After that day, Willinham would visit Flugel every day to train him, curious about his potential. The fact that Flugel used that technique back at the dungeon haunts Willinham each second of the day. "Are we related?" Is the thought that consumed Willinham trying to justify and explain how Flugel did that.
Failure after failure, Flugel finally got used to the flow and became able to hold a bit of control over his VLV, but then Willinham hit him with the reality that what he did was only about 0.01% of the work he had left.
"Oh, good job, dude! Now, you only need to learn manifestation, exceptions..."
"Uhh.."
Flugel looked disgusted of how much work he had left.
Days passed, and so did weeks, Flugel's control had gotten better than before. He didn't "master" it because that would be an exaggeration. Althought the results of his consistent and disciplined daily training were quite rewarding.
Most people in this world spend years, if not decades, mastering The Art of Authorities.
Oneday, Willinham took a day off to stress relief, or that's at least he told Flugel. The latter took the chance to go out to the market and look for a weapon, as Willinham tried to teach him a skill before but failed miserably.
"A weapon?" Flugel asked.
"You can concentrate your VLV in any place of your body and shape it into a weapon." Willinham answered.
"But how can I do that?"
"Well.. what is in your hands right now?"
"Um.. nothing?"
"Imagine, for example, a flower."
"Alright, and now what?"
"I can't explain it perfectly because it's more of a personal feeling only you can feel. Even I am not able to do such a thing perfectly."
"Uhuh..."
Flugel tried to do as Willinham said but obviously failed miserably.
"I told you."
"So what now?"
Willinham thought about it for a second before saying:
"You'll obviously not use that old dagger of yours forever. You do need something light and easy to hold and use."
Willinham paused for a second before adding:
"Look, you know what, here."
Willinham handed Flugel a bag tied with a tiny rope. Inside of it was a pile of iron coins.
In the kingdom of Ol' Karna, citizens and sellers exchanged and traded goods using a currency of their own called Dise. The currency was founded by the first king of the kingdom Belliard L. Karn.
He said the name "Dise" could be separated into two parts, "Di" for wealth, "Se" for dependency, and slavery of the human greed for money.
The currency was split into three different tiers: bronze, iron, and gold. The bronze coins were mostly used to buy food and goods, while the iron ones were used to buy resources and weapons. Lastly, the gold coins were the tier of majesty, being used to buy land, slaves and overall, the more exotic goods that normal peasants would never dream of owning.
Flugel stood in shock as his peasant mind that lived in the countrysides had never seen such an amount before. But to Willinham, it was merely 50 Iron Dises.
"Say, Flugel, I know a blacksmith not so far from here, wanna go check it out?"
"Heck yeah! I finally can get something bigger than this old piece of crap!"
"We are going to rent a carriage to take us there. The blacksmith is just around the border between The Filth Realm and The Modesty Realm."
"The name of where we live pisses me off a lot.." Flugel said with disgust.
"Now that you mention it, it did make me remember..." He remembered what that grown man back at the village told him about the racism of The Royal Palace's people and other civilizations up there.
Flugel looked at Willinham in confusion before asking:
"Huh? Remember what?"
"No, no, it's nothing."
"Oh, come on, dude! You've got me curious-"
"You want a weapon or not?!"
Flugel immediately shut his mouth from speaking any words further, Willinham looked at Flugel's worried look that feared that Willinham was going to cancel the plan of buying Flugel a new weapon.
Willinham burst into laughter at Flugel's stupid face.
"What's so funny?!"
"You look dumb as heck, man.."
"Whatever.."
Willinham finally stopped laughing after a few seconds and proceeded to ask:
"So.. Do you know any coachman we can make a deal with in your village Flugel?"
"Actually, yeah, I do have a neighbor who goes around selling goods and-"
"Maybe we should go another way.."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Please, trust me, man."
Flugel and Willinham started making a plan for a trip to the said blacksmith. Flugel's neighbor wasn't an option because Willinham didn't forget what he did to him back then.
In the end, they just found another merchant to give them a ride for only 20 Bronze Dises.
"So, where are you two headed?" The merchant asked.
"The border." Willinham answered.
"Well.. which border?" The merchant asked once again in confusion.
Willinham looked at the merchant's suspecting if the merchant was toying with him, then proceeded to answer in an annoyed voice:
"Sir, there are two borders, and one is just a dead end to the sea."
"Alright, alright, just had to make sure.." the merchant answered before looking back at his horses.
Flugel, Willinham, and the merchant started the ride to the blacksmith. Even though Willinham said it wasn't far, the ride looked like it wasn't going to end any time soon.
Willinham and Flugel sat at the back of the carriage, watching the road and nature pass by as they continued onward.
"Hey, Flugel."
"Yeah?"
"Any updates on your, you know."
"O-oh, yeah, um, no, not really. My sense of VLV got stronger, so I just kind of feel it in my heart even more now. It's like a numb feeling in my chest."
