The sun rose from its lazy slumber on the horizon, blessing the majestic Akilan Realm with its golden light. Basked in the golden light, the silver stone walls of Mazeroth castle reflected the sunlight like a mirror. The morning birds chirped away from the forest in search of food with the hope of a new day. But, compared to the birds, the people were lazy as hell. Except for early birds such as Kayla Martin and Gilrine, the others clung to their hot blanket on their beds.
”AH!”
In one of the professors’ rooms, Gaya abruptly rose up from her bed, drenched in her own sweat. She gasped as she breathed heavily up as her chest rose up and down frantically.
She ran her hands through her face, breast, and arms like she was searching for something on her,
”What the fuck? What in the actual fuck? What in the goddamn actual fucking fuck?” she cursed relentlessly before tossing the soft blanket away.
Her room was not as big as the one in the dark forest. However, it was cozy, stone-floored, and warmed by the fireplace on the wall opposite the square table and chair for her to study.
The sunlight peeked through the windows covered by navy blue curtains, making the sweat beads on her face sparkle like stars in the night sky. Only the night sky was her rosy face.
She looked tense as she quickly tied her long, raven black hair into a ponytail. Then, she flicked her wrist as the earpiece materialized on her palm. She put the earpiece into the ear, connected to Michael, and waited for him to answer.
”Heya snakey, what’s up?” She heard Michael’s charmingly cheery voice,
”I had a dream,” she exclaimed,
”Okay. Your voice tells me it’s not a good dream,”
Gaya wanted to tell what she dreamt of. However, most of the details became hazy as she couldn’t remember everything except her son’s face.
”I can’t remember his name…his name…what was it…my son,” she began to blabber,
”Take a deep breath,” Michael’s voice turned rather serious,
”We had a son in my dreams…something happened…we lost,” she talked in broken sentences,
Taking Michael’s advice, she calmed herself by taking a few long deep breaths. Obviously, she knew what she experienced was a bad dream. Still, it felt so real. The feeling of throwing her son into a golden portal and the sight of Michael’s body withering into dust was etched into her mind.
”Now tell me what you dreamt,” Michael asked after Gaya’s breathing became normal.
”Hmm”
She stood up, walking to the windows. She then slid open the windows to let the morning light shine on her face. The beautiful sight of lush green land, the crystal blue lake, and the forest surrounding the castle soothed her soul.
”I can’t remember everything Michael. But it felt so real. We had a son. I can remember his innocent face but not his name. Something happened, and I threw him into a golden portal. I can vaguely remember we were at war and I had this pain all over my body,”
”Hey, listen to me. It’s just a dream. Last night we were talking about Skyhall and having a family. That’s the reason for your dream. Just don’t worry, okay. I am here,”
His calm words always reassured her and gave her courage. This time wasn’t an exception.
”Hey, are you talking to Gaya? Let us talk to her. Give that to me!”
Gaya heard Ayag’s shout, which put a delicate smile on her face,
”Don’t make me flick you Ayag. Just wait until I finish,”
”Okay but finish quickly. You were talking for hours last night. It’s our turn now,” Ayag reluctantly agreed not to bother him until he finished talking to Gaya,
”What if everything I saw happened human? What if it was the future? You said there’s a possibility your future self traveled back in time just like Qin Jiu,”
”Sigh,” Gaya heard him sigh,
”Listen. If I traveled back in time, the future us don’t exist anymore. The last thing we need is to worry about the future that doesn’t even happened. Just calm down and think about what we should do when you return,”
Gaya sensed a tinge of mischief in his voice,
”You’re not gonna get anything until we get married. So don’t get your hopes up, perv” Gaya giggled, forgetting everything about the dream for a few moments,
”Now tell me, where are you?” Gaya asked,
”After talking to you, I will return to the ship to join Olivia. Corey’s men would be there in an hour,”
”So what’s your cover?” asked Gaya. Last night they spent talking about the vampires, Skyhall, and finally having a family where Michael avoided the topic by telling her he feels sleepy.
To be honest, Michael had no plans to have kids, especially after knowing everything about his enemies. However, there was no doubt in his mind they would use his child to get to him.
On the contrary, Gaya wanted not one but a bunch of them. If he won the war against everyone, he might grant her wish. But not before that.
”Well, Corey’s men would attack our ship and take me hostage,” Michael calmly said,
”You can’t let Olivia ruin your plans by bringing backup from Elon or informing the Guardians?”
”I will deal with that,”
”You better be back in the dark forest when I return,” Gaya threatened him playfully.
She couldn’t wait to reunite with him. The few weeks without him felt like an eternity.
