"Good afternoon Terry, you look better than before!"
Spark said with a relieved smile at the sight of the bandaged man lying in bed.
His fever seemed to have significantly dropped and a mixture of healthy colors returned to the formerly sweltering red face.
Terry reciprocrated the greeting with a grateful look.
"...Thanks to you and Joey! The herbs worked miraculously, but..."
His grateful look was replaced by intense confusion.
"What the hell has happened to you? You don't seem hurt at least, thank god."
Tali also shot him a questioning gaze and Spark could only scratch his temple and answer with a deep sigh.
"Well... What can I say?"
He looked at them with a composed stare of suspense before finally explaining... altough in a confusing choice of words.
"It turns out that... That boars are quite the sadistic beings."
Two bewildered frowns formed on the tailor family. They didn't understand the strange comment but before they could inquire any further, Spark interrupted with a resentful scowl of his own.
"Right, super sadistic beasts, they are! Anyways, there a chance I could borrow your shower and a change of clothes?"
Terry blinked a couple of times and could only limit himself to a slight nod.
...
After taking a richly deserved shower and acquiring inconspicuous clothes, he gave them a more detailed version of his sadistic and tragic experience with the mutated wild boar.
... Of course he omitted all things to do with his Soulslate, his mysterious connection to the Grand Dao and of course his newly aquired Skills.
Terry gasped in disbelief when he saw Spark reveal the two Core Fragments in his leather pouch.
"What?! You fought, no... killed a Budding Deuce!"
Spark just smiled silently, but didn't reply. He was rather uncomfortable recalling his harrowing experiences and the involved stress and anxiety.
The spice of death surely was a hellish seasoning.
But if he was completely honest with himself, a sense of dark triumph welled up inside him when he thought about how flawlessly he mastered the situation.
A newly evolved Body Foundation Realm should not be able to fight such a fierce beast, but luckily its intelligence was quite lacking and the circumstances panned out in Spark's favor, allowing him to take advantage of the moment.
"And you already reached the Body Foundation Realm with the Bone Marrowing Pill one day after I gave you the Clearing Cloud Circulation Arts?"
Terry was at a loss. He subconsciously uttered:
"Did you even need it...?"
Spark chuckled and nodded with serious and grateful demeanour.
"I don't think I could have endured the gruesome pains were it not for your technique... Honestly, I'm baffled at how much it helped me. I couldn't describe the gratitude I held for you in that moment, even if I tried my best to put it in words."
Terry was surprised at the honest revelation.
A bit embarassed, he nodded in sympathy, keeping his eyes closed in a fluster.
A clear trace of relief showed on his face before he opened his eyes and asked in a solemn manner.
"I am glad it was of help but why the hell do you take the Bone Marrowing Pill as a mundane human? You could have burst apart if things went awry!"
Spark stood there with dark memories rushing back to him before he wholeheartedly agreed with a nod, completely acknowledging Terry's statement.
"If I knew it was going to be this bad, I would've thought twice about it but... Terry, you know, time is of utmost value right now and perhaps... perhaps I will need this strength sooner than I'd personally wish to."
Vaguely hinting at impeding danger, he explained his reasons and Terry could only sigh in defeat.
"As a young man, you should be passionate and hot-blooded... And you! You definitely cross that quality off your character list."
He then stretched out his hand and added:
"But you've done well! Congratulations for taking you first step on the glorious journey of cultivation."
Tali had been listening intently with occasional nods, wow's and gasps in reaction to Spark's eventful morning.
She had unobscured sparkles in her eyes when shooting Spark a clear gaze of admiration and reverance when she heard about his stories. She, who had witnessed Joey's ascension into the Element Awakening Realm or more widely known as the Qi Realm, and now heard the story of Spark's sudden breakthrough into the Body Foundation Realm, was full of fervent feelings.
"Congratz Big Bro!!!" the little blue eyed girl cheerfully exclaimed in a sweet mixture of unbridled admiration and joy.
Spark's greyish-green eyes sharpened at their well-wishes and an immutable upward curve forced its way on his lips as he took Terry's hand with his right and petted Tali's black hair with his left.
"Thank you for the congratulations!... But this is just the very beginning! In fact, this is the first step of another thousand to make!"
Spark lingered a bit and spoke with a grin:
"And I'm telling you now. The present right now is only the nascence of an undoubtedly glorious future."
Spark picked what you could almost desribe as a flaunting word choice, slinging a partly nasal, and more than anything, an honest, cheerful laugh behind it.