Willinham sighed at Flugel's answer and chose to stay silent.
"---"
"By the way, Willinham, where are you from?"
"Huh? What's with the sudden question?"
"Just curiosity."
"Anyways.. I'm from the Vahara Clan. My authority, light, or atleast that's what I call it, is passed down generation after generation, but honestly.."
Flugel got curious about what was Willinham going to add.
"I've never found out how I got my authority. My memory before I had it is vivid and sort of.. deleted from existence. I've wondered and came up with many hypotheses over the years but I.. I couldn't get even an inch closer to the truth."
Flugel seemed surprised by Willinham's confession, though the goal itself seemed unimportant to him and then proceeded to say:
"Well, does it really matter now? I mean, what's going to change if you 'find out the truth'? I don't know much about these 'authorities' other than some tales I've read when I was younger."
Willinham seemed confused about what he just heard and said:
"Tales? There's tales about authorities?"
"Tales and legend books for kids, I've read a lot when I was younger, you want to hear one?"
Willinham didn't take him seriously and simply rubbed it off while swaying with his hand and proceeded to say:
"What am I? Five?"
"You do you, man.."
When Willinham looked out the carriage, and saw that the village had faded out of the horizon completely, he sighed and said:
"Just tell, I'm bored."
Flugel cheered up as he had finally found a way to pass the time.
*****
Long long ago, there was a city in Ol' Karna called Akeida, it was also called The City Of War.
Many races lived in the kingdom at that time: humans, tenegians, luxiens, ect.. and with that came many animal races, the most dangerous one being dragons.
Dragons were on the top of the food chain, killing other races for the sake of blood and pleasure.
"Aren't those words a bit strong for a kid's tale?.." Willinham said.
One day, four great swordsmen united from four different villages. The four called themselves "The Dragon Slayers".
"That's a childish name.."
"It's a child's story, man- stop interrupting me!"
The slayers weren't the usual kind of swordsmen, these slayers had inhuman capabilities, some people who watched them fight called them demons.
But, they were some of the bravest and most courageous people indeed. They've fought dragons face to face, claw to sword.
They went by the names: Maswuliya, Ijabiya, Rashaqa and Waqie.
People who had faced them eye to eye had said they had felt a strange feeling around them, as well as a strange glow around them in multiple different colors.
The dragons felt as if they were endless, slaying them everyday only led to more of them coming to terrorize the people of the land. Some adventurers concluded the source of the dragons being Mt. Caligo.
Oneday, a ginormous creature had emerged from the mountain, a dragon the size of a small castle, the people called it "Mater Omnium Draconum", or in other words "The Mother of All Dragons", as well as "Madra" for short.
She caused havoc around not only the city, but the entire kingdom if not the entire earth itself.
The four brave warriors united their powers, and prepared an attack for over a month. In the end, they've decided to confront the dragon and end the misery of their people.
When the day they've agreed on arrived, one of the warriors, named Maswuliya, confronted the dragon.
"I, Maswuliya, shall end my people and companions' suffering, and the only way to achieve the latter is slaying you, Madra."
A great fight emerged between the two, many wondered why Maswuliya confronted it alone. But only in the end they had realized the plan of the great hero.
Maswuliya fought Madra to death, as his energy was consumed by the second, unleashing multiple inhuman powers that the basic human mind couldn't comprehend. But in the end, Madra came out victorious.
Maswuliya kneeled down, with only a boulder to lay on. Madra's energy was consumed as well.
The three other great heroes emerged from the shadows, and slayed the dragon easily, so easy that it felt like the past months of trial and error seemed wasted.
When they emerged victorious, they walked up to their unconscious companion, kneeling down at a boulder, holding something with his hand so tight that it felt like he was protecting it.
One of the three remaining warriors, Ijabiya, held his hand and took whatever was in that hand.
Rashaqa kneeled down to check for any sign of life in him, but it was gone. His VLV had already faded and left no traces.
Waqie kneeled as well, but he took the uncanny job of picking up his dear friend's lifeless body on his back.
The Dragon Slayers had won, but they had paid the price.
*****
Willinham seemed intrigued by the story and proceeded to say:
"That's... an interesting story."
"I know, right?" Flugel responded.
"The 'strange powers' the heroes had, those were authorities for sure." Willinham guessed with assurance.
Flugel shrugged and proceeded to say:
"More or less, yeah."
"I doubt this story is actually more than just a fictional story for kids, but.."
Flugel got curious.
"But what?"
Willinham thought for a second before saying:
"It is actually true that dragons have roamed our land in the past, but that was centuries ago.."
Flugel was surprised and proceeded to ask:
"So you're saying authorities have existed for over a millenia?"
"If this story was real, then yeah."
"That's interesting- oh! We've arrived!"
The horses moving the carriage stopped in their tracks after the signal of the coachman, Willinham paid the man his little pay of 20 Bronze Dises then Willinham and Flugel got off the carriage.
