Ning

My life has been smooth sailing right from birth. With an emperor as a father and a heiress of a family heirloom as a mother. Coupled with this, I was born with a unique Constitution; I had a mysterious strength. Ouch...pardon my manners, my name is Deriek, second to none in battle,with a dashing and an alluring appearance. Due to these advantages, I had a haughty character. I interacted with only people who are strong in mortal battle. I had a never ending queue of girls who threw them selves at me. So, you could call me a combat master, enchanting prince,and a big p*****t. Using and dumping girls was my hobby. Of course, no one dared to utter a word. Infact my favorite hobby was beheading fools, especially my father's subordinates. Even my dad had to speak cautiously when talking to me. I'm Lianne. An orphan with no motive but exacting vengeance for the murder of her parents. Born with an un aging Constitution,I could live for thousands of years or so. Years back, my family was brutally wiped off the face of the Earth. Thinking about it alone makes me emit a destructive killing intent. That fateful day, my family had set out on an hunting expedition for white furred beasts. These beats we're extremely useful in concocting medicinal herbal drugs. But unfortunately,they were killed by the Aphimum Demons. It was due to my extraordinary strength that I was able to escape. Even at that I sustained some injuries. The Aphimum Demons were very powerful, but I won't be able to face my parents in the land beyond if I can't exact vengeance for them. Just then I felt someone's presence. I glanced around the dense forest then I chuckled. I took out my saber and casually flipped it toward a tree with lush leaves. Then a figure emerged clapping. "You've grown strong Lianne" he said with a tinge of admiration. "Blair", I replied with a surprised look. 'What was he doing here?' I thought. " You may be wondering why I'm here right?" He said reading my thoughts. "Oh yeah", I said gazing at him with clear eyes. "Well, I have some piece of bad news. The Aphimum Demons intends to barge into the human world soon.They intend snatching our emerald essence of life" he said in a sad tone. "The emerald essence of life? I thought that it is housed in the emperor's pavilion?" I asked in horror. " Yes...We have to alert the emperor. He does not know about the existence of the Aphimum Demons, but we do" he said with gritted teeth. I was surprised with the way things turned out. Blair was one of the humans who possessed the Constitution of combat. Born with the ability to read thoughts, he was a skilled combat master too. But the two of us combined cannot match the strengths of those monstrous Aphimum Demons. " How in heaven's name are we going to tell the emperor with that arrogant and boastful son of his lurking around?" I asked rolling my eyes. "Common Lianne, let's give it a try first. This involves the life of mankind, there is no time to waste" he coerced me. " Alright,let's set off" I said. I whitsled slightly and two brown horses galloped towards us. We hopped on them and galloped towards the emperor's pavilion... After galloping for two days,we finally arrived at the emperor's pavilion. We came down and left our horses by the side. The guards allowed us to enter freely without hesitation. We went into the main hall and saw the emperor seated alongside his son and the empress. "Greetings to the emperor, empress, and the young master". We said clasping our fist. "Un" the emperor nodded. "What are your names and what brings you here?" He asked curiously. " Your Highness,my name is Blair, and this is Lianne" Blair replied respectfully. "Can't she talk?" An arrogant voice asked. I smiled and answered still smiling. "And what is Young Master's business if I answer or not? I asked with a glint in my eyes. "You....." He raged standing up. "Do you dare to duel with me?" He asked furiously. "A duel? Of course" I replied nonchalantly. " Alright then. Draw your weapon" He said charging at me. I drew out my saber and sword and wielded them simultaneously. Within seconds, he was at my front and his aura changed. He exuded a dangerous fighting intent. I was unbothered and soon the big hall was filled with sword clangs. Prince Deriek was a skilled fighter but my strength was on par with his. After fighting for forty minutes,he was astonished. "Stop!" The emperor said suddenly. " Your highness" I bowed. "You have a powerful Constitution" he said admiringly. " Your Highness, we are all in danger" Blair said. "Danger?" Mabel the empress repeated. "What danger?" Deriek said in a more polite tone. 