Aaah!
Wake up! Wake up!
I was deep asleep that night, but somehow my consciousness remained awake, and it feels like it's trapped for some unknown reason. I tried to scream, to move, but no matter how hard I pushed myself, my body refused to respond. It felt as if a powerful being bound me using invisible strings, holding me in place like a puppet under its control.
I used the Continuum Loob to observe my surroundings, hoping that I would see the cause of this mysterious feeling, but I didn't see anything, only darkness. What's strange is that my surrounding were enveloped by a dark thing that I couldn't explain. At least I should've been able to visualize my environment in my mind, but all I saw was a darkness that seemed endless.
A lot of questions ran through my mind at that time, until it reached the point where I realized I was under the influence of a powerful Loob that was able to manipulate other minds… But it's just my assumption, because there is no record of something like this in the Kingdom of Luconia.
…
Then, suddenly, when I was in the middle of deep thought, I heard a mysterious voice speaking in a different language that I couldn't understand.
!@##%%$%%6!
"W-what is that?" I didn't notice that, my heart started to pound violently like it would explode at any moment, and to make it worse, something was knocking at my door, followed by unknown footsteps echoing in my room. Each step creates a deafening, creepy sound as it bends my wooden floor.
Creeekkk….
I tried to move, but my body wouldn't obey. At that time, I felt the long-lost feeling. "I was scared?"
Creeekkk…
Then I feel a cold chilling air near me as the creeking sound stops at that very moment, I knew that it was near me. And suddenly I felt a cold, rough hand hold my left arm tightly. All I can do is only wish that this terrifying thing would stop, and luckily, as if heaven noticed my suffering, a sudden drop of rain leaking through my broken ceiling woke me up.
Plop!
Hah… Hah… Hah…
As I woke up, my heart was pounding so fast, and my body was shaking uncontrollably as I grasped my breath with blurry vision.
A nightmare?…
I was just dreaming?
Oh... Arghh! What the-
When my vision was getting steady, I felt something hurt in my left arm that I couldn't explain.
Then I noticed that it has a dark blue burn mark glowing on it.
W-what is this mark!?
I was really puzzled. I don't know what just happened, and what is this weird mark on my left arm? As I think deeper, a sudden realization hits me, C-could it be… all that just happened a moment ago was real. Am I not dreaming?
Then I started to examine the surroundings, checking and finding something that would give me an answer. As I looked side by side, I saw my wooden chair had broken, my rusty bed was losing a frame leg, my books were scattered everywhere, and my mattress had gotten tattered too, as if a powerful tornado had washed my old, shabby house.
But what's strange was that my old wooden desk was still intact…
But where is the brush on top of it? It was here a moment ago?
Instead of finding an answer that will help me solve this mystery, all I found was more confusion. To make matters even worse, a voice whispered in my ears.
"Kill! Kill them!"
Ahhh! The moment I heard that, I used Continuum Loob again to scan the whole area and to see if there was a threat nearby, but I saw nothing, only darkness again…
W-who are you? Why are you doing this to me?
Show yourself!
I keep asking him to show himself, but all I receive is an echo of "Kill! Kill them." It was too suffocating, which made my head to hurt more.
Ahhh! Stop! Stop!!!
I tried my best to stop it, but it still didn't work. And if misfortune is really upon you, a sudden increase in pain hits my head, it's like it has been sliced into a thousand pieces.
Arghh!!
I beg it to stop. "Please stop… It hurts!… I can't take it anymore!" But the more I beg, the more it hurts. So I tried to shout for the last time, hoping this time, it would listen to me.
I said stop!
That shout was so loud that it boomed in my room, and after that, it seemed that it finally listened to me, and the feeling of pain suddenly vanished into thin air. Just I thought.
A thundering sound suddenly reverberated all over.
Boom!
What again!
I was so frustrated with what's happening, I don't know what comes next. Then, in a flash, my door burst open, I instinctively looked to the left, and then I saw a silhouette of a figure in a black cloak appear to me. Its shadow filled the room, as if it were awakened from a deep slumber in hell.
