Cries and shouts welcomed Kai when he reached the junction leading to the village. Ashes filled the air so much he covered his mouth and nose with the scarf.
After taking several steps, the only thing he saw were torn parts that seemed to be for someone.
Unaware of what he was walking in, his boots got coated with thick liquid that had pooled under a burning wooden structure.
"Oh!" Kai squeezed his face realizing it was blood he had stepped into. Moving past the burning building, he saw a girl of his age being dragged by something that looked half-humanoid and half-monster.
Something inside Kai made him rush toward the creature, slammed it down with his small fist, and pulled the girl from the creature's grip. But when the creature turned it bowed to Kai before running off in the bush.
When the screams died down, people erupted from places no human could hide. As they gathered, counting themselves, they saw two bright lights moving toward them from a distance.
…
"Beast! Leave the child." They surged insults at Kai when he finally moved closer to them holding the small girl's hands.
He became confused when he turned and saw no one except him and the girl. Stones got thrown at him when he tried moving closer to them. But still he moved. And when he saw his reflection in a mirror hanging freely outside a burnt building he stopped and stared at it.
Smile tore from his lips. He clenched his fist and moved toward them. When he reached them, he smiled at the girl and watch her move to her parents. Though she her attar was slightly torn, but her parent just hugged her and moved her away from everyone.
They began moving one after another, family after family, until he was the only one standing there.
Since it was almost four o'clock in the morning, Kai, sat down on a rock. He pulled out the copper coins he had gained after selling the house and tossed it in the air, waiting for the everyday caravan to appear.
…
Whistles tore through the sky as the morning sun shun brighter. Three wooden carts stopped just few meters away from Kai and began picking men. He stood up and walked toward it, placing the coins back in the bag.
Several men were loading sacks of diamond until two of the carts were filled to the top. The last cart was a bit bigger, covered with thick tarpaulin.
The bag, now a bit heavier bumped against his hip as he walked. Eyes followed him as he neared the men moving toward the last cart.
"I want to go to the city." Kai said, showing a still face.
He placed his hand in the bag, pulled out half of the coins he tossed earlier and stretched his hand toward the man guarding the men who were already climbing the cart.
All the men, both in the cart and outside the cart looked at him with strange expressions. Then, the guard at the driver's side of the cart got down and approached Kai. He frowned, looking at the child. But still, he extended his hand, taking the coper coins Kai held in his hands.
"Alright. Fifteen coper coins? Add extra fifteen for us to be able to feed you on the way." He said, stretching his hand.
When Kai placed his hand in the bag, he could only pull out eight coins. Yet still, he handed it to the man.
"Mm… well, this will get you half a loaf of bread. Hop in." the man said and turned to where he was.
The twenty-three copper coins were the only thing Kai had, but he didn't care, all he needed now was to reach the city of Bion.
The guard who stood there guiding the men grabbed Kai on the shoulder, raised him, and placed him in the cart. Ten people beside him squeezed themselves onto the wooden benches of the caravan.
Of the ten, nine were adult men, their faces dirty after carrying sacks of diamonds to the other cats. The last among the ten was a little girl about Kai's age. She looked at him with curiosity and fear.
Kai looked at her, and she hid behind the arm of a man with eye covered. "Don't be afraid, he said a little girl last night. If he's a monster, he wouldn't survive a day on the journey." The man said, stroking the girl's hair.
She had heard stories that there was a cursed boy in the village who made his father vanished even while he was in his mother's belly and if she were seen by him, she would also vanish from the face of the earth.
Kai found it funny when he sensed that she was afraid of him. after all these years, he had gotten used to it. The girl wasn't the only one who seemed to be afraid, three of the men sitting close to the girl's father also shivered when they saw Kai's eyes.
Soon, the caravan departed.
…
Three days passed quickly. Kai stayed quiet the whole time, sitting at the back where he could see outside.
It was an endless dusty path, nothing else around. The village disappeared from his sight quickly. Apart from the variety of fruits the village had on all trees, he really wondered why anyone would opt to live there.
He smiled whenever he saw different lights hovering around everyone in the cart, including the driver himself and felt their vibrations as well.
Then, he overhead the little girl talking with her father in front of him.
"Dad, what is it like in the city?"
The man touched her hair, messing it up.
"Many times bigger and better than Gilgal Village. Surrounded by tall walls, stone streets… and lots of people."
"Really, really? People like me live there also?" The girl asked excitedly.
"Yes, yes. Many of the people there are of the same age as you. Even you will see some of grandpa's age there." The man smiled tingling her.
"Hmm… then why don't we live there?" The girl's expression changed.
"… If we could. One day you'll understand." The man sighed.
Kai watched silently.
As more days passed, the scenery began to change. The endless dusty path thinned out. Little by little, patches of obsidian earth appeared. But the biggest change, the sparse blue trees along the path, gave way to a serene forest.
The caravan followed a path marked by old signs nailed to thick and long trees.
Kai observed. Those trees were beautiful, some of their leaf's blueish others yellowish. For the first time, he saw trees that weren't just green.
With stops at night and sometimes slowing down for rest, the journey took almost four weeks.
'I've been absorbing these strange shadows and seeing these glow all this time. But it seems the limit of controlling the shadows is much higher now. I don't think I'll reach the limit anytime soon.'
