16 BREAKING the MYTH (1/2)

”Hey, wake up!”

A splash of cold water startled Yosh in his deep dreams, finding himself stuck in a dimly lit room. He's tied up sitting on a wooden stool in front of an outline of a kid his age - or that's what he thought figuring his physique. The pain at the back of his head gradually returned radiating around his skull leaving him to take deep breaths, making him realize what happened to him at the fields. He smelled the fresh rich soil with a little hint of mold giving him the impression that he is, indeed, underground. The room isn't properly ventilated, but the air is uniquely conditioned to be colder than their nights at the mountains. Luckily, he has his fur to keep him warm and that's a big plus on his side. He figured that the time is a couple of hours before sunrise based on his rumbling stomach. He usually treats himself to a light midnight snack to keep his angry stomach at bay in the mornings but this time, missing both dinner and the snack, the growling monster inside him cannot be blamed for making noise.

”Hey,” he whispered weak to the shadow eating a juicy crunchy fruit, ”Can I have a bite from that? I'm starving.”

”How foolish of you to ask puny mortal!” the outline shouted while chomping his sweet-smelling fruit loudly, ”You are my prisoner! Why would I give you my breakfast?!”

”What did I do wrong?” he complained squirming to get off from his entanglement. ”Wait! Are you one of those petty criminals they call Pusakal or whatever? And tying me up? Really? Is this really necessary?”

”All will be revealed in due time,” he said with his unrealistic sinister laugh, ”And stop squirming! You'll loosen the rope.”

”Isn't that right?” he asked surprised, ”Yeah, that's not what I'm doing! I'm just making myself comfortable! Are you that mental? Of course, I'm trying to get free from these ropes! That's what people do when they're tied up.”

”Shhh, just shut up!”

”So, kidnapping me and tying me up isn't enough? You need to starve me too? And you're telling me to shut up!? What kind of sick dim-witted…”

”Shut up!”

”Where's Luna!” he shouted immediately remembering what happened in the fields.

”Who's Luna?”

”LUNA!!!!!!!!” he shouted on top of his lungs calling his friend.

”Hey! Hey!” the boy shouted too trying to stop him, ”Would you be quiet!!!”

”Tell me where Luna is, or I swear to...”

”Relax,” he interrupted, ”If that's your cat, she's been sleeping soundly somewhere here. She's well taken care of, so shut up!”

”And I'm supposed to listen to you? A shady character and, honestly, practically dimwitted?”

”Hey! Don't insult me you pathetic twerp!”

”Where's Luna!?”

”You're not too sharp yourself!” he said proudly finding his witty retort. ”Why would I tell you? You're my prisoner, or did you forget?!”

”Well duh! How would I know where she is if I won't ask you, you bin head! What am I? A mind-reader?”

The silhouette shoved his fruit to his mouth trying to shush him which he did, eating the fruit hurriedly.

”Wow,” Yosh exclaimed, ”Dhi 's duh behsh”

”Huh?”

Yosh chewed and swallowed for a few seconds then he continued. ”I said this is the best fruit I've tasted so far. Better than the Atis that's in season.”

”Oh, is that it?” he stood up smiling as the lights all glowed little by little, revealing him to a weird room with tree roots as its walls and floors. A noise of a loud horn echoed in the room as though a signal has been given. ”Great! Then I think that'll serve as your last meal?”

The big doors behind the unusually pale man in front of him began to open revealing a bright yellow warm light from beyond. A lot of people are cheering though he did not know why. The young man with curiously long pointy ears came behind him and freed him cutting the ropes with his dagger. He pulled him up to stand and smiled.

”This is your time to shine,” he whispered with his devilish look.

”What?” Yosh shouted, ”I can't go there!”

”No need to beg for mercy, the die has been cast!”

”But I don't have any skills,” he pleaded, ”what should I perform? I surely can't sing. You can't make me sing!”

The pale man gave his frustrated confused look and pushed him through the door. He then grabbed his arm and pulled him to the center of what seems to be an arena underground. It is a long slow drag from his room to the center, but he managed to stand up being pulled. The arena is filled with men and women looking like his captor though they are whiter than him. Unhealthily white even making the mysterious boy unique.

