Orin was lying weak and shivering on the forest floor, rain lashing his face. He stared up at the perpetually dim sky briefly illuminated by rough flashes of lightning. In one of those flashes, he saw the impossibly vast figure tearing through the storm, headed directly towards him.
'Something is flying?' he thought, blinking and rubbing his eyes. 'Maybe the cold and exhaustion are making me see things.'
Another lightning strike. The figure was still there. 'How can anything fly in this storm?'
Orin tried to focus his tired eyes. 'Is it an airplane? No, it's flapping its wings! What kind of bird is this big?'
Uncle Moe landed with a soft thud, no more than twenty feet away from Orin. His enormous size even in the darkness made Orin's breath catch. 'God, what the hell is this thing? A monster?' Then, the gigantic shape began to shrink. Orin's eyes widened as a flash of terror hit him. 'It's changing. What's happening?' Finally, he saw a tall, imposing middle-aged man standing where the monstrous bird had been. 'It… it turned into a man. This isn't possible.'
Fear cut through Orin's exhaustion. He gathered his weak body and tried to form a defensive posture. Indicating readiness to engage if needed.
Uncle Moe chuckled, mocking Orin's pathetic stance. "My master wants to meet you. Let's go." He turned and began to walk, as if expecting Orin to simply follow.
Orin remained frozen, rain plastering his hair to his face. 'Who the hell is he? And what does he mean, 'his master'?'
Uncle Moe stopped, turning his head slightly. "Let's go." His voice held no room for argument.
Orin swallowed, forcing courage into his dry throat, gathering his last scraps of energy. "Why? And who's your master?"
Uncle Moe's face darkened. The air around him suddenly felt heavier and colder; even the rain seemed to pause. He took a single step back toward Orin. "I wasn't asking you, brat. I was telling you."
He moved his hand through the air, and with a casual gesture of Uncle Moe, Orin lost his consciousness.
***
When Orin woke up, he almost had a heart attack. He was a fan of fantasy and thrillers, yet he had never seen a scene like what was in front of him. The ground around him was burnt, and everything around him was reduced to charred husks. But what shocked him the most was the endless thunderstorm. A thunderbolt crashed, almost hitting him, shaking the earth and forcing him to duck.
'What is this place?' he thought, his mind reeling. 'Is this… hell?'
His gaze swept the desolation. 'What kind of person could live through this, let alone bring him here?' The incredible power in the air made his skin itch. He felt insignificant, a tiny ant caught in a force utterly terrifying.
Amidst the storm's fury, Valerius was observing everything. Orin's terrified thoughts and his emotions were all open for Valerius to absorb. A faint smile played on his lips as he finally spoke.
"Welcome to my temporary home, and forgive me for being a bad host."
Orin spun his head, ignoring the weakness of his body. His gaze landed on Valerius. Orin had received too much shock to be surprised anymore. Still, the figure of Valerius' wounded body, wrapped in thick chains, made a shiver run through his core. 'What did this guy do to suffer this punishment? And how is he even alive?'
Then a chilling thought appeared in his mind. 'Is he a devil? An evil being locked away?'
Orin shuddered; his fear added a cold weight in his gut, but he forced himself to stand straighter. He tried to project a calm he didn't feel. 'I can't show him that I'm scared.'
But his voice, when it came out, still stammered. "W-who are you?"
The joyful sound of Valerius' laugh echoed through the storm. "Who am I?" He laughed again, louder this time. "Good. Good." He was impressed. He had met many people during his time in this forest. He'd seen weak humans faint, some try to run, or even fight. But he'd never seen someone who talked to him with such calm, even though he knew it was all a fake show.
His eyes paused on Orin, burning with an ancient intensity. Orin flinched while his mind was still racing with thousands of horsepower, trying to formulate all the possibilities of his survival. He knew that the chained figure in front of him wasn't human. No human can survive this treatment. Even his eyes were so ruthless, it felt as if Valerius was peeling away his skin, stripping him bare. His mind, his secrets, and his every thought felt exposed. He clutched his hands, trying to ground himself, to hide the shudder that ran through him.
"I like your willpower," Valerius continued, his voice softer but no less piercing. "You're starving, practically at death's door, yet even while facing me, your mind remains clear. You even planned an escape route. Well, well."
Orin gasped with genuine shock. "How did you know about my plans?"
Valerius smiled, a triumphant stretch on his lips. "Because I am a god." He laughed again, mighty and thunderous. But as the last syllable left his mouth, a massive lightning bolt slammed into him. Blood spurted from his lips, a dark stain against his pale skin.
'Wow. Journey from mighty god to spitting blood in one second.' Orin swallowed a rising chuckle, barely suppressing his sarcasm.