"Thanks, sir!"
The merchant continued on his unknown journey while he waved goodbye to our men.
Willinham turned around and said:
"So, here it is."
In front of the two, was an old looking house in the middle of little forest, tree roots invaded the walls and the roof as if it was being eaten from the inside out by nature.
The two slowly walked up to the door, and then Willinham stopped Flugel in his tracks. Willinham knocked on the door.
-KNOCK KNOCK-
A deep male voice, that sounded like it had intentions of a fight started talking from behind the door.
"Name and age."
Then Willinham responded with an annoyed tone:
"Willinham, 20- man, I'm the only one coming here just open the damn door!"
"Just checking, lil' bro."
The door was opened, Willinham and Flugel got inside the dark room as their eyes adapted to the brightness.
When their eyes got comfortable enough to be able to see in the low brightness, a large creature walked up to Willinham and proceeded to say:
"Ah, Will, my old friend, how you've been?"
Willinham cracked a little smile and responded:
"I've been doing great Uncle Garn, what about you?"
"I'm fine, I see you've brought a guest? Hmm?"
Flugel contemplated the creature, it was something he had never seen before, probably because the farthest he had traveled from his village was like the dungeon from before.
The creature called "Garn" was extremly large compared to him and Willinham, especially its arms. His torso was a bit smaller compared to his arms and his skin was a little bit dark as well as having crooked teeth.
Flugel tried to remember the books he had read over the years, then he finally put his finger on it.
"Garn" is from a race called Tenegians, they were popular for their immense strength and durability, handling labor like no human ever could. They could even handle temperatures up to around 60 degrees Celsius.
Garn looked at Willinham and said:
"So, Will, Y'need sum pieces ain't ya?"
"Well, my friend over here needs a real weapon. I mean, look at this!"
Willinham quickly grabbed Flugel's dagger from his pocket.
"Ah? Ahahahahah"
Garn burst into laughter after seeing Flugel's miserable thing of a dagger.
"Ya' call this piece of crap a dagger? I be using that in m' kitchen!"
"Man, just show me what you got alright?!" Flugel said angrily from embarrassment.
"Alright, alright, lil' bro. Just look around."
Flugel was so busy admiring Garn that he didn't realize his surroundings, around him were various and multiple types and sizes of weapons on the walls.
Weapons that he had never knew existed, and some that he did. Daggers, sword, polearms, long swords, claymores, scythes, ect..
What interested Flugel the most, were the scythes and polearms, more specifically the head of the scythe.
One of the scythes caught his attention very badly, the blade of the scythe was separated vertically by two different colors, red on the top and white on the bottom.
Willinham looked at him and said:
"Yeah, dude, definitely not that."
"Huh? What do you mean, Willinham?"
"It's way too big, way too long, and could make you an easy target, not to mention.."
"What?"
Willinham put his hand on his head to measure his height, then tried doing the same on Flugel.
"Hey!"
"Yeah, man, you're kinda short for th-"
Flugel punched Willinham in the gut, making him cough in pain before he even could finish his sentence.
Garn laughed a bit and said:
"Ahahaha! Ya' deserve that one mate!"
Willinham got a little angry at Flugel and wanted to take a little bit of revenge.
"You- son of a-"
Willinham kicked Flugel's gut while he was laughing, making him have the same reaction as him.
"N-now we're even.. Don't you dare-"
"Alright, alright.."
The two brushed off the fight very quickly, and continued exploring the shop to find a nice weapon for Flugel.
"What about this?"
"Definitely not."
"This?"
"No."
"That?'
"No."
"This? That? This? That thing? This bow? This sword?"
"Man, you know what!"
Willinham walked up to Flugel and covered his eyes.
"Choose randomly now."
Flugel pointed his finger in the air and moved his hand in circles, after a few seconds he stopped and said:
"That!"
When Willinham took his hands off of Flugel. They went to see the weapon he had pointed at.
Willinham analyzed the weapon and said:
"Actually.. that's not bad."
The weapon they had choosed was a short sword, not too thick and not too thin, just the perfect size for Flugel to handle holding onto in a fight.
The handle was a dark metal that had a respectable thickness that was comfortable for the hand and wrist.
The blade itself was thin and extremely sharp, and reflected light like it was the sun itself.
Flugel seemed a little fond of the sword, but he still wanted the scythe, and proceeded to say:
"Maybe.. I can use this."
Willinham sighed and said:
"Finally, so we're doing here?"
"Yeah."
Willinham turned to face Garn and said:
"Ay, big Garn, here's your money."
"That'll be 14 Iron Dises, no refunds."
"Hmmm... 7."
"Oh? Ya' wanna negotiate with y'old man? Make it 12."
"9!"
"11 or else yo' getting kicked out!'
"Fine!"
Willinham handed him the money in an angry gesture.
Flugel watched and said with a hint of worry in his voice:
"Ah.. Willinham, calm down.."
