The Return Of The Past

All the demons and ghosts were busy doing chores for the upcoming event of Xao Chang's return. Assayah and Kenchi organised music and lavish food and beverages for Xao Chang. Assayah said, "Let there be no shortcomings in Lord Xao Chang's return to the Monastery. He has spent so much time in seclusion and has attained divine and demonic powers. We shouldn't do anything to enrage him in any way." Kenchi said, "Yep. The old man is not any gentler than before. Keep your ugly faces and filthy tongues away from Lord Xao Chang's eyes and ears. No one shall hold me responsible for the perishment of your puny lives." Assayah asked, "Did you find out where that bastard Kayuba is?" Kenchi said, "How can I know? You are the one assigned for contacting Novaria and Robin and conveying the information to me. I am already too busy to watch upon these trivial matters. Contact them and get your answer." Assayah said angrily, "Don't talk like a fool, Kenchi. You perfectly know that Kayuba is very important right now. With all this commotion and confusion happening, we don't need any more problems on our heads." Kenchi said angrily, "You are the one talking like an idiot. Kayuba is not a child, that I will pick up from some nursery. He is a grown up pain in the ass. Anyway, why would Lord Xao Chang bother with him? He surely has much more important problems in his hand right now. Like why the fuck is the Blood Spear not in our grasp right now?" Assayah said, "Yes. The first thing that comes to your mind is the hardest one and not the preposterous renovations that you have done all over the Monastery." Kenchi said angrily, ""Preposterous renovations"? Mind your tongue, old dog. The only change that I have made is that I have made this place more habitable than before." Assayah said, "Oh, yeah? By how? By making the Monastery your den?' Kenchi said angrily, "Look around, Assayah. There is nothing on these walls that shouldn't be there. Beautiful paintings, exquisite vases and flowers in them and moreover the fresh and rejuvenating air flowing inside the Monastery." Assayah said, "You are wearing a satin robe." Kenchi said, "So, what? If we don't live in poverty, then why show it?" Assayah rolled his eyes and walked away saying, "You are incorrigible. I just pray that you become better someday." Kenchi said, "Stop praying. I'm already better than you." Assayah showed him the middle finger and went away.

Kayuba and Bayu were sitting in their room and were looking at the ogres wandering here and there busy in their respective work. Kayuba looked at Bayu and asked, "Do you know why the ogres are so pretty much hated and seen with eyes full of anger and disgust?" Bayu said, "Nope. Never has. Never will." Kayuba smiled, "Well, the reason is pretty simple. Racism. The ogres has always been in a delusion that they were pretty much similar to the fair-skinned elves and so they wanted the same kind of respect and position in the society as the elves enjoys. But, the elves think otherwise. For them, ogres are filthy and malicious. The ogres tried for many years, in fact for centuries to end this gap but with time the elves only grew more reluctant and soon started killing the ogres on the pretext of "sanitation" of the society. Ogres were not going to tolerate this injustice and so slowly scuffles turned into battles and soon battles took the ugly form of destructive wars. So, tell me the moral of my anecdote." Bayu said, "Factionalism is an evil trait of mankind." Kayuba smiled, "No, you got it all wrong. Factionalism is an opportunity for people like us. By increasing the gaps between the ideals of two groups of people, we can easily extract our profit and become successful." Bayu smiled, "Of course, I should have seen it coming. What devious plan are you concocting in your brain?" Kayuba smiled, "We will create a rift between two groups of ogres and then we will slowly increase the intensity of the scuffle and soon there will be fractions and defeating them separately will be easier." Bayu asked, "Shouldn't we side with the ogres and attack the elves? You, yourself said that the ogres are looking for justice, so siding with them will be much easier." Kayuba smiled, "That's the difference between a wise man and a foolish man. The ogres are not powerful enough to help us avoid the wrath of Xao Chang. The elves are resilient and therefore they can be trusted more than the ogres. Anyway, who cares for those gooey motherfuckers anyway?" Bayu laughed, "Look who is talking about being gooey? You defended your underling Phantom like a father. Saving his ass from Bacca and Xao Chang." Kayuba said grimly, "First of all, Phantom was not my "underling", he was my student. Secondly, I didn't defend him in any way, he was punished according to the laws of the Monastery. I just saved him from any unjust punishment Kenchi was very eager to put on him." Bayu said, "Don't lie to me. I perfectly know that you hate love." Kayuba said, "I don't hate love. I just don't want it around me. Love is a liability and the life that I want to live has to be free from such liabilities. Phantom and you are not very much enjoying the contribution that love did to your lives. One turned a homeless and non-existent ghoul and you become a prisoner. So, what I learnt from you two experiences is that I don't want the same experience in my life." Bayu asked, "Are you happy with your current life, Kayuba? The one you are living in, without love." Kayuba smiled, "My problems have nothing to do with romance, it occurred due to the dirty politics that is happening inside the Monastery."