'But I need to find out what these things are. I feel they're not simple and normal.' Kai thought before the caravan suddenly slowed down.
"I've spotted the walls of the city. Be ready to get down and work quickly." The driver said, whipping the horses to go faster.
After two hours, the carts finally stopped. Kai got down with the other eight men while the little girl stayed in the cart.
"You stay here, unfortunately, I can't take you inside the city. Don't leave the cart, and if anything happens, call on the soldiers." The girl's father said, kissing her head and lips before getting down with the others.
The men looked at Kai with an extreme strange look.
'What is he doing? Does he want to enter the city? Doesn't he know?' The girl's father thought as he looked at the child standing beside him.
Kai knew they were all talking about him in their head with the change of their vibration he was felling underneath his skin. he ignored them and focused on the caravan owner approaching the two soldiers at the city's gate.
He couldn't hear what they said, but he could clearly see their lips moving and understanding their conversation exactly.
"Only diamond carriers enter. Leave everything at the warehouse, and your payment will be here by nightfall."
Kai, understanding and seeing the caravan owner returning, quickly went to one of the diamond carts.
Without hesitation, he climbed the cart, pulled one of the sacks he thought to be less heavy and dropped it on the ground. He got down from the cart, and stood beside the sack. He shook his head and laughed when he realized he had taken the bigger one instead.
Before the others could react, the men's eyes widened, followed by a drop of their jaws. They all wanted to say something, but Kai was already walking toward the entrance.
They knew they couldn't delay, so they just followed suit.
The guard, talking to each other looked at Kai as if he were a freak, but it wasn't their business, so they let him pass.
As soon as he entered the city, his eyes great joy surged in him as his eyes widened.
The smell here was different. Soot, roasted, meat, fried fish, and many things that felt new to him. the gray and black stone walls surrounded hundreds – maybe thousands – of buildings with colorful roofs. The sounds of voices, blacksmiths hammering, and vehicles moving were loud.
They walked down the main street for just seven minutes before entering a curve alley.
In the seven minutes, people hurried past them, some looking at the group with contempt while others pretending they didn't even exist.
In the alley, they reached a large warehouse guarded by three soldiers with spears, swords and sickle, wearing the same uniform as the soldiers at the gate.
The one with the spear opened the door to the warehouse, letting Kai and the others place the sacks of diamond inside and returned for more.
After going on the fifth load, Kai opened his mouth for the first time since he boarded the cart.
"Why are they treating us like this?" Kai asked the little girl's father.
"Oh, I thought you were mute all along. So you can talk. If you're talking about the soldiers and the city people… it's because we're prohibited to enter here…" the man replied calmly at first, but ended with sadness.
"Gilgal Village was founded by refugees, people who were expelled from the city of Bion to die or get torn apart alive by monsters."
"Refugees?"
"Yes, maybe due to theft, murder. Nobody knows the actual cause. Over thousand years ago, families were sent to die in the forbidden land."
"but luckily, we found a place where carnivorous animals didn't live. That's why we're still alive today. Also, because we found a diamond mine, now the city people tolerate trading with us." The man sighed as his words ended.
Kai frowned as he listened. 'Forbidden land? Why?'
Kai became intrigued, yet felt strange. So everyone in the village was actually sentenced to death. Just that their time wasn't up for them to die.
'No, I don't have to worry about them; they can fend for themselves. The only thing I need to do now is to survive and become stronger. They never cared, so why should I care?' Kai decided firmly in his mind as he turned toward the soldiers.
He saw fading ash glow around both soldiers. And based on the vibration he was receiving from their end, he knew they were extremely bored.
Without hesitation, Kai ran, pushing his way through the crowded walkway. His small body disappeared among the narrow paths of the city, hiding until nightfall. His clothes – though clean – showed he wasn't from the city, so he had the urge to change.
But mostly, he had to stay in the city to find a place to stay, understand more about what really made Gilgal Village what it is now, and especially about his eyes and the shadows he'd been seeing.
He walked, sliding himself around the walls until he finally stepped into the open four-way street. Touches lit above tall buildings that were of the same size of the old trees at his village, which he'd no idea of what they were.
Though lights were there, yet it was hard to spot his little form. He walked, swinging his hands in the air until he saw a thick black wall positioned inside the city.
It was tall, almost equal with the size of the buildings that had torches on. As he moved closer to the wall, Kai saw a symbol and knew what it was meant for. Silver swords crossed together. He remembered seeing that same symbol on the soldier's clothes. So he guessed that's where they lived.
After walking alongside the wall, tracing the white marks on the ground, he finally found the entrance.
Four soldiers armed with spears and swords stood next to large torches, looking bored. One was yawning, one was walking around kicking stones from the ground, while the other two talked to each other.
Kai stopped walking and focused his eyes on the mouths of the two soldiers talking.
"This year's recruitment will start early today, isn't it? They say we need more men after the monster outbreak."
"Yes, all fifteen-year-olds from different cities and villages will be tested. I don't know how many will pass and how many will not live with torn limbs. Let's hope we get some to replace us." The other said.
'Recruitment?' Kai thought. He just began smiling without having any idea what they really meant.