"Yeah, whatever, anything else you want?"
"Hmm.. nah- or actually, there are these bottles over here, what are they?"
"Bottles?"
Flugel pointed at a table that was full of bottles with some type of elixirs inside. Willinham put his hand on his shoulder and said:
"Ah, these are VLV buffing potions, I honestly don't recommend them. They're pretty useless according to my experience and they barely work."
"Ohhh.. alright, then."
"Look, if you're done here just let's go, I'll be waiting outside if you still want to check things out."
"I will stay here for a few minutes."
"Alright, then. Bye Uncle Garn!"
"Stay safe, young Will!"
Willinham left and closed the door behind him, leaving Flugel and Garn alone. Garn watched Flugel looking at and admiring the different kinds of weapons even though he had already bought one right now.
Flugel looked at Garn and asked:
"Sir, can I ask you something?"
"Eh? Wha'd'ya want?"
"So, do you make these or do you buy th-"
"HEH! Ofcourse I make 'em! My giant hands are here for a reason!"
"But how? And where?"
"See that door behind me?"
Garn walked over to the door he mentioned and opened it, inside was a staircase that lead into a pit of darkness.
"Wanna check it out?"
Flugel absolutely agreed and went down the stairs. On the wall, there was a lever that looked like it was interacted with recently.
"Pull it down."
Flugel did like what he was told to, and torches left and right started turning on and lighting up the place.
The light revealed a giant underground cave-like chamber that held inside multiple types and quantities of different ores, metals and resources in general.
Anvils and chests were scattered around, and multiple swords and weapons were on the ground that looked to be broken or extremely old.
"Woah.. that's so cool, man!"
"Eh eh eh.. wha'd'ya say? Garn got some cool stuff eh?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Why does he talk like that though.." Flugel thought to himself, trying not to be rude.
"HEY! FLUGEL! I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY TO WAIT YOU KNOW?!"
Willinham voice could be heard from inside the chamber, so Flugel knew he had to hurry a bit more.
"Oh, damn.. I think I should get going.."
"Yea Ya' gotta hurry, that guy got some nerves.."
"You tell me.. anyways, bye Uncle Garn!"
"Heh, stay safe young one."
Flugel ran out the shop to meet up with Willinham, Garn looked at his workshop downstairs one last time before turning off the lights once again.
"So, Flugel, what do you think of your new weapon eh?"
"I mean, it's alright, I guess? I kinda wanted the scythe though-"
"Try controlling this one first, then try that scythe. It's harder than you think, trust me."
"Alright, alright, but.."
"---"
"How do we get back home?..."
"Oh.. well I haven't thought about that."
"WHAT?!"
"It's not my fault!"
"Yes, it is! You told me if I wanted to go here!"
"You never asked about returning-"
"IT'S COMMON SENSE!"
"Okay, okay, we can figure that one out."
Garn heard their argument and yelled:
"Ay, I can hear y'all all from over here! Shut it!"
Garn got out of his shop, yelling at them both for their loud annoying argument.
Flugel sighed and exclaimed:
"Man, we're stuck here! Why is your shop in the middle of nowhere?!"
Garn felt offended by Flugel calling his dear workshop a wasteland shop.
"Nowhere?! This is literally the border, it's anything but 'nowhere'!"
"Whatever! How can we go home?!"
Garn thought for a quick second and said:
"...How much y'all paying?"
"What?.."
"If y'all giving me money, I'll think about it."
"I don't know, Willinham you have the money not me!"
Willinham got surprised by Flugel's sudden order and quickly thought about an amount before saying:
"Oh uh.. I'll give you.. 40 Bronze Dises, how does that sound?"
"Heck yeah!"
Garn put his hand over his mouth, and started whistling. Flugel and Willinham looked confused, until a few moments later, a huge cloud of dust started approaching from over the horizon.
Flugel watched as it approached them and pointed out:
"Woah? Isn't it going our waAAAYY-"
Whatever was going in their direction suddenly appeared right in front of them, it was like it reached them in a split of a second.
Garn walked into the cloud and said with a grin:
"Eheh, say hello.."
The cloud of dust faded away by the second, until it was completely gone, revealing a horse-like creature. It had a very dark skin and wings on its sides, its hair was very smooth and soft, and the texture of his skin felt cozy and comfy.
"..to Eon."
The creature unleashed a loud neigh, making Flugel cover his ears out of pain and annoyance.
Garn patted Eon's head and comforted it.
"Calm down, Eon. These are my friends."
Flugel analyzed and contemplated Eon and asked:
"What.. is that?"
Willinham grinned and tried to explain to Flugel.
"This is called-"
Garn quickly interrupted him and said:
"A a a! Let me explain, Willinham!"
"---"
"Eon is an evolved horse, it is a sub species of the horse species that lived in constant fear of being hunted down by predators, so it had to develop features and limbs to survive."
