Jonny's POV
Now, how do you wake a very deep sleeper up without pistol whipping them awake?
I think that I've come up with a solution!
It's 6 am and it's time for my son to wake up.
To wake someone up, you must take it in stages.
Come up close to them and simply say, 'wake up'.
"Wake up, Jak." I said, trying to shake him awake but the lazy bastard continued to stay fast asleep.
The next thing to do is to get a cup of water and splash it on their face.
I did that but Jak wiped the water away with his eyes closed but mumbled and continued to sleep.
"You lazy brat. What the fuck do I have to do to wake you up?" I said, starting to get annoyed
I decided to wake him up by throwing a small rock at him to wake him up.
No response again.
Feeling extremely irritated now, I picked up a boulder nearby and was just about to give Jak the ultimate waking up. I looked up at the boulder I was holding and hesitated.
"This will probably kill him. It's not the ideal method to wake him up." I muttered to myself, putting the boulder back down again.
Little did I know, the brat was probably just pretending to be fast asleep just to annoy me.
I shouted at the top of my lungs, "WAKE UP, OR I'LL SING A SONG OUT OF TUNE AND WHISTLE IN YOUR EARS 24/7!!!"
The birds dramatically flew off their nests in horror of the damage done to their tiny eardrums.
"I'll sing you a song if you don't get up." He warned.
Jak jumped up immediately.
"I'm awake! I'm awake! Please don't sing!" Jak said.
Still feeling full from their major catch the day before, they decided to let breakfast wait.
***
"Now, are you ready to train? Things will get tedious and tough but it's extremely important. We're going to travel to the heart of this forest. There is an ancient tree taller than all the rest. I'll take you there ok? This is the very same forest that the Demon King used to train and play with his friends when he was a child." Jonny told him
"Wow. Ok! I'll try my best." Jak replied
When they arrived there, Jak gazed up to the tree top of the 'King Tree' in amazement and jumped up and down happily. He couldn't wait to start training!
"That's the King Tree that I was telling you about. Now, there's a great story about this tree but it's a very long story. And it-" Jonny stopped mid-sentence, rubbing his eyes
"Dad? Did a fly just get in your eye or something?" Jak asked
'No way. This can't be real! There are arms and legs and other body parts on this tree. It's soaked red with blood. The tree is running cold with blood. There's nails and bits of string around the bits of flesh. How could you be so cruel? What did I ever do to you, demon? I admired you!!'
"No! I don't want to think about it again! Please. Not again! Not again! It's too painful. My friends. You slaughtered my friends! You hunted them down, hurt them, beat them to death and cut them up, putting them on display for me!" Jonny said in despair
Jak was confused and didn't know what was going on. His dad had looked at the King Tree and blanked out completely.
He was trembling and scratching away at his back until drops of blood soaked the white shirt he wore. He was mumbling someone's name but it was too quiet for Jak to hear it.
"DAD!!" Jak shouted running up to him and hugged him
Slowly but surely, Jonny's trembling stopped. He crouched down and let out silent teardrops, letting Jak tiptoe to wipe his tears away.
"I'm so sorry you have to deal with someone like me son." Jonny said
"Don't say that, dad. You're the greatest! Now let's train." Jak replied with a smile
***
"The first thing you have to do is climb the King Tree all the way up to the top. I'll get you to wear these special gloves and shoes which help you grip onto the tree well. They won't actually help with the climbing though. You need the strength to do that yourself."
"It looks so high up! Do you think I could really do it?" Jak asked
"Well known Lakedaemon warriors challenge their sons to climb this tree as a rite of passage. If they succeed, they are considered to be exceptional young warriors. If they fail, they often fall to their deaths. You're the youngest kid to attempt this. Be careful. One wrong step and you'll slip and fall to your death. I'll climb up the tree first and meet you at the top. It's easily enormous enough for the both of us. From there, you'll learn the most fundamental part of strength training."
"What's the most important part of training? Is it learning fighting techniques?"
"No."
"Balance? We are gonna be on top of a tree."
"Not exactly. The most important part of fighting is learning how to breathe-"
"BREATHE? ANYONE CAN BREATHE. I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO BREATHE-" Jak exclaimed
"Patience son!"
Then, Jak started to climb the tree and after a couple of climbing steps, he frowned.
