"What is it? Something interesting has caught your eye lately?"
"A boy, M Gravity Flames. A human one."
"What do you see in this boy, Queen of the skies?"
"Don't get cheeky with me, brat. It's none of your business to know why. He leaps so well, from tree to tree."
"What sharp eyes you have, Arkhon."
"I, the queen of the skies will make my move."
***
'I am tired. Time to take a break.' Jak thought
He had climbed up a high tree which was large enough to rest on.
Jak hadn't noticed that Arkhon was following him, easily hovering in the air, jumping from tree to tree. Another level 4 demon was right behind Arkhon.
Jumping over several dozen trees using his strings to aid him further, Arkhon noticed a giant bird flying towards Jak to knock him off the tree.
Jak noticed the giant bird and froze in fear.
"Oh no! M Gravity Flames! Use your power now." Arkhon commanded
The other demon's smile widened. That bird was going to be pulverised for attacking Jak!
"Anti-gravity and 20x Gravity!!!" He said, using his Ability
This caused the bird to freeze in mid-air, and the 20x gravity caused one of its wings to snap due to the pressure, making the bird cry out in pain.
'It's not enough, little birdie.' Arkhon thought, his eye colour turning red
Arkhon immediately leaped into the air, biting into the bird's neck and ripped its head off, chucking it far into the distance. The bird's blood sprayed out, coating the tree as Arkhon moved away instantly, not wanting to mess up his clothes with the spilled blood.
"Do not try to hurt what is mine." Arkhon spoke, referring to Jak
"Arkhon?! That bird. I couldn't defeat it but you killed it for me. Thanks." Jak told him
M Gravity Flames saw Jak starting to fall backwards off the tree as his shaking legs failed to support him.
"Anti-gravity! Zero!"
Jak was surprised to find himself frozen in mid-air. He hadn't noticed that he was about to fall off the tree. He was still somewhat shocked.
Arkhon leaped into the air, smiling as he stretched his hands out to Jak, hugging him tightly.
"Arkhon. I wanna find my dad. I wonder where he is right now." Jak spoke
"Don't you worry. Even though Jonny has hidden his presence, we can still find him. In the meantime, shall we play a game together?" Arkhon told him
"Ok. Also, I just thought of something. I wanna call you silver eagle! You'll be my friend for today."
Arkhon's eyes started to water as he leaped onto a larger tree with Jak.
"What a wonderful nickname you have for me. I am so happy! Also, I have a solution to help you find your dad in no time."
"Really?! What is it?"
Arkhon crouched down.
"If you climb onto my back, I can carry you and you can look out for him yourself. How's that? Doesn't that sound like fun?" Arkhon suggested
"Yeah. Sounds fun. As long as you help me find him."
And so, Arkhon raced through the jungle like a mad beast, tearing through any animals (using his strings) that tried to attack them, causing streams of blood to form along their path.
Arkhon shivered with excitement as he felt a sudden spike in energy from Jonny from a distance. He was almost close to tracking him down.
'Excellent. I hope that I could see him.'
M Gravity Flames decided to go somewhere else, leaving the two of them.
"Silver Eagle. I think my dad might be fighting something or someone. Otherwise his energy would be more relaxed. I can't exactly sense it yet but I get this gut feeling you know. If the opponent is defeated, you can quickly sense the scent and catch my dad. Great plan huh?" Jak told him
Arkhon's eyes widened as Jak seemed to be staring at him with a serious expression on his face as if to get Arkhon to agree with him. Staring like a hawk.
"I am so glad that you and me have crossed paths like this. You are truly one of a kind. A marvel, just like my precious Jonny. But, who taught you as a human to sense the auras of individual demons?
"My dad has high expectations from me. Arkhon. Your aura is becoming as chaotic as a hurricane. It's making me u-uncomfortable in some way. I don't understand. I am only human so why do you like me so much? Aren't you a demon? I want to know more about you."
"So you want to know more about me? I haven't forgotten what you said to me before. That you'd defeat all the demons like me. Defeat the Circle.
"The Circle?"
"Those are the demons that control everything in the country. Those are the demons you wanted to defeat."
"I..I don't understand you. You attacked my parents. Then you want to play a game with me today. I want to know... what made you this way? What terrible things happened to you in your past to make you this way?"
"Why don't I tell you once we've cooled off in that lake over there."
*It's not a naturally formed lake, it was built by the members of the circle.*
"Ok, Arkhon. Even if you did have a shit past, its never to late to change! You can do it! Believe it!" Jak spoke optimistically
Arkhon smiled. His smile was authentic.
