Mlezi clenched his jaws as the rabbits glowed ever brighter under the ever-dimming sky.

He had observed their behaviour in previous scouting missions but that was from afar and he really didn’t know anything about how they behaved when aggravated and so he took a single step backwards.

“Everyone…” He whispered as the sounds of crackling sparks filled the air.

“Take slow and careful steps away-“ Mlezi flinched as something rushed past him at such a high speed, it sounded like a gunshot.

What followed was the sound of something falling and Mlezi turned to find one of his men lying on the ground without a head. A blood-covered rabbit could be seen further behind it.

I saw what happened clearly.

The rabbit had used Gravity Magic to shoot itself through the air at an incredible speed. It then used its feet to kick the man’s head with so much force that it exploded.

Mlezi’s face twisted as he fully turned his body.

“RUN!” He cried prompting his men to dash towards the hill a certain rock sat atop and as they ran; several explosions tore the air apart.

Mlezi then watched as another rabbit shot through another of his men, tearing off his entire right arm in the process.

“NO!” He cried while running up to the fallen Gatherer.

He quickly grabbed his remaining arm and used a large amount of the Glass in his bag to close the man’s wounds. This made it glow brightly green although it was rapidly dimming.

It was also here that Mlezi noticed that the rabbits entered a dazed state after rocketing themselves through the air.

He let out a grunt while carrying his fallen subordinate.

He then dragged him towards the hill, mimicking Imani who ran in a zigzag pattern.

The duo eventually returned to the hill and, after reaching the hill’s east-facing side, the side which didn’t face the Crystal Lands, Mlezi carefully placed his wounded subordinate on the ground where he continued his transference of Life Energy to his subordinate all while Imani loudly panicked. Calling out Mlezi’s name repeatedly and asking what he should do.

Mlezi let out a brief sigh upon seeing that his wounded subordinate’s condition was no longer critical.

Being able to use Life Magic meant one could see Life Energy as it coursed through any living thing.

Any sort of bleeding or serious injury appeared as the loss of Life Energy.

The wounded man’s internal green light was no longer fading so Mlezi knew he wasn’t going to die yet.

This allowed him to finally turn to Imani who wore a terrified expression.

“What do we do now, sir?” He cried just as something struck the other side of the hill.

Mlezi looked at Imani’s bag and counted a total of three bags of Glass.

He turned to the south and narrowed his eyes before looking directly up, almost as if looking directly at me who floated hundreds of meters in the sky, far beyond what a normal person would be able to see.

He then mouthed the words “Thank you for saving me” before nodding to the south.

“Let’s rush to the stream and make our way home.” He instructed while still trying to catch his breath.

“What about Heri?” Imani asked making Mlezi peek over the hill.

He saw that a dazed rabbit was stumbling about a few meters below and lying in the distance was Heri’s corpse.

“We will have to recover it later-“

“But sir-“

“You can go back and fetch it if you like but if you end up becoming a corpse as well, we won’t collect you until later!” Mlezi hissed making Imani lower his head.

“Now, let's go back home. The faster we figure out how to keep us from getting blown apart by those things, the faster we can recover Heri.” Mlezi instructed before grabbing his unconscious subordinate’s arms.

“Help me carry him.”

Imani glanced at his fellow Gatherer’s torso and winced upon seeing a patch of flesh that rhythmically pulsed. It was covered in tissue which was slowly piecing itself together as Mlezi poured Life Energy into the body.

Imani bit his teeth before grabbing the fallen Gatherer’s legs as instructed.

He then helped Mlezi in silently heading south and eventually reached the small stream of water that came from all the way from the east.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

They refilled their waterskins and began their trip home although even though Mlezi tried his hardest, he could not keep his eyes from quaking with fear.

Something Imani couldn’t even attempt to hide with him breaking down and crying at one point.

.

..

Mlezi clenched his jaw as he watched Heri’s wife loudly weep into the arms of Imani’s wife. Their bodies were illuminated by a fire in the centre of the yard. It was the only source of light on this moonless night.

All of the people in Mlezi’s care were gathered in front of his hut with Ua and Jua standing by the porch. The wounded Gatherer was still unconscious and although his chest and arm had been restored, it was uncertain whether he would ever fully recover from his experience in the Crystal Fields.

Mlezi’s ears perked up a little as he heard one of the other men’s wives whisper into the ear of another.

“So, they really are cursed.”

One of the men who lived under Mlezi’s leadership, a named Matumaini or Maini, then walked up to him with a concerned face.

“Sir, I know this not my place to say and I know of your distastes but it must be said. The girl will need someone to care for her following this tragedy.” Maini whispered making Mlezi cross his arms.

Maini was a few years older than Mlezi and had a face lined with wrinkles. He was also still very rooted in Umande tradition and in this case, no woman of age was to be unwedded.

Polygamy was also practised by the Umande elders who had taken in the wives of many of the young men who died in the wilderness.

