Memories

I could feel... her emotions. It was something like what my mother does, only my mother can convey more than that with just a look. The little ball of light in front of me was curious, probably how I could see it, and somehow interact with it.

Using my lineage skill, I did as my mother taught me. It was like compressing several words and the emotion I want to convey, and turning it all into a look. I have not yet reached the level of my mother, who can do this with ease. I still need spiritual energy, a large amount even.

My eyes glowed slightly blood-red, causing the little ball of light to be startled and return into the tree trunk. After receiving my answer, however, it soon came out and became more excited, seeing that besides seeing it, I could interact with it and talk to it.

In this world of beasts, words are meaningless and actions matter much more. So it is beyond rare for someone with an ability of similar lineage to mine. I conveyed the truth, which I didn't know how I could see it, and told the reason why I was there in the first place.

I no longer cared about beast warfare or magic cores. The discovery of being able to see and interact with the soul of the trees was already a bigger discovery, much bigger and more worthwhile.

Seeming to think for a moment, the small ball of light flew towards the tree trunk, and a thin, almost invisible mist began to emerge from it. And then, it suddenly stopped, and soon after, it began once again. After understanding the intention of the little ball of light, I focused all my attention on it, to learn how to recreate it.

After more than ten times, I finally succeeded. Circulating my spiritual energy, I felt my power being drained quickly, as a tree sprouted from the ground, growing rapidly into a five-foot tall copy of the tree in front of me.

But something seemed to be missing. I watched in all sorts of ways, and then something finally hit me. This tree I had created... had no soul.

Without knowing exactly why, I felt a little disappointed. Sending spiritual energy to the little tree, it still created a dense mist with a radius of thirty-two feet, but it looked... empty.

I didn't have time to think about it, though. An overwhelming pressure fell over the plain at that moment. Even the faint glow of the grass on the plains seemed to have been extinguished, leaving the world in complete darkness.

Damn it, I was so excited that I forgot how dangerous I felt!

The magical beast was black as night. It was at least, 10000 feet (3.05 km) long, its body was long, but not very tall. Its paws were short, but its claws were long and frightening. It had a crown on its head made of horns, the smallest of which was even bigger than my whole body!

This magical beast seemed to be swimming in the sky, coming slowly toward the battlefield. Looking down, I noticed that all the beasts were running in all directions, desperate and full of fear.

Even the new king of this territory, the Twilight Tiger, turned his body into a black mist, and left as quickly as possible.

There is no doubt... that magic beast in the sky, is a Rank 4 magic beast... maybe even a Rank 5!

The tail of the magical beast, which looked like a demonic giant otter, flicked its tail lightly in the air, and a strong wind, so strong that it lifted all the trees that were near the plain and sent them flying away. Those that survived let out a dense mist in a desperate attempt to survive.

When I looked at the plain, there were holes in every corner, the ground was all turned up, several beasts and magical beasts had died. And the scariest thing, The flying beast was still three miles away!

Luckily for me, it seems that the tree that the ball of light inhabited was more resistant than the surrounding trees. Looking at my surroundings, I see that it was the only surviving tree within 600 feet (182.88 m).

The only reason I was not thrown away, apart from the strength of the tree with a soul, is that I was fast enough to hide behind it, and also that colossal figure in the sky was not aiming at me, but at the battlefield.

Was this an unexpected opportunity... or a chance of certain death? As I struggled to decide what to do next, not taking my eyes off the colossal magical beast in the sky, I received a message in my head.

It was a message from the little ball of light. It was filled with fear, despair, anger, sadness, and most of all... helplessness.

Fear for what would happen to her when that magical beast came to this place. Despair for knowing that she cannot escape. Anger for not being able to react. Sadness at seeing her home destroyed... and helplessness, because all the little ball of light can do is watch, unable to react or escape.

These feelings... I know them well. They have kept me company for centuries. After I got married, years later I became the father of a strong and happy boy, who transformed my gray life into a world full of colors. At that time I didn't cultivate yet, I was just a mortal. The monster I had always been, was hiding in human skin, trying to live an ordinary life with the woman I loved and the happy child I was proud to call my son.

But like the stories Mei'er always read as a child, a monster cannot have a happy ending.

The emperor of that mortal empire was nearing his death, so he made a contract with demon cultivators. In exchange for receiving talent to cultivate, and thus live another century, he would give all the children in his empire to that scum.

Because I lived in an isolated village near the borders of the empire, there was no way for me to know about these things, and when I found out, it was already too late. First came the emperor's soldiers, and we successfully resisted. Although I am mortal and live like a human, my strength has always been above average, and I could defeat those soldiers with relative ease.

After this, I closed my forge, and took everything necessary for us to flee somewhere else, but there was not enough time. A few days later, when almost everything was ready, a group of 100 demonic cultivators arrived in our village. And to set an example to all the other villages, they decided to kill everyone, not even the animals would be spared.

When they arrived, I was gathering herbs on the mountain behind the village, but still, yes, I could hear the explosions. I ran with all my strength, as fast as I could. I ran to the point where my face burned, and my vision darkened, but I didn't stop. I prayed to the heavens that it was all a nightmare, a monster inside me, that abysmal, shapeless creature threatening to break free, but I still managed to hold it in place.

When I reached the village, everything was burned, dead animals everywhere, mutilated and butchered bodies in every corner. There were no survivors, and even if there were, I couldn't care less about them.

Arriving at my house, my wife was there, sitting in her usual chair at the front of the house, looking at everything that was happening. For a moment I was filled with joy, but as soon as I saw the blood on her clothes, the joy was replaced by anger and despair.

Even though she was pale and mortally wounded, she looked as beautiful as ever. Her long straight black hair flowed down to her buttocks. Her oval face with large green eyes, a small pink mouth and a small nose formed her beautiful face. She was wearing a simple light blue dress, which had been her favorite dress, but was now stained with blood.

As soon as she saw me, a sad smile escaped her lips. She told me what had happened, and always kept me from crying as I struggled to stop the bleeding in her belly.

Our son had been taken away, our things were destroyed, and they would turn our son into a demon.

She was the only person who knew me best in this world, and because she knew me, she knew who the real me was.

A monster that from birth, for no apparent reason, would go to the dark dimension, would have to fight for its survival for years in that hellish place. I began to kill before I even learned to speak. I learned to destroy before I even learned to read.

In time, my soul, which was like that of all humans, became misshapen. It became a dark, abominable creature with no defined form. There were only four pairs of eyes. One pair was red, as my eyes are to this day. And another pair was purple, a sinister and disgusting purple, like the creatures that live in the Dark Dimension.

She asked me to no longer bind the monster that I am, and she asked me for something in particular...that hurts to this day when I think about it.

It may not seem like it, but all those thoughts were only 2 seconds in the real world. Having decided what to do, I had to act fast. That magical beast in the sky was getting closer by the second, and as deadly as it was to me, it didn't seem to be the greatest danger that was coming.

I won't die today, and I won't die tomorrow. San Meili is a true immortal. A being that even death itself fears!