Chapter 21: Ajal; Shauran 24th, 344SR; 9:30

Ajal sprinted through the long and dark tunnel. John and Sarah were far behind, trying to keep up, but struggling in vain. 'Why are there holes in the sides of the wall?' Ajal thought as he breathed in and out. He held the golden ring in his clenched fist as he ran past the bodies of the ghoulish-looking women from earlier. They were on the ground, with cracked or shattered skulls. John and Sarah's steps became quieter as the distance increased, Ajal ran forward without stopping, 'How far did they get? Did they find more? Dammit, I have to go faster!'

"Ajal! We'll catch up!" Sarah shouted.

'Dark Passage!' Ajal's foot dived into the shadow, his entire body fell into it. He reappeared much farther down the path, then entered the shadow again to do it once more. He zoomed through the dark sewer tunnel at a high speed and flew out into the open light, he landed and his feet dragged against the concrete as he slowed down. However he was too fast, he stumbled over and rolled as he struggled to stop until his back slammed into a concrete ramp.

Ajal immediately stood up and looked left and right. Several kids who had been playing with an orange ball stared at Ajal with wide eyes. One of the children was rather chubby, the orange ball fell out of his hands as he stood frozen, and all of the kids were motionless. Ajal stood up and towered over the crowd of children.

"Hey, have you kids seen a guy with brown-"

"Ah!"

The kids all started screaming at the same time, 'Huh?' They turned and scattered in multiple directions towards various buildings, Ajal stood still with a confused expression as the kids all went into hiding. 'Huh... The sun must've risen while we were in that tunnel...' He rubbed his eye, his feet felt sore after sprinting. Ajal sensed something to his left and turned to see an old man looking up at him, the old man was physically frail, but Ajal felt a great amount of spiritual strength from him.

"Hey, have you seen a bald guy and another guy with brown hair?" Ajal asked the old man.

The old man didn't say anything, he just nodded and pointed upwards towards a road that led into the city.

"He went that way?" said Ajal.

"Hey! You just came through the tunnel right?" A woman at the top of the concrete ramp called Ajal.

He looked up to see a five-foot woman with her hair tied up in a bun, wearing a white sleeveless shirt, a long black skirt, and sandals. She was short, her black hair was dense, and she had round cheeks with a worried expression on her face. She walked closer but stopped as she noticed Ajal's stature.

"Yeah, I did?" Ajal answered while rubbing his eyes.

"You're pretty tall... Are you a descendant of Ophi..." the woman suddenly asked. "Wait- I mean... My name is Marina Jorve, are you looking for a brown-haired boy, about five feet tall? Kind of plain looking?"

"Yeah? Have you seen him?"

"Yes, he went further into the city-"

Ajal jumped to the top of the concrete ramp and towered over the five-foot woman, she stepped back with a shocked face as she realized how tall he was. Her cheeks went red as she gulped nervously, and her hands shook slightly. A slight breeze swished through the buildings.

"What about the other one?" Ajal asked.

"O-other?" Marina replied, she stepped back and scratched her head. "I didn't see another person?"

"Bald head? Long mustache?"

"That... Sounds familiar, but no I didn't see any bald people."

"Alright, thanks for the info," Ajal walked past Marina towards the grey building she was in front of.

"Wait! Are there any more of you? Are you all slaves?"

"Well, yeah, most of them are... non-unified- but I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"If the guards spot you or your friends, they'll never be seen again! We have to find him before they do!"

"Never be seen again? I don't know what you mean but, is there any safe place in this city? Preferably a quiet one."

"These slums of Rea are the only place which is safe, most of these buildings offer refuge to people of all races."

"There should be seven others on the way, they'll be coming through the tunnel as well. Thank you for the help."

"Wait where are you-"

Ajal ran towards the building and ran two steps up the red-painted wall, 'Spirit Ignition!' He kicked up to the roof and grasped the ledge. Marina was shocked as she watched him easily climb the wall.

Ajal pulled himself up and was met with a calming breeze, the roof of this building was not on a similar level with the other rooftops. 'Now this, this is something I'm a bit more used to...' Ajal took a deep breath as he looked at the massive city. He rubbed his eye once more as he looked down. The individual cracks of concrete became blurry for a moment, and he stumbled forward. 'Shit... I don't know how long I can stay awake...'

