《I Am No Hero But I Have To Be One》


 2 The Story Begins

    THINK OF THIS WORLD AS SOMETHING LIKE an interconnected and weaved big, long thread that tangles and untangles itself slowly, gradually, eventually and continuously and we all are the cause of this movements, therefore the world is ruled by every individual. The live we live is dependent on our actions, a bold person lives life until his heart is content and has no regret, while a shy person tries to get into the society and act normal even if it means sacrificing his wishes. In past a major wave pulsed through the thread when the Cataclysm occurred.


    I am the first type of person, the one who dreams and plans to make that dream come true. My name is Ren Fawcett and I sort of am the hero of this story at least a main character. I open up the world and make it my own. Anyway, like every story my story has a beginning too. My present life begins with the death of my previous life.


    I know numerous superhero stories, the hero rises against all the odds and defeats the bad person, but in real life good and bad are too vague to describe my heart; I lie in the grey between these two forces never really being bad but never being the hero either. It was not always like this, like every other child when I was little I wanted to become a hero too, but it all changed after my mother died.


    I do not remember much about my mother even though I was about twelve years old when she died leaving behind my father, my little brother and me. While giving birth to Ayden she died due to delivery complications, which explains why my father has always disliked Ayden.


    It has been almost five years since her death and I am seventeen, almost turning eighteen, now. My life has changed completely after that incident. My father became a drunkard to cope up with his depression, Ayden grew up to rather reclusive for a boy who will just turn six soon; maybe because of the way our father always kept Ayden away from him. I lived a nice life before this and what I have now is just the fragments of those visits to parks with my mother and father, those nights when father used to sneak up and give me an ice cream from the fridge unnoticed by my mother, all those times when I smiled and laughed happily. My present is just horrible compared to my past, everything that I cherished has been snatched from me, I live everyday trying to escape from this living nightmare.


    Temperance turned my father prone to having anger fits and I had to face their consequences¡­ sometimes by belt, something by hands. I knew that I could not raise my voice against this because I had no other family member than my father and Ayden, who would take me in, so I just gritted my teeth and took the pain with silence.


    Slowly a strong yearning for freedom and power grew in my mind. When I turned seventeen, I started planning my escape. I worked on every single screw and nut of the plan, gathering everything that I could, saving some money and acquiring information that would help me when I would be on the streets and on my own.


    As a bud has to wait to mature before it can detach itself from the parent plant, I waited. I tried to be reasonable, because I knew that the world had become a place where you needed to fight for survival. I have heard that it used to be better than now, if not very good, but slowly it grew to be a place filled with wars, hatred and pain and became a true hell after the Cataclysm.


    It was early morning and nobody was awake. I was standing by the window in the hall and looked at my image as if got reflected back from the glass. A tall, slim boy with unruly short copper coloured hair, with bangs that reach just below my sapphire eyes, stared back at me; my face reminded me of a vampire for some reason. I looked around the apartment that was supposed to be my house. An old, rundown apartment with walls that were grey like my life, and almost every tile in its floor cracked, dim lighted with a few yellow bulbs and tube lights in every room. There were three rooms.


    The hall was a small one compared to those in the cities, it had a television, a table on which the television and a flower pot was kept and a torn brown couch that was supposed to be red beside which stood a short glass coffee table. The kitchen was a small room with a black platform about a meter long over which was a sink and a stove; besides these, the kitchen had a very old washing machine and a fridge.


    The bedroom was probably the largest room in the apartment, a square room roughly about five meters in length and width both. It had a bed meant for one person, which had an old, overused and slightly torn mattress on it, besides it there was an air conditioner, which never really worked and a long cupboard with three sections. The cupboard was the only thing in the whole house that was worth seeing probably because my father won it in a lucky draw from the local wine shop and not buy it.


    I used to live in a much better house, but after mother''s death and father''s addiction, debt drowned us. The final blow came when father lost his nice job at an advertising firm, we had to sell our house due to mortgage and then we came in this vile area of this vile city after which my life was just a downward spiral. I had to do all the house chores, pick father up and bring him back home when he would drink too much, work as newspaper boy and many other odd jobs so that I could get some money and save it.


    ''Finally today is the day I will become free,'' I thought and walked towards the coffee table beside the couch, where Ayden was sleeping right now, and picked up a bag kept on it. I took a deep breath, ''It''s time.'' Hardly had I started walking towards the door did a voice stop me, "Where are you going, Ren."


    I turned back and saw Ayden clearly awake and looking back at me he said, "You are running way," he got up from the couch and produced a small suitcase. The little boy stood a little above my knees, with similar copper coloured hair similar to mine, but were combed towards is left neatly and his bright sky blue eyes that had slight harshness in them. They were too painful to belong to a six-year-old.


    "Take me with you," he walked towards me, carrying the suitcase with him. Before I could say anything he continued, "Or do you want me to shout and wake dad up?" It did not take me any time to decide, I don''t even think there was any space for my opinion, everything was just ready to go and so I could just ask, "Where¡­ did you get that suitcase?"


    We had a whole, unseen and foreign word waiting for us; I felt that I was reborn. At the point in time, I was completely unaware of the chain of action I had begun, something that would be the greatest change after the Cataclysm. Things had begun and unknowingly I was a part of them.

 3 Ally

    I knew where I had to go the moment I left my house. I needed a place to sleep and a way to get out of this city. Both of which I would get in the outskirt of this city. The city I lived in had no official name on the map, the existence of all these residences were just the collection of the result of a modern feudal system with corporate heads in the highest level and poor jobless ones in the lowest level.


    Though as the population grew the significance of this poor city grew too, it was a home to every homeless person and so ''All-roof'' was the name this city got. A roof for everyone, a positive meaning, but it did not mean that everything was fine and welcoming in this place and neither did it mean that every homeless person considered the other as his family.


    "Where are we going?" Ayden was walking beside me when he asked. We in the outermost part of the city and you can call it ruins. It was a wasteland, with buildings completely dissimilated and fallen down, parts of wall and ceiling all fallen over each other, moss growing over these long forgotten building, stretching far long and wide.


    "We need to get away from this city and I have heard that there is a person by the name Ally who can take you through the border so we are going to that person," I jumped over a broken sink.


    "That is the eleventh sink you have jumped over and the twentieth one I have seen," Ayden spoke to seemingly no one. Unlike my estranged father, I do not hate him or hold him as the culprit who took my mother away, but I still have some uneasiness around him.


    When I am with him, I feel like the one in charge and this feeling is unfamiliar to me. We walked for a little more in silence after which I finally spoke up just to escape the silence, "Were you really keeping a count?"


    "Yes, of course," he told as a matter of fact and continued, "I have been keeping count of everything that we have come across to fend off my boredom."


    "Really, now then you would of course be able to tell the number of times we took a left turn," I asked him with a grin on my face, I knew the way like the back of my hand because I have planned for this for months, albeit I never thought that I would have a company.


    "We turn fourteen left turns," he said. I gulped he was right. He was actually right! I was very surprised; I was unaware that he was so observant. When I think about it I realise, I hardly know much about him. What is his favourite colour? I do not know. What is his hobby? I do not know. I know that he likes marshmallow a lot because I used to make it for him when we were still not in these slums and father had not lost our job.


    I did not reply and we walked for some more time and when we finally reached our destination, I noticed that the sun was rising and the sky was violet.


    The amount of security over there surprised me. Ally''s gang had taken over a whole abandoned building and the violet did not provide much view but I could see that even though he was living in this poor area his building was almost as good as any another normal building.


    Three men stood in front of the main door forming a triangle and each of them had face that looked like they would want to rip you off from the face of the planet this instant. "Why are you here?" The man in the centre asked.


    "I want to get to the next city," I answered as Ayden stood behind me, I rolled my eyes sideway, ''He looks scared, but he is holding his emotions back.''


    "You have money?" He asked me without even looking at me as a robot programmed to execute some commands.


    "Yes," I said. Then that man gestured the other two bulky men to move away and let me go through, "Second floor."


    The first things that I noticed that the cracks on the walls were sealed and looked newly made from the level of reconstruction, floor was clean and lights were working fine. It was better place than what I had in mind for a gang''s base to be like.


    The second floor was just a very big room, the result of totalling down all the rooms in the floor to make the room. In the far end of the room, there was someone sitting on a nice chair with a broken, wooden worktable behind, looking away from me and out of the window, which was now just a hole in the wall without any glass. There was another wooden table beside it on which two men sat, a black sofa opposite to it on which another man dressed in all black lay down with a final guard standing tall beside the window behind the person who I assumed was Ally.


    "Hey chirp, what do you want?" One of the two men sitting on the table asked me in a irritated voice.


    ''I want to go to order some pizza!'' What else could have come to this place if not to go to the next city, but I did not want to make any unnecessary trouble and simply said, "I want to travel to the next city."


    Hearing this, the person sitting in the chair turned around and it was a big surprise to me, maybe even more than Ayden''s surprise, it was a girl! Not that I am sexist but in a place filled with big men I just thought that the man with the most muscle would be the boss. Leave muscles, she was just a teenager like me.


    She had brown eyes that were accentuated by her eyelashes extending into the corners of her eyes. Her most distinctive feature was her long, untamed, dark pink - almost red - hair that fell past her shoulders with long parted bangs framing either side of her face and one between her eyes. She wore a pink wool sweater that was a couple sizes bigger for her and the sleeves hid her palms. Under the sweater, she wore a black, baggy cargo pant with many pockets.


    "Two thousand per person and if you keep ogling at me, I will make it three," her voice was shrill and mean. ''I have known her for just under a minute and I already hate her.''


    "Okay," I saw no room for bargain and obliged. "I have a kid with-"


    "If he has a head and a torso then he counts, even if it is a dead ," she hissed, but did not end, "Well. You''re annoying as hell. Make that three thousand a person." The girl smirked, her eyes curving into crescents.


    "What! Six thousand! That is outright robbery," I shouted to which the men who were relaxed got up and turned to me.


    "It is your choice, don''t like it? Get out of my sight then." She smirked.


    I wanted to just go out of here, but then I looked over Ayden. There was no way I could feed a child properly in this city, so I gritted my teeth and said, "Fine."


    "That''s the spirit!" She and her larger-than-her minions laughed.


    ''I swear I am gonna make you pay double!'' I was sure that I will not just succumb to her superiority and extortion. Obtaining power is one of the reason I ran away from my home. ''I just have to wait for the opportunity to come.''

 4 Daisuke and Natalia

    Chirping of birds woke me up, ''I wonder how these birds survive here in this wasteland.'' Ayden and I had slept in an abandoned house in front Ally''s gang base that is if you count as lying down on hard floor for hardly some hours as sleeping.


    I got up from the floor and sat up stretching my arms and legs as a small yawn escaped my mouth. I had to sleep on the floor because the house had nothing soft to sleep on and Ayden slept on the kitchen platform with his suitcase, which I do not know where he got from, below his head as a cushion.


    ''This boy is just full of mysteries,'' I sighed and walked out of the house and saw that rumble covered the road, but the portion near this house and Ally''s building were cleaned. ''She must use this building as a guest house,'' I guessed.


    "So you also want to cross the border?" A voice brought my attention back from my thoughts. I turned around and saw a man. He looked in his early thirties and his black hair was prominent, as it was neatly gelled and combed into two sides from the centre of his head. His skin was brown and glimmered, his eyes were small and brown intently fixed on me. He wore a thin cotton cream coloured shirt and black trousers and a black fanny pack hanged around his waist.


    "Yes, and you are?" I asked.


    "My name is Daisuke Yasui, I am a traveller just like you," he smiled lightly and sat on a wooden chair beside a broken dining table.