***
The Circle
W: Who will protect you if you are a demon and you are wronged by a human?
D: The King of course or the Demon king if he's awake.
W: Good. Now what if you are a human wronged by a demon, who will protect you?
D: The Circle. They deal with the demons obviously!
W: Well what about the Elves and other creatures?
D: The King.
W: Members of the Circle, please introduce yourselves.
'The name's Myk. They call me M Gravity Flames. I am a 13 year old teenage boy but that doesn't matter! I am still good at my job no matter what Arkhon thinks! Hmph!'
'I am Nimue, the master of illusions! I am the most beautiful woman in the universe.'
D: Oh really? You sure about that?
'I'm Klaw II. I can make fire come out of my hands, feet and my mouth and I can make floating fireballs. I am hot, in more ways than one.'
D: Confident, much?
'My name is Arkhon. I'm second in command. I am the current leader of the Circle because the Demon King still hasn't woken.'
***
Both Arkhon and Jak jumped into the lake with their shorts.
Arkhon was wearing purple shorts. Jak wore dark green ones.
"IT'S FREEZING!" Jak yelled
"Oh don't you worry, my little eaglet. I'll heat this lake up."
"But how?"
"Watch me."
Arkhon ran around in circles as fast as he could in the lake at such a speed that the water got much hotter.
Arkhon took a moment to rest.
"Better?" Arkhon asked
"Yeah! That was so cool!" Jak replied
After splashing about in the lake, Jak saw Arkhon smiling and laughing normally. It was like he'd become innocent again. It was a strange sight to behold.
Arkhon decided to float on the water and slowly swim backwards. Jak decided to lie down on top of him so that they were floating together on the water.
After a while, they got bored and decided to get out of the water.
"My hands have gotten old! Look!" Jak laughed, showing Arkhon his wrinkled palms
"That seems to be a human thing. For some reason, my palms have also gotten stickier."
"Sticky?" Jak spoke, picturing Arkhon's hands replaced by sticks
"Touch them and see it for yourself." Arkhon replied
Jak felt Arkhon's palms with his fingers.
"Your palm feels weird." Jak commented
"You can use my towel if you want." Arkhon spoke, handing him his towel
The towel was more like a blanket to him and he struggled to hold it all up properly.
"It's heavy! You dry me instead ok?" Jak asked
Arkhon rubbed the towel against Jak's body to dry him.
Arkhon took the towel and dried himself with it.
"Now let's get properly dressed shall we? We don't wanna attract too much attention."
"Eww."
Arkhon laughed at him.
"I am too good looking you see. That's why I said that I'll get too much attention if I am discovered like this."
"What about me?"
"My looks far outshine yours."
"Is that why you stalk everyone you like and why everyone you like hates you back?"
Arkhon was shocked to hear that response from Jak.
"You're a cheeky little brat, you know." Arkhon responded
"Can you see the large Eagle statue near this lake? Me and an old human friend built it together." Arkhon also told him
"Yeah I can see it. But why an eagle statue?" Jak asked
"Once upon a time, an eagle saved my life." Arkhon replied sadly
Arkhon's voice was shaking as his lips trembled and his eyes widened.
Jak shivered.
'What is this dark energy? It's filled with hatred, sorrow and hatred for something or someone. It's beginning to flow through me. I can feel it. This man suffered a lot in the past. The memory is trapping him.' Jak thought
Arkhon let out his claws and scratched at his arms deeply. His blue blood dripped down his arms.
"Please stop that, Arkhon. Don't hurt yourself this way!"
'It happened to me, during world war 3.' Arkhon thought
Arkhon turned to Jak with tears streaming down his eyes. Arkhon disliked showing anyone his tears and rarely ever cried in front of others. This time, he couldn't help it. He was too sad.
'You filthy little demon! You are only fit for being used by a higher being and that's me! Your life belongs to me and me alone! My demon plaything. Serve me till the day that I die.'
'Whether I liked it or not, I was truly loved by this man. I was always wicked and evil. Maybe I deserved all that he did to me.'
The words that escaped from Arkhon's lips was enough for Jak to gasp and stumble back.
"Jak. Please tell me. Do you think I am filthy and disgusting? What does Jonny think of me?"
"Arkhon? Of course you're not filthy! Are you remembering your tragic past?"
Arkhon remembered something else then rushed out of the lake, throwing up on the ground and coughing.
Jak realised. It was all his fault!
"ARKHON!!! YOUR PAST. IF IT'S THAT HORRIFYING, I WON'T FORCE YOU TO TELL ME!!" Jak yelled
To be continued...