Location; Head Quarters Main Estate; Fumengji Facility
Tapping his fingers, eyes focused through the window, Asher can't seem to believe what had occurred last night as he sit on his chair.
Their rabbi continued, "As the Ebony Lao Tribe continue their abuse on other tribes, tribe Leaders can no longer keep a blind eye on the matter. Upon learning that Lao Frigg, the youngest son of Ebony Lao tribe has been beheaded by a ruthless killer, they all saw a chance of winning and marched into battle. The battle goes on for almost two weeks until they finally beheaded Lao Ba'al. Now a question, who is the ruthless killer that beheaded Lao Frigg?"
Someone raised a hand and the rabbi called him, "It was Hel Psyche. He was already prepared at that time. Therefore he ambushed Lao Frigg's squadron in the Endless Valley."
Rabbi, "Correct. Another question. How did Lao Frigg get caught up in an ambush?"
Seeing that no one raised a hand, the rabbi called Asher who's still spacing out. When he heard his name being called he quickly stood and asked if his rabbi can repeat the question. His rabbi did repeat the question after shaming him for not paying attention. Asher pouted as if he had enough and replied,
"Because of Han Zeno. Han Zeno told Lao Frigg that his companion is in the Endless Valley but what really awaited them there was Hel Psyche."
Rabbi, "How come Hel Psyche was there?"
Asher, "That's because he cooperated with Han Zeno, the details are unknown, but he followed Han Zeno's instructions."
Rabbi, "The Ebony Lao tribe already captured Han Zeno, why would they want to capture his companion as well?"
Asher, "It's not that they wanted his companion, it's just that his companion pose as a threat to them for it is said that he turned into a demon, able to use both good and evil spiritual energy at his will."
Rabbi, "Where and who is this companion?"
Asher, "That's..."
He knew that the answer to the question would be unknown, because before the tribe Leaders reveal the truth to the people after the war, Majin Ashera punished the Jinjis sealing their knowledge and destroying their books about high level techniques in using spiritual energy for they almost led the world to its destruction. Thus, their attention diverted, leaving holes in the history.
And now, Jinjis are still struggling to find the techniques that were lost, and it is even harder for them to suppress evil creatures because there's no chosen Majin after Ashera disappeared.
However, the question made Asher think twice. ′Where and who is Han Zeno's companion? His companion, is his servant, in Ancient text, servants don't get their names mention so no wonder the answer's already unknown but...′
He then remembered what that guy told him last night as he whispered loud enough for him to hear, "Han Zeno... Han... Dae?"
At lunch time, he and his squad laid a blanket on a grassy dirt below a blue tree that shades them from the sunlight.
Chandler sighed, "Earlier my mind flew away with the characters of Baybayin, heck reading and writing those in the talismans are a pain!"
Trijah grinned, "I bet your talisman exploded to your ugly face again!" and they all laughed. Asher added, "She's always like that, messing up every time because her hand writing isn't neat!" and they all burst laughing.
Chandler blushed in embarrassment, "Shut your mouths, I don't need your harsh comments!" while hitting both Asher and Trijah's backs.
Hannah, "Today we boosted our physical strength and I feel like my limbs are ripping!"
Daniel smiled, "Guess I'm lucky, we just had normal classes today." then he faced Asher and asked, "How 'bout A-di?"
"Oh me?" Asher answered while still receiving Chandler's punches, "It's just the boring history that we keep on learning since pre-school."
Chandler suddenly halted when she remembered something, "Right! That Han Dae guy, how is he?" while facing Asher.
Hannah, "Now that you've mentioned it, it's kinda lame that after he showed off his skills and talked smack he'd collapse after introducing himself."
Trijah, "Where's your mind Ha-ji? He's sealed for so long of course he'd exhaust himself!"
Daniel, "I examined the markings and the characters from last night to know how old the seal is..." everyone seemed to listen to him attentively, "... I can't even believe myself..."
Asher whispered, "Is it, a thousand?" he looks like he doesn't even believe himself.
Daniel faced him in shock, "How'd you know?"
Asher grinned as if he hit the jackpot and everyone seemed interested as well, "Well his surname is Han."
Hannah, Chandler and Trijah gasped upon realizing the logic.
Daniel smirked, "So you realized as well?" then they both grinned while pointing at each other. "It's funny how we didn't get it the moment he said his name."
Asher, "True, I just realized when I remembered that the Han tribe was completely gone! Heck, almost all the Ancient tribes are extinct."
Chandler, "So, how is he?"
Trijah, "He dead?"