His dad had made it look much easier than it actually was! And he didn't even have the gloves!
There were times where Jak had slipped up but his instincts immediately got his body to climb the tree properly again. It took longer than Jonny was expecting for Jak to successfully climb to the vast tree top where there was a really thick and almost flat like tree branch. It was a bit bumpy but was almost as flat and vast as the ground!
Jak shivered at how cold it was up there and he didn't want to look down from the tree top because he didn't want to fall.
"Finally son. I'm so proud of you. Now get into a stance like I am. Wider. Straighten your back. And bend your knees. Move your body lower. It's called the horse stance not the 'pose like a starfish' stance." Jonny coached him making Jak giggle.
"Now what? Will I throw punches now?"
"No you won't just yet. From your belly, breathe in through your nose and breathe out from the mouth, making sure that your muscles aren't tensing up unnecessarily. I'll use my hand to check if your rib cage is moving properly then I'll leave the rest to you. Feel the energy in the surrounding air and this sacred tree. Concentrate on that energy. Keep breathing like that in that stance until I tell you to stop." Jonny instructed
Jak did exactly that then was starting to get lightheaded and exhausted.
His dad was just sitting there, observing him.
"Dad. I'm exhausted. And cold. And it's hard to breathe up here. The air's so thin." Jak started to say."
"What? But it's only been 6 minutes. Push through the exhaustion for one more minute ok?"
30 more seconds passed until his legs shook and he collapsed on the tree branch.
"6 minutes and 30 seconds. Well done, son. Most 8 year olds can only get up to 3 minutes. This time, sit like me and breathe like that again. The mind might wonder but try to concentrate on the energy of the tree and only that."
"Ok dad but what does that have to do with fighting?" Jak asked, feeling impatient
"A good warrior is balanced both in body and in mind. Without that balance, one can easily go rogue and destroy not only other people but himself too. The ability to control your breathing is important for being able to keep on fighting and is essential for reacting quickly and recovering quickly. Regular daily meditation calms the mind and allows you to fight strategically and be more cunning. No matter how strong an opponent is, if you make him unable to breathe, he'll struggle to fight and in less than 5 minutes, he will be left completely at your mercy. Controlling the breath is fundamental to gaining and strengthening your Ability-"
"I think I understand now. There's limited air here so we can't stay that long. Also, I'm too young to have an Ability." Jak replied
"True, but don't worry about how thin the air is up here. I brought these oxygen pumps. If any of us get too lightheaded, we can use it. There's plenty." Jonny explained
***
"That was a relaxing meditation. I concentrated and felt the energies surround me. It was great. Wait. W-Why are you holding a bunch of rocks?" Jak asked
"I want you to dodge them."
"What! That's impossible! We're so high up. I could fall and die!"
"You won't die if you dodge them."
"No please don't!" Jak pleaded
"Don't be such a coward. Now dodge! Or I'll grab a wasps nest and throw it at you." Jonny replied
Jak gulped barely having the time to react to the small rock that was thrown at him. He'd barely dodged it. Now, he observed the speedy rock crashing into a nearby tree branch.
After that, Jonny continued chucking more small rocks and Jak was struggling to balance properly on the tree. When he lost balance, his eyes flashed red and his instincts forced him to think only of survival. His limbs and everywhere else being given more than enough energy to climb back up the tree branch to safety.
"Your eyes again." Jonny stated, surprised and confused
"What happened to my eyes?" Jak asked
"They looked like they turned red for only a second." Jonny replied
'I don't understand. How can an innocent 8 year old human have Bloodlust?' Jonny thought
"Cool! I probably got that from you dad. I didn't even know I could do that. When I lost my balance, part of my mind shut off. My body just took over and made me survive. I had so much energy, it felt incredible!" Jak said
"D-Did you feel anything else? Like maybe killing something or breaking something?"
"Nope. But I did feel really powerful for a moment. Like I could do anything and nothing in my brain could stop me." Jak replied
"Oh. I see. Price was the same way. His Bloodlust (if you could even call it that) was very pure. In that state, he only desired more power and strength to protect his friends instead of killing or destroying the obstacle or the enemy." Jonny replied
***
Jak's POV
I was playing around in the forest when I saw this really cool looking beast.
