [[Next page->next page16.5]]

"You know what?" I take a deep breath. "Let's just do it. I take the left, you take the right. We'll sandwich punch his face." But as Jay and I just about to leave our position, Horus takes his wand out, looking at the grandma, "So, tell me, half-bunny. How many are here?" The grandma wraps her arms around her grandchildren. "Leave! Leave at once!" she yells, before coughing. She's... is she signaling us? "Lift her up!" Horus shouts, as the two wizards point their wand at the grandma and levitate her against the wall, making her drops her staff. The children cry louder, trying to reach their grandma with their small, short arms. They are not even fighting back—no, they didn't even know they have such options. "Put her down," Horus says. And, they did. But he grins, "Lift her up again." The children start to jump and stomp their feet in desperation, eyes fixed on their grandma, calling out for her. "Either you tell me what spell you cast," Horus points his wand at the grandma. "Or I kill these two before your eyes. DO YOU HEAR THAT, INTRUDERS? They are... going to die because you won't come out." I grip my left hand, which is on Jay's shoulder. His breath has also become heavier and more unstable. Devin looks at us, likely awaiting our response while Vile has his eyes fixed on Horus. Horus walks in a circle, waving his hand with a slight lip movement. He then continues, "No?... Ok." he points his wand at the boy and lifts him up. The boy covers his neck with his hands, as he struggles and continues to kick the air; the girl's body shakes as she falls on her knees, reaching her hand out to her brother. "On the count of two, I will snap his neck," Horus declares. "TWO." "no no noo!!" the girl yells. Jay shakes my hand off, then he runs by leaping towards Horus. He balls his hands into fists, and thump them on each other. Horus looks at Jay's direction from the corner of his eyes, and half-grins. "One." Branches shot at Horus, into his body from random directions, impaling his hearts, hands, knees and face. But, he doesn't respond or anything. The filter that I have instantly get removed, as I feel myself being warped back into present. The two wizards drop the grandma as they shift their wand to Horus, surprised. Jay's attacks didn't hit his body, only what appears to be a illusionary figure of him, after which the branches fall on the ground. But someone else managed to land a punch on Horus, as soon as the illusion casted on Horus fades away. I smile. Vile. He was waiting for it, and now his hand just stuns there. "Well, well, well." Horus shifts his wand at Vile, before kicking him back. The boy drops onto the ground at the same time, as his sister hugs him. The grandma shelter them both with her arms, trembling with her staff on one of her hands. "Four intruders," Horus grins. "This sums it up." "Alright then." he declares as the two wizards point their wand at their own neck, hands trembling. Horus shifts his glance at them both, "Do it. In the name of God of Magica." "Stop. What are you making them do? Horus, HORUS!" Jay charges at him, before what we see in front of us is bathed in white, as screams overlap in the background. "Praise God of Magica." I black out. [[Next page->next page16.5]]

"He's likely testing us," I say. "Just see how it goes first. If you proceed, he might harm them instead." "John, are you really suggesting that we only act after something happened?" "So, tell me, half-bunny." Horus states, taking his wand out. "How many are here?" The grandma wraps her arms around her grandchildren. "Leave! Leave at once!" she yells, before coughing. She's... is she signaling us? "Lift her up!" Horus shouts, as the two wizards point their wand at the grandma and levitate her against the wall, making her drops her staff. The children cry louder, trying to reach their grandma with their small, short arms. They are not even fighting back—no, they didn't even know they have such options. "Put her down," Horus says. And, they did. But he grins, "Lift her up again." The children start to jump and stomp their feet in desperation, eyes fixed on their grandma, calling out for her. "Either you tell me what spell you cast," Horus points his wand at the grandma. "Or I kill these two before your eyes. DO YOU HEAR THAT, INTRUDERS? They are... going to die because you won't come out." I grip my left hand, which is on Jay's shoulder. His breath has also become heavier and more unstable. Devin looks at us, likely awaiting our response while Vile has his eyes fixed on Horus. Horus walks in a circle, waving his hand with a slight lip movement. He then continues, "No?... Ok." he points his wand at the boy and lifts him up. The boy covers his neck with his hands, as he struggles and continues to kick the air; the girl's body shakes as she falls on her knees, reaching her hand out to her brother. "On the count of two, I will snap his neck," Horus declares. "TWO." "no no noo!!" the girl yells. Jay shakes my hand off, then he runs by leaping towards Horus. He balls his hands into fists, and thump them on each other. Horus looks at Jay's direction from the corner of his eyes, and half-grins. "One." Branches shot at Horus, into his body from random directions, impaling his hearts, hands, knees and face. But, he doesn't respond or anything. The filter that I have instantly get removed, as I feel myself being warped back into present. The two wizards drop the grandma as they shift their wand to Horus, surprised. Jay's attacks didn't hit his body, only what appears to be a illusionary figure of him, after which the branches fall on the ground. But someone else managed to land a punch on Horus, as soon as the illusion casted on Horus fades away. I smile. Vile. He was waiting for it, and now his hand just stuns there. "Well, well, well." Horus shifts his wand at Vile, before kicking him back. The boy drops onto the ground at the same time, as his sister hugs him. The grandma shelter them both with her arms, trembling with her staff on one of her hands. "Four intruders," Horus grins. "This sums it up." "Alright then." he declares as the two wizards point their wand at their own neck, hands trembling. Horus shifts his glance at them both, "Do it. In the name of God of Magica." "Stop. What are you making them do? Horus, HORUS!" Jay charges at him, before what we see in front of us is bathed in white, as screams overlap in the background. "Praise God of Magica." I black out. [[Next page->next page16.5]]

As I lift my head up, an old woman—half-bunny with long rabbit ear—stands before me. Two child—a boy and a girl, also half-bunny—are hugging her legs as they all stare at us. Me, in particular because I'm the closest to them, almost kissing their feet. I stand on my feet, as I try to think of words to clear this tension. Because the two children, especially, have their eyes shrouded in fear. The grandma knocks the ground with her staff. "Who are the four of you?" Vile might have just tried twisting every door knobs and chose the one which is unlocked. So they, for some reason, has their door unlocked. Were they expecting someone in this hour of night? Vile tries to approach them; but the children scream, as the grandma points the staff at him. The children look like they are about to cry out loud, which can't be good for us. I carefully take one step closer at them. "Listen, we—" "Stay away from my grandchildren, humans!" the grandma swings her staff at both Vile and I, forcing us back, while the children starts to sob. Their rabbit ears are lowered and almost curled up into a ball; while the grandma's one is heightened, as she glares at us. "Kneel down." Jay says, from behind us. "Come on." "It was a dark and stormy night, the mighty knight I am, I won't stoop so low as to kneel—" I kick Vile's right calf; he automatically kneels on his right knee. Then, Devin and I do the same. "Please forgive us for intruding at this late hour, madam, and children." Jay says, with his head bowed down. "We are with The Minority, and we request to seek a temporary refuge here, departing first thing in the morning." The children has stopped sobbing and look at us with their red-teary eyes, slowly wiping their tears away. "The Minority?" the boy asks. The grandma lowers her staff but her face says that she's not convinced yet as she utters, "Prove it." I don't have anything of sorts. //BAM BAM BAM// "Open the door!" a hostile voice comes from the other side of the door. "Prove it now!" the grandma shouts to us, in a soft voice. "Uri," Jay says, slowly standing up, "she didn't like to be thanked." There is a brief pause where the grandma looked into Jay's eyes and chuckles. [[Next page->next page16.3]]

He points at one of the five chairs around the dining table with his thumb. "May I have a seat?" Without any reply, the grandma gently pushes the grandchildren with her right arm to her side, clearing a path for the wizard. He walks in, and locks the door behind him. Click. He's noticed something's amiss. We slowly scatter ourselves: Jay and I walk to the kitchen as we try to lean our back against the cabinets; Devin and Vile stay near the stairs that is a few feet apart from us. The two wizards then return down, stepping harshly on the squeaky wooden stairs as they loudly report, "Horus, it's clear." "Three of them, same in the report. No one upstairs." to the wizard sitting near the dining table. "That so?" Horus asks, before pointing his index finger at both of the grandchild clinging on their grandma. "Then why were they crying?" "... They had nightmares," the grandma shouts. "Because you lots took their mother and father away!" followed by her coughing, as the children comforts her, patting her back. "I beg to differ," he stands himself up as he walks around the house, like he's admiring the design of it, yet it's obvious that he's scanning for clues. "They always say demi-humans are not to be underestimated. But it only took us one night to take this dirty kingdom hostage." "Half-bunnies," he peers into the framed family portraits of them. "You guys are good in casting those so-called invisible spells, aren't you?" There is no answer. "I'm asking a question here: AREN'T YOU?" he slams the wall and the portrait falls to the ground, as the frame breaks apart and the glass shatter. He steps on it, repeatedly, "Filthy. Lowly. Disgusting rats!" before finishing by rubbing his shoe on it, and tip toe off it. The children start to sniff, before eventually bursting into tears. A shadow slides past me. I grab Jay's arm back. He has the same red eyes which brims with a passionate fury, no less fiercer than Jane—when she first saw the Berserker. But his arm is trembling, as if I'm holding a shaky over-filled glass of water on my hand, trying to prevent it from toppling. It's too full, yet the water are still being filled, like his emotions being put into test. "Let me go," he warns, no longer worrying about the tone of his voice. "I'll finish all three of them in an instant." Judging from his past demeanor and his usual clumsiness, he can barely handle one. But then again, maybe being hidden gives us an advantage over them. While Devin and Vile stuns looking at Horus, I... [[Let go of his arm.]] [[Join him.]] [[Tell him not to act rashly.]]

"..." "d... w... t.. w...." "d..n w..h t.. w..ks" "down w..h the w..ks" "Down with the weaks" "DOWN WITH THE WEAKS!" "DOWN WITH THE WEAKS!" I find my arms numb and are held above my head. They are tied up. I try to move my legs. I can't feel anything beneath me. I open my eyes in shock, only to find that I'm inside an underground dungeon, hanged behinds the bars. Beyond the bars are the guards, shouting in unison. "Cowards! Untie us!" Jay calls out, he's hanged on Devin's left. On Jay's left is Vile, and there's a hooded figure on my right, who appears to be unconscious. We are all being hanged on our own long, tall posts with bed of large, shiny spikes beneath us. What... what's going on? Were we hypnotized? No. Horus should be an illusionary type wizard, but the two wizards that were with him... what were their skills? I have no idea. Second question: where are the others? Were they already caught? Third question: how can we get out of this? "SILENCEEEEEE!" a shout roars across the underground hallway, followed by Horus walking into our sights with a mage behind him. The mage happily high-five the guards as he walks past them, wearing a charming, refreshing smile—like a king trying to win the heart of his citizens. The guards scatter to the sides to create a clear path, as Horus enters our cell with that mage. Upon entering, Horus takes out a wooden cube and twist it for a few seconds before throwing it on the ground. Now, there are only seven of us inside this cell room. Horus smirks at us, "I will now present you ... bla bla bla... Number Seven." The guards then begin cheering "Seven" repeatedly at greater heights. Number Seven... so he's the one in charge of seizing this kingdom. Number Seven playfully slaps Horus' back as he laughs and waves at them. "Hello intruders!" Number Seven greets, swiping his red fierce eyes across us. "Hi." Devin instinctively reply. [["Yo."]] [["Shut up, you good for nothing!"]] [["AHHHHHHHHH!"]]

"Alright, I've only got one question." Number Seven says. "Which one of you killed Number Two?" "I did!" Vile suddenly shouts. Everyone stares at him. "What are you doing?" Jay looks at Vile. "Horus?" Number Seven calls out, signaling him. Horus leans over to his ear and whispers something. Right, they should have no idea what exactly happened to Number Two; only that he didn't return. If I could use this to my advantage, I might be able to get all of us out of this situation. "You don't have any aura, human." Number Seven points at Vile, as Horus leans away from him. "But, you on the other hand," Number Seven slowly switches his pointing finger to me. "Have some peculiar items in your bag. I believe some of them don't belong to you." "It was a dark and stormy night, I put them inside!" Vile shouts. Horus smiles at Vile before he snaps his finger, the hooded figure flinches, and Vile's calf muscles explode into shreds. Some of his blood splatter on my face like a balloon with water popped open, as my left ear ring to the deafening explosion. Vile pukes out fountains of blood, before his consciousness fades away as he bows his head down, not moving another inch. I could only visually see Jay shouting in anger, lunging his body forward, and Devin silently sobbing. "SHUT UP!" Horus shouts, as he snaps again. And again, the hooded figure flinches in response. This time, it's Jay's calf muscles that are exploded right before my eyes. A second round of blood splats on my face, as my breath becomes more and more unsteady. Jay falls unconscious straight away, with blood dripping out of the edges of his mouth. Devin sobs louder, as he turns to me with a terrified face. The ring in my ear becomes louder. "Help Jay." I read from Devin's mouth as he tries to stifle his scream and his fear. His whole body is trembling uncontrollably, and he's taking deep, deep breaths every second. "I assume that this elf is useless as well?" Number Seven asks. "Stop it. I'll tell you." I say. "Bwah, too late," Horus snaps and same thing happened to Devin, with him puking out blood and his consciousness robbed away. I hadn't realized this but the guards, they were cheering this entire time. The cheers became louder and louder as Horus and Number Seven make their way to me. Number Seven walks to me, holding my head up, my tears have already unconsciously flow from my cheeks to my chin, and to his palm. He locks his eyes with me. His eyes are tinged with a unexplainable sadness, and it's like his throat is closing up. He didn't say anything, just looking at me with a painful expression. "You are the only one who seems to know." Number Seven asks. "Was it you?" "He killed himself, after losing," I answer, as I swing my head to hit his. "And he took a friend of mine with him." He doesn't budge, like he's numb to the pain. And as my body swing forward to him again, he firmly grabs me by my neck with his right hand. A few lines of tears drop from his eyes, as he shakily breathes, "Dead, huh? After all the preparations I made for our dinner." Dinner? Number Two mentioned something about... Sevy. Seven? Number Seven. Him. I'm the only one close enough to see his expression. The guards are all behind him, cheering without knowing anything. Horus leans against the bar of the cell now, with his eyes closed shut. "Lobster from Deminia," Number Seven chuckles. None of them realise this. None of them know his true feelings. It was the same expression I made, kneeling in front of Noah that day. He tightens his grip without another word, with a same mourning expression on his face. I attempt to kick him by swinging my legs back and forth, as I struggle for air. Yet, he's as still as stone and his red eyes are dead locked on me, reflecting the light shining behind us and his regrets for not being able to be there. Their bond for each other... The Magnificent Seven... what are they? My vision begins to become blurred out as my consciousness slowly fades away. I'm surrounded by bright, white light all of the sudden. I look at the source—the cube. The cube is violently shaking. My body starts to disintegrates. "Horus, NOT YET!" Number Seven yells as he squishes my neck harder. The last thing I see as I doze off is his piercing, unforgiving pair of eyes. And a number half-etched on his forehead. Number Seven. [[Next chapter->Chapter 17 start]]

"Fiesty, are we? I've only got one question." Number Seven says. "Which one of you killed Number Two?" "I did!" Vile suddenly shouts. Everyone stares at him. "What are you doing?" Jay looks at Vile. "Horus?" Number Seven calls out, signaling him. Horus leans over to his ear and whispers something. Right, they should have no idea what exactly happened to Number Two; only that he didn't return. If I could use this to my advantage, I might be able to get all of us out of this situation. "You don't have any aura, human." Number Seven points at Vile, as Horus leans away from him. "But, you on the other hand," Number Seven slowly switches his pointing finger to me. "Have some peculiar items in your bag. I believe some of them don't belong to you." "It was a dark and stormy night, I put them inside!" Vile shouts. Horus smiles at Vile before he snaps his finger, the hooded figure flinches, and Vile's calf muscles explode into shreds. Some of his blood splatter on my face like a balloon with water popped open, as my left ear ring to the deafening explosion. Vile pukes out fountains of blood, before his consciousness fades away as he bows his head down, not moving another inch. I could only visually see Jay shouting in anger, lunging his body forward, and Devin silently sobbing. "SHUT UP!" Horus shouts, as he snaps again. And again, the hooded figure flinches in response. This time, it's Jay's calf muscles that are exploded right before my eyes. A second round of blood splats on my face, as my breath becomes more and more unsteady. Jay falls unconscious straight away, with blood dripping out of the edges of his mouth. Devin sobs louder, as he turns to me with a terrified face. The ring in my ear becomes louder. "Help Jay." I read from Devin's mouth as he tries to stifle his scream and his fear. His whole body is trembling uncontrollably, and he's taking deep, deep breaths every second. "I assume that this elf is useless as well?" Number Seven asks. "Stop it. I'll tell you." I say. "Bwah, too late," Horus snaps and same thing happened to Devin, with him puking out blood and his consciousness robbed away. I hadn't realized this but the guards, they were cheering this entire time. The cheers became louder and louder as Horus and Number Seven make their way to me. Number Seven walks to me, holding my head up, my tears have already unconsciously flow from my cheeks to my chin, and to his palm. He locks his eyes with me. His eyes are tinged with a unexplainable sadness, and it's like his throat is closing up. He didn't say anything, just looking at me with a painful expression. "You are the only one who seems to know." Number Seven asks. "Was it you?" "He killed himself, after losing," I answer, as I swing my head to hit his. "And he took a friend of mine with him." He doesn't budge, like he's numb to the pain. And as my body swing forward to him again, he firmly grabs me by my neck with his right hand. A few lines of tears drop from his eyes, as he shakily breathes, "Dead, huh? After all the preparations I made for our dinner." Dinner? Number Two mentioned something about... Sevy. Seven? Number Seven. Him. I'm the only one close enough to see his expression. The guards are all behind him, cheering without knowing anything. Horus leans against the bar of the cell now, with his eyes closed shut. "Lobster from Deminia," Number Seven chuckles. None of them realise this. None of them know his true feelings. It was the same expression I made, kneeling in front of Noah that day. He tightens his grip without another word, with a same mourning expression on his face. I attempt to kick him by swinging my legs back and forth, as I struggle for air. Yet, he's as still as stone and his red eyes are dead locked on me, reflecting the light shining behind us and his regrets for not being able to be there. Their bond for each other... The Magnificent Seven... what are they? My vision begins to become blurred out as my consciousness slowly fades away. I'm surrounded by bright, white light all of the sudden. I look at the source—the cube. The cube is violently shaking. My body starts to disintegrates. "Horus, NOT YET!" Number Seven yells as he squishes my neck harder. The last thing I see as I doze off is his piercing, unforgiving pair of eyes. And a number half-etched on his forehead. Number Seven. [[Next chapter->Chapter 17 start]]

(if: (history:) contains "\"AHHHHHHHHH!\"")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"When in doubt, scream for help. (III)"//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c6ach to $c6ach +1) ]Horus steps forward and punches me in my stomach. He then backs away from me as Number Seven says, "Alright, I've only got one question. Which one of you killed Number Two?" "I did!" Vile suddenly shouts. Everyone stares at him. "What are you doing?" Jay looks at Vile. "Horus?" Number Seven calls out, signaling him. Horus leans over to his ear and whispers something. Right, they should have no idea what exactly happened to Number Two; only that he didn't return. If I could use this to my advantage, I might be able to get all of us out of this situation. "You don't have any aura, human." Number Seven points at Vile, as Horus leans away from him. "But, you on the other hand," Number Seven slowly switches his pointing finger to me. "Have some peculiar items in your bag. I believe some of them don't belong to you." "It was a dark and stormy night, I put them inside!" Vile shouts. Horus smiles at Vile before he snaps his finger, the hooded figure flinches, and Vile's calf muscles explode into shreds. Some of his blood splatter on my face like a balloon with water popped open, as my left ear ring to the deafening explosion. Vile pukes out fountains of blood, before his consciousness fades away as he bows his head down, not moving another inch. It was so sudden that he didn't even have time to scream in pain. Jay shouted in anger in response, lunging his body forward, and Devin silently sobbing. "SHUT UP!" Horus shouts, as he snaps again. And again, the hooded figure flinches in response. This time, it's Jay's calf muscles that are exploded right before my eyes. A second round of blood splats on my face, as my breath becomes more and more unsteady. Jay falls unconscious straight away, with blood dripping out of the edges of his mouth and his knees. Devin sobs louder, as he turns to me with a terrified face. The ring in my ear becomes louder. "Help Jay." I read from Devin's mouth as he tries to stifle his scream and his fear. His whole body is trembling uncontrollably, and he's taking deep, deep breaths every second. "I assume that this elf is useless as well?" Number Seven asks. "Stop it. I'll tell you." I say. "Bwah, too late," Horus snaps and same thing happened to Devin, with him puking out blood and his consciousness robbed away. I hadn't realized this but the guards, they were cheering this entire time. The cheers became louder and louder as Horus and Number Seven make their way to me. Number Seven walks to me, holding my head up, my tears have already unconsciously flow from my cheeks to my chin, and to his palm. He locks his eyes with me. His eyes are tinged with a unexplainable sadness, and it's like his throat is closing up. He didn't say anything, just looking at me with a painful expression. "You are the only one who seems to know." Number Seven asks. "Was it you?" "He killed himself, after losing," I answer, as I swing my head to hit his. "And he took a friend of mine with him." He doesn't budge, like he's numb to the pain. And as my body swing forward to him again, he firmly grabs me by my neck with his right hand. A few lines of tears drop from his eyes, as he shakily breathes, "Dead, huh? After all the preparations I made for our dinner." Dinner? Number Two mentioned something about... Sevy. Seven? Number Seven. Him. I'm the only one close enough to see his expression. The guards are all behind him, cheering without knowing anything. Horus leans against the bar of the cell now, with his eyes closed shut. "Lobster from Deminia," Number Seven chuckles. None of them realise this. None of them know his true feelings. It was the same expression I made, kneeling in front of Noah that day. He tightens his grip without another word, with a same mourning expression on his face. I attempt to kick him by swinging my legs back and forth, as I struggle for air. Yet, he's as still as stone and his red eyes are dead locked on me, reflecting the light shining behind us and his regrets for not being able to be there. Their bond for each other... The Magnificent Seven... what are they? My vision begins to become blurred out as my consciousness slowly fades away. I'm surrounded by bright, white light all of the sudden. I look at the source—the cube. The cube is violently shaking. My body starts to disintegrates. "Horus, NOT YET!" Number Seven yells as he squishes my neck harder. The last thing I see as I doze off is his piercing, unforgiving pair of eyes. And a number half-etched on his forehead. Number Seven. [[Next chapter->Chapter 17 start]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 17**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"The Grand Escape"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 17 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c7ach to 0)] (set: $c17checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 17") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->The Grand Escape]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

