Ch 1

Chapter 1

 Soft voice

 "It's a bright purple sunny day; a good day to die."

 "Run!"

 "What or what ?!"

 Jim heard his inner voice whisper softly like fading daylight on the altar of night. He shook his head, and looked around, not moving an inch. "I can't run, they'll kill me if I do!"

 "You will die if you keep running!"

 The sound came again clearer than before. It made his whole body stiff. Not knowing what to do.

 He was standing inside the holiest place, not only in this great city that was overwhelmed with pride and ancient history, but in his entire nation. The heartless empire that people used to call ... destiny.

 He was fifteen years old, just an hour away from his coming of age ceremony. Unlike other kids in town, in the empire, in the whole world, his upbringing was destined to be bloody in his blood!

 He looked at the tightly closed doors before deciding to head over to the rear window and check things out. It was a pleasant and warm sunny day, as in the middle of the summer of the fourteenth month. It was early hours and no one was walking the streets. He left them empty like a bitter wife.

 The cold wife to others was a warm mistress to him; Desperately wanted to jump from the rail of this soaring double-decker window straight into the warm embrace of the street, straight into the warmth of freedom; Away from here.

 "Run, fool!"

 The sound came so clear that it made him wake up in fear; He turns around to check if he's alone or not. He was alone, with his thin, malnourished body that limited all the reckless care that his beloved parents and family gave him.

 He was tall, with a toothpick-like body, a curved neck and a slightly arched back. It was a sign that his body was failing to hold all his height without good muscles.

 His clothes were random. He collects the leftovers that his family gave him. Or the one they prefer to get rid of, as garbage, by giving it to him.

 Despite his bad treatment, this rarely happened to him. This made his pants shorter than his legs, and showed off his strange long, skinny legs that gave him the impression he had two crow paws instead. Even crows were treated with great respect from him! Some cities here even consider them a sacred symbol, not a cursed symbol.

 With his light brown hair, dark brown eyes and freckled face, he looked at the window, at the streets, at the distant walls that loom over the horizon in the distant vision, blurred by the early dark fog of the day. And whisper:

 "Trust me, I want it, but ... I can't. I'm going to die from this height."

 - You are tall, old enough to know how to jump. Don't stand here like a fat pigeon waiting to be slaughtered at dinner. You are not a pigeon, and you are not fat!

 "Thanks for the courtesy, I don't know without you what I would have done."

 He opened his mouth slightly, flaunting his unfinished teeth, with some missing as a natural sign for someone younger than his age. He was not brave at all. Indeed, throughout his life he felt lonely, the remnants of others, even his closest relatives, treated like trash; And as a litter, he became one.

 "Run if you want to live, do you want to die?"

 The voice asked him a question he knew the answer to; He didn't want to die. But he did not want to live this miserable, worthless and aimless life, a life of remains!

 "I can't live that way anymore, what should I stick like glue to life?" He whispered, as he brought his bow back to the window, leaning on it, hoping that his balance would slip and fall, overcoming this life.

 The voice promised: 'Run and I'll be given something new.'

 "who are you?!" Jim laughed as he patted his leg with his palm. "Dude, we've known each other for what? Five years? And you chose this day, this particular morning, to tell me this? I can't believe you, sorry."

 His voice shook in the completely empty room filled with frames. It was ugly, as if a blind man had decorated them with dark black images of cruel youth, about his age, showing his misery, and ending up in his awaited fate.

 "It is not time to help you, but today is different."

 "Yes, I can't agree more."

 Then Jim entered the room, where there was a very large and luxurious bed, made entirely of dark celery. He passed his fingers as he felt the strange force of this dead ore piece. Although warm, she felt creepy and sad, which is strange which most people hate and seen as a harbinger of misfortune; like him.

 On either side of it, stretching from the height of his waist to the floor, is covered in soft oak. Extremely skillful engraving was done end to end, to show an epic story that is; Like everyone else in this fateful loving empire, he knows her by heart.

 "The tale of the heroic remains," he said while casting a peek at a very special scene; Guidance Day. Or what I like to describe as the Day of Resurrection.

 It was five years ago, on his tenth birthday, when he went there; To the same place pictured in this timepiece. Despite the outstanding skill of the craftsman who did, Jim was positive because he failed to capture the real thing, the hidden secret, the absolute truth from the trash; This was all work!

