Taeyu and Yeonja found themselves at the rarest end of the sitting arrangement enclosing the eastern platform. The entire area sat in the cradle of mountain terrains and at the center most tile of the platform, a beautiful performance of two servants went on. The day had turned to evening and the night would soon envelope them as the lanterns around the platform sat lit with golden flames, softly glowing under the redness of the sky.
The rows of seats were arranged in a contoured planning, so there was no one who would say they couldn't see what was going on, even if the effects and the enchanting aura of the performance would dim as it traveled further away.
This was the only day where the almighty Nipuns would show their faces and the other major high rankers below them would grace the servant's land. When everyone would be present, only then would the performance begin.
Taeyu and Yeonja had no complaints even if they had to squint their eyes to look at the performance.
Huge metal banners with solid ink engravings started to emerge from the valley across, and the performance was concluded as another set of black clothed servants barged in, smoothly disrupting the flow as they started to recite various chants in order to call forth the clouds.
As the clouds climbed over the red cover of the sun, a sudden chill escaped the valley and a strong splurge of wind blew over them like piercing ice. This was what they called the filtering wisp, which was a gift from the heavens and washed away all the impurities which surfaced in their hearts.
This was done right before the ending performance which was the praise dance. For to behold the dancing ritual, the area needed to be cleansed.
Drums started to roll around them, from all four sides, echoing louder and louder as 12 red robed men raced to the platform from both sides and started to dance with their fans coordinated into patterns that kept changing.
Their beautiful get up, the flowy clothes and the charming smiles, these people were no longer the Nipun that accomplished tasks of the Gods, but currently they were just followers, who were praising the deities and enjoying the end of the season.
"They are so beautiful," Taeyu gasped on the side, as low murmurs and silent approvals rang among the encaptivated audience. Everyone was in awe, as colorful sparks floated around the stage, and a saintly mist encroached from all directions.
The 12 red clothed Nipuns were as beautiful as water floating around with graceful splashes. The clouds covering the valley as they danced along with the drum readily told a tale of its own.
"Nipun Ruan is coming!" Yeonja shouted to his friend as he jumped slightly to take a better look at the white clad man, whose silver hair floated behind his back, like waterfall and whose sharp piercing blue eyes settled up on the clouds as he started to sing.
Loud buzz of shock and surprise roared in the crowd as everyone exclaimed their thoughts about the performance. Till now no one had taken the step to sing during dancing, but Nipun Ruan, the pale beauty with strong stance and graceful demeanor, owned the stage as he softly took over the dance steps with a smile on his face. His hair whipping from side to side as he complemented the 12 red clothed males, mingling with the patterns and waving around his fans and hand, like a beautiful flower budding at the center.
The drum beats started to change their rhythms as the soft saintly voice carried across with the cold gust of wind, the clouds rumbling in accordance to the beats.
Yeonja couldn't move his eyes away from the central figure who was Nipun Ruan, he couldn't snap out of his trance as he heard the sweet voice singing right in his ears, and the person of interest swirled around with a fiery spirit.
Nobody had heard the song before, but the tuning matched well, and for them, the dance mattered more than the song, for the praise dance was always focused upon only the dance. The singing was simply an added charm.
After a few more steps, the red clothed Nipuns, who had their own majestic aura, climbed down the stage and exited the area with solemn faces.
The remaining member left on the stage, Nipun Ruan, he silently looked at the audience of servants, shifting his eyes through each of them, the gathering was very huge and almost every servant of their sector was present, Yeonja wondered if a similar crowd was present somewhere else, since all over the world, every area was divided into sectors, and the servants of each sector worked independently. Their sector was responsible for protecting the 23-2329 zone that rested over Bhutan, the northeast Bhutan was their protected area.
Since today was special, every sector would be immersed into celebrating the week, and that was also the reason why the world of the Servants was very diverse, each region worked in a similar fashion, but their code of ethics and working vibe was different.
The servants lived in a parallel world which coincidently was rich with natural heritage, the spiritual energy was also thick and the manner of living respected every being, which was unlike the world of the humans, where the humans were too busy with their own grievances to consider nurturing their land and resources.
The servant's called their world, Sevlauk, the 'Residence of Servants', a parallel world created to monitor the humans and protect them from the dark forces which easily manifested around them.
Yeonja gulped, when a sweet fragrance entered his nose, he recalled this herbal scent as the one Nipun Ruan coincidently smelled like. And instantly his eyes widened like huge saucers, twinkling bright and warm. "He is healing us, h-he is so powerful!"
Taeyu who heard his friend also got excited, as the buzz in the area got quieter. Only powerful servants were capable of healing others, and healing so many together, even if they weren't injured, it was like giving a gift to them, strengthening their cores.
"He is really worthy of being chosen as a top ranker."
