1 The End and the Beginning of a Journey

"Catch that thief!" spittle the stall owner, his plump belly bulge and trembles. The ripples generated from the tremble looks like raindrops landing on calm water.

Running for his dear life, Gran, a child who grew up parentless in the slums of Gandor have to use everything to survive. From watching how people pickpocketed, bargained, and used force since a young age, Gran dedicated his life to mastering the techniques.

"Halt! Stop right there, criminal scum!" two guards, in chainmail and wielding spears ran after him.

Hearing their voices, Gran runs even faster. Long ago, when Gran was younger, Gran used to see an old man sitting by himself. Seeing Gran, the old man would always flash his grainy yellow teeth and tell Gran the same thing over and over again until it was drilled into his head, "Once you're caught, you're over." However one day, Gran didn't see him and since then, for the oncoming days, the old man never showed up to where he used to sit.

Turning the corner into the back alleyways, Gran disappeared from sight. It was as if the darkness of the alley had consumed him, if not of the pitter patter of his feet echoing through. Glancing back, Gran didn't see the chasing guards and slowed down into a walk. Breathing heavily, Gran continued to walk without slowing down. The warm bulge under his shirt reminded him that he needs to get away.

Taking turns after turns, and bolting out from the affluent district, Gran kept on running to the outer layers of the slums. Spotting the makeshift decrepit house a few feet away, a smile bloomed on his face. The house was made of mostly wood and bamboo that are tied up by ropes. The roof was an amalgamation of thin sheets of metal, reed, wood, and clay. The house was poorly built and looked as if a weak wind could push it down but even the heavy downpour of rain couldn't destroy it.

Opening the shabby wood and bamboo door, Gran was greeted with a small living area, small enough to accommodate himself a bed of dry reed and a small, small wooden table with holes. Closing the door, Gran made his way to the table and lifts his torn and dirty shirt. Placing the still warm bread onto the table and splitting it in half, one for lunch and one for tomorrow, Gran knotted the leftover in grey cloth and bury it beneath his bed. Eating his fill, even though he's still hungry, Gran left the house. Walking for a couple of minutes, Gran picks up the sound of rushing water, bird noises, crickets, croak of frogs, and leaves being russeled.

Facing with the rushing water, Gran knelt down and places his crude makeshift spear to the side. Parting the clear see-through water with his hands and scooping a handful, Gran brought it to his lips and allowed the water to flow down his hand and into his mouth. Swallowing a few more handful scoops of water, Gran finds a basin of calm water and takes off his clothes revealing scars of differing lengths. Some appear to come from the wild animals while others seemed to come from humans. Trudging through the clear water and disrupting the content of the floor, the clear water turned a murky brown.

Washing the dirt from his trembling body, Gran dips below one last time before coming back up. Bending forward his body so that all of his hair is under the water and his eyes are just slightly above the surface of the water, Gran paves and rinses his long black hair. After a couple of seconds of rinsing his hair, Gran shakes his head causing droplets of water to be flung across the still water, generating ripples. Trudging his way back to the bank of the rushing river, Gran caught from the corners of his eyes a sparkle of light. Paving through the cold sludge of mud under his feet, Gran approaches it.

Getting within a few feet, Gran spots the source of the sparkle, a mirror. The mirror itself was small, about the size of a 10-years-old's fists. Half of the small stature of the mirror was swallowed by mud. The mirror was encased in bronze with compelling shapes and images. The mirror itself is cracked on the bottom left of its ovular structure. The streak of crack travels diagonally to the top right, however, the crack splits into two in the middle of the mirror. One crack travels slightly upward, while the other continues to travel diagonally.

Puzzled and slightly curious, Gran grabs the mirror and proceeds to brings it to his face, however there was resistance. With the mirror out from the mud, there was a string attached to the mirror and part of the string is still in the mud. Using his other hand, Gran uses a bit of force and pulls it out with a snap. Now that the mirror was in his hand Gran has a better view of it, albeit the mirror was still holding onto mud.

Washing the mud off of the mirror, Gran brings the mirror to his face. Inspecting the mirror, Gran decides to keep it since he likes it. Grabbing each side of the snapped string, Gran brings it over his head and ties a secure knot. Seeing his reflection on the water with the mirror on his neck, a smile came to life on his face. Trudging his way back to the bank, Gran climbs out from the basin and onto land.

Using the overgrown foliage, Gran wipes the droplets of water still on his body. Finished with wiping his body, Gran takes his clothes and washes them in the basin before wringing the water out from them. Although the clothes are still damp, Gran wears them anyways as the evening sun will dry them. During the walk back home, Gran felt like there was something different but he could not discern it. Rising his guard in case something does happen, Gran deliberately took many paths and many turns before reaching his little abode.

His clothes had already dried from a while ago, and the light from the sun had dipped below the mountain ranges far off in the distance. Opening the door and entering, Gran closes the door and places the large rock by the side onto the door preventing anything from wanting to get in. Patting his bed of dry reed, Gran climbs onto it and rubs his aching feet. With the dirt scuffing off of his feet, Gran lay on the bed. Closing his eyes, and resting his mind, Gran drifts off into the sky.