The people that are surrounding the arena are so pale, it is curious to know what kind of sickness they are going through - especially the old ones, he thought chuckling. They all have a runic tattoo marking looking like a hex spell on their forehead, but the frustrated boy that has been dragging him doesn't have any. That's what's keeping him apart from them too aside from his complexion. They share the same pointy ears so Yosh knows they are related somehow, though he can't still figure it out.

He would've dwelled thinking that idea further, but the angry shouting crowd is so deafening, he can't even hear himself think so he just looked around, still confused. Is he going to perform in front of the crowd, he thought, or is he going to recite a poem? His popularity as a handsome young prince still takes precedence in his mind.

The angry young man raised his hands and the crowd came to a still, now quiet but looking angrier.

”People of the Bountiful Earth! Listen! I, Iyom the son of Kyrin, have brought to you, yet again, a deceitful mortal who has been wandering around taunting us in our homeland. Insulting us! Trying to mock our way of life as if what they did to us a thousand years ago isn't enough!”

Yosh's eyebrows furrowed clueless in Iyom's speech now shocked. Based on his angry tone he thinks he might know where this is leading to. He just can't seem to interrupt him with all the glaring eyes directed at him.

”This mortal here,” he continued, ”is a prince of Nagozul! He had specially crafted arrows enchanted with earth specifically to fatally wound one of our own! Fjollem Ninefe!”

The crowd's boos and rants grew louder than before. Yosh remembered a girl that he held before he blacked out.

”Hey!” Yosh shouted interrupting him in his speech. ”I didn't hurt her! I found her wounded! I swear!”

”Oh please! Spare me your treacherous lies! The least you can do is take responsibility for your actions!”

Yosh stopped trying. He looked through Iyom's small squinted cold eyes and saw his disgust towards him. He is not the same kid in the room he's with anymore. He backed a few steps away frightened, trying to convince himself that he's not a bad person. He knew he'd done nothing wrong. He tried to remember everything that happened the day before regarding the accusations but found nothing of the sort. All he did was to shoot arrows at the tree and that's hardly an offense to be punished by that wide disappointed eyes he's been seeing all around him, the same as the eyes that his father gave him at the northern encampment. He just hit the tree. If that's the crime, then he's guilty of that.

He stopped his thinking and found an idea suddenly floating among all of the other things occupying his mind. Karus has been going around with his loony idea about the Forest of Kyrin, so he internalized and tried to remember what crazy ideas his brother spouts during their usual banters. He remembered that Iyom said that he is the son of Kyrin and Kyrin is an Elf - or that's what he knows as suggested by historical myths and legends. If that is so, then that must prove that they are Elves and that literally signifies that the Elves are true, he noted shocked and surprised. Normally this will never enter his mind but due to any lack of other explanations, this absurd idea seems to fit perfectly.

Every Elf has their own life tree connected to their soul. That could mean that he could have hurt her by hurting her life tree. Karus has gone telling him over and over that one can kill an Elf by hitting it for a couple of times with an earth-enchanted arrow. He said that whatever happens to their tree happens to them and if their tree turns up to be wounded and poisoned, they will have the same thing too. Normally four or five is enough to kill an elf, he thought quoting Karus. This idea suggests that he literally could've killed this Ninefe if he took another shot and it is a miracle that she still lives.

It's a rare coincidence that he asked Dal'Gur for a personalized set of elemental arrows enchanted with earth which he then brought with him as he wandered off to the northern outskirts of Nagozul only to find a tree to train with his archery that he didn't know belongs to the Elves which are unfortunately vulnerable to the same arrows that he has with him. A twisted series of events carefully woven to give an appalling sense of amusement for fate. This is what Yosh feels right now, realizing the accusations against him. It's as if the universe is out to get him too. It's not his fault this happened, he justified in his mind. He asked for Earth-enchanted Arrows because of the fact that he is an Earth Molder. He doesn't even believe in Elves before this. So why is this his fault?