My body started trembling all over again, and I'm sweating uncontrollably as if I'm going crazy, and without a warning, it starts to move towards me. As it moved, the mark in my left arm grew brighter. I suddenly dropped to my knees as I held my left arm. I rolled to the ground, "Arghhh!" The pain was so unbearable, I almost cried out; it's like my left arm is burning alive.
And again, the pain suddenly subsided, and I became more puzzled because my left arm glowed even brighter. I know there's something wrong again, and when I looked back, it was right in front of me.
Whaahhahaha!
As it laughs, it grabs my left hand as if it will take me along deep into hell.
No, no, no… Please don't—
Argh!
***
Chapter 1: Child's Dream
On a bright sunny day, villagers in the small town of Kamhatik within the Kingdom of Luconia were bustling with activity. The women were busy cooking food, while the men arranged and decorated the stage at the center of Central Park, preparing for the birthday of their beloved village chief.
Each house displayed a handmade yellowish banner in its window. The banners bore heartfelt messages like "Long Live the Village Chief!", "Thank You, Village Chief!", and many more, and they were written in elegant, curving strokes using black squid ink.
…
"Move aside! Move aside!" shouted a bearded man with a ponytail, while holding a blue microphone.
Behind him were ten muscular men, carrying something huge covered by a long red cloth. Carefully moving towards the left side of the Central Plaza.
"Ok! Move it here… here…"
"Ha!" the ten muscular men shouted in unison
"Nah… not there, not there… just move two steps backward!"
And they moved two steps backward.
"Now two steps to the left."
They moved again, now pointing to the left, but it was noticeable that the ten muscular men were close to their limit.
"Perfect!"
"Finally, hahahaha! Great Job!"
After they hear that, they breathe a sigh of relief as they place the huge thing on the ground.
Finally, the Central Plaza was ready for the event that was about to begin. Then, all of a sudden, the surroundings grew darker.
"!!"
The sky casts a shadow of a huge ship-like silhouette, blocking the sunlight. Villagers stopped what they were doing and prepared for the impending event that was about to happen.
***
Meanwhile, at the top of the nearby hill stood a young boy with snow-white hair and bright red eyes, busy creating something. On his right side lay scattered tools, a rusty small saw, some nails, dull old scissors, and a tattered strip of yellowish fabric, while on his left side lay an adult-sized slingshot made of Nara wood with a thick black rubber hanging low to the ground.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Using his small hands with a dark red mark on his left, he hammered nails into an old, broken barrel and attached the tattered strip of yellowish fabric he had collected earlier. Then, with the help of dull old scissors, he cut the excess fabric and created sail-like wings, resembling those of flying ships. On top of the barrel, using a rusty small saw, he cut an oval opening to sit in and made two circular cuts underneath for his feet.
"Oh, wait, I forgot something!"
He dipped a small Nara tree branch in a round antique glass where he stored the collected black squid ink, and used it to write his name on the yellowish fabric he attached in the barrel earlier as a final touch.
"Whew… Finally, I made it!"
Then he slid his body inside and put his feet into the two cuts he had made in the barrel earlier. He moved towards the huge slingshot, and he pulled the thick black rubber back with all his strength. Then he started to count, stretching the black rubber as much as he could.
"Fiveee!… Fouuuur!… Threeee!… Twoo!…" with a long breath.
Fhooosh!
"Oneee… now!" While pointing in the sky
With a whoosh, the slingshot released, launching him into the air
"I'm gonna be a Sky Raider, the strongest loob user!" He declared while flying.
"Oh, wait, I forgot the brakes," He said while his mini ship was moving fast towards the Central Plaza.
***
Above the stage, the silhouette massive ship-like object became more visible. It reveals a huge flying ship, its hull was painted red, and its wings were made of rare silk from the silkworm of the west. Underneath it was a row of five cannons on both sides. And a round hatch at the lower left side of it.
As the round hatch opens, a long staircase extends down to the ground, and a silhouette of a fat man shows up.
