29: Encounter

(King Xavier)

I feel weak. I kneel down touching the aching left arm until I realize it's cut. What happened to me? To my left arm? Why am I here? Well I think I'm in the middle of a forest, and there's a cliff far ahead. I raise my chin and saw a man wearing black attire and golden cape. He have rings dressed his fingers and a knife on his belt. There are black butterflies flapping its wings nearby him

"You..." I murmur.

"Yes! It's me! It's a pleasure to meet you, King Xavier, god of Dominion!"

"Wait... who are you?" he roll his eyes, looking down on me.

"You're too childish, that goes the same with your daughter. I am King Nemesis! The one who steal gifts, destroyed a whole nation, ambushed your kingdom, kill gods and kidnapped your princess. Unfamiliar yet?"

"Oh! You sound famous, well, it's nice to meet you too!" I cemented my wounded arm, if not I'll faint by too much blood loss. I stood up to face him formally.

"I desire that kind of power from you, I want you to be worth killing, and your gift to be worth stealing."

"In short you want to fight me? I got no problem with that!" he gave me a chortle response. He grip one butterfly and made a shape of a sword. I wield mine and consequently our sparring began. All I keep on doing is defense with his every single bash, my sword seems heavy with one hand, and I can't fight utterly with my condition.

I'm moving backward, by a wrong step my right heel stumble. A tree behind caught me, I stoop down to dodge his slice, and it marked on the tree. Same goes with me, I attempted to cut his tummy yet he move backward, I chase him one step and sway my sword with a wave to push him forcefully. He was moved backward.

I hid my sword again on its sheath. And he's mocking me

"Is that all you've got?! There's reason to be kind to me! Remember, I am the most insane criminal-"

I run forward quicker than thunder and smash him. With extreme force, he was blown away until he hits the bottom of a cliff. That's a far distance. He's slowly falling and I caught up to him in a blink. I clasped his throat and all of a sudden he vanished. I found myself gripping a rock. Illusion! He's behind me. So I did the same, I teleport behind him, grasp his clothe and brought him in the sky with me.

I can feel his fluster. I punch him down to the ground with massive force I produced. The sound of his clatter echoes around the area. The ground deformed at the exact spot he fell. He's laying lethal and I land, standing above him. I pull his collar then create a left hand stone to smash him, in contradiction to my expected consequence, he scattered to black butterflies that distracts my view.

I stand up slowly while glaring at him in front of me forming his body with butterflies like puzzle. He's the one who killed Queen Dreas. And worst he stole her godly power. Right now, he's using my Queen's gift, healing. He worsen my wrath.

"How's your investigation in Ethiopia Kingdom? I heard that their king rejected your offered plan. And you know what's fascinating with their gift?" my body feels tight, something's gripping my throat. I can't move neither breath. And now he's coming closer with a knife.

"The unseen threads. Only me can see them," then he sneer me with his laugh.

I teleport in front to free myself and bash him repeatedly from left and right. When he finally defend himself I move backward far from him. The sky are darkening until a hot rain falls. I cover my skin in stone to avoid scorch. With his single stamp the whole ground was frozen, it's slippery. I'm still working out for my balance when I notice him assailing.

He got me, he smash me once the way I do. With this ice it's troublesome to break. With my skin covered like this I'll feel a low possibility of pain. I cemented the ground by rock only to my spot. I move swiftly, I pull out my sword and with his one wrong move, he raise his hand for another stolen gift attack, I throw my sword like a spear and shot his left arm.

He lost balance with by shock wave, and his arm parted from his body. The rain stops and the butterflies around him are gone. I teleport where his arm landed to get the rings that seals the gifts. I got five. It also means he lost half of the power. He only knows how to attack, without even thinking. Freezing the ground with a burning rain fall is idiotic, now it's melting.

I feel like I mocked him. He's breathing hard with a fierce anger, good grief on healing himself. And that's unfortunate, I almost attain that gift. Now we're both mad. I throw his arm on him and he slap it away. He summoned a giant beast, bigger than a castle I guess. A dinosaur with matching wings, then maybe it's a dragon.

I changed location when it attacked my spot with its turtle like claws. I'm not in the mood to fight that, so I run away. I lost sight of King Nemesis. Again, clouds are darkening and thunder roars. I stop and made a tremendous wall as a shield from the weighty lighting attack although my defender isn't enough. Looking back at the monster, I certified it's a dragon.

A cumbersome fire blow got me and pushed me farther. I clatter down on a soft grass while watching the fire rising. I glance at this scenery, the boundary I made that seals the whole nation protected me. So this place is the Land Line, the end of our nation's territory. He can no longer attack me here, I'm safe enough to sleep here out of the blue. After then, I don't know what happened.

(Haris)

Maruwie is slowly fading, turning transparent until she'll be totally gone. We have to land, however the ground is a flood of mist, a forest.

"King Russell, we have to-" she shift shape to a tiny kitten and consequently we fall. I failed to tell the King before it happened. While falling I'm reaching for Ashti's hand to cover her on landing and the adverse happened. I was the one reached including Ashti by the King. He's holding us tight both of his arms.

He defy the gravity with his feet unleashing fire that converged the ground to alight leisurely. It gone swimmingly. Everyone is safe when I caught Maruwie. She's like a spirit, ready to vanish anytime.

"Maruwie... thank you..." I whisper and she then disappear with the wind.

"Phew! So! What happened to the dragon?" he asked, kneading his pelvic.

"It's Maruwie. She's just a summoned being which means she has her own world too. On the same matter, she can't stay longer in our world. And so she fade away." He lend me a hand to stand.