 He cast a sneak peek at how the director was trying to lie, misrepresenting the actual facts and scenes that he personally lived there, before forcefully kicking his death trial venue with his feet with all his might. The bed wasn't broken, and he felt pain in his bare toes.

 Ouch, he lived this oak wood to his fame,

 "You're just weak, no offense."

 "And who asked me to jump two stories high?" Jim answered, leaving the bed alone, limping in pain, as he headed toward these paintings scattered on two walls of this room.

 "Twenty thousand leftovers have been killed so far, and no one has thought of running. Do you know how ridiculous I would be if I were the first to run away? I would be the first to break the long, successful streak of shame; shame on me!"

 There is no shame in preferring to live rather than die. Plus, haven't you thought about escaping all these past years, even planning to do it from the same window last month?

 "Suppose I had a cold foot."

 "Cold feet on the only chance to live? !!"

 "Shhh, why are you so loud and lively today, huh?" Jim returned to the window, looking out at the warm purple rays of the world today. "The last day to admire this beauty," he said.

 "You know you have the opportunity to see it every morning."

 "I told you, I have nothing to live for, do not be so stubborn."

 "And I told you I'll give you something interesting."

 “No, you no, liar, I said new,” Jim smiled laughing at a silly joke, and a bitter, desperate laugh ensued of a man who had lost everything from his thin lips.

 "I'm not kidding here, you are talented."

 "Say this to those who tested me and said I am rubbish."

 Then he lost any interest in watching this scene, moving his legs like dragging two heavy limbs of a dragon instead. He had no desire to do anything here; I have no desire to do anything at all.

 'I am telling the truth. You are talented, born with a special gift that you can only wield. Unparalleled power.

 "And I waited a full five years for you to tell me that now? Come on, pick another trick, right? I'm no longer a child, old man."

 He couldn't believe the words of the soft voice at all, as he was standing in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do.

 This wasn't any random room in the city, the capital of this huge and mighty empire, but it was one of the holy places that people recognized.

 "It's funny how people can be so strong and majestic while they are afraid of things that are ethereal and non-existent."

 "The dragon really exists, you know that."

 "I know, don't forget I actually saw one the day it popped into my head for no reason." Jim went to inspect a small desk in one corner of the room, with many decorations, depicting little dragons breathing wood fire and ice. “I almost killed myself in fear that day, he sighed. Why didn't I die and be freed from this misery ?!”

 "Dragons are not scary!"

 Chapter II

 Strange fog

 “Certainly, the phantom sound coming from deep within my twisted mind can boast of not being afraid of them,” he mocked when he walked away from the office, feeling a kind of loss.

 This is not true, I am not afraid of them because I was once a higher being, more terrifying and stronger than them. In fact, these dragons that you worship are called lizards by us, and we work as our slaves and try to plead all the time to satisfy our desires.

 “Yes, yes. They also fought for you and raised you to the sky where you completely disappeared from this huge earth. Old man tell me, what have you smoked to reach this stage? Huh? Be a great, generous old man. Share this secret with me. I may be in desperate need of some These things at the moment. "

 He laughed and as he did. He found himself standing by the window again. Jim looked through it as the voice came again in a soft voice:

 'I do not lie! And you, my poor son, were born with the same genes as me and others who died long ago.

 "Sure, I totally believe you!"

 Jim was now spinning around the room aimlessly, as he began to accept his miserable fate out of despair.

 "What if I prove it to you?" The soft voice came into his head, which made Jim really uncomfortable. He was about to embrace the idea of dying here today, and that voice kicked him out of that mood.

 "Sigh, if I told you to stop you wouldn't you?"

 "Just do this and if it fails, I'll shut up to your very end."

 "He sighed," Jim shook his head, "Get it, old man. What is it? But don't tell me that I can jump over the height of the two stories and land safely, I don't fall for such dirty tricks."

 The voice said while he was silent for a while: `` It's not gimmicks, little fool, it's a way to wake up your true genes a little for a brief moment.

 "Old man, are you taking a nap now?" Jim asked him while he was knocking on his head with his prominent knuckles.

 "Silence, I'm trying to find a place that isn't covered in this damned wood or raw metal."

 "Do you mean Al Sulaytham ore and Oak wood?"

 “Yes, these two are the enemies to those who have your genes, but…” The sound paused as it found its target, “They can cover everything but the air, right?”

