Shambala Sect

"I don"t want dried meat. It"s stinkier than my sweat," Lirzod tried to pursue Primera into not packing dried meat in his luggage for the imminent journey.

"Like it or not, Young Master, this lasts longer than your vapid fruits, and give lots more calories as well," Primera forcibly stuffed the meat packets into his bag. "These sorts of food will help you greatly in the journey. Who knows what kind of food will be available on that Extensive Voyage..." Despite her words, he pulled the packets out and put them aside. She stared at him in a bate, before grabbing them again, and put them back in the bag. Lirzod took them out of the bag, and she was forced to take it from him and put inside again. Lirzod did it again, but this time, he hid the packet behind him and didn"t let her take it. Despite her glares, he didn"t back down.

"Should I put Johr instead of that?" She glanced at the stack of bread packets lying nearby, at the wall.

"No, no, not that!" Lirzod put forward the meat packet in double-quick time before she picked up the Johr package.

"At least let him pack a hundred apples," Duera barged into the room, carrying a cover full of freshly harvested apples. "Journey at sea might be tougher than I can imagine." Seeing the apples, Lirzod felt somewhat relieved.

He whispered in her ears, "Did you get the groundnuts for me?" She almost got tickled by his lips.

"I"m sorry, Young Master. I sneaked in, but that Tigress was inside the home," She replied in a low tone. "All I could do was fetch a few kilos of these." Her gaze shifted towards the tiny black cover that hanged at her waist. "These will be a kilo at best."

"Hmm, thanks," After a quick inspection, he was somewhat relieved.

"No problem, Young Master. Though I couldn"t get fresh stock, I still made my useless father buy a fifty-kilo package on yesterday"s evening itself."

"Oh, that"s great!" Lirzod was elated. "I"ll be sure to bring you great stuff when I come back. Just wait."

"He-he, I"ll look forward to that," She leaned closer and murmured to him. "Just make sure to bring me an extra item than the number you bring to her."

"Sure thing," Lirzod nodded.

Primera who was packing the luggage coldly glanced at them both. (I can hear you both.) She sneakily put a Johr package in between two dresses and stuffed them in the luggage.

"And by the way, I asked Trirera, but she said she wanted nothing," Duera exposed both of her palms.

"That"s too bad. I guess I"ll bring her something of my own choice then."

"I"m not sure if she"ll take it or not."

"If she doesn"t take it, I"ll just irritate her until she takes it."

"He-he, good plan."

"Good plan?" Primera didn"t know whether to laugh or cry. "Have you both ever seen her give a d.a.m.n about what you two do?"

"W-Well, we will do what we can."

"Try your best then. I"m not wishing good luck though."

"Hmph, who wants your luck?"

Sparks flew between Primera and Duera for a brief moment.

Duera was the second highest authorized among maids, only after Primera. These women were the clan"s maids and standardly, they were as many as the number of primary families that made up the clan. Unlike Primera, Duera was even shorter and pet.i.te. Despite her looks, she was many years older than Lirzod.

Being the top maids of the clan, Primera, Duera, and Trirera only worked for the three clan heads" families.

"Also, add hundred Phoenix Fruits," Lirzod pointed his finger at the package that contained the Phoenix Fruits.

"Hundred?" Primera startled. "Our clan only buys a thousand of them per month, and you want ten percent of it? Stop dreaming, Young Master."

"This is my order."

"Politely rejected."

"Please, please," Lirzod came closer and rubbed her chin, and Duera also joined and pulled her cheeks.

"You two..." Primera, though initially showed resistance, later eventually sighed. "Alright, fine. But, if someone asks, I won"t cover up for any of you two."

"Fine," Lirzod laughed. (I will have left by that time anyway). He looked at the garden through the open windows. "Where"s Gouse? She didn"t come for breakfast yet."

"S-She probably went out to bring a gift for you," Duera said, looking down with a blank expression.

"Geez, she"s putting an unnecessary burden on herself. She knows I won"t take her along for such a journey."

Duera stayed silent.

"You know her persistence," Primera said and gave a duping smile.

"You"re right. She was already in a temper last night, for not bringing her to the party. If I refuse her request again, she"ll look for a different owner."

Tears leaked out of Duera"s eyes, while she hid her face and wiped off the tears.

"Maybe she"s sulking in some street," Primera said, coming in between those two.

"You may be right. I"ll go and check for her once," He was about to go, but then he saw Duera taking the luggage out. He came and plucked the luggage off her shoulders and carried it all by himself. Though Duera tried to get the luggage back, he simply refused to let her win. They both headed out into the streets quarreling like a cat and mouse.

