ã€ŠLegend of the immortal robotã€‹


 Chapter 0 - The earth-shattering prologue

    Birds were singing happily, the wind howling in unison, while bright clouds covered the sky. It was a beautiful day, which made every person want to go out and just enjoy the scene. Most people were out doing normal everyday things. Of course, the definition of normal varied from person to person, but most people would agree that it was a beautiful day. There were fishermen out in the sea, thieves conducting their daily trade on the streets, assassins carrying out orders and so on.

    Suddenly, the beautiful cloud-covered kinda blue sky turned crimson, as giant flaming meteors started falling from nowhere (actually, from somewhere but no-one on earth knew where). A large rock fell near a small village, and the result was a large crater that spanned miles and thousands of miles. The village was caught in the impact and flattened, quite a sorry site that was.

    Well, before the meteor shower flattened settlements and landmarks on earth, something happened, away from the blue planet (that is what everyone in galaxy seventeen called it actually). An earth-shattering battle was taking place, (it was not taking place on earth mind you) a robot was fighting against a thousand celestial gods. What had happened for such a battle to take place? Quite a lot of things actually, but now the important reason was what the robot was carrying.

    The robot concentrated its circuits, and stretched out its hands, causing a purple beam to shoot towards the approaching celestial gods.

    KABOOOMMMM!!!

    An deafening sound emerged as an explosion lit up the sky of planet Khami. At least a hundred celestial gods that were caught up in the explosion were incinerated instantly.

    ¡°Damnn this robot! Those crazy Farrons! I can¡¯t believe they would go to such extremes!¡± shouted one celestial god, who had survived the blast.

    A celestial general who was commanding this troop of now less than five hundred soldiers started sweating profusely; this was not going according to plan.

    The robot hovered in the sky, looking at more approaching celestial gods. A video clip started playing in its head, reminding it of the importance of its mission. It looked at the matrix in its hands, one of the reasons of this onslaught. Just a simple device, yet so powerful enough that celestial gods would fear its wielder and covet it. It sighed, well more like it tried to. A series of very complex calculations passed through its brain, among which were probabilities of survival, winning, as well as liberating the matrix with minimal damage. The result of the calculations was a decision to flee to the one of the seven moons orbiting planet Khami.

    ¡°I think this has gone long enough¡±, said the general, as he floated towards the robot. The robot channeled more energy to the thrusters and flew towards the atmosphere. ¡°You think we will let you leave?¡± sneered the general as he launched an attack that consisted of a concentric circle of runes. Lightning bolts emerged from the runes, and they encircled the robot, assaulting it from all ends.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    SIZZLEEE!!SIZZLEE!!SIZZLEE!!

    As a final resolve, the robot switched to a movement technique that was augmented by rocket thrusters. It managed to dodge most of the lightning bolts, but was struck by one which damaged one of the thrusters, causing it to spiral out of balance. It fell down, and the general hovered just above it.

    ¡°Seems like I have to destroy you. You would have made an excellent fighting machine, what a pity! THUNDER DRAGON ANNIHILATOR!!!¡± yelled the general.

    Dark clouds formed in the sky and lightning bolts that formed an image of a great flood dragon.

    BEEP. BEEP. KILL MODE INITIATED!

    A voice sounded from the robot, as more purple energy formed a diagram of runes, while its eyes turned violet in color. The energy formed a purple spiral vortex just behind the robot.

    ¡®Space transmission?¡¯ thought the general, ¡®This robot has a ridiculous amount of ki!¡¯

    As the energy vortex reached its climax, the lightning flood dragon descended onto the robot. One of the celestial god soldiers cried out, ¡°General, be careful. You might destroy the matrix!¡±

    The robot shot one final blast towards the general, and the flood dragon exploded, while resulting shockwaves caused the general to be pushed backwards, vomiting blood. The robot didn¡¯t get off easy either. The shockwaves pushed it into the vortex behind it, causing it to be transmitted to the surface of one of the seven moons. When the robot struck the surface, more shockwaves followed, causing the moon to be split into multiple fragments.

    In the solar system, the orbit of the earth was before Khami¡¯s orbit. This late in the year meant that Khami was behind earth in terms of global positioning. So when the moon was blasted into fragments, they turned into meteorites that flew towards the earth. Most of them missed the planet but of the few that hit the mark, they made sure to do some considerable damage.

    Now that where the meteorites came from has been explained, back on earth, as mentioned earlier, people were busy carrying out their daily tasks. On this beautiful day, some assassins from the Sky Haven organization were carrying out a mission to assassinate a Megapolis business tycoon at his mansion. The orders were to make it look like a robbery gone wrong, whatever that meant. They swiftly carried out their objective and killed their target. They moved on to the wife and child. However, before they killed the child, the meteor shower started.

    Ryan was definitely having the worst day of his life. First, robbers had attacked his parents¡¯ house while he was playing video games online in his room. He saw two men wearing ski masks, holding bloody knives walking in the hallway of his parents¡¯ house. One of them attacked him and stabbed him on the shoulder. Well, he was prepared to go meet his maker when something hit the house, resulting in an explosion.

    It would have been wonderful if what he wanted actually happened. However, he woke up a few minutes later, and saw the horrific scene just before him. There was debris everywhere, his shoulder was badly hurt, but at least the bleeding had stopped. He looked around and to his surprise; he noticed something hidden in the debris sparking with electric sparks.

 Chapter 1 - The tyrannical robot and the peerless nerd

    Ryan Avariz, fifteen years of age, was an average rich young master. Spoiled didn¡¯t really fit his description because his father had restricted the materials he was supposed to own. Well, here¡¯s what happened: His father became a billionaire when he was twelve, told him if he wanted material things, he¡¯d have to get them by himself. Now dejected, he decided to make friends online using the handle Arthur Firn.

    He played online games most of his time when he came back from school. Why? Oh well, he simply decided that since his father wouldn¡¯t buy him a Ferrari or Lamborghini or anything for that matter, he would wait until he was dead so he could get the inheritance. Most rich kids were already driving such cars so they laughed at him, and discriminated against him. That was why he decided to make friends online.

    He actually made quite a few, playing games like Yesterday¡¯s Foe, Starcraft and Hall of extra-ordinary legends. Despite living in a large mansion in Megapolis, the capital of Zimikhstan, basically he was a nerd of the first order.

    One day, as usual, he got home from school and locked himself in his room, logged into Starcraft and started playing. Due to the loud noise in his room, he didn¡¯t hear the noise going on outside. He kept playing until he started feeling hungry.

    He left the room and walked down the gloomy hallway. As he neared the stairway, he ran into two men wearing ski masks, holding bloodied knives. He turned to run but was overpowered by one of them, who stabbed him in the shoulder. He screamed and shouted but no one came to his aid. Before he was sent to the underworld, a meteor crashed into the mansion, obliterating most of the house.

    Ryan woke up after a few minutes, only to see debris everywhere. The entire house had been demolished! His shoulder had somehow stopped bleeding but he was afraid the wound might have been infected. As he looked around, he saw a head, sparking with electricity¡­

    The weird thing was the head was made of some sort of metal. Ryan rubbed his eyes repeatedly, before approaching the figure buried in the debris. There was a metal hand sticking out near the figure, and it was holding a black cube with blue lines glowing brightly.

    He looked around to see if his assailants were anywhere but there was piles of burning debris everywhere he looked. He walked absent-mindedly towards the figure and took the black cube from the metal hand. The cube glowed even more brightly, followed by a blinding light, and Ryan saw himself in a weird space, with glowing lines all over. In this space, there was an old man with flowing white hair, wearing a distinct robe with a drawing at the front.

    The old man looked intently at Ryan and said, ¡°So destiny falls to you? I wish we would have met under better circumstances but wishes are not horses unfortunately. Seems like you are human, no wonder the matrix opened itself for you. I am Rogarth Secretwater, a scholar of the Dao. I will impart my knowledge unto you but beware; a lot of harm might come from you learning of the Great Dao.¡±

    Ryan looked sideways to see if there was anyone else, but the old man kept looking at him. He then pinched himself three times to see if he was not dreaming. It was confirmed, he was awake.

    ¡°If you do not want the power, I will not force the responsibility upon you. What do you say?¡± asked the old man.

    Ryan looked confused, appeared to be thinking then finally answered, ¡°Assume I was to agree, will I be powerful enough to rule over the entire human race?¡±

    ¡°That depends on how hard you work. But the possibility does exist¡±, answered Rogarth.

    ¡°Cool. What if I want to quit midway, would I be allowed?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Yes, you can. But unless you reach the immortal realm, all your accumulations will be lost in a matter of years, you¡¯d be normal again. If you want to continue, you would have to start all over again.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I agree. So what do I have to do in order to get started?¡±

    ¡°You need a very quiet place where you can absorb ki and I will impart my knowledge without disturbance. After that, you can begin your training.¡±

    Ryan was dazzled for a moment. ¡®Ki? What is that?¡¯ he thought to himself. Before he asked another question, he realized he was back in the real world. Well, as real as his perspective was. The cube was no longer in his palm; rather, it had been engraved on the back of his right hand, like a black tattoo.

    The eye sockets on the head of the metal figure started glowing with a purple color. Some strange lines appeared on the figure and they started glowing with a purple color. As he turned to flee, the figure glowed even more brightly, causing a purple light to blast off into the skies. The blast pushed Ryan so that he fell face first.

    ¡°BEEP. BEEP. Damage assessment: 30%, System repair in progress. ETA: 5 hours¡±, came a voice.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    Ryan looked back and saw a robot, with a damaged left hand. It was sparking with electricity for a few moments, and then the sparks dissipated.

    ¡®WHAAAATTT the hell? This is a freaking robot?? ¡¯, he thought, ¡®They shouldn¡¯t be this advanced! Wait a minute, PI Robotics made robots but they never made one that can repair itself like this! This is ridiculous!¡¯

    ¡°BEEP. BEEP. Identify yourself mortal, or face annihilation!¡± said the robot.

    ¡°My¡­ My¡­ name is ¡­ is¡­ Ryan¡­ Ryan Avariz¡±, stammered Ryan nervously. ¡®Wait, Mortal? Annihilation?¡¯ he thought. ¡°Who¡­ Who¡­ are you and ¡­ and¡­where did you come from?¡± he asked the robot.

    ¡°BEEP. BEEP. Ryan Avariz, identity stored. Reloading communications module in progress. ETA: 35 seconds. BEEP. BEEP¡±, replied the voice from the robot. It continued after a brief amount of time, ¡°BEEP. BEEP. Communications module restored. Analyzing language structure, analysis complete.¡±

    An awkwardly weird sound that would have qualified for a cough if it fell on deaf ears, followed from the robot. ¡°Nice to meet you, eh, Ryan Avariz. My name is Myra, immortal guardian of the matrix. I see it has chosen you as the successor. We must depart from this place. Danger lurks in this area¡±, said the robot as it turned around, scanning the area.

    ¡®EEHHHH! It even speaks in completely fluent English!! This is ridiculous!! Wait, did it just say immortal guardian?¡¯ he thought silently. ¡°Immortal guardian? Does that mean you cannot be killed?¡± asked Ryan, with great curiosity.

    Before the robot answered, a man wearing black clothes rose from the debris and dusted himself. He looked around and took off his ski mask. His face was wrinkled with a scar that stretched from his left eye across to his nose. He saw Ryan and drew a gun from a pouch strapped to his waist, then fired a few rounds towards Ryan.

    BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!

    Time seemed to freeze as the Myra dashed in front of Ryan and collected all the bullets before they reached him.

    CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

    Next, empty casings fell onto the debris, causing clanging sounds. The man in black was shocked as he saw a robot holding bullets and dropping them one by one on the floor, or rather, what was left of it.

    Ryan didn¡¯t even see what had happened. He heard some loud gunshots, followed by clanging sounds, then he saw a man wearing black pointing a smoking gun right at him. And then there was Myra. Standing right in front of him, dropping bullets on the floor, what was left of it anyways¡­

    ¡°Ryan, let us leave before your life really becomes in danger!¡± urged Myra.

    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Ryan.

    Myra didn¡¯t answer. He simply dashed and appeared behind the man wearing black. A human head flew up, followed by blood gushing out at unbelievable speed. The head fell and rolled down, before the body fell lifeless.

    He started running towards what was left of the staircase and then towards the door. Ryan followed swiftly, and they found themselves outside, well, in the open.

    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± asked Ryan.

    Before Myra answered, sirens started wailing in the distance.

    ¡°We need to get out of here! People should not see you! Run to the back of the forest!¡± instructed Ryan.

    The mansion Ryan¡¯s parents had built was at the edge of Megapolis. At the edge of Megapolis was a forest, and their house was at the edge of the forest. Myra did as instructed and dashed off to the edge of the mansion, towards the forest.

    The police arrived to see Ryan holding his injured shoulder, with debris everywhere. The commissioner in charge sighed at the site he saw.

    *****************

    Now on another planet, the celestial emperor was sitting in his palace, with advisors standing on his sides.

    ¡°Empyrean Thunder Fury, general of the Flood Thunder regiment, what news do you bring?¡± asked the celestial emperor, speaking to the celestial god general who was coming in.

    The general rushed in and knelt on the ground, before replying, ¡°Thunder Fury reporting to your Excellency. The invasion of planet Khami is almost complete. We have managed to surround most of the Farron race rebels, and the alchemists have surrendered. It¡¯s only a matter of time before we have the planet under our control.¡±

    ¡°I see. And what of the blue planet?¡± asked the emperor.

    ¡°The transmission array we set up some months ago has been functional. However, after months of surveying the planet, we have concluded that it¡¯s not suitable for cultivators. It is much closer to the sun so the ki is too thin. Cultivators cannot survive in that environment. In addition, there are no rare herbs so making elixirs is impossible. The mortals who live on that planet are as weak as can be. They are of no threat to any of your plans, your Excellency.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is? I was told that the Farron made a machine for fighting against us as well as a device for storing all our stolen cultivation manuals. Did you retrieve the two?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, I destroyed them both your Excellency. The robot was escaping using spatial transmission, so I sent an attack that reduced both the robot and the device to ashes. My apologies your Excellency.¡±

    ¡°I see. Nevertheless, don¡¯t you find it a bit curious? You are a middle Earth ranked immortal, but you reduced an early earth ranked immortal robot to ashes. Does this make sense?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s impossible, your Excellency! How was that robot an Earth ranked immortal?¡± asked the very shocked Thunder Fury.

    ¡°What a pity! You did not unlock the heavenly gaze when you stepped into the immortal realm. Otherwise, you would be able to see cultivation levels of others. That was your weakness. Out of the goodness of my own heart, I am giving you six months to find the robot and the device, and bring them to me. If you are unable to do so, well, I don¡¯t need to tell you what will happen.¡±

    Empyrean Thunder Fury shuddered when he heard the threat. Then with great composure he replied, ¡°Thank you, your Excellency. I will not fail you this time.¡± He left the celestial emperor¡¯s palace and headed for a transmission array.

    ¡°Do you think he will be able to accomplish this mission your majesty?¡± asked an elderly advisor, wearing a white robe with golden stripes, standing at the emperor¡¯s left hand side.

    The emperor took a brush and began his calligraphy, ignoring the advisor. After a full five minutes, he spoke, ¡°Empyrean Flame Lily, I trust you know what to do?¡±

    A woman, who looked like she was in her early twenties appeared before the emperor, after kneeling then spoke, ¡°Yes your majesty, I will take care of it.¡±

    The emperor sighed and continued with his calligraphy.

 Chapter 2 - The nerd begins cultivating

    It was a real tragedy. After the police searched the debris, they found Ryan¡¯s father dead. He had been stabbed in the heart with a knife. His mother¡¯s body was missing, but there were charred remains, which the police assumed was hers. Well, there was a DNA test but the results were of no use, at least to Ryan.

    News soon spread far and wide, that the billionaire founder of AVA Technologies had been killed in a robbery gone wrong. His house had been destroyed when falling meteors hit. Along with most of his belongings, his car had been destroyed as well.

    Then there was his son. Unknown assailants had stabbed him on the shoulder, but at least he¡¯d been left alive. After searching the debris, the police found a head severed from its body. They failed to find the identity of the body.

    The funeral procession was held shortly after the police investigation. The family lawyer came and read the will left by Ryan¡¯s father, at their private property. The will stated that out of the fifteen billion dollar estate, Ryan would only get ten million dollars. His father¡¯s shares in AVA Technologies would be sold and the money donated to charity. His friend was selected on the board as the new company chairperson. Ryan would go and live with his grandparents at his father¡¯s private island. Now that was settled.

    Myra spent his time walking around in the woods. His damaged left hand had been repaired, well, partly. The damage was no longer visible. Whenever the sun was up, he¡¯d cultivate. He met some animals, but he couldn¡¯t understand them so he ignored them. He tried to open a spatial transmission vortex but due to the damage done to his circuits, he was unable to do so. Although he had managed to repair part of his circuits, some deeper damage couldn¡¯t be repaired without a technician. Therefore, he gave up on returning to Khami any time soon.

    When Ryan returned to the mansion, or rather what was left of it, he was dejected. He had cried himself to sleep many times, but he stopped. It was of no use. Of course, he had once wished his father would die sooner so he could inherit the billions. That wish had been fulfilled, but he didn¡¯t inherit billions, and he was now all alone. It didn¡¯t matter that he could now afford to buy a Ferrari, how was he going to live now? After all, he was fifteen years old. Still in high school.

    That was when he made the decision. He would carry out his own investigation. Why was their house robbed? What were the robbers after? His father was a billionaire but no billionaire kept a stash of money in his or her house. There was supposed to be nothing worth stealing there. So why was their house robbed?

    Maybe his father¡¯s car? But, it was just a normal Honda Accord, it wasn¡¯t worth much and it was parked in the garage.

    He suspected that it might have been a high-class assassination but who hated his father to the extent of sending high-class assassins after him? And then there was his mother. What had happened to her?

    Ryan met up with Myra at the mansion a week later. His arm was in an arm-sling, but he was feeling much better, in relative terms of course.

    ¡°I think I need some explanations¡±, he began, sitting down on the remaining step of a staircase. ¡°Which company made you and why?¡±

    Myra looked sideways before answering, ¡°Company?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I know PI Robotics is the company that makes advanced robots but none near as advanced as you.¡±

    ¡°I was made by Doctor John Kovakk.¡±

    A flash of surprise passed through Ryan¡¯s face. ¡°What!! Dr. Kovakk? As in the founder of PI Robotics who went missing thirty years ago?¡±

    ¡°He went missing? He lived there on Khami until five years ago when the settlement he lived in was attacked by the celestial gods.¡±

    ¡°Khami? Where¡¯s that?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Khami is a planet in galaxy 17. Its orbit is higher than that of this one¡±, replied Myra as he paced back and forth.

    ¡°So you¡¯re an alien? And, he was abducted by aliens? That explains a lot. Why are you on earth then?¡±

    ¡°An alien? What is that? An army of celestial gods ambushed me when I was transporting the matrix, and after fighting, I resolved to flee to one of the seven moons orbiting the planet. However, the army general sent an attack that destroyed the moon, sending the fragments along with me on a collision course with this planet.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what caused the meteor shower? What a pain. So now that I have the matrix, what am I supposed to do now?¡± asked Ryan.

    Myra stopped pacing and then looked at Ryan before replying, ¡°As the successor, you need to start cultivating. The celestial gods are invading planets. They began with planet Vars, and moved to Khami. As of this moment, once their invasion of Khami is complete, they should come to invade this planet too. They should be coming after the matrix very soon. We need to find somewhere where you can start cultivating. This planet is nearer to the sun, which means the ki in this planet is very thin. It is more suitable for me for cultivation. As for you, the constitution of almost all humans does not allow them to absorb ki. However, the matrix makes up for that weakness.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    He paused for a brief moment, before continuing, ¡°So we need to go to a secluded area. Since the ki is too thin, cultivating to the first level will take a longer time than if you cultivated on planet Khami. Is there somewhere secluded?¡±

    ¡°Yes of course. I¡¯m going to live with my grandparents on Aloha island. It passes as secluded, since it¡¯s a private island. It should be sufficient. I will be going there tomorrow; right now, I¡¯m staying with my aunt. The problem is how to transport you without people noticing.¡±

    ¡°Do not worry about me, I can fly. By locking my divine sense onto you, I can follow wherever you go, and by using the illusory dream technique, I can make myself invisible so that I cannot be detected.¡±

    ¡°So if I don¡¯t cultivate, the planet is doomed? Also, whether I cultivate or not, I will still be in danger because I have the matrix? What a pain!¡± sighed Ryan.

    Myra remained silent. He turned and headed for the forest, leaving Ryan sitting alone on the step.

    The next day Ryan went to the airport, where the private jet had been waiting for him. His aunt kissed him on the forehead as she bid him farewell. He got on the jet and they took off, while Myra flew behind the plane, invisible and undetectable.

    ********

    At the heart of Megapolis is a bar called ¡®The Pinktail¡¯. In this bar, the patrons were enjoying themselves like there was no tomorrow. There would be occasional brawls here and there but all was well. There was an office hidden in the bar, and in this office, a beautiful woman was sitting behind a desk. She appeared to be writing down something, with extreme focus.

    Two men wearing black, tight fitting clothes interrupted the woman, as one of them said, ¡°Evening boss. We have returned.¡±

    The woman took a glance at the two men before continuing what she was doing. After she finished writing, she closed the file she was writing in. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°The assassination was a success but there was a slight problem. A meteor crashed on the house, killing Ed and Kara. The odd thing is that Zira¡¯s head was found separated from his body. Even the police could not figure out who had killed him. But boss, pardon me asking, was killing that guy really necessary?¡± asked one man who was taller than the other.

    ¡°I see. That was unexpected. Of course, it was necessary. He had discovered my identity, and we all know the number one rule of the Sky Haven organization. I hope you let my son live¡±, she said looking a bit dejected.

    ¡°He lived, but most importantly, how are you going to explain this situation to the elders of the organization?¡± asked the taller man.

    ¡°That is my problem to worry about. Right now, make sure to monitor the police. Don¡¯t let them get anywhere with their investigation. I¡¯m supposed to be dead, let it remain like that. You may go¡±, she instructed.

    The men left as swiftly as they came, leaving the woman staring into space. One could only guess what she was thinking about.

    ***************

    Ryan arrived at Aloha airport, and his grandparents were waiting for him with their battered up pick-up truck. He was settled in quickly, and he refused to be enrolled in any of the local schools.  He used most of his time jogging around their farm. Myra of course, was the source that told him to run around, preparing his body for cultivation.

    One day, as he was sitting at a secluded area away from the farm, trying to meditate, the matrix opened again. Rogarth Secretwater appeared again, with his flowing white hair and his distinct robe.

    ¡°I am ready to start cultivating now¡±, started Ryan.

    ¡°That is great. Now, humans are not capable of cultivating on their own. Their bodies are not suitable for cultivation since their meridians are blocked. However, the matrix can help you by passing celestial ki through the blocked meridians. This helps in clearing them¡±, began Rogarth. He paused to make sure Ryan was paying attention, before continuing, ¡°There are three higher realms of cultivation. The first realm is called the Mortal realm and is divided into 7 stages. The second realm is called the Immortal realm and divided into 3 stages. The last stage is called the Ascended realm, for now we will not talk about it.¡±

    Ryan scratched his head for a moment, while his face looked puzzled.

    Rogarth sighed, before saying, ¡°For you to start cultivating, you need to start at the Mortal realm which is divided into Tempered Body, Dragon strength, Altering pulse, Tempered Marrow, Ki gathering, Core formation and finally Blue Soul formation. The first four levels, tempered body, dragon strength, altering pulse and tempered marrow focus on training the body. The next two focus on channeling and using ki. The last focuses on training the soul. Any questions before we begin?¡±

    ¡°What is the difference between each level?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Tempered body is a level where the body will be as tough as divine iron. Normal weapons will not be able to scratch that body unless they are strengthened by ki. Dragon strength is a level where the body can lift an object ten times its own weight. Altering pulse helps in blood circulation, such that the body will have an improved heartbeat. Tempered marrow help the body in recovering faster from injuries that are not fatal.

    Ki gathering, as the name suggests, is a level where the body will be gathering ki from the surrounding and storing it in the dantian. From this stage, the cultivator can use ki attacks. In core formation, the ki that is gathered is formed into a core in the dantian. After forming the blue soul, the cultivator can use illusion attacks and can also place soul seals that controls weaker people¡¯s minds.¡±

    Ryan was surprised by what he had heard. He could become invulnerable to bullets, he could control people¡¯s minds and he could get away with it. Was there anything more fantastic than this?

    Rogarth seemed to be reading what Ryan was thinking. He sighed before saying, ¡°Unfortunately, it is very difficult to cultivate to a level above altering pulse on this planet. You will have to relocate to another planet if you want to go above this level. The reason is because this planet is closer to the sun, so the ki is¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard. The ki is very thin so absorbing it; it will take more time to breakthrough. So which planet can I go to and how?¡± interrupted Ryan, with a question.

    ¡°Once Myra has recovered, he can take you to planet Khami. It will be better to cultivate from there. There are rare herbs for alchemy that will help in tempering your marrow. Now, I will be teaching various cultivation manuals to you. At the first level, tempered body, I will teach you a fist combat technique called the Dancing Dragon fist¡±, replied Rogarth.

    In order to train his body to the extreme, under Rogarth¡¯s instructions, he would rise up before the sun was up and run around the farm. After running, he would sit under a waterfall, while wearing nothing.

 Chapter 3 - The dancing dragon fist technique

    A soft wind blew across the chilly mountains. It was still quite dark, when Ryan woke up to start his cultivation routine. He had been instructed to wake up and run around his grandparents¡¯ farm, in order to temper his body. All that work wasn¡¯t even anywhere near enough to reach the first level of the mortal realm of cultivation.

    Finally, he had been instructed to sit under a waterfall while naked. The effect? He had almost been frozen to death. The cold water would splash around his body, while he was sitting trying to maintain a sort-of calm demeanor.

    As usual, he had been sitting under that ice-cold waterfall, when he realized something. His father had once told him that while studying, he had to learn to ignore all unnecessary distractions. He started to focus on a single point, his heartbeat. He stopped paying attention to everything else going around him, which mostly consisted of the sound of water splashing on his body. At first, it was easier said than done, but as time went on, he had become adept.

    He kept focusing on his heartbeat, until it was the only thing he could hear. For a while, it seemed as if he was no longer himself. His heartbeat slowed down, and his hearing improved. It was at this point that he started to see a vision. In this vision, there was a man wearing an ancient bronze armor. This armor had a drawing of a true dragon on one end, while having a drawing of a phoenix on the other.

    The man was middle aged, with white flowing hair. His arms were bare, and they looked rough. He turned to look at Ryan and then said slowly, ¡°I am going to demonstrate this martial technique once, so pay attention wisely. This is called the Dancing Dragon Fist. It was created when a great sage saw a dragon flying in the sky, avoiding falling rocks. From his perspective, it seemed that the dragon was dancing in a profound manner, and from that he was enlightened.¡±

    He paused for a moment, before he started demonstrating it. He started with a casual punch, which followed by another, then another. For normal people, it would seem like the middle-aged man was simply throwing around casual punches. However, Ryan noticed something different. It was the man¡¯s movements. There was something about them that he couldn¡¯t wrap his head around.

    The man went on, ¡°This fist technique is made up of three fists. The first is called the Dragon subduing fist, the second is the Divine blazing fist and the last is the Divine iron fist. All you need to do is gather momentum.¡± He demonstrated some more punches, and at the end, the vision vanished.

    When Ryan came to, he was still sitting under the waterfall, but the sun was up. It was now in the middle of the morning, and he was late for breakfast. He scrambled to get away from the waterfall, falling multiple times in the process.

    Before he left, he looked back towards the waterfall. It seemed like he was forgetting something. The feeling was the same as the feeling a person gets when they had a vivid dream early in the morning, but they don¡¯t remember what the dream was about.

    He got to the cliff where he had set his clothes and wore them, before running off towards the farm. When he arrived, he was sweating profusely, and his grandparents were about to leave the farm, with his grandmother standing by the old pick up truck.

    ¡°Morning grandma, grandpa. Sorry I¡¯m late, things got out of hand¡±, he tried to explain.

    ¡°Oh hello Ryan. Where have you been? We looked for you everywhere!¡± yelled Marjory, his grandmother.

    ¡°I was up by the waterfall, beneath Cloud¡¯s peak. Is breakfast ready?¡±

    ¡°Michael, Michael, Ryan is here! What is taking so long?¡± asked Marjory.

    Ryan¡¯s grandfather, who seemed to be tinkering with something in the garage, dropped a spanner, before heading out in a hurry.

    ¡°Oh kiddo, took you long enough. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been practicing your...  eh¡­ whatever it is that you said you¡¯re practicing¡­¡± said Michael.

    ¡°Cultivation. It¡¯s called cultivation, grandpa!¡±

    ¡°Oh dear, seems they grow up so fast. One day you¡¯re changing their diapers and the next they¡¯re coming up with weird names for drugs¡±, whispered Michael, to himself of course.

    ¡°What did you say grandpa?¡± asked Ryan, with a blank stare.

    ¡°Oh nothing, I was just saying kids nowadays grow up too fast. Anyway, we¡¯re heading out to town. Want to come along?¡±

    ¡°Michael! He hasn¡¯t had breakfast yet!¡± Marjory yelled.

    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s not hungry. You never know with kids these days¡±, he came up with an excuse.

    As if to disprove his grandfather¡¯s point, Ryan¡¯s stomach growled loudly. Everyone looked at him, before he coughed awkwardly.

    ¡°I better get some breakfast then. I will go into town myself later on. Can I borrow your truck?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Only if George is coming with you¡±, replied Michael.

    ¡°Fine grandpa, I¡¯m not a kid who needs babysitting you know¡±, said Ryan grumpily.

    Marjory and Michael looked at each other, and then proceeded to laugh uproariously at Ryan, who walked off in a grumpy manner. The two old lovebirds left and Ryan watched the old truck leave with occasional bursts of smoke being left behind.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    He sighed and went into the house. Inside the kitchen, was a young woman, who appeared to be five years older than Ryan. She was wearing a blue apron, with designs of red roses all over. She had black hair, tied with a silver hairpin.

    ¡°Good morning Aunt June¡±, greeted Ryan.

    ¡°Morning Ryan, where have you been? You missed breakfast¡±, she retorted.

    ¡°I was busy with something. Where is Uncle George?¡± he asked.

    ¡°He should be in the field. He was saying that there was something running around the farm, but he doesn¡¯t know what it was or what it looked like. It¡¯s leaving behind some humanoid footprints. Any idea what that¡¯s about?¡± asked Aunt June.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±, replied Ryan, as he sat down at the table. June took some toasted bread and neatly put it on the table.

    *************************

    Now, in the hustle and bustle of Megapolis, everyone was minding their own business, carrying out their day-to-day work. At a research facility, built by PI Robotics, something was brewing.

    ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Dr. Paige. We can no longer continue funding your research. The company does not have any more funds to keep providing with research that cannot be monetized¡±, said a neatly dressed man, wearing a gray suit with a gray tie.

    The doctor Paige that he was speaking to was looking dejectedly at the papers he had just been handed. The papers stipulated that he was to leave all the technology he had been making at the facility, and to hand over the papers, blueprints and the likes to his manager.

    He sighed before speaking, ¡°Look, I have said it before. Just give me a few more days¡­no just a few hours! I will perfect it. You¡¯re never going to find someone who can even fathom this technology. The only people who could do something like this are only Michael Avariz and I. However, Michael is retired and no longer interested in this research. Just let me continue, even on my own funds. Please¡­¡±

    ¡°We get it, Dr. Paige, but even if we¡¯re to fund your technology, how does uploading someone¡¯s brain into a robot help our customers?¡± asked the neatly dressed man.

    Dr. Paige looked downwards, and avoided the neatly dressed man¡¯s gaze. He looked at the papers in his hand, before sighing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. If we had come up with a way to sell this technology with our weapons, I¡¯m sure we would have even expended much more effort to make sure your research bears fruit. However, the upper echelon just don¡¯t see it. You¡¯re free to leave now¡±, said the neatly dressed man. However, Dr. Paige kept sitting down. The man continued, ¡°Do I have to call security?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine¡±, he replied before throwing the papers towards the neatly dressed man and turned to leave. After he had left the office, he turned back to say something to the neatly dressed man when he heard him speaking on his phone.

    ¡°It¡¯s been taken care of. So what do we do with the technology? It¡¯s too dangerous in the wrong hands!¡± he said as he waited for a reply. After he had been replied to, he said, ¡°Okay, I get it. But won¡¯t that be suspicious? We don¡¯t know what Lopez will do with this technology! I wouldn¡¯t trust the mafia to save mankind with technology. Hahahaha.¡± He gave a loud laugh that undulated through the air.

    Dr. Paige now understood what was going on. All that technology that was being sold on the black market, these people were selling it! He was infuriated. He had dedicated his life to making technology to improve the lives of human kind. However, the upper echelon didn¡¯t even care! All they wanted was to make money off it.

    He walked towards the workshop and when he arrived, he started packing his things slowly. The younger engineers were bustling about, with excited expressions. He turned to look at what they were excited about. It turned out that one of the engineers had finished an android robot that had very advanced Artificial Intelligence software.

    The robot was called PI RIN 8420, but the younger ones called it Pirin. It was more advanced than anything they had created before. It had weapons built in, which could be remotely activated and deactivated. Besides the weapons, it also had jet packs and software that could interface with any other device.

    Pirin was a military grade, hacking robot with multiple weapons, to say the least. It was difficult to imagine how this could help humanity. Dr. Paige sighed when he thought about this. Suddenly, he had an idea. As he thought of this idea, he smiled brightly.

    ***************

    In the afternoon, Ryan went to town with his Uncle George. They took the longer way round, since they had heard that huge rocks had blocked the shorter road, since it passes through the mountainous area. When they arrived at the town, it was quite lively. There were people all over, dressed in summer clothes. According to one, there was a festival that was going to happen that night.

    Everyone was busy preparing for the festival. They were going to light a big fire at the outskirts of the town, and share stories about what had happened that year.

    ¡°Seems quite lively. Should we join too?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just get what we came here for. Besides, you¡¯re the one who dragged us here. What are we looking for?¡± asked Uncle George.

    Ryan got out of the car and walked towards one of the cars that sold boats. Uncle George focused on parking the car, and soon followed.

    Two men, dressed shabbily, were waiting in an alleyway behind the shop that sold boats. They were beating the old man who owned the shop. The poor old man was bleeding, and he had bruises all over.

    Ryan went in and saw the backdoor open, with muffled grunts coming out. He rushed through the backdoor and saw a girl with blond hair, tied and neatly placed in the corner of the back office. When he undid the blindfold and the cloth tying her mouth, she shouted, ¡°Help my grandfather. Please, go and help him!¡±

    Ryan instinctively ran outside through the other door, to find himself outside, in the alleyway. ¡®Uh-oh, I didn¡¯t think this through! I should have called Uncle George before rushing to help. I¡¯m really dead this time¡¯, he thought to himself.

    As he turned to leave, one of the men called out to him, ¡°Don¡¯t run now. Wait and let us talk about it. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about! HELP!!!!!!!¡± shouted Ryan.

    Before he got to the door, he was grabbed and thrown down. They started beating the living daylights out of him. Just before he turned unconscious, the tattoo that was at the back of his right hand glowed faintly.

    Now, what happened afterwards is subject to a matter of perspective. From the shabby men¡¯s perspective, Ryan turned into a ferocious man-eating monster with glowing eyes. From Ryan¡¯s perspective, actually, he didn¡¯t remember anything at all.

    Here is what really happened, as he lost consciousness, the matrix passed some celestial ki through him. What woke up wasn¡¯t actually Ryan, but a wisp of Rogarth¡¯s blue soul. It was controlling Ryan¡¯s body.

    One of the men, who was short and stout, wearing a wooly hat, tried to punch him in the nose. It was too slow, and the result was an easy dodge. Ryan punched him in the stomach, and the man fell unconscious.

    The other man tried to run, but Ryan appeared in front of him, somehow. He took out a knife and stabbed at Ryan. A palm from Ryan hit the hand holding the knife, and the knife flew off. The man was hit in the chest and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, before losing consciousness.

    Ryan, rather, Rogarth¡¯s soul wisp, opened his mouth and spoke, ¡°This is going to be difficult. What I was expecting is much better than this! At this rate, he might never master the fist technique! Talk about low courage!¡±

    He sighed.

 Chapter 4 - Ethereal Dream State

    Life is a series of decisions, as some people would agree. Some decisions have good consequences, while some have bad consequences. Ryan had learnt through experience first-hand that sometimes trusting your instincts could be bad for your health. Currently, he was in a comma and this was the second day. The odd thing was that he only had small bruises, which had healed.

    The doctors could not explain what was happening. The police had come to ask him questions, but he was unconscious, thus they had to leave gracefully. His grandparents were now worried for his safety. He should have woken up by now.

    While his grandparents were worrying, Ryan was actually dreaming. He dreamt he was standing in a space with a serene environment. There was lush green vegetation all over, with small grass and the sun was up in the sky. It looked like it was mid-morning, giving him the expression that he could just bathe in the sun and forget about everything.

    However, he walked around to discover where he was. After what seemed like eons of endless walking, he saw a large tree. Under this tree, there was a middle-aged man with white flowing hair, wearing a bronze armor with a drawing of a dragon on one end and a phoenix on the other. The middle-aged man was talking to a young man, who appeared to be twenty-some years old. Ryan hurried until he reached the tree. The duo just looked at him and ignored him, continuing with their conversation.

    ¡°Like I said earlier, you are forgetting the most crucial thing. He is different from the Farrons you¡¯ve taught before. You have to be patient with him, he¡¯s human after all¡±, said the young man.

    The middle-aged man appeared to be thinking about something, then said, ¡°This is different. You asked me to pass your Dao upon the Farrons. However, there was nowhere in the agreement that said I¡¯d have to train a human.¡± He sighed as he said this.

    ¡°I know, however, he¡¯s YOUR successor after all. Even though it is my Dao you¡¯re passing on, he¡¯s supposed to be your successor. We could always reset everything, but why give up early when we¡¯ve come this far?¡± said the young man.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I guess I will have to change my approach to teaching him. However, I have a limited amount of patience¡±, replied the middle-aged man.

    ¡°Also remember, we do not have much time. Make sure he becomes the strongest human ever to have lived, apart from the so-called Soul Devourer, of course.  For now, he has to reach the fourth level of cultivation, before you can bestow Excalibur upon him¡±, said the young man, who disappeared having said this.

    The middle-aged man sighed again. After, he turned and looked at Ryan, who was at a loss of words. He actually thought they were talking about him. So who was this Soul Devourer?

    With an awkward cough, he began, ¡°Greetings to you, eh... Sir, right... Sir, would you be kind enough to tell me where we are?¡±

    The middle-aged man replied, ¡°We¡¯re inside your head. Rather we¡¯re inside the Dream plane. Since you¡¯ve successfully activated the Ethereal Dream State, somehow, you can focus on anything without distractions.¡±

    Ryan looked puzzled, before he asked, ¡°What is the Ethereal Dream State? And may I enquire as to who you are, Sir? Also, how did we get here? Is there a way out?¡±

    ¡°Hold on, hold on. I can only answer one question at a time¡±, laughed the middle-aged man. He continued, ¡°The Ethereal Dream State is a state of mind that results when one is able to remove all distractions and enter the Dream Plane. When a person is asleep, their mind would wander around in the Dream Plane. However, you managed to go into the Dream Plane without sleeping. That was how I tried to teach you the Dancing Dragon fist technique. Unfortunately, when you ¡®woke up¡¯, you had forgotten what I had taught you.¡±

    The man sighed. ¡°Come and sit here and we¡¯ll talk.¡±

    Ryan came under the tree and sat next to the middle-aged man. There were two sits under the tree, but they were made of stone.

    ¡°We¡¯ve met before. My name is Rogarth Secretwater. It¡¯s just that the form I¡¯ve taken maybe different from the form you¡¯re used to.¡±

    ¡°Who was that young man you were talking to?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°That was the first emperor of the Farron race. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll forget anyways, you haven¡¯t reached a state of ¡®dreaming while being awake¡¯ yet. Anyway, tell me something, why did you agree to cultivate?¡± asked Rogarth.

    ¡°The day we first met, my father had just been killed and I would have been too. However, what I realized was that it didn¡¯t make sense for him to have been killed in a robbery. Every person on the planet knew he didn¡¯t have cash in his house. This only means that someone hired assassins to kill him and stage a robbery. However, the meteor shower that occurred ended up killing the assassins, and Myra killed the remaining one. So I wanted to investigate this matter myself, I want to know who had my father killed and the reason why they did¡±, replied Ryan.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°I see. And if you know who and why, then what are you going to do? Revenge?¡±

    ¡°That now depends on the reason. If he dug his own grave in his dealings, I will leave it alone. However, if this was motivated by hostility, I will take action. Currently, my strength is lacking. If I try to find out, I¡¯ll only be committing suicide. Therefore, I have to find a way to increase it so I can do my investigations.¡±

    ¡°After you¡¯re done with that, then what is the plan from there?¡± asked Rogarth.

    ¡°Then I will do whatever you want me to do, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Okay then. I have been impatient with you. I will change the way of teaching, and I will try to be patient.¡±

    ¡°How do I leave the Dream Plane then?¡±

    ¡°You have to will it. If your will is strong enough, you can summon the light which is the portal that leaves the Dream plane. From now onwards, I will teach you a secret to channel heaven and earth ki, so as to toughen your body¡±, he said as he sighed. ¡°I doubt you¡¯re going to remember this anyway.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean I have to will it?¡±

    ¡°Sit down first.¡±

    Ryan sat down as instructed.

    ¡°Now, close your eyes and imagine a dark place with stars. Any arrangement of stars will do.¡±

    Ryan tried to imagine darkness all around him. It didn¡¯t work. The sun was too bright up in the sky, despite sitting under a ¡®tree¡¯, the sunlight still passed through his closed eyes. The only thing he could see was bright light. He tried again, this time squinting his eyelids.

    ¡°When you can see it, I want you to imagine a constellation, made up of stars, forming an image of something that you desire so much.¡±

    This time, Ryan could only see small bright stars. When Rogarth¡¯s voice pierced through his ears, he imagined the small bright stars forming an image of a female body. I guess anyone can deduce what this meant.

    A bright light suddenly appeared right by the side of the tree, as a small wind blew across Ryan¡¯s face. Rogarth sighed and he said in his heart, ¡®I guess with proper guidance he can still make it. But the Soul Devourer? Really? This is going to be really difficult.¡¯ He shook his head and then said, ¡°You can open your eyes now.¡±

    Ryan opened his eyes and saw the bright light, he gasped. ¡°Is that the portal?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes, it is. You can pass through, and you will wake up in the real world.¡±

    Ryan stood up and walked towards the light, before turning to look at Rogarth. He asked, ¡°When will I see you again?¡±

    ¡°When you¡¯re ready¡±, was the reply that came.

    Before he entered the light, he looked back again, but this time he didn¡¯t see Rogarth anymore, and with that he turned and entered the light. He opened his eyes, slowly. As he woke up, a splitting headache attacked him. It was so painful that he rolled on the bed.

    The nurses came in and tried to sedate him, but his grandmother forbade them. He slowly opened his eyes to see his grandparents standing beside the bed, with nurses holding syringes.

    *********************************

    In an abandoned warehouse, just at the periphery of Megapolis, two young men wearing tan suits with shades were standing, holding automatic rifle weapons. One of the young men was smoking and they seemed to be waiting for someone.

    ¡°Bro, do you think he¡¯s going to show up?¡± asked one of the young man, who wasn¡¯t smoking. He had a fancy hairstyle, with a tattoo at the back of his head.

    The smoking young man replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. We have to wait for orders. I wonder why Lopez would order us to wait here. The transaction could have been done online, but no! Someone had to be there!¡±

    As they were talking, a mid-sized robot, which was oval with arms that looked somewhat semi-oval, appeared right before them. The robot was hovering in the air, and it had a PI Robotics logo embedded in the middle of its abdomen. On top of the ¡®abdomen¡¯, was a glass surface, and on this surface, two digital ¡®eyes¡¯ appeared followed by a digital ¡®mouth¡¯. They looked like eyes drawn on an LED screen.

    The mouth smiled broadly, before saying, ¡°Good afternoon gentlemen, I¡¯m looking for Lopez. Would you care to direct me to his lodgings please?¡±

    The voice was synthesized, and it appeared like the AI was talking. The young men didn¡¯t say anything, they looked at each other, ducked and then opened fire on the robot.

    After unloading magazines on the robot, they changed the magazines.

    A female digital voice sounded, ¡°Plasma canons ready...Damage report: 0 %¡±

    The robot¡¯s original voice sounded, ¡°Look, gentlemen, I am trying to be amicable here. Can we talk without using force please?¡±

    The tattooed young man looked at his partner, before asking, ¡°Bro, what do we do now?¡±

    His partner replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know! Do you have a grenade?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t tell me...¡±

    ¡°Pass it on to me.¡±

    The tattooed young man threw the grenade to his partner, who pulled the pin and threw it towards the robot. The robot kept on standing, rather, hovering in the same position.

    KABOOOMMMM!!!!!

    An explosion sounded, followed by a cloud of dust, which blew up the paved alleyway where the robot was hovering. As the dust settled, the two men saw the robot still hovering there, with a crater beneath it. There was no trace of damage.

    ¡°If you insist usage of force, please be prepared gentlemen. I only wanted to know Lopez¡¯s lodgings. Since you won¡¯t tell me, I guess I¡¯ll have to ...¡± Before the voice from the robot finished, canons appeared on the shoulders and shot towards the place where the young men were hiding.

    KABOOOOOOOMM!!

    Another explosion rang out, and there was shrapnel that flew everywhere, resulting in the destruction on the warehouse. The two young men died, as the shrapnel pierced their bodies.

    The robot turned to see a man wearing a neat suit, standing there with his mouth dropped open.

    ¡°Y-you! Y-you¡¯re a PI Robotics robot! You went missing!¡± he tried to speak, but only ended up stammering.

    ¡°Mr. Szech, what are you doing here? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re here to sell my technology to the mafia?¡± said the robot.

    ¡°N-no w-way... Dr. Paige? You stole this robot! Wait, you¡¯re controlling it? Or don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯ve perfected it! That taboo research!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve perfected it. I can now upload my consciousness and interface with any device that has twenty petabytes of storage or more. Anyway, can you tell me where to find Lopez?¡± asked Dr. Paige, who was speaking through the Pirin robot.

    The neatly dressed man turned to run away, but scrambled and fell on his face.

    ¡°I only want Lopez, don¡¯t force me to kill you too...¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know where he is... Please let me go. I-I can give you anything...Just spare me please.¡±

    ¡°Lopez¡¯s location. That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking for, is that too much to ask? If you¡¯re not going to speak, I guess I have no choice then¡±, said Dr. Paige as he pointed a plasma canon from his left hand towards the neatly dressed man.

 Chapter 5 - Dr Paiges Resolution

    ¡°45 minutes up time! This is still less than I anticipated! Sigh¡±, said Dr. Paige as he woke up from the small bed he was sleeping in. He removed the helmet that he was wearing, and placed it on a small table, located just beside the bed.

    Dr. Paige looked around the small room. It was crude, with cables and screens thrown about everywhere. There were probably more cables than screens, and the cables were coming into the room from the wall, where there was a small hole. He stood up and walked through the door, towards the next room.

    In the next room, the source of the cables going into the bedroom was a spherical device, which had small white lines, converging on one point. The device had large valves where the cables were connected, and it was dark blue in color. It was suspended by four pillars, which were tied together crudely by thick cables. There was a logo of a robot holding a pie, which was the logo used by PI Robotics, the company he used to work at. Below the spherical device was a desktop processing unit, whose frame was quite large, with the letters ¡®Spintel inside¡¯, written on a pale blue label on top of the computer.

    Dr. Paige looked around the room, and went straight to the corner where there was the Pirin robot, which looked dirty with mud and dust all over it. He touched the robot gently and then said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Pirin. I couldn¡¯t let those monsters sell you and make you do terrible thing to other people.¡±

    He then turned to the other side and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start over again, Mr. Szech. Where can I find Lopez?¡±

    In that other corner, there was a neatly dressed man; rather, he no longer looked neat with ruffled hair and a torn suit. He looked rather pathetic. He was teetering on the verge of unconsciousness, with a broken jaw, bleeding nose and a wound that spanned his forehead, etc. His hands and feet were tied up with computer cables, and he was suspended on one pillar.

    ¡°Y-you... won¡¯t get away with...this!¡± declared the so-called Mr. Szech, stammering in his speech.

    ¡°Look, all I just wanted was Lopez¡¯s location. You¡¯ve been dealing with him all this while, how do you contact him?¡± asked Dr. Paige.

    ¡°I...I don¡¯t contact him, Hartmann does. I...I just reported the technology...which...which he was supposed to...to buy¡±, he paused, as he caught his breath. He continued, ¡°Please, let me go. You have no idea what you¡¯re getting yourself into. If they realize that I¡¯m missing, you¡¯ll be in big trouble!¡±

    ¡°Threatening me will not help your predicament, Mr. Szech. I¡¯ve disabled the tracking device placed on your phone. Would you be kind enough to tell me how the Chief Executive of PI Robotics, Mr. Hartmann, has been contacting the mafia?¡± asked Dr. Paige.

    ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t know. All I know is that this is bigger than you and me. Even though you have the Pirin, the most advanced robot on this earth, it cannot save you from them!¡± said Rive Szech, as he spat some blood. He didn¡¯t have anything to do with this! They had threatened to ¡®deal¡¯ with his son, but they had promised to take good care of him and his family if he agreed to give some inventions to the mafia. Now this lunatic had abducted him, and beaten him up, to get information out him. He didn¡¯t deserve this!

    ¡°Who are ¡®they¡¯?¡± asked his captor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know, but why do you think PI Robotics has been making advanced weapons all this time? Lopez is just a small fish compared to them, just like me, he¡¯s just a small pawn. If you try to fight them, you aren¡¯t going to make it out alive. They can find you...¡±

    ¡°You seem to be concerned more about me, even in your current predicament. So you¡¯ve been making weapons to sell to neighboring countries, big deal...¡±

    He was interrupted, ¡°You don¡¯t understand! That¡¯s not their full power! Look, I know you want to stop technology from getting into the ¡®wrong hands¡¯. However, with just you and the Pirin, it¡¯s not enough to fight against them. If you don¡¯t let me go, they¡¯ll kill my family. After that, they¡¯ll come after you as well.¡±

    Dr. Alan Paige appeared to be thinking about something. He knew Rive Szech was telling the truth, well, 89.9% of it seemed to be true. After graduating with his second PhD in Advanced Neurology from Granford University, John Kovakk asked him to join his newly found company, which he had called PI Robotics.  With his friend Michael Avariz as the hardware specialist, he would become the software specialist, and create the most advanced AI ever made.

    Thanks to his PhD in Applied Computer Science, he knew the software in and out, and thus mimicking how the human brain worked, he created Stephanie, the AI that would be used for the ¡®brain¡¯ of the robots. The two engineers appeared unbeatable. They first started making cleaning robots, then moved to smart home systems, and then finally, when the company was struggling, they made battle robots.

    The battle robots were equipped with special weapons in order to ensure they would be lighter enough. When terrorists attacked the Tree Tower, Michael Avariz decided to quit working for PI Robotics, either making weapons or robots. He ended up retiring early, going to stay at Aloha Island, where he bought a small farm and stayed.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Dr. Paige stayed at PI Robotics for some time, and he decided to start researching on how humans could preserve their consciousness, by uploading it somewhere else. He spent a long time, going through books and studying the human brain. His first attempt at uploading a test subject¡¯s brain left the test subject with brain damage. After several unsuccessful attempts, he finally realized what he had been missing.

    However, before he could implement his research, he was summoned by the Human Resources department, and was fired. This could not have come at a terrible time, and to make matters even worse, he discovered that his research was being sold to the mafia! He didn¡¯t know why the company would be selling such advanced technology to a bunch of airheads who only knew how to rob and kill people. This had touched his bottom line!

    As he came back to his lab to pack his belongings, he saw how happy the younger engineers were, when they were discussing and showing off their newly made robot, PI RIN 8420. He wondered what would happen if this advanced battle robot, which was invulnerable to guns, grenades, dynamite and most weapons suddenly fell into the hands of terrorists. The image of the Tree Tower popped up in his head, and he felt a slight chill.

    Being a collaboration between the Cyber Division, Weapons Division and the Robotics Division, this meant those kids had done a lot of work. He applauded their efforts, but when he figured out that, this work would still end up in the wrong hands, he decided to make sure it wouldn¡¯t. After stealing the robot, he uploaded a virus he had stolen from the Cyber Division and implanted a listener onto the network. This means he¡¯d get information being passed around in internal emails, and all technology being made etc.

    What he had to do now, was to find Hartmann, the Chief Executive of his former employer, PI Robotics. However, he knew that, even with the Pirin, he wasn¡¯t invincible. Thus, he made a decision. He would get help from the other kids. If he properly explained how bad the situation was, he was sure they would come and help him. He could even talk to Aaron Moss, the kid he once mentored, who had moved to work at Ava Technologies. Aaron was a bright kid, in terms of technology he was a genius.

    After talking to the kids, he would then install software upgrades, rewrite the drivers for weapons interface and upgrade the plasma model on the Pirin. Any new technology that would be made at PI Robotics, he would steal it and upgrade the Pirin with it. Besides, he was sure that with the EMP installed on the Pirin, if push comes to shove, he could use it to shut down all electrical devices within a 10-meter radius. This way, he could escape with minimal harm. What he was worried about, was the fact that the other party might have an EMP as well. If this was used on him, he would lose consciousness, leaving him vulnerable. He¡¯d need to install a backup system that would automatically reboot his consciousness if the Pirin is shutdown.

    He sighed as he turned to Rive and said, ¡°How long do we have before they start coming after us?¡±

    Rive showed a look of surprise before saying, ¡°We? What do you mean us?¡±

    ¡°You said that they would kill your family, and then come after me. How long before that happens?¡±

    ¡°At most 48 hours¡±, was the reply.

    This meant that he had to work fast. He walked over to the computer, and connected some cables to the Pirin.

    ********************

    In a dimly lit room, hidden in a secret chamber somewhere, there were four people sitting around a circular table. Among these four, there was a middle aged man who had brown hair and a bushy beard, followed by a beautiful lady, then an old man with gray hair and lastly a young man with a neat black tuxedo.

    The old man began, ¡°Nightingale, care to report on the matters with Sky Haven?¡±

    ¡°There hasn¡¯t been much going on recently. Other than the assassination of Derik Avariz, all missions have been going perfectly well¡±, the woman spoke.

    ¡°Who gave the order to assassinate him anyways?¡± asked the young man, who appeared to be around the age of twenty-five.

    Nightingale rolled her eyes at him and ignored the question. The tension in the room grew up by a slight amount. The bushy bearded man coughed a bit before speaking, ¡°We have run into a slight problem. Avariz was the one sponsoring production of the plasma weapons. Since his assassination, the board has refused to sponsor the development of the hyper-canon. If this keeps up, Griffinia and the Misis will start to blame and target us.¡±

    The old man sighed deeply, before speaking, ¡°Nightingale, what have you done?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have an option. He knew my identity as Nightingale, so I had to dispose of him to keep him from gaining leverage.¡±

    ¡°So why did you marry him then? You really are cold and heartless!¡± spoke the young man.

    Nightingale looked at him with a bit of anger. Sparks flew in the air between Nightingale and the young man.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now. Gilgamesh, how is the printing of the federal reserve notes coming along?¡± asked the old man.

    The young man coughed a bit before answering, ¡°The Griffinian government has requested that we adhere to the signed agreement. Other than that, those fools are in our pockets!¡±

    ¡°Mind your language Gilgamesh!¡± said Nightingale.

