66. Bird Of Fire

Time slowly went by. Seconds counted and turned into minutes, minutes birthed hours, hours became days, days grew into weeks and weeks matured into a month. In no time thirty-six days passed and Hiro finally opened his eyes.

The hungry child within his abdomen was appeased and he was tremendously happy. His body felt light and refreshed. He had successfully solidified his realm. However, that wasn't the only reason for his happiness.

Within the last month, he had not only solidified his realm but had also successfully reached the second stage of the core formation realm.

Hiro stretched his body and rubbed his stomach. One hungry child had been satisfied while another woke up.

"I should get something to eat," he mutters and got up. First he turned to the river, bent down and washed his face.

When he was finished, he rose up and walked along the riverside. He looked up at the trees nearby and sighed.

"No fruits. Do I have to hunt? It would be easy since they are just animals but preparing them would be a hassle even with seniors memories," he thought and stretched his hand out. A red flame rushed out but it quickly went out. "I don't even have fire."

Hiro kept on walking and kept on searching the trees for fruits. Along the way he came across a rangale of grazing deers, squirrels running amok on trees, birds of different species and even wild predators like tigers. Most of which ran away when they came across or sensed him. He didn't know how long he walked for but soon he became tired.

Hiro jumped up and climbed up a tree. It was a tall tree, and he climbed until he was at the top.

"What the?" Hiro exclaimed.

From here he could see the places in all directions and couldn't help but exclaim at the beauty and at the complexity of the place.

"Where am I really?" he asked while looking around.

In the direction he faced, snow fell down from the sky. Hills covered in snow could be seen and trees with snow as leaves were sparsely distributed.

To his left, there were a few more trees compared to the last. These trees held sparse amount of yellow, red or brown leaves. The hills here were rocky and had dried up grasses.

Behind him, the area had abundant of green trees, bushes, flowers and hills with green grasses. Even from here, he could see the bountiful amount of fruits in the trees and couldn't help but smile.

The area where he was, had newly grown trees and flowers that just bloomed. Even the hills here had little amount of grasses on them.

Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, the four seasons were vividly depicted. But that wasn't the only reason for Hiro's exclamation. The size of this place was only as big as a city. Hiro believed the it was slightly bigger than the Lu city.

The river beneath him ran around the four areas like a snake chasing its tail. No, it was still, it laid there, wrapped around the four areas. You could say it was a boundary of some sort however the real boundary was after it.

The space after the river mirrored everything before it and made it seem the four areas had extended. One would have believed that if only there weren't any…

"Cracks. Just like last time," Hiro muttered.

There were cracks in the space all around but unlike the ones Hiro had encountered before, they weren't moving at all.

"This place is going to collapse too," he sighed.

After looking around for a while longer, Hiro made his way down and headed for the area with bountiful fruits. First things first, he had to calm the hungry child in his abdomen.

…

"Hmm?"

In no time Hiro arrived at the region filled with fruits. The moment he entered, he felt something he couldn't explain. However, he was too hungry to bother about it now. He climbed up the nearest tree and plucked two fruits.

"Ah, so sweet!"

He exclaimed joyfully while munching on the fruits. How relieved did he feel to finally satisfy the child in his abdomen.

"Huh?"

It wasn't until he had almost finished the second fruit did he notice. The branches which he had plucked from grew back the fruits at a visible speed. In less than six breaths time, the fruits had fully grown back.

Hiro's mouth open and his eyes twitched. Was this how fruits grew quickly? He finished the remainder in his hand and plucked another. This time he watched carefully.

At first nothing happened, then it happened. The fruit grew out quickly. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"What the hell is going on?"

His eyes fell on the fruit in his hand and then back at the tree before him. Immediately he grasped it.

"The dao of time," he muttered and took a bite from the fruit in his hand. He didn't fully understand how it worked, but he knew this phenomenon was as a result of the time dao.

