Ah~....
Everything was blurred as he came to his senses. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up.
His vision cleared slowly . The blurred image became a room. It felt a rural village house.
Clatter!~
Something fell on the ground.
It was Siri who droped the tray from her hands.
"Aaaah!"
She shrieked and ran to the next room.
"Brother! He's awake! He's awake!"
"What happened?" Zinor asked but left unanswered.
The chains on his body collided against each other. "These?"
He held his forehead."Where,.. am I? What is,.. this place? These, chains!" He forced them but they didn't come out.
"Stay right where you are!" Damo ordered Zinor firmly. "Don't try to pull any thing unnatural."
Zinor stared at him. He was ordering Zinor pointing a stick at him. "Didn't you get anything better to threaten a man double of your size."
Siri was standing behind Damo. Both stood like statues for a moment.
"Look. I am not into child's play. By the way can you tell me how did I came here?"
*sniff
Zinor smelled something. A scent of fresh meal.
"Is it?" He moved to it.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Siri exclaimed as Zinor walked toward their ash-house. Damo held her.
"Is it what i am thinking of?"
The daylight was shining bright. A pink flower was about to bloom in the garden, and a white butterfly was loafing in the pleasant air.
Zinor practically pounced on the food. While eating, he choked, drank some water, and started eating again.
Siri and Damo stared at him with speechless expressions.
In an instant, the fish, soup, and almost the total amount of rice were finished.
BWAAAH!~
Letting out a monumental burp, Zinor said, "Finally. Ah.. Some good meal."
Siri looked at the empty rice pot. There was barely a grain left.
HWAAH~
"The whole rice is finished."
HWWAAH~
"We have nothing left to eat."
"What will we eat now?"
She was about to rush on Zinor.
Damo pulled Siri."Don't go near him."
Zinor stood up and went to the door.
"Comeback you freeloader! What will we eat?"
Siri exclaimed at him.
Something hit his mind, he stopped. Turning to them he forced a smile, "Sorry I was hungry. Hehe."
"So whaaat!!!"
Slamming the door back Zinor ran away.
After reaching some distance away, he stopped.
"Living as I like right? Desdi." He laughed unknowingly.
* * * * *
There were not many people on the trail. Zinor was lost in his thought.
'Hmm? Living as I like... Like early days... Like as I wamted... Hmm.. I lived once like that? Exactly... What was that?'
He was trying to remember something but the sound of thrashing of those chains, annoyed him.
"Aaaah!!! These metal recks!"
A bird, looked like a kingfisher, dove into the lake and flew off with a fish in its beak.
Zinor saw he hadd reach to a lake, unknowingly.
"A lake? Yeah. I was thinking about a bath."
He walked down to the bank.
As he came near, a big fish jumped out.
"Looks like, my dinner is also sorted."
He put off his damaged armour. It was torn apart and also coloured with his black blood.
He jumped in the lake.
His movements scared fishes away.
He came up to surface. He took a handful of soil and rubbed it overs his body. Then dived again.
In deep water, he opened his eyes. No fishes were near.
He came up to the surface.
"What? I thought fishes were too much here."
Momment passed. He was now diving to catch some fish.
'What a waste of energy!' He thought and dove again.
'There!'
He saw a fish. Not too big.
'Huh?'
He tried to catch it.
He tried again.
'What's happening? I can't grab it.'
After trying one more time. He observes it a little.
'Is it bigger than before?'
'It is!'
He swam up in a rush. As he understood. It was not any normal fish. It was a big one aiming him as its pray.
Gwaaaash!~
No sooner Zinor reached the surface a huge fish came out from water.
Blooooorm!
It was very big. About one and half elephants.
"Now it is, something worthy!" Zinor grinned.
Bloooooooorm!!~
As the fish strikes his head, he forcefully blocked that.
"Hey, look it's a river Lantina."
A man exclaimed in wonder. His voice grabbed the attention of other people. The gathered to see what was happening.
Gwwooosh!~
The fish dove into deep after getting deflected....
"Running from me, huh?"
"Is he mad? Run away from there!" "Isn't it that rouge Lantina?" "Come back you idiot!"
Their curiousity had no limit.
"Huh? When did that much people gathered here?"
"Watch out! The Lantina gonna swallow you with the water!" An old man from the crowed warned him.
"What did he just say?"
Suddenly he felt he was getting drowned. The big fish was about to devour him.
Gwwaaaaash~
It came out again. Zinor was forcing his feet to stop it from closing its mouth. He was getting into it's mouth.
"Aagh! You fish!!"
Zinor tightened his fist.
"Aaaaaaaah!!"
He threw a punch in its eye.
Bloooorm!!~
It threw him on land.
"Aaagh!"
The big fish crawled to the water.
"Where are you going?" Zinor's voice cut the moment as a knife. He grabbed it's tail, with one pull he pulled it high from the ground then slammed.
The dust covered the scene. As it clears everyone watched the dead Lantina, he just hunted.
They also came down to see it.