    ¡°What have I said that¡¯s wrong?¡± asked young Gilgamesh.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough you two! This isn¡¯t a nursery if you need babysitting!¡± shouted the old man.

    ¡°Yes grand elder¡±, replied both Nightingale and Gilgamesh, with sullen expressions.

    ¡°Now, onto the matter at hand. Let¡¯s use the funds from the Griffinian banking system to fund the weapons development. Nightingale, you need to recruit as many new assassins as you can and train them. We¡¯ll provide the funds you need for the recruitment and training process. By the way, Aerys, would you please explain the fiasco that has been happening at PI Robotics recently?¡± said the old grand elder.

    The bushy bearded man replied, ¡°According to Hartmann, they made a very advanced robot that could hack anything, and is pretty much indestructible. However, a former employee who was aggrieved after being fired stole it. They have tried to track it but it seems like he has removed all tracking devices. After stealing the robot, he started looking for Lopez, and he ended up blowing one of the warehouses in the Southern District. He also kidnapped our informer.¡±

    ¡°I see. If that¡¯s so, Nightingale, activate Blue Rose and make sure you retrieve the robot. Get rid of the informer as well, he¡¯s proven to be a liability!¡±

    ¡°Yes grand elder!¡± replied Nightingale with enthusiasm.

 Chapter 6 - Back to school

    Nothing was going well for Ryan. After his father¡¯s murder, he¡¯d gone to live with his grandparents, and everything seemed peaceful. Actually, it was peaceful. So much peaceful he decided that being a millionaire, he didn¡¯t need to go to school anymore. Besides, he had other goals in mind. He tried to imagine himself going to school while trying to practice cultivation. It wouldn¡¯t work, and that was simple!

    After getting home from the hospital, there was a very short gathering in the living room. This gathering consisted of Marjory, Michael, Ryan and George.

    Marjory, with a stern face, began, ¡°We know you¡¯ve reached that age where you feel like no one understands you.¡±

    ¡°... Okay...¡± replied Ryan, with a puzzled expression.

    ¡°We want you to know that we are here to support you entirely. If you ever feel like you want someone to talk to, we¡¯re right here for you¡±, said Michael.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this? And where did this come from?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Nowhere. You¡¯ve been acting strange ever since you got here. You went to the mountains every day, you woke up early before everyone else and ran around the farm perimeter. You even had a tattoo at the back of your hand. Mind explaining these things?¡± asked Marjory.

    ¡°Even if I explained, you wouldn¡¯t understand¡±, Ryan replied.

    ¡°See what I meant when I said that you think no one understands you?¡± said Marjory. She went on, ¡°your father once went through the same phase. He used to go out with his friends to parties, and he¡¯d return drunk. He had these funny haircuts that young people got in those days. After graduating from high school, we thought he¡¯d change but he remained the same. Even in college, nothing changed until he met your mother. Florence changed him completely, he even started to wear suits, something he never liked to do. He attended classes and he was now punctual. He even went on to start his own company after finishing college. What I¡¯m trying to say is, it doesn¡¯t matter that you¡¯re rich. Your character matters more than your worth.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ryan kept that puzzled expression glued to his face. He really wasn¡¯t expecting this. This lecture would probably go on and on and on if he didn¡¯t do something, but what could he do? Excuse himself to visit the bathroom? Nice try. Or maybe just walk out without saying anything? As if that has ever worked!

    Marjory realized that Ryan wasn¡¯t paying any attention to what she was saying. She decided to throw the bombshell that would blow him back to reality. ¡°We have all decided to send you to Clearview High School. And there are no negotiations!¡±

    ¡°...But ...¡±

    ¡°No buts young man! We have already contacted the principal, who is an old friend of mine¡±, said Michael.

    Ryan sighed and then said, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go to school.¡±

    ¡°Good, you also remove that tattoo on your hand. I know ...¡±

    ¡°No ways grandpa! I¡¯ll agree to go to school on the grounds that you won¡¯t force me to do anything like remove the matrix...ahem...I mean the mark on my hand. If you don¡¯t agree then I¡¯m not going to school!¡± Ryan interrupted.

    ¡°Fair enough. You¡¯ll be starting tomorrow. We¡¯re going to accompany you there so you can talk to the principal.¡±

    He stood up and went directly to his room, leaving his grandparents in silent contemplation.

    ¡°Do you think we were too harsh on him?¡± asked Marjory.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. He¡¯s probably being a teenager. Remember Derik once did it too. He was even worse than Ryan was. But when he met her he changed. We just have to make sure that we monitor him closely, while giving him his own space. He must not feel intimidated.¡±

    Ryan arrived in his room, to see everything just as it was before he left, messy, thrown everywhere. He decided to sneak off to talk to Myra, who had been missing, rather, who he hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. After successfully sneaking out, he arrived on Cloud¡¯s peak, where Myra was sitting in a cross-legged position meditating.

    He sat there and started meditating as well. It would be more accurate to say that he was just sitting there, waiting for Myra to say something. Suddenly, the matrix started glowing with a bright blue light, which made Ryan to open his eyes to see what was happening. When he came to, he was within the matrix space.

    ¡°Took you long enough¡±, said Rogarth, who was in his old form, with the distinct robe.

    ¡°You were expecting me?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Yes of course. Do you remember what we spoke about in the Dream Plane?¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°The what?¡±

    ¡°Never mind. I know I¡¯ve been impatient with your training. So we¡¯re starting again. Do you know the reason why I asked you to sit under the waterfall? Or even why I asked you to run around the farm for a long time?¡±

    ¡°No. Why did you tell me to do that?¡±

    ¡°The first level, tempered body, makes the body to be as tough as divine iron. There are two ways to achieving this. The first way, is to use ki strengthening, which is what most people do. Ki strengthening just means you take energy pills or herbs and elixirs that give you energy, and then try to circulate the energy around your body using a breathing technique.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t we just use that method? Not only does it sound easier, it sounds like it will save time!¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Because on this planet there are no pills, rare herbs or elixirs. This means that this method won¡¯t work. Anyway, there¡¯s a second method, which is to put the body through a strenuous amount of work, so that it gets tough. From there, you use a martial technique to circulate ki to finish the tempering process. This is the method I¡¯ve been trying to use to train you. That was the reason why I wanted you to learn the dancing dragon fist technique. It will help you to circulate ki.¡±

    ¡°So what do I have to do now?¡±

    ¡°Start practicing the dancing dragon fist technique.¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to do that? I don¡¯t even know what it is!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you right now, since you forgot last time. Please pay attention to what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    The space shifted, and Ryan saw himself in a wild land, with a huge tree and lush green grass all around. There were bushes here and there but they were sparse. Under the huge tree were two sits. Rogarth was standing right in front of him, wearing a bronze armor with a dragon on one end, and a phoenix on the other end.

    ¡°The dancing dragon fist is all about gathering momentum and releasing it in stages. There are three stages, dragon subduing fist, divine blazing fist and divine iron fist. This ¡®momentum¡¯ is just energy that you have gathered and can be released at once in a fist. The first stage is the easiest to reach, after gathering momentum; you form a fist and try to release the energy through the fist. Now, first I¡¯m going to show you how to gather momentum in a set of moves.¡±

    He began by putting his left foot forward, then the right foot, after that; he threw a punch. He retracted his hand, and then repeated the same movements in another direction.

    After five moves, Rogarth unleashed a quick punch towards the huge tree. There was a slight sound, and the tree trunk started cracking. The cracks grew rapidly, until the entire tree fell with a large sound.

    Ryan¡¯s mouth was wide open with shock. What the hell was this? Did he just punch a tree until it fell?

    ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn to try. What I want you to do is to gather energy by practicing the moves I just showed you.¡±

    Ryan was super excited at the prospect of learning to destroy tree trunks. Another tree replaced the one that had fallen. He started mimicking what Rogarth had done. He started by moving the left foot forward, followed by the right foot, and then finally threw a punch. He repeated the same routine five times and then finally threw a punch targeting the tree trunk.

    A lot of pain permeated through his bones, and his knuckles began to hurt a lot. It was basically the same feeling that one gets when he punches a wall. Ryan nursed his knuckles, gritted his teeth and kept trying again and again and again, until his hands couldn¡¯t take the abuse anymore.

    When he came to, he was still sitting in a meditation pose, beside Myra. He looked at his hands, which were shaking uncontrollably. He turned to his side, where Myra was sitting.

    ¡°Have the effects started showing yet?¡± asked Myra as he opened his eye-sockets.

    ¡°Where were you? I almost died, you know! Didn¡¯t you say you were protector of the matrix? Then why weren¡¯t you around?¡± shouted Ryan.

    ¡°Have you asked yourself why you were not badly injured besides the minor bruises? Why do you not have broken bones?¡±

    ¡°Stop answering questions with other questions!¡±

    ¡°You are the one who started it first¡±, said Myra.

    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Your body has been tempered. Even though you have not yet reached the first level of cultivation, your body is getting there. Currently, very few weapons can harm your body. I realized that unless you experience pain, it would be difficult to survive as a martial artist. Besides, there are no real threats on this planet. Otherwise I would not have left you alone.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean no real threats? I almost died!¡±

    ¡°No you did not. It is all in your head. Believe it or not, your body is strong enough. I think we need to start sparring, maybe that should help.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ryan got up, and left promptly. Early morning the following day, he woke up and ran around the farm as per usual routine. When he got back, the sun was starting to rise, and the cocks were crowing loudly. After taking a shower, he sat down and had breakfast.

    By the time he was done preparing, Michael was already waiting for him in the truck outside. Marjory kissed him on the forehead and wished him good luck on his first day at school.

    When he got to school, a nostalgic feeling rose up in his heart. It seemed like it was repeating itself again and again. What ¡®it¡¯ was, he didn¡¯t know. The principal was an old man, with white hair and fairly wrinkled face.

    ¡°So this is the young man? You really look quite strong. I hope you won¡¯t skip gym class¡±, said the principal.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Joe. I¡¯ll make sure he doesn¡¯t¡±, laughed Michael.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be in Aretha Stevenson¡¯s class. She¡¯ll be here to pick you up to class. By the way, I¡¯m sorry for the loss of your family.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡±, replied Ryan, with a sullen face.

    There was a loud knock on the office door. The principal opened the door, and then, in came a middle-aged woman, whose hair was quite long. She walked in and greeted the principal, who introduced Michael and Ryan. After exchanging pleasantries, she left with Ryan, while Michael and the principal stayed in the office, chatting and laughing.

    ¡°Everyone, this is Ryan Avariz. He¡¯ll be joining us from now on. Treat him well, okay?¡± said Mrs. Stevenson, after entering the classroom.

    The other kids just kept looking at him, with blank expressions plastered on their faces. Ryan walked along, trying to find a seat for himself. He found one between a blond-haired girl, and a short boy, about his age.

    As he sat down, a crumbled piece of paper hit him from behind. When he unfurled it, there were words written, ¡®I AM WATCHING YOU¡¯, in blue ink. He turned back to see the person who had thrown the paper, and he saw this burly kid, who appeared to be older than he was, looking at him while making gestures with his hands.

 Chapter 7 - Blue Rose

    Nightingale was a bit surprised by the request she had been given by the grand elder. Blue Rose was the last resort that would be used if diplomatic means failed. However, no diplomatic solution had been deployed. Was there something the grand elder was trying to hide?

    She brushed off the thought. After all, she was not qualified to question the grand elder, well, none of them were. She got into her office at ¡®The Pinktail¡¯ bar, and took out a small note. She quickly scribbled something on the note, and put it into a bottle of rum. After that, she went upstairs, where the bar was, and handed the bottle to the bartender, who was a burly one-eyed man with a black eye-patch.

    She then returned to her office and sat down. A girl, who appeared to be fourteen or so, entered the office shortly after. She was wearing a black hoodie, tight pants and a mask covering her entire face. On top of her head, was a <headband/> that looked exactly like bunny ears.

    ¡°You called for me?¡± said the girl.

    ¡°Loosen up will you, we have been friends for how long now?¡± said Nightingale as she offered the girl a sit.

    ¡°Well, rules are rules Nightingale. We might be friends outside, but in Sky Haven, you¡¯re still my boss. No two ways about it!¡± she replied with an indifferent tone.

    Nightingale sighed before saying, ¡°Fine fine. If you insist then so be it. With immediate from today, you have been activated. Here¡¯s your mission. If you accept the mission, there¡¯s no going back. Failure is not an option, and should you fail, you¡¯d be sent to meet the maker. And all other conditions apply.¡±

    She handed the girl a scroll tied with a blue ribbon. The girl removed the ribbon, which puffed up into blue smoke. As she unfurled the scroll, it glowed with a golden hue.

    She spent about five minutes reading the scroll, after which she said, ¡°Consider the mission as good as finished, however, I have one question to ask. Why would you go through the trouble of activating me just to clean up this kind of mess?¡±

    Nightingale was silent for some time; after all, even she didn¡¯t know the answer to that question. After a while, she replied, ¡°Frankly, I have my orders, and I carry out the orders with no questions asked. I advise you do the same.¡±

    ¡°I see. And my weapons?¡± asked the girl.

    ¡°They¡¯ll be provided at the usual pick up point.¡±

    The girl stood up to leave, and Nightingale said, ¡°Godspeed, Blue Rose. Take good care of yourself, and don¡¯t underestimate this one.¡±

    ¡°No problem, take care of yourself too, Nightingale¡±, said Blue Rose as she left the room.

    Nightingale sighed as the girl¡¯s back disappeared from view. It had been a long time before she¡¯d seen her friend again. This mission was dangerous, cleaning up after Hartmann¡¯s mistakes. She would have wanted her friend out of this mission, but orders were orders, they had to be followed.

    Blue Rose went to the weapons supply shop, in the Northern district. The shop looked quite small when one peered at it from the outside. There was a large sign overheard written, ¡®PINKATONS¡¯ with red letters. She went inside and headed right to the back office.

    ¡°Excuse me miss, you¡¯re not allowed to go there. It¡¯s reserved for staff only¡±, yelled a short, young man with very short black hair, who came from the counter.  He was wearing a shirt that showed he worked at this place. However, she had never seen him before, so he might have been recently hired.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Carter?¡± asked Blue Rose.

    ¡°He¡¯s not here, miss. Would you like to leave a message?¡± said the young man.

    Blue Rose frowned. This guy was a total idiot, dealing with him was difficult. She thought to herself, if she hit him with a tranquilizer hidden in her sleeve, it would be over in a matter of seconds.

    ¡®No. That would only bring me more trouble¡¯, she brushed it off.

    The young man kept looking at her. She hadn¡¯t replied and he didn¡¯t know how he could help such a customer, if she was even one. She didn¡¯t look like the kind that would buy baby products, after all, she didn¡¯t look like a mother. No normal teen would be inside a baby shop, and no normal parent would send their kid to do the shopping for them.

    ¡°Actually, call Boswell for me. Tell him Rose is looking for him¡±, she said.

    ¡°Okay. Hold on miss.¡±

    The young man rushed off and came back five minutes later with a fat, short middle-aged man.

    ¡°My apologies, Miss Rose. Excuse Sheldon, he¡¯s still new¡±, said the middle-aged man.

    The young man looked confused as he turned to look at his boss.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m just here to collect the order¡±, she dismissed.

    ¡°Right this way¡±, said Boswell as he led her towards the ¡®Staff only¡¯ entrance. They went through various corridors until they arrived at a room hidden carefully. The room was spacious inside; it was difficult to imagine it was inside a small shop. There were about ten people inside, and there were many crates. It was easy to guess what was inside these crates.

    ¡°So what have you prepared for me?¡± asked Blue Rose.

    ¡°This time, we were given orders to pass you top of the range products¡±, replied Boswell, as he opened a small box which was on a table. Out of the box, he took out two small daggers, a small gun and a device that looked like a remote control.

    Blue Rose frowned upon seeing these ¡®weapons¡¯. It seemed that they were trying to dispose of her. Why would they be giving her these weapons if she was fighting an indestructible robot? Wasn¡¯t that just telling her to go and...

    ¡°Miss Rose, what do you think?¡± asked Boswell, crashing her train of thought, as he handed the small daggers to her.

    ¡°What are these things made of?¡± she asked, out of curiosity.

    ¡°The daggers are made from star metal. In other words, they can cut through steel like a hot knife cutting through butter. The bullets for this small gun are made of the same material. They can piece through bulletproof metal, and caviar. The gun is designed to absorb the force of the recoil, so you won¡¯t feel it when you shoot¡±, he paused, before continuing, ¡°This is an electromagnetic pulse device. It produces electromagnetic waves that can shut down any electric device within a ten meter radius.¡±

    Blue Rose could not believe what she had heard. These items were basically designed for her mission. If she was going to be fighting against something made with star metal, it would be great if she use it as a weapon as well. The question was, would it work?

    She took the small daggers and swung them three times in the air.

    ¡°Be careful not to cut yourself. They¡¯re pretty sharp¡±, warned Boswell.

    After another swing, she placed them on the table. She then took the small gun. It was very light, too light in fact. She pointed it in front of her and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

    ¡°The safety is on. Please don¡¯t fire in the premises; you might end up injuring someone.¡±

    ¡°I see. Then I¡¯ll be taking these with me¡±, she said as she handed the gun to Boswell.

    ¡°Okay Miss Rose. Please wait a moment as we package them for you.¡±

    She waited for Boswell to put the weapons in a small box labelled ¡®Diapers¡¯, which he handed over to her. Blue Rose quietly took the box and walked towards the entrance.

    ¡°So if you need anything else, feel free to get in touch. Let me see you out¡±, said Boswell as he walked up to her.

    When she was outside the shop, she looked at the small box in her hands and sighed. The most difficult step was just ahead. She wanted to be prepared, but she didn¡¯t know what to do. Time moved slowly at first, and then kinda sped off as if someone was stepping on the accelerator.

    When she arrived at her tiny apartment, she was just feeling melancholy and empty. She had never felt like this before, some feeling that she couldn¡¯t quite explain. She wished she could stay home and forget about the whole mission, but she knew she couldn¡¯t. Like Nightingale had said, they needed to follow orders.

    Thinking about Nightingale, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit sad. Ever since she joined the Sky Haven, Nightingale had helped her, becoming the only person she¡¯d trusted. In an assassin organization, the most important thing is to trust no one. The person you¡¯d think of as your friend would stab you in the back given the chance. Nightingale supported her, even during her most difficult times, making her feel as if she wasn¡¯t alone. However, recently, she¡¯d been distant lately. It all started sometime after the assassination of Derik Avariz. Did something happen?

    Well, whatever the case was, it was none of her business. That was her conclusion. She put the small box on her table and went straight to take a shower. After her shower, she put on a black hoodie, black gloves, black leather boots and black pants.

    She opened the baby diapers box, and took out the daggers. Then she placed them on holsters hidden under her sleeves. She took the small gun and placed it in the holster located by her ribcage. She then took the EMP device and placed it in her right hoodie pocket. With this, she was ready to go and do her job. However, something didn¡¯t quite feel right. She still couldn¡¯t shake off that feeling in her head.

    She locked the door, from inside and then exited through the open window. Her apartment was on the third floor of the building. She jumped onto the next building, over the alleyway, and then ran on the roof towards the setting sun.

    ****************

    On the PI Robotics main campus, in Megapolis, Joel Hartmann was sitting in his office, reading some documents. His life had been stress free these days, besides of course the regular enquiries about the Pirin. He had managed to get off the hook from the board members.

    An opera song was playing on the computer.

    ¡°Sir, someone is here to see you¡±, a female voice came in.

    ¡°Do they have an appointment?¡± asked Joel.

    ¡°No sir¡±, was the reply.

    ¡°Tell them to book one, simple.¡±

    ¡°But sir, he said it¡¯s urgent. It¡¯s about a Pirin, or pill, I¡¯m not sure if I heard correctly.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡± asked Joel with a look of surprise on his face.

    ¡°He said if I tell you y2j you¡¯d understand.¡±

    ¡°Tell him to come in immediately!¡±

    ¡°Okay sir¡±, said the secretary as she left in a hurry.

    A few minutes later, a man who had brown hair and a bushy beard walked in, ushered by the secretary. He walked over to the table and sat down without waiting. Joel signaled his secretary to leave and then locked the door.

    ¡°Never thought I¡¯d have to wait just to see you. This is disappointing!¡± said the brown-haired, bushy-bearded man.

    ¡°My apologies sir, to what do I owe the visit?¡±

    ¡°Straight to the point eh? I like it. Well, from now on you¡¯re now the new informer. You¡¯re going to be reporting everything that happens in the company to us. The higher-ups have come up with a solution to the robot problem. You don¡¯t have to worry about it anymore. What I want you to do now, stop selling weapons to the mafia!¡± said the man with a stern face.

    ¡°Okay sir, but there¡¯s nothing wrong with that right?¡±

    ¡°Lopez is in way over her head. She betrayed us, you don¡¯t need to know the details.¡±

    ¡°Her? She? I thought Lopez was male...¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Just stop thinking and everything will go well for you. Obey us and you¡¯ll live long enough to enjoy the wealth you have been accumulating all these years. If you don¡¯t, well...You¡¯ll find out. From now on, you should report to us twice per week. Also, make more of those Pirin robots. If you want funding, just ask for it and we¡¯ll give you.¡±

    While they were still talking, a robot hovered by the window, and pointed its left hand towards Joel.

 Chapter 8 - Invincible lunatic vs Melancholic lass

    Aerys narrowed his eyes, before bullets started raining towards him and Joel Hartmann. The glass windows shattered before he dived, leaving Hartmann sitting like a duck. Joel also followed suit without looking back to see what had caused the glass to shatter. He crawled to the other side of the table, where Aerys was crouching.

    ¡°What was that all about?¡± asked Hartmann.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    He peeked at the robot, before a noticing a blood trail. He looked at his abdomen and realized that he had been shot!

    The robot entered through the broken building windows, and scanned around the area. Aerys took out a gun, and crawled closer to Joel, who was now panicking.

    ¡°Gentlemen, I would rather not destroy this building and kill innocent people. I simply request Mr. Joel Hartmann to show up and I won¡¯t open fire again...¡± came a voice from the robot.

    ¡°You just shot him!¡± shouted Aerys.

    ¡°And who might you be? I haven¡¯t seen you before¡±, said the robot.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen me before? Who are you?¡± asked Aerys, stroking his beard.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now, does it?¡± replied the robot.

    ¡°We need to take Hartmann to the hospital. He¡¯s injured!¡± declared Aerys.

    ¡°Okay. Let me fly him there¡±, said the robot as it edged closer to where the two were squatting.

    ¡°Wait!¡± shouted Aerys, as he came up, hands in the air, and laid the gun down.

    He slowly walked towards the robot. However, as he neared the robot, he saw that there were two drones flying outside the office, looking directly at them. Something was wrong here! He didn¡¯t know what it was, but this robot was strange.

    The robot went behind the desk and retrieved Joel who was now unconscious. Aerys looked on as the robot flew off with Joel. The secretary came in moments later with some security guards.

    ¡°We heard gunshots, the elevator was not working so we used stairs. What happened? Where¡¯s Mr. Hartmann?¡± said the secretary.

    ¡°Where were you?¡± asked Aerys.

    ¡°I was downstairs¡±, she replied.

    Aerys frowned deeply. Her office was closer to the main entrance of the floor. If she went downstairs to get security guards, then that would explain why she was late. However, why was she even here? The security guards had guns, if there was a shootout that would mean she would have been in danger. The fact that she was here meant that she already knew she¡¯d be safe.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Mr. Hartmann? Is that his blood?¡± she asked again.

    ¡°He has been shot by a robot. Probably one created by his company¡±, replied Aerys.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me ...¡±

    The Pirin was flying smoothly towards the Megapolis Central Hospital. Everything had happened smoothly. Even though Dr. Paige hadn¡¯t expected to see anyone there, no one tried to stop him from taking Joel Hartmann. Now it was time to execute phase two of his plan. The robot landed at the hospital, and shortly after, some paramedics came with a stretcher, carried the unconscious Joel and went in.

    ¡°What happened? We got a call that someone had been shot¡±, said a female doctor who was standing by the entrance.

    ¡°Hello Tess, it¡¯s been a long time hasn¡¯t it?¡± said the Pirin.

    Tess¡¯s jaw dropped wide open.

    ¡°W-who are you?¡± she asked backing away slowly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Have you forgotten me already? After I went through trouble helping with your thesis¡±, said the robot.

    ¡°A-Alan?¡± she said.

    ¡°Take good care of him, I¡¯ll be back soon¡±, said the robot as it ignited its thrusters and flew off, leaving Tess with her mouth so open you could fit an egg.

    On reaching the hideout, the Pirin went in while humming a tune. It was quite a weird scene, a robot humming like a human.

    Blue Rose followed swiftly, but before going in, she took out the EMP device in one hand, and the small gun in the other. She had been given orders to wait for the target at Joel Hartmann¡¯s office. However, she hadn¡¯t expected the crazy robot to start shooting the moment it arrived.  She then followed it from the ground, to Megapolis Central Hospital and then finally the hideout. Things were going well, for her at least.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Dr. Paige?¡± asked Rive in a low voice.

    ¡°I have returned¡±, replied the robot. It continued, ¡°Everything went well. I...¡±

    Before the robot finished speaking, all electrical gadgets in the room, including the robot, switched off abruptly. Footsteps echoed as something, rather, someone walked closer to Rive.

    Rive began to feel a cold sweat running down his spine. What was going on? The answer was obvious. They were finally here, meaning his time was up. He wished he could say goodbye to his family.

    The lights turned on, revealing someone wearing black clothes.

    INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!

    The intruder alarm sounded, which surprised Blue Rose. Every electric device should have been shut down, including the lights and the intruder detection alarm!

    She looked and saw Rive hung down by cables. Without saying anything, she pointed the gun at Rive¡¯s head and fired.

    BANG! BANG!

    She moved onto the next room and found her next target, unconscious, with a helmet on his head, while on a small bed. She pointed the gun at the helmet, and emptied the cartridge. After making sure the mission was finished, she prepared to destroy the evidence.

    ¡°Hello little bunny¡±, came a voice from the next room.

    Blue Rose was perplexed. She looked at the body lying lifeless on the bed, and then looked at the source of the voice. It was a spherical device with small white lines, converging on one point. The device had large valves where the cables were connected, and it was dark blue in color. It was suspended by four pillars, which were tied together crudely by thick cables. The white lines were glowing faintly.

    ¡°Hello little bunny, surprise...¡± said the voice again.

    ¡°What the...¡± before she finished speaking, a cable came down and electrocuted her. She fell down, before slowly losing consciousness.

    This time the Pirin started moving on its own accord. It took the girl¡¯s body and hung it from a position aside from Rive¡¯s lifeless body.

    When she came to, the Pirin was staring at her, while a loud hum was sounding from the spherical device.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally awake. Good. Now, tell me who sent you!¡± demanded the voice.

    Blue Rose looked around and saw small barrels aimed at her, protruding from the Pirin¡¯s arms. She could tell that they were guns, and any false move would result in her joining the person by her side in the underworld.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the patience for this! Tell me who sent you or I¡¯m going to finish you right now!¡± said the voice again. This time the Pirin fired a warning shot which simply grazed her cheek.

    She sighed and then replied, ¡°You have five seconds to release me and I¡¯ll pretend nothing happened, but I¡¯ll still finish you off.¡±

    ¡°Oh, a threat? In your predicament?¡±

    ¡°Five...¡±

    The Pirin fired another shot, but this time the bullet went into her left arm.

    ¡°Four...Three...Two...One...¡±

    As she finished, she stomped her foot into the ground, and all the lights abruptly went off, as well as the Pirin and the spherical device. A small dagger appeared skillfully appeared in her right arm and she cut the cables hanging her. She dashed towards the spherical device and cut all the cables connecting to it. Then she headed for the exit. A few seconds later, the lights came on, and the Pirin initiated pursuit.

    ¡®Why was this guy not dead?¡¯ she thought. This had gone beyond the scope of her mission. Everything that had happened was unexpected. How was he controlling the cables and the robot?

    ¡°You can run but you can¡¯t hide, little bunny...¡± came the voice again, but this time it was coming from the Pirin.

    She managed to get outside, but she knew she was far from being safe. She cut her hoodie into a clean strip and bandaged her arm to stop the bleeding.

    ¡°Where are you, little bunny?¡±

    This crazy robot was annoying. How was he still human? She reloaded the gun and shot at the robot as it appeared. The bullet went right into the head and there was a spark, followed by a short circuit. At least she had done some considerable damage.

    ¡°Liiit...¡± the voice faded as the robot shut down.

    To make sure, she still stomped her foot, since she had hidden the EMP device in her shoe. However, after a few seconds, two drones came out from behind the robot and started firing at her. She dodged most of the bullets as she took cover behind a tree.

    ¡®What on earth is going on? Why aren¡¯t these things staying off?¡¯ she thought.

    The robot switched itself on again, and then started walking towards her.

    ¡°Little bunny... Come out wherever you are...¡±

    She noticed that she had been shot twice, in the arm and under her arms, by the ribcage. Currently, things were no longer going well, for her at least. She started thinking about her next move; after all, survival was now top priority.

    As she was thinking, loud gunshots sounded, followed by a small explosion, then all went quiet.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± came a familiar voice.

    Now, PI Robotics had four data centers, one in Megapolis and the other three in the capital city of Griffinia, a country neighbor to Zimikhstan. The data center in Megapolis was close to one of the research centers, and their networks were connected together by a virtual private network.

    Inside the data center, one of the terminals suddenly switched itself on, and an upload progress bar could be seen. After the progress bar was filled, simultaneously in the closer research center, a humanoid robot switched on.

    A gruff voice came from the robot, followed by a cold laugh, well it sort of sounded like a laugh.

    ¡°Whoever invented the network deserves a Lobel prize. Thanks to the backup system, I was able to reserve my consciousness. Pity I lost the Pirin. Well, I have to retrieve it and repair it. Oh wait, isn¡¯t this place supposed to be guarded by...¡±

    Before the robot finished talking, some guards came into the room and they were holding guns. They scanned the room, but didn¡¯t find anything unusual, after all, there were five robots in the room, and they all appeared switched off.

    ¡°Are you sure the sound came from this room?¡± asked one of the guards.

    ¡°Yes I¡¯m sure. Unlike some people, I wasn¡¯t sleeping¡±, replied one of his companions with a hearty laugh.

    ¡°Oh well, nothing out of the ordinary here. Let¡¯s go¡±, said the first guard.

    The guards left after scanning the area again. A few minutes the lights in the room were switched off. Two red lights appeared, and these were the eyes of the earlier robot.

    ¡°I almost got caught. Crap! Hmmm. I wonder if I can create an army of robots without these fools knowing...¡± said the robot with a lowered voice.

    Some minutes later, another upload progress bar could be seen on the terminal in the earlier mentioned data center. This time, some drones in the research center started flying off, as if they were being controlled by something. A few minutes later, they landed and everything went back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

 Chapter 9 - Breakthrough! Haha

    Blue Rose slowly opened her eyes, and noticed that she was in a hospital room. She tried to recall what had happened. The last thing she remembered was a familiar voice asking if she was okay. That¡¯s right, she fainted right after that.

    She then remembered the damn robot that wouldn¡¯t die. A look of horror appeared on her face, and she tried to get up.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you¡±, said the familiar voice.

    ¡°N-nightingale...W-where am I?¡± she asked, stammering.

    ¡°South End Hospital. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re safe...For now at least¡±, replied Nightingale.

    ¡°For now?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m afraid we have made an enemy we cannot get rid of easily. It¡¯s a matter of time before they start coming after us!¡± she said with a solemn expression.

    ¡°Who is it? Wait, that robot...¡± said Blue Rose, with a worried expression on her face.

    ¡°Right now I¡¯ve managed to destroy the robot. And you killed his human body, but his consciousness still lives. We haven¡¯t been able to trace it. You passed your mission, but things are now beyond you.¡±

    ¡°So how did you know he¡¯s still alive?¡±

    ¡°The robot shut down before I destroyed it. He must have transferred his consciousness right at that moment¡±, replied Nightingale.

    ¡°What¡¯s next now?¡±

    ¡°Your safety is now top priority. I¡¯m going to send you to Aloha Island, where you¡¯re going to live from now on. You¡¯re going to assume the identity of Cora Waterline, 15 years old. You recently moved to the island after your aunt who lived in Megapolis passed away. So now you live with your grandparents.¡±

    ¡°I see. And the grandparents?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re retired former members of Sky Haven. The process of clearing you will take six months at most. For now, you should rest. Also, I need you to do me a favor once you get there.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Keep an eye on my son, and protect him. However, make sure you don¡¯t tell him about me, or your original identity!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± asked Blue Rose.

    ¡°A storm is coming. I don¡¯t want him to get involved in it.¡±

    ¡°I will try my best to protect him.¡±

    ¡°Good. You should rest now¡±, said Nightingale, as she stood up.

    Blue Rose closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, Nightingale was nowhere to be seen.

    *********************

    Now, as the storms were brewing in Megapolis, on Aloha Island Ryan was going about his usual routine as usual, completely oblivious to any of the plotting and killing. The routine went like this: first he would wake up early, go to Cloud¡¯s peak and sit under a waterfall, then he would practice the dancing dragon fist technique. When the sun was up, he would go back home and prepare for school.

    At school, he would try to blend in and behave normally. He would participate in gym class, taught by the football coach. Thanks to his torturous cultivation training, his body appeared tough, but that didn¡¯t deter bullies from beating the living daylights out of him.

    Soon, a year went by, with no major changes happening. During this year, Myra would spar a bit with Ryan. Rather than calling it sparring, it was a one way beating exercise, with Ryan on the receiving end.

    A new student also joined Mrs. Stevenson¡¯s class during this period. Her name was Cora Waterline, and she was beautiful, albeit with a cold demeanor. She had long black hair, unlike all the other girls her age; she didn¡¯t put on any makeup. She wore hoodies most of the time, and she kept to herself. None of the girls wanted to be friends with her, and as for the boys, they didn¡¯t like her cold demeanor.

    Ryan tried to approach her, but she ignored him and he simply let it go. Life went on as normal, according to a teenager¡¯s definition of normal. Ryan celebrated his birthday with his grandparents at home. During his stay, he made one friend, Peter Russ, who was a bit shorter than Ryan was.  Peter went to the same school being in the same class as Ryan, and he was a computer hacker who went by the moniker Cyberpunk05. The two would play Starcraft at Peter¡¯s home, where he lived with his parents.

    For the first time, he was glad that he wasn¡¯t discriminated because he didn¡¯t have material wealth. Funny thing was that no one here actually cared about his background. To everyone in school, he was this weird nerd who had only one friend. This situation was basically the same as the one he had been in, when he was in Megapolis. The only difference was that he had a friend at least.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Now, one day, as he was sitting under the waterfall as per usual, a rumbling sound could be heard. At first, Ryan thought it was about to rain, but as he looked at the clear star-studded sky, he was puzzled. A tremor ran through him, and his bones started emitting crackling sounds. He started to panic as he realized he didn¡¯t know what was wrong with his body. The body grew slightly taller, and his wavy black hair grew a bit.

    As Ryan was running around panicking, Myra just stood by, laughing all the way. Well, it sounded like he was laughing. Ryan was puzzled as to why Myra was laughing. He felt a slight pain, but as the rumbling stopped, he felt something was different. Suddenly, the view shifted, and he appeared to be in the matrix space.

    Rogarth looked pleased as he said, ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve finally made progress with your cultivation. You¡¯re now in the first level of cultivation, tempered body. Your body is now as tough as divine iron, no normal weapon on this planet or any other can harm your body now.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? So what was that rumbling sound?¡±

    ¡°It was caused by your body breaking through.¡±

    A few minutes later, he was outside the matrix space, where he began to laugh out loudly, ¡°Hahahaha! I¡¯m now invi...¡±

    Before he finished the sentence, Myra appeared in front of him and punched him in the stomach. Ryan groaned and fell on his face, as an intense pain tore through his stomach.

    ¡°You are not as powerful as you think. There are countless others who are more powerful than you, at least in the universe!¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Fair...enough...¡± replied Ryan with a rough voice, and a slight groan, as he fell face first.

    ¡°You need to focus!¡± berated Myra.

    Ryan grumbled as he stood up and looked at Myra, then asked, ¡°Now what?¡±

    ¡°Test the limits of your power, and see what you can achieve¡±, came the reply.

    Ryan walked over to a tree, then started doing the steps of the Dancing Dragon technique. He started with the first step, then the second, followed by the third. Each step appeared to be refined, and carried out with a profound mastery. As he reached the fifth step, his fist started glowing.

    Dragon Subduing Fist!

    As the glowing fist landed on the tree trunk, cracks started appearing, growing up the trunk. A few seconds later, the entire tree exploded into chunks of wood that started raining slowly.

    Ryan¡¯s jaw dropped wide open, so much that you could fit an egg. He didn¡¯t know he could do that in real life! A flash of excitement started growing on his face, as he realized that cultivating might not be so bad after all, besides the occasional sitting under waterfalls in the cold. He looked at his knuckles, and he saw that there was absolutely no damage at all. He didn¡¯t even feel any pain at all!

    ¡°Now I can take on Brody and his cohorts! I can¡¯t wait to see the look on their faces when I beat the crap out of them...¡± he said as his knuckles started crackling.

    ¡°Ryan, what is the real reason why you agreed to start practicing cultivation?¡± asked Myra, with what counts as a look of regret plastered on his metallic face.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Look, you just cannot go around beating people just because you are stronger than they are!¡± berated Myra.

    ¡°But they have the privilege to do so? Just yesterday they were beating me up and you didn¡¯t say anything about it! So why wouldn¡¯t you allow me to have revenge?¡±

    ¡°Because you are better than they are? Because you are stronger than them? Well, everything now falls up to you. Just do not use the dancing dragon technique to start a fight with them, because I will interfere!¡±

    ¡°Yes yes, if you say so. However, if they pick a fight with me, then I will fight back!¡± said Ryan with a sharp glint in his eyes.

    Ryan decided to practice some more, and he was satisfied with the results. Many trees suffered as he went full force practicing the dancing dragon fist technique. Myra, on the other hand, sat down and started meditating a distance away, so that he would not be disturbed.

    As the sun rose, Ryan could not wait to rush home and prepare for school. Rays of sunlight began to pour over, and as Ryan saw them, he started running towards the farm.

    It didn¡¯t take long for him to get home, take a shower, have breakfast and head over to school. The day began uneventfully, and it proceeded as so.

    Ryan was relieved that he didn¡¯t have to pick a fight to prove he was now stronger. However, all good things do come to an end. As he was on his way to the parking lot, he ran into Brody Kernigan, with his five henchmen.

    ¡°Hey Brody, fancy meeting you here...¡± he chuckled nervously.

    ¡°Avariz, last time you managed to get away, but today don¡¯t count on it!¡± said Brody, as his henchmen surrounded Ryan.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t force me to do this!¡± cried Ryan

    One of the kids surrounding him suddenly grabbed his left arm, and another soon followed. In a matter of minutes, he was pinned down so he couldn¡¯t move. Brody threw a punch that landed on Ryan¡¯s left cheek. A couple of cracking sounds could be heard.

    ¡°How are your knuckles feeling?¡± asked Ryan with a smug look and a wide smile.

    Brody looked at his knuckles, and an intense pain struck him so much that he screamed. The other people holding Ryan were afraid after seeing Brody screaming so much.

    ¡°I warned you, but did you listen?¡± said Ryan as he shoved the person holding his right hand away. ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn¡±, he continued with a slight chuckle. He started moving, one step ahead, and then threw a punch towards the person who was holding his left hand a moment ago.

    The person staggered backwards and fell. Another step, another punch. Soon, every henchman was lying down, groaning in pain. Ryan then turned to Brody, and his right hand fist started glowing.

    Brody was now afraid, he suddenly realized that he had provoked a tiger! Ryan walked over to him slowly, and then threw a punch!

    Dragon Subduing Fist!

    However, before the fist landed on Brody¡¯s face, it appeared as if it struck an invisible barrier. A blast of wind followed which hit Brody¡¯s face, making his hair fly backwards, and he staggered backwards as well. The glow on the fist dimmed down and then faded as the fist returned to normal.

    A voice whispered in Ryan¡¯s ear, ¡°Did I not warn you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault, okay? I told you if they provoke me I¡¯d fight back!¡±

    Now, Brody and the young men were now fully afraid. It appeared as though Ryan was talking to himself! As if he¡¯d gone mad! They struggled up their feet, and helped each other and started running away at full speed.

    ¡°What a freak!¡± shouted one of the young men.

    ¡°Interesting. A bit sloppy but interesting!¡± came a female voice.

    Ryan turned to see who had uttered the words. It was Cora Waterline. ¡°Oh, you can talk?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Who taught you that fighting style? It seems different from anything I¡¯ve seen¡±, she ignored his question.

    ¡°An alien from another planet¡±, he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

 Chapter 10 - The Roc Chasing the Wind

    ¡°Seems you don¡¯t want to answer¡±, she rolled her eyes at him.

    ¡°How long have you been standing there?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Long enough to see everything from the beginning. Should have brought some popcorn!¡± she said chuckling. She then continued, ¡°By the way, who were you talking to?¡±

    ¡°An alien from outer space.¡±

    ¡°There was someone standing there, wasn¡¯t there?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Did you see them?¡±

    ¡°No. But I could feel it.¡±

    ¡°Oh well, you must have been imagining it.¡±

    Ryan turned and started walking away. Cora followed him, peppering him with questions. Some questions met blank stares, others got annoying replies like, ¡°An alien from another planet.¡± Clearly it seemed to be working, however, the questions continued.

    After some time, Uncle George came and took Ryan away, in his grandfather¡¯s truck. Cora was left alone, standing there. A minute later, Cora¡¯s grandfather arrived in a red truck.

    ¡°How was school?¡± he asked, as she got in the car.

    ¡°Something interesting happened. I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s someone else who knows a way to hide their aura such that even I can¡¯t detect it!¡± she exclaimed with a hint of excitement.

    ¡°Wait, what? Who?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But whoever they are, they are extraordinary. I couldn¡¯t even detect a heartbeat.¡±

    ¡°Then how did you know they were there?¡±

    ¡°Ryan threw a punch that stopped an inch before hitting its target. And then he started talking to himself. I could tell that he didn¡¯t stop that fist on his own accord! Someone stopped it, I just couldn¡¯t see them, or sense their aura.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you were imagining it?¡± he said. He continued, ¡°After all, the monks just don¡¯t accept anyone as their disciple!¡±

    ¡°You may be right, but ...¡± she sighed and then continued, ¡°there¡¯s just a feeling I can¡¯t shake off. Maybe I¡¯m overthinking things.¡±

    The old man revved the engine a bit before driving off in a spectacular fashion. Meanwhile, when Ryan got home, he was now anxious. Cora had seen him swinging the Dragon Subduing fist. At first he didn¡¯t want to think too much about it, but now he was worried as to what would happen next.

    He hurried up to Cloud¡¯s peak, where he sat in a meditation pose. A blinding light shone from the matrix, and he found himself in the matrix space. Rogarth was sitting in a cross-legged position, and he suddenly opened his eyes upon Ryan¡¯s arrival.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s move to the next stage. Right now you have to cultivate to reach the second level of cultivation, Dragon Strength! Before I teach you the method though, there¡¯s a movement technique that you have to learn. It is called the Roc Chasing The Wind! When you reach minor success, you can travel 5,000 meters in the blink of an eye! When you reach large success, you can glide between two places, and in some instances, you can fly for short distances¡±, he said.

    Ryan was surprised when he learnt that he could fly. At first he wanted to ask how that was going to be possible, but refrained from doing so. If he could fly, he could go to and from Megapolis without using his private jet!

    ¡°I have to warn you that it is extremely difficult to cultivate. So here is what we are going to do first. Myra will tie weights around your feet as the training begins, so as to restrict your movement.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? How will this help me become faster?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see as time goes on. Right now, sit down and meditate to get yourself in peak condition.¡±

    When Ryan reappeared again, he was sitting at Cloud¡¯s peak, looking at the setting sun. There was something truly beautiful about the sunset, besides the golden rays of light that pierced through the atmosphere and illuminated the skies.

    He ended up getting 20kg weights hung around his feet by Myra. After the process, he started running around the forest, rather, it would be safe to say he trudged along slowly. Eventually, he went home, where he slumped and fell asleep, exhausted.

    His grandparents didn¡¯t ask anything at first, but they could tell that something was happening, even though they didn¡¯t know what it was. Days went along slowly but steadily, and the issue about the fight earned Ryan and Brody detention. When he went to school, he was dragging his feet, which ended up with everyone thinking he¡¯s a weirdo.

    Gradually, as time passed on, his body adjusted to the weights so that he could now walk normally without dragging his feet. However, his morning jogs kept going on, and he was always exhausted by the time he got back to prepare for school. The weights were never removed all this time. At one point, he had tried to complain to Rogarth about the issue of the weights, but he¡¯d been ignored!Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    The person who made the issue even more awkward was Cora. She kept following him, and watching him all the way. At first, she had been puzzled about why he walked dragging his feet. Then she uncovered his ankles, and saw the weights. She gasped at the sight; after all, anyone would be shocked to see someone donning weights at their feet. It seemed to be a punishment of sorts, but Cora didn¡¯t think so. She knew it was some sort of training, but she had never heard of a training where someone was forced to wear weights and walk around with them.

    She didn¡¯t try to make things difficult for him, but the fact that she followed him everywhere he went caused him to be annoyed. At first, she had ignored him, but now seemed interested in talking to him. Who wouldn¡¯t find that suspicious?

    Ryan¡¯s grandparents eventually talked to Peter about Ryan and the overall situation. They couldn¡¯t talk to Ryan directly and ask questions, but they could use his friend. Peter tried to get information from Ryan, but he was rebuffed, which left him in shock. He gritted his teeth and left the matter.

    Time moved faster, but for Ryan, it was moving slowly. He had gotten used to running around with the weights, to such an extent that it felt normal. Despite having a near-indestructible body, the weights took a toll on his body. He was usually always exhausted.

    One day, as he was meditating on Cloud¡¯s peak, he was transported to the matrix space where Rogarth was waiting.

    ¡°How has been the training?¡± he asked Ryan.

    ¡°It¡¯s awful! Please just take off the weights! I have had enough of this!¡±

    ¡°Calm down Ryan. Look, there¡¯s nothing I can do to remove the weights. However, I will instruct Myra to adjust the weights. Before that happens, you have to start learning how to cultivate the Roc Chasing the Wind movement technique.¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to do that?¡±

    The view changed, and it appeared that Ryan was in a mountainous region. In this region, there was a gigantic roc, whose wings spanned miles and thousands of miles. The bird¡¯s structure blotted out the sun, as it flew in the air. It looked completely majestic, with its golden feathers.

    Ryan was a bit taken aback when he saw the bird. He had never seen a roc before, much worse, anything like it. On earth, birds like that didn¡¯t exist, so when learning biology in school, he had never seen a species that looked like the roc.

    ¡°This is a golden roc, and everything you are seeing here is not real. You are supposed to meditate, and gain enlightenment of the Roc Chasing the Wind technique by watching the movements of this golden roc. I will return when you have gained enlightenment. Oh, by the way, time is sealed in this mini-dimension! This means that even if ten years pass here, outside it would only be a few minutes!¡± he said as he faded from view.

    ¡°Wait--¡± before he spoke, Rogarth had already left.

    He sat down cross-legged, and started watching the golden roc flying up in the air. At first, it appeared to be gliding, and when a soft wind blew past, it suddenly accelerated so fast that Ryan was caught off-guard! Within a few seconds, the roc was far away. The scene kept repeating itself again, and again.

    Ryan was now completely immersed in studying the scene, that he simply forgot the passage of time. However, as Rogarth had said, time was sealed so as he spent months in the mini-dimension, outside it was only a few seconds.

    *********************

    Now, on the celestial planet, everything and everyone appeared busy, as if they were preparing for something. Inside the planet, there was a small realm in which a garden was located. This garden was lush with vegetation, there were flowers of all kinds. One could hear the sound of a zither playing in the background.

    A young man and an old man were sitting in the garden, playing chess under the shade of a large tree.

    ¡°Check!¡± exclaimed the old man.

    The young man was the celestial emperor. He frowned after the old man finished speaking.

    ¡°You may enter¡±, he said.

    Ripples appeared in the air as a figure materialized. The figure turned out to be a young woman, whose age appeared to be in the early twenties. She was wearing a red robe, with designs of a vermillion bird on them. As she finished materializing, she dropped on one knee and kept quiet.

    ¡°What is it, Empyrean Flame Lily?¡± asked the emperor, with a look of anxiety on his face.

    ¡°Your majesty, I have some really bad news--¡±, she began.

    The old man interrupted, ¡°News is news, my child. Whether good or bad, it all depends on your perspective on the matter.¡±

    ¡°Yes grand elder, your majesty¡±, she spoke with a bow. Then she continued, ¡°The Soul Devourer has started mobilizing his forces! It appears he wants to take the blue planet under his control!¡±

    ¡°Now, that is bad news¡±, exclaimed the grand elder, as he stroked his white beard.

    The celestial emperor sighed as he focused on the board ahead of him. He then played a move, negating the move played by the grand elder. ¡°How long?¡± he asked.

    ¡°At most two years, your majesty¡±, she replied.

    ¡°Instruct Thunder Fury to retreat, and leave his preparations for the blue planet. No one is to go to the blue planet from now on! All teleportation portals are to be destroyed!¡± replied the emperor. He continued, ¡°Your move, uncle.¡±

    His uncle moved the queen piece on the board, and then shouted with enthusiasm, ¡°Check mate!¡±

    The celestial emperor was at a loss of what to do. He just kept looking at the chess board in front of him, ignoring Empyrean Flame Lily who was still on one knee.

    ¡°Anything else?¡± he asked her.

    ¡°Umm...Your majesty...Lady Miriana...Umm... She went to confront the Soul Devourer..¡± she appeared to be hesitating as she said the words.

    The celestial emperor was so furious that he hit the chessboard with his left fist! However, instead of the pieces falling about, the entire board was reduced to dust! The zither even stopped playing.

    ¡°Calm down, Rokkai! Destroying the board will not change the situation. You¡¯ve already lost the game... Hahaha¡±, chuckled the grand elder.

    The celestial emperor calmed down a bit, and he looked at the place where the board had been set up. Within seconds, the board that had been destroyed materialized again, with all the pieces intact.

    ¡°She might win, you never know¡±, comforted the grand elder.

    ¡°Uncle, you of all people know that there are only two people who can fight and win against that human! And Miriana is not one of them!¡± he voiced his thoughts.

    Empyrean Flame Lily stood there dazed for a moment. She was wondering why the celestial emperor had left Lady Miriana alone in the first place. However, she couldn¡¯t ask questions that could potentially end up with her head on a pike.

    ¡°You may leave¡±, said the celestial emperor coolly and after the Empyrean left, the celestial emperor said, ¡°I don¡¯t really understand that woman!¡±

 Chapter 11 - When trouble comes knocking

    As Ryan was busy cultivating for the better part of the year, Megapolis was quiet and peaceful, in relative terms of course. PI Robotics managed to retrieve and repair the Pirin. Sky Haven went on with their assassinations, as well as recruitment process.

    During this period, PI Robotics obtained a tender to supply the Griffinian government with battle robots, so they started mass-producing battle robots, with capabilities only inferior to the Pirin.

    While PI Robotics was making battle bots, AVA Technologies, launched a peer-to-peer networking platform. This platform allowed large amounts of data to be stored across multiple small devices, like smartphones for example. With these technological improvements, one could think that humanity was well on its way to become the strongest race that could dominate the galaxy.

    For those who really knew of the storm that was to come, they were busy preparing for an apocalypse. No one ever heard from Dr. Alan Paige ever again. It appeared as if he just vanished into thin air!

    However, the truth was that his consciousness was still in the Megapolis PI Robotics Datacenter. This whole time, he focused on changing the source code for the operating system of the battle bots. No one detected the changes, because they were done at the lower level. For the entire part of the year, he was plotting his return! He also read all the emails being sent through the company network, and he made adjustments to his plans based on what he was seeing.

    Time moved along, and as Ryan started his cultivation of the Roc Chasing the Wind technique, an email was sent on the PI Robotics network. The recipient of the email was not known, but the contents alarmed Dr. Paige¡¯s consciousness. The email was sent by Joel Hartmann¡¯s secretary, and she instructed the recipient to ¡®wrap it up¡¯, starting with Michael Avariz.

    Of course, everyone who could have read the email would be able to tell it was a trap. Dr. Paige¡¯s consciousness tried to figure out what to do, and ended up resolving to go and warn his friend. However, since he didn¡¯t have a body, and using the Pirin to go there would alert his enemies of his presence. Therefore, he decided to steal one of the early prototypes in the research center, and after transferring his consciousness, he linked it to the Pirin.

    He did it to make sure whenever he was in trouble, he could summon the Pirin at any time. Some moments after he transferred his consciousness to the robot, he decided to increase the robot¡¯s energy by putting on more battery packs. Afterwards, he went out of the research center through the back exit, and then flew off towards the airport. Since it was so early in the morning, no one noticed the robot leaving. The only people who were in the research center were the guards, but most of them were fast asleep.

    After reaching the airport, he hovered in the air for a couple of minutes. He wanted to make sure that there were no flights that would be disturbed by his own. Having made sure, he headed towards Aloha Island at full speed.

    Michael Avariz had woken up early in order to feed the cattle, and do some other tasks. Actually, he had been awake and failed to go back to sleep, thus he decided to do the tasks while he was at it. He had managed to do most of the tasks, but he still wasn¡¯t feeling like going back to sleep. He headed towards his garage, and as he got in, he took out some blueprints from a drawer in a cupboard by the corner.

    There was a slight knock on the door to the garage. Michael was startled by the knock, after all, no one knocked whenever he was working. Ryan and George would just go inside and start doing something. Marjory didn¡¯t like going inside the garage, and she would call him out whenever she needed something.

    Feeling quite startled, he put the blueprints on the table and headed towards the door. After opening the door, he looked into blue lights, which could have been eyes.

    ¡°Hello old friend, long time no see¡±, began the object with the blue lights.

    Michael was surprised, and he began to edge backwards.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not here to harm you. How long has it been?¡± asked the object as it walked into the garage where light was abundant. As it walked into the light, Michael saw the robot. It was gray in color, and was sort of humanoid, with broad shoulders and short legs. It also had a PI Robotics logo on its abdomen, and a red star showing on what would pass as its forehead.

    ¡°W-what are y-you?¡± asked Michael, stuttering.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Alan. Have you forgotten? And here I was thinking we were going to be friends forever.¡±

    ¡°Alan Paige? Why aren¡¯t you here in person then? Sending a robot--¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m actually here in person, by the way.¡±

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me--¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Yes, I did. Can we stop talking about this? It¡¯s making me uncomfortable.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    The robot walked around and stood by the table, looking at the blueprints spread out.

    ¡°Remember when we made our first robot? John was so excited he went and invited government to come and see the magnificent robot. It could fly, intercept missiles, conceal its digital signature as well as deflect bullets! The look on those idiots¡¯ faces was priceless.¡±

    Michael sighed. He responded, ¡°That was one of the best times I had ever since John started PI Robotics. We pulled an all-nighter to make that robot fly, the component responsible for propulsion kept malfunctioning. John managed to figure it out, and we fixed it.¡±

    ¡°Since we were always having fun, with John making sure we didn¡¯t starve, why did you end up leaving? I always wondered the reason, until I discovered that PI Robotics was supplying weapons to both the Griffinian government and the Misis group. Not just that, they were also selling weapons to the mafia, led by the infamous Lopez! But you knew didn¡¯t you? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    ¡°How was I supposed to say it? Besides, I was simply suspecting John¡¯s right hand man. However, I couldn¡¯t tell John since I was afraid he wouldn¡¯t believe me! I simply decided to quit, and when John asked, I told him I wanted to rest. The reason I joined him, was so that I could make an impact on the world. After seeing that the impact was negative, I decided to give up! My son grew up to start his own company and he became a billionaire. I was satisfied!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also something you didn¡¯t know, Michael. There¡¯s a powerful group that was controlling everything behind the scenes! The reason I¡¯m here is because they are coming after you! You¡¯re not safe!¡±

    ¡°Wait, why me? I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± said Michael, with a frown.

