"Light and darkness;
Together to save the one in distress;
A fight for and against a parent;
To save or doom the planet."
Dylan repeated the words of Zrey, still unable to believe it. It was only a few weeks ago, but t felt so long. They had even forgotten about their encounter with him. When they left, they completely forgot about it since their normal life resumed. They thought everything he said was a lie, but now that Old Man Jin reminded them…
They also realized something that made them completely numb. If the prophesy was true, then didn't that mean what he saw about their future…
…is also true?
As the teenage boys thought of this, they couldn't help but continue to wonder who exactly Old Man Jin was. Perhaps he truly was a god in disguise, but if so, for what reason?
"Light and darkness, isn't that obviously the both of you?" Old Man Jin voice brought them back to the harsh reality, "Alex controls a golden light, while Dylan controls dark shadows. And the one in distress is obviously Hecate. Now do you believe me?"
The only sound that echoed in the room, was silence, ironically. Old Man Jin continued smoking on his pipe without a care in the boys. Seeing this, Alex was sure the old man would die of cancer.
"This is absurd," Dylan breathed out.
"Very absurd," Old Man Jin nodded to show his approval.
"But this isn't fair…"
"Nature has never been fair. Some people are rich, some poor. Some die, others live. But that's just what makes the world balanced."
"That was not helpful, you know?" Dylan frowned, "What do you think about this, Alex."
"You know what? I think this is shit!" Alex screeched, "Fuck Hecate, fuck prophesy, fuck everyone. Why would I risk my life to save a goddess I know nothing about, it's not even like we're going to gain anything from it?"
"Very well said, Alex." For some reason, Old Man Jin's smile made Alex shudder. His whole body screeching; WAIT FOR IT!
"You're absolutely right, there's nothing to gain from it. But I do believe you have something to lose –."
"Something to lose?" Alex felt the weight behind Old Man Jin's words "What do I have to lose? Nothing, I have nothing. No money, no friends, no peace and even my life which is the only thing I have that is mine, I can feel it already seeping away with each passing day. So what do I have to lose?"
Old Man Jin continued to smoke on His pipe, completely ignoring Alex's question. Alex took it as a sign of defeat, and even gave a smug smile. But then Old Man Jin dropped the bombshell.
"Mera Cruise, I believe that is your mother. Have you wondered why she hasn't been answering your calls? Do you know how she's doing now?"
"FUCK! What did you do to my mum? What fucking nonsense are you talking about?"
Old Man Jin didn't seem to care about the raging demigod and only pointed at his eyes.
"You know I just got these eyes of mine fixed and I don't think it would be fair if you melt them down. So please, can you turn off the bulb."
At first, Alex didn't understand, but soon noticed what Old Man Jin was talking about. He didn't realize his powers had automatically turned on, the golden light radiating from his body enough to light up a whole street. Even Dylan, who was by his side a second ago, was nowhere to be seen; probably hiding behind some furniture.
"What happened to mum?" Alex breathed in and out in an attempt to calm himself down, but neither worked.
"Well, I'm sorry to say, but I have no idea of where she is."
"I didn't ask for where she is," Alex saw a loop hole in Old Man Jin's words, "What happened to her?"
Old Man Jin yawned. "You got me there. I do not know where she is, but I do know what happened to her." He said with a slight smile on his face, "She was abducted…or which word do you guys use nowadays…Kidnapped."
"Captured by whom? And why? Alex proceeded to ask a chain of questions and without realizing it, he was losing his mind. His head was getting heavier by the second, his vision blurred like he was looking through the window of a running train. He soon collapsed on the floor, his eyeballs rolling inside.
Old Man Jin had a slight look of surprise on his face as he saw this. He was just about to answer some of his questions when he suddenly collapsed. He could only turn to look at the other person in the room.
"Is your friend alright?"
"Y…yeah, I think so. I believe he only…visited his past." Dylan gave an awkward smile as he said.
"Back to his past? You say?" Old Man Jin asked.
It was only for a millisecond, but Dylan noticed it. The sudden change in expression,
And it was just like they thought; Alex was back in time…re-experiencing his past.
Different scenes flashed before him, only showing for a second at most before shifting to the next. This was what always happened whenever he went to his past, and Alex patiently waited for it to stop on one of the scenes. But when it stopped, to Alex's surprise, it was not one of the scenes. It wasn't his past.
Everything around his was dark, which warped around him like a blanket. The cold of the night pierced deep into his body, he felt like his soul was freezing. Alex tried activating his powers, to get rid of the light and the cold, but nothing happened. He couldn't even feel a tiny bit of godly powers in him.
His eyes changes bearing and he could finally see a light source, very far away. Like any normal creature would, he inched his way closer to the red light. He could feel the terrain rough and jagged beneath his feet, and judging from the slope, he was probably climbing a cliff, or a mountain.
As he got closer to the red glow, the temperature began to increase rapidly, but still, Alex pushed on. And when he was finally about 20 meters away from the red light, he stopped.
The red light source turned out to be lava; Raging lava that threatened to bring down the whole mountain. But that wasn't the reason why Alex stopped; it was because of the object hanging a hundred meters above the lava. And he recognized it…
"Mum?"
"Alex!" Her voice was weak and frail, but she still managed a smile, "Please…please save me!"
"Four days…that is all you have," A mighty voice that shook the whole mountain boomed. Even the Raging lava calmed down for the moment, or perhaps Alex only imagined it.
"In four days, bring him to me, or else…
…she perishes."
- - -
Dylan stayed a few inches away and watched Alex who was sleeping peacefully. Dylan knew there was something wrong somewhere.
Whenever Alex went back to his past, he was always like a dead man. His breath becomes slow and tapered, and if one didn't check carefully, would think his heart was not breathing. Also, Alex would not be able to move. Even if he was beaten, he would not make any sign.
But this time was different. He could see the slight pump and slump of his chest even from where he sat. Alex rolled a few times on the makeshift bed before continuing snoring.
It didn't feel like he was in his past, instead to Dylan, it looked like Alex was sleeping.
Dylan was still in thought when Alex's eyes opened all of a sudden. He sat up like a robot and said like he was possessed.
"He gave me four days, or else he'll kill her. Dylan we have to go immediately."
Dylan could only scratch the back of his head and look at Old Man Jin, who strangely, also had his eyes fixed on Alex.
Alex jumped to his feet and was already walking to the door. He turned back only to see Dylan still seated.
"Didn't you hear me Dylan, I saw my mum. They threatened to kill her if I don't bring… Just four days, that's what they gave me."
"Do you mind telling me what they looked like?" It was Old Man Jin that asked the question.
"No, but …" Alex stuttered as he remembered the image of his mum hanging.
"Well, you see, I and Dylan have been speaking since you passed out. And we've come to a conclusion." Old Man Jin said, "If there's anyone who can know where Hecate is, it would be her daughter, Circe."
"Circe? Who's that?"
"A daughter of Hecate,"
"You already said that."
"Well, she's a goddess, a powerful witch. If anyone is aware of Hecate's location as well as her abductors, it's her. Besides, she could also be of help in finding your mother, Alex."
Alex still held the stoic expression, which was getting Dylan worried. He had know Alex for long, and he was always a cheerful person, even in the face of danger .So Dylan couldn't help but wonder what exactly Alex saw to make him like this.
"So where can we find this … Circe person?"
"I don't really know about that, after all it had been long since I visited –."
To Old Man Jin it was a silent thought, little did he know he said it loud enough for the two teenagers to hear. With this slip, the two were sure. Whoever Old Man Jin was, he was not ordinary …
* * * TO BE CONTINUED * * *