Alexis and his men traversed out of the city into the wilderness of the dense rainforest. They were on a bumpy, narrow road, too small for two carriages to drive side by side. They went through the eerily quiet wilderness until the setting of the sun. The pondered on whether to continue driving the horses but eventually decided to set up camp. After making a fire they settled down and feasted on roasted beef and rice.

In the calm atmosphere of the forest, Alexis sensed something that was quite odd. Someone or something watching them. But he couldn’t make out what it was so he brushed off the feeling thinking it was just territorial spirits. The sated and exhausted men dozed off around the fire and at the wee hours of the morning they set out for Peruvia.

They arrived in Peruvia the following day when the sun was hot and went straight to the castle. The town was as beautiful as Onis, just only smaller. They had temple pyramids and stone monuments. The impeccable architecture of the town was the same as Onis. There were also ancient ruins of what looked like a tall tower and beautiful gardens.

The king’s castle was magnificent and sublime as they imagined it to be, screaming wealth and power. It was lofty and grand built. The castle went as high as the sixth floor and Alexis chose the quarters with a view. An ocean view of impressive beauty. He is a man of views. Back at Onis he had one of the best views from his window and I’m sure this oceanic scenery was the second best view.

They settled in the castle and Alexis sent some of the men into town to buy two Peruvian shepherd dogs and food supplies. He explored the big castle and when they came back he still had not finished touring the castle.

He took the shepherd dogs to his quarters and he injected them with the type O blood. As expected they didn’t show any distress. He then drew blood from both of them and repeated the same procedures he did the last time at Onis and isolated the anti-toxin.

He called Duncan to monitor him and he reluctantly injected himself with a tiny bit of the toxin. It was a tiny amount but the pain was unbearable. He started feeling dizzy and had shortness of breath, then the agonizing chest pains crept in. No screaming could amount to the misery he felt. If he had unlimited vocal chords then I’m sure he would be heard by whales in the deep blue sea. Good that he didn’t have the strength to make a sound. His eyes slowly shut and he passed out.

Duncan quickly administered the antidote and prayed for a miracle. That’s all he could do. Alexis was unconscious for the rest of the day and through out the night. But there was a good sign that he would make it. He was still breathing and his heart was beating normally. The next morning as the sun shimmered in the ocean he woke up weak and exhausted.

He was pale and unhealthy. His eyes sunken with pain and fatigue. He tried to get out of bed but couldn’t move his feet. Thunderstruck and nonplussed by the thought of being paralyzed, tears poured down his face, wetting the cushion. He was overwhelmed by the sudden eruption of emotions and he tried to call out Duncan but his tongue and mouth didn’t follow his instructions. The stress was enough for another heart attack.

‘What has happened to me.’ He thought to himself somberly.

‘What good am I to have immunity while paralyzed.’

As if Duncan knew Alexis was back to the land of the living, he knocked once and let himself in.

“Oh you are awake my lord.” Duncan said happily while rushing to his side.

Duncan was Alexis’s servant when his father was still alive. He was 4 years older than him and he served him with staunchness that Alexis promoted him to be his right hand man. They have been good friends since then. The only friend he had ever had. Alexis also had a young sister but king loannis sent her to Abalon.

“How are you feeling my lord.” Duncan asked apprehensively.

Alexis glanced at Duncan with dead, flat eyes and he perceived that he was torpefied. He gave him some milk to drink but it wasn’t enough.

He summoned the 8 men to look for any healer in Peruvia but luckily one of the eight men was a descendant of healer mages. He wasn’t a healer himself but he remembered the herbs his grandmother used to give him when he was sick and weak. The men went to the market and bought the herbs and spices. He mixed them with chicken broth and vegetables and served Alexis. Duncan feed him the broth and after a few hours he was able to talk. The broth deadened the pain.

“Rosa, if-if I die tell Rosa I-I love her.” That’s the first words that came out of him.

He could also walk short distances to the bathroom but he heavily relied on a staff to support himself.

“So this means you have gained immunity?” Duncan asked.

“No I still have a long way to go.” Alexis replied dejectedly.

“I’m going to have to do it again and again until I don’t get heart attacks.”

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“Isn’t it painful?” Duncan asked.

“Painful isn’t the word I would use.” Alexis responded.

“It’s beyond painful.”

“And I know where you’re going with this so I will answer you before you even ask.

“No I’m not stopping.”

“I know the risk but I love the price.”

“I would endure a whole lot worse just to be with Rosa.”

“Okay my lord.” Duncan said in a rather disappointed voice.

“I’m with you hundred percent.”

“I will rest today then I will take another dose of the toxin tomorrow.” Said Alexis.

“Can’t you wait until maybe you have recovered?” Duncan asked.

“I would if we had time.” Alexis replied grimly.

Duncan couldn’t speak his openly because he knew Alexis had already made up his and once he had, there was no way to sway him to reconsider.