”Isn't this enough,” Iyom shouted in his speech which snapped Yosh in his state of contemplation, ”No my brethren! This is NOT enough FOR THEM! Unless we crawl begging? Unless our generation cease to exist? Unless they scorch our homes like what they did to the immortals and claim our lands as theirs? No! They will not stop! This has got to end! Countless brothers have been murdered year after year! Shall we stand idly by again? No! This has got to stop this year! This year we will give them a message!”

The roaring cheers of the crowd engulfed the arena which frightened Yosh a little bit. He knows they want retribution and he know that the tension is building up in the arena.

”We, unlike them, are not savages!” he continued shouting but this time calm and smiling, ”We are willing to give this mortal Nagozulian prince a chance to redeem his unworthy life.”

Yosh now feels the earth moving. Something big is crawling deep inside and he fears that he knows what Iyom is suggesting.

”He has to fight the immortal Ra'Ark to the death!”

Far from Yosh, a hole emerged from the ground creating cracks along the way. A jet of thick black fumes came rushing out from the earth hissing. Then a huge beast emerged! It is a plump hairy gigantic yellow worm scaling about forty feet long, fifteen feet wide. This worm is the Legendary Worm of Burrows, one of the immortals! It has huge eyes on both sides and has a mouth with hundreds of teeth inside and out. His skin on his back has huge volcano-like mumps that continuously oozes out some sort of smoking dark green liquid - possibly acid by the way it hisses at contact to the ground. He has heard about this Ra'Ark from his brother Kayzar's ramblings and he knows that he isn't just any immortal, he's the immortal belonging to the first ten beasts that was born and has roamed their world that Bathala created. He's one of the oldest and most terrifying monsters that Karus tends to frighten him when he was little. Walking barefoot on the ground would not anger this humongous beast, hurting Elves does, Yosh noted remembering Karus's teasing whenever he plays around in the mud without shoes.

Normally, a person seeing this gruesome Beast would be rattled for its disturbing appearance but Yosh, being a nature-loving hunter that he is, did not experience any trembling at his presence, instead he felt awe and appreciation. But even with this attitude, this heartwarming happiness he's feeling is now slowly striding to the other side of the road entering the borders of fear. Calculating all the risks involved, fighting this monstrosity is really an impossible act of stupidity.

”Let the Rite of Sap'Khan begin!” And with this shout he vanished disappearing in the center field giving the two of them to look into each other's eyes to read each other's souls.

”Hmm?” the Ra'Ark mumbled first breaking the silence after a few seconds of gazing. ”You have served me a mortal child, Hmm? Not usually my common meal in this challenge. ”He has a voice of an old man, tired, lethargic and slow but still frightening.

Yosh looked rather surprised seeing the beast talk. It's the first time for him to see an immortal beast and was surprised to see him talk based on his features. This just served him a lesson to not over analyze a beast and his physical appearance.

”Hmm, I don't usually go with mortals,” he continued, ”You have a taste that's hard to flush down, hmm. Even if I am to gulp down a lake of bog, I'd still taste your putrid smell and that horrid aftertaste, hmm, no insult intended.”

”W-Well, then don't eat me?” asked Yosh backing ever so slowly.

”Hmmm, truly, I don't have to eat you but in this holy challenge I must devour your heart and since I don't have any arms like the other beasts, I believe I do not have much choice but to eat you whole. Hmm, and besides, I can't back down now. As much as I loathe eating meat, especially you mortals, I have to, hmm. I do loathe you living more than your taste, hmm. You did try to take me down and my brothers.”

”Well, I didn't. I'm not my ancestors if this is what it is! It's not like I'm rooting for your demise!”

”Hmm, yes yes. You do present a reasonable argument. Past is past, hmm. However, you've hurt my friends, the Dwendells, hmm. And, as much as I hate to eat you, I may have to, hmm.”

”Well, I'm sorry, alright! I didn't know!” he shouted to everyone, but the crowd remained excited shouting for his death. ”I didn't even know that you Elves exist!”

”Well my, my. You just insulted them again, hmm.” The Ra'Ark laughed moving slowly like a slug away from the hole, ”Telling them that they don't exist isn't a good plan, hmm. Much more calling them vulgarly with that horrible, horrible name! Hmmm... It is the name your ancestors gave them as they curse the Dwendells in derision. I know it's troublesome, but let's get this done as early as possible, hmm.”

