Chapter -2 Escape!

The heads had their eyes gouged out, bloodstains covering them. Ivagi froze. The woman crying noticed him and shouted, "It must be that boy who murdered our children! I've always seen him around Gatot and his friends. He must have had a grudge!" Everyone's gazes fell on Ivagi, who was too shocked to respond. The people began questioning him. Just then, a woman with blonde hair stepped forward and said, "This boy cannot be the killer. I've known him since he was young. He barely has the strength to work each day. Are you telling me he killed three people, almost twice his size? Also, I dropped him home yesterday. Shouldn't you be more careful about letting your children out at night?" "Sister Erza!" Ivagi got up, giving her a thankful look.

Sister Erza was a kind woman. She had helped Ivagi many times and had known him since he was young. She was righteous and always spoke her mind.

Ivagi went home with Sister Erza, and they ate some food. "So, tell me what exactly happened, Ivagi. I'm here for you," she said with a comforting smile. Ivagi nervously looked at her and began telling her everything he did yesterday. "And what happened after you got home?" Ivagi was about to speak but suddenly started to stutter. "I don't remember anything after that. It's like I have no memory of heading to bed. But please believe me, Sister Erza, I didn't kill them," Ivagi nervously replied. "It's okay, I believe you, but you have to be careful from now on." Ivagi thanked her and went to a shop to buy some fabric.

When Ivagi returned home, he found his sickle lying under his bed. He picked it up and saw bloodstains on it. His pupils shrank. He tried to recall what happened yesterday but couldn't seem to figure it out. He pushed it aside and went to the city gate. He visited a few shops in search of a job but had no luck.

He went to the willow tree and sat there. There was a small mouse lying on its side. He reached to pick it up, but as he turned it over, he quickly threw it on the floor. His hands emitted black smoke, as if they were corroding. The mouse he had picked up was now rotting on the ground. Ivagi quickly ran home to wash up.

He went to the bathroom and stared at his hands. Suddenly, it became night. Ivagi was startled, rubbed his eyes, and went outside. He thought he had only been in the bathroom for a few minutes. He was baffled by the sudden change.

He turned around to close the door, but it was already shut. He opened it again and was blinded by a flash of light. Slowly, he opened his eyes. As he did so, he almost went crazy. "What happened, Ivagi? Are you okay?" Sister Erza said slowly. Ivagi thought he was dreaming and slapped his face. He realized everything around him was real. "No, I'm alright. I was just surprised to see you here," he answered. Countless thoughts filled Ivagi's head. He couldn't figure out what was going on. Sister Erza asked him a few things and quickly left in a hurry. Ivagi didn't speak much with her, as he was trying to make sense of what had happened. He slept through the night, only to be woken up by loud banging on the door.

"Ivagi, open up! We know what you've done. You will pay for your crimes today!" The thuds grew louder as the man spoke. Ivagi quickly escaped through the back door, thinking he was going to be framed for the murders of Gatot (Ivagi's bully) and the others.

He ran to Sister Erza's house and found the door open. He slowly went inside and called for her. As he entered her bedroom, he was cut off mid-sentence. He saw a pool of blood on the ground and Sister Erza's lifeless body. "How? What-How could this happen to you, Sister Erza?" Tears streamed down his face as he groaned. He heard someone's voice outside the door and quickly hid.

"Hey! I think the kid's in here somewhere. I saw him running back to her house." A man called out to others. He looked around and found nothing. Ivagi quickly hid under the bed and waited. A few men entered the room. They looked around, and the man in the white suit from earlier stepped inside.

He was the senior officer of Zelda City. People said he had a unique ability to find criminals. The man touched his forehead, and his eyes seemed to glow, which shocked everyone around. "There you are!" Ivagi quickly tried to run away but was stopped by an unseen force pressing down on his feet. He couldn't move at all.

The people took Ivagi to the center of the town and bound him to a cross. "Today, this boy will pay for his sins. Burn him!" The crowd roared.

Ivagi couldn't move. He thought it was the end. He felt himself burning. The sounds of his flesh melting and his miserable screams echoed through the town.

"Are you alright, Ivagi? You've been staring at me this whole time," Sister Erza slowly said. Ivagi was startled, his forehead covered in sweat. "What? But Sister Erza, you were just ki-!" He stopped speaking. The scenes were too real to make sense. He quickly hugged her and said, "I must be tired. I'll go get some rest."

Suddenly, Ivagi saw a black shadow with white teeth grinning at him from the darkness. He frowned and quickly moved toward it. The shadow began to run, and Ivagi followed.

They soon reached a cave. Ivagi followed the shadow inside. The cave didn't seem special at first, but then there were loud rumbles, and the cave seemed to be collapsing. Ivagi quickly ran in one direction but, as he was running, he fell deeper into the cave.

The terrain shifted. As Ivagi moved deeper, the cave seemed to be made of crystals. In the center, there was a giant, shining pool and a stone carving at the edge.

Ivagi approached it and saw a few words that had been erased by time: "Time and essence, thou shall learn when the fire ignites. It shall only extinguish when it forgets..." The rest of the words were too blurry to make out. Ivagi then looked down into the shining pool. It seemed as though he was being sucked in.

He then looked around for the shadowy figure. At that moment, the shadow reappeared. Ivagi's head throbbed with pain. He muttered, "Kai," as if he remembered something. The black shadow said, "Hoo, you seem to know my name, kid. Kekeke," it grinned. Ivagi spoke up, "I don't know what your purpose is, but don't mess with me and Sister Erza anymore. I don't know what's happening to me, but please leave."

"Too bad, kid. It seems you don't even know your own parents. Do you even know what they've done?" The man laughed.

"My parents? What do you know about them?" Ivagi frowned.

"Too bad, kiddo, time's up," the man rushed at Ivagi and landed a jaw-breaking punch. Ivagi flew several feet away and crashed into a crystal, which pierced his legs and lungs. He coughed up blood, looking pale.

Just as the man was about to finish him off, two other figures appeared out of thin air. "Kai, wrap this up quickly, we need to go," a woman spoke. Ivagi seemed to recognize her purple hair but couldn't place her. Another man spoke in a foreign language, and the three of them quickly moved toward the center of the pool. Ivagi slowly crawled to a large stone.

He was in a life-and-death crisis. He didn't know who these people were or what their purpose was. He was just a normal boy. Ivagi saw a hole beside the large stone that seemed to lead down endlessly, emitting a cold aura. He didn't have time to think and crawled toward it.

One of the men noticed and shouted, "No, you don't!" He quickly sent a flying sword at Ivagi, but Ivagi was already in the hole. The man clenched his fists and sent the sword down, piercing Ivagi. Ivagi fell into the endless hole. Blood sprayed out like a fountain, and his heartbeat seemed to stop. He kept falling and eventually crashed to the ground. Ivagi didn't wake up-he lay lifeless on the ground.