"John, wake up!" I take a deep breath as I open my eyes. Jay is looking over me on top of my head. "Yeah, wake up," Vile slaps my face. "I'm awake," I say. Vile slaps my face again, "Wake up, John!" He grabs me by my shirt's collar, "WAKE UP!" "Vile, Vile, calm down, I'm already awake!" He swings his right hand backwards, and release it at my right cheek with a big slap. I jolt my body up. The scene before my eyes has changed. I'm now inside a dungeon cell with straws all over the floor, and the space inside the cell seems to extend to no end. A large few groups of Demi-human sit scattered, away from me, glaring at me. "John, help," Jay grabs my shirt from my back. I turn to him. A small hooded figure seems to be sucking blood from his neck. Jay twitches with every movement made by the figure, as he grips my shirt tighter. "What are you doing, get off of him, GET OFF!" I try to move, but a finger points at the back of my head. "Let them be," the voice behind me says. Them? I raise my head up and see other small hooded figures are also sucking Devin and Vile's blood through their neck. Both Devin, and Vile are still unconscious. But, all of their calf muscles are still intact, they are not physically harm in any way. Was it all an illusion? I grip my hand and try to stand myself up. "Stop," the finger presses deeper into the back of my head, I can feel a light scratch on it. It isn't a finger, it's a claw. A sharp, single claw. "Are you with The Minority? We mean no harm, let them go." I say. "No." "John..." Jay tries to pull himself closer to me, but the small hooded figure moved with him. I immediately stand myself up, the claw pierced into my skin and a line of drop drip from the back of my head. "Stop this," I say. "Stop them, I'll tell you everything you want to know." "Why are you here, John?" the voice asks. "I was with your group earlier: Kenzo, Tris, Wade, and Captain Eiden. We were on the same ship enroute to this island when we were attacked by a Kraken. We got separated, and we were caught when we attempted to infiltrate here. To save you all. The Demi-humans." The claw moves away from me for a brief moment before slapping the back of my head. "You? Human like you?" the voice says, as she walks and stands in front of me. I look at her. "Yes, human like me." She doesn't have any claw, but two horns curled inside, a mix of red and white long hair, dark blue eyes and a robe covering her body. She peers into my eyes, a feet taller than I am. "Curious," she says. "I wonder what's in you that interested her." "Her?" I ask. A claw slaps the back of my head again. I turn back to find out it's another Demi-human, a type that I have never seen before with only claws as her hands. Short blue hair, with dark blue eyes, about a feet shorter than I am, and almost no expressions. She looks just like a human, standing there as she analyzes my face. But something about her... "John, focus here." the voice says. "Name," I ask her. "Mine? Uri. You are speaking to the Commander of The Minority. Pleased to make your acquaintance." "No," I say. "This blue haired girl." "She can't speak," Uri says. "Her name." "Yoanna." [[Next page->Next page 17.1]]

Yoanna... this was what Hugo hinted at. But, I need to do something to save them first. Yoanna continues to stare at me. "Are you done, John?" Uri taps my left shoulder. I quickly lunge towards Yoanna, grabs her right claw and point them on her neck, as I stand behind her. "John... let her go." Uri says. The group of Demi-humans around me all stand up, shocked but still glaring intently at me. "Let them go first," I say as I hint with my eyes towards Jay, Devin, and Vile. "I will not repeat again," I press Yoanna's claw a bit deeper into her neck. "I'm sorry, I promise I won't bring you any harm," I whisper softly. "Tell them to stay away, NOW!" I shout, stepping one of my foot forward. "No," Uri shot her eyes fiercely at me, the playful tone that she adopted has long gone. "John, you need to understand, we are under deep restraint in this cell. None of us is able to use any skills whatsoever. None. We have been locked for a few days. Fed with breads and fruit only." "So? That's your reason for eating them?" "No. They just need a portion of it. Blood." "Blood?" "They are the children of Nosferatu descendent." "Nosferatu... vampire?" The small hooded figures all opened their hood, revealing their one fang in their mouth and their face. They are crying. A few lines of blood drip from the edges of their mouth as they continue to suck, from the tiny holes of the neck of Jay, Vile and Devin. "Half-vampire, to be precise. Vampires cannot suck the blood of the members of same Familia. Demi-human. It's an unbreakable curse laid on the first generation of half-vampires to prevent betrayal." I grip my hand. I suddenly understood their tears. They wouldn't want to if they have a choice. "But..." I let out a heavy sigh. "Enough." I take a deep breath, and let go of Yoanna's claw. "Suck my blood instead. Leave them alone." "There are five of them, John. You can't seriously—" "Let go of them," I say. "I can't watch them in pain like this; both side is suffering. Stop, now." The vampire children look at Uri. Uri hesitantly nods at them. "In exchange, tell me how you all ended up here and what you have in your mind," I say. "I don't assume you all are just waiting around to be saved?" "No," Uri says. "Of course not." The children all approach me, but they are still crying, rubbing their eyes. "It's ok," I say to them. "I won a race with turtle before so I'm pretty strong." A few of them chuckle. [["For real, I can also beat rocks in a fair race."]] [["I'm ready."]] [["This is my first time. Be gentle with me."]]

A few of them chuckle again, looking more relaxed now while rubbing their noses. I take a deep breath again, and sit myself down. I extend my arms out, "Let's begin. 3 minutes, that's all. I hope my blood is delicious." I close my eyes. One of them softly penetrate the fang on my upper arm: it feels like a mosquito bite but you can actually feel the pain of the fang sinking in. Then, a few fangs followed, in different places on my arms. Uri explained to me about the state of the cell, and our time limit before the execution begins. 5 hours, approximately: they overheard the jail guards, with arm bands, when they were transporting us in. The jail we are in are like an infinite space with no visible door for entry or exit. A portal would only show up when it's summoned from their side. During which, the entire dungeon cell is re-casted with a dizzy spell from a cube, rendering everyone not movable. There will be one last meal for us, in an hour. "Dizziness?" I ask. "Yes," Uri says. "As soon as the cube hits the ground, our vision begins to rotate in alarming rate, and we can't move an inch because of it." "Are they monitoring us?" I continue. "Not likely. Unless..." Uri replies, but pauses herself. "Unless...?" I continue. "Wait, how many people were transported in with me?" "Including you, five." "Jay. Vile. Devin. Five? Where's another one?" "By the time the dizziness wore off, only the four of you were there." Friend or foe? Doesn't matter, no one around us is close enough to hear us. Let's see... dizziness spell, I have no resistance on that but— "They are done," Uri says. I open my eyes only to find a few girls on their twenties, licking the blood remained on my arms. I quickly flinch away from them. Wait. Wait. Wait. All the children and old folks are left behind in the first place. So, they were not children to begin with. Even more so, all of them are female. Did they... shrink? "I thought you said they were children." "Nope. I only said they were half-vampire," Uri chuckles. "You ASSUMED they were children." "Can I have another bite?" one of them lunges at my chest and pushes me down. "I promise I'll be gentle." She starts to sniff my neck. "John?" Jay calls out as he seemingly woke up from his nightmare. "What... what are you doing over there?" She licks my neck. "Your blood was delicious. I'd like to try your neck." "I can see you're restored back to your own self now. I don't think you need anymore of my—" She licks my neck again, this time, with more saliva, "Please?" "John seems to be having fun," Devin adds, as both of them look down at me above my head. "No," I say to the female half-vampire but my arms are numb and I cannot push her away. "Jay, what happened was that—" She breathes on my neck and sandwich my face with both her hands, forcibly making me look at her. "No one says no to me before," she pushes her face into mine, swirling her tongue. I knock my head against her. "Ow!" she yells as she leans back. "Jay, pull my arms away now!" Jay and Devin immediately grab me by my shoulder and pull me away like a rag but the girl still sits on my stomach. "Just a bite won't harm anyone," she says as she leans closer to me again. "Enough, Taelynn. Stop teasing John there." Uri says. "Fine," Taelynn stands up, giving me a wink before walking to Uri. "I'm sorry, John. Taelynn is one of our vanguard, I believe you've met Tris before. She's her best friend." "Wow... they are both very much... aggressive, just in a different way..." Jay only shakes his head at me in disappointment like I betrayed his trust. "Wait, wait. Uri," I look at her. "You mention 're-casted' just now. If the spells that cancel all abilities are re-casted with dizziness spell once the portal opens, why don't you just take the chance to escape then?" "She could," Taelynn says, licking her fingers, "but that would mean she could only escape with a few while the rest of the Demi-humans will not be able to escape, and probably executed on the spot. That'd just defeat the purpose of us coming here, doesn't it?" Right. This is what's been holding them back. They don't know how to return here, or if there is even a way. "Don't any of you has the ability to teleport?" Devin asks. "No, goblin," Taelynn smiles at Devin. "Even if there is, it's not possible to move this large group of Demi-human at once. There's at least 300 of us here." "Ayyy... then we wait!" Vile shouts, crawling his way to us. "No." Uri and I say unanimously. I look at her. [["I'd love to hear your idea."]] [["Really?"]]

I take a deep breath again, and sit myself down. I extend my arms out, "Let's begin. 3 minutes, that's all. I hope my blood is delicious." I close my eyes. One of them softly penetrate the fang on my upper arm: it feels like a mosquito bite but you can actually feel the pain of the fang sinking in. Then, a few fangs followed, in different places on my arms. Uri explained to me about the state of the cell, and our time limit before the execution begins. 5 hours, approximately: they overheard the jail guards, with arm bands, when they were transporting us in. The jail we are in are like an infinite space with no visible door for entry or exit. A portal would only show up when it's summoned from their side. During which, the entire dungeon cell is re-casted with a dizzy spell from a cube, rendering everyone not movable. There will be one last meal for us, in an hour. "Dizziness?" I ask. "Yes," Uri says. "As soon as the cube hits the ground, our vision begins to rotate in alarming rate, and we can't move an inch because of it." "Are they monitoring us?" I continue. "Not likely. Unless..." Uri replies, but pauses herself. "Unless...?" I continue. "Wait, how many people were transported in with me?" "Including you, five." "Jay. Vile. Devin. Five? Where's another one?" "By the time the dizziness wore off, only the four of you were there." Friend or foe? Doesn't matter, no one around us is close enough to hear us. Let's see... dizziness spell, I have no resistance on that but— "They are done," Uri says. I open my eyes only to find a few girls on their twenties, licking the blood remained on my arms. I quickly flinch away from them. Wait. Wait. Wait. All the children and old folks are left behind in the first place. So, they were not children to begin with. Even more so, all of them are female. Did they... shrink? "I thought you said they were children." "Nope. I only said they were half-vampire," Uri chuckles. "You ASSUMED they were children." "Can I have another bite?" one of them lunges at my chest and pushes me down. "I promise I'll be gentle." She starts to sniff my neck. "John?" Jay calls out as he seemingly woke up from his nightmare. "What... what are you doing over there?" She licks my neck. "Your blood was delicious. I'd like to try your neck." "I can see you're restored back to your own self now. I don't think you need anymore of my—" She licks my neck again, this time, with more saliva, "Please?" "John seems to be having fun," Devin adds, as both of them look down at me above my head. "No," I say to the female half-vampire but my arms are numb and I cannot push her away. "Jay, what happened was that—" She breathes on my neck and sandwich my face with both her hands, forcibly making me look at her. "No one says no to me before," she pushes her face into mine, swirling her tongue. I knock my head against her. "Ow!" she yells as she leans back. "Jay, pull my arms away now!" Jay and Devin immediately grab me by my shoulder and pull me away like a rag but the girl still sits on my stomach. "Just a bite won't harm anyone," she says as she leans closer to me again. "Enough, Taelynn. Stop teasing John there." Uri says. "Fine," Taelynn stands up, giving me a wink before walking to Uri. "I'm sorry, John. Taelynn is one of our vanguard, I believe you've met Tris before. She's her best friend." "Wow... they are both very much... aggressive, just in a different way..." Jay only shakes his head at me in disappointment like I betrayed his trust. "Wait, wait. Uri," I look at her. "You mention 're-casted' just now. If the spells that cancel all abilities are re-casted with dizziness spell once the portal opens, why don't you just take the chance to escape then?" "She could," Taelynn says, licking her fingers, "but that would mean she could only escape with a few while the rest of the Demi-humans will not be able to escape, and probably executed on the spot. That'd just defeat the purpose of us coming here, doesn't it?" Right. This is what's been holding them back. They don't know how to return here, or if there is even a way. "Don't any of you has the ability to teleport?" Devin asks. "No, goblin," Taelynn smiles at Devin. "Even if there is, it's not possible to move this large group of Demi-human at once. There's at least 300 of us here." "Ayyy... then we wait!" Vile shouts, crawling his way to us. "No." Uri and I say unanimously. I look at her. [["I'd love to hear your idea."]] [["Really?"]]

I extend my arms out, "Let's begin. 3 minutes, that's all. I hope my blood is delicious." I close my eyes. One of them softly penetrate the fang on my upper arm: it feels like a mosquito bite but you can actually feel the pain of the fang sinking in. Then, a few fangs followed, in different places on my arms. Uri explained to me about the state of the cell, and our time limit before the execution begins. 5 hours, approximately: they overheard the jail guards, with arm bands, when they were transporting us in. The jail we are in are like an infinite space with no visible door for entry or exit. A portal would only show up when it's summoned from their side. During which, the entire dungeon cell is re-casted with a dizzy spell from a cube, rendering everyone not movable. There will be one last meal for us, in an hour. "Dizziness?" I ask. "Yes," Uri says. "As soon as the cube hits the ground, our vision begins to rotate in alarming rate, and we can't move an inch because of it." "Are they monitoring us?" I continue. "Not likely. Unless..." Uri replies, but pauses herself. "Unless...?" I continue. "Wait, how many people were transported in with me?" "Including you, five." "Jay. Vile. Devin. Five? Where's another one?" "By the time the dizziness wore off, only the four of you were there." Friend or foe? Doesn't matter, no one around us is close enough to hear us. Let's see... dizziness spell, I have no resistance on that but— "They are done," Uri says. I open my eyes only to find a few girls on their twenties, licking the blood remained on my arms. I quickly flinch away from them. Wait. Wait. Wait. All the children and old folks are left behind in the first place. So, they were not children to begin with. Even more so, all of them are female. Did they... shrink? "I thought you said they were children." "Nope. I only said they were half-vampire," Uri chuckles. "You ASSUMED they were children." "Can I have another bite?" one of them lunges at my chest and pushes me down. "I promise I'll be gentle." She starts to sniff my neck. "John?" Jay calls out as he seemingly woke up from his nightmare. "What... what are you doing over there?" She licks my neck. "Your blood was delicious. I'd like to try your neck." "I can see you're restored back to your own self now. I don't think you need anymore of my—" She licks my neck again, this time, with more saliva, "Please?" "John seems to be having fun," Devin adds, as both of them look down at me above my head. "No," I say to the female half-vampire but my arms are numb and I cannot push her away. "Jay, what happened was that—" She breathes on my neck and sandwich my face with both her hands, forcibly making me look at her. "No one says no to me before," she pushes her face into mine, swirling her tongue. I knock my head against her. "Ow!" she yells as she leans back. "Jay, pull my arms away now!" Jay and Devin immediately grab me by my shoulder and pull me away like a rag but the girl still sits on my stomach. "Just a bite won't harm anyone," she says as she leans closer to me again. "Enough, Taelynn. Stop teasing John there." Uri says. "Fine," Taelynn stands up, giving me a wink before walking to Uri. "I'm sorry, John. Taelynn is one of our vanguard, I believe you've met Tris before. She's her best friend." "Wow... they are both very much... aggressive, just in a different way..." Jay only shakes his head at me in disappointment like I betrayed his trust. "Wait, wait. Uri," I look at her. "You mention 're-casted' just now. If the spells that cancel all abilities are re-casted with dizziness spell once the portal opens, why don't you just take the chance to escape then?" "She could," Taelynn says, licking her fingers, "but that would mean she could only escape with a few while the rest of the Demi-humans will not be able to escape, and probably executed on the spot. That'd just defeat the purpose of us coming here, doesn't it?" Right. This is what's been holding them back. They don't know how to return here, or if there is even a way. "Don't any of you has the ability to teleport?" Devin asks. "No, goblin," Taelynn smiles at Devin. "Even if there is, it's not possible to move this large group of Demi-human at once. There's at least 300 of us here." "Ayyy... then we wait!" Vile shouts, crawling his way to us. "No." Uri and I say unanimously. I look at her. [["I'd love to hear your idea."]] [["Really?"]]

"Well, I don't really have one... now." Uri says. "Seriously?" I ask. "Seriously." "You're the leader of The Minority. The least you could do is to give some ideas." "Hey, that's rude. I made it this far because of my comrades in arm; I'm not the strategist." I sigh. Suddenly, I feel a tug on my shirt. The blue-haired girl is staring intently at me, with a dissatisfied look on her face. "Umm," I say. "Do you need help with anything?" Her eyebrows furrowed. I look at Uri in hope she would explain the situation to me, but she looks just as dazed as I am. "Yoanna?" Uri asks. Yoanna is still staring intently at me, like she was trying something. After a few more seconds, Yoanna shook her head at Uri. "Huh," Uri says. "That's weird." "What's weird?" Jay asks. "What just happened?" "More importantly," Vile says as he looks around. "Is this... endless?" Before anyone answers Vile, he starts to run to his left with his "Weeeeee" that scares the demi-humans from his path. What... I take a deep breath. Focus. The only way out is to wait for portal to open. Cube re-cast spell. Cube re-cast spell? Wait. "The cube," I ask. "Is it made of wood? And did they twist it before throwing it to the ground?" "Yes," Uri says, "Why?" "The wooden cube that I saw," I say. "It creates an illusion, as if it was real. I could feel the emotions, the red, and the sounds. It was brief, but the way it violently shook at the end, turning everything white—" "It has a time limit," Taelynn says. "Precisely." I say. "And that help us how?" Uri asks. "They need to match the cube's time limit." I say. Uri pauses for a brief moment, her eyebrows slightly raised. She walks to me, and pat my shoulder. "I don't get it," she says. "You don't—ok, ok, fine." I take a deep breath. "Given that they release the cube once the portal opens, the timer of the cube starts counting, enforcing the illusion, affecting everyone and anyone without the armband, or the original caster. Once the time is up, the illusion breaks and the guards are teleported back." "Not the guards," Jay says as he looks at me. "People standing around the cube area. I also saw the cube, and remembered everything before the explosions occur." "Yes..." I say. "Yes. That's it!" I chuckle, as I point both my forefingers at Jay. "That's exactly it!" As Vile's "weeee" continue to resonate, I turn my attention back to Uri and Taelynn. "There is no re-casted dizziness spell." I clarified. "It's an illusion that makes us dizzy, it messes with our eyes only." "And that help us... how?" Uri asks. "Yeah," Taelynn adds. "Even if we can say, get out by ourselves, our core problem remains with that we can't get our people out." "Yes, but not if the cube is not activated!" I exclaim, only realizing my pitch got high. "Think of this, the portal and the cube are two different things. So, if they want to get us out for execution, they cannot use the cube and can only selectively let everyone out through the portal one by one. Else, we would be too dizzy to even stand up." "No, wait," I pause myself. I grab Vile as he runs past me again. "John?" he asks. The space that we are in is infinite. This is not a physical space. Is it even possible to conjure up a portal to this undefined space in the first place? "Uri," I say. "About these portals, I noticed one of your members have the ability to manipulate them as well. Do you know how it works?" "No—" Uri paused herself, as she looks at Yoanna. Uri then coughs, "In order for portals to be created, one must have vivid image of the destination in mind." Uri coughs again, "Something like a place that you have been to and can imagine yourself passing the door to it." "What if the place is not real?" I ask. Yoanna tugs my shirt. She looks at me as if she realized something. She then turns to Uri. "It can work," Uri says. "Huh?" Jay asks. "Realistically, portals cannot be connected to places that don't exist. So this jail as we call it, is conjured up not by a caster or wizard—it's a device." Uri clarifies. "But to conjure up something like this, it must have require tremendous amount of power..." I pause, realizing something very important. "That's why none of us can use any magic or power in here..." I continue. "They are being fed to power up this space." Devin gasps. "Master John is so smart," he whispers to Jay. "Ok, ok," Taelynn says. "So long story short, next time portal opens, we ambush the guards, take their armbands away and head out, secure the portal device. Then, get our people out." "We'd need to know how to activate the portal once we head out as well." Uri says, with a smile. "We're glad to have you joined us, John and his team." Uri suddenly extends her hand to me. "Kenzo was not wrong in his judgement." I chuckle. Likewise, I also extend my hand out for a shake. But, Yoanna grabs and shakes my hand instead. Her claw hand is rough and slippery. Yet, she shakes mine like it was nothing. Her eyes were on me the whole time, and her expression didn't change. "Umm... pleasure to be your acquaintance," I give my warmest smile. "Yoanna." She nods. [[Next page->Next page 17.2]]

