"You-"

Malka suddenly moved in front of me and knocked the spear away with one hand. Her eyes then flashed yellow as she glared at the guard, releasing her murderous intent.

I glanced at the guard once again, and immediately my instincts told me that he was extremely dangerous. Ever since I awakened my power, I could somewhat gauge people's strength if I focused enough.

The tall Sixarian guard had a giant scar across his face and black hair tied in a traditional ponytail. He started to release murderous intent as he glared back at Malka with his cold black eyes.

The Sixarians citizens started to avoid us once they felt danger and watched the scene from a safe distance.

(And this guy is just a regular guard? How did that happen?)

I would brush the thought away and would prepare myself to attack him if he made any sudden moves.

Malka wanted nothing more than to knock the guard down to size, but her grandfather gave her a task. She then withdrew her murderous intent, letting out a soft sigh before she spoke. "Stand down. This is an important guest that my grandfather wishes to meet. You know how my grandfather doesn't like to wait… Chaka.." She said with a slight smirk on her face.

"Grr...Malka." The guard known as Chaka, gritted his teeth while tightening his grip on his spear. He thought about ending the Sixarian woman's life at that very moment but managed to remain calm while thinking of the consequences. "...I'll let him pass, but just make sure he doesn't do anything out of line, or I'll be back!" Chaka shouted as he glared at me as if I was his mortal enemy. He then walked without a sound and continued his duties.

I could feel my hand itching to punch his face in, but I remembered my training to keep calm.

I watched the Sixarian until he was out of sight, "Ah...What was that about?" I asked as I glanced at Malka.

Malka glanced downward for a moment and shook her head slightly, "It's nothing you need to worry about. Let's continue on our way to my grandfather."

"Uh..right." I nodded slightly.

We started walking through what looked like the city square. Hundreds of Sixarians were around socializing and doing different activities with smiles on their faces.

(Hmm.. life must be pretty good down here despite their circumstances)

My eyes were drawn to every little detail of the city until the delicious smell of meat being cooked suddenly tickled my nose. I immediately looked around for the source, and finally, I noticed a Sixarian grilling some kind of weird bug creature with giant eyes at his stall.

"Ugh...What is that?" I asked with a hint of disgust.

"Hmm? Oh, one of the many delicacies found around Labeki. A grilled three-eyed beetle. Would you like to try one? The eyeballs are really-"

"Ah, no...I don't think I could." I said timidly, waving my hand in front of my face.

(I'm hungry but not that hungry...)

We continued to walk as Malka talked about the various activities done in the city. I could see that she was proud of her people from the way she spoke as there was a slight smile on her face.

She typically wouldn't talk this much, but a strange feeling inside of me was making me excited to see new things. I found myself asking questions upon questions when anything caught my eye.

I would have believed that this was an ordinary city, but seeing people with the lower half of a spider told me otherwise.

(I wonder how Vivian would react?)

"I still can't believe there is a whole city down here... it's amazing.' I said while playing with a strange Sixarian toy that Malka bought me after I begged.

"After the first generation of Sixarians had escaped their captors, they stumbled upon the cave above ground. They then unanimously decided to dig underground to make a temporary home."

"Temporary?"

"We were only supposed to be here until we could find a way back to our planet. But... We have yet to find a way... until now." Malka said while gazing at me. Her eyes looked incredibly sad, but underneath it all was hope.

"..." I nodded slightly as I didn't know what to say after that.

(I barely know about my powers, and she expects me to save an entire race?)

"We should hurry. We should have been meeting my grandfather by now. I didn't know you were so interested in our city." Malka awkwardly smiled at my silence and continued to lead me through the city.

"Haha... My bad." I said. "But you know-"

Three small Sixarian children suddenly came up to me with innocent smiles on their faces as they bombarded me with questions.

The Sixarian girl tugged on my pants, "Hey, mister! Are you a human?"

"Yeah, are you?! Are you?! You look like one! You only have two legs!" The Sixarian boy asked as he jumped up and down, his excitement apparent.

"We were told that all humans are bad... But you don't seem bad? Are the grownups lying?" The other boy Sixarian asked as he tugged on my pants as well.

"Hahaha... I am human?" I said with a bit of uncertainty. "And I like to be counted as a good one." I smiled while glancing at Malka, who looked a bit annoyed as they kept her from completing her task.

"Ahhhh~" The three children looked at me in awe before they nodded and smiled at each other.

"Hey, mister! Do you want to play with us?" The Sixarian girl asked, looking at me expectantly.

"Yeah! Yeah! Play with us! You have to!~" The Sixarian boy said while grabbing my arm.

"It will be really fun! We need a fourth person!" The other Sixarian boy said as he grabbed my other arm.

"I uh..." I glanced at Malka.

