Chapter 7: A New Chosen One Has Risen!

And a new space began to replace Panmich's white space; it was a deep, ardent gray in color.

It reflected Desoreth's consciousness.

Now, don't be deceived; Desoreth wasn't robbing this boy's life or anything; rather, the boy's existence was already disintegrating, and Desoreth's consciousness was merely inhabiting the now-vacant space.

"Do you know where we are?"

Desoreth inquired, attempting to divert their attention away from the sensitive subject, but it seemed that his attempt backfired instead, and the dreary atmosphere became even more depressing.

"That, I don't know, but I do know that this place is soon going to shatter apart…and me alongside it," Panmich whispered.

"Really?"

"Mhmmm"

"When everything breaks apart, I won't be there to care for my little sister, she is just two years old. Who's going to take care of her..." Panmich mumbled.

The gloominess around Panmich was gradually dissipating when it suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Desoreth was at a loss for words as Panmich continued to mumble gloomy things.

"Big Brother, I've got a favor to ask. Will you please accept it?" Panmich entreated.

The kid was looking at Desoreth with resolve in his eyes.

"First, tell me what it is, and then I'll see what I can do."

"I have a younger sister named Alisa, she is very small and is unable to take care of herself, and I can't protect her since, you know…I am dying. So I'd like you to safeguard her in my stead."

"Promise me you'll look after her!"

"All right, I promise I'll protect her." Desoreth concurred.

"Pull your hand forward and pinky promise me," Panmich demanded.

"Fine…" Desoreth thought it was childish but nevertheless he put forward his hand.

Both, interlocked their pinkies and shook them.

The white area continued to contract, and Panmich's body slowly began to fade away with it.

"Thank you very much, Big Brother!"

The boy beams up and puts his arms around Desoreth. "Oh, and Big Brother, be careful when you wake up because that monstrous dog might still be there..." And with that, Panmich's final remains disintegrated into dust with a sorrowful smile on his face.

*Sigh*

"This is the first time I'm feeling down; like pain, this emotion is not the one I'm particularly fond of..." Desoreth sighed, "Well, it just means I've to uphold my commitment until I can't."

Desoreth scanned his surroundings once more; this time there was no trace of the white left; a gray-colored fog had now begun to gather around the edges.

"All right, let's go!"

***

Inside a catacomb, several feet underground….

A short man was suspended from the throat by a big, rough hand.

The short man was battling for air, his eyes becoming bloody red by the second; eventually, his struggle died down and his body went soft.

*Thud*

With frizzy hair, deep-set eyes, and sandpapery skin, the man gazed behind him, where dozens of bodies lay asymmetrically, some with broken necks, others with crushed heads, and still others with purple faces, just like the short man under his feet.

The combination of dried-up skeletons and freshly killed individuals appeared quite harmonious in the man's eyes.

Without wasting any more time, the man walked deeper into the catacomb, the silence breaking with each step he took.

Stopping his steps, the man looked up at the tunnel ceiling, as if he could see right through the tunnel, the tonnes of dirt, and straight up at the sky.

"Another one has emerged..." he muttered.

He paused for a moment before continuing on his quest.

.

.

.

In a frozen tundra, an ice storm blazed as the snow accumulated to a person's waist. If a normal person were to be present here, he would freeze in a matter of seconds.

*Roaaaarr*

A 20-foot polar bear with four arms roared in agony and wrath as a long icicle spear pierced its robust flesh, warm blue blood poured out of the puncture.

The perpetrator of this terrible gash was a thin woman with icy blue hair and frigid, keen eyes.

"Hm?"She became distracted for a split second, and the beast took advantage of it by slashing at her with one of its enormous arms.

*Clash*

She intercepted the strike with her spear at the very last second, but the beast's push still forced her to take several steps back before coming to a standstill, but this didn't faze her in the least.

"It's time to put an end to this," she remarked coldly.

With quick motions, she reached underneath the massive bear and thrust her spear toward its eye.

*Puchi*

Before the polar bear could cry out in pain, the spear had lodged deep inside its eye, and his body began to freeze from within. Soon the bear transformed into a 20-foot ice sculpture.

"So, yet another one has risen..." she mumbled, her gaze fixed on the horizon.

.

.

.

The same event repeated itself with different people in different locations, but each of them had one thing in common: they all had a tattoo on one of their palms.

Some were in cities, while others were in jungles, deserts, oceans, volcanoes, and some even in the skies; wherever they were, they all detected the advent of a new person in their sphere, but soon they ignored it and focused on what they were doing before.

***

The chupacabra greedily sucked the blood, its sharp canine fangs digging into Panmich's soft neck.

The body had lost about 70% of its blood and was beginning to resemble a mummy.

Panmich's life was slipping away under the beast's bite, but he didn't care because he'd seen this scenario play out with every one of its prey.

They will initially struggle violently, but as they sense the weakening in their bodies, they will become as docile as a sheep.

The chupacabra retracted its fangs, not because it had drained all the blood from its prey and that Panmich had turned into a husk, but because he felt Panmich's waning life energy suddenly rekindle.

The body, which was nearly bone-dry, miraculously regained its former peak condition.