    ¡°They want to use you as bait, to get to me! Even if I hadn¡¯t taken the bait, they would have killed you anyway! You have to leave with your family! None of us are safe here!¡±

    As they were speaking, outside, there was an air force jet flying towards the farm. The jet hovered in midair, and then fired three missiles in succession, towards the garage! However, before they arrived at their target, a large purple-colored vortex appeared and swallowed the three missiles!

    The pilot was flabbergasted at this site.

    ¡°This is Alpha One. An unidentified phenomenon is interfering with the mission! Backup is requested with immediate effect! Alpha Two do you re--¡±

    Before he finished speaking, a purple beam flashed in the dark and hit the plane!

    KABOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!

    The jet exploded leaving bits and pieces raining from the sky! Meanwhile, Michael and Dr. Paige rushed outside to see what was happening, after hearing the explosion. Minutes later, George, Marjory and June came out as well.

    Dr. Paige scanned the entire area, and he realized that they were surrounded!

    ¡°Listen Michael, don¡¯t panic. We¡¯re surrounded! They moved faster than I was!¡±

    As he finished speaking, soldiers wearing weird looking metallic suits came from the woods, the fields and surrounded them.

    Michael¡¯s heart started racing as he realized there was someone missing! ¡°Where¡¯s Ryan?¡± he shouted in a panic.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! He wasn¡¯t in his room when I went to check on him!¡± replied Marjory.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    Earlier, before everything started happening, Ryan was sitting on Cloud¡¯s peak, deep in a trance. Myra sensed something flying top speed towards the farm. Because it was quite far, his divine sense couldn¡¯t determine what it was. He decided to go and see what was going on.

    He looked at Ryan and determined he was safe, then placed a shield array just to make sure. Afterwards, he then took a step forward and vanished, appearing just above the farm. A robot whistled past him, directly landing on the ground, after which it scanned the entire farm, and then headed to the garage. It didn¡¯t even notice him, considering he was using the illusory dream technique.

    Myra kept hovering in the air, waiting. Some minutes later, a jet flew past him and stopped in midair, before launching three missiles towards the garage where Michael and the robot were having a conversation. At this point, Myra could not hesitate. He focused his ki, and his eye sockets turned from pale blue to purple. A purple vortex appeared right before the missiles hit their mark!

    WHOOOOOSSHH!!

    The missiles went into the vortex, and it closed up. Before the pilot could escape, Myra concentrated again and fired a purple beam towards the plane. The beam hit, and the plane blew up, causing Michael to emerge from the garage. Myra realized something was off, then he sent his divine sense to cover the farm. He then saw that the entire farm had already been surrounded! If he could frown, that¡¯s the expression that would have been plastered on his metallic face.

    Ryan on the other hand, was sitting while being in a trance. In the mini-dimension, he was observing the golden roc¡¯s movements. It had been a few months since he had been watching the scene. However, for some reason, he never felt hungry. He kept sitting there watching the movements. The scene kept replaying itself over and over again. Despite the promise of an enlightenment, Ryan could not figure out anything out of the ordinary, besides the giant primordial bird he was watching of course.

    He looked exhausted, even though he was just sitting there watching. As he was about to give up, he realized something about the entire situation. ¡®What if I am wrong?¡¯ he thought. ¡®What if the scene is playing backwards? That would mean that the giant bird is accelerating first, and then gliding afterwards. But why? And how?¡¯

    Despite wracking his brain to think about it, he couldn¡¯t come up with any solution. He couldn¡¯t even see anything that would help with cultivating the roc chasing the wind technique.

    ¡®Maybe the secret is in the name? A roc is chasing the wind, and then using it to glide? What is so special about it?¡¯

    He kept asking himself questions, and time flew by without him realizing it. It felt like half a year had gone by inside the dimension. He didn¡¯t even notice that he never felt hungry or thirsty. By this time, his eyes were more bloodshot, and he was feeling tired. Half a year had gone without him sleeping, well, technically speaking he appeared to be asleep.

    ¡®The secret is in the name? Or maybe it¡¯s about the wind itself? ¡¯

    As he thought about this, he realized something had changed in the scene! It appeared as if there were threads in the breeze that the bird was chasing. Only he could see those threads! His eyes shined brightly and they shone with a glint of determination.

 Chapter 12 - Not so sudden enlightenment

    ¡®So these threads make up one stream? And combining multiple streams creates a wave?¡¯ Ryan thought, as he sat there.

    More and more threads began to appear, until it looked like the golden roc was gliding on waves created by a combination of multiple threads. Ryan suddenly understood what was happening from the scene.

    ¡®The roc pushes the threads backwards by using its massive wings, which propels it forwards at lightning speed! That¡¯s the first stage of the technique, isn¡¯t it? Use the threads of wind to accelerate at hyper fast speed! The key to flight, or rather, gliding, is to tread on the threads and use them to sustain your weight?¡¯

    He was now ecstatic at the prospect of learning to fly. However, Rogarth had said minor success meant that he could travel 5,000 meters in the blink of an eye. The question he had to ask himself now, was how he could pull something like that off.

    ¡®Wait a minute, why is this technique called Roc Chasing the wind if the roc is using the wind to accelerate? Could it be that the person who created this technique thought the bird was chasing the wind? I guess there are crazy people in the world... On a serious note though, what¡¯s up with the name? Am I missing something?¡¯ he thought.

    He stood up, looked at the scene playing in front of him. He sighed as he realized that gaining enlightenment was not so easy. Just as he was about to give up, the scene changed! This time, there were streams of the threads everywhere!

    The roc appeared just above him. It was majestic, with a blinding radiance and its wings that blotted out the sun. The roc looked like it was directing the streams of wind, as it moved forwards. By using its massive wings, it seemed to vanish in between places, appearing in other places!

    Well, it wasn¡¯t that it was vanishing, but Ryan was too slow. His human eyesight was too slow to catch up with the roc¡¯s movements. As soon as he realized this, he sat down to observe the scene some more. More and more time passed, with the scene replaying over and over again.

    This time, Ryan was now able to see the details of the threads. The roc flapped its gigantic wings, causing the streams of wind to be pushed backwards at a rapid pace. The streams that were pushed backwards dispersed into singular threads. The threads that were in the front formed more and more streams, which were pushed back by the roc, afterwards dispersing into singular threads!

    ¡®Oh, that¡¯s how it was doing it? No wonder! The roc was chasing the wind! In actuality, it was chasing the streams and using them to accelerate much further! If I can see the streams, that means I can now start practicing the movement technique! I can¡¯t wait!¡¯ he thought, as he began to get more excited.

    He suddenly rose up and looked in front of him, and the scene that was playing faded away, leaving Ryan looking at a windy desert. There were tornadoes going around, and whirlwinds spinning like vortexes, blowing sand all over the place. Ryan gasped at this scene. They were huge, with the smallest whirlwind being 200 meters in height.

    He turned to the whirlwinds, and observed them closely. From a distance, he could see countless waves spinning in a circular manner.

    ¡°You can see the waves right?¡± said a voice that seemed familiar.

    Ryan turned to look behind him, and saw Rogarth standing there, with a proud look on his face. ¡°Why did you leave me here? I want to go home!¡± shouted Ryan.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do. If you can survive that whirlwind then I can take you home¡±, replied Rogarth with a devilish look plastered on his face.

    ¡°Wait, what--¡± before he finished speaking, Rogarth grabbed him and threw him across the sandy desert right into one of the spinning whirlwinds!

    ¡°Remember, apply what you have learnt to get out of the whirlwind! If you manage to leave alive, then we¡¯ll go home, and consider it your good fortune!¡± shouted Rogarth, before disappearing again.

    Ryan tried to curse Rogarth, but he was already gone. When he tried to open his mouth, a lot of sand filled in and he found it difficult to breathe. He was hurled around by the whirlwind, and he couldn¡¯t even open his eyes to see what was going on!

    From the moment Ryan had started cultivating in the mini-dimension up to the time Myra left, it had only been five minutes in the real world. However, in the mini-dimension, it had been a year, and the latter half of the time spent there was gruesome.

    Ryan was in the whirlwind, unconscious. He had woken up twice, but the conditions had been so unbearable he passed out. He was hurled around in the whirlwind until he got into the eye of the whirlwind. The pressure was very low, and everything was floating, including the unconscious Ryan. His clothes were torn, and he had wounds everywhere.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    As he woke up, he started feeling weightless. He was confused for a moment, before his eyes gained clarity, and then he threw up. His vomit floated up right in front of him, and he threw up some more. After getting used to the feeling of weightlessness, he knew what he had to do!

    ¡®I have to get out of here! That¡¯s what he wanted, isn¡¯t it? That bastard! I¡¯m going to make sure I make him pay somehow! How dare he do this to me? Didn¡¯t he say that I was his successor? Why would he treat a successor like this?¡¯ he sighed as he thought to himself. He continued, ¡®Anyways, the question now is, how do I get out of here? This place is so calm it¡¯s terrifying! There is no wind whatsoever, so I cannot use the roc chasing the wind technique! If only I could make my own wind! Wait a minute, inside the whirlwind there are many waves moving about haphazardly.¡¯

    He looked at the roaring winds moving about in a circular fashion. If a normal person were thrown into something like that, their body would be torn apart instantly!

    ¡®All I need to use the roc chasing the wind technique is some threads; even the slightest will propel me into the whirlwind! After that, I can use the waves to accelerate out of it! The question that still remains is how to get the threads.¡¯

    As he hovered there trying to figure out what to do, he noticed that there were individual threads at the periphery of the calm zone, close to the raging waves. The threads were moving along the waves very slowly. Ryan tried to edge closer to the threads, but he realized that he could not! His movement could only go up, not sideways or down, and unlike the roc, he didn¡¯t have wings so he couldn¡¯t fly.

    He decided to go up, which was easier because all he had to do was to wave his hands and feet in a swimming motion. He was carried upwards, albeit in a very slow manner.

    It took him a full month, at least in this mini-dimension, to get up closer to the top of the whirlwind, where there was even more pressure! However, he realized that the pressure was pushing him downwards, closer to the periphery of the calm zone. His feet touched a couple of threads, and he launched the movement technique, trying to copy the golden roc, but instead of pushing the threads with wings, he used his feet!

    He was propelled a distance of less than 5 meters, directly into the raging winds! He closed his eyes but still, he was pushed around in circles by the winds. He tried to open them, only to have sand fill up. As he was being pushed around, he tried to calm down, but he couldn¡¯t. Nothing was going according to plan! He suddenly realized he had miscalculated. However, in that moment of despair, he stepped on something. Actually, his feet touched a wave.

    He launched the movement technique in that instant, and thus began a battle against the winds. He kept being pushed backwards, while he was trying to propel himself forwards. However, due to the winds going around in circles, he was carried upwards, while rotating in circles!

    Finally, he managed to reach the very top of the whirlwind. There was more pressure at the top; however, he had gotten a little used to it. After a lot of struggling, he finally stepped on some threads that were closer to him, and then launched the movement technique!

    He finally managed to get out! However, he was now falling from a height of over 200 meters! His speed picked up as he dropped.

    150 meters...145 meters...140 meters...

    The distance between him and the ground was dropping rapidly, as he was falling. If he fell, there was no doubt that he would die!

    Suddenly, he started seeing very small threads. These threads were different from the ones he had seen before. They were violet in color, and they were very thin. He tried to grab hold on one of the threads but it shattered instantly, and his falling speed increased! The amount of the violet threads started increasing as he fell. Ryan was perplexed. He tried to think what this meant, but couldn¡¯t come up with any ideas. He just decided to try launching the movement technique without touching the threads.

    Roc chasing the wind!

    He was propelled to a distance of 10 meters in a slanted direction! He launched it again, and he was propelled another distance of 10 meters again! He kept launching the movement technique, until he was 40 meter above the ground.

    30 meters...20 meters...10 meters...

    Thud!

    He fell onto the sand, which was scattered in every direction upon impact.

    ¡°Congratulations, you have managed to survive the wind. Now you have the ability to move at very fast speed! You have yet to reach minor success though¡±, said Rogarth who appeared behind Ryan, who had stood up, spitting sand and dusting himself.

    ¡°Pth... You... Y-you...Pth...¡± he tried to speak but his mouth was filled with sand. The only thing he managed to do was spit out large amounts of sand.

    ¡°Time for you to go home now¡±, said Rogarth.

    Space shifted, and Ryan found himself outside the mini-dimension. He was sitting cross-legged on Cloud¡¯s peak. Myra was nowhere to be found, and there was a glowing shield surrounding the place he was sitting. The sandy taste was gone from his mouth, and everything was now normal.

    ¡°It won¡¯t do you any good to try to resist!¡± said one of the soldiers who were surrounding Michael, Marjory, Dr. Paige, George and June.

    ¡°What do you want with me?¡± asked Michael.

    The soldier kept quiet. However, that was when middle-aged man, who was wearing a green uniform with multiple badges on his shoulder walked into view. He had a scar that stretched from between his eyes to his left cheek.

    ¡°Has the blueprint been found?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes General, we found it on the table in the garage, as per intel¡±, said a soldier who handed over the blueprint Michael had placed on the table before.

    ¡°General? Blueprint? You guys were after that thing all along?¡± snapped Michael.

    The general ignored Michael, and continued, ¡°Good job you two. Your mission is now complete. Report to Mission Control for your next assignment!¡±

    As he spoke, he was looking at the direction June and George were standing.

    ¡°Yes General¡±, they both replied and started moving away.

    ¡°Wait, June, George, what¡¯s going on? What are you guys doing?¡± shouted Michael.

    ¡°Michael, you can¡¯t be this slow, could you? Can¡¯t you tell by now that they were spies sent to infiltrate your farm and obtain that blueprint?¡± asked Dr. Paige.

    ¡°But--¡±

    ¡°Lady and gentlemen, my apologies for the late introduction. My name is General O¡¯Brian¡±, said the general with a slight smile.

 Chapter 13 - Cerberus

    ¡°Eh... grand elder, what is the purpose of this meeting again?¡± asked Aerys.

    ¡°We have received word from the higher ups! We are to use any and all materials in our possession in order to apprehend the mad scientist Alan Paige!¡± said an old man with gray hair, who had been called grand elder.

    ¡°After contacting General O¡¯Brian, we have Engineer Michael Avariz, his wife and his friend, Alan Paige in custody. What do we do with them?¡± asked Aerys.

    Gilgamesh, a young man wearing a suit and tie, spoke, ¡°Grand elder, I know we shouldn¡¯t question our orders but... Are you sure that we should really do this? We sent Blue Rose, and the cleaners, yet we failed to get rid of this guy completely! We might have managed to destroy his body, but now that he doesn¡¯t have one, he¡¯s going to be difficult to deal with!¡±

    ¡°WHO ARE WE?¡± asked the grand elder.

    ¡°We are the sword that cuts through steel, the star that illuminates the dark void, the guardians of the underworld!¡± everyone in the room spoke in unison, with the exception of the grand elder, who had asked the question.

    ¡°WE ARE CERBERUS!¡± came a chorus, perfectly in sync.

    ¡°We are a part of Cerberus! Never forget that! Therefore, it is wise for you to carry out orders, with no questions asked!¡±

    ¡°Yes grand elder!¡± came the chorus again.

    ¡°As to what to do with them, wipe them from existence! Capture Alan Paige, but get rid of everyone else, and leave no evidence behind!¡± declared the grand elder.

    Nightingale¡¯s heart almost jumped to her throat! This was her family! Well, she was supposed to be dead but how could she allow them to kill her family in silence?

    ¡°Grand elder, I will not be a part of this!¡± she blurted out, slowly rising to her feet.

    ¡°Nightingale, it would do you well to sit down!¡± demanded the grand elder.

    Nightingale calmed herself down, and then sat down. Her face had a cold expression, masked with a slight killing aura that was difficult to detect. She was furious, but there was nothing she could do currently. As she started thinking about it, she realized if she tried to interfere, she would be punished severely, or worse, killed!

    ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to protect your child. However, don¡¯t forget where your loyalties lie! Do you know the reason why we let him live all this time? Because of you! Consider your position special.¡±

    ¡°Looks like she forgot her place again¡±, chuckled Gilgamesh.

    Nightingale glared at him, and as he noticed, he glared back. Sparks flew in the air between the two of them, and it would have ignited into a big ball of flame, if the grand elder had not intervened!

    ¡°That¡¯s enough you two!¡± he spoke in a commanding tone.

    ¡°Grand elder, with all due respect, isn¡¯t Michael the only person who can decipher the blueprint? Who else besides him and Alan Paige can make the canon?¡± asked Aerys.

    ¡°We can always find someone else to decipher them. We do not have a shortage of engineers do we?¡±

    ¡°Please consider this grand elder...¡± spoke Nightingale, in a pleading tone.

    ¡°I have made up my mind. All we want are the blueprints, everything else after that doesn¡¯t matter. As for your child, send Blue Rose to protect him. Oh wait, didn¡¯t you already do that?¡± asked the grand elder.

    Nightingale remained quiet, while Gilgamesh chuckled. Aerys had a thoughtful look on his face, but he kept whatever he was thinking about to himself. After a moment, Nightingale sighed.

    ¡°As you wish grand elder. So how am I supposed to deal with the Hartmann case?¡±

    ¡°Just let him be. Right now we need to focus on getting the blueprints!¡±

    ¡°Yes grand elder¡±, replied the others in unison.

    The grand elder sighed. ¡®I¡¯m too old for this!¡¯ he thought, ¡®Well, at least the others don¡¯t have it easy. The only problem is that none of those bastards is taking their orders seriously.¡¯

    ¡°By the way, do you think the monks will intervene this time?¡± asked Gilgamesh.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing special about this case. If they didn¡¯t interfere when we took their apprentice, what more this time? There¡¯s no correlation between them and either Alan Paige or Michael Avariz¡±, replied the grand elder.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°If they appear, what do we do with them?¡± asked Aerys.

    ¡°Make sure the mission succeeds at any cost!¡± demanded the grand elder.

    He sighed as he thought about the monks. Ever since Cerberus was formed, they had never faced any noteworthy resistance. That was until they learnt of a certain group of monks who were dedicated to rid the world of the scourge that was Cerberus.

    At first, they had ignored these monks, but they came to realize that whenever they tried to establish a weapons manufacturing plant in the East, the monks would interfere. The plants would vanish overnight, as if they were never there before. No one knew what had happened, until an investigation revealed that whenever a plant was built, a monk would appear and just look at the building. The following day, the building would be missing!

    This happened on many occasions, until one day the grand elders had had enough. They plotted and schemed, until they learnt that the monks were training a young girl as their apprentice. Since Sky Haven was part of Cerberus, they mobilized a group of their best assassins to kidnap the little girl. Using the plants as a diversion, they managed to storm the monastery hidden in the mountains and kidnapped the apprentice.

    Sky Haven was then tasked with conscripting the girl into the organization, and then train her into one of the fiercest assassins. The task was not easy, but they managed to do it. The little girl grew up to become Blue Rose, who was trained harshly by the organization. She didn¡¯t stop practicing the martial arts that she was trained by the monks, but she also learnt to use it to kill people.

    As for the matter of the disappearing plants, the investigation showed that the monks were using a strange magic to teleport the buildings somewhere. They couldn¡¯t determine the exact location, even after tying various tracking devices to the buildings.

    They eventually let the matter rest. However, despite that, the grand elders knew that something was up! The monks never tried to retaliate after the loss of their apprentice. For anyone, this was a suspicious point. However, despite keeping an eye on Blue Rose, nothing turned up. She carried her missions well, until she was promoted to the rank of a Cleaner. Cleaners were specially trained by Sky Haven to be Cerberus¡¯ last resort, unless necessary, they wouldn¡¯t be activated.

    Blue Rose was exceptional even in her new role. The grand elders found it very odd and suspicious, but they didn¡¯t have any evidence that she was doing something to betray them. And like that, they left her alone.

    Now, Cerberus was made up of 3 groups. The first group handled all matters relating to public opinions. This group was heavily involved in organizing protests against governments, organizing rebellions and so on. The second group handled matters relating to weapons manufacture, distribution and so on. They sold weapons to both governments and terrorists. They developed these weapons under shell companies. The third group managed government affairs. They were heavily involved in day-to-day running of certain countries. They also decided who ruled which country, and using the Sky Haven organization, decided who got to meet the Maker first.

    A grand elder, someone who was in charge of controlling the overall decisions made by the group, managed each group.

    ¡°Meeting is adjourned; I have to report the proceedings to the other grand elders. You may leave¡±, said the grand elder.

    ¡°Yes grand elder¡±, replied the others in unison, as they all stood up and left the hall.

    The grand elder was left alone, sitting by his comfortable chair. He sighed as he realized that he hadn¡¯t slept well the previous day. As he looked at the watch in his hands, he shook his head.

    As Nightingale left the hall, she went directly to the Pinktail. Without stopping to get some rest, she took out a shoe from the drawer, and removed the heel. The heel had a dialing pad embedded within. She dialed a number after making sure no one was listening in on her conversation.

    ¡°We have a problem,¡± she spoke.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked the voice on the other end.

    ¡°They have begun to move. In fact, we might be too late!¡± she declared.

    ¡°What are your orders?¡±

    ¡°Make sure everyone lives!¡± she spoke with conviction.

    ¡°Noted,¡± replied the voice, after which the line hung.

    Nightingale sighed deeply, thinking about what she had done. ¡®Things might never be the same again after this¡¯, she thought, ¡®I hope she succeeds, otherwise there might be a war!¡¯

    *********************

    Blue Rose yawned as she put her cellphone down. ¡®That was unsettling... Why would anyone mobilize this early in the morning?¡¯ She yawned again.

    She lazily climbed from her bed and trudged along into the bathroom. A few moments later, she was out, with her hair neatly tied, and wearing black tight fitting clothes. She walked out and got into the garage.

    ¡°And then? Why are you sneaking off into the garage at this time of the morning?¡± came a voice, which sounded horse.

    ¡°I have been given a mission. I need to borrow your car¡±, she replied.

    ¡°I want you to look out for yourself. It¡¯s probably worse than you guys think!¡± said the voice, as car keys jingled, flying towards her.

    ¡°Thank you for understanding.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you kids to say I never gave you the chance¡±, replied the voice.

    She opened the door to the red classic sports car in front of her, and got in. The engine roared to life, and after revving the engine a bit, she asked, ¡°How fast?¡±

    ¡°0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds, a top speed of 300 miles per hour¡±, came the reply.

    Blue Rose sucked in a cold breath.

    ¡°She¡¯s quite a beast. I hope you can take care of her very well, and try to return her in one piece¡±, said the voice.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try, but I can¡¯t make any promises¡±, she said as she drove off, leaving a cloud of dust and smoke behind. There was a slight cough, followed by a bit of cursing and then silence as the car disappeared from view.

    As she drove, she suddenly said, ¡°Let¡¯s see how fast you can really go. After all, if I don¡¯t make it in time, Nightingale will have my head!¡± She chuckled with excitement, and with a slight grin, she stepped on the accelerator. The engine gave a roar, and with a whooshing sound, sped off into the distance, towards Michael¡¯s farm.

    Before she got into the main road, she took a detour. The place she had gone to had a nice-looking tree house, which was neatly furnished inside. There was a small box on a table, a spandex suit hanging by the wall and a crossbow hanging by the side. There was also a shotgun placed in a shelf, beside a fireplace.  She put on the suit, and then took a mask from the drawer on the shelf.

    After taking everything she needed, which was basically every weapon in the tree house, she left.

 Chapter 14 - The Heaven Defying Pixin

    A soft wind blew across the dark forest, as golden rays shone on the horizon, indicating the sun was rising up. Ryan looked at the glowing shield surrounding him and with a puzzled expression, folded his arms.

    ¡®This is definitely Myra¡¯s doing! So how do I get out of here?¡¯ he thought.

    It was then that he noticed a small disc-like object glowing with funny looking symbols. The object was an array disc that contained the shield array surrounding Ryan currently. Myra had placed it there to hide Ryan and protect him from whatever was happening at their farm.

    Ryan fiddled with the glowing disc, trying to press all edges. Finally, after some minutes of fiddling, the shield dissipated. Ryan took a deep breath. Just then, his morning alarm started ringing from the phone in his pocket.

    ¡°Darn it! I¡¯m going to be late to school!¡± he shouted as he fumbled to get the phone from his pocket. After some time, he stopped the ringing, and returned the phone into his pocket.

    ¡®Now that I¡¯ve learnt the Roc Chasing the wind movement technique, let me see if I can apply it in real life...¡¯ he thought.

    He closed his eyes and focused on meditating. A moment later, he opened them with laser focus. If one looked closely into his eyes, they¡¯d see a mysterious fiery glow. Everything began to unravel; there were threads, and multiple streams floating about in the air.

    ¡®I can see them!¡¯ he thought.

    He focused and then activated the technique, as he had been doing in the mini dimension. As he stepped onto a thread, he appeared 10 meters from where he was standing before.

    ¡°I can do it!! Yes!!!¡± he shouted in excitement.

    He began to use the technique, moving 10 meters with every step he took. As he left, a purple vortex suddenly appeared from nowhere. After appearing, it dropped the confused Michael and Marjory a few meters from where Ryan had been sitting cross-legged and then vanished.

    Now, earlier at the farm, General O¡¯Brian had just introduced himself to Michael, Marjory and Dr. Paige. He had a wide smile covering his face, anyone who saw him would instantly think of him as a friend.

    ¡°Forgive us for intruding on your property, Mr. Avariz¡±, began the general, ¡°Dr. Paige, would you be so kind as to come with us?¡±

    ¡°If I refuse?¡± asked Dr. Paige.

    ¡°We would have to use a bit of force. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t end well for anyone. So what do you say?¡±

    He looked down, before taking a step forward.

    ¡°General, what do we do now?¡± asked one of the soldiers.

    ¡°Commence Operation Cleanup!¡± said the general as one soldier took Dr. Paige into custody.

    While they were talking, Blue Rose who was clad in a black spandex suit and wearing a wooden mask had arrived at a small hill about 200 meters away. She parked the car and went out while holding a crossbow in her right hand and a large bag in her other. She put the bag on the ground and opened the boot, where she noticed a tall case.

    As she opened the case, she saw sniper components. She sighed before saying, ¡°Wily old fox. You knew I was planning to sneak out all along didn¡¯t you? Well then, thank you for the present! This will make my life much easier...¡±

    She assembled the sniper and headed towards a clear area. Taking out binoculars, she lied down and looked through them. She saw the general giving an order, and then she saw the soldiers pointing some funny looking weapons, which didn¡¯t look anything like guns, towards Michael and Marjory. In a flurry, she took the assembled sniper and looking through the scope, targeted the general!

    However, before she could pull the trigger, a purple vortex appeared behind Michael and Marjory, and before they could react, they were pulled inside it. Blue Rose thought she was seeing things, or maybe the scope was damaged. To confirm what she had seen, she took binoculars and looked towards the scene. Only Dr. Paige and the soldiers, who were now looking utterly shocked, confused and afraid, were left behind on the clear area.

    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on? What was that purple vortex?¡± she asked, with a frown on her face, which was concealed by the wooden mask.

    She took the sniper again and looked through the scope. ¡°Wait a minute, that man is a general? Why would a general come here personally? Something is not right!¡± she said, hesitant.

    The general appeared to be giving some orders frantically. As the soldiers started running around, a robot appeared hovering in the air above the farm. This robot was wearing a gray robe, with a gray weird-looking bamboo hat. Blue Rose¡¯s eyes widened upon seeing this; after all, this was unprecedented.

    ¡°Let¡¯s test my theory, and see if I can hit a moving target¡±, she grinned as she targeted the general and pulled the trigger.

    Now, the general was now running towards the trucks, which had been parked quite a distance. However, he suddenly fell down, dead. Upon closer inspection, a bullet hole was visible on his chest, directly next to his heart. Another soldier carried him into a truck and some of the trucks started moving.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°BEEP. BEEP. Component failure, ETA: 5 minutes. Automatic System Repair Failed!¡± came a voice as soon as Myra appeared.

    He had been damaged during his fight with Empyrean Thunder Fury. No matter how he tried to repair himself, he had failed! Now, he had appeared to save Michael and Marjory, and his damaged circuits worsened.

    The soldiers who had been left behind started firing, using their weird looking weapons. It turned out they were actually plasma blasters, no wonder they didn¡¯t look like guns...

    ¡°A Sage Pixin!¡± exclaimed Dr. Paige who was being hurtled towards an army truck by the soldiers, ¡°This is impossible! They aren¡¯t supposed to exist!¡±

    As he spoke, the soldiers kept firing, but their weapons were not effective to say the least. Even though there were sparks flying off from the robot, indicating that it had sustained some damage, the plasma blasters did not produce the intended effect.

    ¡°This is insane! The Sage Pixin was a joke Michael designed when he lost a bet. Why is this one so powerful? And why didn¡¯t Michael tell me he had one?¡± exclaimed Dr. Paige, ¡°Well, I might as well as take it as a parting gift. Hahaha.¡±

    The lights that shone in his eyes dimmed until they died down completely. As that happened, in Megapolis, the Pirin powered up and then suddenly flew up through the roof of the building! Two more robots powered up and they started following the Pirin. The Pirin was flying at such high speeds the other robots were failing to keep up; even their top speed was insufficient to catch up.

    It was at this moment that purple ki formed in Myra¡¯s hands and they took the shape of swords! He was dual wielding swords made of purple ki! After the swords had formed, he dashed towards the soldiers. Every time he swung, two heads flew up, and blood spluttered into the air before bodies fell.

    Some soldiers were trying to retreat into the trucks parked nearby. They suddenly started seeing small purple vortexes. After seeing the vortexes, they began to hallucinate. One of them turned to his companions and blasted him to bits with his plasma blaster. Another ran and embraced his companion with tears streaming down his face, but another of their companions blasted them both. The illusions they were seeing were variable, but they caused disorder within the ranks of the frightened soldiers.

    Blue Rose kept looking through the binoculars, stupefied by what she was seeing. In all of her life, she had never seen any slaughter of this magnitude. She began to feel slightly nervous as she watched.

    At this point, there was a whistling sound above the farm ground. Myra looked up, and he saw five missiles coming down, aimed at him! The culprit was the Pirin, which had arrived some minutes earlier and was now hovering above the farm. Myra¡¯s eye sockets were still purple, and as he concentrated, a purple vortex absorbed three of the missiles before vanishing and appearing behind the Pirin!

    KABOOOOOOMMM!! BOOOOOOM!!

    Five missiles struck, causing two explosions. Myra was flung backwards by the force from the impact, after two missiles struck. The Pirin didn¡¯t have it easy either, the three missiles exploded after being released behind it by the purple vortex. The Pirin fell from the air at a high speed, and crashed into the ground, creating an oval shaped crater.

    ¡°BEEP. BEEP. Warning: Component failure imminent, ETA: 1 minute 30 seconds¡±, sounded a digital voice from Myra, which sounded different from when he usually spoke to Ryan.

    The Pirin emerged from the crater, and then spoke, ¡°State your Serial Number!¡±

    ¡°PI XIN 3360¡±, replied Myra, ¡°Mortal Robot, State your Serial Number!¡±

    ¡°PI RIN 8420¡±, replied the Pirin.

    However, that was when Dr. Paige¡¯s voice sounded from the Pirin, ¡°So it IS a Sage Pixin! But why isn¡¯t it appearing on the Pirin radar? Also, I¡¯ve scanned it with Scanmap and it¡¯s not even connected to the internet! There are no ports at all! What kind of robot doesn¡¯t have any ports? Is that why I couldn¡¯t hack it? Anyhow, I guess I can still capture it and find out, after all, the Pirin is made to be superior!¡±

    The Pirin produced a small hilt and upon pressing a button, produced a laser light, making it look like a light sword! A small vortex appeared in front of Myra, and from this vortex, he took out a long, silver spear with purple inscriptions. The two robots were 10 meters apart.

    Myra and the Pirin charged towards each other, and then clashed!

    CLANG! CLANG!

    As they clashed, shockwaves were produced which caused a wind to kick up. The sun was now partially visible, with the rest still buried in the horizon. More sparks began to show on Myra as the two robots clashed.

    ¡°BEEP. BEEP. Warning: Component failure! Shutdown in 3 minutes!¡± came the voice from Myra.

    ¡°So, you have been damaged? Give up, it will be trouble repairing you!¡± said Dr. Paige, as he used the Pirin to charge towards Myra.

    Myra spun the spear, and then swung it in an arc. A purple wave spread out horizontally with Myra as the source. In order to avoid it, the Pirin flew upwards, until it was hovering in the air. The barn, which was some meters away, was cleaved in two by the wave. The wooden planks, which had been used to construct it, fell down and disintegrated upon reaching the ground! Myra vanished from the ground and appeared in the air behind the Pirin. He struck the Pirin, which then tumbled from the sky and crashed into the ground, creating a crater and crevices that spread outwards.

    Flames of purple ki now surrounded the spear he was holding, and as he threw it downwards, it transformed into a purple dragon, writhing as it flew towards the crater! Having sensed a deadly crisis approaching, the Pirin produced a small device, which upon activation, created a plasma shield that covered it!

    When the spear struck the shield, it was like cutting through butter with a hot knife! The shield exploded and spear continued unhindered! It struck the Pirin, and then kept flying until it pinned the robot 20 meters away. There was dust everywhere, caused by the impact. Myra floated down, and landed on the ground.

    ¡°BEEP. BEEP. Damage report: 45%, Automatic repair failed! Shutting down to prevent further damage!¡± sounded a voice from Myra, as his eye-sockets, which had been alight with a purple hue, flickered and then turned dark.

    The Pirin tried to stand up, but because it was pinned by the spear, failed completely. However, this was when the two battle robots that had accompanied the Pirin suddenly arrived at the scene! Because their speed was much slower than the Pirin, it took them a while to reach the battlefield.

    One of the robots approached Myra, who was standing there, motionless. Before the robot did anything, two monks suddenly appeared, standing in front of Myra. One of the monks was chanting mantras while clasping his hands, which were holding prayer beads. The other was holding a staff in one hand. Both of them had paper talismans plastered on their foreheads.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me...¡± exclaimed Blue Rose, as she suddenly rose up from where she was and headed towards the battlefield.

 Chapter 15 - Order of the White Lotus

    The sun shone brightly, despite the fact that it was early in the morning. The birds were happily singing, and most animals were enjoying the abundant sunshine. Only the humans were running about, hurrying to places of work or going about running errands and so on.

    There are five known continents on planet earth, which are habitable. Of these continents, two of them are cold to the extreme, one located in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern hemisphere. The remaining three continents are the largest, and these are Laodicea, Euphrasia and Symirca. Laodicea is in the western side of the planet and Euphrasia is in the eastern side, from Symirca¡¯s perspective anyways. Zimikhstan is located in Laodicea, and Aloha Island is under Euphrasian jurisdiction.

    Now in the Euphrasian continent, in a country called Tibet, there is a monastery hidden in the mountains, away from prying eyes and worldly distractions. In the monastery, a monk was sitting on a mat with eyes closed, chanting a mantra. He looked middle aged, but he radiated a youthful vitality and a holy air that made one want to prostrate before him.

    ¡°Namo amit¨¡bh¨¡ya tath¨¡gat¨¡ya tadyath¨¡...¡± he spoke, before stopping and then sighing. He stood up and then left the courtyard, before appearing in front of a young monk who was waiting for him outside the courtyard.

    The young monk bowed in greeting, but the middle-aged monk motioned him to stand up.

    ¡°Sacred Abbot, we have found the immortal¡±, spoke the young monk.

    ¡°Ah, that is great news. Why then is your countenance sullen, my child?¡± asked the abbot.

    ¡°The immortal appears to be an automaton.¡±

    The abbot appeared to be thinking about something for a few minutes before speaking, ¡°Is that so? And the prophesied apprentice?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± the young monk hesitated, ¡°The young man is only fifteen years old. He is still too young and inexperienced.¡±

    ¡°That could be a problem¡±, said the abbot, as he stroked his chin. He continued, ¡°The prophesied time is almost upon us, and yet we do not have any defensive measures against it. Amitabha! Where is the immortal?¡±

    ¡°He is resting in the recovery room. We do not know when he will wake up, or if he will wake up at all. Sacred Abbot, we found someone else on the trip.¡±

    ¡°Oh, where is she?¡±

    ¡°She is waiting for you in your old courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Let me go and see her then¡±, replied the abbot as he started walking down the hallway.

    The young monk followed without saying a word, while the abbot seemed to be pondering on something. The two walked for some time before arriving at a courtyard, which was decorated with lotus flowers. The abbot knocked on the door, before it opened, revealing a girl with a blue dress and black hair. She had long black hair, which was tied neatly at the back. As the abbot walked into view, the girl gave a slight bow.

    ¡°Come on my child, no need for formalities. Oh, your hair has grown quite a lot. How have you been?¡± asked the abbot.

    ¡°I have been well, Sacred Abbot. How have you been faring ever since the incident?¡± asked the girl. Her eyes were black and whenever she stared at you, it looked as if she was looking deep into your soul.

    ¡°It has been quite difficult, but we have been enlightened and taken the steps towards a greater path¡±, replied the abbot as he went inside the courtyard.

    The young monk bowed towards the abbot and the girl, before leaving. The door closed as the young man left.

    ¡°How has been your journey? Did you find what you were looking for?¡± asked the abbot, as he sat down.

    The girl sat down next to him as well, before answering, ¡°My journey has been well. I have been blessed with a helper and this has made the journey a lot easier. I found a boy.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so...¡± said the abbot, with a loud laugh that echoed in the empty courtyard.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean it in that manner, Sacred Abbot¡±, quickly corrected the girl.

    ¡°I know what you meant my child. I just wanted you to remember that you are no longer bound by our rules. When they came and took you away, we made a promise that we would let fate from the [heavens] run its course. If you decided to forget our teachings, we would not exact any punishment nor would we seek to disturb your life...¡±

    ¡°But--¡±

    ¡°There is no need. Currently there are pressing issues that need our attention. Fighting over worldly possessions and treasures is not our way. Remember the prophecy everyone was taught during childhood? It is about to be fulfilled!¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°What?! But how? And when?¡± asked the girl, quite shocked.

    ¡°Come with me, I have to show you and the boy something¡±, said the abbot, rising up.

    The girl followed the abbot as they walked from the courtyard, into the dimly lit hall.

    ¡°Why him? I¡¯ve been sent to protect him and I don¡¯t even know why! What makes him special?¡±

    ¡°You will understand soon. Be patient my child¡±, replied the abbot.

    They arrived at a room and upon opening it, waiting inside was Michael, Marjory and Ryan. All of them looked confused, with the exception of Ryan who was pacing back and forth.

    ¡°Would you mind explaining what you were doing at my house, Cora?¡± shouted Ryan, a bit angry.

    ¡°Good morning Engineer and Mrs. Avariz, I know you must have a lot of questions, but all will be answered in due time. Ryan, would you like to come with me? I have something to show you¡±, spoke the abbot.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°The future, and the past¡±, replied the abbot, with a smile.

    ¡°What about her?¡± asked Ryan, pointing at Cora who simply stood there looking downwards.

    ¡°She is part of the future, and so are you¡±, replied the abbot, as his smile widened.

    Ryan became even more confused but ended up following up anyway. He had arrived home from his training routine, only to see most of the farm destroyed! At first, he thought he had have been lost; after all, he had been travelling ten meters with every step he took. However, he then saw what had been the barn and what remained of their house. This was when he was convinced that this was his grandfather¡¯s farm.

    As he walked around the smoldering remains, he ended up between two monks, a girl wearing a spandex suit and two robots. One of the monks seemed to be talking to one of the robots, and they reached some sort of agreement. The robots left and they took an oval shaped robot, which was badly damaged. Behind the monks, there was Myra, who just stood there motionless. His once pale blue eyes were completely dark, with no light emanating from him. The other monk who was holding the staff vanished, leaving the one with prayer beads.

    The remaining monk explained what had happened, causing Ryan to be confused as well as to panic. The girl in spandex took off her mask and Ryan recognized her immediately! She was Cora Waterline, the girl who had transferred to her school! Before he asked what she was doing, the monk grabbed him and vanished! When he came to, he was in a room with his grandparents.

    His grandparents explained everything in more detail, well, according to what had happened to them anyways. Even they had been confused when the army attacked, and when had been betrayed by George and June. However, what had caused them even more surprise was when a vortex appeared behind them and sucked them in, leaving them on Cloud¡¯s peak. At first, Michael thought he had been dreaming, after all, he had woken up too early. However, Marjory had pinched him hard enough to convince him he was wide awake.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± asked Marjory as Ryan left with the abbot.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess we have to relocate somewhere¡±, replied her husband, with a sigh of regret.

    ¡°But where would we go? Derik had bought Aloha Island for you, remember?¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s always our home in Megapolis, we could go there¡±, suggested Michael.

    Ryan walked behind the abbot, who was walking quite slowly. As they walked, Ryan¡¯s anxiety mounted. Everything that had happened had left him more on edge than before. Finally, after taking various turns and stairs going downwards, the arrived at a room that had designs of lotus flowers on the walls.

    ¡°I am sure you have many questions to ask¡±, began the abbot.

    Inside the room was a simple mat and a scroll enclosed in a glass container. There was also a mural displayed on one of the walls. Aside from those items, there was nothing else.

    ¡°Who are you? And where are we?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°I am called Heavencloud, and I am the abbot of this monastery. We are part of a society called the Order of the White Lotus. Right now we are in Tibet¡±, replied the abbot.

    ¡°Wait, Tibet? I was in Aloha Island less than an hour ago!¡± said Ryan, clearly shocked.

    ¡°You have started practicing cultivation, have you not?¡± asked Heavencloud.

    ¡°Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?¡±

    ¡°Well, we have teleportation talismans that can teleport the user to a marked place from here and vice versa. That was how you came here.¡±

    ¡°So why am I here?¡±

    ¡°The Order of the White Lotus is an interplanetary society whose sole mission is to fight any injustice against non-martial artists. Five thousand years ago, the monastery¡¯s founding abbot came from the planet of the Celestial gods. He stayed on this planet but because he found the ki was too thin, he found it difficult to cultivate using conventional methods. Thus, he created a method that helped him to cultivate and break through realms,¡± he paused.

    Ryan was a bit shocked to hear this story. He didn¡¯t believe the middle-aged man in front of him was lying.

    ¡°The founding abbot was in secluded meditation one day, when he saw a vision. The vision concerned the future of the planet, and after using various divination and augury techniques, he found out that there are specific events that were to happen to signify the destruction of the planet. He then wrote down the details in the scroll. From that moment, our mission has changed. We were then tasked with finding and nurturing the seed of hope.¡±

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained why I¡¯m here...¡±

    The abbot sighed deeply before continuing, ¡°Be patient child, we are getting there. As we went about cultivating, we discovered a belt where ki was much stronger than every other place. However, some misguided individuals from a certain organization started building factories for manufacturing weapons right on top of the belt! That organization is called Cerberus, and I believe your father was part of it.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? What makes you so sure?¡± asked Ryan, with mixed emotions. He didn¡¯t know whether to be sad or angry.

    ¡°We performed our own investigations, and we found out that your mother is part of an organization of assassins called Sky Haven. The organization is part of Cerberus, but we do not know the reason for your father¡¯s death. Since they were part of the same organization, there should not have been a reason for them to kill him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying! Why would my mother kill my father? As far as I could tell, she loved him. She wouldn¡¯t do this!¡± exclaimed Ryan, now he was angry.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say your mother killed him, did I? I simply said she is part of an assassin organization, which killed your father. Anyway, those are simply personal matters, which I believe require more investigating, and that is not our main concern right now. The entire planet is in trouble, so we have to make sure we are prepared for what is coming next.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you said ¡®she is part of an assassin organization¡¯... She¡¯s dead. It was confirmed that she¡¯s dead! That means whatever you¡¯re saying is wrong!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s still alive¡±, said Cora, with a sigh of regret.

 Chapter 16 - Signs of the end of times

    ¡°Oh really? And how would you know? You still haven¡¯t explained what you were doing at my house!¡±

    ¡°Look, that doesn¡¯t matt--¡±

    ¡°Well, to me, it does. I need explanations!¡±

    Cora remained quiet for some time. The abbot looked on with interest, not saying a single word. Gradually, a smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to protect you!¡± snapped Cora.

    ¡°From what? Besides, how can you even protect me, as weak as you are?¡±

    The abbot¡¯s smile vanished and he coughed slightly before saying, ¡°Enough! I have to remind you that you are not as powerful as you think you are. There are things that can destroy you, not just physically but emotionally as well. You might appear tough because of your cultivation level, but you are still a child. Some things are beyond you.¡±

    ¡°What kind of things can destroy me physically?¡±

    The abbot took out a small piece of paper from his spatial ring. To Ryan, it appeared as if it appeared from thin air, and this was even more surprising than the teleportation talismans.

    ¡°This is a normal piece of paper. Here, touch it¡±, said the abbot, as he handed the paper to Ryan.

    Ryan took the paper and confirmed that there was nothing special about it, nor were there any hidden weapons of sorts. After confirming, he returned the piece of paper. ¡°Is this the weapon that can destroy me? I¡¯m sorry but even guns cannot--¡±

    Before he even finished speaking, Abbot Heavencloud imbued some ki into the piece of paper, and then threw it towards Ryan with unmatchable speed. The paper had a soft glow that was clearly visible, and as it flew towards Ryan, it turned into a beam of light! With a whooshing sound, it slightly changed its trajectory and grazed his left cheek, continuing unabated. It kept flying until it embedded itself in the wall behind him, leaving crevices in the wall. Ryan¡¯s left cheek began bleeding, while his mouth was agape with horror and shock.

    ¡°Like I said, you are not as strong as you think you are, child. Anyway, I mentioned before that we have a new mission, and that the planet is in trouble. Come, let me show you something¡±, said the abbot, walking towards the scroll in the glass casing.

    As he reached the glass container, the scroll vanished from the container, appearing in his hands. Ryan and Cora walked towards the abbot, who stood there looking thoughtful.

    He unfurled the scroll and handed it over to Ryan who began to read the contents aloud. ¡°The immortal, the mortal apprentice and the transcended. The appearance of the immortal will herald the beginning of a disaster. A mortal apprentice will be chosen, but before he breaks out of the shackles of mortality, a transcendent demigod shall descent. Thus chaos shall reign, beginning with planet Earth, and then spreading all over the seventeenth universe.¡±

    The other two remained silent as Ryan finished reading the scroll. He rolled it and handed it over to the abbot, who had a stern look of his face.

    ¡°What does this mean? Who are these immortal, mortal apprentice and demigod?¡± asked Ryan, confused.

    ¡°That was something we have been trying to unearth all these years. We only managed to figure it out quite recently. After the meteor shower, we realized that the stars had aligned. The presence of an immortal on the planet made the air heavier. It was something only people like us could detect, since we have various methods of divination¡±, explained abbot Heavencloud. He went on, ¡°We began searching for the immortal and it took us a year to find him, or should I say ¡®it¡¯? After finding the immortal automaton, we also found you. A sixteen-year-old child who has a first level cultivation base.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying I¡¯m the mortal apprentice?¡± asked Ryan, a bit confused.

    ¡°That is entirely correct¡±, replied the abbot, while Cora looked downwards.

    ¡°Where does she fit into the equation?¡± asked Ryan, pointing towards Cora.

    ¡°That is a complicated story which she has to explain to you, in private. Right now, we have a problem. With the immortal automaton incapacitated, if anyone decides to attack us, we are vulnerable.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what happened to Myra? I saw he was switched off.¡±

    ¡°So its name is Myra? I guess you learn something new every day...¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question!¡± yelled Ryan.

    ¡°Calm down, I will answer your question. It seems before falling to earth, the immortal had been damaged. The damage got worse every time it fought. On earth, there should not have been anything powerful enough to challenge it, but...¡± the abbot hesitated.

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°Humans are very inventive creatures. Someone created an automaton that can pose a threat to an injured immortal, rather, the damaged automaton!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°When I met Myra, he could repair himself. Why wasn¡¯t he doing so?¡±

    ¡°I do not know. However, all I know is that the immortal could not use its full strength due to the damage. If it was at full strength, the result might have been different.¡±

    ¡°So how do we fix Myra?¡±

    ¡°Let us speak to your grandfather first. It seems he might know something about that¡±, said the abbot as he began to leave the room.

    ¡°What about the mural?¡± asked Ryan, pointing to the mural hanging on the wall.

    The mural depicted a brave warrior, with silver hair and a bronze armor. The warrior was fighting against what looked like three hideous monsters. They had green skin, their chests were bare, and they had small horns on their heads. The warrior was wielding a long black spear.

    ¡°Oh, that is the founding patriarch of the Exquisite Martial Sect, from planet Khami. Do not worry about the mural for now. It will do you no good to know about what it represents.¡±

    Cora started walking and Ryan soon followed. There was something about the mural that he couldn¡¯t wrap his head around. He couldn¡¯t tell what it was, so he just let it be.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained about the demigod!¡± said Ryan as he rushed to catch up.

    ****************

    On a remote planet, a good distance from earth, a young man was sitting on a throne made of bones. The young man had short, blonde hair and he was a bit tall. Looking at him closely, he appeared to be in his early twenties. He was wearing jeans and a jacket written ¡®Yankees¡¯ in red bleeding letters. He suddenly sneezed!

    ¡°Eh? I¡¯m quite a distance from earth, so why would I be catching the flu? Wait a minute, I¡¯m an ascendant! My body¡¯s natural resistance to trifling viruses and diseases is off the charts, so why was I sneezing just now? Don¡¯t tell me someone is saying something bad about me? Damn it, if I find out who they are, I¡¯ll use their souls as fuel to concoct my elixirs!¡± declared the young man, aloud. He sneezed again.

    ¡°Your Excellency, ummm, are you okay?¡± a gruff voice asked, sounding hesitant. The owner of the voice was tall, well built with rippling muscles, and bare chested. He was wearing animal skins to cover up the important bits. Besides his green skin and the horns protruding from his head, there was nothing out of the ordinary about him.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± exclaimed the young man, clearly in a bad mood. He continued, ¡°What¡¯s taking you so long? How long has it been since I told you to mobilize your forces? If it takes you so long to prepare for an invasion, then it¡¯s actually very easy to wipe you from existence!¡±

    ¡°Well, your Excellency, you sent some of our forces to conquer planets quite far from here. It might take them some time to return...¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying it¡¯s my fault then? The fact that you¡¯re clumsy is my fault?¡± snapped the young man.

    ¡°We do not dare to say that, your Excellency, please forgive us¡±, said a second voice. Surrounding the throne were five more people, being of the same race as the first speaker. They were all green, with horns protruding from their heads. Besides the first speaker, there were four male and one female. The second speaker had a wrinkled face, showing he was quite old.

    The young man sighed before speaking, ¡°I might have to do this by myself then.¡±

    He stood up to leave, but the second speaker suddenly said, ¡°Ummm... your Excellency, you know you¡¯re not allowed to just walk into someone else¡¯s domain without invitation? You--¡±

    ¡°So what? Earth is my home planet, there¡¯s no ascendant on earth right now! I can actually claim it as my own, can I not? Tell me, Rill, do you not believe I can transcend and become a demigod?¡± asked the young man.

    The old man who had been called Rill frowned slightly, and then answered, ¡°Your Excellency, you know that¡¯s not the point...¡±

    ¡°You just frowned again, didn¡¯t you? Talking to you is really useless¡±, said the young man, as he pointed towards Rill.

    ¡°Your Excellency, please calm down. I can exp--¡±

    Before Rill finished speaking, a blood red vortex appeared on top of his head! His pupils vanished, and froth formed on his mouth. Bags suddenly appeared underneath his eyelids, and within seconds, he was dead! His corpse remained standing in its original position. The other five suddenly became afraid, and they all knelt down.

    ¡°I really hate it when someone frowns when you¡¯re talking to them. Do I always have to kill someone to remind everyone who the person in charge is?¡± asked the young man, clearly frustrated.

    ¡°Your Excellency, please forgive us...¡± said the remaining five, who were kneeling on the ground.

    ¡°Fine fine. Since I can¡¯t bloody leave this planet, might as well as make the best of the remaining time. I will be going into secluded meditation. If anyone wants to die next, come and disturb me. Mondo, you¡¯re now in charge, and you¡¯re taking over from Rill as my new advisor. Handle everything while I¡¯m meditating. I will emerge once I break through to the demigod realm!¡±

    ¡°Yes, your Excellency!¡± said the man with the rippling muscles.

    The young man vanished, leaving only five people and a corpse in the room. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but no one said anything out of fear. After a few minutes, Rill¡¯s body vanished as well.

    ******************

    ¡°What on earth? Who made this robot?¡± asked Michael, shocked.

    ¡°According to Myra, it was Dr. Kovakk¡±, replied Ryan.

    ¡°So it was John? Why did he alter the design for this Sage Pixin? And when? The rocket thrusters are damaged! It¡¯s a wonder it can even fly. Wait, what is this component, and why is there no battery pack?¡± analyzed Michael.

    ¡°Anyone in the immortal realm of cultivation can fly without using external materials¡±, spoke the abbot, who was standing next to Cora.

    ¡°Immortal?¡± asked Michael.

    ¡°Grandpa, what did you call Myra?¡±

    ¡°A Sage Pixin? I¡¯m the one who designed it, after all. Decades ago, I made a bet with John over a football game. If I had won the bet, we would have renamed the company from PI Robotics to APK Robotics, using the first letters of our surnames. However, losing the bet meant I would have to design a sage robot, and load the operating system with wise quotes and stuff. I lost the bet, and the robot was called the PI XIN, nicknamed Pixin.¡±

    ¡°But Myra is not from this planet! He¡¯s from another planet called Khami!¡±

    ¡°Huh? How do you know about all these things, Ryan?¡± asked Marjory.

    ¡°Ummmm, so...¡± stammered Ryan.

    ¡°Get to the point young man!¡± snapped Michael.

    Ryan sighed, before responding, ¡°Remember the meteor shower that destroyed our house? I found Myra among the debris, and something else. After talking to him, he told me a lot of things, and even protected me.¡±

    ¡°Was he at the farm too?¡± asked Michael.

    ¡°Yes, sometimes he was, sometimes he was not.¡±

    ¡°Can you fix the damage on the automaton?¡± asked the abbot.

    ¡°I can, but I don¡¯t have the equipment to do it right now. I also do not have the material used to make the damaged component¡±, replied Michael.

    ¡°I know where we can obtain the material. As for equipment, we have a place with a lot of it¡±, said the abbot with a wide smile.

 Chapter 17 - Beginning of a perilous journey

    ¡°There is a lot of things that haven¡¯t been explained yet. Would you mind clarifying to us why--¡±

    ¡°Not right now Mr. Avariz. I know you have many questions but instead of telling you, it is better if I show you instead. You two will go and get the metal ore from the Westwood Mountain range. You have to hurry, we do not have much time!¡± instructed the abbot, pointing to Cora and Ryan.

    ¡°Are you going to be teleporting us there?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Unfortunately our markers do not go that far, so you will have to teleport to the periphery and walk towards the base of Mount Sun, where a meteorite fell. Remember, this journey is very dangerous, be careful.¡±

    ¡°If the journey is dangerous, why are you sending the kids?¡± asked Michael.

    ¡°Because only they can navigate the terrain without alerting the dangerous beasts lurking within the shadows of the mountains. If adults go, they will not come back alive. She has gone closer to the mountain twice, so with her going it will be safer¡±, replied the abbot, pointing to Cora.

