Beeeep...
My regular 7.30 AM alarm on my watch rang with solid vibrations.
''Man, that was a nice dream I had. Let's go and wash my face in the bathroom and start with today's fieldwork.''
I left the bed half-asleep.
The door opened automatically. I didn't pay much attention to that as I;'' was half asleep.
Roarrr
The tiger roared at me as the door opened. It feels like the tiger said good morning to me.
I forcefully closed the door and hid under my bedsheet in my fear.
''So that was not a dream all that happened yesterday. That's exciting, good and all. But why is the tiger from the woods here? Isn't this place suppose to be in another dimension or something similar like that.''
I came to a realization.
''No way! the tiger followed me.''
''But there is no way a tiger that smart exists in the world. It makes no sense at all.''
''I am half asleep, so it must be an illusion of my brain. Yes, I must have been hallucinating due to exhaustion and lack of sleep over the last two days. There is no way a tiger could follow me to this place.''
''I am not a hallusination. I am really here.''
.....' It takes a few seconds for my brain to register this unusual event.
''The tiger talked. '' I screamed out.
''Why are you acting like you saw something extraordinary here.''
'It's totally not normal for a tiger to talk so causally.' I said in my brain.
''It's totally normal for me to speak. Why are you in a lot of confusion?''
The tiger spoke fluently as if it was normal for him to talk to me.
''Anyways, master Aeon asked me to deliver a message to you.
He said, ''Come to the throne room when you woke up.'' That's all.
You must hurry up and go to the throne room as fast as possible. Anyway, my job is done. I am going back. Take care and don't be late.''
The tiger left and left. Leaving me with soo many questions in my head.
''It will not help if I overthink about the bizarre situation I am in. Asking Aeon about everything will be the best way to understand everything about my situation.''
I freshened up and wore new clothes from the wardrobe in my room. Surprisingly they fit me perfectly and went to the throne room to meet Aeon.
Everything seems normal, like yesterday, except a talking tiger sits near the throne room. LIGHT PARTICLES MERGED when I approached the stairs, and a man sitting on the throne appeared.
''How was the sleep last night, Ark? he asked.
''Thank you for asking; I had a great sleep last night.''
Grrrr, a sound echoed in the almost empty room. But this sound didn't come from my stomach. It was from someone else's stomach. To be specific, from the tiger's stomach.
''Master, I am hungry after doing my duty for so long. I want to eat something good'' The tiger talked like it's natural for him to speak.
''Oh, then let's have breakfast first. Since I can't eat right now, I will make something special for you guys to eat.'' He replied without any second thought. From their conversation, they have been acquainted for so long.
''What would you like to eat, Ark? I can make any dish you desire.''
''Oh, I would like to have pancakes with cold coffee please and one...wait a second, breakfast is secondary; the most important is explaining what is going on and how that tiger of the woods is talking so casually like it is normal? 'Aaaa, I caught up in the moment. I need to be careful; they are really good at talk manipulation.'
''What are you talking about? It's natural for Dawon to talk, and he is not a tiger.''
''What do you mean by natural there is no tiger in the world that could talk ...wait, Dawon, you mean the sacred tiger in Tibetan lore, and was later known as Gdon after it was introduced into Hinduism.''
''Yup''
''The same tigerish Gdon that was offered by gods to serve goddess Durga as a mount for rewarding her victory.''
''Yes, he is the same legendary tiger from the myths. But calling it a tiger is partially incorrect as he is a half-lion, half-tiger hybrid, but that's confusing, so call him Dawon.''
''Yes, please call me Dawon .'' The tiger introduced itself with a light bow.
''Yes, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Dawon; my name is Ark. I will be in your care.''
''Yes, I know.''
....An awkward silence between us
Clap ''Now that everything is clear, let's head for the dining hall and have breakfast.''
Aeon said, and we headed towards the dining hall for breakfast.
The hall is enormous, with a 9-seater round table in the middle of the room. Aeon went into the kitchen to prepare our breakfast. He asked Dawon and me to clean the table first. I asked Dawon to show me where the mop and duster but he replied.
''Why do we need that only to clean dust from the table? It's not like we are cleaning the whole room.''
''Then how are we going to clean it?'' I asked.
''Stand behind me and watch closely what I am going to do.''
''Okay,'' I replied and stood behind him.
Tap... He tapped the floor lightly with his paw, the wind started to blow around the room like a tornado, and we in its epicenter were not affected by it.
In just 7 seconds, the entire dust of the room was cleared.
We washed our hands and sat at the dining table, waiting for our meal to arrive. Yes, the big cat also washed its hands/paws before the feast; of course, I wondered why Dawon was doing it since there is no need for this, but I didn't ask. My instincts told me to ask questions whose answers were difficult to hear.
Aeon arrived with two floating plates hovering around him. On one, there are pancakes, and on another, it's cat food?
Aeon served us our breakfast and urged ut to start eAting. Dawon started eating without hesitation. A smile could be seen on his face clearly. Looks like he is delighted with the food. Let's eat as well.
I poured some maple sauce on the pancake.
Bon Appétit
With the help of a fork, I ate a slice of pancake.
'It's delicious. I had never had such delightful pancakes in my entire life.'
''How's the taste to your liking?'' Aeon asked.
''It's delicious never had anything like this in my entire life.''
''Thank you for the compliment. Now that we have time for some ideal chit chat, how about you start asking questions you have in your mind.''
''Oh, thank you. Then my first question is Dawon, the same tiger that attacked me in the jungle 3 days ago?''
The atmosphere intensified
''Nice start Ark, but yes, Dawon is the same beast that attacked you; in fact, I am the one who ordered him to attack anyone who enters the domain end kill anyone who he seems dangerous.''