A few hours into the night with the moon high above the land, something mystical is taking place. The mirror on his chest begins to float into the air. A soft glow is being emitted from the mirror as it steadily floats up. Along with the mystical event of the mirror, Gran begins to stir in his sleep, however, he is not waking up. It's as if Gran's in some terrific dream, beads of sweat dribbled down his forehead.

Just before the moon dipped below the mountains, the mirror reverts back to its original state and Gran begins to calm down. With the call of the forest, Gran woke up and dazedly look into space. It wasn't until some time later that Gran came back to life. Massaging his head and rubbing his eyes, Gran got up from his bed and dug out the cloth. Opening it, Gran grabs the now cold and hard bread and takes hearty bites.

Licking his fingers, Gran scraps his wet fingers along his clothes. Leaving the house, Gran proceeds to the river. However, during the way, Gran met a monster. A Red Bear. Dark red fur covers its body from head to toe. Slick bone-chilling claws that reflect light. The Red Bear is one who is feared by the locals for its ferocious strength and appetite. Quickly hiding behind a tree, Gran peeps at what was happening.

Fortunately, the Red Bear has not realized it was being spied on. It looks like the Red Bear is preoccupied with something else, something grotesque, the all but familiar scent of rotting corpses. The sound of flesh being ripped apart, the sound of bones snapping and being chewed. Holding in his breath, Gran backs away slowly. Unfortunately, without looking at where he was stepping, Gran steps on a twig snapping it.

The sound startled and alerted the Red Bear as it turns to face Gran with a bloody red filled face, internal organs hanging in its mouth, razor-sharp teeth, dripping viscous saliva, and bone-chilling red eyes. Locking eyes with Gran, the Red Bear gave no indication before sprinting towards him. In seconds, the Red Bear seemed to have disappeared from its position and reappeared in front of Gran preparing for a massive right swipe. Shocked at the speed that was demonstrated before him, Gran's arms raise up in reflexes in an attempt to block the sharp claws of the Red Bear.

"AHHH!" with the claws digging into his flesh deep enough to draw large copious amounts of blood, Gran releases a blood-curdling cry as he was sent flying backward like a broken kite.

Although the force from the Red Bear should have severe his arms, Gran's arms are still perfectly intact with large, deep gashes. Being winded from impacting a tree, the force from Gran's body snapped the tree in half before causing his body to slow down and fall onto the ground. Exhausted and wounded, Gran tries to get up but ultimately fails. With the Red Bear coming ever closer, Gran could do nothing but close his eyes and wait. Wait for the sweet embrace of death.

However, Fate seems to have other ideas as Gran felt his body regenerate its strength. With no clue as to how his body suddenly regenerated, Gran got up and took off. Even with his fastest speed, Gran still couldn't escape the Red Bear as it soon caught up. With trees blurring behind him and wind rushing pass his ears, Gran hears the growl of the Red Bear right behind him and knew that another attack was coming. So he threw himself and rolled away. Luckily, the attack only cut pieces of his hair instead of his head.

Running around for some time, Gran came upon a cliff. The cliff is so deep that fog clouded the valley below and the only sound was of the quiet distant flow of rushing water. Left with no other option, Gran jumped. Unfortunately, just before jumping, the Red Bear manage to scrap Gran's back leaving 3 large horizontally scars. With the pain from his back and the constant whipping of the wind, Gran finally blacks out.

Waking up from the warm and soft embrace of blankets, the first thing Gran saw was a wood ceiling. Realizing he is in a place he doesn't know, Gran quickly got up and walks to the only door. The room was furnished with shelves of books, a table with a candle standing on a wooden plate, and a window. Making it halfway through the room, the door opens and Gran was met with a woman.

"Ara~? You're up already. I was just about to come and pick you up." flashing the prettiest of smiles Gran has ever seen.

"Fufufu~ Well, come along." waving at Gran to follow, she turns around and walks away.

There was something telling Gran that the lady was bad news. However, faced with this situation, Gran could only follow. Walking out the door and turning right, Gran walks down the hall until he sees a living room. The lady was already sitting on the chair next to a wooden table. The scent of freshly cooked stew made Gran's stomach rumble.

Giggling at Gran, she waves for him to sit down. Complying, Gran scoots the wooden chair and sit down, staring at the steaming hot stew.

"Go ahead. I made it for you after all." using her own wooden spoon, she scoops the stew and brings it into her mouth.

Taking the spoon in the stew, Gran scoops and brings it into his mouth. Feeling the hotness from the stew, Gran thought he had forgotten about it already. With tears streaming down his face, Gran stuffs his mouth spoonful after spoonful. Emptying the bowl of stew in literal seconds, the lady brings them to the sink before coming back to Gran.

"There is something you need to know, Gran. Your journey, your road, is just starting." looking into his brown eyes, she said.

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