"Hey, Doko, how about limiting your cultivation down to mine for this fight?" a monkey almost at one-meter height with a sharp looking body and a pure gold hair holding a wooden staff could be seen asking from the other one it was facing.
"Drake, just because you learnt everything I have to teach you, it doesn't mean you are my opponent" Doko let out a smile.
"I won't know if I don't try." refuted Drake before charging at him swinging his staff.
"Haha, I like your attitude, fine, I will let you see the difference between us then." laughed Doko while blocking Drake's attack easily with his own staff. The next moment he started restraining his aura down to the peak of Body Refinement realm. " I still can't believe that within four years, you reached the peak of the first realm. You are a monster kiddo."
Drake only smiled and started attacking again. He first swung his staff trying to hit Doko's shoulder but once against he was blocked. Immediately after, he wrapped his tail around Doko's ankle and tried to throw him off balance. Doko directly raised his leg and he balanced himself with his tail.
"Kid, I told you many times that our tail can become as strong as a weapon and since its more flexible, it can easily be used to balance ourselves." but before he finished, Drake used his staff to stab his tail. Doko then used his tail and another leg to jump above Drake, kicking the back his head in the process. "You are still too young," he uttered while smiling.
However, his smile didn't last long. After Drake was kicked on the back of his head, he made a tumble in the air in order to reduce the power of Doko's attack. Before he completed his tumble when his head was still down and his feet up, his belly suddenly swelled looking like a balloon. Right after, Drake opened his mouth and used his left hand which was his free hand, to slap his belly. As soon as he did that, a ball of air flew from his mouth, hitting Doko before he managed to stabilize himself.
Doko used both his hands to block Drake's technique and he succeeded but not before sliding more than three meters backwards. He then waited for Drake to finish his tumble and stand back up.
"You learnt the Air Bullet?" Doko asked him with a surprised look on his face.
Drake just nodded and without waiting he charged at Doko once again. The fight kept going on for at least two hours until Drake dropped to the floor exhausted.
"You only won because you have higher stamina," Drake muttered while panting.
"As I said, you are not my opponent" Doko grinned. "Anyway, we will stop training here for today. You should go back to your house and cultivate, then rest until tomorrow."
"What? But it is still noon. We have never stopped training so early." Drake said with a questioning look.
"Today I have some business to take care of with your father." Doko started talking in a serious tone. "Kid, listen up, no matter what you face in future, you must never lose hope. Every obstacle can be overcome when you face it with a clear head and strong will. I already taught you everything you need to know to survive out there."
"What's wrong with you today old man. It's not like you to get sentimental," Drake questioned.
"Who knows, maybe I'm just getting old. Haha!" laughed Doko waving his hand, walking towards the village.
Drake decided to not give much thought to Doko's words and he stayed there until he recovered enough strength, heading straight to his house. After arriving, his mother was waiting for him with lots of fruits to eat. But instead of her usual cheerful and loud character, she was very quiet today.
"You okay?" Drake asked her.
She got startled, but she immediately straightened herself up again before replying.
"Of course dear, what could I possibly have? Haha" Gillian gave an awkward laugh. "Oh, your grandmother brought a different pill for you today. She said to consume it after finishing cultivating tonight."
"Uh-huh," Drake voiced and took the pill. Just as soon as Drake finished eating, he looked at his mother that seemed like she wanted to say something, but she kept herself from voicing it. "You want to say something?" asked Drake.
"No...It's nothing, just know that I love you, Drake," replied Gillian with somewhat teary eyes.
"Yeah, I know," Drake uttered before standing up to go to his bed.
'What's wrong with everyone today, did something happened that I am unaware of? Everyone is so melancholic, it's depressing.' Drake thought and then shook his head to focus. Then he sat down in a lotus position on top of his bed and started cultivating.
Three-four hours later, he stopped cultivating and consumed the pill his grandmother left for him.
