Chapter 2: Devil's Hymn

The boy cheered; nothing was more satisfying than mealtime.

Lannie untied the bag and took out a simple round loaf of bread. It contained no special ingredients. On the floating island of Babylon, it was a food that the nobles scorned. But on the surface, it was a priceless treasure, free of radiation and carrying a faint wheat fragrance.

Wheat, on the surface, was as legendary as dragons. As far as Lannie knew, only the closed agricultural bases of the floating island could cultivate such pure, unpolluted grains.

Watching the boy receive the bread from her with a nearly reverent expression, tearing it into small pieces and carefully placing them in his mouth, even licking the grease from his fingers, Lannie felt a pang of sorrow. If not for her so-called persistence, would the child have lived a better life?

But there was no turning back.

After the sorrow came a deep, burning anger. If it weren't for that man, today would not be like this. Thinking of this, Lannie clenched her slender fist tightly.

She pulled out a dagger from her bosom, sheathed in black leather. Lannie gently drew the single-edged blade, its spine adorned with golden patterns. Its design was simple, save for a red gemstone at the hilt, carved into the face of a demon. Thus, the dagger bore a fitting name: Devil's Hymn.

A small room.

A bed made of planks and a patched but clean blanket were the room's entirety. From the bed to the door was just a step, making it more of a cabin than a room.

Ellen sat in the bed's corner, bathed in the amber light of a ceiling lamp. His hand now held a dagger, which Lannie had just informed him was called the Devil's Hymn. And also about his father.

To Ellen, the word 'father' was alien. From birth till now, he only knew his mother, having not a shred of information about his father. Lannie had never spoken of him, except once when he fought with the town children who mocked him for being fatherless. When Ellen returned home and asked, Lannie had no answer, only spanked him.

Thus, Ellen equated 'father' with punishment.

But tonight, Lannie was different. When she handed him the dagger, her gentle face twisted, and she loudly said, "Ellen, this dagger was given to me by your father. Now I give it to you. One day, use it to stab that damned father of yours in the chest! Can you do that?"

Instinctively, Ellen nodded, but he didn't understand why his mother showed such a face.

A five-year-old could not comprehend this emotion called hatred. Many years later, Ellen would understand it was not just hatred but also a love so profound it took one's breath away.

Love turned into hate.

He ran his fingers over the dagger's sheath, feeling it was the best gift he had ever received. Ellen had long wanted Uzz's small knife, promised to him at ten years old. But now, he had a better treasure. Ellen swore he had never seen such a beautiful dagger in town. The sheath's soft glow and the devil gemstone's refracted light.

To describe it, he used a newly learned phrase: It was simply too cool!

Ellen couldn't resist drawing the dagger, the silver blade and its dark gold patterns leaving him breathless. He saw his reflection, filled with surprise and excitement, in the polished surface. He licked his lips and lightly touched the blade.

A chill and a slight pain followed as the sharp edge nicked his fingertip.

So sharp!

Ellen was not afraid but thrilled. He quickly sheathed the dagger, sucking the blood from his finger, savoring the metallic taste. Then, he nestled under the blanket, chuckling softly. Soon, he fell asleep.

The boy did not notice the tiny bloodstain on the blade moving and soaking into it. The dagger in its sheath regained its pristine state, while the devil gemstone on the hilt faintly glowed in the dim light under the covers.

Three weeks later, the first winter snow arrived in the town. The silver snowflakes drifted from the sky like gifts from heaven, painting over ugliness, hiding sins, and turning the world pure white.

Life was reviving.

After breakfast, Ellen went outside. A thin layer of snow covered the ground, hiding the black-yellow road and leaving a dazzling silver path. Ellen looked up, sensing something different about this winter.

Among the falling snowflakes, strange glows floated in the air. Red, green, blue, purple, all colors intermingled with the snowflakes. It was the most beautiful sight Ellen had ever seen. He eagerly brought out a high chair, climbed up, and tried to catch the glowing lights.

The lights seemed alive, evading Ellen's small hands. Yet, he was not disappointed; his face beamed with joy. Finally, one glow landed in his hand. It felt icy and quickly seeped into his skin, leaving a faint pattern on his palm like a circuit.