At Pudota"s family house, a crest of golden crab could be seen on their dresses worn by workers that were doing their daily ch.o.r.es. The location of their home in the entire street was where the business thrived. Businesses of all sorts from food products to fabrics and all sorts of infrastructure could be seen in the street, all of which kept it busy for the entire day.

On the lawn of his house, not just humans, but also squirrels could be seen working together with them. They helped break different sorts of nuts from their sh.e.l.ls and stacked them in basins. The other workers poured the nuts from the basins into woven cover packages.

Experienced squirrels worked together and carried packages in groups. If an outsider who visited the town for the first time, watched this incident, it would be weird if he wasn"t left in wonderment.

Allda Pudota was resting sideways on his swinging bed with Pentera blowing a worn-out fan for him. "There"s no movement in the winds today." He removed a couple of his shirt b.u.t.tons and tried to welcome as much air onto skin as possible. "I guess I"ll smoke once the winds cool down a bit. I can"t feel much air coming from your side, Pentera... Blow it harder!"

"I"m sorry, Master. But I"m already doing my best," Pentera raised her eyebrows. Having just had a shower, her long orange hair danced in the wind and glowed as bright as the morning sun, and made her appear a lot more beguiling. Her hand movements appeared so refined, which only showcased her experience. Her presence alone brought sunshine to the lawn. She was such a stunner. "This fan is twenty-three years old. So it"s four years older than me. It"s time, we —"

"Enough! That fan is not just any fan. It"s my lucky fan. Other than my family, you are the only person I gave the privilege to hold onto it. So, stop sulking over it and do as I say."

"Yes," she pouted. Every day, most people pa.s.sing by the house would chuckle at her for using such a fan as that. Even a poor person of the clan would be using a better fan than the one she held in her hand. (Twenty three years... Not even marriages are lasting that long these days. When will I get to hold another fan other than this awful one?) Wearing homely clothes, she appeared appealing, thanks to her transparent eyes and a round face. She was the only clan maid who was known for her stylish nails, which she looks after with great care. She might not comb her hair every day, but she wouldn"t forget to polish her nails, not even a single day. Even though Allda himself ordered her to change that habit of hers, but it wasn"t effective in the long run of things.

A fat boy holding a bag full of sweet potatoes walked in, "Father, is it true that the Scarface dared to take the test?"

"Yes. In which hole were you living all this while?" Allda shook his head in distress. "Both of you are only one year apart in age, and you are more intelligent than that brat, but because of your piggy appearance, I couldn"t even ask the clan leaders to consider a ticket for you."

"I-I was just playing with Sasha." (I just got this physique from your genes, father. If you want to blame someone, first blame yourself.)

"That hooker again? She"s twice as old as you," Allda knitted his brows, "Don"t waste your time with her."

"I"m not stupid enough to listen to her requests, father. I"m just enthralled by her charm, that"s all."

"That charm itself can swallow all of our a.s.sets if you aren"t careful," Allda lit up a cigar using the burning end of a ripe, He took a couple whiffs, before resuming, "Since you"re my only son, all of my wealth will be yours one day. But if you keep buying things for hookers, there will come a time when I"ll kick you out myself."

"I won"t let that situation befall to me," He knelt, with a frown on his face. "I, Tarqa promises that I will become the martial child of our clan."

"Oh, is that a baseless claim, or.."

"I recently met with a member of Hollowford clan," He pulled out a green card from inside the gaps between his shirt b.u.t.tons.

"That is..." Allda"s eyes widened, and he quickly grabbed hold of the card and took a closer look. After reading what"s painted on it, his eyes turned rounder as well. "The entrance card of the Shatterfist Sect. Wasn"t it ranked around two thousand and five hundred?" He looked up at Tarqa in bewilderment.

"A little below that."

"How in the world you get your hands on this thing?"

"Through a friend."

"Is he trustworthy?"

"For now, yes."

A capricious smile occupied Allda"s face as he lifted his son up by his shoulders. "Why didn"t you tell me this sooner? So you were on the money all this time... Hhha!"

"I was just waiting for the right time," Tarqa said and showered a similar smile.

"You"ve done great, Young Master. I"m really proud of you," Pentera was in a frenzy of delight. "Now, you will climb far too high for that Bare b.u.t.t to ever reach you. You will become the most popular guy in the clan. There will be no looking back for you."

"Hm-hu, you are absolutely spot on, Pentera," Tarqa"s nose appeared to have grown twice as big in the past few seconds.

"But aside from all that... When"s the party, Young Master?"

Tarqa"s shoulders jerked. He glanced at her and sighed. "You and your fetish for parties... When will stop l.u.s.ting over them?"

