14 CHILD AT HEART 6 (1/2)
With mildly flaring nostrils, the old man stood with one of his arms clasped behind his body. ”Godrick imparted Touchless Arts to Yizzy before he disappeared from the streets. His last words to Yizzy were 'Look beyond what you see.'”
”You mean the first Touchless Martial Arts?” Lirzod's vein on the neck throbbed.
”Hmm, but it's a beta version of it,” the old man gripped the staff a little tighter than usual.
Lirzod shook his head in amazement. Touchless Arts were some of the hardest arts to learn even for Martials. ”As expected, Godrick's a beast.” There was a rise in his vocal pitch.
The old man's grip on the staff eased down and he faintly smiled as he glanced towards Lirzod. ”With the use of it, Yizzy easily impressed many kings of the world. He was able to stop arrows in midair, put people to sleep, and defeat people without even touching them.”
Lirzod's posture stiffened as heard the old man's words. He subconsciously crossed his arms across his chest.
”He just traveled to every kingdom and demonstrated his power,” the old man lifted one of his arms and gestured in many ways which made it seem like he spoke with his arm, ”And in his journey, he became evidently stronger. It took him many years but he managed to combine half of the major kingdoms of the world without a woman getting defiled or a child getting killed.”
”What about those isolated kingdoms?” Lirzod asked in an uncertain tone.
”Putting aside the isolated kingdoms, of course,” the old man stated in a calm manner. ”All that was left were the kingdoms that weren't his allies in the first World War. Given his current power, they may not act against him in public, but they would definitely look for a way to poison him. Yizzy didn't want to take the risk. If even one woman or a child dies because of him, his deal with Godrick would be nullified. More than anything, he didn't want that to happen. So he chose to visit the isolated kingdoms.
”By isolated, you mean...” Lirzod gazed with focus.
The old man paused for long before replying, ”The Beyonder Kingdoms.”
Lirzod had a gut feeling it was them before the old man even replied, but it still took his breath away. It was written in the books that to step foot in one of the Beyonder Kingdoms, one must go beyond oneself. Even to this day, these kingdoms were shrouded in mystery. Too many deaths surrounded these places.
The old man tightened his fist and loosened it. ”Yizzy managed to reach one of the Beyonder kingdoms, and nothing but a surprise awaited him. He understood why Godrick suggested him to look in their direction.”
”Wait...” Lirzod's voice trembled as he stepped back one, his arms frozen in mid-flight and gaze fixed at the old man. ”Was that a land filled with beautiful women?” His heart raced like that of a child's and began to fill itself with never-before-felt hope. ”I knew it!”
The old man emphatically said, ”No.”
”What?” Lirzod's body shrank as his shoulders flailed, and it seemed like a significant amount of energy escaped out of his body. ”It's not the kingdom of heaven then.”
The old man tapped his foot in midair and a gust of wind that generated around his foot blew in every direction and made Lirzod lose balance. His entire hair curled back and his teeth exposed as his lips contorted in weird ways. A couple of his shirt buttons were undone and the lower part of his shirt fluttered like a flag would against the wind. With eyes that were almost closed, Lirzod stared at the old man who coldly said, ”Do you want to listen or not?” He lifted the staff, ”If not, I'll send you to the kingdom of hell right way.”
”Gye'll!” I will! Lirzod couldn't even see much less speak properly with all the wind lashing at his face.
The wind died down in a gradual fashion, taking only a second. As silence spread across, Lirzod heaved a sigh and forced out a smile.
The old man turned his attention away from Lirzod, into the distance, and spoke in a slight gripping tone. ”The Beyonder Kingdom Yizzy entered was filled with strange energy which at first suffocated him, but eventually it made him feel good, feel stronger. It wasn't just the air that perplexed him; everything his eyes saw, ears heard, and nose smelled felt freakish. There were floating landmasses, trees that grew upside down, rivers that snaked through the skies, fruits that radiated both like the sun and the moon, waterfalls that slid and slipped down the edges of the floating landmasses, architecture that was purely made of natural elements, hills of complex shapes, giant-size statues bounded by chains, creatures larger than humans — horses with single horns, cats whiter than snow itself and just as whiter forests, Everything his eyes laid on was bigger, stronger and bizarre than he had ever seen or heard of before. What he saw there forced him to come to a realization that everything he had heard about the Beyonder Kingdoms till that moment was fictitious.
”As he explored the region, looking to find people, the energy of the atmosphere around him grew more and more unstable. His desire to meet his mother was so strong that the air in front of him tore, opening up a portal, and charcoal-black fire spewed out from the other side followed by the screams and howls of agony, anger, and desperation.
”Maybe out of intrigue, he raised his arm towards it and got sucked inside. The moment he stepped foot on the other side, he saw with his own eyes, the scariest setting he could ever imagine. Countless souls were being tortured in uncountable ways and indiscernible fashions, by the guards who seemed like humanoid beasts with horns. He discerned the identity of the place he entered.
”Thousands of sinners were forced to consume different colors of fire while thousands more got beat down by piercing nails made out of ice and snow. Some souls fought against each other, while some tried to hide in the buildings of desolate streets. Those who hid were being pulled out by the guards. Those who were being tortured and shouted ”I give up!” were devoured by the reptiles and vipers that made their entrance out of nowhere by slithering through the never-ending masses. A glimpse was enough for Yizzy to assume that those who got consumed, had ceased to exist.”
”What, what do you mean by ceasing to exist?” Cold sweat dripped down from various parts of Lirzod's body.
The old man's lips formed a brown line for a moment before he spoke, ”Everybody that entered hell was given three choices: Repent through a preset birth, or rebirth after retribution, or eternal death.”
”If the creatures in that place devour a soul, then that's...” Lirzod got rooted at the spot.