It looked so strong. It looked like some kind of giant with the powerful wings of a dragon.
It was black and really muscly.
It was walking around on two legs like a human but I wondered if it could fly seeing as it has wings and all.
I slowly approached the creature. Even though it looked big and scary, I wanted to have some fun.
"Black Dragon. I really wanna ride you!" I called out to the creature.
The creature just looked at me and snorted.
How dare he snort at me!
And why are his expressions so complex like a humans'? Is it intelligent?
I ran up to it and threw a large rock at its head.
Bad idea. It looked so angry!
It flew towards me fast but I stood there and glared at it without making direct eye contact.
It must've noticed that I wasn't moving because it just stood there and watched me.
"You want me to ask you nicely. Is that it? Can I please ride you? You must be really fast. I just wanna have fun-"
I was interrupted by the sound of someone's laughter.
"Right. That's it." I said
I jumped up and landed on its shoulders and held onto it tightly.
When it did everything it could to shake me off, I finally headbutted it to make it calm down and obey me.
"Good. Now fly." I ordered, which caused it to pick me up and throw me off with ease.
Before I could get really hurt, someone or something saved me by catching me.
"Who are you?"
It looked like a mysterious young woman in a golden dress.
I looked up at her properly once she put me back down on the ground.
She had long wavy blonde hair and green eyes.
She was probably not Lakedaemon. Maybe she was a foreigner.
"You lucky lucky man. I can't believe you actually survived. 666 must've taken a liking to you." She said
"Who the hell is 666?" I asked her
"You fool. You were just calling him 'Black Dragon' earlier! What a stupid name to give such a beautiful and intelligent creature." She scoffed
"I think it's stupid for you to think that a number is a real name! You're the biggest fool here!" I retorted
"Well, you're the man who wanted to try and ride 'The Black Dragon'. You obviously have a death wish-" She said
"I'm not a man. I'm a boy." I corrected her
"Y-You are?" She blinked, taking a closer look at me
"Yeah. Can't you tell?" I asked
"Where I'm really from, there are some people who look like boys but are actually men. I'm not going to bother explaining it to you. You're just a simple being. I bet you're not even beautiful! What a shame. I really wanted to meet someone beautiful in this forest. There are always nothing but ugly thugs. What a wasted journey!" She complained
"Who cares about being beautiful? It's pointless. It's much better to be strong and useful than be beautiful and useless." I replied
"That's where you're wrong. It's impossible to be truly beautiful but be useless. A truly beautiful person not only attracts great people to them but they also attract opportunities that they wouldn't get otherwise. This ability is called natural charisma. The truly lucky ones are born with this trait and can be seen in others that aren't yet adults. Beauty is a complex topic with many forms and faces but one thing is undeniable. Beauty moves the soul and enriches it with emotions within nature.
"Ok, but how can I know if I'm beautiful? And does being strong make me beautiful?" I asked, only sort of understanding what she was just talking about.
"There is beauty in physical strength but there is no physical strength to be found in beauty." She replied, which only made me more confused.
"I still don't get it. What do you think? Am I beautiful?" I asked
"I'll test you and find out. Six six six! Be next to me..on all fours." She ordered
"Hah. It won't listen to you-"
I can't believe it! That creature obeyed her and was down on all fours next to her after she made a signal.
She even climbed on its winged back preparing to ride it!
And it didn't even throw her off!
"It's a he. Don't use the wrong pronoun. It's disrespectful! Would you like it if I called you 'it'?"
"No I wouldn't. And how did you get on his back without him throwing you off?"
She didn't reply.
"Do you have good health? Answer truthfully or you'll die. I'm holding onto your soul. Don't ask me how."
"Yes. Last time I went to a Healer, he told me that I was a very healthy boy. I'm good at athletics too."
"Good. You've been honest. You have a slightly noticeable physical beauty seeing as you're fully healthy. Your physical beauty will be clearly noticeable once you've matured. You have a long way to go. However, that's only one small aspect of beauty. Let's move on." She spoke
"What's the next test?"
"Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you."
When she told me to open them, I was on top of a building.
"Quick. Who will you save?" She asked me
"No way! That's my mum. She's hanging on for her life! She's about to fall. There's a strange bag with something with bright hands hanging on as well!"