Flugel cracked a little smile and said:
"Why do you sound professional so suddenly-"
Garn looked a little offended because he was taking about something he truly enjoyed.
"Ya' got a problem ey?!"
"No, no.. so what, Eon is going to give us a ride?"
"Yeah, I'm sure Willinham knows how to ride a horse."
Willinham looked at Garn with a stare that gave a "Me? Really?" vibe, as if he really didn't want to ride Eon and proceeded to say:
"Yeah, you thought me how to do so, remember? Eon gave me quite some broken bones and bruises.."
Willinham steps up and hops on Eon, but suddenly Eon rejected him and threw him on the ground by jumping and moving uncontrollably.
Willinham quickly got annoyed and shouted at Eon.
"Oh come on Eon! We just want to go home! Just this once!"
Willinham hops on Eon once again, but fortunately it seemed to have had pity on him because Eon didn't reject him this time.
"Come on Flugel. You're not afraid of a horse, are you?"
"No, no.."
Flugel hops on Eon, but it didn't reject him at all. Instead, it actually accepted him quite well.
Garn was actually impressed and said:
"Ay, I see Eon likes ya'!"
Flugel was a little shocked with a bit of happiness.
"Really?"
Flugel reached out his hand to pet Eon on its back.
Garn bit his lip watching Flugel do what he was going to do and immediately said:
"Yeah, I wouldn't recommend petting it there, especially if you don't wanna end up laying on your bed with several broken ribs."
"Ahaha-" Flugel laughed nervously.
Willinham handed Garn the money and hopped back on Eon.
The two took off on Eon while Flugel waved goodbye to Garn as he waved back.
Willinham just kept focusing on the road, Flugel just held onto dear life so he doesn't fall off.
"So, Flugel."
"Yeah?"
"If you lose that sword, I'll kill you. It's not cheap, trust me."
"Ahaha.."
Seconds and minutes passed while Eon took them home. After around an hour and a half they've finally reached Gandara village, Flugel's home. Flugel patted Eon on its head which it calmly accepted.
Eon turned around and quickly ran into the horizen, most likely back to Garn. At that point it was already past the evening and the sun was setting.
Flugel waved to Willinham goodbye as he went back to his home, while Willinham was headed to his camp in the wilderness.
The two slept in their beds and waited for a tomorrow.
When the next day arrived, Flugel opened his eyes and went to do his morning shores such as cleaning his room, changing and some self hygiene.
When he finally finished his shores, Flugel laid on his bed, waiting for Willinham's usual visit, but he didn't come.
"Weird... it's already the afternoon, and he still hasn't appeared yet."
He sat up on his bed, thinking of a solution.
"Maybe I should check our usual spot."
He jumped off his bed and stood up, wore his usual outfit, and got ready to search for Willinham.
While walking through the house, he saw his mother sitting in the living room deep in her thoughts.
His mother asked about where he was going, like usual, as if it wasn't already so obvious, then she asked:
"Are you in a hurry, sweetie?"
"I mean, not really, I guess?"
"I bet Willinham just slept late, I hope." He thought to himself.
"What is it, mom?"
"Come here, son."
Confused by the sudden order, he walked up to her and sat down next to her.
"What's wrong?"
"Flugel, you've grown up."
"Well.. I did?"
"You know, when you were still a child, you'd cause trouble all over the village. I had to apologize to the neighbors multiple times."
"I did? Well, I was a troublesome one, huh.."
The mother admired her son, who had grown up to be an adventurous young man. Out of nowhere, she hugged him.
"Mom?"
"You remind me of him a lot.." she said with tears in her eyes.
"Who?..."
"Never mind that, you have somewhere else to go to, right?"
She let go of her son.
"Yeah, but like, who's 'him'?!"
"Son, if you come back safely, I'll answer all your questions and doubts, alright?"
"..Alright.."
He stood up and looked at his mother for the last time before leaving.
She waved at him.
"I love you, sweetie!"
"..me too!"
Before he could leave, he saw his baby brother crawling to him.
"Oo hey, little Renren, you want me to pick you up?"
He kneeled down to pick up his baby brother. His mother watched as he played with his brother.
After their wholesome interaction, he put his brother down and finally left the house in search of Willinham.
On the other hand, Willinham finally opened his eyes from his deep slumber.
"Mm.."
He scrubbed his hand across his face to make the sleepiness go away and then rubbed his eyes so his vision became clearer.
"Damn.. Why is the sun so bright so early in the morni-"
He realized his little simple mistake.
"Oh... I should get going, I bet Flugel is already training alone right now."
He sat, then stood up, did some stretching, and turned off the campfire.
The sun was so bright that somehow it felt as if the sun got a hundred times bigger. It felt way too hot.
Willinham got ready and started moving, leaving his camp behind. He slowly walked through the woods towards the direction of his and Flugel's usual training spot, keeping his guard up for any upcoming threat.
-SH SH-
The bushes started making a sound. Willinham immediately stopped in his track and started looking and watching each corner of his eyes.