The next morning, he bravely took the toxin. He expected it to be less severe than the first time but he was wrong. It was worse. Everything was worse. He felt his chest burning intensely, triggering chest pains of unmeasurable proportions. The only thing that was slightly better was the dizziness. However it mearnt that it would take him a lot more time to pass out, giving the chest pains more quality time with him.

When he woke up the next day he had a look of defeat in his face, though he survived. He was very sickly that no herb or potion could help him. He did take the herbal broth but it didn’t seem to help him much.

“My lord your condition worsened because you didn’t take enough time to recover.” Duncan said hoarsely.

“At least rest up to 5 days before you think of taking another toxin.”

“Or just stop doing this to yourself.”

Alexis rested up for 5 long days. To him it was an eternity. There is something about being sick and afflicted that makes time to go unbelievably slow.

On the fifth day he was so much better and he could even walk around without a crane. He was ready for another toxin shot but he could’ve never imagined what would happen next, not even in his wildest dreams.

He daringly took the shot and endured the endless and boundless suffering until he passed out. Immediately as he was deep in his slumber he had a dream. Not just any dream, a spiritual attack. He sensed the very same aura he felt at the forest when they traversed to Peruvia. The one that he sensed watching him.

As he was standing there in the spiritual realm, his eyes wandered around and immediately recognized where he was. He was at his father’s palace at Adonis where grew up. He saw his late father waving at him and as he was about to run to him he vanished like smoke in a violent wind. He was perplexed and astounded by the memories. I. A distance he saw a mirror and he shuffled towards it. He stared in the mirror and the reflection was his younger self. About eleven year old.

As he was staring at the mirror, he saw a shadow of man behind him. He looked closely and the man came out of the dark. He looked familiar but he couldn’t tell where he knew the man from. Sensing danger he panicked and looked over his shoulder. A sudden chill went down his spine and his hair horripilated with fear.

As he was glancing at the man’s evil eyes and hostility, he reminisced about his journey to Peruvia. He recalled seeing the man at the city center when they were leaving for Peruvia and he sensed his aura at the rainforest. Everything was starting to make sense but one thing he couldn’t make sense of was who the man was.

The man vanished into thin air and when he popped up, his hands were wrapped tightly around Alexis’s neck choking him to death. He struggled powerlessly to escape the iron grip but the toxin took its toll on him. He was weak to fight back. His tender age of eleven in the dream symbolized his diminished strength.

As his soul was leaving his body he saw a light and a blurry figure of a woman who looked like Rosa. And the evil man let go of Alexis in panic and ran away from the light shining in the woman. It seems as though he didn’t expect the angelic woman to come Alexis’s rescue.

‘Is he sent by my uncle King Loannis?’ Alexis thought as he was struggling to breathe.

The setup of the attack was based on the memories of his childhood at Adonis so he was convinced that his uncle had finally made a move. What he couldn’t wrap his mind around was that he was using a sorcerer to try to assasinate him.

The woman watched over him the whole time he was asleep and when he woke up he forgot the dream. He didn’t remember that he was almost choked to death.

One good thing was that he felt a whole lot better than he was the last time he took the toxin. He could speak and walk without a crane. And it was raining heavily. The cold breeze gave a refreshing sensation.

He only had eleven days before the full moon. He needed good three day rest to recover but time was now unbelievably fast.

They decided to wait two days for him to recuperate. The two days seemed like an eternity but the eleven days seemed like they were just a new sun away. When the two days had passed he took the toxin again. The pain was drastically reduced but it was still painful enough to make him pass out. On the bright side, the time he was passed out was only two hours. And when he woke, he was in good shape. He didn’t complain of any pains or discomfort.

He took two more days to rest and recover. And when he took the toxin again, he passed out for 30 minutes. It was more painful than he pondered. He had been at it for almost two weeks but he just couldn’t get used to the woeful pain.

For another two days, he rested and took the shot again. This time he didn’t pass out but he was in agony. It was torturous to watch him roll around in fetal position screaming in anguish.

As if he didn’t learn anything from the experience, he took another toxin three days before the full moon. The pain was surprisingly mild. He didn’t roll on the floor like a spoilt brat after being denied to play in the sickening cold rain.

He had finally gained immunity. He could now be with the woman of his dreams. The woman who literally saved him in his dream.

“I told you it would work, I told you!” Duncan said euphorically.

“You told me?” Alexis rolled his eyes.

“You literally said that I shouldn’t go on with this.”

“It was reverse psychology my friend, reverse psychology.” Duncan said and they broke into laughter.

“When I take back my father’s kingdom, I will make you the hand of the king.” Alexis said.

“I’m glad your servant has found favor in your eyes my lord.” Said Duncan with his head bowed low.

The rainy season had just begun and it had been pouring down for the past few days. Rain is sacred, it brings life, but here when the water level rises in the Amazon river, the river monsters rise with it. And there is only one way back to Onis …the Amazon river.