The light pattern flickered and vanished.

"Ellen! My goodness, what are you doing here?"

His mother's voice startled him. Ellen jumped down, and Lannie scooped him up, taking him inside: "Didn't I say you'd get sick staying in the snow?"

Ellen's cheeks were rosy from the cold. He blew a warm breath and said, "See, I'm fine."

He was stubborn, and Lannie could only roll her eyes. Ellen pulled her to the door, pointing at the sky, "Mom, what are those?"

"Snow."

"No, no, I mean the things in the snow. They are colorful and glowing!"

Lannie flicked his forehead, "Nonsense, there's no glowing stuff."

Ellen touched his forehead, puzzled, looking at his mother, then the sky. The glows were still there, but neither Lannie nor the townspeople noticed the unusual snow.

Ellen did not yet understand what he saw.

It was source energy, the universe's primordial force. Few humans could see it with the naked eye, a rarity among millions!

Something was awakening.

The world often repeated itself in monotony, like the town's life, day by day, year by year.

Three days had passed since the first snow.

That night, Ellen, half-asleep, felt a cool touch on his forehead. It was like someone's cold fingers. He struggled to open his eyes. In the dim room, a shadowy figure stood. Ellen mumbled, "Mom?"

The person murmured affirmatively but remained silent. The cold fingers danced rhythmically on the boy's face and body, lulling him back to sleep.

The next day, Ellen had forgotten the night's events.

But today, an inexplicable tension gripped him.

At night, the feeling intensified. He couldn't sleep, his heart pounding, adrenaline coursing through him. Ellen's pupils dilated slightly as he gazed out the window. The moon was exceptionally round and large tonight, its majestic craters visible. Just as Ellen stared, a sudden explosion roared from afar, drawing closer!

The boy jumped in surprise, standing up bewilderedly from the bed. Outside the window, rough gunshots echoed along with men's angry shouts, interspersed with one or two sharp screams, possibly from a woman or a child.

Lani almost crashed into the room, swiftly climbed onto the bed, and closed the small window beside Alan's bed.

"What's wrong, Mom?" The mother hugged her child tightly, forcing a smile. "I don't know, maybe some dangerous kind has intruded into the town. It's okay, Uz will handle it."

As she spoke, there were several explosions outside, much louder than the previous ones.

Dangerous kinds had indeed intruded into the town before, but in the past, the fights would end quickly, with the sounds far outside the town. But tonight, the explosions and gunshots seemed to have spread into the town and were advancing towards the center!

That's not a dangerous kind! A chilling voice echoed in the boy's heart.

Boom boom boom— 

The urgent knocking on the door sounded like a torrential rain, its frequency threatening to break down the flimsy sheet metal door.

"Stay here, dear," Lani jumped off the bed, patted Alan's head, and said. She turned and darted out of the room, opening the door to find Uz outside. Uz was covered in blood, whether it was his own or something else's was unclear. Lani only saw a long, narrow wound on his face, deep enough to reveal bone!

"Oh my God, you're injured. Come in quickly, let me treat you," Lani said instinctively.

But Uz grabbed her hand, shaking his head. "There's no time. Listen, Lani, I need you to take Alan and leave here."

"This..." Lani glanced outside, where the town was ablaze everywhere. "Is it the dangerous kinds? They..."

"No, Lani. This time it's the predatory tribe!" Uz urgently said. "The men in town are all blocked at the entrance, but we won't last long. You need to leave now. Get out of here, go to Gaul City or somewhere else."

He took two things from his body: "This is a pistol, you know how to use it, right? And this is a grenade. Pull out the safety pin, throw it out, and blow up anyone who means you harm, okay?"

Handing them to Lani, Uz suddenly smiled, his smile as bright as it was when they first met five years ago. In this night of blood and fire, it was like scattering sunlight on the ground. "I love you, Lani."

Lani shivered all over, then gritted her teeth. "I know."

He chuckled, said nothing more, and turned away from the cottage. His figure rushing towards the town entrance, resolute and without looking back!