"Yeah." Uri says. "We'd need to get out one way or another." "And your plan is?" I ask. "Umm... I don't have one now." "Seriously?" "Seriously." "You're the leader of The Minority. The least you could do is to give some ideas." "Hey, that's rude. I made it this far because of my comrades in arm; I'm not the strategist." I sigh. Suddenly, I feel a tug on my shirt. The blue-haired girl is staring intently at me, with a dissatisfied look on her face. "Umm," I say. "Do you need help with anything?" Her eyebrows furrowed. I look at Uri in hope she would explain the situation to me, but she looks just as dazed as I am. "Yoanna?" Uri asks. Yoanna is still staring intently at me, like she was trying something. After a few more seconds, Yoanna shook her head at Uri. "Huh," Uri says. "That's weird." "What's weird?" Jay asks. "What just happened?" "More importantly," Vile says as he looks around. "Is this... endless?" Before anyone answers Vile, he starts to run to his left with his "Weeeeee" that scares the demi-humans from his path. What... I take a deep breath. Focus. The only way out is to wait for portal to open. Cube re-cast spell. Cube re-cast spell? Wait. "The cube," I ask. "Is it made of wood? And did they twist it before throwing it to the ground?" "Yes," Uri says, "Why?" "The wooden cube that I saw," I say. "It creates an illusion, as if it was real. I could feel the emotions, the red, and the sounds. It was brief, but the way it violently shook at the end, turning everything white—" "It has a time limit," Taelynn says. "Precisely." I say. "And that help us how?" Uri asks. "They need to match the cube's time limit." I say. Uri pauses for a brief moment, her eyebrows slightly raised. She walks to me, and pat my shoulder. "I don't get it," she says. "You don't—ok, ok, fine." I take a deep breath. "Given that they release the cube once the portal opens, the timer of the cube starts counting, enforcing the illusion, affecting everyone and anyone without the armband, or the original caster. Once the time is up, the illusion breaks and the guards are teleported back." "Not the guards," Jay says as he looks at me. "People standing around the cube area. I also saw the cube, and remembered everything before the explosions occur." "Yes..." I say. "Yes. That's it!" I chuckle, as I point both my forefingers at Jay. "That's exactly it!" As Vile's "weeee" continue to resonate, I turn my attention back to Uri and Taelynn. "There is no re-casted dizziness spell." I clarified. "It's an illusion that makes us dizzy, it messes with our eyes only." "And that help us... how?" Uri asks. "Yeah," Taelynn adds. "Even if we can say, get out by ourselves, our core problem remains with that we can't get our people out." "Yes, but not if the cube is not activated!" I exclaim, only realizing my pitch got high. "Think of this, the portal and the cube are two different things. So, if they want to get us out for execution, they cannot use the cube and can only selectively let everyone out through the portal one by one. Else, we would be too dizzy to even stand up." "No, wait," I pause myself. I grab Vile as he runs past me again. "John?" he asks. The space that we are in is infinite. This is not a physical space. Is it even possible to conjure up a portal to this undefined space in the first place? "Uri," I say. "About these portals, I noticed one of your members have the ability to manipulate them as well. Do you know how it works?" "No—" Uri paused herself, as she looks at Yoanna. Uri then coughs, "In order for portals to be created, one must have vivid image of the destination in mind." Uri coughs again, "Something like a place that you have been to and can imagine yourself passing the door to it." "What if the place is not real?" I ask. Yoanna tugs my shirt. She looks at me as if she realized something. She then turns to Uri. "It can work," Uri says. "Huh?" Jay asks. "Realistically, portals cannot be connected to places that don't exist. So this jail as we call it, is conjured up not by a caster or wizard—it's a device." Uri clarifies. "But to conjure up something like this, it must have require tremendous amount of power..." I pause, realizing something very important. "That's why none of us can use any magic or power in here..." I continue. "They are being fed to power up this space." Devin gasps. "Master John is so smart," he whispers to Jay. "Ok, ok," Taelynn says. "So long story short, next time portal opens, we ambush the guards, take their armbands away and head out, secure the portal device. Then, get our people out." "We'd need to know how to activate the portal once we head out as well." Uri says, with a smile. "We're glad to have you joined us, John and his team." Uri suddenly extends her hand to me. "Kenzo was not wrong in his judgement." I chuckle. Likewise, I also extend my hand out for a shake. But, Yoanna grabs and shakes my hand instead. Her claw hand is rough and slippery. Yet, she shakes mine like it was nothing. Her eyes were on me the whole time, and her expression didn't change. "Umm... pleasure to be your acquaintance," I give my warmest smile. "Yoanna." She nods. [[Next page->Next page 17.2]]

We then went through our plan again before going into our positions; Jay and Uri as a group to detain the guards, Taelynn and Vile to remove their armbands, while Yoanna and I as backup to also keep track of the time. Based on how the meals are usually served, it'd take less than one minute for the guards to conjure up hundreds of food containers. Based on Uri's descriptions, they are served a meal every few hours, and the food is actually quite balanced, and delicious. "He treats us well," Uri says. "Even as prisoners." "There's something else I need to discuss with you," I say as I sit between both Uri and Yoanna. Taelynn, Jay and Devin on the other hand are making rounds trying to find out the people who sneaked in, and checking on the rest of them. Having watched what Number Two was capable of, and the ability that the Minority members can display, I just realise I didn't know much of this magical energy, how they got their power, or even God of Magica in general. "First thing first," I say. "Each of you has a different ability unique to your class, but is it magical energy that you guys are harvesting to use them?" "I would say..." Uri pauses, "Yes but no." My eyebrows furrowed. "Basically everyone has this energy, right? Only by signing contracts with God of Magica, given that you are Magica descendant, were you able to convert them into magical energy. As demi-humans, we don't need to; these are all natural to us." "Then, I assume everyone in the Magica has their own elements, including you?" "Yes, there are five elements: fire, earth, wood, metal, water so that magical energy translates into elemental energy. If you're fire based, then you can only cast fire spells. That's the limit. But on rare occasions, there can be elements of dark and light. Just like Ivy and Iris." "How about illusionary?" "I don't think that's... possible. Maybe they were just able to use their elements good enough that it resembles illusions. Because that's not an element by itself." Uri takes a brief glance at Yoanna before continuing, "There is another way to obtain such magical energy or amplifying them, which is through artificial experiments to bridge the connection of God of Magica." "I see... And you... what's your element?" I ask, thinking that we might be able to work better in future if I know her skills. "I don't have one," Uri states. "I'm not exactly a demi-human." "You... what?" "I'm more of a Beastian, of Haltia based. I just grew up as an orphan in the continent of demi-humans." Haltia, Lily, but she didn't have pale green light radiating out of her body like Lily. Maybe she grew up to control it? I glance at Uri. "Then how did you end up being their commander?" I can feel Yoanna shooting a surprised look at me. Uri chuckles, before bursting into laughter. "I'm sorry, I—" Uri continues, "I was just taken aback by you, John." "Why?" "No one really asked me that directly before," she says. "You're a first." She shifts her eye up, before smiling, "I think I was just pushed into it. There used to be only five of us, and I'm the strongest, boldest one from them. I tried my best to protect them, to give them what they deserve, and I sort of only did just that. More and more members joined, we saved, until eventually we needed a place to stay, to grow, to call home." She looks back at me, and I slightly nod. "It doesn't feel real, you know," Uri chuckles. "There we were, and then here we are. It feels so weird and so fast the time, that I didn't really get to wonder why they chose me. I'm sorry, that doesn't make much sense, huh?" I smile. "Well... I agree on the part you being weird." Yoanna elbows me. "I'm just kidding, just kidding," I say. "I'm sure everyone feels delighted and safe to have you around. You're their core after all." "Nah," Uri looks at me. "It is my pleasure to stay with them. You might not realise this, but each of them has their own quirks, and having to deal with it is just tons of fun—" Suddenly, a dull buzzing sound filled the air. //BLAAAR// //BLAAAR// [[Next page->Next page 17.25]]

"//TAKE her DOWN.//" I could hear a voice resonating in the air. "//TAKE HER DONW!//" My eardrum is ringing, and my eyelids are heavy. I try to catch my breath. "//TAKE HER DONW!//" The side of my head is kissing the ground. I can feel a terrible pain pushing on it, as blood leaks from my forehead and into my mouth. I saw a figure, maintaining a protective stance in front of me. Slowly, the voices chanting around me became clearer, and louder. My vision sharpened, adapting to the piercing light casting on her shadow. Yoanna. There she is, standing, growling at the guards that had us surrounded. She fiercely punches her claws out as warning, but the guards still collectively close in on us. I—what do I do? What //can// I do? [[Stay down and observe.]] [[Try to negotiate my way out.]] [[Fight 'till the end.]]

I lay down to pretend I'm still unconscious. I'm not sure how many people are there, but only that Yoanna keeps kicking my shoulder to wake me up. Suddenly, her kick become more intense. I quickly stand up and yell at them, readying my stance. Only then I find ourselves inside a room with four white walls barricading us, and a wooden door at the corner of the room. Among the guards, stand a female mage with double ponytails, holding what seems to be a globe. A glistering one, as the mage nervously stares at us. The tips of the guards' spears begin to pulse. Yoanna stands in front of me, stopping me with her right arm, preventing me from moving forward. She looks at me, seemingly trying to tell me something. "What?" I ask her. She puts her dragon claw out and faces her palm outwards towards the spears. "Incinerate them!" the guards shout. The tips of their spears stop pulsing, and charges instantly to a bright white beam. In a split second, the beam buzz and shoot towards us; the recoil from the beams pushes the guards back as they try to hold their stance. I stand there, unfazed. The beam directed to us seems to be absorbed into Yoanna's palm. She calmly stands, and twists her wrist, dispelling the beam in the next second. The mage, shocked by this sudden change, starts to retreat away from us. The guards stare at Yoanna, and at each other in confusion. Yoanna jumps and kicks the air, sending a huge, trembling wave of energy, shoving the guards around us back. Without a word, Yoanna holds my hand and pulls me along. She wraps her claws around my palm, large enough to cover it all, like a blanket hiding an egg inside as we charge towards the mage. The mage quickly retreats her steps until her back hit the wall, as she closes her eyes readying herself to brace our impact on her. "S—stop!" the mage says, as she extends the globe out with both her hands. Her hands trembles, "This—this is one of a kind! If I crush this, then—" Yoanna swings her left leg, and scratches her feet against the mage's hands, which surprised the mage that prompts her to let go of the globe. "The globe—" I pause when Yoanna let go of my hand and dives to catch the globe with both her hands. Without looking at me, she throws it into my hands. I barely caught it. I look back at her; the mage also crosses her eyes with me. I furrowed my eyebrows not knowing why. Yoanna lifts her eyebrows and hints at the globe. I look at the globe, and only notice it is steaming hot, like it's pulsating and generating energy. Like it's been charged. "//Oh,//" I say to myself. "//But how to—//" [["Activate"]] [["Create"]] [["Channel"]] [["Lead"]] [["Recall"]]

(if: (history:) contains "Try to negotiate my way out.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Peace was never an option."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c7ach to $c7ach +1) ]"Wait, listen to me," I stand up and show both my palms at them. "I'm unarmed," I say. "We are unarmed." I slowly approach one of the guards, "Calm down, we just need to—" "Stop," the guard says. "Stop moving!" I need to gain an edge in this confrontation. "Like I said, we are not trying to—" "STOP!" the guard yells, and thrust his spear towards my heart. I last see Yoanna running at me. "Fire!" the rest of the guards shoot the beam out of their spears. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->Next page 17.3]]

I choose to fight until the end. I quickly stand up and yell at them, readying my stance. Only then I find ourselves inside a room with four white walls barricading us, and a wooden door at the corner of the room. Among the guards, stand a female mage with double ponytails, holding what seems to be a globe. A glistering one, as the mage nervously stares at us. "Stand down!" I shout. "Back off!" The guards start to lift their spears at us, as the tips begin to pulse. This can't be good. Yoanna stands in front of me, stopping me with her right arm, preventing me from moving forward. She looks at me, seemingly trying to tell me something. "What?" I ask her. She puts her dragon claw out and faces her palm outwards towards the spears. "Incinerate them!" the guards shout. The tips of their spears stop pulsing, and charges instantly to a bright white beam. In a split second, the beam buzz and shoot towards us; the recoil from the beams pushes the guards back as they try to hold their stance. I stand there, unfazed. The beam directed to us seems to be absorbed into Yoanna's palm. She calmly stands, and twists her wrist, dispelling the beam in the next second. The mage, shocked by this sudden change, starts to retreat away from us. The guards stare at Yoanna, and at each other in confusion. Yoanna jumps and kicks the air, sending a huge, trembling wave of energy, shoving the guards around us back. Without a word, Yoanna holds my hand and pulls me along. She wraps her claws around my palm, large enough to cover it all, like a blanket hiding an egg inside as we charge towards the mage. The mage quickly retreats her steps until her back hit the wall, as she closes her eyes readying herself to brace our impact on her. "S—stop!" the mage says, as she extends the globe out with both her hands. Her hands trembles, "This—this is one of a kind! If I crush this, then—" Yoanna swings her left leg, and scratches her feet against the mage's hands, which surprised the mage that prompts her to let go of the globe. "The globe—" I pause when Yoanna let go of my hand and dives to catch the globe with both her hands. Without looking at me, she throws it into my hands. I barely caught it. I look back at her; the mage also crosses her eyes with me. I furrowed my eyebrows not knowing why. Yoanna lifts her eyebrows and hints at the globe. I look at the globe, and only notice it is steaming hot, like it's pulsating and generating energy. Like it's been charged. "//Oh,//" I say to myself. "//But how to—//" [["Activate"]] [["Create"]] [["Channel"]] [["Lead"]] [["Recall"]]

Activate? Activate the device? Nothing happened. [["Create"]] [["Channel"]] [["Lead"]] [["Recall"]]

Create? Create a portal? Nothing happened. [["Activate"]] [["Channel"]] [["Lead"]] [["Recall"]]

Channel? Channel the energy? Nothing happened. [["Activate"]] [["Create"]] [["Lead"]] [["Recall"]]

Lead? Lead the way? Nothing happened. [["Activate"]] [["Create"]] [["Channel"]] [["Recall"]]

(if: (history:) contains "\"Recall.\"")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Total recall."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c7ach to $c7ach +1) ]"John?" I found myself back in the prison. "John!" Jay shouts. "You're ok!" But I don't have the cube. So, how does this work? I grab Jay's hand and smile at him. "J—John?" Jay attempts to shake his hand away. Jay instinctively grabs Devin's. "Jay? John?" "Here we go," I say. "Recall." [[Next page->Next page 17.4]]

My surrounding suddenly collapses into pure darkness, and as I breathe, a beam of light explode right in front of my eyes. "Is this—outside?" Jay's voice echoes. I force my eyes open, and see Yoanna and the female mage pushing against the only door in the room. Loud thumping can be heard from the other side. "What's going—" I pause myself as my words circle and penetrate my eardrums. I feel dizzy. "—on?" The female mage closes her eyes and clenches her teeth. "The reinforcement guards, they are barging in!" Jay also rushes to the door in an attempt to push the door back: his gloves glows and stems emerge from the ground, crawling in between the gaps of the door. Devin follows behind, and fully pushes his back against the door too. I whisper to myself, "If I could take both Jay and Devin out, that means I can take them all out. But this dizziness aftereffects—it only applies after I left there. So, we do not need to activate the device here, but to leave here first. Suddenly, the thumping stops. "What the—" Jay slowly backs away from the door. "The door is heating up," Jay says. //"They are coming in, the big ones,"// I whisper to myself and looked around the room. My eyes darted to see if I can find any trace or clue of alternative exit. But there is nothing. The room is cleanly empty with four walls. Yoanna and the female mage back away from the door, and my eyes stopped at the mage's gloves. Gloves? Why is she wearing gloves? Casters, what did Jane mention again? Harnessing energy. But she didn't have any crystal on her gloves... so the energy source, the device, the globe? "Kill them ALL!" I heard a crisp and loud shot from behind the door. Jay grasp his palm a few times, and a wooden barricade conjured from the ground but is quickly dismantled afterwards. His hands tremble. He's weak. "Don't worry, Jay, calm down and try again," Devin says. "Just give me a moment," Jay tries again and again but keeps failing. Devin tries to assemble back the barricade, nervously stacking them against the door but because of his clumsiness, a small hit from his elbow make the whole thing tumble down. Devin is weak as well. But they both, are always supporting each other. Covering for each other. Birds of a feather flock together, those who are weak stand side by side. They remind me of the adventurer, red haired caster and the silver protector in The Other World. The outcast, weakest ones that no one expected anything from, managed to survive until the end, becoming one of the groups that learned the most out of the life-or-death situations. I've always wondered, if given the time, can they achieve more? Through a lot more experiences and knowledge, can they one day be the ones leading, comforting, saving others. Jay still holding on his gloves tightly, with one after another attempt to create the barricade. The fire from behind the door slowly heat up the air in the room, and I can feel my breath being gradually choked and taken away. This... can't be good. I, need to do something. [[Recollect my thoughts]] [[Yell at Jay to get it together]] [[Ask Yoanna to bust us out through the door]]

I need to calm myself down. Hasty decision in these times will only cause more harm than good. And I already promised him, that I won't let anyone I care ever die in my watch again. When the mind focuses, the time slows down. Or rather, we perceive the world differently, at a slower pace. The gloves that the female mage is wearing is to harness energy. And the only source of energy from the globe is the magical energy from the Demi-humans trapped inside. But it couldn't be. Those energy are immense, not storable. But... transferable. No, it's changeable. The energy form can be changed. Can it? Yes, Yoanna did it, remember? The concentrated energy from the spears did not get absorbed by her, but rather shifted to another form, as an energy wave sent back. In this case, originally I thought the immense energy is harnessed to activate the globe to create a pathway to the infinity realm that the Minority members were jailed in. That is true, but to a certain extent. The energy was harnessed not to activate the globe, but instead to activate the gloves that the female mage was wearing, so that she can create the pathway. She becomes the medium for the energy extraction. But, to circulate that immense power, she had to have a large energy capacity. A Blank, a Sage, or even maybe one of the Magnificent Seven. Why... I looked at the female mage as she worriedly stares at the door being melted. Why is she suddenly on our side? [[Next page->Next page 17.5]]

"Jay," I shout. "Get it TOGETHER!" His shoulders flinch. "What," Jay looks at me. "What do you mean?" "You need to stop being pathetic," I say. "Me? Pathetic?" "Look at your hands! This happens every time we find ourselves in these crisis." Jay take a deep breath but still isn't able to calm his hands down. "You're weak," I say. "You are not suitable for this." "No! I'm—" Jay shouts. "Just give me some time!" The door melts down completely at this moment, and a dark ominous gas fills the room. Everyone is being lifted up and choked, vigorously coughing for air. Within a few seconds, I black out. [[Take a step back->Next page 17.4]]

Staying here won't get us anywhere. "Yoanna!" I shout, "Bust through the door, get us out of here!" Yoanna nods, and she kicks the door open. The door slammed down to the other side. But in the next moment, a dark ominous gas fills the room. Everyone is being lifted up and choked, vigorously coughing for air. Within a few seconds, I black out. [[Take a step back->Next page 17.4]]

Whatever her identity is, for now, we need her help. And there is a chance that she doesn't fully know how the energy conversion work, or maybe she's playing dumb. Either way, "Female mage over there," I call out. She turns to me, with a thick layer of makeup over her face. "I need you to get ready to open the portal." I say. "Now?" she asks. "Yes." She closes her eyes and I can see her gloves start pulsating in white: this might require some time. I look over to Jay: he's still trying to conjure up a proper barricade. He's weaker than Jane in terms of using these skills. I'm not sure if it's because he didn't master it or that he doesn't have the magical aptitude for it. Either way, he's too weak to fight as of now. Yet, there he stands. I know nothing about the practicality and techniques behind the skills so I can't give any proper advice on that. The only thing I can say and do now... "Jay," I call out. "Breathe in, and look at me." Jay takes a deep breath before peering into my eyes. I pause for a brief second, before giving him a soft smile. "Show them what you're made of, yea'?" He stuns, eyes a bit opened. "I--" He smiles back, "Of course." He takes another breath, and starts waving his hand like a conductor. "Remember what Jane said," he says to himself, "one at a time." The barricade begins to form. A layer followed by another layer. The door bursts through but was quickly sealed away by the first layer of barricade, the second layer and subsequently. "Heat it up!" a yell from the other side shook Jay. Jay begins to pant and his hands begin to tremble. The heat pierces and melts the barricade faster than he can form them. "I'm ready," the female mage says. There is no obvious change in her gloves, but she looks exhausted, like she will collapse any moment. "Thank you," I say. "Place your hands on top of Yoanna's head." "What?" the female mage asks. Yoanna also looked at me weird. "Just do it!" I yell. Yoanna grabs the female mage's hands and pat them on her head. "Absorb!" I shout to Yoanna. "Take some of the magical energy in!" //BAM// The door is burst through at this moment. A cluster of dark and ominous cloud of gas rush toward our face, enveloping the views before our eyes like a black blanket thrown at us. I can feel my throat tightened, as I kick the air. My head feels heavy, my eyelids start to droop, and I can feel my vision blurring even in total and complete darkness. [["Yoanna!"]] [["Goodbye cruel world."]] [[Take a rest.]]

Two white dots blip in the darkness. Once, twice. Then a heavy wave of wind caresses over my skin. I feel the strangle on my neck being lifted off, as I fall knee down to the ground. I take a deep, desperate breath with my mouth. The air, makes me feel alive again. It feels great to breathe. Then, I feel a second wave of wind. But this time it is coarser, and it feels more piercing. The black veil that surrounded us is flung away with this wave, and in the center of it stands Yoanna. She is eye-ing at the exit, that is now blocked with guards, and Horus giving a warm smile at her. "The artificial dragon descendant," Horus says. "The rumored Eighth might be true after all. You know, that cloud was casted by 10 of our finest wizards. And you were not supposed to—" "Run." a voice is shot into my heart. I immediately realise someone is speaking into me, or us. I look at Yoanna, her lips moves, "Run." Her body is drenched with pale white light. This seems like the aftermath of surge of power, but Yoanna's light is not diminishing at all. "Oh-ho?" Horus says. "You can speak now? No one can threaten me, young lady." Yoanna holds her left palm out face-up towards Horus. "What is that?" Horus asks. "Offering a truce?" "No," Yoanna says. "Leave." Yoanna claps on it with her right hand; Horus didn't manage to react in time, as the guards and him are harshly thrown out of the room, creating cracks expanded into holes on the wall. But Yoanna's light became brighter. Her nose begins to uncontrollably bleed. "Run," she repeats the same thing again. What... what have I done to her? "Y—Yoanna? Are you—" "Leave!" Yoanna yells. "Jay!" I shout. "Take Devin and the female mage with you. Now!" I throw the globe at Jay as he runs out, taking Devin and the female mage's hand. "Keep running," I yell as they pass through the door. I look at Yoanna. She is quiet but is brimming with energy. Should I, no, could I just leave her all alone here? [[Run away with Jay first.]] [[Stay with Yoanna.]]