 "I swear in the name of the Golden Sacred Dragon that I don't understand a single word of what you've said!"

 "Just go to the window."

 "Old man, I told you I wouldn't jump! No matter what damned metal or wood filled the room!"

 Who said anything about jumping! I just want you to remove the glass from the side of the window! "

 "Only glass?"

 "Yes, take off the glass."

 Jim, helplessly shaking his head, went toward the window. Back at his home, he was responsible for all repairs and dirty work there, including cleaning. He once fixed a broken glass for a window bigger than this one, and he still keeps that memory deep in his mind with that long scar on his palm.

 "What now?" He asked after I professionally took out the long thin layer of glass.

 Go to the stove and make a fire. Take a mug with you and place it on the base of the fire.

 "Do you want to burn glass?" Jim noticed that he had gone to the heater, a little rectangular thing not being used this summer. He found it clean without a speck of dust on its base, carefully placing the glass and then taking out the wood stored in a corner. Before taking out a lighter device definitely invented by one of the greatest magicians of his world, set a fire above the glass.

 "No, I want it to liquefy, to make an insulator on the surface of the earth."

 Jim shrugged because he was seeing it as a children's play; A time-wasting game that his desperate brain invented so that he would not lose his mind - fact!

 "So should I wait?"

 "Only five minutes".

 "You're kidding, right? This layer of glass is going to take longer than that! An hour is not an exaggeration!"

 "Sigh, just wait, it's five minutes, much shorter than you expect, isn't it? You won't lose anything after that!"

 "..."

 Jim didn't respond to the sharp comment of that crazy voice, as he laments his mind for being so hot instead of trying to calm him down.

 "what the hell…?!!" Jim hurried to jump back when transparent fiery liquid leaked from the heater, heading straight towards his feet. He quickly backed away, and when he got away enough he realized something.

 "It took me five minutes like I said, old man!"

 Sure, your genes gave a boost to the glass, helping it quickly disintegrate.

 "Talking in puzzles again!"

 "Now isn't the time to talk, just stand on the liquid with your bare feet, hurry up!"

 “Old man, why are you so determined to torture me? Huh? Do not hurry, within two hours they will come and torture me to death!

 'Just go!'

 "Don't shout, I'll go, okay!"

 Jim moved hesitantly toward the hot, transparent liquid that was emitting thin streaks of smoke. He reached the end of this fluid, closed his eyes and extended one leg for a temperature test.

 "Just jump!"

 The screaming startled him and made him lose his balance, and he jumped forcefully over the liquid to balance himself. When he prevented himself from falling, he sighed deeply.

 "Can't you just be kinder?" He groaned when he was angry at what the voice had done to him.

 "No need to thank you. You are now standing on the questioner just fine, right?"

 Jim immediately turned his head to the ground, to find himself standing on top of the liquid, as the thin columns of white smoke turned into a dense mist emerging from its surface, centered around his legs.

 "Old man, what's going on here?" He asked after confirming that his legs were completely fine. The old man did not respond as the liquid continued to emit fog that climbed onto his body from his legs to his shoulders; Like a coat pose from that fog!

 "The old man ...?!" He asked again because he did not know what to do or what was going on here.

 This is a small boost that you will gain for your weak body. However, this will not last for long. I expect this to only last for a few hours, mostly half a day, the sound came again, as Jim peeked at his body as he muttered:

 "What batch? I am now covered in fog as if I came out of the bathroom *****!"

 “Ag, well, go anywhere and try to use any part of your body. You know what? Go back to bed and kick that stupid board!

 "..."

 Jim looked at his body covered in a strange veil of fog and then toward that bed. "What could go wrong?" He muttered as he walked towards the bed, pausing there for a moment in front of this stupid wooden art before kicking him again with his leg, while closing his eyes; Prepare for the worst.

 "bubble!"

 A muffled explosive sound rang out as he hurriedly opened his eyes to see a sight he had never imagined in his wildest dreams. The bed was now on the other side of the room, contrasting with the long row of paintings of those before him, causing many of the frames to shatter and fall off.

 "H - h - how ... who caused this?" Jim was really shocked beyond belief. He did not even dare to think of the simplest logical explanation for it; He did this. Become stronger. Much stronger than ever!

 You, silly boy. Now you have your own guide, and you can jump around without being such a scary rat, right?

