The Desolate Mountains (The Divine Elements Book 2) (8 page)

“Hmm, something doesn’t seem right… ”

A tall, dark-haired man in a golden robe stood in front of a painting canvas with a scowl etched on his face.

The man had a lean build and seemed quite relaxed, but there was a strange aura around him that made it appear as if the dark-haired man was more than what meets the eye. With long black hair braided in the center, and a pair of glimmering golden eyes, the man was strikingly handsome.

The painting depicted the scenery of a small lake and a tiny canoe gently swaying on top of the water. The canoe was empty with neither oars nor passengers. Besides the turquoise colored water and the wooden canoe, the painting had nothing else.

Although the painting was bare, it still brought forth a strange emotion when one looked at it.

“You never had any talent in that hobby of yours.”

A new figure laughingly spoke as he slowly approached the dark-haired man from behind.

The newcomer was dressed in the same golden robe as the dark-haired man. He had shoulder-length purple hair, and bright amethyst colored eyes.

Unlike the dark-haired man, this newcomer was strongly built with muscles bulging through his golden robe. Calmly gazing at the dark-haired man’s back, the newcomer continued to slowly walk towards him.

“Sigh… this boredom is killing me, Ezkael! How long does Master plan to punish me?”

The dark-haired man complained, as he turned around to face his friend and fellow disciple.

“Haha, you snuck a peak when his daughter was showering, do you really think he will let you off that easily?”

Ezkael boisterously laughed out loud while slapping the dark-haired man on the back.

“Tch! How was I supposed to know Master was currently flying above the lake at that moment?”

The dark-haired man irritatedly replied, but soon joined his friend and burst into a fit of laughter when he realized that he could not hold it in any longer.

“Hahaha, that was definitely not your finest moment, my friend, definitely not.”

……………………….

In large empty meadow, two youths chatted with each other as they lazily laid on the grass and gazed at the cloudless sky above.

“Oi… do you think our lives would be different if we both did not have the bloodline of a primordial beast?”

Ezkael softly whispered as he stared at the blue sky.

Letting out a light sigh, the dark-haired boy answered:

“I don’t know, Ezkael… but as the next heirs of our two families, we have a duty to protect this realm and its people. There is already unrest between the ascended human immortals and the beasts, and if w-”

“I get it, but why should we let the humans have their say here, when this was our home in the first place!”

Ezkael heatedly interrupted the dark-haired man, as he banged his fist against the ground.

“That does not matter anymore… some of them are not as weak as the Elders seem to think. I have interacted with a few of them, and their leader’s power is not any weaker than the strength of a primordial beast.”

The dark-haired man calmly explained to the angry Ezkael.

“You… talk to them?”

A raging anger began to spread itself across Ezkael’s face.

“This was why I did not tell you… ”

The dark-haired man quietly stated, as he remained unperturbed before the rising anger of his friend.

“Do you have any idea how the others will react if they find out that you have been cozying up towards the humans?”

Ezkael fumed in a cold voice as he struggled to keep his anger in check.

“I did it just to see a single glimpse of her… ”

The dark-haired man said softly with a slight smile on his face.

…………………….

“Why?”

Ezkael sorrowfully asked as streams of tears poured down his face.

Kneeling on the ground and clutching the broken body of his best friend, Ezkael bitterly wept as he realized that there was no more hope for his friend.

Hearing his friend’s voice, the dark-haired man struggled to open his eyes while his hands trembled in an attempt to grasp Ezkael’s wrist.

“It’s a family curse, my friend… we keep falling for a woman who can never love us back… Haha- *cough cough*”

The dark-haired man lightly replied, as he spluttered out a mouthful of blood towards the end of his sentence.

Even on the verge of his death, the dark-haired man did not lose his sense of humor.

“I will kill those bastards!”

Ezkael whispered venomously as his violet-amethyst eyes glowed with a sinister energy.

“NO! Don’t Ezkael… Please… ”

The dark-haired man abruptly exclaimed as he held Ezkael’s wrist with a steely grip.