As my eyelinds drop down, I see two white dots blip in the darkness. Once, twice. Then a heavy wave of wind caresses over my skin. I feel the strangle on my neck being lifted off, as I fall knee down to the ground. I take a deep, desperate breath with my mouth. The air, makes me feel alive again. It feels great to breathe. Then, I feel a second wave of wind. But this time it is coarser, and it feels more piercing. The black veil that surrounded us is flung away with this wave, and in the center of it stands Yoanna. She is eye-ing at the exit, that is now blocked with guards, and Horus giving a warm smile at her. "The artificial dragon descendant," Horus says. "The rumored Eighth might be true after all. You know, that cloud was casted by 10 of our finest wizards. And you were not supposed to—" "Run." a voice is shot into my heart. I immediately realise someone is speaking into me, or us. I look at Yoanna, her lips moves, "Run." Her body is drenched with pale white light. This seems like the aftermath of surge of power, but Yoanna's light is not diminishing at all. "Oh-ho?" Horus says. "You can speak now? No one can threaten me, young lady." Yoanna holds her left palm out face-up towards Horus. "What is that?" Horus asks. "Offering a truce?" "No," Yoanna says. "Leave." Yoanna claps on it with her right hand; Horus didn't manage to react in time, as the guards and him are harshly thrown out of the room, creating cracks expanded into holes on the wall. But Yoanna's light became brighter. Her nose begins to uncontrollably bleed. "Run," she repeats the same thing again. What... what have I done to her? "Y—Yoanna? Are you—" "Leave!" Yoanna yells. "Jay!" I shout. "Take Devin and the female mage with you. Now!" I throw the globe at Jay as he runs out, taking Devin and the female mage's hand. "Keep running," I yell as they pass through the door. I look at Yoanna. She is quiet but is brimming with energy. Should I, no, could I just leave her all alone here? [[Run away with Jay first.]] [[Stay with Yoanna.]]

I decide to run away with Jay first; there's nothing I could do even if I stay around. Right as I step through the exit, I see Number Seven now walking towards me. Horus and the rest of the guards are on the ground groaning in pain. "What did you do?" Number Seven yells at me. "Nothing—" "How did you got out?" Number Seven yells again. "Listen, I—" "Enough," Number Seven says. "You can stay silent forever; I do not need any more harm done on my people." He points at me with an inverted '7' pattern with his forefinger and //shoots// me. My vision slowly fade into darkness. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take the other choice->Stay with Yoanna.]]

"Yoanna?" I ask, as I slowly approach her. "Are you ok?" "Leave!" Yoanna shrieks, with her mouth wide open. I instinctively take a step back. I can feel chills crawling down my spine, and fear kicking my heart. She... isn't the same anymore. Just like that. She becomes completely overwhelmed. The air in the room feels thicker. I feel harder to breathe. Yoanna closes both her ears with her hands, and crouches herself as a ball. Her tail stands up, alerted. Her body trembles. "Please," I can hear her softly say. It feels like she will burst any moment. I take a deep breath. [[Leave for now.]] [[Cuddle her.]]

I decide to leave for now; with her being uncontrollable, there's nothing I could do even if I stay around. Right as I step through the exit, I see Number Seven approaching me. Horus and the rest of the guards are on the ground groaning in pain. "What did you do?" Number Seven yells at me. "Nothing—" "How did you got out?" Number Seven yells again. "Listen, I—" "Enough," Number Seven says. "You can stay silent forever; I do not need any more harm done on my people." He points at me with an inverted '7' pattern with his forefinger and //shoots// me. My vision slowly fade into darkness. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->Stay with Yoanna.]]

I charge towards her. But it's as if she senses me, as a wave of energy slices towards my face, propelling me backwards. I lie on the floor, and cough out blood. But I stand up again, trying to catch my breath. Yoanna remains still, "Leave! LEAVE!" her shrieks heightened, resonating across the entire room. My entire body screams for me to get the sheep out of the room. [[Leave.]] [[Cuddle.]]

(if: (history:) contains "Leave.")[] (else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Really gotta run."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c7ach to $c7ach +1) ]I decide to leave but right as I step through the exit, I see Number Seven standing just right outside. Horus and the rest of the guards are on the ground groaning in pain. "What did you do?" Number Seven yells at me. "Nothing—" "How did you get out?" Number Seven yells again. "Listen, I—" "Enough," Number Seven says. "You can stay silent forever; I do not need any more harm done on my people." He points at me with an inverted '7' pattern with his forefinger and //shoots// me. My vision slowly fade into darkness. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->Cuddle her.]]

I let out a few small breath. How did I end up here? I was still celebrating and drinking with Cliff and Jane a few days ago. From then, I've dealt with Number Five and Number Six with their ridiculous insects manipulation skills, Number Two with his overwhelming ability, and lost... Noah to him, almost became meals for mermaids and Kraken, hunted through the city, and now Yoanna. I barely got to know her. Imagine the burden of the magical energy on her small body. Even though the transfer is not complete, but even a few percent of that would be far too powerful to handle. The only reason I chose her is because I saw how she can convert them to use. I thought she can handle it. That way... I didn't have to lose anyone. .... ... .. I pushed it on her. Just because I thought I know everything. "Yoanna!" I shout, wiping off my blood on the edge of my mouth. I smile, "Here I come." [[Cuddle!]]

I charge towards her again. A denser, wider wave of energy surge towards my face. I block it with both my hands sheltering my face but was nonetheless pushed back. I try to maintain my stance, but every one step I take, I was pulled back two steps. Is it so hard that I just want to cuddle her? I puke out a gush of blood, and starts panting heavily. I shake my head to keep my consciousness. The moment I let go of my hand, the energy wave will definitely knock my head against the wall. "Yoanna!" I desperately yell again, making one last charge. The air in the room isn't breathable anymore; it makes me want to retch, of how uncomfortable it is. But I couldn't even move one inch closer, only clinging to not get pushed backwards. "Dispel!" I suddenly hear a menacing yell. I am able to move just a bit forward, as the air around me becomes lighter. "Dispel!" the same word pierces across the room again. I begin to push the wave of energy back. "Dispel!" I slowly begin my run. "Dispel!" I take a deep breath. "Dispel!" I charge towards Yoanna. "DISPEL!" I knock through the wave with my entire body and made it to Yoanna. After taking a breath, I cuddle her in my arms. [[Next page->Next page 17.6]]

"Alright Yoanna," I say. "Let's take a simple breathing exercise. Breathe it all out, in the count of three." "Three," I clench my fist. "Two," I breathe in the air. "One," I close my eyes. I black out. . . . . . In my dreams, there's a blue-haired girl sobbing in the corner. Children are throwing rocks at her, calling her names, kicking on her tail, sneering and laughing at her. But, why? Just because she was born different? "Hey!" a girl yelled at the children. "Leave her alone!" She came rushing in with nothing but her bare fist. And her menacing two curled horns. "Another ugly is coming!" the children shout before giddily running away. "Don't let me catch you!" the girl with horns then approaches the sobbing girl. "Are you ok?" The sobbing girl didn't reply her. The girl with horns resort to tickling the sobbing girl. She begins giggling. Listening to her giggle, the girl with horns started to crack as well. They both ended up laughing silly on the ground. "Are you alone?" the girl with horns asks. "Were you with someone?" The blue-haired girl lower her eyebrows, and start to sob again, before bawling her eyes out. "It's ok, it's ok," the girl with horns start to pat the blue-haired girl's head. "I'll be your friend, ok?" [[Wake up]] [[Calm down]]

I push my body up. "Ow!" I open my eyes and found myself knocked my head against Jane's. Jane? "Are you ok?" Jane asks, rubbing her head. [[Hug her.]] [["Jane!"]] [["Fine as a rock. You?"]]

I slowly open my eyes. "John?" Jane calls out, sitting by my bedside. She looks fine, and safe, and beautiful as ever. Though, she looks worried as well, as always. [[Hug her.]] [["Jane!"]] [["Fine as a rock. You?"]]

"W—what are you doing?" Jane asks, flustered. "I'm glad you are ok," I say. "From the ship crash." "Yeah, I'm—" she pats my back. "I'm glad to see you doing fine too." "Or so I thought," she continues, but she pulls my ear. "You went overboard again didn't you, and this time—" "Yoanna!" I take a look around. "Where is she? Is she ok? Jay, too. And Devin." Jane pulls my ear harder. "Don't interrupt me. I was just about to say, Yoanna is in the other room. We got everyone out. They are all accounted for." I notice Wade is standing at the corner in my room, looking at us. I whisper to Jane's ear, "And what's Wade doing in my room?" "You really don't remember anything?" Jane says. "You were trying to rush over to cuddle Yoanna when Wade arrived. He helped you, and saved you against Number Seven, Horus and the guards outside." "Thank you," I say to Wade. He only smiles back. Suddenly, Uri kicks the door open. "Hello John! How are you now?" Tris follows behind her. "This prick did something to Yoanna and I'm gonna—". Taelynn pulls Tris back, "Calm down Tessy, let him rest first." Captain Eiden barges in next, holding a hot porridge on his hand. Jay and Devin check in next, with Jay starting the conversation with "Why is Jane beside your bed?" Vile and Lily were the last to enter, with Lily holding a half-eaten sandwich on her hand, and Vile waving at me with a smile. But then I sense a menacing presence deep within my heart. "Time to wakey wakey, John." ... "It's punishment time." [[Next chapter->Chapter 18 start]]

"I'm glad you are ok," I say. "From the ship crash." "I'm glad you are fine too, but," Jane pulls my ear, "You went overboard again didn't you, and this time—" "Yoanna!" I take a look around. "Where is she? Is she ok? Jay, too. And Devin." Jane pulls my ear harder. "Don't interrupt me. I was just about to say, Yoanna is in the other room. We got everyone out. They are all accounted for." I notice Wade is standing at the corner in my room, looking at us. I whisper to Jane's ear, "And what's Wade doing in my room?" "You really don't remember anything?" Jane says. "You were trying to rush over to cuddle Yoanna when Wade arrived. He helped you, and saved you against Number Seven, Horus and the guards outside." "Thank you," I say to Wade. He only smiles back. Suddenly, Uri kicks the door open. "Hello John! How are you now?" Tris follows behind her. "This prick did something to Yoanna and I'm gonna—". Taelynn pulls Tris back, "Calm down Tessy, let him rest first." Captain Eiden barges in next, holding a hot porridge on his hand. Jay and Devin check in next, with Jay starting the conversation with "Why is Jane beside your bed?" Vile and Lily were the last to enter, with Lily holding a half-eaten sandwich on her hand, and Vile waving at me with a smile. But then I sense a menacing presence deep within my heart. "Time to wakey wakey, John." ... "It's punishment time." [[Next chapter->Chapter 18 start]]

"Fine?" Jane pulls my ear. "You went overboard again didn't you, and this time—" "Yoanna!" I take a look around. "Where is she? Is she ok? Jay, too. And Devin." Jane pulls my ear harder. "Don't interrupt me. I was just about to say, Yoanna is in the other room. We got everyone out. They are all accounted for." I notice Wade is standing at the corner in my room, looking at us. I whisper to Jane's ear, "And what's Wade doing in my room?" "You really don't remember anything?" Jane says. "You were trying to rush over to cuddle Yoanna when Wade arrived. He helped you, and saved you against Number Seven, Horus and the guards outside." "Thank you," I say to Wade. He only smiles back. Suddenly, Uri kicks the door open. "Hello John! How are you now?" Tris follows behind her. "This prick did something to Yoanna and I'm gonna—". Taelynn pulls Tris back, "Calm down Tessy, let him rest first." Captain Eiden barges in next, holding a hot porridge on his hand. Jay and Devin check in next, with Jay starting the conversation with "Why is Jane beside your bed?" Vile and Lily were the last to enter, with Lily holding a half-eaten sandwich on her hand, and Vile waving at me with a smile. But then I sense a menacing presence deep within my heart. "Time to wakey wakey, John." ... "It's punishment time." [[Next chapter->Chapter 18 start]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 18**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"To The Magnificent Us"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 18 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c8ach to 0)] (set: $c18checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 18") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Next page 18.1]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

What... I blink and find myself sitting on a chair, where Number Seven is looking straight at me. I feel dizzy, like I just warped through something. The aftereffects of being sucked by half-vampires... I think hallucinations are one of them. Or maybe, I was indeed had my consciousness stole from me to here. Time, feels zapped. "We meet again, John," Number Seven says. What just happened, a moment ago I was... I try to move my body only to find that I can't feel anything on my body. It is not just paralyzed, but simply dead. Frozen. "Now, now, no need to get nervous," Number Seven smiles. "It is perfectly normal for you to not be able to move--afterall, you're inside the body of a scarecrow. A quite dry one, in fact." Number Seven touches my face and plucks a few straws out, "See? Who knows how long they kept this away?" "How'd you do it?" I ask. But there is no sound. Of course, scarecrows don't have ears to begin with, and not exactly an openable mouth. Then, only my conscience is transferred here? How? Why? "Great job getting them out by the way John," Number Seven smiles bitterly. "Perhaps I was too lenient on you all, though Number Two did mention it multiple times before." "I guess, old habits die hard, huh?" Number Seven plucks off my scarecrow left arm. "Good thing was that Horus also emphasized how you'd be a threat, so I took extra precaution by 'copying' your soul when I choked you earlier. But it's not quite an easy job tying you here though, I mean physically and metaphorically." He throws my arm on the floor. "Nevermind that, I'll just have to compensate it by catching you all at once." "It's ready," Horus appears behind Number Seven. "Lift it up," Number Seven says, "Time to see what The Minority is made of." The chair I sit in vibrate for a brief while, before the platform below slowly lift me up. "See you on the other side," Number Seven waves. [[Next page->Next page 18.2]]

My entire surrounding brims up in light. I blip my eyes in attempt to adjust to it. The other side... tens of elders and children, demi-human, are staring at me, whilst being circled by guards with their spears. Different groups of mages and wizards are positioned in various spots as far as I can see. I'm right in the center of the bazaar in the kingdom. A mage loops a rope around my neck. I check the floorboard below me: it is made of wooden panel. I am... being executed. A sudden cheers filled the bazaar. "Don't worry John," Number Seven walks up the stage as he merrily glances at me. He smiles and whispers, "It'll be quick. You won't even feel a thing. Only your real body does. Your heart will just stop in an instant. Or maybe two instants." Number Seven starts to wave towards everyone, "And the best thing is they won't have time to plan by the time they realized this. Either they come unprepared to rescue a scarecrow, or they won't show up at all." He winks at me, "Let's see, shall we?" "Everyone," Number Seven shouts before the crowds, "let the execution begins." I chuckle; the scene of a scarecrow being hang is going to be so weird. But it's going to be painful for— I feel my head being pulled and dragged up by the rope. The elders covered the eye of the children; they were shocked and stunned even though I did not move or make any sound. However, one of the audience, waves at me. I start counting to keep my consciousness awake. 3. 4. Maybe... this is as far as I can make. 7. 8. They must have been so worried... seeing me in bed suddenly paralyzed, not saying anything. 13. 14. I'm sorry. (if: (history:) contains "Next page 18.2")[ [[Wake up->reborn1]] ](else:)[ [[Recall->Next page 18.1]] ]

I open my eyes again. I find myself in the same room that I woke up in. Jane is still sitting by my side, but asleep with her arms folded cushioning her head. Her hair looking a bit messy. I take a small, silent breath. The night has dawned outside the window of the room. It is almost pitch black with only a hint of light from the forest. The forest? What... just happened? I definitely feel like I was captured and transported beside Number Seven. It felt real; I don't think it didn't happen. Did I somehow escape? But if he can recall my consciousness, is it possible that he can trace it... and to do so, by letting me go... Oh goat. They might be heading here for all the Minority members. "Jane," I call out. "John... " she whispers under her breath. [[Pinch her cheek]] [[Hand chop her head]] [[Lightly shake her shoulder]]

"No..." Is she having a nightmare? I pinch harder, "Jane. Wake up." Jane catches my hand and twists it reflexively. I groan in pain, "Jane, Jane! Let go, let go!" Jane tiredly open her eyes, "John?" "Yes, I'm John," I say. "I'm awake. But more importantly, you need to alert everyone. Number Seven is launching a full-scale capture—" She pokes my face, and pinches her cheek. "John..." her eyes softened and she opens her arms, wrapping them around my neck. "You're ok," she mumbles beside my ears. "You're ok." Her voice begins to shake, "I didn't want to believe it, I—I just—" I can feel her strong grip on me as she starts to sob. "I didn't want to lose you," she softly says. My heart skipped a beat. She waited... even though I might never wake up again. She didn't want me to be alone. She was afraid she might never see me again. She probably didn't cry and only put on a tough face to the others. All alone, against the world. I slowly wrap my arm around her waist and hug her closer. "You silly," I smile, my throat tightened. "You didn't have to hold it in." "I told you this, didn't I?" My tears begin to build up in my eyes. "You should rely—more on others," I continue, while sniffing. She sniffs, and only nods. "What will you do if I'm not around anymore, huh?" I start to sob. "Who will take care of you, huh?" I try to wipe my tears away but they wouldn't stop. "Stupid Jane." She holds me closer. My tears just continue to drip all over my cheek. I didn't know why, but it hurts. It hurts that only I understand her cries. "You stupid," I say. [["I'll always be by your side."]] [["I don't want to lose you too."]]

Jane catches my hand and twists it reflexively. I groan in pain, "Jane, Jane! Let go, let go!" Jane tiredly open her eyes, "John?" "Yes, I'm John," I say. "I'm awake. But more importantly, you need to alert everyone. Number Seven is launching a full-scale capture—" She pokes my face, and pinches her cheek. "John..." her eyes softened and she opens her arms, wrapping them around my neck. "You're ok," she mumbles beside my ears. "You're ok." Her voice begins to shake, "I didn't want to believe it, I—I just—" I can feel her strong grip on me as she starts to sob. "I didn't want to lose you," she softly says. My heart skipped a beat. She waited... even though I might never wake up again. She didn't want me to be alone. She was afraid she might never see me again. She probably didn't cry and only put on a tough face to the others. All alone, against the world. I slowly wrap my arm around her waist and hug her closer. "You silly," I smile, my throat tightened. "You didn't have to hold it in." "I told you this, didn't I?" My tears begin to build up in my eyes. "You should rely—more on others," I continue, while sniffing. She sniffs, and only nods. "What will you do if I'm not around anymore, huh?" I start to sob. "Who will take care of you, huh?" I try to wipe my tears away but they wouldn't stop. "Stupid Jane." She holds me closer. My tears just continue to drip all over my cheek. I didn't know why, but it hurts. It hurts that only I understand her cries. "You stupid," I say. [["I'll always be by your side."]] [["I don't want to lose you too."]]

I have many things I want to ask her, and there isn't any time to waste; the elders and children of Deminia are still being held hostage. But the night is quiet and serene; it's chill and calm, unbearably so. I softly stroke her hair. Jane's breath begins to slow down and I can still her vaguely sniffing. My thoughts slowly become less hectic... I hug her closer. As close as I can. I feel like this is all I can do—embracing her, even just for a second more. "Your tears are making my cheek slimy," I say. Jane chuckles playfully, "Shut up. Yours too." I smile. The night has fallen into deep sleep, devoid of any sound but my heart beating loudly. And Jane's warm hug. I wished moments like these could last forever. [[Next page->Next page 18.3]]

(if: (history:) contains "\"I don't want to lose you too.\"")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Even if I have to trade the world."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c8ach to $c8ach +1) ]I have many things I want to ask her, and there isn't any time to waste; the elders and children of Deminia are still being held hostage. But the night is quiet and serene; it's chill and calm, unbearably so. I softly stroke her hair. Jane's breath begins to slow down and I can still her vaguely sniffing. My thoughts slowly become less hectic... I hug her closer. As close as I can. I feel like this is all I can do—embracing her, even just for a second more. "Your tears are making my cheek slimy," I say. Jane chuckles playfully, "Shut up. Yours too." I smile. The night has fallen into deep sleep, devoid of any sound but my heart beating loudly. And Jane's warm hug. I wished moments like these could last forever. [[Next page->Next page 18.3]]

"They already went to Deminia," Jane says, after calming down. But still, she is holding my hand like she is afraid I would leave her again. "To free all the people held hostage," Jane continues. "It was Uri who noticed that your consciousness was taken away. And she narrowed it down to either Horus or Number Seven, both of which are still in the kingdom. She pulled your consciousness back to your body as you were groaning in pain." Jane takes a deep breath. "You went completely silent afterwards and hours have passed then. They expected the worst and took this chance to strike Number Seven's team so all the members were gathered for the fight-back." I glance outside the window, "Where exactly are we?" "We boarded a ship earlier and are now outside the Deminia Kingdom, in one of the offshore bases of The Minority. Don't worry," Jane emphasizes. "It's safe here." "Yoanna, how about her?" "She's in another room, she still hasn't woken up. What happened to her?" "Magical energy overload, I—I thought she could handle it but it almost cost her life. The energy was just too overwhelming. I just—" Jane sandwiched my cheeks with both her hands, "You know what you should do, right?" "Anologice, and tare kare of er." She let go of her hands, "And?" "And?" "Promise not to be that ruthless again." "But—" Jane shot a stern look at me. "I'll try not to." Jane still had her serious look on, "I know you've been blaming yourself for Noah's death, but John, it's not your fault." She peers into my eyes, "It's really not. You did your best with what you can think of and you shouldn't feel bad about it." I didn't say anything and only look at her. "Noah," she says. "Noah wouldn't blame you too." [[Remain silent.]] [["I'm fine now. Really. I won't repeat it again."]]

