The Ripple Of Destiny

A family of four were on their vacation at Lake Chini. An infamous lake in Pahang,Malaysia. The son,Putra Alif was so happy when they arrived at the Lake. They went to the Lake's recreational park where many activities can be done.

Alif got out of the car first and looked around and was baffled by the the absolute beauty of the lake. The small buildings that were built around the lake blended in perfectly with surroundings.

Afterwards,the others got out of the car but in their opinion, the lake wasn't as beautiful as they thought it would. The father sighed and approached his son.

"So,what are you going to do then? After all,you are the one who pitched us on going to this lake." The father asked.

"I think I will go sightseeing along the coast of the lake." Alif replied while looking at his father.

His father nodded but seemed a bit worried. Then,the mother and Alif's sister,Putri Balqis approached them.

"Why don't we go kayaking while Alif busy with his 'sightseeing'." Balqis requested and probably she had an intention to annoyed her little brother.

Balqis may not look that much but under her pretty and soft presence she is tough and carefree and really like extreme activities.

The parents hesitated a bit but Alif assured them that he will be fine.

"Iam 16 years old guys. I can take care of myself. Just go with sis. I'll see you guys in an hour or so."

The parents nodded and told Alif to be careful and responsible.They then parted ways as the parents and Balqis went to rent a kayak while Alif began his step to walk along the lake coast.

The lake is big and the recreational park is just a small part of it. There is a native's village not so far from the recreational park that welcomes tourists. Alif thought it would be nice to go there to buy some authentic native souvenirs. As he was walking,he stumbled upon a decorative stone with an inscription on it.

[ Naga Seri Gumum ]The title of the inscription.

[ Said to be the guardian of this very lake. It is a king status dragon with it's golden scales all over its body. Its body is said to look like those of a snake. Those who dare interrupt it,shall be punish severely ] The insciption wrote.

Alif always heard a few things about this 'Naga Seri Gumum'. It is an infamous folklore throughout his country,Malaysia. Some people believe the story was real but some just thought the story was just use to scare people so they don't do anything illegal around the lake. Either way,it is a very fascinating story with many variations that made this lake even more interesting.

Alif continued his walk and finally arrived at the native's village. He was greeted by the villagers and he took a look around.

While there,he heard a few of the villagers talking about the recent scenes that were happening in the lake. The waters randomly rippled vigorously and suddenly calmed down again. They thought that the 'Guardian' was angry because maybe someone did something inappropriate to the lake.

Curious by the rumor he just heard, Alif left the village and began to walk even further to investigate. As he was further and deeper into the forest surroundings,the area filled with mist which was something unusual for a lake.

"He is the one. The destiny is his"

"If you say so. He will carry a magnificent responsibility. I hope he is ready." Two distant whispers echoed through the mist.

Alif heard the whispers and looked around to see if anyone were there but no sight of people. He thought it was just his imagination. From there on,he felt a bit creepy.

There are no more buildings at sight and looked like Alif was lost. He checked his watch to see what time it was but his watch kept acting up,showing random times every second.

"Come on,work!" Alif remarked by tapping his watch violently.

He sighed and pulled out his phone instead to check the time but it slipped and fell into the water.

"Argh,No!" Alif remarked as he stepped into the water in search of his phone.

Suddenly,the water around him rippled vigorously and he felt like something was pulling him from inside the water.

"Eh? What is this?! I can't move my leg! Let go!"

Alif struggled and finally he was dragged down and into the deepest part of the lake where he no longer felt the pull. Light pierced through the surface of the water and shone on him. To him,it was so peaceful. He thought he was drowning but it didn't feel like it.

Suddenly,that peacefulness was interrupted when the water changed colour into red and Alif felt like he was being strangled. No light shone on him anymore and what felt like a long struggle ended when he closed his eyes.

"It felt warm,but at the same time violent."

"Where am I,am I dead?"

"Light? What is this?"

He finally opened his eyes and to his surprise,the water was back to normal and he slowly resurfaced out of it.

The first thing he noticed was that the surroundings were very much different from Lake Chini and made him wonder. The most prominent thing was that the lake he was in right now is smaller than Lake Chini. The area were gloomy and dark; talk about creepy.

"Where am I? What is this? Mother! Father! Balqis! Where are you guys!" Alif yelled while he swam over to the lake coast.

Little do he knew,that his yell caught a creature's attention. While Alif tried to dry his wet clothes,he heard a twig snapped from the distance.

