Mystical Journey

Beside a large black canyon near some grasslands, an irregular little earthy yellow village was entrenched in a low-lying area.

The village resembled a dark plaque embedded within this light yellow prairie.

There was an area that resembled historical ruins beside the village where both intact and crumbling stone pillars could be seen everywhere.

Rays of evening sunlight cascaded downwards while the area remained completely silent.

A few African elephants had been dyed red by the sun's intense heat. The elephants used their pillar-like legs to follow the baby elephants, and whenever the baby elephants accidentally ran a few steps too far, the adult elephants would wrap their trunks around them to make them slow down.

Beside clusters of tall green trees, a few giraffes stretched their long necks upwards and chewed the leaves while swaying their tails peacefully and quietly.

Most of the trees in this area grew alone but would form a cluster when more than one of them grew together.

Kenna stood at the entrance of the village and watched a group of half-naked black women gather around a bonfire. They were dancing a dance that he had never seen before. It involved them raising both of their hands and slapping their palms constantly while singing an unknown bleak-sounding song loudly.

An old woman who looked as withered as Dahm Rose sat by the bonfire. She slapped her palms together as well while singing certain parts of the song and clapping according to the music and the beat.

A few younger fellows beat hand drums while sitting on the side, following the rhythm closely.

Someone else was tapping a white thigh bone and making popping noises.

When Kenna woke up this morning, he realized immediately that Dahm Rose was gone. After being unable to find him despite searching for some time, he decided to leave the house on his own.

The natives outside the house were very friendly towards him. Although there was a communication barrier between them, the natives would smile at him anyway.

Inside this place, this tribal village that was completely foreign to him, Kenna was suddenly able to feel an unprecedented sense of tranquility.

"This place is pretty good, right?" Dahm Rose's voice echoed beside him suddenly.

"Yes," Kenna nodded. He had gotten used to the other man's mysterious appearances and disappearances much earlier on.

"There are honest and simple people in this village, as well as ancient inheritors. Unfortunately… We cannot stay here for long," he said regretfully.

"Why?" asked Kenna quietly. "Didn't you say that this place was very safe?" He touched the scar on his chin. This deep scar added to his manliness.

"I'll tell you the truth." When Dahm Rose turned around, a fearful expression flashed in his eyes. "We're actually in the same boat. I'm also being hunted down by someone."

"That can't be true…" Kenna's eyes widened. "What kind of person would be able to hunt you down?"

"Someone that is very strong exists… They're absurdly strong," Dahm Rose replied softly. "Since you're with me now, you may face the same dangers."

"Dahm Rose, do you know that you're currently giving off the same vibe as a fake medicine salesman?" Kenna simply could not believe him. This old trickster always succeeded in fooling others. Even Kenna could not remember how many times he had fallen for his lies.

"It's fine if you don't believe me," Dahm Rose merely shrugged his shoulders. Neither of them continued to speak but decided to quietly appreciate the dancing of the natives that were gathered around the bonfire.

He glanced at a certain direction in the village quietly.

Kenna's troubles were merely a Mortal's worries and were not a serious issue. Compared to this, if that guy managed to catch up to him…

After being chased for so many years and running and fleeing in all directions, perhaps it was time for him to face his final ending.

When he thought about his previous struggles that occurred because he was blinded by greed, such as all of his friends who died and were buried, perhaps no one would have been able to imagine an outcome like this in the beginning.

He was already burnt out from a life that was filled with nothing but hiding. Choosing to return to his hometown where he was born, and where he would soon die, was not a bad decision.

Dahm Rose looked over at the old woman who stood in the middle of the crowd.

"Don't give up. We have been standing behind you from the beginning to the end, Dahm," implied the old woman's gaze.

"Yes… I may have lost everything, but I still remember that I have all of you." The chrysanthemum-like smile appeared on Dahm Rose's face again. Suddenly, he lifted both of his hands up high before balling them into a tight fist, closing his eyes devoutly, and singing along with the melody of the song loudly.

*****************

At the far end of the village, on top of a cliff at the border of the large canyon.

A frail old man in nothing but dark grey bits of cloth stood under the setting sun, leaning on a cane topped with a goat's skull and glancing in the direction of the faraway village quietly.

There was a deep scar on the old man's forehead. It seemed as if a sharp blade had sliced through his skin and flesh violently and it had almost cut through his skull.

"Fate has led me here, Dahm Rose. You won't be able to escape any longer…"

The old man's body was stooped over as if a gust of wind was enough to topple him.

However, there were two golden male lions that were currently lying beside his feet. One of the lions was constantly shaking its mane while the fur on its muscular and streamlined body gleamed red in the evening sunlight.

The clothes on the old man's back seemed like numerous pieces of clothes that had been bound together. Compared to a mummy's neat and orderly bandages, the cloth on his body was an awful mess.

"Everything is guided by fate."

He raised his cane slowly and tapped it on the ground lightly.

Clap.