The sound became closer and closer by the second. He grabbed onto his sword, pulled it from the handle, and drew it in a defense stand.
Willinham prepared for the worst-case scenario, whether it was an animal or a demon.
After a few seconds, a dark silhouette emerged from the bushes due to the shadows of the gigantic trees.
"Hello? Excuse me?"
A male voice could be heard.
Willinham sighed in relief as the source of the sound was merely a human, a normal one at least.
The man asked Willinham:
"Excuse me, do you know the way to Gandara Village?"
Confused by his question, Willinham answered it and gave him the directions. Although it was weird because the man looked like he was from the village anyway, the nearest village was like 15-20 kilometers away.
The man seemed frightened by Willinham's sword and look, Willinham drew back his sword and gave him a little smile.
The man thanked Willinham and followed the direction he gave him. Willinham ventured on his own path to his training spot.
In the woods, he could watch insects walk through the mud, and animals like wild hogs running around.
After around fifteen minutes of waking through the woods, he finally reached his destination, but it was empty.
"Weird.. I thought Flugel would be here already. Did he get lost? No, no.. I doubt we've been here already for more than a month.."
All of sudden, a humongous source of VLV could be felt from all over the woods. Willinham, without any second thought, started moving in the direction of the source.
"What the hell? Not even my clan combined has such VLV.. Is it a knight master? A shadow servant? The king himsel-"
A bright light emerged from between the trees. It looked like the exit of the woods, but only then did he realize.
"The source.. it's coming.. from the village."
He started running faster and faster, hoping nothing had happened. He immediately thought of the worst-case scenario, not only for Flugel but the entire village.
When he finally got out of the woods, entering the land of Gandara village, also known as Flugel's village, he saw what he couldn't imagine.
****
A small dark room, its walls made of hard stone bricks and a freezing atmosphere and shelves of books on each side of the room with some of the books on the floor with a pile of papers.
A young Willinham was talking to his teacher, who was watching out the window at a beautiful moon in the middle of a mesmerizing nightsky.
"Hey, Willinham."
"Yes, teacher?'"
"You know my goal, don't you?"
Willinham shrugged and answered:
"Well, I guess, mastering your authority?"
"No."
"Becoming one of the shadow servants? I heard you talking about wanting to become on-"
"No! You're absolutely far from the truth."
The teacher punched the side of the window with a fist. It seemed like the man was the farthest thing from being sane, he was twitching and mumbling words to himself.
"Then, what is it, teacher?"
"I wanted to save this kingdom when I was younger, but it's too late and far gone to save. Those filthy 'business men', using poor children from the countryside for their own entertainment."
"---"
"Stealing, kidnapping, all for their own amusement. It makes me sick."
"W-What can we do?"
"Nothing, look at me, Willinham."
His teacher kneeled down and put his hand on Willinham's right shoulder. "
"I want you to leave this clan and kingdom, no matter what."
"W-why?! What about my family?!"
"Your family doesn't care, Will! Understand that!"
"---"
"One day, I will leave this place."
"---"
"Willinham, promise me you'll keep this between us, alright?"
"I-I promise, teacher.."
*****
In front of Willinham's eyes, was a man wearing a red suit and had long wavy black hair, but the most facial feature he had that sent chills through Willinham's spine, was that the man didn't have a mouth, just a rip through his face that made him the farthest thing from human. For some reason, he could still talk thought that.
Under the man was a woman on her knees who had multiple bruises on her face. It looked like she got beaten up horribly.
But.. something was off.. that woman was familiar.
The mysterious man grinned and whispered:
"Any last words, miss?"
The woman coughed and answered:
"D-Damn you!.."
"Hehe~ EXECUTION!"
Willinham immediately ran towards them and yelled:
"DON'T YOU DARE DO ANYTHING TO HER!"
Willinham used the very same technique he used back at the dungeon where he and Flugel met.
The light beam peneratred through the man's right arm, but.. it didn't even budge. It merely left a burn on his suit.
The man put out the little fire sparks from his arm and looked at Willinham then proceeded to say:
"Hey, hey, you! Don't you know it's disrespectful to interrupt someone's date?!"
Willinham was puzzled by whatever that man was talking and ranting about, the only thing to occurred to his mind was protecting his friend's mother like his life depended on it.
"Date?! Who the heck are you?!"
The man put his hand over his face and turned it right and left, as if he was disappointed.
"Yelling as well? You, kids of today, have no manners. When you want to know somebody's name, you introduce yourself first."
"---"
The man put his hand on his chest and cracked a little grin before introducing himself.
"My name is Remenis Fedesis, and I- am looking for some toys for my friendly game! But this fine lady interrupted my work."
Willinham was intrigued and puzzled by the formality and professionalism in Remenis' speech, so he just went along with it.
"My name is Willinham, and I demand you keep your filthy hands off that woman-"
Remenis' eyes twitched and he immediately started yelling at Willinham.