    They began preparing to travel towards the Westwood Mountain range. Mount Sun was the biggest mountain in the mountain range. A year ago, a meteor had fallen close to it, destroying many trees. The result of the meteor falling in that region was mutation of some animals that lived in the forest. Most of them began to change, becoming more ferocious and bizarre. Some animals grew extra heads while others developed lethal, acidic poison. The mutations varied from animal to animal, but all of them grew extra tails!

    The abbot explained the dangers of the trip, and how they were supposed to mine the material from the fallen meteor. For security, one of the younger monks was to accompany them, to make sure they succeeded with their mission. Ryan bid farewell to his grandparents. As part of preparation, they had carried some food, water, first aid kits and the monk had four teleportation talismans. Cora changed into a white blouse and she put on a small, blue skirt.

    The trio walked towards the monastery gate, where they stopped. The young monk, whose name was Gonin, activated the teleportation talisman he was holding in one hand, and the three vanished from the monastery.

    Michael and Marjory watched them vanish. They were shocked at first, but after what had happened with the vortex, they could believe anything. The abbot gave a light sigh.

    ¡°Time is not on our side, come, let us repair the immortal before your friend returns for it¡±, said the abbot.

    ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t we supposed to wait for the kids?¡± asked Michael, puzzled.

    ¡°Not really. We already have some metal ore stored up, just not a lot of it. However, it should be enough to make the component¡±, replied abbot Heavencloud.

    ¡°So why did you send the children to mine some ore?¡±

    ¡°To distract them. There are some things you have to know that I did not want any of the children to hear. Come, let me show you.¡± Michael followed the abbot, leaving Marjory standing there, gazing at the horizon. She seemed to be entranced, seeing something no one else was seeing.

    Ryan, Cora and Gonin appeared on a grassy plain. Before them was a huge forest and a small path leading into the forest. Gonin started to walk ahead, towards the forest, with staff in hand, as he put away the teleportation talisman he had in the other hand. Cora followed closely, leaving Ryan who was surveying his surroundings.

    ¡°Hurry up Ryan, or you will be left behind!¡± shouted Cora, walking ahead.

    Ryan took a step and appeared right beside Cora, who gasped in shock.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡± she asked in surprise.

    ¡°I am not going to tell you anything until you tell me who you are! Start talking!¡± he exclaimed.

    ¡°Was that a flash step?¡±

    ¡°A what?¡±

    ¡°Flash step. A fast movement technique¡±, she replied.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s called the Roc chasing the wind. I doubt you¡¯ve heard of it. Now tell me the truth, who are you?¡±

    ¡°Who I am does not matter. For the sake of your safety, I will not answer any of your questions...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had about enough of everyone trying to protect me! What are you even trying to protect me from?¡± asked Ryan, clearly annoyed.

    ¡°...¡± She gave him a blank stare.

    ¡°Look, I can handle whatever you throw at me. Why doesn¡¯t anyone trust me?¡± complained Ryan.

    ¡°Precisely because you are a child who does not understand anything? Or maybe no one thinks you are emotionally stronger enough to know the truth. It could very well destroy you...¡± answered Gonin who was walking ahead.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°How would you know? Besides, I wasn¡¯t talking to you!¡±

    ¡°Very well, good luck convincing her then¡±, said Gonin, as he increased his pace and looked forward.

    They entered the forest walking at a fairly steady pace. Ryan was now quiet, but he was still irritated by the fact that everyone was treating him like a child. The forest was eerily quiet; there were no birds singing. It was now mid-morning, but the forest was a bit dark, due to the closeness of the trees. The forest was very dense.

    ¡°Listen closely, just as the abbot has said, there are different kinds of wild beasts that we should be worried about. The more tails a beast has, the more dangerous it is. Since we have come here for training multiple times, the most dangerous beast we have run into are two tailed beasts. However, the abbot said they once ran into a four-tailed monkey and had to run away. Therefore, we should assume there are much stronger beasts. If we run into three tailed-beasts or beasts with more, we will teleport away immediately!¡±

    ¡°Wait, why didn¡¯t you guys place a marker for teleportation? I mean you¡¯ve been here multiple times!¡±

    ¡°The abbot forbade us from placing markers. He said it would be too dangerous. Imagine accidentally teleporting into this place and confronting wild beasts! No one wanted to be the unlucky victim.¡±

    ¡°You mean to tell me that the abbot knew that this place was so dangerous and yet he sent us here anyway? Isn¡¯t he just sacrificing us?¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Mr. Avariz. The path is not dangerous. Only if you venture deeper into the forest will you encounter deadly beasts with four or more tails.¡±

    ¡°This journey seems forced¡±, grumbled Ryan.

    ¡°Do you trust anyone other than yourself?¡± asked Cora.

    ¡°Trust is earned, Cora. None of you has earned it. Not you, the monk in front of us...¡±

    ¡°My name is Gonin.¡±

    ¡°Yes, whatever his name is. Not the middle-aged monk. Everything you¡¯re doing is only inviting suspicion!¡±

    ¡°There are times where you need to have blind faith¡±, replied Cora.

    ¡°You have to clarify some things first. That¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll learn to trust you!¡±

    ¡°Okay. What do you want to know?¡± said Cora as she stopped walking.

    ¡°You said my mother was alive, how did you know?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you want to know? There¡¯s no going back once I tell you everything!¡±

    ¡°Yes! I want to know!¡±

    ¡°Fine. Your mother sent me to Aloha Island to protect you. There I said it¡±, she said, glaring fiercely.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you!¡±

    ¡°Believe what you want. Why are you even asking?¡±

    ¡°Why would she send YOU to protect me? What are you? Some bodyguard?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an assassin, that¡¯s what!¡±

    ¡°Yeah right! You¡¯re too young to be an assassin. Besides, what is your relationship with the monks?¡±

    ¡°Have you ever seen an assassin before?¡±

    ¡°Of course I have--¡±

    ¡°Ryan, Rose, I need you to quietly back away, slowly...¡± said Gonin in a lowered voice, stopping abruptly.

    ¡°Why?¡± snapped both Ryan and Cora.

    ¡°Wait, what did you just call--¡±

    ¡°Ryan, shhh!¡± Said Gonin, backing up, slowly.

    Ryan looked forward, and then he started sweating profusely. Cora started edging backwards slowly, while Ryan stood still, shocked by what he was seeing.

    **********************

    Donned with goggles, a blue work suit with black and white stripes, Michael was busy working on extracting metal ore from some rocks. The abbot from the monastery had provided the rocks. Apparently, the monks had been teleporting factories to a secret location that was hidden from the world. The secret location was in a place closer to the monastery, but it was hidden from people¡¯s eyes by talismans. Currently, Michael was working from one of these factories, on a rectangular platform where a robot was lying down.

    ¡®Quite handy, those talismans. If I could get ahold of them, I could hide from the people who tried to kill me¡¯, thought Michael as he worked. He focused on a small blue spherical machine, which he assumed was the power supply. It looked quite weird for a battery. ¡®Anyways, if what Mr. Heavencloud said is true, then Alan is now my enemy? But he didn¡¯t attack me back then... ¡¯ he thought Michael. ¡®This robot is powerful, too powerful actually. What was John thinking?¡¯

    He continued working on creating a copy of the component that had been damaged. Considering it was the energy store, he made it slightly bigger than the older component. After remaking the component, he also repaired the damaged thrusters.

    ¡®Maybe if I meet Alan, I could talk some sense into him. The earth is in danger of being invaded by green aliens; right now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. But then putting faith into Ryan might be too much for him, he¡¯s still a child after all. That could be my fate, as Mr. Heavencloud said it ¡¯, he thought with a light sigh.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± asked Marjory as she came into the operating room.

    ¡°Yes, but I do not know how to turn on this robot.¡±

    ¡°It does not have an on-off switch, considering it has a soul¡±, spoke the abbot, coming in.

    ¡°Wait, how does a robot have a soul? And how do we wake it up?¡± asked Michael.

    ¡°I do not know how they did it, but there is a soul inside it. That explains how it was able to cast illusions.¡±

    ¡°So what is the next step from here?¡± asked Marjory.

    ¡°Now we wait¡±, replied the abbot.

    An awkward silence followed soon after. Michael simply stood there waiting, the abbot looked on, stoking his chin, while Marjory was wondering who ¡®they¡¯ were. Finally, after what seemed like ages, some purple streams of energy started rising up in the air. Everyone took a step back as the intensity of the purple streams surged to extreme proportions.

    However, as the streams were still increasing, a young monk came into the workshop, looking a bit flustered. He looked at the abbot, and then bowed deeply.

    ¡°What is it my child?¡± asked the abbot.

    Before the young monk replied, the purple streams started converging, forming an outline of a person. The outline was sitting on top of the platform, cross-legged. As the intensity kept surging, the figure grew clearer, and less illusory. He was a young man whose age appeared to be in the mid-twenties. He had black hair, and he appeared to be wearing a purplish-blue robe with the character Azure written at the back of the robe.

    ¡°Impossible! Azure Immortal?¡± blurted the abbot.

    Everyone turned to look at the illusory figure materializing on the platform. The figure had its eyes closed, appearing peaceful.

    ¡°Sacred Abbot, the ... the ... Dr. Paige has returned! He ... he has an army of over a hundred robots and over fifty drones! He demanded to speak to you...,¡± stammered the young monk.

    The abbot appeared thoughtful, then scratched his chin for some time, after which he sighed deeply. He finally spoke, with a bit of worry in his voice, ¡°Let us go meet him. Amitabha, I can only hope he can be reasoned with!¡±

    Everyone walked out of the factory, and they went to the monastery. When they arrived at the monastery, there was a massive army of robots waiting for them outside the monastery perimeter.

 Chapter 18 - Answers and Questions

    ¡°Alan, I know you¡¯re there! Why are you doing this?¡± asked Michael as he walked towards the entrance of the monastery.

    The robot that was in the lead answered, ¡°Why are you here?¡± It was red, with shades of white, and was humanoid in shape.

    ¡°Answer my question!¡± declared Michael.

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re my friend, you wouldn¡¯t understand...¡±

    ¡°Try me!¡±

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯m sure you now know that my body is dead. If I hadn¡¯t found a way to preserve my conscious, I would be dead in body and soul! However, currently I¡¯m alive, and I want to fight against the bastards who murdered my body! In order to accomplish that, I need the Pixin those monks are hiding. It¡¯s way too powerful. Right now those bastards should be coming for it, and if they get their hands on it... Game over!¡±

    Michael sighed before answering, ¡°Is that so? Why don¡¯t we make a deal then?¡±

    ¡°What kind of deal?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you--¡±

    ¡°Michael! What are you doing!¡± asked Marjory.

    ¡°What I have to, in order to secure Ryan¡¯s future...¡± he replied, before continuing, ¡°I¡¯ll help you to upgrade those level 2 battle bots to level 4, and also equip them with Rhizen canons. In turn, you¡¯ll let the Pixin go.¡±

    ¡°Rhizen canons? Didn¡¯t you just lose the blueprints to those bastards?¡± asked the lead robot.

    Michael didn¡¯t say anything, he simply smiled.

    ¡°No way! But how?¡± asked the robot.

    ¡°I have my ways. Besides, if that organization is our enemy, then an enemy of my enemy is my friend! The monks are our friend currently, and trust me when I say there¡¯s a war coming, which none of us can fight alone! That organization is a threat, but it¡¯s no bigger than what¡¯s coming!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Do we have a deal?¡±

    The robot appeared to be thinking, which was weird because computers calculate. However, it did and came up with a decision.

    ¡°If I were to refuse and attack the monastery, what then?¡±

    ¡°You will not win, and if somehow you did, you¡¯d lose to the organization. What will it be? Should we work together for old times¡¯ sake?¡±

    ¡°Fine. I have some conditions for the deal¡±, spoke the robot, as if hesitating.

    ¡°Which are?¡±

    ¡°I want information; the monks know what I¡¯m talking about!¡±

    Michael turned to look at Abbot Heavencloud with a serious look. The abbot closed his eyes, and gave a light sigh. Three other middle-aged monks emerged from the halls, while another appeared from thin air, with a talisman on his forehead.

    ¡°We will provide all the information that you want, Dr. Paige. However, we will warn you. Having access to this information might do you more harm than good¡±, spoke the abbot.

    The four monks stood behind the abbot, who brought out a scroll and handed it over to Michael.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you!¡± declared Marjory as she moved. However, her movement was blocked by one of the four monks.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have to do this. For the sake of the future¡±, replied Michael.

    Marjory started sobbing. She didn¡¯t know what to do or where to go.

    ¡°Where do I go from here then?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Remember our house in Megapolis? That¡¯s best option right now. Take Ryan with you, he will protect you if anything happens while I¡¯m away--¡±

    Before Michael finished speaking, a purple beam of light shot upwards into the sky, from the secret location. Everyone turned to look at the source of the light. A few minutes later, something floated up into view, as the light dimmed down. As it came closer, everyone realized what it was. The monks developed an expression of anxiety on their faces, which was undetectable until Myra appeared in full view. He arrived, hovering in mid-air, and then finally descended until he was a few meters from the tense environment.

    The monks bowed to him, even the abbot. However, Myra remained quiet, scanning the entire area.

    The abbot was the first to stand up, and he spoke, ¡°Are you looking for the boy, Exalted Immortal?¡±

    Myra remained quiet, but he kept on scanning the area, until his gaze came to rest on the leading robot. ¡°No. I know where he is. You, why did you attack me?¡± he asked, pointing to the robot.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The robot shuddered as if a cold chill had crept up its back. ¡°How did you know it was me?¡± asked Dr. Paige, whose consciousness was in the leading robot.

    ¡°The color of your soul. The robot that attacked me had a yellow-green soul filled with rage. I can see the same kind of soul in you!¡±

    ¡°My soul? What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°You will not understand. The robot in front of you is not a normal earth robot! It came from another planet¡±, explained the abbot.

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy! That robot is something Michael designed, ask him! So tell me, how an earthly design ends up on an alien planet?¡± asked Dr. Paige.

    ¡°We do not know ourselves, but the same concept you used to put your soul into the robots, is the same concept used on this one.¡±

    ¡°What?! So whose consciousness is in it?¡± asked Dr. Paige.

    The abbot remained silent, looking at Myra. Everyone turned to look at Myra, who simply ignored the gazes coming towards him.

    ¡°Exalted immortal, pardon my asking. Are you the Azure Immortal or someone else?¡± asked the abbot.

    ¡°No, I am not. The Azure Immortal perished a long time ago! However, a portion of his soul was used to bring me to life, in order to safeguard the legacy of the Farron race. I have my own personality, if that is what you want to know.¡±

    ¡°I see. So is there any danger that will follow from you being on this planet?¡± asked Michael.

    ¡°Yes, indeed. The Celestial gods will probably send assassins to try to get the legacy I was created to protect. They might even be on their way right now.¡±

    ¡°My grandson is in danger, isn¡¯t he?¡± asked Marjory, hysterically.

    Everyone remained quiet.

    ¡°This is what you meant when you said there were bigger enemies?¡± asked Dr. Paige, looking at Michael, who was standing there, as if in a daze.

    ¡°There¡¯s even more to it than that. Accordi--¡±

    ¡°Ahem. This story is not one we discuss in such a situation. Why don¡¯t we have a cup of tea? Well, for those who can drink tea¡±, said the abbot, with a slight cough.

    The other monks remained quiet, everyone was wondering why there were even there. The abbot started walking towards the monastery, and soon was followed by Michael, Marjory and the other monks. Dr. Paige uploaded a bit of his consciousness in a smaller drone and then flew to follow the abbot. Myra remained standing outside, looking at the horizon, towards the direction of Mount Sun.

    They arrived in a large courtyard, with a small garden of lotus flowers on one end. Inside the courtyard, there were small mats, which everyone ended up sitting on, with the exception of Dr. Paige, who was flying in mid-air.

    ¡°Right, I know most people have questions, so we¡¯ll start with Dr. Paige, then Michael, then the Exalted Immortal.¡±

    ¡°Who really are the enemies here?¡± asked a voice which projected from the flying drone.

    ¡°There are three potential enemies that we are going to face. Initially, it was the threat of the Abyssal race, a race of green creatures led by a human. These creatures, as was prophesied, will spread chaos around the universe. However, an earthly threat also arose. This was in the form of the organization that calls itself Cerberus. The organization influences politics, commerce, life, and death. By making and selling weapons to both sides of a war, it remains in control, making nations do its bidding. Finally, we have the Celestial god race, which we do not have much information on, except that they will come in search of the Exalted Immortal and the legacy he protects.¡±

    ¡°You mentioned a prophecy, what prophecy and by whom?¡± asked Dr. Paige again.

    ¡°The founding abbot of this monastery was part of a group of interstellar travelers called the Order of the White Lotus. When he arrived on this planet, he enjoyed the peacefulness, but he also saw a part of its future. He wrote what he saw on a scroll which is passed to every abbot who takes over.¡± The abbot paused for a moment, as a young monk entered the room with a teapot and small cups.

    After pouring Marjory, Michael and the other monks a cup of tea, the young monk bowed and then left the courtyard.

    ¡°Part of his prophecies entailed the return of a very powerful human being, who had left the planet a very long time ago. This human will control a race of powerful creatures called Abyssals. Currently, we are powerless to fight against this invasion¡±, paused the abbot with a sigh.

    ¡°And my grandson?¡± asked Marjory.

    ¡°According the prophecy, your grandson is the seed of hope that will return peace to the universe. He has been gifted with the legacy of the Farron race. Now we need to protect him from whatever threats that will--¡±

    ¡°It is not just the legacy of the Farron race. The matrix contains the legacies of three races. The first legacy is the legacy of the Farron race, which he is cultivating currently. The second legacy is the legacy of the Celestial god race. As for the last legacy, I do not know what it is¡±, interrupted Myra.

    ¡°So the Farron race is our enemy as well?¡± asked Michael.

    ¡°No it is not. The Farron race dwells on planet Khami, and they are at war with the Celestial god race. In order to preserve their most powerful legacy, the Farron race made a deal with a human scientist to make a device that could store knowledge and power. The device was called the matrix. After making the device, the Farron race stored their founding emperor¡¯s legacy, as well as the other two legacies they had acquired from the war, into the matrix.¡±

    Myra paused for a moment, before continuing, ¡°However, when the Celestial god race learned that one of their secret legacies had been stolen, the attacked with ferocity, hoping to obtain the matrix as well as the third legacy. To protect the matrix, the human scientist made an automaton, using the soul of the Farron race¡¯s founding emperor as a foundation.¡±

    ¡°What does this have to do with Ryan and this planet?¡± asked Marjory.

    ¡°The automaton is me, and as I was transporting the matrix to a secret sect, I was ambushed by the Celestial gods. We fought, but on alone, I was no match for them. I tried to teleport to one of the moons orbiting planet Khami. I was caught in a blast that made me fall to this planet...¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what caused the meteor shower?¡± asked Michael.

    ¡°I believe so. I fell onto this planet, on the property owned by Ryan¡¯s father. Somehow, the matrix attached itself onto him. Now, he has been accepted by the matrix, he will learn the legacies stored within. When he is ready, he will help to fight against all the injustice. I was supposed to teleport him back to planet Khami for more training.¡±

    ¡°Why do the monks call you Exalted Immortal?¡±

    Myra silently turned to look at the abbot, who had a quizzical expression plastered on his face.

    ¡°Because he is an immortal. In order to fully explain this, I would have to start giving a lecture on the Dao.  For now, you have to know that there is nothing on this earth that is powerful enough to fight against it-- I mean him.¡±

    ¡°I thought you said--¡±

    ¡°Yes the robot Dr. Paige controlled could pose a threat when the Exalted Immortal was inj-- I mean damaged, but right now, no weapon fashioned against the immortal shall threaten him. That is the reason why I made it priority to repair him over all else.¡±

    ¡°So, how do we defeat all the threats you just mentioned?¡± asked Dr. Paige.

 Chapter 19 - Cerberus makes a move

    Voices raised above the din, chairs flying all around, the meeting was definitely not going according to plan, even though it wasn¡¯t planned. After the return of the troops from Aloha Island, one of the grand elders of Cerberus called an emergency meeting. The meeting was being held in Fillis, the capital of Griffinia. Now, Cerberus had only three grand elders, and they represented the highest authority. In order to keep control over the organization, they would tell those who reported to them that they reported to the tribunal. No one else had met the tribunal, so using fear of the unknown; they kept tight control over the organization.

    Among the three, two didn¡¯t like each other, and the other one could not control what happened when they met. Thus as the meeting proceeded, it quickly devolved into madness as the two grand elders started by cursing each other and ended up throwing chairs. It was a fantastic time to be alive, even more to witness the scene. The third grand elder was sitting there, and as the tempers flared, he grew more agitated and anxious.

    It was then that a man wearing a black suit and black sunglasses walked in. The two paused their fighting for a moment, as the man proceeded to the third grand elder and handed him a tablet PC. The grand elder took the tablet and motioned him to leave.

    ¡°Gordon, what was that all about?¡± asked one of the grand elders who was holding a chair.

    The grand elder, who had been called Gordon, frowned slightly as he played a video on the tablet. The other two were puzzled by the frown, and they looked at each other, before walking towards grand elder Gordon.

    ¡°Tell me, is there anyone interested in knowing why I called this tribunal?¡± asked grand elder Gordon, as he paused the video.

    ¡°...¡± There was no reply, only blank, confused expressions resulted on the other grand elders¡¯ faces.

    ¡°White, why did you mobilize the forces to go to Aloha Island? Have you forgotten that the tribunal is the supreme authority?¡± he asked, looking at one of the grand elders.

    The grand elder who had been called White frowned, before answering, ¡°Because I had to! Our spies told us they knew where to find the blueprints for the Rhizen canon and that one of the idiots rebelling against us was there. I could have called for a tribunal and we could have argued while the rebel escaped. I couldn¡¯t have that now, could I?¡±

    ¡°Right. You once activated a cleaner to get rid of said rebel, how did that go?¡± asked the remaining grand elder, with a chuckle.

    ¡°Shut up Schwarz!¡± snapped grand elder White.

    Sparks flew in the air, as the two glared at each other fiercely.

    ¡°We do not have time for this! We have a new threat, and this one might interfere with everything we have worked so far to build¡±, said grand elder Gordon.

    ¡°What threat now?¡± asked grand elder Schwarz.

    Grand elder Gordon connected the tablet PC to the monitor across the room, using wireless interface. When the tablet was connected, he played a video. In the video, there was a robot wearing a gray bamboo hat. The robot killed soldiers left and right, dashing at a speed that could not be followed by the camera, let alone the eye. Moments later, another robot appeared, and this new robot was oval shaped.

    The two robots appeared to be conversing about something, but then suddenly, a fight broke out. The fight was spectacular, and very unbelievable. As it progressed, a building was cleaved in two! Everyone watching gasped. Then came the attack that ended it! The robot wearing the bamboo hat threw a spear, but a purple snake-like beast emerged, flying towards the oval shaped robot. A moment later, when the dust settled, the oval-shaped robot was pinned on the ground some meters away.

    Two more robots floated down, and one started walking towards the gray-robed bamboo hat-wearing robot. However, two monks suddenly appeared between the robots, and then the video turned static.

    ¡°What was that?¡± asked grand elder Schwarz, with a look of anxiety and worry.

    ¡°Simply put, that was our new threat. The robot wearing the Euphrasian-looking hat. As you both can see, its weapons are too sophisticated to be from this planet!¡±

    ¡°What are you saying? You think that robot is an extra-terrestrial being?¡± asked grand elder White.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of what I think! I asked an investigation into the robot, and what we found was interesting. The information was obtained from the archives of PI Robotics. According to the information, that type of robot is called a Sage Pixin. The weird thing about it is that Michael Avariz and John Kovakk made a bet decades ago. The details of the bet are not clear, but after losing the bet, Michael was to design a robot and load it with ¡®wisdom from the sages¡¯¡±, grand elder Gordon paused a bit.

    He continued, ¡°However, the project was stashed when PI Robotics almost went bankrupt and they had to make robots for the Griffinian government. That¡¯s why the information was in the archives.¡±

    ¡°If this Pixin was supposed to be a joke, why is it so strong and dangerous?¡± asked grand elder Schwarz.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°I do not know. No one has any information on who made it or why, or how. All I know is that this robot is dangerous... Too dangerous actually. Either we capture and control it, or we destroy it!¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that oval shaped robot the one that could hack any electronic gadget within a five mile radius? If that robot could just hack into this Pixin and control it, there wouldn¡¯t have been a need to fight, right?¡± said grand elder White.

    ¡°What are you suggesting?¡± asked grand elder Schwarz.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just destroy the darn robot! Simple!¡±

    ¡°Haha, every time you try to fight against an enemy, you always lose! And every time you lose, we lose either soldiers or a lot of money! For instance, take your latest--¡±

    ¡°Schwarz, no one asked for your opinion! I was talking to Gordon!¡±

    More sparks flew in the air between the two. Grand elder Gordon simply sat there, watching the entire debacle with a slight amusement, and a lot of annoyance. A bell sounded, which was the tablet¡¯s ringtone alerting that there were new emails. Grand elder Gordon opened the email, as the other two were busy bickering. As he read the email, his eyes widened, before his lips curled up into a smile.

    ¡°How much money have we lost ever since you started your ¡®Projects¡¯? White, you¡¯ve disobeyed the rules of the tribunal through and through! Why should we listen to you?¡± demanded grand elder Schwarz.

    ¡°And how much have we lost funding your protests? There¡¯s no return on investment on that!¡±

    ¡°You think there¡¯s any from your side?¡±

    ¡°Of course! We have the blueprint for the Rhizen canon, which is three times more powerful than all the nuclear missiles we¡¯ve built so far. One of them is enough to level an entire city! How¡¯s that for return on investment?¡± asked grand elder White.

    ¡°At what expense? If we calculate the amount of money we¡¯ve lost, the Rhizen canon does not even begin to measure up! Even if we sold Sky Haven to the highest bidder, we cannot recover that much amount of money!¡±

    The bickering continued, while grand elder Gordon sat there, smiling as he thought of something. The other two grand elders suddenly noticed that Gordon was no longer paying attention to them. They turned to look at him, and realized he was smiling, which, by current circumstances, seemed weird.

    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± asked grand elder White.

    ¡°I have just received an email. Apparently, your rebel, the monks and the robot are all in the monastery. Any suggestions on what we should do to deal with them?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just nuke them! That¡¯ll be killing three birds with one nuclear missile¡±, replied grand elder White with a loud laugh.

    ¡°Every time we listen to White, we end up regretting it! Before we do this, let¡¯s answer this question first. What are the consequences of doing that, and what¡¯ll happen if it fails?¡± asked grand elder Schwarz.

    ¡°Hmm. The worst that could happen is loss of a nuclear missile. Assuming someone survives the blast, they¡¯ll not survive for long with the effects of the radiation¡±, replied grand elder White.

    ¡°And what of the robots? I don¡¯t think they can be affected by radiation! Also, the rebel can upload his consciousness in multiple robots at the same time!¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? And how do you know about that?¡± asked grand elder White.

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who does research, White!¡±

    ¡°Really? How many robots can survive a nuclear blast?¡±

    ¡°Let us not forget that the rebel has the strongest robot made on earth, under his control. From a report we had, it was blasted by a grenade and nothing happened to it!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re comparing a grenade to a nuclear warhead? And I thought I was the insane one!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you insinuating, White?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not insinuating anything. Or we could make the Rhizen canon, launch it and cross our fingers, hoping for the best.¡±

    ¡°How long would it take to make a Rhizen canon? By the time you¡¯re done, the rebels would have been scattered.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re so adamant on turning all my ideas down, what do you suggest we do, Schwarz?¡±

    ¡°Well... I...¡±

    ¡°You what? Speak up!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any ideas. I just wanted everyone to look at this issue from all possible angles!¡±

    ¡°Yes, if you don¡¯t have any ideas, it¡¯s good to shut up!¡±

    ¡°ENOUGH!!!!¡± yelled grand elder Gordon. He continued, ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of your bickering! We¡¯re going to destroy them, but with caution. In other words, Schwarz, use one of your connections to destroy the monastery.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why him?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re impulsive! I thought you¡¯d have learnt from your mistakes but it seems...¡±

    ¡°No way. I¡¯m not accepting this!! You know what? Let¡¯s put it to a vote! All in favor of me leading the Punitive Force to destroy the monastery, say I.¡±

    ¡°I¡±, echoed grand elders White and Gordon, as both raised their hands in unison.

    ¡°There, it¡¯s decided!¡± said grand elder White, laughing aloud.

    ¡°Why do you two enjoy torturing me?¡± asked grand elder Schwarz, sighing in disappointment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine...¡±

    ¡°Easy for you to say, all you¡¯ve been doing is failing through and through!¡±

    ¡°Ahem. Let¡¯s not get too excited, White, Schwarz. We still have plenty of things to do. White, pass on the blueprint to me, so I can start building the Rhizen canon.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing. I have a new project going around--¡±

    ¡°Oh no! More money wastage!¡±

    ¡°Schwarz, do yourself a favor and shut up!!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough you two! If there are no questions, then as the initiator of the tribunal, I hereby declare the session over¡±, declared grand elder Gordon, standing up. Everyone followed suit, and left the boardroom.

    ************

    Captain Jack Johnson had been enjoying his afternoon at the base. Peaceful times were the best times to be alive. It was during times like these that people could focus on the niceties of life. However, all good things come to an end. As he was drinking coffee, there was a knock on his office door.

    ¡°Come in¡±, he instructed.

    ¡°A package for you captain¡±, said a soldier who walked in, carrying a small box.

    ¡°Leave it by the table.¡±

    The soldier left the box on the table and closed the door as he left. Inside the box, there was a tape and a cassette player. Captain Jack played the tape.

    ¡°Your mission, should you accept it, is to destroy the base suspected to be housing terrorists in Tibet. Co-ordinates are provided at the usual pick-up point. You¡¯re authorized to use one nuclear missile, and send any number of jets you have at your disposal. Failure is not an option. The secretary will deny any knowledge of this mission, should you get caught. Secrecy is of utmost importance¡±, said the voice recorded on the tape. ¡°This message will self-destruct in 5...4...3...2...1...¡±

    As the voice faded, the cassette player blew up, and the tape caught fire. In a matter of seconds, there was no evidence of the message. Captain Jack stood up and sighed, as he left his office, going towards the Air force base.

    Less than an hour later, five F22 jets left the base, headed towards the Euphrasian continent.

 Chapter 20 - Encounter with the tailed beasts

    The sun shone brightly across the blue sky. It was already in the afternoon. Ryan was sweating profusely, not because of the weather, but because of what was in front of him. It was a chameleon.

    Now, normally there¡¯s nothing about chameleons that would cause people to sweat. This one, however, was over six feet tall with a horn on its head, and two curled-up tails. Its color changed twice, from green-ish to yellow and from yellow to brown.

    ¡°RUN!¡± shouted Gonin as he turned on his heels, or rather, sandals, and ran. Everyone turned to their heels and ran with Ryan being faster than everyone else. The problem was that he was running in a random direction. When he eventually stopped, the others were nowhere to be found. The chameleon was gone as well. He scratched his head, thinking that maybe he had run a little too fast.

    He turned back, trying to retrace his steps. After walking for a few minutes, he stopped and scratched his head. He was lost! Looking sideways, he tried to envision where he had come from. It didn¡¯t work. Not even in the slightest.

    Ryan sighed, before taking out the one thing that the ¡®new generation¡¯ always relied on to do anything, his phone. The phone had an almost flat battery, and by virtue of his location, no internet network! Things couldn¡¯t be worse, right?

    ROOOOAAARRRRRR.

    The was a loud roar, which sounded as if whatever had issued it was right next to him! He started sweating again and this time, it was out of fear. To calm his nerves, he reminded himself that he was a martial arts cultivator. He reminded himself that his body was physically tough and he was fast. Very fast. However, for some reason, whenever a person tries to feint courage, the mind always works against that person. Ryan¡¯s mind played recent images. Images of a piece of paper causing him to bleed. As if to make matters worse, his mind also played an audio note, recorded from Abbot Heavencloud.

    ¡®You¡¯re not as strong as you think you are, child¡¯, he could hear the voice of the middle-aged monk playing in his head.

    If before he had been afraid, now he was truly teriffied. He was all alone, with no Myra to save him if things went south. Or north. He tried to assure himself, ¡®I can do this! I can do this! I can--¡¯

    ROOOOAAARRRRRR.

    This time the roar grew more intense, and it appeared closer.  He began running in a random direction, without paying any notice to his surroundings. He ran into something, and as he fumbled to get up, there was a slight snarl, followed by two loud growls.

    He looked up, and what he saw almost gave him a heart attack. There in front of him, was a four-foot tiger. If that were all, it would have been better. However, this tiger had two heads, two tails, and two large tusks jutting from each of its two mouths. One of the mouths opened and gave a loud roar that caused a gust of wind to blow in Ryan¡¯s face!

    ¡°Uh-oh, I can¡¯t do this!¡± he declared, aloud as he stood up and turned back.

    He tried to launch the Roc chasing the wind, but he failed. He was too nervous to focus. The tiger started chasing him, as he ran in a flurry, stumbling and getting up. That was when he heard a voice playing in his head.

    ¡®FOCUS! Remove all distractions and FOCUS!¡¯ declared the voice.

    That was when Ryan realized it. His father was with him. His father was telling him to focus. He closed his eyes, and in the next moment, they became very clear. He had made his resolve. Moments after, he succeeded in launching the movement technique, and he appeared 20 meters away from the tiger.

    A mixture of shock and confusion appeared on the beast¡¯s two faces. However, it turned to where he was and started running in that direction.

    ¡°This should be fun¡±, said Ryan, as he grinned. He launched the movement technique again, appearing 20 meters away from where he had been, and this time he appeared behind the tiger. The beast screeched to a halt, and turned to go after him again. Before the tiger arrived, Ryan had vanished again, appearing behind it!

    The beast was now getting angry. Or maybe hungry? Whatever the case was, taunting it only made it worse. Its eyes grew red, and as it roared, it swiped in the air, as if it wanted to scratch him. Red claw marks made of ki flew at great speed towards Ryan.

    Swoooooossshhh!

    Ryan subconsciously launched his movement technique, vanishing out of harm¡¯s way. The tree behind him was lacerated by the claw marks!This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Hey that was dangerous! What the hell was that? That thing is really trying to eat me! I better get out of here¡±, he declared, as he launched the movement technique again.

    While Ryan was having the time of his life (definitely the worst), elsewhere, Gonin and Cora were walking along, as if they were in their backyard.

    ¡°Where do you think Ryan might have gone to?¡± asked Cora.

    ¡°I do not know. His movement technique got the better of him, and now I am sure he is lost¡±, replied the young monk.

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault! You should¡¯ve sealed the darn chameleon before telling everyone to run! Why did you even tell us to run?¡± she yelled.

    ¡°...¡± Gonin could not offer a retort.

    ¡°Where are we going to find him?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I have a tracking talisman, just one of it. Using it right now might--¡±

    ¡°Just use it! His life might be in danger!¡± she yelled.

    ¡°But--¡±

    ¡°Just use the darn talisman, will you!¡± she shouted, interrupting him.

    ¡°Okay, okay. You have changed a lot, you know¡±, replied Gonin.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. I don¡¯t want a certain someone to have my head when something that can be prevented goes wrong. Anyways, something about the old nursery rhyme is bothering me. Did the Sacred Abbot say something about it recently?¡±

    Gonin took out a white paper talisman which was rectangular, and written on it was the character for SEEK with black ink. He performed an incantation gesture, and the talisman burst into a colorful flame. Gradually, the smoke converged forming an arrow while the flame dissipated. The arrow hovered in the air, slightly above Gonin¡¯s hands and it pointed to the left.

    ¡°There, let us go in that direction¡±, said Gonin, moving in the direction of the arrow.

    ¡°Are you going to ignore my question?¡±

    ¡°Look, I am very sure the Sacred Teacher knows what is going to happen, as everything is pre-ordained by the heavens. There are a myriad of things that none of us understand. One of these things is the future¡±, he replied. The arrow changed direction, and he followed it. ¡°This way¡±, he said.

    ¡°You did not answer my question!¡± said Cora.

    ¡°What is bothering you about the rhyme, then?¡± asked Gonin, with a light sigh.

    ¡°¡®Defy the heavens, and the cloud shall fall. Heal the immortal, and the house shall fall.¡¯ What does the ¡®house¡¯ here mean? And what does it mean ¡®the cloud shall fall¡¯?¡±

    ¡°I wish I knew. We can always ask the Sacred Teacher when we get back¡±, replied Gonin.

    ¡°So much for the path of enlightenment!¡± scoffed Cora.

    ¡°You realize that our enlightenment is not of the path of pleasures and distracting things of this world, right?¡±

    ¡°I know. But at least you should have a clue of what it means¡±, she replied.

    The arrow changed directions again, and the duo followed along. They kept walking silently, with Gonin walking ahead and Cora following behind.

    ¡°I miss using my own talismans¡±, complained Cora.

    ¡°You heard what the Sacred Teacher said. Patience is a virtue yo--¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things he said, but none of them make sense right now! Anyway, give me the Flame talisman¡±, she demanded, interrupting him.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°So that if we are attacked we won¡¯t lose track of Ryan¡¯s direction¡±, she replied.

    ¡°I see your point. Here you go then. Do you even remember how to use them?¡± asked Gonin as he handed over a bright red talisman, with orange markings at the edges. They had the symbol for FLAME written in clear, orange ink.

    ¡°Of course I do! What do you think I was doing all this time?¡±

    ¡°Indulging in world--¡±

    Before he finished answering, there was a whoosh sound, and a small gust of wind blew past them. The arrow turned, following the direction the wind had blown in.

    ¡°Stop! Ryan!¡± shouted Cora.

    As she was rushing towards the direction of the arrow, there was a loud roar behind them. The two-tailed, two-headed tiger arrived at the spot where Gonin was standing, looking confused.

    ¡°That movement technique of his is incredible. There¡¯s no way we can catch up with it¡±, complained Cora, running towards the direction of the arrow.

    ¡°We have more to worry about than catching up to Ryan right now, do you not agree?¡± asked Gonin.

    The tiger started moving towards them slowly. Its four eyes were still red and they contained a glint of exhaustion. It snarled, and then charged forth!

    Ryan stopped about a distance away. ¡°I could¡¯ve sworn I heard a voice. Anyways, I don¡¯t have the pleasure to just walk around aimlessly. I almost died! That thing could catch up any minute now. Oh well, th--¡±

    Before he finished his monologue, there was a screeching sound in front of him. Something he wasn¡¯t expecting showed up. He began to edge backwards again.

    ¡°He seems to have stopped moving, let us run! We might catch up before he starts running around again!¡± ordered Gonin, ignoring the fact that there was a four foot, dual headed, two-tailed tiger behind him.

    ¡°I hope you have more sealing talismans!¡± yelled Cora, as she ran in front.

    ¡°I only have four remaining. We have already used two. We have to stop being careless!¡±

    ¡°We could die if we don¡¯t use them!¡±

    Gonin remained quiet, offering no retort. He knew she was right. The problem was that if they ran out of sealing talismans, they would be in grave danger. It wasn¡¯t that the other talismans he had weren¡¯t powerful enough. Quite the contrary, they were too powerful. Being too powerful meant too destructive, and he was afraid they¡¯d attract some unwanted company, four or five tails or even more!

    The tiger was now angrier than before. All the running around made it even hungrier. Looking at its prey in front but not being able to catch it caused the beast to lose it. The tiger repeated the same thing it had done before, scratching the air. The same thing happened again. The red claws made of ki resulted again, and this time Gonin was caught unaware. They flew at a fast speed towards the young monk, as if following a preset trajectory.

    He tried to dodge out of the way, but he was too slow. The claws scratched his back, creating deep lacerations that caused him to bleed profusely. Cora watched in horror as this happened. Gonin fell face first, and the smoke arrow in his hand dissipated.

    Things were going wrong. Very wrong. Cora remembered she was holding the Flame talisman. As she was preparing to activate it, the tiger gave a loud roar, and then pounced on them. She held out the talisman, but as she was starting the incantation gesture...

    WHOOOOOOOOSSHHH! BANG! BANG! THUD!

 Chapter 21 - Might of the Dancing Dragon Fist

    Cora was perplexed. She hadn¡¯t seen what had happened. All she had heard was a whooshing sound, followed by loud punching sounds, and then a thud. She stopped activating the talisman, and looked at the slumped four-foot silhouette that was hidden by the dust.

    ¡°It still takes five steps, dammit! Are you okay?¡± asked a bright, low-pitched, angry-sounding voice.

    As the dust settled, standing there was the person they were looking for, with a glowing fist. He looked as if what he had just accomplished was as easy as eating cake or pie. The glow on his hand dimmed, before going out completely. Cora sighed, putting the flame talisman in her backpack.

    ¡°...¡± Gonin tried to answer.

    ¡°Gonin, he¡¯s hurt¡±, she spoke, and taking out the first aid kit from the same backpack, she had placed the talisman.

    Ryan walked towards Cora, who was tending to Gonin¡¯s wounds. He had a smug look on his face, which Cora did not notice because she was busy being useful. Gonin, after being dressed in Band-Aids and a lot of crisscrossing bandages, sat cross-legged and started performing breathing techniques.

    ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± asked Ryan, curiously.

    ¡°Breathing techniques. Trying to accelerate the rate at which his body is healing itself¡±, replied Cora, who was now packing the first aid.

    ¡°Still think I need protection?¡± asked Ryan with a smirk.

    ¡°I get it; you¡¯re strong, and fast. H--¡±

    ¡°Very fast¡±, interrupted Ryan.

    ¡°Whatever! If--¡±

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t shown up, you two would have been mincemeat, and food for whatever that creature was.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you suppose that it¡¯s your fault this happened in the first place?¡±  asked Cora, getting annoyed and a little angry.

    ¡°What do you mean? I saved you, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Look, even if you hadn¡¯t intervened, I would have been fine. Only Gonin was caught unaware.¡±

    ¡°Yeah right! What I don¡¯t get is, why would the middle-aged monk speak so highly of you? Why did he say you¡¯re part of the future? You don¡¯t look that strong to me, and you¡¯re definitely not a cultivat--¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your problem? You¡¯re the one who brought the tiger! It was following you! We just happened to be in the way! Anyways, if you think you can take me, bring it on!¡± she challenged, putting down her backpack and standing up.

    ¡°No offense, but I don¡¯t fight girls¡±, he replied.

    ¡°Afraid of losing, are we?¡± asked Cora with a smile, as she walked towards Gonin, who was sitting there, eyes closed. She slipped off his spatial ring, and then put it on her own finger, in her right hand. ¡°Come on then, show me what you got!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s up the stakes shall we? If I win, you will stop pestering me about any and all of your issues.¡±

    ¡°And if you lose?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll answer your questions then,¡± she shrugged her shoulders.

    ¡°Fine. I will try to go easy on you though.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. I don¡¯t want you to blame the fact that you lost on ¡®holding back¡¯¡±, she spoke, as a bright green paper talisman appeared in her right hand. She performed an incantation gesture, and the talisman glowed with a pale blue light, which then vanished.

    Ryan took a stance, but to his surprise, Cora took out a blindfold. She covered her eyes, leaving only her ears. Ryan smirked, thinking it was all over, he had already won. How was she supposed to fight someone she couldn¡¯t see?

    He took a step and vanished. As he appeared right beside her, he threw a punch. He tried holding himself back to prevent hurting her. However, to his dismay, he missed! She was standing there, eyes blindfolded, motionless, peaceful, with a gleeful smile. He took a step back, retreating gracefully. However, he realized something was off! There was a blue flash, and then another Cora appeared next to the one he had tried to punch. And then another. Followed by another, until there were at least seven of them!

    ¡°You know the problem with people who depend so much on eye sight alone? They lose track of their main path, when multiple paths appear in front of them!¡± said all the Coras who were standing there, blindfolded.

    ¡°...¡± Ryan was shocked.

    However, he calmed himself. There was no way the girl in front of him could hurt him, right? All of the Coras moved! Ryan took a step, vanished and then appeared in front of one of the Coras. He punched, but the punch went straight through, making him stumble forward. The Cora in front of him vanished, and was replaced by another who came up behind him.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°Tell me what you see¡±, they spoke.

    Ryan took another step, followed by another step, followed by a third step. When he finally took the fourth step, his right fist was glowing, with a bright dazzling golden hue. Afterwards, he vanished, appearing in front of another Cora, whom he punched! Again, the punch went through, and hit a tree behind the image of Cora. The tree shattered into bits, as the trunk exploded into chunks, which started raining down.

    ¡°Did you know that without external help, humans cannot cultivate?¡± said all the Coras, who started merging into one. Finally, only one Cora remained, and she was standing where she had been standing initially, as if she hadn¡¯t moved an inch.

    Ryan was now afraid. He might have bitten a lot more than he could chew. So much for not fighting girls! He decided that, standing there, she was now more vulnerable than ever! He activated his movement technique, first starting with stepping on threads, then streams. He was not strong enough to step on waves yet, but the threads were enough. If anyone were watching him, they¡¯d be seeing after-images only, as he stepped and vanished.

    WHOOOSHH! WHOOOSSH! WHOOOSH!!

    He finally appeared right in front of Cora, and then swung the punch. Cora simply dodged, somehow, and then took the hand, twisted it and then sent the owner flying in the air.

    THUD!

    Ryan fell to the ground, embarrassingly. Cora remained standing there, with a smirk on her face. As he got up, Cora opened her hands, and in each palm was a soft blue glow.

    ¡°How is it then that the Sacred Abbot was able to hurt you, besides being a ¡®human who cannot cultivate¡¯?¡± asked Cora as she dashed towards him.

    ¡°...¡± Ryan was distracted by the question; he couldn¡¯t come up with an answer! The open palm arrived and connected with his stomach!

    PENG!!

    He flew backwards, and he started feeling as if his insides were twisting and turning! What the hell was this chick? Most of all, what was her problem?

    He got up slowly, grasping his stomach, which was in severe pain. ¡®So much for holding back! Didn¡¯t Myra say there was nobody who could hurt me on this planet? Why did this girl¡¯s punch hurt so much? Is it that he didn¡¯t know?¡¯ he thought.

    The voice that had given strength to him earlier played itself in his head again, ¡®Do you want to know the secret to being more productive? FOCUS! If you want to complete the chores assigned by your mother, first forget about your distractions. Forget about the game you want to play, forget about the internet or your phone! Then FOCUS on whatever you are supposed to be doing!¡¯

    That¡¯s when he remembered.  He closed his eyes and then started breathing slowly, listening to the sound of his own heartbeat. The heartbeat started slowing down significantly. Cora, who was standing quite a distance away, heard the change in Ryan¡¯s heartbeat and frowned. She had underestimated him, but not by much. He still appeared quite spoiled and too full of himself.

    When Ryan opened his eyes, he was in a different space. This space was lush with vegetation, green grass and beautiful cherry blossom trees, while the sun was overhead. In front of him, was an illusory figure with a blindfold. The figure looked a lot like Cora. Ryan walked over, and he tried touching her, but his hand went through. ¡®Why does this place look so familiar? Even that tree over there¡¯, he thought, pointing to a large tree, which was a distance from where he was.

    In the real world, Ryan was sleeping while standing up. Well, it¡¯s safe to say he was unconscious. He then started sleepwalking, taking one-step at a time. With each step, his right fist glowed, with a golden light. The glow intensified, until his fist grew fiery red. Cora started feeling a little heat, despite standing a distance from Ryan. She knew something was up!

    She looked around Gonin¡¯s spatial ring, where she noticed a small sack. When she opened the sack, there was a letter along with a stack of talismans. She didn¡¯t have time to read the letter, but she recognized the talismans! Without wasting time, she took a blue colored talisman with the symbol of a drop of water and activated it immediately.

    The intensity of the heat rose up, so much that all around Ryan, the grass and the bushes caught fire! As he walked, he got nearer to Cora, and then without warning, he dashed at lightning speed! After activating the blue colored talisman, drops of water started to gather around her palms and each drop grew larger, until it was as large as an adult¡¯s head.

    Palm against fist!

    In a voice that sounded neither angry nor sad, he shouted;

    DIVINE BLAZING FIST!

    However, before the fist and the palm connected, a soft wind blew and Gonin diverted each hand! Ryan missed, causing him to stumble and fall forwards, where his fist hit a rock. The rock melted upon contact with the fist! Cora on the other hand, hit a tree behind Gonin. Half of the tree trunk froze upon impact!

    Gonin dashed towards Ryan, whom he knocked on the forehead. He woke up instantly, and was puzzled, seeing his hand on fire. Besides his fist, there was a little bit of vegetation on fire as well.

    ¡°Aw aww aww aww aww aww... Aaawwwwww...¡± he shook his hand, and tried to put out the fire by blowing on it. ¡°I¡¯m on fire .... aawwww aww ouch¡±, he  ran around shaking his hand. It took about five minutes, before the fire went out. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Gonin, who was still in bandages, answered, ¡°I think that would be enough. Each of you should be saving your strength! If we face a more serious enemy, how are we supposed to win against it, with you two fighting against each other every minute you get? As for you, would you please return my spatial ring?¡±

    Cora took off her blindfold, and handed the ring back to Gonin. She was still in a state of near-shock. She hadn¡¯t been anticipating that the fight would escalate to such proportions. All she wanted was to teach him a lesson; however, that¡¯s clearly not what happened. She concentrated her earlier technique, and used some of the water drops to put out the fires that Ryan had started.

    ¡°Someone explain to me why I was on fire? And Cora how did you just do that?¡±

    ¡°I would like to know too¡±, replied Gonin, who sat down and tried to resume doing his breathing exercises.

    ¡°So did I win?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± glared Cora.

    ¡°I think someone should start explaining! I mean, you failed to beat me.¡±

    ¡°And you failed to win as well¡±, she replied, ¡°I¡¯m not explaining anything!¡±

    ¡°I think I have heard enough! Rose, he deserves to know the truth. Try putting yourself in his shoes¡±, spoke Gonin, with a sigh.

    ¡°But--¡±

    ¡°No buts! Unless you explain yourself, and his put yourself in his position, this will not end at all!¡±

    ¡°Fine! What do you want to know?¡± she asked, with a fierce glare that would have blinded anyone staring at her.

    ¡°Wait, did you just call her Rose? Why did he call you Rose?¡±

 Chapter 22- Of monks, cultivators and assassins

    Cora sighed when she heard the question. However, before she could answer, there was a loud rumbling sound. The earth shook violently, while a violent wind blew across the dense forest. Trees were bent, shrubs uprooted, and small crevices appeared everywhere. A lot of leaves were blown away from trees, reducing the darkness enveloping the forest. When the phenomenon stopped, everyone was left shaken.

    ¡°Something is wrong. I just felt it, the connection to the monastery snapped!¡± said Gonin, as he opened his eyes.

    ¡°Cora, answer my question!¡±

    ¡°Fine! Ever since I was young, everyone at the monastery called me Rose. The Sacred Abbot said when they found me; there was a blue rose next to me. So they simply named me Rose, because he said it was an omen.¡±

    ¡°What about the name Cora?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fake. There¡¯s no Cora Waterline.¡±

    ¡°What? Wait, how did you put out the fire? How were you able to hurt me? What was that techniq--¡±

    ¡°One question at a time! I can only answer one question at a time!¡± snapped Cora, or rather Rose.

    ¡°How were you able to hurt me?¡±

    ¡°There are basically two ways of cultivating. Since you have reached the first level of internal cultivation, I¡¯m sure you know that the meridians of humans are blocked, so they cannot cultivate like you do. That is unless an external force clears the blocked meridians first. The founding Abbot realized that the humans who wanted to join his monastery could not cultivate like he did. Initially, he simply cleared their meridians, but he realized that when he was gone, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone who would be able to do that for those who would have newly joined¡±, she paused.

    She took a seat next to Gonin, before continuing, ¡°He decided to create a different method of cultivation altogether. One suited to humans on earth, one that anyone can master, as long as the try hard enough. He called this method External Cultivation. The reason he called it external, is that instead of using your body as the vessel for storing qi, you¡¯d use an external vessel. That vessel is the paper talisman. The reason why the Sacred Abbot was able to injure you was that he controlled external qi, which he imbued into the paper. As long as there is abundant ambient qi, using a certain method, you can imbue the qi into a vessel.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I thought that the qi on earth was too thin, which made it impossible to cultivate. So where did he get the qi to imbue into the funny paper thing?¡± asked Ryan with a puzzled expression on his face.

    ¡°The monastery is different from the rest of the planet. The founding Abbot made sure there would be abundant ambient qi, as for how he did it, I do not know. All I know is that, the reason we have so many paper talismans, is because of this ambient qi.¡±

    ¡°Who creates these paper talismans?¡±

    ¡°The current Sacred Abbot. The secret to making the talismans has been passed down from one abbot to the next. So only an Abbot can make them.¡±

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained how you managed to hurt me.¡±

    ¡°Your body is invulnerable to conventional weapons, unless they¡¯re enhanced with qi. I had a talisman that allowed me to gather external qi in my hands and use it any way I wished. I simply ¡®enhanced¡¯ my own palms using qi gathered by the talisman. Understand?¡±

    ¡°So that was why the abbot said I wasn¡¯t invincible?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, there are a lot of things you don¡¯t know about. Weapons made from the ore we¡¯re going to mine are enhanced so they can kill you without any special techniques. I¡¯d be careful if I were you. Now time for you to answer my questions, how did you start cultivating?¡±

    ¡°There was a meteor shower. I found a robot in the debris of our house, and with it was a small device. The small device had celestial qi, which somehow cleared my meridians. That was how I started cultivating. An old man has been teaching me everything I know so far. From the movement technique, to the cultivation method to the martial skill.¡±

    ¡°Oh. That explains the weights; that was for the movement technique, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I still have them. My body has already adjusted, it actually feels normal.¡±

    ¡°Eh? That¡¯s quite scary. Anyways, we need to start moving. Otherwise we might spend the night in this place¡±, she spoke, before looking at Gonin, who had a worried look on his face. ¡°Still worried about the monastery? Do you think it has something to do with the nursery rhyme?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. Honestly, I do not know. I feel like something is wrong¡±, said Gonin, trying to stand up.

    Rose helped him to stand up, and together they started walking.

    ¡°Do you guys know where we¡¯re going? We seem to be lost¡±, spoke Ryan, who was behind the two.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°We¡¯ll find out soon enough¡±, replied Rose.

    ¡°What kind of attitude is that? What do you mean we¡¯ll find out soon enough? Do you know where we¡¯re going, yes or no?¡± asked Ryan, shouting.

    ¡°Are you coming or not?¡±

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained to me how you¡¯re involved with the assassins¡¯ organization!¡± yelled Ryan, as he took a step, appearing directly next to Gonin and Rose.

    Rose kept walking, ignoring Ryan, along with Gonin who had now straightened his back. It was quite weird that no one talked about the phenomenon that had just occurred. However, Gonin was worried, and he kept silent for the rest of the trip. When they finally arrived at the base of Mount Sun, they realized something was off!

    The entire meteorite was missing! There was just a large crater in place of where the meteorite had fallen.

    ¡°Guys, where is the meteorite?¡± asked Ryan, as he surveyed the crater.

    ¡°I knew it! There is an omen! Last time we visited this place, the stone was there¡±, replied Gonin, pointing towards the crater.

    ¡°Unless it grew legs and ran off, I don¡¯t see a stone there. Maybe other people came and carried it off?¡± asked Ryan, shrugging his shoulders.

    Rose rolled her eyes, before saying, ¡°Gonin seems to have the answer to your question. Why don¡¯t we ask him?¡±

    ¡°The Abbots of the Northern and Eastern monasteries came here two weeks ago. Our Sacred Abbot joined them as well. When they arrived, they ran into a four-tailed monkey. According to the Sacred Abbot, the monkey was so strong the three of them had to run away. They could not even scratch it; no matter what they tried¡±, replied Gonin. He continued, ¡°The Sacred Abbot said there was an omen; the strength of the monkey was just too much.¡±

    ¡°What does this mean then?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°A very strong four-tailed beast, the missing meteorite. I do not know why the abbots said they could be signs of the awakening of a beast king! Actually, the missing meteorite is the clue that pieces all the others together. We need to get out of here; we are in very grave danger!¡±

    ¡°Oh dear, and here I was thinking this would be a walk in the park¡±, said Ryan, rolling his eyes.