“Give me one good reason for why I shouldn’t cleanse this realm of their filth!”

Ezkael frostily inquired, but his voice cracked in the middle when he saw his friend’s eyes slowly closing.

“Because… she bears my child… ”

The dark-haired man muttered as he took his final breath.

The heavens trembled under the booming sound of thunder as a royal purple lightning crackled within the clouds. Ezkael’s violet eyes burned with vengeance as he turned to face the sky, and he bellowed out his friend’s name to the entire realm.

“RAIZEL!”

…………………….

These series of memories flashed through Calron’s mind while the violent bolt of lightning coursed through his veins.

He knew he was screaming his lungs out, but he did not hear a single sound.

He could not feel his heartbeat.

He did not even know if he was still breathing.

The only thing Calron could feel was a faint thrum spreading from the center of his body.

It was his father’s locket.

The metal slightly vibrated, as a misty azure smoke seeped out from it and hovered in front of Calron’s chest. Gradually, it shaped itself into the bird symbol on the locket and glowed with a pale azure light.

Calron did not know what was happening, but he could sense that the locket was summoning someone or something.

*SCREEEE*

A piercing cry of a bird suddenly echoed amidst the sound of thunder, as an illusion of a gigantic golden bird flew above the dark sky.

Flashes of Azure Lightning darted across its wings as it illuminated the entire sky with its brilliance!

The golden bird’s sparkling azure eyes focused on the human below it.

*SCREEEEEE*

The golden bird let out an ear-shattering screech as it turned its gaze towards the screaming human on the ground, and abruptly charged towards him.

Meanwhile, Calron still remained in a state of oblivion.

He continued to bellow in agony, as his muscles spastically twitched and veins popped up all across his body.

Suddenly, the nails on Calron’s fingers started to elongate and began to take the form of a claw.

“C-Chief… W-What in the heavens is that?”

One of the bears stuttered as he stared at the scene in front of him with shock.

“That bird… is not of this world…”

Lort whispered to himself while he trembled in fear. He had once met a Saint stage beast when he travelled with Chief in their earlier days, but the feeling he got from the colossal golden bird was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

He knew it was just an illusion, but for a mere illusion to put him into this state of uncontrollable fear, it meant that the real might of this bird was unfathomable.

“Get back. NOW!”

The massive red bear suddenly shouted, as he frantically snapped his head back to gaze at his subordinates.

His fangs glowed a bright orange color and his green eyes flashed with an intensity that none of the bears had previously seen before on their Chief.

“Chief! It’s Karn! He is…“

One of the bears in back abruptly exclaimed in a panicked voice.

Lying on the ground and shivering with glazed eyes, Karn began foaming at the mouth.

“Dammit! Get the kid out of here!”

Chief roared in deep rumbling voice as he addressed Lort.

“Take them all out of here, and wait for me back at the village. Abandon our post in the cave… it’s too close to this area.”

The red bear somberly stated as he firmly held Lort’s gaze.

“Ch-“

Lort began, but was instantly rebuked by Chief.

“Do not fight me on this, Lort! That human is too dangerous, and if we leave him alone, he might discover our village. I cannot let such a dangerous being wander around in our territory. If I do not return… you know what must be done.”

The red bear said gently towards the end of his sentence.

The others bears surrounding Lort could hear their Chief’s voice as well, and when they realized what their leader was about to do, traces of moisture started forming within their eyes.

“Leave… ”

Chief softly whispered in his grating voice, as he turned around and charged towards the distant human below.

After a few minutes had passed, the red bear faintly heard a series of mournful roars in the back.

……………….

*chichi*  *chichi*

Small golden metallic scales shot up through Calron’s skin, and started to cover his body.

The gut-wrenching sound of the human boy filled the air, while bolts of lightning continued to crash around him.

The boy’s body was currently bent back like a strung bow, as his muscles twitched under the lightning which was destroying his insides. Calron’s claws dug into the soil, as the small golden scales continued to spread all over his skin.