“I will take her in…” Mlezi said, although his voice came more as a growl.

“But not as a wife.”

Maini nodded before walking over to the women.

“Mlezi,” Ua called making the weary leader turn around.

He saw that his wife was entering their hut and so he followed her inside where she illuminated the dark space with her hair by using the Glass within to generate a dim, gentle source of light. Glass which she naturally accumulated by eating the Glass rich plant life and meats on my surface. Glass also made up 1.0% of the air although I could feel it slowly reducing.

Ua then sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her.

Mlezi sat by her side and deeply sighed while she gently rubbed his back.

He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something but he stopped himself.

“Now is not the time to hesitate, my dear.” Ua smiled.

“Our Lady has high hopes for us. Your son as well. Should we succeed, we could create an environment wherein Jua can grow without fear, pain or sorrow. A new age, as she saw it, where we and Jua are safe. So, although this tragedy is indeed painful, use what you learnt from it to ultimately triumph, alright?”

Mlezi nodded although Ua saw that he was still shaken and so she spread her arms prompting him to place his head on her chest.

She then gave him a few gentle pats on the head before firmly placing her hands on his cheeks and lifting his head.

“Now go. The women and I will safely store the Glass and use it whenever necessary. You and your men will in turn find a way to get rid of those pests, alright?”

Mlezi nodded and, after taking a deep breath, stood up before returning outside where Jua keenly observed everyone as they stood around the fire.

Mlezi gently ruffled the boy’s hair before walking up to Heri’s wife, Heziyn, who appeared to have temporarily run out of tears to cry.

She lowered her head but Mlezi raised his right hand and gestured towards his hut.

“Move your things to my home. Ua will instruct you on everything else.”

Heziyn weakly nodded and promptly made her way to her hut with the other women in tow.

With that done, Mlezi walked up to his three remaining, able-bodied men who looked to be having a serious discussion about something as they stood around a certain large rock.

They all turned silent as Mlezi approached and Imani lowered his head.

“What?” Mlezi asked.

“The boy was suggesting that we beg the elders for help in harvesting Glass. We obviously rejected the very notion and are instead waiting on your word, sir.” Maini said while Mlezi eyed Imani.

He scoffed before crossing his arms.

“Feel free to ask them for help if you like but do not do so on my behalf. The key to besting those demons will reveal itself to us in due time-“

“Shields,” Maini said making Mlezi’s brows furrow.

“I’ve actually wanted us to get some for some time but hesitated since our worst enemies, those damned Pangolins, see no difference in a warrior with or without one.”

Mlezi stroked his curly beard while thoughtfully nodding.

He then firmly placed his hand on Maini’s shoulder.

“Next time do not hesitate. Feel free to share with me any thoughts or feelings you think might be useful-‘

“Shields won't work. Not normal ones, at least.” Imani sighed with a frustrated expression and crossed arms.

“So…” Mlezi droned.

“You two were just talking about the key to all this,” Imani said as his brows knotted but all Mlezi and Maini did was glance at each other silently.

“The scales, sir! Pangolin scales may just be what we need.”

‘Oh!” Both Mlezi and Maini exclaimed while stroking their beards but youthful and beardless Imani shook his head.

“We have never really used those for anything and so never kept them,” Mlezi said.

“True. This means we’ll need to gather some.”

“So, we have a plan. We’ll dedicate the next few days to tracking and hunting those ferocious fire breathers.”

I nodded approvingly while floating high in the air, beneath the starry sky.

This is what I wanted.

For them to come together and think about a forward path to survival instead of cowering in their huts until they were driven to extinction.

This was what drove all living things and it inspired me to return to my search for true immortality.

I flew back to the ocean and landed on the head of a dragon I had dubbed the Red Emperor due to his bright red. He also had big green eyes and although his kind never said or did anything, I felt that they were always watching me whenever I came by.

I sat on its head and crossed my legs.

I then gave it a gentle pat before closing my eyes as it loudly droned.

My focus then shifted to a planetary one and it was in this state that I contemplated my nature.

I had seen that my ethereal self appeared as a figure of countless strings of white light but I was beginning to think that was just a projection.

I thought back to my birth.

My true self was somewhere else and so I looked down and saw my surface but I wanted something further beneath so, I peered into my soul and beheld a gargantuan mass of massive white strings that floated at my centre.

I descended towards one of them and saw that it was ten kilometres wide and went all around my surface in a closed loop.

It was also made of countless thinner but equally long strings.

This was my true soul and I definitely didn’t wanna temper with it and so I merely observed it.

What other possible vessel could possibly contain all of these strings? I wondered.

I had continuously failed to transfer souls from one place to another but even if I was somehow successful, apart from a planet, what other vessel would be able to store all that which I was?

I could’ve theoretically gathered all the Glass on my surface and made myself a Mega Doll but there was no way I was even going to attempt that until I successfully transferred the soul of something much, much smaller than me.