Not bothering about anything, he plucked two more and continued to eat. If this was as a result of the time dao, he believed he wouldn't be affected, rather he would benefit from it.

Hiro ate and ate until he was full. To his surprise it only took four more fruits for him to be satisfied. He smiled as he laid his back on the tree stalk. His gaze landed at the other area before him. Snow was falling from the sky, nonstop. It was the winter region.

His eyes closed and he took a deep breath. "Time to go find Mia," Hiro muttered. "Maybe if I shout loud enough, she would hear me. After all this place is just slightly bigger than Lu city."

He looked around. "But I'll have to shout from various points within these four areas."

He took in another deep breath cleared his throat and then…

"MIA!"

His voice came out as a ferocious roar, one he didn't expect. "What the hell?" Hiro muttered as his eyes widened.

He wasn't given the luxury to comprehend why his voice had come out like that, cause in the next moment.

*MIA! MIA! MIA! Mia!*

His voice rang in all of the four region. Echoing one after the other before dying out.

*Caw! Caw!*

Several birds took to the sky, flying in circles, confused at which direction to flee to. The animals ran about, searching for a place to hide and the burrowers of holes hid in their holes.

Dumbfounded, shocked, confused. Hiro's current state was all of the above. He couldn't believe that roar came from him. His hand lay on his throat and he opened his mouth once again.

"MIA!"

*MIA! MIA! MIA! Mia!*

It came out once again. The roar that transcended that of any beast's roar he had heard before. Following after it was the echo from all directions.

Hiro smiled and opened his mouth once again. "MIA! ITS HIRO! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, SHOUT OUT!"

Echoes resounded the place and Hiro felt his ear ring. "I better stop here," he thought. "Well, if she's here then she'll know I'm here. I just need to listen and find…"

~Blargh~

Hiro pluked instantly. His stomach growled loudly. He could feel it turn as it grew even more upset…

~Blargh~

Again and again and again. Hiro puked his gut out, until there was almost nothing in his stomach.

"What the hell is going?" he voices. "Was something wrong with those fruits I a…"

Hiro pauses halfway and turns to his left. His eyes scans his surroundings. It was for a brief moment but a presence made itself known.

"Did I sense it wrong? Was someone seeking help?"

He didn't know why, but, he felt the presence desperately asking for help. However, a strong force seem to have interrupted it. Unknown to him, nine fruits grew out of his puke on the ground.

Hiro closed his right eye as his left eye shone a bright golden light. With it he scanned the direction the presence had come from.

"That's… ouch!" Hiro grimaced. He closed his left eye and covered it with his palms. He could feel huge amount of pain and with it, blood flowed out of his left eye.

"Tch…" he tsk and straightened his body. His left eye opened and shone bright once again. Hiro bit his lower lip, bearing the pain.

Through his left eye, he saw a red barrier in the distance. This was the reason for his pain. When his eye gazed upon the barrier, Hiro felt an eye gaze back at him. It was this gaze that caused him pain.

Whoever it belonged to was at a level greatly above his. However, he has met the gaze of something stronger before and he met it without this special eye. So he wasn't going to back down, not to this.

His curiosity didn't let him back down. He wanted to know what exactly was seeking help. It was a desperate call for help that could not be ignored.

He gazed upon the barrier again and the eye gazed back at him. Surrounding the eye was thick red flames that prevented him from looking past the eye. His left eye shone brighter and brighter. The brighter it became the more it bled out and the better he could see.

The eye frowned at him. It had noticed Hiro was slowly looking past the flames. Beyond the flames was an egg. It was about two feet long and was as red as blood.

Hiro's left eye continued to shine brighter. His vision became clearer and clearer. Just a bit more and he was going to see the creature inside the egg. However, before he could see it, another eye appeared.

*Shriek*

A loud bird cry rang in his ears. Hiro's surroundings went dark and before him a bird made of fire spreads its wings. It rose above him and looked down on him.