5 Be Strong

Both children stand side by side, staring blankly at the fading silhouette of the man who just turned their life upside down in a matter of seconds. Quincy her into a hug and the childhood friends cry on each other's shoulders as the ashes of their loved ones are carried away by the wind. They stay motionless for a while, coming to terms with the reality of their situation. Suddenly, a low chuckle interrupts their mourning. From the ashes of some unlucky family, a small boy crawls out with his eyes blazing red and an eerily wide smile plastered on his face.

"All of that harvested vitality wasted! He burned it all! At least I managed to survive when some of my essence landed on the foot of this boy." He mutters to himself.

The boy's soul had been consumed by the demonic cultivator, his body becoming the new vessel for the cultivator to live in. His parents protection hadn't been sufficient and ended up being the one thing that allowed the cultivator to survive.

Quincy's face crumples in despair at the new turn of events. So many lost their lives because of him and he still wasn't dead? Both children stumble backwards in fear, gaining the attention of the cultivator.

His eyes brighten as he walks towards them. "I was just thinking about how I needed to enhance my cultivation. Being stuck in this body means I have to start over but that doesn't mean I can't deal with a few brats like you." He says while licking his lips.

Quincy starts to turn and run only to see Kellie is still standing there, paralyzed in fear. "Kellie come on!" He yells his legs still carrying him further away.

She doesn't respond as her legs give out while the demonic boy approaches. His smile stretches his face even further, revealing his razor sharp teeth. With each step, finger nails on his hands begin to grow and harden as they too become razor sharp.

'Be strong.' the words of Quincy's mother echo in his head as he clenches his jaw. He stops running away and dashes towards Kellie instead. Just as the demonic boy raises his hand to slash downwards, Quincy arrives, pushing Kellie out of the way. -slash- Blood flies through the air as Quincy's arm goes with it.

"Ahhh!" He cries in pain, his wail seeming to snap Kellie our of her haze. She touches the blood splattered on her face and turns to Quincy in shock.

"Ahaha," the demonic boy laughs out loud. "Why rush little one. You would have been next anyway."

He stoops over to pick up Quincy's arm. "I needed something to whet my appetite anyway." He says before opening his mouth wide, and tearing away a bite from the limb and traumatizing both children even more.

Kellie takes the lead this time, ignoring the spectacle in front of her, she quickly grabs Quincy by his remaining arm and pulls him away, running towards the massive woods, right on the edge of their village.

The cultivator follows slowly while eating the arm, as if savoring the first spoil of his hunt.