"Who is there?" He asked nervously.

A giant silhouette approximately 9 feet tall of what looked like to be monster appeared not so far in front of him. Alif was scared and his eyes widen. He have never seen anything alike like what he seen that time.

"Don't come close! Stay where you are!" Alif screamed while backing slowly from the giant silhoutte.

The silhouette roared and showed its true self. A vicious looking monster with ugly face and two giant fangs sticking out of its mouth. It had big belly and wore torn leather shortpants to cover its underparts. With its sharp claw,and wide arm,it dashed towards Alif in a menacing way.

Alif ran as fast as he can towards the woods but the monster kept chasing him and closing.

"Help! Anybody,help me!" He yelled for help hoping someone would come to rescue him.

Suddenly,he had a ring in his ear and it was painful. He screamed out of pain while the creature closing. Alif knocked down on the ground while covering his ears because of the tremendous pain.

The creature was right behind Alif while he struggled and when the creature was about to swing its arm to kill Alif,it was hit by giant fireball and was knocked out.

"Hey are you okay?" A male voice asked directly at Alif.

Alif looked up and saw a man in armor like a knight. There were a few of them surrounding the place. Then,a woman with a short brown hair and a girl beside her approached Alif. Both of them wore an armor like those knights but a bit different. The girl had this head cover like a priestess and holding a staff while the woman has red shoulder pads unlike the other knights.

"Are you okay young man?" Asked the woman.

Alif stayed silent because he still confused but the pain he felt slowly faded. He slowly put down his hands.

"Miriam,take care of this boy for a moment. We will finish that Orc". The woman ordered the girl.

"Right,Miss Elaine" The girl replied while nodding.

The girl,Miriam is her name took Alif's right hand and then,particles of green light engulfed their hands. Alif felt more relieved but uncomfortable. After a few minutes,the light faded and Miriam let go of his hand.

"What did you do?"Alif asked in confusion.

"I healed you." Miriam replied simply.

Alif thanked Miriam and at the same time the Orc that was unconcious before awoke and roared. The woman,Elaine signaled the knights to take a fighting stance. Elaine unsheathed her sword,a glimmering silver sword with golden handle.

"By the power bestowed upon our kind from the Almighty Lord,we command the nature be our ally! FireBall!" The knights shouted in unison while pointing their hands at the Orc.

Alif had the ring in ear once more but he tried surpress it. Miriam that was standing beside him noticed he was struggling.Once again,she healed Alif and calmed him down. Alif had no idea why he had those rings in the ear but he was glad it ended for now.

Fireballs shot out of each of the knights hands and striked the Orc. Elaine then jumped and her sword shone in red light while she aimed for the Orc's head and finally decapitated it with one swift slash.

"Thats the end for your mischief. You will no longer be able to harm the people of Tartarus." Said Elaine.

Elaine approached Alif and Miriam and looked at Alif. She saw Alif's clothes were wet but at the same time unfamiliar and weird.

"You seemed like you've been through a lot. Iam Commander Elaine Warsburgh. Who are you and where did you came from?"

"My name is Putra Alif. Iam from Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. Thank you for saving me" Alif replied.

Miriam and Elaine looked at Alif confused. To their knowledge,there are no such place that is called 'Kuala Lumpur' or 'Malaysia'. Miriam then whispered to Elaine making Alif curious what she was whispering.

"I see...Well then,lets take this young man back to the city and we will settle everything there. Would that be alright with you young man?" Elaine ordered.

Alif nodded showing that he agreed because he had no other choice than to accept the offer. He was lost and cold and these people wanted to help him so he must respect their effort.

One of the knights then took Alif and helped him to their carriages not so far the spot they were in. He got in a carriage with Miriam and Elaine and some other knights.

"Don't worry,we will arrive soon at City Of Veildra. We will take care of you there." Miriam said to Alif.

Alif just smiled and nodded. In his mind he questioned the name 'Veildra' as he himself never heard such name.

"Magic,Knights,Orc,City with a weird name....Am I..Am I in another world?! Like an anime or something...If so,then there is only one thing I need to do. Find a way back home." Alif thought to himself.

After a few hours of journey,they finally stumbled upon a giant gate. Alif was amazed by the surrounding area outside gate where it was full of crops and people working. He was even more amazed when they entered the city. The city is full of beatifully built buildings.

"Welcome to the City Of Veildra." Elaine said as the carriage move along a road towards what looks to be a steel building at the center of the city.