Hannah, "How can he survive a thousand years in a cave?"
Asher grinned, "That's what I like to investigate. But he's resting at my place for now. Gotta force him to spill the tea." then he sipped his soda, "Who knows, we might find what we've been looking for."
Chandler, "Such as?"
Asher, "Flying, sealing, unspoken techniques, and such."
Hannah and Trijah, "Cool..."
It's already late in the afternoon. Han Dae just woke up. Looking around, he found himself lying on a bed, in a room, with other things he can't fathom what. He suddenly sat not showing a lot from his face, he is totally shocked, he does not even know where he is.
Then he glanced at himself. He no longer wears his crimson robe, rather, he is wearing a huge white shirt and a boxers below. Weirded out because he does not know what he is wearing, he suddenly has the urge to undress. Finding a way to undress, he realized that something is missing.
His flute is gone.
He gasped and threw the blanket aside searching for his flute. He also threw the pillows and stood when he found nothing. He started to look everywhere in the room as if his life depended on it.
Asher opened the door and what he found is that his bedroom is a disaster. He leaned on the wall where he opened the door and looked at Han Dae who is busy finding the flute under his bed and the table beside it.
"What are you searching?" he asked but he didn't get an answer. He clicked his tongue and is about to get bored when he realized that Han Dae is crawling, as if he's an animal.
Asher held back his laughter only letting a pfft sound thinking, 'Looks like I brought a pet home instead of a person. He reminds me of my cat once!'
Han Dae sat for a moment and sighed as if he's displeased. Asher started walking towards him tossing something to his hands.
Asher, "Is this what you're looking for?" while tossing the flute.
Han Dae's eyes widened and Asher looked like he's enjoying this thing. Han Dae tried to grab it but Asher is raising his hand for he is a lot taller than Han Dae.
Han Dae, "You know it's mine so why don't you give it back?!" he sounded a bit pissed.
Asher, "I would like you to answer some of my questions first." he grinned but Han Dae did not mind him and continue grabbing the flute, however, since he is weakened, Asher has the guts to tease him.
"Nu-uh, not giving it." he grinned as they chased each other and make a huge mess in the room. Han Dae continued ordering him to give his flute back but he always say that he doesn't want to.
Han Dae, chasing his breath, "Is it so hard to understand? I just want my Gideon back..."
Asher smiled, "Haha! So this really is the famous Gideon!" he turned and examined the flute, "I can't believe I get to touch the real thing! Whoa! It's really black now!" he laughed and continued eyeing Han Dae, "That means..."
Han Dae realized that his tongue slipped.
Asher, "...You're Han Zeno's companion. That one who's missing one thousand years ago." he turned to face Han Dae and continued, "Am I right?"
Han Dae looks surprised, "One-- one thousand years... ago?"
Asher, "Oh wow, so you don't know how many years passed already? How come you're still alive?" Han Dae shook his head. "There, there, there's nothing we can do about it." Asher continued.
Han Dae kept quiet, with eyes filled with pain and regret. However, Asher did not notice it because he's busy examining Gideon. He then tried to steal it again but Asher is on guard and doesn't want to surrender the flute to its owner.
While moving around, Asher slipped when he accidentally stepped on the blanket lying on the floor, he fell on the bed and Han Dae, losing his balance as well, fell on the bed after him.
Asher laughed at how hilarious their position is until he noticed Han Dae's face is too close to his. He first noticed his eyes, staring too much can captivate others. Then his long black lashes. Asher thought Han Dae's lashes are pretty, like a lady's. Han Dae's long black hair touches his jawline down to his neck. Then Asher's eyes can't help but to wander and halt into a certain area. Han Dae's lips are pinkish, closer to scarlet.
Suddenly, Asher has the urge to do something wicked. Gulping, he imagined himself wanting to bite that lower lip of Han Dae.
Then Han Dae grabbed Gideon and ordered, "Let go."
Asher smirked as if he's enjoying this scene, "Why the hurry?"
As his hand let go of the Gideon, both arms traveled from the bed sheets to Han Dae's hips. Like a hug, he gave Han Dae a tease.
Han Dae jolted feeling Asher's hands hugging his hips. Grabbing Gideon, he backed away and rolled into a corner as fast as he could.
Asher sat and let out a loud laugh as he remembers how Han Dae reacted.
Asher, "What's wrong? We're both guys anyway!"
Han Dae hesitated to answer, "I... I'm..." he gulped before continuing,
"... into guys..."
