“Kneel and promise me that you will stop talking to Joselyn, then all will be forgiven”

“No!”

Kai couldn’t believe that his simple request had been denied again, he was a reasonable boy and he wasn’t asking much; he just didn’t want his betrothed to be seen associating with some dirty orphan.

Kai shook his head. He didn’t understand why Bren the little dirty orphan was being stubborn for. It had been a week since kai’s verbal requests had turned physical and still, the dirty orphan didn’t want to defer to his betters.

Some people just don’t know what’s good for them. Kai thought. He looked at his two followers and said “beat him and this time take longer than yesterday, but remember don’t hit his head”

Ken and Joe, his two followers smiled and advanced toward Bren. Kai was twelve years old, the same age as ken and Joe while Bren was a year younger, shorter and thinner. Kai saw Bren ball his hands into fists as he prepared to fight two boys older and healthier than him. Kai knew that Bren wouldn’t run as he had not done so each time they met for the past week.

The fight always happened the same way with Bren resisting and fighting back for a while before being over powered by the older boys and this time was no different.

“Stop! Is this how a spiritual artist behaves by beating those weaker than him?” Kai head a familiar female voice shout from behind him and his stomach twisted into knots.

He turned and saw Joselyn looking at him with barely concealed anger and disgust.

Bren and Joselyn had been close friends since they were children and it had never bothered kai before, this all changed about a month ago when Kai and Joselyn had been betrothed. Kai’s father was the town mayor while Joselyn’s family was the richest in their town so their arranged marriage made sense.

As the only child of the mayor, Kai had grown up with everyone giving him respect and calling him young master. When Kai was nine years old, his father invited a spiritual artist to test his soul and it was found out that his soul was suitable for spiritual practice and once he reached thirteen he could join a sect and become a spiritual artist.

After that event, the respect he had received increased but Bren’s altitude never changed and always spoke to him as if they were equals. Bren’s lack of respect had always irritated kai, but as a future spiritual artist and protector of humanity; he had to have a forgiving heart so he had always tried not to let it get to him. This changed after being engaged to Joselyn as he couldn’t stand his future wife to be friends with someone who didn’t respect him.

At first, he had asked Joselyn to stop playing with Bren but she had refused and said that he wasn’t her husband yet so he couldn’t tell her what to do. He later asked Bren to stop playing with Joselyn but Bren refused. Kai tried bribing and later intimidating Bren but the dirty orphan had laughed at him and told him that he was a free person and would be friends with anyone he wanted.

Kai had been frustrated, how was he going to defeat evil beastkin when he couldn’t even control a simple dirty orphan? After weeks of trying and failing, Kai changed his tactic a week ago and had his two followers beat Bren up but the dirty orphan still refused to change his mind.

How did she get here? Kai thought. If what was happening got back to the town then his reputation would be ruined. Kai had been careful, he always ambushed Bren on the outskirts of town when Bren was coming back from working in the farms where he helped out in order to support himself and his five-year-old sister. The reason Kai didn’t want his followers to hit Bren’s head was that he didn’t want anyone finding out as face wounds are very conspicuous.

Kai opened his mouth to explain but before he could say anything he heard a loud booming sound coming from the town and saw smoke rising from the town center.

Kai immediately started running towards the town center, he didn’t even bother to justify his previous actions as he was worried because his home was located in the town center.

As Kai was running, he heard footsteps behind him but he didn’t bother to turn and check if the others had followed him.

The town of Belmar where kai lived was small but it was prosperous with a majority of houses made from bricks with glass windows, unlike the surrounding towns which had a majority of houses made from wood. When Kai reached the town center, he couldn’t recognize the desolate and burnt appearance of the town with what he remembered when he had left just a few hours ago. The brick houses had crumbled walls, the windows were broken and the roofs were on fire.

Kai saw that his house hadn’t escaped the destruction and in fact appeared to be in a worse condition. He felt his chest tightening as he neared his house. Kai couldn’t help thinking that the worst had happened as he had noticed that no one was trying to put out the fires and the only noise he heard was his heavy breathing and that of things burning.

When Kai reached near the entrance of his house, he saw both of his parent’s heads were mounted on spears next to two heavily burnt headless bodies.

“NO!” Kai shouted. Strength left his body and he dropped to his knees and could feel tears flowing down his face and he started sobbing.

He started rocking back and forth, he refused to believe what he was seeing, and he couldn’t believe his parents had been murdered when he had been talking to them just a few hours ago.

Kai didn’t know how long he had been crying when he heard a girl shout.

“Let me go you animal” the voice shouted.

Kai turned and saw that Joselyn and Bren were held by what appeared to be a man except that the man had a tail and animal ears covered in orange stripes.

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‘BEASTKIN’

Kai had heard stories about the savageness of beastkin but this was the first time he saw one in person. Strangely he didn’t feel fear, all he felt was consuming red hot rage inside his body.

This was the creature that had taken his parents from him. Kai’s rage increased and he barreled towards the creature, uttering a scream.

When beastkin heard kai’s scream, it looked towards Kai and its eyes started glowing. When Kai saw the glowing animal eyes he felt a heavy pressure weigh on him as if a mountain was pressing down on him and he couldn’t move or shout anymore.

The beastkin smiled and then shouted. “I have found another mouse, hurry up and get him. We have to leave before spiritual artists arrive”

Kai saw that the beastkin was not alone, behind him were two beastkin with similar stripes. One of the beast kin was carrying ken and Joe while the other wasn’t carrying anything.

“I will get him.” Said the beastkin who wasn’t carrying anything.

Kai tried to move before he was captured but he couldn’t do anything to break away from the invincible bonds and pressure that surrounded him. The beastkin arrived and the pressure disappeared after he was held tightly in the beastkin’s arms.