    ¡°I am serious; we need to leave right now!¡±

    ¡°Fine, whatever you say! This wasn¡¯t my favorite place anyway.¡±

    ¡°Wait, guys, come look at this¡±, said Rose, inspecting the crater.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Gonin.

    ¡°Look at those claw marks. What do you think made them?¡± she asked, pointing at the edge of the mountain. Embedded at the base of Mount Sun were three claw marks, each bigger than the last.

    ¡°Say, how strong is this beast king? And how many tails does it have?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°No one knows. However, all the abbots know is that it has the power to control all the other tailed beasts.¡±

    ¡°Something I¡¯ve also been dying to ask. Why is it that the tailed beasts are only found around this area? Can¡¯t they live in other forests?¡±

    ¡°We managed to capture a two-tailed leopard once, and sealed it. When we brought it out at the monastery, it died. Maybe it has something to do with the environment they evolved. You know how fish cannot live outside water? The abbots figured it was something like that, but they do not know what is special about this forest.¡±

    ¡°Okay, you two, enough sight-seeing. We need to leave!¡± said Rose, as she turned towards the open pathway, and started moving.

    Everyone soon followed, with Gonin in the leading position.

    ¡°Cor - I mean Rose, how did you manage to create multiple versions of yourself? And how did you manage to sense me while blindfolded?¡±

    ¡°Oh that? It¡¯s a technique called Silent Echo. Using sheer will, you can create a series of afterimages. It¡¯s an assassination art known only to a special class of assassins called Cleaners.¡±

    ¡°Are you a monk or an assassin?¡± asked Ryan, puzzled.

    ¡°None of the above, at least currently. When I was young, I was taken from the monastery by the organization and sent to join the assassin group called Sky Haven. After joining, I was so skilled in the arts that they promoted me and gave me special missions. Your mother was my boss, the only person that the Cleaners reported to directly.¡±

    ¡°So... You¡¯re an assassin who was once a monk?¡±

    ¡°You can put it that way. I was handed a mission to keep you safe from whatever war is going to happen between your grandfather, his mad friend, the monks and the organization.¡±

    ¡°You still can¡¯t protect me, you know.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you think. I¡¯m still going to carry on with my mission.¡±

    ¡°So, if I want to see my mom, I have to join Sky Haven?¡±

    ¡°No. Even if you join, you won¡¯t see her. There¡¯s a hierarchy... Actually, you know what? Forget it; forget joining Sky Haven. Just go back home and live like a normal high school student!¡±

    ¡°While you¡¯re protecting me, right? The reason I started cultivating is, so I can investigate what happened to my father. I can¡¯t give up simply because you told me it¡¯s dangerous. I will get stronger! And your protection will be a lost cause¡±, declared Ryan, with fists clenched.

    ¡°Is that so? Well then, I guess we have nothing to talk about.¡±

    ¡°Just tell me how to join Sky Haven!¡±

    ¡°So your mother can kill me? No thanks!¡±

    ¡°Why would she kill you?¡±

    Rose ignored him, and kept walking forward. Gonin looked around in his spatial ring, and produced a stack of paper talismans, which he handed to Rose.

    ¡°The Sacred Abbot said I should give these to you¡±, he spoke before handing her a letter.

    ¡°My talismans! You had them all along?¡±

    ¡°You knew I had them, why are you shocked? You used the Frost Dew talisman already.¡±

    She opened the letter and started reading it. At first, her face was tranquil, then it turned pink, then red and finally it turned purple. It seemed there was something in the letter that caused her face to change colors faster than the chameleon they had encountered earlier.

    ¡°What does the letter say?¡± asked Ryan, curious. He had seen her face change color more than once.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back! Something is wrong!¡± she said, avoiding the question.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Cor - I mean Rose?¡±

    ¡°The Sacred Abbot... He¡¯s planning something! That¡¯s why he sent us away from the monastery. Something was about to happen, and he knew it! The prophecy, the nursery rhyme, they¡¯re all connected. And he didn¡¯t want us to know!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean they¡¯re connected?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll find out when we reach the monastery. We need to hurry!¡±

    As they were running along, something ominous was occurring at the far end of the forest. In a cave that was carved at the base of the mountain, there was a hive of bees. The bees were over two feet in terms of size, and each one had three stingers! After the hive, there were six bears, which were sleeping, and each bear had four tails. At the core of the cave, there was a nine feet tall tiger.

    The tiger had one head, but its front legs looked like human arms. It had eagle-like wings and nine long tails. The tiger was eating stones that were glowing with a purple color. The stones were the remainders of the meteorite, and what remained was a small chunk, the size of a person¡¯s fist!

 Chapter 23 - Awakening of the Beast King

    At the other side of Mount Sun, there was a small village, housing about sixty or seventy people. Ever since the meteor fell, a lot of weird things have been happening in the village. Each of their sheep grew an extra tail while goats grew an extra horn. After eating them, the taste of their meat didn¡¯t change, and nothing happened to them, or so they thought.

    Currently, the five village elders were gathered at the chief¡¯s house, where they were discussing a more stressing issue. It has been two weeks since the village had a peaceful time.

    ¡°How many casualties do we have so far?¡± asked the village chief. He was a blind, gray haired and gray bearded old man. He was sitting on a stool, holding a staff in his hand.

    One of the elders, a middle-aged man wearing a red robe, answered, ¡°10 people have died so far ever since they started attacking. Only seven people have survived with critical injuries.¡±

    ¡°What of my grandson, Walter?¡± asked the village chief.

    Another elder answered with a sorrowful voice, ¡°He¡¯s no longer with us.¡±

    Tears streamed down the village chief¡¯s wrinkled face. His son had left the village to look for employment in a town very far from the village. He had left his father to take care of his wife and unborn baby. The baby grew up under the guidance of the village chief. The chief¡¯s daughter in law had died earlier due to a disease, and now his grandson had followed.

    ¡°Did anyone find out the cause of that earthquake that occurred earlier?¡± asked the chief.

    ¡°No chief. We did not manage to find anything. It¡¯s quite difficult to leave the village, with all these attacks going on¡±, replied one elder.

    As the meeting was still occurring, a young man burst into the chief¡¯s house, in a fit of rage.

    ¡°Hezron, why are you barging into the chief¡¯s house? Do you not have respect for your elders?¡± asked one of the elders, who was another middle-aged man with neat, short hair.

    ¡°Let him be. What is it young man?¡± asked the village chief, wiping the tears from his face, and covering the face with a smile.

    Hezron knelt down before the elders who were sitting in a circular fashion. He answered, ¡°I mean no disrespect, elders, chief. I would like to know when we¡¯re evacuating the village.¡±

    ¡°Ev--¡±

    The chief raised his hand, motioning the red robed elder to be silent. ¡°Would you like to tell me something, Hezron? Where would we go?¡± asked the chief.

    ¡°With all due respect chief, we could move away from Mount Sun. I think anywhere is better than this place. For how long do we have to suffer at the hands, or claws of the mutated dire wolves?¡± asked Hezron, with an anxious expression on his face.

    All the elders in the room exchanged casual glances, mixed with worry and anxiety. The terrifying thing was that he was right!

    ¡°How do we carry the injured, women and children along? Where would we be able to find food? The reason why we settled here was that it is closer to the forest. We can find fruits, we can hunt and we can survive as well. As long as we manage to survive the attack of the dire wolves, we will become stronger¡±, responded the chief.

    ¡°At what cost, chief? How many more people do we have to sacrifice before we have peace?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± asked the chief, glancing at the surrounding elders.

    The red robed elder spoke first, ¡°Chief, you have more years than us. In other words, you have more experience and wisdom. The younger generation has much more to learn from you. As for us, we will follow whatever direction you decide to steer us.¡±

    ¡°What?! Please listen to the voice of reason! Some of the children have developed unique gifts. We cannot let more people die, since that would leave those children without parents! Please chief, I beg of you¡±, responded Hezron, with teary eyes, voice getting weaker.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, young one. I believe it¡¯s a passing phase we must endure. One day we¡¯ll look at it as a symbol of our strength and unity. It¡¯s a test of endurance from the heavens. If we cannot survive, then even if we leave this place, we¡¯ll be wiped out by either hunger or disease. As for the gifts you mention, those are curses! Never mention them in my presence again!¡±

    ¡°But chief--¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s about enough, young one. Is there another matter you wish to discuss?¡± asked the chief, cutting off Hezron.

    ¡°That was all, chief.¡±

    ¡°You may take your leave now. Can you do me a favor?¡±

    ¡°What is it, chief?¡±

    ¡°Keep the children safe, and entertain them with your music¡±, petitioned the chief.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Yes chief, I will do my best¡±, replied Hezron, with a dejected look.

    As Hezron left the house, the village elders exchanged another glance, without saying anything.

    ¡°Chief, are you sure that was a wise decision?¡± asked one of the elders.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid the young man might be right. However, we cannot just leave the village of our ancestors.¡±

    ¡°What do you suggest we do then?¡± asked one elder.

    ¡°Some of the young men will leave with the women and children. The capable men will remain to fight against the mutated beasts. Even if we perish, the spirit of our ancestors and our bloodline will survive through the young ones and the children¡±, replied the chief.

    ¡°That is a very wise decision, chief. When are they supposed to start evacuating then?¡±

    ¡°They should start packing right now. It seems the flood of mutated beasts has been getting worse and worse. It¡¯s like they¡¯re being driven by something. Tori, can you investigate this matter? Something funny is going on. We need to know what it is.¡±

    ¡°Yes chief, I will do as you have instructed¡±, replied the red robed elder, as he stood up to leave.

    ¡°You¡¯re all dismissed. Let us all do our best to make the village survive¡±, spoke the chief.

    ¡°Yes chief¡±, replied the elders in unison.

    After Hezron left, he walked through the narrow passages between the village houses. Some children came up to him and he swatted down, so he could play with them.

    ¡°Brother Hezron, please play us a tune¡±, said one of the children.

    ¡°Are you sure? Have you been listening to your parents all week?¡± asked Hezron.

    ¡°Yes brother! I was a very good boy¡±, replied the child.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t listen to him brother. He was being naughty!¡± interjected one of the children.

    ¡°Is that so? What did he do?¡± asked Hezron, with a warm smile.

    ¡°He refused to eat vegetables. His mother was shouting at him because of that¡±, replied the child with a loud laugh.

    ¡°No I didn¡¯t. Don¡¯t listen to her. She¡¯s jealous!¡± said the boy.

    ¡°Okay okay. Why don¡¯t I play all of you a song then?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°That would be cool!¡±

    The children started getting excited, as Hezron took out a long flute. He spoke, ¡°I call this song ¡®The Calm Sea¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Brother Hezron, what is a sea?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a very big area with lots and lots of water. You know how some of you have gifts?¡±

    ¡°Huh? You mean the curses?¡± asked one of the children. He went on, ¡°My mother said those are curses from the heavens, and we¡¯re not supposed to talk about them at all!¡±

    ¡°Well, they¡¯re whatever you want them to be. Do you want them to be a gift or a curse?¡±

    ¡°Ummm. What if our parents scold us for talking about them?¡± asked the girl.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything will be all right. Do you want to hear the song or not?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Please play the song for us, brother Hezron¡±, spoke the children in unison, with shy giggles.

    Hezron began to play a soft, warm tune. The sound of the tune permeated the air, floating through the entire village. It evoked a sense of peace, and made warm, tender feelings to arise in everyone who heard it. The children giggled shyly, as they listened to the tune, while some of the adults who heard it stopped what they were doing.

    As Hezron was playing his tune, a distance away, there was a pack of dire wolves heading towards the direction of the village. A wolf with a horn, and three tails was leading this pack, while the rest had two tails. They were gray in color, and as large as an average human adult was. In total, there were five wolves altogether.

    Inside a cave far away from the village and its problems, the nine-tailed tiger was still eating the remainder of the meteorite. Slowly, bit by bit, the size of the stone dwindled, but its purple glow remained. The tiger kept eating the stone, and when it finally finished, it let out a loud roar that disrupted the activities happening inside the cave.

    ROOOAAAAARRRRRR!

    The roar echoed inside the cave, and when the echoes left the cave, every mutated animal inside the forest let out whimpers of fear. The tiger grew a tenth tail, which was a bit shorter than the other nine. As the tail grew, the tiger let out a loud howl, as if it was in pain. The tail had a sharp point at the end, which was pitch black.

    ROOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR! ROOOOAAAAARRRRR!

    The beast gave some more loud roars, each more intense than the last! A purple wave of energy billowed and towered towards the heavens. The cave was reduced to dust, leaving the beasts inside it exposed. More waves of energy emanated, spreading outwards, reducing nearby trees to splinters! Any creatures caught by the waves died instantly!

    The tiger finally stood upright, and then issued a bone-chilling, spine-tingling, awe-inspiring roar!

    ROOOOAAARRR!

    All the beasts that had survived the waves of energy approached the roaring tiger. Most of the beasts had four tails or less. Among the beasts, were bears with four long tails, bees with eagle-like wings and four stingers and so on. There were also tigers with three tails, some with two heads and snakes with two tails and two heads. The beasts reached the site where a cave once stood, and prostrated themselves. Some dire wolves howled, other beasts roared while some hissed.

    There were two other places that were scary to approach, at the edges of the forest, in different directions. In each of these places, there was a beast with nine tails! The first was a gigantic bear with bull-like horns; four arms with sharp claws and it had six eyes as well. The second beast was a gigantic fox, with large ears, human-like arms and blood red eyes!

    The nine-tailed beasts stood up, after hearing the loud roar, and then headed towards the ten-tailed beast king. Inside their caves, there were also beasts with five or more tails, the highest having eight tails!

    Ryan, Gonin and Rose arrived at the edge of the forest. As they arrived, they started hearing loud roars that caused their scalps to tingle, and a chill to creep up their spines.

    ¡°This is it!¡± declared Gonin. He continued, ¡°The Beast King awakens! We are definitely in trouble!¡±

    ¡°Huh. Why do you say that? Why would we be in trouble when we¡¯re this far away?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°If you can hear the loud roar this far away, what else do you think the beast is capable of doing?¡± asked Gonin.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. As long as we reach the monastery, we can always--¡±

    Before Rose finished speaking, there was another loud roar, this time followed by an earthquake of sorts. More roars filled the air, creating a tense atmosphere. The sky changed color, and dark clouds gathered and churned. The sound of thunder permeated through the air, as lightning flashed across the dark skies.

    ¡°This power... No one can contend with this...,¡± said Gonin, as he hung his head in surrender.

    Meanwhile, in the tiny village at the other edge of the forest, dark miasma rolled out from the forest, as the Beast King roared! An assistant was helping the village chief out of his house, while the others were helping evacuate the women and children as far away from the village as possible.

    The chief looked up into the sky and said, ¡°These dark ominous clouds, our end may be near!¡±

    His assistant looked at him with a puzzled expression.

 Chapter 24 - Misfortunes: When it rains

    ¡°Grandfather, how did you know there were dark clouds in the sky?¡± asked the chief¡¯s assistant. She was puzzled as to how a blind person could tell there were dark clouds covering the sky.

    ¡°There¡¯s a smell of dust in the air, yet I do not feel rain falling on my body. Come on Sheerah, I am no child¡±, replied the chief, with a slight smile.

    ¡°I am sorry, grandfather¡±, she apologized.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, how are the preparations coming along? Tell them to hurry it up¡±, declared the chief.

    ¡°They are already leaving. It seems they are done with the preparations.¡±

    ¡°I see. I wish I could have accompanied them, but then again, we need to win this!¡±

    ¡°You can accompany them, grandfather, if you really wanted.¡±

    ¡°The future belongs to the young ones. I fear our time maybe up.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the second time you¡¯ve said that. Do you really believe that, grandfather?¡± asked Sheerah.

    ¡°It¡¯s not about what I believe. I can feel it in the air. Whatever monstrosity Mother Nature cooked up this time is coming and I... I don¡¯t see how we can beat it¡±, replied the chief, looking down.

    ¡°Try to be positive, grandfather¡±, spoke Sheerah.

    The women and children were now evacuating the village. Altogether, there were ten women, fifteen children and four young men. Among the young men, was Hezron who was playing his flute, while the children were following him like a pied piper of sorts. The women were carrying bags filled with clothes, while the young men were carrying bags full of food.

    The travelling party bid farewell to their husbands and relatives, who were staying behind, protecting the village from the tailed beasts¡¯ attack. With Hezron in front, all was well, or rather, all appeared well.

    As soon as they left, the miasma reached the village. The travelling party saw the village engulfed in a dark-purple mist. Since they couldn¡¯t return, the ran forwards.

    The men stood on guard, having made barricades with sandbags. They were ready to protect their village, and to act as foil, so that whatever they faced would not reach their wives and children, who had departed earlier. They brandished their spears, arrows and small swords, ready to fight to the death. Anyone who arrived at the village could smell fear, as the villagers scuttled around, trying to organize themselves.

    AWOOOOOO! AWOOOOOOO!

    Loud howling sounds filled the air, while the dark mist prevented the villagers from seeing clearly. Soon, more and more howls and growls began to sound, as whatever had made them grew nearer the village. There was a loud sound, as though something had collapsed, followed by whining sounds.

    ¡°They¡¯ve reached the first pit! Get ready!¡± shouted one of the villagers, who appeared to be commanding them. He was a middle-aged man, tall in stature and strong in appearance. He had a scar that spanned across his face, from the point between his eyes, to his left cheek.

    The rumbling and howling kept coming closer and closer, and another loud collapsing sound echoed out.

    ¡°They¡¯ve reached the second pit! Launch the arrows!¡± shouted the scarred commander.

    The men launched arrows, which had been set on fire. The entire field caught fire, burning along with it some of the oncoming beasts. For those that survived the inferno, they arrived at the barricade and a ferocious battle began. This was a battle of survival for one group, and for the other, a battle for supremacy!

    A thick stench of blood filled the moist air, as people and wolves died. The battle was really bitter. More dire wolves arrived; taking the place for those that had died. The men fought, but it became apparent that they were fighting a losing battle. It didn¡¯t matter how many wolves they killed, more would come.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move to phase two! Everyone, retreat!¡± shouted the scarred middle-aged commander.

    The survivors scuttled, retreating towards a stone wall that was closer to the chief¡¯s house. They carefully avoided triggering traps that had been laid beforehand. The wolves followed, closely in pursuit. For those that didn¡¯t avoid the traps, they fell into pit traps, filled with sharpened sticks standing in vertical and slanted positions.

    Meanwhile, the Beast King had arrived at the edge of the forest, looking at the village down below. Behind it, there was the nine-tailed fox and then the nine-tailed bear. They didn¡¯t dare to make any sound, or even do anything that would enrage the beast in front of them. The Beast King let out a sharp roar that filled the entire forest reaching as far as beyond the village, into the ears of the escapees.

    The dire wolves that had been attacking the villagers suddenly stopped, howled, and then retreated as fast as they had come. The villagers took a breath, before getting back to sharpening their weapons. They knew that it wasn¡¯t over yet. Whatever was coming next was definitely much worse than what had happened just now. How worse? Nobody had an inkling, not even the village commander, who was the head hunter. The purple mist that covered the village made fighting in the village even harder. Unlike the wolves, humans relied on their sense of sight in order to perceive their enemies. As long as the sight was impeded, it would be difficult for them to have any upper hand.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    The wolves, however, could rely on their sense of smell to determine where the humans were. In other words, the purple mist worked heavily against the humans, despite fighting in familiar territory!

    At the edge of the forest, the dire wolves returned and stood behind the other beasts. The Beast King looked up, and then opened its mouth. A purple light made of energy gathered into a small sphere, which was the size of an average adult human¡¯s head. The beast unleashed the energy, which flew in a straight beam towards the village! As it arrived, it cleaved most of the buildings in two!

    KABOOOOOOM!! KABOOOOOM! KABOOOOOM!

    Explosions followed, causing the remainders of the houses to collapse. The rubble went up in flames, causing everything else to catch fire. A thick scent of burning flesh filled the air, while the wind blew the scent, spreading it beyond the village. The Beast King issued another beam of energy, which did more damage than the first.

    KABOOOOOOOOM! KABOOOOOM!

    More explosions followed, finishing off whatever had been left of the village. The Beast King gave another sharp roar, and all the other beasts that were behind it descended! When they arrived at the village, some of them started ravaging whatever survived the second blast. At this point, almost everyone was dead, including the village chief. He was sitting in his house, with staff in hand. When the first series of explosions occurred, the roof of his house collapsed, trapping him inside it. And then the second series happened.

    For those that had somehow survived, they had to face the arriving flood of beasts! What happened next was completely uneventful. The mixture of tailed beasts ranging from bears, wolves and foxes to spiders, bees and even gigantic rabid squirrels, descended upon the rubble and began to ravage anything and anyone alive. Quite a sorry sight this was. It then started raining.

    At the other edge of the forest, Ryan, Rose and Gonin were preparing to teleport back to the monastery. That was when it started raining.

    ¡°We cannot use the teleportation talismans while in the rain. If they get wet, they¡¯ll stop working!¡± declared Gonin, who was scrambling around, trying to look for a place to shelter them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s run that way¡±, yelled Ryan, pointing in the direction where there was smoke towering to the heavens.

    ¡°That might not be such a good idea. Let¡¯s hide under a tree¡±, spoke Rose.

    As they were scuttling and scampering around, lightning struck the tree closer to where they were standing.

    ¡°This is a really bad omen!¡± declared Gonin.

    The trio ran until they found a wooden cabin that was quite a distance from the forest. When then got there, they were drenched. It seemed very weird to the couple who owned the cabin. Why was a monk trying to look for shelter from rain? Why was a monk travelling with young adults who looked like they¡¯d never set foot in a monastery, based on what they were wearing?

    Never mind the trio¡¯s explanation for what had happened. Well, the couple simply decided to let it go. Either they were crazy, or it was one weird dream, which they were both involved. They offered the best hospitality to their visitors, offering food, and shelter from the rain. When the three had warmed themselves, they excused themselves, with Gonin producing the teleportation talisman. It was still raining outside, and the couple tried to get them to stay, but in the end, they gave up.

    The trio went outside, where Gonin activated the talisman and they vanished, appearing in the middle of smoldering ruins.

    ¡°Umm guys, where are we?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°No! It cannot be!¡± exclaimed Gonin.

    Everyone was shocked by what they were seeing. Never mind that they were still getting drenched in rain, no one noticed. They were supposed to have teleported into the comfort of the monastery, away from the rain. Well, to tell the truth, they had teleported into the monastery. It was just that the monastery was in ruins, and there were no signs of life, as far as the eye could see.

    A figure wearing tattered robes rose from the rubble, accompanied by a small drone, which was hovering by the figure¡¯s side. Everywhere one looked, there were scraps of metal, occasional fizzles of electric sparks and rubble that would have been on fire if it wasn¡¯t raining.

    ¡°Are you sure your teleportation thingy worked?¡± asked Ryan, with anxiety mounting.

    The figure walked closer, until they could see it in full view. It was Myra, and he only said, ¡°We need to leave right now! They are going to come back!¡±

    Hezron and his team started running, trying to find a place to rest and hide away from the pouring rain. It was not a good thing for the children since their immune systems were weak. Something as insignificant as rain could end up with someone in bed with a severe cold, or it could be worse. However, before they got anywhere...

    AWOOOOOOOOOOOO! AWOOOOOOOOO!

    Howling sounds echoed nearer to the team. They appeared to be getting closer and closer. Never mind the fact that it was raining, now they had something else to worry about.

    ¡°Run! Everyone, run as fast as you can!¡± yelled Hezron.

    However, it didn¡¯t matter whatever efforts they made. Trying to make women and children outrun a pack of vicious mutated wolves, was like tying a lot of snails to a war chariot and trying to race them against free horses! It simply wouldn¡¯t work!

    So as unfortunate as it was, the expected thing happened. The wolves caught up, a lot of people died, including the women and children. All the young men accompanying the women died, all except Hezron. Currently, he was surrounded by dire wolves, which were drooling. He took out his flute and started playing it. For some reason, he had decided that, if he¡¯s going to die, he might as well as die doing something he loved. He closed his eyes and began playing the tune he¡¯d been playing earlier in the village, The Calm Sea.

    However, after a few minutes of playing the flute, something unexpected happened. Instead of attacking him, the wolves stood there, without moving an inch. The expressions on their faces changed from rage, hunger and greed to a calm, soothed expression. Hezron had his eyes closed, so at first he didn¡¯t notice. However, he realized something was off! Why was he still alive playing the flute?

    Slowly, he opened his eyes, afraid the wolves would pounce on him the moment he fully opened them. He didn¡¯t want to see himself die, that would be really horrible. The one thing he kept doing was playing the flute.

    ¡°You...You are just like us...,¡± a gruff, ancient sounding voice echoed in his mind, causing him to stop playing the instrument.

 Chapter 25 - The Beast King and the Pied Piper

    Hezron panicked when he realized he had stopped playing the flute. He scrambled to put the instrument on his mouth, but then he stopped. After looking around, he noticed that the wolves were no longer attacking him. This was quite weird. Everyone else was dead, and he was looking at a pack of six feet tall wolves with two tails. Life couldn¡¯t be better.

    ¡°Interesting...¡± echoed the voice again.

    ¡°Who said that?¡± asked Hezron, aloud.

    As he was looking around, he saw a gigantic tiger descending from the sky. He rubbed his eyes, to make sure he wasn¡¯t hallucinating. The tiger was real, and it was flying! It had eagle-like wings, and a whole lot of tails. Well, it had ten but he didn¡¯t have time to count them. Its front legs were like very furry human arms. This was a bizarre sight; anyone would¡¯ve fainted upon witnessing it. After the tiger landed, two other beasts arrived at the scene.

    The beasts were gigantic! One was a fox with really large ears, and again, front legs that looked like human arms. The other was a bear, which had horns like those of a bull, four arms and six eyes. Talk about bizarre! That would¡¯ve been an understatement! And then there was the significant number of tails each one had.

    ¡°It seems... I have been quite hasty...,¡± echoed the ancient-sounding, gruff voice again, inside his head.

    ¡°Who said that? Show yourself! I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡± shouted Hezron, with knees literary shaking.

    The ten-tailed tiger moved until it was right in front of him. It gave a loud roar that caused Hezron¡¯s hair to fly backwards. It was still raining, but the rain didn¡¯t seem to be important currently. Hezron couldn¡¯t take it anymore; his knees gave, and he slumped down. His body betrayed him, showing that he was really afraid.

    ¡°Oh... I thought you said you were not afraid of me?¡± said the voice, with a slight chuckle.

    ¡°I-imp...impossible!¡± said Hezron, with a voice full of fear. He continued, ¡°H-how are you... how di... you¡¯re talking...¡±

    The tiger looked at the other beasts and then issued a slight growl. They seemed to have understood something, since they left soon afterwards, leaving the ten-tailed tiger alone with Hezron. This didn¡¯t seem to have helped, Hezron was still shaking in fear.

    ¡°You can relax, we are now alone. I am not going to kill you or eat you¡±, assured the voice, sighing.

    ¡°It¡¯s you, isn¡¯t it? How are you talking to me?¡± asked Hezron, looking at the giant tiger in front of him.

    ¡°Remember how I said you are just like us. That might have been a gross oversimplification of how the matters are currently fashioned¡±, said the Beast King.

    Hezron scratched his head; he hadn¡¯t understood what the beast in front of him had just said. The beast seemed to understand what he was thinking, if he was thinking at all.

    ¡°I mean, basically, you and I are the same¡±, it explained.

    ¡°Th-they killed my family!¡± Hezron spoke, with tears streaming, but then it was raining so it was difficult to distinguish between tears and rainwater. He continued again, ¡°Y-your friends killed my family.¡±

    ¡°Look, let me ask you a question. When your hunters went into the forest, and they found rabbits, did they spare them? Or did they try by all means to capture them?¡±

    Hezron could not offer a retort. He knew in his heart that hunters would definitely capture the rabbits. It was just how nature was, with humans at the top of the food chain. Right?

    ¡°They did not spare the rabbits. No, they did not. Instead, they captured them, happy that they had caught food. Now, let me ask you another question. When your hunters found our cubs, do you think they spared them?¡± continued the tiger.

    ¡°But you¡¯re talking about the hunters! The women and children have nothing to do with this!¡± shouted Hezron.

    ¡°You are absolutely right. And yet, what do you think the children will do when they grow up? Will they completely stop hating us? When they see us, will they not fight us?¡±

    Hezron dropped his head, looking downwards. Again, he could not retort. This issue was a recurring issue. The humans hunted wild animals, well, so did the wild animals themselves. They hunted each other! However, humans killed young ones of all the dangerous animals. When the young ones that survived grew, they¡¯d hate humans. When they met, something or someone had to die!

    The tiger continued, when it saw Hezron didn¡¯t reply, ¡°You see. Humans generally see us as enemies, and so do we. And what happens when enemies see each other? They fight bitter, deadly battles, do they not?¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°B-but you¡¯re talking to me. Why didn¡¯t you try to talk to them too? Why didn¡¯t you try to make them understand your feelings?¡±

    ¡°You think we have not tried?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Hezron had a blank expression on his face.

    ¡°Humans cannot understand us. Unlike you, humans cannot speak our language. They can understand each other, but our differences are plain irreconcilable¡±, responded the Beast King, with a sigh.

    ¡°What do you mean unlike me?¡±

    ¡°Tell me something, how do you think you can speak to me right now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Would you mind explaining?¡±

    ¡°You are different from the rest of the humans, for some reason. Maybe it is because you were living closer to the forest, I do not know. However, I was observing you. I noticed you have the power to influence emotions, with that funny-looking instrument in your hands. That was why the wolves did not attack you¡±, the tiger explained.

    ¡°Is that why you didn¡¯t kill me?¡±

    ¡°Partly. Well, you see, whatever you did back there had no effect on me. But if you can control emotions of people, animals and us, then what value do you think you have to the entire ecosystem? You might be able to bring some sort of balance, but honestly I do not believe that is even remotely possible.¡±

    Hezron looked at the flute in his hands. If what the gigantic anomaly in front of him said was true, he could basically control people and animals! Truthfully, it sounds a lot harder to believe. If anyone had told him this before this incident, he might have thought that person was crazy, or worse, drunk.

    ¡°Are you going to let me go?¡± he asked, in a lowered voice, afraid of making the tiger angry.

    ¡°I would like to, but the problem is not with me, it is the human beings. They discriminate what they do not understand. How do you think they will treat you when they find out about what you can do?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Hezron remained quiet, with a quizzical expression plastered on his face.

    ¡°I will give you a choice, you can come with me, and I will protect you. Or you can go on your own, and live with humans. Whatever choice you make, I will respect it, but I will also want you to learn to live with it.¡±

    ¡°How long do I have to think about this?¡± Hezron asked.

    ¡°Just tell me how long you need. However, I need you to know something. I will be attacking all the human settlements surrounding the mountain. It does not matter what you do to try to save them. If you side with us, they will hate you, and try to kill you as well. If you side with them ... Let us just say you will not live long enough to regret that decision, especially if you use your power against us!¡±

    ¡°What am I supposed to do then?¡±

    ¡°That will be your decision to make; I will not make it for you. Just make sure you make the right one. Or rather, make the decision you can live with...¡±

    The tiger stood up, and then prepared to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡± called Hezron.

    It turned and looked at him, with a calm expression. Hezron hesitated upon seeing this expression. It was as if he understood everything, yet he didn¡¯t as well.

    ¡°Humans are not weak, you know. Some are very strong. A long time ago, I heard a story from my grandfather. He told me that the power of the humans lies in their heads. He said they could come up with all sorts of ideas to solve the challenges they face. Fighting against the humans might lead to a very large-scale war in which you might be annihilated! Is that what you want?¡± asked Hezron, with slight determination embedded in his voice.

    ¡°It seems you have made your decision then?¡±

    ¡°Alone, I am weak. I cannot change the fate of the humans, or yours for that matter. But I can try to be the bridge.¡±

    ¡°Wait, the what?¡± This time, it was the tiger¡¯s turn to be surprised.

    ¡°The middleman, the person who stands on both sides. I can help negotiate with the humans on your behalf. And I can help negotiate with you on the humans¡¯ behalf. This way, I don¡¯t have to pick a side. Everyone will be happy.¡±

    The tiger laughed out aloud, well, inside Hezron¡¯s head anyways. It sat down and rolled over in laughter. Hezron¡¯s face turned pink from embarrassment. He wasn¡¯t expecting to be laughed at by the tiger. Actually, it was strange to hear a tiger laughing. Gradually, he started laughing too, albeit, a nervous chuckle.

    ¡°I like how you think, human. Unfortunately, this will not work at all. Do you know why?¡± asked the beast, after it had finished laughing at him.

    ¡°No...W-why?¡±

    ¡°Tell me, how do you plan on getting rid of the arrogance that dwells in man¡¯s heart?¡±

    ¡°I will talk to them, and make them listen to the voice of reason!¡± he declared with a firm, resolute voice.

    ¡°Fine. Hand over your instrument¡±, said the tiger, chuckling some more.

    Hezron handed over the flute he was holding in his hand. The beast took it, and then opened some more holes in the bamboo instrument. After that, a small purple light appeared in the paws of the tiger. The light entered the flute, causing the flute to glow lightly. It then handed over the flute back to Hezron.

    ¡°Whenever you play the instrument, it does not matter where I am, I will hear it. We need to establish some rules. For example, when you are in trouble, you will play a certain tune. I might not be able to come in person, but I will send someone to assist you. Which tune will it be? Play it now, so that the deal will be sealed.¡±

    Hezron started to think for some time. All his life, well up to now anyways, he had been taught by the village chief three songs. One of these songs was ¡®The Calm Sea¡¯, which was supposed to soothe souls, according to the chief. The second song was called ¡®The Rage Within¡¯. The third and final song was called ¡®Heavens Hear¡¯.

    As for the reason why they had such weird names, he had never gotten the answer. The Rage Within brought out people¡¯s anger, and he had been told that it would help to calm people who were angry, by bringing out their hidden anger. Heavens Hear was a song that made soldiers courageous. It was composed for war.

    Hezron started playing Heavens Hear, which started with a slow tune, then moved to a fast tempo. There was something about the song, which made Hezron forget he was standing in the rain, in front of a gigantic tiger with wings and a lot of tails. Unfazed, he kept playing the tune. The tiger seemed to be remembering some aspects of the tune. After what seemed like eternity, but in reality was only five minutes, he stopped playing.

    ¡°That is your choice then?¡± asked the tiger.

    ¡°Yes¡±, replied Hezron with determination.

    ¡°I see. I have the tune stored in my head. Whenever you play it, I will send someone to assist you. Do not try to manipulate them, or use them for personal grudges. If you do, I will kill you myself! I hope I have made myself clear!¡±

    ¡°I understand¡±, he replied, nervously.

    ¡°Another thing, it does not matter how many people say they are happy with whatever you would have accomplished. Not everyone will be happy!¡±

 Chapter 26 - The dust settles...

    The tiger flapped its wings and then flew up. As soon as it left, it stopped raining completely. Hezron looked at the flute in his hands. It still had the soft purple glow, and another hole. So he confirmed whatever happened just now was not a hallucination. There was a gigantic tiger with human-like front arms, eagle-like wings and a lot of tails!

    He was now all alone; everyone else was dead. If the wolves came from the village, then there was nothing left there. Hezron sighed, he had cried quite enough. The decision he had made earlier, now he had to stick with it to the very end.  He then decided to start walking.

    The Beast King flew away at top speed, until it arrived at the summit of Mount Sun. Gathered there was the nine-tailed bear and the nine-tailed fox.

    ¡°Your Majesty, are you sure letting that human go was the best decision? He¡¯s too dangerous!¡± echoed a voice, as the Beast King landed.

    ¡°Questioning my decisions so soon?¡± it asked with a sneer evident in its tone.

    ¡°No we do not dare to, your majesty.¡±

    ¡°Do not worry about the human. He is na?ve. The na?ve ones are the easiest to manipulate. It is only a matter of time before reality catches up. Besides, he¡¯s not that dangerous to me¡±, replied the Beast King, with a loud laugh.

    ¡°What do we do now? There are more human settlements located just below the mountain. Should we attack them right now?¡± asked the nine-tailed bear.

    ¡°It does not make sense for all of us to keep attacking the humans, just one is enough. You will go and wipe out all the settlements below the mountain! When you have done so, we will leave this mountain and look for more of those powerful rocks. There might be another one like me somewhere¡±, replied the Beast King, looking at the nine-tailed fox.

    ¡°Why just him? We have a lot of beasts that are less powerful but just as effective at eradicating humans. Why don¡¯t we send those instead?¡± asked the bear.

    ¡°Because it will be faster for him to move alone. Anyway, my decision is final! By the way, look for the white five-tailed dire wolf and send him to protect the human. After all, if I can control the humans through him, would that not be fantastic?¡± asked the Beast King with a strange gleam in its eyes.

    ¡°Yes your majesty¡±, replied the other beasts, as they prepared to leave the summit.

    ******************

    ¡°This is the second time we have been called here today! What is the issue this time, Gordon?¡± asked grand elder White.

    ¡°Before I answer that question, Schwarz, did you succeed with your mission?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I have the report that concludes that all our problems in the Tibetan area have been taken care of. The engineer, the monks and the robots; they will no longer cause problems for any of our operations.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what the problem is. We have discovered that the blueprints are fake!¡± spoke grand elder Gordon.

    ¡°What?!¡± exclaimed the other two in unison.

    ¡°Any idea how we can deal with this issue? The Rhizen Canon is too enticing; its power is just too much to let it go!¡±

    ¡°Well, someone had to be a smartass and kill the person who designed it!¡± said grand elder White, with a loud laugh.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the one who made the decision! Do you remember who came up with the idea? Or who pushed it to me? White, you should own your mistakes!¡± declared grand elder Schwarz, with a hint of anger.

    ¡°Huh? Me? What did I do? Am I the one who ordered the use of a nuclear weapon to destroy a couple of monks and an old man?¡± laughed grand elder White.

    In a few moments, sparks were flying between the two old men, and it was a matter of time before they exploded into a giant ball of flame!

    ¡°First of all, who provided the ¡®blueprints¡¯ for the Rhizen canon?¡± asked grand elder Schwarz.

    The temperature in the room rose up a notch, followed by a tense atmosphere. The two grand elders were always at odds with each other, no matter where they were. If left to their devices, the two would destroy everything in the room! Any other time, grand elder Gordon would leave them to destroy the furniture in the boardroom. However, he was currently in a bad mood.

    ¡°That¡¯s about enough you two! We don¡¯t have time for this!¡± he declared, as he stood up, acting as if he was leaving.

    ¡°Where are you going? You¡¯re the one who called this tribunal, remember?¡± asked grand elder White.

    Grand elder Gordon didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he simply continued leaving, ignoring the two who were at loggerheads. This caused the two other grand elders to be baffled. Usually, it was the two of them who acted petty and childish, not their fellow grand elder. However, something seemed to be bothering their companion.

    ¡°What do you think is his problem?¡± asked grand elder White.

    ¡°Is that a rhetorical question? Or maybe you¡¯re just being sarcastic? Because it¡¯s not funny at all¡±, replied grand elder Schwarz, with a cold demeanor.

    Grand elder White frowned slightly, as he looked at the back of the departing grand elder. He then rose up to follow, after all there was no reason for either of them to linger around anymore.

    ¡°So what do we do? I¡¯m not going to clean up after this!¡± started grand elder Schwarz.

    His remaining companion simply shrugged his shoulders and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even remember the last time I called a tribunal...¡±

    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡±

    ¡°Fine. I will tell some people to clean it up. Offering an explanation should be enough, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s your call. Do whatever you think is necessary. I wash my hands clean from this matter¡±, spoke grand elder Schwarz. He had long decided to continue going about his work.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.          ??????????????????  ***************************

    Ryan woke up, and looked at the clock hung on the wall. It was currently 3:45 am. He quietly slid off from the bed, tiptoed out of the room and left the cabin. Despite having weights tied to his feet, he was still as agile and nimble as a snake. He made his way to a stream that was near the cabin.

    ¡®It¡¯s been three days already. Sigh, everything feels like one bad dream!¡¯ he thought, as he arrived at the stream. He walked towards one of the nearest trees, and sat under it, ready to start cultivating. ¡®Am I cursed or something? First, it was the incident with my father. Now this?¡¯

    He had woken up and realized that he was back at the cabin they had used to hide from the rain. Rose had explained what had happened, based on the information she had gotten from Dr. Paige, who had left earlier. While the Abbot was busy explaining how they were supposed to deal with their enemy, they were suddenly attacked!

    There was an explosion, and no one noticed what had happened. The entire monastery had been destroyed, and by the time he and Myra came to his senses, the entire place had been reduced to rubble. Gonin thought it was weird that they were suddenly attacked just like that. The entire monastery was surrounded by an impenetrable shield, which could never have been destroyed by conventional weapons! There were also various early warning systems, which would have alerted everyone before the attack.

    Rose speculated that the shield had been removed by an inside spy. But what kind of spy would commit suicide just like that? Another issue that Ryan found unbelievable was that they had an immortal robot sitting with them! As far as he was concerned, conventional weapons could not kill Myra, so why didn¡¯t he fight against the attackers?

    ¡®Well, it¡¯s no use crying over spilt milk now, is it? Sigh, I promise grandpa, grandma, that this unfilial grandchild will do everything in his power to bring your murderers to justice! An eye for an eye? No! For every one eye of mine they took, I will take two! A tooth for a tooth? Not even! For every tooth of mine they¡¯ve plucked out, I will pluck out two of theirs! Until I destroy Cerberus, I will not rest!¡¯ he thought to himself, with fists clenched and gritted teeth.

    He steadied his mind and entered a deep meditative trance. After a few minutes, he appeared in a space covered with deep white tiles. There was a path in front of him, and at the end of the path there were three scrolls enclosed in transparent, glass casings.

    The first scroll had a purple glow, and the casing had engravings of four animals he had never seen before. Well, except for what looked like a tiger, he had never seen any of the other animals before. Other than the animal engravings and the purple glow, there was also the star symbol engraved right on the pedestal that held the glass casing.

    The second scroll had a black light emanating from it. The casing had engraving of the character for Azure embedded within it. However, due to the black light and the transparency of the glass casing, it was quite difficult to read from where Ryan was standing.

    The third scroll emanated a sinister energy that made Ryan¡¯s heart leap after looking at it! There was something about this scroll, which seemed to be calling out to him.

    As he was drawn to this scroll, space shifted again, this time he appeared in a place with lush green vegetation. The place looked familiar yet again. Everything seemed familiar to him, from the gigantic tree in the distance, to the path he was standing.

    ¡°Took you long enough. I had grown tired of waiting!¡± spoke a deep voice, which sounded neither angry nor calm.

    Ryan looked around to ascertain where the voice had come from, but to no avail. He looked around his surroundings, yet he didn¡¯t see anything. He simply sighed before answering, ¡°Would senior please show himself? My eyes are but a mere mortal¡¯s, they cannot see Mount Tai. They also cannot fathom the brilliance and awe--¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s about enough. There¡¯s no need for feigned praise. Have you seen them? The scrolls I mean¡±, spoke the voice.

    ¡°Yes senior. May I ask what they represent?¡±

    ¡°The legacies you must cultivate to reach the pinnacle of martial arts! Also, they will make you strong enough to take over a planet on your own, well, as long as no other Ascendant is on that planet anyways¡±, replied the voice.

    ¡°May I ask who senior is? And also, where am I?¡±

    ¡°I am Rogarth Secretwater. Do I always have to keep introducing myself every time?¡±

    ¡°Wait, Rogarth? Why didn¡¯t you say so? So, where am I? And where are you?¡±

    ¡°You are in the Dream plane. This is the second time I¡¯m explaining this! As for me, I¡¯m everywhere. Do not concern yourself looking for my physical appearance.¡±

    ¡°Why am I here then? And what about the scrolls?¡±

    ¡°Well, I just wanted you to know what the future holds, in regards to cultivation. Currently, your strength is lacking, you cannot even start practicing one manual¡±, replied the voice with a soft sigh.

    ¡°But--¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°What about all those preparations we were making?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not going to waste. Right now you need to break through to the second level of cultivation, Dragon Strength! At this level, you will have strength that rivals a dragon!¡±

    ¡°A what?¡±

    ¡°Dragon. Never mind what it is, as long as you know that you¡¯ll have unrivaled strength, on this planet at least. You will be able to move mountains, carry ten times your weight and so on. However, breaking through to the second realm of cultivation on this planet is going to be even more difficult than starting. Are you sure you¡¯re prepared for this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready! When do we begin?¡± asked Ryan with excitement.

 Chapter 27 - A Dragons strength

    There are seven levels of cultivation in the Mortal realm. The reason why the realm is called ¡®Mortal realm¡¯, is that martial artists in this realm will live up to their normal lifespan. For example, if a person can live up to the average age of eighty, as long as they are in the mortal realm, they cannot defy the heavens and live more than that. Their physical looks will not be affected as well, meaning a person who is seventy years old will still look old, with gray hair and everything. The only difference is in their capabilities. Even a seventy year old person, as long as they have passed the second level of the Mortal realm, can carry ten times their weight. They would be invulnerable to normal weapons as well.

    The seven levels are Tempered Body, Dragon Strength, Altering Pulse, Tempered Marrow, Qi Gathering, Core Formation and Blue Soul Formation. Cultivators in the Tempered Body realm are invulnerable to normal weapons, that is weapons that are not enhanced. Those in the second level, Dragon Strength, have strength that rivals dragons! They can carry heavy objects and move mountains!

    Currently, Ryan was in the first level of the Mortal realm, Tempered Body. His body is invulnerable to earthly weapons like guns, knives and so on. Even if a grenade explodes in front of him, the force might be able to push him backwards, but overall, it¡¯s not enough to kill him.

    After having spent some months, Ryan¡¯s foundation could be considered as having stabilized. This means that he can now try to break through to the second level of the Mortal realm, Dragon Strength. To break through to the first level, one has to use some means to absorb qi and then use the qi to enhance their bodies. Most people use pills and elixirs, which contain a significant amount of qi. When this qi enters the body, the person has to circulate it through their blood vessels, and then enhance their body parts slowly.

    This method is arduous, and there is a twenty to thirty percent chance of having a backlash that injures the body. However, on other planets, this is the most commonly used method. The reason is that it is by far the easiest method to break through! There is no shortage of pills and elixirs.

    The second method is the method used by Ryan. The martial artist has to absorb qi from the surroundings and then use some special martial techniques to circulate the qi, strengthening the body parts. The amount of pain caused by this method is extreme, and there is a forty percent chance of a backlash. The reason why Ryan ended up using this method is that there were no pills or elixirs that contained qi. Therefore, Rogarth recommended he use the method above. To absorb the qi, he had to sit under a waterfall for a very long time. No wonder it took a year for him to break through.

    The advantage of using the second method is that the body will be slightly stronger. The reason is that, compared to the other method, absorbing unrefined qi is much better. Therefore, martial artists that break through using pills are slightly weaker than those who break through using direct qi absorption.

    Now, to break through to the second level, Dragon Strength, one has to circulate qi in their bodies and use it to enhance their muscles. Once their muscles are enhanced, the martial artist will be able to use heaven-defying strength, like that of a Dragon!

    In the early stage of the Dragon Strength level, one will have strength of one True Dragon! That means that they can lift as much as twice the person¡¯s weight at most, nothing more. There are also those who keep enhancing their muscles, and they end up having the strength of three True Dragons!

    In the middle stage of the level, one will have strength that rivals four True Dragons combined! As long as one keeps cultivating, they can destroy large boulders, small hills and so on. The increase in strength is capped at six True dragons.

    The late stage of the level makes one even more ridiculously powerful. The person¡¯s strength rivals that of seven True Dragons combined! Once someone reaches this level, a single sneeze can level a small hill! The maximum someone can reach is the strength of nine True Dragons.

    In the martial path, strength is everything. The law of the jungle prevails! The strong eat the weak! Currently, Ryan was cultivating, ignoring all these laws, and completely oblivious to his surroundings. He didn¡¯t know any of these things; all he knew was that he could move mountains and whatnot.

    He circulated the qi in his body and directed it towards his muscles.

    POP! POP!

    There was a slight popping sound when the qi reached the muscles. Ryan felt more energetic afterwards. It appeared as if his consciousness was elsewhere.

    ¡°See this stone? If you can push it past this point, then I¡¯ll let you leave!¡± spoke Rogarth, with a serious expression, as he drew a line on the ground.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Ryan looked at the enormous boulder placed in front of him. Currently, his consciousness was stuck in the mini-dimension inside the matrix.

    ¡°This is impossible! How can...Oh wait, let me try¡±, he replied.

    He walked over to the boulder and tried giving it a quick shove. It didn¡¯t even budge! He tried again, and he got the same result. Nothing worked. Rogarth looked a bit disappointed but then he smiled.

    ¡°It seems like you are going to be here for some time. Goodbye¡±, he said, before vanishing into thin air.

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t ... And he¡¯s gone! I guess I have to cultivate some more, then once I can push the boulder past that spot, I¡¯ll be able to leave.¡±

    He sat down and began to meditate again. Time passed without anyone keeping track. Since time flows differently in the mini-dimension, there was nothing to worry about.

    Meanwhile, outside the mini-dimension, in the real world, it was early in the morning. The sun was not yet up. Back at the cottage at the edge of the woods, Gonin was sitting cross-legged, meditating in the living room. On a couch, was a young man wearing tattered clothes. The young man appeared to be in a coma. Beside the young man, there was a bamboo flute.

    Rose yawned as she slowly walked down the stairs. ¡°Any changes?¡± she asked.

    ¡°No. He is still unconscious¡±, replied Gonin.

    ¡°What about Ryan and the robot?¡±

    ¡°Ryan left some hours ago. As for the immortal, he seems to be meditating in Ryan¡¯s room.¡±

    ¡°Its been 3 days already. We need to decide the next way forward. We can¡¯t just keep living here; this is not our cottage after all.¡±

    As she was still speaking, the young man on the couch turned over and then started muttering something. He was also sweating profusely, while twisting and turning on the couch.

    ¡°He seems to be having a nightmare¡±, spoke Rose, as she rushed to attend to the young man.

    The young man kept muttering something, and then started screaming. Gonin¡¯s eyes snapped wide open. He sprung up on his feet, and then walked towards the couch.

    Rose went upstairs and took a towel, socked it in a bowl of cold water and then rushed downstairs to attend to the poor kid.

    ¡°It seems he has a mild fever. We need to make it cool down!¡± shouted Rose, as she scrambled to put the wet towel on the young man¡¯s forehead.

    Time seemed to accelerate, as if someone was in a hurry for something to happen. Rays of light started appearing on the horizon, illuminating the dimly lit cottage.

    ¡°The sun¡¯s coming up! Where¡¯s that Ryan when you need him?¡± complained Rose.

    ¡°What do you need him for? Are you still trying to protect him?¡± asked Gonin, with a calm look.

    ¡°Gonin, please shut up!¡±

    ¡°Nooo! Y-you can¡¯t do this!¡± muttered the young man on the couch, as he continued sweating.

    Rose held him down; so that he wouldn¡¯t fall on the couch he was sleeping on. However, that didn¡¯t seem to help him cool down. He kept on sweating, muttering to himself, twisting and turning. After what seemed like an eternity of struggles, he finally calmed down.

    Even though his temperature was still high, he had stopped twisting and turning, as well as muttering in his sleep. Myra came down from the room he was meditating, and then stood across the living room, without saying anything.

    ¡°Sacred Immortal, can you heal him?¡± asked Gonin, pointing to the young man sleeping on the couch.

    Myra shook his head, but then he stretched his hand. A purple vortex appeared, and Myra put his head into the vortex. When he took out his hand, he had a medicine bottle full of a green liquid, which was glowing slightly.

    ¡°What is that?¡± asked Rose, curiously.

    ¡°An elixir. It should help to calm the fever¡±, replied Myra, coolly.

    Rose took the bottle from his hands and then asked, ¡°Does he drink it? It looks like its glowing. Won¡¯t it kill him?¡±

    ¡°It is very safe. Just use a drop of it, so that you will not destroy his body.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean ¡®destroy his body¡¯?¡±

    ¡°The elixir has a 90 percent efficiency. It is useful for curing various illnesses. However, it has a lot of qi, meaning that if used in excess by people who are not cultivators, they will die by bodily explosion!¡±

    ¡°Why would we be using something that dangerous?¡± she asked, handing back the bottle to Myra.

    ¡°I said only a drop is sufficient!¡± replied Myra, as he took the bottle and went over to where the young man was sleeping. He concentrated, and a drop of a green liquid came out of the bottle. The drop floated above his palm, and then entered the young man¡¯s mouth.

    The door to the cottage suddenly opened. Rather than calling it opening, it was more like it came off! Ryan was trying to open the door, but due to his overexcitement, he broke the door!

    ¡°Congratulations, you have reached the early stage of Dragon¡¯s strength!¡± spoke Myra, looking at Ryan, who was holding the door.

    He was too embarrassed to pay attention to Myra¡¯s words. He looked sideways, before putting the door down.

    ¡°Ummm... I might¡¯ve broken the door by accident...¡± he spoke shyly.

    ¡°Do not concern yourself about it. I am sure we will be able to fix it later on¡±, replied Gonin, who looked at Myra and then nodded.

    As Ryan was approaching the living room, Myra vanished.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Myra?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°He just left¡±, replied Gonin.

    ¡°Where did he go?¡±

    ¡°We do not know. Maybe you do?¡±

    ¡°Oh. How is that guy doing?¡± he asked looking at the young man sleeping on the couch.

    ¡°His fever has calmed down, thanks to the medicine he got from Myra¡±, replied Rose.

    ¡°It¡¯s been 3 days since he arrived and lapsed into a coma. Any idea how we can wake him up?¡±

    ¡°I do not think that is wise. Let him sleep¡±, advised Gonin.

    ¡°Speaking of which, where have you been?¡± asked Rose.

    ¡°What does that matter?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to reply? We have been worried about you! What if--¡±

    ¡°We? Who¡¯s we? And what if what?¡±

    ¡°Shut up! We don¡¯t know if--¡±

    As Ryan and Rose were bickering, Gonin was just standing at the side, shaking his head in amusement. No one noticed that the young man who was sleeping on the couch had woken up, and he had taken the flute that was by his side.

    He began playing a soothing melody, and everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the melody. Gonin stared at the young man with wide eyes and jaw that one could fit an egg!

 Chapter 28 - Myra breaks through

    As the melody drew to a close, everybody regained their wits. Gonin kept staring at the young man with suspicious eyes. Ryan and Rose had stopped their useless bickering.

    ¡°Remarkable! Absolutely remarkable! What is your name?¡± asked Gonin.

    ¡°My name is Hezron. Who are you people? And Where am I?¡±

    ¡°We found you three days ago collapsed near the cottage¡±, answered Rose. She continued, ¡°Where are you coming from? You seemed to be having a nightmare.¡±

    ¡°I was asleep for three days?¡± replied Hezron, with surprise evident on his face.

    ¡°Yes. What happened to you?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Our village... Everyone¡¯s dead...We were attacked by a pack of direwolves¡±, spoke Hezron. Then he went on to narrate everything that had happened, leaving out the bits about talking to a ten tailed, flying and talking tiger. Who would be stupid enough to believe something like that?

    ¡°So how did survive this attack?¡± asked Ryan, with suspicion plastered across his face.

    Hezron was silent for some time, while his head was dropped down. He looked quite dejected.

    ¡°You do not have to answer if you do not want to. I take it, that flute has something to do with your survival?¡± spoke Gonin.

