The king vanished into the castle.
Daisy's body was lifted by five people from the group.
Everyone moved closer to the celestial gate.
When they reached near the gate, the workers handed over the wages into each of their hands.
The celestial gate opened with great force and sound.
Lucy and Elrian's minds were deeply disturbed.
When they returned to the village, the light slowly faded away.
The fact that they had lost their mother was something neither of them could accept.
They were both in Lucy's room.
Elrian had still not stopped crying.
His body had already grown weak.
Lucy tried her best to comfort him.
After a while, Elrian's eyes slowly closed from exhaustion.
After laying Elrian down on his bed, Lucy quietly walked down the stairs.
She opened the front door and stepped outside.
Since it was 11:30 at night, the entire area was swallowed in darkness wherever she looked.
Even the faint glow of the crown could no longer be seen now.
Lucy drew the supernatural energy of her Anima Code into her hands.
It spread light around the place for the moment.
She had already received training on how to use her Anima Code.
She cast a glance at the other houses.
The rest of the villagers were fast asleep.
That was why she made sure her footsteps pressed lightly against the ground as she walked.
Her destination was the grandmother's house nearby.
When she reached there, she knocked on the door at once.
After a short while, the elderly woman opened the door.
"Lucy, what are you doing here at this hour of the night?" the grandmother asked her in a hushed voice.
With troubled eyes, Lucy replied,
"I have something to talk about… may I come inside?"
After the grandmother gave her permission, Lucy stepped inside and closed the door. The old woman used her supernatural energy to illuminate the room. Compared to Lucy's light, the grandmother's radiance was brighter. She went and sat on a chair, then pulled another one closer for Lucy. Lucy quietly sat down on it.
"It was the day I lost my memories when I last came to grandmother's place. Since then, today is the first time I've set foot in her house again," she thought to herself. By now, many changes had already taken place.
Only now did she truly begin to notice her grandmother. The old woman looked frail. Her eyelids were half-closed, and wrinkles covered every inch of her body without leaving a single spot untouched. Lucy let out a quiet breath.
"Grandmother, you must already know that I've lost my mother," Lucy said. The old woman simply nodded in reply.
"I want to know more about that king. I'm certain you haven't told me everything. I'm eighteen now. I can fight that king. Why hasn't anyone ever broken through the palace gates to attack him? Please, tell me everything." Lucy pleaded in a low voice.
"You are right," Grandmother said softly. "I haven't told you everything. I was waiting for the right time to reveal the rest. But that time has already passed. What I am about to tell you are secrets things almost no one else knows. You must listen carefully."
"It has been more than five hundred years since our god, the Great Light, was defeated by that king. I do not know the secret of why he has never aged. Perhaps it is because of that very light. But the war that raged five centuries ago was terrifying. They say that, in truth, our island was once far larger than any other in this ocean. Yet no one has ever discovered other islands here, nor has history recorded their existence."
"We were not the only humans who lived on this land. There were nearly fifty villages spread across this island. The population then was said to be more than one hundred million. All of that was lost in the dreadful war. The sea itself rose in fury, nature raged with unrelenting wrath, and for three days the battle continued without end."
That evil king subdued the Light at that time. But at that time, he did not have the supernatural power called Anima Code. Therefore, it is said that the other gods who stood with the Light deceived him. There is also a legend that they helped the king by giving him the power within themselves.
Many centuries ago, the Great Light and the other gods who were with him discovered this island together. After that, they wandered throughout the sea. They saw every wonder of the sea. During their journey, they discovered that the terrifying creatures living in the depths of the ocean possessed a supernatural energy.
They thought that they wanted all that supernatural energy of those creatures. Then they killed all of them and seized all the energy inside their bodies. Afterwards, they separated it all and created each supernatural power. They transformed it into the form of each creature of the deep sea that they had killed.
Fire Dragon, Butterfly, the blood-drinking human wolf, the sharp-sighted Falcon thus they created a hundred kinds of supernatural powers. They named it Anima Code.
All the gods together built a great palace for themselves. In front of it, they built a great gate. That is the Celestial Gate.
Afterwards, how humans came to be and how we all received these supernatural powers I do not know. Then one day, a dispute arose among the gods. That led to a war.
It was there that this king appeared. From where he came has not yet been discovered. With the help of the other gods, he subdued the Great Light. He placed it in his crown. Afterwards, that king killed the other gods as well.
"Did he even kill the gods who helped him to achieve his own goal?" Lucy asked in astonishment.
"Yes, mercilessness is the last word for him. Perhaps he himself might have created such a word for his own sake. After three days that war ended. All the humans trapped in it died in hell-like agony. It is said that even the newborn babies who had just fallen into the world were among them. By the impact of the war, the sea swallowed the other village lands. Thus, this island, which once had more than one billion humans, shrank into a population of 10,000. Now it has become 88. In later times, that war was known by the name 'Three Nights of Hell.'
Our ancestors suffered twice as much because of that war as we are experiencing now.
That was the last time rain fell here. All these are only the stories we hear through ages. If we want to know the full truth of it, we will have to go into that age itself." Grandma took a breath.
"You had asked me why no one ever tried to break that castle gate. Once, a few people had tried to break it. Many joined together and used supernatural energy to destroy that gate. But they could not even move the gate a little. A terrible end was what they all received. Every one of their limbs burst apart and they died as blood poured out. After that, no one ever tried to break the gate again. Before that king took hold of the castle, it had been built only with light. But now, its state is not like that the castle gate carries both darkness and light."