Asher immediately stopped laughing. The smile on his face disappeared and he couldn't believe what he just heard. Han Dae is homosexual... and he admitted it. Asher faked a cough and started to feel uneasy, not because of Han Dae's sexuality, but because of his ignorance.
He even dared to undress Han Dae, wash his face and dress him up once again while he's unconscious!
"O-Oh..." Asher answered. Silence enveloped the room. Asher is still processing things and then he remembered, "Do you remember last night?"
Han Dae faced him as if he's saying, 'I do, and?'
Asher, "Soon after you collapsed, the Hashis came and saw the corpse of the monster that you killed. They asked us how it ended up like that."
Han Dae, "And?"
Asher, "We said that with your help we managed to kill it somehow, but we never said that you killed it yourself. We're sure that they'd take you as an experimental subject if we spoke the truth."
Han Dae, "It's fine. I also don't want more people to know."
Asher, "Well... a lot of things happened and..." he scratched his head, "Starting tomorrow you are a student at Fumengji Facility and you belong to our squad."
Han Dae wondered, "You recruited me?"
Asher pointing at himself, "No, not me. Even if I wanted to, I can't since no one really give a shit about me from the Hashis to Shihans. It was Hannah who recruited you. And she made a fake birth certificate for you. You're named Zhui Dae of the extinct Zhui tribe from the South."
Han Dae, "Use proper words."
Asher then said to himself, 'Really now? Who are you? Daniel?'
Han Dae, "Who's Hannah?"
Asher smiled, "Right, you told us your name, but you never asked ours." As he explains the names and features of his squad, Han Dae's insecurity slowly fades away and he started approaching Asher bit by bit.
Asher, "She's the one with short hair and round eyes. She's also my age, we're both seventeen! With how I see you today, you can instantly befriend her. She's too kind really!"
Han Dae's eyes sparkled as if he's listening to a story. He sat on the ground where the blanket lies. He is looking upward because Asher is sitting on the bed.
Asher, "The next one is Chandler. Well she's one of the youngest in our squad. She's sixteen."
Han Dae, "The one with long wavy hair? Her hair color is unrealistic."
Asher, "Yup! That's her! She switches color every now and then! She likes flashy things and she's a freak when it comes to fashion. Also, her worlds are vulgar, but she's really kind too."
Han Dae, "What you say reflects who you are."
Asher, "I'm not lying, she's really nice. Then there's Trijah, they're at the same age that's why they fight a lot. Since they're always in sync in cursing and many other things but they're dependable."
Han Dae, "Hmmm..." as if he's thinking deeply whether to talk to them or not.
Then Asher got excited, "Oh! Oh! Oh! Then our captain's Daniel! He's a year older than me and he's really deserving of that title! He's such a great boss! So dependable and calm. He earns our squad's respect!"
Han Dae looked at him in the eyes and said, "You seem enthusiastic." as if it sounds almost sarcastic.
Asher, "Well he's my first friend."
Han Dae, "Do you like him?"
Asher. "Of course I do!" he immediately answered. Then Han Dae kept quiet. Asher blinks wondering what is up with the question when he realized what Han Dae means when he said the word like.
Asher, "H-Hold on for a sec! I only like Da-ni as a friend and he's like a brother to me! Don't think too much about it! And besides, I'm straight!"
Han Dae raised a brow with face stiff still, "Oh?"
Asher defended once again, "i treat my squad as a family okay?" but Han Dae is still giving him the suspicious look.
Asher looked away, "Anyways, now that you've known them it's my turn. The name's Asher, nice meeting you Han Dae." he introduced himself with a bright smile. Han Dae nodded after staring at the smile of his.
Then he said, "Asher has..."
Asher instantly faced him.
Han Dae, "Handsome features of both kind and mischievous young man. Asher has pretty face and a fair skin too. His eyes are jade in shade and both his hair and eye lashes are blonde. It's captivating. Asher is really..." he realized upon realizing what he said.
Asher covered his mouth and blushed. He never cared about his appearance as long as he looks neat. It was the first time he received such compliment and he received a ton of compliments.
Han Dae can't bear to face him, "Sorry... Are you disgusted?"
Asher can't stop looking at Han Dae as he covers his mouth then he answered after a while, "Not... really... Are you hungry? I cooked a lot today..." Han Dae sneak a peek and Asher's already smiling at him.
Han Dae pouted, "I haven't eaten in a thousand years..."
Stop acting cute Han Dae!
Asher laughed loudly and said, "That's right! I should've fed you first before discussing things like this!" he stood and said,
Asher, "Follow me, let's eat dinner!"