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I can feel something from it. It seems to be leaking some qi.¡±

    ¡°Some what?¡±

    ¡°Qi. It is--¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we have time to be explaining all of this! If he¡¯s alive and everyone else is dead, doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re in danger here?¡± asked Rose, cutting off Gonin, who was about to engage in a lengthy lecture of the Dao.

    Everyone turned to look at Hezron, who shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head.

    ¡°There you go. Satisfied now?¡± asked Gonin, standing up from his sitting position.

    ¡°I¡¯m taking a walk!¡± declared Ryan.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t! You were out just now! Someone needs to go fetch some firewood!¡± snapped Rose.

    ¡°Why me?¡± asked Ryan, puzzled.

    ¡°Who else?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s--¡±

    ¡°Ryan, let us go and fetch the firewood...¡± advised Gonin.

    ¡°I¡¯ll join you guys as well¡±, spoke Hezron.

    The three young men left the cottage and headed towards the backyard. The backyard was much closer to the forest. At this time, the sun was fully up, and despite the backyard being dimly lit, the heat spread out.

    ************

    Myra appeared at a cliff, quite a distance away from the cottage. He looked at the sun shining in the sky, and then sat down cross-legged. There are different types of qi, depending on which environment a person is. Mostly, martial artists use Heaven and Earth qi to cultivate and break through realms.

    However, there are also some people with innate constitutions that allow them to use a different type of qi for cultivation. For example, Celestial gods use Celestial Qi and Myra uses Sun Qi.

    The Qi that comes from the sun helps Myra to cultivate and breakthrough realms. By absorbing and refining it, he is able to enhance his metallic body, and make it much more stronger and durable. However, it also limits his cultivation to the time during the day.

    The Immortal Realm is made up of three major levels. The difference between each of the levels is like the difference between the heavens and the earth! The first level is called the Earth Step level.  When a martial artist breaks through to the Immortal Realm, they will condense their spirit core into a spirit lake. In the Earth Step level, the spirit lake will be essentially smaller, and breaking through from the early Earth Step to mid Earth Step, requires pushing the boundaries of the spirit lake inside the martial artist¡¯s dantian.

    After the Earth Step level, there is the Mystic Step level. To break through to the Mystic Step level, the martial artist has to expand their spirit lake into a spirit sea. After breaking through, the martial artist has to nurture their spirit sea and expand its boundaries as well.

    Finally, after the Mystic Step level, there is the Heaven Step level. To break through to this level, the martial artist has to expand their spirit sea into a spirit ocean. After consolidating their realm, the martial artist can store more qi in their dantian.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The difference in the power between the levels is due to the abilities that can be used by the martial artists. A martial artist at the Mystic Step level can store more qi in their dantian than all of the other levels. Therefore, the high level martial skills they can use are not limited by the amount of qi in their dantian. This is the reason why Mystic Step levels are much stronger than Heaven Step and Earth Step Immortals.

    Currently, Myra is an Earth Step Immortal, who, after arriving on earth, cultivated a lot. After cultivating for a year on planet earth, he broke through from the early Earth Step into the mid Earth Step and finally the late Earth Step. The reason for his speed is due to the planet being closer to the sun than Khami. Therefore he could cultivate on planet earth with twice the results.

    The sun was shining brightly in the sky, bringing light and heat to the world. Myra could feel the spirit lake in his dantian expanding, as he absorbed the qi from the sun¡¯s rays, refining it slowly. Cultivation is a laborious, time-consuming process that brings strength to those who endure with consistency.

    Ever since he was repaired, he hadn¡¯t cultivated, so his spirit lake didn¡¯t have any qi. When they were attacked, he couldn¡¯t fight back at all! For an immortal, being that powerless is extremely humiliating. However, now he had a chance to not only break through, but also learning very highly valuable martial skills.

    Kakakaka!

    Cracking sounds permeated through the air, as Myra concentrated and focused on refining the qi he was absorbing, and using it to bombard the limits of his spirit lake. The boundaries kept expanding, and the qi that was being refined started churning like waves.

    Kakakaka! Booom! Boooooom!

    Sounds of explosions could be heard as the barriers completely broke, and the spirit lake grew into a spirit sea, which was a lot bigger than the spirit lake! Inside Myra¡¯s head, a small video clip began to play. This was a recording done by the Azure Immortal! Myra¡¯s eye sockets brightened as the video clip ended.

    Now, the martial skills that Myra practices were custom made by the elders who once advised the Azure Immortal, and they are all based on his legacy! This means that the cultivation manual that Myra uses is a variant of the one that Rogarth was teaching Ryan!

    As Myra sat cross-legged, a symbol for Void started floating in front of him. He started meditating upon the symbol, seeking to gain enlightenment. He soon forgot the passage of time, as he immersed himself into meditation. The sun rose and was about to set when something unexpected happened!

    A small black hole suddenly appeared in front of Myra, where the Void symbol was floating earlier! When it appeared, it started devouring everything around Myra. In a matter of seconds, the land that was filled with green grass, small bushes and shrubs, was bare, devoid of any sign of life! Myra snapped his eyes open, and as they glowed with an eerie purple glow, the black hole vanished into thin air!

    If not for the bare vegetation, one would think the black hole never appeared. The purple glow in Myra¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t diminish, but became more and more pronounced. It kept on getting brighter and brighter. As Myra focused, the black hole appeared again, but this time it was slightly bigger than last time! It kept floating in front of him.

    WHOOOOSSSHHHH! WHOOOOSHH!!

    A strong suction force developed that pulled everything around Myra into the black hole! Only Myra was safe from the force of the black hole, as he stood there. If he had a mouth, a wide grin would be plastered on his face, while small rocks and stones were being sucked into the black hole!

    He then extended his hand, and the black hole flew into his palm. He closed the palm and the black hole vanished. When he opened his palm again, there was nothing, not even a trace of damage!

    As Myra was experimenting with his black hole, atop Mount Sun, the Beast King suddenly opened its eyes, and then started sweating profusely. The nine-tailed bear approached from the side and then prostrated itself before the Beast King.

    ¡°Your Majesty is something wrong?¡± it asked, with a hint of confusion.

    ¡°You don¡¯t feel that?¡± asked the Beast King.

    ¡°Feel what?¡±

    ¡°This power! Whatever is causing this, it is powerful! It is also a threat! We need to get rid of it!¡± spoke the Beast King, as it gathered the courage to face up to the anxiety it was feeling.

    ¡°Are you sure you are alright your Majesty?¡±

    ¡°Gather everyone; we need to attack whatever entity is causing this feeling! It must be more powerful than me, but I am confident that the three of us can take it on!¡±

    ¡°Yes your majesty!¡± said the bear, as it left the summit.

    The ten-tailed tiger looked really flustered, as if it had heard the call of the gods. Never mind that it thought it was the king of the jungle! The sweating hadn¡¯t stopped at all.

    ¡°What is this? Is it fear? I do not remember the last time I was afraid... I guess whatever is leaking this power must be very strong! However, it is going to be one against three! Unless...¡± the voice trailed off as the Beast King closed its eyes and tried to sense something.

    After what seemed like ages, but was really five minutes, it opened its eyes and roared! ¡°That ungrateful human! He is involved in this somehow! Did he go and look for help to turn against us? No; where would he find someone this powerful? Well, it does not matter anymore! If I find out he is somehow involved in this, I am going to rip him to shreds myself!¡±

    The ten-tailed tiger descended from the summit of Mount sun, onto the base of the mountain range. All the tailed beasts were waiting for it, some with eager faces that were expecting something, while others were looking anxious. As the Beast King arrived, it roared and every other beast prostrated itself before it. This was a real demonstration of power!

    ¡°My friends, I have called you here because something threatens our home! Should we leave the threat alive and suffer as it destroys us and our children?¡± spoke the Beast King, in a language that only the other tailed beasts could hear and understand.

    There were roars that sounded like cheers from the rest of the tailed beasts, which were gathered below.

    ¡°No! We will defend our home! And we will defend our children! We will not let humans destroy what we have built for ourselves! We have already reduced all human settlements surrounding the mountain range into mountains of corpses! Whatever weapon they might have this time, it is time we showed them why we are on top of the food chain!¡± roared the Beast King, in eloquent overtones that would have left every human who heard it in shock, wondering if this beast was a resurrected ancient tyrant!

 Chapter 29 - Confrontations Part I: Preparations

    ¡°Gentlemen, we have a lot of trouble on our hands¡±, started a middle-aged man wearing an army general¡¯s uniform. The uniform had four badges of honor and a lot of medals. The man had short hair, a wide scar on his right cheek and a face that children would not want to look at before going to bed.

    Inside the room, there were four more men and a woman. The men and woman were all wearing suits, and they had ugly expressions on their faces. It seems what had led to this discussion was not very good. These people made the president advisory council for the Tibetan president.

    ¡°Mr. President, as you can see, all the civilian settlements surrounding this mountain range have been destroyed, with no survivors! It seems the human-wildlife conflict has escalated to an unimaginable degree. We need to contain the animals!¡± spoke the army general, as he pointed towards a large map that was spread out on a screen in front of the table.

    An old man who was sitting at the end of the table, guarded by two men wearing black suits and black shades, scratched his head as he tried to think of a solution.

    One of the men sitting at the table said, ¡°According to reports, it seems like this isn¡¯t just an ordinary human-wildlife conflict! No ordinary wildlife would be strong enough to wipe out ten settlements within the span of four days!¡± The man was wearing a gray suit with a silver tie.

    The old man sitting at the end of the table finally responded, ¡°Do we have any satellite images showing what kind of threat we are dealing with?¡±

    ¡°Well, we just received the images now, Mr. President. Let me open them so everyone can see them¡±, responded the man wearing the gray suit.

    He walked over to the screen and connected the tablet he was holding to the screen, which was showing the map a few minutes ago. After connecting, he navigated to the app that showed his emails and downloaded attachments from the latest email. The images were so large the tablet was having trouble rendering them.

    ¡°Can you use the computer? Your tablet is not powerful enough to the satellite images!¡± warned the woman. She looked a bit young, with blond hair tied neatly at the back. She had bright eyes and a watery mouth plastered with lipstick.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, Ms. Wright¡±, replied the man with the gray suit. However, he ignored her and kept trying to open the images with his tablet.

    The woman, called Ms. Wright, frowned upon seeing that her advice was being ignored, but she simply kept quiet. The president frowned as well, and then he turned to look at the man wearing the gray suit. ¡°Irving, just use a darn computer, will you? We don¡¯t have all day!¡± he yelled at the man in gray.

    ¡°My apologies, Mr. President¡±, responded Irving, who scrambled to connect the tablet to the computer. The same computer was being used to render the map on the screen earlier.

    Soon after Irving had copied the images and rendering them, everyone looked at the screen. There was a green patch surrounded by a lot of black dots. Irving started zooming into the image, and as everything started becoming clearer, jaws dropped wide, and expressions turned even more unsightly. Others started to sweat, while the president shook his head.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what we¡¯re dealing with?¡± asked Ms. Wright, as she tried to recover from shock and fear.

    ¡°If that¡¯s unleashed into the world, we¡¯re doomed!¡± said one of the men who was sitting next to Ms. Wright.

    ¡°General Eizard, do you think it¡¯s possible to contain something like this?¡± asked an old man sitting opposite the army general.

    General Eizard¡¯s face turned even uglier. Earlier, he had mentioned that they should just contain the animals, but based on what was on the screen, that was impossible. Depicted on the screen were three large tailed beasts. One of them was a tiger with wings, another being a large bear with human-like arms and the last one was a fox with large ears and human-like arms. If there were only those three beasts, that would have been better.

    However, it turned out that the black dots that they had been seeing before zooming in, which numbered over thousands, were all mutated beasts, each ferocious and mean-looking.

    ¡°How do we deal with a threat of this magnitude?¡± asked the president.

    ¡°Since they have been attacking settlements around the mountain range, we can assume that they live in the mountains. Is there another settlement that hasn¡¯t been attacked that is closer to the mountain range?¡± asked Ms. Wright.

    Everyone turned to look at Irving, who was frowning deeply.

    ¡°Yes, so ... There is a cottage closer to the mountain range. According to reports, it hasn¡¯t been attacked yet. A couple lives in the cabin¡±, responded Irving.

    ¡°So my suggestion is we set up and ambush. General Eizard, how many soldiers can you send--¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°Thank you Ms. Wright for your suggestion, but I think we should consider this issue some more¡±, interrupted General Eizard, who was frowning too. He continued, ¡°Let¡¯s look at it this way. The--¡±

    Before the general finished speaking, the president interrupted him, ¡°That¡¯s about enough from all of you! You¡¯re still discriminating against my new secretary simply because she¡¯s a woman? Can you people knock it off! Let her finish what she was saying!¡±

    ¡°With all due respect Mr. President--¡±

    ¡°I will not have it! We¡¯re going to hear her suggestion, and if any of you have a better suggestion, we¡¯ll listen to it too!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. President¡±, replied everyone, except Ms. Wright.

    ¡°I was asking how many soldiers you think we can send to draw over the large, winged tiger¡±, spoke Ms. Wright, with a sigh.

    ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± asked General Eizard.

    ¡°Simple. First, we set up a parameter, covering the entire mountain range. Then we draw out the winged tiger and then drop bombs on the mountain range. That way, we¡¯ll destroy its base. After that, we deploy the Gen X robots we bought from PI Robotics, which should hold the perimeter while our soldiers escape. Finally, we destroy the perimeter, killing the monsters!¡± she spoke with conviction.

    ¡°That¡¯ll never work!¡± yelled General Eizard.

    ¡°Is that so? And why is that?¡± asked the president.

    ¡°We do not have an infinite amount of manpower needed to make a perimeter that covers the entire mountain range. We only bought around five hundred Gen X robots from PI Robotics. Using these ones, we¡¯d be sacrificing all our available manpower. What would happen if we are attacked by external entities? Remember we have conflicts with that country?¡± reminded general Eizard.

    ¡°So any smart ideas?¡± asked the president.

    Everyone remained silent. Irving turned to look at the president, who appeared as if he was in deep thought. After turning, he said, ¡°What if we use decoys?¡±

    General Eizard¡¯s eyes brightened as he heard this idea. It seemed as if he had thought about something at the same time!

    ¡°Please elaborate, Mr. Irving¡±, answered the president.

    ¡°Instead of using Gen X robots, why not use first generation robots instead? I¡¯m sure we have a lot of those ones!¡±

    ¡°And this solves our problem how?¡± asked Ms. Wright.

    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t need to draw them away from their base. We just need to evacuate the couple living in the cabin. They¡¯ll attack the cabin, but no one will be hurt. And then we¡¯ll send in the bombers! When the bombers have destroyed the beast army, our first generation robots will swoop in to take care of the remaining beasts!¡±

    ¡°That sounds plausible. It might actually work! This way, we save our Gen X robots, and we have a concentrated attack range instead of a wide attack range! This might actually work!¡± spoke general Eizard, while clapping his hands.

    ¡°Jacobs, Peterson, you two haven¡¯t said anything ever since getting into the meeting. What are your opinions?¡± asked the president, looking at the two people who were sitting next to each other.

    The two people smiled wryly, and it was Jacobs who spoke first, ¡°Mr. President, inasmuch as it seems like we can win this, I think you should be careful. Something feels off about this whole situation. My advice is, kill the winged tiger first!¡±

    Peterson spoke as well, ¡°Hasn¡¯t anyone noticed something is wrong about this picture? All the other animals are concentrated on the winged tiger. It¡¯s probably the king of the jungle!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve already mentioned that!¡± glared Ms. Wright.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure you did. Anyway, first find a method to kill the winged tiger. Otherwise we are simply wasting time discussing everything else!¡± answered Jacobs.

    ¡°And how do you suggest we kill the winged tiger first?¡± asked general Eizard.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You could use long range missiles¡±, answered Jacobs, shrugging his shoulders. He continued, ¡°At the end of the day, you could do as Ms. Wright had suggested. Separate the winged tiger from the rest of the pack and then kill it. I¡¯m sure divide and conquer tactics will work coupled with the element of surprise.¡±

    ¡°Do we have any more suggestions? Otherwise we¡¯re going to use Ms. Wright¡¯s suggestion¡±, said the president.

    Everyone remained silent, and when the president looked at everyone¡¯s faces, they avoided his gaze.

    ¡°It¡¯s decided then. We are going to use the divide and conquer tactic suggested by Ms. Wright. First, we are going to lure the winged tiger away from the rest of the pack. How you are going to do that is up to you. Finally, we then kill it and then send the robots after the rest of the pack¡±, spoke the president.

    ¡°I guess there¡¯s no way around it now, is there?¡± asked Irving. He continued, ¡°Why not just drop bombs on the beasts after evacuating the civilians? It sounds better than plotting against dumb animals!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think those animals are dumb¡±, replied Ms. Wright.

    Irving glared at her and then frowned.

    ¡°Enough! Start preparing for the plan, general Eizard. You¡¯re going to evacuate the couple today, this night! And then start setting up the perimeter.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. President!¡± answered general Eizard.

    ********

    ¡°The preparations are complete, Your Majesty. Are you sure about this?¡± asked the nine-tailed bear, coming up to the summit of Mount Sun.

    ¡°You¡¯re a tail short to question my judgement!¡± answered the Beast King, the ten-tailed winged tiger.

    ¡°My apologies. Just give the order and we¡¯ll tear the camp of humans apart!¡±

    ¡°Now, that¡¯s what I want to hear! We¡¯ll attack tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°Why not attack tonight, Your Majesty?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting for him to return with some information. Our attack plan is going to be based on his information, after all. I have a feeling the humans have a few tricks up their sleeves! It would be best to figure out what they are up to and then plan accordingly.¡±

    ¡°Are the humans that powerful though? Do you remember that the humans we have killed so far were very weak? We have the element of surprise; I don¡¯t think we can lose no matter when we attack. However, attacking during the cover of night, we have higher chances of winning!¡±

    ¡°Have you considered this might be a trap? They could have deliberately leaked out their power to lure us so they could destroy us in one fell swoop! I¡¯m not taking any chances and putting all the other animals in danger! However, as long as we have information on the humans¡¯ movements, we can make a plan and then attack them when they least expect it!¡± answered the Beast King.

    ¡°He seems to be taking his time!¡± complained the bear.

    ¡°His ability is more suited to scouting. Only he can gather information without being found out. Just be patient, will you? We only have so much we can do before he returns.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty!¡±

    ¡°For now, let us wait. I still have a feeling the humans have something they are planning¡±, spoke the Beast King, with a soft sigh.

 Chapter 30 - Confrontations Part II: Attack

    There was a light knock on the door, and Gonin, who was sitting cross-legged meditating, rose up and went to answer the door. When he arrived at the door, he was surprised to find two soldiers, wearing their uniforms, with guns strapped to their backs.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked one of the soldiers.

    ¡°You are the ones who knocked on the door and now you are asking me who I am? Do you not find this a bit ridiculous?¡± asked Gonin, avoiding the question.

    ¡°We have information that a certain couple called Mr. and Mrs. Bale, reside in this cottage. You don¡¯t look like Mr. Bale, so I¡¯ll ask again! Who are you?¡± asked the first soldier.

    Before Gonin answered the question, Rose came down the stairs, yawning. She was wearing a pink nightgown, and her hair was messy. The two soldiers exchanged a meaningful glance.

    ¡°Who¡¯s causing a ruckus so early in the morning?¡± she asked, yawning again.

    When she saw the soldiers, she frowned. At the same time, Ryan and Hezron also came down from different rooms. Ryan became a bit nervous when he saw the soldiers but when he remembered about what had happened at his grandfather¡¯s farm a few days ago, some anger welled up within. What he didn¡¯t know was that this army was not from Cerberus. Hezron, however, was simply confused as to who the two people wearing matching clothes were. Since their village was far away from the capital of Tibet, they never had any interactions with the army.

    ¡°Who are you kids? And what are you doing in the cottage?¡± asked the second soldier.

    ¡°Who we are is of no consequence to you. The right question we should be asking is, what do you people want?¡± replied Rose.

    ¡°Our orders are to evacuate the inhabitants of the cottage. According to the information we have, the people who live in the cottage are called Mr. and Mrs. Bale. Would you mind clarifying where they are?¡± asked the first soldier.

    ¡°They are not here, as you can see. They returned to the capital four days ago. We are the ones living here currently¡±, replied Gonin.

    ¡°I see. It doesn¡¯t matter who is living in the cottage. Our orders are to evacuate civilians living in the cottage. Please prepare your belongings and get ready to evacuate the premises.¡±

    ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Unfortunately we cannot tell you that. The information is classified.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so? Then we are not leaving!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you might have misinterpreted what we just told you¡±, said the second soldier, with a stern face. ¡°We weren¡¯t asking you to evacuate. We¡¯re telling you that we¡¯re evacuating you immediately!¡±

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained why we need to leave!¡± interjected Ryan, who was getting anxious.

    ¡°Calm down, Ryan. They¡¯re not Cerberus¡±, whispered Rose, as she came to stand next to him. Everyone started heading upstairs to pack whatever belongings he or she might have had on his or her person.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± he asked, in a whisper, as they were walking side by side.

    ¡°Trust me; this is not the way Cerberus does things! However, something else is going on.¡±

    The cottage had four bedrooms upstairs, and downstairs there was a lounge, a dining hall and a kitchen. Myra hadn¡¯t returned yet since his breakthrough earlier the day before. Therefore, there were only four people in the cottage. Hezron didn¡¯t have anything to retrieve besides his flute.

    In a few minutes, everybody was ready. Rose had changed into a white blouse with pink flowers, and a blue skirt. When she came out, the two soldiers exchanged a couple of glances. Ryan noticed the glances and frowned deeply. Hezron wasn¡¯t paying any attention; he simply thought they were being evacuated because living in the woods was dangerous, which was partly true. Gonin had a frown embedded on his face, which when combined with his bald head, made him look particularly dangerous.

    As they arrived outside, they realized that soldiers who were wearing green uniform, while holding guns surrounded the cottage. They were running back and forth, as if they were preparing for something. What no one noticed was that as they were doing whatever they were doing, there was a blurry shadow standing closer to the cottage. The shadow was in the shape of a squirrel, but it was human-sized.

    The soldiers were frantically running, setting up motion sensors everywhere. There were also helicopters dropping robots around the cabin. Some of the helicopters were dropping the robots away from the cabin, much closer to the mountain range. Compared to the number of robots, there were very few human soldiers.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Rose, as they arrived outside.

    ¡°Who are these children?¡± asked a man wearing a distinct green uniform, with badges and whatnot, who was walking up to them.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°We found them at the cottage, Sir!¡± shouted one of the men who had woken up Rose and the others.

    ¡°Have their identities been verified?¡± asked the man.

    ¡°No Sir!¡±

    ¡°Who are you and what were you doing at the cottage?¡± asked the man with the green uniform.

    ¡°We are--¡±

    ¡°We were travelling with our parents in Mikhat but we got separated. They had told us that in the event of being separated, we should go to Sivin. However, on our way, we got lost and ended up staying the night at the cottage. But that was four days ago...¡± Rose explained, cutting off Ryan, who was about to say something.

    ¡°And the monk?¡± asked the man.

    ¡°We happened to meet him along the way. He said he could show us the way¡±, replied Rose.

    Everyone turned to look at Gonin, who was starting to shake uncontrollably. For some reason, he had started feeling a deep urge to run away. People always say that whenever something terrible is about to happen, humans get an uncomfortable feeling in their stomachs. However, to everyone present, it appeared as if the man with the funny green uniform was intimidating him.

    The blurry shadow that was standing by the cottage suddenly vanished completely, as if it was never there. As it vanished, Gonin started sweating profusely.

    ¡°Is he okay?¡± asked the man with the funny green uniform.

    Rose turned to look at Gonin who answered in a shaky whisper, ¡°I-I am fine. We need to leave as soon as possible! T-the Beast king...h-he is coming.¡±

    ¡°Forgive us, we--¡±

    ¡°What do you know about the beasts?¡± asked the man wearing the funny uniform, interrupting Rose, who was about to come up with an excuse. He was now starting to get suspicious about the information he had received earlier from Rose.

    Gonin turned pale from fright. It wasn¡¯t that the man with the funny uniform was intimidating, however, he could feel that something dangerous was about to happen. He felt that the danger was getting closer and closer. His eyes brightened, as he seemed to have thought of something. He retrieved a talisman from his spatial ring, much to the shock of the soldiers and the man with the distinct uniform. The soldiers, along with Hezron, had never seen a spatial ring before, so they were extremely shocked when they saw a yellow paper appearing out of nowhere.

    ¡°W-where did that come from?¡± asked Hezron, who stood still, looking at Gonin as if he was looking at a miracle worker of sorts. Gonin ignored the looks he was getting from people and performed an incantation gesture.

    A bright orange-yellow color began to show on the horizon, indicating that the sun was about to come up. However, another bright, red beam of light flew from a distance away from the cottage, coming from the direction of the mountain range! The dark skies were lit up, while everything the beam got closer to was incinerated to oblivion! The destination of the red beam was the cottage, and all the trees that were in the trajectory of the beam were incinerated, or set on fire.

    A light yellow shield sprung up around Gonin, covering a distance of 500 meters in a circle. When the beam arrived at the cottage, there was a loud explosion that obliterated the wooden structure.

    KABOOOOOOOOM!

    The shock waves resulting from the explosion reached the shield Gonin had put up. The shield stood strong for a couple of minutes before showing signs of cracks, and then blowing up! Among the soldiers who were running around earlier, some were dead, some were heavily injured and the survivors were shaken to the core. As for the robots, quite a few of them had been incinerated. There was one helicopter, which was in the middle of dropping some robots when the explosion happened. The rotors were damaged and then it spiraled down, resulting in a crash that destroyed the robots and killed the pilots!

    Moments later, after the devastation caused by the attack, Ryan woke up and looked around him. His ears were still ringing, while all sound seemed muffled. There was a lot of debris everywhere. Rose was buried in a pile of debris, and only a part of her blouse was visible outside. Ryan rushed to remove the pile of debris. He discovered that she had minor injuries, and other than just being unconscious, she was okay. He rushed to look for everyone else.

    He found Gonin also unconscious, with minor injuries. Hezron was conscious, but his eyes were blank. He turned to look at Ryan, and then spoke the words, ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡±

    ROOOOOOAAAAARRRR! ROOOOOOAARRRRR!

    Loud roars sounded from the direction of the mountain! Everyone who heard these roars would feel a deep sense of deadly crisis, an instinctive urge to run away. All the soldiers who had somehow survived the explosion were now scrambling to get their weapons in order.

    AWWOOOOOOO! AWOOOOOO!

    While they were still scrambling, more roaring sounds echoed from the mountain! The sun¡¯s rays were now illuminating the horizon, and from the direction of the mountain, visible were gray objects that filled the empty space. Above the gray objects, there were also objects that were flying in the air, circling around the gray objects.

    Floating above the scrambling soldiers was a small drone, which no one was paying any attention. The drone was being controlled via satellite, and the control center was far away from the battlefield. Inside the control center, there were operators sitting in front of very large computer screens. Each screen was broadcasting a different scene. In a different room, there was a meeting between the members of the advisory council, and the president. There was also a monitor showing what was happening on the battlefield.

    ¡°We need to send more robots! It seems we underestimated what these things can do!¡± echoed Irving.

    ¡°Indeed. What was that?¡± asked General Eizard, looking at the attendant standing next to the screen.

    The attendant bowed before replying, ¡°It appears to be an electromagnetic beam of sorts, made up of some energy we cannot identify.¡±

    While the attendant was busy explaining, all the monitors in the room suddenly turned static.

    ¡°What happened to the video?¡± asked the president.

    ¡°Le--¡±

    ¡°Good morning lady and gentlemen, sorry to disturb your early morning show¡±, echoed a voice from the monitor, interrupting the attendant who was about to say something.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked the president.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m no one. It doesn¡¯t matter who I am, I simply need your cooperation¡±, replied the voice.

    ¡°You think you can just hack into our command center and then order us around?¡± asked general Eizard.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you have a choice. If you decide to be uncooperative, I¡¯ll just take over everything, the robots on the battlefield, the Gen X robots you¡¯re hiding, even the improved level 4 robots you¡¯re trying to hide from everyone in this room. If you cooperate, I¡¯ll give you some information in return¡±, replied the voice.

    ¡°What kind of information?¡± asked the president.

    ¡°Would you be interested in knowing about the secret weapon called a Rhizen canon?¡±

 Chapter 31 - Confrontations Part III: Myras appearance

    ¡°Why should we trust someone who won¡¯t show up in person?¡± asked the general.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t, because I didn¡¯t ask you to. If you¡¯re doing a business transaction with someone, at some point whether you trust them or not doesn¡¯t matter. As long as you play your cards better than your opponent, you might win.  However, I will warn you. There¡¯s nothing you can hide from me, and if you try to double cross me... Actually, let me just show you what will happen¡±, said the voice.

    The robots in the command center started shooting at everyone in the building. The electronic doors just locked themselves, and despite all attempts, no one could open the doors! The robots mostly killed the soldiers who were keeping the place secure, and even the remote override module installed on all PI Robotics units, was not working!

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± yelled the president. He continued, ¡°We get it. You control the robots, so you can kill everyone here!¡±

    Everyone else glared at the computer screen, while the president sighed with deep regret. The president looked sideways, as the robots stopped their carnage and resumed normal operations, like patrolling the halls and whatnot.

    ¡°Do we even have a choice in this matter?¡± asked the president.

    ¡°Of course you do. You can chose to decline, but it will be your loss. You¡¯ll lose the soldiers you have deployed, and when the beasts start invading your other territories, you¡¯ll lose your citizens and then your territories! But hey, at least you¡¯ll be safe right?¡± asked the voice projecting from the computer screen sarcastically. The voice continued, ¡°The choice is yours, I just wanted to show you what will happen if you decide to cross me.¡±

    The president looked at everyone else with a hesitating look on his face before saying, ¡°Wait a minute, didn¡¯t you say... Actually, never mind. Alright then, what information do you have on this secret weapon?¡±

    ¡°Now we¡¯re talking. I have a method that can be used to upgrade all the level 4 robots you have, and to overclock their processing units. I will give you until 11 o¡¯clock to install the upgrades¡±, spoke the voice.

    ¡°Wait a second, how are we supposed to upgrade over a thousand robots in the span of five hours? That¡¯s ridiculous! Besides, didn¡¯t you say you had information on a secret weapon called the Rhizen canon?¡± asked the president, getting slightly angry.

    ¡°Hold your horses, and try to be patient! I am in the process of making smaller versions of the canons. I will give you the blueprints once I install them on your Gen X robots and then let you see their might. For now, I have sent the method used to overclock the level 4 robots. By the way, if any of this information is leaked by any means, expect a personal visit from me. When I visit, it won¡¯t be a good thing!¡± warned the voice.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained how we¡¯re supposed to upgrade over a thousand robots in less than 5 hours!¡± yelled general Eizard.

    ¡°All PI Robotics units have over the air updates. Since this is just a small software update, it can be done in a span of less that 3 hours. The only issue that might take time is checking for units that haven¡¯t received the update, or units whose update failed. However, I trust you can do something that miniscule with ease.¡±

    ¡°Software update?¡± everyone started murmuring among themselves, with hushed voices. Only the president and general Eizard remained unmoved, with stern expressions on their faces.

    PI Robotics wanted to maintain control over all the units they had created, so they created a backdoor and installed it into the hardware of the units. What this allowed them to do was control the robots and override them remotely, in case they went haywire and tried to take over the world. Well, actually, the engineers used the excuse that someone might hack their units and use them for nefarious purposes. The higher ups approved of this excuse, giving the engineers too much control on the robots!

    This proved to be a double-edged sword, since if someone hacked into their systems, they could control all the robots manufactured by PI Robotics. So imagine someone like Dr. Paige for example, who could hack into any system with the Pirin, gets access to the PI Robotics¡¯ systems. It¡¯s basically game over!Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    However, the people in the conference room didn¡¯t know this, not even a little bit. They assumed they were dealing with a normal computer hacker who had inside access into their systems. After the voice on the screen finished speaking, the screen returned to normal, and the president sighed again.

    ¡°This is the trouble with digital systems! Anyone can hack them!¡± complained the general.

    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± asked Ms. Wright.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have much of an option now, do we?¡± asked Irving.

    ¡°We could always take our entire systems offline¡±, spoke Jacobs, while shrugging his shoulders.

    Everyone pondered for some minutes. Peterson looked at everyone, and then coughed dryly, before speaking, ¡°We have a problem. I might have a solution, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to like it.¡±

    ¡°Speak freely¡±, urged the president.

    ¡°Let us just cooperate with the hacker, and let¡¯s not double cross them--¡±

    ¡°Are you crazy? What if they go back on their word? Do you remember what they said? We should hold our cards much closer and keep our hand hidden!¡± shouted the general, interrupting Peterson.

    ¡°But--¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to work, Peterson!¡± interrupted Irving, who looked like he was about to complain. He sighed before continuing, ¡°Look, for now we need to come up with a plan that leaves us the winners!¡±

    ¡°Then, whatever plan you¡¯re going to come up with, I will not be involved in it¡±, declared Peterson.

    ¡°Me either¡±, followed Jacobs.

    ¡°Leave me out of this as well¡±, echoed Ms. Wright.

    Everyone turned to look at the president, who simply sighed and used his hand to support his head. The room turned deathly silent, as everyone waited for the president¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°This is what we¡¯re going to do. For the sake of the citizens, we are going to cooperate with the hacker! Jacobs, Peterson and Ms. Wright are in charge of making sure that we don¡¯t lose valuable information during this exchange. General Eizard and Irving, your job will be updating the robots and then coming up with an attack strategy. At the end of the day, we should have eradicated this threat. Am I clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes Mr. President¡±, replied everyone, in unison.

    *****************************************************

    While the president of Tibet and his counterparts were planning on how to deal with the threat of the tailed beasts, the battlefield was becoming more and more chaotic with each passing second. The tailed beasts descended upon the cottage, and began to slaughter the Tibetan army. Despite trying to fight back, the combination of human soldiers and robots could not gain the upper hand at all.

    The humans had more casualties than the tailed beasts. Everywhere one looked, they would see scattered bodies. Some of the bodies were hewn in two, spilling blood and gore everywhere. The soil was dyed red, and one could see bits and pieces of guts, electric components and teeth.

    Ryan was busy fighting against some tailed beasts. Two and three tailed beasts surrounded him from all sides. He wasn¡¯t injured, but he was covered in tailed beasts blood. If it wasn¡¯t a fight for survival, he would have long escaped. Currently he couldn¡¯t escape because he was trying to protect Hezron. Rose was now conscious, and fighting against a two feet tall, gray dire wolf. Her hands were glowing with a soft blue color. She was using the talismans that she had been given by Gonin some time ago, in the forest. Her white blouse was now red, and there were some parts which were torn.

    Gonin was also fighting against some hybrid, rabid two feet tall squirrels. He was using his staff to fight back against the beasts. He was surrounded by four of them, and there were three lying dead a couple of feet away from him. His breath was slow and steady, as if he was meditating while fighting. He wasn¡¯t using any talismans, just his staff.

    Hezron was the only one who couldn¡¯t fight, therefore he stuck to Ryan, preventing him from doing anything. Therefore Ryan was fighting while protecting Hezron, which was very much taxing.  A three feet tall lizard with two tails suddenly attacked with its sharp claws.

    CLANG! CLANG!

    There was a sound like that of metal clashing again another metal object as the claws connected to Ryan¡¯s body. Ryan flew backwards, as he fell and crashed into Hezron, who was holding on to his flute dearly. The lizard and its companions started edging closer to the two, who were struggling to get up.

    ROOOOAAARRRRR! ROOOAAAARRR!!

    There was a loud roar from the direction of the mountain range, where the beast king was. After the roar, the sky lit up once more, as a bright beam of orange light blasted its way to the cottage once more. The soldiers who had survived the first beam started to lose their minds. Some began to cry out, other started mumbling inaudible things.

    The orange beam started getting nearer and nearer to the cottage, while the tailed beasts closer to the cottage started edging away from it. When the beam was a few meters away from the cottage, a large purple vortex appeared directly in front of it. The vortex swallowed the beam, and then closed. A few seconds later, the same purple vortex opened up, this time facing the direction of the mountain range. The orange beam was ejected, and it appeared to be slightly bigger than when it went in.

    The Beast King was standing at the base of Mount Sun. When it saw the beam it had sent being redirected, it simply grinned and said, ¡°It¡¯s finally here! Guess the bait worked...¡±

 Chapter 32 - Confrontations Part IV: Clash of the titans

    WHOOOSSH! BOOOOOM!

    The beam arrived at a nearby mountain, and then exploded, causing bits and pieces of wood, sand and stones, to start raining from the sky. The Beast King, which was standing at the base of the mountain, was unfazed by the explosion. It kept on standing in the same position, with a wide grin on its scary face. On its right side was the nine-tailed bear and on the left was the nine-tailed fox. It turned to the fox and then asked, ¡°Do I have to go down and do this myself?¡±

    The fox replied, ¡°Of course not, your majesty. Is that not why we are here?¡± It then looked at the bear, and they both started moving towards the cottage.

    Myra appeared under the purple vortex before it disappeared completely. He was garbed in an orange robe, with his bamboo hat, while wielding two purple swords, all made of ki. He looked in the direction of the mountain base, without uttering a single word. At the same time he looked at the mountain base, a fresh wave of tailed beasts arrived, led by the nine-tailed fox and the nine-tailed bear. Ryan, Rose, Gonin and Hezron came by Myra¡¯s side. They were all drenched in blood, with the exception of Hezron of course.

    ¡°Where have you been?¡± asked Ryan, looking at Myra.

    Myra remained silent, while looking at the base of the mountain. Ryan was about to shout when Gonin stopped him.

    ¡°Let it be, we have more pressing issues to deal with¡±, spoke Gonin, in a grave voice.

    ¡°What pressing issues?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see them?¡± asked Gonin, pointing at the beasts which were arriving.

    ¡°Uh oh. How are we going to fight them? They are so many!¡± said Ryan, his voice shaking with fear.

    ¡°Any suggestions?¡± asked Rose.

    ¡°We could always run¡±, said Ryan, shrugging his shoulders.

    ¡°Not everyone is as fast as you, dumbass!¡± yelled Rose.

    ¡°Who are you calling a dumbass?¡± Ryan yelled back.

    Rose glared at Ryan, who glared back at her. After what seemed like ages, but was only two minutes in reality, Ryan asked, ¡°Any smart ideas then?¡±

    Everyone turned to look at Myra, who was still looking in the direction of the mountain, where the Beast King was. He looked completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was looking at him. At this moment, the leading tailed beasts were approaching, and while it seemed they were approaching slowly, they were actually moving quite fast. In a matter of moments, the nine-tailed fox and the nine-tailed beasts were standing in front of them.

    ¡°Human, are you betraying the King?¡± asked the fox, as it looked at Hezron.

    ¡°N-no! It¡¯s not what you think!¡± yelled Hezron, as he hurried to correct the fox.

    Everyone turned to look at Hezron, with looks of astonishment and surprise written all over their faces. No one had understood what the tailed beast had said ; they only had growling sounds. However, the surprising thing was that Hezron had answered as if he had understood something. Only Myra remained unperturbed.

    ¡°If you are not betraying the King, leave and we will not follow you, or try to eat you! If you choose to stay, even your flute will not save you!¡± barked the fox.

    ¡°B-but--¡±

    ¡°Are you going or not?¡± barked the fox again, this time louder.

    Everyone kept staring at Hezron, who was conflicted. He didn¡¯t want the same thing that happened to the villagers to happen again. He took out his flute, and then began to rub it gently. The nine-tailed fox¡¯s face turned even uglier. The bear simply stood by, watching with growing interest. It never changed its facial expression, while the humans¡¯ faces had surprises written all over. It was quite evident that Hezron could somehow communicate with the beasts!

    ¡°Kill them all!¡± roared the nine-tailed fox.

    All the other tailed beasts roared and then started attacking! There were very few humans left, after the first wave of beasts had swept through. As for the robots they had brought, it was safe to say only metal scraps were remaining. Only a few tailed beasts had died, and these were killed mostly by Ryan, Gonin and Rose. Hezron looked sideways, before he started playing his flute. As the melody from the flute started to flow, all the other tailed beasts stopped moving. Only the nine-tailed beasts were not affected. The melody he was playing was ¡®The Calm Sea¡¯.

    The eyes of the tailed beasts turned from red to a clear white. The others were baffled by the new development. Only Myra was undisturbed by the turn of events. He kept on looking at the base of the mountain.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ROAAARRRR! ROOOAAARRR!

    Loud roars sounded, as the nine-tailed beasts were thoroughly enraged. The bear was the first to pounce on Hezron, who was so busy playing the flute that he didn¡¯t notice. Myra was the first to react! He dashed towards the pouncing bear and unleashed a fist strike that shook the heavens!

    BANG!! BANG!!

    The bear flew backwards and crashed into a tree some distance away. However, it got up again, apparently unharmed! The nine-tailed fox opened its mouth and unleashed a purplish blast aimed at Myra, who vanished before appearing behind the fox. The blast missed its target, but managed to hit the trees that were behind him. All the trees were reduced to splinters in the blink of an eye!

    ¡°We need to leave! We cannot fight against so many of them by ourselves!¡± reasoned Rose.

    ¡°Now we¡¯re running? How are you people supposed to run away while protecting Hezron?¡±  asked Ryan, getting a little angry.

    ¡°Shut up, will you!¡± retorted Rose. She continued, ¡°We have to come up with a plan!¡±

    ¡°Only the Sacred Immortal can save us from this situation!¡± yelled Gonin.

    ¡°He¡¯s quite tied up, so I don¡¯t think that¡¯s an option!¡± replied Ryan.

    ¡°So what do we do then?¡± asked Rose.

    Gonin produced a golden talisman, which was slightly larger than all the others he had been using all along. As he produced the talisman, Rose¡¯s face turned quite pale.

    ¡°T-that¡¯s--¡±

    ¡°We have no other option! When the Sacred Abbot gave me this talisman, he said I should use it only when there is no other option. It does not look like we have any option currently, does it?¡± replied Gonin, with another question.

    ¡°Won¡¯t that ruin your body? You¡¯re not yet strong enough to use it!¡± spoke Rose.

    ¡°I am strong enough to use it for thirty minutes at most¡±, replied Gonin.

    Ryan turned to look at Hezron, who was so busy playing the flute that, he didn¡¯t realize the danger they were in currently. He sighed deeply, while scratching his head, trying to think of something. However, nothing useful came to mind.

    ROOOOOAAARRRR!! ROOOOOOOARRRR!

    More roars filled the air, and this time, they broke whatever was influencing the other beasts¡¯ minds. The clear white eyes turned into a crimson color, filled with extreme rage and violence!  They started moving again, towards the others with speed.

    ¡°Uh oh!¡± exclaimed Ryan, as he activated the roc chasing the wind movement technique. He appeared to have vanished, before appearing in front of a tailed beast. The beast was a giant gorilla with four arms and three tails. He punched directly, but the beast punched out as well, with its four fists! There¡¯s an ancient saying spoken by the old wise sages. It goes like this: Two hands cannot defeat four fists! However, something unexpected happened!

    Kakakaka

    As the five arms met, there were cracking sounds! Ryan edged backwards, as he inspected his arm. The beast gave a loud howl filled with pain. The bone cracking sounds were coming from the beast¡¯s bones. Ryan attacked again, this time he punched in the head!

    BANG!

    The beast retreated backwards for a couple of steps, before falling over, dead! Another beast pounced on Ryan, and this time it was a tiger with two tails. The tiger jumped up and then swiped with its right paw. Ryan edged backwards, before launching the movement technique again. The tiger swiped through the air, and before it reached the ground, there was a loud bang!

    Thud!

    There was a loud sound as the tiger fell over, as Ryan appeared right in front of it, with his fist glowing. Rose shook Hezron, who awoke from his not really a trance.

    ¡°What happened?¡± he asked.

    ¡°We have to leave, now!¡± she shouted.

    Myra was still fighting against the nine-tailed beasts. The fox opened its gigantic mouth, with the intention to devour Myra alive! Myra vanished in a split second, and when he appeared, he was right behind the bear. He punched again, but this time, the bear dodged the punch! Even with its weight, it appeared to be incredibly agile, which was quite weird. Myra was surprised, but it didn¡¯t show on his face. Instead, he simply edged backwards.

    The fox unleashed another purple blast, and this time, before Myra could dodge it, an orange beam appeared from nowhere and exploded!

    KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

    The fox and the bear turned to look at the base of the mountain, where the Beast King was looking back, mouth exuding orange smoke.

    ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAR!

    It gave an awe-inspiring, heaven-shaking, earth-rending roar that caused everyone¡¯s spines to tingle so hard they almost exploded! From the rubble created by the explosion, Myra rose up, quite unharmed. He dusted himself, which caused the other beasts to roar with rage! This was undermining their king!

    ROOOOOOOOOOAAAR!

    The Beast King joined the fray of roars, but its roar was so heaven-defying it caused all the other beasts to go quiet! The fox and the bear joined up once more, and unleashed blasts that were directed at Myra! A purple vortex opened up in front of him, and it swallowed the blasts, before closing. Some minutes later, it re-opened, and ejected the blasts it had swallowed!

    WHOOOOOOSH! KABOOOOOOOOM!

    The blasts exploded when they reached the duo. The duo rose up from the dust, with scratches evident on their fur. The fox was breathing heavily, while the bear was standing still, its eyes shining with a strange light.

    ¡°Interesting! What are you?¡± asked the bear.

    Myra remained silent. Hezron, however, answered, ¡°I told you humans were stronger!¡±

    ¡°Silence! Traitor!¡± yelled the fox.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a traitor! I didn¡¯t betray anyone!¡± shouted Hezron.

    ¡°Kill them! Leave none alive!¡± shouted the fox, ordering the tailed beasts that were surrounding Ryan, Rose, Gonin and Hezron. Apart from those four, all other humans had been killed. The surrounding beasts started attacking again, with renewed fervor.  Ryan and Rose were now tired, and Gonin hadn¡¯t used his golden talisman yet. Hezron... well... was being Hezron, with his flute.

    The sun was now higher up, scorching those down below it. A soft wind started to blow across the terrain. The soft wind started kicking up a storm, and the cause of this wind was an army of robots flying across the green plains. Leading this army was an oval shaped robot.

    ¡°You better own up to the agreement once this is done!¡± declared a voice, speaking through a speaker from a drone hovering on the side.

    The oval shaped robot unleashed a terrible maniacal laughter that killed appetites before answering, ¡°I always own up to my agreements. You people however...¡±

 Chapter 33 - Confrontations Part V: Arrival of the robot army

    ¡°You think we¡¯ll double cross you, right?¡± asked another voice, being projected from a drone.

    ¡°I can¡¯t be blamed for thinking that, can I?¡± asked the oval shaped robot.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re the one who was preaching to us about holding your cards close and whatnot!¡±

    ¡°Of course, I said that. Either way, let¡¯s finish this transaction without hitches. If this goes according to plan, we might do another transaction.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. How long will it take to get to the spot?¡±

    ¡°A few more minutes¡±, replied another voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure this technology of yours works perfectly? I don¡¯t want my consciousness stuck in a metal lump!¡± complained the first voice.

    ¡°My technology works perfectly! Besides, with this technology, you¡¯ll be immortal!¡±

    ¡°Hmpff!¡± complained the second voice.

    There was a period of silence, which was disturbed by the whirring sounds being produced from the drones. A couple of minutes of silence, the mountain range started becoming visible.

    ¡°So we¡¯re sticking to the plan right?¡± asked the first voice.

    The oval shaped robot did not respond. As they continued, only the whirring sounds were audible.

    ¡°As long as you remember the plan, everything will work out alright. Remember, what we¡¯re after is the King of Beasts! Kill all the other beasts. We have no use for them!¡±

    ¡°Agreed!¡± spoke three voices in unison.

    Meanwhile, the battle being fought at the cottage was getting more and more ferocious. Myra was busy killing tailed beasts, like it was nobody¡¯s business. The nine-tailed beasts could not pin him in one location. He could appear at one end of the battlefield, and massacre tailed beasts, and the vanish. He would appear at another and carry out another massacre, and this kept on going on. Whenever the nine-tailed beasts tried to intercept him, he¡¯d vanish and then appear in another corner.

    ROOOOOAARRRR!

    The nine-tailed fox gave a roar of frustration, as Myra kept killing the low-level tailed beasts. He was wielding dual blades made of purple ki.

    WHOOOSHH!

    Myra dashed forward, and then slashed one blade! A head flew up, followed by blood which splattered everywhere. The nine-tailed bear was so furious it jumped up and then pounced on Ryan!

    ¡°Ryan! Look out!¡± shouted Rose.

    Ryan didn¡¯t even turn to look. He activated the Roc chasing the wind technique, to his maximum potential! The funny thing was he was still wearing the weights placed on his legs by Myra. He appeared 10 meters away from where he was initially.

    BOOOOOM!

    When the bear landed, the earth quaked, and a lot of crevices opened, creating snake-like formations that meandered in every direction. It then turned to look at Ryan, and then opened its mouth.

    ¡°Uh-oh!¡± spoke Ryan.

    The mouth of the bear started glowing with an orange color, and within a few seconds, it unleashed a blast that caused a large amount of heat to dissipate outwards! Before the blast reached it¡¯s intended target, it was generating so much heat that the other beasts were getting burnt visibly!

    WHOOOOOOOOSH! KABOOOOM!!

    The blast arrived and exploded, before Ryan had the time to launch his movement technique. Since the blast occurred without warning, the beasts surrounding Ryan didn¡¯t have time to move away and were reduced to ashes in a split second! The bear looked at the place Ryan was supposed to be, and then grinned, while looking at Myra, who was no longer fighting, but standing there, motionless. It was a bit puzzled when it noticed that Myra had not moved at all. When it turned again, it realized something was wrong! Ryan stood up, somewhat unhurt. However, his clothes could not withstand the blast and were incinerated! So, there he was, standing naked.

    Rose realized that she was staring at him, and then subconsciously, she turned sideways, to avoid his gaze. Ryan looked down at himself, and then realized something...This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°I¡¯m alive!¡± he shouted, jumping for joy.

    ¡°I think you should be more concerned about your clothes...¡± spoke Gonin, while everyone turned pink.

    ¡°Oh! Right!¡± he responded, with his palm hitting his forehead. He launched the roc chasing the wind technique, and then vanished from view. As he vanished, the nine-tailed bear was perplexed. It had attacked in order to frustrate Myra, and distract him, so that the nine-tailed fox would then finish him off. One thing was actually clear, that plan had failed.

    ROOOOOOOAAAR! ROOOOOOOOAAARR!

    It roared twice, in frustration and anger. Ryan was apparently unharmed, and Myra was still standing... Completely unfazed by everything that had happened. After the bear had roared twice, the remaining beasts gathered to fight some more. Earlier, they had been scattered by the blast but now they were ready to fight again. Only a few had been caught unaware and incinerated, and these were mainly surrounding Ryan.

    Another fresh wave of tailed beasts arrived, and it looked like they had answered the call of the bear. This time though, the army was made up of beasts with four tails! Leading the pack was a white dire wolf, with a grey mane. The wolf had a single white horn, and five bushy tails.

    AWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AWOOOOOOOOOO!

    It looked up and then howled, summoning even more dire wolves! These dire wolves were different from the white one in that none of them had a horn, and they had four tails.

    Gonin sighed as he saw this scene. They kept getting outnumbered! At first they could handle the volumes, but now, with their stamina almost depleted, they were done for. Well, unless someone interfered, they were done for. However, it looked like no one was coming to their rescue. What they didn¡¯t know was that up in the sky, a good distance away from the battle field, an army of drones and robots was approaching. Only Myra was undisturbed, well, it looked like he was undisturbed. He had just scanned the entire area with his divine sense, and he could see the robot army, the beast king, and even more approaching tailed beasts!

    Hezron looked at his flute, and then started playing a tune. This was the same tune that he had used when he made a pact with the beast king. Its name was called The Rage Within, and at first, nothing happened, but then suddenly, the leading wolf howled!

    AWWWOOOOOOOO! AWOOOOOO!

    AWOOOOOOOOO! AWOOOOOOOO!

    The white wolf¡¯s eyes turned crimson and then it started attacking the nine-tailed fox! All the other four-tailed dire wolves started attacking the other tailed beasts! Hezron was elated when he saw this development.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Ryan, as he re-appeared wearing a red tracksuit. No one knew where he had obtained it.

    ¡°Hezron seems to have done something to the wolves¡±, replied Rose. Her breathing was uneven; she was clearly exhausted and running out of talismans. Considering what they were up against, it was a surprise that she had made it this far. The reason? She was not as strong as the rest, with the exception of Hezron of course.

    It was in this moment that whirring sounds echoed through the air, as the army of robots arrived at the battlefield.

    ¡°Robots? They¡¯re here to help us!¡± declared Ryan, jumping up with joy.

    Myra vanished from where he was standing and appeared next to Ryan and the others.

    ¡°We need to leave! There even more tailed beasts hiding behind the mountain!¡± spoke Myra, slowly.

    ¡°But with more robots, we can win this war, right?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°I do not think so¡±, replied Myra.

    ¡°What! How many beasts are there?¡± asked Rose, as her knees became weaker.

    ¡°There are a lot of them! What you are seeing here is less than half of the ones behind the mountain. This was only a pincer attack meant to check our power! They were trying to probe our defences!¡± declared Myra.

    ¡°How can we win then?¡±

    ¡°We cannot!¡±

    Everyone looked down with sullen faces. What they had been told was the worst news and they were not expecting it.

    KABOOOOOM! KABOOOOM! KABOOOM!

    As the robots arrived, they started launching missiles right off the bat! There were over a thousand robots, and five hundred drones. The beast army began to take more damage, as the robots started attacking. There were three robots that were not participating in the attack. One of them was an oval shaped robot, while the other two were humanoid shaped robots that were red and green in colour. They remained floating up in the sky while the others were attacking the tailed beasts.

    KABOOOOOM! KABOOM! KABOOOOM!

    More and more explosions ensued as the robots attacked ferociously. The sun was fully up, and it was quite hot. Adding to the sun¡¯s heat was the heat generated by the explosions. Currently, the tailed beasts were getting their behinds kicked by the robot army. A camouflage green robot transformed its hand, into a plasma rifle and then opened fire on a three tailed tiger. The shots went through the tiger¡¯s head, and then it died miserably. The robot continued to shoot at another beast. This beast was a six-foot chameleon, which had a very tough hide. At first it appeared as if the plasma bolts were not being effective, as the chameleon slashed with one of its three tails. The robot dodged the tail, and then kept firing on its stomach.

    After some minutes of back and forth fighting, injuries began to mount up on the chameleon. The robot didn¡¯t even appear to be running out of energy. It kept on firing plasma bolts on the chameleon, which due to its size, could not dodge, but stay and take hits. Finally, after some time of getting blasted with plasma bolts, the chameleon succumbed to its injuries. It fell and died, while the robot moved onto its next target.

    It appeared as if the tailed beasts were done for. On one end, they were fighting amongst themselves, while on another end, they were fighting against the robots and drones. Myra, Ryan, Rose and Gonin stood watching with interest. Well, not so much interest, but they wanted to escape during the confusion. Hezron was busy playing his flute, which apparently was causing the infighting among the tailed beasts. A purple portal appeared beside them.

    However, before anyone could move, there was a loud roar that caused every spine to tingle so hard it almost exploded!

    ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!

    The roar caused a wind to spring up, and the weather changed significantly. It was hot, with the sun up, but suddenly, clouds started to roll and cover the clear sky. A slight chill crept up all the humans who were watching.

    ¡°This might not be good¡­¡± spoke Myra, as looked up at the sky.

