Chapter III - The Intruder
991 Words
The soft wind brushed Umier's skin and was awoken by the sound of a flute and a bird that seemed to be singing to it. "W-where is this?" he looked around and there was nothing. All he sees is a crystal-clear lake and the fact that he was in the middle of this huge body of water made matters worse. 'This must be the Gracen Waters of Divinity' Yes, his family was long captivated by Zypath and studied them, even wrote books about them, using some knowledge and beliefs created by them and their forefathers. The lake was one of the wonders of their land, and it was said to heal wounds and illnesses.
"Long ago, the Goddess of Healing created this vast body of water to sustain our people. In the first war that took place thousands of years ago, our soldiers were healed by this water. It is really vulnerable for us, but not just for healing." A man with angelic wings and snow-white hair suddenly appeared before his eyes. Although the man in front of Umier still caught him off guard, his words managed to knock him for a loop, asking "W-what do you mean?"
"This can also bring the good in anyone if there is." The man's eyes grew darker and stared straight into Umier's terrified soul. "It serves to reveal everything about a creature's intentions if it dares to enter our domain without permission."
"Now tell me Mister Umier, how did you get here."
In confusion and fear, he muttered courage to ask. "How do you know my name?!"
"It does not matter." Umier lets out a mournful sigh, "I-I don't know."
"I don't really know; I just followed my instincts as I traveled, made maps, and discovered new lands. I saw this massive boulder with large vines and—"
"Your book here." the man raises a book and throws it on the lake in front of him. "How did you learn such things about us?"
"I-I mean, we, our ancestors loved studying about your land, and your people. Zypath is a legend in the outside world if you just know," he says, looking up from the opened page of the book to the man. He had the impression that he was a proud child telling his father of his first small achievements. "Is that so? People admire our power but it doesn't end there, greed. Hunger for power nearly brought Zypath to an end, and that's why we secluded ourselves from the rest of the world."
"You must protect your existence." he silently muttered in a raspy voice. "Exactly."
As the time slowly passed in the Gracen Waters, the wingman mounted his stance and pondered "What is your intention in coming here?"
"I-i have no intention I swear, I was taken here by a creature like you, with magnificent wings." The Zypathi quickly disputed his claim."But I found you on the outskirts of our land." He clung to his claims and stood by waiting for the truth to unveil. Umier was surprised. Even if he truly has no evil intentions toward them, the mere fact that they don't know who he is increases his chances that he will not make it out of there alive. "No, a woman!" he shrieks. "A woman with wings like yours took me here."
The Zypathii has no choice but to believe him, he is soaked in the Gracen Lake, What more could he do? No man can stand against and fight the power that it holds. "So, this woman must have been a guardian of the boulder."
"Maybe. You have that?"
"We have many sorts of things and wonder, Mr. Umier. I suppose you and your ancestors haven't studied that."
"Trust me, sir, we've been—" Umier stuttered for a split second and gulped "—we've been studying Zypath for many decades and centuries..."
The man's wings suddenly vanished into thin air as he began to walk on the dying embers of the healing lake stone roads. "This admiration of yours with our kind seems to be great."
"We—we actually worship you." The words spilt out of his mouth like a torrent of water. Umier discreetly chastises himself in silence after being startled by his body's unexpected response to excitement. He realizes that he's slowly leading himself into a more complicated situation.
"Worship us? We are not Gods."
"Of course, we deem you as Gods, you protect the Divine Light! Well, owing to lack of evidence, we never got to prove our opinions because we have never seen a real Zypathii in real life." The man turned to face the Umier's back. "We are not Gods. Rather, a God created this land. Or might this be mortal stupidity at its finest?--" Their family is known to be rectifiers and is with great pride but Umier is learning his wrongs even in great fear. 'This is a new addition to our book.'
"Eevi." Both are suddenly stopped by a voice, and they turn to see who it is. The creature stares at the mortal man whose wrists are tied, overwhelming him with horror and sending a chill down his spine like his life is on the line. As a matter of fact, his life is actually on the line, so survival is crucial. He must stay resilient.
"You."
Some sort of flashback of that exact moment suddenly raved into him. He recalls a pair of strong, magnificent wings of a creature with a powerful aura that sent his spirits flying in fright and nearly carried him away in the wind. He felt lowly and terrified once more, as he tends to do so when he encounters monstrosities while journeying.
His fear slowly went away as he witnessed the creature's entirety. That face. How could someone forget a face like that? He was slowly drowned in the thought. 'How can such a creature exist?'
"Intruder."
- Writer