    "I am Reth Gale," I said and saw Daisuke producing an apple and a pocketknife from his trouser''s pocket. "You want a piece?" He asked.


    He gave off a frank and easy-going aura, but I was still sceptical about him, "No," I continued, "when did you come here?" I was sure that there was nobody in this house when Ally''s guard brought me here.


    "About the same time as others came," he put the pocketknife back and took a bite of the apple directly, probably because I declined his offer.


    "Others?"


    "Yes, others like us who want to cross the border didn''t you notice us in the second floor?" He casually took another bite as he finished. I raised my brows, I was not even aware that there was a second floor, but I shielded my expression quickly and sitting on another wooden chair a little away from him asked, "So have you done this before?"


    By now he had finished the whole apple and I was surprised by his speed, "This? You mean crossing the border," the man laughed heartily, "Yes of course you could say half of my life has been spent doing this."


    Before this conversation could go any further, someone walked down the staircase in the far right, which had gone unnoticed by me in the darkness of early morning, and interrupted us. It was a woman a little older than I was. She was a tall, fair-skinned woman with a curvaceous figure, she had blue eyes and straight shoulder-length blonde hair cut in an asymmetrical bob style. She wore a white T-shirt with a loose dark blue denim jacket over it, light blue jeans underneath, and brown sneakers.


    "What are you guys talking about?" She walked towards us.


    "Nothing," Daisuke sighed, "I was just telling this little boy about my adventures while crossing borders." Hearing the women laughed and said, "Mr. Daisuke, you sound like an international smuggler."


    Daisuke calling me a little boy annoyed me, but the woman had my eyes fixed on her; she was the kind of woman I have difficulty to describe. See, it is as if she has the popular vibe around her and that she can win anybody''s heart over a few words, it was the first time I met her but she acted as if I have known her all her life. "Nice to meet you I am Natalia Bright," she walked towards me and raised her hand forward.


    "I am Re¡­" I was about to tell my real name, but covered it up and said, "Reth Gale, nice to meet you too," I brought my hand forwards and shook hands with her.


    "Well, Reth seems like both of us are amateur when it comes to crossing borders in front Mr. Daisuke," she retracted her hand and smiled. I looked at Daisuke, "Are you two travelling together?"


    Natalia replied shaking her head, "No, we happened to meet yesterday when both of us came here." I looked at her; she was heading towards the kitchen.


    "Who is this little boy?" I heard her ask as entered the kitchen, I had almost forgotten about Ayden and walked into the kitchen promptly.


    Natalia was standing in front of the kitchen with her eyebrows raised and face clearly showing surprise. The kitchen was in good condition, like the house, and was rectangular of six metre by four metre. It contained a fridge, a microwave, a washing machine and a long brown platform.


    Ayden was sleeping over the platform peacefully; I brought Natalia''s attention to me and spoke up, "He is my¡­ son." Maybe it was the fact that Daisuke called me a little boy or maybe I wanted to get some more respect in a sense, anyway I lied to her to appear a bit older.


    Hearing this Natalia''s already raised eyebrows rose even more, "You have a kid!" It was more like an exclamation than a question, I nodded, "His name is Deb and he is sleeping so¡­" I gestured her to keep quiet, but it was of no use Ayden, or Deb for now, was already awake, he yawned softly and walked towards me completely ignoring Natalia. "Who is she?" He asked me looking up at my face.


    I kneeled down and put my hand over his shoulders, "She wants to cross the city border just like us, ''Deb'' my dear ''son''," I said his new name and relation a bit slowly as to inform him. I was doubtful that I could signal this to a six-year-old. However, Deb was not an ordinary six-year-old he nodded showing that he understood what I meant.


    "Okay father," he looked at me and then at Natalia, "I feel hungry is there something to eat?"


    To this Natalia immediately replied back and said, "I was just going to find something in the fridge, Ally''s men told that there will be something for us to microwave and eat. You guys should join me and," she walked outside and I could hear her say, "Mr. Daisuke please call the others."

 5 Chapter 4

    Author''s Note ¨C There is a change in the P.O.V.


    ¡­


    "Have you heard about the rumour of the Gerbrailin princess getting caught?" The man by my side asked.


    "No," I said.


    We were sitting on the either side of the prison metal bar gate as the two guards; the prison was located on the outskirts of the Eastbron forest near the kingdom. This was done to keep the prisoners away from settlement and making it harder for them to escape, as they would have to walk through the whole forest before seeing the light of any house or walk in the direction of the kingdom.


    If they were foolish enough to try the first then the wild animals will most likely eat them after they cross the fence around the prison. If they think it would be smarter to walk towards the kingdom then the guards at the border would have somthing other to say.


    However, this all meant there was nothing for the guards to do either. Except talking with each other and looking at the green trees spreading out till the horizon and their branches as they swayed with the wind every now and then.


    Even though I have been a guard for a very short period of time, I can for sure say that this job sucks. We two were the only guards stationed her at present, as an emergency called the others and they headed over to the kingdom and I had come as a single replacement for the multitude just the day before yesterday.


    "I heard that Gerbrail is a small, peaceful nation neighbouring Edhoria in the east." I noticed that guard''s brown uniform shirt had the tag ''Melish'' sewed over his chest.


    It was dark, but I could clearly see Melish''s eyes that reflected the light from the lamp in his hand.


    "So why is their princess captured?" I asked.


    "I have heard, though with someone else''s ears," he leaned forward and I followed the suit, both of us were still sitting on our chairs but we had craned our neck and upper body. He continued.


    "The Gerbrailins had been supplying silicon, the cursed metal, to those wicked Oldoanians. When our great king Maximus got the gist of this, he ordered to besiege Gerbrail and ambush it when the moment comes. I personally say, that damned nation must be punished for helping the Oldoanians to build their evil technology."


    "Hmm¡­" I straightened myself and scratched my chin with my right hand. I was well aware of the enmity between the Nation of Oldoan and the Edhorian Empire.


    It all began a year after the Cataclysm, the government of nations all over the world were failing to gain control over the new changes that occurred and soon they fell on by one. In midst of this crisis a new belief rose, people began to think that Cataclysm was the salvation presented to humanity to begin anew.


    The Cataclysm had brought things unexplained by science and broken and confused millions of people agreed with these new believes. These believes gave rise to new cults and these cults followed various new deities.


    One of these new cults was the Edhonia Sect, who believed in the forces of nature and thought the Cataclysm occurred to save humanity from the evils of technology. The followers of the Edhonia Sect were the founders of the Edhorian Kingdom.


    On the other hand, some did not believe in these myths and rather wanted to find scientific explanations to these changes and they formed their own nation, which is the nation of Oldoan. While there were knights in Edhorian Kingdom, the nation of Oldoan had scientists.


    These are two of the strongest countries in the new world and by their basic nature; these two countries possessed hostility against each other.


    ''It seems reasonable that the Edhorian Kingdom would attack on an ally of the nation of Oldoan, but I feel there is something missing¡­'' I thought and then turning to my left, I asked Melish, "What do you think will happen to the princess?"


    He shrugged and said, "Either she will be confined or she will be executed and the land of Gerbrail would be taken over by over kingdom. I think it would be safer to chose the second option, for the betterment of the Edhorian Empire."


    "Hmm¡­" I found it strange that the Edhorian Kingdom attacked another nation so fast, according to me; usually they would try to form an alliance with the allies of the Oldoan and try turning them against the Oldoanians. However, even if they attacked another country would it not be better to capture the king instead of his daughter?


    "Why do you ask?"


    "It always helps to have another mind''s opinion," I shrugged and then looked around, the tree branches swayed making a serene sound. I smiled and continued, "I also like to get to know people before I kill them."


    I pulled a gun out of my pocket and shot him in the head before he could react.


    "It was nice meeting you," I said as I put the gun back in my pocket and walked towards him. I put him straight up and looked at the mark formed on the head.


    I pulled a small black cube out of my pocket and after pressing it; I threw it up and then ran away. Hardly had I reached the fence did I hear an explosion and the force blew me away. Hitting a tree hard, I had a blend of grimace and irritation on my face, "I will get the ones with timer next time."


    Then I looked over to where the prison ''was'', it was now cleared and there was nothing visible through the smoke, but I could see the outlines of some bodies, "They were either damn criminals or kingdom''s brainwashed lunatics anyway."


    Suddenly from the smoke a figure rose and walked towards me, as he came closer I could see his face and he had an angry expression. This was how I first met Tempris and it was a very unpleasant meeting.


    Before I could say anything Tempris pounced on my with a glowing fist, I moved aside just just in time and Tempris'' punch landed on the ground making a small crater on the ground.


    "Why are you attacking me?" I asked him as I jumped on a tree branch.


    "You ask that after you try to blow me!" His voice was coarse. He was shorter and younger than I was, with a round fair face, dark purple hair that fell on his shoulders and his eyes were of a lighter purple shade.


    "I was just making my work easier. Do you expect me to go through each god damn cell and look for you in that darkness?" I had not lost my composure.


    Tempris'' face showed that he did not except my reasoning but then he sighed and said, "I do not want to kill my chance to escape."


    ''You can''t kill me,'' I did not word my thoughts because the last thing I would want now would be wasting time fighting this bulldozer.


    "We have to get moving, the guards at the border must have heard the explosion." I said.


    "So what? I can kill all of them within minutes." He retorted.


    "Then we must not waste even those minutes, I have the mission to bring you not kill the border guards of the Edhorian Kingdom and I am already behind schedule." I jumped down.


    "Who are you? Are you from the Oldoan Nation?" He asked.


    "Let''s talk while moving," I sprinted through the totalled prison ground, "Try to keep up."


    This must have hurt his big ego because almost instantly I could hear him running towards me. When I got out of the smoke, I could see him by my side.


    "Let''s keep on moving," I said.


    ...


    Tempris and I were about half a mile away from the bombed prison by now. We were swiftly running through the forest.


    "So who are you?" He asked me breaking the silence.


    "I am Victor." I replied.


    "You work for the Oldoan Nation?" He asked jumping aside from a tree in way as we continued run fast.


    "No, they hired me to infiltrate the Edthorian Kingdom and find your whereabouts and bring you." Just when I finished the sentence, I stopped.


    "What happened?" Tempris stood beside me.


    "Don''t you here it?" I said as I looked around. There was a very hushed sound of someone stepping on leaves. I looked at Tempris; he seemed to have picked up the sound too.


    "Someone is following us." I said.


    "Who could it be? The reinforcement can''t be so fast." He said.


    The prison ground was about four miles away from the Kingdom''s border and we were half a mile away from the prison in under a minute. With this speed, it would be almost impossible for someone to catch us. "Unless..." I muttered.


    "Those following us are knights," Tempris finished my sentence. Knights had mutant horses that ran faster than an average Gifted, who was easily way faster than the fastest normal creatures.


    "Hide." I said.


    He nodded and we boh jumped on trees in opposite directions. Slowly the sound became more and more audible. There were two people riding on their horses. They were clad with shinning, silver, full body metal armour and each had a sword attached to near to their armour''s waist by their hilts, it was hard to see their face from above because of their helmet.


    They stopped their horses where Tempris and I were standing just a moment ago, then started to look around. One of them stepped down and touched the ground with their bare hand. Then looking at the second knight said, "I cannot feel his presence anymore." The voice was masculine.


    The second knight stepped down from their horse too and then walking towards the first knight, the second knight whispered something. The next moment the both of them disappeared out of my sight. ''


    Shit!'' I turned around and saw one of the knights behind me on the tree branch. The knight swung their sword at me, but I jumped down and the knight followed the suit.


