06 Hayley's condition

"Ha-ha, I see that you're quite confused." The man said.

"You think I am dumb enough to let you free, so then you can attack me and I don't even know how you want control of my body, but no way, I have no reason to believe you." Liam said as he was preparing to leave, until he realized that he didn't know how. He had no clue how he got here and he didn't know how to leave.

"You don't know how to leave this place huh? And I am also guessing you are also unaware of where are you currently." The man probed Liam, as he saw the slight nervousness on Liam's face, he knew he was correct in his assumption. "Don't worry, I will tell you how you can leave and also come back to this place if you agree to my requests. I really am not asking for much."

Liam ignored the talk about how to leave this place, as he didn't want to give the man another bargaining chip to use against him. Little did he know, the man already knew that he accidentally got here and that he doesn't know how to leave.

"What do you mean you aren't asking for much. You want me to let you roam free here and I will not even discuss the taking control of my body. Grandfather can just heal her." Liam said back to the man.

"When will you stop being so naïve. I can't do anything to you, even if I was free. You saw those creatures and what they did to me right? They will just come back if I try to do anything to you. If you don't know, I am just a soul. I have no body. Even if you let me go from this cage. I won't be able to leave this place." The man tried to explain a bit more to Liam, in hopes of convincing him.

"You are just wasting your breath. I have no reason to believe you." Liam was staying firm with his stance, not budging. Forcing the man to tell him more.

"Well, I guess that is to be expected. If I want you to believe me…" The man started to ponder about how he should make the kid trust him.

"Yes, that will work!" The man said to himself, but he was loud enough that Liam managed to hear him clearly.

"This, this is your mind. We are currently inside your mind, or with other words, your sea of soul. Your body is still in the white hall, where you last remember it. This is just your soul. I am also a soul. But sadly, I don't have a body so I can't leave this place. Unlike you." The man started explaining to Liam. Liam didn't want to believe the nonsense the man was saying, but he was just to intrigued and curios.

"Now, I will tell you how you can leave this place and come back." The man said but Liam interrupted him.

"And why should I come back?"

"If you want to let your sister die, when you can save her. By all means, you don't have to return, I don't mind." The man said, not continuing his explanation.

"Fine, fine. Come on, just tell me." Liam was getting a bit inpatient, as he didn't know how long had passed since the last thing he could remember in the white hall. And he wanted to see if his sister was okay. There was no need to listed to this man, if his grandfather could heal her.

"This is a place in your mind. You need to meditate. Try to see your soul as a little flame inside your body. Do you see it?" The man coached Liam, as Liam got into a lotus position.

"Yea, I think I do. A blue flame, right?" Liam asked, just to check if he was doing it correctly.

"Hh-h, yes." The man said, taken aback." I though he had two elements, why is his soul only aligned with water. How does he have qi of the darkness element?" The man just couldn't understand.

"And where is the flame currently located." The man asked Liam. Guiding him through questions.

"It's inside my head." Liam answered diligently.

"You are already acting like my disciple, you sure you don't want me to be your master." The man joked.

"Just tell me what to do next." Liam said as his impatience with the man returned and he lost focus. Now he had to start from the beginning again.

"When you find your flame again, try moving it, towards your heart. When you want to come back here, just move it back to your head. Understood?" The man finished teaching Liam. Though Liam didn't answer the man, and just left his sea of soul.

Liam was back in the white hall again.

"You're awake!" Liam's father said to him. "Your grandfather said that he will be coming out in just a moment. I can't wait to see Hayley again, to know she's alright."

"I was asleep? Oh yea, sorry. I was just too tired from the expedition." Liam was a bit startled but he found his ground.

"Thank god you managed to bring her back and you even had the strength to come inform us. I am so proud of you. Now that I think about it, how were you faster than me and you grand-." Eric wanted to ask his son, but his speech was interrupted when the door behind them opened. Hayley was finally out.

But to Liam's and Eric's surprise, she was still on the bed, sleeping. Her skin, now showing a purplish hue.

"What happened? Is she alright?" Eric asked his father, but he received no vocal answer. He could only see his father's head, slightly bowing down. On his face, the look of disappointment and sadness could be seen.

"No, it can't be." Liam's eyes were tearing up so quickly, tears already began to fall onto the bed sheets, upon which Hayley was sleeping on. "NO! It can't end like this!" Liam screamed out. Falling to his knees. Now he was fully sobbing.

His father slightly hugged him, as he went on his knees as well. Two tears could be seen trickling from each of his eyes.

"I, I should announce it to the people. I can't leave them in the dark." Jack said. "We will bury her tomorrow when the first shimmer of light shines upon the grand coral." Then he left the two of them.

That night Jack was busy at work, he ordered the servants around preparing everything.

Still hours before the first beam of light came through. Jack gathered all the citizens and the members of the royal family.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today I have gathered you here. I have gathered you here to mourn, but also to advance. As many of you may know, my own granddaughter has suffered from the deep waters. We always tried to make it seem like it was a safe place, and that everything was in control, as we didn't want to worry you. This royal family has always been here to protect you. But it's evident that our power is not enough to compete with the things outside Coralopolis. Take a look at the leviathan, even the grand might and power of the grand coral cannot protect us from it. And every time it returns, it's hunger grows." Jack started of his grand speech, to the whole of Coralopolis.

"What is he trying to do?" Liam asked himself, but he just couldn't understand his grandfather's thoughts. "This is a time to mourn about the princess, about Hayley. What the hell is he doing." Liam was quite angered, but the sadness from losing Hayley was still here.

"What I am trying to say is. The royal family needs more people if we want to continue surviving." Jack said, before he gave a moment for the public to process what he said.

"I know what many of you are thinking currently. There aren't any more recourses or space for more people to live here. That's why I need brave men, men who are at the end of their life and will bravely sacrifice themselves, so their kids and most importantly, grandkids can live on. Before you say anything, I want to tell all of you something. The pain, of losing my granddaughter, is unlike anything I have experienced before. I would rather get stabbed 100 times than to go through that pain again. I would die right now, if I could. Just to bring her back. And I don't want any of you to have to go through the pain that I have gone through. This is the only way for the younger generations of Coralopolis to live on!" Jack said, and to finish his speech, he added. "Is anyone brave enough to be the first sacrifice.

Surprisingly, a lot of the older citizens raised their hands. They agreed with what Jack said. And if that was the only way for their grandchildren to live on, then they could bear with it.

"Wonderful, I see a very bright future for our Coralopolis. With your help, Coralopolis will reach lengths, never even thought possible before." Jack continued hyping up the citizens in front of him, as an evil smirk that wasn't easily noticed, appeared on his lips. "And don't you worry, you'll be injected with a sleeping medication, so you won't feel any pain. I don't want to cause you a painful death." Jack said smiling.

The people that had had their hands raised up, lined up and they were injected with the medicine one by one.

"Put them in the gates" Jack ordered. "When the first beam of light shines upon the grand coral, we shall open them and release their souls, so they can go into the afterworld.

"You know she isn't dead yet, you can still save her. But when that gate opens, it's over." The same menacing voice was heard inside Liam's head. Liam turned around but he didn't see the man and it dind't look like anyone else had heard what he heard.

"Right, that's my only hope now. Nothing else will matter if she's dead. I don't care if he's lying, I have to try." Liam said to himself, as he got into the lotus position again and he began recalling what the hooded man had taught him.

"The blue flame, in my head. Did I make it?" Liam was unsure, but as he opened his eyes and saw the little island, he only had one thing in mind. He turned towards the hooded man and said.

"Tell me how I can save my sister."