Hunting Ground

Ropes, nets, flares, lighters, flashlight, firecrackers and thick clothes; these are the things that I bought in the supermarket last night just after the dinner on Twizon's residence. The best weapon that I would never forget is Fried Chicken; well that's in case I feel hungry. Haha. I have decided to enter the mountain alone. I have to do it without any help. I will try to find the answers and uncover the mysteries myself.

At seven in the morning, I arrived at the base of the Sphyral Mountain after an hour and a half travel time from Macsprine town. Lots of people were gathered there. There were tourists, police force who guard the area, and families of those who entered but failed to come out alive. 

A year ago, they built a high wall to protect the mountain, the only gate is guarded by two Cebrean armies. The area outside the gate is a wide and grassy plain where most people go to have a picnic and do picture taking.

There are many rules to be followed when entering the gate. One of which is to states that to enter the mountain, the group must be of three's or more. Now, I have to break this rule. I plan to enter unnoticed.

Today is the candle lighting event for the people who lost their lives inside the mountain. I disguise myself as a candle seller. Inside a candle, I implanted a firecracker pops minimally but creates a loud noise which would last up to 15 seconds. This will distract the guards as I make my way through the gate.

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The candle lightning started around eight in the morning. I buckled my locked and loaded backpack up. "Takatakatak!! Tak!! Takk!!" A loud noise is heard everywhere. The two guards felled for it. I started running as soon as I see the guards panic and leave their post.

"I'm almost there.", I said to myself. There is no turning back. I have to get there. I have to give justice to those who died inside the mountain. Most of the people gathered to light their candles are still expecting for their soldiers to come back while some are praying for their souls instead. They all came here without any idea of what happened to their loved ones. They deserved the truth and justice.

*boooooooooom!**

A Sphynx dives into the ground near the gate. The Sphynx is blocking my way. It is a hound type Sphynx with a Black fur and gray spots on his body. Everyone turned their heads to the soldier riding his Hound type Sphynx in front of me. Our eyes met and he said, "You know already that it's too risky to enter the gate without a company kid." He grinned.

It would be easy for me to outsmart the guards but to outrun a Sphynx would be impossible. "The guards and the police capture me in no time. I have to do something." I said as I think of a plan to escape.

Suddenly, a gust of wind burst forth and encircled the whole area around the mountain and the grassy plain where the people are gathered. Everyone panicked. People ran everywhere. The soldier's Sphynx took a step backward manifesting his fear. I notice something moving inside my pocket. I immediately remembered that I brought the thing with me. The one that looks like an insignia and which I found on my birthday inside my drawer.  It shone brightly that everyone saw it. The gale of wind stopped and the clouds brew into the darkness of the sky.

*booooooooooooooooooooom!!!**

There was an explosion. A lightning surged into the ground between me, the Sphynx and his owner. Everybody trembled in fear as they witnessed the grand display. They all looked at me holding the shining insignia. The sphynx nervously stepped back once more and ran in fear.

"Hey! What happened to you? I order you to capture that boy!", the soldier shouted at his Sphynx fearlessly.

"We should let him enter the gate and get to the dimension. What we saw was just a warning." The Sphynx replied nervously to his owner using telepathy.

The gate was then widely open for me to get through it. I thought to myself, "It's not the time to question what has happened." I ran quickly to enter the gate before the guards and the police could capture me. In my hands, I am still holding the insignia tightly.

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I sighed out of relief as I finally entered the gate. As soon I started climbing, I get to appreciate the beauty of the Sphyral Mountain. It has unique features, though. The mountain's base is just like a common eastern mountain, one covered by trees, but the mid part is a bit foggy yet somehow sparkling like it has been sprinkled with powdered crystals. The strangest part of it is the frozen peak, it has a hole that releases water and magma at the same time.  But the flowing water and magma disappear once it reaches the mid part of the mountain causing the people inscrutable beliefs about the mountain.

After two hours of climbing, I almost reached the middle part. I decided to look back to see how far I climbed. When turned my head, everything was dark. I can see nothing, not even trees. It gave me goosebumps so I continued moving forward and never looked back.

