~ Damien ~
It felt as though I was phasing in and out of existence; everything looked blurry, especially the purple light which kept zooming in several directions. My mind became dizzied from all the loud screeches and wails that engulfed the whole atmosphere, but I remained too weak to get up and unable to think straight.
Amidst the pandemonium, I could hear Ryan's voice bang straight into my ears;
"Kid, we gotta go...get a grip of yourself"
A groan escaped my mouth as he reached down for me and gently crossed my other arm on his shoulder, allowing me to get up. The last thing I could see was a glinting beam of purple light, before my whole mind got plummeted into thick darkness.
***********
"You're awake"
My eyes peeled open to the sight of a green-faced lady whose voice sounded calm and soothing. Her blank facial expression became replaced by a warm smile which highlighted her purple eyes.
My gaze travelled around the whole place from where I lay, until I realized that I was in an almost empty room, illuminated by a faint silver light that reflected through its wooden window.
"Wh-Who are you?...and where's this place?", I asked in an attempt to sit up.
"You should--", she tried to speak.
I groaned, falling back to the soft bed where I laid. I totally forgot that I had dislocated my right shoulder, mostly because everything I experienced earlier felt like a dream to me.
"I'm really sorry, you should lay still while I try to heal your injury...I couldn't do that earlier because I was tending to Ry", she explained.
"Oh, shit... Ryan, where's he?", I asked.
"He's outside...prefers to sit there and enjoy the view whenever he comes visiting"
She adjusted her long leather jacket sideways before sitting beside me, striking at me with the same warm smile as ever.
"You two know each other?", I blurted.
"We were once lovers, but..."
Curious as to what she would say next, I asked, "What happened?"
I noticed how her face crumpled into a mask of grief which didn't last longer than a second.
"That's a story for another day", she said.
An awkward silence existed between us for a second before she reached out for my dislocated shoulder; it was then I realized that I was bare chested all along.
A grunt escaped my mouth as she gently adjusted the affected arm towards her, and my gaze became fixed upon her palms which gleamed with a purple light. Her eyes flicked to assume the same purple hue, and I felt a cold sensation when both palms rested upon the injured shoulder.
She exhaled.
"You can flex it now", she said after taking her hands off me.
The cold sensation lingered only for a few seconds before my attempt to sit up. My eyes shone in awe while I began flexing the affected arm, albeit with ease; it felt as though the shoulder wasn't even injured at all.
"This is dope...thanks", I beamed.
Adjusting the few purple streaks of her long flowing black hair, she replied, "You're welcome..."
"So, who are you?...and what are you guys doing on this planet anyways?", she asked.
I sighed.
"It's complicated...I lost my dad and the same people that killed him are after my life, so this planet is supposed to be my safe haven...or at least that's what Ryan said"
She sprang up from the bed where she sat, shooting at me in bewilderment. Unable to understand why she wore such look on her face, I asked:
"Why do you look surprised?"
She immediately fell on her knees and bowed her head before me, causing me to frown a bit.
"Tekurum Veshtat, Irmak"
"Huh?"
She lifted up her head, pinning a confused state at me;
"You don't understand Aranian language?", she asked.
"Yeah, I don't...and please get up, it's weird"
She sprang up, staring at me in the weirdest manner ever;
"Do you know you're royalty?"
I couldn't help but chuckle dryly while stroking my nape.
"Uh, I mean, my dad was a multi billionaire on earth, but--"
She sighed, rubbing her forehead in disdain.
"I bet Ryan hasn't told you yet"
By now, the look on my face reflected nothing but sheer confusion;
"Told me what?", I wondered.
"Your father was the king of Aran, which makes you the heir", she said.
My eyes shone in awe while I stared at her for a minute or two. I still couldn't believe my ears; I knew that my dad was a freaking multibillionaire on earth, but hearing that he was the ruler of an entirely different world was big news to me as it would be to any normal person.
Of course many questions still lingered in my mind, but the most prominent remained: why did Ryan hide such news from me?
Creaking noises were heard as I sprang up from the bed, exiting the room at once. I seized the opportunity to glance at the place I had just exited, allowing me to notice that it was just a wooden cottage standing in the middle of nowhere.
Ryan basked in the silver rays of moonlight, peered at the night sky while he was seated beside the cottage. I walked up to him, shooting my infuriated gaze at him;
"How am I supposed to trust you when you're hiding everything from me?"
My voice was loud enough, drawing his attention towards me. He sprang up, piercing an expressionless gaze at me for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh.
"What are you even talking about?", He asked.
My face crumpled into a more infuriated frown while I peered at him;
"Don't act like you've not been hiding things from me all along...I have many questions", I spat.
"What's the dragon seed?...Why is it so important that you had to kill those people for it?"
"And most importantly, why didn't you tell me that I'm royalty?"
He sighed again.
"Shut the fuck up, kid!", he steamed.
"Never call me kid again!", I yelled back.
"You're obviously a kid...you can't fend for yourself and had it not been for me all along, you would've ended up dead today..."
"Yeah, so go ahead...keep your trust to yourself, I don't need it from you; I'm just fulfilling your father's last wish"
Still infuriated at the moment, I turned my back on him in a bid to walk away but halted when I heard Ayla's voice from behind me.
"You can trust Ryan with your life... he's saved my life more than once"
I took a deep breath, averting my gaze towards her;
"I'm--", I attempted to speak but Ryan cut in.
"Look...Damien, I'm sorry for hiding the truth from you but the truth comes with certain consequences", he said.
"What consequences?", I asked.
"According to an age long prophecy, once the truth is revealed to the heir, the apocalypse begins", he answered.
Our gazes became fixed upon Ayla when her eyes began emanating the same purple light from earlier.
"Some people are coming, I can sense it", she said.
My skin became carpeted with goosebumps on hearing her words, coupled with the frightened expression which appeared on Ryan's face.
With fear zipping down my spine, I dared to ask, "Who's coming?...and why?"
Ignoring my question, she took Ryan's palms in hers while staring deep into his eyes for some time;
"The Dragon seed was given to Lady Aia for safe keeping; but a royal guard named Ramos killed her, stole it and vanished off this planet... rumors have it that he's on earth", she explained.
"This place isn't safe anymore, you have to go back to earth now; find him and you've found the seed...and until then, I'm still mad at you for leaving without saying goodbye", she added.
Ryan sighed, unlocking his palms from hers;
"Don't tell me you want to--"
She forged a smile.
"I can portal you back to earth before they arrive...you'll find a clue in the first place you'll arrive"
The atmosphere suddenly became saturated with whooshing noises followed by bright flashes of light which appeared in a ring form, almost surrounding us three. My heart couldn't stop pounding when I caught a glimpse of the blue faced aliens that lurked within the dark part of the rings.
"Get behind me", she instructed.
As we darted behind her, my eyes almost got blinded by the glinting purple light which burst forth from her body, whirling around in the air until it assumed a humanoid form. Whirling noises could be heard as this energy being travelled at break-neck speed, piercing like a sword, through the heads of each alien that threatened to step through the rings. Soon enough, the awful stench of their blue blood spread throughout the atmosphere, almost causing me to retch.
Pinching her fingers together before slowly releasing them, she mumbled some vague words until suddenly...the same bright purple portal appeared in front of us.
"Go now!", she yelled.
Ryan instantly grabbed my arm and pulled me into the portal with him, leaving me with no chance of saying 'thanks'.