SHE RAN AS FAR AS her feet could drag her. Twigs were slapping, whacking, and hitting her face, and stones were digging her skin underneath her feet. But no matter how painful it was or how tired she felt, she continued to run.The unknown creature followed suit, but unlike her, it was chuckling while it pursued her. It didn't even feel tired or exhausted. Instead of feeling all those things, it was relishing every moment. Like its prey's anguish was what's making it more eager to continue the chase."Ah!" The young girl groaned. The pain from her knee to the shin crawled like a giant needle pricked her. But instead of giving it her attention, she focused on crawling away from her pursuer.Using a tree as a support, she tried to stand up. But she slumped back to the ground due to exhaustion, pain, and most especially fear. When her efforts to escape were made futile, all she could do was cry and wait for her end. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping that it would end quickly and painle

Finn busied himself with the household chores. He fetched some water, and picked fruits they would need for the whole day. Sometimes it was enough, most of the time it wasn’t. He had to work twice, even thrice, to feed the family.He chopped wood and made charcoal to sell in the market that afternoon, and he chopped some more wood until he was satisfied. And he wasn’t content all the time. He never was.Another person wasn’t content with him, in fact, in everything he does. His mother always sees the worst in him. Mandy was his archenemy.“How long are you chopping that wood?” And here was her mother, again, criticizing his work. “It’s already two in the afternoon. You won’t sell anything if you’re late.”“Give me a minute. I’m almost done.” After chopping the last piece of wood, he turned to the finished charcoal and secured it with a rope.“You should’ve left earlier when you’re done with the charcoal, then just finish the remaining wood when you get back. Is your brain for decorati

A long gasp escaped Edward Elliot’s lips in the middle of eating his dinner. His fingers curled for a second before it moved, like someone else was controlling them. This only meant one thing, another murklin sharing the wrath blood was born.His daughter, Efrelyn Elliot, rushed on his side until it subsided, and then his father said, “Another murklin of wrath is born.”Efrelyn nodded and sighed. “Another headache?” She couldn’t help remembering their last encounter with a murklin, who ended up annihilating almost every mortal in Flexure. If this one was another headache, this meant another workload for her father.When Edward shook his head, Efrelyn said, “Shouldn’t you be happy? As the Lord of Wrath, this will surely be excluded in your work.”“It’s weird.” He motioned his daughter to go back to her seat and continue eating, but he couldn’t eat anymore after what happened. “And strange.”“Weird how?” she asked while cutting the meat on her plate.Edward stared at her daughter. “He’s

“Where are we, really?” Finn asked as he roamed around the huge castle where Efrelyn brought him. He didn’t know where he was, and this woman wasn’t saying anything either.Everything was made with gold. The statue carved into a huge abstract was made with gold. It looked like ropes knotted together. All the vases placed on top of the rails of the stairway were made with gold. Other abstract forms were carved into them.Even the frames hanging by the wall were gold. The lights were golden, the lamps, the guard’s armor, and even the ceiling. Although in contrast, the curtains and carpet were all red. And the walls and the stairs were made of adobe.“Is this the royal family’s castle?” asked Finn for the nth time.Efrelyn stopped walking abruptly. “Can you please stop asking questions?”“But you're not even answering any of them.”“Because I told you, I don’t have the answer to all your questions, so we’re going to Lord Edward and ask for his help”“You don’t even know who lives here?”

Finn blinked his eyes several times while looking around, and then his eyes went back to Efrelyn who was about to leave. “What am I doing here?” he asked before gaping at the whole place. “This isn’t Fract. I thought you’re sending me back.” “I did. I also said I’m sending you back to where you belong.” Before Finn could ask more questions, she raised her hand in the air to stop him. “Please. Can you stop asking questions I can’t answer, and try to find the answers on your own?” He nodded. He watched as Efrelyn’s titan kicked the back of the horse, and the chaise started to move. When they were out of his sight, that was when Finn went back to gazing around in awe. This was definitely not the Fract he knew. It was brighter, and everything was glowing. There were houses twice as big as their house, and the street was busy and bustling. He hid behind an alleyway, and sat in the corner, away from the people, away from the light. He was so used to the dark and gloomy streets of Fract,