A meaningful tranquility washed the room in a one of a kind atmosphere. Not a word fell in the next couple of seconds and only wide smiles crept onto its participants, who shared tacit stares with each other.
It was an atmosphere, a feeling, a moment that is difficult to accurately catch with the limited frame of human language.
A feeling of inspiration and fervent zest would set the hearts of the indulged brightly aflame.
Some would call that moment and atmosphere ambitious or remarkable or opposite to that, a boisterous flood of nonsense.
You could of course also call it passionate and thought-inducing, but... if one peeks behind the curtains of subjectivity, the most appropriate and accurate description of this simple vocal exchange was quite different, when looked at through the lense of omniscience.
If viewed through the lense of omniscience... It would most aptly and simply be described as — historical.
It will turn out to be a promised truth of the future, and in more detail, a historical promise of truth.
Dissecting it even further and comparing it with the unspeakable and unbelievable things that were yet to come and were as of now, unavowed and unknown, it was a vague but truthful glimpse of an illustrious will-be, a prod avalanching into of a myriad of fabled stories and insurmountable reputation.
But... for now, and in absolute reality, it was nothing but a confident foreshadow, metamorphosing from a burning, yes— a blistering and longing desire for self-fulfillment.
The fleeting magical moment soon vanished back into the ether of sensations, situated between the conscious and subconscious.
Time and context melted and intertwined again, quick and coherent, like the push of the button and its instantanious effect.
...Laughs echoed cheerfully through the room, replacing the former atmosphere with floods of joyful vibrations.
After the laughter died down and Spark engaged in further casual banter with Terry and Tali, Spark brought up an unexpected topic.
"Terry, I have a proposal to make."
The tailor arched his eyebrows in wait. Spark cleared his throat and straightened his back while holding eye contact and began his pitch.
"I have a major interest in clothing and fashion and seeing the wonderful quality of the clothes you gave me to wear I was struck with the idea of collaboration!"
"You see... I have some resources to spend and great ideas, too," Spark said with a meaningful smirk.
The tailor was pleasantly surprised to hear a proposal involving his area of expertise. There was simply no good reason to refuse.
"Of yourse I'm in! I'm glad you're interested in fashion. It has enormous room for opportunity and development, especially for the average people. All these exalted boutiques with their usury prices and limitation to noble clientele just haven't realized that fact yet."
'Wow, that didn't take much convincing. This might be the easiest pitch of my life!' Spark chuckled inwardly. He was very satisfied with that development.
"We seem to be on the same page considering its potential," the businessman agreed with a nod.
"Let me show you some of my creations!"
Terry, who felt more energized and healthy, wanted to stand up from the bed and lead Spark to the wardrobe but before he could, the young man pressed on his shoulder, making him fall back with a light plop.
He showed a confused expressions.
"...Spark?"
The black-haired youth shook his head slowly and gave him a somewhat solemn stare, which melted into a gentle smile at the end.
"There is a time and a place for everything, Terry.
"Focus on getting healthy and back on your feet again first.
"We can, no, we will postpone our plans and arrangements until then."
Terry blushed with hidden indignation and wanted to object.
"I'm touched that you care about my health this much, but I'm honestly, much better already! You don't..."
He wanted to justify further but Spark interrupted skillfully with another quick grab of Terry's right shoulder.
"Terry... You really are a great man. But don't overexhaust yourself. Eagerness can become poison if you dose it incorrectly."
The tailor had complicated feeling about that statement. He thought about the miserable state he was in just a couple hours ago. Tacit acknowledgement and the clear desire to not be a burden to others welled up inside him, but all he could muster to express was a slow nod.
Spark reciprocated the acknowledgement with a nod on his own, before turning slightly stern.
"...And sadly, there is another pressing matter to deal with tonight. I'll need you to excuse me for now."
...
At 'The Shelter' Joey sat on the edge of the bartable, fiddling a crystalline glass inbetween his palms.
The sun threw its last rays onto the outskirts before partly vanishing west, behind the gargantuan stone walls that encircled Monsoon City without fail.
Each minute and each drop of the daylight's shades into a pronounced goldish orange put him closer to an inevitable fight that was most likely going to happen that night.
His mood turned solemn, his nerves drew taut. He wanted to calm his disposition with a drop of whiskey, but... he decided to fill in water instead.
There was no room for sloppiness after all!
He glanced at the dozen kids scattered around the tavern. Some jumped, and some engaged in civil talk, while others played some sort of card game at the table.
Borza was at the table too, quietly inspecting the contents painted on the cards with a curious and deep gaze.