"Aaah! I overdid it."
He used too much power without caring about his hunger.
Peoples gathered around him.
"Huh, What happened?"
"Do you know what you just did?"
"I hunted a fish for my meal."
"That Lantina came to this lake out of nowhere and for him we were not able to use the lakes water."
"I see.."
"Thank you stranger." "That was unimaginable, how did you done it?" "Are you ok?" They rained on him with questions.
'Huh? My vision?' Zinor's sight became blurry. Then, he fell.
* * * * * * *
"Are you ok son?"
An old man's voice broke his slumber.
"Where... am.. I?"
As he opened his eyes he saw, the old man who was warning him at the lake was standing beside him.
"Are you feeling ok?"
"Where I am?"
"It's my place."
"Wait," he seemed to be remembering something. "I know this place."
"You!!" Damo exclaimed at him. "You ate all our food. Why are you here again?"
"I am not here by my wish."
"I bring him here." The old man replied.
"Why grandpa?"
"Because, he got senseless during a fight with that Lake Lantina and..."
"And what?"
"We have a big slice of it the door. Wash it properly and I will cook it nicely. "
"Lantina..." As he spelled it, his mouth left a hungry drool.
A bird was chirping on a branch. On the small table the big slice of Lantina was served. They support a dish so it wouldn't touch the ground.
Siri and Damo were eating like they were as hungry as Zinor was a moment ago.
"Don't shy you caught it."
"Who said I am shying?" Zinor started eating too.
After some time, the kids were full. Yet, the amount was much for storing.
"So, where do you come from?"
Zinor stopped. "Is it necessary?"
"Oh. Don't think my intensions wrong. I was just asking."
He continued eating.
"Ethorox. I was king of Ethorox."
"Ethorox? Hmm? Never heard off. Where is it?"
A caterpillar was climbing on a plant.
"Where is it?" Zinor repeted his words.
"From the top of Ethorium palace! As far the sun reaches over land, the land sorrounded by Panthasiya Sea, is the kingdom of the people who came from other Ethorox."
"No I never heard of that see too."
"Anyways. I died. So I am longer a king of there."
"You died? Sorry what do you mean?"
"I was dead. My kingdom fell for an insight flame my cousin spread in there heart. Moreover, I am now left with this..."
He showed him the chains.
"Wait, is this coming from our body?"
"Yes. Also, hard to keep moving."
"Even though you
"Look. I never heard of that kingdom. Not even the sea you mentioned. Those chains attached your body we call Shakles of Abzala."
Zinor didn't reply he was hearing the old man's words.
"The person who had commited a sin is shakled with them. A man who commited more than one are shakled with two. But those shakles came after facing the Death. He himself shakles the sinful ones with them. But there is no explanation for the third one you have."
"Just stop making tales. These are the remaining craps they used at my pretty public execution ceremony."
"Really? Then do you like them?"
"What?"
"A man who can fight a Lantenia that big in its own habitat can also free himself from that metal racks. Right?"
"Yaaaaaa!!"
Zinor popped a nerve. He used two hands to break those chains.
But that didn't work. He tried again. And again.
After several tries he ended up panting.
"Look. I—
"Shut up! You just don't know my condition. What i am suffering from inside you don't know! Don't try too! The inner feeling of killing those two faced devils scratches my mind every moment."
"I fantasize how i will carve their skin, flesh and bones to present them before the grave of my beloved one. I need revenge of what they did with my life! They did with my Desdi! Tell me old man do you now have from what I am going on? "
Zinor throws the fist on the table out if rage.
It shatters.
Although Damo and Siri put up their bowles in hand so they didn't fall.
"Yes. I can't put myself in your place. But everything starts to end one day. Even a death can't stop it when would it?"
"Never! Until I am there. It will never!"
"How long do you wish to bear that burden?"
"Burden? Did you just said my beloved ones gift a burden?"
"Gift? Did that person asked you?"
"Wh—
Zinor's words stopped.
"Look. It is just a waste of effort to give a present to that person which he or she never asked in the first place."
"The scars on your skin and face tells the effort you used for that present."
"So tell me what did you get? No. What would you feel when you present those carved corpses to that person?"
"You—
Zinor stood up and went to the door.
"If you can't make any answer. Came back here. This house is too old to be ran by an old man only. It can be a better life for you that way."
Zinor heard then shut the door and went away.
Eventually...
The afternoon ended with a twilight and a night fell to rest everything.
Next morning...
Damo woke up rubbing his eyes.
"Haauhaa!~ hey grandpa. Do you see the axe? I need that for collecting wood."
"Axe? O a man borrowed that this morning."
"A man? Did he came back?"
"Who? The king? No."
"Oh."
He was about to go back inside.
"But at dawn a person came while he get no answer of an question."
Damo stilled at the door.
A pleasant wind blew and the sky cleared. In the pleasant light of sun that pink flower bloomed cherishing the nature.
Stungh!~
An axe struck at the trunk of a huge tree.