Uno couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His father was faster than lightning, disarming four people at the same time without any effort. As an aspiring hunter, Uno knew the difficulties of training your body to move as fast as the experienced hunters of the village.
He also knew that Bucko and the rest of the hunters were the cream of the crop. They were the hunters that they were taught to copy. They were idols. If you want to become a good hunter, then you must become like them.
When he was studying and training, Uno finally knew why they were called elite. He knew just how much training and strength you needed to be as fast as a cheetah. If you weren’t quick to the draw, then you had no chance of hunting skittish prey who ran at any sound you made.
Uno thought that they were the pinnacle of strength and speed. Their swordplay was something to be admired and studied. Not only that, their cooperation amongst themselves was something that could not be replicated just by anyone. He watched them bring bears down to the village without even losing blood.
Achram never really excelled in hunting. He was good at archery, but that was just about it. He was always on the backline of the hunt, never actually facing off against the beasts they hunted.
Even Uno had to admit that his father wasn’t the best hunter out there.
However, Achram proved him wrong.
After he hiked through the mountain and miraculously returned, he seemed to have changed every part of himself to become something much greater than a lowly Thall. He showed speeds so fast that not even Uno could see his movements. Clearly, Bucko and the rest of the hunters weren't able to, either.
When Bucko said that his ‘new’ father was a bad spirit who took control of Achram, there was some doubt that crept into his mind. After all, what else could explain his drastic change? How was he able to have skin much tougher than any bones of the animal kingdom? How did he have skin as tough as the metal armor worn by those humans?
But when Achram looked at his family with the same warmth and love as he did before, Uno’s doubts ceased. This was his father. No matter if he became a monster or not, it wouldn’t change that this was the Thall who raised him to be who he was now.
“Father…I can’t believe you’re back.” Uno couldn’t help it anymore as tears flowed out of his eyes. All the frustrations and anger he felt before, being bullied by his friends, having his mom and siblings be kidnapped, him being unable to save them, everything came crashing down.
His demeanor of a juvenile who was maturing into a good hunter able to track down his target with pinpoint accuracy was destroyed as he reverted to a kid who couldn’t even hold a sword properly.
“It’s okay. I’m here.” Achram consoled him. He ruffled the kid’s hair and noticed that he had grown taller. “Look at you. You’re almost as tall as my chest now.”
Achram laughed while he sniffed. “Hehe…it’s unfair. I would have been as tall as your shoulders if you hadn’t become so much taller!”
“Hahaha,” Achram laughed. He missed hanging out with his kid like this. The more he felt this, the more he wanted to take his family up the mountain to live in his God’s grace. There, they could also experience the gifts he was given.
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“My dear Achram…is that you?” Rhita’s words trailed off as she looked at Achram with his body completely changed from the evolution. She recognized him almost immediately. Was she still a good wife if she couldn’t even recognize her husband?
Achram slowly walked over towards her, his gaze never leaving her body. He winced. He saw her body much thinner than before. Her cheeks were sunken, she had dark eyebags, and her face must have aged years from all the stress. The healthy yellow face he saw before was gone.
He immediately knew that she struggled to find food for their four children. She must have not been eating anything. Oh, how she suffered.
“My dear. I’m sorry,” he said as he hugged her with all his body. His tough, strong, body instantly melted the moment he made contact with his wife.
“It’s fine,” she said. “As long as you’re back and alive in my arms.”
Suddenly, they felt someone squeeze in between them. It was little Tres who still had wet cheeks from all the crying. But now that her father was back, she was all smiles as if nothing ever happened.
“Hehe…Papa’s back!”
“How’s my little girl? You’ve gotten much prettier!” Tres snuggled in her father’s arms. She didn’t even notice that Achram had completely changed. All she knew was that she could feel the warmth of his chest again.
“Where’s Dos?” asked Achram. He looked around and saw his oldest daughter a little bit far away from him. She had her arms crossed and her head turned away from him. “Oh come on. I know you can’t resist me. Come here you little rascal!”
Dos still had a frown on her face, but she moved closer to him. Once she was close enough, Achram gave her a big ‘ol hug along with Tres. Dos couldn’t help but hug him back and bury her face on his chest.
“Don’t leave us again,” she muttered.
Achram nodded his head. “I promise I won’t leave you again.”
Rhita then walked over towards Achram while carrying Quatro. Thankfully, throughout this whole ordeal, Quatro was saved from all the brutality. After all, he was just a little child who didn’t even cry for a second. So, Bucko and the rest of them didn’t pay much attention to him.
“Don’t forget our little one,” Rhita said as she gave Quatro to him.
Achram took his youngest child in his arms “How could I? He’s the very reason I journeyed through the mountains in the first place.”
Rhita looked at Achram with incredulous eyes. With how he looked extremely happy, she guessed that he found what he was looking for. The very reason why he looked to the mountain was because they were looking for a cure for Quatro. According to the elders, he only had a few months left to live.
“Is it true…you found a cure?”
Achram smiled at her and nodded his head. “Yes. I found my God. He was the one who gave me all these blessings. He was the one who saved my life and gave me a new one.”
Rhita and the rest of his family looked at him and saw the sincerity and praise in his eyes. When he talked about his ‘God’ his eyes always looked up to the sky with zealousness.
“Father…is he the one who gave you his powers?” Uno asked. If this God could give Achram a strength that surpassed the greatest hunters in the village, then Uno could earn this power as well.
“Yes. He gave me…Ether!”
Rhita gasped as he heard the secret to his powers. Just like Achram, she was also taught about this legend when she was just a kid. Along with everyone else, as they grew older, the less and less they believed this myth.
How could one object be so powerful that it could give you powers?
It sounded absurd, so everyone just accepted it as merely a fictional story to tell to their children.
“Woah…” Uno uttered.
“But that’s impossible. I thought they weren’t real?!” Dos was in disbelief.
“Wazdat? Can I eat that?” Tres asked, biting her lips.
Rhita was the only one who remained vigilant. “This ‘God’... can he heal Quatro?”
Achram took her by the shoulders and exclaimed in happiness, “Yes! He is all-powerful! He can heal Quatro and even give him powers! You all can!”
“In God’s territory, we can live in eternal happiness. There is food, water, and everything we need to survive. We no longer have to risk our lives hunting. Food and water will be given to us for free!”
“Amazing!”
“Cool!”
“Food! I want to go there!”
Rhita was still a little bit doubtful about such a place. It sounded like literal paradise. However, she was old enough to doubt whether it was too good to be true.
“Do we have to sell our souls to this ‘God’?”
Achram shook his head. “Of course not. He is not an evil spirit. He doesn’t need anything but our loyalty. When he saved my life, he asked for nothing in return. Only when I felt extreme guilt of not giving anything did God finally accept a gift I gave.”
“And what is this gift?”
Achram then looked around and saw a black stone on the ground. He picked it up and showed it to Rhita. “This. All he needs is this black stone. If we give God all the black stones we can give, then he will shower us with gifts!”
“That is also one of my missions. I wanted to bring you all back to God’s territory where we can all live happily. In exchange, I just have to give him these stones!”
Rhita couldn’t believe it. His God would give them food, water, and safety all for a bunch of useless rocks?
-----------------------
Patty suddenly saw a notification on the system screen.
[Your investment has borne fruit!]
[Achram has defeated 5 enemies, furthering his cultivation]
[You have earned 500 Yi Power as your dividend]