    "Who are you?" This voice was masculine too, but it was different from the previous one.


    "None of your business," I was still wearing my guard uniform and the white mask. The knight must have not liked the answer because he charged at me with his sword. I ducked and pulled two daggers from the pouches on my ankles then with my dagger I did an uppercut; however, the blade did not even put a scratch on his armour.


    Seeing this I jumped back and said, "It seems like the Edhorians know how to make good armours."


    "Metallurgy is one of our specialities," as he said it, the knight''s sword started to glow.


    "So you are a Gifted¡­" I smiled, "too."


    My daggers began to glow purple and I lurched and attack first this time. I went straight for the head with my left dagger, but the knight moved his sword towards my torso, I stopped the sword with my right dagger and continued. However, before my dagger could hit his helmet he kicked on my chest pushing me back.


    I stood on my foot again and threw my daggers at the knight. He deflected them with his sword, but he did not see me coming at me and with my speed I got some momentum and then using my Gift I punched the knight directly on his head and maybe I might have overdone it because the knight''s head knocked off and rolled over the ground, but his body continued the previous momentum before collapsing too.


    "Shit, I did not plan to do that," I sighed and then went over Tempris'' direction. I could hear the sound of an ongoing battle.


    It was pretty boring, Tempris and the knight were have a ''fierce'' fight, "And this guy said he could kill me¡­"


    The knight was swinging his word at Tempris who was ducking and dodging it by jumping while trying to beat the knight with bare fist. Then finally, I got tired of it and then using my Gift I pushed the ground with my legs and in top speed and cut the knight''s head through the helmet with my dagger.


    "What the hell?" Tempris'' mouth was left agape.


    "Let''s just walk to the Oldoan Nation and let me complete my mission and get my paycheque!" I was pissed with all these interruptions. I walked over Tempris and said, "Now walk before I kill you and loose my money."

 5 The Guard

    Author''s Note ¨C There is a change in the P.O.V.


    ¡­


    "Have you heard about the rumour of the Gerbrailin princess getting caught?" The man by my side asked.


    "No," I said.


    We were sitting on the either side of the prison metal bar gate as the two guards; the prison was located on the outskirts of the Eastbron forest near the kingdom. This was done to keep the prisoners away from settlement and making it harder for them to escape, as they would have to walk through the whole forest before seeing the light of any house or walk in the direction of the kingdom.


    If they were foolish enough to try the first then the wild animals will most likely eat them after they cross the fence around the prison. If they think it would be smarter to walk towards the kingdom then the guards at the border would have somthing other to say.


    However, this all meant there was nothing for the guards to do either. Except talking with each other and looking at the green trees spreading out till the horizon and their branches as they swayed with the wind every now and then.


    Even though I have been a guard for a very short period of time, I can for sure say that this job sucks. We two were the only guards stationed her at present, as an emergency called the others and they headed over to the kingdom and I had come as a single replacement for the multitude just the day before yesterday.


    "I heard that Gerbrail is a small, peaceful nation neighbouring Edhoria in the east." I noticed that guard''s brown uniform shirt had the tag ''Melish'' sewed over his chest.


    It was dark, but I could clearly see Melish''s eyes that reflected the light from the lamp in his hand.


    "So why is their princess captured?" I asked.


    "I have heard, though with someone else''s ears," he leaned forward and I followed the suit, both of us were still sitting on our chairs but we had craned our neck and upper body. He continued.


    "The Gerbrailins had been supplying silicon, the cursed metal, to those wicked Oldoanians. When our great king Maximus got the gist of this, he ordered to besiege Gerbrail and ambush it when the moment comes. I personally say, that damned nation must be punished for helping the Oldoanians to build their evil technology."


    "Hmm¡­" I straightened myself and scratched my chin with my right hand. I was well aware of the enmity between the Nation of Oldoan and the Edhorian Empire.


    It all began a year after the Cataclysm, the government of nations all over the world were failing to gain control over the new changes that occurred and soon they fell on by one. In midst of this crisis a new belief rose, people began to think that Cataclysm was the salvation presented to humanity to begin anew.


    The Cataclysm had brought things unexplained by science and broken and confused millions of people agreed with these new believes. These believes gave rise to new cults and these cults followed various new deities.


    One of these new cults was the Edhonia Sect, who believed in the forces of nature and thought the Cataclysm occurred to save humanity from the evils of technology. The followers of the Edhonia Sect were the founders of the Edhorian Kingdom.


    On the other hand, some did not believe in these myths and rather wanted to find scientific explanations to these changes and they formed their own nation, which is the nation of Oldoan. While there were knights in Edhorian Kingdom, the nation of Oldoan had scientists.


    These are two of the strongest countries in the new world and by their basic nature; these two countries possessed hostility against each other.


    ''It seems reasonable that the Edhorian Kingdom would attack on an ally of the nation of Oldoan, but I feel there is something missing¡­'' I thought and then turning to my left, I asked Melish, "What do you think will happen to the princess?"


    He shrugged and said, "Either she will be confined or she will be executed and the land of Gerbrail would be taken over by over kingdom. I think it would be safer to chose the second option, for the betterment of the Edhorian Empire."


    "Hmm¡­" I found it strange that the Edhorian Kingdom attacked another nation so fast, according to me; usually they would try to form an alliance with the allies of the Oldoan and try turning them against the Oldoanians. However, even if they attacked another country would it not be better to capture the king instead of his daughter?


    "Why do you ask?"


    "It always helps to have another mind''s opinion," I shrugged and then looked around, the tree branches swayed making a serene sound. I smiled and continued, "I also like to get to know people before I kill them."


    I pulled a gun out of my pocket and shot him in the head before he could react.


    "It was nice meeting you," I said as I put the gun back in my pocket and walked towards him. I put him straight up and looked at the mark formed on the head.


    I pulled a small black cube out of my pocket and after pressing it; I threw it up and then ran away. Hardly had I reached the fence did I hear an explosion and the force blew me away. Hitting a tree hard, I had a blend of grimace and irritation on my face, "I will get the ones with timer next time."


    Then I looked over to where the prison ''was'', it was now cleared and there was nothing visible through the smoke, but I could see the outlines of some bodies, "They were either damn criminals or kingdom''s brainwashed lunatics anyway."


    Suddenly from the smoke a figure rose and walked towards me, as he came closer I could see his face and he had an angry expression. This was how I first met Tempris and it was a very unpleasant meeting.


    Before I could say anything Tempris pounced on my with a glowing fist, I moved aside just just in time and Tempris'' punch landed on the ground making a small crater on the ground.


    "Why are you attacking me?" I asked him as I jumped on a tree branch.


    "You ask that after you try to blow me!" His voice was coarse. He was shorter and younger than I was, with a round fair face, dark purple hair that fell on his shoulders and his eyes were of a lighter purple shade.


    "I was just making my work easier. Do you expect me to go through each god damn cell and look for you in that darkness?" I had not lost my composure.


    Tempris'' face showed that he did not except my reasoning but then he sighed and said, "I do not want to kill my chance to escape."


    ''You can''t kill me,'' I did not word my thoughts because the last thing I would want now would be wasting time fighting this bulldozer.


    "We have to get moving, the guards at the border must have heard the explosion." I said.


    "So what? I can kill all of them within minutes." He retorted.


    "Then we must not waste even those minutes, I have the mission to bring you not kill the border guards of the Edhorian Kingdom and I am already behind schedule." I jumped down.


    "Who are you? Are you from the Oldoan Nation?" He asked.


    "Let''s talk while moving," I sprinted through the totalled prison ground, "Try to keep up."


    This must have hurt his big ego because almost instantly I could hear him running towards me. When I got out of the smoke, I could see him by my side.


    "Let''s keep on moving," I said.


    ...


    Tempris and I were about half a mile away from the bombed prison by now. We were swiftly running through the forest.


    "So who are you?" He asked me breaking the silence.


    "I am Victor." I replied.


    "You work for the Oldoan Nation?" He asked jumping aside from a tree in way as we continued run fast.


    "No, they hired me to infiltrate the Edthorian Kingdom and find your whereabouts and bring you." Just when I finished the sentence, I stopped.


    "What happened?" Tempris stood beside me.


    "Don''t you here it?" I said as I looked around. There was a very hushed sound of someone stepping on leaves. I looked at Tempris; he seemed to have picked up the sound too.


    "Someone is following us." I said.


    "Who could it be? The reinforcement can''t be so fast." He said.


    The prison ground was about four miles away from the Kingdom''s border and we were half a mile away from the prison in under a minute. With this speed, it would be almost impossible for someone to catch us. "Unless..." I muttered.


    "Those following us are knights," Tempris finished my sentence. Knights had mutant horses that ran faster than an average Gifted, who was easily way faster than the fastest normal creatures.


    "Hide." I said.


    He nodded and we boh jumped on trees in opposite directions. Slowly the sound became more and more audible. There were two people riding on their horses. They were clad with shinning, silver, full body metal armour and each had a sword attached to near to their armour''s waist by their hilts, it was hard to see their face from above because of their helmet.


    They stopped their horses where Tempris and I were standing just a moment ago, then started to look around. One of them stepped down and touched the ground with their bare hand. Then looking at the second knight said, "I cannot feel his presence anymore." The voice was masculine.


    The second knight stepped down from their horse too and then walking towards the first knight, the second knight whispered something. The next moment the both of them disappeared out of my sight. ''


    Shit!'' I turned around and saw one of the knights behind me on the tree branch. The knight swung their sword at me, but I jumped down and the knight followed the suit.


    "Who are you?" This voice was masculine too, but it was different from the previous one.


    "None of your business," I was still wearing my guard uniform and the white mask. The knight must have not liked the answer because he charged at me with his sword. I ducked and pulled two daggers from the pouches on my ankles then with my dagger I did an uppercut; however, the blade did not even put a scratch on his armour.


    Seeing this I jumped back and said, "It seems like the Edhorians know how to make good armours."


    "Metallurgy is one of our specialities," as he said it, the knight''s sword started to glow.


    "So you are a Gifted¡­" I smiled, "too."


    My daggers began to glow purple and I lurched and attack first this time. I went straight for the head with my left dagger, but the knight moved his sword towards my torso, I stopped the sword with my right dagger and continued. However, before my dagger could hit his helmet he kicked on my chest pushing me back.


    I stood on my foot again and threw my daggers at the knight. He deflected them with his sword, but he did not see me coming at me and with my speed I got some momentum and then using my Gift I punched the knight directly on his head and maybe I might have overdone it because the knight''s head knocked off and rolled over the ground, but his body continued the previous momentum before collapsing too.


    "Shit, I did not plan to do that," I sighed and then went over Tempris'' direction. I could hear the sound of an ongoing battle.


    It was pretty boring, Tempris and the knight were have a ''fierce'' fight, "And this guy said he could kill me¡­"


    The knight was swinging his word at Tempris who was ducking and dodging it by jumping while trying to beat the knight with bare fist. Then finally, I got tired of it and then using my Gift I pushed the ground with my legs and in top speed and cut the knight''s head through the helmet with my dagger.


    "What the hell?" Tempris'' mouth was left agape.


    "Let''s just walk to the Oldoan Nation and let me complete my mission and get my paycheque!" I was pissed with all these interruptions. I walked over Tempris and said, "Now walk before I kill you and loose my money."

 1 The Story Begins

    THINK OF THIS WORLD AS SOMETHING LIKE an interconnected and weaved big, long thread that tangles and untangles itself slowly, gradually, eventually and continuously and we all are the cause of this movements, therefore the world is ruled by every individual. The live we live is dependent on our actions, a bold person lives life until his heart is content and has no regret, while a shy person tries to get into the society and act normal even if it means sacrificing his wishes. In past a major wave pulsed through the thread when the Cataclysm occurred.