Kai tried to break free from the beastkin’s arms after the pressure disappeared but the arms were as solid as iron and they only tightened around him.

Up close, Kai could see that the arms of beastkin was covered in fur and also had the same orange stripes.

The beast kin moved away from the town center and started going towards the southern part of town. The more they moved away from the town center the more intact the houses were. It appeared like the destruction was centered around on the town center.

They left the town and reached the wheat farms which had made the town prosperous. When they entered the farms, Kai saw something shimmering in the air and the surrounding wheat was flattened.

When they reached the shimmering air, the beastkin carrying ken and Joe passed through the shimmering air and disappeared.

The beastkin carrying kai moved towards the shimmering air.

Kai intensified his struggles but he still couldn’t break loose. Kai knew that passing through the shimmering air was a point of no return so he continued struggling. When they were about to pass through the shimmering air, he heard a popping sound and something liquid splashed him and suddenly he was falling.

Kai thought that it was the effect of passing through the shimmering air. He felt pain only to discover that he had fallen to the ground. Kai turned only to see the headless corpse of the beastkin who had carried him.

I must have died. Kai thought as he looked up and saw an angel descending. The Angel was glowing very bright and he had wings made of light.

When the Angel reached the ground, he stopped glowing and his wings disappeared. Kai saw that the angel had purple hair and was wearing a white spiritual artist’s robe which had a small logo of a bird with outstretched wings on his chest.

“Are you alright?” The angel asked.

Kai thought it was weird for an angel to ask a dead person if he was alright. The angel left him before he could answer. Kai turned his head towards where the angel was going and saw the angel stop next to another headless corpse of a beastkin. The angel moved the corpse and beneath the corpse were the bodies of Bren and Joselyn. The angel then helped Bren and Joselyn to their feet.

Kai heard footsteps and turned his head towards the source, he saw a large man in a spiritual artist’s robes with the same logo as the Angel, except that his robe was grey and he carried a sword.

The man stopped next to where Kai was lying down and offered his free hand towards Kai. Kai accepted the offered hand and stood.

“Are you an Angel too?” kai asked the man.

A confused expression quickly passed over the man’s face but he quickly smiled and said: “No, we are not angels, we are sky watchers.”

Kai had heard of The Sky Watchers Sect before, It was one of the largest sects in the human empire, He had heard rumors that sky watchers could fly in the sky like birds. ‘I guess it’s true’, he thought, when he remembered the spiritual artist who had rescued him.

The man walked towards the man in the white robe and Kai followed behind him.

“We didn’t find any other survivors” the large man reported to the purple haired man.

The purple haired man shook his head slowly and said. “We were too late and the beastkin quickly closed the space rift when they sensed the death of their kin.”

The purple haired man turned his head to the sky in a thoughtful expression, he sighed then looked at the large man and said. “Take these children to the next town and make sure that there are placed in a good home.”

Kai was scared, he didn’t want to be staying in another town which might be attacked any time by beastkin.

“Please take me with you, my, my soul, my soul was tested and it was found suitable for spiritual practice?” Kai said with a stutter. If he could join the Sky Watchers Sect then he could become strong enough like the purple haired man and get revenge someday.

“What do you think?” the large man asked the purple haired man.

The purple haired man took his time to reply and after some time had passed he said: “test them all, it is fate that they have met me, if any amongst them has the talent, then I will recommend that one to join our Sect.”

The purple haired man took out a crystalline ball from his robe and gave it to Kai and said. “Imagine that light is coming from your heart and traveling through your hand and finally into the ball.”

Kai remembered that he had taken a similar test when he was nine so knew what he had to do. He held the ball in his right hand and he imagined that his heart was producing light which traveled through his arm and into the crystal ball.

Kai felt something drain from his body and the ball started glowing weakly. Kai proudly looked towards the purple haired man.

“I see that you were telling the truth, with your talent you can join the sky watchers as an outer disciple. Now Pass the sphere to your friend” the purple haired man replied.

Kai passed it to Bren who was looking just as miserable as Kai felt.

Bren glared at Kai and closed his eyes. The ball started glowing after a while. The intensity of the glow kept on increasing even after it had surpassed kai’s level and only stopped when it was more than twice kai’s level had reached.

“High-grade talent, not bad.” The purple haired man said

Bren passed the ball to Joselyn. The ball started glowing immediately she shut her eyes, the intensity kept on increasing until it looked like she was holding a miniature sun in her hands and Kai's eyes started hurting just looking at it.

Kai closed his eyes and when he opened them; the purple haired man was laughing and he got the crystal from Joselyn and said. “This is good news, I didn’t expect to find a supreme level talent here, girl this is your lucky day quickly accept me as master and very soon you will be soaring through the sky.”

Joselyn opened her mouth to say something but then hesitated.

“What is it?” the man asked. “Feel free to ask?”

“I was wondering if you can accept Bren as your disciple too, he is my only friend remaining” she sobbed

The purple haired man sighed “I can take him in as my disciple as long you agree to be my disciple.”

Joselyn quickly kotowed and Bren followed suit and both shouted “master.”

“Rise, we will finish the ceremony once we reach our Sect, say goodbye to your friend we will be leaving immediately,” said the purple haired man. He turned towards the large man and said “make sure you all the dead bodies here are given a proper burial, I have to hurry back to the sect so I can report what happened here. The beastkin attacks are becoming frequent and don’t forget to come with the boy.”

Joselyn didn’t bother to say anything to Kai but Bren came to Kai's side; he glared angrily at Kai and then whispered: “It is your fault that I wasn’t there to defend my sister before she was taken.”

Kai was left speechless and Bren went back to his new master.

The purple haired man started glowing and wings of light manifested on his back. He then took off towards the sky while holding his new disciples in his hands.