The Ancient Spirit
The Twelfth was surprised that the young man was already speaking and answered him that a long time ago one of the creators had gone on a mission without a protector. While creating a beautiful new world, he encountered a creature that looked weak and wounded.
Showing compassion for it, this elder could be said to have let the snake in. He cared for it, and the creature, through pretense and deceit, attached itself to the creator's heart, becoming his closest friend.
By flattery and deceit, he persuaded the elder to finish his business and return to Aether, which he did, but he could not enter. Figuring out the reason, the elder went to the borderlands to his mentor for clarification. But as soon as he touched the ground, he was killed and his energy was absorbed by the monster that pretended to be his pet.
The third clicked its tongue and immediately froze in embarrassment.
«Having absorbed the creator's powerful energy, the creature was able to grow to the size of a large dragon and began to terrorize the villagers. However, it turned out that people cannot give the necessary energy, in addition to the fight against the monster put forward hundreds of first-class defenders. The dragon took on the guise of a man and hid in the crowd. Since then it has always acted secretly, stalking people with great spiritual power and dreaming of devouring the Elder again. It is in every sense a tragedy for our species. Consumed by the ancient spirit, the Elder would perish forever, with no possibility of rebirth or hiding in the Aether...»
Suddenly a flash of light illuminated Ling's consciousness and he no longer needed Twelfth's story because he already knew everything himself. Instantly all the information about the Universe, the Aether, and the Elders were in Ling's head.
«Done,» he said, «I know everything now.»
«Well, in that case, hurry back. The Fourth will be waiting for you and will give further instructions.»
Ling stepped out of the cave and stopped. The twelfth man raised his hand and with a powerful blow struck the young man in the chest. He staggered and suddenly vanished into thin air. From a distance, he heard scraps of phrases like «See you later, Ninth,» «child, take care,» and «Remember everything soon!»
The last words belonged to the Third, Ling thought, and he fell into darkness. Everything seemed like a ghostly dream. Now he would wake up to the smell of the pancakes his mother made in the morning. Or maybe he would be awakened by the sound of the street...
The first thing Ling felt was that he was getting carsick. His body dangled and bumped against various uncomfortable things. Once again, his head unexpectedly cracked, and he groaned. He put his hand to the bruise, rubbed the bump, and tried to peel his sleepy eyelids apart. Through narrow slits, he could hardly see the ceiling of the car.
The thought that he might be lying in the back seat of the car slowly reached his hazy consciousness. Immediately a second thought came in the form of a question: «Have I been kidnapped? Then a third thought, «But shouldn't I be tied up?»
Ling grasped the top of the seat with one hand while the other rested on the couch beneath him, barely able to assume an upright position. A flicker of white mane almost covered his mouth and eyes. It was Cal who turned sharply, spotting Ling in the rearview mirror.
«Ling!» He shouted, glaring at him briefly a few more times, «You've finally come to your senses.» There was relief and fear in his eyes and voice.
«What happened, tell me in order,» Ling's thoughts were still jumbled in his head.
«A man broke into our house today,» said Cal, and Ling immediately realized who he was talking about. Was it Lu Fei? «He was threatening and demanding to turn you in.»
«The bastard!» Ling thought.
«We were unarmed, but suddenly another man appeared on the doorstep and knocked out the first man. You were still unconscious and I loaded you into the car and drove off.
«And the others?» Ling flustered.
«The teacher stayed with that man. Hold on!» Cal shouted out.
Cal turned the car sharply, and if not for the warning to hold on Ling would have smashed his head or his nose again.
«Are you all right?»
«Yeah, but I'd better buckle my seat belt...»
While Ling fumbled and belted him, Cal continued to drive the car.
Suddenly Ling went pale as a dead man and asked the car to stop.
Once outside, Ling vomited profusely. Everything had gone wrong, he thought, wiping his lips with a trembling hand. A worried Cal stomped along beside him, and his silent concern warmed Ling's chilled heart decently. He leaned on Cal and got back in the car, now in front.
«How far did we get from the academy?» Ling asked a strange question.
«About thirty miles...»
«Let's go back. We need to find the principal,» Ling commanded.
Cal reluctantly obeyed and turned the car around. Ling was slowly recovering, the cool air from the open window refreshing and helping him think soberly.
