"Mom. Something strange happened to me." Neo muttered.
As he glanced at the small grave in front of him, he knelt down. After having walked for several days nonstop, he finally found a nice field of poppies where his mother could be at peace. Breaking down in front of the grave, he held himself close.
"I did wrong." He cried.
Everything was going so well when they arrived here. They were moving on from the horrific past that haunted them. Yet here, they were met with more misfortunes. A cycle of bad luck that never ends. Did the world not care about them?
Why were they dragged into such a situation? Why did that man intentionally kill his mother? Why? Why?
"I was doing fine but." Unable to say more, Neo felt his throat tightening.
Neo stared at the blood stained armor he had thrown aside. Nothing was right about this situation. Nothing had happened the way it should have been. They were supposed to only buy a book and return to look for new homes.
Then after that, they would find a nice place to live in and he would go back to school where he would graduate. Then he could finally become the very thing that she had always wanted him to be. He would have become a general helping bring peace.
"Mom. I killed the guards." His pupil shook as he spat it out.
The blood may have been washed away by the rain, but he could still clearly make it out. He could still see the same heart that had been ripped out of that man's chest. He can clearly feel the panic he had when he realized everything.
That monster he was hallucinating. That monster was him.
"I don't know what's wrong with me. Mom. Am I?" He muttered every word desperately. A shuffle from behind him disturbed his peace.
Those footsteps had been following him ever since he had gotten out of the cells. Their whispers and laughter remained by his ears as he continued to stare off into the distance. The dream and the pain he felt.
A distinct noise flows to his ears. Neo's eyes shift from the ground in front of him to the individual in front of him. It was the same person from before. The one that had hugged him.
The man dropped down to his knees and Neo's entire body freezes. There were several broken shackles behind the man. All this time that he had been following Neo, he was dragging them along. His body was covered in marks that Neo had seen only in books.
He was cursed.
The man stared silently with no emotions, as if trying to glimpse through Neo's body to his soul.
That same distinct noise enters his ears once more. His eyes widened as he heard the man mutter his name.
"Neo."
He gives Neo a touch on the forehead with his index finger, then takes it off slowly. A trail of blood runs down the man's face as he gets to his feet and reaches out to Neo.
"We are one, no?"
Neo jumps back as he regains the ability to move. The man had addressed him in his native language. He understood what the man was saying. Neo, perplexed by the strange comment, declined to accept the man's hand, skeptical of the mysterious man.
"Haven't you felt that?"
The man tapped his brows a few times. Neo noticed himself getting headaches while the man carried out this. He holds his head to lessen the pain, but it worsens until the man stops tapping his temples. Neo returned his gaze to the man, who continued to extend his hand.
"What are you? Why is this happening?" He asked in a serious tone.
"Tumun." the man muttered.
Tumun gets up and the area around Neo begins to become colder and colder. Everything becomes a blurry blueish purple as Tumun wipes away the blood from his own cheek. Though the blood smudged his face, the markings on his face glowed through.
"You. Don't have a life force." He spoke.
Neo coughed to himself. How did this person know?
'Don't worry. No one will ever find out. After all, there are no such things as light wishes anymore.'
His mother's words rang through his head continuously. Neo was sure that there was no way for anyone to figure out whether he had a life force or not. How was this possible?
"My existence is merely because of that." Stated Tumun.
"What?" Neo said with confusion.
Tumun's emotionless face finally shows a grin when Neo begins to panic. Cold air blows past Neo's face, calming him down from his stressful thoughts.
"Aren't you hungry?"
Tumun concealed his smile under a somewhat troubled frown. Neo looked up at Tumun as his stomach began to growl.
A tantalizing smell began to fill Neo with newfound hunger. Tumun's hand remained stretched out for Neo to grab. Neo hesitates before slowly and cautiously taking hold of Neo's hand.
Despite trying to remain clear headed, Neo only finds himself losing consciousness to that awful sensation.
As he took Tumun's hands, something entered his body and glowed crimson. Neo could feel his body heating, gradually affecting his vision.
He grabs his face in pain, attempting to calm himself down. His entire body ached from the sparking scorching sensation. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to alleviate the discomfort.
There was the same smell once again. He quickly turned his head towards a direction leading into the forest.
—
The forest had burned to the ground, leaving only ashes and black smoke in many people's homes and tents. Titi scoffs at herself after seeing the bodies of many of her companions. She had damaged her arm and had to stay at the campsite.
They've spent months defending the boundaries, and these higher-ups have stayed steadfast in their refusal to stop the research on light wishes. The population had shrunk due to the growth of mutants. Nobody knows when it started or why, but everything happened so quickly.
No one was prepared for what had happened. They only survived so far because of their Hell Marmots, which gave them an advantage in the air.
But their group of participants has been experimenting with these light wishes for some time now. They do, as the ancient writings stated, increase your abilities. They were designed to assist you in managing and developing your life energy.
The unexpected influx of mutants and light wishes undoubtedly had a connection with one another. The only complication was that these light wishes were originating from mutants, who were all composed wholly of cursed energy.
The elders had always taught them that Elio gave everyone life force, while Tansy and Leif cursed them. However, when these monsters were killed, they transmitted light wishes.
Previously, they were simply releasing curses upon others and eliminating as many living populations as possible. The mutants had the upper hand because the light wishes vanished out of nowhere.
But now that it was back, they were bound to die quickly. However, the main issue they had was determining how to use these light wishes. No one knew how to teach their life forces to accept these new and purer light wishes as energy.
They first tried the ancient way of transforming them into energy, which failed. These new light wishes appeared to have been tweaked. For so long, individuals had to turn to different ways of living.
Because of their specific affinity with Hell Marmots, Vamore ruled empires. Bullets were useless against Hell Marmots, which made dealing with the Vamore Empire much more difficult. They conquered various regions and possessed advantages over others.
"Titi." A voice rang from above.
She turns to face the person riding a Hell Marmot down from the sky. A mask was covering her face to keep her from breathing the thick smoke. Titi's face lights up with relief as she rushes up to the Hell Marmot.
These elders wanted to explore how these light wishes may be utilized. Nobody wanted to volunteer as the light wishes were new and had injured the few who attempted to absorb it. Only one individual was bold enough to attempt it.
"Tai!" She yelled energetically.
Her twin sister, who had always insisted on keeping everything under rigid supervision. She was a prodigy on whom the entire family had placed their hopes for success.
Titi knew it would be a success as soon as she took the initiative to try it. Her older sister never did anything unless she was sure it would work.
These past few months, Tai had definitely shown her improvement in different areas of her attacks and defense. She had even been able to use the light wishes to showcase new powers that everyone has only ever heard of in book records.
But her sister had to deal with not only keeping those mutants at bay but keeping the whole border clear of enemies. She was responsible for too many things at a time. Titi runs over to her sister's side, handing her a bottle of water.
"Was everything okay?" She asked with concern.
Tai hesitates before answering but she reassures her younger sister everything was alright. She ruffles her little sister's hair, making it messy. From afar, a Jah ran over to the two, panting and out of breath.
"The light wishes! We found the right way to do it! Come!" The Jah screamed.
Tai happily hurries off with the man, as Titi stares at the two running off into the distance.