THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS

Chapter 2 – Back To Where It All Began

JIE kept track in his head of how many hours they had walked. He estimated it lasted nearly eight hours, with a short break in between just to think about whether they made progress in choosing the right direction.

“I think we’re lost.” He studied the surroundings. The vast desert seemed endless. But for some reason, he felt his strong vitality despite walking in the scorching heat. It was almost sundown.

“We shouldn’t go back,” Nyssa murmured.

“I heard that, kid. We should find the entrance to the village before it completely turns dark. Who knows what other deadly creatures are lurking here at night? I don’t want to be the fresh dinner of another giant scorpion.”

Nyssa scowled. “Then let’s keep following the markers.”

“Are you sure you’re not yet exhausted?” Jie wondered because, as a child, it would have been hard for her to follow him in this hostile environment.

“Surprisingly, no. It has something to do with the orbs. It told you!”

“Orbs. Here we go again.”

Nyssa rolled her eyes and mumbled. “I’m starting to believe you’re not my brother.”

Jie chuckled. “Because I’m not! Let’s continue walking.”

It took them another two hours before they finally reached gigantic rock formations with deep crevices. At the center, there was an opening that looked like a cave.

“Are you sure this is the entrance to the village?” Jie asked the kid when it wouldn’t budge from where she stood.

“I guess so. I’m not sure. I was unconscious when we got out. However, I saw in the scrolls about this place.” Nyssa’s eyes kept looking at the entrance of the massive void.

“Scrolls?” He gazed down at her. The light coming from the moon’s waxing crescent was enough for him to see the little girl’s disgruntled expression.

“Scrolls that you stole from the library along with the village’s map!” Nyssa’s small face stared up at him in disbelief.

Jie chose to remain silent. Arguing with this kid would not yield a good result since he was also confused about what was going on.

“Shall we go in?” Jie felt the tingle of fear engulfing his body. The cave was pitch dark, and the sound of night insects could be heard from the inside. “I have a very bad feeling about this. But we don’t have a choice.”

“Wait…” Nyssa came near the side of the entrance. “Please, carry me until I reach that!” She pointed out a series of patterns, like hieroglyphs.

Jie nodded and obeyed. He assisted Nyssa until she could touch the bizarre writing. “What did you find?”

“A…R…D…H…I…” Nyssa carefully touched each marking. “This is an ancient alphabet used by our ancestors. Our father taught us how to write and read it.”

“Oh, I see.” Jie nodded before putting Nyssa back on the ground. He wanted to ask a lot of questions, but he didn’t know where to start. As soon as he saw the bruises on his arms and felt the stinging pain on his back, he was slowly convinced that he was not dreaming. The sun had almost made him dehydrated!

Perhaps he was in purgatory because he was murdered by those thugs and had a painful death caused by a stab wound.

But what if his body was still alive? That he had to survive this ordeal to go back?

Transmigration… Jie thought.

Jie cleared his throat and finally got the courage to ask. “What country does Ardhi Village belong to? Why is it located underground? Do the villagers also use magic and—”

“Hey, stop!” Nyssa cut him short. “I know you lost your memories. I wish I could answer all your queries, but I don’t know much about the surface world.”

“Surface world?”

“This is the surface world. Our people have been living underground for the past two thousand years since the great catastrophe. The surface became uninhabitable at that time, so our ancestors were forced to find shelter below.” She motioned with her small hand and pointed to the ground.

“What is the great catastrophe?” The line on his forehead deepened.

“It was when two of our three moons collided that caused the almost annihilation of every living being. That’s all I know.”

“We have three moons?” Jie looked up at the starry sky and gazed at the only moon. It was nothing unusual. “I can’t believe this place has three moons!”

Nyssa ignored his bewildered reaction as if she had already gotten used to it. “The Ardhi villagers cannot wield magic. That’s why we are vulnerable to the threat coming from the creatures of the Abyss.”

“What creature of the Abyss?”

Nyssa shook her shoulder. “You’ll know since we’re surely encountering a few of them going back. And I hope those creatures won’t devour us alive. As you always said, their favorite food is struggling humans. So, we must keep off the borders.”

“Did I really say that? I guess I don’t sugarcoat things, even in this body.” He clicked his tongue. If he could be honest with himself, he’d never want to go inside that cave without the assurance of their safety. However, it seemed that fate had already brought them here. Before Jie could even decide to enter, a flying creature in the sky caused a sudden swoosh of the wind.

“Ethros, duck!” Nyssa pulled him down.

Jie was too stunned to move. He had never seen such a flying creature before. “My goodness! What is this damn world?”