    I am the first type of person, the one who dreams and plans to make that dream come true. My name is Ren Fawcett and I sort of am the hero of this story at least a main character. I open up the world and make it my own. Anyway, like every story my story has a beginning too. My present life begins with the death of my previous life.


    I know numerous superhero stories, the hero rises against all the odds and defeats the bad person, but in real life good and bad are too vague to describe my heart; I lie in the grey between these two forces never really being bad but never being the hero either. It was not always like this, like every other child when I was little I wanted to become a hero too, but it all changed after my mother died.


    I do not remember much about my mother even though I was about twelve years old when she died leaving behind my father, my little brother and me. While giving birth to Ayden she died due to delivery complications, which explains why my father has always disliked Ayden.


    It has been almost five years since her death and I am seventeen, almost turning eighteen, now. My life has changed completely after that incident. My father became a drunkard to cope up with his depression, Ayden grew up to rather reclusive for a boy who will just turn six soon; maybe because of the way our father always kept Ayden away from him. I lived a nice life before this and what I have now is just the fragments of those visits to parks with my mother and father, those nights when father used to sneak up and give me an ice cream from the fridge unnoticed by my mother, all those times when I smiled and laughed happily. My present is just horrible compared to my past, everything that I cherished has been snatched from me, I live everyday trying to escape from this living nightmare.


    Temperance turned my father prone to having anger fits and I had to face their consequences¡­ sometimes by belt, something by hands. I knew that I could not raise my voice against this because I had no other family member than my father and Ayden, who would take me in, so I just gritted my teeth and took the pain with silence.


    Slowly a strong yearning for freedom and power grew in my mind. When I turned seventeen, I started planning my escape. I worked on every single screw and nut of the plan, gathering everything that I could, saving some money and acquiring information that would help me when I would be on the streets and on my own.


    As a bud has to wait to mature before it can detach itself from the parent plant, I waited. I tried to be reasonable, because I knew that the world had become a place where you needed to fight for survival. I have heard that it used to be better than now, if not very good, but slowly it grew to be a place filled with wars, hatred and pain and became a true hell after the Cataclysm.


    It was early morning and nobody was awake. I was standing by the window in the hall and looked at my image as if got reflected back from the glass. A tall, slim boy with unruly short copper coloured hair, with bangs that reach just below my sapphire eyes, stared back at me; my face reminded me of a vampire for some reason. I looked around the apartment that was supposed to be my house. An old, rundown apartment with walls that were grey like my life, and almost every tile in its floor cracked, dim lighted with a few yellow bulbs and tube lights in every room. There were three rooms.


    The hall was a small one compared to those in the cities, it had a television, a table on which the television and a flower pot was kept and a torn brown couch that was supposed to be red beside which stood a short glass coffee table. The kitchen was a small room with a black platform about a meter long over which was a sink and a stove; besides these, the kitchen had a very old washing machine and a fridge.


    The bedroom was probably the largest room in the apartment, a square room roughly about five meters in length and width both. It had a bed meant for one person, which had an old, overused and slightly torn mattress on it, besides it there was an air conditioner, which never really worked and a long cupboard with three sections. The cupboard was the only thing in the whole house that was worth seeing probably because my father won it in a lucky draw from the local wine shop and not buy it.


    I used to live in a much better house, but after mother''s death and father''s addiction, debt drowned us. The final blow came when father lost his nice job at an advertising firm, we had to sell our house due to mortgage and then we came in this vile area of this vile city after which my life was just a downward spiral. I had to do all the house chores, pick father up and bring him back home when he would drink too much, work as newspaper boy and many other odd jobs so that I could get some money and save it.


    ''Finally today is the day I will become free,'' I thought and walked towards the coffee table beside the couch, where Ayden was sleeping right now, and picked up a bag kept on it. I took a deep breath, ''It''s time.'' Hardly had I started walking towards the door did a voice stop me, "Where are you going, Ren."


    I turned back and saw Ayden clearly awake and looking back at me he said, "You are running way," he got up from the couch and produced a small suitcase. The little boy stood a little above my knees, with similar copper coloured hair similar to mine, but were combed towards is left neatly and his bright sky blue eyes that had slight harshness in them. They were too painful to belong to a six-year-old.


    "Take me with you," he walked towards me, carrying the suitcase with him. Before I could say anything he continued, "Or do you want me to shout and wake dad up?" It did not take me any time to decide, I don''t even think there was any space for my opinion, everything was just ready to go and so I could just ask, "Where¡­ did you get that suitcase?"


    We had a whole, unseen and foreign word waiting for us; I felt that I was reborn. At the point in time, I was completely unaware of the chain of action I had begun, something that would be the greatest change after the Cataclysm. Things had begun and unknowingly I was a part of them.

 2 Ally

    I knew where I had to go the moment I left my house. I needed a place to sleep and a way to get out of this city. Both of which I would get in the outskirt of this city. The city I lived in had no official name on the map, the existence of all these residences were just the collection of the result of a modern feudal system with corporate heads in the highest level and poor jobless ones in the lowest level.


    Though as the population grew the significance of this poor city grew too, it was a home to every homeless person and so ''All-roof'' was the name this city got. A roof for everyone, a positive meaning, but it did not mean that everything was fine and welcoming in this place and neither did it mean that every homeless person considered the other as his family.


    "Where are we going?" Ayden was walking beside me when he asked. We in the outermost part of the city and you can call it ruins. It was a wasteland, with buildings completely dissimilated and fallen down, parts of wall and ceiling all fallen over each other, moss growing over these long forgotten building, stretching far long and wide.


    "We need to get away from this city and I have heard that there is a person by the name Ally who can take you through the border so we are going to that person," I jumped over a broken sink.


    "That is the eleventh sink you have jumped over and the twentieth one I have seen," Ayden spoke to seemingly no one. Unlike my estranged father, I do not hate him or hold him as the culprit who took my mother away, but I still have some uneasiness around him.


    When I am with him, I feel like the one in charge and this feeling is unfamiliar to me. We walked for a little more in silence after which I finally spoke up just to escape the silence, "Were you really keeping a count?"


    "Yes, of course," he told as a matter of fact and continued, "I have been keeping count of everything that we have come across to fend off my boredom."


    "Really, now then you would of course be able to tell the number of times we took a left turn," I asked him with a grin on my face, I knew the way like the back of my hand because I have planned for this for months, albeit I never thought that I would have a company.


    "We turn fourteen left turns," he said. I gulped he was right. He was actually right! I was very surprised; I was unaware that he was so observant. When I think about it I realise, I hardly know much about him. What is his favourite colour? I do not know. What is his hobby? I do not know. I know that he likes marshmallow a lot because I used to make it for him when we were still not in these slums and father had not lost our job.


    I did not reply and we walked for some more time and when we finally reached our destination, I noticed that the sun was rising and the sky was violet.


    The amount of security over there surprised me. Ally''s gang had taken over a whole abandoned building and the violet did not provide much view but I could see that even though he was living in this poor area his building was almost as good as any another normal building.


    Three men stood in front of the main door forming a triangle and each of them had face that looked like they would want to rip you off from the face of the planet this instant. "Why are you here?" The man in the centre asked.


    "I want to get to the next city," I answered as Ayden stood behind me, I rolled my eyes sideway, ''He looks scared, but he is holding his emotions back.''


    "You have money?" He asked me without even looking at me as a robot programmed to execute some commands.


    "Yes," I said. Then that man gestured the other two bulky men to move away and let me go through, "Second floor."


    The first things that I noticed that the cracks on the walls were sealed and looked newly made from the level of reconstruction, floor was clean and lights were working fine. It was better place than what I had in mind for a gang''s base to be like.


    The second floor was just a very big room, the result of totalling down all the rooms in the floor to make the room. In the far end of the room, there was someone sitting on a nice chair with a broken, wooden worktable behind, looking away from me and out of the window, which was now just a hole in the wall without any glass. There was another wooden table beside it on which two men sat, a black sofa opposite to it on which another man dressed in all black lay down with a final guard standing tall beside the window behind the person who I assumed was Ally.


    "Hey chirp, what do you want?" One of the two men sitting on the table asked me in a irritated voice.


    ''I want to go to order some pizza!'' What else could have come to this place if not to go to the next city, but I did not want to make any unnecessary trouble and simply said, "I want to travel to the next city."


    Hearing this, the person sitting in the chair turned around and it was a big surprise to me, maybe even more than Ayden''s surprise, it was a girl! Not that I am sexist but in a place filled with big men I just thought that the man with the most muscle would be the boss. Leave muscles, she was just a teenager like me.


    She had brown eyes that were accentuated by her eyelashes extending into the corners of her eyes. Her most distinctive feature was her long, untamed, dark pink - almost red - hair that fell past her shoulders with long parted bangs framing either side of her face and one between her eyes. She wore a pink wool sweater that was a couple sizes bigger for her and the sleeves hid her palms. Under the sweater, she wore a black, baggy cargo pant with many pockets.


    "Two thousand per person and if you keep ogling at me, I will make it three," her voice was shrill and mean. ''I have known her for just under a minute and I already hate her.''


    "Okay," I saw no room for bargain and obliged. "I have a kid with-"


    "If he has a head and a torso then he counts, even if it is a dead ," she hissed, but did not end, "Well. You''re annoying as hell. Make that three thousand a person." The girl smirked, her eyes curving into crescents.


    "What! Six thousand! That is outright robbery," I shouted to which the men who were relaxed got up and turned to me.


    "It is your choice, don''t like it? Get out of my sight then." She smirked.


    I wanted to just go out of here, but then I looked over Ayden. There was no way I could feed a child properly in this city, so I gritted my teeth and said, "Fine."


    "That''s the spirit!" She and her larger-than-her minions laughed.


    ''I swear I am gonna make you pay double!'' I was sure that I will not just succumb to her superiority and extortion. Obtaining power is one of the reason I ran away from my home. ''I just have to wait for the opportunity to come.''

 3 Daisuke and Natalia

    Chirping of birds woke me up, ''I wonder how these birds survive here in this wasteland.'' Ayden and I had slept in an abandoned house in front Ally''s gang base that is if you count as lying down on hard floor for hardly some hours as sleeping.


    I got up from the floor and sat up stretching my arms and legs as a small yawn escaped my mouth. I had to sleep on the floor because the house had nothing soft to sleep on and Ayden slept on the kitchen platform with his suitcase, which I do not know where he got from, below his head as a cushion.


    ''This boy is just full of mysteries,'' I sighed and walked out of the house and saw that rumble covered the road, but the portion near this house and Ally''s building were cleaned. ''She must use this building as a guest house,'' I guessed.


    "So you also want to cross the border?" A voice brought my attention back from my thoughts. I turned around and saw a man. He looked in his early thirties and his black hair was prominent, as it was neatly gelled and combed into two sides from the centre of his head. His skin was brown and glimmered, his eyes were small and brown intently fixed on me. He wore a thin cotton cream coloured shirt and black trousers and a black fanny pack hanged around his waist.


    "Yes, and you are?" I asked.


    "My name is Daisuke Yasui, I am a traveller just like you," he smiled lightly and sat on a wooden chair beside a broken dining table.


    "I am Reth Gale," I said and saw Daisuke producing an apple and a pocketknife from his trouser''s pocket. "You want a piece?" He asked.


    He gave off a frank and easy-going aura, but I was still sceptical about him, "No," I continued, "when did you come here?" I was sure that there was nobody in this house when Ally''s guard brought me here.


