84 Prelude To The Hunt

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(Aden's P.O.V)

The old man was stubborn, I'll give you that. All I needed was confirmation. Just that. Following fictional comic book world settings, it was obvious to anyone that the White was the elemental force governing air, and maybe other various gases and airborne agents? Which meant for all my elements, there was a likely scenario that compatible parliaments existed. I could even see its influence in my air bending. 

As stated before, upon reaching Grandmastery, everything had just become easier to control, aerokinetic wise. Maybe that was the influence of the White in part with my own understanding of air bending? Who knows? What I knew however was that, any theories I had would have to be tested further at a later time because…I had a mission to complete. I looked at the countdown to the mission displayed on my upper vision. 5 hours had already gone by and I had 19 more left to kill Mnemoth. 

I internally shook my head. Even without my former team, none of my missions ever seemed to go according to plan. No point in stressing about it though. There was nothing I could do to change things and the good thing about all of it was that the harder shit got, the better, stronger and more experienced I would too. 

So I smiled and looked at the aged Shaman.

"Fine. Keep your secrets. I like surprises anyway."

He matched my smile and nodded.

"Good. It is wise to learn patience when you're young. A valuable lesson someone like you should take seriously. Especially since you have a very important role to play in all of this."

I raised an eyebrow.

"More cryptic statements old man? Trying to see if I'll rise to the bait?"

I asked him, already seeing through his act.

The Shaman laughed. 

"No, nothing like that. I am being serious." He stopped and studied me in interest.

"I have never seen anyone blessed by the World like you. The power radiating off your body and spirit…is awe-inspiring."

I shook my head, feeling uncomfortable. What he was obviously perceiving was the elemental energy that the system processed for me to power my abilities. 

I wasn't a traditional Avatar and sometimes while that had it's own advantages, I had this…worry that I was losing out on the true essence of what truly made the Avatar, the Avatar. It was a fear, I always carried. What if one day, I lost the system? What if it found me unworthy and chose another replacement? What if I lost all my abilities? It was why I had been so obsessed with becoming a Metahuman before. A desire that had lessened over time but it was good to know I had options. 

"You're weighed down by worries." The aged Shaman took another drag of his pipe and commented. I stared at him in surprise. Was I that easy to read?

"Fear makes life worth living. It's the catalyst, a tempering platform to forge your spirit into something fierce. So use it as a tool just like any but don't let it overwhelm you."

I was speechless for a few seconds. That…those words had hit deep. It had been long since someone had been so understanding with me. Lucifer and Maze were a different story because like it or not, our relationship was backed by mutual benefits. Plus theirs was a more tough love kind of thing. This guy didn't share the same connection with me yet he tried to leave me with a valuable life lesson.

I inclined my head in a nod. 

"Thank you. I won't forget that."

He hummed.

"See that you don't. Now tell me something, young man. What is it you seek?"

He questioned, changing the subject of the conversation. Finally.

"I am here on a hunt. A hunt for a demon called Mnemoth."

His eyes widened a little upon my statement. A strange look crossed his face.

"I...see. Everything makes a lot more sense now. Come, I have something I need to show you."

He rose up, stretched his muscles and walked towards the bridge. I followed him. I looked over my shoulder at the huge tree we were leaving behind and once more marveled at the feeling it gave off. We crossed the bridge and I looked down at the glowing pond in curiosity. 

"There's something different about this pool of water. What is it?"

The Shaman was silent for a while before he finally answered. 

"That pool of water is known as the Waters of Rebirth (Maji ya Uzima) in Swahili and (Rujii Lwa Utharimo) in our true native language."

Ok. Now I'm interested.

"What does it do?"

I wondered out loud.

"Exactly what it says. Just remember, nothing ever comes free. There is always a price."

He his words took on an ominous note.

Normally he'd be right. However, my adaptable physique ensured that I remained the chocolate piece of hotness that I was, barring extreme conditions and stimuli. Things that were only actively meant to truly hurt me. If I could get just a single droplet into my Elemental Dimension, replicating it would have been possible and i would have the equivalent of magic water that did... something about rebirth? Maybe total healing no matter how hurt or injured someone was? Or true rebirth upon death? Like a maxed out Lazarus pit...oh shit what if this thing was just a Lazarus pit with make up on? 

