Wailings and whimperings screamed out to reverberate through the entire outskirts. A myriad of dark shadows in a sea of purple flames cried their pain into the dark night.
The masked man, who revealed a thick nose, a small, scrunched up mouth and a scar running through his cheek burned into a black skeleton in the matter of seconds, without even being able let out a single scream of agony.
Joey got up, being eaten alive by the purple flames, and in slow steps approached the pool of blood, halted and fell to his knees in front of the figure lying peacefully on the crimson soil.
He curbed the murderous flames, which let out shrill shrieks of agony, the closer they were to being extinguished.
"N-no...." he muttered with two streams of tears falling down his cheek.
A call of disbelief escaped his lips, dwindling at the end of enunciation.
"S-Spark...!"
...
A fading nothingness stretched inside Spark's mind. His thoughts garbled around in incoherent strips. He could almost not grasp a single clear thought.
'Am I dying...'
'Again?...'
Spark's weak consciousness registered sharp pains plaguing it all over. Slowly, a pronounced and cold drowsiness tried to embrace him in a blanket of slumber.
'No... I can't die... I can't.'
'My real life just started three days ago, please... please don't.'
Weak pleads for life cried out of his very soul.
'I want to li-live... p-please...'
'I have things to do... I have much to achieve!! NO!!!'
The sorrow of two lifetimes hung weakly over his cries, which were filled with deep emotion.
The immutable darkness around him stirred slowly, ever-changing and mysterious, as if guided by a mysterious intent.
Suddenly, like an answer to his miserable pleads, a resplendent white shimmer lit up inside his mind.
Like a newborn firefly climbing the dark, or a weak candle flame fluttering through heavy winds, rows of numinous runes grew visible with each second.
WOOSH!
At once, the fire was flooded with kerosine, the shimmering runes glaring up into a blinding brilliance.
They depicted his Soulslate.
---
[Théo Floga's Soulslate]
[Cultivation: Lesser Body Foundation]
[Elements: not acquired]
[Spirit Bond: not acquired]
[Soul Bounds: not acquired]
[Skills: Foreign Being , The Favored Prospect ,Cochlean Implant , ... ]
---
A shudder penetrated his entire being, when the clutches of hope heaved him out of his daze and gave him a modicum of clarity.
The will to live clung to him like an everlasting chain, and an idea burgeoned in his mind slowly.
It sprouted step by step, and the fuzzy bud unfurled a beautiful mind-child.
Immediately he willed a particular rune to transform.
---
[The Favored Prospect]
[Category: Gift]
[Rank: Immeasurable]
[The Grand Dao accepts your arrival with open arms, and in exchange for the unavowed knowledge the Being Théo Floga possessed and shared, he in turn receives an equal compensation.]
[Effect: Bilateral Being (Unredeemed) , Adored by Fate , Thriving Slayer.]
---
Hoarsely, he uttered two words:
"Bilateral Being"
The white of the runes glowed up in increased intensity.
[Bilateral Being (Unredeemed)]
[As a Being of two worlds, Théo Floga, who reincarnated in the deceased Spark March's physical vessel, is eligible for a Divine Awakening.]
With his last reserves, he squeezed out another demand from his exhausted faculties:
"Redeem."
...
A row of runes replied to his hopeful command.
[Unable to redeem, the Being has not reached the threshold of Awakening]
He cried it out again in a weak whimper:
"Redeem."
...
[Unable to redeem, the Being has not reached threshold of Awakening]
Spark fell silent for a moment. A soul-tearing whine escaped his mind, before he furiously shouted out.
"FOR GOD'S SAKE. REDEEM IT!!!"
... Eery silence set in once again. The rows of runes depicting his Soulslate slowly stirred and became more and more restless.
In a flash, the shimmering white runes lopsided into a menacing pitch-black. Dark elegance radiated from every word, and new additions blurred into existence.
[A numinous existence interferes. Deep connectedness to the Grand Dao activates.]
[The Grand Dao bestows its grace.]