 "Are you all right, old man?" Jim sensed a strange weakness in his voice that moments earlier was screaming and shouting at him.

 "Just go, what are you waiting for?"

 Jim looked back at the bed and then his leg. He couldn't see it through the thick fog cover, but he was pretty sure it was fine, without pain or sore any part of it!

 'he goes!'

 The voice came to shriek again, and this time it seemed that the old man had exhausted himself to exert the last ounce of strength to shout at Jim. Jim was awake. He is now stronger, he now has a way to be stronger; Even if it's temporary. It was real. And she gave him something he hadn't had before.

 Amal!

 He never wanted his life to be destroyed and cursed. He didn't want to be a passive and vulnerable person, with nothing in his hand that he could do to change the situation.

 However, that all changed, in this unforeseen singular moment that he had thought all along was a child's mind game - a moment that changed his entire life.

 With a new look, a new attitude, a new personality; He stood there staring at the open window. Air for Freedom has never been close to him like this moment. And the next time he ran, hello to the wide open window with a long jump; Like a professional diver leaping from a legendary lobster into the depths of a vast ocean.

 A stream of warm air slammed onto his face, the only place not covered in fog, as if his head needed no nudge at all! He jumped from a height of two stories, and the next thing he felt was the strange pulsation that was in his heart from a peek from this height towards the ground; Seeing Earth close was never so fun!

 However, he was lucky that the distance was short and it took no more than a few moments for him to fall to the ground.

 "broke down!"

 This was not a sound emerging from his bones as he feared and expected, but it came from a small wooden tree that had fallen onto one of its sprouting branches and smashed it under his weight.

 Apart from this, he felt nothing, nothing at all! He stood, looked at his mantle-covered body, and marveled at the astonishing feeling of no pain or injury. “You know? You seem right after all, old man,” he laughed softly, but the annoying voice of his old man didn't respond at all.

 "There is no time to wait for you to wake up from your nap, I have to run, I must run, I must live."

 Chapter 3

 Ashley

 "Duck your head or die!"

 In the early hours of the morning, on this special day of the empire and its capital, it was not surprising to hear this screaming two blocks away from Jim's current location.

 The whole world around him was silent, devoid of any live signal, except for running at full speed and the sudden screaming that came a few blocks behind.

 He turned around to see a group of undercover individuals running in the same direction he was running; The gate of this city.

 "I said duck or die! Are you deaf or have a suicidal desire? !!"

 The sound came again, much clearer this time as its owner was just over fifty meters from Jim, with both sides running down the same wide street now; One of the main streets in this capital.

 He totally ignored her, because he knows her gender from Tone. It was distracting at the moment, so its speed decreased. Besides, running towards his near target in this empty atmosphere weakened his senses, as if he had already fled to safety.

 “Try to hold me if you can,” he frightened again with a short laugh, as he regained his speed again, and ran as fast as he could towards the shutdown near the gates.

 "What do you wear in the morning? Is this the new fashion here in the capital?"

 He underestimated it, as happened in the next second, more quickly it reminded him of the bitter truth; He wasn't the only strong person in town!

 The girl in the cloak wearing this black robe, which had hidden effects that obscured her face, moved quickly past it.

 "Swoosh!"

 "Swoosh!"

 "Swoosh!"

 Like the popping arrows, more people passed by in black robes, all heading towards the nearby gate. He felt their gazes fall on him, but he didn't mind it. If he passes by himself now with this strange mist around his body, he will stare, too.

 He could not follow them for a minute, as they faded from his sight at their rapid pace. "Will I have that speed one day?" He muttered, asking himself another, more important question.

 "who are they?"

 It was early in the capital, especially on such a holiday; So the existence of these people seemed strange, much strange than it was here. "Are they running away from something like me? Or are they trying to catch up with something?" He thought of himself before he got rid of these thoughts, as the walls now towering in front of him obscured his eyes.

 He was running down the main street, and if he continued down that road, he would eventually end up with the massive city gate. Within ten minutes, and after passing many empty side streets, he ended up in the main square of the City Gate, Jnah Square.

 "bubble!"

 While he was a minute or two away from the gate, he heard this powerful explosion followed by strange screams and seemingly chaotic movements at the gate. His heart fell, as it seemed that people were still awake there; Soldiers!

 The last kind of person he wanted to meet now!

