Selay thrashed, gasping, kicking....but the creature was too strong. In a flash of light, the demon's claws pierced through his chest, sliding between ribs with brutal precision.
The breath left Selay's lungs in a choked gasp. His eyes widened as blood spilled from his mouth. He couldn't scream. Couldn't move.
Within seconds, Selay's body went limp, and he fell unconscious.
The creature loosened its grip pulling his claw out of Selays chest letting Selay drop. Leaning in, it pressed its mouth to the wound and drank his blood slowly.
"I got what I needed," the creature muttered, his voice was cold and hollow.
Then, he turned and began walking away. After just a few steps, he crossed through an invisible barrier which a hidden force field that covered a ten-meter area around the riverbank.
As soon as he passed through, he snapped his fingers.
In an instant, everything inside the force field began to reverse. Time flowed backward. Blood returned to wounds. Movements un-happened. In mere moments, Selay and Diana were back where they were moments ago, sitting peacefully by the river, as if nothing had ever happened. And Everything that had happened to them had reversed.
The invisible barrier vanished.
And with it, the creature disappeared , melting into the air like a bad dream.
Neither of them remembered the event they had just lived through. It was as if time itself had stolen the memory from their minds.
Diana stood and reached out her hand.
"Now stop moping and come on. Let's go."
Selay smiled, brushing the grass from his pants as he stood.
"Alright... Let's go home."
.
.
.
Later, in the large yard of the Palace, Selay lay on the grass, his head resting on his mother's lap. The sun was gentle above them, filtered through drifting clouds.
His mother who had white hair and blue eyes stroked his hair, speaking softly , she wore a black leather dress with a skirt and she has a sword in her back with a crown in her hair. "It's alright, dont think much about it.. You'll gain control over your mana in time, I'm sure of it. But even if you don't, it won't change how much we love you. You'll always be enough for us."
Selay looked up at her.
"You know… Diana said the same thing."
His mother chuckled.
"She's a sweet girl and... " before she could finish...
"Am I? Really?" came Diana's voice from behind, startling them both.
Selay's mother smiled, touching Diana's cheek gently and said "You are the sweetest girl you know that? "
Standing behind her, Diana's mother stepped forward and said with tension eyes.. "Fiona, there's something I need to speak with you about."
And then Doulong ran toward Diana and Selay, coming from the palace.
" Sorry.. we should talk about this inside the palace" Said (Dianas+ Daolongs) mother.
" Alright" Said Fiona and stood up and said to Selay " We will be back after a while"
And both started to walk away.
Far from the kingdom of Ula....even though Ula was more than a mere kingdom, it served as the head of many smaller Kingdoms , collectively known as the Kailand each Kailand having multiple town or village in it. This union sprawled across over 15 million square kilometers in the western side of the world map, bordered by the Great Sea to the east and the Outer Sea to the west side of ULA.
The land of Ula was split into two with the dark spot that was a place that always remains dark with the absence of light unclaimed by anyone.
The split are, a vast northern expanse and a smaller southern region but vast as well . The southern stretch extended for several million kilometers until it met a dense, ancient jungle. The natural border dividing Ula from another massive territory: the Great Land of Xio.
Beyond that jungle, deep within the southern reaches, past villages, towns, and the scattered domains of lesser kings, stood a coastal palace nestled beside the churning sea.
Inside the palace's meeting hall, a woman sat who was not on a throne, but atop a circular seat formed of spinning water. She wore an unique dress that only hid her upper body and a mini skirt that hid a small portion of her lower body which was not needed because, Her fishlike legs swam idly within the circular seat formed of spinning water , moving like fins through current.
She was a mermaid who was the queen of the undersea realm of Atlantes and clear unease was visible because she was sitting away from her ocean domain, though her expression remained serious.
Across from her sat a bald man with a long beard and a crown who had dark skin. His tone was heavy with regret as he spoke. [ The Dark gray hair man from chapter 0]
"I am sorry for your loss," he said. "But I can assure you...such acts will not happen again."
The mermaid queen's voice was cold, composed, but laced with grief.
"As Queen of Atlantes, I cannot ignore this. I must act. We are grateful for the alliance with humankind, but I will no longer tolerate uninvited trespass in the Grand Sea. Can you guarantee your people will not harm mine again?"
