THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS

Chapter 3 – The Village Underground

“PUT me down, you piece of shit!” Jie struggled with the talon’s grasp. Despite knowing he’d die at any time, he still hoped to escape.

The beast let out a growl. It appeared like a crossbreed of an eagle and a lion. It had a bird’s face with a lion’s body.

“I taste bad! Put me down!” Jie was dripping in his sweats.

He died once in the hands of those thugs, and now he’d die for the second time in the talon of this monster. What an irony, because in this strange world, he was still unlucky.

Jie motioned his hand out of desperation, hoping to wield magic just like how he accidentally killed the giant scorpion. But no magic came out. Rather, he was squeezed out, almost making his eyes pop.

Even in this life, I couldn't escape death. The harsh truth hit him.

The creature holding him screeched suddenly as if it were in pain.

Jie’s eyes started to blur. Death would probably greet him once again. At least, the feeling wasn’t new.

Then there was a sudden spurt of a black liquid that smothered his face. He held his breath and realized it came from the neck of the monster holding him. The gore was too much, but Jie remained frozen as if he’d seen the bloodiest murder in his lifetime.

The group of tentacled beasts simultaneously attacked the bird-lion monster; their sharp fangs did not miss its massive body, causing it to howl in pain.

Jie trembled, thinking he’d be part of the dinner for these monsters. But it seemed his time in this world wouldn’t end yet because, as the group of monsters feasted on Jie’s capturer, the bird-lion creature had let go of him, causing him to fly and land near the series of purple runes that served as the border of the village.

A surge of vigor went through his body that he hadn’t even noticed if he had a broken bone. Jie immediately got up and ran away to safety. Although his lungs nearly collapsed, Jie continued to sprint for his life.

I need to survive!

Getting away was his top priority. But no matter how immense his willingness to run off, his body finally succumbed before he could reach the gate. He fell to the ground. He used all his might to crawl as the shrieking of the monsters behind him came nearer.

“Damn it!” he grunted.

The vermilion orb sitting at the center of the village continued to flicker. And there was a blackout as soon as Jie reached the massive gate.

He rested his weary head against the wall, trying to catch his breath and gather enough strength to at least walk inside. The creatures lurked, trying to get past the protective runes.

“Brother!” Nyssa came out of the gate. “You made it!”

“I’m fine, Nyssa.” He was somehow relieved that the little girl had waited at the open gate.

The girl cried and helped him regain his balance. “Come on. We need to find Kali!” There was an urgency in her voice.

“K-Kali?”

“She’s your friend. Only Kali and her father knew about our escape, and she helped us a lot.”

“Leave me here. I need to recover my strength.”

“No!” Nyssa hardly shook her head.

The massive vermillion orb continued to flicker, and their gazes were fixed on it.

“Go, Nyssa. Find whoever you think can help us.”

Nyssa’s eyes were stuck on the dying orb. “Oh, goddess! This is what you’ve been telling me. Once there’s a total blackout, the village will be vulnerable to the attack of those monsters.”

Jie didn’t know what to say to comfort the kid. He was baffled as well, especially since, from their location, it was evident that the residents were in a panic already.

Then there was a voiceover coming from speakers mounted around every corner of the village.

“Our artificial sun has reached its limit. I repeat, our artificial sun has reached its limit. Please evacuate and go to safety.”

People were coming to them to cross the gate. Jie and Nyssa watched in silence amidst the distress.

“They closed the bunker! The chief has escaped!” One middle-aged man shouted while running. He crossed the gate without hesitation.

Another woman came after the man with a panic-stricken face. “They want us all to die! The monsters will feast on us!”

Nyssa gasped, trying to understand the situation. “What is going on?”

There were sounds of alarm everywhere.

“Evacuate now!” the speaker said repeatedly.

It was not long before the middle-aged man who just got out of the gate cried out. “Help! Help me!”

Then there was a moment of silence after the sounds of bones cracking. The woman stopped near the exit. She was shaking hard.

“They didn’t even give us enough time to evacuate. The chief and his companions used the only secure exit. It’s now blocked!” The woman said it in desperation.

Jie only studied everything around him. He questioned his decision to go back to this village in search of answers, only to find himself on the brink of death again, dragging Nyssa into this mess.

“The creatures of the abyss are outside, preying on us. This area is prohibited!” Nyssa yelled.

It was not long before several groups of people gathered near the gate. There were children, middle-aged men, and old people.

Almost everyone wore black cloaks and huge backpacks, except for a man with long white hair tied in a ponytail who wore a red cloak. In his hand was a slim bamboo lit with fire. It appeared that he was the leader of those groups.

“We all know that this is the Forbidden Gate, and we are aware of the creatures that lie beyond this. However, this is our only choice to escape. If we are lucky enough to make it out to the exit, we’ll start a new life on the surface,” the leader said.

“Uncle Klatus!” Nyssa ran towards the speaking leader.

The man immediately turned to the girl, and he looked shocked. “Nys! Why are you here?”

“Brother wants to go back!” Nyssa gazed in Jie’s direction.

From the crowd that gathered there, a teenage woman made her way beside the leader. Her long, gray hair was braided.

“Nyssa!” the gray-haired girl exclaimed.

“Kali! I've been looking for you. What is happening?” Nyssa was again on the verge of breaking down.

“Why did you go back?” Kali stared at the siblings in disbelief.