"What should I have done?" I see a man wearing crown of sunflowers, sitting beside the bed. King Jax Doe. He holds the hand of a woman lying with eyes closed on the bed, "I did all I could, Jasmine. Everything. Everything you wished me for." The King starts sobbing, "Please. I can't lose you." He rubs his eyes, "I really can't lose you." Suddenly, a few knocks tapped into my ear. "May I come in?" a voice can be heard from the other side of the door. "Harrison," King Jax Doe said. "Come in." A man in white and red armor lightly opened the door, and stood behind King Jax Doe. He paused briefly at the woman in bed, before addressing King Jax Doe, "The Four Cardinal Sages responsible for this had been caught. We were able to recover your son, John but his sister, Jean... " Harrison kneeled down, "We failed you. Please punish us as you see, King Jax." King Jax didn't say anything; he only stopped at the woman. "Maybe... it was my fate all along, to lose those precious to me..." King Jax said. "Forgive my rudeness, King Jax, but I don't believe so, you saved your people. Even though it was not entirely right, but you bought peace." "Enough," King Jax said. "I want to be alone. Take care of John in the meantime." "As you wish," Harrison said. The scenes before me then blurred into complete darkness. [[Next page->reborn2]]

"Let's check on Yoanna," I say, and promptly walk off the bed and out of the room. "Is she here?" I point at the room beside us. Jane lets out a sigh, "Yes." I knock a few times on the door and open it. Lo and behold, there are two child girls sleeping on the bed. Lily snuck in and slept beside Yoanna. Lily is hugging Yoanna's tail, while Yoanna looks like she is having a nightmare. "Lily?" Jane says as she follows behind me. "Lily wants to eat," Lily mumbles in her dream. She then starts to lick Yoanna's tail, while Yoanna moans. It is a weird scene. Jane approaches Lily and ready to take Lily away, "Come on Lily, let sister Yoanna rest for a bit first." Lily clings onto Yoanna's tail, "Many... dreams... eat." The green in Lily's body radiates brighter. Wait. Haltia. Haltia. Do they feast on dreams? No, that's succubus. Do they feast on emotions? No? Magissa mentioned emotions fuel magical energy. Regrets fuel dark magic. Then, nightmares... the magical energy is enhancing her nightmares. Adding to her pain. Yoanna's stuck inside. And Lily sensed this... beside their ultimate strength, Haltia are also known for their sensitivity to dreams, which is why they can regulate their energy through sleeps. And Uri, is likely another version of Haltia, making her able to better control the consciousness of people, that she may have practiced for years. But to Yoanna's situation, the most direct approach is to transport the energy elsewhere, to me. To a Blank. But I can't control the amount of energy I will be clearing, one wrong move and she'll be powerless forever. "Lily, come on," Jane wraps her arms around Lily's waist in an attempt to take her away. "Wait, Jane," I touch Jane's arm, "maybe we should—" A voice zaps into my mind. "Found you." The scene before me overlaps with one in bazaar in Deminia, before fading into complete darkness. I black out again. Son of a goat. [[Next page->Next page 18.4]]

"No, that's not what I meant," Jane says. "You should—" "Let's check on Yoanna," I say, and promptly walk off the bed and out of the room. "Is she here?" I point at the room beside us. Jane lets out a sigh, "Yes." I knock a few times on the door and open it. Lo and behold, there are two child girls sleeping on the bed. Lily snuck in and slept beside Yoanna. Lily is hugging Yoanna's tail, while Yoanna looks like she is having a nightmare. "Lily?" Jane says as she follows behind me. "Lily wants to eat," Lily mumbles in her dream. She then starts to lick Yoanna's tail, while Yoanna moans. It is a weird scene. Jane approaches Lily and ready to take Lily away, "Come on Lily, let sister Yoanna rest for a bit first." Lily clings onto Yoanna's tail, "Many... dreams... eat." The green in Lily's body radiates brighter. Wait. Haltia. Haltia. Do they feast on dreams? No, that's succubus. Do they feast on emotions? No? Magissa mentioned emotions fuel magical energy. Regrets fuel dark magic. Then, nightmares... the magical energy is enhancing her nightmares. Adding to her pain. Yoanna's stuck inside. And Lily sensed this... beside their ultimate strength, Haltia are also known for their sensitivity to dreams, which is why they can regulate their energy through sleeps. And Uri, is likely another version of Haltia, making her able to better control the consciousness of people, that she may have practiced for years. But to Yoanna's situation, the most direct approach is to transport the energy elsewhere, to me. To a Blank. But I can't control the amount of energy I will be clearing, one wrong move and she'll be powerless forever. "Lily, come on," Jane wraps her arms around Lily's waist in an attempt to take her away. "Wait, Jane," I touch Jane's arm, "maybe we should—" A voice zaps into my mind. "Found you." The scene before me overlaps with one in bazaar in Deminia, before fading into complete darkness. I black out again. Son of a goat. [[Next page->Next page 18.4]]

I open my eyes and the voices of chaotic fights resonate in my ears. I find myself lying on the ground as people dart across my eyes, screaming, casting, punching, kicking, slaying. It is a gruesome scene as if I've resorted to giving up in the middle of a battlefield. That, or I was gravely injured and abandoned. But from the corner of my eyes, I can see two child girls glancing at me like I am a rotten apple on sale. Yoanna and Lily walk to my side, close enough that I can see their faces. "Why are you here?" Lily asks, biting an apple, with its juices overflowing from the gaps of her fingers. Yoanna didn't say anything, but is only blankly staring at me. "Yoanna," I say. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that to you." "She can't hear us," Lily says. "Lily tried." "Lily," I pause myself, knowing what I'm asking now might be ridiculous but still I have to ask it. "Do you feel full now?" "Full?" Lily takes another bite on the apple. "Not hungry," I clarify. Lily nods. There is a saying that dreams can be whatever we want; it all depends on how we construct it and insert our roles into it. But this is not Lily's dream. Or is it? If it is, then what she'd be eating would not be an apple, it'd be meat. Meat that can be grabbed on hand. Juicy. Fowl meat? I smell the juice dripped on the floor: flavorful, oily. But she's eating an apple. If I see this world as how I want, then... the reality... I close my eyes and clap my hand at the same time. It'd be something I'm not seeing. [["Whoa."]]

I stand inside a room filled with children toys consist of wooden alphabet-labelled blocks, simple puzzle blocks, and mini drawing tools. But all of these were drenched in blood. A few child stood in the midst of all these. I look at their foreheads. "That was anti-climax, Number Seven. Not fun." "This is just the beginning, Number Two. Lots more stored for our future." "True true," Number Five and Six said in unison. "We should record this as our beginning," Number Five said. Number Six pat Number Five's shoulder, "That's a good idea. You can narrate while I write!" They then high fived each other. I also see a child with double ponytails in the corner still kicking on the body of a researcher lying lifeless on the ground. The researcher's throat was slit. "Number Three, that's enough," Number Seven said. "We know she tortured you the most but—" "Torture?" Number Three said. "This garbage cut my fingers one by one. And she was grinning while I screamed." Number Three stepped on her face, "Treating us like we are rats!" "Where's One and Four?" Number Two asked, as he sat on the body of one of the researches in white coat. At least, it was white. "They went to see Eight," Number Seven said. "Says Eight was too afraid to leave here." "Bwah, Eight's a scaredy-cat," Five said. "She doesn't like to play with our pet cocraoches," Six said. "But, she's one of the most powerful among us," Seven said. "So we need her." "What if," Three thumps her foot on the cheek of the researcher. "She doesn't want to join us?" "Then One and Four will deal with her accordingly," Number Seven said. "Least' that what Four told me." [[Next page->Next page 18.5]]

The door to the room opened and a girl entered followed by two child boys. One of the boys has the number 'four' etched on his cheek, while the other boy was wearing a half-mask covering his eyes and forehead. The girl, had a dragon tail. "Eight, you decided to join us?" Three asked, playing with the researcher's card lanyard. Eight looked at the ground, and struggled to say anything else. "Of course she is," Four wrapped his arm around Eight. "You're going to, right?" Four shook her shoulder. "Right, Eight?" Eight only gripped her hands into fists and rubbed on them with her thumbs. "Hands off, Four," the boy with the mask said. "She's free to choose whether to follow us or not. That was our condition that she helped us." "But One," Four said, making a dejected face, pouting. "A promise's a promise," One said, with a stern tone. "Hands. Off." "Fine," Four said, stepping away from Eight with both his hands up in the air. "Backing up. So, Eight, are you joining us?" Eight passed a look at each of them, and shook her head. "Whoa, whoa, Eight," Seven said. "Think this through. We are stronger together. It's our bond. It's how we were designed." "We sure as goat made these dummies pay!" Two said. "Why not show everyone what we can do?!" Eight paused at the dead bodies and shook her head, facing down at her feet, with her arms hugging each other. "Eight! We are not killing them," Three said. "No, no, this is rewarding them. For being such good boys and girls." Two lifted Eight's head up and forced her to look at the dead bodies piling, some half-torn across the room. "Look carefully," Two said. "We did this. All eight of us." Four dragged a female researcher's body towards Eight. "Look," he said. "This is your Dr. Kate, you liked her ponytail didn't you? She was the nicest doctor to you." The female researcher was spurting out blood from her mouth as she shook her head in fear. "But what you didn't know, Eight, was that she added pills in the lemon water that you liked the most. Every single time she fed you it." Four pulled her hair. "Isn't that right, doc?" "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Doctor Kate panted. "Please, please. My baby. Please, Eight." Eight didn't say anything, and only looked at One like she was pleading him to let Doctor Kate go. "The deal was for you to choose for your own fate, and your own fate only," One said. "I'm sorry." Number Three knee-kicked on Doctor Kate's face; she instantly fell to the ground. Eight shook her head more vigorously in protest, and attempted to stop Number Three by pulling her arm. Number Three didn't budge as she sat on Doctor's Kate back and locked Doctor Kate's head in between her arms. She tightened her grip and began to pull in her direction: backward. Doctor Kate's legs began to reflexively kick around, and her eyes flipping to white. Eight's eyes widened. In one quick moment, Number Three hurled her arms backward and broke Doctor Kate's neck. Number Eight fell on her knees in front of Doctor Kate, who died eyes wide open and tears flowing down to her chin. "Rather touching, ain't it?" Four said. "Yea," Seven said. "Though I wish that ended faster and less painful." Number Two tickled Number Seven, "You're too soft, Seven! Here's your tickly punishment!" "Stop, stop—" Seven burst out cackling. The rest of the Numbers also ended up laughing. Except Number Eight, and Number One. "Still not joining us?" Three asked, lightly fondling with Eight's hair. Eight only covered her mouth in disgust, stifling her voice as she screamed in agony. She started to sob. Her cry filled the entire room with sorrow. "I can't deal with this," Three walked away from Eight. "I'll see you guys outside." Five and Six followed along Three. "Same, I'll leave it up to you, leader," Seven said as he leaped over Doctor Kate's body. "These things are hard to bear." Two wrapped his arm around Seven as they both giddily walked out of the room. One kneeled down beside Eight, and hinted at Four to leave them alone. Four only nodded, and with hands in his pocket, he switfly left the room. "They created us, Eight," One said. "We could have lived as normal children but they made us this—fearless, unable to feel fear. We killed them so that no one has to be like us again. It's their fault, not ours." Eight nodded. "You're strong, Eight; come with us and you can become stronger. No one will belittle or harm us again. We can do many things together. Be amazing like those heroes in the comic books. We can be, magnificent even." One lent his hand to Eight to help her up, "All Eight of us." Eight paused her hand in the middle of reaching One's. "Eight?" One paused, as Eight looks at him with a strong, denying eyes. Suddenly, I hear an echo within my ears. "Doctor Kate said... whatever choice the seven of you made, I must choose the other choice." "Doctor Kate?" One raised his hand and made a gesture, slamming Doctor Kate's body to the wall. "She's evil, Eight! Why can't you understand that?" "But she took care of me," Eight said, her lips not moving. "And—" "Enough!" One shouted. "Enough is enough! They ruined Five and Six's faces, they pulled out all Three's fingers and toes, they lobbed off a part of Two's brain, they dunked Four in water for days, they took almost everything of Seven's organs. And you, Eight, they injected you with dragon gene. They muted you. You, of all of us! You!" "That's exactly so!" Eight said. Eight placed her palm on One's cheek. "They... they made you blind, One. I can't forgive them, but I don't want to forget either. Please, I don't want more revenge, I only want to help others." "You're weak, Eight. You need to be strong before you can help others," One said, grabbing Eight's wrist. "The way we are now, neither of us can help each other. And I want to help you. I—I really do." One slowly pulled Eight's hand down. "Goodbye, Eight." One stopped in front of the door, with his back facing towards Eight, "Time wil prove everything. If you can live, until we meet again." [[Next page->Next page 18.6]]

So Eight... or Yoanna... she's telepathic, artificially. She can't speak, and that's why she can't read my minds or send thoughts to me, because I'd nullify it. The room left only Yoanna and I. "Yoanna?" I call out. She didn't react and was only glancing at Doctor Kate's direction. "Yoanna," I walk to her but before I can reach her, the scenes before my eyes changed again, situating myself fight in front of when Doctor Kate was alive and teaching Yoanna words. "E. I. G. H. T. This is your name," Doctor Kate said. Eight tilted her head at Doctor Kate, likely wondering why her name is a number. "Ok, let me explain, there's actually a meaning behind you and your siblings' names," Dr Kate smiled. "One represents unity, the big brother that take care of you all; two represents two-sided sides, the brother that will only judges either right or wrong; three represents strong belief, the reliable big sister with strong will; four represents unwavering death, the brother that doesn't give up easily; five represents life, the healthy brother; six represents a mean to perfect life, the supportive brother; seven represents the ideal and perfect brother, sometimes lucky too." "Eight, your number, your name," Dr Kate pinched both of Eight's cheeks. "They represents that you are the odd one out. But, just as you are different, that makes you unique. You are one of a kind." Eight raises her eyebrows in confusion. "Maybe not a great name," Doctor Kate smiled. "Then, how about this: Y. O. A. N. N. A. Yoanna. This is my baby's name. Since you're both cute." Doctor Kate pat Eight's head, "Do you like it?" Eight smiled and nodded. "But this will only be a secret between us, ok?" Doctor Kate held out her pinkie finger. Eight held her out as well and hooked on Doctor Kate's. "I look forward to our time together, Yoanna." [[Wake Yoanna up.]] [[Wait and observe.]]

"Yoanna," I say. "Can you hear me?" Yoanna didn't respond. "Yoanna, thanks... for sharing me these," I say. "I... I feel like I understand you more now. And how you came to be, on this path." Suddenly, Lily tugs my shirt, "What are you talking about?" What was I... comforting words, they were not really my strong suit but in times like these I thought even if I didn't mean it, it'd be enough. I was... deceiving myself. Yoanna continues chuckling with Doctor Kate. Perhaps she listened to words like these a hundred time, but none really pierced through her heart, shatter her nightmares. None really mattered to her. I need to be powerful enough, strong and straight to the core. I need to be... the bad guy. I pat Lily's head, "Thanks Lily." I walk over to Yoanna, and rest my hand on her shoulder. I breathe in, and breathe out. Twice. Thrice. Then, I imagine capturing the essence of her happy, calm dream all pulled into my grip. The world before us slowly collapsed and turned darker. "No," I can hear Yoanna's voice. "Please." I grab Yoanna's hand and continue dragging away all her dreams. The scenes of the massacre in the orphanage began to emerge and unfold before our eyes. Yoanna attempt to struggle off my hand, "Stop! Stop!" Blood were shed once again and shrieks of terror filled the hallway, as researchers ran in disarray. The Numbers corner them into running to Yoanna, while Yoanna kicked and disabled the researchers. They crawled and begged in tears but the Numbers killed them all in one swift move. "NO! NO!" Yoanna screams. I grip her hand tighter: she need to go through this in order to let go. The massacre continues, until the whole orphanage is burned down to the ground. Then, all was silent. Yoanna cries and begins to bawl like a child, hugging both her legs in front of her chest. "Tough times, they never last, Yoanna," I say. "But tough people do. And you are one such people." I cuddle her, "Let go of the past and surely you can find your memories already filled with joy that you forgot." Yoanna bawls louder, "I—But I—" "It's ok, let it all out; I'll take care of them." Yoanna cuddles me back like a child seeking warmth and comfort. The dark, dreadful memories around us start to shatter like glasses, letting light breatheing inside. The cry and yell begins to fade away as childish laughters fill our ears. I see shy Yoanna led by younger Uri to introduce herself in front of The Minority members, how they all did their first siege of a small town to save locked half-elves, snuck into a kingdom and took back the people's coins, how they spent a starry night in the wild roasting meat and dancing to the festival's tune, how they wake each other up in mornings that all overslept in Marga, and how on lonely moments Yoanna was never alone. Even when she looks at the moon alone on the deck, Uri was sleeping on her lap. I smile, "May you live nothing but a happy life ahead." Then I open my eyes. [[Next chapter->Chapter 19 start]]

(if: (history:) contains "Wait and observe.")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Her blue sky."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c8ach to $c8ach +1) ]I decide to wait for a little more. But the scenes just repeat again and again. She is stuck inside a loop that she created for herself, a prison inside her own mind, a happy memory that never ends. "Yoa—" As I open my mouth, I find myself paralyzed. My body drop to the ground, frozen as I stare at the sky. The sky is blue, with clouds passing by indefinitely. I feel like I can watch this all day. And, I just might... [[Take a step back->Next page 18.6]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 19**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"Desperate Time"**]</span> (if: (history:) contains "Chapter 19 start")[ ](else:)[(set: $c9ach to 0)] (set: $c19checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 19") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Next page 19.1]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

"You guys... don't really make this easy, do you?" I find Jane standing in front of me; she has knife cuts and is bleeding all over her body. In front of her stands a familiar girl, double ponytails, with two razor sharp blades. She's wearing gloves like Jane. She wipes off the blood on her face. There is a number '3' on her cheek. She walks sideway, eye-ing Jane and me, "Hiding behind a hood and sneaking into the jail was already tedious enough, but to act as the guard operating the globe, and infiltrate this sneaky base really are the cherries on the top." "Nevermind, I'll just add this as another favor to One," Number Three stops walking, she imbues her blades with fire and points at Yoanna, "I'm retrieving Eight." Jane's gloves lights up as she strengthens her make-shift wooden batons, "Not going to happen." "Then so be it," Three head-charges at Jane. In one swift move, she swings her arm with a force large enough to penetrate Jane's head. Jane blocks it with her left hand, supported by her right hand. Jane then kicks Three in her stomach. Without another moment to waste, Jane grabs and locks Three's hand, then she attempts to flip her body forward. But Three pushes against Jane's shoulder, and kicks Jane's calf instead. Jane kneels on one of her knees, as Three thrust the blade on her left hand to Jane. Jane grips on Three's hand and quickly flips herself up, rotating a full circle before kicking Three forward on her back. Number Three stands back up and recomposes herself, "Really not bad." Number Three merges her two blades together and then pulls them apart, cloning into more and more blades connected by chains together. "Unfortunately," Three says, "You're not my mission. So this should deal with you for a while." The blades rotate as a fiery circle and slices across the air, aiming at Jane. Jane drops both her batons and conjured two wooden shiels instead to repel the attacks but isn't able to move another foot forward. "Now," Three smiles at me. "Who are you?" I look at Three: there's a faint pink color fading on her face and gloves on her hand to hide her fingers that were cut, that's how she concealed herself. I know her only from Yoanna's memory, so— "John," I say, extending my hand out. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." Three sneered at me. "Ok?" "What are you going to do with her?" I look at Yoanna whose aura had been cleared, but is still soundly sleeping, with less concern now. "None of your concern," Three says as she points another blade on my throat, "Are you going to stop me?" I chuckle nervously, I can feel the heat on the tip of the blade burning the skin of my throat. [[Take a step back]] [[Grab and hold her blade closer.]] [["Yes, what are you going to do about it?"]]

"Whoosh, wrong move," Number Three throws her knife at my eye. I instantly black out. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->Next page 19.1]]

Three looks taken aback, "What are you doing?" "John, stay away from her!" Jane shouts. "I know what happened between the Numbers in the orphanage, and Doctor Kate." I say. "So?" Three says, now pointing another blade at my eyes. "I'm here to protect her," I give a brief look at Yoanna. Three taps the tip of her other blade on my forehead, "Let go of my blades, John. I won't repeat again." [[Let go of both her blades.]] [[Grab the blade on my forehead.]] [["Try and make me."]]

"This," Number Three throws her knife at my eye. I instantly black out. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->Next page 19.1]]

Three snickled at me, "Good boy." I smile, "Lily, now!" Lily swings her arm and knocks on Three's stomach; Three didn't manage to evade it in time, and only cower in pain, hugging her stomach as she takes a few steps back. "You son of a—" Three groans, as all her blades fall to the ground. Even though Lily is much shorter than her, but Lily's strength is no joke when it comes to Haltia. Lily has the force at least of an elephant's thump. I carry Yoanna on my back while Jane rushes over to carry Lily; both of us dart across Three and towards the door. "No, that way is—" Three attempts to grab my arm and stall me. Jane exit the door with Lily, followed by Yoanna and I. Little did we know, we leaped through a travel portal. [[Next page->Next page 19.2]]

Three snickled at me, "You do have a death wish." I smile, "Lily, now!" Lily swings her arm and knocks on Three's stomach; Three didn't manage to evade it in time, and only cower in pain, hugging her stomach as she takes a few steps back. "You son of a—" Three groans, as all her blades fall to the ground. Even though Lily is much shorter than her, but Lily's strength is no joke when it comes to Haltia. Lily has the force at least of an elephant's thump. I carry Yoanna on my back while Jane rushes over to carry Lily; both of us dart across Three and towards the door. "No, that way is—" Three attempts to grab my arm and stall me. Jane exit the door with Lily, followed by Yoanna and I. Little did we know, we leaped through a travel portal. [[Next page->Next page 19.2]]

(if: (history:) contains "\"Try and make me.\"")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"Daredevil: You won't budge even if death stares you right at your face."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c9ach to $c9ach +1) ]Three snickles at me, "As you wish." I smile, "Lily, now!" Lily swings her arm and knocks on Three's stomach; Three didn't manage to evade it in time, and only cower in pain, hugging her stomach as she takes a few steps back. "You son of a—" Three groans, as all her blades fall to the ground. Even though Lily is much shorter than her, but Lily's strength is no joke when it comes to Haltia. Lily has the force at least of an elephant's thump. I carry Yoanna on my back while Jane rushes over to carry Lily; both of us dart across Three and towards the door. "No, that way is—" Three attempts to grab my arm and stall me. Jane exit the door with Lily, followed by Yoanna and I. Little did we know, we leaped through a travel portal. [[Next page->Next page 19.2]]

I notice we are in a confined space inside the hole. It's as if there are two paths in front of us, left or right, depending on which step we are leading with. (if: (history:) contains "Next page 19.4") [I chose to step on right that time, and sent back here. Would it be different if I had taken the other path?](else:)[] (if: (history:) contains "Next page 19.3") [I chose to step on left and I... Would it be different if I had taken the other path? Could I save Jane?](else:)[] [[Step on left.]] [[Step on right.]]

"HEORAAAH!" suddenly an axe slammed down on me without hesitation. I can vaguely hear a clap, and a cluster of roots grow upward from the ground, spreading and stopping the axe's momentum. We find ourselves inside a small room, with a throne seat and a normal table in front of it. On the side is a painting of Number Seven. A ruckus can also be distinctively heard outside the room. The axe froze in the middle of chopping the locked door to the room. Then we notice a few female mages half-circling a spell circle to which we stand in, and are now confusingly looking at us. Did Three activate a portal from here? "Open the door, you pricks!" a yell come from the other side, with loud bang. Three will be here any second, I need to do something now. [[Take down the female mages.]] [[Kick open the door instead.]]