The bearded man hesitated. "I cannot make such a promise. The sea remains the swiftest route for merchants to travel between kingdoms...especially since the Stone-Eaters plague the inland roads through the Dark Spots. You know of this."
"Your men went too far," she snapped.
"Twelve of them crossed into sacred waters. My workers swam out to stop them peacefully. And they were slaughtered. Not one...five of my people. I've come here out of diplomacy, yet you treat this as a nuisance."
A third figure, seated near the bearded king beside and Douzen , interjected . He had golden hair, wore a white robe with a royal cloak, and a crown that shimmered in the candlelight. [ Shanglui from chapter 0]
"Milo," he said gently, "perhaps you should hear her out."
Milo / the bearded man said.... "Fine. What do you want in return for your losses?"
"Finally," the mermaid said, exasperated. "Thank you, Shanglui, for speaking reason."
"Yes, yes. Whatever, Get to the point," Milo replied, raising a wooden mug and taking a sip.
The mermaid drew a scroll from a wooden box at her side and unfurled it on the table it was a map of the world.
Based on the map, In the heart of the world lies the Grand Sea. It covers nearly thirty percent of the world based on the map , and the eight Great Lands encircle it like petals around a sacred bloom."
She dipped a feathered quill into ink and began marking lines around the central waters.
"I am imposing a limit. No human vessels may travel freely through the Grand Sea. Each Great Land may claim 300 kilometers outward from their shores. Beyond that violators will face the consequences. We will not interfere with the Outer Sea. That's yours to govern."
Shanglui / The Golden hair man ( King of ULA) nodded. "A fair proposal. As long as peace between land and sea holds, I have no objections."
The mermaid turned to Milo. "And you? I've summoned only you two because your territories are the largest by land and population. If you agree, the others will follow."
Shanglui gave Milo a look. "Come on, don't argue with it."
Milo leaned back, thinking. But before he could speak, the ground shook.
Douzen who seated beside shanglui sensing denger said "What was that?"
The doors exploded inward, splinters flying as a grotesque figure burst through.
Few demon entered breaking the door who were winged, red-skinned, horned and one stood in with a knight's severed head clutched in one claw.
More followed behind them.
Douzen summoned a blade of glowing mana in an instant. "Demons?! Wait... i remember sealing all of them in hell, how did they come back?"
Shanglui turned to the mermaid. "You need to get out of here... now."
Before she could react, a demon teleported behind her, its claw lashed out. But Shanglui moved faster. In a blur, he closed the distance and drove his fist through the demon's skull, crushing it instantly.
He turned to her. "Maya. Are you alright?"
Meanwhile ( 2 min ago) :In the yard of the Palace of Ula kingdom.
Doulong stood still, his eyes were closed, body was slightly glowing with surging mana.
Selay and Diana watched from a short distance with curiosity.
Doulong inhaled deeply, focusing, and tried to guide the flow of mana into his right hand.
A flicker of resistance passed through his expression then, with a sharp exhale and a scream , a transparent glowing clawed gauntlet of raw mana formed around his fist.
Diana's eyes widened.
"Whoa... How did you do that?"
Doulong grinned with pride, flexing the glowing claws.
"Our teacher showed this to the seniors. I practiced in secret and finally pulled it off today. cool right?"
He glanced at them, then added with a smirk,
"Not that either of you could do it, one of you doesn't even have mana control, and the other… well, let's just say she is dumb ass "
Diana crossed her arms, frowning.
"Hey! I'm not dumb. I've already started basic healing, and I can memorize scrolls way faster than you."
Doulong shrugged.
"Alright, alright. That's fair. Healing at your age is actually impressive but you can do that because you have moms blood thats why, not that it is something that you have learnt ."
" What? No..you have to learn healing to heal. Not that it comes randomly!!" She said defending herself.
" Huh! Whatever. I am the strongest of my age I guess. " Said Doulong
Selay smiled quietly.
"Yeah… and if you keep learning this fast, you'll be stronger than most adults by the time you're fifteen. That's pretty amazing, Doulong ."
Inside the palace, Fiona and Chaw (Diana and Doulong's mother) stood on a high balcony, their eyes resting on the children below.
"Something feels wrong," Chaw said softly, voice laced with unease. "I always sense danger before it arrives. It's been years I haven't felt that sensation , but today… that feeling returned."
Fiona smiled gently.
