Echoes Of Life

Life spins around like a carousel. It keeps rotating in different directions; when it stops, all it needs is a little push to start spinning again.

If it is broken, then that is the end of one's life.

Now a spinning carousel looked at the broken carousel that had its head cut in half. Encender saw it happen, but she still didn't believe it.

A minute ago, Meron was like a lively chicken running around the yard, but now she lay butchered on the ground, with no signs of waking up.

"What is the true meaning of life?" Encender thought to herself as she knelt on her knees in the blood that had stopped flowing from Meron's body.

She had asked herself the same question two or three weeks ago when she had just arrived at this cylindrical planet of Ablauf.

She had passed through the great waterfall in a balloon that was being propelled by her elder brother's ability to control fire from the things around him.

The two were amazed by the sight before them as they exchanged laughs and hugs. They were in a forest that stretched far and wide, covered by an evergreen canopy of towering trees.

In the distance, they could see a metropolitan city filled with people walking to and fro. The buildings stretched up into the sky, with mirrors as their walls. Different types of vehicles passed by at a regulated speed, making the whole scene look like a play.

Especially for country bumpkins from the planet Retro.

Nevertheless, the two didn't have much time to enjoy the spectacular view before them, as their air balloon started freezing at its basket.

Seeing how dangerous the situation was, the man with black and white hair wrapped his arm around his sister's waist and jumped to a tree branch.

Using his ability, he created a few stairways for himself to step on before reaching the branch. Unlike Tito, he didn't have super hearing, so he had no choice but to focus more on defense than attack.

The man with black and white hair attempted to create a cuboid of fire around himself as a means of protection against the unknown enemy, but his orange flames began to freeze.

Max's face remained indifferent despite the disadvantage. He wouldn't allow himself to fall in front of his baby sister, who was desperately trying to escape his grip to help out.

"Let me go! I can help too!" Encender cried out, but she failed to make her brother loosen his grip on her.

"Shut up." Max shrugged her off, unable to watch his sister in pain, even if she was being stubborn.

The golden-eyed man jumped to the ground with a thud and made flames roar around him, melting all the ice into fine particles of gas.

His eyes scanned the surroundings, and all he could see was a serene mountain filled with towering trees. Even the insects seemed to have deserted this place.

He threw his sister onto the wet grass, immediately weaving his hands in opposite directions with a whoosh and doing something that would land him in prison by the World Forestry Commission if it were Earth.

Orange flames erupted around him, charging to burn the green life nearby, leaving nothing behind.

If you want to kill a mouse, it is better to burn the whole forest, ensuring other mice won't come back for revenge.

Genocide...

Nevertheless, Max failed to kill the mouse, as it formed an ice pillar that seemed to reach the heavens to shield itself. On the brighter side, Max was able to spot the direction of his adversary.

Crack–!

The crystal ice pillar fell to the ground, making a small rumbling sound. Both siblings glared at the silhouette behind the broken ice particles.

A black cap with the words "Defense Forces" was the first thing to catch the siblings' golden eyes. It floated in the air toward them, but before it could reach them, hands made of ice formed on the ground like flower petals, taking the cap and passing it back to its owner.

Max was stunned by this act, as he could have never thought of using his ability in that way, perhaps because he was someone who could control fire.

On the other hand, his little sister was bewildered by the whole situation. She felt her bones aching to fight the man in the black uniform, who was slowly walking toward them like a drifting leaf.

She cracked her knuckles before drawing her katana from her waist, slicing the air with confidence. She looked like an ancient samurai ready for war, only lacking body armor.

"Hmph, it will only take a few seconds to chop him in half," Encender smirked, her eyes shining with bright confidence.

She was both a sword prodigy and a genius at birth, just like her oldest siblings, who were said to have broken the records their father set in his younger days.

Realizing the golden stripes on their enemy's clothes, Max tried to talk his way out of the situation. "Sorry to offend you, Mister. We are from planet Retro. We heard that the Ablauf military is enlisting new recruits this year, and we were wondering if we could join."

Russ' sensory opia could read through lies, which is why he took Tito's word seriously. Through this, he realized that Max was trying to fool him, yet he didn't need to say a word, as Max's own sister sold him out.

She had a lioness look as she grabbed her brother's collar, shaking sense into him. "What the hell are you saying?! How many times do I have to repeat myself?! I want to be the queen of Ablauf! I don't want to be anything else!"

A few tears streamed down Max's face; he couldn't believe how foolish his baby sister was. She was failing to read the room. In the end, he could only blame himself and his elder siblings for pampering her too much.