THE ENCOUNTER

On a high building, late at night. There was a girl standing so high at the point of suicide, her name was Kira.

Kira who lost everything she lived for, she has neither Mother nor Father. She was scammed by Russell, because she was not smart enough, she trusted the assets her parent left for her to Russell. Kira standing at the edge of the building crying so pitiful, thinking about the past memories which she had with Russell her male Lover.

"Russell why! You promise you will be with me for the rest of my life. Why do you have to hurt me this much?"

She hit her chest so hard. Kira looked down at the building thinking it was a better height to encourage suicide. She tried jumping but she could not,

"it looks like am scared of death on my own."

She sat down on the floor as tears rolled down her eyes.

"Why can't you Jump? Are you scared to die?"

A boy sitting right next corner looked at her. She was embarrassed by the presence of the boy, she panics and couldn't say anything.

"Can't you talk? Or, do something got your tongue?"

Julius said to her. She asked Julius what he was doing up here.

"I think I came to commit suicide I guess," Julius made mockery her. "What your name?" Kira asked politely.

"Julius," he answered.

Julius got up from where he was sitting and stand on the edge of the Building, He looked at Kira and said to her

"Go home, there are many things to do than trying to take your life"

Julius jump off the building and disappears. Kira tried to stop him but she can't. She rushed down the building but could not find anything.

"am I hallucinating, am sure he jumped down from the building," Kira went back home.

Kira got home and jumped on her bed thinking about what happened at the building, she took her phone and listen to the voice message of Vivian her best friend.

"Kira am sorry about what happened, I have been dating Russell for two months now, I am really sorry. I think am in Love with him and I cannot let him go, please find it in your heart to move on."

She throws the phone away, she took her pillow and round it over her head. "I should have jumped, it hurt too much. And while would she say such thing." She cried out loud.

Kira went to the store and get a rope, she tied it up to the ceiling and around her neck and was prepared to end her life once and for all. She closed her eyes.

"you know, taking your life will not help you or solve anything" Julius cut the rope, carried her and put her on the bed. Kira was embarrassed for the second time and shouted at Julius,

"what do you want from me? just let me do what I want to do."

Julius went outside and she followed him. They both sat down on a bench. She could not say anything at first. Julius asked her why she wants to end her life in such a beautiful world. they both sat down for a long time as Kira explained to him about what is going wrong in her life.

"Not a big thing, you are hurt because someone tries to hurt you. At least they did not kill you."

Julius looked at Kira without care of sympathy on him, Kira look at him surprising.

"What kind of human are you? You do not show care or pity on me."

Julius replied, "do you want to be pitied on."

Kira ignored his arrogance and then Julius went away leaving Kira outside.

The next morning, Julius at his home. He got a message on his phone from a benefactor; "#2214-01 mission, target not dead. Julius made a phone call with the Benefactor telling the benefactor he cannot carry on with the mission.

Julius receive another phone call from Stephan his friend.

"Julius, I was there last night, you could not kill her, I saw the sympathy on your face. By the way the benefactor gave me the mission for ten million-dollar, see you after the mission is over." Stephan hang up the call.

Julius went to the mirror and teleport himself into the spirit realm. He wants to know about the mana Kira emit when he was closer to her. He visited a wizard that has knowledge of the myth on animal spirit.

The wizard summons her presence with from his bowl of flames. The wizard felt an unusual mana from the girl.

"This girl has a deer animal spirit, but the deer are not common in this spirit realm." The wizard said to Julius.

Julius felt so uncomfortable about the mission on killing Kira, he ran to stop Stephan from killing her.

Kira at home on her bed thinking on how to make a better place for herself just as Julius told her.

A dark void appears right at her front, an arrow was shot from the void straight to her chest all of a sudden. Kira spilled out blood from her mouth wondering how and what was at her front.

She ran out of her room from the big apartment where she lives holding her chest, to her surprise the arrow didn't gave her much pain so she was able to move.

"so strong, you really don't want to die so easily."

Stephan walks out of the void and run after Kira. Julius appears at Kira home and found out Kira wasn't home. He saw blood on the bed, Julius uses his smelling sense to locate Kira location, as soon as he was able to trace her mana he ran to help her.

Kira was so weak to run, then she fell on the ground. Stephan arrived at her back.

"you have a strange mana coming out of you, I guess that is the reason why you need to die. Unwanted spirit is not allowed to wonder around."

Stephan brought out his Tiger bow and shot Kira with two arrows on her at a time, thinking it will end her life for once with the money on her head. By the time Julius arrived he was too late.

"Am so late, finally you end up lying on the ground dead just what you wanted."

Julius wanted to abandon the body, he stopped and decided on giving her a proper burial. He took the body, but Kira body was so warm and the bleeding did not stop so he checks her pulse and discovered that she is not dead.