I charge towards one of the female mages, attempting to slam her down. She points her finger with ring at me, and within seconds, I feel a zap into my heart. I fall down and start to heavily breathe. "John," Jane shakes my shoulder. "John!" My eyelids drop and closes. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->Step on left.]]

I fold and retract my right knee before extending and kicking it out. The door shook. "Jane, take down the door," I say. "The door?" Jane asks. "Yes—" I equip myself with one of the blades hanging on the wall, and point it at the female mages. "Get us out of here, Jane." Jane claps and make a pull apart motion at the door, splitting it into half. We see Captain Eiden stands just on the other side. "Jane? What are you doing here?" Captain Eiden asks. "You were supposed—" "That really hurts," Three say, stepping out of the travel portal. She turns back facing the female mages, "You guys can close the portal now. No one's getting away again." The female mages nod, and as soon as the hole vanished, they point their finger with rings toward us. I drop my blade. "Easy," I say. "I have Yoanna on my back." "Ear," Three say. Suddenly, a beam zap across my ear; I dodge to my right in time but it lightly scratches across Yoanna's ear who was behind me. "The order was to retrieve," Three say. "And since both of you are back here again, this makes my job easier." Based on our position, I don't think any of us is fast enough to escape this stand-off even if we try to. "Give me Eight," Three say. "Slowly, put her down." I kneel and slowly let Yoanna off my shoulder. "John—" Jane says. "Hands!" Three shouts. Two beams of light zap across my face, straight into Jane's palms. The blood from her hands splatters and begins to drip through her gloves. Jane instinctively groans in pain. Captain Eiden rushes in, "You b—" but is held back by Jane. Captain Eiden glares at Three, just as Three glares back and smiles at him. I check at Jane's state: her hands begin to tremble but she looks fine. "I won't tolerate anymore nonsense," Three say. She hints at the female mage behind her, "Go take the girl." I can't let Yoanna get taken away, but I can't let Jane or anyone get hurt anymore. As long as they are pointing at us, it's inevitable. So... I need to create a distraction. To me. The female mage walk to my side, ready to grab Yoanna's hand. [[Take the blade on the ground.]] [[Charge towards Three.]]

I quickly reach out to the blade but find a beam zap through my hand. I scream in pain. "Wrong move," Three says. Another beam fires between my eyes. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->Kick open the door instead.]]

There are only a few feet apart between us, so within seconds I manage to grab and pull Three's shirt. "What are you—" I use my momentum and elbowed her cheek with my other hand, before locking her neck inside my arm. "Jane," I yell, "Take Yoanna and Lily, run away!" The female mages stare at me in awe, as Three's nose bleed and drip on my arm. "Don't worry," Captain Eiden passes a look to Jane. "We'll handle it here." "Be careful," Jane says and afterwards, she leaves with both Yoanna and Lily on her back. "That's certainly no way to treat a lady, *John*," Three says. "Hugging me so close without my consent." Three sticks her body closer to mine, "I might be a baddie but I'm still a girl." I got flustered, "That's—" Three knocks my nose with the back of her head; I lose my grip on her, as she pulls out a dagger from her waist, thrusting it straight towards my chin. Captain Eiden pulls my shoulder back and immediately deflects her attack with his axe swing. "Look who we have here," a familiar voice resonates across the hallway. I can see Tris walking towards us, with Taelynn behind her. Captain Eiden swiftly pulls me out of the room, as Tris walks past me, giving me a sneer. "Hi John," Taelynn says as she kneels down in front of me. "Are you hurt?" I lightly touch and wipe the blood under my chin, "Yeah I'm—I'm ok, thanks." Taelynn grabs my finger with the blood and suck on it with a grin, "Mmmhhh—such a waste." I can feel my heart beat rising. "That's enough," Tris pulls Taelynn by her hair into the room. "Owwww!" Taelynn complains, "I know, I know!" Three chuckles at them, "I think you guys have a bit of too much fun here. Aim their legs." At that moment, four beams zap at Taelynn and Tris. But, Tris flicked out four cards at the beam, dispelling them. She then picks up the cards, and utter "Reverse." The beam shoot back at the female mages instantly, punching through their heart. Their bodies thumped down to the ground. I didn't know half-elves can transfer their ability to non-living things as well. "Impressive," Three says, twirling her wrists. "How's your bare punches?" "Better than yours," Tris says. "Same here," Taelynn raises her hand up. Three kneels slightly and in a split second, her punch reaches an inch away from Tris's throat before Tris blocks it with her elbow. Taelynn counteracts with her foot swinging from the left, aiming at Three's waist. Three grabs and chokes her leg, while dragging her body to hit Tris sideways. Taelynn jumps with her single leg trying to change her direction but hit Tris as Tris tries to stop her. Both Taelynn and Tris were tossed to the side, as Three snickers at them, "Better?" Three glances at me, "Your turn." [[Run.]] [[Stay.]]

I am honestly a bit overwhelmed by how dangerous Three can be. I didn't manage to move an inch as Three takes another step forward. Tris suddenly grabs her leg, "We're not finished here." Taking her leg as the pivotal point, Tris flips herself back up and kicks Three's chin. Three attempts to kick Tris away but is quickly prompted to block Taelynn's multiple strong punches to her face as she shields herself with her arms. Then, Tris leaps and grabs Three by her shoulder, pulling Three towards her and knocks on her head. Three chokes Tris at the moment, and her eyes ignited with fire. Tris locks her hand on Three's, and twist Three's hand to disable the choke. Three pulls out a dagger and imbues it with fire before stabbing towards Tris. Taelynn kicks Three's dagger away just as the dagger slices in front of Tris's eyes. But Three swiftly pulls out three more pen knifes and thrust them towards Tris's eyes again. Tris dodges it at the last moment, and throw her entire body to Three, limiting the combat space between them. "Now!" Tris yells, where Taelynn moves behind Three and places herself back to back with Three. Taelynn then grips Three by both her ears from the back, and attempts to pull Three's head and throw her the other way. Three tip toed her feet to raise her height, preparing herself for a flip where she kicks the door closed. "Wait—" I say, as I can still hear them fighting inside the room. Suddenly a rope tangles on my neck and pulls me away from the room. "John!" Captain Eiden shouts as he gallops towards me. [[Next page->Next page 19.3]]

I didn't move an inch before Three takes another step forward. Tris grabs her leg, "We're not finished here." Taking her leg as the pivotal point, Tris flips herself back up and kicks Three's chin. Three attempts to kick Tris away but is quickly prompted to block Taelynn's multiple strong punches to her face as she shields herself with her arms. Then, Tris leaps and grabs Three by her shoulder, pulling Three towards her and knocks on her head. Three chokes Tris at the moment, and her eyes ignited with fire. Tris locks her hand on Three's, and twist Three's hand to disable the choke. Three pulls out a dagger and imbues it with fire before stabbing towards Tris. Taelynn kicks Three's dagger away just as the dagger slices in front of Tris's eyes. But Three swiftly pulls out three more pen knifes and thrust them towards Tris's eyes again. Tris dodges it at the last moment, and throw her entire body to Three, limiting the combat space between them. "Now!" Tris yells, where Taelynn moves behind Three and places herself back to back with Three. Taelynn then grips Three by both her ears from the back, and attempts to pull Three's head and throw her the other way. Three tip toed her feet to raise her height, preparing herself for a flip where she kicks the door closed. "Wait—" I say, as I can still hear them fighting inside the room. Suddenly a rope tangles on my neck and pulls me away from the room. "John!" Captain Eiden shouts as he gallops towards me. [[Next page->Next page 19.3]]

I get dragged from the dark hallway to an open area, lit with moon light high above the sky. I feel my neck being slowly pulled upwards as my whole body lifts off from the ground. My feet are not touching anything anymore. My throat slowly closes from a hole into a dot as I struggle to keep my eyes open. I can vaguely see the Minority members—Uri, Iris, Ivy, Kenzo, Kumiho, Jay, Gael, Wade and everyone struggling against fending off the Dark Dwellers' magician's uniformed attacks. I can feel fluid starting to build up in my brain; I feel more and more dozy. Closer to me, I see Lily. She's awake but looking at something worriedly. I didn't know she could make this kind of face. I hold my breath and attempt to see what she is looking at. My eyes widened. I grip the gap between the rope and my neck, attempting to free myself. I kick the air with each of my breath. "Jane!" I attempt to yell. Horus stands in front of Jane, as Jane kneels and pukes out a pile of blood followed by another. Horus waves at me and grins, his hand entangles with strings that glister under the moon light. "Jane!" I yell again. Horus balls his hand into a fist and I involuntarily open my mouth, eyes budging out, trying to gasp for as many breath as possible. It can't end like this... can it? Horus snaps and I instantly black out. (if: (history:) contains "Next page 19.4") [ [[Next page->Next page 19.6]] ](else:)[ [[Leap back->Next page 19.2]] ]

We find ourselves in the middle of the battle between Minority and the Dark Dwellers in the bazaar. "John? What are you doing here? Don't block!" Ivy pushes me away from her sight as she continues to enforcing the shield for the Minority members fighting. "Jane!" Jay shouts, and rushes over as soon as he sees Jane beside me. "Come here, you're bleeding!" Jay attempts to escort her away and also Lily behind her. Jane passes a look at me. "I'll be fine," I say. "Get yourself healed first. I'll check the situation in the meantime." "John too? What are you doing here?" Jay asks. "Take Yoanna," I say as I carefully load Yoanna off on Jay's shoulder. "Take care of her, and Jane." "I will," Jay says. "Be careful," Jane says to me before going with Jay to the back of the line. "You're here," Uri says. Then, she pauses. "How are you here?" Uri asks, "And John, why did you bring Yoanna here?" "It's a long story but now that I'm here—" //BAOOM// A huge explosion in the distant erupts, sending a strong wave of wind and dust towards us; Ivy and a few demi-humans are pushed and slammed back towards us. Ivy's head hit mine as we both get thrown to the ground. Her body is on top of mine as she sits on my stomach. "Ouch!" Ivy yells. "Which idiot—" Ivy turns around and I wave at her, "Hi." "Perv!" Ivy immediately back away from me. Now, that's a word I haven't heard in a while. //ROAAAWWRH// The wind picks up its speed, and the dust still remains, blinding the sight before us. Plus, the fact that the sky is dark with only moon light above us makes it even harder to see. But I can sense that something's wrong. That was not just a normal explosion. Out of a sudden, tons of figures of beasts begin to emerge and their shadows slowly became larger as they charge towards us. But I see Iris is still sitting on the ground, rubbing her left ankle. Did she sprain it? //ROAAAWWRH// Within seconds, it was like the beasts are just beside whispering to me. Whatever they are, it can't be good for us. [[Immediately run away.]] [[Charge towards Ivy to drag her along.]]

I immediately start to dash, but I slipped. "John!" Ivy yells at me, "Run!" Before I could react, the beast slams against me with its head and bit my neck, tearing it apart. The last thing I see is the moon, rotating. Everything becomes so... dark. [[Take a step back->Step on right.]]

I dash towards Ivy, "Get up NOW!" and quickly grab her hand along. "But—" Ivy clenches her teeth and tries to stand up; I wrap her arms around my shoulder and picks her up, holding her like a princess. The collective racing sounds of foot approaching us becomes larger and larger. Closer, and closer. Running is not my strong suit. I take a deep breath and run as far, and as fast as I could. But I am the one having the same thinking. A beast, a few feet tall as an adult woof, grey fur, a cut in its right white eye, eight sharp massive canine teeth salivating as its shift between me and its front, darting beside me. If I stop now, the beasts behind will definitely feast on me as a free meal. But at this pace, it's gonna leap on me. I need to— Before I manage to form my thoughts, the beast jumps and widens its mouth, fiercely growling at my neck. I swing my arm to the other side, forcibly changing the lane I'm running in. The beast bites into air, but manage to regain its footing. "John!" another beast suddenly lunges at my right arm. My heart skips a beat. I can't evade this. I grit my teeth for the pain. Then came a shriek. And the beast is punched away from me. I look over to see Uri giving me a proud smile. "Uri? You—" "Yup." "Thanks," but my breath runs out at this time. I slip. Ivy and I fall to the ground together. The beast with scar pauses before running back, charging at me. "Don't worry," Ivy hugs me and exhales, "Time breaker." The beast slowed down considerably, before eventually stopped. The rest of the beasts around me also stopped in their path, as well as Uri who was also darting and holding her hand out to me desperately. The time... "it froze." "Why are you so surprised?" Ivy asks. "It's not your first time." Not my... the tavern. The day I met them. The moment I met them. "Move out of their path," Ivy says as she lets herself down. "And I'll unfreeze the time again." "Umm—" It's been so long that I lose my words in front of this skill. Half-elves' skill. "Come on, perv!" Ivy pulls my ear and drags me to the side. Especially dark half elf. "Iris, where's Iris?" I suddenly ask. "She's healing the others," Ivy says. "Many are injured." She grips her hand. "Too many." "Oh, interesting," a sound slips into our ears. A chill is sent down my spine as I see Number Seven waving at a distance at us. "Looks like I can access these areas as well," Seven says. Ivy takes a step back, "Wha—No—How did you—" I stand in front of her, trying to stop her from getting any ideas, facing Seven, "I was told you can manipulate dreams and consciousness, but here, this realm—" "Apparently this is my last resort in tracking down Eight, my one last try, you can call it," Seven smiles. "Quite a convenient one, ain't it?" He's been cut off from my consciousness, so how did he... and why now of all times? He should have noticed it was Eight who he imprisoned in the infinity jail. Most importantly—//why?// "Your sister Iris is doing quite a good job as well, healing those that we didn't manage to eliminate," Seven continues. "She's bound to be a problem for us." "How did you—" Ivy pauses herself. "Ivy, unfroze us," I whisper. "I—I can't," she whispers back. I can feel Ivy's hand clenching mine slightly harder than usual. She didn't say anything as well, likely shocked that there are others who can enter and intrude on this realm. But maybe most of all, she's afraid that she won't be able to save Iris again if she is stuck here. "What exactly do you want from us?" I ask, as calmly as I can. "I think you know exactly what I want. Three tracked you here, along with Eight. Where is she? Just tell and you all can leave." Half-elves... they are not only capable in time stopping, but manipulation as well. Or teleportation. Iris mentioned that teleportation takes tremendous magical energy which I'm sure Ivy has exhausted most by now. And the longer we are here, the more stress she is under for maintaining this moment. If we are in a stale mate... [["Ivy, can you move forward the time?"]] [["Ivy, can you reverse the time?"]]

"I—I hadn't tried it before," Ivy says. Her hand is becoming sweaty, she is becoming more and more exhausted. Number Seven starts walking towards us, "Last chance, John." "Take a deep breath, and execute when you're ready," I say. "H—Hug me," Ivy says. "What?" "Hug me, perv!" Ivy shouts at me, her face embarrassed. "I need comfort to do this." "John?" Number Seven starts quickening his footsteps. "John!" I hug Ivy tightly with her head in between my arms, and her body pressed against mine. Ivy exhales as she wraps her arms around my waist. Number Seven has approached within an arm's reach to us, "You son of a—" "Tick forward." [[Next page->Next page 19.4]]

"No... it's not possible," Ivy says. "Too many possibilities I have to deal with. It's only possible if I use the forward time leap first." "Ok, let's leap forward then." "But I—I hadn't tried it before," Ivy says. Her hand is becoming sweaty, she is becoming more and more exhausted. Number Seven starts walking towards us, "Last chance, John." "Take a deep breath, and execute when you're ready," I say. "H—Hug me," Ivy says. "What?" "Hug me, perv!" Ivy shouts at me, her face embarrassed. "I need comfort to do this." "John?" Number Seven starts quickening his footsteps. "John!" I hug Ivy tightly with her head in between my arms, and her body pressed against mine. Ivy exhales as she wraps her arms around my waist. Number Seven has approached within an arm's reach to us, "You son of a—" "Tick forward." [[Next page->Next page 19.4]]

I feel my entire body being shifted forward, as the scenes before my eyes gradually change frame by frame. The beasts run past us, and one by one, Uri sends them tossed back from harming the other Minority members. A few hooks as they leap towards her, jabs to their mouths and kicks to their heads render all the beast wimping, running away from Uri. The dust clears and Horus is seen riding the three-headed larger beast, charging at Uri and the group. Jane dashes in front of Uri and as soon as the beast's front legs pushes the ground to thrust and bite her, Jane opens her hands wide and claps. A tower of branches erects in front of Jane, impaling all three heads of the beast with their blood dripping along the branches, sipping to the ground. But Horus is unharmed. He stands in front of Jane and without a moment to waste, lands a kick to Jane's head. "Naughty," he says. Jane kneels and coughs out a pile of blood. Suddenly, I hear my name being yelled. A few strings entangled into rope pulls someone out from the castle. The rope is firmly wrapped around his neck, strangling him as the rope levitates. "And this is your punishment," Horus grins. Ivy collapses at this moment; I hold her in my arms, her body feels hot as she gasps for breath. "Ivy," I call out. "You're at your limit. Stop now." Ivy grips my shirt in pain, she didn't say anything but I— I can't let it end like this, in this forwarded timeline. The one being strangled is me, I need to save myself. I need to save Jane. Ivy tries to adjust her breath, as she breathes in and out slower. But not at the cost of Ivy. Starting with mine. [[Save myself first.]]

Before anything, I need to ensure I am safe first. I can already see Jay rushing over to Jane and a few harpies soaring the sky with their armor and weapon on. So now, all I need is a distraction. A temporary, but definite distraction. "Just a moment," I say to Ivy. I slowly lay her down and run towards Horus. With both my hands open wide, I... [[Slap his ears]] [[Harshly slap his cheeks]] [[Flick his eyes]]

I do not see any visible changes... yet. Maybe this need to take place back in our original timeline. That means... "Hoo—you guys sure run fast and far." Number Seven appears, walking towards me in quick steps. "There won't be a next time," he starts to dash at me. I run back at Ivy, "Ivy!" Ivy only has her eyes half-opened; she lays on the ground, panting, almost dozing off. "Ivy!" I yell again. "Reverse the time back to where we start!" Her eyes open bit by bit, as she mumbles something under her breath. "John!" Number Seven fiercely throws a short retractable knife at me. The knife impales on my right thigh. A shock is sent through my body, as I feel intense numbness on it. It feels almost paralyzing, but I still drag it as I run as close as I can to Ivy. But Number Seven tackles me down. He lands a punch on my face, "I told you to stay still, didn't I?" And another, "But you didn't listen." And another, "No. You didn't." "We have a mission, John. A noble one," Seven lands a harder punch. "One that you wouldn't understand. But keeps obstructing." "Where," he punches my cheek. "Is," he punches my nose. "Eight?" he punches my cheek again, before pulling my shirt and raising me up. I feel dizzy as my blood from my nose flowing into my mouth, tasting almost like metal. I couldn't move another inch. "Stop..." Ivy says. "I'll say... just... let John go..." "Where?" Number Seven glares at Ivy. "North... church..." Number Seven grins, "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" He pulls out the knife on my thigh. "Now for the finishing touch." "Goodbye John," he smiles at me. "Not yet," I muster all the strength I have and punch his chin, pushing him away from me. "John... " Ivy reaches her hand out to me. I stretch my hand and grab Ivy's hand tightly. "Tock backward." Ivy whispers. (if: (history:) contains "Next page 19.3") [ [[Next page->Next page 19.6]] ](else:)[ [[Leap back->Next page 19.2]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "Next page 19.6")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"You're a time traveler!"//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c9ach to $c9ach +1) ]I take a deep breath and find myself kissing the ground with my face. The rest of my body feels floated, and I look up to find one of my feet being held and grabbed by a female harpy. "Thanks!" I say, and she drops me to the ground. "Urgh! Ah!" Horus groans loudly. "Son of a goat!" It worked. The time travel worked. By leaping through time with Ivy, I managed to prevent myself from being hanged to death. Everything that happened, converges again on this timeline. But where is—"Ivy!" I shout, looking around. Then, I find Jane and Ivy laying almost lifelessly on the ground, both almost at a same distance away from me. [[Run to Jane]] [[Run to Ivy]]

I run over to Jane with Yoanna on my back. Lily is standing beside Jane and only holds her hand, unsure of what to do. Jay runs past Jane and snaps his finger at Horus, locking him inside a cage made of frail branches, but he rotates it continuously as he shrinks it smaller and smaller. He claps and some of the branches break, thrusting rapidly at Horus with nowhere to escape. Horus grits his teeth and managed to catch a few of the branches from hitting his eyes and heart, but some already pierced into his skin and bone. "Heargh!" Horus shouts again. "You brat!" Jay reinforces the cage with a few more snaps, making the bar made of branches thicker and thicker, engulfing Horus entirely. "Lily," I call out as soon as I approach her and Jane. "Carry Jane. We need to heal her." Lily nods and as she tries to lift Jane up—. "Put her down," Jay says. Lily looks at me. "Now!" Jay shouts. "Jane needs to get treated immediately," I say. "Iris is in the—" "I know!" Jay says. He looks dizzy, and is barely standing straight, "I can heal her." Jay rests his hands on Jane's, and closes his eyes, "Don't worry," he says softly. "It's going to be ok, sis." His gloves start glowing and the wounds on Jane's hands closes only a bit. But, Jay is getting more and more unstable, with his hands trembling and his sweat pouring from his face. "Enough," I say to Jay. "You need to rest." "No, not with Jane still injured," Jay pants. "I need to—" [[Grab and carry him on my arms.]] [[Let him continue to heal Jane.]]

