"Are you sure Abe? Is it the same symbol as that time?" Jake asked Abe with furrowed brows. They hadn't left the monitoring room yet. The wielder they killed had been burnt by Jake so there was nothing of him left.
"It is" Abe replied with a solemn expression. I would never forget that symbol. I would recognize it anywhere" his face was filled with dread as he recalled the terrible experience a few years back. It was back when Mane had just embarked on the path of wielding and was only at the 3rd stage of the mortal realm. At the time their captain didn't have the battle ability he had now. Mane was young and largely inexperienced and was only able to deal with wielders at the 5th stage of the mortal realm. It was extraordinary that he was that strong, but compared to his current ability to deal with wielders several levels above his realm, this was shabby. And it was that very incident that had pitted Mane against the Dark Kingdom.
"You never told him right?" John asked.
"No I did not" Abe shook his head. "But even if I didn't I assume someone else did" Abe continued.
"You mean…" John stammered.
"Yes. I'm sure his masters told him" Abe sighed
"But he never spoke about it. If he knew why didn't he say anything?" Jake wondered.
"Because he was ashamed. I would have been too if I was the one who almost hurt my friends" Abe sighed. "If he didn't remember do you think he would have gone against the Dark Kingdom with such fervor?" the young prince continued.
It was even because of that incident that Mane had recklessly charged into the Gloom Forest in pursuit of a breakthrough into the above-mortal realm. Even though he reached the peak of the mortal realm, the guilty Mane wanted to make sure he had absolute power to cleanse the world of the Dark Kingdom. Fortunately after his breakthrough he had become more stable and had taken a more rational approach. Abe guessed it had something to do with Mane's masters – the legends they had never met.
At his words the twins remained silent. They didn't have anything else to say. They were a little terrified.
"There's no need to look so down. It only happened because of the situation we were in. And he ultimately fell into that state because he wanted to save our lives. So unless we fall into a desperate situation again, I don't think it would ever happen" Abe tried to say some words that would calm the twins down. Although he didn't reveal it, even he was a bit afraid. He didn't want to have such fear but anyone who saw what happened those few years back would hold the same feeling of terror for the entity that caused it.
"But what if something like that happens again? What if we fall into a situation where there is no way out?" John's speech was incoherent but his worry was conveyed. It had taken them a few months to put that incident behind them and they had largely forgotten about it – until now. But the medallion had brought back those memories they would rather forget.
Abe's face was resolute. He balled his fists and said, "That's why we should never fall behind. That's why we have to strive to get stronger. We can't let him go through such chaos again. If he does and he hurts us, he wouldn't be himself".
"We mustn't become his burdens. We must become strong enough to be his wings" Abe stated with conviction. His words were sufficient and the emotion behind them was transferred to the twins. The fear on their faces was slowly replaced by determination and a will to stride forward. They knew Abe was right. The reason they never blamed Mane was because they knew it as their fault; they knew that if they weren't as weak as they were Mane wouldn't have fallen into desperation at the thought of losing them. After they reached the above-mortal realm they grew more relaxed thinking that they didn't have any threats on Zandor. Although they knew their destiny was to travel beyond the stars, they assumed they had plenty of time to do it. However, the recent happenings had changed their mindsets. They had progressed so speedily because they now possessed the conviction to stride ahead and forge a path of absolute dominance. The difference between Mane and them was that Mane always worked hard. Although he was talented, he knew that there were enemies searching for him so he never rested. Now they were the same. Now all of them didn't rest.
"Good" Abe smiled upon seeing that they weren't afraid any longer. He looked down at the medallion and turned it over to observe the symbol once more. Once he did, his smile was replaced by a frown.
"What could this mean?" he wondered. "Why has it appeared here and why now?" "Is there a connection?" Several thoughts run through his mind as he considered his options.
"That must never happen again" he begged silently and recalled the day that caused him so much fear that for months he couldn't sleep; the day he hoped would never come again; the day 'he' appeared.
****************************
4 years ago on the outskirts of Neces
"Are you sure it's okay?" a smaller looking John asked as he looked around carefully.
"Yeah it is. Look, there's no one here" Jake pulled his brother's hand and led him deeper into the deserted village.
'"It's really true!" Jake exclaimed. "There's no one here" he continued in a more reserved tone. This village was on the outskirts of the Neces Kingdom and within the territory of the Western Empire. It was a deserted village.
"According to the legends, over a hundred years ago the Dark Kingdom waged war on the world. They brought pain and misery wherever they went and destroyed a lot of lives. But they lost the war here. It is said that the four emperors of the empires at the time, put aside their distaste and dislike for one another and battled the forces of evil here, forcing the Dark Kingdom to retreat into the shadows. To commemorate their victory, the Western Emperor decreed that the village was to remain unoccupied forever. It became a symbol of their triumph over the dark ones" the much younger Jake spoke with an expression of idolization. His childish voice was filled with admiration for the past heroes.
"I heard that the Dark Kingdom takes away all the kids who sneak in here" John pulled his twin brother's shirt fearfully.
"They just say that so that no one would try to sneak in here" Jake argued. Unlike his brother, he didn't seem too concerned with the other stories he had heard about this place. To him, all those other stories were superstitions meant to scare people away from the village and preserve its sanctity. The twins were from the Northern Empire. They hadn't heard about the village until they arrived in the Western Empire; and the much more curious Jake wanted to see the place immediately. Although John also wanted to see the place, the scary stories he heard about it dampened his curiosity greatly.
"What's that?" John asked. "Stop trying to scare me John" Jake snorted. "I'm serious Jake. Listen" John shushed his brother. "Footsteps!" Jake exclaimed quietly. The two boys tried to hide when the newcomer called out to them.
"I knew you idiots would be here. I told you it wasn't safe" Abe revealed himself and scolded the twins.
"Whew. You startled us" Jake exhaled in relief. "You thought it was the Dark Kingdom, didn't you?" John probed. "Of course not" Jake argued, but his blushing face sold him out to his twin brother who knew him more than anyone else in the world.
"We must leave now!" Abe commanded and held their hands. He didn't tell the twins because they belonged to different factions but the stories about this place weren't necessarily false. Over the past few years the empire had gotten weaker and the Dark Kingdom had grown more rampant. This village was one of the places they usually targeted. After all, it was easy to take away children who had foolishly left the safer cities and escaped to this desolate village.
"You are not going anywhere" a cold voice rang out. Several cloaked figures appeared around the boys. They had been encircled.
Abe gritted his teeth, his face pale and his eyes hazy. He knew who these men were. The twins looked just as terrified as Abe. It was their first time seeing them but the large blood colored sword drawn on the back of their cloaks was proof of their identity.
"The Dark Kingdom"