 Chapter 34 - Confrontations Part VI: Wrath of the Beast King

    The sun speedily disappeared into the clouds, which had seemingly come out of nowhere. Hezron stopped playing his flute, as he seemed to recall something. The day his village had been wiped out, it had started raining.

    ¡°Oh no! It¡¯s coming personally!¡± he mumbled.

    Everyone turned to look at him, but he just kept mumbling some more. He sat down in surrender. Myra however, remained motionless. If he had a mouth, there would be a wide smile on his face. He was about to face the most powerful foe on the ridiculous blue planet, well, since his repair anyways.

    ¡°We have to leave!¡± declared Ryan, as he turned, heading for the purple portal. However, to his surprise, the purple portal closed! Initially he was surprised, but he started to become angry. ¡°What¡¯s going on Myra?¡± he asked, with slight anger.

    ¡°Wait. I will re-open the portal some time from now, however, I will not be joining you¡±, Myra responded.

    ¡°What do you plan on doing?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°He intends to fight the Beast King!¡± replied Gonin, in Myra¡¯s stead.

    ¡°Wait, what? Can he win?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°He is an immortal! What do you think? Would he engage in a battle he knows he cannot win?¡± asked Gonin.

    ¡°I will not be joining you as well...,¡± said Hezron, hesitantly.

    ¡°Why? Do you want to fight the Beast King too?¡± asked Rose, sarcastically.

    Hezron remained quiet for some time, and then he replied, ¡°No. I can¡¯t fight against it. But I will have to keep my promise.¡±

    ¡°Promise? To who?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°To the tiger.¡±

    ¡°How can you speak to those animals? How come you can understand them?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the answers to those questions either. All I know is somehow I can understand what they¡¯re saying¡±, replied Hezron, with his head lowered.

    ¡°That¡¯s very weird. Anyway, we need to LEAVE!!¡± yelled Ryan, as he looked at Myra.

    It was in this moment that the Pirin and its counterparts started moving. They were flying in the direction where the nine-tailed beasts were fighting against the dire wolf and its counterparts. Since the nine-tailed beasts were diverted, Myra vanished and appeared next to the Pirin.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± he asked.

    ¡°What do you think? If you even think at all¡±, replied the Pirin.

    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± asked a voice being projected from a robot hovering next to the Pirin.

    ¡°Literary, no one. Its name is Myra, ehh, it¡¯s an extra-terrestrial being¡­¡± replied the Pirin.

    ¡°What is an extra-terrestrial robot doing on this planet? And how come it looks ¡­ modern..?¡± asked another voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story which is not particularly important. The important thing is it¡¯s our ally right now.¡±

    ¡°How did you even know about this robot? And why didn¡¯t you tell us about it?¡± asked the first voice.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it¡¯s not important?¡±

    ¡°How are we--¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t start with the trust bull--¡±

    ¡°The reason I have come here is to warn you! There are more tailed beasts hiding behind the mountains!¡± warned Myra, interrupting the argument that was starting to escalate.

    ¡°We know!¡± replied both the Pirin and the robots it was arguing with.

    ¡°Then what are you going to do about it?¡± asked Myra, slightly surprised but well, it didn¡¯t show.

    ¡°Just wait and see. If you want to help, you have to come in and help us to capture the beast that¡¯s leading the attack.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Capture it alive? That is going to be even more troublesome¡­¡± replied Myra.

    ¡°We have a plan for that!¡±

    ¡°Enough! It¡¯s here!¡± declared the Pirin.

    Sure enough, a cold wind began to blow from the southern side, where the Beast King was approaching from. Roars and howls mixed with a terrifying killing intent surged within the winds, as a violent storm started approaching. Myra turned and looked at the robots hovering close to him. He was getting an intense desire to do battle with the monster that was approaching, while all the others looked, well, normal. Worry could be traced in the surrounding atmosphere.

    ROOOOOAAAAR! ROOOOOOOAAARR!

    More roars sounded as the Beast King edged closer. A few minutes later, there were wings that bloated the skies, a huge frame that awed every eye that cast a glance upon it, and a roar that inspired fear in every person who heard it. And then it arrived. A dark cloud literary hung over the now dilapidated cottage. Following the Beast King was an army of tailed beasts, each more mean looking and ferocious than the last!

    ¡°Now, let us get our plan in motion¡±, spoke the Pirin.

    It was in this instant that the Beast King ushered another awe-inspiring roar that caused ears to go deaf.

    ROOOOOOOOOOAAARR!

    As the tiger roared, sound waves were released that caused every person¡¯s hair to stand on end! With each sound wave, the rebelling beasts stopped rebelling and then looked at the robots.

    ROOOOOOOOOOAAAARRR!

    There was another roar, and from that instant all the tailed beasts started to attack the robots with a spark of ferocity. The nine-tailed beasts looked at Myra and the Pirin, which were hovering in the air, and then unleashed powerful blasts towards the robots!

    WHOOOOOOSSH!!!

    A purple vortex appeared in front of the robots and then swallowed the blasts! No expected explosion occurred! The Pirin and its counterparts started to move, heading in the direction of the Beast King, with the intention to capture it! The Beast King would not have it. It unleashed a roar that caused the robots to edge backwards. Before the robots could attack, a wall made of tailed beasts with four tails sprung up to defend the Beast King. These beasts were mainly made of winged creatures.

    There were condos, eagles and hawks, and all of them were massive in size. They started to attack with their sharp talons, scratching against one of the robots, which had been caught unaware. The robot was slashed in two by one of the eagles, and all the pieces fell down onto the ground. The eagle screeched before diving down towards some of the robots fighting against the tailed beasts below.

    The Beast King then looked at Myra and then growled, with a hoarse-sounding voice. Myra looked at it, and it seemed as if there was a tacit agreement of sorts. The only way things would go back to normal, was when one of them was dead! They had to let their fists, or paws, do the talking instead!

    Hezron was terrified when he saw the Beast King glancing in his direction. He remembered the promise he had made when they had met. Currently, he was fighting against the Beast King and his army, on the side of the humans, who had sent robots instead of regular soldiers! This wasn¡¯t going so well for him. He decided to leave everything to fate¡­if there was such a thing. He looked at his flute, before standing up and walking towards the area where the battle between monsters and robots was occurring.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± asked Rose.

    ¡°I have to stop them! They are not going to win this!¡±

    ¡°What can you do?¡± asked Rose.

    ¡°I can talk to it! The king will listen to me. And the robots as well!¡± he replied, as he kept walking towards the danger zone.

    ¡°I¡¯d advise against that! You won¡¯t even make it past those chameleons!¡± yelled Rose, pointing at the chameleons that were eyeing them eerily. It was quite weird, but everyone had gotten used to seeing four-foot-tall chameleons with four tails. It was now pretty much a normal occurrence. However, seeing the four-foot tall chameleons and knowing they were about to become food are two completely different things. Hezron hesitated for a moment, as he seemed to be thinking of something.

    The Pirin and its counterparts, Myra not included, decided it was worth a coin to attack the Beast King since they ignored the wall of condos and eagles. They flew over at top speed, avoiding claws and raining wing feathers. As they edged closer, the Beast King became more outraged. It was difficult to tell whether the rage was due to the other tailed beasts failing to defeat the Pirin, or because its authority was being challenged. Either way, it was clearly very angry.

    After watching from the side-lines for some time, the Beast King decided to join the battle! It shoved aside the wall of condos and eagles which collapsed like a house of cards, and then roared as it flew forward in a dash. It opened its gigantic mouth and unleashed an orange blast, which was targeted at the Pirin. The oval shaped robot could not dodge in time and was caught in the blast!

    KABOOOOOOOOOMM!

    The Pirin fell down in a flash and when it connected to the ground, an oval shaped crater was created. The Beast King roared and then swiped towards another robot, which fell down in the same fashion as the Pirin, this time creating a bigger crater than the Pirin. Another robot tried to blast the Beast King with a plasma blast, but it appeared to be ineffective! The Beast King responded by swiping with its paw, and the unfortunate robot was ripped in two!

    ROOOOOAAAARRR!

    The Beast King roared, as it continued with its rampage. It opened its mouth again, and this time it was smoking with an orange flame. As it launched the flame, multiple robots which were in the line of fire exploded as they were blasted to pieces by the fiery blast!

    As it turned out, the Beast King had cleared a path to Myra, while it was rampaging.  Now, two sets of eyes were looking at each other. One was blue light and the other had a crimson glow. The wind kicked up a storm, the clouds churned in the skies, as the two faced off. The beautiful morning had turned into a nightmarish hell. Sparks flew off in the air as Myra and the Beast King glared at each other, getting ready to fight! Who could have predicted that things would get to this extreme? And who could have predicted how the situation ended?

 Chapter 35 - Confrontations Part VII: Myra vs the Beast King

    Myra looked unconcerned, as the Beast King continued glaring daggers at him. Well, it was difficult to figure out if he was concerned, as his face looked still. The Beast King however, looked quite excited. There was a wide grin on its hideous face as it floated in the air, flapping its massive wings. It was causing much of a storm just by itself. Comparing the size of Myra and the Beast King, it looked like an ant facing off against an elephant, well, there¡¯s no normal tiger that grew to the King¡¯s size!

    ROOOOOOAAAAARRR!

    The Beast King gave one last roar before charging straight at Myra! The fight had begun! There¡¯s one thing Myra forgot to do, and that was to open the portal before fighting the Beast King. He had promised he¡¯d open it later, only to get engaged in the fight. The Beast King dashed towards Myra in one swift movement. Myra suddenly responded by clenching a fist, and then releasing it towards the Beast King who was approaching at an incredible speed!

    BANG!

    A paw clashed against a fist, causing the wind to kick up. The Beast King edged backwards, while Myra flew backwards for some time. When Myra came to a halt, his arm had a stinging sensation, which was quite weird, considering that he was made of metal! The Beast King grinned some more with excitement. It had never faced an opponent such as this, in all its entire life. It dashed again towards Myra, this time with the intention to end the threat that was the immortal robot. The first attack was simply a probing attack.

    WHOOOOOSHH!

    It swiped towards Myra with its sharp claws! A wave of red-brown energy emerged which flew off towards Myra, with the Beast King closely behind. Myra vanished from the spot he was hovering in, leading to the wave going straight through! The wave dissipated a few meters after missing, and the Beast King screeched to a halt.

    Myra appeared behind the Beast King, which turned and swiped at him. He vanished again, and this time he didn¡¯t appear anywhere near the Beast King.

    ¡®¡­¡¯

    The Beast King had a puzzled expression on its face, as it searched the vicinity for the robot which seemed to have vanished into thin air. Myra appeared behind Ryan and then spoke, ¡°I now know what I am facing against. For your safety, I will open the portal, so you won¡¯t be affected.¡±

    ¡°About time!¡± yelled Ryan, as he turned to face Myra.

    A purple portal opened in front of Rose, who shuddered as if a wave of cold wind had washed over her. She was the first to go through the portal, followed by Gonin. As Ryan was about to enter, Myra suddenly grabbed him and blasted Hezron with a strong wind that pushed him quite a distance. The portal closed before two then vanished from the spot.

    BOOOOOM!

    An orange blast landed where they were standing some time ago. There was an explosion that caused dust and debris to fly all over! A cold wind came from above, pushing away the dust.

    FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!

    A massive frame descended as wing flapping sounds came from above. The frame came into view, revealing the ten-tailed winged tiger. It growled in dissatisfaction at Myra, who had vanished before it had the chance to satisfy its hunger for a fight. Hezron stood up, and dusted himself, as he realized that if Myra had not pushed him out of the way, he¡¯d be a dead lump of meat! He started walking towards the Beast King, with his mind absent. He was thinking of how he could convince the tiger to spare him.

    ¡°The human traitor! What do you have to say for yourself?¡± started an ancient sounding voice, inside Hezron¡¯s head.

    ¡°Look, I know I broke my promise¡­ Actually, I almost did. I said that I will be the one to prevent war between you and the humans¡±, responded Hezron.

    ROOOOOOOAAARRR!

    The tiger roared in Hezron¡¯s face, and unlike last time, he kept on standing, not even flinching! He had made up his mind. Whether the tiger was angry or not, he was going to keep his promise. And he wasn¡¯t afraid anymore. He couldn¡¯t be afraid!

    ¡°So you¡¯ve made your choice then?¡± asked the voice.

    ¡°Yes. I will not fight against you, and I won¡¯t help you to destroy my race either! We can talk about this, can¡¯t we?¡± he tried to negotiate.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± asked the voice, with a terrifying growl.

    ¡°What do you really want?¡± asked Hezron.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    It was in this instance that Myra¡¯s aura filled the air, and it made the tiger even more tense. Hezron realized that whatever he wanted to talk about, now was not a good time to negotiate with the tiger.

    ¡°I cannot protect you, however, you have to leave this place if you want to survive! My soldiers will not attack you!¡±

    ¡°I appreciate your kindness. But I will not leave you here! I still have a promise to keep, remember?¡±

    ¡°That promise won¡¯t matter much if you¡¯re dead! Now go!¡±

    Hezron was about to say something, when the Beast King flapped its wings and prepared to leave. Its target was Myra. He was too powerful a threat to just let go! The tiger turned and started glaring at Myra, who had appeared a distance, still holding onto Ryan. The portal had closed, so Ryan was now stuck with Hezron and Myra.

    ¡°He¡¯s my friend. Please spare him¡±, said Hezron in a soft voice, pointing to Ryan.

    The Beast King looked at Ryan, with a puzzled expression. For some reason, it didn¡¯t know why it was feeling like the child was more dangerous than the robot holding him. Well, he wasn¡¯t exuding a dangerous aura, but instinct told the Beast to be wary of the child.

    ¡°I won¡¯t make that promise!¡± spoke the Beast King, as it prepared to launch an attack on Myra, again.

    Myra stood still, watching the Beast King, as it glared daggers at him. This wasn¡¯t the first time it had happened, so he was quite cool. Well, he was always chilled.

    ¡°Things are about to get much worse from now on. Stay as far away from this place as you can!¡± warned Myra, as he let go of Ryan.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± asked Ryan.

    Myra remained quiet, and then a small portal appeared in front of him. He put his hands inside it, and retrieved a silver spear, with purple designs. He was now getting serious! For the first time, since his repair, Myra was about to fight seriously. He spun the spear, and the purple designs started glowing with a soft purple hue, making it seem like he was holding a purple wheel of light. He pointed the glowing spear at the tiger, thoroughly enraging it. This was an open provocation!

    ROOOOOOOOAAAARR! ROOOOOOOOOOAAARR!

    The tiger roared twice before charging at Myra again! Time literary slowed to a crawl, as Myra took steps towards the charging tiger. To him, it appeared as if the tiger was moving so slowly. He moved right in front of the tiger, and then stabbed with the tip of his spear, at the tiger¡¯s throat. He wanted to get the charade over with as soon as possible.

    If anyone was watching this from a mile away, they¡¯d see a dome-like barrier covering a large portion of the forest. Inside this barrier, everything looked black and white, and birds appeared to be motionless, frozen in time. This was all Myra¡¯s doing! Well, no one would know this happened anyways. After all, this was the true power of the Void!

    Myra had used a martial skill that creates a barrier inside of which he controls time and space. Currently, the barrier had a length of nine hundred kilometres! This means that anything in the span of nine hundred meters from where Myra was standing, was ultimately frozen in time! This martial skill was powerful, but it was also highly taxing! He could maintain this state for less than two minutes, and besides, it consumed a lot of qi. And the fortunate or unfortunate thing was that time was moving! Well, outside the barrier anyways.

    The silver spear stabbed into the throat of the Beast King.

    TING!

    There was a sound as if metal had come into contact with another metal. Myra was puzzled, but before he had time to figure out why the spear could not go through, the barrier wore off and everything returned to normal. To everyone else, Myra had vanished and then reappeared in front of the Beast King. Even the Beast King was perplexed. Its opponent moved too fast!

    The Beast King edged backwards a little bit, before unleashing a blast that threatened to bring down the entire landscape! Myra could not run away from this blast, because if he did, then Ryan would get caught up in it. He was standing quite a distance away from Ryan but he was in the line of the attack. The Beast King knew this, which is why it decided to blast both the threat and the annoying brat behind it. The blast was unleashed, and it flew in a straight line.

    Myra started spinning the spear in his hand, and a purple vortex appeared in front of him. The vortex was too small to contain the blast, however, as the blast reached him, something incredible happened! The vortex expanded and swallowed the blast, before closing with a poof sound. The Beast King did not give up. It looked like it was expecting that to happen, because it unleashed another blast, this time, aiming at the position above Myra¡¯s head.  Myra realized what the beast was trying to achieve. To mitigate this attack, Myra focused and concentrated his circuits.

    BEEP. BEEP. ANNIHILATION MODE ACTIVATED!

    His eye sockets turned from blue to purple, and then a purple diagram appeared right behind Myra. The spear vanished as he focused on using his fists. As Myra concentrated, a black hole started to appear in front of him. It was very small, that someone very far would not be able to see it. However, the Beast King could feel it. And when it felt the power, it grimaced. Things were finally getting out of hand!

    At least it confirmed it! This was the threat that made it feel unwell. It was the robot in front of it. The black hole was very small, but it made the Beast King uneasy! For the very first time, it started to be afraid. A large, visible drop of sweat showed on its hideous face.

    Before the blast could do anything, it was swallowed by the small black hole! The blast vanished without a trace, but the black hole was still there! The Beast King realized it had smashed its own foot with a rock. However, there was nothing it could do. It had started riding a tiger, and it was hard to get off now ¡­ well it was a tiger but ¡­ there was no turning back now.

    Myra jumped up into the sky, with the black hole floating in his palm somehow.  The Beast King realized what Myra was going to do next, and then it edged backwards, before unleashing a roar that caused the already dark sky to darken some more. Then it started raining! However, Myra was undeterred by this new development. He kept going up, until he reached a certain altitude, where he stopped and then activated his barrier! Time literary slowed to a crawl as the barrier expanded, trapping the beast in it. And when the Beast King was frozen, Myra then unleashed the black hole towards it!

 Chapter 36 - Confrontations Part VIII: Victory!

    Torrents of rain kept pouring down as if someone was pouring down a jar full of water from above. It was coming down heavily, in sheets. The drops were so large and heavy that as they hit the ground, they caused massive holes. There was a large hole in the ground where a robot hovered alone. Well, technically it wasn¡¯t alone, but for over 100 km, there was no other living being! The hole in the ground was over 3km in radius, and its depth was not visible.

    As rain poured, explosions rocked the battlefield, but were muffled by the sound of the rain pouring. Robots against tailed beasts. It looked as if the beasts were losing somehow. A robot with a colour of rust dashed forward in the pouring rain and thrust the plasma blade it was wielding in the stomach of a bear having two tails. The bear tried to fight back, but it was for naught. Finally, the bear died, due to blood loss. The robot dashed towards another beast. This time, the beast was a two-feet tall snake with three tails. The robot slashed its blade towards the gigantic snake.

    The snake dodged the blade, but before it had a chance to retaliate, the robot transformed its left arm into a plasma rifle and then fired at the snake¡¯s head!

    KAPOOOWWW! PUCHIII!

    The plasma energy from the rifle blasted a hole into the head of the snake before it could strike back. The gigantic snake fell down with a THUD! sound. Scenes like these were playing all around the battlefield. The beasts were getting slaughtered one after another. What had happened in order for such a thing to happen on the battlefield?

    It all happened like this: Myra had jumped up into the sky, with the black hole floating in his palm somehow.  The Beast King realized its opponent was trying to unleash a black hole to end the fight! If it allowed such a thing to happen, then it would be over! It would die and that was it. With eyes full of madness and rage, it jumped up and edged backwards before unleashing a roar that caused rain to fall!

    This fight was getting more and more ridiculous! A robot had summoned a black hole out of nowhere, and a tiger with ten tails unleashed a roar that caused rain to fall. If that didn¡¯t sound ridiculous, nothing else did! However, all it took was a split second for the fight to end.

    Time slowed to a crawl, as a dome-shaped barrier covered a part of the landscape. This barrier was not visible to anyone inside it; after all, everyone inside it was frozen in time, or so it appeared. Everyone except Myra was frozen, they could not feel anything, they could not move! Myra focused, and he unleashed the small black hole floating in his palm. The small black hole flew at a snail¡¯s pace towards the hideous tiger in front of Myra. Since everything was frozen in time, the tiger was not going to run away.

    When the small black hole eventually reached the tiger, the barrier wore off!  The tiger was still trying to edge backwards to avoid being annihilated, but alas¡­ it was too late!

    BOOOOOOOOMMM!

    There was a blinding light as the waves generated by the black hole moved outwards, pushing Myra, Ryan and Hezron as far away from each other as possible. That¡¯s not all the explosion did. It also dug a massive hole into the ground, leaving what looked like a bottomless pit to any observer. The Beast King¡¯s energy disappeared completely. Myra stood up and looked at the giant pit in front of him, and then he flew into the air, where he hovered, searching for Ryan and Hezron.

    With the disappearance of the Beast King¡¯s energy, the battlefield turned even more chaotic. The tailed beasts started losing the battle, and they started dying. The robots gained the upper hand and began to massacre the tailed beasts without mercy. Currently, the two nine-tailed beasts were engaged in a deadly battle with two robots. One of the robots was an oval shaped robot, and the second robot was a gigantic red-brown robot, which had various metal parts of different shades. It looked like a mashup of many robots of different shades of the same colour! It was horrific to look at!

    The oval shaped robot was fighting against the nine-tailed fox, while the red-brown robot was fighting against the bear. It was not looking good for any of the beasts. The nine-tailed fox was worn out, and it had many injuries. The bear didn¡¯t have it easy either. It was missing two of its four arms; one horn was broken and some of its eyes were slashed. Things weren¡¯t looking so good for all the other tailed beasts as well. The wall of birds with flight was destroyed when the Beast King swiped at them to create a path to Myra.

    For some of the remaining condos and eagles, the moment the energy of the Beast King disappeared, they lost the one thing that united them. Some turned to flee, but how could the robots leave them to roam free?

    ¡°I can¡¯t sense the energy of that winged tiger! Time to switch to Plan B! Activate the Rhizen Canon, so we can finish this off!¡± came a voice from the oval shaped robot, which was the Pirin, of course.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Are you sure? It might destroy some of our robots!¡± replied a voice from the red-brown counterpart.

    ¡°Just aim at those animals, I can get the other robots to move away!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    The red-brown robot flew up into the air, and then began an even more surprising transformation! Its left arm started changing form from a human-like arm, into a gigantic canon. The canon had red lines glowing with a fearsome colour, which was coming from the compressed plasma energy. The energy kept rising, and the nine-tailed beasts had all their fur stand on end. Even if the Beast King was around, it would flinch as the energy was enough to threaten it. Myra, who was a distance away, could not help it but turn his head towards the source of the energy spike!

    The robot unleashed the energy, and the beam flew in a straight line, carving through the lines of tailed beasts!

    WHOOOOOOOOSH! KABOOOOOOOOOOM! KABOOOOOOM!

    Multiple explosions ensued everywhere the beam touched. The robots edged backwards even before the beam was unleashed so many of them were safe. There were a few that got caught up in the blast and were reduced to molten metal! As for the tailed beasts, one can imagine.

    The fox grimaced before turning towards the bear and growling. The bear growled back, and while it looked like they were arguing about something, they didn¡¯t have much time. Many chains came from robots which were hovering around the nine-tailed beasts and they bound the two beasts to prevent them from moving. At first, the beasts struggled until they broke free. However, a few moments later, as if something had happened, the beasts started losing strength. The chains from the robots completely bound them.

    The rest of the tailed beasts were not so fortunate. The massacre continued, and the conditions were made worse by the debut of the Rhizen canon. The reason why the Rhizen canon was even coveted by Cerberus, was because it was too damn powerful. When attached to a satellite and powered by radiation from the sun, the Rhizen canon can wipe out an entire city in one attack! How? It took in energy and then compressed it to the maximum. When the energy was compressed to a certain point and unleashed, the power was like the initial energy multiplied a hundred times over! Who wouldn¡¯t want a power like this? Which nation would not covet something like this?

    The Canon attached to the robot was a miniature one and wasn¡¯t powerful enough to level a city. However, it was enough to turn the tides of this battle! Some beasts realized that it was futile to try and fight this losing battle, and they started fleeing. The robots pursued and the massacre continued. With the disappearance of the Beast King¡¯s energy, and the capture of the nine-tailed beasts, this battle was just as good as concluded!

    The Pirin floated down and landed in front of the captured beasts, which were glaring at it with eyes filled with hatred.

    BEEP. BEEP. Damage report: 30 percent damage. Interface System offline! Power remaining: 15 percent! Please consider recharging!

    The voice that spoke came from the Pirin. Apparently, it had sustained some damage, and mostly this happened when the Beast King attacked with an orange blast earlier. The reason why Dr. Paige was confident in taking down the Beast King, was because he had the surprise of the Rhizen Canon. No matter how many beasts came with the beast army, the Rhizen Canon would reduce them to ashes in the blink of an eye!

    ¡°Sounds like that oval shaped robot is done for. What¡¯s the plan now?¡± asked a drone that descended from the skies.

    The red-brown robot was the first to answer, ¡°Bring in the clean up team. Get the captured beasts to HQ. And kill the rest!¡±

    ¡°Yes general!¡± replied the drone.

    ¡°So, still think my technology is useless?¡± asked the Pirin.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite convenient. You can upload your brain to a robot and control it. If we had such a technology, we¡¯d have an immortal army of soldiers! However, I¡¯ve been thinking. Why would you suddenly appear out of nowhere and give us such dangerous technology? Are you not afraid we¡¯ll turn on you?¡± asked the red-brown robot, pointing the Rhizen canon at the Pirin.

    ¡°First point, it was a mutual benefit. You help me hunt the animals, and I give you the canon as payment. Sounds like a fair deal, no? Second point, you can¡¯t turn on me. The Rhizen Canon has a cooldown of three hours. And as the creator, I can disable and enable it when I want¡±, replied the Pirin, with a calm voice.

    ¡°So you¡¯re still controlling us even behind the scenes? You¡¯re one bad robot. I¡¯ve been wondering why you¡¯d hide yourself in a robot, and not co--¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s about enough!¡± interjected the Pirin. ¡°Would you like me to terminate our contract?¡±

    ¡°Stop bluffing! We know--¡±

    ¡°You know what?¡± spoke the Pirin, as its digital interface turned from bright blue to a red colour.

    WHRRRRRR! WHRRRRR! WHRRRRRR!

    The sounds of helicopters filled the air, and some of them were carrying multiple gigantic containers, as they came into view. Soldiers came out of the helicopters as they landed. They began to clean up the remains of the beasts, by burning what could be burnt, and slicing up the rest into smaller pieces.

    Myra found Ryan about 200 meters from where he had unleashed the black hole onto the Beast King. Ryan was unconscious, and no matter how much he scanned with his divine sense, he couldn¡¯t locate Hezron anywhere. As he realized his search was futile, he opened a portal and went in with Ryan, before vanishing and the portal closing.

    As Myra¡¯s portal closed, a youth, roughly 14 years of age, was walking away from the region where the battle had happened. The youth¡¯s clothes were tattered, showing that he had been through a lot. He had burns all over his body, but most of them had healed, and it was visible. The youth was carrying a tiger cub, but this cub had wings like those of an eagle, and it had a significant number of tails!

    ¡°This time, I will raise you myself! Everything¡¯s going to be different from now on!¡± spoke the youth, in a hoarse voice, as he looked at the cub which let out soft whimpers.

 Chapter 37 - The End and the Beginning...

    A portal appeared on a farm, and out of the portal walked Myra, holding the unconscious Ryan in his hands. Gonin and Rose were sitting, waiting. On the farm, there was a house which looked empty, and a building that didn¡¯t have a roof. It appeared as if it had been cut in two, if one looked closely.

    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Rose, as she stood up, going to meet him.

    Myra remained silent, as he put Ryan on the ground. Gonin rose up and walked up to feel Ryan¡¯s pulse. The good thing was he was breathing, albeit in rapid successive breaths. He was alive, and his life wasn¡¯t in danger¡­somehow.

    ¡°It is over!¡± replied Myra, as he took a long, deep breath.

    ¡°What about the Beast King?¡± asked Gonin.

    ¡°It is no longer around¡±, spoke Myra after a long deliberation. After hitting the beast with the black hole, its energy had vanished, he made the assumption that it was dead. Anyone would have made that assumption as well.

    ¡°I see. What about him? What happened to him?¡± she asked, with a trace of worry hidden in her voice.

    ¡°He was knocked out from an explosion. The animal attacked before he had a chance to follow you in the portal, so I had to pull him back. He got caught up in the fight. However, he is alright.¡±

    Myra carried Ryan into the house, which was deserted. Gonin and Rose looked at each other before following. Before Myra¡¯s arrival, they had been discussing the best way forward. Gonin had made a decision to visit the eastern monasteries. He wanted to train as a disciple of one of the abbots, so that he could revive the monastery that had been destroyed by Cerberus. Rose decided to stick to her main mission, which was protecting Ryan. However, for some reason, this mission seemed a bit too ¡­ weird. How was she supposed to protect someone who was a million times stronger than she was?

    How was she supposed to protect someone who could run a million times faster than her? Who actually needed protection here? As she thought about it, she realized that trying to protect him was a ridiculous idea altogether! However, as weird as it sounded, she had to carry out her mission. She might not be able to protect him physically, but she had connections. She had people who gave her information. All she could do was giving him information. That was the best way to protect him. And she also would wait until he was awake, so she could hear what he had decided to do.

    If he decided to go after Cerberus, she¡¯d help him by providing information. However, if he decided to play it cool and let it go, she¡¯d do her best to protect him from the shadows, whatever that meant. At best, she¡¯d fulfil her promise to Nightingale, his mother. However, from the little interactions she had with him, she knew there was no way he¡¯d let this go. In fact, if Cerberus was a category 5 hurricane, Ryan would still head into it at full speed! She sighed deeply, as she walked into the lounge, where Myra was sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor.

    The rain kept pouring, but the soldiers were not bothered at all. They kept running to and fro, cleaning up what remained of the tailed beasts. Some of the soldiers were looking for scrap remains of the robots which had been destroyed during the battle.

    ¡°What¡¯s the next step now?¡± asked the red-brown robot.

    The Pirin turned before answering, ¡°Now it¡¯s time to fulfil your end of the bargain.¡±

    The red-brown robot raised up its hands and then gave a subtle signal. In a matter of seconds, the Pirin was surrounded by soldiers, robots and drones. The soldiers pointed their guns at the oval shaped robot.

    ¡°Sorry, but we had no intention of negotiating with terrorists from the beginning. Thank you for gifting us with the technology to create immortal soldiers, and to conquer the planet. It was a pleasure doing business with you. However, you killed our people back then. Do you seriously expect us to let you go just like that?¡± asked the red-brown robot, as its arm transformed into the Rhizen canon once more. ¡°We also realized you were lying about the cooldown time of the canon. You¡¯re not much in control as you thought. Give it up, we¡¯ll take you into custody an--¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The Pirin sighed. No, it tried to. However, it didn¡¯t have a windpipe, so it didn¡¯t work. It knew that, but that didn¡¯t stop it from trying. The result? A horrible sound grating to the ears! That was one feature not built into the robot. The ability to simulate a sigh. That was one feature he would have to put on the list of planned upgrades.

    BEEP. BEEP. Warning! Interface System offline! Main Battery Low! Switching to reserve mode! Weapons module disabled!

    A number of beeps and sounds echoed from the Pirin, and from the sound of it, nothing good was happening.

    ¡°Honestly, is it a bad thing to ask for peace and quiet, better business transactions and lasting friendship?¡± asked the Pirin.

    ¡°Lasting friendship? Better business transactions? Do we have to remind you that you threatened us to participate in this? Did we even have a choice in this?¡± asked the red-brown robot, its voice apparently getting more angry. ¡°Give up! We¡¯re jamming the signals to prevent you from communicating with any of the robots here!¡±

    ¡°I see. I guess it can¡¯t be helped then¡±, replied the Pirin, as it raised its hands up, as a sign of giving up.

    ¡°Arrest him!¡± commanded the red-brown robot.

    The soldiers rushed to bind the Pirin, and after successfully apprehending it, they dragged it into a large container. However, before they finished sealing it in the container, it powered off. The PI Robotics logo showed on its screen along with the words SHUTTING DOWN¡­

    ¡°This is not good! Jam the signal!¡± ordered the red-brown robot when it realized what had happened.

    However, it was too late! The Pirin powered down successfully, and then in that same moment, all the drones turned on the soldiers and started firing. Before the red-brown robot could respond, another robot crept up from behind it and then pointed a gun to its head!

    ¡°Now now, don¡¯t bother. I warned you about double crossing me, didn¡¯t I? Oh well, I guess talk is indeed cheap. Showing you the consequences is the best I can do for you at the moment¡±, spoke the other robot.

    ¡°Y-you!¡± spoke the red-brown robot, flustered.

    The drones proceeded to kill each and every other soldier who was left, before coming back and surrounding the red-brown robot.

    ¡°Are you going to kill me? The general of the Tibetan army!¡±

    ¡°Nononono¡­ you have it all wrong. I¡¯m not going to kill you. However, there¡¯s something you can do for me. And you¡¯re going to do it¡±, replied the other robot.

    The president was sitting luxuriously in his office. The atmosphere was quite tense. At least the battle was over, they had won. It was partly thanks to that oval shaped robot. Pity they had to do that, after all the help they had been given. As much as he didn¡¯t want to, he had no option. With a heavy heart, he authorised it. This was justice for all the people the hacker had murdered in the building.

    He took the glass of champagne resting on the desk and raised it towards his mouth. Before he could drink the contents of the glass, his phone suddenly rang!

    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked, after picking it up.

    ¡°Sir, someone is here to see you. He says he¡¯s the messenger of court¡±, came a female voice from the other side of the line.

    ¡°Send him in¡±, replied the president, with a soft sigh.

    ¡°Okay sir¡±, was the reply, before the phone hung up.

    The door opened and in came a young man, wearing a black suit. The young man walked with small steps, until he was at the president¡¯s desk.

    ¡°Mr. President¡±, he said, as he extended a hand.

    The president had risen up from his seat and he shook the hand of the young man, before saying, ¡°What brings you to my office this afternoon?¡±

    ¡°Congress has called for an emergency session. The senators have sent me to fetch you sir¡±, spoke the young man.

    ¡°What¡¯s the agenda for the session?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t privileged with receiving the knowledge, sir¡±, replied the young man.

    ¡°I see. Let me get ready then¡±, said the president, as he emptied the glass on his table in one fell swoop. After some preparations, the young man, the president¡¯s bodyguards and his secretary, got into the vehicles, and left the white house along with the president.

    He dreaded going to congress. Those damn congressmen always had something up their sleeves. Someone was always aiming for his head, and they always got the chance to show off their skills during these sessions. As he arrived, he felt a deep sense of foreboding which he didn¡¯t know the source. But that didn¡¯t matter. He was the president, the most protected man in the country! If you put aside those billionaires, that was.

    They arrived at the building where they held their congress sessions. It was lined up with journalists who were furiously clicking at their cameras while some reporters were trying desperately to shove mics in front of the president. The president ignored the reporters who were being pushed by the security personnel. As he arrived, there was chaos in the house, which might have been a good thing for him, considering he was late.

    ¡°How could we have dealt with such a situation like that?¡± asked one of the politicians.

    ¡°What would you have done in that scenario?¡± asked another, glaring furiously at his counterpart.

    As the president sat down, a frightening silence ensued. Everyone turned and started paying attention to him.

    ¡°Good aft--¡±

    Crash! Crash!

    The president was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering into a million pieces. Immediately after the sound, a lot of drones flew into the building, followed by robots.

    ¡°Mr. President, we meet again¡­¡± echoed a loud voice, being projected from a red-brown humanoid robot.

 Chapter 38 - How to ask an assassin out

    A billion thoughts raced into the president¡¯s mind as the voice echoed into the room. Well, they didn¡¯t reach one billion, but it¡¯s safe to say given a few more moments, they¡¯d have reached the figure.

    ¡°Oh NO!¡± were the words that managed to find their way out of his mouth. He realized it then! Something had gone wrong! Horribly wrong, by the look of things.

    ¡°Very short time no see, Mr. President¡±, echoed the voice again, as the red-brown robot walked into the room. Multiple drones covered the windows, and all exit points. More robots emerged and pointed their hands, or rather, weapons at the politicians.

    This would have been a great time to panic, but unfortunately, it seemed as if the red-brown robot wasn¡¯t going to allow it.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re the hacker! H-how did y-you survive?¡± stammered the president, pointing at the red-brown robot.

    The robot snickered, rather, tried to snicker. It wasn¡¯t a good sound to the ears. He ignored the failure, and spoke, ¡°I told you not to double cross me, did I not? Now you¡¯re going to pay the consequences.¡±

    ¡°W-what have you done with General Eizard?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s asleep. He won¡¯t be waking up any time soon. But don¡¯t worry about him, worry more about how you¡¯re going to clean these bodies.¡±

    ¡°What bodies?¡± asked the president, as a drop of sweat fell from his forehead.

    The robot didn¡¯t answer. Instead, it raised its hands and pointed forward. The drones and robots started shooting indiscriminately. Every politician who was sitting inside the auditorium was shot dead in a matter of minutes. It was a terrible sight to behold. A terrible stench of blood filled the air. The president¡¯s mouth was agape, and his nervousness mounted as he watched the horror show being played right in front of him.

    Only the president was left alive. He tried to think, but his mind could not allow it. He tried to say something, but words left him too. The robot turned to leave the hall.

    ¡°A-aren¡¯t you going to kill me too?¡± asked the president, as he swallowed hard.

    ¡°Why would I do that? I¡¯ve taught you a lesson, which is all I wanted to do.¡±

    The robot exited the building, and was followed by its entourage, the robots and drones. The president swallowed hard, thinking about where it had all gone wrong. Unfortunately for him, the person who could answer that question was not around. He closed his eyes, before standing up to leave the bloodied hall.

    Now, while other people were busy getting killed by robots, Ryan had just woken up from a very long nap. The first face he saw was Rose¡¯s. Her wide eyes were peering into his, as if they were looking through to his soul.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡± she exclaimed, as he sat up.

    An excruciating pain tore through his head. He hurriedly closed his eyes and clutched his head, as the pain intensified.

    ¡°What happened?¡± he asked, as he realized that he didn¡¯t remember why he was lying down. He surveyed his surroundings and realized that they seemed somewhat familiar. ¡°Wait, are we back at my grandfather¡¯s farm?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We didn¡¯t have another place to go, so Myra teleported us here¡±, she replied.

    ¡°Really? How long was I out?¡± he asked, looking around the already familiar room. He had realized that it had been his, when he was living with his grandparents at the farm.

    ¡°A few hours. It¡¯s already getting dark.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Myra?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve no idea¡±, was the response.

    Ryan walked out of the room without saying another word, while Rose followed quietly. They were at the farm alright. There was no mistaking the surroundings; the kitchen he had breakfast in ¡­ Weirdly enough, his stomach started growling.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Hungry?¡± asked Rose.

    ¡°Yeah. Let me look into the fridge, my aunt June must¡¯ve put something into the --¡± his speech was cut short by the sound of engines roaring in the garage. Without checking the fridge, he ran to the garage.

    ¡°Took you long enough!¡± spoke a voice from the garage, as Ryan arrived.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am¡±, replied the stranger. Ryan realized the stranger was wearing a hoodie that obscured his face in the dark garage. He tried turning the switch on. Nothing happened. ¡°That¡¯s not going to work. Anyway, I¡¯m here to give you some warning. If you¡¯re entertaining any thoughts of going after Cerberus, you better squash those thoughts immediately! You don¡¯t have an idea of what you¡¯d be getting yourself into!¡± said the stranger.

    ¡°First of all, what makes you sure I want to get involved?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Your grandparents, and your father¡±, replied the stranger, shrugging his shoulders in the darkness.

    ¡°And how would you know about that?¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter! The important thing is to listen to my advice! And tell Blue Rose that she should follow Nightingale¡¯s advice and stay out of it as well!¡±

    ¡°Well, thank you for the concern. However, I have already been dragged into it. The only thing I can do is respond in kind.¡±

    The stranger sighed, and then spoke, ¡°Okay then. Have it your way. I tried to warn you, but if you want to get yourself killed, then go ahead. You¡¯ve no idea what you¡¯re getting yourself into!¡±

    ¡°And why would you care?¡± asked Ryan, puzzled.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll find out soon enough. Whatever you do, don¡¯t trust Doctor Paige!¡± said the stranger.

    Smoke filled the garage, and as Ryan coughed his way out, Rose came up to meet him outside the garage.

    ¡°What happened?¡± she asked, noticing the smoke.

    Ryan didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he rushed back into garage. Ryan squinted through the darkness, looking for the stranger. Rose followed and switched the light on. Besides a red classic sports car and a pick up truck, there was nothing else in the garage.

    ¡°Why is this here?¡± she asked, walking over to the sports car.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. There was a guy here! I wonder where he went. He said that I should stay away from Cerberus and that I should tell you to follow Nightingale¡¯s advice. Who¡¯s Nightingale?¡±

    ¡°Well ¡­ umm ¡­ I think you should listen to him and stay out of this.¡±

    ¡°Why are you avoiding the question?¡±

    ¡°To protect you! Something else is going on¡±, she responded.

    ¡°Something like what?¡±

    Rose shrugged her shoulders and remained silent. Ryan was not amused. He sighed, ¡°Look, I know you¡¯re simply trying to help. You¡¯re trying to keep me safe, I get it. Just so you should know, I appreciate it. I appreciate that you¡¯re trying to protect me, that you actually care about me.¡± He proceeded to place his hands on her shoulders.

    Standing face to face, he realized, she wasn¡¯t that much tall. In fact, she was almost the same height as he was. ¡°Thank you, Rose. Thank you for caring¡±, he spoke with a certain tone in his voice, that would¡¯ve made a normal girl burst into tears.

    ¡°Nice try! You should know by now that any and all psychological tactics you employ are not going to work. Speaking of which, who taught you how to do that?¡± she responded.

    Ryan giggled before responding, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you want to know?¡±

    ¡°Oh well, give it up¡±, she answered, turning to leave the garage.

    ¡°This yours?¡± asked Ryan, pointing at the red classic sports car parked next to his grandfather¡¯s truck.

    ¡°It was my grandfather¡¯s. But now I¡¯m not sure if I can return it. Besides, I¡¯m going to be keeping an eye on you.¡±

    ¡°Come on¡­ How can I make it up to you? How¡¯s this, I take you out on a date and then you tell me about Nightingale and the stranger? Sounds fair?¡±

    ¡°Haha, in your dreams!¡± she kept walking.

    ¡°It should be quite some fun. Wouldn¡¯t you love to talk?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Not even slightly interested!¡±

    ¡°What if I buy you a gift?¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯d be wasting your time!¡±

    ¡°Really? Imagine if I were to buy you something like ¡­ a couple of Harrison daggers¡­¡±

    As soon as she heard those words, she froze mid-step. ¡°How do you know about those?¡±

    Ryan giggled again. ¡°Can we start talking now?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got my attention¡±, she said, turning to face him.

    ¡°So about my date? I¡¯ll be sure to get you a couple of daffodils¡±, he said with a ridiculous smile plastered on his face.

    Rose¡¯s face turned quite serious. There were all sorts of colours mixed in, and she focused. ¡°How do you know about those?¡±

    ¡°When should we have the date? How about tomorrow afternoon?¡±

    She walked towards him with a serious expression, and then she pointed two fingers at his neck. ¡°Do you know that I can kill you in the blink of an eye?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try¡±, he responded casually.

    Rose sighed, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. I want a date¡±, came the response, accompanied by a ridiculous smile.

    ¡°I wonder who taught you to ask girls out.¡±

    ¡°Well, different girls require different tactics. Besides, weren¡¯t you threatening to kill me some time ago?¡±

    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡±

    ¡°Anyway, so we¡¯re having a date tomorrow afternoon, right? Let¡¯s say three o¡¯clock?¡±

    Rose rolled her eyes and forced herself to reply, ¡°Look, don¡¯t mistake this for anything other than me having pity on you!¡±

    ¡°Yes, a pity you wouldn¡¯t have if I didn¡¯t know a few extra things about you. Anyway, are you staying over?¡±

    ¡°What? You want a young lady to walk around at this time of the night?¡±

    ¡°Well, I would pity whoever tried to rob you.¡±

    ¡°Y-you!¡±

    ¡°So I take it you¡¯re staying over? Good. You can have the guest room, it¡¯s not occupied.¡±

    Rose rolled her eyes at him again and then replied, ¡°Very charming. No wonder you didn¡¯t have many friends in school!¡±

    ¡°!¡± Ryan almost exploded, but then he remembered something. ¡°Okay Rose. Nice try. By the way, Cyberpunk05 says hello.¡±

    Rose immediately froze on the spot.

 Chapter 39 - The date and Ryans decision

    A cold wind blew across the peak, while the darkness that enveloped the peak increased in intensity. Myra was not paying much attention to his surroundings. He had covered the entire area with his divine sense before sitting down in a cross-legged position. His eye sockets were turned off as if he was closing his eyes in a meditative trance. Currently, the only issue was that it was dark, so he couldn¡¯t absorb qi for cultivation.

    With his ¡°eyes¡± closed, a video clip was playing again in his head. In this video clip, there was a middle-aged man who was wearing a golden robe.

    BEEP. BEEP. Memory mode unlocked. BEEP. Replaying VidPXN01.mp4.

    ¡°You might not remember much, but if you¡¯re playing this clip, it means you¡¯ve managed to unlock some of the locked videos¡±, started the middle-aged man. He had white flowing hair, and his eyes revealed a stern gaze. If you looked at him, it appeared as if he was looking through your soul.

    He continued, ¡°With each rise in cultivation level, you will unlock more of these videos, as well as a martial technique. Always remember to use these techniques to protect the matrix, and the one who wields it.¡±

    There was a slight pause in the video. ¡°Once you reach the Heaven Step level, you will be able to use Spatial Resonance. This technique was left behind by the original Azure Immortal. Not only that, but you will gain full sentience! Once the wielder of the matrix reaches the Altering pulse level, take him to the Exquisite Martial House. Make sure you leave him there; he has to reach Core formation for him to leave the Valley.¡±

    BEEP. BEEP. End of file.

    Myra¡¯s ¡°eyes¡± brightened, as he appeared to be focusing. There were troubling times ahead. However, he remained sitting in the same position. He wanted to play the next video clip, but then:

    BEEP. BEEP. File locked. Cultivation level insufficient!

    Myra sighed. Rather, he tried to. For as long as he could remember, he has always wanted to sigh. However, he was built differently. He was an automaton, a machine. He did not have lungs and a nose for drawing in air. Thus, he could not sigh. Maybe he could sigh if he used a transformative martial technique to transform himself into a human. It was a pity that such martial techniques could only be used by Heaven Step Immortals.

    Meanwhile, Ryan was finding it difficult to sleep. He looked at the clock, and to his dismay, it was only two o¡¯clock in the morning. He woke up and decided to go jogging. Ever since his breakthrough, he had an insatiable hunger. No matter how much food he ate, he never felt full. He began to wonder if it had something to do with his cultivation.

    He went outside the house, making sure to minimize noise. It was eerily quiet outside, with a full moon hanging out. He had made sure to wear his track suit since there was a cold wind blowing outside. Another weird thing was that he felt cold. Didn¡¯t Rogarth say he¡¯d be invincible? So why was he feeling cold?

    He started jogging slowly, feeling the cold wind hitting him in the face. He hadn¡¯t activated the roc chasing the wind technique yet.

    ¡®I wonder who that stranger was. He seemed to know everything about me and my family¡¯, thought Ryan. He ran past a tree stump. ¡®Right, if I remember correctly, I¡¯m supposed to cultivate the dancing dragon fist to the maximum. Currently, I can only use the Dragon subduing fist. The other day I unconsciously managed to use the Divine blazing fist. That explains why the forest was on fire.¡¯

    He stopped jogging. ¡®I have to get stronger. I¡¯m not yet invincible. Until the day I find out what¡¯s been happening, I have to keep cultivating!¡¯

    After sitting down in a meditative position, he appeared in a different space. Rogarth was waiting for him as usual, while sitting in a meditative position.

    ¡°Greetings, Ryan¡±, he began.

    ¡°Oh, hello. Long time no see. How have you been?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°You are late!¡± berated Rogarth, ignoring Ryan¡¯s greeting.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡±

    ¡°You are late! What took you so long to get here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. How did I even get here?¡±

    ¡°That does not matter now. We need to proceed with training as usual. Show me how you use the dragon subduing fist¡±, spoke Rogarth, standing up.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Ryan walked up, and the scene changed. They appeared to be in a forest surrounded by dense trees. Ryan approached one of the trees and started taking steps. His movements were swift, and with each step he took, he threw what looked like a casual punch. Rogarth did not appear happy. His gaze was stern, and his expression changed into a frown. Ryan on the other hand, was enjoying himself, lost in the intricacies of the martial technique. He didn¡¯t notice the frown on Rogarth¡¯s face. As he took his last step, his fist began to glow with a wonderful golden colour.

    He targeted one tree, and using all his might, he struck it!

    BAM!

    The tree trunk simply exploded into a million wooden pieces. Ryan looked very pleased with himself. Everyone would have agreed that, what he had achieved was a masterpiece, a marvellous work of art. Well, Rogarth would have to be excluded from everyone. After all, he was frowning and he didn¡¯t appear to be pleased.

    ¡°What was that?¡± he asked.

    ¡°The dragon subduing fist!¡± answered Ryan with utter confidence.

    ¡°Terrible. How long have you been practicing?¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? Terrible? Can you demonstrate it for me?¡±

    Rogarth didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he walked over to one tree. Without all the steps, his fist glowed with a radiant, warm, golden colour. He struck the tree, and to Ryan¡¯s surprise, the tree didn¡¯t explode into a million pieces. Instead, it kept on standing straight. Ryan walked over and touched the tree, which then developed cracks, until it fell in large chunks.

    ¡°Did you see the glow on my fist?¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°How you gather momentum and release it determines how powerful your fist will be. I do not know what you were trying to do, but how much time do you have before you are attacked by someone?¡±

    ¡°Wait. You¡¯re the one who taught me this way!¡±

    ¡°When you are teaching a child to walk, do you run?¡±

    ¡°Oh well. Riddle me this!¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± declared Rogarth, with a sigh. ¡°Let us do this, I will teach you the next fist once you have managed to use flow like silk to control the amount of strength you exert in each fist.¡±

    ¡°Flow like silk? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a formula for controlling qi circulation. Well, ultimately, it is used for controlling qi circulation. However, you do not have any qi in your dantian as yet. That does not mean that it is useless to you. The first stages will help you to store momentum and release it flawlessly. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°A little bit.¡±

    When Ryan came to, the sun was already shining in the sky. He checked his phone, and then he realized it was already ten o¡¯clock.

    ¡®I guess I have to go back now. I have a date at three. Speaking of which, how exactly is this going to work? How do I pick up someone who¡¯s staying in my house? And whose car am I using? My grandfathers¡¯? This is not getting any easier. I¡¯m beginning to think I made a mistake. Calm down Ryan! This is not time for this!¡¯

    After a few minutes of calming himself, he concluded his jogging session. It hadn¡¯t done him much good, except for the unexpected cultivation session of course.

    Time flew by, as it usually does when one is dreading to do something. Ryan finished all his preparations, and weirdly enough, so did Rose. She had to drive to town to get something decent to wear.  After her shopping spree, she returned to the farm, and started preparing for her ¡®date¡¯. She couldn¡¯t believe she was actually doing this. Anyway, she had to know what his decision was. It didn¡¯t help that she already knew what to expect from that decision.

    The duo got into the red classic sports car which belonged to Rose¡¯s grandfather and drove off into the sunset. Rather, they drove off into town to a restaurant called the Golden Sunset. After they had settled, there was a lengthy, very awkward silence.

    Ryan coughed and then commented, ¡°I have to say, that¡¯s a lovely dress you¡¯re wearing.¡±

    Rose rolled her eyes before replying, ¡°That¡¯s like the fourth time you¡¯ve commented! Besides, what is this really about?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I ask a beautiful girl on a date without extra--¡±

    ¡°No! Cut the crap, tell me why we¡¯re really here.¡±

    Ryan sighed. ¡°It appears you didn¡¯t have much education in this department.¡±

    ¡°Neither did you!¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡±

    ¡°The daffodils! Explain how you knew about those!¡±

    Before Ryan answered, a waiter came by holding a bunch of flowers. He handed them to Rose, who looked at Ryan with suspicion.

    ¡°Flowers for the lady¡±, spoke the waiter. He then continued, ¡°May I take your orders?¡±

    ¡°Can you even afford this?¡± asked Rose.

    ¡°Are you forgetting that my father was a billionaire? And right now, I¡¯m basically a millionaire. Besides, my father owned this island.¡±

    ¡°Your father this, your father that! If he owns the island, why is there a town for crying out loud? There are people who live here!¡±

    ¡°Ahem! Orders please?¡± asked the waiter, growing impatient to the young couple¡¯s constant bickering.

    After taking their orders, the waiter sighed with relief, and then left.

    ¡°So, Mr. millionaire, how did you know about the daffodils? And how do you know Cyberpunk05?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my friend. He dug around the Sky Haven database and gave me more information on you. From your first mission, to the Alan Paige clean-up.¡±

    ¡°You did this because?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me more information about you! I wanted to know about your relationship with my mother. I wanted to know if I could really trust you!¡±

    ¡°When did you do this?¡±

    ¡°Back at the cottage, before we found ¡­ eh ¡­ what was his name? Right, Hezron.¡±

    ¡°How did you get in touch with him?¡±

    ¡°I found an old satellite phone in one of the rooms.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? How did you--¡±

    ¡°Hey hey, this is supposed to be a date, instead of an interrogation.¡±

    Rose sighed, before asking, ¡°What is your decision on the whole Cerberus thing?¡±

    ¡°Do you ever listen? Anyway, what do you think my decision is?¡±

    The waiter brought their food and placed it on the table. He made sure to hurry off after making sure everything was in order. He didn¡¯t want to be caught up in this young couple¡¯s endless bickering again.

    ¡°I was afraid of this. Let me guess, you want to know everything about Sky Haven from me before you try to join it!¡±

    ¡°Spot on!¡± said Ryan, after clapping his hands a bit.

    ¡°Nightingale is really going to kill me for this¡±, spoke Rose, in a silent whisper.

    ¡°By the way, you haven¡¯t explained something. Who¡¯s Nightingale?¡±

 Chapter 40 - Back to Megapolis

    Rose sighed, as she looked at what remained of the food on the table.

    ¡°Remember back then when I said that your mother sent me here to protect you?¡±

    ¡°Y-you can¡¯t possibly mean--¡±

    ¡°Yes, exactly. Your mother is Nightingale, the leader of Sky Haven. I¡¯m surprised that with Cyberpunk05 helping you, you still didn¡¯t know about this.¡±

    ¡°We searched around, but there was nothing in the employee¡¯s database about her. No photo, no information. The only information we got was the recruitment advert that was somehow encrypted.¡±

    ¡°Obviously, she wouldn¡¯t want anyone knowing who she is. She didn¡¯t want any harm to befall you, and she definitely didn¡¯t want you to get involved in any of this. That¡¯s why she sent me.¡±

    ¡°Oh well. That¡¯s a pity. I¡¯m going to get involved anyways. And I¡¯m going to find her! She¡¯s got a lot of explaining to do!¡± he said, slamming a fist into the restaurant table. Because his hands were sturdy, and he cultivated the dancing dragon fist, the table could not hold it. It broke apart!

    The plates and glasses that were on the table fell and broke as well. Due to the commotion caused by the table breaking and the plates and glasses falling, everyone turned to look at the duo.

    ¡°This is as bad as things go¡±, spoke Ryan, with an embarrassed look. Several security guards came over to see what was happening.

    ¡°Ahem. Is there something wrong, sir?¡± asked one of the security guards. He was a bald, middle-aged man who wore a neat tuxedo.