'Hmm, he is tamed at last' I thought. "Fifty years ago, the human world was invaded by some monsters. These monsters suck the souls of human beings and are very powerful. They are called the Aphimum Demons and live in a planet called Amaga" Blair narrated. "My parents were brutally killed by them and I barely escaped. But for some reason, they all went back after encountering something which I don't know" I said in a sad tone. " Okay,so what's the danger you are talking about? " The emperor asked." They want to take away the emerald essence of life", Blair said. " What!!!!" The emperor and Deriek shouted at the same time. " Your Highness,we came to inform you and also offer our help" We bowed and politely left. [UNKNOWN POV] "My Lord, it seems Missy is planning on helping the Humans" Emelek reported. " What!" I shouted and teleported into my daughter's room. " What are you doing?" I asked in rage. " Dad, I want to help the Humans, the Aphimum Demons are strong and the Humans can't stop them alone" my daughter Leah replied strong headedly. "As you wish then" I said. I held her hands and we teleported to a certain place. This place is the bridge between our world and Earth. I chanted some words and she vanished. "Bye Leah" I mumbled silently and teleported back to the throne room. "Summon the priestess. Tell her to come with the crystal ball; I need to monitor my daughter's movements" I ordered. " Yes my Lord" Emelek said and left. ********* I fell with a thud on a grassland and I quickly sat up and scanned my surroundings. ' Woah,the human world is sure beautiful' I thought silently. I heard a sound and my ears perked up immediately. I used my eyes of insight and scanned the area again. I saw a girl arching a bow and preparing to fire. "Hey, don't", I shouted and made myself invisible. She chuckled quietly and came out. "I can see you, you know" she said and looked at where I was. I shuddered in fright, this girl is a monster. When I made myself invisible, no one can see me including my father. She arched her bow again. "Ah, don't"I said and appeared. "Oh, you fell for my trick I see" she said and shrugged. I gasped and almost vomited blood." So, you just pretended that you were seeing me all along" I smirked. ' Interesting' I thought. "So, who are you? You don't look human" she said bluntly again. ' she is blunt' I thought. " I'm Leah, from KLT 221" I said watching her expression. " KLT 221?" She repeated. "Yeah.." I said looking at her Stony face and wondering if she ever smiled. She didn't even look surprised at all. 'Woah,what an interesting personality' I thought chuckling silently. "I'm Ning, from this planet" she said after sometime. "OfcOf cou I know you are from this planet" I said rolling my eyes at her. We sat down on the grass and looked at the surroundings. "Some people are coming" Ning said suddenly. "Take cover then. Bad or good people?" I asked. She looked at me with an expression that seems to be asking How-Do-You-Want-Me-To-Know? "Oh,well, hehe..." I chuckled awkwardly. I stretched out my hand and enveloped us with a cloaking mist. Soon, two people emerged from the forest nearby. "Weird, I thought I heard some voices here" the girl said. "Maybe you were just imagining things Lianne" the boy said. " No, I can feel two people's aura coming from there" she said and pointed at our direction. " Hehe, I guess we have to make ourselves visible. They don't seem like the bad guys after all" I chuckled and turned to Ning who was beside me. " Alright" she said and nodded. I cleared the mist and within seconds, the girl was behind me with a blade on my neck. ' What an amazing speed' I thought silently. "Who are you?" She asked. " Common Lianne, they look innocent, back off" the guy said. I ignored them and plopped myself on the ground. "I'm Ning and she is Leah, Master Blair" Ning said and bowed respectfully. " You know me?" Blair asked surprised. Ning didn't answer but took out a pendant from her bag and gave it to him. " This was given to me by my parents before they breathed their last" she said with an almost cracking voice" The pendant of soulless void?" Blair said with widened eyes. "Greetings to the Young Miss of the Ning Clan" Lianne and Blair bowed respectfully. [KIEL] "Dad,can't we just leave the humans alone?" I asked in a pathetic voice. "We killed many of them five hundred years ago and acquired their souls.Must we snatch their emerald essence of life?" I continued. "Shut up Kiel!" My father roared. "Are you questioning my decisions?" He asked glaring at me with a piercing