For all you Portuguese and Brazilians out there, you'll find a term in Malay similar to your language. 
‘John!’ I didn’t know what to say. I was incomplete shock. I thought I would’ve never seen him again.
‘Hello, there.....old pal.....that was.....quite an OUCH shot there.’ He felt really uncomfortable and gritted his teeth.
‘I’m so sorry, John.’ I tried to grab a bunch of leaves which are big in size, and to bundle them together, hoping they could make a temporary cloth to cover the wound I had inflicted upon him. ‘I’m serious John, I am so sorry.’ I tried to show a lack of emotion. Emotions can be very dangerous and I can be distracted in healing John’s wounds if I let emotions control me.
‘It’s alright....sorry.....about THE FISH!’ He yelped that last part in pain. As soon as I created a cloth-like thing composed of dried leaves, I wrapped it around the back of his chest and his left shoulder, hoping that it would protect him from infection or at most dampen the severity of the wound.
It was getting dark. I asked him to stay with us. At first, he was reluctant to go, but after a bit of coaxing, he decided to have a meal with me. As the bonfire illuminated the dark with a nice dash of red and yellow, I looked up at the sky. Surprisingly, there was no moon. It was terribly dark. All I could hear are the crackling noises the fire made. The only smell I could perceive is the sudden aroma of roasted fish. I was hungry and tempted to eat it as soon as it’s cooked, but I know I had to feed another guy as well. I then looked at John, he had already put his hood back on. Something tells me he knows something.
‘Why don’t you want to go to the other side of the river? I mean…everyone else is there.’ John asked me. Using his right hand to drag the hood even further.
‘It’s a lot noisy there. Furthermore, I had to feed you already.’ I smiled at him. ‘I don’t want another dozen to feed on my fantastic catch.’
‘Selfish jerk.’ He joked at me.
‘Fine, then you’re not going to have any.’ I tried to counteract it.
After a few minutes, the fish seemed to be ready. Using a knife I equip in my pockets at all times, I slowly sliced the fish. Every cut releases a vapour of piscine goodness. I can’t wait to eat, rather, gorge it down. After cutting it into nice chunks, I offered some to John. For the first couple of minutes, we ate in silence, not knowing what to say or do in addition to eating.
While I was eating, I tried to understand more about John. What exactly happened while he wasn’t with me? The fire only illuminated half of his face, the other half indifferent from the night itself. He seemed to be very cryptic about something. The way he slowly eats and puts his hood on….something seems to be wrong here.
‘So…’ John raised his head, but I couldn’t see his face due to the hood. ‘What happened recently? Are you alright?’
‘Other than me being assaulted by you, I guess I’m fine.’
I felt a bit guilty about it. I lowered my head. ‘What’s that glowing in your pocket?’
‘Ohhh….that’s a crystal I made doing a ritual. At first it doesn’t seem to have any magical properties, but now that it is glowing in such beautiful cerulean and violet, I guess it is magical in some way.’
‘You attended alkimia sekolah?’ John asked.
‘Yes. In fact, this crystal….’ I tried to get it out of my pocket and show it to him. ‘Is the product that was created after the seed bomb ritual.’
‘Ahhh…that’s the shard of patience right there.’
‘Shard of what?’
‘Shard of patience. It makes nearby creatures or people to rejuvenate. However, it needs to be flooded to be activated.’
‘Wait…so….’
‘Yes. The moment you casted that pillar of water, it activated the shard.’
‘Hmmm…..interesting.’ I nodded in agreement. I wouldn’t lie. Although that blast was really unexpected. I surprisingly remained unscathed, not even a single cut.
‘Well….the seed bomb ritual was done so that we could find where Jahazrimi is.’ I continued the conversation.
‘Oh yeah. The one in Air Alasan being an imposter and all that….’ John replied.
‘Wait, how did you….’And that’s when it hit me. The beam shone on John the moment it was activated. Although it was gone now, I could clearly remember it as if the beam still shone.
‘How did you know about Jahazrimi and the fact that she’s missing?’ I asked him.