    "About the same time as others came," he put the pocketknife back and took a bite of the apple directly, probably because I declined his offer.


    "Others?"


    "Yes, others like us who want to cross the border didn''t you notice us in the second floor?" He casually took another bite as he finished. I raised my brows, I was not even aware that there was a second floor, but I shielded my expression quickly and sitting on another wooden chair a little away from him asked, "So have you done this before?"


    By now he had finished the whole apple and I was surprised by his speed, "This? You mean crossing the border," the man laughed heartily, "Yes of course you could say half of my life has been spent doing this."


    Before this conversation could go any further, someone walked down the staircase in the far right, which had gone unnoticed by me in the darkness of early morning, and interrupted us. It was a woman a little older than I was. She was a tall, fair-skinned woman with a curvaceous figure, she had blue eyes and straight shoulder-length blonde hair cut in an asymmetrical bob style. She wore a white T-shirt with a loose dark blue denim jacket over it, light blue jeans underneath, and brown sneakers.


    "What are you guys talking about?" She walked towards us.


    "Nothing," Daisuke sighed, "I was just telling this little boy about my adventures while crossing borders." Hearing the women laughed and said, "Mr. Daisuke, you sound like an international smuggler."


    Daisuke calling me a little boy annoyed me, but the woman had my eyes fixed on her; she was the kind of woman I have difficulty to describe. See, it is as if she has the popular vibe around her and that she can win anybody''s heart over a few words, it was the first time I met her but she acted as if I have known her all her life. "Nice to meet you I am Natalia Bright," she walked towards me and raised her hand forward.


    "I am Re¡­" I was about to tell my real name, but covered it up and said, "Reth Gale, nice to meet you too," I brought my hand forwards and shook hands with her.


    "Well, Reth seems like both of us are amateur when it comes to crossing borders in front Mr. Daisuke," she retracted her hand and smiled. I looked at Daisuke, "Are you two travelling together?"


    Natalia replied shaking her head, "No, we happened to meet yesterday when both of us came here." I looked at her; she was heading towards the kitchen.


    "Who is this little boy?" I heard her ask as entered the kitchen, I had almost forgotten about Ayden and walked into the kitchen promptly.


    Natalia was standing in front of the kitchen with her eyebrows raised and face clearly showing surprise. The kitchen was in good condition, like the house, and was rectangular of six metre by four metre. It contained a fridge, a microwave, a washing machine and a long brown platform.


    Ayden was sleeping over the platform peacefully; I brought Natalia''s attention to me and spoke up, "He is my¡­ son." Maybe it was the fact that Daisuke called me a little boy or maybe I wanted to get some more respect in a sense, anyway I lied to her to appear a bit older.


    Hearing this Natalia''s already raised eyebrows rose even more, "You have a kid!" It was more like an exclamation than a question, I nodded, "His name is Deb and he is sleeping so¡­" I gestured her to keep quiet, but it was of no use Ayden, or Deb for now, was already awake, he yawned softly and walked towards me completely ignoring Natalia. "Who is she?" He asked me looking up at my face.


    I kneeled down and put my hand over his shoulders, "She wants to cross the city border just like us, ''Deb'' my dear ''son''," I said his new name and relation a bit slowly as to inform him. I was doubtful that I could signal this to a six-year-old. However, Deb was not an ordinary six-year-old he nodded showing that he understood what I meant.


    "Okay father," he looked at me and then at Natalia, "I feel hungry is there something to eat?"


    To this Natalia immediately replied back and said, "I was just going to find something in the fridge, Ally''s men told that there will be something for us to microwave and eat. You guys should join me and," she walked outside and I could hear her say, "Mr. Daisuke please call the others."

 4 The Guard

    Author''s Note ¨C There is a change in the P.O.V.


    ¡­


    "Have you heard about the rumour of the Gerbrailin princess getting caught?" The man by my side asked.


    "No," I said.


    We were sitting on the either side of the prison metal bar gate as the two guards; the prison was located on the outskirts of the Eastbron forest near the kingdom. This was done to keep the prisoners away from settlement and making it harder for them to escape, as they would have to walk through the whole forest before seeing the light of any house or walk in the direction of the kingdom.


    If they were foolish enough to try the first then the wild animals will most likely eat them after they cross the fence around the prison. If they think it would be smarter to walk towards the kingdom then the guards at the border would have somthing other to say.


    However, this all meant there was nothing for the guards to do either. Except talking with each other and looking at the green trees spreading out till the horizon and their branches as they swayed with the wind every now and then.


    Even though I have been a guard for a very short period of time, I can for sure say that this job sucks. We two were the only guards stationed her at present, as an emergency called the others and they headed over to the kingdom and I had come as a single replacement for the multitude just the day before yesterday.


    "I heard that Gerbrail is a small, peaceful nation neighbouring Edhoria in the east." I noticed that guard''s brown uniform shirt had the tag ''Melish'' sewed over his chest.


    It was dark, but I could clearly see Melish''s eyes that reflected the light from the lamp in his hand.


    "So why is their princess captured?" I asked.


    "I have heard, though with someone else''s ears," he leaned forward and I followed the suit, both of us were still sitting on our chairs but we had craned our neck and upper body. He continued.


    "The Gerbrailins had been supplying silicon, the cursed metal, to those wicked Oldoanians. When our great king Maximus got the gist of this, he ordered to besiege Gerbrail and ambush it when the moment comes. I personally say, that damned nation must be punished for helping the Oldoanians to build their evil technology."


    "Hmm¡­" I straightened myself and scratched my chin with my right hand. I was well aware of the enmity between the Nation of Oldoan and the Edhorian Empire.


    It all began a year after the Cataclysm, the government of nations all over the world were failing to gain control over the new changes that occurred and soon they fell on by one. In midst of this crisis a new belief rose, people began to think that Cataclysm was the salvation presented to humanity to begin anew.


    The Cataclysm had brought things unexplained by science and broken and confused millions of people agreed with these new believes. These believes gave rise to new cults and these cults followed various new deities.


    One of these new cults was the Edhonia Sect, who believed in the forces of nature and thought the Cataclysm occurred to save humanity from the evils of technology. The followers of the Edhonia Sect were the founders of the Edhorian Kingdom.


    On the other hand, some did not believe in these myths and rather wanted to find scientific explanations to these changes and they formed their own nation, which is the nation of Oldoan. While there were knights in Edhorian Kingdom, the nation of Oldoan had scientists.


    These are two of the strongest countries in the new world and by their basic nature; these two countries possessed hostility against each other.


    ''It seems reasonable that the Edhorian Kingdom would attack on an ally of the nation of Oldoan, but I feel there is something missing¡­'' I thought and then turning to my left, I asked Melish, "What do you think will happen to the princess?"


    He shrugged and said, "Either she will be confined or she will be executed and the land of Gerbrail would be taken over by over kingdom. I think it would be safer to chose the second option, for the betterment of the Edhorian Empire."


    "Hmm¡­" I found it strange that the Edhorian Kingdom attacked another nation so fast, according to me; usually they would try to form an alliance with the allies of the Oldoan and try turning them against the Oldoanians. However, even if they attacked another country would it not be better to capture the king instead of his daughter?


    "Why do you ask?"


    "It always helps to have another mind''s opinion," I shrugged and then looked around, the tree branches swayed making a serene sound. I smiled and continued, "I also like to get to know people before I kill them."


    I pulled a gun out of my pocket and shot him in the head before he could react.


    "It was nice meeting you," I said as I put the gun back in my pocket and walked towards him. I put him straight up and looked at the mark formed on the head.


    I pulled a small black cube out of my pocket and after pressing it; I threw it up and then ran away. Hardly had I reached the fence did I hear an explosion and the force blew me away. Hitting a tree hard, I had a blend of grimace and irritation on my face, "I will get the ones with timer next time."


    Then I looked over to where the prison ''was'', it was now cleared and there was nothing visible through the smoke, but I could see the outlines of some bodies, "They were either damn criminals or kingdom''s brainwashed lunatics anyway."


    Suddenly from the smoke a figure rose and walked towards me, as he came closer I could see his face and he had an angry expression. This was how I first met Tempris and it was a very unpleasant meeting.


    Before I could say anything Tempris pounced on my with a glowing fist, I moved aside just just in time and Tempris'' punch landed on the ground making a small crater on the ground.


    "Why are you attacking me?" I asked him as I jumped on a tree branch.


    "You ask that after you try to blow me!" His voice was coarse. He was shorter and younger than I was, with a round fair face, dark purple hair that fell on his shoulders and his eyes were of a lighter purple shade.


    "I was just making my work easier. Do you expect me to go through each god damn cell and look for you in that darkness?" I had not lost my composure.


    Tempris'' face showed that he did not except my reasoning but then he sighed and said, "I do not want to kill my chance to escape."


    ''You can''t kill me,'' I did not word my thoughts because the last thing I would want now would be wasting time fighting this bulldozer.


    "We have to get moving, the guards at the border must have heard the explosion." I said.


    "So what? I can kill all of them within minutes." He retorted.


    "Then we must not waste even those minutes, I have the mission to bring you not kill the border guards of the Edhorian Kingdom and I am already behind schedule." I jumped down.


    "Who are you? Are you from the Oldoan Nation?" He asked.


    "Let''s talk while moving," I sprinted through the totalled prison ground, "Try to keep up."


    This must have hurt his big ego because almost instantly I could hear him running towards me. When I got out of the smoke, I could see him by my side.


    "Let''s keep on moving," I said.


    ...


    Tempris and I were about half a mile away from the bombed prison by now. We were swiftly running through the forest.


    "So who are you?" He asked me breaking the silence.


    "I am Victor." I replied.


    "You work for the Oldoan Nation?" He asked jumping aside from a tree in way as we continued run fast.


    "No, they hired me to infiltrate the Edthorian Kingdom and find your whereabouts and bring you." Just when I finished the sentence, I stopped.


    "What happened?" Tempris stood beside me.


    "Don''t you here it?" I said as I looked around. There was a very hushed sound of someone stepping on leaves. I looked at Tempris; he seemed to have picked up the sound too.


    "Someone is following us." I said.


    "Who could it be? The reinforcement can''t be so fast." He said.


    The prison ground was about four miles away from the Kingdom''s border and we were half a mile away from the prison in under a minute. With this speed, it would be almost impossible for someone to catch us. "Unless..." I muttered.


    "Those following us are knights," Tempris finished my sentence. Knights had mutant horses that ran faster than an average Gifted, who was easily way faster than the fastest normal creatures.


    "Hide." I said.


    He nodded and we boh jumped on trees in opposite directions. Slowly the sound became more and more audible. There were two people riding on their horses. They were clad with shinning, silver, full body metal armour and each had a sword attached to near to their armour''s waist by their hilts, it was hard to see their face from above because of their helmet.


    They stopped their horses where Tempris and I were standing just a moment ago, then started to look around. One of them stepped down and touched the ground with their bare hand. Then looking at the second knight said, "I cannot feel his presence anymore." The voice was masculine.


    The second knight stepped down from their horse too and then walking towards the first knight, the second knight whispered something. The next moment the both of them disappeared out of my sight. ''


    Shit!'' I turned around and saw one of the knights behind me on the tree branch. The knight swung their sword at me, but I jumped down and the knight followed the suit.


    "Who are you?" This voice was masculine too, but it was different from the previous one.


    "None of your business," I was still wearing my guard uniform and the white mask. The knight must have not liked the answer because he charged at me with his sword. I ducked and pulled two daggers from the pouches on my ankles then with my dagger I did an uppercut; however, the blade did not even put a scratch on his armour.


    Seeing this I jumped back and said, "It seems like the Edhorians know how to make good armours."


