"Land of the gods"- Part 7: "Alienation"

"…She still had some issues to which she didn't find a satisfactory answer.

'Toan, then after that moment, what was Linh's expression?'

'You can't imagine her expression back then. She looked outside with a distant look as if she couldn't believe that things weren't going her way. Then she fell to the ground, muttering: 'Have all my efforts been in vain? I've come this far...' Then she looked over at me, exactly the glowing thing I was holding. I told her that I would bring it back to the Institute to study, comforted her to put aside regret and greed for the common good, and honestly told everyone everything to receive forgiveness. Then...'

'Then what?'- Yelena asked.

'I was not mistaken about Linh. She is a selfish person who only thinks about herself. She is willing to trade her careers, beliefs, and even colleagues' lives to achieve better things and more opportunities. Her pettiness and cruelty made me this way. look at this.'

The part when Toan raised his left sleeve to reveal a long, deep scar on his arm. Yelena covered her face in horror and asked:

'Oh god, this scar… What has she done to you? What happened between you two?'

'She pretended to tell me to pack up and told me to go out first, then took advantage of the time when I was not alert, she used the stick she picked up to hit me very hard on the back of the neck and then took the opportunity to push me to the ground to steal the Elemental Card there. After struggling for a while, because I held it too tightly, Linh recited a spell that made the thing glow, summoning a bolt of lightning to hit me directly. I took out my hand to block it, so the lightning just slashed across my arm and made me drop the Elemental Card. Linh jumped off my body and tried to grab it. Although I was in so much pain that I wanted to scream because of the injury caused by the lightning, I didn't want Linh to have it, so I tried to use the last bit of strength to pick up the stick Linh dropped. When Linh got that Elemental Card in her hand and turned to the left, I grabbed the stick and smashed it straight on her head with quite a force. So she was stunned, rolled over, and fainted. The struggle ended. After defeating her unconscious, I fainted for a while due to the pain and loss of strength. I thought I was dead then.

After hearing the story about what happened between Toan and Linh, Yelena trembled. She didn't think that the small thing in her hand could cause people to tear each other apart to get its power. Fear and insecurity appeared on her face.

'This thing... can make people give up their humanity to get. This is really... so cruel, it's beyond my imagination.'

'There are exceptions like you and me. After I woke up, I felt a little better although it still hurt and the wound was stitched but still scarred because it was quite deep. I realized that before I fainted, my injured hand was holding the Elemental Card so tightly, I felt that it was the Elemental Card that had healed my wound. I felt that power spread through my body, but my consciousness was not affected by it. When I saw Linh lying on the ground right in front of me in an unconscious state, I intended to kill her with a knife in my body after thinking about what she did to me and others, but there was something stopped me and communicated with me through my thoughts, advised me to forgive that person, don't follow her footsteps, the law of cause and effect is true for all. So I agreed and left Linh there and disappeared."

"What made you change your mind?" Yelena asked curiously.

"How should I describe it correctly? It's like a kind of entity. As I remembered, he didn't even have a biological body but an unknown yellow light. He called himself Thedus. - a god appeared on Earth more than 1000 years ago, After giving me advice, he disappeared. Since then I have not met or talked to him anymore."

"What if it's just a dream somewhere? Maybe it represents the part of your conscience telling you to do the right thing, in my opinion. So what do you think about this?"

"That's not ruled out either. Let's leave this matter aside for now. I have more important matters to talk about."

The part when Toan looked at the observer's seat, told Yelena to look over her head, and said:

"The tracker is gone."

"Oh no.."- Yelena looked back, said- "Could it be... he's waiting for us outside?"

"Are you worried he's found out we've spotted him and is waiting for us to go out to kill him?"

"What better reason could there be for this?"

"Come on, calm down. He doesn't dare do it in a crowded public place like this one. I think he's gone."

After being reassured by Toan, Yelena gradually calmed down, breathing evenly. She looked straight at Toan and urged:

"Never mind. So what happens after that? Hurry up and tell me the last part. I'm so impatient, can't wait anymore."

With a slightly surprised expression, he pointed at the Elemental Card Yelena was holding and asked:

"Aren't you curious about the secret behind this and the four flying glowing objects I just told you about a few minutes ago?"

"Now is not the time to talk about that. I will ask Linh directly about that. From what you said, I think she knows more about them than you do. More importantly..."

'Okay, I know what to do. You are not just a strange person, but also very interesting. Something about you, including the sharpness in the brain of observing and deducting and the decisiveness in actions and words, made me quite interesting."- Toan interrupted Yelena, and continued to tell the rest of the story- "I did not return to the Institute to expose Linh in front of the others colleagues because I was afraid that when she was pushed to the corner, Linh would do something bad to them, instead I decided to quit my job and moved to a new place to live and broke off contact with Linh. and everyone, otherwise Linh will defiantly come to me to get this anytime."

"But by doing so, it meant Linh could blame you as the traitor. People would think that you stole this thing to make a profit for yourself."

"I'm willing to be the bad guy in everyone's eyes. As long as I don't let this thing fall into her hands. Thanks to that, I have time to research and understand more about the nature of this thing."