(if: (history:) contains "Run to Ivy")[ ](else:)[**(colour: "#1c8c1c")[Achievement unlocked!]** (//"You did well."//) (set: $totalach to $totalach + 1) (set: $c9ach to $c9ach +1) ]I run over to Ivy to check on her. At the same time, Jay rushes to Jane. "Ivy," I lightly slap her face. "Are you ok?" She doesn't seem injured, or has any visible wounds, but only exhausted. It almost looks like she is sleeping. //SNORESSS// //SNORESSS// Which, she is. "You did well," I smile. I carry her on my back as I see Jay runs past Jane and snaps his finger at Horus, locking him inside a cage made of frail branches, but he rotates it continuously as he shrinks it smaller and smaller. He claps and some of the branches break, thrusting rapidly at Horus with nowhere to escape. Horus grits his teeth and managed to catch a few of the branches from hitting his eyes and heart, but some already pierced into his skin and bone. "Heargh!" Horus shouts again. "You brat!" Jay reinforces the cage with a few more snaps, making the bar made of branches thicker and thicker, engulfing Horus entirely. "Lily," I call out as soon as I approach her and Jane. "Carry Jane. We need to heal her." Lily nods and as she tries to lift Jane up—. "Put her down," Jay says. Lily looks at me. "Now!" Jay shouts. "Jane needs to get treated immediately," I say. "Iris is in the—" "I know!" Jay says. He looks dizzy, and is barely standing straight, "I can heal her." Jay rests his hands on Jane's, and closes his eyes, "Don't worry," he says softly. "It's going to be ok, sis." His gloves start glowing and the wounds on Jane's hands closes only a bit. But, Jay is getting more and more unstable, with his hands trembling and his sweat pouring from his face. "Enough," I say to Jay. "You need to rest." "No, not with Jane still injured," Jay pants. "I need to—" Uri reaches us at this moment, and without hesitating, she grab and carry Jay on her back. [[Next page->Next page 19.65]]

"Let me down, John," Jay states. "This is your only warning." "No," I say as I nod at Lily. Lily slowly lifts Jane up and carries her on her arms. But Jane's body is dangling, especially her feet almost reaching the ground. "Don't worry," I say as I start to walk towards the back of the battlefield line. "I'll take care of Jane while you sleep." I can feel Jay try to struggle off of me, but gradually he stops. "P... ro... mis... e" "I promise." Then I can hear light snores coming from him. Uri also runs over and carry Ivy on her arms as the three of us walk to get them healed. [[Next page->Next page 19.7]]

"Just a bit more—" Jay says, starting to cough. "Jay!" Uri shouts as she approaches us. "Stop, you're coughing blood." "I—" Without caring what Jay says, Uri grabs Jay and put him on her shoulder. "Let me down, Uri," Jay states. "Please, my sis." "No," Uri say. I nod at Lily for her to take Jane. Lily slowly lifts Jane up and carries her on her arms. But Jane's body is dangling, especially her feet almost reaching the ground. "Don't worry," Uri say as we start to walk towards the back of the battlefield line. "You're a part of the Minority family and Jane's your sister. So that makes her one of ours. We'll take good care of you both." I can feel Jay try to struggle off of her, but gradually he stops. "P... ro... mis... e" "I promise." Uri says. Then I can hear light snores coming from Jay. [[Next page->Next page 19.7]]

"Gael! Move her here!" Kumiho shouts. Yoanna and Jay are rested on the sides, while Iris meticulously attend to Ivy for magical energy exhaustion after I told her what happened during the time travel. Kumiho, on the other hand, begins a small surgery to close the wounds on Jane's hands before healing them with some herbs. We are in a fortified chrch-house that was once the Minority headquarter before the takeover. The church is quite tremendous, made up of a few floors, each spacious enough for hundreds to fit in, and the ground floor is set up as the treatment center, the second floor the command center, while the third floor used to be their living quarters. Gael and a few hauns are running around after being coordinated by Kumiho to assist the wounded Minority members and some Deminia members caught up in the battle. I can only see Iris trying not to cry, as she cast a rejunevary spell on Ivy whose face is pale white with some sweats. But other than that, Ivy seems at peace as she snores. So I walk up to comfort Iris, "Your sister... she saved my life." Iris looks at me in surprise, before giving me a cute smile, "Thank you." "She really did," I say, as I rest my hand on Ivy's. "Now I owe her that much." Iris chuckles as she sniffs. I then notice Uri and Kenzo both standing at the bottom of the stairway to second floor, seemingly waiting for me. "Take care of her, will you?" I say to Iris. Iris nods. I smile, "I'm off to command the battle then." [[Next chapter->Chapter 20 start]]

<hr></hr> <span class="first-heading">(align: "=><=")[**Chapter 20**]</span> <span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[**"Down the Rabbit Hole"**]</span> (set: $c20checkpoint to "yes") (set: $chaptertag to "Chapter 20") <hr></hr> (align: "==>")[ [[Proceed->Next page 20.1]] [[Main Menu->Main Menu]] [[Achievements->Ach]] ((colour: "#65169e" )[**Checkpoint saved!**])]

I stare at Uri, bewildered. Collecting what I have known so far, Yoanna is Number Eight, or at least she was one of the Numbers. My guess is she was originally a normal child of dragon descendant that can communicate with her same species through psyhic ability. But she was experimented on, and made able to further communicate with others using the same ability, but losing her speech in the process. And... most importantly, she's able to absorb and return back the magical energy in the forms of powers. "John—" Out of all the Numbers, only Number Two has been confirmed dead so far. Number Five and Six don't seem to bring any direct harm, unless it's concerning their records. And I have one of their books with me; I had. Too many things happened and I lost track of my bag, including the key inside. The key that Hugo said can save Deminia. "John—" Then there's Number Seven, who proudly said he used all of his energy throwing me around the unconscious realm and jumping in between these spaces; but he's likely serving as their commander for the battle out there, leaving the jail guarded only by mages. Number Three appeared here, so Number One and Four are likely in kingdom of Astra. As long as they are not around, then we won't have a problem. That's why we need to act fast, in case they step in. "John!" Uri slaps my face. "Are you listening? Taelynn and Tris are back." They should be dealing with Number Three, if they are back then that means... [["They lost."]] [["They succeeded?"]]

"No we didn't," Taelynn breathes beside my ear. I flinch and knock onto Tris' shoulder. Tris pushes me back, "That hurts." She isn't as spicy as before and one look at her, I realise why. Both Tris and Taelynn are covered with knife scratches across their bodies; Tris has a heavy burnt wound on her stomach, while Taelynn has a visible knife scar across the side of her forehead. Only Taelynn is still smiling at me, while Tris is almost on the edge of collapsing. "We didn't exactly win either," Tris says. "Let's just say Number Three will not be able to recover for combat for today," Taelynn says, supporting Tris' arm. "Or either of us, in this case." "Just want to let you know, Uri," Tris says, barely able to maintain her eye contact wiht Uri. "Rest now," Uri realises this and pats Tris' head. "Both of you." "Ok," Taelynn starts to carry Tris out of the room, "good luck guys!" Than—"Thank you." I shout at them as they make their way out of the room. Taelynn briefly glances at me and then dismisses me with a smile. That puts Number Three out of the picture. So now I'm only dealing with Number Seven who is orchestrating the battle. "Ok, back to where we were," I say. "Uri, you mentioned that Yoanna was your strategist? Really? She didn't look like one." "She's much more delicate and thorough than you give her credit for," Uri says. "Many of the peace talks with United Association of Knights were possible because she noticed the smallest of details and made opportunity out of it." "Ok, so these areas, tell me everything about it," I point at the map with layouts of all the buildings in Deminia. But specifically, the region where some of the citizen were kidnapped and guarded at. "Ok, so this bazaar over here is where we are targeting," Uri says. I look at the map, "but it's an empty land." "Yeah... they are held in underground prison beneath this bazaar, and officially there's only one way in, through a bunker which is heavily guarded by them." Uri continues, "The jail is made of T-shaped hallways connected to a main control center; each jail cell can fit about 10 people, and there are 50 of our people unaccounted for." Suddenly, someone barges in the room, "D—devin, they got him!" It's Vile, and he is unhurt but panting. "Ok, wait," I say. [["You mentioned... official entrance?"]] [["How many people we have left to infiltrate?"]] [["What happened to Devin, Vile?"]]

"Yes," Uri says. "There is an alternative path known only to us, when we need to escort cell mate in and out secretly." "But," Uri passes a look at Kenzo. "Only small bodies can fit inside the tunnel leading to it." "Hey now," Kenzo replies. "I'm not fat. It's just my body size." A hidden tunnel to a hidden path to an underground jail... just how much secrets the Minority has? "John?" Uri snaps her finger at me. "How many people do we have?" "I can take another 3 of my elites, but that's it," Uri says. "No," she slams the table, "That would be enough." Taelynn, Triss, Ivy, Yoanna and Jay are all recovering while Kumiho, Gael, Iris are attending to them; Jane is still unconscious so I only have Vile with me. The base cannot be left unguarded so at least two of their elites must stay here, with another one to lead the battle. Given what I have seen of their ability so far, "Wade and Kenzo will stay and guard this church, since it's a much smaller area to cover in case there's any invasion. Captain Eiden will personally head the battle against the bunker as a distraction. Uri, let's meet up in 5 minutes after you assemble your team, take close-combat weapons and smoke bombs. Vile, you're with me." "You got it," Kenzo says as he exits the room, but he passes me one last look. "Take them back safely, John." "I will," I say. "You lots be careful too." Uri also rushes out the room after giving me a nod. "Soooo?" Vile asks. "What you want me to do?" "Scream and run," I smile at Vile. "As loud as you can." [[Next page->Next page 20.2]]

"I can take another 3 of my elites, but that's it," Uri says. "No," she slams the table, "That would be enough. And, there is an alternative path known only to us, so we could use that to sneak in." "But," Uri passes a look at Kenzo. "Only small bodies can fit inside the tunnel leading to it." "Hey now," Kenzo replies. "I'm not fat. It's just my body size." A hidden tunnel to a hidden path to an underground jail... just how much secrets the Minority has? "John?" Uri snaps her finger at me. Taelynn, Triss, Ivy, Yoanna and Jay are all recovering while Kumiho, Gael, Iris are attending to them; Jane is still unconscious so I only have Vile with me. The base cannot be left unguarded so at least two of their elites must stay here, with another one to lead the battle. Given what I have seen of their ability so far, "Wade and Kenzo will stay and guard this church, since it's a much smaller area to cover in case there's any invasion. Captain Eiden will personally head the battle against the bunker as a distraction. Uri, let's meet up in 5 minutes after you assemble your team, take close-combat weapons and smoke bombs. Vile, you're with me." "You got it," Kenzo says as he exits the room, but he passes me one last look. "Take them back safely, John." "I will," I say. "You lots be careful too." Uri also rushes out the room after giving me a nod. "Soooo?" Vile asks. "What you want me to do?" "Scream and run," I smile at Vile. "As loud as you can." [[Next page->Next page 20.2]]

"AHHHHHH!!!" Vile screams as he darts past the long T shaped hallway, gathering the attention of the few guards stationed there to a corner on the left of the 'T' edge. Then, I release the smoke bombs from the junction, filling the jail with white smokes. Uri and a female half-elf jump out, taking out the guards with a few jump kicks to their necks. "Can't believe that worked," Uri says, giving a high five to the female half-elf. Now that I look closer, this is the same female half-elf that I held on to and saved when the ship Marga was almost drowned to the other side. But, she only gives me a smile as she notices me glancing at her, and doesn't seem to recognize me. "Get them out now," Uri orders her other two elites of fauns where they kick through the locks with their hoofs. Then, the hostages were escorted through the tunnel where we came from, inside one of the jail cells at the end of left edge of 'T'. But Devin is nowhere to be found. "Vile, where's Dev—" Suddenly, an elder woman grab my arm. "John," she calls out. I try to struggle out of her grip, but she's tightly grasping it and my shakes were futile. "W—What? Who are you?" I ask, trying hard to see if I know her as the smokes slowly disperse. "You... my... John," she continues, with her voice almost sounded like a whisper. "Closer." I gulp and put my ear closer to her mouth. "You need to save him," she says. "My grandson, John." "I'm sure he was escorted away since—" I notice her eyes were staring at something behind me the whole time. The smokes almost entirely vanished by now. As I slowly turn back, I find myself staring at a familiar face. "Hello John! We meet again!" Out of all the people... [["You."->Next page 20.25]]

I approach the half-elf and told her my plans, asking her whether if it's possible. She nods her head. "But," she whispers. "I will need to stab her myself." I give the pen knife to her. "Finally decided?" Uri smiles at me. "This is not a joke Uri, you are going to die," I say to Uri. I breathe out, "They are going to lose you... forever," if this isn't done right. "John," Uri looks at me. "Come on, don't cry." I only notice now that a tear of mine had already dropped to my chin, as I try to control my breath. My eyes start to get soaky, and blurry. "We saved them, right?" Uri continues. "Now I'm just passing the baton to you. From here on. You know what I wanted the most, and you have the ability to achieve it." I gulp, feeling my throat tightened. It wasn't supposed to end like this. I made a promise. To myself. "Promise me that," Uri extends her hand out to me. I extend my hand out only to stop midway. I... made too many promises that I can't even keep. It's just too pathetic. Weak. Suddenly Uri reaches out and shake my hand hard. "It's ok John," she smiles. "It's going to be ok. I promise." "Get on with it!" Number Seven yells. The half-elf thrusts the knife pen towards Uri's heart from her back. The pen punctures through a heart, but it was not Uri's. Vile spits out a few drips of blood, and drops on the floor. "Vile?" I flip him over and see that both his eyes are already firmly shut. "Vile!" His heart already stopped beating. "Again!" Number Seven shouts. But the half-elf stuns there with the knife pen. Number Seven thrusts the spear in the boy's other thigh. The boy let out another painful yell. "Do I need to do it myself?" Number Seven yells. The half-elf suddenly screams and thrusts the pen knife again towards Uri's heart. She then twists it before pulling it out. Uri moves a few steps forward before dropping to the ground. A pool of blood forms before her body. The half-elf stuns and with a voice almost sounded like whisper, "I pierced too deep... No..." She then yells and stabs her own heart, making her collapsing onto the ground as well. Their blood splatter on my face as I stand there, only shrieking to my own helplessness in the inside. I feel nauseous, and my legs weakened. Number Seven chuckles and stabs the boy's heart with the spear, "And then there were you. And only you. The last fighter, again. You're like a rabbit you know? Always hopping around. Hop, hop. It's very annoying." "You son of a—" I dash towards him. He raises his leg and lands a swift kick to my head. I can feel my vision turning and my head feeling like it's about to explode, as he drags me outside the jail. The last scene that I see are Uri and Vile, along with the half-elf lying lifelessly on the ground, soaked in their own blood. "Uri..." Her eyes are firmly closed, as blood flows from the edge of her mouth. "Vile..." Everything happened too sudden. Just like it was with... Noah. "Please..." [[Next page->Next page 20.3]]

As Number Seven drags me outside, a piece of the sun light shines into my face over the horizon. The entire sky was casted with a warm hue of orange, radiating on my shadow being dragged along by Seven. The golden light also blooms on the houses, and the bodies everywhere: mages, wizards, demi-humans of all ages, even children who just wasn't moving anymore. The orange sky fell into deep silence, only the chirping of morningbirds echo throughout the bazaar. "Who's that?" Number Seven throws me in front of a guy; I raise my head up to see Number Three carrying Yoanna on her back, and a new face with '4' on his cheek staring back at me. No... this can't be. Three half-grins at me, "Bet you didn't know Number Five and Six can also heal too, given their regenerative manipulation ability." "But most importantly," Three grins and whispers near my ear, "We win." "Again, who's this?" Number Four kicks my stomach. "Who are you? Are you the same side with that girl with many tails? And that guy of demon tribe? Or maybe the horse guy? The wolf?" "What did you do—" Number Fours lands a harder kick, "I'm asking the question here. You shouldn't worry about them anymore. They are done." "That guy with demonic voice was a close call though," Number Three says. "Didn't expect it to be that overwhelming. Good thing we stuffed our ears." "Courtesy of my info," Number Seven smiles. "Meh," Number Four says, "I could have done it without stuffing my ears either way. That was a piece of cake." Number Seven kicks and steps on me, "Now, John here is a peculiar man that knows about us... somehow, making our works tougher... and he was the one ended Two's life... I bet One would like to talk with him." I then hear a few more footsteps followed behind Three. "Open the portal to Astra," Three says. "We're gonna have much fun with him there." After a few seconds, the female mages behind Three chant a spell and the ground in front of me slowly cracks before erupting into a dark hole. "In you go," Seven repeatedly kicks me from my back but I wouldn't budge. "Why? You don't like this hole?" Number Four pulls me by my ear to the hole. "Don't worry, you'll fit just right in." "We have a special name for this hole though," Number Four chuckles. "Three named it." "Gosh, it's so cringy," Number Three says. "Don't you dare say it out loud." Four pushes my head in, "Ready?" "Down the rabbit hole you go!" his voice echoes as I fall into the hole. [[Next page->Hector]]

"... was assassinated and Eight was retrieved." "So this?" Someone pulls my hair and makes me kneel, as I open my eyes. My face is slapped, followed by "Come on, introduce yourself." I take a deep breath as my eyes slowly adjust to the bright environment I was in. I find myself inside a warmly lit castle with roll-down flags of Astra symbols. But the castle was filled with red. The white petals from the knights' pouches were all scattered and covered in red but there were no bodies, only trails of blood on the already red carpets, dragged away. "Focus," Number Seven pulls my hair and divert my attention back to the one standing right in front of me. The sunlight shines through the tinted window and pours behind him, making it hard to see his face. "The retaliation here failed too," he says. "Those that even managed to barge in were locked away. As storage food to the beasts in the colosseum anyway." "But I kept the petals," he starts to circle around me. "Cause the color is beautiful, contrasting even. Between innocence, and passion. Blood, and no blood." "What's your name?" he puts his right hand on my left shoulder. "John," I reply. Suddenly he grips my shoulder and my entire body is flung up into the air before falling face flat to the ground. I can feel my ribs crushing my lungs as I puke out a pile of blood. "So you're the one that took Two's life," he says. "Isn't that right?" "I—" He flings me up again and then slams me down. I can feel a small crack in my skull as my head start to bleed. "I'm Hector, nice to meet you, John," he says. Hec.. tor... where did I hear this name before? "Also, it's rude to not say your full name, John," he continues. "At least, that's what Sage Houst claimed." My heart skips a beat. He knows. Out of so many people... he knows. But maybe he is talking about the ancient spells I scared Sage Houst away with. "I'm not talking about the one that you blinded him with," he says. "No, that's not what I'm getting at. My ancestor served for your bloodlines a long time ago. Do you have any glimpse or flashback on it?" Bloodlines... King Jax Doe... "I—" "Think again," he says. "Maybe the name Harrison rings a bell." Harrison... Leviathan. Leviathan? He lifts my head up and smiles. A chill is sent down my spine as I get a clear look on his face. The resemblance... it can't be. "I'm sure you met my little brother before. Shame he's not around anymore. He even went to The Other World looking for me, when all the while I'm right out here." Hugo... he knew the war was inevitable from the start, and used me as mean to evade it. But it all started with... the planning way before Hugo even realized Hector's plot. The rise of Dark Dwellers over Magica continents during The Other World, commanded by him with The Magnificent Seven. The siege of control over United Association of Knights when Zestia falls, Cliff said he became the only strongest knight. Being directly accessible to The Four Cardinal Sages who thought they were using him, but he was using their fame and name instead. Way before I went into The Other World, he was already executing his plan until this very moment, where they took over everything. "I guess there are perks of being smart at planning, right?" he scoffs at me. "Oh, and they also call me..." he smiles. The sun light glisters in his eyes. A clear number on his forehead. "Number One." [[Next chapter->book3]]

<span class="sec-heading">(align: "=><=")[(colour: "#65169e")[**End of Part II**]]</span> This marks the end of the sequel to the original //The Other World!// As of now, the last and final part III hasn't been published yet. I would also like to apologize for the delay since the promised release for this sequel was on 2021. The covid pandemic has brought quite a significant change to my schedule and I just wouldn't half-assed the plot. So, for the next part, it's estimated to be released somewhere around June or July this year. And, if you enjoy this, do write a simple comment to let me know or add this to your collections/favorites, I will really appreciate it! Until next time, you can check out my twitter (@EthanAsAnAuthor) to read my other novels or follow any updates. Thank you for your continual support! Praise God of Magica that I can finish it earlier. Cheers! <hr></hr> [[Back to Main Menu->Main Menu]]

"One masters manipulation of consciousness especially dreams, while the other's ability remain unknown." Wait, Deminia: Iris, Ivy and Kenzo. If majority of the Magica members are already on the same bandwagon as The Dark Dwellers, then the only ones that can use magic are the Demi-humans. This is likely their way to ensure power dominance over the rest of us. If we fight magic with bare hands, we'll definitely die. It's a common logic. But, given their agenda, they will still kill us nevertheless; out with the weak, in with the strong. Surrendering to them is just a trick they employ to exploit people before discarding them. "John, are you with me?" "... Yes." "Great. We'll prep you guys up tomorrow, with some more intels. But tonight, we celebrate." One quest after another. Wait, "Celebrate?" "Yes. Beastian only eat once every day; in Oasis Zero, we have this sort of a small festival every night. Beastian value bonds of trust and friendship more than anything, you know. Plus, it's Jacob's birthday today." [[Next page->next page11.2]]

"About five hundred or so." The entire Deminia, that also includes Iris, Ivy and Kenzo. If majority of the Magica members are already on the same bandwagon as The Dark Dwellers, then the only ones that can use magic are the Demi-humans. This is likely their way to ensure power dominance over the rest of us. If we fight magic with bare hands, we'll definitely die. It's a common logic. But, given their agenda, they will still kill us nevertheless; out with the weak, in with the strong. Surrendering to them is just a trick they employ to exploit people before discarding them. "John, are you with me?" "... Yes." "Great. We'll prep you guys up tomorrow, with some more intels. But tonight, we celebrate." One quest after another. Wait, "Celebrate?" "Yes. Beastian only eat once every day; in Oasis Zero, we have this sort of a small festival every night. Beastian value bonds of trust and friendship more than anything, you know. Plus, it's Jacob's birthday today." [[Next page->next page11.2]]

"Yup. Kill both the Numbers, regain control of the country, and fight back. That's as vague as it goes." Deminia: Iris, Ivy and Kenzo. If majority of the Magica members are already on the same bandwagon as The Dark Dwellers, then the only ones that can use magic are the Demi-humans. This is likely their way to ensure power dominance over the rest of us. If we fight magic with bare hands, we'll definitely die. It's a common logic. But, given their agenda, they will still kill us nevertheless; out with the weak, in with the strong. Surrendering to them is just a trick they employ to exploit people before discarding them. "John, are you with me?" "... Yes." "Great. We'll prep you guys up tomorrow, with some more intels. But tonight, we celebrate." One quest after another. Wait, "Celebrate?" "Yes. Beastian only eat once every day; in Oasis Zero, we have this sort of a small festival every night. Beastian value bonds of trust and friendship more than anything, you know. Plus, it's Jacob's birthday today." [[Next page->next page11.2]]