Between each building were long red pillars, that led to the neighboring buildings of the same height. The higher buildings were connected by several levels of red pillars. Each of the pillars was rectangular, they created a hatching pattern over the streets of the city. 'What's the point of these?' He stepped onto one of the red pillars and looked down, the streets below were full of short people with black hair and fair skin. 'They all look very similar... I kind of look similar actually... I'm just not as short...' Ajal got down on one knee as he watched from the red pillar, a child asked his mother if he could buy something. She nodded and the child's face lit up, they ran into the store excitedly.

Ajal looked to his left and saw another child with black hair running along the red pillar, towards the taller buildings. He hopped down onto the balcony of the building and knocked on a door. After several seconds, another child opened the door and they both jumped onto the red pillar. The two kids stopped and looked up at the next level of pillars which were another story higher than the one they were currently on. 'No way...' Ajal thought to himself as the second child squatted down and then jumped up to the next level of pillars. He didn't have to grasp the ledge, he had jumped just high enough to step onto the next level.

"Wow..." Ajal was speechless.

The children were using the beams as a means to play. Both of them showed no fear as they leaped over the city streets down below. 'One slip-up and they're done...' Ajal jumped up to the red beam and grasped it with both hands, he hung from it for a moment 'I wonder if I should even be doing this- when I'm still this tired!' Ajal pulled himself up and crouched on the beam, slowly standing up to keep his balance. This one was the highest level for a few kilometers, he still couldn't see the edge of this city. He turned around and saw the black wall, he was still unable to see over it.

Ajal walked along the beam, the two kids from earlier were playing tag, leaping between beams and running about. The one being chased tried increasingly dangerous maneuvers, however, the pursuer seemed even more eager to perform those same moves. One of them finally slipped, 'Oh shit!' Ajal ran forward along the beam, but he was too far to catch the child, 'I can use Dark-'. Ajal stopped as he suddenly remembered the child he couldn't save from Enma and he hesitated. The child's body twisted in mid-air and the boy landed on both feet, he then squatted down and jumped right back up.

"Oh... They don't even need me," said Ajal, he sat down on the red beam.

A strange feeling came over him, Ajal suddenly felt a chill which caused him to shake. He looked up at the clouds in the bright blue sky. 'Why did I hesitate?' He looked down at his hand and noticed it shaking, Ajal pondered his thoughts at that moment. 'What the hell am I doing,' the white clouds drifted lazily across the sky. 'Why am I trying to go back to Imperion... What's the point, they probably think I'm dead...' Ajal held his head, remembering the force behind Ava's kick, the lack of mercy, and the intent to kill behind it. 'Even if I went back, would they just try to kill me again before I can get an answer?'

Ajal looked down at the streets, multiple short people with black hair walked between the various stores. A lot of them for some reason were lining up at a store that sold some sort of cake, Ajal couldn't tell the kind from that distance. 'Now I'm on this planet called Grelt... Running around aimlessly trying to help people... Why? Because I regret the mistakes I made? I don't belong here..." Ajal cracked a smile, he crossed his legs on the red beam. He started giggling as held his forehead with both palms, his elbows resting on his legs.

'I'm pathetic. I have no right to stick myself into this world's problems as if I'm any better... I'm not very different looking at my record...' Ajal looked back to the children, one of them leaped recklessly at the other to tag them, and his hand grazed the other boy's shoulder as he flew towards the wall of the building. His feet landed against the wall, and Ajal's head tilted. The boy kicked off back up to the red beams. Their game immediately continued.

'Am I seeing things... Those kids almost look like they're floating... I'm so tired...'

"I have to... Find..." Ajal stopped muttering to himself as his eyes closed on their own.

***

'Huh...' Ajal was no longer on the red beam, he was sitting in an abyss of darkness, he stood up quickly and looked down. He could see his palms vividly as if there was a light shining on him from somewhere in this darkness. The world suddenly brightened and he found himself flipping a light switch.

"Happy Birthday Ajal!" Multiple people shouted at the same time as the light turned on.

"Huh?" Ajal looked left and right.

A small plant in the corner towered over two kids and their parents. They stood in front of a table with a white and blue frosted cake. The room was kept warm by a buzzing heater, the warmth quickly comforted Ajal and made him feel nostalgic. The smell of pizza in the oven caused his mouth to water.

"It's not-" Ajal stopped as he realized his voice was a much higher pitch.

"Happy Birthday!" More people shouted over him.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

He turned around once more, he was inside one of the first homes he had ever lived in. He looked down at his hands and they appeared small. Ajal stared at the cake before he stood up and walked towards the window he knew was to the left of the table. He put his palms on the glass and looked out the window, the sky was pitch black, however, the world was vibrant with color as if it was broad daylight. 'The abyss...' He listened to the familiar horns of cars, honking as they tried to get through Solron's terrible traffic. The gray buildings were all Ajal could see besides the black sky, a hand touched his shoulder and he turned to see a young Enma.