He immediately spit a squirt of acid to Yosh's direction which he parried in a split second before impact. He was fooled with Ra'Ark's slow movements making him complacent in his distance. He just noted to pay attention all the time.

”Very impressive,” exclaimed the giant worm in joyful tones, ”Hmm, usually they don't present a challenge to me, you mortals. Hmm, You're the first person who avoided that in ten years.”

”Well I don't want to impress sir, but I think I still love my life. So, dodging you kind of is my job here.”

Yosh looked at the ground that Ra'Ark squirted and noticed the acid turning all gooey and bubbly.

”Hmm, well, you won't take that long dodging and sneaking. Hmm, I'm seeing that you're noticing my slime, hmm. Are you impressed? I use it to burrow to even the toughest metals below, hmm. Just remember not to touch that very potent acid, hmm.”

Ra'Ark squirted again for three times now with larger squirts than before which Yosh parried again effortlessly.

”Hmm, my my,” he laughed again now lifting his head up readying himself as if excited, ”I think I just found one that would amuse me. It's been twenty years since I last saw a Nagozulian that can past my second attack. I think I may enjoy eating you up after all my dear.”

”Let's hope not sir,” shouted Yosh. ”Let's get into a compromise, shall we?” he immediately suggested.

”Hmm, and why would I go into contract with a mortal?”

”It's not that I can beat you, or give you a scratch? You're too powerful for me I can't certainly be of any match to you.”

”Hmm, and your point is?”

”I really didn't intentionally harm your friends too.”

”That's really not up to me to decide, hmmm...”

”Yes! So, my point is that I really don't want to die yet but I can't certainly defeat you, not even in a thousand years. But what I can do is dodge your attacks and give them a good show.”

”Hmm, yes, true, true. I have an excellently thick armor. You certainly won't be able to give me at least a tickle and I am wishing not to eat meat this year, hmm.”

”So, how about we play a little game?”

”Hmmm...Playing with you is certainly the most interesting thing that came up to me in decades. Elaborate.”

”So, let's say, if I get past the attack you gave the other Nagozulian before you eat him, can I have your respect and grant me my life?”

”Well, that depends, hmm. I never got the chance to eat him and you're no Prince Artemus, Hmm.”

The name struck him immediately. His father has fought him before, and he survived. This only strengthened his resolve to reach a goal farther than what his father has accomplished.

”One thousand Three hundred and Seventy-Seven,” Ra'Ark shouted. ”That's how many attacks I've given that scrawny Nagozulian prince that actually looks like you but older by many years, hmm. If you can get past that, which certainly is very unlikely, then you can get to keep your life. It's really troublesome for me to blast that much of my perfectly churned slime anyway so if you reach that by then, I wouldn't care if you live or die.”

Iyom magically appeared again at the center shouting.

”NO! Wise Ra'Ark, you must not agree with him?! He's a mortal! His mouth spouts thousands of lies that he passes off as truths! We do not...”

”Silence,” roared Ra'Ark interrupting Iyom and stopping the crowd from their cheers, ”you're impudent as ever young Dwendell! Are you not confident in my skills, hmm? Are you insulting me?!”

”N-no, great beast, I was merely...”

”For this I have decided! I will give him one thousand three hundred and seventy-eight blows, hmm. And if he's still standing then, then I will grant him his life and protect him until he leaves your domain. This is my word! And this is my promise!”

Iyom's wide angry eyes pierced Yosh's giving him the chills. That's a unique skill, Yosh thought seeing the outlines of Iyom's eyes to turn black and prominent with his hazel brown gaze turning into a red glowing cat eye. Yosh looked down to his hands and sees them shaking. He can't move them! He tried stepping forward, but his knees trembled. This is highly unlikely for he is trained to withstand the effect of stress, fear, or even hunger. A curse, he mumbled as his lips arched an almost smile.