In just a few minutes, there was a strange force from my back that's slowly pushing me. At the same time, a similar force from the front is pulling me towards itself. It's getting stronger and I was drawn faster. The ground disappeared right into my eyes and darkness completely surrounds me. The darkness accumulated strength and charged through the sun as its light turns to red.

"So this is the other dimension that they are talking about," I said to myself nervously as I reached the enigmatical surface. An eternal darkness surrounds me; foggy and hazy. I turned on my flashlight and started walking. The surface has black and purple sand that moved slowly as if it was alive. As I walked farther in this dimension, I gradually smelled a something in the air that made me pressed my hands against my nose.

*CcraaaAAaCk!**

I stepped on something. My eyes are widened as I saw the unpleasant sight. I would not want to believe what I am seeing at the moment. On the ground were human corpses, shattered human bones, and blood which flooded the surface of the dimension.

I suddenly felt weak and fell to the ground on my knees. I was momentarily scared that I could end up like them. Things keep coming to my head; the family that waits for them outside, and they can't even have a proper burial. I was so scared that I forgot why I came here. I was shaking in fear as I clenched my fist. 

"IF YOU WANT TO FIND THE ANSWER, THE BEST PLACE WILL BE... THE HUNTING GROUND."

The voice echoed in my mind. I shook my head. The flashlight I am holding exploded and broke. I quickly opened my backpack to get flares to lighten up my way farther in this hunting ground.

There was a sudden change of in the direction of the wind. Something is approaching.

*Tep.. tep..tep..**

A beast came out from the dark. An orange furred Hound type Sphynx appeared and glare at me. With the fierce look on his face, I can tell that this one is ready to kill. According to the information that I gathered from Uncle Fred long ago, the only way out from this hell-like place is to get a Sphynx.

The palm is the only part of the human body that can extract the Sphynx' L.E. Life Energy is not only a source from which the Sphynx' obtains power. Once one gets them, the Sphynx' memories are transferred to human's body and become the human's own L.E. Thus, touching a Sphynx with bare hands can get one out from the hunting ground alive. If a person finally touches a Sphynx, an unidentified force will pull him out from this dimension and throw him back to the base of the mountain near the gate. Together with the person is a Sphynx. He will have a mind of a new born baby. He gives his loyalty to the one whom he shares his L.E. with forever.

"Would you like to be mine?" I shouted to the Sphynx in front. I was fearless when I saw the two-meter Sphynx. It will be just like how Heat and I used to play. The Sphynx infused an L.E. in his body and creates fire. His whole body now is covered with fire. I guess that's his way of protecting himself from being touched by a human. It is hard for me to get near him because he will surely burn me up. He opened his mouth, created a fireball and threw it at me. I immediately dodge it and ran to his side holding the rope I prepared. As soon as I get near him he managed to do the same attack, just that this time, he threw three fireballs at once.

*Booommmmm!!**

The fireball exploded on the ground after I quickly dodge it, He almost got me. All I can do now is to run and dodge to every attack that he makes and wait for him drain his own L.E.

After those simultaneous attack, the surface has fired up. I saw the corpses with the dark red military uniform. I stopped to take a closer look. They were the dead Fildrenians army. Once again, I remembered how the people waited for their loved ones to return, especially Ms. Twizon who cried wondering if his boyfriend is still alive.

"There were 74 soldiers who died inside the mountain.", I muttered and scanned to the corpses with my eyes. I went to each of the dead body to get their dog tags. Now my priorities are altered, I have to get the 74 dog tags before getting a Sphynx. Every time I picked up a dog tag, a fireball is always thrown at me and I have no choice but to run and dodge it. I put each dog tag in the shackle of my belt to secure it properly.

After 45 minutes of running, dodging and picking dog tags, I was all exhausted. I was catching my breath and I stopped for a moment. I only got 60 dog tags and I have to get 14 more. The Fire was everywhere. The corpses are burnt making it harder for me to find those with dog tags. Luckily, the Sphynx ceased from throwing fireballs as well. He is also exhausted. The fire infused in his body is gone. It is sure that his Life Energy was drained. This is the best time to get the remaining 14 dog tags and capture the Sphynx.