gaze. "No Father, it's just that...". "Keep your mouth shut Ezekiel" he interrupted." We will infiltrate the human world in four days time. Are we clear?" He asked in a commanding tone. "Y-yes dad" I stuttered and hurried to my room. I'm Kiel,the one and only son of King Raven,the greatest Aphimum Demon. Unlike my ruthless father,I was a softhearted lad and I couldn't bring myself to harm another Aphimum Demon or even a human, which always irritated my father. He told me countless times that being ruthless is considered a perfect trait for a king. He always scolded me whenever I beg him not to behead some Aphimum Demons who had committed one crime or the other. Five hundred years ago,my father suddenly ordered all Aphimum Demons to infiltrate the human world and kill as many of them as we can and take their souls. I begged him but my father being my father didn't budge. I can remember that day vividly. The day I saw a human girl I couldn't forget till date. "Kiel, hurry up" my mother said barging into my room. "Mother, can't we beg father again?" I asked looking at her teary eyed. "You know that I'm in no position to beg your father" she said in a soft voice. I went out of my room feeling dejected and went to the Demon hall. The Demon hall is the place where many Aphimum Demons gather when they want to teleport to the same place. Many Demons were gathered in the hall when I arrived. My dad came in just then and we all bowed respectfully. "As you all know, today we are going to infiltrate the human world", he began. "We are not just going to kill many of them but we are going to acquire their souls as well" he said in a menacing tone. "Jeshen!!" My father called. Jeshen was our ancient seer who had lived as long as five thousand years ago but still looked young. She was a vicious, wicked,and hot tempered Demon. Infact,she was the one who incited this mission as she told my father that we would need human souls for making the Zhekask charm which would make the Aphimum Demons more powerful and provide Amaga with more spiritual energy. She appeared immediately and bowed "King Raven". "They are set for the mission" my father said. "Hmph,are you sure your son won't do otherwise? She scoffed looking at me disdainfully. "Mind your words Jeshen! He's a royal" my father said rather offended by her words. "Well,let me make a portal then" she said without apologizing. Well,I wasn't in the least offended as killing people wasn't a thing to be proud of anyway.. She turned to a wall with ancient markings and placed her right hand on it. "Cho,tox bi par maradox...." She began chanting in an ancient tongue of the demons. Her eyes glowed and the wall began emitting a purplish glow. Soon enough a portal was created and she turned to the king. "All ready" she said in a nonchalant tone. "Where should they store the human souls?" My father asked to be certain. "In their spiritual core" she replied. "You may all go now" my father said. CHAPTER SIX THE NING CLAN(The m******e) [Ning's POV] "Aish... Why do I feel unsettled all of a sudden?" I mused. "Let me go and meet my lovelies" I chuckled and got out of my bed. I met my maid outside talking with one of the guards."Nuan"I called. "Greetings Young Miss" Both of them bowed respectfully. "Un, where are my parents?" I asked. "In the throne room Young Miss" Nuan replied. I went straight to the throne room to greet them. I'm Ning Ning, the only daughter of his imperial majesty and her imperial highness; Ning Jongzhou, and Ning Qonping. Eighteen years old and doted upon by my parents. I hastened to the throne room and saw my parents sitting on tgeth respective thrones and giggling to themselves. I chuckled silently; even after all these years,they were still in love with each other. Unlike those aristocrats,who entered loveless marriages. "Mom, Dad, good morning" I bowed and giggled gleefully. "Rise my child",my father Ning Jongzhou said adoringly. I went to sit close to my mother and she ruffled my hair dotingly. "How was your night, Ning?" My mother asked. "Fine mother". "Umm,dad,mom,can I go out for horseback riding today?"I asked with bated breath looking at them doe eyed. "Well,you may go child, but be back early" my father said. "Yay!!". I shouted excitedly and darted out the throne room. I went straight to my room and changed into my riding attire,went to the kitchen,took two steaming buns and went to the stable. "Greetings Young Miss" the stable boy bowed respectfully. "Un" I responded. "Prepare my horse, I want to go on a riding spree" I said authoritatively. "Yes Young Miss" he replied and