    "Metallurgy is one of our specialities," as he said it, the knight''s sword started to glow.


    "So you are a Gifted¡­" I smiled, "too."


    My daggers began to glow purple and I lurched and attack first this time. I went straight for the head with my left dagger, but the knight moved his sword towards my torso, I stopped the sword with my right dagger and continued. However, before my dagger could hit his helmet he kicked on my chest pushing me back.


    I stood on my foot again and threw my daggers at the knight. He deflected them with his sword, but he did not see me coming at me and with my speed I got some momentum and then using my Gift I punched the knight directly on his head and maybe I might have overdone it because the knight''s head knocked off and rolled over the ground, but his body continued the previous momentum before collapsing too.


    "Shit, I did not plan to do that," I sighed and then went over Tempris'' direction. I could hear the sound of an ongoing battle.


    It was pretty boring, Tempris and the knight were have a ''fierce'' fight, "And this guy said he could kill me¡­"


    The knight was swinging his word at Tempris who was ducking and dodging it by jumping while trying to beat the knight with bare fist. Then finally, I got tired of it and then using my Gift I pushed the ground with my legs and in top speed and cut the knight''s head through the helmet with my dagger.


    "What the hell?" Tempris'' mouth was left agape.


    "Let''s just walk to the Oldoan Nation and let me complete my mission and get my paycheque!" I was pissed with all these interruptions. I walked over Tempris and said, "Now walk before I kill you and loose my money."

 6 Chapter 5

    Author''s Note ¨C Third Person P.O.V.


    ¡­


    Nobody knows his real name, however it is confirmed that he has never lost any battle or failed any mission and for this reason, people called him ''Victor''. Even though he is young, he is one of the most dangerous and powerful assassins in the world, but only few know about his existence.


    His power is also a mystery, but according to some rumours, he has the ability to harness a type of physical Gift and increase his power and speed. He is also known to have top tier skills with daggers and being a very good strategist. His first mission was at the age of twelve and since then in less than eight years his kill count has reached above five hundred.


    Currently, his is on a mission for the Oldoan Nation, which is to retrieve Tempris, a powerful Gifted who is known to being last spot in the Edhorian Empire. Although Tempris'' exact location was unknown, it took him only a few days to find that Tempris was in prison.


    He executed his plan and freed Tempris, and now was about to reach the Oldoan Nations''s capital, Retket. Tempris was over his left shoulder, unconscious after seeing Victor slashing the knight''s head. "Seriously, ''you'' are one of the most powerful Gifted¡­ you are so pathetic."


    ¡­


    "You took longer than usual," the man in front of Victor remarked, he was sitting on a stool and was stooped over a microscope looking at a red pearl, he gestured Victor to keep Tempris down on the stretcher behind him.


    "I was bored, so I spent some time talking to a guard," Victor replied. It was true; by the third day of a mission, Victor usually has already gotten his paycheque and is looking for a new mission. However, since this mission was not an assassination mission, there was no need for him to hurry.


    Victor was in a lab at the Retket city with the head scientist Mr. Chan.


    Mr. Chan was a sixty something year old man with grey hair that were shabby and uncombed. He had not ''kept'' a beard or moustache, but he face was unshaved and grey hairs could be seen around his mouth. He wore a long, white lab coat and a pair of brown trousers. He did not look like someone who was responsible for one of the biggest lab and a leading scientist of Oldoan Nation.


    "And talking to a random guard is interesting?" He chuckled.


    "Well, I had nothing else to do," Victor shrugged and asked, "So my paycheque?"


    "Hahaha!" Mr. Chan turned around and laughed, "Wait, wait, I want to show you something." He gestured me to come closer and Victor did so, "Look through the microscope." He said.


    Victor did not waste any moment, he was mildly interested in science and liked to listen a theory or two if it interested him.


    Victor saw the red pearl''s surface, covered with dense red smoke even though the pearl was obviously solid. "What is this? Why do I see smoke hovering around the pearl?"


    Mr. Chan laughed and said, "It is one my inventions, I tried to fuse two cells from different Gifted species and sterilize it to obtain the energy it contains and then I stabilized that energy and trapped it inside a Vexus glass pearl."


    Victor was not really an expert in Energy science, but his curiosity and knowledge helped him understand some of what Mr. Chan said. "So, you mean this is pure energy from a fused Gifted cell?"


    "Yes, in a simplified version." Mr. Chan nodded.


    "But why did you make this," Victor was now interested in this topic, "I was under the impression that pure Gift energy is dangerous for living being?"


    "You are right, it is theorized that energy, which makes a cell mutant, can damage the cell or worse just kill it. However if we can supply the energy in an optimum rate then the cells will keep on adapting and that is where Vexus glass comes in, it is the only substance that can contain the energy and acts as a semi-permeable membrane that will allow the energy to flow through at a steady rate." He explained.


    "So that is why you sent me to retrieve Tempris?" Victor asked.


    "Yes, I will put this pearl in his body and try to improve his abilities," he nodded his head and said, "I wonder of he will agree."


    "I think he is too power hungry to decline," Victor continued, "Then this must be an order from the President." Victor deduced, "First a single test and the large scale implication to make an invincible army."


    Mr. Chan chuckled, "You intelligence surprises me sometimes, maybe you should try something with science after all."


    "No," Victor shook his head, "That is not really my style."


    "If you say, but I still think that you should give it a second thou¨C" Mr. Chan was interrupted with a loud sound, the lights of the light flickered and the room shook violently.


    "What is happening?" Mr. Chan shouted and walked over the monitors, he typed something on the keyboard and then the screen displayed all the CCTV cameras.


    Near the reception, men in black suites were wrecking havoc, "Who are they?" Victor asked Mr. Chan.


    "I do not know¡­" Mr. Chan''s face clearly expressed his tension, then turning around to me he said, "They must be after this pearl, Victor you must take this pearl and escape and give it to the President."


    "What? I will just take these men down," Victor walked towards the exit.


    "No!" Mr. Chan called out, "The safety of the pearl is more important, they look like they are well prepared and I am guessing that this is an attack from some other country, not likely Edhorian Kingdom with the dressing, but it is not just a small gang!"


    "Whatever," Victor waved it off and said, "I will take all of them down."


    "Wait!" Mr. Chan picked the pearl up and bringing it to Victor he said, "I will pay you to protect it, along with your pay for bringing Tempris."


    Victor was not a fan of running away, but he was being paid for not fighting for once and just delivering an item. The deal seemed too good to leave, he took the pearl and said, "Fine, I will somehow deliver this to the President." It would be hard to meet the President, but Victor always had some unconventional ways of doing things.


    Victor was on his way out through the window when he head, "Ah¡­ Where am I?" It was Tempris, he had finally woken up and he was clearly confused.


    Mr. Chan saw him and said to Victor, "Take him with you!"


    It took him only a minute to pick Tempris up on his shoulders and jump down the window with Tempris screaming on top of his lungs.


    ¡­


    Reth was eating his breakfast with Ayden, Daisuke, Natalie and more three fellow travellers.


    The first was Fauni (Fa-ou-ni) and just like his name, he was an odd man with dark brown hair that rose above his head defying gravity and dark brown eyes, but the odd thing about him was his attire. He wore a glittering green jacket that seemed to have been made out of cardboard and a pair of dark red skintight pants.


    The other two were a couple, an extremely romantic couple, who wore matching red shirt with half of a white heart on each of them. Their names were Denny and Alina and they were currently feeding each other the noodles very fondly looking in each other''s eyes.


    Denny had light blue hair that were tied in a pony and pale blue eyes, his smile was attractive and he had a cheerful aura around him just like Alina, who had chestnut coloured hair and wood brown eyes, with a cute smile on her face.


    Reth was a bit annoyed by the couple''s action because they created a lot of fuss only second to the great Fauni himself.


    Fauni was a parody of himself! He spoke up with a shrill voice, "Hey everyone why are you all so silent? Wanna hear a joke?"


    Nobody replied for about half a minute and maybe Natalie felt bad for him because showing some excitement, she said "Yes, of course."


    "Okay," he nodded and with a broad stupid smile on his face he said, "I am sure I am fauni!"


    "¡­"


    "That was the joke?" Reth''s left eye twitched.


    "Yes."


    "¡­"


    "It sure as hell wasn''t fauni!" Daisuke laughed hard as he remarked.


    ''Then why the hell are you laughing?'' Reth thought as he sipped his noodles. There was only a big bowl of fried noodles in the fridge and Natalie reheated it with the microwave.


    Hardly had Reth finished his noodles did the door sprung open and Ally appeared with her bodyguards following her. "Everybody out, we are moving."


    Nobody had anything to say, everybody had finished his or her breakfast and Reth was the last one. They all moved out of the guesthouse and saw two black jeeps waiting for them.


    "Get on them," Ally said as she herself got on one of them, Reth took Ayden and headed towards the other jeep to avoid Ally. However, he was not the only one who thought of that, as the couple ¨C Denny and Alina ¨C and Natalie were already seated there at the back of the jeep and because of their bags there was only a little space left. Reth sighed and turning around to Ayden he said, "You sit here, I will take your suitcase and sit in the other one, okay?"


    Ayden nodded and boarded the jeep, just as Reth turned around he heard Natalie''s snickers.


    "Oh shut up!" He said and walked away without turning around.


    To make matters worse, he had to sit just right next to Ally because Daisuke and Fauni had already taken the other side and they were grinning at him with their bags making a wall like structure in the middle.


    ''Damn, people are avoiding her like a plague.'' He thought as he sat next to her keeping her luggage inside and then mentally sighed, ''This is going to be a troublesome journey, I hope it ends fast!''

 5 Chapter 5

    Author''s Note ¨C Third Person P.O.V.


    ¡­


    Nobody knows his real name, however it is confirmed that he has never lost any battle or failed any mission and for this reason, people called him ''Victor''. Even though he is young, he is one of the most dangerous and powerful assassins in the world, but only few know about his existence.


    His power is also a mystery, but according to some rumours, he has the ability to harness a type of physical Gift and increase his power and speed. He is also known to have top tier skills with daggers and being a very good strategist. His first mission was at the age of twelve and since then in less than eight years his kill count has reached above five hundred.


    Currently, his is on a mission for the Oldoan Nation, which is to retrieve Tempris, a powerful Gifted who is known to being last spot in the Edhorian Empire. Although Tempris'' exact location was unknown, it took him only a few days to find that Tempris was in prison.


    He executed his plan and freed Tempris, and now was about to reach the Oldoan Nations''s capital, Retket. Tempris was over his left shoulder, unconscious after seeing Victor slashing the knight''s head. "Seriously, ''you'' are one of the most powerful Gifted¡­ you are so pathetic."


    ¡­


    "You took longer than usual," the man in front of Victor remarked, he was sitting on a stool and was stooped over a microscope looking at a red pearl, he gestured Victor to keep Tempris down on the stretcher behind him.


    "I was bored, so I spent some time talking to a guard," Victor replied. It was true; by the third day of a mission, Victor usually has already gotten his paycheque and is looking for a new mission. However, since this mission was not an assassination mission, there was no need for him to hurry.


    Victor was in a lab at the Retket city with the head scientist Mr. Chan.


    Mr. Chan was a sixty something year old man with grey hair that were shabby and uncombed. He had not ''kept'' a beard or moustache, but he face was unshaved and grey hairs could be seen around his mouth. He wore a long, white lab coat and a pair of brown trousers. He did not look like someone who was responsible for one of the biggest lab and a leading scientist of Oldoan Nation.


    "And talking to a random guard is interesting?" He chuckled.


    "Well, I had nothing else to do," Victor shrugged and asked, "So my paycheque?"