"Please, Young Master. This is the biggest occasion of your life. How do you think our family will look if we didn"t throw at least half as grand a party as the one the clan heads threw last night?"

Tarqa"s heart skipped a beat for a moment. He slowly turned his head and looked at his father.

"Hha, fine. I"m in a good mood," Allda appeared to be in the seventh heaven, and he even forgot to take a whiff from the cigar, since he heard the news. "Let"s have it tomorrow night."

Pentera almost blissed out from hearing that.

Tarqa looked into the distance. "I can"t wait to see the Scarface react when he hears the news of me getting an entrance ticket to such a high ranked sect..."

The beam on Allda"s face instantly vanished. "Son..."

"Hmm?" Tarqa just became conscious of the fact that something was off. His father who should be so satisfied and be walking on air after hearing the news, instead, he acted a lot more reservedly than he was looking forward to. And he couldn"t get his head around the reason that could realize such a thing.

"Regarding the chosen sect of this year... Do you not know what it is?"

"Oh yeah," Tarqa startled. "I totally forgot about that. But, no. I was busy with, you know. So... Which sect did they announce? I"m sure it"s a little lower than three thousand in the rankings. Is it the Bronzebow Sect, or the Eyeslinger Sect?"

"Son, that is... How should I say it..."?

"C"mon father, what are you taking this long for? Don"t tell me, you don"t even remember the name they announced?" Tarqa chortled, which only deepened Allda"s frown. "Have they chosen such a "bottom of the pile" sect this time?" Placing his hands on his waist, he laughed in a gleeful way, a second time.

"No, son," Allda turned away, unable to show his face to his son. "They chose something that the likes of us can never choose." His face grew solemn, while Tarqa"s expression turned weary, "This year"s chosen sect is Shambala Sect."

Tarqa"s face froze, and the parcel that"s full of potatoes, which hanged by his fingers, slipped and fell. Pentera handed the fan to Tarqa and stopped down to put the potatoes back in the parcel and picked them up at full speed. "W-What... Say that again!"

"You heard it right, son."

"You mean, the... THE SHAMBALA SECT? The ill.u.s.trious sect that spreads across h.e.l.l, earth and the heavens?"

"... Yes." In recent years, Allda"s face never turned ashen to such an extent, as it did at the moment. His throat almost couldn"t spew out that single word, that held the weight of an immeasurable act behind it.

"C"mon, don"t joke with me, father!"

Allda didn"t speak, rather, he couldn"t. Tarqa took a look at Pentera and she nodded. "What master said is true, Young Master."

"That... That can"t be true. How... H-How can they?" He almost pulled his hair. All his efforts seemed worth less than the worthless, after everything he heard.

Allda who"s still turned away placed his arms on his back. "It is true and we must digest it all by ourselves."

"This..." Tarqa"s eyes enlarged further, to the point they began to throb. "This is partiality!" The burning sensation in his stomach twisted his intestines, which made his hands make a separating move, that tore apart the fan in his hands. "Who don"t I get such partiality and preference shown by the clan heads?" He almost lost his balance and fell sideways.

Allda turned back at full tilt and grabbed hold of his son. "Tarqa! I know it hurts, but worry not." He made his falling son, to stand stiff and straight. "Be calm and think for once. It"s impossible for those three to pa.s.s the Sect Test of the Shamabala Sect. If they don"t return, the clan head position is likely to change heads. Then it will either come to me or to Syam, hoping that Fidelis wouldn"t get in our way. If you did something worth noting in the Sect Test of the Shatterfist Sect, then I will without a doubt become a Clan Head, if not the Clan Head."

"That"s right," Tarqa tried to rea.s.sure himself. "There"s no way that he can come back from such a top-level test. His doom is certain. Everything is progressing quite faster than like how I wanted."

"It is, but trust me, only good days are ahead of us!" Allda began to laugh out loud.

Pentera came closer to give the potatoes to Tarqa when her eyes laid on the torn fan. Her entire heart felt like escaping out through her throat, as her gaze locked at Tarqa, who also was in a fright after noticing what had happened, and hid the fan behind his back in a haste.

"Hmm?" That sudden movement of Tarqa attracted Allda"s attention. "Is everything on the money?"

"Y-Yes, father." (s.h.i.t, I"m done for.) "E-everything"s on the money. Everything"s just fine."

"Yes, Master Allda," Pentera also voiced from her end.

"Everything... Really?"

"Yes, father!"

"What are you hiding behind your back?" Allda"s eyes darted straight towards his hand that concealed something out of Allda"s view.

"T-They are potatoes!"

