The bloody step finally stops. He looks left and right. He is near the entrance of Wide Swamp village.
There are not many obstacles that hinder his movements other than the abandoned cars and trucks that sometimes block the roads.
He looks behind him. Countless of stiff, lying on the tar streets, with arrows stuck on their head.
Sometimes Azief also spotted a few scenes where the tar street was riddled with small holes no doubt from the rain of Arrows skills.
It’s not hard to find Sofia trails. Follow the bodies he mused.
He knows he needs reinforcement if he wanted to kill whatever beast that terrorizes his village.
And he also knows that in group, he is safer. He is secure and his safety would also increase.
So, he has already made a plan when he set out to find Sofia.
When he set out from his village dashing from the entrance of his village to Sofia village he met many zombies.
He slashed them all, kill them all, but even after killing several of them, Azief level did not increase.
He also did not find any roaming beast. Whether they have gone far away or they are hiding in some villages.
First he would recruit Sofia. If Sofia parents is still alive, then the plan would have to be changed a bit or he has to find another companion.
If that doesn’t work, he still has a backup plan. That is joining with Hamad group to help him kill the alien in the elementary school.
Then when he has reached the criteria to become a full-fledged Chosen, he will set out to his village and kill whatever beast that has terrorize his village.
Azief acknowledge that both of his plans has flaws but he has to make do with what little resources he have.
Sofia approval hinges on the condition of her mother, while Hamad group approval hinges on that they are waiting for him.
If he gets Sofia, Sofia might be inclined to join him fighting the beats in his village.
But Hamad group?
Azief knows, that they will only, if persuaded strongly, help him with only the beast in the elementary schools.
They might not help him with the beast in his village.
He enters the entrance of the village. He takes a deep breath and drinks the stamina vials, gulping it down.
Suddenly a light shone down on him, trapping him, his body felt frozen. He could not move.
‘What is this?’ Azief fearfully said.
The light form like a prison, imprisoning him inside the sphere of the light.
Then he could see from the confines of his light prison, the world shakes again, some of the stall near the entrance of the village crumbles, and the light shone downs on the cars and buses and they all disintegrated into dust.
The hospital beside the entrance also disintegrated, and corpses inside the hospital fall down onto the hard ground with a thud after the hospitals vanished.
However the stiff corpse was not attacked by this light.
Then another shakes happen. Azief could not move….but he could feel his body is getting healed inside the light, his muscles is resting and his body feel comfortable.
He could feel his stamina is recovered.
What is this light? he mused. It doesn’t seem to harm him. It only binds him.
As he thinks of this suddenly the tar cracked and from it emerges green grass. Slowly the tar streets was disintegrated by this grass as it covered the land.
It vines and it crawls, covering everything in green.
Unbeknown to Azief, the same phenomena that happens to him now, is happening all over the world.
His world is undergoing another change by the World Orb. A stream of water appears from some of the cracks, creating a picturesque scene.
Trees bloomed into existence and flowers emerges from the cracks.
The stiff corpse was disintegrated into the soil and become fertilizer for the grass, as tree suddenly spouted from the ground.
For fifteen minutes Azief was in the confines of the light and finally he was released. Azief then looked in front of him.
Grass all around, trees and most of the buildings were disintegrated around him. When he looked towards his east, he could see a mountain peak.
What surprising is that, Azief knows that there is no mountain around that area.
There is Smile Mountain but it is not around that area. Looking at the area of Smile Mountain, he could see a gigantic mountain, reaching the clouds.
Whatever this mountain is, it is not the old Smile Mountain.
There are no buildings anymore.
Even the hospitals near the village entrance was transformed into a large vast of lands with huge trees, resembling a great forest.
It was like the places that Azief knows before, in a second changes to a new world. Azief walked through the grass and crouched down.
There is a signs that survives the light.
Azief look at it.
Wide Swamp Village. It is still his world…but for some reason, Azief could not believe it.
The air become more refreshing and evens the smell of smokes and soot can no longer be smell.
It was like Azief on top of a mountain peak breathing fresh air.
Then suddenly a notification appears.
-WORLD TRANSFORMATION HAS BEEN INITIATED-
-DISTRIBUTION OF HIGH LEVELED MONSTER HAS BEEN ACHIEVED-
-THE PANGAEA WILL ONCE AGAIN BE SEPARATED UNTIL THE NEXT TRANSFORMATION-
Then the notification stops. World Transformation? Pangea? What does this all means? Azief did not realize it but the world has changed back to their initial positions.
Japan which was united with Russia and North Korea when the first world transformation begins has now once again returned to its original position, an island nation.
Only the people that lives around this border see that scene where land in front of them suddenly disappeared
Azief shook his head. For now, this doesn’t concern him. However he is worried about Sofia.
He moved forward and enters the village. In front of the village, the downward hill is no longer replaced by soothing that resembles a garden.
Colorful flowers fill the once tar downward hill. Smells of fresh blooming fklowers can be smell.
He walks ahead not having time to enjoy such scenery because of the anxiousness in his heart.
Follow the bodies he mused.
Even though the geographical location of this place has been slightly transformed, and even the wooden house has disappeared, Azief could still recognize some of the places.
He once used to hang around this village when he was teenager.
In the afternoon he and his friends used to ride their bike and explore the villages nearby. The Far Swamp village, the Rhino Swamp Village, Bachok village and River Gau village and so on and so forth, so he has some knowledge of this place.
Even though the house has vanished, even the pillars but the stiffs did not disappear. Now this bothers Azief even more.
Why did in his village there is no stiff but here in Sofia village there is stiff?
Is there something different here? No, he shakes his head. The different thing happens in his village.
This might be the normal patterns.
The normal pattern is when people are bitten by the beast, a few hours later they would turn to stiffs.
How long does it take for the corpses to turn to stiff?
Azief need to research this later. And whether it is possible to cure zombies…this too must be researched.
After all there are alchemists. Seeing the description on the pills he got, then Alchemist will exist someday when they reached the requirement.
He keeps walking.
Unlike his village, the snakes and rats did not appear. Only stiffs. Could the stiffs eat the snake and rats?
‘Hmm’ this is too early to make any conclusion Azief thinks to himself.
Azief wanted to understand about this new world so that he could survive it.
Knowledge is power. Soon enough Azief smell an aromatic smell. The smell of meat. Azief instead of running to the source of smell, walk slowly.
He had a guess who produce this smell. After all he has swept this place with his Divine Sense
As he navigates himself inside the bushes he finally could see from where the smell come from.
It was a peach tree. How did it appear, Azief don’t know. He keeps walking forward.
Cleaning himself up, he emerges out from the bushes. The sound startled the person roasting the meat and quickly the bow behind her back was aimed at him.
Azief only smiles bitterly.
Seeing the blood covered Sofia, with eyes that were swollen, and her distraught appearance, one could guess her experience.
‘It’s you.’ She said listlessly and quickly she lowered down her bow and stares at Azief….not knowing what to do.
She almost looks like she was lost. There are signs of tears on her eyes, and she look like she aged ten years.
The wind blows it gentle breeze, caressing Azief faces, as his robe fluttered slightly. He looks the person in front of him and he smiles bitterly.
For a moment, there is only the sound of the wind and the smell of the meat.
Sofia look at him and he look at Sofia, both have seen terrible thing…and Azief could see in her eyes…..there is despair now.
No more hope….Only despair. And he approached her.
***