"I really feel refreshed! What is that sweet herbal scent, is it him?"
"…Nipun Ruan is one of his kind, so young but already powerful."
"This is the first time I am seeing him…"
"No wonder everyone looks upto him."
Everyone was busy gossiping as the scent faded away and Nipun Ruan bowed, before exiting the stage. His magnificence was brilliant, and everyone was busy praising his talent, idolizing him for his uniqueness and generosity. For sharing strength and healing others was a sign of kindness, and it required great energy distribution to really work. So giving away his power, Nipun Ruan really managed to step on the pedestal.
"I really think he has the capabilities to be chosen by the immortals," a woman in saffron, sitting next to Yeonja mumbled to herself. Others may not have heard her in such a loud gossipy chatter, but Yeonja had heard her loud and clear, for his ears picked up quicker than others.
"Elder sister t-thinks so?" He asked, ignoring what Taeyu had to say since it wouldn't be as interesting as what the sister said. Since she wore saffron robes, Yeonja really believed she was senior to them, could even be a Maharishi, for only they wore saffron this colorful.
"You heard me?" she asked, eyeing the frail little boy whose wide big gaze was focused on her. They were very… expectant.
"I apologize for u-unknowingly listening in, is s-sister angry?"
The woman could only sigh, for she was not angry but the boy's cuteness and softness made her heart hurt. His bearing really made people feel like they should protect him. She mentally laughed, "They call me Maharishi Saptami, I was born on the seventh day of the Festival of the Supreme, so they named me Saptami (A/N: means 'seven' in Sanskrit, could also be used as 'seventh day')."
Every Servant was named by the ancient old man that lived on their sector's mount Juju, he was the naming deity that was birthed with the powers to record the names in the God's directory, and for that reason once born, every infant was named by him, his words were never refuted. For a name held power and trying to change the name by oneself would lead to damaging their body and deviating from the path assigned to them by their fate.
Yeonja wasn't sure why the elder sister would introduce herself to him, but he cupped his hands in a respectful arc and bowed his head sincerely as his lips moved to introduce himself. All the while Taeyu by his side was immersed in talking to someone else, so he didn't pay much attention to his friend. "I a-am Yeonja, born from a flower, my n-name takes up the name of the flower's originating roots, t-that developed under the mount Yeonha, so t-they call me Yeonja, Yeon taken from the m-mountain, and Ja represents my male gender, for Ji would represent a female gender. So Yeonja g-greets Maharishi Saptami with respect."
She nodded with a smile, "Greetings Shishya Yeonja, answering your earlier question, Nipun Ruan and me are old friends, so I consider him to be worthy of his title, as all the hard work he has done until now is much more than me and you collected. I respect him, and believe he would one day become an immortal."
The servants above the rank of a Nipun were immortals, as their work station was different and the parallel world they lived in was different. They rarely interfered, and their work was always flawless, so even the servants such as Nipun Ruan wouldn't know who they were or what was above them.
Only their world was known, which was called Rajlauk, the 'Residence of the Immortal Familiar'. They were the closest to the Gods but not much was known of them, since even the servants knew that meeting an immortal familiar was really difficult. Several thousand years back, a servant had been summoned by the immortal familiars, and he never returned. The rumor was that he passed the test and became immortal himself, but nobody knew what happened. The servants always wondered if one could become an immortal, although that was just a theory and belief couldn't be reality until that belief became the truth. Nobody knew the truth but everyone wished to be an immortal, even if that was impossible, the hope always bound them.
"Maharishi Saptami, I m-might be bothering you w-with this…"
She nodded, "Go ahead, tell me."
"…un, w-was Nipun Ruan born from a f-flower?"
Her lips perked up as if she had heard something amusing, "Why do you ask this shishya Yeonja, are you very curious?"
Yeonja blushed with embarrassment, "I a-am a f-flower as well, I want to know if I can s-someday become as g-good as him."
"Even if he wasn't a flower," she mused with a surprisingly calm poise, as if taking about food and weather, "you can do your best and reach your goal, doesn't matter what you are born as."
Yeonja felt his heartbeat rush, once he heard that statement, he had never believed that a person could turn a complicated matter into such simple objective, easing away the anxiousness with hopeful undertone.
But when he was just thinking of complementing her with all his sincerity, a loud gong rang in the area.
"Everyone immediately vacate!" a gruff voice loudly shouted over the crowd which was now waiting for some enclosing performance. The sudden burst of warning and order confused everyone, attracting their attention as they focused on the announcer.
Yeonja could see the front row seated Nipuns turning their heads and fiercely looking in every direction as if they heard something other than the announcer. Even the Maharishi Saptami, who was sitting right next to Yeonja, looked in a certain direction which wasn't the announcer's.
"What is happening so suddenly?" Taeyu asked with furrowed brows, his lips frowning as he leaned to look ahead anxiously.