"Potatoes?" Allda shot a glance at Pentera, who was still holding the potato packet. "She"s holding those. Hha, what are you hiding there? Enough of this "keeping me off the money" thing, and show me that stuff you are trying so hard to put out of my sight."

"T-That"s..." Sweat had long soaked the skin on Tarqa"s face and neck.

"Master, it"s time for breakfast," Pentera"s stepped closer. "The food might go cold."

Allda raised his hand, stopping her. "The food can wait" His stare didn"t turn away a degree from where Tarqa was. "First, let me see what he"s holding." (It better be something not related to that swine, Silver Pin Sasha.) Controlling his welling aggravation, he came to Tarqa and put his hand behind him, and softly pulled what"s in his hand. And what came out — the fan, which almost got split in two and suspended in air as such — shook him to the core, and spread the pain which sunk his heart all the way to the stomach and forced its way down further through the intestines, and beyond. All the pleasantness in his face evaporated and he glared at Tarqa with whitened visage. "You imbecile!" With a wave of his hand, he slapped him so hard that Tarqa"s head twisted and even his neck muscles made popping sounds. Allda himself felt significant pain in his hand, but the gushing anger brought forth by the raging blood, blinded him from all that he would be bothered with if he was in a quotidian mood.

That slap made every worker in the house stop in their tracks. The squirrels, however, just continued their work as if nothing worth noticing happened.

When Tarqa looked back at his father, tears appeared in his eyes and his cheek turned blood red. "I"m sorry, father."

"Get lost from my face, you good-for-nothing fathead!" Allda shouted out of his lungs.

Tarqa"s tears only intensified as he turned back and ran out of the home, his heart becoming heavier and heavier by the second.

"My precious fan..." Allda wasted no time and he began to walk into the house, "I hope this can be st.i.tched to make it look new."

Pentera followed him inside, at her own pace. (Thank G.o.d... That worthless fan finally got its expiry date fixed. Or should say, Thank Tarqa?) She began to laugh on the inside.

At Yerram"s family house.

Syam was fuming from indignation. "They didn"t pay heed to my advice. Those three fools think they can win the Sect Test? That thought itself would be the joke of the millennium."

A fifteen-year-old pink haired girl walked into the room. Though she wore clothes that were easy on the eyes and didn"t stand out, she looked as salubrious as the Spring itself. She was so healthy that the pinkish glow subtly appeared everywhere over her pale skin — face, hands, legs, chest, neck, and shoulders. Even rabbits would envy the natural sheen her skin had. "Father, I don"t get why you stay in this clan when you don"t like its ways."

"Megha..." Syam glanced at his daughter who sat beside him. "You are too young to know the ways of the world."

"But I"m old enough to see lots of things. Like how our Faceless clan doesn"t bother to compete for rankings and cares more about prosperity. If our ranking stoops even lower, won"t that affect our trades in the long run? When the current trade bonds finish their term in five or ten years, what would happen afterward? Our clan is sure to get broken into pieces. We should leave the clan before that happens."

"I already considered that and much more, but you can"t hurry in certain things," Syam looked into the distance, narrowing his eyes. "First of all, I should find out how the clan heads managed to get the entry cards for the Shambala Sect." (Knowing that might open new gates for me...)

"I got scared stiff when I heard their announcement," Megha laughed and tried to contain herself. "I"m glad I"m not the one partic.i.p.ating." But then her laughter slowly subsided. "I hope they don"t at least get themselves killed. Our clan won"t be in a bad spot then." She subconsciously touched her lips, while her eyes flashed out intense abhorrence. (More than all, I hope someone teaches that Lirzod a good lesson.)

"My child, I know that you have no interest in becoming a Martial Child," Syam placed his hand over her head and gently rubbed it. "But Martial Way is the way of the world. Not only does it bring fame and riches, it lets you explore this endless world. Only some get to experience such a jaunt. If you stay here, you may own our household, but what"s that, when compared to the freedom you will have when you have become a Martial?

"Though I"m not a Martial, I"m saying this from my experience. The difference between a Hollow and a Martial is like the difference between a frog that lives in a well, and a frog that lives in an ocean. Both are frogs, but both lives are nowhere near equally adventurous. The one that lives in a well only has to adapt to the well it lives in, but the one that lives in the ocean has to adapt to the entire ocean. It"s plain to see who"s superior. It"s the same with us Hollows and Martials.

"As a Hollow, all I know is to sculpt the rocks that are brought to me by the customers. Though I wanted to explore the world, I was already thirty by the time I became an apprentice at sculpting and was already married. I just couldn"t abandon your mother and go off on a journey from which I might never return. But look at what happened afterward... After you were born, your mother..." His face turned miserable and lost most of its glow.