'Damn this lightning! Had to ruin my grand entrance,' Valerius fumed internally, as he caught Orin's sarcastic thoughts.
Despite his irritation at Orin's inner jab, Valerius was very impressed by the boy's calm. After observing him for a long moment without blinking, he finally asked. "Aren't you scared?"
Orin forced himself to shake his head, meeting the gaze without any fear.
Valerius raised an eyebrow, a hint of genuine curiosity touching his features. "Why?"
Orin shrugged, letting his posture sag slightly, selling the act of resignation. "When I walked into the forest, I knew that I might die. Maybe I'm already dead, and this is hell." He paused, looking around the apocalyptic scene. "Or maybe it's all a dream." He met Valerius' gaze again, trying to make his eyes seem empty. "And even if this is all reality, why should I be scared? The worst that can happen is death."
Uncle Moe, who was standing motionless nearby, finally looked at Orin in a new light. It was really a big deal to impress Uncle Moe. A flicker of genuine admiration crossed his stoic face. Even Valerius' cruel smile softened, a glint of respect in his eyes.
'Master, this brat is good. He's scared but still trying to fool us.' Uncle Moe sent a soul transmission to Valerius.
'Yep, I never thought I'd encounter an interesting lamb in this wasteland,' Valerius replied through soul transmission, making it impossible for Orin to hear their conversation.
"I'm very impressed by your will," Valerius said aloud, his voice losing some of its mocking edge. "But you're wrong on one point. Death isn't the worst. Dying isn't even in the top ten of the worst events. Still, I like your way of thinking."
Orin's fake expressions dropped, and grief surged through him. "Yeah, I guess I know some of those," the words slipped out, raw and honest. The flash of Orin's past was noticed by both of the experts.
Valerius' eyes gleamed as he kept reading Orin's mind. "What if I help you take your revenge?"
Hope surged through Orin. He straightened himself, forgetting his fake calm. "Will you really help me?" The words were barely a whisper, thick with desperate longing. But then his mind kicked in. "How do you know about what I was thinkin…?" Orin spat. But Valerius cut him off before he could finish.
"Yes," Valerius replied, ignoring his last question. "I will help you take your revenge. But what will I get in return?" Orin's mind raced. A bomb of memories exploded in his head.
All the pain and suffering he had suppressed for nearly a month began flashing in front of him. He recalled his parents' death, his house being demolished, and the media tarnishing their reputation. Police faked the investigation. The corrupt police and sell-out media blamed him for these deaths. They made him look like a murderer of his family in front of the world. 'I can't die without taking my revenge.' He clenched his fist.
While Orin was undergoing an emotional ride, Valerius and Uncle Moe were busy reading his thoughts. They exchanged glances.
'Uncle, why does this Orin seem so much like the younger me?' Valerius sent a soul transmission to Uncle Moe with a chuckle.
'But his wounds are fresh,' Uncle Moe sent back.
'So are ours, Uncle…'
"Kiddo," Valerius commented aloud, "the more you think about it, the more it will hurt. Also, try to control your weak brain; it's spilling all your thoughts."
Orin looked at the figure in front of him. The figure was similar to his age, but he could challenge nature, fight the thunder, and read people's minds. Maybe… just maybe, he could really help him get his revenge.
With a determination that surprised even himself, Orin spoke. "If you help me take my revenge, I will do anything you want me to do."
Valerius raised his eyebrows. "Anything? What if I want you to die?"
Orin, with determined eyes and a clenched fist, nodded his head.
Valerius' smile widened. "Well, in case you die, rest assured that I will kill every face that popped up in your mind. And I promise you that they will die brutally. Get ready, I really hope that you don't die." He then pointed a finger at Orin.
"Also, my name is Valerius Asterion. If you survive this, you will walk beside me." A ray of intense light, shimmering with unimaginable energy, shot from his fingertip. It struck Orin's chest with an overwhelming force that entered his heart. He felt dizzy but didn't feel the pain he was expecting. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the burnt ground.
Uncle Moe, who was standing motionless until now, finally broke his composure. His stoic face twisted with horror as he looked at Orin's fallen form, then his gaze snapped towards Valerius.
"Why did you use the Orb? It was the last one we had," Uncle Moe said, his voice strained, raw.
"I know," Valerius replied. "And the most powerful one."
"Don't tell me..." Uncle Moe's eyes widened, shock paramount on his face.
"Yesss," Valerius hissed, his grin was chilling. "It's the Soul Tempering Orb."
"He's dead for sure," Uncle Moe whispered, looking down at Orin with despair.
"Maybe not," Valerius chuckled with anticipation gleaming in his eyes.