At that very moment, the villagers knew-
It was The Village Chief!
Everyone within the village stopped what they were doing after hearing the news of the arrival of their beloved Village Chief. They gathered fast at the center stage of Central Plaza while holding a variety of gifts for the village chief
Their eyes were wide open, and a starry spark was visible on their faces as they waited for their village chief to come out.
As the silhouette of a fat man became more visible, a sudden dazzling light blinded the sight of the villagers below. A monocle he wears a monocle in his left eye that creates a dazzling light when it is touched by the sunlight. He also wears a black round coat with a black long hat, and in his right arm, he holds a wooden cane to support his body.
And everyone gives a warm welcome to the Village Chief!
"Village Chief, we love you!"
"Village Chief, let's create a baby!" Said by the villager with a muscular and tall figure.
And the crowd froze in silence.
…
"No, I mean let's drink coffee, Village Chief!" He followed
And the awkward silence dissipated, and they continued to celebrate the birthday of their beloved Village Chief.
"Thank You!" He said while holding a majestic red microphone.
"Thanks for the warm welcome you gave and for the gifts!" A smile was visible in his chubby cheeks.
"Village chief, there's more!" Stated by the bearded man earlier
"Oh, what is it!" he asked
"Behold, Village Chief, to the great art that will shake the continent," Declared the bearded man
After the ten muscular heard that, they dragged the red cloth that covered the huge thing they had carried a moment ago.
And a blinding golden light suddenly blinded everyone as the golden statue of a village chief showed up.
"Wowww!"
"So beautiful!"
Everyone's jaw dropped, and amazement was visible on their faces at the beauty of the art that stood before them.
"Beautiful! So beautiful!" The village chief said while his eyes were wide open and focusing on the golden statue of him.
"It's my pleasure, village chief," Replied the bearded man while he bowed slightly
But out of nowhere, a small thing gushing quickly, and it's aiming at the statue.
Swooosh!!
"What is that?" asked the villager with long brown sleeves
"Oh, maybe Sir Lucas still has more surprises up his sleeve," Replied the villager in a farmer's hat.
After the bearded man, Lucas heard that, he stood up and looked at the sky to see something that was rushing towards his statue.
"Wait! I didn't make that! That's only my gift," Lucas said
And everyone got shocked and looked at the fast thing flying toward the statue. Even the Village Chief is in shock, because-
"If not you? Then what is that!" He asked in confusion
And all of a sudden, a deafening impact echoed everywhere, causing a huge smoke in the head of the statue!
And then the head of the statue falls off the ground!
"Whaaaaaaat!"
"Run, everyone!"
Villagers panic below as the golden head of the statue falls.
Boom!
Luckily, no one was hurt in the event that happened, and everyone moved to the place where the head of the statue fell down.
"Whaaa… Whaaa… My statue got broken!" The village chief cried as he saw his statue without a head.
And a small, innocent voice suddenly echoed within the area, and everyone looked at the statue again, now without a head, while the smoke gradually disappeared.
"Pwew!… luckily I am ok, I thought that's my end…"
After the smoke had fully disappeared, a white-haired kid with red eyes and a broken barrel in his body stood in the statue.
"Izaganiii! You, wrethed kid! What did you do again!" Lucas said while his head is boiling, his face turning red.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" He replied
Villagers started cursing him again because of the trouble he makes; even the Village Chief and Sir Lucas can't stop cursing him due to the mess he made, and they boil with anger.
The more they cursed, the more they became those monsters in Izagani's eyes.
"I didn't mean to cause trouble," He said, while in his eye tear was visible in his eye.
But they still cursed the poor kid, and it reached the point that they threw everything at Izagani.
Izagani tried his best to avoid those flying things on him, and a fast stone suddenly rushed at him. Izagani has no time to avoid that stone, and it directly hits him in the head and throwing him away from the statue, and he falls to the ground.
Boom!
Smoke spread all over. But within the smoke where Izagani fell, a bright, dark red light appeared.
Everyone trembles as the smoke gradually lessens.
W-what is that?
Ahhh!