But suddenly, a strong force of the water was splashed onto me. My body was pressed against the ground. Another Sphynx appeared. A Lynx Type Sphynx with a thin build. It was around 1.5 meters tall. It was blue with black stripes all over its body. Now the Water Sphynx splashed water all over the ground to cease the fire. Darkness covered the surface again. I can't see a single corpse so I got a flare and lighted it. I immediately ran before they could do something. I know that neither of them will try to get near as the Fire Sphynx iss exhausted and the Water Sphynx has yet no shield to protect himself from a human's touch. 

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After finally meeting my first objective, I mumbled "I got 74 dog tags. Now It's my turn." I grinned.

I have attached hooks and nets at the end of my ropes. I dashed towards them fearlessly. The water Sphynx opened its mouth and splashed a strong force of water. The fire Sphynx stepped back trying to regain his L.E. I ran straight towards the Fire Sphynx and threw the rope at him. The Sphynx tried to escape but the hook caught his foot cause him to lose balance and stumble down. Holding the ropes with two hands, I slid towards the Water Sphynx. I released my hands from the rope and threw the net at him. The Sphynx was trapped inside the net, "Yes! I got the both of you. But I have to choose only one." I grinned and walked to the two captured sphynx. I decided to choose the water sphynx thinking it will not be a good idea to choose the other one. He may only end up burning the house considering we already have heat. A Sphynx is usually competitive when their owner is not around as it is when they don't have any order to follow from the latter.

I walked towards the water Sphynx. Now this is my best chance to touch it and to get out of here alive. The Sphynx looks scared. He closed his eyes as my hand approaches his body. As soon as my palm landed on its skin, I mumbled, "What? Nothing's happening!", I was shaking. I tried to touch it again with my left hand. This is impossible. We should have been sucked out by a force back into the real world. I turned my head to the fire Sphynx and ran towards him hoping that it would work with him. I touched the lying Fire Sphynx but still, nothing happened. I was hopeless and exhausted. I tried to think of another plan. My knees felt to the ground. I thought I won. I used the information I got from Uncle Fred long ago, but maybe some things have changed here.

*GGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR....**

 I heard a loud roaring sound everywhere. I stood up and looked around. The Fire Sphynx regained his L.E. and infuse a fire in his body to release himself from the rope. The fire is even brighter that it lighted up the whole hunting ground. I was flustered with what I saw. I am surrounded by a pack of Sphynxs. The Water Sphynx was released by the other Sphynx and soon joined the Lynx type Sphynx on my left. The Fire Sphynx joined the Hound type Sphynx on my right. They all glared at me as they encircle me. I'm in the middle. There is no way to escape. I closed my eyes as I try to accept my fate.

The other Sphynx gradually started to use their L.E. The ground shook and swallowed my feet. Vines crawled up to my body and held me in place. A Sphynx threw a Lightning Bolt directly at me. Another one jumped out and bit my left leg. My left leg froze and broke in an instant.

"ahhhhhhh!!!!", I screamed in pain. Another set of Sphynx jumped at me; one sank his teeth on my right shoulder, the second bit my waist and tore off my skin, and the last one scratched my back and threw me ten meters from where I was.

"I am sorry, father. I can't do what you said. I wanted to do something new. I want to be like you but I think my life will end up here. Now, at least, I can see you somewhere in heaven." I cried. My blood hit the ground. My bones were broken. My skin was lacerated. I can't open my mouth to express how I was pained at the moment.

"I knew this would happen to me. I know it's not any Sphynx' fault," I shouted with my last strength for them to hear.

All the Sphynx paused and yet looked at me without mercy. The leading Hound Type Sphynx gave a signal for them to charge the last blow. The ground where I played froze. Ice spikes surfaced and were stabbed all over my body. My blood flooded the ground. And for the final attack, every Fire Sphynx gathered, encircled around me, and blew fire at my entirety.

Trivia #4:

If a Sphynx die, an owner can live up to five days. Within those days, every part of their body will be in pain until they eventually die.