"She is somewhere you can't touch her... you pervert..," Klein spat, bleeding from his head as he sat by the platform.
"Khlein.., ungrateful… you betray my mercy and now you question my patience?" Murad knelt, his face a whisper from Klein's ear.
"Are you trying to buy time for the boy?" he whispered. "Do you truly believe you have any time to bargain?"
A cold terror jolted through Klein's body. He turned his head, his eyes locking on Akira.
The boy was frozen. A wave of guilt washed over Klein it was a mistake for Akira to have ever met this man.
"The boy doesn't know," Klein said.
Murad stood, the metallic clash of his boots echoing in the sudden silence.
He raised his cane, the tip of it pressing into Klein's throat. Klein swallowed, his defiance replaced by a primal fear.
Huff. Huff. Klein's breathing was uneven. "I-I can't move my fingers," he panicked, looking at Akira before his gaze fell on Murad Xie.
"Surviving a blow from my greatsword is admirable," Murad said, his voice cold.
"But soon you'll lose consciousness. Before you do, I want you to see how your actions brought innocent people into this."
"Let him be," Klein's voice was fainter than before, and now even moving his tongue felt heavy.
With a final, agonizing effort, his head turned toward Akira, his eyes locked on the boy.
Murad Xie grabbed Klein's collar and dragged him on the metallic floor closer to Akira, who refused to look away.
"You surprise me... I closed my eyes when you decided to father this child. I thought you were just going to protect him, but the fact that you'll pull him into the same mess as his mother…" said Murad Xie.
Klein's voice was barely audible, just some gibberish, but still, he kept repeating, "Leave him."
Murad Xie came in direct contact with Akira as he unsheathed his sword.
"Let your final words be the whereabouts of that woman… choose wisely, Khlein, an innocent child or a sinner of a woman?"
Murad Xie pointed the greatsword against Akira. The red glowing eyes of Murad Xie stared at the weak yellow eyes of the boy.
Akira, his eyes never left their focus on Murad Xie. He didn't even blink. His eyes were red, itchy and filled with tears that overflowed.
"g-give her back..," a faint mutter was heard from the dry lips of Akira.
Murad Xie's eyes flinched a bit.
A pitiable 10-year-old boy did not fear the blade pointed at him, or that wasn't bravery.
It was desperation. "I believe that you had forgotten about her already."
Murad Xie chuckled.
His hands trembled, and to stop that, Akira bit his lip. "F-forgotten?" Akira murmured again.
"Every moment from the day my mother was taken away from me… I tried my best to remember every word she said and every moment she had kissed my forehead.
I get strange nightmares, and one of them is me slowly forgetting the way she smiled at me." Akira thought.
Klein watched Akira's torment. "Akira… don't try to do anything," with all of his remaining energy.
But it was of no use. He gripped the Repulsor Flare he had in his hands tight. "TAKE ME BACK TO HER!" Akira shouted before throwing the flare right at Murad Xie.
Akira then pulled the cable hard. "GIVE HER BACK!" he cried.
BANG! A loud, ear-bursting noise followed by a flash of light lit the entire center of the city. The crowds that gathered for the meat looked away instinctively.
Akira had closed his eyes before he triggered it, and as he slowly opened his eyes, the platform and the area where Murad Xie stood was completely empty.
Neither Murad Xie nor Klein was present,not even their shadows.
"WHERE ARE YOU, COWARD!" Akira screamed as he quickly pulled back the Repulsor Flare, which was smoking.
But at that moment, a strange cold breeze brushed Akira from behind, as if the wind itself was warning him.
"Impulsive and foolish… two traits from your mother, I see," Murad Xie said as he stood
behind Akira and approached, dragging Klein.
The cane Murad Xie held was pure black, with patterns of red inbetween, and at that moment, those red markings let out a faint glow.
"No… how?" Akira was shaken by what had just happened. "It's just like last time," Akira remembered the time when Murad Xie approached infront of him instantly.
"T-this isn't fair!" Akira wondered.
"Khlein! You failed as his mentor once again… you couldn't teach him how to use a flare that you yourself invented?"
Klein was silent, the blood from his head nearly covered his face.
"I've seen Khlein fighting and training for 20 years, and still he couldn't put a dent on me. And here you are, struggling..." Murad Xie said as he got closer to Akira.
"Why is this happening..." Akira thought.
"Why is it always me... I-I did not get stronger... I did not get stronger," Akira cried.