‘Because I know where she is.’ John said. He tried to grin at me but he kept his emotions at bay and made a stern face, as if obdurate.
‘YOU KNOW….’ My face was covered by John’s hand. Unfortunately, he used the wrong one. ‘OUCH!’ He yelped.
‘I…I’m sorry.’
‘Just keep it to yourself.’
‘Why not? Are you trying to hide something from me?’ I tried to discern him. Clearly he was acting a bit weird ever since I found him around an hour ago.
‘She doesn’t trust anyone. I mean, she’s been ducilik! Do you think she’ll trust the whole horde of you? I mean even when I first saw her, she tried to even kill me!’
Suddenly, my strength dissipated from me and I folded my arms.
He turned around on both sides. ‘But….I can bring you to meet her if you want…alone.’
I nodded in consent. I was about to raise the crystal when he tackled me to the grass.
‘What the hell man!?’ I shouted.
‘There are people out there who are trying to seize her. If you do that, it will perhaps not shine on me but her location. Then people will know where she is. Some may be eager to help her, while some might kill her on the spot.’
‘But it’s terribly dark.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got this.’ John took out a flashlight. ‘Any more questions?’
‘How did you find Jahazrimi?’
He sighed. ‘Remember the time, in Beku Utara? The thing about holding the breath underwater for five minutes?’ I nodded.
‘I noticed that her staff consisted of an emerald rather than her favourite sapphire. Furthermore, she has a tattoo….’
‘On her neck.’ I interrupted John.
‘Yes.’ John took a small pause. ‘So, upon realizing that, I thought that no one would believe me. Therefore, I had to deliberately lose the challenge so that I could be independent in finding her, in other words, more time.’
‘No wonder…..’ I felt a bit frustrated. Why couldn’t he have told me? Me, Ajax, Matthius and Amelia would all love to help. ‘But how’d you find her in the end?’
‘Bukit Salji.’ He replied.
‘Ahhh….’ I replied. Bukit Salji is known for its deep caverns, lack of light and cold climates, a perfect place for penculikan, or kidnapping.
‘So she is in Bukit Salji now?’
‘No. I brought her south here, not far from where we are. The land here is much more fertile and the temperature is much more amiable. Any more questions?’
I shook my head. I doused the bonfire with a simple splash of water over it. At once, all turned dark and the last of the smoke permeated to the very air. John and I were just about to walk when we heard a walking noise on grass.
‘Hey man, where have you…..OH MY! IT’S…’ Once again John covered his face, and again using his wrong arm. ‘OUCH!’ He yelped. I quickly helped John up.
‘Matthius.’ I said. ‘I’ll explain everything to you later, right now you have to go back with the others.’
‘But…’ Matthius was in a nympholeptic state.
‘It’s alright. He can join us.’ John said, trying to gain his breath back.
‘Fine, Matthius, but you must not make any loud noises and small whispers only.’
‘Got it.’ Matthius said quietly and made an ok hand sign.
John released himself from my grasp. ‘Follow me.’ He said. We slowly walked into the bushes and further away from the main camp, where all the other water elementalists settled.
The original silence slowly started to rise as I hear cricket chirps around me. I had to walk carefully. Even though John may have a flashlight, I can’t see everything clearly, so I have to be prepared to duck or climb any roots or branches that may get in our way. After passing through the bushes, the cricket chirps were still prominent. I remembered this is also the rocky path which I injured John. It appears that when the shard of patience activated, the blast was strong enough to create a small crater.
‘Be careful of that crater right there.’ John pointed out with his finger.
‘Yeah, I noticed.’ I replied.
We had to walk light tipped along the path because when we step on the rocks and pebbles, they made loud crunching noises. We need to ensure no one could hear or follow us.
The more we walked, the more I felt afraid. Perhaps the assaulters could be just right behind us. However, I need to stay calm. Otherwise, my screams would lure the attackers for real. We soon reached the edge of a huge rock. I need to lean my weight towards it, as the more we climb up, the more dangerous the path gets. One wrong move, and one of us may fall to the ground, dead.
