Past is Prolonged

Abbey could see what was ahead, but he was afraid that things would not be easy, especially with Michael. The enemy had yet to reveal his true power. The implants were just a distraction. Knowing this, he gave Sharon a worried look. Sharon was confused by Abbey's facial expressions and immediately asked using her mind, "What is the problem?" Abbey couldn't find the words to express his concern, so instead, he spoke calmly to Sharon, saying "keep hope alive."

"What does that have to do with what is happening here?" Sharon thought to herself, reflecting on Abbey's worried expression. She murmured to herself, "He still thinks we are in danger. No wonder he is saying 'keep hope alive.' Does he intend to sacrifice himself, or worse, does he intend to sacrifice me? What is that blockhead thinking?" Sharon pondered.

Abbey, sensing her anxiety, replied, "Hold on to Michael closely, and whatever happens, don't let go of Michael." Michael, who seemed oblivious to what was going on, kept pointing in a particular direction, saying, "We have to go there in order to escape from here." They moved at a fast pace, with Abbey in the lead. Abbey could somehow feel the threat of danger all around, but before he could come to terms with it, a menacing figure appeared before him. The figure stood in his path, staring at him as if piercing through his soul. Abbey didn't flinch for a moment; instead, he just stared back at the menacing figure as if he posed no threat to him

The menacing figure spoke first. "You have proved your point," he said. "You have now gotten my attention. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Abbey repeated those exact words, pondering the question. While lost in his own thoughts, Sharon stared at the menacing figure with a disdainful look, as if saying, "What do you want with a kid? And why would you do this to an innocent little boy?"

As if able to sense Sharon's thoughts, the menacing figure spoke directly to her. "You have no right to judge me," he said. "After all, your family caused this. They killed my son in that accident. My son died and yet their son lived. What kind of justice is that?" Sharon was taken aback by the menacing figure's accusation.

Exactly two years ago, Michael and his best friend Chad had gone on a camping trip. The family doctor had recommended a weekend in the outdoors for the boy. So, it was arranged for Michael, Chad, and one of the family butlers to oversee the trip. Michael had wanted his father to join them, but his father had a pressing engagement to attend to. He promised to join the kids as soon as possible.

That weekend, they went into the woods for a two-day adventure trip. As usual, Michael's father wasn't able to join them. On their way back, while the car was passing through the link bridge into town, the tire burst and the brakes failed. Suddenly, the car broke through the bridge barrier frame and plunged into the river. Before anyone could do anything, the car was sinking to the bottom of the river. The boys were unconscious and trapped, while the driver was seriously injured. The only one who was unscathed was the butler.

With time running out and a lack of oxygen, he began to panic and was trying his best to set himself free in order to be able to help others. Smashing either of the car windows was going to be challenging because they were bulletproof; his only option was to force the doors open, which was becoming a problem. The doors were all jammed shut and the car doorknob seemed to be stuck. His only solution was to open the car door windows, which would allow more water to come in and leave little time for rescue efforts.

All he could do now was to unwind the car side window and instinctively grab his master's son to save him, while leaving the others behind. The driver, although seriously injured, was able to free himself and began swimming for his life. Only Chad was left behind. Once both men resurfaced with Michael in his hand, they were able to swim to the shore of the river. Five minutes later, the rescue team arrived and about ten minutes after that, Chad's body was brought out. He was pronounced dead two minutes later by the medical team. Michael's father arrived at the scene later and was relieved to find his son alive. Chad's parents, on the other hand, were stunned to find out that their son had died.

Chad's father was out for blood as he declared he would seek retribution for his late son. Even after the investigation and the incident was declared an accident, he still vowed to seek revenge for his son.

Reflecting on the incident, Sharon could not believe that Chad's father would go to such lengths, even harming an innocent child, just to seek revenge for his late son. Abbey, who could read Sharon's thoughts, was surprised by the whole incident and the fact that it was declared an accident. He clearly saw the whole account of the accident in Sharon's mind and was dumbstruck by how far the father was willing to go to harm a child.

Abbey no longer bothered himself with trivial matters, as he declared to the mysterious and menacing figure, "If you don't let Michael go now, I'm afraid I will have to take matters into my own hands. I assure you, it won't be easy for you to deal with me."

A menacing laughter could be heard emanating from the elusive figure. Before claiming that his family came from a long line of witchcraft and sorcery, Abbey challenged, "Do you think you have the power to harm me?" The maniacal laughter continued from the menacing figure.

Overwhelmed and intimidated by the mysterious figure, Sharon exclaimed, "Why harm an innocent child? Why not take action against the parents or the people you believe are responsible?" She questioned, "Why the innocent child?"

The mysterious yet menacing figure responded, "A life for a life, a son for a son, and blood for blood. That is the way of our clan society of witchcraft and sorcery." Taken aback by this response, Abbey smiled and confidently stated, "Out in the world, you may be powerful, but in here, I'm sorry to say you are not." He warned, "I'm giving you one last chance to let us leave, otherwise, you will be trapped in here forever."

Sharon, who had previously appeared intimidated, was now surprised and beaming with brightness at Abbey's words. Michael, who had been oblivious, became curious about what was happening and stared down at Sharon for an explanation. She spoke gently to him, "Don't worry about adult issues, just focus on getting out of here, okay?" Michael nodded, acknowledging Sharon's suggestion.

Still, the mysterious yet menacing figure didn't let go. He pressed on to gain an advantage by summoning a range of deadly creatures that were terrifying to human eyes: scorpions with two heads and four tails, a serpent with the body of a large tiger and stinking claws, and a frog with the head of a shark. These creatures were not only poisonous but also soul devourers.

Abbey could sense the killing intent emanating from them as he prepared himself for an attack. He gave Sharon a look, as if telling her to build a protective barrier and shield around Michael and herself. Since he would be distracted while fighting, Sharon immediately nodded in acknowledgment and began building the shield.

Seeing that Sharon had finished building the shield, Abbey wasted no time attacking. He started forming several swords from thin air and summoning a dragon-like creature to mount on. His ferocious attack took the mysterious figure by surprise.

Mounting the dragon-like creature and wielding several swords, Abbey was almost unstoppable. In the eyes of everyone there, it was like a massacre, and Abbey seemed to be enjoying every moment of it. While Abbey was rampaging through the deadly creatures, the mysterious figure's face turned pale as he watched all his efforts being destroyed by this indescribable person who seemed to love killing and destroying everything in his path.

As he watched Abbey rampaging like a mad bull, there was only one thought on his mind: he had to destroy this person now, or all his scheming would come to an end.

With this in mind, he lunged himself forward at Abbey with all he had. The resulting collision sounded like an explosion. Nobody could tell what had happened to either of them.

When the cloud dispersed, the mysterious figure remained motionless as Abbey disappeared.