23 Arash - Giant in the Sky

Arash stared at the pulsing blue mist rolling behind the silver net, heard its melody as it battered his consciousness. Staying in the perpetual state of detachment was harder than he imagined. It felt unnatural to him. He looked at things, and they would bring up a memory in him, and with which came emotions. He forced himself to ignore these images, but every now and then his concentration would slip and the pain came rushing in. Getting angry was futile, being afraid was useless, and death he couldn't afford. A memory of a young boy appeared in his mind and the ritual of pain once again began.

He became acutely aware of the rivers in the sky; could almost hear their hymn of sorrows and the relief the brought him. Arash was tempted to act on his thoughts. Anything was better than the melody of the mist. 'I can't die. Not yet. Not now' He steeled his heart and put a leash on his emotions, and the pain once again became bearable.

'What are you?' Arash stared at the pulsing mist before him. Mana stones were supposed to be dead, yet he had seen the tiny little creatures trapped inside the stone, singing their wretched melody.

He couldn't help but remember the crystallized beast. Its howls. 'Why do they cause me pain?' Arash racked his brain for answer. He found himself with a lot of questions and very little answers The silver net was his only ally. It was a bane for blue creatures. He had tried forcing them out of his head but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't push them out, they were glued to his eye and the silver net was not strong enough to push them out.

'I have to do something about the song.' He stared at the thin net and suddenly it came to him. 'I could cover it... would it work?' He focused on the light rune he had, imagined it shining in front of him. He felt lighthearted. The shine of his soul dimmed a little, but a tiny wisp of silver coalesced into existence.

Arash stared at the dim glow of his soul and a dark thought came to him. He shuddered and the pain came unbeckoned. His vision turned black as the pain it him as he convulsed in pain. He hissed under his breath, trying to gain his bearings. He drowned the fear under his will, shedded his emotions and finally the pain receded. 'It's getting stronger.' Arash blankly stared at the blue mist, fear struggled to break free. But he knew the consequences. The pain was too much he didn't knew if he would be able to survive another onslaught.

Arash stared at the silver wisp of will floating in front of him. Suddenly an idea came to him. He called to it and it came rushing towards him and merged back into his soul. His soul regained its previous brilliance. He pursed his lips as realized. 'It wasn't that the pain got stronger. I was the one who got weaker. I have to be careful in the future.'

Suddenly a loud explosion startled him awake, he scrambled to his feet and saw a dense cloud of dust rising in the direction of his house. His stomach lurched at the sight of some. 'Firuz!' Arash ran with all his might, sailing through the wind.

'Where are you goin...' Saroh voice drowned under the howls of the wind. Arash followed the mast trail, protected by an invisible cocoon. Soon he reached the outskirts of the town. His feet slapped against the cold cobblestones as his chests screamed for air but the burning in his chest was insignificant when compared to the battering pain in his head.

'Don't feel. Don't feel' He kept reminding himself, but the fear and anxiety were relentless and dust cloud in front of him made his heart restless. Suddenly the wind stilled around him. it became eerily silent. He could hear the woeful cries of people. 'Please be alright. Please be okay.' His legs turned into a blur as he hurtled past the forest of concrete. Suddenly the cries halted to a jarring silence,he strained his ears, searching for a sound any sound. But all he could hear was the sound of feet shuffling. 'No! No!'

Every single moment made him anxious and the melody was merciless in its onslaught. Suddenly the silence broke with a loud explosion, his eyes turned wide as he saw a giant floating in the sky, holding a monstrous purple blade in his hand, ready to slash the world in half.

'What is this?' color drained from his face as he saw the giant in the sky.

A loud of horn blared in the distance as he rushed towards his brother.