"Who will you save? Your mum or your soul? Save your mum and you'll die. Save your soul and your mum will die!"
"NO! STOP THIS! PLEASE STOP!" I shouted at her
"Please save me. Jak. I'm going to die!" Mum said
"Who pushed you? Did you do this, lady?!" I said
"Jak please hurry! Hurry and choose. I'd advise you to save your soul-"
"NO! ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP. I'VE DECIDED. I'LL SAVE MUM. GOLDEN LADY! YOU HEAR ME?! I SAVE MUM. LET MY SOUL DIE INSTEAD. I'M SURE. SAVE HER! SAVE HER NOW!! GOLDEN LADY, YOU'LL SAVE HER!" I said, feeling a more intense feeling than the time I nearly fell off the King Tree.
"Red demon eyes that are a mix of rage and innocence. He doesn't lust for destruction. He wants to solve the problem that is causing his rage and pain. He's proven himself, manly Price. He passes the 2nd test. He's strong willed." She replied
"You saved my mum and even me! Thanks, golden lady." I smiled, glad that I wasn't in pain anymore. I was at peace again.
"You really are becoming more and more beautiful to me every second that passes." She said, clicking her fingers.
We were back in the forest somehow.
"Jak Price. Do you value friendship, freedom, your country?"
"Of course. And how do you know my name?" Jak replied
"You are Price's grandson. I can feel it. Your energies are very similar."
'And I just heard you and your father in the forest, dumbass.' She thought
"You knew Price? But you look so young!"
"Yes. I knew him. We met in this very same forest at the top of the King Tree. He was the most beautiful man in the world! There's no one more beautiful than him." She replied
"He wasn't that beautiful. Grandma Mary told me that my dad's more beautiful. There are probably people out there that are more beautiful than dad or Mary or even Lucy." I said
"There was another man in this forest who I consider the 2nd most beautiful. He's a powerful demon. The current leader of the Circle. Nicknamed 'Queen of the Skies', his name is Arkhon."
"Arkhon? Who's that?" I asked
"I'm surprised you haven't heard of him. He's attracted to the physically strong and beautiful and seeks them out. He enjoys fighting strong people. He isn't interested in fighting children or weak people."
"Cool. So he's just like me!"
"You two are very similar yet different. Being beautiful is more than looking physically appealing. The most beautiful man in the world is strong willed, values friendship, is proud of his own country, proud of his race-"
"His race? What do you mean?" I asked
"I'll give you an example. If you are a demon, you shouldn't feel ashamed or inferior because of it. Instead, you should appreciate it because it's who you are. You were born a demon so you must be allowed to take pride in it. Don't have too much pride in your race otherwise it can be problematic. Remember that there are humans, demons, elves, demi-humans, giants, fire giants and dwarves in this world so don't believe that any of them are inferior. Individuality means that you are not afraid to be yourself and you don't follow other people mindlessly without thought. The most beautiful man also has individuality, courage, open-mindedness, has a simple way of living, is virtuous, and most importantly, innocent."
"Oh wow. So the most beautiful man is good." I said
"Well..yeah. I guess you could say that. I'll tell you a secret. To ride 666 successfully, you have to be exceptionally beautiful and pure of heart. If you've done bad things recently like stabbed or shot someone or an animal without a good reason, 666 won't let you come near him." She replied
***
"Arkhon. You've come back. Join us and rest your head on my lap." The Golden Lady said
Jak was looking around for the man she mentioned but no one was there yet.
Then he saw (not Arkhon) but his dad!
"You fucking bitch. I'd rather shoot myself in the face than rest my head on your lap. And I'm not that old bastard you mentioned!" Jonny shouted, cursing under his breath and kicking the small twigs and rocks lying on the floor.
"You've changed. You're getting uglier and uglier by the day."
"Look who's talking. You're getting shallower and shallower by the second."
"Do you hate me, little Jonny the beauty connoisseur?" She asked
Jonny's face turned red and Jak started laughing.