"Hahh?! Where's your last name? Where's your pride?!"
"That's none of your business."
"But anyway, this-"
Remenis pulled Flugel's mother by her chin, making her whimper in pain.
"-this filthy woman interrupted my honest work, and the most respectable and deserved punishment.."
He raised his hand open, and a red light started forming and taking shape. Only a moment passed when it turned into a fire.
"...IS DEATH!"
Willinham ran towards him and landed a fist in his face, Remenis' face didn't move an inch, as if he was indestructible.
The anger in Remenis' eyes grew larger and larger each time Willinham tried to stop him, and with each try, Remenis' power seemed to increased by the second.
"You.. YOU DARE INTERRUPT ME AGAIN?!"
In a split of a second, Remenis put his hand on Willinham's chest and launched him into a tree.
It was like the sound barrier was broken once he was launched, he felt as his ears stopped working and his eyes saw reality in an uncanny shape.
"Ugh-!"
Willinham felt as if a boulder hit him right on his heart. After landing his back onto a tree, he coughed and yelled in pain.
When he looked down at where he was hit, he realized a fire started eating his clothes and flesh.
He quickly torn a piece of his clothing in the area that got hit, revealing a strange wound.
His skin was boiling and popping strange bubbles. He felt like he was about to throw up from the disgusting scenery.
He tried concentrating his VLV in the area to heal, but his authority had zero effect on the wound. The power he relied on for years had failed him for the very first time.
He tried standing up, forcing his legs to work, and trying to bear the overwhelming pain.
He covered his wound with the piece of clothing he had already torn and ran towards Remenis.
"You don't learn your lesson, do you, kid? I am-"
Remenis launched him once again,
"-doing-"
And again,
"-my damn-"
And again.
"-JOB!"
Flugel's mother watched as her son's dear friend suffered just for a chance to save her. But.. the only thing she wondered and was worried about was her son's location.
She just hoped for the best, prayed to God and closed her eyes.
The state of Willinham got worse by the second, wounds and fire eating his flesh, bones broken, nose bleeding that made him not even look like he wasn't even human.
But suddenly, a yelling voice could be heard from all over the village.
"DAMN YOU! YOU SICK BASTARD!"
Behind Remenis, Flugel came running towards him. From afar, it looked like he was holding sticks in his hands, but when he finally got closer, Willinham finally realized the result of their training.
"You.. You crazy idiot.."
*****
When Flugel left his house to search for Willinham, he immediately sensed something wrong. His sense of VLV had grown immensely after his weeks worth of training. He couldn't be mistaken.
He quickly ran towards the source of it, which looked like it was located at the center of the village.
After becoming closer and closer, he finally saw it. A cart, or that's what he thought it was, it was something the villager mind of Flugel couldn't grasp. It was a vehicle.
A gas releasing, loud engine, 2 meters long vehicle, Flugel stood in shock to what he was seeing in front of his eyes.
"What is that.. I know the inner areas near The Royal Palace are hundreds of years' worth of knowledge and advancement ahead of us.. but that's too much!"
When the vehicle stopped moving, a bunch of men got out of it, including Remenis.
He grew suspicious by the second but didn't start action until they did something wrong. He watched as Remenis and what looked like to be his servants walk around the village wearing black suits all except Remenis and his iconic red suit.
Remenis coughed a little before yelling:
"A-ahm!.. People of Gandara Village!"
The men and women outside walking through the village all turned to face Remenis and listen to whatever he had to say.
"As many of y'all probably know me already, I think your kids don't, so I shall introduce myself."
"---"
"My name is Remenis Fedesis, and I am merely an honest worker who yearns to earn his bread and reward through hardwork, isn't that beautiful ladies and gentlemen?"
"Who is this guy.." Flugel thought to himself.
"Your children had earned a one-way ticket to the ultimate and amazing life in the very Royal Palace! So please, my people, give up your children to the one and only Remenis!"
"Is this guy insane?" The crowd thought, what kind of sicko would give their child to.. that, not to mention that creepy and strange mouth on his face.
Remenis watched the crowd talk between eachother and calling him a sicko and a weirdo, so he had decided to announce once again.
"Ahm.. let me re-word that! Hand over your children, or.."
He pointed his finger towards a man in the crowd, and that man immediately catched on fire.
Remenis hugged himself and started laughing to himself, like an insane maniac.
"Do you understand the WORDS coming out of my mouth, PEOPLE?!"
He opened his arms, as if he was a show, but the seats were empty.
The crowd ran in fear as they watched the man in the crowd yell in pain and agony as the flames ate his skin and flesh. Remenis' servants ran after them, and threw crystals in the air.
Those crystals followed people and their children, before they could get away any farther, the crystals seemed to get bigger by the second until they shattered into a thousand pieces.
After shattering, a dome that can withhold at most two people emerged from the crystals, the dome had a strange green glow emerging from it.
