Whistling while walking under the illumination of the pale light of the moon, he carried an animal that looked like a wolf but had horns. The fire lamps from houses along the street and singing insects added charm to the night.
Rahgar dropped the animal, pushed open the wooden door of his house, and walked inside. The oil lamp warmed and lightened the room. He took off his gloves, dropped his machete, and walked toward his room.
However, somebody emerged from the room beside his room. Raising his head, he saw a young woman with long, black, smooth hair and gem-like black eyes that shone like stars of the night.
"You're back from your hunt?" She asked with a light smile.
"Hmmm."
"I will boil water to warm you up, or you might catch a cold," She said, opened the wooden door, and walked towards the mud kitchen outside. Her flowing, long gown added serenity to her calm aura.
Rahgar shook his head and walked into his room. He took off his clothes and threw them into the woven basket beside his bed, leaving himself bare. A candle lightened his room.
He walked to the rectangular plate of silver on the wall and stared at his face.
Although the silver surface blurred his face, he could still see his long, black hair. He stared at his familiar, yet foreign face.
Five years ago, he suddenly found himself in the body of a ten years old kid, on an underdeveloped planet. In his previous world, he was a Special Ops agent, however, he accidentally discovered one of the President's dirty secrets. That was how he became hunted by the whole country for killing his teammates, stealing the country's secret, and deserting his duty. Everybody believed the news.
After being on the run for seven years, he decided it was time for revenge. He succeeded in killing the President of the country, who just left power. However, he died in the process. That was how he found himself alive on the planet Hadar.
He has been living a peaceful life while waiting for the previous owner to come and claim his body.
"Rahgar." A small, light voice interrupted Rahgar's thought.
"I'm coming," Rahgar said softly.
That was Helen. Since he reincarnated into the body of the kid, he found out that he was living with a girl who was ten years older than him. She was calm, peaceful, and caring like a mother... minus the nagging part. Maybe a wife? He wasn't sure where to place her.
Just as he wore his trousers and was about to wear his cotton shirt, he felt a stingy sensation on his arm. This made him pause and stare at his arm.
The stingy sensation started spreading over his body and became intense. He gritted his teeth and ignored the pain. However, it abruptly went from a stingy sensation to a burning sensation.
"Ahhh!" He yelled shortly before clamping his mouth and falling to the ground. The abruptness of the pain caught him off-guard.
"Rahgar, are you okay?" Helen asked worriedly, with her little voice.
"I'm fine. Just a little slip," Rahgar said calmly while holding his breath and enduring the excruciating pain, to avoid screaming.
He stared at his body and saw red tattoos emerging on his skin. It started from his arms and started crawling up his body like a slithering snake to his back and chest. As it crawled, the burning sensation amplified. He felt like a pan of hot oil was poured on him. Like the handwriting of an invisible divine being, weird symbols started appearing on his skin, one after another. However, it wasn't anything pleasant.
"Oh no! The Forbidden Bloodline!" he exclaimed silently, but the sharp-listening ears of Helen caught the exclamation.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Helen began to worry.
"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Could you please do me a favor?" Rahgar said through his gritted teeth while trying to sound normal.
"Anything for you," Helen said softly.
"One of my hunted animals was dropped at the border of the forest. It is the size of a bull. Can you please help me pick it up?" Rahgar regulated his voice to sound normal.
"Sure," Helen said and left.
After he heard the door open and closed, he breathed a sigh of relief. He focused his attention on his body and saw the weird markings on his body. The clap of thunder drew his attention to the ceiling while waiting for the inevitable. He rested his back on his wooden, roughly-shaped bed stand.
Bang! The loud bursting of the wooden door made him return his gaze to his door. His room door also burst open. He saw six men clad in golden, shiny armor and helmet. The emblem of a brown tower without any window was placed on their chest.
They stared at Rahgar before one of them unsheathed his sword from the scabbard and walked to Rahgar.
"I hereby sentence you to death for awakening the forbidden bloodline according to the law of the Tower Empire," the man said solemnly like a ceremonial performance, before raising his sword to behead Rahgar. However, the indifference in the face of death, made the soldier feel confused.