"In the past time, for the sake of noble ideals, you have suffered and sacrificed a lot. Linh has to pay for the sins she caused. Your difficult time will pass soon, I think." After some time, I heard that Linh was kicked out of Minh Vu. I always see it as the price that Linh has to bear and feel lucky because I did not make a mistake at the time in the ancient tomb. Honestly speaking, except this thing, other things that flew out of the coffin in the ancient tomb have always remained a mystery to us.'

'I am also quite curious. A personal question that I would like to ask you after so many things happened, Linh received the punishment she deserved, will you forgive Linh now?'

'Hmm… I think the passage of time makes people want to forget the past. Moreover, knowing that Linh was fired from work made my hatred gradually subside. It is impossible for me to completely forgive right now, but she and I are both human, and I think I need to have empathy and tolerance for her. Anyway, I hope she will repent and come to me for forgiveness.'

'You are so tolerant. But I guess you didn't call me here just to tell this story, did you?'

'Wow, you are sharp. I want to ask you one last favor. Because you're the only one I can trust right now.'

'A favor? All right, tell me. If it is possible, I will help.'- Yelena said.

'Before being fired by Minh Vu, Linh had installed a device to create a three-dimensional protective barrier right in front of the entrance that only she could enter. Its switch is kept by her. I've tried many ways but can't break that protective barrier. I've been stalked by her people lately, she must be waiting for the right opportunity to kill me and get the Elemental Card I'm holding. Maybe she put it in her office or her house. Therefore, I want you... to contact her and take an opportunity to steal and bring it to me. Now the only person I can trust is you.'

'Steal that switch? Could it be... you're going to... go in there?"

"Yes."

"What is your aim after taking the switch?'

'I have a job to do, which is to return this thing to where it belongs. This thing belongs to that ancient tomb, not the humans. Before I thought that this thing was simply nothing to be afraid of, if I just brought it back to the Institute, everything would be fine but now I understand that this thing is more complicated than I thought, if you use it arbitrarily and indiscriminately without understanding it thoroughly, it will bring disaster to mankind in another day. So I decided to return it to the place where the gods once hid.'

Yelena hesitated for a moment, she always bit her lip when she had to give an answer or make a difficult decision.

'You'll agree to help me, won't you?'- Toan asked with a slightly uneasy look.

'Okay! I accept your favor, but can you grant one request of mine, too?'

Yelena's eyes looked at Toan extremely sincerely. Two people looked into each other's eyes as the cafe gradually became sparse...

He is a man who knows how to keep his faith and does not want to be indebted to anyone's favor, especially his family members or those he trusted. Moreover, looking through Yelena's clear, innocent blue eyes along with her pleading and earnest gesture reminded Tuan of the time when Linh tried to beg him to go together on every trip to famous Yelenadmarks. such as My Son area in Quang Nam, Phong Nha Ke Bang cave in Quang Binh, and Trang An temple in Ninh Binh, ... which both were entrusted with the task of surveying and searching for ancient artifacts with some foreign colleagues. She stood by his side as a mentor and interpreter, not just a regular colleague. That time had always been so nostalgic for him because Linh was just a young, carefree, resourceful, and intelligent girl at that time, it could be said that she was an extremely perfect partner in his eyes. Therefore, when witnessing Linh's dizzying change, he wondered: 'Why did such a girl become such a corrupt person that she dared to do dirty things with others just to get something she want? How good would it be if everything could go back to the way it was before?'. In the end, he could only laugh bitterly in his heart for something he knew could never happen.

He regained his focus and put aside the sentimentality in his heart, and said to Yelena:

'No problem. I am ready to hear your request. Say it.'

Yelena was straight to the problem without thinking:

'Give me the Elemental Card you are holding. I'll hold it for you, don't worry.'

Toan was surprised and asked:

'May I ask why you want to keep this for me?'

Yelena immediately replied with no hesitation:

'I want to use this as a tool to expose Linh and force her to hand over the switch. That is all.'

'As expected...'- Tuan said- 'Actually, I also guessed your intention. I intended to tell you to use this method at first, but I'm afraid it's too risky when you're dealing with a cunning person like her right now. I have to say one thing. I think you can't handle her at this time. If I were Linh, I wouldn't consider her a worthy opponent for me. I'm sorry if my words hurt your pride. Those are my words from the bottom of my heart without any disrespect to you. I hope you understand.'

Yelena also imagined what she was about to face, she tried to relieve the tense atmosphere by touching Toan's hand, and explained:

'Thanks for your advice. But don't worry. I know very well what I need to do with a cunning person like Linh. I will do it my way, and I believe I can succeed. To do it I need to have in hand the Elemental Card. Please believe in me.'

After hearing her words, he thought for a moment:

'This girl cannot be corrupted by this thing. I'm sure about this now. I should put my trust in her once.'

Then he smiled and pushed the Elemental Card on the table towards Yelena and said:

'I haven't done anything with this yet. It meant I am not its owner yet. Find the ways to become its owner and use its powers to protect yourself. It has found someone who deserves it.'

'Toan...'- Yelena exclaimed, and felt moved by his gentle action- 'Thank you!'

'Once you have the switch, give me a call and get to the meeting point! I'll go there first and wait for you.'- Toan sent a final message to Yelena.

Then he stood up and slowly left his seat, he didn't forget to say goodbye to Yelena with a very bright smile. When Toan walked out of the cafe, Yelena also put the Elemental Card in her bag, stood up to go out to pay the bill, and then quietly walked out of the cafe..."