He teleports himself to his house with Kira on his hand, he put her on the bed and dress her injury but Kira was lying unconscious. Julius inject his blood into her with a syringe to give her strength as she heals herself.

"It looks like you are lucky, I thought you died but I forget you are from the artiodactyl animal and your healing strength is high."

Kira was unconscious for five days, and when she wakes up, she feels pain all over her body.

"you are awake?" Julius said to her.

Kira got up from the bed looking around "where am I?" Julius gave her a cup of water filled with medication.

"This is my home." Julius said to her.

"you live in this big house? You must be rich," Kira drop down the cup of water on the table.

"I think I died." Kira shakes her head thinking she died.

"Yes, you did die and I revive you. As from now on, I will have to protect you, your life might be at risk if you go out on your own."

Julius explained to her about what happened and how it leads her to this very condition she is in. Julius kept the fact that he works for the benefactor from her, it was hard for Kira to understand.

"I will take you some where once you are fully recovered to know more about your mana." Julius went away from her sight. Kira accept to stay with Julius, she trusted and believe what Julius said to her.

Stephan receive a call from Julius. "does it take you time to get the job done?" Julius asked angrily.

"not really, she really has quite an interesting mana, now I know why you don't want to kill her." Stephan laughed. Julius hang up the call.

Kira went to the living room to meet Julius, she asks Julius why he keeps stopping her from taking her life. Julius ignored her and walk away.

"Am talking to you?" Kira grabbed his hand, Julius remove Kira hands from his hand.

"are you hungry?" Julius replied to Kira.

Julius went to the kitchen and prepare some Rice and vegetables. Kira rushed to kitchen, "what are you cooking? I am a vegetarian." Kira said.

Julius look at her and smiled "such a coincidence, am a vegetarian too".

Stephan visit the Benefactor to give feedback about the recent mission. "Stephan, your mission was a failure." Stephan explain how he put an end to Kira.

The benefactor insisted that Stephan should bring her head. Stephan asked the benefactor about the mana coming out from the girl if he would have an idea.

"The girl has a deer animal spirit, rare in the animal realm, and has a high power in healing. So, the possibility of she dying is extremely low" the benefactor explained in details.

The Benefactor gave Stephan an arrow head capable of taking Kira's life. Stephan took the arrow and went away.

Stephan was on his way to meet Julius as he was ambush by a group called 'The Silent Clone'.

At first, he senses an arrow coming right towards his front, he dodges the arrow. two Silent Clones jumped at him with swords on them. Stephan fought the Silent Clones but they were too much for him, he was beaten down to his knees.

The leader of the Silent Clone walks toward Stephan with a sword on her hand.

"You and Julius took the Life of our powerful Mage, today you die in respect to her death", the Leader of the Silent clones wants to pierce her sword into Stephan, but Stephan looked at her and smiled. Stephan calls out his animal Spirit.

"Spirit Animal, beast of the earth, TIGER." He dodges her attacks.

Stephan shapeshift into a ware-tiger with long fangs and claws. He attacked the Silent clones and defeat them, but their Leader could not accept defeat so she transforms into an animal spirit.

"Spirit Animal, beast of the night, Panther." She turns into a full Panther.

She attacks Stephan and defeat him. Stephan was powerless and was lying on the floor, the panther tries to kill him as she Jump to end Stephan.

"See you later." Stephan teleport himself away.

Stephan appear in Julius apartment with injuries all over him. Julius took him up and lay him on the couch.

"if I may guess, the Silent clone did this to you?" Julius mocked him.

"can you just help me already." Stephan cries out in pain.

Kira heard some noise downstairs so she came down to check what is going on. Kira saw Stephan on the couch lying unconscious as Julius treats his wounds.

Kira took the Sword hanged on the wall and tries to kill him, Julius stopped her.

"he has to die, he was the one who killed me." Kira insisted she kill him.

Julius stopped her and drop the sword of her hand.

"I know what he did was wrong but you can't kill him now. I need him." Julius dressed Stephan's wound and took Kira outside.

"Stephan is a friend of mine and he doesn't really have the intent of killing you, it was the bounty on your head. Like I said earlier, if any human from this world subconsciously awake an animal spirit, the human will be killed. The benefactors do gives out bounty, so Stephan just happens to be interested on the bounty on your head." Julius explained to Kira and told her to keep away every grudge she has on him. Kira accept what Julius said but cannot forgive Stephan.

The next day Stephan wakes up with a punch from Kira on his face.

"What the Hell?" Stephan tries to stand up from the couch as he receives another punch.

"So, you are definitely alive." He brought out his claws and grabbed Kira at her neck.

"Enough," Julius stopped the fight.

"So, you were the one who saved her, now I know. It is because she has an artiodactyl animal spirit Just like you." Stephan said everything about Julius to Kira.