Malka suddenly snatched me away from the children. "We don't have time to play your little games. Now run along," She icily said

The three small children immediately jumped from fright once they noticed Malka.

"Ah! It's the mean old lady! Run guys!" The Sixarian girl shouted, running away as quickly as they appeared.

"Bleh! You are always no fun Malka! That's why you don't have a mama or daddy!" The Sixarian boy said while sticking out his tongue. He then ran away with the other boy.

"Well... That was... harsh. Malka look you-"

Malka raised her hand to silence me, "It's alright. I do not mind it all." She said softly. She looked fine on the outside, but underneath that beautiful face, I knew she was hurting.

"Malk-"

I quickly noticed more eyes were on us as we continued to walk through the crowd. I even felt faint killing intent coming from several directions.

" Just ignore it for now. They will not do anything to us out in the open." Malka said with confidence as she started to walk ahead.

I gave one last look around before following Malka outside of the city.

*******

At that time, in an alleyway. Three guards gathered after watching Malka and Ian walk out of the city.

"How can the chief allow her to live?! I would have ended her life a long time ago if it was up to me!" The massive Sixarian guard said as the ground beneath him started to crack under the pressure of his legs. He unknowingly snapped his spear in two from gripping it too hard, making him even angrier. "Damn it!"

The other guard, who was quite small compared to the other two, suddenly spoke up. "...Despite the circumstances, she is still related to him without a doubt. We must listen to him even if we don't like some of his decisions."

The small Sixarian guard placed his hand on the angry Sixarian guard's shoulder, "Also Brother Mandla, you must calm yourself, we do not need to make a scene."

The guard known as Mandla knocked the hand away, "How can you stay calm Ganya?! When that thing still BREATHES?! Just how can we allow it?! It's bad enough that we were slaves and now that thing...exists!! I'm tired of living underground, and that thing is a constant reminder of our failure!" Mandla shouted with rage.

"Brothers do not worry." The third guard said as he looked at his brothers in arms. Ian would immediately notice who this guard was as he was the guard that stopped him earlier.

"There will be a day when we will purge the filth that stains our great race. And then we will make our enemies pay! I Chaka put my life on it!" His black eyes flashed green as he touched the giant scar on his face. There was a hint of pain in his eyes, but the thirst for revenge was even stronger.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

**********

I was walking with Malka for what seemed like hours, and I could feel my stomach starting to make a fuss.

(Shut-up stomach!)

"Are we there yet? How far do we plan on going?" I complained while rubbing my stomach in anguish.

(Ugh Hungr- No, this isn't the time to think about food! Ellie and the others may still be in danger.)

"It's just up ahead great one. Do you see that? That is our destination." Malka said as she pointed straight ahead.

"Hm?...Woah.." My eyes widen as I unconsciously hold my mouth open.

It was a massive temple!

The majestic temple looked like a piece of art that was carved into the cave. The enormous structure seemed to radiate an unusual power that caused the hair on the back of my neck to stick up.

(Weird...)

The structure was built up high almost 50 ft above me with a lengthy stretch of the stairs that lead up to it. The stairs were guarded by fierce-looking Sixarian's who immediately released murderous intent as they locked eyes with Malka.

One of the guards stepped forward, "The human may pass, but you can not Malka," he bluntly said as he gripped his spear.

"Huh?" I looked at the guard and then at Malka. She looked like she was about to cry despite her almost expressionless face.

"Can I ask that she comes with me? She's the only one that I trust at the moment." I said with a smile as I glanced at Malka.

"Ah..." Malka's eyes seemed to brighten for just a split second. She was happy to hear the word "trust."

"Tch...I'm afraid not. You-"

"Let them through. I will grant the great one this request." A loud booming voice suddenly said.

I glanced in the direction of the voice and expected to see someone. However, there was no one in sight, but I did have a feeling that someone was watching us.

(Weird...is it coming from the temple?)

I looked up at the magnificent temple, and the feeling of being watched became even stronger.

"Grr...Understood." The guard groaned as he got back in position and made room for the two of us to pass.

(I really don't know why they hate her so much. What exactly happened?)

I shook my head slightly and started to walk up the stairs with Malka following close behind. She seemed to become happier the closer we got to the temple.

It took several minutes for us to reach the top of the stairs, and we were then greeted by even more guards that lead us inside the temple. I could tell that these guards were also angry with Malka entering, but they also heard the voice of their leader.

The temple had no light except for the glowing green pillars that I assumed were also made by the Silk Arts. The sight was breathtaking as each of these pillars was gigantic with strange symbols inscribed into them. The mysterious symbols seemed to come alive as we walked by.

I immediately sensed another presence through these pillars, but it wasn't hostile, so I didn't react to it.

(How strange...)

"What do those symbols mean?" I asked Malka as I pointed at the glowing pillars.