"I..." Megha paused a moment, and her expression seemed out of sorts. "Father, mother left us to become a Martial and was killed by thugs as she was returning. I was only a little girl back then, but I still sort of remember how angry and hurt you were when that happened. We are each other"s, only family. I don"t want to leave you, and go elsewhere. This world may be endless, but you are the world to me..."

"Megha..." Syam was full of tears as he hugged her. "To me, your existence is as scarce as hen"s teeth."

As those two began to shed tears under a neem tree, a breathtaking woman dressed in green observed them from the entrance door of their house. Her face was filled with too complex of an expression to discern even by those who were close to her.

The dawn of the next day.

Though the sunshine should have blessed Helenia by the time, that wasn"t the case today. Though there was a soft glow in the skies, the sun was still nowhere to be seen.

It was even more of the case, at the port of the Faceless clan"s territory, where th.o.r.n.y trees such as cactus and other tropical trees could be seen nearby. Many members of the clan arrived at the spot, to send off three of their important members who might never return. But the faces of everybody were filled with joy, pride, and a mult.i.tude of emotions that would run wild if kept in check for much longer. A big flag of their clan could also be seen atop the light post not far away from the spot the members cl.u.s.tered at. It had a white-masked dragon face on it, which was designed by Sinario but was painted by Syam.

The air was still cold, as cold as it would be at three in the night. The thick fog around them, made some children sneeze, and some others rub their skin in an attempt to keep themselves hot. The sea in front of them was even darker and hosted hideous fog and rumbling clouds alike.

Everybody gathered there was talking about the future of their clan, and their prospects if those three young ones of their clan succeeded in making a name for themselves. Even coming back alive, in one piece, would do that.

"Generally, if we keep our expectations low, we are less likely to get disappointed. But in this case, it"s the polar opposite," Picazo placed his hands on Lirzod"s shoulders. "I have high expectations of you, son. Don"t make your mother cry any more than she has to." He closed Lirzod"s fist and tapped it on Lirzod"s chest softly, for three times. "Always keep the hopes of our people in there."

"I will not forget our people. And I will give it my best, father," Lirzod nodded. "Take care of mother. She..."

"She will be thinking of you every day of the year and will be angry at you for your decision... For my decision... But that"s only until you come back and give her a warm hug."

"He-he," Lirzod felt slightly better after hearing those words. "I"ll bring her something special, something even better than all the gifts you gave her."

"Ho... I"ll be looking forward to that then. But know this, your mother is hard to impress."

"Haha, I can only do my best and bring the best gift I can think of and get my hands on!"

"Sounds great, but then what about me? Won"t I be getting any gifts?"

"I will give you a hug. Won"t that be enough?"

Picazo narrowed his eyes. "I get it. This father isn"t so important to you as compared to your mother."

"It"s no ordinary hug, father. It will be the greatest hug ever!"

"You little... Who are you trying to fool with your sugar-coated words? I"m your father!"

Lirzod ran away to Primera, as fast as his legs could carry, and stood behind her.

Picazo didn"t run after him and just sighed, before making an amicable smile.

Meanwhile, Sinario tutored austere lessons to his descendant. "Not just your best, but give it some more, Burton boy," Sinario"s sharp stare entered directly into the deepest regions of Burton"s heart. He seemed like he was being hypnotized by the words of his father, and began to almost mechanically nod in a repet.i.tive manner. "I know you are not like me, but I will only tell you one thing. Fear not losing the test, but losing to your heart."

"Your son will bring fame to our family"s name, father," Burton saluted to his heart and bowed a little.

"Not just to the family, but the clan as well. As a Young Master of the clan, you reveled in all sorts of privileges from your childhood, but all of those were for this moment. Don"t forget that. As my son, you are duty bound to put your clan"s priorities ahead of your family"s and even your own."

"Your son fully understands."

On the other hand, Kwame seemed to be depressed as he had to depart with his precious daughter. He did his best to not shed tears in front of his daughter — and also the crowd — and suppressed all his emotions, which made his heart a thousand times heavier.

"You are probably the smartest in the clan among your age group," Kwame held her hands gently and took a deep breath. "But smartness without sufferance can only take you so far. If you come back alive, it means you"ve gone through a great deal of effort. And that"s all you need to show the clan to prove yourself, my child."

"I will fulfill the wishes of our clan," Sariyu softly pulled the hands of his father and placed them on her cheeks, "and yours as well, father."

"I know you value your life, but that"s the case for most beings of this world. We do everything we can just to survive," The corner of Kwame"s lips curled down. "Even if you fail... I will still feel proud of you."

