It was a dark day in Laeroa. Even at the break of dawn, the sun fought in vain to pierce the thick, brooding clouds that swirled menacingly above the gnarled, twisted trees. Shadows stretched ominously across the empty town, obscuring everything in a gradient of pure black.
In the shadowy town, an apple fell from the tree and hit the skinny boy beneath. The apple was drenched with bugs and dirt but appealed to the young boy.
He was starving because he was impoverished and unacceptably so. Nobody could pity anyone as they were all in tough times.
He smiled at the thought of food entering his stomach, yet it was disgustingly unhygienic but he didn't have resources to complain. He reached down and opened his mouth to eat the fresh delicacy complimented with specks of dirt and bugs. Still, he hesitated momentarily, disgust overwhelming his hunger while the reality of his situation dawned on him.
He tried to shake the remnants of disgust and doubt before biting.
CHOMP! He bit down into the apple and the outburst of flavours attacked his buds while his thoughts screamed one phrase, 'It's disgustingly bad!' Unable to take another bite, he forcefully made himself digest it and stuffed the abomination into his pants before running away.
The boy ran fast to the end of Vermillion Street where a makeshift tent comprised of leftover plastics and sticks was located. It was a tacky home, but one the boy made many memories in.
Inside the poorly-made home was a lady with a loving bruised face framed by wild, unkempt hair.
She looked up as he entered, her eyes brightening with recognition. Despite the hopelessness of her life, she clings to it to ensure her son is loved and cared for.
"Back so soon?" she asked, her voice a relieving melody to the boy's ears. He nodded, breathless from his sprint, "I finally found food mum!", he said while handing the dirtied apple triumphantly towards his mum and she accepted it gratefully.
She ate it peacefully, enjoying the lingering taste of food with a bright warm smile.
She smiled softly at him but abruptly turned serious, "I need you to promise me something darling as it is something of utmost importance."
Her sudden statement took aback Redouan. He glanced at her, searching her expression for clues, trying to understand the shift in her words. "Okay, what is this promise you want from me."
She was always apprehensive and stressed since the moment he was born, but more so now than ever which was a phenomenon that always puzzled Redouan. She looked towards her son seriously, "Swear to me you will run far when intruders attack us. Promise me in the name of the Goddess Of Fire."
This sudden shift startled Redouan. He searched her face for understanding, grappling with the weight of her words. She had always been apprehensive since he was born, but her current intensity puzzled him. "I swear I'll run as fast as I can if an intruder comes. But why tell me this now? I'm not a child anymore; I want to protect you."
She looked at him remorsefully and kindly, " You don't understand what cultivation is and will not as you are always my baby boy no matter how old you grow or how hateful you are of me or when I'm dead, you will always be my baby boy forever."Â
Redouan was puzzled and uneasy at the involvement of heavy emotions she was expressing towards him as he felt it was more of a curse than a heartfelt message.
She then said, "You were truly an experience that was the peak of my life-" Her eyes suddenly turned abyssal black before a knight with daunting armour smashed into the tent interrupting her ethos abilities from being activated.
The ground trembled beneath him as the tent collapsed, leaving shredded fabric scattered across the street. To any onlookers, it looked like a mixture of a demon and angel incarnate descended from the sky and sent havoc upon their meagre home.
Unable to comprehend the scale of this event Redouan tried to reassure himself that the monster who arrived was friendly which utterly contradicted the fact that he was running away while attempting to seek safety somewhere. As he faded into the sunlight, his mother faced the imposing figure.
Redouan's mom looked at the figure remorsefully, "Hanzel…" she said, her voice tinged with sorrow.
He twitched angrily at the name. "I'm no longer Hanzel; I am the Yellow and Black Transcendent." His tone was sharp, "You must remember: it's Yellow and Black Transcendent, NOT Hanzel!"
"Yellow and Black Transcendent, is that your title now? You will always be Hanzel to me." Redouan's mom scoffed, "You are Hanzel always."
"AGAIN ITS YELLOW AND BLACK TRANSCENDENT NOT HANZEL!" Hanzel shouted angrily before calming himself," It's pathetic you're still ridiculing me about my mortal name when you have been degraded to no less than a mortal just because you parasitised a mortal's body for 15 years. That mission degraded you into an insect not worthy of death, Amerlia."
Anger was visibly showcased on Amerlia's face, tempering it into a scorched tomato-like colour. "You are not worthy of being alive for mocking me so much to compare my likes to an insect. You will die for such behaviour!"
Suddenly, Amerlia lunged at Hanzel, displaying a reckless fury. Knowing she couldn't confront him directly, she hoped to catch him off guard, but her strategy faltered against Hanzel's composure.
"I'm not stupid, and I'm not nine, Amerlia." Hanzel leapt onto a lamppost as a figure emerged and cast an illusion on her, stunning her.
Amerlia felt a tightening on her chest, and her sight blurred to reveal an Amerlia who was dead staring right into her irises.
As Amerlia's vision blurred, she saw a version of herself staring back, lifeless. Confusion washed over her. "Wh-What?! How did I lose to that brat?" Thoughts raced through her mind until a new figure entered her vision abruptly.
Amerlia saw that she had jet-black hair, a seductive figure and a smile that perched horridly on her face. She was scared. Amerlia was scared.
An enemy capable of casting illusions was a devastating threat that could end lives.
The woman pressed her lips together, coating them with enerjin, preparing a technique Amerlia recognized all too well. "Illusion technique, Hellscape."
Recognition hit Amerlia like a petrifying force that hindered all movements and abilities to utilise her body. This paralysis was so great that each and every individual cell in her body froze like an ice block. 'That technique was one only my sister used, and every ethos is so unique there couldn't be two... right?!'
Before she had time to elaborate on all the opinions and ideals she was about to communicate towards her dear friend her vision blurred from a desolate area of road to a hellish landscape. This landscape burned the soles of her feet and scorched the skin on her body as she was still taking in the horrifying information she realised.
"Why... Salisara. Why are you here? I thought I got you out of the Herves Cult." Amerlia's face was painted with visible shock and sadness. She was detrimentally sad that her friend was still in the cult they hated and wanted to destroy.
"You promised me! YOU PROMISED 20 YEARS AGO YOU WOULD SAVE ME FOR ALL THIS! I was so naive to believe you!" Salisara's voice rang out, filled with anger and betrayal.
"Salisara. I had to run and I couldn't save you. Herves attacked me after the escape and almost killed me which forced me to parasite a woman's body. I tried Salisara, 5 times but it seems to me that you belong to the Herves cult."
She continued, "Anyways it already happened, it's pointless to rant about experiences that already happened and what if I did that or this. Let's just finish off where we started shall we?"
Salisara looked remorsefully into Amerlia's eyes, "You don't understand I wanted to destroy this cultÂ
She continued," Perhaps it was destiny that pitted me against youÂ