Bayu said, "You are your own enemy, Kayuba. You let Kenchi take all the control while you were busy wandering around the world without any reason." Kayuba said, "None of my voyages were meaningless. Kenchi is not as foolish as many think he is. He is quite cunning and if you observe carefully, he has always played his cards at the right time. No one thinks of him as valuable but still he is alive and playing by his own rules. He has killed many people with other people's hands." Bayu asked, "What do you mean?" Kayuba said, "Kenchi persuaded everyone that you are a threat as you fell in love with a human girl. He was the one who forced Bacca to kill Elizabeth. Bacca didn't want to kill Elizabeth but by the constant nagging of Kenchi he had to kill Elizabeth. He slowly started to increase distances between us. Assayah and my absence only fuelled his nefarious motives and soon he started giving commands indirectly. He perfectly exploited Bacca's illiteracy and violent nature and soon he was controlling Bacca's decisions." Bayu interrupted him and said, "Talking about Kenchi is just a waste of our good time. Why don't you tell me your plan?" Kayuba said, "Same as Kenchi, we have to find grudges between two powerful groups of ogres and start a war between them." Bayu said, "I don't think it is as simple as you make it sound." Kayuba said, "I don't say anything without a motive, Bayu. There are two prominent groups of ogres right now in the kingdom. The first group consists of the wealthy Balvan clan where all the ogres are merchants and ogres with high ranking positions. The second group consists of the middle class and the poor ogres. They are the majority of the ogre population and therefore they are scattered all around the vast rural areas of the kingdom. The wealthy Balvan clan lives near the palace and the small colony they created for them in the adjacent areas of the palace. We have to attack both the areas and make them believe that the attack was from the opposing community. I have already stationed some of my fine demons between both communities and tomorrow on the occasion of the anniversary of the ogre dynasty, my men will create ruckus all over the kingdom. You just have to kill an important person tomorrow." Bayu asked, "Who?" Kayuba said, "Kavana."

Assayah and Kenchi were standing near the stage where they were supposed to welcome Xao Chang. Assayah asked, "Are you sure Bacca told us to wait here? This place isn't very neat." Kenchi said, "I'm pretty much sure that Bacca told me to wait here. Xao Chang doesn't want to be too much of a showoff on his arrival. He is already very disappointed with our laziness in completing our jobs and therefore he isn't expecting happiness on his arrival. He scolded Bacca too for not making necessary initiatives to get the Blood Spear from the elves. I'm also very afraid of Xao Chang right now. Apparently, he didn't change much even after the meditation." Assayah said, "I think we all deserve the punishment Xao Chang is going to give us. We have been really very bad at our work." Kenchi said angrily, "Speak for yourself, Assayah. I did all I could for the Monastery and the betterment of the demons. I single-handedly improved most of the ways of the Monastery and I of all, deserve to be promoted." Assayah smiled, "You have already self-promoted yourself to the highest position in the Monastery. What more do you want?" Kenchi said, "The position of Bacca. That fat bastard needs to retire. I am much more capable of being Xao Chang's minister." Assayah said, "You have to kill Bacca to prove your competence. Can you do that?" Kenchi said, "I don't believe in these violent duels. I believe in democracy. We will conduct elections to get the votes." Assayah laughed, "Elections? Stop being so delusional, Kenchi. You may be a democratic, but Xao Chang is not going to choose his minister by the rules of the mortals. Also, he really doesn't consider you to be any near the position of minister. He will either choose me or Kayuba." Kenchi said, "Now who's being delusional. Kayuba is going straight to the execution room and if you come in my way, then I will expose all of your secrets to Xao Chang." Assayah smiled, "You are threatening me, Kenchi. You are the one who is on thin ice. You are already not everyone's favourite and don't try to lessen the number even more by such foolish remarks." Kenchi wanted to say more but decided to stay silent to not aggravate the matter beyond control. Assayah looked at the small purplish stone slowly starting to light and then said, "Hurry up, idiots. Master Xao Chang is arriving soon." All ran here and there and stood in a disciplined manner. Assayah and Kenchi looked at the purple stone nervously as the stone got brighter and brighter. Assayah held Kenchi's hand and pressed it hard. The stone slowly started to emit black smoke and the whole room started to become foggy. Assayah and Kenchi looked at each other as slow yet loud grunts came from the thick smoke. Soon, a pair of dark red eyes started to appear and everyone kneeled before it...