The man's violent shaking slowly faded away as the fear of Khurd Fla'en left his body. Hearing the lady's word, he seemed to believe him.
Nobody is going to kill me. I'm safe.
"Now mate, tell me your name,
AND remember, tell me the name which is engraved on the backside of your wrist. You see, careless talks have costed lives", asked Khurd Fla'en in a lively tone.
"Aksh... Mal'en..., though y-you can call me 'serge', people refer to me by that, even though it isn't my real name.", said the man, as the last hints of stammer left him.
"Thank you for saving me. I met this man on this cliff far-behind. Said to me that I'd rather follow me than go alone... Said he required payment for protection.... Has been squeezing out my "prana" little by little... Even though i didn't ask him to..... he forced me to come with..... him....".
The man seemed to be dizzy. Apparently, being constantly sucked out of "prana", he had been rendered too weak for even a talk. He was barely able to stand on his own two feet.
Khurd Fla'en caught him at the right time as he fell unconscious.
"Rest, man. You have come a long way out here.", he said to the serge's unconscious figure.
It was at this moment when Yor Ka'an spoke up.
"I think we should really call it a day and rest here", she said, pointing at the considerably tall, thick-trunked, gray tree.
"Yeah, this guy here seems to need some rest here.", he said, gesturing to the motionless figure in his hands.
...
Night had fallen over the vast barren lands. Distant sounds of growling beasts could be heard from the tree even though the surrounding wasteland seemed to be devoid of any living creature besides three resting humans. The absence of a moon in the sky amplified the ghosting darkness. The subdued man was already teleported to the cliff due to his defeat.
In this darkness, Khurd Fla'en was dozing, leaning against the tree. He was having some kind of dream. It was not a happy one. Neither was it a nightmare. It depicted something that Khurd Fla'en was unaware of.
An old man in a bright white robe was pacing around a vague monument. Khurd Fla'en couldn't recognize what that monument was. It was too blurred to be recognizable.
A slight wind was making his robe flutter gently, giving the old man an ethereal, heavenly appearance.
Khurd Fla'en had never met that man before. Never once in his life. He would have easily recognized someone with a beard this prominent.
But the old man was gazing intently at Khurd Fla'en, an intriguing smile radiating his old, wrinkled face. His gaze seldom left him.
At last, after what felt like an eternity, the old man stopped in front of the monument and directly faced Khurd Fla'en.
"I see.... you are maturing beautifully", said the old man in a very prophetic tone. His voice was having a deep gravitas. "The path you seek is not easy, son. Some day in the very distant future, you are going to regret your hasty decision deeply."
Khurd Fla'en tried to make a reply. But somehow, no voice escaped his mouth. It was as though somebody had switched of the volume. Even though he felt his larynx vibrating, his attempts were futile.
The old man watching him intently, replied, "You still don't wield the power to utter a word in this realm. You still have a very long way. Till then, its just you.... and me....
Khurd Fla'en realized that he was unable to breathe. Air wasn't entering either his nose or throat.
Even though his skin turned blue, the old man was still smiling at him intently. The last words he said to him were, "Till next time, Alex".
Khurd Fla'en's eyes flew open. He realized that he was perspirating. Apparently the effect of experiencing first-hand drowning in a dream. He was careful enough not to make a sound so that the two figures sleeping beside him wouldn't wake up from their peaceful dreams.
Carefully avoiding Yor Ka'an and Serge, Khurd Fla'en made his way out into the open fields.
Even though the soil seemed ravaged and purged, the sky was dotted with a few faint twinkling dots.
Looking at the sky, Khurd Fla'en let a tear slide down his bloody cheeks.
I know you two are looking right at me, you morons. Left me to rot in this hell. But you wait. You'll want to see the end of your killer with your very own eyes. Please...
Don't ever give up on me...
...
The usual two suns greeted the travelers with a very bright morning. Being already wide awake. Khurd Fla'en was collecting all his belongings and putting them into the Musa skin, which he somehow was able to fashion into some kind of a bag.
Yor Ka'an and the Serge had just woken up.
"How you felling serge ? Had a good long nap, haven't ya?", he said to Aksh Mal'en, who was hauling himself up on his feet.
"Did-Did I fall asleep ?", asked a red-eyed Serge.
"Well, matter-of-factly, you fell unconscious while talking yesterday. Since then, you have been doing nothing but goddamn dozing."
"Now, time to move your butt and do some work. We're leaving and so are you. Pack your stuff. We're leaving here right now.", said Khurd Fla'en.
"Am I to travel with you folks ?", asked a confused Serge.
"Have you got any other better alternatives ? I would be glad to listen to them", said Khurd Fla'en, resting his temple over his left palm.
"I think not".
"Yeah you should not."
"Now, Yor Ka'an, you got all your stuff ?", said Khurd Fla'en in a very business style voice.
"Drop that shitty voice of yours, it irritates me.", said Yor Ka'an making a very strange face.
"I already told you, I am the most monotonous guy in this world, you gotta bear with me."
"Shut the hell up", she scoffed.
...
"Now Serge, you seem perfectly fit to me, tell me how you ended up here. You don't seem to be a guy who plays games a lot, judging by that expression of yours yesterday.", asked Yor Ka'an, who was walking alongside Aksh Mal'en, behind Khurd Fla'en.
"I - I worked for the company."
It was at this moment Khurd Fla'en stopped in his tracks and spun around.
"You what ?"
"I worked for the - the company. I - I was the first human subject who volunteered to experiment RIZE's interface as a player."
The face of Khurd Fla'en went pale. It was easily visible even below the layer of dried blood over his face.
"You-You mean you have already tested the original RIZE code ?!", asked a shocked Khurd Fla'en.
"Y-yes."
"Then.... You must know how this game unfolds in the future !"
"I - I did, but something seems off. After that explosion from the tower, I tried to exit the game, but the option was blocked off. Even the game environment changed drastically. I ain't knowing what happened ....."
"You were in the game before it was launched ?", asked Yor Ka'an.
Slapping both his hands over his head, Khurd Fla'en said, "We got some real talk to do, dude."
"Wait, what happened ?"
"I'm going you to tell you a long story short, and you want to hear it.", said Khurd Fla'en.