Akira closed his eyes shut.
The slow steps of Murad Xie and his cane sticking onto the cold floor Tac...Tac… was a reminder for Akira of a past, where he had met Murad Xie for the first time.
Akira slowly opened his yellow eyes. The glint slowly fading away with every inch of hope in his heart.
He grinded his teeth again. "I-I don't want to be weak," he cried. But to his horror, Murad Xie was standing right in front of him.
"To be weak... is the purpose of a child," Murad Xie spoke as he stared into the boy's eyes.
Was it compassion? Akira wondered for a moment.
Murad Xie sighed and said,
"I am a man of God, so my plan was to hurt you a bit to test your mentor's obedience. But you have sinned by striking me."
"Letting you get away with that would undermine my authority and give birth to more seeds like you."
He continued.
Murad grabbed Akira by his hair.
"I'll see to plucking out those eyes myself… those damned yellow eyes."
Murad Xie smashed Akira down at the floor. He,Akira tried his very best to get up and resist, but nothing could give him the energy to do so. His fragile, skinny hands slipped, and his body slammed onto the cold ground.
It kept on going, and each time Murad Xie would insult Akira's mother.
And at that moment, a letter fell out of Akira's pocket, a letter made of thin paper which Klein had given him before.
But before Akira could even read, Murad Xie slammed Akira onto the floor and then raised him high.
Hanging him by the collars of his ragged clothes, Akira's nose was bleeding and the letter was stuck onto his face.
And surely Murad Xie took notice of that. He slowly pulled out the letter, which was tainted with the boy's blood and sweat.
He immediately released Akira, and he fell onto the ground with a slam.
Murad Xie turned his head over to Klein lying there unconscious.
With an irritated tone, Murad Xie growled and then held Akira by the chin and glared into his eye.
"Who gave this to you? Was it Khlein?" he shouted.
Akira didn't respond.
"Foolish thing you took as your mentor," Murad Xie said before stretching the letter, but as he started reading the text:
"Moru E-en Wid- what in the name of Idris is this? The words… they are all jumbled!"
Seeing the strange text, the alignment of its letters and words, Murad Xie's face wrinkled.
He turned the letter toward Akira. His hands calm despite his anger.
Akira could barely read the contents of the text.
Akira noticed the handwriting was quite familiar.
The fading glint in his eyes slowly but surely became brighter, and his pupils widened.
"en vida," Akira read quietly, so that Murad Xie would not hear him.
"From mother..." he said in his mind. A small, gentle grin appeared on Akira's face.
Of all the memories Akira held dear, from his first attempt at climbing a building to chasing away the gutter pigs.
It didn't matter if they were painful or pleasant; the boy cherished them all, like the day he met Klein Judieas, a pleasant one, or the day his mother was taken away from him.
The memories were a bit too scrambled. Akira blamed it on his age, but the truth was he was afraid to remember more and more about his mother.
He remembered one of those coldest nights when no amount of warmth was enough.
That day, Akira was lying on his mother's lap while she brushed his hair. In front of him, people were gathered, but he didn't know why.
"You are a kind child," she would repeat to him.
"You will lead us," she would whisper. And, "Be a conqueror," she would command.
Then, the doors of the house, made of thick metal and no windows, were thrashed open by none other than Murad Xie.
It was over all too quickly. The house that had been filled with people, including his mother, was now empty.
Akira watched as his mother was dragged away by the chief, Murad Xie. But before she left, Akira was able to see her gentle smile for the last time.
She said, "Akira... get stronger... and one day... conquer this city."
Now, Akira stood in front of the same man who had taken his mother, a man now hurting his mentor.
"I couldn't get stronger, Mom..." Akira thought to himself.
"But... I'll bring you back."
Akira's voice was barely audible, his heartbeat was out of rhythm, and soon he collapsed onto the cracked metallic floor.
"He can read," Murad Xie said, raising his cane. "Take both of them to the pit. They'll either be food or help us find her."
Not long after, about three or four soldiers arrived, carrying well-crafted spears that matched Murad Xie's armor.
Two of the soldiers held Klein's unconscious body and dragged him, while a taller soldier picked Akira up, carrying him in both of his arms.
Akira's hand hung and waved as the soldiers walked; he did not resist because he had been knocked out.
The lights went dimmer and dimmer, almost to the point where the darkness from outside the city covered the gates.
Even then,the Sanctuary of Idris was bright from the buildings where people lived. This was what they called the night in the bunker.