As Klatus continued to brief the people who followed him, Kali hurriedly walked towards Jie and checked his injuries.

“I can’t believe you’re this dumb, Ethros! Why did you drag your sister back into this mess?” Kali was fuming. But she kneeled to treat Jie’s visible injuries and put bandages on the open wounds in his arms.

Jie did not utter a single word. He just let Kali tend to his wounds. After all, he didn’t know this girl.

“The monsters out there will only massacre everyone who tries to cross this path,” Jie said in a low voice.

“It’s worth giving it a try. Everyone is aware of the risks. We would rather die trying to escape this unbearable place than do nothing.” Kali continued to put on a bandage before she continued, “Now that you and Nyssa came back safe, the probability of our survival is higher than we initially thought.”

Jie did not answer. He knew that whatever kind of convincing he tried, they’d still push through. He could not blame them; just from his observation, it wouldn't take long until the entire place turned into chaos.

“What prompted you to go back?” Kali asked. She finally finished giving him first aid.

“I need answers,” he said, heaving a sigh.

“Are you out of your mind? You had all those troubles just to leave here with your sister."

Nyssa came to her brother’s rescue. “Something happened when we reached the surface, Kali. I wish I had time to explain, but unfortunately, Ethros lost his memories. That’s why he wanted to go back here.”

Kali restrained herself from hitting her childhood friend. Especially since the screaming of the people went wild when the vermillion orb finally lost its light.

“Kali! Be ready. We’re going. The dreadful time is about to happen.” Klatus alerted himself.

The bellowing of the people around became apparent after the sudden whoosh of the wind.

Numerous winged creatures were hovering above the roofs, while some landed and feasted on everyone they could reach.

Klatus gritted his teeth. “It’s happening…”

The children in the group started crying, but their parents shushed them.

“The barrier is broken. Prepare yourselves to fight.” Klatus spearheaded his people. He turned to his daughter before going. “Kali, you know what to do.”

“Yes, father!” Kali tilted her head with determination in her eyes.

Klatus paused beside Jie. “Ethros, I don’t know what happened, but please snap out of it. You survived going in and out of the surface; that brings us comfort. We could do it, too.”

Jie suddenly felt a searing pain in his head, as if his skull were being pierced. He couldn’t even understand what Klatus’ words were.

“My head!” He almost smacked his head on the ground. But Kali held his shoulder.

“Didn’t you hear my father? Snap out of it, Ethros!” Kali forced him to lean back on the wall.

“We must get going. It’s already pitch-black. I tried everything to persuade our fellow villagers, but they chose to save their own.” Klatus finally stepped outside the massive gate.

Jie felt like he’d vomit. He could hear voices inside his head, but he could not grasp what they meant. It was gibberish.

“Oh, god! Stop!” Jie clasped his wavy hair.

The village nearly flooded with blood as the monsters continued their slaughter. Jie was unaware for a moment because suddenly there was a series of flashbacks that played in his mind.

Jie saw the owner of this body inside the library.

Ethros!

Ethros was there to steal a map. Then Jie saw the familiar face of a girl. He soon recognized it was Nyssa, who appeared bedridden. She was talking to him about her dream.

“I want to see the stars before I die,” Nyssa murmured.

Jie realized that it was a fragment of memories from Ethros. The boy whose body he inhabits.

When the flashbacks stopped, Jie’s body went numb, and his nose started to bleed.

“Go on without me.” He shoved Nyssa and Kali. Jie knew he’d only slow them down.

Kali cursed. “Get up! We’re all going out.”

Jie hardly shook his head. “I know the way back. If I am lucky enough to survive these swarms of monsters, I will meet you on the surface. Please look after Nyssa.”

“Kali, what are you waiting for?” Klatus’ voice thundered. “We don’t have a luxury of time.”

“But father… Ethros needs help.”

“I said go!” Jie did not waver.

Kali clenched her fists. “All right, we’ll wait for you on the surface.”

Jie nodded. “Be careful. I already warned you about the bloodthirsty monster outside this gate.”

Kali did not answer. She held Nyssa’s hand.

“Brother…” Nyssa’s tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Hurry!” Jie said urgently.

Nyssa had no choice but to go with Kali along with the other villagers.

Jie hardly closed his eyes when everyone left. He thought that if his eyes adjusted, he’d not be blind in the darkness.

“What is this world? I can’t be forever stuck in this nightmare!” Jie complained in silence.

People struggled to fight for their lives, while Jie amused himself by cackling. Maybe he had gone insane. All the answers he sought would remain unanswered. It was too late to blame himself.

Jie imagined his life before he was kidnapped and murdered. He thought of his mother and younger sister. He was sure they’d have a hard time without him.

“I wish I could go back to my own body.” He needed something to motivate himself not to get killed in this world. And what should it be?

He decided to embrace his new identity as Ethros. Somehow, along the way, the answers he sought would come. Only if he survived!

“Shit!” Jie finally came to his senses.

The agonizing screams reverberated around and never faded. There were too many people dying now, and just like them, he’d suffer the same fate if he couldn’t find shelter to hide.

The voices in his head began to materialize again. The pain was unbearable to handle this time. No matter how much he fought, he found himself giving in, and he lost consciousness.

Jie forced himself to think positively. What if he died right here and he’d be back in his own body? This might be a long nightmare after all.

But what if he was wrong?