"Then breaking it and entering inside will never be possible. All these secrets I came to know from my ancestors. Now let me explain about the supernatural power I know Anima Code. With the supernatural energy you hold, you will never be able to kill him. There is not even a one percent chance for that." Hearing this, Lucy's forehead wrinkled. From the wooden cup that was kept nearby, the grandmother took a little water and drank.
"Isn't each person's supernatural energy divided by a different symbol? That symbol is not given in vain; we can completely transform into that form. It is at that moment that we can use the full power of our supernatural ability, the Anima Code.
But even that alone will not be enough to defeat him. Once we use it, the supernatural energy within us will be entirely lost. The mark on our neck will also disappear.
No one here knows this secret. If they came to know, they would use it to fight the king. Then the king too would come to know this secret.
To prevent the king from learning it, I have kept this hidden from everyone else. You are the one who must know this secret and act for it."
"Then… can the king be defeated?" she asked doubtfully.
"Even if this is used, the chance of defeating the king is very low. But compared to before, there will be an opportunity. No one who has ever seen his full power is alive today. You will need one more supernatural energy."
Lucy's expression changed.
"Is that even possible?" Lucy asked.
Yes, it can be done. He will never know that you hold two Anima Codes in your hand. That is your advantage."
"When a child is born, isn't this mark something that naturally appears on the child? Then how can it become two?" For a moment, Lucy even thought Grandma might be lying.
"There is a way. We can borrow one from others."
"If so, won't they lose their life"
"No. But there is a chance that some kind of side effect may occur," Grandma told her.
"Fine, but who would ever step forward for such a thing" She looked into Grandma's face. From that face, she realized what Grandma was about to say.
"Why are you doing such a thing?" she suddenly burst out in anger at Grandma.
"Who said I'm giving you my Anima Code for free? There is a condition. You must give me an entire month's worth of wages. Perhaps my life will last only one more month. Until then, I need to survive. For that, I need coins."
But Grandma's true intention was something else. It was a wine. A wine that required a hundred years of hardship to create a full century. Only the fortunate few could ever craft it. Its value was extremely high. More than anything, Grandma's last wish was to drink it once before she died. For that purpose, she had been collecting coins since long ago. She had only a little more to gather, and that was the real reason she decided to do such a thing.
This, she never told Lucy.
Without wasting a single moment, she agreed to it. She started to tell the remaining matters.
"You will have to live as an ordinary human for your entire lifetime after that war. Let that reside in your memory. You only need to defeat him. That means, you have to hold his breath for at least five seconds.
Because in his breath, that king has imprisoned the light. With every breath of his, that light continues to be further imprisoned. If you can stop his breath for a few moments, our god, 'The Great Light,' will be released and will save us. I will teach you a few secret techniques of supernatural energy. They will be useful to you. For that, you will have to give me more coins."
In response, Lucy did nothing but shake her head.
"How can I obtain your Anima Code?"
"That is not difficult at all. Once our minds are united, all you need to do is extend your hands and make the pact. Then it will be yours. Even so, I will not force you, because you do not have to sacrifice yourself for the others you can decide for yourself." Grandma finished explaining everything in detail.
I did not decide to kill him for the people of this land. It is for my mother. I decided to kill him out of my own selfishness. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I am only fulfilling my revenge." She closed her eyes for a moment.
"I am ready for the pact." Saying this, she extended both her hand and her mind toward them. In Lucy's wounded eyes, Grandma could see the resolve of her vengeance.
Grandma tightly held Lucy's hands. The two of them united their minds. Slowly, they closed their eyes and breathed in unison. After a short while, supernatural energy began flowing out of Grandma's body. It passed entirely through their hands and into Lucy's body. Lucy experienced intense headaches and dizziness. Yet, she did not let go of Grandma's hands. Grandma's supernatural energy completely transferred into her body. Both of them slowly opened their eyes. Grandma looked at her intently, and Lucy suddenly glimpsed something and quickly stepped back.
"Grandma, what happened to your left eye?"
"Oh… this is the side effect I received. I lost vision in my left eye," Grandma said with a small smile.
Grandma looked at Lucy through her single eye. Supernatural energy began flowing out of Lucy's body even more intensely than before. It enveloped her entire body. The thickness of her muscles increased. She could now distinctly hear the breathing of the people sleeping in the nearby house. Her sense of hearing had doubled. Moreover, the scent of blood filled her nose. That was when she remembered what she had received was Grandma's Anima Code of the "Bloodsucking Human" type. Seeing the changes in her body, she was astonished at herself. She stopped the energy flowing through her body. Lucy returned to her original state. Her hearing power went back to normal.
Changes in Lucy's body only occurred while using the Anima Code's energy. She stretched her entire body to locate the mark of the Werewolf Anima Code.
"You won't be able to detect it, Lucy. That mark won't manifest externally simply because it doesn't belong to you. My power will reside within your body; no one will be able to see it from the outside. Now, I will tell you about the power of my Anima Code. It will grant you the strength and sensory abilities of a human beast. You can strike and crush anything, no matter how powerful, using my power. My power loves blood. If you transform into that form, it won't settle without blood that's the dark side of my strength.
Right now, both light and darkness exist in your hands. The light represents the butterfly on your neck. The darkness represents the human beast within you. The fact that these two powers reside in your hands will remain unknown to the king. Therefore, you can defeat him and save the people here. Oh… forgive me, I misspoke you can achieve your own selfish desires. Starting tomorrow, I can begin training you. But for now, it's already quite late. Go back home. Elrian is alone at home, isn't he?"
Upon hearing this, she slowly got up and returned to her house. After checking whether Elrian was asleep, she lay down in the room below. She tried her best to close her eyes and fall asleep.
To be continued.....