The Ra'Ark roared fiercely giving a loud resonance all around the arena snapping Iyom's deep gaze. ”IYOM! I DO NOT CARE IF YOU ARE THE SON OF KYRIN. IF YOU DO NOT STOP INTERFERING, I AM GOING TO INCURR MY WRATH UPON YOU!”

Iyom scoffed turned around to bow at the beast and then disappeared again. Yosh felt his body returning to normal, being free of what's been keeping him still. That kind of technique is useful, he pondered as he taps his body checking if the curse still has its effect.

”Are you alright child? hmm?” asked the Ra'Ark.

”Sure!” he smiled with excitement. ”Shall we do this then?”

Ten simultaneous blasts shocked Yosh in his happy thoughts. He did not anticipate that kind of speed. It's faster than ever before. He figured it looked like ten bowmen shooting one after the other and that's hard to dodge. That can kill someone even if they possess some military training but not Yosh. They're first training was dodging after all and Narra isn't joking in the topic of dodging. Because of what they've been through he could dodge even if it is a hundred arrows, he figured almost smirking as he dodged the splashes with great haste and flexibility.

He noticed a pattern in the great worm's acid spits and before he could figure something out of it another round of continuous acid attack started again rendering him to dodge away kneeling, rolling, jumping and running. The pattern is becoming evident as he kept his eye around him; he's containing him in a single area. He's not spitting randomly. He's spitting on the ground he's in to trap him but trying hard to mask it as attacks! No wonder it's been easy. As he dodged the thirtieth blow the great worm stopped. His eyes can be insinuated as though smiling as he took a deep breath gagging. He knew what Ra'Ark is planning and in that few seconds of rest that he's given, he exhausted all possibilities of escape and arrived at his dilemma - there isn't one! He's trapped in the area filled with oozing hissing acid consuming the ground and the worst part of this is that he let him. He had predicted, the minute he blew his tenth shot, but he didn't try to change his position. It is a very disgraceful and embarrassing thing for a hunter to be trapped in someone else's snare, he thought chortling to himself.

Ra'Ark blew his acid with a wide mouth. It is an area effect acid spray! There is no escape!

The cheers grow wild as smoke engulfed the arena. With that kind of spurt blasting almost a quarter of the arena, no one can be assumed to have survived. Because of the thick green smoke, the by-product of the acid blast, only the outline of the Giant Worm can be visible to the naked eye. This made the spectator's joyous shouting to be more deafening than ever before.

Ra'Ark cackled horrendously as the smoke subsides. He saw Yosh now at his further right. ”Impressive! Daomagar's famous Great Dash!” The great worm turned to face him having his angry eyes and elevating his body higher than before. ”Oohh, you have deceived me mortal. Making me believe that you are a Nagozulian is a cheat. But I will not take that deception against you. I will live up my end of the deal. But be sure to ready your young Daomagar feet because I will be killing you faster than before!”

Yosh nodded with a confident smile though in his heart he's feeling regret. He feels as though playing Daomagar may indeed be a deadly disadvantage on his part considering that he still needs more practice with his dashes. He just prayed hoping that his tactical decisions playing the Great Worm lives up to its projected rate of success.

-------ooO0Ooo-------

”No need to hide Master Fenris, we are alone.”

A shadow of a giant wolf became evident with its outlines slowly drawing its figure in the dark dense woodland. As it moves closer, its glowing red eyes intensified. ”I thought I told you not to call me by my real name young apprentice,” echoed softly by his frightening deep voice.

”It's much better than Grog,” smiled Reus as he fixed his uneven spectacles. ”The name roughly translates to Evil Fangs of the Betrayer, and we both know you're nothing like that.”

The wolf went in front of him sitting, still with his serious eyes. ”Thank you for believing that young apprentice but uttering it without conscience might lead you to accidentally spill my name in the wrong company or to dubious ears. I do not want that to happen.”

”Alright, Master Grog, if it helps you to sleep,” he joked sarcastically.

”But I do not sleep,” hastily replied the upright sitting wolf with his face now turning confused.

”Yes, but it is just a figure of sp--,” Reus was stopped in his explanation as his Master tilted his head trying to figure what he meant. ”Never mind, so why do you want to meet?” he beamed trying to change the subject.