Domes formed next to every person in the village and imprisoned them inside of it, and before they realized, they were gone.
After a few seconds of being trapped inside, the dome disappeared and so did the person or people inside of it. Leaving only a brand new crystal on the ground.
Flugel watched the horror as he started running away, knowing his own capacities and sensing the insane amount of VLV, he knew he wasn't built for this.
But, only then he had realized.
"I love you, sweetie!" He remembered his mother's words.
Flugel put his hand over his mouth, thinking and thinking, sinking in his thoughts and fears.
"If I run.. they will all be kidnapped.. and if I don't, maybe.. maybe I can save them.. just maybe."
He started thinking of all the possibilities, but had to quickly choose as a servant started approaching him.
"Heee- a maybe is all I need!"
He opened his hand and faced it in the direction of the servant. In a split of a second, he quickly concentrated his VLV, just like he had trained before, and a small beam emerged from his hand, penetrating through the servant's right chest making him fall to the ground.
He remembered Willinham's words that went as the following:
"Remember that technique in the dungeon, try doing that but with less power, it costs a lot of energy so try to minimize that while still keeping a decent amount of power and damage. Although I doubt it can kill a human.."
But only then he realized his great misdeed. He walked over to the person he just shot.
He kneeled down, and watched the person that he shot drowning in a lake of his own blood. Flugel was speechless.
He put his hand on the servant's chest, making it covered in blood. He looked at his bloody hands with absolute disgust.
He knew it was merely self defense, but the sin, the grave sin of murder.
Knowing he had other people to protect. He stood up, slapped his cheeks with his hands and started running around the village, shooting all the servants who came his way or ran after the other villagers, even collecting the crystals that held inside the imprisoned villagers.
At the same time, some of the servants tried taking the children but their parents put up a fight. Exchanging blows but the servants quickly grabbed daggers from their pockets.
Watching the horror, Flugel quickly ran towards one of them and barged into one with his shoulder making them both fall to the ground.
The servant yelled:
"Agh-! Oi what the hell?!"
The servant quickly gave Flugel's a good punch in the face, and grabbed his dagger to end Flugel.
Flugel immediately saw what the servant was doing, he tried to grab his own sword from his back handle.
It wasn't there, he must have forgot it at home.
The servant stabbed Flugel's right forearm, unleashing a waterfall of blood and sending Flugel into an episode of pain and agony, the manifestation of the terror and horror and all emotions in Flugel's mind only made him want to kill the man more and more, he didn't care if it was another human, he didn't care if it was murder, he only cared about the death of the rats of that sick bastard.
Flugel forced his way through the pain, and punched the servant in the face, growling from the anger he had for those people.
Suddenly, Flugel's hand started glowing, especially on the side. Light started forming into a strange shape, a familiar one.. a shape he had seen earlier indeed.
It was none other than the very same scythe he saw yesterday in Garn's shop. More specifically, the head of the scythe that intrigued and interested Flugel so bad.
The scythe penetrated the servant's head, making it explode to pieces. The scene was so bloody and disgusting it made Flugel want to throw up.
The blood and pieces of the servant's head exploded across the area, with some of the blood reaching Flugel's face.
The servant's brain was exposed to the world, it was a scene that no human alive would wish to witness.
Flugel quickly backed down to realize what just happened, he quickly looked at his hand, watching the newly formed scythe that's stuck to his hand, but it was merely made out of light.
The scythe felt weightless, but it was extremely sharp. It could slash through anything it touched.
"I can work with this.. but first, I should-"
"Come here, kid!"
A servant behind Flugel was about to throw his crystal, but Flugel quickly turned around and kicked him in the gut, and then fired a small light beam through his arms so he couldn't do anything.
Flugel still wanted to avoid murder, as his brain still believed it was inhuman, the two he killed haunted his head the entire time.
He tried to aim for limbs such as arms and legs, just enough to paralyze them instead of killing them.
But then, he turned around to see the guy named Remenis, only to realize that he was gone.
"Huh.. weird.."
In his head, he started thinking of a million possibilities of what could be happening right now.
"That guy mentioned the Royal Palace, but this is just kidnapping.. What the hell is going on here.."
He watched as the servants kidnapped more and more people in their crystals, and watched some others burn down houses and trees.
"Wait a minute-"
He immediately remembered, his mother. He immediately started running, he ran like he had never ran before. All out of fear and terror of the idea that's storming his head right now.
Second by second, thoughts ate his mind of what could have happened and what could not.
Once he finally got closer to his house, he saw the view that he wished he had never seen.
He watched as the man named Remenis, torture Flugel's own friend over and over again, while holding his own mother in his filthy hands.
"You.. YOU.."
He quickly started growling, and immediately concentrated his VLV to summon the scythe once again. He quickly started running towards Remenis, the only thoughts running through his head was Remenis' death.
"DAMN YOU! YOU SICK BASTARD!"