"What are you looking out the window for? The cakes this way!" Enma shouted at Ajal in a fit of childish anger.

Enma had short red messy hair, a cheerful smile spread across his face, and one tooth missing from the front made Ajal laugh under his breath. To his right was his brother Shin, his white hair wasn't messy, but rather loose and straight. The boy stood behind his mother, clutching his right arm's sleeve. They both wore white tank tops with ragged pants, he looked down and saw himself in similar attire. Ajal felt nostalgic, people who lived in Solron weren't wealthy, but what they lacked in wealth they made up for in the community.

"Happy birthday Ajal," said Shin, Enma's younger brother.

Ajal looked at the white-haired boy for a moment, and his eyes went wide. 'This isn't right! Where am I...' Ajal looked around.

"What's going on-"

"Check it out! Turbo Man 2!" Enma shouted again, holding up a disk.

The three children were suddenly in Shin's room. It had the pattern of a man with a red helmet riding on top of a hoverboard. Ajal sat there with wide eyes, staring at the rectangular screen. He gulped as he watched Enma crawl forward on the carpet and click the volume button. A catchy song for an over-the-top racing game hit Ajal's ears and he felt himself fall further into his own nostalgia.

"You got it already? How?" Ajal asked.

"My uncle got it for me," Enma answered, his wide and cheerful smile shining brightly as always.

"This is my room... And he got it for me..." Shin whispered.

"He's riding a hoverboard in this game? That's really cool..." Ajal looked at the disk.

"A hoverboard? What's that?" Shin asked curiously.

"This thing. How do you not know what a hoverboard is?" Ajal pointed at the red craft the man was riding.

"That's the Turbomachine from Turbo Man 1? What the heck is a hoverboard?" Shin asked.

"Huh? No, the turbomachine inspired the first hoverboard, there are hoverboards everywhere now, it's..."

Ajal looked at a calendar on the side of the room, it was the twenty-first day of Hemhir, the seventieth year. 'That's right... Hoverboards weren't invented until far later...' Ajal recalled.

"Ajal?" said Shin.

Ajal looked up at the screen, he didn't notice Enma had already started playing. As he watched the game, he heard the sound of someone hitting their hands on a window. Ajal glanced at the window with a confused expression, he saw nothing but the black sky and the side of a building. Ajal looked back at the screen and noticed the faint image of someone on the screen. They slammed their hands into the glass as if trying to break out. Ajal felt something poke his forehead when he saw it, and his third eye opened. It suddenly became clear, Ajal noticed it was him inside of the screen trying to break free. His eyes shot open.

***

"Ah!" Ajal's head whipped upwards.

He heard the sounds of the street again, he was looking at his lap, his back hunched over on the red beam while he sat with his legs crossed. The sky had become a dark blue. 'Holy shit... it's already night? Ah crap, I was supposed to find Jack!'

The sounds from the streets below made him believe he was back in Solron. 'I- I fell asleep?' Ajal stretched his back and looked around to see the two kids who were playing, now staring at him. 'Huh...'

"How long was I out?" Ajal asked the children.

The two of them looked at one another, one of them had a mushroom cut and the other had short spiky hair. The one with the mushroom cut held up his hands wide open.

"A few hours!" he shouted from the distance.

"Hours?!" Ajal looked down.

"Are you a descendant of Ophi?" the other child suddenly asked Ajal.

"No...?"

"See I told you he was too tall to be one of us..." The spiky-haired child murmured to his friend.

"Yeah, but he still looks like us? Hey, I have another question!"

'What's up with these two... At least I don't feel nearly as tired...'

"Are you a half-blood?" the spiky-haired child asked.

"No? I don't know what that is... You and all these people, are you all descendants of this Ophi person?" Ajal asked.

"Hey, we're asking the questions here half-blood!" The spiky-haired child blurted out with a serious tone.

"Half-blood?" Ajal looked at him for a moment with a confused expression.

"If you aren't a descendant of Ophi you'd better show some respect to her name and us, this is our turf!" the child threatened.

Ajal looked down at the red beam he stood on and at all of the other red beams. And then looked back at them. 'He probably isn't talking smack, I saw how they could maneuver these beams... Hm... Ever since I woke up, I've been pretty rusty with my movement, I could use a warm-up...' Ajal had a fun plan in mind.