set to work. In less than five minutes,the horse was ready, I mounted it and set out. I let down my hair today,and it cascaded down my back. I rode to my favorite spot, the Thousandleaf tree. The tree was a giant bouldering tree and it was located outside the city. After galloping for a while, we got there. I got down from my horse, took my bow and arrow and prepared to practice archery. I practiced for a long time and all of a sudden,my heart jolted. I had a bad premonition. "What's wrong? I've been feeling unsettled since dawn". I thought silently and quickly mounted my horse. I rode hurriedly to the city. When I rode out earlier that day,the city was bustling with people and thriving even. But this time everywhere was quiet; uneerily quiet. A chilly feeling crept up my heart.I rode on and then I started seeing the corpses of the inhabitants of Ning city. I got down from my horse immediately and bent down to examine their corpses. "It seems like their souls has been forcefully torn from their body"I mumbled in horror. I rode hurriedly to the palace and to my hotrho, everyone was dead and it looked as if at the moment of their death, they didn't even know how they died. " Mom! Dad!" I screamed and darted into the throne room with the speed of light. My parents were sprawled on the floor, and judging from their expressions,it seemed as if they would breath their last soon. " Ning," my father called weakly. "What happened dad?" I cried pitifully. "Soon after you left, a deafening sound was heard from the sky,we tried to rush out but it was as if a strong force was holding us back. Soon after that, some formidable beings invaded the throne room and tried to take our souls but they failed. But still, we were severely injured but we held on still because, we wanted to give you something" my mother explained weakly. I clenched my fists tightly and closed my eyes trying to calm my nerves. "Here" my father took out a pendant and gave it to me. " It is the pendant of soulless void. Search for Master Blair" he said and almost immediately, they breathed their last. [Deriek's POV] "Something seems off" I said pacing back and forth. "It seems there is more to this matter than meets the eye and my father knows something about it" I continued mumbling. All of a sudden, a furious gale started blowing around the pavilion and just as it started,it stopped. 'What was that?' I was baffled. 'Just like that, it started and then it stopped' I continued mumbling. Just then I heard voices coming from the f*******n room. My father,the emperor prohibited everyone from stepped foot into that room. ' Then why would voices be coming from there all of a sudden?' I questioned myself. I leaned closer to my door so as to catch what they were saying. " Jeshen, it seems like they are some people who knows that you guys are planning on invading the human world.." I heard my father saying. "What about the emerald essence of life?.."I heard of a woman asking. "If it were with me,I would have handed it over to you long ago" my father continued saying. "What! My father is colluding with the Aphimum Demons?" I was horrified with what I heard. I immediately created a spatial rift and transversed to another dimension. As it was a calculated move on my path, I landed exactly where I felt the aura of Lianne and the other guy. I landed with a this on the ground and saw two unfamiliar faces with Lianne and Blair. "What's wrong? Aren't you satisfied with the earlier duel?" Lianne asked drawing her saber and looking at me with a sharp glint in her eyes. " No,no... That's not it" I immediately countered. Who's going to have another duel with this tigress? "I have a very important news to divulge, but first of all, who are these two?" I said glancing at the two ladies. "This is Leah,from KLT 221, and this is Ning. They are going to be our allies in this mission" Blair introduced. "Ning? Princess Ning from the Ning Clan?" I asked. "Un" the lady replied. "Greetings, Young Miss, and if I'm not mistaken,you are princess Leah from KLT 221 right?" I asked. "Yes," the other lady replied. " Well,since we are going to be allies on this mission,there is no need to be privy on this information" I said solemnly.I immediately set up an isolation barrier and began to speak. " I was thinking about the matter on ground after you and Blair left and all of a sudden,a furious gale started blowing around the pavilion. I was startled but there was more to come. In our pavilion,there is a particular room which my father forbaded us from intruding. Thus we termed it, the f*******n room. It was the