"Father..." Sariyu was left in tears as she hugged her father, and sobbed her heart out. All the emotions she tried to contain inside her heart, burst out like the floodgates of a dam would in times of a seemingly never-ending storm. From her childhood, whenever she asked for something, his father bought it for her without objecting to it even once. Though he didn"t show it, he loved her more than he loved the clan, and she knew that. And for her to leave such a father in whose arms, she spent significant of her lifetime, she was at a loss of words, and her tears spoke in her stead as they wet her cheeks in a vicious way.

At the same time, Lirzod seemed to be discussing something private with Primera. "When I come back, you should let me make love to you," Lirzod spoke in Primera"s ears. "Otherwise, I won"t bring you any gifts."

Primera flushed ever so faintly, but narrowed her eyes, and twisted his ear with all possible haste. "First, grow some mustache before speaking such big words, Young Master."

"Ouch, ouch, I"m your Young Master! You can"t hurt me."

"Master Picazo gave me all the rights to do whatever I want with you, long ago. Did someone forget that?"

"Right, that"s right, but don"t do this now, not in front of others... Everyone"s watching... Please."

"Since when did you bother about what others think about us, Young Master?"

"Since now."

"Fine, but promise me you"ll never talk to me like that again," She put her palm forward.

Lirzod paused a moment before bringing his hand forward. "I pro-miss." He placed his palm over hers.

"Not pro-miss! Say promise!" She twisted his ear again.

"Aww!" Lirzod squealed in pain. "Duera! Save me!"

Listening to his words, a girl came out of nowhere, and tickled in Primera"s armpit from behind, making her let go of Lirzod"s ear. The two of them got onto her left and right and began to tickle her everywhere.

"You two... Stop it!" Primera jumped all around, losing herself.

Some of the members of the clan that watched the scene from far were quite surprised. "Even that Primera who always appears so professional is not immune to tickles. This is great news." Some men who had first seen such a thing had begun to form future plans.

Putting an end to Primera"s misery, a girl came with a water spray and sprayed onto Lirzod and Duera, making them go away.

"You saved me, Trirera. Thanks. I almost died from laughter," Primera was still out of breath. It"s been weeks since she laughed to such an extent. "Those two would have never stopped if not for you."

"No problem. Trirera always has your back." That red-haired girl, Trirera said, spraying some more water on in the direction those two were in. Her voice contained slight sleepiness in them but was quite soft and childlike. She was taller than Duera but shorter than Primera, and she didn"t have any vivid expression on her face and seemed to be in normal spirits, which was the way she appeared most of the times.

Both Lirzod and Duera still rapidly moved their fingers in the air, trying to tease Primera, who grabbed the water spray and chased after them, herself.

"That"s my spray..." Trirera mused to herself before she turned back. "I guess I"ll go and give send off to Young Master Burton." She didn"t make any unnecessary movements. Even her walk was slow paced as if she didn"t care what"s happening in the world around her. She stopped after seeing a starfish on the ground. She picked it up and brought it to Burton. "Young Master," She stretched out her hand.

"Oh, a starfish!" Burton smiled and took it from her. "Trirera, I didn"t ask you, but do you want anything from the outside world."

"I..." She looked down and began to slowly play with her fingers. "I..."

Burton leaned closer. "Don"t be shy. Whatever it is, I won"t say to anybody and will secretly bring it to you."

"Hmm," She softly nodded. "I trust Young Master Burton. I... I want the..." She spoke secretly in his ears.

Her words surprised Burton and made him stand straight. "Ahem, you, you want that, right?"

"Yes, is it possible?"

"O-Of course. Just leave it to this Young Master," Burton made his chest appear bigger.

"Hmm!" She nodded and smiled.

Meanwhile, Duera and Lirzod ran quite far away from the crowd, and Duera could run no more in that sand, so she stopped. "Young master, don"t forget about the Volcanic Turtle Sh.e.l.l Cream," Duera also murmured in his ears, while still out of breath.

"How can I?" Lirzod said, "I will bring you even more pleasant things."

Primera reached the spot and began to spray water all over those two.

"Primera! This is my journey dress, so stop it, please!" Lirzod said out loud.

His words halted her. "You"re right. I forgot about that. I"m sorry, Young Master."

"It"s fine. What happened has happened," Saying that Lirzod lunged at her, and swept his hand at the water spray, but Primera simply stepped back once, making his effort a failure.

"Young Master, you should have stepped in again!" Duera said in a haste, which seemed rather like a slip of the tongue.

"Mm?" Primera turned to Duera, widening her eyes.