‘We’re here guys.’ John said. His flashlight pointed towards a small cave carved from the rock. Despite the treacherous walk, it appeared to only have been ten minutes long. The crunching noises we made with our feet suddenly became a lot less quiet as we’re stepping on rock salt and debris. The cricket noises slowly settled down and as we went further into the cave, the darker and more scary it felt, even though John has his flashlight.
‘Jahazrimi, are you here?’ John asked quietly.
There was no reply.
‘Jahazrimi? Don’t worry, I brought some friends. They’re not enemies.’
‘She’s right here.’ John jerked his flashlight to the other side. It’s Kwarzhil! He’s dead! How is he supposed to be alive? He is holding Jahazrimi with a blade by her neck.
‘Uggghhh….’ Jahazrimi said in an exasperated tone. She does look beautiful with her black hair and eyes….wait, what am I thinking? She is going to die here!
‘Let. Jahazrimi. Go.’ John said. I’d never heard his voice so strong and firm before.
‘Haha. Pathetic child. Always the classic line isn’t it.’ He jerked himself, pretending to slice Jahazrimi by the neck, trying to scare us off.
John remained calm. He put back on his hood. ‘LET HER GO.’ John said. With a much stronger tone.
‘And what If I say ‘no’?’ He smirked. The flashlight that John shone clearly shows the malevolence he has. His long hair dark hair along with his evil eyes and wrinkled face emphasized that he may genuinely slice Jahazrimi with a slash of his blade.
I couldn’t see John’s reaction. But subconsciously, it was telling me he was smirking too. ‘If you say no…’
‘BBBLLLLAAARRGGGHHH!!!’ Kwarzhil yelped in pain and anguish as he trembled and fell into the ground. ‘Go get Jahazrimi!’ John shouted. He ran towards her. Matthius and I ran to help John, when I realized what John did to Kwarzhil. An ice knife, thrown right into his left side of the neck. I can feel the pain he is feeling right now.
‘Uggghhhh…..’Jahazrimi moaned. John placed her shoulder over his back and Matthius did the same. I looked back, in case Kwarzhil retaliates. We quickly got out of the cave. My heart was starting to pump real fast. So fast that I can feel an internal pain. We got out of the cave. But now we have to walk down the treacherous path, and FAST!
‘How are we going to get down? Kwarzhil can come out at any moment!’ Matthius asked anxiously.
‘Well, we got to try running down.’ John replied.
‘Running DOWN? Are you crazy!?’ My heart continues to beat so fast, I don’t know if I’m even asking the right questions anymore.
‘Yeah, we can just jump down and die!’ John replied. I don’t know what we are doing but I’m just running down light tipped, so I won’t fall off with the rocks. I also have to ensure that John doesn’t shout in pain due to his injury. We were about halfway down when we faced some black hooded figures just like what John is wearing. We heard footsteps from behind as well. We are completely surrounded.
‘Nice move there, nice move.’ Kwarzhil said as we turned around. He took off the knife away from his face. He then lunged it towards Jahazrimi but Matthius quickly casted a frost shield preventing the hit, causing me to quickly swap places with Matthius, to help hold Jahazrimi up.
‘Youuu….you bastard. Uuuugggghhh…..’ Jahazrimi was still clearly tired and unable to fight under these situations.
‘Hahahaha.’ Kwarzhil started to laugh with great confidence. ‘Remember the time, when we were up? Up in the peak in Bukit Ais, the coldest place of Kerajaan Air? Remember what happened?’ He tried to walker closer to us. We moved back a little, preparing ourselves to fight.
‘What did you do? Leaving me in the snow? All by myself!?’ He folded his sleeves, showing frostbites all over his arms. He face towards me and Matthius. ‘Listen kids. In textbooks and schools they say I am evil. But why am I EVIL!?’ She pointed at Jahazrimi. ‘AND SO WHAT SHE DID TO ME IS NOT EVIL!?’ He sneered. ‘Enough of this crap. SEIZE THEM!
