CHAPTER 26: PAIN

Arlo left the village, ignored the other battles taking place, and continued to run forward at full speed as he tried to find his mum.

After a few seconds, he arrived just in time to see his mum shielding his dad from a sword thrust at him.

"NO!" Arlo screamed in despair.

However.

*Whoosh.*

Arthur turned around in time to shield his wife from the attack instead.

*Splash!*

Blood spurted out like water from a fountain.

Arthur directed a pained smile towards Arlo, as he continued to shield Rita in his embrace.

He took out a talisman and crushed it. Then, he and Rita became enveloped in a bright brown glow.

"I'm sorry Arl," Arthur's guilty voice drifted into Arlo's ears. "Always remember that we love you..."

His opponents on the other hand were confused. They were just about to finish the job when a bright brown light immediately surrounded the two.

No matter what they did, they couldn't move closer to them.

Arthur on the other hand ignored them and continued to gaze at his son with a sad smile and pain-filled eyes.

"Leave!" he waved his hand at Arlo who was being hugged tightly by Tina who stopped him from going any closer.

Arlo became enshrouded in a silver light then his body started disappearing.

"NO!" Arlo screamed in despair.

Tina was also confused as she watched Arlo disappear from her grasp.

[Old man, it is time to wake up. Don't forget about the deal and please take care of my son!]

Arthur sent out a telepathic message as Arlo's body continued to fade out.

Arlo on the other hand saw his parent turn to stone before he vanished completely from the place.

*splash!*

Arlo fell into a small pond but he was unaware of his surroundings.

The tears never stopped falling as they rolled down his face.

"AAAH!" he screamed out in pain as he clutched onto his chest tightly. He could feel his heartbeat slow down and under this effect, he had to gasp and choke underneath his falling tears.

"Mother," he choked out in between his sobs. It was at this point a voice suddenly resounded in his head.

[Boy, your parents are not dead. Do not underestimate your father.]

Arlo trembled greatly on the spot. He didn't wonder where the voice came from and only focused on one word.

"Father!" Arlo shuddered from the immense pain he felt.

A series of memories flashed in his mind.

"Genius or not, I will always be proud of you."

"Would you like to continue training with me?"

"You know your father loves you so much perhaps even more than I do."

Recalling how he treated his father these past few years, another emotion flooded his mind and pushed down the pain that was overwhelming him.

It was immense guilt.

'I never told him I love him...'

'I always acted like he was a bother.'

'I knew he loved me, yet…'

"AAAAH!" Arlo screamed once more before he gathered Ki into his fist and smacked his chest.

*Bang!*

He coughed out a mouthful of blood. Ignoring the pain, he gathered Ki into his fist once more before he smacked his chest once again.

*Bang!*

And again.

*Bang!*

Again.

*Bang!*

[ENOUGH!]

A voice suddenly shouted in his head stopping his suicidal action.

His mouth was filled with blood.

It was a very gruesome sight.

*Whoosh!*

There was a sudden movement in the lake.

]Sigh. [

]They must have been attracted by the scent of his blood.[

] Seems I will have to act this once.[

A school of monster fishes that somewhat resembled a piranha but many times larger approached Arlo at a very fast speed, their mouths opened and filled with glistening sharp teeth.

*Boom!*

A fearsome aura suddenly exploded from Arlo creating a shockwave that evaporated the lake and everything within a radius of a thousand meters around him.

The monster fishes were evaporated completely from existence.

]Haa! [The voice let out an exasperated sigh.

] It's been a while since I last acted myself. [

] Now, how do I wake this boy up? [

[Do you remember the talisman your father took out?]

Since he couldn't speak any sense into him, he decided to take a different approach.

'Huh?'

Sure enough, a bit of clarity returned to Arlo's eyes.

[That talisman is called a 'seal' talisman. Its function is to seal its target for some time, turning them completely into stone structures. When sealed, they can't receive any form of damage. However, it is as if time itself has been sealed for them, so all their bodily functions are halted.]

The voice explained slowly as if trying to give him some time to better comprehend his words.

"Are you saying that they aren't dead?"

Arlo asked, his voice tinged with hope.

[That's right.]

After several minutes.

"HA!" He released a deep breath.

He could feel all the emotions welling up in his body released in that breath.

"Thank you," he said.

He now appeared collected. The tears had seized to fall from his eyes, although his eyes were swollen from tears and the sides of his mouth were still tinged with blood.

[Don't mention it.]

However, the voice's inner thoughts were completely different.

] You sure adapt quickly. [

"Aren't they still in a dangerous situation?"

[I told you that they can't receive any form of damage in that state.]

"No, I mean they can't remain in that state for long, right?"

[Hmm, that is right. They have about ten years before their body system begins to deteriorate with time.]

"Then I need to get back to them."

Arlo stood up abruptly, his body brimming with new energy from the newfound hope he just received.

However, that hope was crushed not before long.

[Calm down. Look around you. You have been teleported into a different world.]

"WHAT?" he screamed out in horror.

He quickly studied his surroundings, something he ignored due to the situation he was in.

Sure enough, after looking around, Arlo found himself subconsciously opening his mouth.

There was nothing around him, though the rocky ground was all cracked.

The sky was dyed crimson red. It didn't take him long to know the reason why, as he spotted a crimson sun high up in the sky.

"What the hell?" he blotted out in shock.

"Where is this place? It looks like a scene out of hell!"

[Hahahaha!]

"Why are you laughing?"

[It's because you hit the mark. This world is far more dangerous than your previous world. You had better be careful if not you won't know how you died.]

*Gulp!* he swallowed his saliva subconsciously.

After a while, he realized the problem and quickly asked:

"How do I return to my parent?"

[Calm down! ]

[There is a barrier surrounding this world.]

"What? Are you saying I am caged in this world and I can't leave even if I want to?"

Arlo almost lost his sanity on the spot.