Unbeknownst to the boy, a glaring red, floating eye had been trailing him. Its salivating stare had been closely observing the boy from the secrecy of the forest. From when the boy had first started running in panic, to his now tired walk. The pace that the boy was walking didn’t matter much, as long as he was headed in the right direction! The naked, floating eye squirmed in excitement. 

These thoughts remained foreign to the boy, as he continued to plod along the forest path. His shallow breathing and weak steps, reflected a different concern for him. After his panic and sprint, he suddenly felt far more exhausted than he should be, added onto that was the feeling of creeping cold. It didn’t help that the air was becoming thick with smoke, making it hard to breathe. But as soon those thoughts and worries appeared, they drifted away.

  The boy's gait gradually became more outlandish, as if he was on the verge of falling asleep mid step. Still, his legs continued to stamp into the ground with great effort and drag him forward. Finally, his body became too heavy, and his torturous walk stopped. He became still like a statue as darkness filled his vision..

  The floating eye stopped midair, its red pupil seemingly squinting in frustration. While it had noticed the boy’s growing weakness, it was still frustrating to see that the boy had actually fainted. It seemed that some people didn’t even have the manners to serve themselves up. Still at least it was easy food… 

  Meanwhile, in the ruins of a city, a dozen shady individuals sat on the bare ground of a clearing that could hardly be called a camp. Each individual sat with their eyes closed and muttered gravelly words. This, along with the circle they had formed around a cast iron pot, revealed the undertakings of an esoteric and sinful ritual. Yet they did little to hide their brazenness, as their chants only grew louder and continued to draw in a haze of mist like substance into the pot. Their mutterings began to speed up, till the climax arrived and the mist began to congeal into a murky liquid.

  One of the individual’s faces smirked imperceptibly, his focus skipping from the ritual at hand to the vision of one of his familiars. A moment later, the image of a fallen boy flashed through the man’s mind. What his brazen eye familiar failed to notice, he had seen. In surprise, of what the fainted boy was his tongue slipped.

  What followed was a loud bang and a shockwave of dust. The congealed maze quickly dispersed into nothingness, leaving the pot empty. The ritualists all opened their eyes, with either rage or suprise. Yet the man who had erred cared little. He gave a sharp glance to all onlookers, leaving them to swallow their rage.

 However, a young woman, opposite from the man, could not hide her temper and gave a coarse shriek.

“Damn it, Old Li! You think I wouldn’t dare to kill you!” she screamed while pointing a finger at the man.

Now standing up, her gaze shifted from anger to disgust.

 The man scoffed, before boldly standing up as well. His disheveled figure fully revealed itself. Long gray, unkempt hair reached down his shoulders and a scratchy beard covered his wrinkled face. Wild hides and ornaments covered his scrawny body, accentuating his lecherous eyes and rancid stench. Few would know that this man’s arrogance and pride stood taller than mountain! 

The man furiously shouted, “How can I, the Great Demon Li, stand for such disrespect?!” 

His voice raised further, “What does it matter, if the ritual failing was my fault? You whore! Daring to speak to me in such a manner!” 

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  He dashed forward with superhuman agility, his distaste was far from being quenched. It only took a moment for him to reach the woman, and only another moment for his palm to shoot towards the woman’s chest. The woman responded, tilting backwards and swiping at the man with a now revealed, curved dagger. The man continued his strike undauntingly, his palm a mere hair away from striking its target. All the while, the woman's dagger similarly continued on its path towards the man’s chest, a sharp gleam appeared on the dagger revealing that it was far more than met the eye. The wind screamed in conflict, and then a grunt sounded; A second later a crash. 

  The woman lied, sprawled across a pile of rubble. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her right hand instinctively moved to conceal her injured left shoulder. However such a cover could not hide the unnatural frost that began to spread from the injury. In the end, the palm had only glanced off her shoulder, but she still was launched like a kite without string. The old man’s powerful strike reaffirmed the decision of many of the spectators, Old Li was not to be provoked!

  Old Li watched the pitiful woman for only a moment before diverting his attention from the scene. He slowly looked down to find a tiny cut on his now bare upper chest. As if on queue, inordinate amounts of blood spurted out from the tiny cut as it slowly grew in size and bled into his wild clothing. The old man collapsed onto his knees with a grunt, covering the wound with his hands, his gaze shifting from indifference to fury.

The spectators watched with bated breaths. This was not the result they had expected.

  The old man, feeling the eyes on him, forcefully stood back up. His pride would not allow him to take such a blow. Then with the smile of a showman, he slowly revealed his chest as he stretched both hands outward, revealing the grievous wound to the spectators. Only that, it was no longer mortal, instead the wound was staunched by a thin coating of bloodied ice and frost. Old Li’s hideous grin grew in size, yellow teeth and all, before he began to lazily meander towards the woman. 

  His slow steps counted on each other, the man was only a dozen steps away now yet the once furious woman looked hopeless and defeated. Afterall, the frost was now spreading across her chest and so it seemed that it wouldn’t be long before she froze to death. The old man gave a ragged laugh upon seeing her pitiful appearance. His satisfaction only diminished by the fact that her head was still attached. His eyes gleamed red with immeasurable insanity, as he continued his slow walk towards the woman.

He did not notice the woman’s slight smile. The man’s heavy steps continued, he was only three steps away. 

And then, the woman’s limpid eyes suddenly sharpened, she pounced! Her seemingly injured left arm arced towards the man’s face. Old Li expression of madness did not change. He still had time to dodge, yet perhaps his insanity had already robbed him of any reason as his palm snapped forward. The spectators held their breaths, some getting ready to jump in for a grab of the spoils.

The climax approached, not even a moment could divide the inevitable contact. The expected boom sounded, but the result betrayed all expectations. As if an invisible wall was between the combatants, both their blows had stopped midair. 

The spectators watched in surprise and disappointment, hoping that perhaps something more would happen.

A sly cough sounded, redirecting their attention from the entertainment at hand. One of the spectators, an over decorated man with a flowery appearance, stepped out. He was the source of the interruption.

 “Ay, ay. Let's just finish this ritual and be done with it, fight all you want afterwards,” he said with a soft voice that belied his gender, all the while calmly fanning himself. He abruptly shut his fan, and the invisible barrier between the combatants disappeared. Both combatants backed away from each other with a jump, and stared at the flowery man with fury. Conflict choked the air, but in an instant the pressure dissipated.

  The old man snorted as he promptly disengaged and began walking away from the camp. His red eyes dulled to their original dark color, and his posture once again became slouched. The spectators’ gazes settled on the woman, waiting for her reaction. To their disappointment, she simply turned her head in indifference and left camp in the opposite direction. It seemed like both the ritual and entertainment would have to wait, not that anyone was in a hurry. There were plenty of things to plunder in this ruined city. Little did they know, Old Li also had plunder on his mind.