"Really? Who's going to punish me for disrespecting Oophles?" Ajal mocked.

"I'm warning you!" The spiky-haired child crouched down, ready to pounce.

He was at least twenty meters away from Ajal, 'He's getting ready to jump from there?'

"Wait Andrei, your mom told you to stop fighting or else you'd get grounded..." The other child cautioned.

"You can try as well, dork," Ajal said to the other child.

"Dork?! What'd you say butthead!" the other child threatened.

'That wasn't the reaction I was expecting, hehe...' The spiky-haired child Andrei leaped forward at Ajal from where he stood. 'He can jump far-' Ajal jumped backward, as Andrei landed on the same beam in front of Ajal, he returned a stern look to Ajal's calm one.

"Wait, Andrei! That's dangerous! If he doesn't have Ophi's grace, he could get hurt from that fall!" the other child shouted.

'Grace?'

"Don't worry Morin, I got this!" Andrei replied.

"That's not my point!"

Andrei approached Ajal slowly with both hands raised to push Ajal off, 'Is he trying to scare me?' Ajal raised his leg straight up and focused his spirit on his foot, Andrei hesitated. 'Imperial Battle Arts, Hammer!' Ajal slammed his foot into the pillar with just enough force to shake all of the beams, Morin stumbled on his feet. Andrei, being even closer to Ajal, stumbled in place, only for Ajal to sweep his leg with enough force to spin the boy over. He grabbed Andrei by the ankle and dangled him above the streets, 'That wasn't much of a warm-up...'

"Ah! What!" Andrei struggled, his arms flailing helplessly.

Ajal didn't want to drop Andrei into the streets so he dropped him back down on the beam. Morin stood there with wide eyes, trying to contemplate what just happened. A slight giggle escaped his shocked expression and a wide grin spread between the boy's ears.

"Okay, things have changed. You're a challenge!" Morin grinned.

"That all you got?" Ajal urged them on.

"We can't fight, but how about tag? It's our specialty."

"Hmm... Sure, on one condition," Ajal agreed.

Morin walked along the red beam until he was on the same one as Ajal, he breathed in and out as he contemplated his approach.

"You think you can beat us at tag?" Andrei stood up.

"Yeah, it'll be easy, whoever is it at after five minutes loses. Are there more of you?" Ajal asked.

"We won't need more..." Morin replied.

"If I win, you help me find someone in this city I'm looking for," said Ajal.

"And if we win?"

"I'll..." Ajal raised an eyebrow and looked down. "Join- your club?" Ajal offered.

Morin and Andrei looked at each other for a moment.

"What do you have to offer?" Morin asked.

"Tell us about yourself?" Andrei also asked.

"Wait- did this just become an interview?" Ajal stuttered nervously.

"Yes," they both answered.

"Huh?! Well, you're right, if I have nothing to offer there's no point..." Ajal put a thumb to his chin.

"What about that thing you did earlier? That kick? Could you teach us how you did that?" Andrei asked.

"Huh? Imperial Battle Arts? Do you want to learn that fighting style?" Ajal explained.

"Imperial Battle Arts?" Morin repeated.

"C-cool... That sounds really cool, okay just teach us that if we win!" Andrei shouted with a wide grin.

Ajal focused his spirit on his feet, Andrei walked to the red beams on the right and Morin took the left.

Morin charged forward. 'This is a game of tag so, I lose if he touches me.' Ajal leaned off the beam and to Morin's surprise, he stepped off, only to grab the beam with the other hand and swing to the lower levels. 'The lower levels may give me more room to get-' Ajal twisted his body in mid-air as he sensed one of them approach from behind quickly. He turned to see Morin soar past him. Ajal just barely dodged the kid's hand, Morin flipped in mid-air effortlessly, landing on the horizontal beam Ajal jumped for. Ajal reached for a vertical beam instead 'Dark Passage!' he phased into the shadow, and a dark spot moved along the red beam before Ajal poked his head out from the shadow underneath the beam he was on before.

"What!" Andrei shouted in surprise.

"What kind of gift is that?!" said Morin.

"You two are too slow," Ajal exited the shadow and pulled himself up on top of the beam.

"Gah! Cheating wasn't allowed!" Andrei charged forward onto the same beam as Ajal.

"Nor was it mentioned," Ajal laughed.

Ajal dodged backward, even though the child could leap fast and far, as long as he dodged properly at the right moment he could evade them. Ajal glanced at the tunnel he exited from earlier in the distance, the caravan was coming through. 'They finally made it...' Andrei noticed him not paying attention.

