Chapter 15:Old Man Anthony
Isura woke us up at sunrise and told us about the different tunnels that lead to different places. We took the meadow route to go look for some herbs and plants.
As Emma and I were walking,we spotted an old man fishing. He was wearing dark green clothes with a hunched back and some weed in his mouth.The old man had a wooden fishing rod in his hand,looking down at the flowing river below him.
"Hello?"Emma approached him slowly. The old man tilted his head to the left,revealing his pitch black eye bags.
"Hey."He sounded grumpy,probably didn't talk much.
"What's your name?"
"Anthony,yours?"
"Emma,the person beside me is Irai."
"Interesting."
"So…do you know where we can find edible herbs?Irai and I are making a stew for some serpents."Anthony pointed towards the woods on the other side of the river.
"It's dark in there,but it will have everything you need."
"Thanks."The two of us pounced off the ground to get to the other side. We trotted through the dark woods,not knowing what was lurking in the dark.The dark dirty grass coated the floor with filth.Crows hovered over the trees,carrying evil and suffering within their souls.
The sticky mud made our shoes wet,smelling revolting. This was way worse compared to the forest I lived in recently.
Although the dark atmosphere intimidated Emma and I,the fruits and herbs surprisingly didn't rot,yet.There were no bugs in our sight so we picked them out carefully,placing them in the basket made out of straws.
There were all kinds of herbs.Shiso,wasabi,myoga and mitsuba were the main ingredients that we needed for the stew.But since we had more time,we picked up some more.
All types of berries,some oranges and mangos.All good for your health.The basket was looking way more colourful than it was previously. Its scent,perfect.Majestic even. The delightful smell roamed through the forest,thickening its air. I inhaled and exhaled. In and out.I felt calmer. It felt like I was living in the peaceful land of Edo.
Why did we have to fight?There's so much peace around the world but it's not perfect.That's why we have Edo.I wouldn't have had to make that wish of there being a perfect world if we lived in harmony.I mean,think about it. If every living organism worked together to make the world perfect,there would be no murders,no robbers,no terrorists,no liars,no hate,no evil,no discrimination. No suffering.All the other planets in our solar system seem to be getting on fine without other species interfering. Maybe humans shouldn't co-exist with other creatures.
Or maybe other creatures shouldn't live with other creatures.Like Dragons shouldn't live in a world with Serpents. Or Cursed Crows shouldn't live with Navajo.I don't know anymore. It's so confusing.This world,this life.And it's not my overthinking. Something is making me think this.A presence,an evil presence is within my reach.I can't decode it though.I just feel,this strong aura,flowing through my body.This entity is fusing with my right now. It's in me,TALKING TO ME!
"Chromo visualling."I said quietly.
"Huh?"Emma turned to me,
"Why are you using manipulation?We aren't fighting anything and it will drain your energy."
"I feel a monster within me,a Navajo."Emma gasped.She turned on chromo visualling to and saw a static glitchy aura.
"What the hell?This isn't a normal aura.In Fact it's not normal at all."
"Should we tell Anthony?"
"Why?"
"He looks like he holds a bunch of wisdom."
"Fine,leave the basket here."After placing it on the floor,Emma and I walked out of the forest and jumped across the river again.
"Where's your basket full of herbs and fruit?"Anthony chuckled with a bucket full of slippery fish.
"In the woods,but we need to ask you something."
"Sure,what is it?"
"Do you have ability manipulation?"
"A little bit, yes."
"I need you to look into Irai and tell me what's wrong because we think there's a monster inside of him."
"A monster?Let me take a closer look."Anthony stood up from his chair and walked over towards me. He placed his hand onto my chest and looked at the floor with widened eyes.
"I haven't felt an aura as strong as this…"
He was panicking,placing his hands on top of his head."
"Am I going to die?"I started to raise my tone,not to Anthony but because I was in fear.
"No but…it's dangerous."
"What do we do?"Anthony paused for a moment.
"Nothing.The spirit will leave whenever it likes,but for now we shall hope for the best-"
"HOPE FOR THE BEST?We have a potential threat to Irai and-"
"I'm sorry,I'm not sure what to do because there really isn't any information about taking a spirit out of somebody.Unless…"
"Unless what?"
"You have an ancient book,something like Secrets Of The World."
"Darn it!We don't have it anymore…"
"Anymore?"
"I had…we had it but not anymore."
"Why not?"I looked at Emma and she looked at me with a complex look on her face,signaling how we could explain it to Anthony.
"It's a long story."
"Why don't you pick up some more herbs,you could share some with my and I could make some food using the herbs and fish."
"Uh,sure."I said.Emma went back into the forest and picked up some herbs while I prepared a fire with Anthony.After a span of 10 minutes,we had everything ready to eat.Emma and I took turns explaining EVERYTHING that happened from the moment we placed a bounty on that filthy head.
"That is…quite the story you got there.Not sure if I can process all of that…"
"It's fine if you don't want to believe us but it's true."Anthony handed out two plates to us,both filled with simmered juicy fish and a thick steamy broth.
"Amazing."I gasped in enlightenment.
"Agreed."Emma replied.
"Why don't I tell you a story of mine,that was also true?"
"Why not?"Anthony grabbed a rusty bucket and put out the fire with water,placing his hands on his laps and sitting in a chair.
"Well,it occurred about six months ago now. Me and my wife Arisu were fishing happily together when someone ambushed us and killed her.I had to watch her die in my bloody arms. It was horrible.Her grave is next to my cabin but I still don't know why that assassin killed my wife."
Emma began shaking her leg and started to cough a little bit.
"You alright Emma?"I asked,tilting my head.
"Yeah I'm fine,just the cold weather getting to me."The weather was actually getting cold. It began to get windy and cloudy. We were now entering autumn and leaving summer behind.
"I think we should get going now."Emma stood up from her seat and brushed off some dust.She picked up the basket and walked off slowly towards the tunnel we first entered.
"You coming,Irai?"I sighed and stood up from the hazel log.
"Anthony. If I…when I find Edo,I'll take you there aswell.You seem like a nice person."
"Thank you Irai."Anthony smiled delightfully as I walked along the pathway with Emma. We've spent about an hour in this meadow biome and I didn't want to leave Anthony behind.But if I had brought him into this mess,especially when he's an old fragile man,things would turn out bad.
We got back into the serpent kingdom and walked towards Isura,giving her the herbs and lush fruits freshly picked from that disgusting forest.
Just as Isura was about to touch the basket,she took two steps back in shock.Her legs shaking,I could feel her heart vibrating from three feet away.
"Irai,you have a monster inside of you. Another worldly being.Not navajo nor demon sorcerer.I can't quite describe this glitchy,menacing aura but it's not normal…WE NEED A DOCTOR!"Isura began panicking,murmurs along the serpents began to spread.
"Isura!Please,wait!"I shouted.But she had her face turned back from me.I could see a fragment of water running down her face.She was crying,not because she was sad but in fear.Emma trying running after me but a few guards stopped her.When I tried looking at Isura one last time,she whispered something.
"It's for your own good, Irai."Fear and agony built up around my whole body.I fainted,on the spot and the last thing I heard was serpents shouting for help…