"It-"

"It's best that you keep your mouth shut." One of the guards said as he continued to lead us deeper into the temple.

I instantly activated my eyes of enzo and attempted to attack the guard. However, I was stopped by a single hand. (A/N: I realized that saying eyes turn multi-colored was weird. SO! it will be this now because it is the name of the eyes.)

"It's alright. You don't need to get angry for my sake." Malka softly said with a fierce glint in her eyes. It seemed that she was angry as well.

We continued to walk deeper into the temple, and I started to wonder when it was going to end.

And then I met him, the person who wanted to meet me so severely that they needed to kidnap me. I was glad that Malka nursed me back to health, but I clearly understood that I was brought here against my will. However, I began to become a bit intrigued by the Sixarian's and thought it was strange for Malka to refer to me as the "great one."

(I need to know what this is all about. If they know something about me then maybe...)

The old Sixarian man was sitting down on an intricate-looking throne with a huge smile on his aged face, slowly rising to his feet once we were near. The Sixarian looked quite frail compared to the others, but something told me that he was abnormally strong.

"Ah, we meet at last! My humble name is Kosan. I am the leader of this tribe of Sixarian's. May I ask for your name?" He said as he motioned his hand to dismiss the guards.

"My name is Ian, and I want to ask so many questions, but first... Why did you kidnap me?" I solemnly said while looking straight into Kosan's glowing green eyes.

Malka wanted to say something, but she was stopped by Kosan.

"I had no other choice but to as we require your help, great one."

"... And why am I being called the great one? I'm not exactly great.." I said, glancing uneasily at the tattoo on my hand until suddenly my stomach makes a noise. "Ah.."

I could feel the heat in my face rising as I looked around, hoping no one would hear my stomach.

"I will explain everything, but you must be a bit hungry," Kosan said.

(Damn it!)

Kosan smiled at me before he started to walk towards the supposed dining room.

I quickly became excited once I followed him along with Malka as I hoped that the food looked normal enough to eat. I didn't know how much longer I could go on without eating as I needed to consume a lot more food. My powers strangely increased my appetite once I became a bit more familiar with it, but it was something I didn't worry over.

(Please be normal food!)

"And here we are," Kosan said, pushing open a double-sided door.

The smell of cooked food entered my nose, and I immediately dashed right by Kosan into the dining room.

"Yes!! Normal!" I shouted as I stared at the large oval table being piled high with food. Several Sixarians that I assume were servants were putting a variety of food on the table with smiles on their faces once they saw Kosan.

"You may leave us now," Kosan said.

The servants bowed before they swiftly left the room, leaving us by ourselves.

I immediately sat down in an odd-looking chair that I assumed was made for Sixarians as their lower bodies were that of a spider.

"Some of this... and some of these! Oh, that too! " I started to grab anything that smelled and looked great. I would generally wait for everyone to sit down, but all of my manners went straight out the window with the way my stomach was acting.

Malka sighed and shook her head as she watched me eat like a starving child. "My image of him has been thoroughly crushed. He is supposed to be our savior?" She thought.

"Ah... I suppose he was fairly hungry?" Kosan said with an awkward laugh while gazing at Malka as he was thinking the same thing. His gaze then softens as he gets a good look at his now-grown granddaughter. "She's grown so much since I've last seen her. She looks so much like her mother." He thought.

"Grandfather... I-"

"Malka, my granddaughter... I am happy to see you once again. I wish you would rely on me more and live with me... You are all that I have left, you know?" Kosan said while patting Malka's head.

Malka was saddened by those words, and avoided Kosan's gaze, "I know but... The elders and-"

"Those old fools? I'd like to see them try to put a hand on my granddaughter!" Kosan said with a frown, his eyes glowing with more intensity.

Malka quickly wiped away the tears that formed in her eyes before looking at her grandfather, "... Hehe, you haven't changed a bit grandfather," Malka said with a warm smile, her arms wrapping around Kosan to hug him.

"Me? Change? I'll be the same until the day I die!" Kosan said with a huge grin on his face, pulling his granddaughter into a tighter hug. "Anyways let's join our guest before he finishes all the food. I'm quite hungry too."

Malka pulled away from Kosan and looked at me strangely, "It's weird that he is eating a three-eyed beetle now when he showed disgust when I offered it earlier."

*Ding*

I dropped my fork as I overheard what Malka said, and I immediately felt like throwing up. I then looked down at the meat, and it indeed looked a little strange, but I was too hungry to notice.

"No... I was that hungry..." I muttered softly, hanging my head down with regret.

I was depressed for a moment, but then I continued to eat as I was still hungry. Malka and Kosan soon joined me and ate in silence.

The atmosphere was harmonious, despite the silence, but I knew once I was full, I would need to get serious.