voice of my father and a lady........."I recounted everything to them with a solemn voice. "Wait,did you say your father called the lady Jeshen?" Leah asked with widened eyes. "Yes"I replied. "She's Seer Jeshen,the seer and also priestess of the Aphimum Demons" Leah said. "She came to our planet few years ago trying to convince my father to join forces with her in order to destroy mankind" Leah divulged. "This is a serious matter. We need to join forces and pledge our loyalty to one another" Blair said. " It seems as if the emperor has decided to betray mankind. I'm sorry Deriek, but we have to start from him" Lianne said. " In as much as he's my father,the moment he decided to collude with the Aphimum Demons, he became a betrayer" I said with gritted teeth. "It is decided then, we are joining forces together" Blair said. [LEAH'S POV] So what you are trying to say is,we are going to pretend not to know that,the emperor is involved in this matter?" I asked disappointedly. I would have liked to Lynch the emperor and even possibly kill him for betraying humanity. "Yes,that will make him lower his guard. We don't know which power or powers are behind Jeshen" Deriek said solemnly. "Oh,I thought you were brainless,it seems otherwise though" Lianne said with a chuckle. "You..." Deriek glowered at her in fury. I chuckled in amusement as I watched them. To me,their chemistry was perfectly matched. I turned to look at Blair and Ning who were discussing something in low tones." What are you guys discussing looking so serious?" I asked looking at them intently. "The pendant of soulless void" Ning said in a soft voice. "What about it?" I asked confusedly. "We need to find the wielder else, instead of being a formidable weapon,it may even take our lives" Blair explained in a grave tone. "The wielder?" Lianne asked. "This is a big issue that needs to be tackled" I said grimly." I need to go back to KLT 221" I stated matter-of-factly. "To do what?" Blair asked. " Are you underestimating our powers?" I sneered. "We are coming with you" Ning said resolvedly. "What! All of you?" I asked rolling my eyes at them. "Yes, all of us" Ning replied. I knew there was nothing I could say that will make these stubborn people budge. "Stand up all of you" I said. They complied almost immediately as if they were waiting for me to say so. I chuckled inwardly. I guess it wasn't a bad idea to help the humans after all. I smiled. 'I know you are watching me father' I thought transmitting it through mind link to my father 'Tell Emelek to prepare a place for us' I continued. I chanted some words and we vanished from the spot. We appeared on the bridge that separated KLT 221 and Earth. My father appeared almost immediately and teleported us to the throne room. " You are all welcome" my father, King Dominick said. "Thank you,Your Highness" Lianne and the others replied. "Emelek will take them to their rooms, Leah Rest assured" my father said before I could utter a word. "Yes father" I replied with a smile. I noticed Blair and Ning exchange glances and smiled. "Your Highness, is there anyone from Earth that is living here?" Ning asked suddenly " Well.. That should be Mira" I replied before my father could say a word. ' I just revenged father ' I glanced at him and giggled at my childishness. "Mira?" Blair asked "Can she come over?" Ning asked. "Of course, I hope there isn't a problem though?" My father asked with a frown. "No, Your Highness" they replied at the same time. "Okay then, Emelek, bring Mira over" my father said. "Thank you, Your Highness " Blair said and bowed. "What is it?" I went over to them and asked. "Well,the pendant suddenly got hot when we crossed that bridge Ning explained. "And,you think the Wielder is in our world.." I completed what she was about to say. "Yes" she nodded. "Your Highness, Missy, and our guests" she bowed respectfully. "Well, Mira,our guests requested to see you" my father said with a chuckle. "She's so young like very young" Deriek said raising a brow. " Well, we don't age quickly here" my father explained smiling. "Oh, I see.." Deriek replied. "She's not, well she's just a bit young" Lianne said somewhat irritably. 'Wait,is this young lady jealous?' I thought to myself. " Yes she is" Blair replied. I glared at him. ' Can this guy read minds? I thought to myself. "Yes,I can" he said again. 