The Animagus: From Hunter to Monster-Chapter 87: Engrossed: Final Retainment

Five years later...

Zane turned from the window overlooking the Yoke City’s night skyline and faced the mysterious young boy.

"So, you have a story that can change the life of every inhabitant of this city. Every being has a story that can change the life of every being. In the end, it becomes a story that is useless." He paused, studying the young boy.

"We’ve got no time. Get on with it."

The hunched back young boy bit off a reply in a foreign tone, his mother tongue. And then, sat unsteadily on the chair, favoring his rusty old hat to adjustment.

Large white candles where embedded in their stands, at different spots on the walls, but the young boy could see neither the light nor the three faces watching him from his shadows.

His blind eyes had frozen to slit a few years ago.

Deborah pitied the boy a bit, with the thought that he must have suffered great deals as a lonely nerd. Not getting things outrightly as he wanted except for his special ability as a seer. If the young boy hadn’t been blind, Deborah imagined the indignant stare the boy could have drilled into her father.

The young boy seemed to have an interpreter standing by his side. "He’s not ready to utter any word to any man who isn’t ready to show proper respect," the young interpreter said nervously.

"You young crappp..."

"Father, can you keep it calm please," Deborah called out. "If not for anything, let’s respect the fact that the young boy is a Seer—"

In the shadows, Bane, the family bodyguard, stood with arms crossed, peering at the young boy with a frowned face. He seemed to be losing his patience on the boy, who is rather acting indignant for his age.

They had invited the boy because Deborah’s father, Zane, had been told that the foreign boy could be able to foresee, and provide information critical to the City’s temple.

And any information critical to the City’s temple was, in one way or the other lifeblood to anyone who will come up as the next leader of Yoke City.

———

Five years ago

Zane, one of the advocates of Yoke City, stood among smoldering bodies, glued to the ground. These bodies belonged to his fellow advocate members, and there was another body inclusive—the Leader’s body.

How he managed to survive, he didn’t know. All he could tell was that instead of standing, he was lying on the ground. Only helped by his only daughter who approached the scene later to get up.

The City had lost to an ambush by unknown setters. And these set of people made away with their precious items especially the most precious of them. They made away with their very ark.

———

The ark that spoke sovereign for whoever was in possession. The ark that only determined the fate of the city in terms of strength, and respect from foreigners.

Now, the ark was gone, and the city had been laid in shambles since then. The seven families that made up the city all needed the authority given by the ark, so, every advocate that represented each family was in search of the ark.

That’s exactly the reason this young boy is here. Zane had invited him on behalf of Wen family. As the oldest of the advocates, and the representative of the potential Leader family, he needed to keep the legacy of his father.

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The ark mustn’t go to any other family. It will be tagged his failure, and he hates being called a failure his entire life.

Here with him is his daughter who was in the same cause with him, as young as she was, she stood out among her equals.

To him, it was strange and unlike his then little baby. For his much knowledge, he knew a lot, but in reality, he knew less.

Here they’re, stucked at a point with no progress with this young seer boy who has refused to utter any speech about how they can find the ark that was long gone.

Zane didn’t know what to do. He rather, resolved to apologize.

"Forgive me, dear," Zane said, using the respectful tone. "But I have been told many things before. I’m growing tired of stories already.’

The young boy didn’t move. His jaw was pointed. The bright yellow beads around his neck and the shiny golden cane in his hand stood in contrast to everything else about him.

The young boy looked as though he had just pried himself out of dust, and made his way to the Wen Family mansion in search of greener pasture. His dressing was shabby and his aura was disgusting.

Deborah blinked in the dim light. They possibly do not know what the young boy held was more than just a cane. For her, she has seen that many times in areas beyond the world. What was she saying?

Her father spoke again with a gentle voice now. "I beg you forgiveness dear." He addressed the young boy with amusement now.

"Five years ago, I would have spared no effort to hear your story. But I’ve given my life to the fruitless pursuit of recovering the ark that was stolen from us. And this days, I find myself wrestling more with doubt than dancing with hope. I wish you understand."

Zane, Deborah’s father stood tall, dressed in black slacks and a white shirt. He did always favoured casual clothes, and his latest obsession in history suited it well, Deborah thought. His hair was brown and his firm jaw line clean shaven.

"I don’t doubt the possibilities ," he continued. "You will have a hard time finding a Yoka with as much passion to see the possibilities of finding the ark fulfilled. These will surely happen, in my lifetime if I’m so fortunate. But if I’m not, I want to lay the foundation so that the next leader surely comes from the Wen family. However, I’m beginning to doubt that mere talk will have much bearing on the possibilities to make it become a reality. Stories feed the mind, but action brings them to reality."

"I, too, believe it will come to past," the young boy said in a soft voice. He had switched the the Yoke City’s language, and surprisingly spoke it perfectly. "I, too, have decided that the ark will return, and a leader will come from the Wen family. But unlike you, I believe my story will quicken that coming."

"Okay, okay," Deborah said. "How should things be done then?"

"Exactly, since you’re already aware of the course of our actions. Make it snappy, and in a way it should be benefitting to us."

’This is my only reason for taking part in this discussion. To find out what my mission was. And here I am, about to get important information that will lead me through.’ Deborah... thought.

My hands knotted to fists resting on my knees, and I began to sob, open-mouthed.

My eyes caught another sign in front of me—another dead body, blackened by flames.

I moved forward.

At the hands of the dead body, was a y-shaped staff, with orbs at its top that are meant for illumination.

Some men in black robes stood around the dead body, their faces saddened by the sight. Some pressed the body’s chest, down, and allowed it to pull up. Down again… and continuously, they pressed onto the chest as if to revive the breath of the dead body.

I looked closely, and what I saw sent cold chills running down my spine.

’How?!’

The dead body was a complete replica of me.

The youngest acolyte of the Temple of Light, at just seventeen years old.

The dead body was me, Lurky.

’But still, how?!’

"Lurkyyy…!"

The call cut through my mind for the first time, a scream full of excitement. I caught my breath and jerked my head at the sound. Three young people stood on the sidewalk, their faces beaming with smiles.

"Lurky!"

The lady among the two young men screamed at me.

"Come now, it’s time…"

I suddenly began to walk, holding my chest as if my heart wanted to fall. I stumbled into a run.

I wanted to make sure what I saw wasn’t right. I wanted to be sure that the young boy’s dead body wasn’t mine. I wanted everything to come back to normal. But I couldn’t speak out.

Just then, I halted in front of the three people who had been calling my name over and over and over again. And I wanted to ask plenty of questions, but the words were not coming.

And the truth dawned on me. Nothing would ever be normal.

Nothing. Ever.

Then, the lady’s voice followed. "We are guardians of the afterlife."

Only I, the existing individual from the Temple of Light, was given the gift of reincarnation after undergoing court processes in the afterlife. Before the reincarnation, I was handed a companion; a phoenix, which was also a firebird to resonate with my former personality as an acolyte of the Temple of Light in Old City.

My journey to the New City began.