    "Hahaha!" Mr. Chan turned around and laughed, "Wait, wait, I want to show you something." He gestured me to come closer and Victor did so, "Look through the microscope." He said.


    Victor did not waste any moment, he was mildly interested in science and liked to listen a theory or two if it interested him.


    Victor saw the red pearl''s surface, covered with dense red smoke even though the pearl was obviously solid. "What is this? Why do I see smoke hovering around the pearl?"


    Mr. Chan laughed and said, "It is one my inventions, I tried to fuse two cells from different Gifted species and sterilize it to obtain the energy it contains and then I stabilized that energy and trapped it inside a Vexus glass pearl."


    Victor was not really an expert in Energy science, but his curiosity and knowledge helped him understand some of what Mr. Chan said. "So, you mean this is pure energy from a fused Gifted cell?"


    "Yes, in a simplified version." Mr. Chan nodded.


    "But why did you make this," Victor was now interested in this topic, "I was under the impression that pure Gift energy is dangerous for living being?"


    "You are right, it is theorized that energy, which makes a cell mutant, can damage the cell or worse just kill it. However if we can supply the energy in an optimum rate then the cells will keep on adapting and that is where Vexus glass comes in, it is the only substance that can contain the energy and acts as a semi-permeable membrane that will allow the energy to flow through at a steady rate." He explained.


    "So that is why you sent me to retrieve Tempris?" Victor asked.


    "Yes, I will put this pearl in his body and try to improve his abilities," he nodded his head and said, "I wonder of he will agree."


    "I think he is too power hungry to decline," Victor continued, "Then this must be an order from the President." Victor deduced, "First a single test and the large scale implication to make an invincible army."


    Mr. Chan chuckled, "You intelligence surprises me sometimes, maybe you should try something with science after all."


    "No," Victor shook his head, "That is not really my style."


    "If you say, but I still think that you should give it a second thou¨C" Mr. Chan was interrupted with a loud sound, the lights of the light flickered and the room shook violently.


    "What is happening?" Mr. Chan shouted and walked over the monitors, he typed something on the keyboard and then the screen displayed all the CCTV cameras.


    Near the reception, men in black suites were wrecking havoc, "Who are they?" Victor asked Mr. Chan.


    "I do not know¡­" Mr. Chan''s face clearly expressed his tension, then turning around to me he said, "They must be after this pearl, Victor you must take this pearl and escape and give it to the President."


    "What? I will just take these men down," Victor walked towards the exit.


    "No!" Mr. Chan called out, "The safety of the pearl is more important, they look like they are well prepared and I am guessing that this is an attack from some other country, not likely Edhorian Kingdom with the dressing, but it is not just a small gang!"


    "Whatever," Victor waved it off and said, "I will take all of them down."


    "Wait!" Mr. Chan picked the pearl up and bringing it to Victor he said, "I will pay you to protect it, along with your pay for bringing Tempris."


    Victor was not a fan of running away, but he was being paid for not fighting for once and just delivering an item. The deal seemed too good to leave, he took the pearl and said, "Fine, I will somehow deliver this to the President." It would be hard to meet the President, but Victor always had some unconventional ways of doing things.


    Victor was on his way out through the window when he head, "Ah¡­ Where am I?" It was Tempris, he had finally woken up and he was clearly confused.


    Mr. Chan saw him and said to Victor, "Take him with you!"


    It took him only a minute to pick Tempris up on his shoulders and jump down the window with Tempris screaming on top of his lungs.


    ¡­


    Reth was eating his breakfast with Ayden, Daisuke, Natalie and more three fellow travellers.


    The first was Fauni (Fa-ou-ni) and just like his name, he was an odd man with dark brown hair that rose above his head defying gravity and dark brown eyes, but the odd thing about him was his attire. He wore a glittering green jacket that seemed to have been made out of cardboard and a pair of dark red skintight pants.


    The other two were a couple, an extremely romantic couple, who wore matching red shirt with half of a white heart on each of them. Their names were Denny and Alina and they were currently feeding each other the noodles very fondly looking in each other''s eyes.


    Denny had light blue hair that were tied in a pony and pale blue eyes, his smile was attractive and he had a cheerful aura around him just like Alina, who had chestnut coloured hair and wood brown eyes, with a cute smile on her face.


    Reth was a bit annoyed by the couple''s action because they created a lot of fuss only second to the great Fauni himself.


    Fauni was a parody of himself! He spoke up with a shrill voice, "Hey everyone why are you all so silent? Wanna hear a joke?"


    Nobody replied for about half a minute and maybe Natalie felt bad for him because showing some excitement, she said "Yes, of course."


    "Okay," he nodded and with a broad stupid smile on his face he said, "I am sure I am fauni!"


    "¡­"


    "That was the joke?" Reth''s left eye twitched.


    "Yes."


    "¡­"


    "It sure as hell wasn''t fauni!" Daisuke laughed hard as he remarked.


    ''Then why the hell are you laughing?'' Reth thought as he sipped his noodles. There was only a big bowl of fried noodles in the fridge and Natalie reheated it with the microwave.


    Hardly had Reth finished his noodles did the door sprung open and Ally appeared with her bodyguards following her. "Everybody out, we are moving."


    Nobody had anything to say, everybody had finished his or her breakfast and Reth was the last one. They all moved out of the guesthouse and saw two black jeeps waiting for them.


    "Get on them," Ally said as she herself got on one of them, Reth took Ayden and headed towards the other jeep to avoid Ally. However, he was not the only one who thought of that, as the couple ¨C Denny and Alina ¨C and Natalie were already seated there at the back of the jeep and because of their bags there was only a little space left. Reth sighed and turning around to Ayden he said, "You sit here, I will take your suitcase and sit in the other one, okay?"


    Ayden nodded and boarded the jeep, just as Reth turned around he heard Natalie''s snickers.


    "Oh shut up!" He said and walked away without turning around.


    To make matters worse, he had to sit just right next to Ally because Daisuke and Fauni had already taken the other side and they were grinning at him with their bags making a wall like structure in the middle.


    ''Damn, people are avoiding her like a plague.'' He thought as he sat next to her keeping her luggage inside and then mentally sighed, ''This is going to be a troublesome journey, I hope it ends fast!''

 5 The Pearl

    Author''s Note ¨C Third Person P.O.V.


    ¡­


    Nobody knows his real name, however it is confirmed that he has never lost any battle or failed any mission and for this reason, people called him ''Victor''. Even though he is young, he is one of the most dangerous and powerful assassins in the world, but only few know about his existence.


    His power is also a mystery, but according to some rumours, he has the ability to harness a type of physical Gift and increase his power and speed. He is also known to have top tier skills with daggers and being a very good strategist. His first mission was at the age of twelve and since then in less than eight years his kill count has reached above five hundred.


    Currently, his is on a mission for the Oldoan Nation, which is to retrieve Tempris, a powerful Gifted who is known to being last spot in the Edhorian Empire. Although Tempris'' exact location was unknown, it took him only a few days to find that Tempris was in prison.


    He executed his plan and freed Tempris, and now was about to reach the Oldoan Nations''s capital, Retket. Tempris was over his left shoulder, unconscious after seeing Victor slashing the knight''s head. "Seriously, ''you'' are one of the most powerful Gifted¡­ you are so pathetic."


    ¡­


    "You took longer than usual," the man in front of Victor remarked, he was sitting on a stool and was stooped over a microscope looking at a red pearl, he gestured Victor to keep Tempris down on the stretcher behind him.


    "I was bored, so I spent some time talking to a guard," Victor replied. It was true; by the third day of a mission, Victor usually has already gotten his paycheque and is looking for a new mission. However, since this mission was not an assassination mission, there was no need for him to hurry.


    Victor was in a lab at the Retket city with the head scientist Mr. Chan.


    Mr. Chan was a sixty something year old man with grey hair that were shabby and uncombed. He had not ''kept'' a beard or moustache, but he face was unshaved and grey hairs could be seen around his mouth. He wore a long, white lab coat and a pair of brown trousers. He did not look like someone who was responsible for one of the biggest lab and a leading scientist of Oldoan Nation.


    "And talking to a random guard is interesting?" He chuckled.


    "Well, I had nothing else to do," Victor shrugged and asked, "So my paycheque?"


    "Hahaha!" Mr. Chan turned around and laughed, "Wait, wait, I want to show you something." He gestured me to come closer and Victor did so, "Look through the microscope." He said.


    Victor did not waste any moment, he was mildly interested in science and liked to listen a theory or two if it interested him.


    Victor saw the red pearl''s surface, covered with dense red smoke even though the pearl was obviously solid. "What is this? Why do I see smoke hovering around the pearl?"


    Mr. Chan laughed and said, "It is one my inventions, I tried to fuse two cells from different Gifted species and sterilize it to obtain the energy it contains and then I stabilized that energy and trapped it inside a Vexus glass pearl."


    Victor was not really an expert in Energy science, but his curiosity and knowledge helped him understand some of what Mr. Chan said. "So, you mean this is pure energy from a fused Gifted cell?"


    "Yes, in a simplified version." Mr. Chan nodded.


    "But why did you make this," Victor was now interested in this topic, "I was under the impression that pure Gift energy is dangerous for living being?"


    "You are right, it is theorized that energy, which makes a cell mutant, can damage the cell or worse just kill it. However if we can supply the energy in an optimum rate then the cells will keep on adapting and that is where Vexus glass comes in, it is the only substance that can contain the energy and acts as a semi-permeable membrane that will allow the energy to flow through at a steady rate." He explained.


    "So that is why you sent me to retrieve Tempris?" Victor asked.


    "Yes, I will put this pearl in his body and try to improve his abilities," he nodded his head and said, "I wonder of he will agree."


    "I think he is too power hungry to decline," Victor continued, "Then this must be an order from the President." Victor deduced, "First a single test and the large scale implication to make an invincible army."


    Mr. Chan chuckled, "You intelligence surprises me sometimes, maybe you should try something with science after all."


    "No," Victor shook his head, "That is not really my style."


    "If you say, but I still think that you should give it a second thou¨C" Mr. Chan was interrupted with a loud sound, the lights of the light flickered and the room shook violently.


    "What is happening?" Mr. Chan shouted and walked over the monitors, he typed something on the keyboard and then the screen displayed all the CCTV cameras.


    Near the reception, men in black suites were wrecking havoc, "Who are they?" Victor asked Mr. Chan.


    "I do not know¡­" Mr. Chan''s face clearly expressed his tension, then turning around to me he said, "They must be after this pearl, Victor you must take this pearl and escape and give it to the President."


    "What? I will just take these men down," Victor walked towards the exit.


    "No!" Mr. Chan called out, "The safety of the pearl is more important, they look like they are well prepared and I am guessing that this is an attack from some other country, not likely Edhorian Kingdom with the dressing, but it is not just a small gang!"


    "Whatever," Victor waved it off and said, "I will take all of them down."


    "Wait!" Mr. Chan picked the pearl up and bringing it to Victor he said, "I will pay you to protect it, along with your pay for bringing Tempris."


    Victor was not a fan of running away, but he was being paid for not fighting for once and just delivering an item. The deal seemed too good to leave, he took the pearl and said, "Fine, I will somehow deliver this to the President." It would be hard to meet the President, but Victor always had some unconventional ways of doing things.


    Victor was on his way out through the window when he head, "Ah¡­ Where am I?" It was Tempris, he had finally woken up and he was clearly confused.


    Mr. Chan saw him and said to Victor, "Take him with you!"


    It took him only a minute to pick Tempris up on his shoulders and jump down the window with Tempris screaming on top of his lungs.