'I should ask Ginna to teach me how to make this pills tomorrow.' Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness hit him. Yawning, he was wondering what did he do to get so sleepy. Soon after he was sleeping heavily.
Gillian approached Drake and gave him a nudge as if checking if he was sleeping. After making sure he was asleep, she caressed his head for a while before giving him a deep look and leaving the house, where Doko was waiting for her along with another female monkey which was holding a little one in her arms. If one paid close attention, they could make the connection of the little monkey in her arms and the female monkey that took the soul power test, four years ago, along with Drake.
"Did the pill work? Is he sleeping?" Doko asked her.
Gillian nodded while tears were running of her eyes.
"Gillian..." Doko chose not to finish his sentence and signalled the other female. "Danka, go and place her next to him. But please do it fast we are running out of time."
Danka already had swollen red eyes, making it clear that she was crying not long ago as well. She got inside the house and soon after she got out.
"Gillian, did you leave them the rings and the voice talismans ?"
"Of course Doko, there was no way to forget that," Gillian said with a hushed voice.
"Ok, then it is time to go," Doko announced. Both Danka and Gillian seemed unwilling to leave but ultimately followed behind Doko, heading to the house behind the monolith.
As soon as they arrived, they entered and they saw all the habitats of the village sitting in a semi-lotus position, naked forming a huge circle covering the whole house. In the middle of the circle was a, square with a triangle inside, symbol and in the middle of it, the green crystal was floating. The three of them took their clothes off and sat down in their positions of this circle.
Everybody had a solemn expression and whispers could be heard until a voice higher than the others questioned.
"Ginna is there really no other way?"
"I spent decades trying to find our exact situation. I read thousands and thousands of our ancestor's knowledge and records that were stored in this house. After I realised how grim this seal is, I spent the rest of my life trying to find a solution and one came up about twenty years ago. From then until now I was trying to find another way yet this is the only one I can make sure it succeeds.
I had enough time to slowly search back then since we had no births in the village for over fifty years, but five years ago we were blessed with two new seedlings who are also able to mate. Furthermore, Drake's talent is too high; we can't let him break through to the Soul Refinement realm here or else he will cripple himself like the rest of us.
If we want our race to have a future, we must do this." Ginna replied, her tone being extremely serious.
"The seal is being weakened. The time has come." Darth announced. Immediately everyone quieted down. "Everyone, do not be afraid. Be proud. After tens of generations, we are finally able to provide freedom to our race. We might not be there to see it, but our descendants will be. Now, my fellow villagers, my family, burn your life force and let the kids live in the real world once more!"
After Darth finished speaking, green rays of light stemming from every villager's body condensed in the green crystal. It started shining extremely bright. Then, it slowly started trembling and cracks were appearing on it.
On the other side of the village, around the house where two, five years old, monkeys were sleeping, a small star-shaped array, shining with green light appeared on the ground. From the lines of the array, a barrier started forming before covering the whole house.
Back to the big village house where the villagers were completing their rituals, the cracks on the green crystal were now covering every inch of it. The tremble started making a buzzing sound, so loud that blood trickled from the ears of the villagers surrounding it. All of them seemed like they aged hundreds of years in the duration of the ritual. Using their life force in such a way had only one ending, death.
Suddenly, the green crystal broke. As soon as it did, a deafening sound of glass breaking could be heard.
If someone from outside were looking towards the village, they would be able to see space cracks appearing in the air where the sealed village was.
What followed, was a loud bang like a thunderclap that shook the entire forest where the village was situated. Ripples of Ki starting from the village disturbing the natural calmness were expanding non-stop until they disturbed the whole world.
Then everything stopped abruptly. Not a sound could be heard from the village. Actually, no village could be seen any more; just a single house was still standing with a crater forming in a radius of ten kilometres around it.
But you could see the house. There was no illusion or anything sealing it from the eyes of the outsiders.
The seal that existed in the village for thousands of years, has been destroyed.