"I'll carry the princess," he volunteer. That suggestion lessens my burden, I took his hand to stand. I heed the vicinity

"We're surrounded," I said. He took Ashti behind him.

"Really? That was fast."

Slowly their visibility increase. A woman and man, a young girl with a white wolf with her.

"Who are you?" she stated.

"Hey there! I am Russell and they're my company. Sorry but we lost our ride and slump here but gentle. Will you tell us the way out?"

They glance at each other, non-verbal converse. "Come with us," the girl require. We're surrounded with their pure white bear, lions and any beast that acts like their pets.

"I can't stop predicting that the next thing will happen is interrogation. Look how they treat us! Like a newly arrested criminal!" he whispered however I think they heard it.

"They are Albino people. A neighbor who lost their families during the follow up tragedy. They bury them including the trust they have with other races. We can't blame them on how they behave towards us."

"Mmmm. Okay."

All the trees are withered. The soil is mixed with ashes. You can't see what's ahead unless you get closer. They use their pets' noses to lead the way. There's 6 of them surrounding us. I can feel only the sound of the steps until we arrived at the castle, a half ruined castle. Inside is a queen, an old lady with white long hair and wings, she's like an angel, a fallen one, cast out from heaven.

The way she sit on her throne, a kind of sit that she's fed up of life. We stand in front of her like being the suspect at the court trial. The little girl whisper to her ear, maybe about us.

"A foreigner? Why did you decided to take a tour in our vain country?" her voice's in hoarse.

"Not me, only them." I pointed the two. She glare at me in unknown reason. I doubt and triggered.

"I'm sorry for disturbance. But I came here in your country to save a friend." She hand-comb her hair.

"Harianna, Ellena, kill them." The twin young woman with thin sword attack us.

"Wait! we mean no harm-"

"Leave this to me," I said. They attack me both. They use thin and sharp edge sword, useful only for stabbing. I wait for a closer distance, until I can clasp the blade. I grab those both at the same time, pull them closer, I kick the one on the right and smash the one on the left to it's tummy. They both hurled. I grip the swords until it broke to pieces.

"Make it gentle, they're woman," King Russell exhorted.

"But I made it gentle."

"Kill them!!"

Now she's ferocious. I cover the the two, he kneel down to give the battle to me, that's enough to keep Ashti safe. Someone stab me from behind yet failed, his sword broke. I twist to kick him. I stoop down with another approach, a flying kick, that surprised me! I move rapidly, below this man I grab his leg and throw him to the upcoming pursuer beside King Russell.

They attack me continually and I just keep on covering these two. Another used a rope to tie me like catching a horse. I widen my arms to tear it, I pull the rope and kick him. I don't need to use any tools for warfare. Specially my body is the defense itself. I nudge, shove, spurn until I felt the wielding of King Russell's sword and a sudden, short blow of the wind.

In a blink of an eye, the Queen is close to me, very close. I'm encircled by her wings. I have no right to move, she's using the quill of the feather as a knife, pointed at my wound. Hostage. The thing that hinders her is the sword of King Russell between us.

"A sore spot, is the rigid body's weakness," she whisper. I got a lot of guts to move, but I guess I should keep things peacefully from now on.

"I'll tell you this again, I came here to save a friend." His sword releases fire. The Queen move backward with a far distance using the wind. I kneel down and King stood.

"Are you okay?"

"Better. Thanks."

"Alright! I accept your inhospitable. This is enough, I won't let things get worst any longer. We're leaving."

"A fire user! This is my first time meeting one."

"Well good for you. I don't need your consent to leave. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"No one will leave."

I'm paralyzed. Slowly I lay on the ground and King clattered. She laugh, a ridicule laugh.

"I am the wind. Feel free to inhale my poison," then she laugh again. Which means, not breathing is an advantage on defeating her. "Take the boy with me. And kill that man."

They separate us from King Russell. She took me in a wide room, sat me down on a stone chair, chain my arms behind and Ashti still unconscious on the floor. She better stay asleep at this phenomenon.

"You... you smell familiar..." she's examining me. Caressing my hair, looking at me with apprehension. She saw my unique hair strand and transfer her glance to my eyes that has the same color.

"Your eyes... are the eyes of awe, leaving your victim with extreme terror and tremor... these is the eyes of thriller." she remove my mask

"Hey-"

"Ssshhh. We will see if you can," she keeps on whispering.

I keep my eyes on her and her's to mine. Slowly my sight is darkening. I can't stop my shudder until I lose myself. I have this feeling of bloodlust. I broke the chain behind me and grab her throat. She's quivering, trying to cut my arms and even using her wings to move back however she can't.

She's like an eagle endeavoring to free. Swiftly she stab me on my wound. With severe pain, I finally got a control of myself. I let her go, wear my mask and she's coughing roughly. Almost the same with me, I'm panting.

I hold my wound. Her look is still the same while she's standing.

"Mistella, give him a cookie," I scowl. That's the little girl from before, the wolf carries the basket with white cookies on its fangs. Mistella lend me one.

"That is a healing cookie made by Queen Maber. Eat it unless you die," the Queen said.

I took and eat it. This could be the first time I fed myself today since morning. Now I'm hungry.

"You can't die for now, I still have business with you."

The ceiling fell. The dust covered her. And she wipe those away once easily. I found King Russell behind her.

"Found yah!"

"How dare you!!"

"Hey Haris, you okay there?"

"Yah. Don't worry," I said in my mouth full. Mistella noticed me eating more cookies. She take the basket away and realized it's empty.

"What have you done with my family?" the mad Queen again.

"Same question for you."

The Queen plucked a feather and it turned to a sword. King Russell's sword is burning, same with his emotion. "Don't play with fire," he threatened.