"Damn show off!" Andrei screamed.

"Andrei you go from the left, I got the right!" Morin leaped up to the second level of red beams.

'Dark Passage' Ajal's hand was covered in a shadow he took steps backward but as his spirit charged he turned his back to them and looked towards the higher buildings further towards the center of Andurill. With his spirit focused on his leg, the moment Morin and Andrei jumped for him. 'Spirit Ignition!' Ajal kicked off the beam and leaped a great distance. The force from his kick-off stopped Morin and Andrei in mid-air.

"Holy shit!" Morin was shocked by the height Ajal jumped to.

"What the fuck!" Andrei cursed.

Ajal soared through the sky, flying over multiple streets and landing on a red beam a great distance away. The moment he landed he coated his hand in a white and black aura and put his palm underneath the beam, leaving an exit point for a Dark Passage.

He turned around and the children were far back, they were hopping across the red beams quickly. Ajal took a moment to breathe. His heart beat quickly, his bones ached already so his legs felt even worse. 'My body is still sore...' Ajal stretched as he looked around the vast expanse of buildings, 'Jack could be in any of these streets...'

"Get back here!" Andrei shouted in the distance.

Ajal looked up, the buildings still went higher, and there were two more levels of red beams. Ajal ran up the wall of the building and kicked off it, then grabbed the rough concrete edge of the building and pulled himself up. He was close to the base of the large mountain, and the size of the buildings seemed to get bigger as they got closer. Ajal jumped up to the next higher beam and pulled himself up, he looked down and saw nothing but the asphalt streets and the tiny figures of people on the ground walking through them.

"Got you!" Andrei shouted.

Ajal looked to his left and saw Andrei lunge. Ajal gripped the ledge and shimmied to the left as he climbed up. He just barely dodged Andrei, 'How did he go from being behind me to there? They must have ways around this big city...' Footsteps behind him broke his focus, he turned to see Morin run forward, Ajal expected him to leap, but he didn't. Morin stopped and watched Ajal carefully, 'This kid has a plan...' Ajal grinned as the child continued to try and get close, he continued to back up. 'Why hasn't he gone for a tackle, it'd be his best option-'

"I've got you now!" Andrei screamed as he leaped from a level below up to Ajal.

'He was waiting!' Ajal looked back at Morin who crouched down to jump at Ajal, he couldn't dodge to the side, or backward. Morin tackled him and Andrei grasped Ajal's leg.

"Yes!" Morin cheered.

"We got him!" Andrei cheered as he pulled himself up.

"My plan worked!" Morin laughed.

"I made your plan work!" Andrei laughed as well

"Hah- Hahaha," Ajal laughed and the two of them stopped.

"Huh- why are you laughing? You lost!" Andrei shouted.

"Oh- shit! Andrei, he's it now-" Morin stuttered as Ajal jumped over both of them and tapped the back of their heads.

"Shit! Get him before he can run!" Andrei charged forward.

"I'll be back where we started, I doubt you'll get back and find me before the times up... Bring your gang, bet the lot of you couldn't beat me!" Ajal waved goodbye with a smile on his face.

Morin and Andrei lunged forward with their hands outstretched. 'Dark Passage.' Ajal disappeared from that spot before their hands could reach, he reappeared where he placed the shadow before. Ajal stood up and just listened to his heartbeat, listening to it fade behind the sounds of people walking and talking through the streets.

"So these are hybrids... Interesting," Ajal uttered to himself.

Ajal's hand was engulfed in a black-and-white aura, he put his palm on a shadow on top of the red beam. His body was shrouded in the same aura as he looked down to the street below and focused his spirit on his foot. He leaned off the ledge, 'Spirit Ignition!' Ajal kicked off the ledge and soared quickly to the streets below. He slipped through the shadow on the ground and reappeared at the shadow he placed. He flew straight upwards, to about twice the height of the tallest buildings in Rea.

He reached the peak of his height. 'Damn... this country is massive... I can't even see all of it from up here...' The wall stretched around all of Andurill. Rea was mainly buildings, but the dense streets became more spacious the further away from the wall they were. Andurill seemed to be shaped like a giant circle, the district known as Rea only made up one-quarter of that circle. Ajal squinted as he descended back to the ground. He looked past the wall, the green grass and trees stretched for miles, but within the city there was none. It reminded Ajal of the urban jungles of Solron. 'There's nothing but concrete, metal, and stone for miles...'