43 The first battle 3 (1/2)
Frank stared in horror at the wide hole, as his snowmobile inched closer and closer towards it.
\”Is this the end!\”
Just as his snowmobile reached the edge of the wide canyon and Frank was staring right into its seemingly endless depths. The bike, that was about to fall right off the edge, stopped.
Suddenly all its momentum disappeared.
The bike halted.
Frank's eyes widened as he looked around him. On the back of the bike he saw a black bird, with red eyes, sitting on the boot.
\”Did it stop the bike? … no that's ridiculous. There's no way a bird could do that.\” Frank thought as he scampered off, leaping to safety.
The moment he jumped off, the snowmobile seemed to regain all its lost momentum and suddenly sped off the edge of the cliff and straight into the depths of that large hole.
As Frank watched the bike crash, exploding at the bottom, he saw the black bird flap its wings and fly away into the distance.
\”What the hell!?\”
…..
On top of a building, nearby the scene where the police officers had crashed their snowmobiles, a black raven landed. It transformed into a little girl with sickly pale white skin, wearing a red dress, and with her black hair tied up in two pigtails.
It was Little Red, the Elder of the Eastern Association of Witches.
\”Well that was nice of you to save that officers life.\” Came a playful voice from behind her, \”I didn't think you were the type to help strangers Little Red.\”
Little Red rolled her eyes at the tall man.
He had amber orange eyes like a summer sunset, his hair was white and he wore a top hat. He would have been perfectly handsome if it weren't for how skinny he was, like a bag of bones.
He was Vincent Clarity, Head of the Clarity clan, one of the largest mage-cultivator clans across the Earth.
\”Are you a fool Vincent, I'm sure you're not. That mortal I just saved is an acquaintance of Gatekeeper Lu. I'm sure he noticed me saving that man's life, now there is good karma between us. I'm sure he'll be grateful for my actions and return the favour.\” Little Red said a bit smugly, \”hmmm not many can say a Gatekeeper owes them a favour hehehehe.\”
\”Oh that is so obvious of you Little Red, planting seeds of good karma for favours with the Gatekeeper. But you forget Little Red, that a Gatekeeper is a Gatekeeper. Us lowly practitioners can only bow before him, and only introduce ourselves quickly. We can only bestow him with gifts and hope somehow one day we'll reap some benefits. Both you and I are stuck at the Immortal stage, else we would have left this Realm long ago, we are nothing in the eyes of an all powerful Gatekeeper. I doubt your little seeding of good karma will take you far Little Red.\” Vincent said with a self pitying smile.
And I spoke to that new Gatekeeper before the Welcoming, to me he seemed very fresh, and he had no darkness in his heart. So I believe saving his little friend will take me very far.\”
Vincent looked at the determined look on Little Red's face and smiled faintly, \”I am glad to see that time hasn't changed you, you are still as fiery as ever.\”
Little Red smiled at Vincent, \”Nothing can douse the flames of my ambitions. I aspire to be a grand witch at the God stage, if I am disheartened whilst I am only at the Immortal stage then I do not have the courage or the right to dream of the God Stage.\”
Vincent nodded at her, \”You are right, then I hope I live long enough to see you achieve your dreams.\” He said softly as he gazed at the huge beams of light in the distance. The earth shook and loud roars could be heard.
Vincent's gaze hardened, \”I wonder what's going on over there?\”
\”Who knows\”, Little Red shrugged, \”We aren't at the power level to interfere and the Gatekeeper is involved we probably aren't allowed to get close.\”
Vincent sighed, \”You're right.\”
He watched as a building near Zhongshan Park collapsed, \”I hope your Mages are at work\” he said.
\”Of course\” Little Red laughed, \”My witches and warlocks have already got the government ordering people to stay inside and we've began bewitching the surroundings. Soon enough none of the citizens will be able to see this battle nor feel the shaking of the Earth.
Also Song Ou has already got all the Eastern cultivators sealing the area. Hopefully we'll contain the shaking and prevent massive tragedies.
News stations have already reported that the large lightning was a mirage of light caused by the extreme weather. Don't worry Vincent, everything is under control.\”
Vincent stared at the bright lights as he watched the battle going on in the distance.
\”Good. In our Realm we protect our mortals and keep the knowledge of the supernatural a secret so as to maintain a healthy balance.
If you have greater power than others it should be used responsibly to protect those that are weaker.
We don't have the power to participate in whatever great battle is going on, but we can do this much.\”
Little Red laughed, \”I can see you're as righteous as ever Vincent, sadly most practitioners don't think the way you do. Most only care about mortals and keep mortals ignorant so that they can use them. And they would be inconvenienced by mortal attention. Especially considering that in our Realm, we Practitioners are outnumbered by Mortals. Among practitioners most have a god-complex when it comes to mortals, you're super rare Vincent.\”
\”I am aware.\” Vincent replied briskly as he turned and disappeared.
Little Red laughed and pouted a bit, \”Did I anger him, he left without saying goodbye hehehe\” she said as she turned back into a black Sea Eagle and flew away.
___________________________
XICHENG- ZHAO DETONG'S APARTMENT
The shaking stopped. After a few minutes of waiting; Tanaka, Bei Lao, Fei Bing Bing and Zhao Detong crawled out from under the kitchen counter.
\”It seems to have stopped.\” Tanaka sighed in relief.
Bei Lao looked out the window and saw the clear blue sky, \”It looks like the sky has gone back to normal too, but what was that?\” he muttered.
Zhao Detong surveyed the disastrous scene in the kitchen, he couldn't imagine what the rest of the apartment looked like. \”It's a good thing I've got insurance on this place, or else it would cost a lot to replace and repair all of this.\” He sighed.
As Zhao Detong began picking things off the ground and went to find a brush to sweep up all the shattered glasses and plates, Fei Bing Bing switched on the kitchen Television.
\”Breaking news!!!
An earthquake with the magnitude of 6.7 has hit the city of Beijing, especially around the Tiananmen area. Many buildings have collapsed and one tremor created a large crack in the ground, similar to a canyon, around Zhongshan Park.
For the moment the authorities are on red alert and are doing everything they can to control this emergency situation.
The Government has ordered that everyone should stay inside and do not risk venturing outside, until it is certain the Earthquake has completely stopped.
At the moment there have been many reports of injuries and some have been reported dead, for the moment the number of casualties have yet to be determined.\”
When Tanaka heard the magnitude of the Earthquake he shook a little. 6.7 could nearly be classified as a major or great earthquake. And Zhao Detong's apartment in Xicheng wasn't too far from the Tiananmen area.
If this building had been a little less sturdy than they might have really gotten hurt.
Tanaka shook as he realised how lucky they were to be alive.
Bei Lao rubbed Tanaka's shoulders as he noticed him shaking like a leaf.
\”For further news, many noticed bizarre weather and noises leading up to the earthquake.
The noises and rumblings heard prior to the earthquake have been identified as early tremors.
The bizarre weather, where the sky went black and the strange light was seen in the sky has been determined as a mirage. Due to the extreme cold weather conditions and the sudden rise in temperatures today, a mirage of light and darkness momentarily appeared. This is an extreme and rare case, hardly ever seen before.\”
Bei Lao was surprised, \”A mirage? Was that what it was?\” Bei Lao had travelled to the North Pole when he was younger, he'd seen a mirage, the aurora borealis, before.