    ¡°No nothing is wrong¡±, apologized Ryan.

    ¡°Learn to control your strength, will you?¡± whispered Rose, as she stood up.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it, hey. I was fired up¡±, responded Ryan, in a whisper.

    The manager of the restaurant came to see what was happening. He was a fat, middle aged man, with a small goatee.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± asked the fat manager.

    ¡°Ummm, I accidentally broke your table. Don¡¯t worry. I can pay for it¡±, responded Ryan, with an embarrassed look. The manager was not amused.

    ¡°Can you come with me, sir, so we can discuss this matter, privately?¡± asked the fat manager, with a smile.

    Rose glared at Ryan when she heard this statement, while he frowned. The problem was, he didn¡¯t want to cause a scene. Therefore, he obediently followed the manager to an office that was upstairs. Peace followed after their departure, as some waiters started cleaning up.

    When they arrived at the office, the fat manager offered Rose a seat, followed by Ryan. He sighed before saying, ¡°You broke our very expensive furniture, how are you going to pay for it?¡±

    Ryan was startled, before he figured out what was going on. The manager thought he was broke. Therefore, instead of embarrassing the kid and his date in front of the customers, he thought they¡¯d talk in private and probably come to some sort of arrangement. Ryan smiled. He liked this guy.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, seems you¡¯re probably mistaken. Just send me the bill and I¡¯ll transfer the money to your restaurant¡¯s account¡±, he said, standing up.

    ¡°Excuse me! Can you even afford this bill? Is it alright if we speak to your parents?¡±

    ¡°No! It¡¯s not! First of all, they¡¯re no longer in this world. And second of all, what makes you think I can¡¯t afford it? Would I be here to eat in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Well, some of you kids nowadays like going to expensive restaurants just to impress the girls. The problem comes when you can¡¯t pay bill! We have had our fair share of this scenario, trust me!¡±

    Ryan sighed, before replying, ¡°Okay, this won¡¯t work at all. How much is the bill?¡±

    The manager called someone over the phone. A man wearing glasses came in. He was holding a calculator and a file.

    ¡°Thanks for coming. Now can you explain to Mr ¡­ eh ¡­¡±

    ¡°Avariz¡±, interjected Ryan.

    ¡°Yes Av-wait¡­ Avariz? What¡¯s your name?¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Ryan? Why?¡±

    ¡°Ryan Avariz? Are you related to Derik Avariz?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my father. Rather, he was¡±, answered Ryan, with a sad expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous! How do we know you¡¯re not lying?¡±

    Ryan fished his wallet, and then produced his social security card, which he handed to the fat manager.

    ¡°S-so ¡­ it¡¯s you? I apologize for this. We will take care of the bill. Don¡¯t worry about anything. If you need anything, here¡¯s my card. You and your girlfriend are always welcome in our restaurant.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not my girlfriend!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend!¡±

    They both spoke in unison. Ryan took his identity card back, as well as the manager¡¯s card. It was written Reeve Halloway at the back with a font that was quite legible. Ryan scratched his head, as he tried to think where he had heard this name before. However, he gave up when he realized that he couldn¡¯t come up with a single idea.

    After Ryan and Rose left, the man with the glasses asked the manager, ¡°Why the special treatment? Did you know his father?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I did. It¡¯s thanks to him that we have a business here, and that I have the surname Halloway. Anyway, we¡¯ll shoulder the costs of the broken stuff. Just make sure you don¡¯t do anything to upset the kid¡±, spoke the manager, as he gestured the man with glasses to leave the office.

    After Ryan and Rose left the office, no one had the appetite to remain in the restaurant any longer. They got into the car they had come with and drove off. It was now dark, and as they were driving, Rose asked, ¡°What was that all about?¡±

    ¡°He must¡¯ve been a friend of my father¡¯s. But the problem is I don¡¯t remember him at all. I didn¡¯t even see him at the funeral. Something is fishy about him.¡±

    ¡°Up until now, you still haven¡¯t explained to me how there are people who live on the island, if your father owns it.¡±

    Ryan sighed. ¡°Some time ago, my grandfather wanted to retire and live somewhere remote. He had left his job because of a conflict with people at work. My father decided to buy the island from the Allied Nations. However, the agreement was that it would remain under the jurisdiction of the Euphrasian Continent. He gave my grandfather the island on his 60<sup>th</sup> birthday.¡±

    ¡°So the island was already under the jurisdiction of the Allied Nations when he bought it? He must¡¯ve been rich.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. He had just become a multimillionaire back then.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the next step from here onwards?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to Megapolis to join Sky Haven. I need to create an opportunity to see my mother. I need to ask her what happened to my father. After that, I will investigate Cerberus, then destroy it completely.¡±

    ¡°And after that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll figure that out when I succeed in destroying that organization! I¡¯ll make them pay for killing my grandfather!¡± he replied with firm determination.

    ¡°I see. Nightingale is going to kill me when she finds out I was helping you. I was supposed to keep an eye on you to make sure you didn¡¯t get involved.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s too late for that now.¡±

    The car neared the farm, and they turned towards the farm. Ryan got out first when they parked, and like a perfect gentleman, he opened the door for Rose.

    ¡°Thanks for tonight¡±, she spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I¡¯m sure this is the last night we have of peace and tranquillity. We should cherish it, and enjoy ourselves, before all hell breaks loose¡±, replied Ryan.

    ¡°You had to ruin it¡±, said Rose, rolling her eyes.

    The night passed uneventfully. When morning came, Ryan went to see his friend, Peter Russ. Since it was a weekend, Peter hadn¡¯t gone to school that day. He was surprised to see Ryan, who had vanished into thin air for some time. When he visited the farm, there was nowhere there. After getting a satellite call from Ryan explaining bits of what had happened, he sort of calmed down. But now he was seeing his friend again. It was quite a surprise.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me you were back from ¡®vacation¡¯. Why the surprise visit?¡± asked Peter, as he handed Ryan a game controller.

    ¡°I came to say goodbye. I¡¯m leaving for Megapolis¡±, replied Ryan.

    ¡°What? Did your grandparents agree to this?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re no longer in this world¡±, replied Ryan, with a sullen look.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Remember when I told you about that dangerous organization? They killed my grandparents!¡±

    ¡°Why would they do such a thing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. That¡¯s what I need to find out now.¡±

    ¡°This is quite dangerous. Are you sure you can do this?¡±

    ¡°Of course. There are very few weapons that can hurt me right now.¡±

    GAME OVER!

    A voice echoed through the room, from the speakers.

    ¡°You lost, as usual¡±, said Peter.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I last played this game. Now I¡¯m going to be playing a more dangerous game. By the way, can you check something for me?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I need you to find out who Reeve Halloway is.¡±

    Peter went to sit at his computer, and started clicking furiously, typing in commands. After ten minutes without saying anything, he finally said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t exist.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? So who gave me this card?¡± asked Ryan, taking out the card he had gotten from the fat manager.

    ¡°Officially, he doesn¡¯t exist. I¡¯ll ask around from my dark net contacts. You¡¯ll be available on your IRC account, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll use that as our mode of communication from now on.¡±

    ¡°By the way, is it really true that Cora Waterline is the assassin we were looking at the other time?¡±

    ¡°Of course, it is. Why would I lie to you?¡±

    ¡°Interesting. Who would¡¯ve known?¡±

    ¡°Just like no one knows you¡¯re Cyberpunk05, the most notorious hacker on earth.¡±

    ¡°Hey hey, are you trying to get me arrested?¡±

    ¡°Never mind. I¡¯m leaving, I have a plane to catch.¡±

    ¡°Who are you going to be staying with in Megapolis?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of living with my aunt. However, I know my movements will be restricted once that happens. Also, I can¡¯t explain what happened to my grandparents.¡±

    ¡°I see. Wish you the best of luck.¡±

    ¡°Thanks a lot. See you around.¡±

    After leaving the house, he went home and packed a few clothes. Since Rose had promised to help him, she went and packed her newly bought clothes, and they both left for the airport. They got on the plane, and it didn¡¯t take them a long time before they landed in Megapolis.

    Ryan took in a breath of fresh air, before saying, ¡°Megapolis. I missed you a bit. Now it feels weird to be back.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here, now what?¡± asked Rose.

    ¡°Ryan! Over here!¡± came a feminine voice, from the waiting area.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± responded Ryan.

 Chapter 41 - Sky Haven Part I - The recruitment

    Ryan knew exactly who the voice belonged to, which is what worried him.

    ¡°Aunt Denise, you didn¡¯t have to come in person to pick us up¡±, answered Ryan, as he hugged his aunt.

    Denise Avariz was average in height, but she had obsidian-black hair which flowed over her shoulders. She was wearing a neat, red dress with black flowery designs. The dress made her look younger than she was.

    ¡°Oh nonsense! You must be Rose?¡± she said, walking over to Rose and giving her a welcoming hug.

    Ryan didn¡¯t even have a chance to introduce Rose properly. His aunt made sure to do most of the talking. She led them to her car, and after they packed the bags into the trunk, they drove off. It didn¡¯t take them an hour to reach Aunt Denise¡¯s house.

    The house was a white mansion located at the end of a close. It was quite large, compared to the other houses in the neighborhood. Megapolis was divided into Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central districts. Most residential properties were located in the Eastern district, while the Northern and Central districts were mostly for commercial purposes. The house Ryan lived with his parents was located in the Eastern district, a distance away from the mansion they had just arrived at.

    ¡°Please come in¡±, spoke Denise, inviting Ryan and Rose. ¡°You must be tired from the long flight.¡±

    ¡°Not really. I need to take a walk¡±, said Ryan, coming up with an excuse to leave.

    ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±

    ¡°I want to visit the place where our house was¡±, he replied.

    ¡°But there¡¯s nothing there now. Ever since it was demolished by the meteorite, no one rebuilt it.¡±

    ¡°I know aunty. I know.¡±

    ¡°Okay then. Let me get someone to drive you there.¡±

    ¡°No thanks. I¡¯ll walk¡±, he declined the offer.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Denise.

    ¡°Nothing. I just want some moment of peace and quiet. To be alone, that¡¯s all¡±, he replied.

    ¡°So you want to walk from here? Do you remember the distance?¡± asked Denise, with a look of worry.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay aunt Denise. I¡¯ll get there¡±, he replied with a reassuring smile.

    Ryan walked out, leaving Rose and Denise looking at his disappearing back.

    ¡°Why does he just decide to leave? Also, he wants to walk a distance of almost 10 miles?¡± asked Denise.

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know either¡±, replied Rose, shrugging her shoulders.

    ¡°Okay then, come, let¡¯s get you settled. You must be tired.¡± She took Rose¡¯s bags, which were very few in number, and then went upstairs with Rose in tow.

    Ryan walked out of the gate, and then looked in the direction where their house had been. After sighing, he took out his phone and made a call. When the call hung up, he started jogging towards the direction of the ruins. Seeing how he didn¡¯t have time to admire the view, he activated the Roc chasing the wind, and then sped up instantly. It took him a few minutes to reach the house. When he arrived, he was panting, almost out of breath. He stood for some time while catching his breath and then proceeded to walk to the gate. The black gate was closed, but that didn¡¯t deter him at all. He simply punched the gate, and it caved in. It couldn¡¯t withstand the impact.

    ¡®Okay. So I¡¯m here now. Who am I supposed to see?¡¯ he thought, as he walked past what was once a fountain. The entire place looked like a jungle, due to a long time without being maintained. ¡®This place looks completely horrible. After the whole fiasco is over, I¡¯m going to rebuild this place.¡¯ After walking around the ruins, he found a shadowy silhouette sitting under a tree.

    ¡°Took you long enough¡±, began the silhouette.

    ¡°Well, I had to run all the way.¡±

    ¡°Amusing. So tell me, why do you want to join Sky Haven?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s someone I want to kill.¡±

    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you just go ahead and kill them?¡±

    ¡°I lack the opportunity to do it. That¡¯s why I think Sky Haven will give me that opportunity!¡±

    The silhouette remained silent for some time. It then spoke, ¡°Blue Rose commended you for tenacity, and strength. There are more opportunities outside of Sky Haven. As for the person you want to kill, obviously opportunities will present themselves. There¡¯s no need to join Sky Haven!¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°I wonder¡±, spoke Ryan, with a darkened expression, ¡°if I kill you, will that give me--¡±

    Before Ryan finished speaking, a knife was put by his throat. He was too distracted that he didn¡¯t notice the person sneaking up behind him.

    The shadowy silhouette was still sitting in the same spot. ¡°You¡¯re not cut out for an assassin. You lack ¨C¡±

    BANG!! THUD!

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    When the silhouette looked up, Ryan was in front of it, with a knife pointing at it. Under the silhouette, was a hooded figure, wearing a mask. The figure stood up before saying, ¡°Interesting. She also mentioned speed. However, you need to be able to notice your surroundings. Otherwise you¡¯ll be putting yourself at risk.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m immortal. I¡¯ll give you the knife. If you can kill me, then I won¡¯t be able to join Sky Haven. However, if you fail, then I¡¯ll join automatically!¡±

    The figure laughed as if it had heard the funniest joke on the planet. ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself too much. I don¡¯t see the reason to kill you. Here, meet me at this point in 3 days. If you¡¯re not there, you¡¯re automatically disqualified from joining Sky Haven¡±, said the figure, handing over a card to Ryan.

    Ryan took the card and looked at it. ¡°I hav--¡±, before he could ask the question, the figure was gone. ¡®I thought immortals were the only ones who could vanish into thin air. I guess I have a lot to learn then¡¯, he thought. He looked closely at the card. There was a riddle written on the card.

    The three sons looking at the moon are destined to fall apart.

    Ryan thought and tried to solve the riddle. He couldn¡¯t come up with the answer to the riddle at all. His phone suddenly vibrated, and as he unlocked it, he saw a message on his IRChat account. The message was from a person with username AllmightyZero7.

    ¡®AllmightyZero7? Who¡¯s this?¡¯ thought Ryan.

    He opened the message, and it read:

    I found out who the person is. You¡¯re definitely not going to believe this. Don¡¯t reply.

    Ryan sighed as he looked at the text, the riddle and the ruins left from what was once his father¡¯s house. ¡®The three sons looking at the moon are destined to fall apart. What are these three sons? And what moon are they looking at?¡¯ He walked out of the property, and was considering what to do next, when he received a call from his aunt.

    ¡°Yes aunt Denise, what is it?¡± he asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a package that just arrived for you. I haven¡¯t opened it yet. Rose said we should wait until you¡¯re here¡±, said the voice on the other end.

    ¡°Where did it come from?¡±

    ¡°A company called Three Sons Inc. I¡¯ve never heard of it¡±, responded Denise.

    Ryan¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t open it. I¡¯ll be right there!¡± Without waiting, he launched his movement technique, and then he left.

    What he didn¡¯t know was, on a branch of a tree, there was the hooded figure from earlier. The figure smiled and then said, ¡°He¡¯s quite resourceful. However, not being aware of his surroundings is his weakness.¡± The figure then proceeded to take out a small device, and then he spoke into the device, ¡°We have a candidate. Should I proceed to stage 2?¡±

    There was static, and then moments later, another voice spoke from the device, ¡°Proceed with caution. Don¡¯t spook them!¡±

    ¡°Noted¡±, responded the hooded figure, with a smile.

    Ryan arrived home and went straight to his room with the package. It was a small brown envelope. When he opened it, there was an invitation to an event being held at a place called Moonscape Hall, which was downtown. The event was taking place 3 days from that day. As he realized what was going on, Ryan smiled. Opening his phone, he contacted Peter while using another account.

    3 days later -

    Ryan dressed up in a neat suit, drove to Moonscape Hall using his aunt¡¯s car. The car was a Honda Civic, which was not too impressive. He wanted to buy a sports car, but decided against it. He didn¡¯t want to cause too much of a scene. Instead, he was wondering why his aunt was driving such a car in the first place. She could afford to buy any other car, but why the Honda? Was she trying to be like his father? He was known for his frugality, if one was to disregard his purchase of a private island. He also liked Hondas.

    He pulled up to the hall, and as he got out, he handed the keys to the valet.

    ¡°May I see your invitation, Sir?¡± asked an old man standing at the door.

    Ryan handed the man the invitation he had. The old man smiled gently before saying, ¡°Right this way Sir.¡± He led Ryan to a basement of the hall and as they arrived, Ryan realized there were 4 other people as well. Two of those people were female, and the other two were male. All of them appeared to be older than Ryan.

    After the old man bowed and left, Ryan kept staring at one of the young women. She looked awfully familiar, but he couldn¡¯t place where he had seen the face before.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s rude to keep staring at a lady like that?¡± asked one of the young men, approaching Ryan.

    Ryan was about to answer, when a hooded figure just appeared behind them and said, ¡°Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. You have been chosen as candidates for joining Sky Haven. For now, you need to sleep, and then when you wake up, the trial shall begin.¡±

    Before anyone could ask what the hooded figure meant, gas started filling the room. Everyone started dropping down, unconscious.

 Chapter 42 - Sky Haven Part II - Discoveries

    Now, at the center of Megapolis, there¡¯s a bar called ¡®The Pinktail¡¯. In a hidden office located inside the bar, a woman was sitting down, drinking coffee. By her appearance, she looked like she was in her late twenties. She was wearing a tight-fitting blue dress, and she had a purple flower in her black hair. On her desk, there was a stack of files arranged in a neat order, along with a six-tier file organizer. As she looked at the number of files arranged in the file organizer, she sighed deeply. It seemed as though there was always a lot of work for her these days.

    She picked up a blue folder labelled ¡®recruitment¡¯ in bold, red capital letters. Inside the folder, there were profiles, arranged in order of importance, with most important being at the top and least at the bottom.

    After going through the first profile, she took a sip of coffee. ¡®Bad temper, pride, lack of self control! It doesn¡¯t seem like anything has changed at all! These new recruits are all trash!¡¯ she thought, as she threw down the profile she had gone through. She picked up the phone and made a phone call. After yelling on the phone for a couple of minutes, she put the receiver down and went back to reading the profiles.

    There was a knock on the door, and without waiting for her to answer, the person opened the door and let themselves in.

    She grumbled, and was about to yell when a soft voice spoke, ¡°Nightingale, long time no see.¡±

    The owner of the voice was a middle-aged woman. She wore an elegant green dress with designs of a phoenix, and her hair was black with green extensions.

    ¡°Viola?¡± responded the woman, with a look of surprise on her face.

    ¡°I see you¡¯re still busying yourself as always. How have you been?¡± replied Viola.

    ¡°I have been well. I wasn¡¯t expecting you. What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I visit an old friend?¡±

    ¡°Not like this, no! You should¡¯ve told me you¡¯re coming, so I--¡±

    ¡°Oh nonsense! Don¡¯t get yourself too worked up, I¡¯m simply passing through.¡±

    ¡°A mission?¡±

    ¡°Yes, something quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You know I can¡¯t tell you the details.¡±

    Nightingale sighed. She complained, ¡°Ever since I took over from Aliyah, all my friends have been treating me differently. First it was Rose, and then Cecilia, and now you!¡±

    ¡°How is Rose by the way? I haven¡¯t seen her since her last mission¡±, asked Viola with a look of concern, while dodging Nightingale¡¯s complaint.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been in touch with her for some time now. Please sit down, don¡¯t continue to stand there¡±, replied Nightingale, as she motioned her friend to sit.

    Viola sat down, and then looked at the stack of files arranged on her friend¡¯s desk.

    ¡°I¡¯m not disturbing, am I?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking now?¡± Nightingale giggled and then continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just some recruitment stuff. So what¡¯s the reason you decided to ¡®pass through¡¯ this place?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I just come and see a friend?¡±

    ¡°You can, but the question is why now?¡±

    ¡°It seems you don¡¯t know¡±, spoke Viola with a soft sigh.

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me the rumors of your retirement are true?¡± asked Nightingale with disbelief.

    ¡°I guess nothing escapes your ears¡±, replied Viola with a slight giggle. She continued, ¡°It¡¯s been quite a long time now. After this mission, I¡¯ll be going off the radar completely.¡±

    ¡°Will this be alright? Sky Haven has always been your home.¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s time I find another home. Unlike you, I¡¯m no longer young and free. I need to experience other aspects of life.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say free per se, but I get your point. So what will you do?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s classified¡±, laughed Viola. She then continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this Nightingale. Just look after the young ones. Look after Rose, Clarissa and even the new recruits. Speaking of which, how is the recruitment process coming along?¡± As she asked this question, she reached over to touch the stack of files.

    Nightingale reached over and obstructed her. She spoke, ¡°The recruitment process has always been a nightmare. I¡¯m sure you know protocol, Viola. I¡¯m sorry but for this time, I can¡¯t bend the rules for you.¡±

    ¡°I understand¡±, she said, standing up.

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡±

    ¡°I had just come to say hi. It seems I have overstayed my welcome.¡±

    Nightingale sighed. ¡°Come on Viola. What¡¯s really wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing is wrong. Like I said, I had just come to say hie. It¡¯s time I leave. Take care of yourself¡±, said Viola, as she hurriedly left.

    ¡®Well, that was awkward. What was that all about?¡¯ thought Nightingale, after Viola left. ¡®Time to go back to work. This recruitment process is a waste of time! I have told the grand elder time and time again, that the best way to recruit people was to target kids, not these grown ups! I guess Sky Haven has fallen under hard times.¡¯ She sighed.

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.Opening another profile, she sipped another cup of coffee, which was getting cold. As she looked at the profile, she was a bit distracted, so she didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. In her mind, she was still trying to process what had just happened with Viola. They had been friends for some time now. Was it that some part of her had changed? Or was it because of her position as High Assassin?

    She pulled herself from her daze, and forced herself to concentrate on the profile in her hands. After taking another sip, she started by reading the name ¡®Arthur Firn¡¯, which sounded not just funny, but familiar as well.

    Nightingale scratched her head, as she tried to recall where she had heard this name before. She decided to give up thinking, and continued looking at the qualities of this Arthur character. The best qualities about the character were speed, strength and resourcefulness. The person¡¯s only non-redeeming quality was lack of awareness of their surroundings.

    As she read this, she scoffed in her heart. ¡®How does one become an assassin if they aren¡¯t aware of their surroundings? This person won¡¯t even last a minute without getting killed!¡¯

    She took another sip of coffee, and then moved over to the next section, which had crystal clear images of the potential recruit.

    Pffft!

    As she saw the image, she almost cried out, as she spat all the coffee out. She went through the images, and after confirming what she had seen, she shouted, ¡°Blue Rose, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    **********

    Ryan woke up with a splitting headache. Last he remembered, he was in a room and then ¡­ ¡®Damn it! Sleeping gas? Can¡¯t they be more considerate? This is a bit different from what Rose said.¡¯ He focused, as he tried to discover his surroundings. The darkness didn¡¯t help at all. He took out his phone, only to realize there was no signal.

    ¡®No GPS huh? Oh well, this part she hit the mark. Now I need to fin--¡¯ before he finished with this thought, his train was crashed as he bumped into someone, rather, someone bumped into him.

    ¡°Hey! Watch it!¡± came an annoyed voice. The owner of the voice proceeded to light the flashlight of their phone and pointed it at Ryan. After seeing Ryan¡¯s face, the person yelled, ¡°You again?! Last time I didn¡¯t manage to teach you a lesson, but with no one to stop me, I¡¯m going to --¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to what?¡± asked a female voice, coming from behind the person. The person immediately fell silent before the female voice continued, ¡°We need to find our way out. There¡¯s no GPS so we cannot tell where we are currently. No one knows if there are any wild animals in this forest. Therefore, we need to work together, not against each other!¡±

    ¡®If this was a speech competition, she would have won an award¡¯, thought Ryan, and then he proceeded to chuckle.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± asked the male person who had antagonized Ryan earlier.

    Ryan thought he was trying to score points with the female, so he ignored him, much to the annoyance of the male person.

    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± yelled the female, causing the guy to back off. She continued, ¡°As for you, what¡¯s with your attitude? Think you can survive alone?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the concern, but I can do just fine on my own. Good luck on your quest though¡±, responded Ryan, walking away. The girl frowned, which wasn¡¯t visible in the darkness.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your strength on him! We have to find the other two¡±, said the guy, as he turned to walk in the opposite direction.

    Ryan walked for some time, without thinking about where he was going. He had walked away on impulse, thinking he was being cool. Now he regretted that decision, well, part of it. He stopped moving, and then turned on the flashlight on his phone. ¡®Now, according to Rose, there should be a clue for the real mission. Those idiots will probably walk around looking for a way out, while missing the real purpose of this ¡­ eh ¡­ mission.¡¯ he thought.

    There was a sudden flash of inspiration. Well, technically, someone flashed a light in his direction, causing him to have a eureka moment. He walked back to the direction he had left from, and as he arrived at the place he was, he realized the others had left. With a slight grin, he walked towards one of the trees and after analyzing it under the light of his phone, he pulled out a scroll from what a hole put in the tree. The scroll was tied together by a red ribbon.

 Chapter 43 - Sky Haven Part III - Nightingales dilemma

    ¡®Rose was right! All I had to do was look closely at the tree closest to me and voila! Hmpf! I doubt those idiots would have figured this out!¡¯ thought Ryan with a chuckle. He opened the scroll and read its contents.

    ¡®To the reader: Please note that a small tag with your target¡¯s name has been slipped into your pocket. Collect the tag inside your target¡¯s pocket, and when you find your way back, your mission will be considered a success.¡¯ Ryan almost fainted when he heard the contents of the mission. How would they know if the tag he had belonged to his target?

    He put his hands into left his pocket, and inside was a grey, circular tag with the name Chris embroiled into it. The small tag was made of plastic, with a pin at the back. Ryan scratched his head, as he tried to think. How would he get to know everyone¡¯s names? Well, he decided, it¡¯d be better to do it in the morning, when he could see everyone¡¯s faces.

    After walking around and making sure the surroundings were safe, he sat down and began to meditate. He appeared in a space filled with white light.

    ¡°Welcome back. Ready to continue cultivating?¡± asked Rogarth.

    ¡°Yes. What do I have to do to keep going stronger and faster?¡± said Ryan, asking his own question.

    ¡°Currently, you are still in the early stage of the third level of mortal cultivation. The muscles in your arm are the only ones strengthened with qi. You need to circulate the qi and use it to strengthen all the muscles in your body, not just the arms!¡± replied his tutor. He continued, ¡°As for getting faster, once the muscles in your body are strengthened, I¡¯m sure your body can handle traveling 100 meters in the blank of an eye.¡±

    Ryan sat down cross legged, in the space and began to circulate the qi in his body to strengthen his leg muscles. When he opened his eyes, the light of dawn hit him like a red wave. He struggled to stand up, since his legs felt numb. He still had weights tied around his legs. The only difference was that Myra had made them invisible, so that they couldn¡¯t be seen by anyone else. Coupled with the fact that he was sitting for such a long time, it would be a surprise if his legs didn¡¯t hurt at all. After standing up, he looked around.

    ¡®I¡¯m not good at tracking people. So how am I supposed to find those idiots?¡¯ before he finished thinking, he heard loud voices in the distance. ¡®Guess I don¡¯t have to waste time¡¯, he thought with a wide smile. He walked in the direction of the voices with a cold smile.

    As he got nearer, he started hearing an argument. It seems two female voices were arguing. ¡°What do you mean we can¡¯t leave in that direction? What makes that direction special?¡± asked the first female voice.

    ¡°We went through there last night and we almost fell off a cliff! Let¡¯s take the opposite direction first!¡±

    ¡°How do we even know where we are without GPS?¡±

    ¡°Does that matter? We first need to find an outpost or something of the likes, and then from there we¡¯ll be able to figure out something.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The argument kept going on and on, and Ryan couldn¡¯t stomach it anymore. He turned, about to leave, but then he remembered something. A lightbulb turned on in his head, and then he proceeded to where the argument was going on. When he arrived, everyone turned to look at him, and then went silent.

    ¡°Seems like you came back. What then?¡± asked the young man who had antagonized him before.

    ¡°I got lost¡±, replied Ryan, with a bashful smile. ¡°I¡¯ve realized that you were right. I can¡¯t get home without your help. It would take more time if I tried by myself. Please let¡¯s work together.¡±

    The male antagonist frowned, while the others showed an indifferent expression. One of the females asked, ¡°Why should we trust you?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. Look, if you don¡¯t want to work with me it¡¯s fine. I can leave if you want me to¡±, replied Ryan.

    ¡°Okay. Introduce yourself then¡±, replied the female he had met last night.

    ¡°My name is Arthur, Arthur Firn. And you might be?¡± he asked the girl.

    ¡°My name is Christine, and this is Daisy¡±, replied the girl, introducing the other one as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m Ray¡±, introduced the person who had antagonized Ryan earlier.

    ¡°I¡¯m Gary¡±, replied the remaining person.

    ***********This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Nightingale was stressed. How could Blue Rose allow this to happen? The reason she had sent Blue Rose was to make sure this never happened! And now it had happened. She couldn¡¯t decide what to do. Despite being High Assassin, she couldn¡¯t just reject the application. She wasn¡¯t the one who organized the recruitment, but she could make sure he got disqualified! That¡¯s when she made a decision.

    She stood up from the desk and yawned as she made her way out of the office. Two men were standing outside the office.

    ¡°Boss, good morning. We¡¯ve been waiting for you ever since yesterday night¡±, said one of the men who was wearing a black leather jacket.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Nightingale, walking off.

    ¡°Uh, boss, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Out!¡± replied Nightingale with a cold expression.

    The man blocked Nightingale¡¯s path, before saying, ¡°Boss, you know you¡¯re not allowed to just walk around without a bodyguard?¡±

    Nightingale¡¯s gaze turned even colder, and the temperature in the hall turned down by several degrees. She replied, ¡°I¡¯m the High Assassin for Pete¡¯s sake! You think someone can kill me just like that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not me boss. You should know by now.¡±

    The other man calmly looked at Nightingale without saying anything. In fact, he looked quite amused.

    Nightingale sighed, and then asked, ¡°Where¡¯s she?¡±

    After she asked, a young girl appeared. She looked around 16 years of age, and was wearing black glasses and black tight fitting clothes. She had short, black hair and her eyes had a faint blue color. ¡°Seems you¡¯re going somewhere, High Assassin?¡± she asked as she arrived at the hall.

    ¡°Hello Cecilia. It¡¯s nice to see you too¡±, responded Nightingale with a sarcastic smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to protect you whenever you¡¯re going away, High Assassin. It¡¯s my duty after all¡±, responded Cecilia.

    ¡°Fine! Just don¡¯t ask questions!¡± responded Nightingale, as she moved out.

    ¡°Boss, we have some news you should know about concerning, Viola¡±, said one of the men in black.

    Nightingale was reaching the stairs, but she immediately froze as she heard those words. After sighing deeply, she walked back into her office. ¡°This better be good!¡± she declared, as she sat on the table.

    Everyone followed her into the office and Cecilia closed the door.

    ¡°She was caught last night with files containing information about half of our assassins, and the missions they had been assigned¡±, spoke the man who had an amused look earlier.

    ¡°What?¡± asked Nightingale, shocked.

    ¡°Just after she left this establishment, she contacted a guy wearing a black outfit. The guy¡¯s outfit had an insignia like this¡±, responded the man, showing a picture of the insignia.

    ¡°Halloway? Are you kidding me? Where did this insignia come from?¡± she asked.

    ¡°After digging around, we found a company called Halloway Inc. situated on a small island called Aloha Island. The person is headed by a person called Reeve Halloway. Apparently, he doesn¡¯t exist!¡± was the reply.

    Nightingale¡¯s body shook as she heard this. She realized that something was going on. This was something even more dangerous than Sky Haven itself. However, before rushing to conclusions, she had to know some things. Chief of these things was: Why was Ryan trying to join Sky Haven now?

    ¡°Where¡¯s she?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s being interrogated at Haven¡¯s Feel. So far, she hasn¡¯t said a single thing. We managed to remove the pill under her tooth, before she could commit suicide.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go there first.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea, High Assassin?¡±

    ¡°What did you call me?¡±

    ¡°Uhh, High Assassin?¡±

    ¡°Good! Then stop asking questions!¡±

    ¡°Okay boss.¡±

    With that, everyone stormed out of the office. After exiting The Pinktail using the backdoor, they headed towards Haven¡¯s Feel. This place was a prison made specifically by Sky Haven in order to put people who had committed grave sins against the organization. Nightingale couldn¡¯t believe that her friend, the same person who had helped her to get accustomed to Sky Haven, could betray the organization just like that. Something was off.

    However, what caused her to feel uneasy was that she was contacting someone who worked for an organization located on Aloha Island. That was where Ryan was supposed to be! It was too much of a weird coincidence, and she didn¡¯t believe it. The problem was she didn¡¯t know how to approach this situation at all. Would she torture her own friend in order to get information about who she was working for? What about her son who wanted to join the organization? Would she allow him to join and become an assassin?

    And if he saw her, how would he respond? What about Blue Rose who had betrayed her by telling her son about the organization and how the recruitment process is carried out?

    As countless thoughts raced inside her head, she sighed deeply. It seemed her life was now to be consumed by endless troubles. Despite having had her husband killed, she couldn¡¯t shake this feeling that he was getting revenge on her from the underworld. As she thought about this, she shivered.

 Chapter 44 - Sky Haven Part IV - Results

    Nightingale couldn¡¯t believe it. She had done it! Despite hesitating at first, she still managed to endure it. She remembered the tears Viola shed after she had finished giving her the information.

    ¡°Are you okay boss?¡± asked Cecilia.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± replied Nightingale, with a stubborn look.

    ¡°If you say so. What are we going to do next?¡±

    Nightingale wanted to go and investigate what had happened for Ryan to try to join Sky Haven. However, after what she had gone through, she didn¡¯t have the strength anymore. She remained silent, without answering the question she had been asked. A frightening silence ensued, with the only sound being the honking of the car¡¯s horn.

    The car¡¯s destination was The Pinktail, and after parking, Nightingale went straight to her office and locked herself up. A few tears streamed down her beautiful face, but she quickly wiped them off.

    It was in this moment that she made her decision. Since she had already started riding the proverbial tiger, it was now hard to get off. When she went to interrogate her friend, part of her had anticipated this would happen. Of course, another part wanted all of this to be a bad dream. She wished she would be back with Derik at the mansion, with Ryan. She wanted to be a happy family again. Another tear fell down as she thought about Derik.

    She took out a small flash drive, and then opened her laptop. After wiping away all her tears, her resoluteness remained, and this time, it was in full force.

    ¡®Since it has come to this point, I might as well brace myself for the upcoming war!¡¯ she thought.

    ****************

    After the introductions, came more arguments. Ryan almost wanted to beat everyone up so he could just take the tag from the girl and leave. However, he suspected things weren¡¯t so simple. That didn¡¯t stop the arguments though, they kept going on and on. It eventually reached a point where he couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He activated the Roc chasing the wind technique, and with one step, he appeared next to the person who had introduced himself as Ray. The person was caught off-guard, and with one swift movement, he was knocked unconscious.

    After Ray, he moved onto Gary and then finished off with the girls. He fumbled through their pockets, collecting small plastic tags from all of them. All this time, he was grumbling inside. What did this exercise have to do with being an assassin?

    Ryan silently moved away from the crime scene, and then backtracked until he was at the point he had begun.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got the tag. Now what?¡± he shouted towards one of the trees. Last night when he was meditating, Rogarth had told him there was someone watching from there.

    There was no response. Well, at least until five minutes later, when a hooded figure come from the tree and looked at him intently.

    ¡°Congratulations! You¡¯ve been selected to participate in the Sky Haven assassin training. Now, can I have the tags?¡± said the figure, extending its hand.

    Ryan handed one of the tags, which he assumed belonged to the girl who had called herself Christine.

    ¡°All of them¡±, said the figure, upon which it received all of the tags, including the one Ryan already had.

    ¡°What was the point of this exercise?¡± asked Ryan. It was something Ryan had been mulling over and over for some time.

    ¡°Oh, this¡­ We just wanted to see your decision-making process. Apparently, you¡¯re very impatient. This is a trait that will get you killed some day.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°Wait, what? That was all?¡± asked Ryan, with some shock.

    ¡°Yes. What do you think?¡±

    Ryan was speechless. At one point, he thought the entire thing was pointless. If you had asked him what assassins were, he¡¯d say invisible killing machines. Why do invisible killing machines need to have a decision-making process that¡¯s complicated? Don¡¯t they just need to be able to follow orders and kill whoever they¡¯re sent to kill?

    As if reading Ryan¡¯s mind, the hooded figure chuckled and said, ¡°You might be thinking why decision-making is even important to assassins. They must be able to just carry out orders, am I correct?¡±

    Ryan remained silent. The hooded figure was right.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll see the reason during your training¡±, responded the hooded figure.

    ¡°So now what? How do I get out of here?¡± asked Ryan.

    ¡°Just follow that trail, you¡¯ll arrive at the road. How you get back home is none of my concern from then onwards. Good luck¡±, said the mysterious figure, as it took out a smoke bomb and threw it downwards.

    POOF!

    After some minutes of coughing, Ryan realized the mysterious figure was no longer in front of him. He walked slowly towards the mentioned trail. He arrived at the road, and from the look of it, there was no hope of getting transport. When he decided to check the time, he realized that there was a signal, meaning GPS would work now. He sighed and opened the Maps app. After going through it, he realized he wasn¡¯t far from the residential location. He started walking towards the residential area.

    *************************

    Now, on Aloha Island, on a small farm located close to Ryan¡¯s grandparents¡¯, a fat man was parking a battered-up truck. He got out of the truck and then walked towards the main house, where a middle-aged woman was waiting.

    ¡°Reeve Halloway¡±, said the middle-aged woman, with a warm smile.

    ¡°Rebecca, it¡¯s always nice to see you again. How long has it been since we have seen each other?¡± responded the fat man, as he proceeded to hug the lady, whom he had called Rebecca.

    ¡°Quite a long time Reeve. You don¡¯t even drop by to see people who live near you!¡± responded Rebecca.

    Reeve gave a bashful smile, before saying, ¡°You know how the restaurant is always busy?¡±

    ¡°Ha! That¡¯s a very lame excuse. Anyways, he¡¯s been waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°Have the others arrived yet?¡±

    ¡°What others?¡±

    ¡°I see. Thank you, Rebecca. How about I buy you lunch after this? The restaurant will always welcome you back with open arms.¡±

    ¡°Are you forgetting the reason I left?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re still hung up on that. I thought we had resolved all the issues between us?¡±

    ¡°Oh well, I have nothing to say about that. Are you going to keep him waiting? You know he really hates it when people make him wait.¡±

    ¡°Okay, Rebecca. But please, think about my lunch offer¡±, said Reeve, as he got into the main house.

    The house was neatly furnished, and in the dining hall, there was a beautiful wooden table. The table was circular, and the chairs were also made of wood. At the far end of the table, sat a middle-aged man. The man had black spiky hair, and his eyes had a distinct glow, despite the irises having a dark hue. He was reading through some files which were on the desk.

    ¡°You¡¯re late, Reeve¡±, said the man.

    ¡°Sorry Grant ¡­ Or should I call you--¡±

    Reeve didn¡¯t finish his sentence. He had received a glare from the man, that caused a slight chill to creep up his spine.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not dwell in the past, do take a sit. I believe we have much to discuss¡±, said the middle-aged man, who had been called Grant.

    Reeve sat down quietly, before asking, ¡°Where are the others?¡±

    ¡°I believe this meeting is only between you and me. We already held a separate meeting with the others¡±, responded Grant.

    ¡°Is that so? So, what¡¯s on the agenda?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we start with you giving me an update on your operations in Megapolis?¡±

    Reeve sighed, before saying, ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re now answering my question with another question! The operation we have been preparing for is now in motion. Why don¡¯t you tell me how things are going on your end?¡±

    ¡°Okay. We managed to plant several spies within Sky Haven. However, no significant information has been shared so far. The scapegoat we had prepared performed its job pretty well, and even got caught. Now that she has served her purpose, I think we should get rid of her.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, okay. What about their recruitment?¡±

    ¡°There are no candidates that stand out so far. However, the next piece of news is going to shock you. Ryan was among the recruits.¡±

    Grant¡¯s eyes widened, and he frowned. This was an unexpected development. However, after some time thinking, he smiled and said, ¡°I guess we might have found him. The one who will destroy Sky Haven from within.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not serious! You can¡¯t expect him to ¨C¡±

    There was that intense glare again, causing Reeve to swallow hard. ¡°Are you sure he can do this? It sounds like too much of a task for the kid!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much. Here¡¯s what you¡¯re going to do. Make sure your spies are the ones that provide missions to him, and while you¡¯re at it, make sure Nightingale doesn¡¯t know about it.¡±

    ¡°You want to keep Nightingale in the dark about the recruitment? That might be a bit too late.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying don¡¯t let her intervene in the missions you give to Ryan. It¡¯s time we destroyed that damn organization¡±, said Grant, with a vicious smile.

 Chapter 45 - The calm before the storm

    Ryan arrived home, tired and hungry. He was also sleepy. Thanks to a truck driver, he had managed to get a ride. Of course, he didn¡¯t think the explanation he had given managed to fool the driver. As he opened the door, his aunt rushed out, and embraced him.

    ¡°We were worried about you. Where were you? What happened? You look tired, and sleepy. I wanted to call the police, but Rose said you¡¯d be okay¡±, she spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine aunt Denise. I just need to sleep for a couple of minutes¡±, he replied.

    ¡°Are you sure? Don¡¯t you need anything?¡±

    ¡°No, I do not. Where¡¯s Rose?¡±

    ¡°She went out some time ago. She didn¡¯t say where she was going.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. I¡¯m going to sleep then. If anyone is looking for me, I¡¯ll be sleeping in my room.¡±

    Ryan left and went into his room, where he closed the door and locked it. He just collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

    When he woke up, it was already in the afternoon. His stomach grumbled in complaint, and he went to the kitchen to get some food. There was a note left behind by his aunt, who had gone out of the house. The note instructed him on how to heat the food that was left in the fridge. After eating, Ryan went to Rose¡¯s room and knocked.

    ¡°Come in¡±, came a soft voice.

    Ryan went in, and found Rose lying on her bed, reading a book. The book was quite small, and from where he was, he couldn¡¯t see the title of the book clearly.

    ¡°Oh, someone¡¯s reading. What¡¯s the name of the book?¡± asked Ryan, as he sat on a chair.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be sleeping?¡±

    ¡°Avoiding my question?¡±

    ¡°So are you!¡±

    Ryan sighed, as he tried to read the title of the book. ¡°That-time-I-got-reanimated-as-a-zombie? That¡¯s a weird title. Didn¡¯t take you to be someone who likes such things¡±, he spoke.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s interesting. Why are you here?¡± she asked, ignoring him.

    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve passed the tests, now what?¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    ¡°You really lack patience! Just wait until they call for you. Do you seriously think they¡¯ll trust you just like that? What if you¡¯re a spy?¡±

    ¡°Well, wasn¡¯t that the purpose of the tests?¡± asked Ryan, confused.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just the tests. They have to do a thorough background check on you, and stuff like that. But right now, you have to wait.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your book a bit short?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just the first volume. If you¡¯re done bothering me, you can leave now. I need to finish reading!¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Where had you gone to?¡±

    ¡°Is that any of your business?¡±

    Ryan sighed. He didn¡¯t know what to do with her anymore. It seemed her mood swings were getting frequent. As he was stewing in his misery, someone rang the doorbell. Being bored, somewhat, Ryan was the first to reach the door. After Ryan left, Rose only glared at the door, before resuming her reading.

    ¡°Good afternoon¡±, spoke the delivery guy, who was holding out a parcel. He continued, ¡°There¡¯s a parcel here for Arthur Firn.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°That¡¯s me¡±, replied Ryan, taking the parcel. The delivery guy handed him a pad where he signed.

    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Firn. Have a great day¡±, said the delivery guy, as he left.

    Ryan opened the parcel, and there was letter inside. Besides the letter, there was also a small note and a purple card. He didn¡¯t read the letter but took a glimpse at the note. It read:

    ¡®The Pinktail welcomes you, Arthur Firn. Please go and order a dry martini¡¯

    Ryan was quite confused. After opening the search app, he found the directions of The Pinktail bar. What was the relationship between the bar and Sky Haven?

    He went into his room and changed into a black leather jacket, and black jeans. Leaving a note, he went out. His aunt¡¯s car, that he had borrowed last time, had been returned. However, she took it when she went out. Sighing, he took out his phone and using the Ride app, he hitched a ride to the Pinktail bar. When he arrived, the first thing he ordered was a dry martini.

    ¡°Sorry sir, we don¡¯t have that cocktail here¡±, replied one of the bartenders.

    Ryan took out a purple card, and then slid it towards the bartender, whose expression turned sour.

    ¡°Umm ¡­ My apologies. Would you please follow me?¡± said the bartender, as he left the bar. Ryan took back the purple card, and then followed silently. They went down into the basement, through a door labelled ¡°STAFF ONLY¡±. Inside the basement, there was a hall even larger than the bar.

    In this hall, there were multiple desks and benches. At one side of the hall, there was a board, with many papers pinned on it. On the other side, there was a clerk, who was a young woman. She was talking to some rowdy looking men. One of the men had an ugly scar on his right cheek, while the other had an eye-patch.

    Ryan walked over to the young lady, but before he could say anything, a guy wearing a black hoodie came over and patted him on the shoulder.

    ¡°Follow me¡±, said the guy.

    Ryan followed him without objections. The went into the hall and sat at a table.

    ¡°Seems you decided to ignore my warning¡±, said the guy.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The guy removed the hoodie, and when Ryan looked at him, he realized he looked familiar. ¡°Gary?!¡± exclaimed Ryan.

    Gary signalled Ryan to keep quiet.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who came to my grandparents¡¯ farm?¡± he asked in a low whisper.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct¡±, replied Gary, with a smile.

    *********

    There was a knock on the door, and in came the secretary. She said, ¡°Mr. Schwarz, there¡¯s someone here to see you. He says his name is Grant Halloway.¡±

    ¡°Does he have an appointment?¡± asked Schwarz, without even looking at the secretary.

    ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then let him book an appointment.¡±

    ¡°But sir, he says it¡¯s about y2j, or was it y2k?¡± said the secretary, with a wave of wonder.

    Schwarz stopped writing and looked at the secretary with a serious expression. It seemed this stranger knew about their secret code. He was getting a bad feeling about everything. It had been a long time since they had convened at the tribunal.

    ¡°Alright, show him in¡±, responded Schwarz, with a sigh.

    A few minutes later, a middle-aged man walked into the office. He had black hair which was neatly combed. He was wearing a neat suit, with a white shirt.

    ¡°President Schwarz, thank you for taking the time to see me¡±, said Grant, as he walked into the office.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°My name is Grant Halloway, of Halloway Inc.¡±

    ¡°Never heard of you, or your company for that matter. So how can I help you?¡±

    ¡°Would you care for a game of chess?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m currently busy. If that¡¯s all you came for, I¡¯m sorry but you might have to leave!¡±

    Grant chuckled, before replying, ¡°If I were to tell you that Cerberus will be completely annihilated in 2 weeks, would you take me seriously?¡±

    Schwarz¡¯s face turned serious. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Peter Schwarz, president of the Allied Nations, grand elder of Cerberus, Chairman of the board of Ava technologies. Why are you playing dumb?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I already told you, I¡¯m Grant Halloway.¡±

    ¡°And this information, how did you come about it?¡± said Schwarz, as he reached into his drawer.

    ¡°Taking out a gun, I suppose? Can we talk over a game of chess? It¡¯s safer than pulling out weapons and pointing them at each other.¡±

    ***************

    Dr. Paige had been missing in action for some time. The upgrading of the Pirin robot took too much time and resources. Adding the fact that he didn¡¯t have a human body anymore, everything was now 10x difficult to do.

    As he was walking around the lab in his new humanoid body, there was a beeping sound on the main computer.

    ¡°At least I no longer have to worry about working out, hehehe. Oh, I got new mail¡±, he chuckled aloud, as he moved over to the computer.

    After opening the mail, he was shocked by what he saw! If he had a mouth, it¡¯d have dropped wide open. Pity, he was now trapped in an empty metallic shell! Anyway, in the mail, there was a complete list of all organizations affiliated with Cerberus. The list also included individuals who ran the organizations, as well as the people who led Cerberus!

    Who had sent him this email? No one knew, and even with his advanced tracking software, Dr. Paige couldn¡¯t tell either. However, he chuckled before unleashing a maniacal laugh that echoed through the speakers of the lab.

 Chapter 46 - All hell breaks loose!

    Ryan looked at Gary incredulously.  ¡°So ¡­ you¡¯re not really a newbie assassin, are you?¡±

    ¡°No, of course not!

    ¡°Would you like to explain what¡¯s really going on?¡±

    ¡°Well, no. Since you¡¯ve just joined Sky Haven, there are rules you have to follow. For example--¡±

    KABOOOOM!!!

    BANG! BANG! BANG!

    Gary was interrupted by an explosion, before loud sounds of gunfire echoed in the hallway. Everyone rushed to take cover, before heavily armed men stormed the hall.

    ¡°Take cover!!¡± instructed Gary, and Ryan proceeded to follow his instructions, before he remembered that bullets could not kill him.

    ¡°Eh ¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Ryan. Wasn¡¯t Sky Haven like a secret organization which not many people knew about? So, why were there heavily armed people shooting at everyone?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either! However, we have to leave right now!¡±

    ¡°How do you suggest we do that with--¡±

    Loud sounds of gunfire interrupted Ryan, who was about to say something truly sarcastic. It was a good thing that he was interrupted.

    ¡°Follow me!¡± Gary began to crouch towards a door which led to the stairs. Right, they were in a basement. Ryan had forgotten. However, this wasn¡¯t the way he had come in, so where did it lead to?

    KABOOOOMMM!!

    Behind them, another loud explosion occurred. Ryan turned to look, and he realized that someone had thrown a grenade towards the invaders. Whoever that person was, they deserved a medal for ¡°stupid person of the year¡±! Had they forgotten that they were underground? Or were they trying to commit suicide bringing along everyone else?

    Well, either way, Ryan wouldn¡¯t be killed by something so ¡­

    BANG! BANG!

    His attention was violently brought to the staircase, where Gary had shot someone. The dead corpse fell down the stairs, and Gary signaled Ryan to follow him promptly.

    Two figures rushed along the not-really-short staircase. In Ryan¡¯s case, he was moving so slowly. If he could use his movement technique, he could basically kill those invaders with ease, while even having time to spare for a cup of coffee. Then again, sometimes it was best to preserve his strength. He didn¡¯t know what was going to happen, so it was best to keep his immortality a secret.

    Reaching the end of the stairs, Gary turned left, and went towards one of the offices.

    ¡°What are--¡± the lady in the office did not manage to finish her sentence. Actually, it¡¯s safe to say she finished it with an, ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    Ryan followed inside, and as he saw the person in the office, his face changed into various expressions. There was shock, mixed with a hint of grief.

    ¡°What are you doing here??¡± asked the lady, not paying attention to Ryan.

    ¡°MOM????????¡± It appeared that not paying attention to Ryan was a terrible mistake.

    ¡°Nightingale, we have a problem!! We are under attack! We have to leave immediately!!¡± replied Gary.

    Meanwhile, Ryan was stuck speechless. The person currently in front of him, was his supposedly dead mom. Wait, he knew she was alive back then when Rose told him about her mission. So ¡­Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°Ahem. Mom, you have a lot of explaining to do¡±, with a cough, he straightened his posture, before assuming the face of someone who had everything under control.

    Nightingale and Gary: ¡°¡­¡±

    More sounds of gunfire echoed in the corridor before silence resumed. Nightingale pulled a gun, and then leading the way, she started walking towards the door.

    Ryan followed the two, who had pulled ahead. It looked like he was being protected, since the others had guns. However, if they knew that the person, they were protecting was invulnerable to bullets, Ryan wondered how they would feel.

    Nightingale and Gary shot every single enemy that appeared in front of them, to the point where they ended up running out of bullets. Thanks to the dead enemies, however, they managed to restock. In a matter of minutes, they had escaped from the building.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Ryan could not help but ask. He was just following without knowing where they were headed. It wasn¡¯t the only question he had, but now was not the time to ask the others.

    ¡°You will see¡±, was the reply he got.

    Getting into a black van which was parked outside in the back alley, they began driving away from the building. While they were driving, however, the sky darkened. Immediately, dark grey clouds began to cover the clear sky, while the wind began to howl.

    Sometime before all these events happened, on a planet quite distant from Earth, dark clouds covered the serene green skies.

    There was a ¡­ eh ¡­ person, with green skin and large horns. This person was called Mondo, and he was in charge of gathering their tribe¡¯s forces to prepare for the invasion of a distant blue planet. The person who had put him in charge had killed his predecessor, before going into closed-door seclusion. What a way to assert dominance!

    ¡°It appears Excellency is breaking through! These are the tribulation clouds ¡­¡± Mondo muttered. The clouds looked so frightening; he was afraid of going near that person¡¯s residency.

    The first bolt of lightning struck a house quite distant from the place where Mondo was standing. The entire house was reduced to ashes, which showed how powerful the bolt of lighting was. A figure came into view from the ashes. There was no damage to this figure whatsoever. The figure looked like a young man, of age seventeen, with short blonde hair.

    Even after being struck by divine lightning, the young man¡¯s clothes, were still intact. The black jacket with ¡®Yankees¡¯ written on it, did not look that indestructible, yet had survived a bolt of tribulation lightning.

    Of course, after that terrifying bolt of lightning, the heavens were not done with the young man. Seven more bolts struck the young man, to the point where no amount of barriers he could cast could keep the bolts from striking him!

    Each of the bolts of lightning were much more powerful than the previous one. However, after being struck by seven bolts of tribulation lightning, he was now charred black, and the clothes he had been wearing before had been reduced to ash.

    The cloud-covered sky darkened some more, as it seemed like the heavens were getting more and more annoyed with the resilient cockroach they had been trying to eliminate.

    This time, a massive, purple bolt of lighting began to descent! It then struck towards the already charred figure! This purple bolt took the shape of a massive, purple dragon.

    ¡°Bring it on, you old villainous heavens! I will not cower in submission! I will rise and until I tear you apart, I will not rest!¡± declared the charred figure. It would have been awe-inspiring, if the person saying this was not so charred and black with ash and soot.

    As if spurred by the speech uttered by the charred figure, the purple lightning dragon began to grow even bigger!

    ROOOOOOAAARRRRRR!!!!

    The purple dragon roared, causing the hairs of everyone who heard it to stand on end.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Even the charred young man¡¯s eyes widened.

    And then it descended towards him! Thanks to the pressure being released by this lightning, he could not move at all. Channeling all the qi in his body, he began a desperate attempt to resist the pressure.

    Casting a divine spell, various barriers made of bones materialized, forming a giant triangular formation! However, none of this proved effective, as the bones were incinerated to ashes before the lightning dragon even reached anywhere near them! That was how powerful this bolt of lightning was!

    The young man frowned, and then continued to cast even more divine spells. However, the lightning dragon still descended, and when it struck, there was a massive explosion!

    Thick dense lightning bolts which resulted from the lightning dragon, struck even the surrounding areas, causing so much devastation that Mondo was beginning to wonder if the planet itself would be able to survive.

    After a long time, as the dust had settled, a massive crater could be seen. Well ¡­ rather than calling it a crater, it was safe to say a large bottomless pit had resulted. Why? Because the bottom of the pit could not be seen, and the diameter of pit spanned thousands and thousands of kilometers, which made one wonder what the heavens were thinking.

    Mondo looked at the pit, before muttering something under his breath. He didn¡¯t want to make casual assumptions. Someone had died after doing so.

    ¡°Do you think he survived? I can¡¯t sense any sign of life!¡± spoke a female voice behind Mondo.

    Before Mondo could say something in response, a figure slowly rose from the bottomless pit!