"Everyone…" the announcer tried again, "Please vacate the area and go back to your residence, a hoard of manifis are coming this way, we need to distribute so that they cannot harm us and corner us." The announcer gulped, "All Nipuns and Maharishis of this sector, please work on eradicating the manifis, while the Sevaks are advised to escort the shishyas and shikshaks back to their respective dorms."
Before Yeonja could even open his mouth to speak, Taeyu was already dragging him away and Maharishi Saptami quickly raced away in the same direction she had been looking in earlier. She did not say any parting words, but her eyes did take a glance at Yeonja once, before a smile and a wave of her hand greeted him and she was off.
She was very different from the servants he had seen so far, she felt… warm, not the stoic one that most of them were, but refreshing.
As both the little kids ran along the exit bridge, a wave of crowd followed them as well, mostly consisting of those who were in a rush to get away from the incoming manifis who were yet to show up. Although almost everyone had seen their seniors looking in some direction in alarm, so it was no point in unnecessarily doubting whether the announcer was pranking them, and again, they weren't a bunch who got pranked, ever, it was almost unheard of. Their serious lifestyle did not spare them from a dull life of work and such kinds of pranks were unheard of. So all in all, everyone was panicking under the sudden attack of manifis.
The senior servants were already at work, so there was some relief, but the junior Sevaks and students, they were very much anxious to get to safety. Because if a force infiltrated their world, then that force must be overpowered.
It did not take much time for the crowd to evacuate and thankfully, they weren't triggered to the extreme to cause stampede.
Taeyu and Yeonja separated from the crowd as they took a backstreet and rushed towards their sector. Taeyu, a bit more coordinated than Yeonja, spoke up quickly, "We will hide in my district, you follow me!"
Yeonja agreed, "I will d-do as you wish, b-but for now let's e-escape."
Just when they decided upon a place, a bulky man came flying out of nowhere and landed straight across them. hitting the huge boulder on the side, his head cracking from the impact.
Both the kids stuck to a halt in fright, they could clearly make him out to be a Maharishi and it was shocking, how he got hurt so easily like a rag doll.
"Are you alright?" Taeyu asked in a flurry, his hand quickly reaching for the man.
But Yeonja snapped out of his trance and pulled back his friend in time as a sharp piercing tendril of black mass snapped at the hand like a snake after its prey. "C-Careful, he is wrapped in a manifis."
"What?!" Taeyu exclaimed, jumping back in terror, the small face looking ashen.
"Can't y-you see?"
Taeyu shook his head, gulping, as his body started to tremble. "L-Let's run away, quickly."
"Aren't we saving this servant? We can't run away," Yeonja worried, inching a bit closer the fainted Maharishi, only to be attacked by the snake like black tendril and instantly jumping back.
"We can't do anything about it, we are just students, let's go and call for help!"
Yeonja had no other choice to leave with his friend, but Taeyu was just about to pull him along when a sharp pain entered his body and he collapsed.
Shocked, Yeonja shook him, "Taeyu! Taeyu! W-Wake up, what ha-happened? Taeyu!!"
Looking around frantically, Yeonja found out that a sharp needle sized black mass was stuck to Taeyu's neck, and looking closely he realized it was the poisoned needle the third tier of manafis possessed. It could take the life of servants and if a servant found such third tier manifis, until and unless they weren't a Maharishi level servant, they couldn't engage with it.
Paling considerably, Yeonja tore a piece of cloth and took out the needle that was injected on the neck of his friend, but he realized with horror that a black mass of content was quickly spreading through the neck and soon it had even reached half of Taeyu's neck, almost to the brain and chest. The darkening nerves were pretty clear and very visible, even to naked eyes.
"N-No, he will die… what do I do?!"
Yeonja looked around, but saw no one, but a sharp sting assaulted him as well, as he shivered and looked over his palm, a similar needle to Taeyu lodged stuck in his veins, the pain intense, almost making him feel feint.
Just when he thought that both him and his friend were doomed to die because of such abrupt cause, a small round mass of red blood-drop swiftly bounced in front of him and morphed into a blood mist, spraying on his palm and Taeyu's neck.
Alarmed, Yeonja tried to get away, but a rather sharp sting later, he clearly saw the needle's effect reducing and the blood that seemed to be affected in their bodies, seeped out of the same space the needle pierced them.
The red mist was actually causing the poison to escape their system, however Yeonja was too afraid to know where the red drop of blood came floating from and why. Such dynamic self conscious blood drop was not something the servants could achieve to make.
It was so shocking to see that Yeonja couldn't put two and two together, couldn't tell how or from where that drop of blood came from and how it healed them so rapidly. But before he could say much, the enemy snake like black tendril sprung on them, its sharp mouth open, as if to take a bit of him and his friend.
