"Master, this place is filled with dense yang energies and so less spiritual powers. I can't let my body expose in such weird constitution..."
As Lily woke up, she talked with him mentally. Within a second after saying that, she instantly transformed herself into an ethereal stargazed blue colored ring in his pocket.
"What is this, Lily?"
"Master, this is a layer covered over my body to safeguard me. As you already have seen, under the influence of such dense yang energy, my body became so tiny that I can now talk with you through mentally only. And now if I keep exposing my body for a long time, my spirituality will be unstable..."
"Oh okay... But what is yang energy?"
"Master, in the cosmos, there are two contrary forces exist to balance each another to form a complete cosmic balance system. Cosmos itself exists because of these two energies. Yin represents the dark elements of the cosmos. Whereas, Yang represents the holy elements of the cosmos... By the way master, in your land, yin is so less. And so, I fear anytime this land can collapse..."
Hearing that, he became so fascinated with such knowledge. Without saying anything, he just kept continued to absorb that knowledge.
"Then how come that cover can safeguard you?"
"Master, this ring is a defense mechanism, set for these kind of situations. Don't worry about me, master. I will be fine..."
Hearing that, he sighed a great relief.
After that, he slowly put that ring into his index finger. He proudly smiled, although he knew one thing, that too much knowledge could cause harm in his soul.
At that moment, he remembered about a faint memory of his childhood. In his childhood, maybe he was in his same age like now, he was then busy in research in his room. At that time, his father had entered in his room to give him a crucial information. So, the information was, in that morning, some elders of his family had found a treasure in an outskirt area of the north province of the city. However, the moment they had started to investigate that unknown treasure, every one of them instantly had turned into some bizarre monsters, or it could be said, they had turned into puppets of that treasure. A vast bloody battle had erupted then. At last, his father had entered into the stage and had killed all of them within just a few minutes. After that incident, he had swore to his father that, from then on, he would never be involved into any kind of illogical phenomenons.
However, the irony was after his father's disappearance, he gradually kept sinking and involving into illogical or rather supernatural phenomenons consecutively. He became emotional, thinking about his father.
After his father's last letter in the last a few days ago, he was determined to find his father as soon as possible. But still he couldn't find any traces of his father's current location. So he decided to be powerful first, then he would set out for a journey to find his father.
After that, he decided to return back to his home for better planning to find some other powerful resources. Then he gradually went where his car was parked, but became so astonished to find that, his car was destroyed in that spot. He trembled from inside. That was the car he borrowed from Mark, as his first personal car was destroyed at the ruins.
He although realized that something had happened for sure in that forest, he decided to think about that later. For now, he decided to walk towards the city.
After a few hours, during in his way to return his home, as he was about to cross the headquarters area, suddenly the ring glowed.
"Master, please wait for a moment..." Lily suddenly interacted with him mentally.
"What happened?"
"Master, I can sense something fishy in this place. Can we go more deeper?"
"Unfortunately, not a chance. This is the outermost region of the headquarters. If we go more deeper, we can come in contact under the radar of the headquarters..."
"Oh, are the 'headquarters' really big thing for you, master?"
"Oh my apologies that I didn't warn you before... The headquarters are the heart and brain of this city. Ten years ago, they appeared suddenly, or rather I should say, nineteen unknown entities appeared suddenly in this city and made the so-called headquarters. They conquered us with machines and miracles, which we, the people of the city lacked a lot. They gave us a better life... progress, efficiency, perfection... They say the technologies make life smoother… easier… safer.
But as a price, they took away our freedom...
This city was once part of a vast nation. Roads stretched outward for hundreds of miles. Trains used to come and go. People used to travel freely. Then that year they arrived… and the city itself as if began to surrender under them...
Gradually, steel has replaced trees. Circuits have replaced roots. Even the wind feels artificial now, as if it has been measured and approved before it touches our skin. They even built these mountains that borders the city like walls around a prison. You can see stone graves instead of open lands. A ring of silence is as if sealing us away from the rest of the world. No roads... No signals... No way out... And now, no one in the city can even cross those mountains...
Sometimes I wonder what we have become after that… citizens… or specimens. Perhaps we, the people of the city, are nothing more than puppets now. Or worse… offerings. Living sacrifices to their endless experiments...
I cannot remember the last time I saw a bird in the sky… not one. No stray dogs in the alleys. No insects buzzing near the lights. No sound of life beyond our own footsteps... It feels like now as if the world outside us died… and we are never told...
And that's why, I hate them. I scared of them. I wonder that perhaps they all know us more deeply than ourselves. They know where we can be, we can do, and we can belong...
So, I must warn you that, It's always better to stay away at least from them..." His gaze hardened, though fear trembled beneath it.
"So, master, didn't you try to find the reason behind it?"
"Of course, I did. I have already tried to infiltrate them. As a result, my master was died... My father was dissapeared... My mother was abducted... My family betrayed and conspired against my parents, entangling us in a heinous scandal... So, after that, I began to completely avoid them at any cost..." His voice faltered and his face became gloomy.
Hearing that, Lily went into complete silence.
He didn't say much more and focused on returning to his home.
Upon reaching into the city after several hours, he paused in front of a hospital. By that time, the sun already had set and it was evening. Countless stars already had covered the sky then.
"Lily, let me show you someone..." He rubbed the ring with his finger and interacted mentally.
After that, he slowly ascended on the second floor in the hospital through stairs, and entered a room silently.
The room was dim and shadowy, as if darkness covered the room entirely. Upon entering the room slowly and silently, tears slowly started flowing from his eyes. He got so emotional that, his brain paused working for sometimes.
"Why are you crying, master?"
He gave no answer.
He then approached to the window and slowly moved the curtain a bit from the window. Gradually the starlight wandered into the room, weaving a delicate tapestry of shadows and radiance, dressing the room in an ethereal twilight. In that twilight state, finally a long unconscious half-dead, half-alive female body lied on a wooden bench, became visible in the room.
"Mom, I'm finally back..." His melancholic voice faltered...