Only the Fourth could help him... Ling closed his eyes and tried to realize his new reality. He reminded himself that he was on earth, no, in the frontier, and somewhere out there some ancient evil spirit was looking for him to kill.
And somewhere in the Aether, there are three new friends left and the Teacher has been kidnapped. Now Ling knew about Lu Fei's power and appetite, he feared the worst but persistently chased away the bad thoughts.
The car stopped abruptly outside the art academy. The building was plunged into darkness. Ling and Cal walked around it and didn't find a single living soul. After standing around some more, they had to leave. Just as Ling felt his stomach cramp up. He hadn't eaten in almost three days!
Still fearing pursuit, the men stopped at a crowded place to get something to eat. Cal never left the young man's side for a second, and this overprotective concern weighed on Ling. He mentally turned to Cal:
«Stop acting like that! When you're cold and detached I'm much more relaxed, and now I'm terribly worried!»
But Cal kept fidgeting and annoying him. If the waitress hadn't finally brought the food, he probably would have cussed Cal out.
The fried wings and salad completely captivated Ling for a while. He chewed each bite carefully, which made Cal nervous. He wanted to get out of the café as quickly as possible and kept looking around.
Ling called him again and tried to reassure him. Again Cal gave him an impatient look. The more he came to his senses, the stranger he began to feel. Looking at Cal as he crumpled the napkin in his hands, he distinctly heard his voice in his head.
«It's me, act natural. Before you is someone you know as Lu Fei, and it is also an ancient spirit. It's hard to believe, but he knows how to change his appearance.»
«Ahem,» Ling hissed in a fit of coughing and asked for a soda. He choked with surprise.
«Cal?! Where are you?» He looked around cautiously.
«Go to the bathroom, there's a window in the last stall, we'll get you out. Be careful...!»
The other Cal hurried back to the table and held out a bottle of water. Ling opened the bottle and realized that the cork was off and immediately guessed that the bottle probably contained sleeping pills. He twirled the water bottle and suddenly bent it in half.
«Damn!» he squeezed out, «I shouldn't have eaten so much, my stomach cramped!
«Cal's» eyes darted open and he didn't know what to do.
«I'm going to the bathroom,» Ling told him sweating.
«I'll come with you!» The man jumped up immediately.
«Do you want to be found?! Stay by the entrance, if you give me a signal, I can only count on your help,» Ling squeezed the pseudo-Cal's shoulder and he nodded back.
Ling stepped into the stall and was relieved to see a small window. He pulled himself up and was able to squeeze inside. On the other side, the Teacher and his Cal were waiting for him. Picking him up, they quickly disappeared into the night before their plan was revealed.
«Cal, is it really you?» Ling mentally called out. The man stopped, intercepted Ling, and kissed him passionately and deeply against common sense so that even Teacher was taken aback.
«Don't you dare confuse me with anyone else again!» Cal replied, and pulled him by the arm.
The three of them jumped into the car and continued on their way. The Teacher was the first one behind the wheel. This gave the other two a chance to talk.
Ling found out that Lu Fei had shown up that evening and tied up Cal and Teacher with a gun in his hand, then took him himself and drove off pretending to be Cal.
Immediately afterward, the Academy director came in, freed the men, and helped them find Ling, but he had to watch from afar.
Ling realized that the Fourth was hiding his trail. It turned out that the director would be waiting for them at the station at dawn.
Fatigue and excess of emotion took over and the young man fell asleep. Cal gently rested Ling's head on his shoulder and struggled to contain his emotions. He was worried out of his mind.
All these days, from the moment he had gusted to keep Ling out of the water to this second, he had been worried all the time.
The Teacher was much calmer, and he... he... couldn't bear it without Ling, and it was strange.
After knowing each other for a few days, how can you get attached to someone?
Especially him, Cal, a cold snow demon, is he capable of tender feelings?
Some time ago, when he had accompanied the Teacher to the Academy, he would have laughed in the face of anyone who would have thought that Cal would find love here.
But everything has a reason, Cal thought. One day he would understand the nature of his feelings, but for now, he would guard this fragile man as long as he could.
He pulled Ling against him and buried his face in his hair. His long hair was a little disheveled and tangled. He would be sure to brush it out once it was safe.
Dragged forward by the winding road, they thought about their thoughts while Ling dozed on Cal's shoulder. The weight of the knowledge he'd gained hadn't gone unnoticed and it took him a long time to realize it all.