['The Favored Prospect' rank changes from 'Immeasurable' to 'Clandestine']
['Bilateral Being' is being partly redeemed]
[Divine Awakening is starting]
---
At this point, Spark's mind turned blank, deluged with an ancient darkness.
...
Outside the confines of Spark's mind, Joey's tears trickled onto the ground like a endless river.
"You... you can't die."
"No! No... not yet."
He crouched next to the bloody body, and desperately searched for any herbs on him. Not finding any, he closed his eyes and inspected his Soulslate to find anything of help to this tragic situation.
He looked and looked and found new additions.
When focussing on them, he was met with utter disappointment.
[The Flames of 'Sorrow's Hell']
[Category: Gift]
[Rank: Rare]
[Endless agony and sorrow sprouts a darkness fervent enough to set ablaze the entire world. 'Sorrow' bestows on you, its hellish flame, capable of destruction and domination, enough to fulfill any revenge.]
Joey screamed out in heart-tearing cries:
"No-NO! NOO!...I need healing damn it... I need HEALING!"
At the moment he screamed his desperation into the world, a man dressed in a silken white robe appeared behind him like a ghost.
Joey hasn't realized it in his agony, but the clashing sounds from the masked boss and Alessandro had stopped echoing through the outskirts some moments ago.
The man dressed in flawless white had ruffled black hair and a short squirly beard, giving him a dissolute, but somehow regal appearance at the same time.
He frowned deeply when he caught sight of the young man and his demise.
What's more was, that he knew that person. It was him, who erected a first-aid center when the waterfloods submerged the market in their unfeeling currents.
He grabbed Joey by the shoulder, his touch gentle.
Joey twitched and looked up to see the sad expression painting Orald's face.
"City Lord..."
Joey showed a trace of joy, and urged the man immediately:
"City Lord! You need to save him! You must have some wondrous herb to cure him, right? Right?!"
The City Lord shook his head slowly, the look of grief intensifying on his face.
"Even I can't save someone who already took his last breath."
He crouched down to Joey and put his hand on Spark's hull.
Spark's abdomen was wide open with his innards spilling out, creating a very gory scene.
When the City Lord put his hand over the boy, his eyes widened in disbelief.
He pressed on Spark's breastcage and if he wasn't mistaken, he heard a weak thump of a beating heart.
Looking at his open stomach, Orald had to gulp and uttered in confusion:
"His heart... his heart, it's still beating."
The beating became more pronounced and vibrant, and when Orald sensed this change, he immediately produced a golden leaf from the pouch on his waistband.
He put a big portion of his Mana into the golden leaf, lighting up its fibres with an unmatched brilliance. It emanated heavenly golden light, flailing around in the dark like a miniature sun.
When it reached the peak of its culmniation, he put the miniature sun in Spark's mouth and exclaimed in a loud voice:
"Young man! If you're that unwilling to part from life, let this City Lord reward your willpower! The rest is up to you!"
Immediately after, Spark's meridians were washed in waves of golden Mana. Orald did his best to push Spark's innards back into the bloodied abdomen, until they were gripped by an invisible power placing them in their rightful place.
It was as if his body subconsciously remembered the location of its every particle.
That must be a side-effect of the Bone Marrowing Pill Spark had taken earlier that day.
His body caught on a golden shine as a membrane of golden Mana draped and wreaved around his skin. All gashes closed quicker and quicker, until his skin returned to its former flawless surface.
The City Lord and Joey gazed at the event with widened eyes. The effect of the Golden Leaf seemed to be a bit exaggerated. It took no more than a couple seconds to restore Spark to his former state, and that was not the end of the procedure at all.
What the two didn't know, was that Spark was currently undergoing something completely unheard of.
He went through a Divine Awakening. The first of its kind.
Coincidentally, it overlapped with the time Orald put the Golden Leaf into his mouth.
His body was already being restored by favor of 'Bilateral Being', so the speed of his recuperations was multiplied, and consequently more energy for the Awakening was left to be devoured voraciously.
A golden mist formed around Spark's body and revolved mysteriously above his being, as if being stirred by the wind.
The colors of the night became more pronounced and ancient. Dark shadows were thrown by the golden light and seemingly came to life with coruscating patterns and forms glimmering like immutable canvases of an endless space.