Seeing the levity and cheerfulness, he frowned surreptitiously.
'Right. They absolutely cannot get suspicious!'
Jessie, who played cards with the children, felt the stare of her husband and turned to his direction.
A short eye-contact, a tacit understanding, an almost indiscernible nod and some quickened heartbeats later... They went about their business, seemingly unperturbed.
...
When the night finally broke, outside of The Shelter.
On a dilapidated roof a couple houses away, a brown haired woman surveyed the surrounding area with slitted, feline eyes.
"Honey, you notice something?"
A deep and low voice resounded from behind her. The woman closed her glowing eyes, which turned to their usual honeybrown color in the next moment before shaking her head gently.
"Nothing as of now..."
The man stepped out of the shadow of a partially erected wall of the second floor of the building.
"It can't be that these mongrels noticed us, can it."
When he stepped out of the obscuring camouflage of the shadows, a solitary ray of moonlight fell onto his countenance.
A menacing frown became visible. It looked terrible and was circled by throbbing veins of anger.
It practically made the air around him shake in fear.
Deep within him, a bloody, immutable grudge blurred his rational thinking into a state, slivers away from exploding into mindless massacre.
This person couldn't wait to find the responsible cuplrit of his daughter's kidnapping in front of his intimidating stature, no... directly in the prison of his lethal grip.
The feline woman held her cool a bit better but a good bit of the sentiment rubbed off on her.
"Calm yourself, let's move a bit closer to the pub. It shouldn't be too long until something happens.
"But we need to consider that they will probably use skills to survey the area," she said while switching her eyes into the state of a nocturnal predator again.
Alessandro gave a slight nod to his wife and halted his steps.
"...Alright, we shouldn't startle the snake before we can chop its head off," the burly colossus exclaimed, borrowing the adage he heard earlier that day and a vague picture of an unassuming youth appeared somewhere in the back of his mind.
...
Some houses away, inside an inconspicious little apartment.
"Alright, the night finally fell..."
A man draped in the darkness of the night said with a serious tone.
"Roukey check the state of the tavern once again."
The shadow asked another, who was bending down to the floor to touch the ground with both of his palms, firm and orderly.
"Earth's Touch." he uttered.
And very quietly, a wave of mana drained from his dantian.
After some moments of silence, his strained expression eased up and he whispered.
"...There is nothing unusual boss! A strong presence and about a dozen weaker ones are inside the building."
"Hmm, yes that is natural. The one who dealt with the damned dog has already awakened. It seems the information of the dirty bandit pack was correct."
"And the surroundings? Anything unusual?"
"It's all in order! The houses I scanned show no trace of any considerably strong or threatening presences."
When he heard that, the boss grinned maliciously. It was a disgusting smile, motivated by unhidden, immoral intentions.
"My informants also told me that Alessandro and Corale haven't moved yet. I can't believe it's so easy!"
His grin turned devilish as he knitted his eyes into slits.
"Lucky ..."
He turned to the 5 people gathered next to him and ordered them in a stern manner.
"Let's go! Everyone come closer, I'll apply Wind Mirage to be on the safe side."
He then closed his eyes in concentration and the wind around him rotated in a strange manner swaying forwards and backwards like a beating heart. A translucent windmist enveloped the group and slowly, they vanished into thin air.
"Now... Quietly."
Making their way to the backdoor of the house, they passed by a gruesome scene.
An older couple lay motionlessly on the cold floor of the house. Their eyes were opened and their expressions were etched with fear and desperation. No blood was spilled, but their necks showed strange traces of scrape marks with their own hands being the probable reason for the wounds.
Death by asphyxiation. A scene of true cruelty.
Paying the couple not even a last glance, the boss made his way out of the door into a small veranda, invisible and determined.
His eyes shone in a treacherous glimmer, unbeknownst to anybody.
Tap
Swoosh
Tap
Swoosh
Tap
The quiet taps, just like the revolving windmist, were almost indiscernible and inaudible, and with every slow step the group took, they neared their goal, the sheltering tavern.
...But when they reached the distance of the last 15 meters, something unexpected happened.
A loud ringing echo resounded through the nearby area and every single person that heard it and knew what it meant, really without a single exception, contorted their face in utmost tension.
"THEY'RE HERE! IN FRONT OF THE TAVERN, THEY'RE INVISIBLE!"
Really, not a single happy face was around. Some were shocked, incredulous and in disbelief. Others showed utmost tension and anxiousness. And one face especially, radiated with an etching and utter hatred.
What happened next... happened really, really fast.