A startled moment later, something unexpected happened, the misty red spray of blood, transited to a condensed ball of liquid again, and shot straight at the snake manifis with great precision, hitting its head and rendering it immovable, turning it into a stone statue.
When the drop of blood came back, Yeonja felt as if he was really lucky, whatever or whoever's it was, Yeonja was thankful for it.
Not even a second passed and another massive earth shattering manifis landed directly in front of them, roaring in a creepy voice which made even the blood drop shrink back.
"Get away from them!" a woman's voice shouted, and Yeonja turned to see who it was, only to get startled when he saw Maharishi Saptami.
She took out a small dagger from her pocket and shot it straight at the 10 feet monster, quickly rendering it immobile and capturing it into two transparent beads, a murmur of mantras coming from her mouth.
"What is happening…?" Taeyu woke at the same time, winching when he moved his neck to take a look at his friend and that familiar saffron lady. It seemed he did not remember that he almost died but that could be the side effects of shock.
Maharishi Saptami hit another target, as a swelling tendril rushed towards Yeonja, sharp and thick. She quickly cast another mantra and capture it into two small beads. "You need to get back," she looked at Taeyu as she spoke, shockingly handling another manifis which rushed in from somewhere, "I will bring your friend later. It is an order."
Taeyu wasn't sure he heard right, but under the sharp scrutiny of the senior Maharishi and the waves of manifis coming one after the other, he nodded reluctantly, and raced away with fast steps.
Yeonja was still in a daze when Maharishi Saptami caught up to him and looked down at the blood drop that seemed to have become bigger.
"You are attracting the manifis because of this blood's potential. Hide it. Then they wouldn't come."
"Huh? B-But how, I d-don't even know where it came from."
Maharishi Saptami was about to say something when a massive giant, almost the size of an elephant, walked over from the thick forest cover, the entire mass full of wriggling tendrils, moving left and right in the air, as if searching for prey.
"H-How is it possible," Maharishi Saptami growled, "It is a 10th tier giant, I can't defeat it. How can it crossover in such time?"
Yeonja didn't need to be a genius to know the dangers. "Can a Nipun defeat it?"
Maharishi Saptami nodded, "But all the Nipuns are currently involved in a conflict by the lake, they cannot come to assist us now, either we-" she abruptly stopped talking when the giant roared, and a very thick strand of tendril smashed into the ground in front of them, cracking the land and shaking the crust.
"Run!" she screamed, taking Yeonja's hand and escaping through the woods, hoping to leave behind the giant before it could reach them.
Unfortunately, the Giant was not only agile and strong, but it was also fast, as it unnaturally bounced over their heads and landed right in front of them, roaring again as if playing around.
Several sharp knife like appendages protruded out from its body and raced to annihilate the two servants in front if it… but right when it thought it almost had the two, a small blood drop halted between the target and the enemy, spreading wide into an intricate silky net and catching the incoming wave of spikes.
A hiss sound came on impact as the giant's attack was burned away and a screaming shrill sound escaped the throat. Yeonja didn't even have time to blink as the blood drop formed into a solid sphere again and flew straight into the Giant's body, a pungent smell assaulting his nose.
The blood drop disappeared into the body and only when the Giant started to move again, did the attack seemed to have its affect as a hiss sound, followed by the sound of boiling came from inside the stomach.
"What is happening??" Yeonja asked in worry, trying to know what the blood drop was doing inside that Giant's body.
Maharishi Saptami didn't answer him, but she didn't need to, as the giant's body started to melt right in front of their eyes and the liquefied essence vanished like ashes. The remains left behind being a single black mass of stone, ugly and ill-shaped.
Without question, Maharishi Saptami captured it again into two transparent beads and the drop of blood floated back to Yeonja seeping inside his skin as it had with the giants.
Frightened, Yeonja tried to swat it away, his face turning green, only for Maharishi Saptami to hold him still. "It won't harm you, it is a protection talisman."
"But where did it c-come from?"
Saptami shrugged, "Who cares, it will protect you, so let us leave it be, we need to reach somewhere safe first."
Yeonja nodded, worried about his friend, but on asking about it, the Maharishi was not bothered at all, "He will be safe, because I can sense a manifis and his district is too far for them to reach. Even the maifis we faced were those escaped ones that were attracted by that drop of blood."
Yeonja agreed that it was unnatural to have so many manifis targeting him, but before he could talk more, he felt Maharishi Saptami pausing as her relaxed face turned into an aggressive contour. "How dare they!" she shouted, racing ahead, as Yeonja tried to follow her as fast as he could.
"What h-happened?" he stammered, worried as he noticed the sweat that was forming on the female's forehead.
"They captured Nipun Ruan, they are saying he is the one who called forth these creatures."
Yeonja's eyes widened in disbelief.