"If you think your words it will push me away from Julius, it is definitely not going to work." Kira replied back to Stephan.

Julius sense movement around the building, as the Silent Clone force their way into Julius home. The Silent clone leader known as 'Lela' teleport right at the front of Julius.

"What are you doing here?" Julius asked politely. Lela opened her masked and poured out a poisonous gas from her mouth into Julius face. Julius fell to the ground.

"Julius…" Kira shouted. Stephan hold Kira as they teleport far away. "Take the body to my chamber, I want to experiment on him." Lela ordered the Silent clone.

Stephan and Kira appeared in a forest. "we can't leave Julius there." Kira insisted on saving Julius. Stephan tries to Hug her, Kira refuse and pulled herself away. The Silent Clone appears right at the same forest.

Stephan sense their presence at the forest, he grabbed Kira hands and run. The Silent clone catch up to them and surround them. Lela appears right at their front, then she turned into her panther spirit. Stephan transform to his animal spirit.

Stephan and Lela fought but Stephan was not powerful enough to defeat her. After she defeated Stephan the panther crawls toward Kira and tried to kill Kira. All of a sudden, the panther had a shock on her body and fell to the ground, Lela was unable to move her body.

A mage walks at the front of the panther and cast an unbinding spell on Lela which made Lela transform back to human and she can't move her body. The Mage teleport both Stephan and Kira away to an underground church filled with mages, spirit warriors. "welcome to the Celestia of uncertainty." the Mage took Kira to meet the priest. Kira explained everything to the priest all about Julius.

"Kira, you and Julius are both having healing powers. You both are probably the only artiodactyl species left in the spirit realm." The priest explains to Kira about the condition of Julius.

"there is a high possibility of Julius alive, he was one of my powerful warrior and his healing skills are beyond understanding." The priest took Kira to a place where she can stay for the mean time.

Kira was in a room thinking of how she can escape to save Julius. Stephan bang into the room with a female mage (Nora) and a spirit warrior (Samuel).

"I know what you might be thinking" Samuel said to Kira.

"we will help you get Julius back" Nora sat close to Kira and gave her a sword.

"Before you can get Julius back you need to be sword skilled." Samuel grabbed Kira hand and took her up from where she was sited. Samuel took Kira to the training hall and walk her through the celestial with Nora.

Stephan teleport out of the chamber to his home with no care to rescue Julius.

At the Silent Clones Hideout. Julius was hanged with chains with his head downward and his legs upward. Lela took a dagger and pierce it into Julius chest, she took some of Julius blood and pour it into a goblet.

Lela gave it to her mage, the mage took the goblet and made enchantment on the goblet. Lela took he Goblet and drink the Blood to increase her healing power. Lela order some of the Silent Clone to pierce her with their spirit sword. They tried out the practices on Lela but no sustainable pain was brought to her or injuries.

After a while, Julius injuries healed up but he was weak due to the poison in him. One of the watch guard of the silent clone report to Lela that Julius was awake. Lela and her mage went to where Julius was tied up.

"you should have just killed me when you got an opportunity." Julius said to Lela.

"After killing my Sister, killing you now won't make me comfortable. I need you to kill the benefactor." Lela threaten Julius with her spirit sword.

Lela told her mage to prepare a forbidden ablution for Julius, to make him a fatal Silent clone member under her command. "Do not dare do an ablution on me." Julius struggles to break the chain but the chains were too strong for him to break.

At the Chamber, Samuel training Kira on how to use the Spirit sword. "Swing the sword at that direction like this." Samuel demonstrate the sword techniques.

Nora walked in to the training hall. "Kira! There is something odd about your animal spirit" Nora explain to Kira the about her animal spirit.

"your animal Spirit is not for battle, just like Julius. You both possess the ability to create and manipulate matter." Nora give Kira the location where Julius is held captive.

"Thank you so much" Kira thanked Nora. "you can't just leave, it is too dangerous out there to go alone. We will follow you."

Samuel stopped Kira from making a decision without a plan. Samuel and Nora took their fighting gear and follow Kira to save Julius.

Julius injury healed up completely, he manipulates the chains with his power and break free. He took a rod from the ground and turns it into a spirit blade. He defeated all the silent clone that tries to stop him. when Lela find out he broke free, she rushed to meet him. Lela brought out her spirit blade, she fought with Julius, but she was not skillful enough to defeat Julius.

"6th Form, Panther blade strike."

Lela jumped to strike Julius, Julius stop the strike with his sword and reverse it back to her, the reverse strike pushed her far away.

"But how? How are you able to stop that strike?"

Lela stood up from the ground as she spilled blood from her mouth.

"Are you surprise about that?"

Julius swing his sword wanting to end Lela's Life. As Julius move closer to Lela he had a sudden shock on him, He was unable to move his body and he fell to the ground. Lela's mage seal Julius with a Death chain spell.