"No I don't hate you. You're just stupid and extremely irritating. And don't call me that!" Jonny replied
"Well I'll make you hate me pretty soon. I wanna let you know that I think Arkhon's more beautiful than you-"
"Say that again and I'll put you in excruciating pain!" Jonny shouted
"Arkhon is the most beautiful man in the world and you're just a speck of dust in comparison." She stated with a smug looking smirk
"THAT'S IT. YOU SMUG LITTLE BITCH. YOU DEMON LOVING WHORE-" Jonny roared
"DAD! JUST IGNORE HER. SHE'S TRYING TO GET A REACTION OUT OF YOU." Jak shouted
Jonny ignored him and ran towards her at full speed but she smiled and quickly got out of the way.
He was trying to punch and kick her but she was too quick and kept dodging.
"Look at yourself. Baring your sharp teethed grin. That Bloodlust of yours consuming itself, drowning in endless hatred, the pain that you put yourself through. For what? You are still weak-"
"SHUT UP!"
"What's the point? Isn't it easier to let go? What happened to you 10 years ago is now history. Let it go so you can focus on being beautiful again." Golden Lady said
"I won't. I won't forgive him. He'll laugh and rejoice at my weakness. Forgiving is an act of weakness! I'd rather die than forgive someone like that. Someone who fucked my whole life up-" Jonny replied
Jonny stopped trying to hit her and just paused.
"You still love him but you're too afraid to admit it to yourself."
"I DON'T LOVE HIM. I HATE HIM. I'VE HATED HIM SINCE THAT DAY."
"What's the opposite of love, little Jonny?" Golden Lady asked
"It's obviously hate." Jonny replied
"No it's not, Jonny. The opposite of love is indifference. It's when you don't care anymore." Golden Lady replied
"W-What?" Jonny asked
"If you still hate that man, you still care and he's still in your thoughts. Too much hate building up can consume you slowly. You'll spend the rest of your life in misery. You'll become less and less beautiful. You must ask yourself, does he hate as much as you? Or has he become indifferent and moved on?"
"H-He hasn't talked to me since that day. He probably doesn't even hate me. Have I been wasting all that energy hating him for nothing? It's too painful! I want to be able to at least hate him. I'm human. I don't always do what's best for me but I try to do what's more comfortable for me. I don't have what it takes to forgive him. I'm sorry."
"At least you've been honest and open with me. Your honesty is beautiful. I feel moved. Forgiveness is a very difficult thing to do but it's the only thing that will heal your soul. Revenge is like hate. Pointless. Revenge will lead to more revenge and more bloodshed. The carnage will never end until someone has the courage to choose mercy and forgiveness."
"I'll try. I-Is Arkhon really more beautiful than me?" Jonny replied
"Right now, yes but you have more potential than he has. You are also much more innocent than he is. You're also more honest and you value your friends and country much more than he does. Stay human-like, Jonny. I find your struggle and everything about you (even your flaws) beautiful. I just wanted to teach you a lesson. That's why I lied about Arkhon being more beautiful than you. I knew you'd get upset-"
"I-I wasn't upset, woman! I-I am not jealous!" Jonny replied crossing his arms and turning his face away
"I never said you were, Jonny." She smiled
[Back to Jak Price]
This forest is getting scary. Dad? Are you still with Golden Lady? Did you defeat her?" I said
There was a really creepy presence in the forest and I felt like someone was watching me.
That tree! All the birds flew off there in a hurry.
I'm shivering and it's not even cold. My body is getting goosebumps!
"My precious. My precious has a son." Someone said with a nice smooth voice.
"Hello. Who said that? Who are you?" I yelled
"How cute. You're absolutely adorable, little eaglet."
I shivered even more. The energy suddenly felt a lot stronger.
"I'm not cute! I'm beautiful! Golden Lady said so." I yelled back
The man (I think he was a man), started laughing.
Could he be 666? Could 666 actually speak?
"You must be 666. Can I ride you? I'm beautiful and strong. I promise."
"Be careful boy. Don't ride strange creatures. You can get devoured, little eaglet." He replied
"Jak. What did I tell you about speaking to animals? They won't speak back to you so it's pointless." Dad said, walking up to me
The sinister presence was nearly gone.
"And what kind of creature has this kind of Bloodlust? You haven't encountered a demon have you? Did anything happen?"
"Don't worry, dad. I'm fine. I felt a strange energy but nothing happened to me." I said
I chose not to tell him about the invisible man who was speaking to me. He'd just be more worried about me.