“Are you trying to get killed?” Nyssa’s eyes widened in fear.

“What is that, a dragon? A fucking live dragon?!” He wasn’t even here for a full day, but he nearly got a heart attack so many times. First the giant scorpion, now this dragon!

“That’s the legendary fire breather. I’ve read about it in the book you gave me.”

When the dragon roared, it took only a few seconds before it finally spitted fire. Jie had no choice but to get up, grab Nyssa’s arm, and quickly enter the cave. The entrance was on fire, and they could still hear the thundering rumble of the creature.

Thankfully, the blaze was enough to give light inside the void, but Jie saw no signs of another entrance despite walking without turning back.

“This path is endless! It’s getting darker.” Jie paused as he heard a hissing sound. He turned to Nyssa, whose grip was getting tighter on his arm. “You said you could use magic. Why don’t you light a fire in your hands? Or make your eyes beam with light?”

“Be quiet! The creatures of the Abyss are sensitive to sounds. They’d feast on us before you knew it.” Nyssa said, barely audible.

Jie immediately shut his mouth. He tensely stepped forward, hoping to find the way down the village. It was not long before Jie was blinded by the darkness, and his heart started to beat faster.

“Can’t you make light using magic?” Jie murmured.

“Magic isn’t as easy as you think! Just continue walking.”

Jie had no choice but to move forward. Until he saw a flick of small lights nearby. Numerous fireflies were swirling around, emitting bright blue lights.

“Finally, a light!” Jie was filled with hope. Being a coward in this place only meant death. He needed to survive and make the most of the second life that was bestowed on him. He’d surely find answers about his sudden transmigration.

“Look, the stairs!” Nyssa was overjoyed. “We found it!”

Jie eased his breathing as soon as they took the stairs going down. The fireflies seemed to know their dilemmas; they kept following in their direction.

The stairway appeared to be unending, yet Jie did not complain, not even Nyssa. Both were careful not to make a sound.

As they continued to descend, the temperature was getting colder. When they reached the end of the stairs, there was a small, rectangular box that looked like a lift.

“Shall we ride that going down?” he asked.

Nyssa nodded. “Yes.”

Jie pulled the lever down when they were inside. The box was enough to accommodate the two of them, but it seemed the lift was only made to fit three small adults.

The sudden temperature drop upset Jie, but his young face remained stern. Whatever lies below them would give him answers. 

“Holy shit!” Jie had to hardly hold Nyssa’s shoulder because the lift going down accelerated so fast. It went like that for around fifteen minutes until it landed. “Thank the heavens, we’re still alive!” he said, relieved.

“That was just the beginning. Now, to the exciting part. We’re going to cross the Stygian Border; that’s where the monsters live.” Nyssa was staring blankly at the misty ground without blinking.

At a distance, the sound of a violent whirling wind could be heard. Jie calmed himself by convincing himself that he was used to crossing a storm, so he’d make it past this so-called Stygian Border.

“Come on, there’s no turning back. I will protect you.” Jie meant what he said.

Nyssa swallowed hard before stepping down the lift. “Let’s go. Just follow the green runes; it will lead us the way.”

The green runes were a diamond shape that floated about five inches from the ground. Jie could tell it was done through magic because even if the wind touched them, they wouldn’t budge.

Jie held Nyssa’s hand. “No matter what happens, I will not let go.” He reassured her more.

As they started to take the path of darkness, Jie strengthened his resolve despite hearing different kinds of noises around them.

The first kilometer seemed to be safe, although the stormy wind made it harder for them to hasten their paces. Amidst their trek, Ethros and Nyssa tripped down, causing a loud thud. In a split second, creatures waiting in the shadows surrounded them, waiting to devour their flesh.

Jie saw at least twenty pairs of bright red eyes glaring at them. And he only had bamboo sticks as weapons, which he found useless.

Damn it!

“I will distract them; you run!” Jie slowly got up. He took advantage of the creatures fighting each other to help Nyssa get back on her feet.

“We’ll both die either way.” Nyssa’s voice cracked.

“Soon, we will. But not tonight! Run!”

Nyssa ran with all her might as Jie followed her. He found a ray of hope when his eyes caught a massive blinking orb ahead of them. That must be the village!

The beasts tailed them, and when Nyssa finally crossed the border safely, a monstrous talon grabbed Jie.

“Ethros!” Nyssa shrieked.

“Go! I’ll see you in the village.” Jie wrestled to free himself.

Nyssa sprinted and jumped on the rune fence. She had no choice but to watch his brother disappear into the darkness.