    ¡­


    Reth was eating his breakfast with Ayden, Daisuke, Natalie and more three fellow travellers.


    The first was Fauni (Fa-ou-ni) and just like his name, he was an odd man with dark brown hair that rose above his head defying gravity and dark brown eyes, but the odd thing about him was his attire. He wore a glittering green jacket that seemed to have been made out of cardboard and a pair of dark red skintight pants.


    The other two were a couple, an extremely romantic couple, who wore matching red shirt with half of a white heart on each of them. Their names were Denny and Alina and they were currently feeding each other the noodles very fondly looking in each other''s eyes.


    Denny had light blue hair that were tied in a pony and pale blue eyes, his smile was attractive and he had a cheerful aura around him just like Alina, who had chestnut coloured hair and wood brown eyes, with a cute smile on her face.


    Reth was a bit annoyed by the couple''s action because they created a lot of fuss only second to the great Fauni himself.


    Fauni was a parody of himself! He spoke up with a shrill voice, "Hey everyone why are you all so silent? Wanna hear a joke?"


    Nobody replied for about half a minute and maybe Natalie felt bad for him because showing some excitement, she said "Yes, of course."


    "Okay," he nodded and with a broad stupid smile on his face he said, "I am sure I am fauni!"


    "¡­"


    "That was the joke?" Reth''s left eye twitched.


    "Yes."


    "¡­"


    "It sure as hell wasn''t fauni!" Daisuke laughed hard as he remarked.


    ''Then why the hell are you laughing?'' Reth thought as he sipped his noodles. There was only a big bowl of fried noodles in the fridge and Natalie reheated it with the microwave.


    Hardly had Reth finished his noodles did the door sprung open and Ally appeared with her bodyguards following her. "Everybody out, we are moving."


    Nobody had anything to say, everybody had finished his or her breakfast and Reth was the last one. They all moved out of the guesthouse and saw two black jeeps waiting for them.


    "Get on them," Ally said as she herself got on one of them, Reth took Ayden and headed towards the other jeep to avoid Ally. However, he was not the only one who thought of that, as the couple ¨C Denny and Alina ¨C and Natalie were already seated there at the back of the jeep and because of their bags there was only a little space left. Reth sighed and turning around to Ayden he said, "You sit here, I will take your suitcase and sit in the other one, okay?"


    Ayden nodded and boarded the jeep, just as Reth turned around he heard Natalie''s snickers.


    "Oh shut up!" He said and walked away without turning around.


    To make matters worse, he had to sit just right next to Ally because Daisuke and Fauni had already taken the other side and they were grinning at him with their bags making a wall like structure in the middle.


    ''Damn, people are avoiding her like a plague.'' He thought as he sat next to her keeping her luggage inside and then mentally sighed, ''This is going to be a troublesome journey, I hope it ends fast!''

 6 Chapter 6

    Reth''s P.O.V.


    It must have been about an hour since we left and my butt was soar because of the bumpy ride and my back was paining, I wanted to stretch my legs. I looked at Ally, she was sitting with her back leaned against the backside of the front seat and her legs pointing towards me. She looked well prepared for the ride with a small pillow below her.


    "What?" She asked noticing me.


    "Can we stop for a while? I need to take fresh air and I am sure everybody else needs it too." I explained.


    "Do you think we are on a picnic or a school field trip that will we stop wherever we want?"Her words were mean as always, but she was right we were technically entering another country, the Oldoan Nation. My city was included in the Oldoan Nation, but it was the poorest part of the country at the western outskirt.


    There were many criminal looming in this city and the insecure border security in the city was a reason why a certified identity card and a proper reason to enter the next city were required. Thus, many people resorted to being smuggled into the next city to be able to live decent lives.


    I sighed and asked, "How much time will it take us to reach there?"


    Ally looked outside and said, "About half an hour, why do you ask, idiot? Do you plan on walking the rest of the way?" She smiled again with her lips curled up in a mean way, "If so I don''t mind stopping the jeep!"


    I ignored her remark, I was starting to get used to it and fed up of countering her, "I just wanted to know how much more will my butt suffer¡­" I cried. I did not mean it to be funny or anything, but hearing my cry Ally smiled and this time it was a real smile. I never thought the evilness that went by the name Ally could ever smile.


    "Stop staring at me, idiot."


    ''Yeah right¡­ you have to say that just when I was starting to think better of you,'' I gave a wry smile, ''what was I expecting anyways¡­?''


    The car abruptly stopped and Ally stood up then she asked the driver, "What happened?"


    "The tire busted," the driver replied as he got down, "I will replace it, only a minute or two."


    Ally looked at me and then back at the driver, "Take your time." Then she raised her voice and said, "We will take a fifteen minute break, stretch you leg or whatever." She muffled the last part and got of the jeep.


    I was left surprised again, but then I reasoned that she must have wanted to take a break herself. I got down and walked towards the second jeep to Deb.


    "Are you hungry?" I asked Deb.


    "No," he said as he continued looking outside.


    ''I can''t understand what goes inside that little brain of his,'' I sighed. I thought to use the fifteen minutes of my freedom from butt pain wisely and hence I walked around a bit partly out of need to stretch my legs and partly because of my curiosity. We were currently in a forest at the outskirts of the next city. I always found it funny that the capital of the Oldoan Nation was also the neighbour of its poorest city.


    "Retket will probably be a good place to start a new life," Many people must have said the exact same sentence before entering that city. I was a little insecure about how to adjust into that city. Getting into that city is much easier than actually living in it.


    I was just wandering in the forest when I heard a loud noise and running towards it I saw something that blew my mind away.


    A person wearing a brown uniform and a white mask had just knocked down the head of a person fully clad in armour with a single ''punch''! My mind and body went numb; I was not able to comprehend what I just saw. Blood sprung from the poor knight''s neck and fell all over the place as his headless body moved a little further before collapsing.


    The white masked person stood there as his victim''s headless body bleed on the ground, then he sighed and said something shaking his head but I could not hear it. He then proceeded and walked away, but I was left there traumatized looking at the poor knight''s body. My mouth was agape, my eyes were wide open and my body was trembling, ''Such power¡­''


    I was scared, very scared, of meeting that same fate as the knight in my pursuit of independence. ''That knight just died in an instant even before he could have blinked,'' I did not want to be powerless, not anymore. My fear gave rise to a new feeling, it was lust¡­ lust for power. Something inside me change, something clicked, and I could feel it."


    I sighed and calmed my mind, ''Get it together, it is not the right time now.''


    Regaining my composure, I walked back towards the jeeps. When, I reached I could not see anyone in the jeeps, all there was left were bags. ''Where is everyone?'' Just then in the corner of my eye, I saw something red move, I went towards it a little cautious. It was Ally; she was leaned by a tree and walked over slowly and steadily towards the left of where the jeeps were parked.


    I followed her silently and looking ahead, I saw everyone from our group, heading deeper in the forest and men with guns surrounded them. ''Are those bandits?''


    I got a little closer to Ally and then with my right hand, I covered her mouth and with my left hand, I held her by her waist. Instantly, she struggled to get out of my grip, I leaned in forward and whispered, "Calm down it is me, Reth."


    Hearing this she calmed down and I let go of her, "What happened?" I asked silently as we continued to follow the group maintaining some distance.


    "I was just coming back when I hear some voices, these men surrounded the two jeeps with guns pointed at everyone and told them to get down of the jeep," she continued, "then they searched everyone''s bags and took all the money and precious item."


    "So where are they taking everyone?" It looked useless to take people hostage after robbing them, especially in a forest where they could not call the guards easily.


    "How am I supposed to know that," she said.


    We continued to follow them for a little while, until we reached what I presume was their hideout. It was clearing with huge tents, some wooden benched surrounding a burnt out fire made by logs. The ground was filled with small pebbles and a narrow stream passed by the clearing.


    Then they entered a tent and I would have presumed the worse if not for the bandits to come back outside without any sound of gunshot or blood on their clothes. ''What do they want?''

 7 Blood Sec

    Third Person P.O.V.


    ¡­


    Some considered Cataclysm as tragedy while others looked at in another perspective. These others thought of this as a boon in disguise, it had rejuvenated and life on Earth had evolved to the next level. They were termed as fanatics.


    Edhonia Sect was the most known, but there were other sects like it. Blood Sect was one of such groups, they believed that Cataclysm was salvation given to them by their deity Gekyin. Felix Gellen was the founder of this group and he believed that their god thought of blood as utmost importance and that was the source of the power of a Gifted.


    Eun-Yeong was a proud member of the Blood Sect and had devoted his whole life for this sect. He was young, almost thirteen, but he was bold and loyal to the cause of his sect. He wanted to ensure that this ceremony was successful, for lord Gekyin would bless his people with eternal youth and limitless power.


    They would use this power to take over what was rightfully theirs, as said by the Chief Gellen, the land of Oldoan Nation and then they would attack over it, for revenging all that was taken away from them, for the scorns and curses that were showered upon his sect before they were banished.


    "Lalc npou eht lla yightm¡­" He recited the chants along with four more of his fellow members. The Chief Gellen announced him as a prodigy in the art of recitation and thus he was the youngest member of the reciting group in the sect. Other than the reciting group, the sect was distributed into two more groups ¨C the fighting group and the council.


    The fighting group consisted of members who were trained to be warrior from a young age and did all the ardours physical work of the sect like hunting, plundering and bringing sacrifices.


    The council on the other was the brain of the sect and controlled every action done by it. Chief Gellen headed the council and all the members of the sect were essentially a part of the council, but the only ones who could decide anything were the elders.


    Some members of the fighting group were guarding the sacrifices as the elders prepared them for the ceremony, while others were preparing for the bonfire that would be held to celebrate the blessing of lord Gekyin after the sacrificing ceremony.


    Unknown to him and the other sect members, there were two intruders in their hideout.


    Reth and Ally were leaning by a tree at the edge of the vast clearing that was the hideout of the Blood Sect. They were looking at the members preparing what obviously was a sacrificial ceremony, at least hinted by the altar that suddenly emerged from the stream.


    "What do we do?" Ally asked as she continued to look over the altar, "They are going to sacrifice everyone."


    "I don''t know¡­ what CAN we do?" Reth pressed his lips and tried to find a way to save his brother and everyone else.


    "I¡­" Ally turned around, "I am a Gifted


    Hearing this Reth''s jaw dropped on the floor, "What?"


    "I am a Gifted," Ally tried to explain, "You know those peop¨C "


    "I know what a Gifted is," Reth broke her mid sentence, "I was just shocked¡­"


    However, the more he thought about it the more it made sense, after all this must be the reason why those men were working under Ally.


    "What can you do?" Reth asked regaining his composure.


    "I can move inanimate, metallic things without touching them," she replied with pride evident in her voice.


    "How many objects and till how far can you control them?"


    "I can control any number of objects, but they must be something I have already touched once and lighter than me," she continued, "I control them anywhere in my visual field."


    Ally put her hand in one of her cargo pant pockets and pulled out a bunch of pin, "I usually use these."


    Reth was trying to process the information thrown at him, and after a moment, he twitched his eyes and asked, "You plan to attack some fifty men, out of which many are armed with guns, in their own hideout with PINS?"


    The next second he felt something go past his left cheek and bringing his hand to his cheek, he felt a warm fluid flowing. He brought his hand in front of his eyes, his hand had smudge of blood on it.


    "I could have gone for your eyes, stomach or that stupid mouth," Ally smirked.


    Reth did not really feel any pain, but he knew that Ally''s Gift was power even with its huge limits. Although beating a group of fifty men alone with the power Ally''s Gift was impossible, Reth had a plan that just might make it work.