Xiá

The shrill scream broke through the thick walls of the inn. It was a wail of sheer agony. There was a disturbing undertone that followed the noise. It sounded like an otherworldly creature.

Extremely high pitched and distorted, it was hard to tell if it belonged to a male or female.

The entire city was deathly quiet after it. The silence was so grave that it felt like the grievous screech had never even happened.

No one moved.

They could hear no voices coming from the city. No bird caws, no cricket songs. Just the snow. Only the wind.

Old Bao was the first to speak.

"Stone, Chen, Zhou. Follow me. We will go ahead. The rest of you will follow behind us after a minute. No sudden movements or sounds. Understood?"

The gathering gave their nods. All of them seemed so calm and composed. A far cry from how disoriented Zero was feeling.

Who were these people?

He wondered if he could stay put in the inn to continue his meal without bothering about the bizarre. However, the thought of remaining in the inn alone and uncertain was not exactly appealing either.

He sighed.

Old Bao took an extra outer garment and wore it over his robe. His face was stern and his body was as stiff as a rod. Stone and the other two men— one who was the portly fellow that was almost in a fight — followed behind him.

They left the inn and soon after, others began to follow. Zero rose slowly, knowing that the brief sense of normalcy he had just experienced was over.

He stepped out of the inn and into the relentless snow.

The first thing he noticed was the off-putting quietness. The winds that howled on before were gone. The world was still. He could not describe the feeling that came upon him as he looked about the city.

It was pure dread. Something only a prey would feel.

The men and women from the inn had spread out into the city. It was quite late so they saw no one on the streets. Not a single soul. Everyone had gone inside their homes. At least that was what they thought.

Old Bao appeared around the corner.

"The city is too quiet. There is an unseen presence here. Search the streets and make sure every single alley is looked through. Do not hesitate to call out for assistance. Go!"

Everyone scrambled except Zero who stood in the middle of the street, his breaths coming out as huffs.

He decided to get busy at least and turned down a secluded path. In this alley, there were oddly no critters moving about. It was unusual. The further he went, the darker it became. He did not stop, however, and he could not understand why.

He walked so far in that in a while, he could not hear any of the inn people's voices. Not even a slight whisper. Suddenly, he arrived at a dead end.

Well I've helped enough. That was his thought as he began to leave.

However, the young man perceived a horrific and deathly smell that made him pause in his tracks.

Drip. Splash.

In the sheer darkness of this alley, something emerged. A very familiar shadow. It towered ten meters above him, with a hanging oral organ that sniffed about. The dripping sounds came from the dark pool of liquid that came out of its mouth cavity.

Blast. It was the damned Soul Ceaser.

It let out low moans and moved forward, backing Zero into the corner. He should have stayed with the others. So much for helping. Why had he come here in the first place?!

And just when Zero thought it would shoot its disgusting mouth at him, an unexpected occurrence happened. The monstrous being opened its horrid mouth wider to speak. Its voice was like squeaking metal.

"Buried in the sea, tens of thousands of feet underneath the Naihe bridge, is our mother." The hell beast spoke in sharp S's and T's so it sounded like a snake. Its many eyes blinked slowly, dragging eye fluid over the eye surface like drool.

Zero stood, unmoving. Unsure.

"Her children are loyal to you. You may call us to your service in whatever situation you should require underworld help. But only once."

"In exchange, we ask that when the fates eventually lead you to hell..."

A pause. The Soul Ceaser's figure shuddered, its being slowly fading.

"...you shall free our mother and reward her kindness upon you. Remember, not more than once. We number in the millions, our legion."

"Mother watches."

With these curious words, the Soul Ceaser was gone. Strangely enough, life seemed to return to the city. Zero even noticed how the wind was back.

The eyeball inside him was reverberating strongly, telling Zero this was no ordinary incident.

So this was why the Soul Ceaser had given up on eating him. It was bound to its Mother's wishes, whoever she was. He found it absurd and unsettling. This was proof that he was being watched on all sides. What had he gotten himself into?

He could hear the voices of the inn people now. They sounded like they were not too far away. The boy walked out the alley, a hand unknowingly over his chest, just right over where the eye laid.

The snow crunched under his boots and the wind tickled at his ears. He found where the other people were, close to the city center, right where he had seen the beautiful child.

What he saw now was a monument. A work of art left by a mad being.

A monk was mounted in place of a certain Buddha statue in the middle of the street. The statue however, was in pieces beneath the platform. He seemed to be in utter peace, if one ignored the emptiness in his eyes, the hole in his chest and the blood that drenched his clothes and pooled on the earth beneath.

On the blood gathering around the monument, was an inscription written with white chalk powder. The ripples in the blood did not appear to disturb it.

"Xiá."

The red sky of the setting sun. A beautiful image. A sky of red blood, a not so pretty one.

The monk who was mounted on the pedastle, was sat in a lotus position and his palms were clasped together in prayerful meditation. There was even a happy smile on his shaven face.

A dreadful sight. Zero's jaw clenched and his fingers twitched. His world was becoming extremely unreal.

The gathering was quiet until Stone spoke up. His tone was its usual grouchy self, like he could not see this occurrence as a strange one.

"Go. Check through the city for any suspicious people. Be quiet and try not to alarm anyone. We shall speak with the city Lord at dawn. "

To Zhou, the portly man, he said, "help me with the body."

While everyone else went to do the things that were asked of them, Old Bao and Zero stood alone in the city square.

Zero's hand was over his chest, his jaw was clenched and his mind was racing. He kept staring at the blood pool under the platform. His eyes fixed to the inscription.

The single character appeared to move in his eyes, calling his name, speaking to the eye. Was this his fault? Because he had not stayed dead?

While he examined the blood, Bao examined him. Something was wrong with this young man. His intuition had never wavered.

"Zero, boy. You should not wander about by yourself in these times. As you can see," he gestured to the scene. "It is nowhere near safe to travel alone."

Zero did not look up, nodding instead.

"You may travel with our party instead. We're heading east, but you can make your way to your destination from parts where its safe."

Again, the boy said nothing, choosing to nod once more.

Old Bao kept silent then. He would keep an eye on this strange fellow. He had to find a way to decipher who he was and where he came from.

Zero, however, stared at the ground for a long time and did not notice the old man's peering gaze.

' Is this my fault?' he asked his conscience.

Something sinister answered.

'A blood red sky is nothing to weep over, child.' said The Voice to him. It was like his consciousness had been replaced.

'A sky full of blood is nothing to fear.'