”I don’t think getting the key would take more than a week. Since Noah risked his life to save mine, I’d return the favor by saving his little sister,”
When the elder vampire exploded, Noah jumped in front of him, forming a light shield around Michael. Although Michael could have teleported away from the arena, Noah risked his life to save him.
That was the first time someone risked their life to save him. But, for some reason, Michael felt indebted to Noah. He hated that feeling. Hence, he decided to get the key as well as save Sabrina so he could destroy the nagging feeling of being indebted to someone.
Little did he know that it wasn’t a feeling of being indebted but a little sister’s calling for her big brother for help. So even though Michael was separated from his family by Skyhall, they couldn’t completely destroy the bond between him and his family.
”Where is Nightmare?” Michael asked, changing the topic
”He got into trouble with some other familiars. Nothing to be worried about,”
”Don’t meddle with it. He needs to experience life alone,”
After everything was said and done, Michael gave the earpiece to Vedora.
While they were talking to Gaya, Michael focused on brewing a few potions to fight the vampires. Since he planned to go in as Ghost rather than as the Dark Lord, he needed potions to fight the vampires.
The dark flames danced over his hand, continuously spitting our crimson red beads into the air. Michael merged all the beds into one and soon, they all split into several blood-red pills,
Looking at the glowing crimson red pills in the air, Michael grinned,
”I shall name you, Berserker pills”
Michael placed the pills on the table before removing the black bracelet from his wrist. Then, he slid open the cover to reveal an empty box with several runes glowing on the bottom. He slowly picked the pills one by one and placed them into the box.
”My Lord, my men have seen your ship. I am waiting for your command,”
”Do not attack until I say,” Michael fitted the APD around his wrist,
”It’s showtime,” Michael turned around to look at Vedora.
”My Lord,” Out of the blue, Azazel appeared in the room. As usual, the demon butler greeted Michael with a bow,
”Monitor and record everything Azazel,”
He stood up from his chair,
”And Corey, guard the waters all time. Follow me after I get to the target, and do not let anyone follow us,”
”Yes my lord,” Corey agreed as expected,
Since Michael had done everything he had to before leaving for Sabrina’s ship, he threw a glance at Vedora and Azazel. Then, he willed the system to teleport him back to Olivia’s ship. Then, in a blink of an eye, he vanished into thin air, leaving Azazel and Vedora behind.
***********************************
The waves crashed with the ship, continually shaking the ship left and right without giving it a break. Still, Olivia remained on the upper deck watching the raging storm with her emerald green eyes. The clouds cast shadows dark enough to make anyone think it was dawn.
At that moment, no one except for Olivia was on the upper deck. The sailors asked her to return to her cabin, but she outright refused them. After what happened in Idrisal, she needed to be alone. The adrenaline kept her from losing her mind in overwhelming terror when she was in the arena.
Since the adrenaline rush had died down, the terror slowly clenched her heart. The sight of vampires killing and sucking the victims’ necks kept flashing across her eyes.
The competition was supposed to be one of the most guarded events considering important people such as Eve Voldigard, Gabriel, and Hendrix were there. Nonetheless, the vampires massacred everyone and killed eighty percent of the alchemists in Elon and Ozer.
If she was in the spectators’ stand instead of Ghost’s side, she might have been a victim of a vampire. The thought gave her chills.
”Olivia,” she snapped back from her thoughts when he felt a touch on her shoulder.
She quickly jerked her head to the side to see Ghost standing beside her,
”What are you doing up here? You should be in your quarters,” his calm expression held no worries or no trauma, and his eyes looked as calm as ever. He seemed like nothing had happened.
”You almost died,” Olivia muttered,
”You are still in shock,” Michael squeezed her shoulder,
”The feeling would go away eventually after you reach the sect. The world is a dangerous place, Olivia. That’s why you have to be stronger. Both mentally and physically,”
Michael tried to calm her down while watching the vague silhouette of a ship approaching them. Unfortunately, Olivia couldn’t see the ship due to the storm blocking her view.
”Are we truly safe anymore? The vampires, they killed Eva’s guards like nothing. Even though I didn’t know their cultivation level, they might be at least Soul Refining stage warriors,” She shivered,
”Everyone has weakness Olivia and the vampires aren’t an exception. I am pretty sure Noah and his guardian buddies would soon find a way to neutralize the vampire problem. Don’t let the fear get to your head,” he let his words sink into her brain,
”The storm is getting worse,” he emphasized the word ‘storm’. That was the keyword for green-lighting the attack,
”As you wish, my lord” he heard Corey’s voice in his head.