"N-No, wait! I can explain this... Wait... No, no, no!" Before Duera could raise her hands to defend herself, the stream of water had splashed all over her face and body. She just stood like that for five seconds, until Primera finally stopped.

A few minutes later.

Lirzod seemed to have worn a new set of clothes since he was forced by his father to wear fresh and ironed clothes. "Geez, this pant is so elastic. If someone pulls it down, I"d be ashamed in front of everybody!" He tried to joke, but the two girls on his side didn"t seem to be affected by his words.

Primera and Duera were on his both sides and seemed downcast.

"You both are mourning before my journey even began!" Lirzod placed his arms around their shoulders, "I have lots of girls to watch, ahem, I mean lots of things to do and achieve great things on this journey, and come back as an entirely different person who oozes out nothing but greatness. And no matter what happens, I want the two of you to hang around here till that person comes back, got it?"

"Hmm, We will be waiting..." Both of them said with smiley faces which again quickly turned into pitiful looks, "So, don"t die out there, okay?"

"Stop worrying about my death!," Lirzod choked their throats with his arm grip. "I"m not going to my funeral, you know. Wish me good luck, or I"ll dip the both of you in the sea right now!" He took them closer to the waves, which wetted them up to their ankles.

"Yeah, all the best! All the best!" Both of them wasted no time in saying that.

"That"s more like it," He removed the grip and patted on their spines in a rough manner, "Cheer up a bit."

"We can"t cheer ourselves while you are squeezing our throats," Duera softly clutched her throat, trying to breathe freely.

Primera, on the other hand, was staring towards the ocean.

Lirzod looked back at the sh.o.r.e, and his eyes scanned for a certain someone. "Where"s Gouse? I couldn"t find her anywhere. How far did she run off to?"

Duera startled. "W-We will take care of her, so don"t worry."

"Alright... But tell her I"ll bring her something as well. Got it?"

"Sure, sure," She said and turned her face away, as her lips curled down.

Primera who was staring at the ocean that was filled with dense fog glanced down without t.i.tling her head, and the sea level slowly rose from her ankles up to her knees in a matter of seconds. She turned back and shouted, "Everyone, get back! Get back!"

"Hmm?" Many people were puzzled, but they listened to her.

"What"s wrong, Primera? What happened?" Lirzod got to her, but she didn"t reply and just dragged him and Duera to the sh.o.r.e in a hurry.

After almost moving backward for hundreds of meters continually, they no longer stood on the sand of the sh.o.r.e but were on a solid ground. Howbeit, the water of the seas still slightly hit the mark above their ankles.

"What"s going on? Why is the sea welling up like this?" Many people were still in quite a worry. They would have long run away, if not for their clan leaders standing calmly in front of the rising sea, which seemed like a living monster coming to devour them all in one subtle swoop.

"Don"t panic!" Picazo"s voice reached many ears. "Just stay where you are. The water levels won"t rise anymore." (Hopefully...)

His words, though they failed to settle the ma.s.ses, they succeeded in settling their nerves.

As the crowd murmured, they heard the noise of something swashing ever so slightly, which grew in clarity. That low-frequency voice emanated from the fog, resonated with their hearts and made almost all of them be at unease. As they stared at the fog of the sea, it began to swirl and separate as it took form in the shape of a gigantic ship which appeared out of nowhere in that fog of the sea, and closed in, alerting everyone. Its sheer size made them all look smaller than ants, and they paled in comparison to its magnificence. "Holy G.o.d! It"s bigger than our Manjaro mountain!" Lirzod was wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"Is that really a ship?" Duera placed her loosely closed fists on her chest, and her dilated pupils reflected a hideous image of the ship.

"How did this colossal thing come so suddenly, out of nowhere?" Burton"s blood ran cold, and his feet instinctively stepped back.

Most of the crowd had clutched their own hearts, in fear that it may fall down into their stomachs. Many starfish, tiny fishes gathered at the locality in front of them and began to jump out into the air. Though those fish didn"t like the arrival of the ship, which forced them to come out to sh.o.r.e, their commotion seemed like a dancing for those humans. And it seemed like those fishes were welcoming the arrival of the ship, which made its presence all the more penetrating. Hundreds of crabs walked onto the sh.o.r.e and tickled their feet. Being accustomed to seeing them, most people weren"t afraid of them at all. Howbeit, some people like Duera jumped and sat on Primera"s waist.

Even water snakes that thrived in salt seas made their way out, though they avoided coming closer to the humans, unlike the crabs.

Trirera, on the other hand, picked up a couple baby crabs and put her hands forward, at Burton.

"Hmm?" Burton, who was intently watching the ship, glanced at her face before his eyes looked at the crabs in her palm. "T-This isn"t the time to be gifting around, you know."