'Monster,this guy is a monster ' I thought to myself. Thank God I didn't say any bad thing against them, ah. I thought again patting my chest. "Is it getting hotter?" I asked Ning. She nodded while she scrutinized Mira from head to toe. "Where are you from?" Lianne asked her. "I'm from Earth" she replied. "We know, we said where?" Lianne asked again in a tone that seemed to mocking Mira. Well, well, this is sooo entertaining, I thought inwardly. I glanced at Blair and saw him frowning a little. ' What's wrong?' I thought knowing that he would read my thoughts. He shook his head and turned towards Mira and Lianne again. 'Well, whatever,I thought and shrugged. "I'm an orphan, from the xing clan" Mira said in a soft tone. " Xing clan? Are you perhaps from the main family?" Deriek asked with a frown. "No, I'm from the side family. But unfortunately,my parents and the xing clan died in the ruthless m******e of the demons" she explained. "Oh,sorry for the loss" Deriek said again.. Blair coughed suddenly, drawing my attention. He shook his head a little and sighed. 'What does he mean?' I looked at him again and saw him glance at Mira and then back at me and he shook his head again. 'Wait, is he trying to tell me that Mira is lying. Did he read her thoughts?' I was confused. If she is lying, then who is she,and where is she from?? Aish... I wish I had magical powers that could solve my problems in an instant. But no, wishes weren't horses. "You may go now Mira" Lianne said. "Okay", she bowed and left. "Dad,we beg to take our leave now" I said. My ears were already itching to hear Blair's thoughts about Mira. Did we take in a bad person into our world? I asked myself. "Let's go" I said to them and led them to their rooms. "You guys get to choose how you want to pair yourselves" I said folding my arms. "Blair and Deriek should be in one room, Ning, Leah,and Lianne in another ", my father suddenly said. I nearly jumped in fright. 'When did he get here?' I asked. 'This man's I said rolling my eyes "Don't worry father, one room is enough for all of us We are taking this one" I said pointing at a room. "It's decided then" Blair said. We went into the room and made ourselves comfortable. I drew Blair to a corner of the room and began questioning him. "What were you trying to tell me earlier?" I asked him. "Can you set up an isolation barrier?" He asked looking around. "Oh, okay" I replied and immediately set up an isolation barrier. "We are being watched,and that lady was lying" he said. "Why do you say so? Did you read her thoughts?" I asked curiously. "Yes,it seems she's not even the Wielder " Blair said. "What if she is?" Why did the pendant suddenly get hot?" I asked again. This whole thing is getting confusing. He brought out the pendant and we examined it again but we noticed nothing. "How do you know Ning's father?" I asked him all of a sudden. "He's my uncle. My name isn't Blair,my name is Ning Xun he revealed. "Wow,so Ning is your cousin?" I asked. "Yeah,she is,but I've never met her, that's why I didn't recognize her at first glance"he explained. "Then, what was all those formalities, Young Miss of Ning Clan and all that?" I asked. I asked with a chuckle. "Never mind " he replied. "Let's keep on observing for now, but I have a feeling that we are being watched. And my instincts are never wrong " he said. "What is our plan? " I asked. "You don't seem curious about how I knew about the Aphimum Demons and that they were about to invade the human world?" He asked with a smile. "Well, now that I think of it, it's true. How did get to know about it?" I asked. "The prophecy" he replied. "The prophecy? What prophecy" I asked him. "Well, your father will be the right person to tell you about it" he said. "But you brought it up, explain it to me" I argued back. "No Milady, your father will explain it much better" he said chuckling. Aaaah.. This guy is unbelievable. Arousing my interest and refusing to talk? I looked at him and hissed. "I'm going" I told him. "Then where are we? You just set up an isolation barrier. It's not as if we are in another dimension or something" he said smirking. I gave him a murderous glare and released the isolation barrier. I'm gonna deal with this guy and teach him a lesson. Really? I'm Leah, a princess. A princess!! A f*****g princess!!!... [AMAGA] Jeshen's POV "Good job Mira, rest for a while before going back" I said beaming at the young woman in front of me. "Thank you Milady" she replied. "Did they believe you? I asked again. "Yes Milady, one of them was jealous though" she replied. "Jealous?" I snickered. "Yes Milady" she replied. "Well, that is none of your business. Do a good job, else your father dies" I said menacingly. " Yes Milady" she said cowering in fear. "You may leave now" I commanded. She left hurriedly almost tripping. Hmph, hmph