Many people will crawl and beg in the face of death, including adults. But the weird teenager never looked at him clearly since he entered the room.
In Hadar planet, anybody who awakens the forbidden bloodline will be killed on site. Moreover, it cannot be hidden because thunder and lightning will be seen over the person's location. It has the characteristic of red markings on the body.
The soldier decided not to care about the teenager. He assumed the shock of awakening the forbidden bloodline was too much for the teenager.
Just as he was about to slash his sword, he heard the coldest but sweetest voice he had ever heard. "Anybody who touches him dies!"
This attracted the attention of the soldiers and Rahgar. He stared at the door, and behold, Helen was standing there; but not the regular Helen.
She held two swords. One glowing red like a red, heated metal, and the other shimmering like an ice crystal.
'Elements in weapons!' Rahgar exclaimed inwardly in shock. However, the shock quickly vanished as fast as it appeared. He raised his head from the glowing sword until his eyes met Helen's eyes.
"What are you doing here?" He asked coldly.
"You think I'm a fool? You never let me do hard jobs, but you sent me to get a bull-sized animal?" Helen said with a calm smile, not minding his harsh tone.
It dawned on him that her serene and obedient attitude had unconsciously caused him to underestimate her intelligence. He had claimed to have caught a bull-sized animal, but he knew he couldn't carry such a large animal and the one he had brought back at the same time. He had not considered the possibility of her noticing the inconsistencies, or of her having observed his character in the previous years.
"Kill her!" the man, standing at the back, ordered.
"Yes, general!" three soldiers replied and walked tactically towards her.
"She's not with me," Rahgar said anxiously.
"That's not for you to decide. According to the rules of the Tower Empire, anybody who is associated with the person who awoke the forbidden bloodline is to be killed: friends, families, and enemies," the general said coldly before turning to Helen while ignoring Rahgar.
However, the sound of the sword unsheathing and a 'thud sound' attracted his attention back to Rahgar. What he saw made his mouth tremble. All the soldiers stared at the head of their fallen comrade on the ground, and the indifferent Rahgar holding a sword dripping with blood.
When the general regained his senses from his daze, he roared, "What have you done!"
The general suddenly swung his whip at Rahgar. A whip was set ablaze with flickering flames in midair.
Rahgar jumped to the side and the whip smashed the bed. It set the bed and its wooden stand on fire. Although he dodged the whip, it grazed his skin. He was lucky that he wasn't wearing any clothes.
Before Rahgar could get up, the general already swung his fire whip at him for the second time. This time, he couldn't dodge the whip.
He felt the searing hotness of the fire whip approaching him, lighting his surroundings with a bright yellow color. Closing his eyes, he embraced death.
He was indifferent towards death, but he regretted implicating Helen.
Suddenly, the heat vanished. He raised his head and saw the general and Helen battling in the room intensely. Her sword skills were refined; the general's whip skill was losing ground. The roof of the house was already blown apart. Fire has spread all over the room, making all the furniture a torch. The enclosed room made the shock wave hit his face. Every clash between the fire whip and the swords sent sparks flying. While the only soldier alive, didn't dare move or attack Rahgar.
He felt uncomfortable due to the intense heat.
He saw the head of the three soldiers who went to attack Helen on the ground.
"Go!" Helen said calmly when she managed to push the general back, which jolted Rahgar. He could see the stubbornness in her eyes. Staring at her eyes for a moment, he turned and escaped through the window. He is not the emotional type. Staying will only inconvenience Helen. Furthermore, the fight has made the whole house go up in flames, which will attract the neighboring soldiers' attention.
The forest wasn't far from the village, so he escaped into the forest. When he reached the border of the forest, he turned back and saw the only living soldier, apart from the general, chasing him. Without looking back, he bolted deeper into the forest, using his familiarity with the forest to keep a safe distance from the faster soldier.
After running for ten minutes, he got to the edge of a cliff. A dead end. Suddenly, a distant explosion from behind attracted his attention. He turned back and saw the smoke drifting upwards.
He turned to the running soldier who had almost reached him and said calmly, "If I survive, I will burn the Tower Empire to the ground. I will make a sea of blood flow on the land. Remember, Rahgar is dead."
He then jumped off the cliff.