''May I know why to attack someone who is not dangerous.''
''To scare them out of my domain.''
''Scare?''
''Yes, scare, understand if Dawon wants them, he could end your life in one second. I ordered him to scare people who accidentally came into my domain.''
''But I reached the temple alive does that mean he failed in his job?''
''Well, you are a special case. That's why I helped you a little back then, and also Dawon also understands that, so he played his role well.''
''Help, what help you are referring to?''
''Remember the whispers you heard when you were in the jungle and the feathers you found lying around the temple. That was all my doing.''
''Ah, so it was you after all. Thank you for the help; those words help me a lot back then.''
''By the way, why am I a special case?''
''Simply put, you are my descendent or my clan's only descendent.''
'What?'
''How is that even possible? My parents and grandparents are normal humans then. How can I be your descendent?''
''At first, I was also shocked that a normal human entered my domain without the help of any special soul item. But when I used the temples' power, I understand who you are or what you are.''
''Remember the dark forest you entered and where you fought Dawon. In reality, that forest is protected by an illusion barrier that normal humans or other wild animals cannot enter. Only beings with soul power can enter the barrier, but Dawon will detect their presence and kill them as they enter. The slain wolf is a good example of that.''
''But in your case, your soul power is sealed. That's why Dawon cannot detect your presence at first, isn't it right, Dawon.''
''Yes, master, when he entered the barrier, I felt some disturbance, but it was too minuscule, so I didn't pay much attention to it.'' The legendary cat replied and went back to eat.
''I understand the explanation, but how does it explain I am your clan's descendent?'' I asked.
''There are factors that proved you are my clan's descendent first the whisper. It's a special soul skill exclusive to our clan called whisper of space. With this skill, I can communicate any of my clan members anywhere, anytime, whether they are in the human world, the heavens or hell. I can communicate to them without any disturbance.''
''Wow, that's a beneficial ability to have. Then what's the second factor?''
''The second factor is only my clan's member or their descendent can open the gates to this place. Even if you have abundant soul power or some special item, you cannot pass through the mist at the lower mountain.''
''Wow, there are so many mysteries it's fascinating; it feels like a movie plot. By the way, what is soul power?''
''It is the power that all living creatures possess. Plants, humans, and animals all possess soul energy. 7500 years back, every living being could use that power to perform miracles. But now it's restricted to the energy that exists in all living things and keeps them alive, otherwise called soul.''
''So, can I use soul energy and soul skills?''
''Theoretically speaking, you can use both soul energy and soul skills. But since your soul energy is sealed and you are human, you cant.''
''Do you know how to unseal my soul energy?''
''Of course, I would know how to unseal it. Since I am the one who sealed it in the first place.''
''What! you sealed it when and why and what type of seal it is?''
''To be specific, I didn't seal 'your' soul energy specifically, but my little sister Rhea your forerunner, while she was escaping to the human world, I sealed her soul energy. It's a special seal that transfers all the soul energy from both parents to offspring.''
''But why did you do such a horrible thing to your sister? If all the soul energy is transferred to the offspring, won't both the parents will die?''
''Why? Because it was necessary at that time and moment, she also understood its necessity. In fact, she was the one who asked me to put such a seal on her. The seal does not transfer all the soul energy of the parents but only the necessary amount. Parents are left with 100 years of soul energy for themselves.''
''But why was she escaping to the human world? Did she commit a serious crime that she had to leave her home?''
''No, she didn't commit any crime, but our clan was attacked by traitors, and to preserve our clan from extinction, she sacrificed herself and was exiled to the human world,'' Aeon said with slight anger and sorrow voice.
''Can our clan with the power of time be defeated by some traitors?'' I asked since it's impossible for someone who has the power of time to be defeated by some traitors.
''Normally, it's impossible, but the traitors used the powers demon king, which is most harmful to us physically and mentally. It affects our soul directly. That's why most of the clan got wiped out. I survived because our loyal clan members and branch family members stalled the aggressors. I transported all our treasures, relics, and important books here with the time they provided. I also sealed my real body here in time stasis and linked my soul to the temple system.''
''I see it must be a real tragedy, but how can the traitors not enter this place?''
''This place can only be entered by direct family members approved by the clan head. I AM CONSIDERED ALIVE since I linked my soul to the system itself, and my body is sealed.''
''I understand since you are considered alive and didn't pass the clan head title, you are considered the current head even if the traitors are the ones controlling the clan now.''
''Yes, you comprehend everything correctly.''
''But why did they attack their own clan or how did they have the demon king's power, and why did no one help even though our clan is considered one of the three most important clans?''
''I don't know about all that since the demon king's power is soo chaotic. I cant see what happened after that. Even with the help of the temple, I can't see events where the demon king is involved. That's how terrifying his power is. ''
''If the demon king is that powerful, why didn't gods do anything about him?''
''Because they can't do anything about him like gods, he can also be considered immortal. A monster in the truest sense opposes the laws of time and universe.''
''How can an existence come to exist in the first place?''
''To understand that, you must know about the past, about the beginning of everything. Do you want to hear about it? But I must warn you, it's a long story. It will take a lot of time.''
''Yes, I don't care how much time it takes to finish. I want to know everything,'' I replied seriously. Starting right into my eyes for a few seconds, Aeon smiled a little and started the story.
''Okay, if you are interested in knowing everything, I will tell you about it without leaving any details.''
''Yes, please do.''
''Listen carefully to what I will be saying, Ark and don't disturb me in between any questions.''
''Yes, I will not utter a single word while you are telling the story.''
After hearing my affirmation, he started the story.