Suddenly, both of the male lions by his feet roared quietly. They stood up from their initial crouching positions and shook their heads as they moved towards the village.

Next, numerous lionesses began to appear in the forest and grasslands behind them. When counted, they were at least ten of them.

A large herd of hyenas soon appeared behind the lion pride. They gathered together and ran towards them quickly while releasing childlike cries. They formed a black mess, and there were as many as a thousand of them.

They swept through the grasslands like a swarm of locusts. From above, they resembled a black cloud that was drifting towards the village.

Then, a troop of red-faced baboons appeared behind them. These powerful creatures that were so ferocious that even leopards were forced to retreat had formed a crowd. They waved their arms in the air while charging over. They ran in front and behind the hyena herd and constantly howled loudly while baring their sharp teeth.

The old man stood on the cliff and looked down at the herd of ferocious beasts that were surging forward beside him.

"Oh fate…!!" he yelled loudly at the top of his voice. "Tear everyone that obstructs your path to shreds!!"

His words were spoken in the local aboriginal language. The syllables made it sound like a song or a hymn.

Clang clang clang clang!!!

The frantic sound of a gong could be heard throughout the village suddenly. The native people rushed into the village while moving their hands dexterously to prop up numerous sharp wooden railings into the ground. These wooden railings that were as thick as arms made people feel much safer.

Fearful expressions appeared on the faces of all the villagers while they looked at the herds of wild beasts that were surging towards them from afar.

Some of them spoke loudly in their native tongue, saying incomprehensible things.

Some held their young children and ran into their own houses while others gripped their long spears, arrows, and other weapons tightly. However, most of them were fixated on the bonfire in the middle.

The strongest and most mysterious Witch Doctor in the Village, Dalier, was seated there.

Dalier had a similar cane that was made of black wood. There were different colored bone necklaces draped on the cane.

"Don't worry. The ancestors have always been by our side," she howled loudly. It was obvious from her appearance that she was an eighty to ninety year old woman. However, her voice was currently as loud and clear as a young person's voice.

When her voice rang out, the hundreds of people in the village went silent as one, as if it was magic. They gathered at the square, on the flat ground in front of the village entrance. The men raised their weapons such as spears, javelins, bows and arrows, machetes, and axes. It was clear that they had all sorts of weapons.

Meanwhile, under the instructions of their leader, the women began to gather wooden railings, stones, and sacks of soil in a circle in front of the sturdy houses on the outskirts of the village. Soon, they had formed a temporary fortress.

Dalier looked towards the far end of the area. She could see that the man who was standing on the faraway cliff was the true culprit of everything.

"The messenger of disasters that resembles a plague. He has returned…"

Caegarfaber. Perhaps too many people had forgotten this name.

This was a name that once caused fear among everybody. He was a figure that made all of the tribes tremble, and he had finally returned.

The history and stories from that time that resembled an epic were memories that Dalier would never be able to forget throughout her whole life.

She had once assumed that Caegarfaber had died.

She had never expected that Dahm Rose had merely lured him away and that he had only left because of that thing.

"The Ancestral Items cannot be tarnished. They are the source of everything we have. They are the source of our bloodline!" Dalier looked towards Dahm Rose who stood among the crowd.

Both of them exchanged glances before nodding at each other determinedly.

Kenna could accurately feel that he had been dragged into an even more complicated situation…

He watched as his old friend and the old woman exchanged amorous glances at each other while an indescribably weird feeling bubbled up inside him.

"The current situation is slightly inappropriate…" he said softly.

"We want to return to our ancestors' arms," said Dahm Rose indifferently.

"What the…" Kenna's expression changed slightly. This time, he could vaguely tell that his old friend was not joking at all. "Are you sure?"

"Is it because of the crystal books that you brought up?" He seemed to have figured something out. "The Arrival Book that all of you respected as your holy ancestral things?"

"Yes. Those books have always been here with me." Dahm Rose hid within the crowd and explained everything to Kenna quietly. Currently, Dalier had begun to boost the morale of the crowd loudly in a strange, incomprehensible native language.

Looks of grief appeared on the faces of the natives unintentionally before their morale was quickly restored by the encouragement.

Strangely enough, the wild beasts that had gathered outside the village would automatically stop when there was a distance of ten meters left between them and the village. They would whine in fear as if there was something terrifying in front of them.

Dahm Rose saw that the wild beasts outside had stopped. "That's true, the goal of the person that is pursuing me is to get the ancestral book, which all of you know as the Arrival Book."

When they saw this miraculous scene, all of the natives rejoiced at once. They yelled loudly and beat their hands against their chests while raising their spears and making terrifying noises. However, most of them were prostrated on the floor and praying to an unknown force loudly.

"Arrival Book, huh… An item with a secret that is even more troublesome than the Stone Clock of Fortune. It caused a lot of chaos previously." Even though he was not from this world, Kenna could vaguely figure out this point. The Arrival Book that possessed mystical powers was the source of these tribes' strength that also possessed an unimaginable strength.