At the summit of a forested mountain stood a small house surrounded by towering trees. Numerous crows rested on the branches of the trees scaring away other birds from their nests. Their caws echoed throughout the dirt paths sending shivers to any organism that passed by. The forest floor was covered in dead leaves that were slowly rotting away and becoming one with the soil.
In the moss-covered house, a man and his wife were tending to their son who was suffering from an unknown disease. He was very thin and his breathing was hollow, sometimes he would be gasping for air gritting his teeth as his insides felt nothing but pain and burns.
His father couldn't forgive himself for neglecting his son when he was playing outside on that day. They always thought the area they lived in was somewhat safe. How could his son have fallen very ill unexpectedly, maybe it was the food or the constant stuffiness they felt in the atmosphere that has been gnawing at them. There were still no answers to their questions.
From his fingers to elbow on his left arm, the boy's skin was similar to rotting wood. Even his nails were succumbing to the decomposition. Before things got worse he often peeled off the dry skin which led to his mother wrapping cloth around it to stop him from doing so. "If this goes on you'll get an infection this is serious stop that!" She said little did she and her husband know that was only the beginning of a devastating outcome.
"You must drink the soup," His father cried watching his wife struggle to get the spoon into their son's mouth. The pain in his jaw made the boy reluctant to open his mouth. "Please it will help you get better!"
"This isn't going anywhere the disease is still actively spreading throughout his body we need to call an ambulance right now!"
"No! I don't want anyone to see my son in this state he will get better with the herbs I got from the Lord Founder!" The man yelled leaving his wife with a horrified expression on her face.
"There's nothing we can do he can barely get off the bed! It's time we do something you can't hide from anyone not when our son needs help!"
"What makes you think they can do something about his condition?! Everyone will see him as a monster look at his appearance now, he's just rotting skin and bones. I'm too blame." Wrapping her arms around her husband, the wife let the tears flow down.
Their son continued coughing blood that was mixed with the soup. His mother looked at him helplessly and placed the bowl on the table beside the bed. "My t-throat is ach- The boy was cut off by another round of coughs and heavy breathing.
"I'm going outside the Lord Founder should be here soon. The herbs will end this once and for all." The man left the room, before he could turn the knob, his wife ran after him pleading to call an ambulance. Hearing that made the man's skin crawl he wanted to lock the door so his wife couldn't leave, she cried and ran back to the room sobbing.
"Don't get in my way!" Shutting the door behind him, the man ran towards the end of the dirt path, closer to sunlight. When he got there he squinted his eyes at the trail beyond where he stood and waited for the person he was expecting. Where could he be? The man thought he was getting very impatient.
Not long later, a familiar figure appeared walking towards him. The man was relieved the Lord Founder did keeps his promise. With the new type of herbs his son will definitely be cured.
"Here are the herbs." The young and tall man said, giving the light brown plants to the man, iridescent eyes shining in the sunlight. "These will cure your son's intestinal colic and tuberculosis I assume."
"Isn't this the same thing you gave me the other day?!" The man snapped clearly unsatisfied. The herbs were quite effective but he was expecting something more convincing. What more could these basic herbs do there wasn't much time left.
"Sir how is your son? I can treat him-
"Did you forget? I'm not letting anyone see my son in his current state!"
"But how is your son going to get better if no one sees his condition? If you let me take a look at him I'll be able to give you the suitable medical supplies and the treatment that he needs."
"Go away! My son is a monster to the eyes of everyone else! Thank you and goodbye." Snatching the Daio from the blonde male, the man stormed off back to his house in anger.
The blonde male narrowed his eyes at the man. In this kind of situation, people can still be ignorant when help arrives, he could only pity them.
Like last time the air was suffocating, obviously contaminated with some sort of harmful pollutant. The blonde male suspected that the source of this constricting effect on the atmosphere must be responsible for the boy's sickness. Whether his family is thankful or not, the blonde male was going to return the area to its original scenic state.
Raising his palm, the blonde male summoned a light-blue crystal that floated above him and stopped there blinking a few times. After this the forest will no longer be desolate. The family can live normally again.
Within seconds the crystal released magnetic waves that circulated throughout the area, dispersing the shadows and fragments of decay from every corner. Even the animals that had fallen ill from the contamination were immediately healed upon contact with the magnetic waves. A squirrel got up from the forest floor after lying there with aching limbs. This was an indication that the forest was healed and the blonde male was sure the family will notice this anytime now.
The young founder took one last look at the forest before walking down the trail. Leaves on the ground were swept by the wind. Everything was back to normal, the atmosphere was restored.
Observing their son desperately, the man's wife noticed changes in his condition and appearance. The dry skin was vanishing and he was no longer idle and scrawny. He opened his eyes widely and looked at his parents with a glow on his face, smiling.
"Mom, dad I'm not tired anymore I feel energetic again. Can I go outside?"
"He has recovered!" Both parents embraced their son with tears in their eyes, the young founder had truly helped them with much sincerity. They couldn't thank him enough.