"You're overthinking again, Chaw. Everything is absolutely fine.."
But Chaw didn't smile back. She stared past the horizon. "No… I had a dream last night. A bad one. I saw..".
And then before she could finish, as if summoned by her words, the ground began to tremble beneath them.
"An earthquake?" Fiona whispered, startled.
Chaw clutched the railing, her voice sharp and panicked.
"I told you!"
Fiona grabbed her arm, steadying her.
"Calm down... it's just an earthquake." But her gaze shifted quickly to the courtyard.
Below, the quake startled the knights on duty. They rushed to the children, drawing close.
"Sir, you all need to get inside!" one knight urged the kids.
"Are you mad? Outside is safer in an earthquake!" another barked, but still stood guard. "Don't worry...it's just tremors."
The shaking stopped . A sudden stillness shook the air around the Kingdom.
But suddenly, a thunderclap shattered the silence, so loud it felt like the sky itself had cracked. And as the sound reached all corner of the earth, the light dimmed around the palace .
Thick and black clouds rolled in,, blotting out the sun. And then, in the sky above them started to make sound as if playing drums for someones arrival then … reality tore open.
A long, jagged crack split the reality fabrics of the sky . It broke like broken glass or ripped off paper .
Then
"slash!"
A blade sliced open the very fabric of reality .
From that ripped off reality , an entity stepped out.
He was massive eight feet tall with wings, cloaked in swirling red aura.
His body was encased in living armor formed of dark energy. Only his eyes glowed through that glew in a way that anyone looking at him felt pain in their eyes.
"Finally… finally, I am free," the entity said, his voice echoing like steel scraping stone.
The knights became tensed as their weapons raised.
"Wait… is that Jarama?" one knight asked, voice cracking.
"It can't be. He was sealed in hell forever!" another gasped.
Diana turned to the others. "Jarama? The Nio who once ruled this land? How can u confirm the face looks hidden."
"Yes," the knight replied grimly. "His mana… it feels just like his and the voice, this is definitely him.... "
The entity descended, landing with a thunderous crash just a few meters away from the children. looking at them he thought " Who are they?..oh I think I know one of them really well... "
The knights moved swiftly, placing themselves between the threat and the childrens.
"Stay behind us! Get to the palace...go to your mothers, now!" one barked.
But it was too late.
The entity raised a hand and with a flick of his wrist, an invisible wave cut through the courtyard like a guillotine. Anything taller than 5'5 feet was torn apart.
The knights didn't even have time to scream. Their upper bodies fell, severed cleanly, blood erupting in gruesome arcs.
Selay, Diana, and Doulong were frozen in shock.
Splattered in blood, surrounded by lifeless halves of men who moments ago vowed to protect them, they could only stare in horror.
And when Selay saw those blood his thoughts raced his mouth and said "What… what's happening? Is this real?"
He felt another presence right after which was in distance.
He looked toward the entity, but his eyes saw another being behind the entity, it was the creature that had made him bleed and almost killed him earlier that day which he had forgotten until then. Until he saw the creature again .
Because after he stared at the creature all this thing he forgot came back to his mind, how he and Diana...
His head started to feel pain and eye stated to hurt and he looked at the creature, as he thought " That monster... I know him"
All the memory he lost where the creature made him bleed and nearly killed him and Diana came back.
" It was real, but how did I forget that? and why my head hurts? ahhh" He murmured.
Selay's thoughts raced his mouth and said "What… what's happening? Is this real?"
Diana trembled but found her voice.
"We have to run. That… that thing will kill us. That's a Nio!"
Doulong clenched his fists, rage flashing in his eyes. "Don't shout. I know what to do." He stepped forward, mana flaring around his fists.
"I'll kill this thing now."
He charged, leaping with a fierce cry. His hand, encased in a shimmering mana shell, aimed for the entity's chest.
But before he could land the strike, a shadowy arm formed from the entity's own body shot forward faster than lightning and gripped Doulong by the throat mid-air.
"I… I didn't even see it comi..." Doulong thought...but that thought stopped with a sickening crack.
The hand of the entity tightened. Blood spilled from Doulong's mouth. His body went limp.
Selay watched in shock, his hands trembling. "No… wait… he will kill Doulong.. I have to do something...anything "
But for some reason his body was not responding anymore.
Tbc...