 "Shit!" He internally cursed his bad luck, but he didn't change course. The run from the center of the capital to here took nearly half an hour, and if he wanted to go to the other gate, he would waste at least an hour.

 He only did this for a good reason, and he was not that weak and lean person that he was before; So he kept running quickly toward the gate, indifferent to the dangers lurking there.

 "bubble!"

 "bubble!"

 "bubble!"

 A series of explosions greeted him the moment he got there, and he realized why. The group of people he had met shortly before got involved in an intense battle with the local gate garrison; Various techniques and spells were used on both sides.

 "Damn, I have to run to the gate no matter what!"

 The gate, which was normally opened halfway at night, now shuts after that surprise attack. He lamented these crazy groups of fighters that they turned the perfect escape plan into a nightmare.

 When he so decided, he didn't stop running, heading straight towards the gate that was about to be closed. The gate was very high, and built from the hardest ore mankind had ever known; Recano Ore.

 His appearance in this strange mist that covered his entire body came as a sudden accident to both sides. No one expected such a madman to jump straight into this brutal conflict!

 "bubble!"

 Suddenly, he had a seizure, which was launched from a distance. Where a long-range soldier directed his spell and hit him. The dust rose, forming a dense cloud around where Jim was now, invoking the sighing reflexes of the outfit.

 "Damn, why are you attacking me, fool?" Jim burst out like a lion from the thick brown dust cloud. His sudden appearance, along with his nagging words, made everyone speechless.

 How could an ordinary-looking young man take such a third degree of charm and show off so well?

 However, there was no time to respond, as Jim was heading towards the gate, and that soldier who had hit him was now standing between him and the closed gate.

 The gate was nearly closed, which made Jim all the more frustrated. He went straight to the gate and hit the soldier on his way.

 "Ahh!"

 The soldier shouted in pain when he burst into the air at a height of two meters, like a sandbag! Jim didn't even look at him. The soldier was not his target. It was an obstacle for him.

 He kept running, which made the soldiers extremely suspicious and hesitant. "Follow that foggy ***** man!" The screaming of that female from before came strangely to make the corners of his eyes twitch. "Hey lady, I'm not *****!" He shrieked back, trying to grab the gate, as if he was about to grab a normal house door before closing it.

 However, it was just a few moments late! I closed the gate and everyone saw this poor crazy young man hitting the gate and bouncing back like a rubber ball.

 "broke down!"

 This was the sound of their illusions, shattered under what Jim had just done; Because he did not have time to prevent himself from heading towards the gate; He jumped, expressing his frustration, through this gate.

 And the gate cannot stop him from his steps, as everyone imagines!

 The place where he hit the gate opened up, forming a large hole, a hole that was enough to pass an adult couple through!

 The sides of this pit were filled with long deep cracks, giving the impression to everyone that this gate was not made of recano ore, but of just glass! A cheap version of it as well!

 "I told you before, follow that ***** guy!" The girl screamed again with a loud laugh, and immediately the group of undercover intruders rushed forward, skipping any attacks or fighting, heading towards the damaged gate, easily passing through the hatch!

 A cloud of smoke rose from the crater, covering their escape, while the soldiers were left speechless, as they let intruders and Jim leave while checking their gate with shocked faces.

 Was this their portal of pride that was created centuries ago? Was it replaced without them knowing it?

 They kept asking themselves this question that would haunt them for the rest of their lives without getting a proper answer.

 "Hey ***** man, that was a nice trick I did there. If you don't have a place to go, come with us to the den of the black tigers, I promise you a warm welcome and a good meal."

 The girl arrived at Jim's side in no time, making this offer to him. Jim was pissed off at him calling him the ***** guy, but he's now desperate to get away from here as much as possible.

 And he's just invited to go to one of the well-hidden spots of the legendary Black Panther group!

 It was the notorious anti-imperial rebel forces in the world that caused severe headaches to the royal family and the higher centers of the empire for generations after generations.

 "Sure, I will be happy to be with you," he replied with a broad smile on his face.

 "Latifa, try to keep up. I'm Ashley, by the way."

 "I'm Jim."

 They waved their hands from afar, as a sign of shaking and introducing each other, before the girl advanced as Jim became surrounded by three rebels in a black cloak.

 He was like a prisoner, but he knew they must feel a lot of suspicion towards him. He didn't care, as long as they were getting him away from here, he wouldn't even mind going with them to the infamous rebel movement like them.

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