Even if it was, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to get a sample. The Shaman and I managed to pass through the misty boulevard leading to the Garden shrine and I hurried to keep up pace with him. We came upon the village and I saw a massive bonfire at the middle of the village, near the huge hut. A lot of the village women and children were seated there. They bowed in respect at The Shaman as we passed and threw looks of hatred and a slew of more negative emotions my way. 

Something had happened here. It wasn't normal for everyone to hold such distaste for outsiders like this.

"Why do the villagers look two seconds away from grabbing pitchforks and torches to lynch me?"

I questioned my guide.

"I'll explain later. For now, keep quiet and follow me."

He replied. 

Like that we left the village and came upon the boundaries of the settlement. There were four lookout towers, positioned in a box like formation along the edges of the village, each looking at one cardinal direction. 2 guards were on the one we passed by. They nodded at the Shaman respectfully and paid no heed to me. 

"Those towers had remained unused up until now."

He said in a sad tone. I didn't comment, understanding that silence worked better in this situation. We stepped onto a path that wound, taking us away from the village. Although it was dark, a few flaming torches lined up the path we were walking through.

"The reason why the villagers abhor your presence is due to another outsider."

Oh. I listened intently as he begun to speak.

"A man by the name of Guy Lisbon. He claimed  that he was a world renowned archaeologist, looking for the fabled waters of rebirth to heal his sickness. The chief of course refused. It is against our customs after all."

He noticed my confusion after looking at me over his shoulder.

"The ancestors inform us of the will of He Who Illuminates and as I was communing with them...they noticed the darkness hiding in the outsider's soul. An inky blackness that if allowed to persist would infect The Garden. Alas, the man would convince the chief to take another alternative. A trade. The Waters of Rebirth for a chance to kill the demon that has been plaguing our lands the past month."

Saying that, he motioned out to our front, the end of the path we had taken. Once my eyes adjusted, I balked at what I was seeing. A field, barren with black smudges and dirty stagnated pools of water, spread out over hundreds of meters. The trees at the edges looked sickly and everything smelled rotten. I almost felt like puking.

"Sulphur."

I murmured, remembering the brief crash course Maze had given me on demons. 

There was no denying it anymore. Mnemoth was here. Or had been at least.

"Our entire field of crops, decimated and the soil our ancestors toiled destroyed and made unfertile."

I turned to the Shaman.

"Why didn't you deal with this thing yourself? You possess a connection to the Green. Both you and your nephew. Had you worked together, killing it or at the very least driving it away would have been possible."

He shook his head and sighed.

"It is not as simple as that. The creature hides itself in a cave, a kilometer away from the village and the further we are from the Shrine of He Who Illuminates The Garden, the more that connection is diluted. We are not true champions, just guardians tasked with safeguarding the shrine. Not to mention, there were only 5 of us. 2 after the Chief decided to trust that man."

I rubbed my forehead, getting a little more context of what was happening. Guy Lisbon. That name sounded familiar.

"One last question...How was he able to convince the Chief?"

I enquired. 

"Explosives that he and his team carried for dig sites excavation. The idea was to plant the explosions near the lair of the demon and then press on the trigger. So the Chief, eager to end this threat once and for all, mobilized our warriors in one all out attack..."

He trailed off.

"It didn't work."

I finished his sentence. Now it suddenly made sense why everyone was so hostile. He gave a curt nod.

"None of them came back. Masali...was heartbroken and as the Chief's son and a prodigy in his own right, he seeks revenge by all means. The only reasons he hasn't mobilized the younger warriors is because he is waiting on me to complete communing with the Ancestors for a way forward. And that way...is you."

My mouth opened in shock. 

"Me? How..."

"Mkuu! Mkuu!" A voice interrupted us. We looked towards the source and saw an old man running as quick as he could towards us. He stumbled while near and I rushed to catch him before he could faceplant on the ground. Swahili was exchanged between the Shaman and the old man. The Shaman cursed and spit to the ground in anger.

"Hey what happened! What's going on!?"

I asked him in urgency.

The Shaman tightened his hands into fists and spat out in anger.

"Seems like my dear nephew's patience has ran out. Half an hour ago, he took the rest of the warriors to confront the demon on their own."

I ran a hand through my hair. Oh fuck. They're gonna get slaughtered. My body rose up, a breeze ruffling through my coat.

"What's the general direction to the cave?"

The Shaman looked at me in the eyes and for a second I thought he was going to stop me. Fortunately he only nodded and pointed due east.

"I'll bring them back," I promised.

"It's time to finish this."