Even if he wanted to fight, the weight of the panther on him ridiculed and mocked his strength. He wasn't strong enough to move the fat and heavy paws of the panther off his face let alone heave the mighty body. His eyes were shut and every sense of his being active. He knew that at that point there was nothing he could do for himself even if he wanted to. He couldn't save himself. He began to have several ideas. Several thoughts began to trample upon themselves in his head. One of the many thoughts was the possibility of what would really happen to him come the worst case scenario.WOULD I DIE IN THE OTHER WORLD TOO IF I DIE HERE OR WOULD THIS DEATH BE AN ESCAPE TO THE OTHER WORLD?That was the question which kept bouncing from one corner of his mind to the other. And he couldn't get any answer to it. Then something strange occurred to him. It was a sort of realisation that he had locked his mind to. The panther had pounced on him, and it had been a while. He had closed his eyes
Alves stood there looking a little bewildered. His eyes were hyper active and the pupils twirling from one corner to the other. At first, he looked to the front... it was a vast area of plain earth, dusty and browny. There was no strand of green, no matter how little. Not even a dry one. To his left, there was a stump of rock. To his right, nothing. And to his back nothingness. He shook his head, trying to settle a dispute with his mind. "What is this place?"The very first question he could think of. But even before the man could answer his question, "I mean is this the training ground?"He realised that that was more of an appropriate question compared to the first one. Alves didn't stare at the man for a long time. He was more interested in finding out what this whole thing is all about, as well as what this place is called. He made to walk forward. "Don't!"The man called in caution and so suddenly that Alves shook, retracting both the thought and the action. "Huh?"Alves f
Alves couldn't tell what happened or how it happened, but somehow, he had been able to escape the dark holes of the cracking earth. And just few steps away was the mouth of the cave carved into the stump of a rock. The rate at which the earth was cracking increased by the minute and things were not looking good for him anymore. It was just a matter of time before he loses the luck and get gobbled up. "Heyy, Heyy"He called at Akulia who was standing at the mouth of the cave, staring at him as though nothing was happening. "Don't just stand there!!!"Alves yelled. But suddenly, the earth cracked before him, and a big dark hole was revealed. Making his chance of going to Akulia closely impossible. Alves slowly looked down. When he saw how deep the hole was, so deep that he couldn't see the base. He shut his eyes and puffed. I CAN'T DIE THIS WAY. He needed to remind himself that. He took a risk to look at his back. There was no patch of earth in sight anymore. All the earth had bee
"Is this a sort of joke? How can I do that? I don't even have any tools. I'm not a mountain climber. I've never done mountaineering all my life."Alves was raving and raging. But there was no one to channel the rage towards. There was no scapegoat for him. "Or could it be?"He got an idea. A seeming idea. "Is he fucking with me? Is this some sort of prank? Perhaps he is trying to get back at him. Perhaps I wronged him and he's trynna make me pay for it."Alves thought about it for a while then shook his head. Obviously it didn't really sit well in his mind when he processed the thought. "He couldn't possibly put my life on the line because of his quest for revenge. He dares not. I'm his fucking master!"Alves nodded. Then walked to the other end of the mountain top. "That's too high. Too fucking high. And scary."He took steps back. He puffed and shook his head. "I will not be able to do this. I can't even do it. He must be crazy to say I can do it."He took a quick pause then s
Alves kept pushing his body up, trying to look closely and make meaning of what was scribbled in the sky. He had his worries and bothers. He had so many thoughts tumbling upon one another in his mind, yet he needed them cleared out to be able to 'take in' this strange occurrence. It was a strange language in the sky. Sumerian. Something had been writing in the sky in Sumerian and he was having a great trouble making a meaning of it. "What language is this?"He couldn't tell. He had never seen something like that. He probably didn't even know that there was such a language. ヒント、落ちるThat was what was written in the sky. "What could this mean?"Alves thought out loud. He slowly got up on his feet as though it would prove useful in his quest to understand what the scribbled meant. But something quite strange happened as soon as he had the desire to know the meaning. "Hinto, ochiru"Was dropped in his mind. Those two words were like substances rising from the depth of the ocean to th
"That was quick."Came the voice from behind Alves. It was a familiar voice and Alves could tell instantly who the owner of the voice was. When he had fell and fell, he had finally landed on both his feet. He couldn't really tell how that happened, but it did happen. And he was still wondering when the voice from behind him came. Without complains, or hate, he turned to the owner of the voice. "I guess he saw something in you after all."Akulia added as soon as Alves turned to him. Alves' brows squinted in curiosity. Obviously a string had been picked in him. "Who are you talking about?"Alves asked, turning fully to face Akulia. "The supreme Deity."Akulia said. "The Supreme Deity?"Alves found himself exclaiming. He had meant for it to be a question, but somehow it had come out that way. "The supreme what? Supreme Deity? Who is that?"Alves couldn't hide the curiosity. He took two steps closer to Akulia who wasn't really looking him in the eyes. "Oh, His Eminence. There are
Alves looked around him. They were in an enclosed area which looked like a room with four corners. From inside the room, they could see the sky, because the room was roofless. There was enough ventilation, but neither of them could tell what was happening outside the four walled corner of the room. Perhaps Akulia could. If Alves was asked, he wouldn't be able to tell how he got there. They had just walked for a while and had ended up there. At some point, Alves was forced to think that these things grew out of thin air. As though they were illusive and subjective to abstraction. The mountain, cave, and now room!"We can get over with this already."Akulia's voice from the front knocked him out of the thoughts. He quickly took a glance at the earth beneath him. It looked like an area that was usually trodden by the hoofs of horses. It looked pretty parched, worn out and old. The smell of the air had a hint of dung and the area screamed stuffiness. Alves knew he couldn't build his wo
"Count yourself dead."Alves was back on his feet. He could feel the rage in his heart. And if he acted on that at that instant, he might be able to make something tangible of it. "You talk too much for a rookie."Akulia scorned. That let hell loose as Alves charged at him immediately. "A rookie?! Die you motherfucker!!!"Alves didn't charge at him throwing punches, instead he went like a bull. Like a ram. His head being his weapon as he accelerated. With his head thrown into Akulia's stomach, he pushed his way forcefully, his head as the aid. And it did work. Just like a bull would push its opponent back with its death horns till there is nowhere else to go for the opponent, so did Alves passionately kept going and going till there was nowhere else to go. Akulia's back was pressed to the wall and Alves' head was still pressed to the former's stomach. Alves started plant punches into the rib sides of Akulia. He did it wildly and uncontrollably. As he punched and hit, he cussed,