An hour later, I finally finished eating, patting my full stomach with satisfaction. I then closed my eyes to adjust to the right mindset before standing up from the table.

"Kosan..."

"Very well great one," Kosan said with a nod, standing up from his chair. "Follow me. I must show you my daughter's room."

"Mother...?" Malka muttered as she looked surprised. She knew about the savior from her grandfather, but she didn't realize that her mother had an importance to the supposed prophecy.

Kosan lead us even deeper inside the temple until we arrived at a particular room. Kosan slowly opened the door and stepped back.

I instantly felt a chill throughout my spine as I peered through the dark room, my eyes of enzo activating on its own.

The skull tattoo on my left hand started to glow faintly as strange symbols appeared, illuminating the room with its green light.

"Grandfather...? What is going on?" Malka asked while stepping back. She felt massive amounts of mana pouring from the room, but oddly enough it was being transferred to the boy.

"He's... going to talk to your mother." Kosan softly said as a single tear fell from his eye. Feeling the familiar mana of his daughter once again brought joy to his face.

"My mother?! But she's dead!" Malka shouted in disbelief.

"Yes and no...It's too complicated to explain."

"But-"

All of a sudden, the light of the room disappeared, and immediately I felt weak. "Not ag-" I blacked out and fell onto the ground.

I soon found myself in a dream surrounded by darkness and unable to move a single muscle. I was surprisingly calm and found it strange that I knew that I was in a dream.

"Why am I dreaming?.."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but this was the only way to talk to you, Ian." A soft ethereal voice said.

"Wait...who said that? And how do you know my name?" I asked

A beautiful Sixarian woman covered in green light suddenly appeared in front of my eyes. She looked like a spitting image of Malka except she was more mature. She warmly smiled as she looked at me with a gaze that seemed to expose all of my secrets.

"I know your name because I took a peek into the future. Although, I wish we could have met with better circumstances." She said with a sigh before she looked directly into my eyes. "My name is Basirah, daughter of Kosan and keeper of the prophecy," Basirah said proudly.

"What do you want from me?" I asked with a hint of annoyance although I didn't know why I was annoyed by her.

"I stand here before you to ask you to help my people in their time of need. You see we-"

"Need? I looked around the city down here, and you guys don't look like you need anything. I just want to get back to my crew..." My previous calm manner quickly began to fade as I continued to speak. "I only followed along because the odds are stacked against me down here. I have a strange power, yes, but that doesn't mean I'll parade around like a hero and help anyone in NEED! Now if you would please point me to the direction out of here, then that would be GREAT!!"

I didn't know why, but I was suddenly getting angry as memories that clearly weren't mine started to flood my head. However, this time it wasn't as painful. It seemed that in this place, I was closer to whoever else was sharing my body. I always knew something was wrong with me since the incident with Tolbert, but I tried to forget about it.

"Ian you-"

"DON'T talk to me like you know ME! You don't know what I've been through, and the people that I lost because I wanted to help others. People like you... People like..."

(Wait...S-stop! This is my body!... Stay out of this!!)

"Ian, you need to calm yourself and listen to me. " Basirah said as she placed her hands on my cheeks.

"No... You need to get out of my HEAD!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, releasing a strange pressure so strong that it forced Basirah away from me. I quickly noticed that I could move again, and dashed towards the stunned Basirah

"What are you d-doing?!" Basirah shouted as I grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air in one swift motion. " Ian! Please put me down!"

"..."

"Ian! P-please!" Basirah shouted as she struggled to move from my grasp, but unfortunately, it would only tighten. "S-stop... Ian..." She sounded like she was having trouble breathing, but that was not the case as she didn't need to breathe. Basirah was made up of mana that kept her alive all of these years, but oddly the boy was draining that same mana at a devastating rate.

"My name isn't Ian! My name is Xander! Captain Xand-!"

(What are you doing?!)

"No! Get out! This is my body now, and I will have my revenge! If I absorb her mana, then I'll be a step closer to recovering!"

(No! I won't let you take an innocent life!)

"Innocent?! These people kidnapped you so they could guilt trip you into helping them! They are the ones who attacked the ship! They don't deserve to be saved! I'll eradicate them all for tricking us... No... Me!!"

"Starting with you!!"

____________________________________________

Ian: Finally! We can continue the story! I don't know why, but it felt like years! I'm ready to get back to the ship. Continue my journey! It's going to be great!

Author: Actually, it has been a year...

Ian: What?! What about the Axe Lions!? Ellie?! Fay!?

Author: Yeah... Think they are all dead because I waited too long.

Ian: WHAT?! YOU BASTARD! IM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!

Author: Wait!...y-you can't break the 4th wall like that! Chill!! It's just a joke! A jo-

Next Chapter: Freedom At Any Cost