PRINCE

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Kinyeng directly stood up as he heard the giant bell in the devotion hall banging. The loud gong that they can hear all over the Stone planet indicates that it's time for their morning prayers. As for Kinyeng, his morning prayer is one of the starter packs to begin his family's abundant day more prosperous. He believes that his faith makes him the luckiest person alive on their planet because out of all the people who live there, he is the only one who can successfully grow a land crop.

Last year he managed to harvest his sweet potato crops even after the strong wind blew. Every year, there's always a different kind of calamity happening to planet Stone. It could be a strong wind, a storm, hurricane, plague, and worst of all is the fire-like humidity that can make their people feel like living on an oven planet. Although all of it will only last for seconds, it can still seriously harm them, especially for those homeless folks. That is why some of their houses and shelters are specially made to withstand the madness of nature.

Even the aristocrats and the madman couldn't distinguish why they are experiencing those kinds of natural phenomena. But many of them concluded that it's because of the stones lying in the depths of their planet and its heavy red atmosphere.

While shaving his mustache in front of the mirror using his extremely sharp dagger, Kinyeng accidentally cut a little of his skin when he heard his daughter Shinya shouting. His daughter's horrified voice scared the h*ll out of him.

"Ah! Fa-father! The-there's someone in the kitchen! Father! Ah!"

And without a word. He quickly ducked out of the comfort room and moved as fast as he could just to tend his terrified daughter. He even forgot about his feet.

"Shi! Shi! Stay away from there! Hide somewhere safe!" He was calling his daughter's name while still quickly moving heading to the kitchen. He was getting anxious and now terribly alarmed while waiting for Shinya's response. He was about to call Shi again when he saw her standing steadily like a statue in the kitchen door. She seems dazed. Afraid of scaring her more, He calmly approaches her.

"Shi, what is ha—" Kinyeng didn't finish the words that he was about to say when he saw a masculine man-eating like a pig while staring at them. The man was munching the food like someone who hasn't been taught about proper table manners.

He couldn't believe his eyes. For a minute of staring at the man. He could tell, that was the kid whom they adopted. He was so sure about it yet He still wasn't able to process things. From the looks of the man's eyes, the coldness that he feels just by staring at the child's eyes is the same as this man's.

The child's pale skin is as pale as this person in front of him.

He looks exactly like the grown-up version of the little kiddo. He was thinking that this man might be dangerous! So He subconsciously gripped his sharp dagger tightly. 'Looks can be deceiving.' He always thought of that.

"Shi? Do you think that man is the boy's father?" He spoke to his daughter in an almost whisper manner while slowly poking her with his elbow. Without bothering himself to take away his sight from the man who is still busy eating the food they prepared for their morning prayer.

"I- I don't know, F-father. But as far as I can remember, that shirt that he is wearing, is the shirt I let Cabi wear last night," Shinya responded to her father.

She was referring to the huge pink shirt she used to wear when she was just staying home. She loves to wear it because it gives her a comfortable feeling and it reaches almost to her knee too. She fervently scrutinized the man again. The man looks like he is in his early twenties with his dashing face, and a perfectly built body.

Without his stern looks and sharp eyes, he is absolutely a babyface. He seems like an aristocrat. She tilted her head and was about to ask her father when her eyes met the man's gaze.

"Father!" Shinya exclaimed to her distracted father while pointing at the shining blue stone marked on the stranger's thigh.

"I am the boy. Thank you for helping me."

Both the father and daughter stood still with fright and confusion when they heard those words. They looked at each other and weren't able to understand what just happened and had the same question in their minds. 'Who spoke?' They do look around and see no one, just the man in front of them.

"I'm the boy whom you helped. I have the ability to grow as an adult just overnight. But I am still coping up with your planet's natural nature. That is why it took me a long time to fully change."

His ice-cold voice echoed all over the kitchen room.

But to their surprise, they didn't see him move his lips. Instead there's a light on his thigh that blinks coming from the stone mark whenever he speaks.

"I am not dangerous, Kinyeng. So you can put your weapon down."

Then slowly, the man walked towards them. Suddenly lifted his hand and touched Kenying's forehead with his long toned finger.

( Clang!)

Kinyeng automatically dropped his dagger when he saw the scenario of him accidentally cutting his daughter's hand the moment the man's finger touched him. He could clearly see that his hand is covered with his daughter's blood while Shinya is in excruciating pain. He was horrified and was shocked.

"Fa-father? What's happening?"

"Don't worry, Shi . . . Your father is in trance. He will be ba—"

"Shi! Shi . . . My baby, I am so sorry! I am so sorry! Please forgive me, my daughter." He kneeled while hugging his beloved daughter's thighs.

Shinya on the other hand couldn't understand why his father was acting strange as well.

"Father? You didn't do anything wrong to me. Why are you asking for forgiveness?"

Confusion can be seen all over her pretty little face. So Kinyeng looked at his hands again. He was so relieved when he saw nothing but callousness and some wounds from his work in the farm.

"It will happen. I am only giving you a warning not to play with your dagger whenever your daughter is around or near."

"Thank you so much, young—" His words bring to a halt for they still didn't know the name of the man.

"I am Zryx. The prince of planet Frynx."

"What?" Kinyeng exclaimed and was utterly dumbstruck.