"It's here," Uri says. In the next moment, a portal whizzed open, and a cube was thrown out from it. It was like the time froze, as intense dizziness hit me. I kneel down on the ground, covering my mouth, trying not to vomit. I can feel my stomach churning, my tongue bitter, as my energy slowly drain away. I couldn't even lift up my head. I don't know how much time has passed. I didn't expect it to be this overwhelming. As I take another small, quick breath, someone tugs my shirt. It was Yoanna. She is standing right beside me, eyes at the guards near the portal, as if I was the only one acting weird. She squints her eyes at me for a brief moment, but seeing no response from me, she gave up. She then started to walk towards the guards. "Yoan—wait—" I feel every word that I say being shoved into my throat and I was not able to stop it. I muster all the strength that I have just to raise my head up, the gravity was heavy, and I could only vaguely see Jay crawling towards the guards. Uri and Taelynn appeared to be engaged with a guard each, while Vile struggles to hug one of the guards' leg, restraining his movement. This is bad, the time is slipping, I need to— "John!" Vile shouts. "30 SECONDS LEFT!" Vile continues, as he kicks the cube away from the guards. I ball my palm into fist and hit them at my chest as hard as I could to calm myself down. "This is an illusion," I tell myself. "You've been through worse. Focus." I stand up and begin to drag my body towards the guards. One of them is already subdued on the ground by Taelynn, while the other pulls out two short daggers against Uri. Vile takes off the armband from the subdued guard and passes it to Taelynn. As the guard struggles, the cube is kicked away again, to Yoanna's direction. Yoanna holds the cube in her claw, and looks at me as I move as quick as I can towards her. "Devin!" Jay shouts. "Where are you, Devin?!" "I'm here, Jay," Devin says, as he wraps Jay's arm around his shoulder and helped him walk. Both of them, try to walk as fast as they could, resisting the dizziness urge. "It's turning white!" Taelynn says. "The cube is turning white!" Taelynn exchanges her eyes between Yoanna and me. There are still some distance between me and them. Vile lunges on the other guard's back, almost sticking himself on the guard, while the guard tries to shake him off. The guard starts to pant, as Uri and Taelynn ready themselves to attack him again. "Stop!" the guard shouts. "Please don't!" Vile continues his attempt to choke the guard, as Uri lands another punch on the guard. The guard kneels and coughs out blood. "Please," the guard says. Taelynn give a kick to his head, instantly sending his face to the ground. The guard hasn't lose his consciousness, but his nose bleeds uncontrollably. The guard takes out his wand, and swiftly point it under his chin. I have seen this pose before. I hold my breath, "Stop h-" Our surrounding begin to dim to white at this moment, and I could hear the guard's word, "Praise God of Magica." Yoanna runs towards me, but in the next moment, everything around me is bathed in white as my consciousness fades away. [[Next page->Next page 17.3]]

"Let me down, Uri," Jay states. "Please, my sis." "No," Uri say. I nod at Lily for her to take Jane. Lily slowly lifts Jane up and carries her on her arms. But Jane's body is dangling, especially her feet almost reaching the ground. "Don't worry," Uri say as we start to walk towards the back of the battlefield line. "You're a part of the Minority family and Jane's your sister. So that makes her one of ours. We'll take good care of you both." I can feel Jay try to struggle off of her, but gradually he stops. "P... ro... mis... e" "I promise." Uri says. Then I can hear light snores coming from Jay. [[Next page->Next page 19.7]]

"He was looking for Jay in the battlefield, and got caught," Vile says. That's... weird. Why would they catch him? In trade for Yoanna? No, it just doesn't make sense. "John?" Uri snaps her finger at me. Never mind, we'll know when we see him. "You mentioned something about official entrance just now?" "Yes," Uri says. "There is an alternative path known only to us, when we need to escort cell mate in and out secretly." "But," Uri passes a look at Kenzo. "Only small bodies can fit inside the tunnel leading to it." "Hey now," Kenzo replies. "I'm not fat. It's just my body size." A hidden tunnel to a hidden path to an underground jail... just how much secrets the Minority has? "How many people do we have?" I ask. "I can take another 3 of my elites, but that's it," Uri says. "No," she slams the table, "That would be enough." Taelynn, Triss, Ivy, Yoanna and Jay are all recovering while Kumiho, Gael, Iris are attending to them; Jane is still unconscious so I only have Vile with me. The base cannot be left unguarded so at least two of their elites must stay here, with another one to lead the battle. Given what I have seen of their ability so far, "Wade and Kenzo will stay and guard this church, since it's a much smaller area to cover in case there's any invasion. Captain Eiden will personally head the battle against the bunker as a distraction. Uri, let's meet up in 5 minutes after you assemble your team, take close-combat weapons and smoke bombs. Vile, you're with me." "You got it," Kenzo says as he exits the room, but he passes me one last look. "Take them back safely, John." "I will," I say. "You lots be careful too." Uri also rushes out the room after giving me a nod. "Soooo?" Vile asks. "What you want me to do?" "Scream and run," I smile at Vile. "As loud as you can." [[Next page->Next page 20.2]]

I have lost count who would greet me with this overly-friendly tone, but given the place we are in, and the state of the battle, it is apparent that this much is expected. Number Seven is holding only the broken tip of the spear with beam, pointing it directly at the forehead of the boy named John. "You sure are persistent, Number Seven," I say, standing in between them and the elder woman. "What do you want exactly?" I hint at the half-elf to take the elder woman out first. Number Seven chuckles, "It's a funny story actually. One said that Two and I just needed to show up and take over this kingdom, and execute that leader of yours, Uri in front of all the Minority members to make an example out of her. And, Eight. She was just fine as a hostage, even though she didn't recognize me... until you came and mess it up." "Number Eight, Yoanna," I say. "What do you plan to do with her?" "You see," Number Seven clears his throat. "One shared the same vision with The Four Cardinal Sages: which is to only prosper the strong. But not the methods; theirs were far too tedious and time-consuming." "So you're planning... " I pause myself. "To absorb and use their power... for yourselves." "Bingo!" Number Seven exclaims. "I knew you had it in you! Yes! That's exactly what we are going to do, but we need to access a vault in Astra kingdom first, one that store the stroll to activate such passage of power transfer. The timing was already coordinated by One, to hit Astra and here together, as we eliminate the rest of the kingdoms. Else, why would we wait so long? We could already execute these half-humans at the meantime." "The vault in Astra is locked though, heavily enforced," Number Seven says as he smirks at me. "If only there is a key..." The key... that Hugo gave me. All the pieces start to fall together. Hugo gave me the key likely knowing that Zestia might have fallen due to the attacks, right from the beginning. That's why we were told to seek cover in Oasis Zero. He wouldn't have guessed I would venture out with that important key, get caught in Deminia, and even in a way activated Yoanna. He wanted me to find Yoanna, likely to get her on our sides. He knew what Yoanna was capable from the beginning, having created a connection with Uri and the Minority even before The Other World. Yoanna, being almost more capable than a Blank, could change the course of war raging now. But wait, when we were fed to the red scorpions, the Minority was also trying to get something to break through enforced walls as well. This either mean that the Astra vault doesn't only scrolls, or they might have the same plan with Yoanna... to entirely break the norm of Demi-human being outca— "Your pocket has one peculiar key, John," Number Seven says, showing me the silver rose-shaped-headed key on his hand. "Where did you get it, and why?" He doesn't know yet. "That key was—" [[Next page->Next page 20.26]]

"On a second thought, no need to tell me," Number Seven smiles. "I'm going to take it to Astra anyway." The boy named John struggles and tries to escape but Seven only pushes the spear closer to his forehead, until blood start to drip. The boy starts to sob. "Let the boy go!" Uri shouts, as she snatches and breaks one of the steel bars off as her weapon. "I already said what I want, didn't I?" Number Seven yawns. "This is getting boring. Just your head will do." Uri passes a quick look at me, before glaring at Seven again. I can see hint of uneasiness begin breatheing into her eyes; even though she has the resolution and courage to lead them all but in moments like these where all the negotiations and brutal force are thrown out, only bare emotions are at play. Number Seven suddenly thrusts the spear head into the boy's thigh and instantly pull it out; the boy shrieks in pain, breathing deep in and out, trying to stop his wound from bleeding. "Ok, ok!" Uri shouts, lowering her stance. "I will give you what you want." Uri pulls out a pen and hands it to me. I throw her a confused look. "They say I should always carry a pen around instead of a weapon," she clicks on the pen twice, and a sharp tip emerges from the pen. "This is as sharp as it can be," she pushes it to my hand. "Down the neck if possible," Number Seven says. "That way it's faster, and less painful." "No, Uri, they rely on you—" I pause myself as my eyes stopped on Uri's. There is not a single hint of hesitation in her eyes. Even if she abandons this boy, no one would blame her but she didn't want to. It is her principle that make her reach this far, uniting all the demi-humans, creating a safe haven here. A home for her, and them. I look at the rest of them: the half-elf has returned, and Vile and her are both looking at me, as I notice my breath getting deeper and heavier. How did it come to this? Everything was fine until now. Stalling for time won't do any help, if only I can kill... without killing. Defensive spells. Half-elves. Wait. If it can be casted on the pen... to reduce the harm or directly on Uri body herself to allow enough blood to flow out but not enough to kill her... this may work. "I can't do this by myself," I glare at Number Seven. [[Talk to the half-elf.]]

Lily didn't say anything back and looks away from me, "Lily is sorry." "Wait no," I say. "I'm just kidding. You don't eat much, not compared to Cliff, at least. He gulped down almost half a pot of stew once." "Ok," Lily says. As she eats her fourth sandwich, her eyes focused on the rain outside the hut, "Lily likes rain. Lily feels less pain." The air is cool and chilly, but it's warm inside the hut. "Me too," I smile at Lily. "I like rain too." Lily nods and finishes her sandwich before tapping Jane's arm, "Lily wants to sleep now." Jane gives her a nod, and they both lay on the bed, slipping off to their dreams with the company of the sounds of rain. The rain shows no sign of letting down any soon, and Lily has already snuggled up to Jane, as they both sleep in the 6 feet long bed inside the house. It's strange how rain can evoke a sense of warmth in this situation. Noah sits just outside the house, so I decide to hit up a conversation with him. [["Noah, how long until we reach another village?"]] [["Noah, is your family safe?"]] [["Noah, do you want to take a nap as well?"]]

Lily only slightly nods and continue eating. As she eats her fourth sandwich, her eyes focused on the rain outside the hut, "Lily likes rain. Lily feels less pain." The air is cool and chilly, but it's warm inside the hut. "Me too," I smile at Lily. "I like rain too." Lily nods and finishes her sandwich before tapping Jane's arm, "Lily wants to sleep now." Jane gives her a nod, and they both lay on the bed, slipping off to their dreams with the company of the sounds of rain. The rain shows no sign of letting down any soon, and Lily has already snuggled up to Jane, as they both sleep in the 6 feet long bed inside the house. It's strange how rain can evoke a sense of warmth in this situation. Noah sits just outside the house, so I decide to hit up a conversation with him. [["Noah, how long until we reach another village?"]] [["Noah, is your family safe?"]] [["Noah, do you want to take a nap as well?"]]

<div class="a"> <span class="zero-heading">**7**</span> "The Magnificent." </div> [[New Story->Guides]] (align: "==>")[(if: (saved-games:) contains "auto")[(link: "Continue Reading")[(load-game: "auto")]](else:)[Not saved yet.]] [[List of Chapters->Chapters]] [[Achievements->Ach]] [[Disclaimer->Disclaimer]] <div class="a"> <span class="sec-heading">**The Other World**</span> (if: $time is 0)[**(weekday:), (current-time:)**] (else-if: $time is 1)[**??? 00:00**] (else:)[] </div>

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**List of Achievements**]</span> ((print: $totalach)/23)] An achievement unlocked, single and the whole chapter's, will be marked with a green ✓. Achievements are only made available from Chapter 11 to 19, where Chapter 20 will be the final chapter for this sequel. A hint to getting most of these achievements: make bold choices, not safe ones. And you'll be surprised by how it turns out. **(colour: red)[Note]:** Starting a new story will reset these achievements. [[Main Menu]] <hr></hr> (align: "<==")[ <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 11's Achievements->ACH1]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c1ach is 2)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 12's Achievements->ACH2]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c2ach is 3)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 13's Achievements->ACH3]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c3ach is 2)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 14's Achievements->ACH4]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c4ach is 3)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 15's Achievements->ACH5]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c5ach is 3)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 16's Achievements->ACH6]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c6ach is 2)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 17's Achievements->ACH7]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c7ach is 3)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 18's Achievements->ACH8]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c8ach is 2)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] <div class="menulink">[[Chapter 19's Achievements->ACH9]]</div> &nbsp (if: $c9ach is 3)[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**]] ]

(If: (history:) contains "Guides")[Are you sure you want to start a new story? **All your progress will be overwritten**, including your achievements and the checkpoints. But not the timer, not this time. (align: "==>")[(link: "Yes, absolutely.")[(reload:)(set: $time to 0) <script>deleteSaveSlot("auto");</script>]] [[No, no!->Main Menu]] ](else:)[(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Read me!**]]</span> <hr></hr> All your progress is automatically saved, and is accessible through the "//Continue Reading//" that will be available. If, in the future, you plan to **completely erase your progress** throughout the game, you can re-click "New Story". With that being said, your journey continues here. [[Continue->Prologue]] ]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**List of Chapters**]]</span> For each new chapter, the checkpoint will be automatically saved. You can hover between each chapter here and re-do your choices. Think of these as teleportable waypoints for you to jump between chapters. **(colour: red)[Note]:** Starting a new story will reset these checkpoints. It is recommendable to only use these after finishing all the chapters, as jumping too much around will disrupt the flow of the story and overwrite the progress you've made. [[Main Menu]] <hr></hr> (hidden:)|c1>[ **Chapter 11:** The Other Side of the World. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 11->Chapter 11 start]] </div>] (if: $c11checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 11 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c1)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c2>[ **Chapter 12:** Fifth Times The Odds, Sixth Times The Charm. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 12->Chapter 12 start]] </div>] (if: $c12checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 12 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c2)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c3>[ **Chapter 13:** Twice the Fun. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 13->Chapter 13 start]] </div>] (if: $c13checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 13 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c3)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c4>[ **Chapter 14:** A Stone Heart. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 14->Chapter 14 start]] </div>] (if: $c14checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 14 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c4)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c5>[ **Chapter 15:** The Curse of Marga. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 15->Chapter 15 start]] </div>] (if: $c15checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 15 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c5)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c6>[ **Chapter 16:** The Minority Hunt. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 16->Chapter 16 start]] </div>] (if: $c16checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 16 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c6)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c7>[ **Chapter 17:** The Grand Escape <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 17->Chapter 17 start]] </div>] (if: $c17checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 17 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c7)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c8>[ **Chapter 18:** To The Magnificent Us. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 18->Chapter 18 start]] </div>] (if: $c18checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 18 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c8)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c9>[ **Chapter 19:** Desperate Time. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 19->Chapter 19 start]] </div>] (if: $c19checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 19 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c9)]](else:)[] (hidden:)|c10>[ **Chapter 20:** Down the Rabbit Hole. <div class="menulink"> [[Back to Chapter 20->Chapter 20 start]] </div>] (if: $c20checkpoint is "yes")[(link:"Chapter 20 Checkpoint.")[(show:?c10)]](else:)[]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Disclaimer:**]</span>] //The Other World: The Magnificent Seven// is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. This is a direct sequel to the first and original //The Other World//. The characters involved, except you, and the name of any setting inside this work are wholly imaginary and purely to be portrayed in fictitious manner. The Magnificent Seven is not real. They will not come to you. (if: (history:) contains "Disclaimer")[](else:)[(set: $credits to 0)] (set: $credits to it + 1)(if: $credits is >= 5)[**Credits:** If you're reading this text, you're probably too bored and have clicked this for five consecutive times. Kudos! You have found an Easter Egg. Again. Much thanks for your continual support on this game, and hope you enjoyed it! - Created by Lee Yit Chang. - Inspired by villains that are magnificent, and underdog heroes. - Published on 1 January 2023] [[Main Menu]] <hr></hr>

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 11's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c1ach)/2)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **Words unspoken.** (if:(history:) contains "Try to kiss her forehead.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "For now, and ever." **Little Jane.** (if:(history:) contains "next page11.255")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "So this was what Jane's childhood's like." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 12's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c2ach)/3)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **Cannibalism?** (if:(history:) contains "Let her eat the goblin.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "It doesn't count if she's hungry, right?" **Honesty is indeed the best policy!** (if:(history:) contains "Go outside, and come clean.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "I'm innocent! Don't harm me!" **Daredevil: Sometimes, even I fear my audacity.** (if:(history:) contains "\"Sightseeing.\"")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "They say fake it 'till you make it." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 13's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c3ach)/2)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **When in doubt, scream for help.** (if:(history:) contains "Start to scream for help.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Golden rule to live by." **Same, but different.** (if:(history:) contains "Help Veil.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Different world." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 14's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c4ach)/3)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **Noah.** (if:(history:) contains "Cry my heart out.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "In the memory of." **I'm not.** (if:(history:) contains "\"I'm ok.\"")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "I'm just too tired." **Thank you for being here.** (if:(history:) contains "Pinch her cheeks, and see her reaction.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "The world is too overwhelming sometimes." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 15's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c5ach)/3)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **When in doubt, scream for help (II).** (if:(history:) contains "Scream for help.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Even if you're afraid to." **Daredevil: What Did You Expect?** (if:(history:) contains "Choose Tris: stabilise the ship.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "But you just have to try, don't you?" **Daredevil: What Did You Expect? (II)** (if:(history:) contains "Choose Tris: restore the barrier.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Or maybe you're just into being scolded." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 16's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c6ach)/2)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **You forgot.** (if:(history:) contains "Throw out the item in my left pocket.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Not paying enough attention, are you?" **When in doubt, scream for help (III).** (if:(history:) contains "\"AHHHHHHHHH!\"")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Gotta sing." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 17's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c7ach)/3)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **Peace was never an option** (if:(history:) contains "Try to negotiate my way out.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Sometimes words are not enough." **Total Recall.** (if:(history:) contains "\"Recall\"")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "And just like that." **Really gotta run.** (if:(history:) contains "Leave.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Better safe than sorry." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 18's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c8ach)/2)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **Even if I have to trade the world** (if:(history:) contains "\"I don't want to lose you too.\"")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "... for this." **Her Blue Sky.** (if:(history:) contains "Wait and observe.")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "A blueness that only she knows." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Chapter 19's Achievements**]</span> **((print: $c9ach)/3)**] <hr></hr> (align: "=><=")[ **Daredevil: You won't budge even if death stares you right at your face.** (if:(history:) contains "\"Try and make me.\"")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Even cats won't risk it." **You're a time traveler!** (if:(history:) contains "Next page 19.6")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Time cannot be reversed, but you can." **You did well.** (if:(history:) contains "Run to Ivy")[(colour: "#0f8c1c")[**✓**] ](else:)[] "Damn well." ] [[Return->Ach]]

(align: "=><=")[<span class="sec-heading">(colour: "#65169e")[**Author's Notes:**]]</span> <hr></hr> I've always been fascinated by stories. Adventure. Gore. Romance. Magic. Even though I would be busy with all the happenings, but then inside my mind, I've always felt an urge to just sit down and start writing another character's life. Unbounded by the logic and rules of the world, unchained by the social norms, and only limited to my imagination. In a way, I realized that this is my method to escape, to not be completely grounded to reality. I wanted to dedicate this chance to create a world, a plot, and ensemble of characters that are alive, that are out there venturing instead of stuck with the same routine everyday. So, if you are one of us that needs an occasional breather from real world, and a story to dive into, then I welcome you back. Welcome back to //The Other World//. The sequel. [[Proceed->Chapter 11 start]]

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(print: "<script>$('html').removeClass('" + $themes + "').addClass('" + $theme + "')</script>")

"Trolls," Jane continues. I can then hear sounds of small and light footsteps closing in on us, followed by a cough. "Humans... and magician, you are about to enter Oasis Zero. This is a neutral zone and we do not accept other members than from Beastia. Turn back at once." //BOAM!// Trolls are usually equipped with cubs, so it's likely that they hit their cubs on the ground to warn us since we are approaching their territory. "Dwarfs of two," I can feel my head being slowly lifted off Jane. Her voice continues, "We mean no harm. We are seeking a man—my Pa—named Javier. I'm his daughter, Jane. There is an urgent matter that I need to discuss with him." There is a moment of silence before one of the dwarfs speaks again, "There is no such person in Oasis Zero. I will not repeat again. You all are trespassing our land and our peace. Turn back at once." //BOAM!// //BOAM!// "No, stop. My name is Cliff, John—our friend—he is in danger. His face is pale, and he's breathing hard. There must be something you guys can do." I hear a small snap, followed by "Aim." "Wait," I then feel a weight being lifted off the carriage. The carriage shakes slightly and lifts up a little. Then, there's a foot-landing sound on the ground, from a jump. "Dwarf," Jane says, her voice is a bit further than before. "Since non-Beastia members are not allowed in, then it should be fine for a golem to seek refuge in, right?" "...That is true, magician." "Noah, take this trinket, give it to the ruler of Oasis Zero."—she pauses—"Dwarf, I'm certain that my Pa is inside. I won't ask about the denial, but please just take this golem to him, things should work out. If it doesn't, then we'll take our leave here." "... No. The golem would now possess a threat to our ruler." "Why are you so stubborn, dwarf? We just wanted to talk. John is dying there!" "Fine. How about this: we'll stay here. If the golem does anything harmful to your ruler, then you can just kill us on the spot with those elf-archers." There's a sharp exhale from the dwarf after Jane finishes her sentence. "Very well then—Ash, take that golem in. Return in no less than 4 minutes. Sharp." "Me?" "Yes, Ash." "Roger." I then hear large and dense footsteps gradually fade away from me. Noah likely followed the dwarf, Ash, in. So now, we wait. 4 minutes. Time to count, again. For the last time. [[Next page]]