His head was flung back as thick veins emerged around his neck and the blood vessels within his eyes began to tear apart.

Just looking at the state of the boy’s body and the distorted expression on his face, one could only imagine the extent of agony that he was going through.

Each time a scale shot through his skin, beads of blood would form at the edges until Calron’s entire body was covered with golden scales outlined by a thin red line.

*hisss*

A hot cloud of steam erupted out from Calron’s body as the lightning continued to burn his body from within.

………………………

“Raizel, we are one of the primordial beasts of the bird races, and one day you will become the heir of our family. You must learn what it means to be a primordial beast”

A giant golden bird flew across a starry sky with its brilliant scales illuminating the dark night.

“Aww! But grandpa, I was supposed to play with Ezkael tonight! I don’t want to listen to this boring stuff…”

A small dark-haired child complained with a pout on his chubby face, as he sat on top of the giant bird with his legs crossed .

“Haha, that can wait for later, Raizel, and I’m sure Ezkael is being given the same lecture you are.”

The golden bird stated in an amused tone, as it flapped its wings and continued to soar in the dark sky.

“Hmm, then it’s fine.”

The chubby boy said in a satisfied voice, knowing that his friend was going through the same torture.

“Raizel, let me ask you a question: what are the primordial beasts?”

“Um, they are all powerful beasts like Grandpa and his other old friends!”

Raizel replied in an enthusiastic voice.

“You’re lucky that Rephia can’t hear you right now… if she knew that you called her “old”, I’m afraid that not even I would be able to save you from her beating.”

The golden bird mirthfully chuckled as it tilted its head to glance at the boy seated on its back.

“She is mean…”

Raizel flinched as he recalled the last time Rephia had caught both him and Ezkael sneaking into her orchard to steal some delicious fruit. The slap marks on his bottom still remained even after several days had passed since that event.

“The primordial beasts are creatures gifted with extraordinary strength. We are the first of our species to enter this realm, and we were given the responsibility to uphold peace within this world. Some of us disagree with each other on these matters, but it remains our duty to maintain balance.”

The golden bird seriously conveyed.

“Okay… ”

Raizel yawned as he casually leaned back with his arms crossed over his head and began to slowly close his eyes. All this talk about responsibilities seemed to thoroughly bore him.

“I’m guessing that you don’t want to know about the awesome ability that the primordial beasts have then?”

The golden bird inwardly sighed as it realized that it was losing the boy’s attention, and had to pique his childish mind with curiosity.

“Huh? What awesome power? Tell me! I promise to listen more to the boring stuff!”

Raizel suddenly sat up straight, and began to poke the back of the golden bird’s neck when he saw that his Grandpa remained silent in order to tease him.

“Haha, that seemed to have caught your attention.”

The giant golden bird laughed out, while slowly descending down to the ground.

“Hey! You promised to tell me. Hmph, I will go back to sleep if you don’t tell me.”

The chubby boy threatened his Grandpa, as he pretended to sleep again.

“We’re here. Come, I’ll tell you once we are inside the palace.”

The golden bird lovingly replied to the boy as its azure-blue eyes twinkled in the starry night.

……………………

“What is going on?”

Calron muttered as he stared at the empty white room. He felt like he saw some images earlier, but every time he tried to recall them, it would just evade his memory.

He tried looking down at his body, but could see nothing except the white floor.

Suddenly, a hazy image started to form on the white wall. It displayed a boy covered in metallic golden scales and screaming his lungs out towards the sky. His body appeared to be wracked with agony as flashes of lightning bounced on top of his scaly skin.

Looking at the figure being shown on the white wall, Calron felt a strange pang of sorrow.

Who is this boy?

Calron thought as he continued to watch the figure screaming on the ground.

“That is your body, Calron.”

A deep voice echoed within the white room, as a man slowly approached Calron from behind.

With long purple hair fluttering behind him, the newcomer arrived in front of Calron.

“We finally meet, kid.”

The Voice stated with a slight smile on his face, while his amethyst eyes shined with amusement.