calm

The vehicle stopped in front a quaint little villa, the environment serene and peaceful, once Zahir got out of the vehicle the door of the villa opened to reveal an old woman with grey hair stepping out to receive him with a hug.

"You look so thin, my poor boy, you must have been overworked" the old woman commented with genuine worry and affection in her tone as she touched his face and limbs as if to measure their weight.

"good evening Mrs May" Tiv quipped in an attempt to save her boss who she had noticed was a little embarrassed at the public display of affection.

"Tiv my dear, how have you been will you be joining us for dinner"

"Sorry I can't I still have reports to finish at the institute, in fact, I should be on my way, good night." Tiv smiled apologetically as she drove off.

May turned her attention back to her nephew and she dragged him inside for dinner "go freshen up Raiden will also be joining us" May stated while letting go of the Zahir's arm not before hugging him hard and whispering "welcome home" in his ear.

A warm flow of emotion emerged in Zahir's heart as she did so, he remembered the first time he came to settle in the republic after the tearing of the veil, it was the time when he and his uncle came to the new republic, they had first gone to see monk Giatsu, he was so excited to meet who had taught his master that he did not want to wait for anything else.

When they got to the temple he finally got to meet the famous monk.

Giatsu was a shell of man, his body was all bones and only a little bit of flesh draped over his bones, he was sitting cross-legged in the garden of the temple with his eyes closed, his body looked frail as if he would soon be blown by the wind and take his last breath but the feeling he gave off was totally different, just sitting there he gave the illusion of being stable as a world.

Zahir could still remember vividly when he set his eyes on Giatsu he was introduced into an illusion that showed him the last side of his master, his only relative, his adopted father.

Zahir could feel what his master felt in that battle, the deathly chill that seemed to freeze his soul, the awareness of his life force leaving him every moment as he was eroded by the cold, the determination and relief his master felt when he finally transformed the mountain to a volcano and destroyed the powerful spirit creature that had descended on the material plane.

He also felt the pain of his body being burnt to ashes cell by cell, it was this pain that knocked him out.

When he regained consciousness the first person he saw was May who was looking after him worriedly, his emotions were out of order and the kindness and concern he saw on May's face defeated his feeble walls and he broke down in tears.

b Zahir was devastated, his uncle was called back to fill in as the interim head, and he was still left to stay in the new republic with May, his only solace was May who was a close friend of his master and the inheritance his master had left for him through Giatsu before his death.

He tried to forget his feelings and emotions through hard training, he went back to the temple hoping he would be put through intense training by Giatsu but he was rejected apparently the approaching of the spirit world affected the monk and he was going through intense meditation to minimize the impact.

He was lost, he began wandering around the city looking for stray spirit creatures and rampant bloodsuckers that haunted the streets trying to vent his emotions which almost got him killed numerous times, it was may who helped him heal every time, even though she was obviously worried she still didn't persuade him to stop she just helped silently.

After a few times of being close to death and she rescuing him every time May finally found a solution and got him a place at the institute under her nephew Raiden, the idea of the institute a military organisation built to understand and defend and combat spirit creatures resonated with him and so he joined the cause always applying for dangerous combat missions, hardly speaking to anyone including may but still she always cared and soon enough she got him out of his shell, although he was still doing a lot of dangerous missions he was more careful and less suicidal.

In a clean simple temple in a corner of the city, a bloody shadow flickered and appeared in the serene garden at the back of the temple and settled in front of the thin motionless monk who was glowing an eerie serene blue light.

"Tell your master the time to counter-attack has come; in two days the connection will be complete, I have informed the others they will show up in the new republic to help when we begin." The monk still remained motionless and his mouth still tightly shut but the sound was penetrating and seemed to echo through the surroundings. The shadow hidden in the darkness kept quiet and with a flicker left the temple heading into the luxurious part of the city.

Damon who received the message of his blood clone was excited, 'finally, after being silent for almost a year the time has come' Damon thought with excitement and bloodthirst showing in his ruby red eyes as he looked through the window at the blank sky as if he could see the figure still seated on the simple chair close to the core of the plane.