It all happened too fast. I don’t know what to do but my heart and brain simultaneously telling me to fight back or cover. I can feel the adrenaline soaring, heart is pumping, brain is sending more signals than ever, bones tightening, muscles strengthening and an outrageous yell declaring war.
Immediately Matthius and I had to lay Jahazrimi somewhere near the huge rock so she can lean on it. Subconciously, I did an elbow strike to one of Kwarzhil’s minions and turned around to give him a nice, big punch, and to end it with a kick in the balls. He screamed very loudly, but I can’t focus on it right now. Seeing a guy charging at me with a blade in his right hand, I used my left leg to perform a sepakan berputar roda, or spinning wheel kick on the left side of his head. Upon performing it, I felt so much force travelled to my left leg as the wind passes by me, knocking down my opponent with such power. The third black figure tried to lunge Jahazrimi with his knife. I did an elbow strike, disarming him, used his hand as a pivot and lunged him into the ground. Quickly grabbing the knife, I stabbed him once in the neck, once in the chest. He laid dead immediately. It all happened so fast. John casting new knives and hurling at people, while Matthius casts pillars of water to blast away the enemies. While I use Air Seni Bela Diri to tackle against the opponents.
Fighting figure after figure, it seems like we’re definitely winning, but we’re outnumbered, and our energy is dissipating away from us. It seems they’re never ending. After fighting a couple dozen of them, it seems we’re completely surrounded.
‘Are you done yet?’ Kwarzhil asked. We all knew it was rhetorical.
‘Now….it’s my turn!’ In a swift move he had slashed John right in the chest with his blade.
‘GGGRRRAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!’ John shouted as he slowly laid on the ground. That swiftness….it’s not a move from Air Seni Bela Diri……it is from the Darkness Kingdom! He is learning tactics of Darkness! I looked down sorrowfully at John, as if the injury I caused him wasn’t enough. He was in the same state as Jahazrimi.
‘Now….’ Kwarzhil faced towards me. ‘It is your turn to face your peril!’ the blade was so fast, but I was faster. In a moment, I swooped down and elbow striked him in the diaphragm. I was hoping for a sudden immobility. But surprisingly, he did not hinder one single bit. My balance got a bit caught off guard by the pebbles I’m standing on. But this is not the time! He held the blade with both of his hands and tried to strike me from above. I used both of my arms to block the attack and performed a menyapu kaki, leg sweep. He caught off balance and fell to the ground.
Meanwhile Kwarzhil’s minions continued to attack me. I knocked one down by using a knee to strike his chest, while hitting him hard in the skull at the same time. I performed a shoulder throw on the next one, laying him dumbfounded on the ground. Using his blade and neatly sliced him over the throat. Matthius also tried to help support me with his spell casting. I just hope he has enough energy to continue with it. Using spells require huge amounts of energy from the brain, over abusing this, can lead to unconsciousness and extreme exasperation.
While I was trying to hurl a minion away, a sudden blast of wind striked my left rib. I slowly let loose and fell, with angst, with anguish, with severe pain.
‘AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!’ I’ve NEVER felt such pain in my life before. Then I realized it was Kwarzhil who struck me with his blade, ending up in the same fate that he did to John. I laid by John, all he could was gasp for air and to show expressions of pain. All I could hear now are murmurs and hums as the pain is too great for me to endure. ‘Sayan! Sayan!’ was the last thing I was able to hear clearly. It was Matthius’s voice. I could see Kwarzhil and his minions, sneering at me, ready to deliver the final strike. I accepted my fate, hopefully I will not feel any more pain before I pass away.
I can feel a minion coming up towards, ready to plunge my heart with his blade, when a huge blast of turquoise filled the air. The blast was intense and it electrocuted me. It light the night sky with its dazzling but shocking colour. The next thing I knew I was flung off the mountainside by the blast, along with John, Kwarzhil and his minions. Seeing myself so high up from the ground, perhaps this will be the real way I will die. While it may not be less painful, at least I died due to an accident, and not the results of a homicide. Seeing trees illuminated by the radial light and pondering at the sky for one final glance, I took a deep breath before plunging into the ground below.