---
Locking the gates of his shrine, Douma placed the keys in his pocket and walked down the trail with the construction workers. The third mountain was beside the heavily forested one which was the first thing people would see when they get to Paradise Shrine. This was the second mountain and Douma wondered if there would be any developments there in the future, for years it's been left unattended with a few houses in the dense forests.
"Are there any plans for the second mountain?" Douma asked the man who was in the lead. From his expression, the young founder could tell he was taken aback by his question.
"What second mountain? You mean the one over there?" Pointing at the densely forested mountain, Douma nodded. Of course people would forget about the second mountain it was hardly ever talked about unlike the third. Some gave it other names that Douma couldn't quite recall he always referred to it as the second mountain. Maybe he had to do better with naming things.
"Funny enough, we do plan on tidying up that place a little and build some facilities there but there's just too much forest and habitats that we don't want to touch on for now."
"I think something can be done about it." To Douma, clearing the forest was easy, just a snap of his finger should do the trick, but not to the group who were now discussing about the second mountain, their least favorite topic for whatever reason.
The man cleared his throat and snorted at the comments his team was making about the second mountain. Hearing their conversations, Douma understood why not just this group but everyone else lacked interest in the topic. Every reason was the same, too boring and far behind. Which is true, Douma completely agreed.
"The second mountain is a chore."
"You got that right! We'll get lost in those forest before construction even starts!"
A white dove swooped down and landed on Douma's shoulder. It greeted him with a melodic chirp. The group was shocked by its sudden appearance they thought it was another bird in the sky flying past them.
"Hey there buddy how was your day?" Douma rubbed the bird's chin as it leaned against his finger and closed its eyes in relaxation.
The workers looked at the bird in curiosity. Taking notice of this Douma stretched his arm forward to let the bird rest near his elbow instead so they could interact with it. The dove would be mistaken for a bundle of snow if it weren't for the orange beak.
"Gracious Founder the most majestic of creatures always come your way! You truly are a blessing!"
"This dove visits me sometimes. It's been a while since we saw each other. I was starting to get a little worried." Upon hearing Douma's words the bird cooed in response, flapping its wings as a way to assure Douma that it was fine.
They continued walking down the trail towards the left where a few trucks were parked. One of the workers quickened their pace when the vehicles came to view. Douma and the crew got ready to get in the vehicles and drive off.
While waiting Douma interacted with the dove for a while, giving it more neck rubs. It then flapped its wings indicating that it was leaving and soared to the sky, chirping at him before flying in the direction of the wind.
Once everyone was ready, they got in their vehicles and drove along the path.
"Guys I can teleport all of us to the construction site right now, free of charge." Douma chimed, he found their reactions amusing, especially the one driving the vehicle; "Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" He said to which the others in the truck laughed.
"Can't say I'm surprised you can do just about anything."
"Hasu Mountains is lucky to have you. The villages would've been consumed by that Earthquake if it weren't for your powers. Just where did you come from anyway?" Now everyone was looking at him skeptically. All Douma could do was smile and sit up comfortably from being squeezed.
Before he could even answer one of them cackled so loudly all four of them in the vehicle got shocked.
"Isn't it obvious? He's from the place everyone's been dreaming of!"
"Oh silly me I forgot! What's it like there? Tell us!"
The truck came to a stop and everyone got out. Douma was saved from having to give an explanation that will just beat around the bush. Like he'd ever tell any person on this planet anything.
"We're here." Two more trucks were parked at the side of the road. In front of Douma was the construction site with planks of wood stacked on the floor and a few people taking down notes and discussing with the workers about the setup. Douma could guess one of them was their manager.
The area was surrounded by a forest which was expected since this was another secluded area of Hasu Mountains but it seemed busy enough to attract a lot of people since miles away was a restaurant.
"You guys made the right choice. This place is wonderful I'm sure the people of Hasu Mountains won't have any trouble getting to the future clinic." Douma glanced at the road and trees to see if anything was amidst which seemed unlikely.
"Thank you so much Lord Douma if we need anything we'll just call you is that alright? We understand you're busy."
"It's fine I'm happy to help." Douma reassured the crew, he couldn't wait to see the new clinic. Hasu Mountains was about to have an upgrade for the greater good.
The workers bowed and proceeded to the area with the tools, materials, and equipment. A few of them had started moving the wooden planks and screws to the spot closest to an opening between the large trees.
Instinctively Douma followed after them to check that area. If they were going to start from every corner, he had to make sure the coast was clear before they can continue their progress.
When he got to the opening of the forest, Douma paced around to observe. At first everything seemed normal until he heard a gurgling sound.
That was when Douma felt a shift in the surface of the ground. The surroundings tumbled down for a split second. Even though the ground couldn't swallow him, the effects of the starving forest floor still gnawed at his feet.
Douma looked up and saw the workers watching the scene in horror. They gathered with a few running back to the site calling for help. Two of the familiar workers dashed towards him, Douma immediately raised his hand signaling to them to stay away from the area.