The City Lord knitted his eyebrows in doubt.
'The Golden Leaf is a life-saving treasure I saved for myself, but isn't this a bit too much?'
Wondering if he had given away a stupendous treasure unknowingly, he sighed and checked the state of Spark with a profound gaze.
The golden mist slowly contracted and formed into a whirlpool that was incorporated into Spark greedily.
Soon, the shining light retracted, the glistening shadows stopped dancing, and silence embraced the three figures in the dark.
Slowly, the City Lord felt Spark's pulse and nodded to the burly bartender, who by now was left in a daze.
Pure joy formed on his face, when he understood... that Spark had been saved.
"Thank you City Lord! For your grace and the sacrifice of your precious treasure."
The City Lord scratched his temples awkwardly and replied with uncertainty:
"Ah... well, it is only natural."
He gave Spark a last, scrutinizing glance, before turning around and commentating with nonchalance:
"Let him rest, it will take a while for his body to recover from the mental shock, I presume."
He then vanished into the dark after taking a couple of steps.
Joey sat stumped on the ground before weakly saying:
"An Element Stimulation Artist's means are truly unfathomable."
Then, he glanced back at Spark, who was still lying unconsciously in a puddle of his blood.
His clothing was in tatters, cut apart by the Bone-Blades of the deceased evil-doer.
Joey sighed and gave a wry, but somehow gentle smile before mumbling:
"I told you, I won't let you die..."
...
In the whistling wind of the eventful evening, illuminated by the burning shelter, the City Lord, Alessandro, and Corale stood in front of two men bound together by a chain brimming with a weak, white light.
Their masks were already ripped apart, revealing their faces clearly.
The first guy was bloodied and in serious condition. Countless cuts and scratches sated his body. It looked like he had just finished wrestling with a tiger. His face was awfully generic, with the slim eyes and bushy brows being the most distinguishable of his features.
The other person had more recognition value. His sly and thin expression-lines were showing a spiteful frown. An aqualine nose and thin lips with slitted eyes gave him a scheming aura.
And a schemer he was...
Orald was the first to break the silence:
"Silver Hawk... why the hell did you do this?"
Alessandro and Corale had to hold back from pounding on the chained man. The blonde giant's expression were the farthest you could get from a cordial smile. His face was flushed red, with blood trickles adding more red to the mix.
"What do you mean..."
"..." Orald kept silent.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" the blacksmith finally exploded into a frenzy.
He held back his anger in the fight to not risk mistakes, but now he had to found a vent for his emotions. His heart felt way too full, to just go about doing nothing to his arch-enemy.
He took a step forward and swung his fist to hammer it down on the defenseless merchant.
The City Lord just moved his a finger to stop the onslaught.
Alessandro's swing, loaded up with utter destruction, stopped in its tracks and hovered mere centimeters from the Silver Hawk.
The merchant's head produced cold sweat instantly when he discerned pulsating veins inbetween the knuckles.
The City Lord shook his head to the burly aggressor before saying:
"Don't kill a defenseless man... He will receive a fair punishment after we have gathered enough knowledge and testaments for his actions and motives."
Alessandro gave Orald a dark glance, before clicking his tongue.
...
In the rays of the moonlight, the fire of the tavern was successfully extinguished by Water Elementals, and other people with Water-Related Skills.
Noone, except for four people of Silver Hawk's group had left their life at the scene that night.
It had almost become five, but fate spun its gears to work in mysterious ways once again.
The night finally engulfed the outskirts in its lightless blanket, with only yellow shimmers of the moon reaching the ground to brighten up a burly, charred man, holding a bloodied young boy in his arms.
Around them, there were a dozen kids gazing at the black-haired youth with complicated expressions.
A woman held her hand in front of her mouth in a gasp. Salty rivers made of tears ran down her cheek, a mixture of emotions running havoc inside her heart.
...
A meaningful silence, only disturbed by reluctant sobs, encompassed the group in an enclosing barrier from reality.
Weird and twisted smiles of relief forced themselves slowly onto the indulged.