But Trirera didn"t move an inch, and she stared at him without blinking even once.

He stretched out his hand, and she put the crabs on his palm. Only then, did they turn away and focus on observing the ship. Burton also turned away, and came to Lirzod and sneakily pulled his pant and tossed them in, making sure that neither he nor Trirera noticed him. Though Primera noticed him, she stayed silent and did her best to refrain from smiling.

The air turned colder by the minute, but sweat began to surface on the skins of many people.

As the ship closed in, her features became more prominent, but her top couldn"t even be seen clearly. A total of thousand decks, with each other having an exquisite detail, she oozed out nothing but quality and intimidated the hearts of the mortals that stood before it in fascination-filled jouissance. Despite being miles apart, her sheer size made most of her features undoubtedly clear. The symbols, paintings, sculpted marks of various beasts made one and all watch in awe, and none blinked in the last entirety of the minute.

The towering figurehead of a sculpted angel, looked down on the mortals as if they deserved to be. Her garb was plain pretty. A tiny silhouette stood on one of her wings, which couldn"t be clearly seen yet.

Each deck taller than the tallest building of their town, every inch of her wood lasted the test of time and the wicked weather it brought along with it, and still appeared unworn. The same was the case for all of the metal and stone that bejeweled her. She had no visible masts but had water lines and some circular hallways that toured around only some of the decks. No smoke can from her, other than the fog that surrounded her, which gave such a deceiving effect. Tens of thousands of tiny portholes could be seen on each of her decks, which sort of gave away the number of mortals that aboard her in general.

And behold, the multi-million tonnes of ancient being had a forbidding presence, for her archaic wood chanted a melancholic melody — which strained their senses, drained their verve, and sucked their souls out of their flesh and bones, and laid them bare before her — as she floated and dragged itself above the surface of the sea. She appeared in their eyes like a mountainous whale which was as wide as the horizon could stretch, and as tall as the clouds could climb, and as big as any creature could grow, she was without a doubt, the mightiest monster they"ve ever laid their eyes on.

Her arrival alone raised the sea level in the vicinity and the waves that were barely touching their ankles earlier, now almost rose up to their thighs. It was a subtly horrifying gesture from the sea, brought upon those who were beneath her. The little kids sitting over their parents" necks, emptied their bladders. Crabs, snakes, fishes were all around them, almost at touching distance.

People were scared. They were so scared. They had seen many ships before, but never one of such magnitude. No matter which direction their eyes turned, there she was — the t.i.tan whose top seemed to have touched the clouds and what lay beyond. Her subduing image made their legs go weak, and if not for them being in the water, it was hard to tell how many of them would have collapsed. Many women had already fainted in their husband"s arms. And especially, the strange noise that the wind carried, lurched their stomachs and ached their intestines alike. Despite being fearful, the parents told their kids that there was nothing to fear; howbeit, the kids heard not their parents voice, but the voice of the fear that the wind brought along from every direction. Though they wanted to run, they felt like they were surrounded in all ways, and had no place left to hide.

The very few who weren"t scared, still had their bodies stiffened. Smiles went extinct and silence replaced its place as it evolved among every one of them. Color drained from their faces and made them appear as white as a chalk, frozen yet shivering, unable to move yet trying to edge backward, hearts pounding either in their throats or stomachs, they were too scared to comprehend what"s ahead of them.

Picazo raised his arm and gestured towards the ship, "Everyone, this is the ship that gathers the Entries of the Shambala Sect; the second largest ship in the world, Extensive Voyage!" His voice broke through the barrier of fear that shrouded people"s minds and brought them back to the world of the living from the world of daydreams. They were no longer incapacitated from fear like before, but their eyes still fully opened eyes throbbed, breaths were harsh and painful, and sweat inundated their skin — all of which made them feel drastically exhausted.

"It stopped..." Duera"s shaky voice was barely audible. An unknown amount of seconds had pa.s.sed since she last spoke.

The gargantuan ship seemed to have stopped almost two miles away from them, and three pure white horses jumped down from the lowest deck into the waters of the sea and galloped on the surface of the sea, scaring the living daylights out of all people — most of whom that were frozen till now, turned back and blitzed away from the sh.o.r.e, without daring to look back, by pushing aside all the crabs and fishes and snakes alike. "Run! Some critters are after us! Don"t look back! Bolt ahead like lightning!"

————————————————————————————

[1] Johr: A special type of bread made from a special crop, Johr that gets easily affected by fungi. But since it grows quickly, it"s sold for less price and the poor cla.s.s people eat it daily, even though it often brings them a sick stomach.