Hey readers! Alpha Author here!
Sorry for the late Christmas Present guys, so I'm going to give you an early New Year's present instead hope you guys embrace the new year with an open mind!
I know many of you have had a rough year, but I hope there's still something good that happened to you guys this year.
And with that being said, I hope this gift from me can be added to the good things that happened this year.
May you all be blessed with a great new year!
Rex and the others roam around the place trying to find a spot that is exposed to the moonlight.
The giant trees are very lush, their leaves and trunks covered the sky. It's very hard to find the perfect spot to recuperate.
After searching for five minutes, they luckily find one.
There is a gap between the trees that lets the moonlight shine through, the gap is quite big for the four of them to be exposed to moonlight at the same time.
Adhara helped Rex gets down from Delta before she carry Kyran.
Kyran lies on the rough ground just under the moonlight as his body started to emit a faint blue aura upon shone by moonlight, the moonlight makes Kyran feel relaxed and rejuvenated.
Seeing this, Rex then said, "Pull the thorn out, it's okay now"
With a swift pull, Adhara pulls the thorn out of Kyran's chest as blood spurted out.
"Rrghh!", Kyran grunted as the pain overwhelms him.
Although he's now a Werewolf, he's not used to getting hurt because he rarely gets this injured even during his training.
The gaping hole on his chest makes beads of cold sweat appear on Kyrans forehead.
His eyes averted to see the gaping wound on his chest, getting injured and injuring someone are two different things.
"Don't worry, that kind of injury is not going to kill you", Rex said assuringly, but Kyran still feels sick even though he knows that he will be alright.
Rex can see him struggling to not look at the wound on his chest.
Adhara also becomes uncomfortable because of Kyran's gaping wound.
Looking at both of them panicking, Rex sigh as he forgot that both of them came from different backgrounds than him.
After a slight whimper from Kyran, Adhara suddenly said while glancing at Rex, "You have been in a more painful state than this"
Her words attract Rex's attention making him glance at her.
"H-How can you be so calm even when you're injured badly", she added in curious.
Adhara then said in awe, "It's like your pain tolerance is very high, and I just can't help to wonder how you reach such a state"
But the stutter and her trembling voice show that she's uncomfortable, especially upon seeing Kyran who can only look up at the moonlight avoiding seeing his gaping wound.
Rex smiles lightly before he replied, "I didn't always as calm as now, I'm trained"
"How did you exactly got trained?", Kyran suddenly asks while keep looking at the moonlight.
Hearing this, Rex remembered the time that he got put into that rigorous training before he said, "I got into prison when I was still a part of the military"
Both Adhara and Kyran were quite surprised to hear this statement.
Rex thought for a moment before he corrected, "I should've gone to prison but a friend of mine from the military help me, and thus I got transferred to the SRU instead"
"There I got trained with Edward and my other friend, Kyle", Rex added.
But Adhara and Kyran can hear a slight pain when Rex said the name Kyle, but they didn't intervene as Rex seem to feel sad remembering this Kyle.
Rex then continues, "There's a room we called the red room there, it's more like a torture room. If we do any mistakes, they will put us there for a day to remind us to not make mistakes.
Upon hearing this red room, Adhara and Kyran's skin got goosebumps.
Seeing their scared reaction, Rex chuckles before he continues, "It's not what you think. Yes, we got tortured a lot there but most of the times we will be conditioned there"
Adhara and Kyran listen to Rex's story attentively feeling curious.
Rex thought for a moment before he frowns, "My mentor always said to clear my mind, every time I got tortured he kept repeating those words"
"Now that all of that is in my past, I realized what my mentor means"
After saying that, Rex looks at Kyran before he said, "The key in increasing your pain tolerance is not just getting used to the pain, but also your mind. Your mind is a powerful thing that you can harness, and this will greatly increase the maximum pain you can tolerate"
"If you're panicking or nervous upon getting injured, the pain will be amplified"
Hearing this, Kyran scrunch his forehead in thought before he closes his eyes and tries to steady his breathing for a moment.
Adhara also nodded her head mentally writing what Rex said.
In just a moment, Kyran's breathing becomes even more steady and he feels the stabbing pain on his chest start to decrease as he tries to mimic what Rex said and calm himself down.
Although it's hard to calm himself down, Kyran manages to do so by thinking positive thoughts.
While this is all happening, Adhara glance at Kyran.
Then, her eyes widened before she look at Rex in surprise, "It actually worked! I can't believe it!"
Rex smiles in reply before he leans on Delta behind him.
Silenced cover them again, but now Kyran already opened his eyes and not as tense anymore.
Delta is already sleeping behind Rex as the wound on her body also started to heal, it's surprising that the moonlight somehow also takes effect on Delta.
After a moment, Adhara glance at Kyran before breaking the silence.
"Wedron City huh? We met you there on our way, it's basically your home", Adhara said.
Hearing this, Kyran remembered the harsh times that he went through trying to just live day by day after both of his sister's death.
It's not a good memory, but he won't be here if he didn't struggle there.
"Yeah, I kind of want to visit my sisters' grave", Kyran said meekly.
Adhara looks in Rex's direction before he said, "We don't have the time right now, we can visit and even transfer your sister's grave next time"
Kyran was a little bit down upon hearing this, but he didn't mind.
But then suddenly, Kyran asks, "What about you Rex? Where is your hometown?"
Upon hearing what Kyran said, Rex's body froze for a moment. The bitter memory flash past his brain again as his expression changed slightly.
"What do you mean? Of course, it's Ratmawati City, his mom and dad are there", Adhara added.
Kyran scratches the back of his head, he forgot about that.
While the both of them are chuckling and laughing lightly, Rex raises his gaze to the glowing crescent moon in the sky before closing his eyes.
'It's been a while since I visit Dupok City', Rex thought.
Meanwhile, 100 miles west of Eqosa City.
The sun is shining bright in the sky reflecting the weapons and armors of an army of humans that marched through an abandoned city, all of them are Awakened.
From a glance, there are about a hundred to two hundred of Awakened.
All of them are wearing full-plate armor that is made of very sturdy materials, and they all have their weapons sharp and ready for the upcoming battle.
The army of Awakened seems to be heading to Eqosa City that is under siege.
Every step that they take makes the same armor thudding sound, their movements are synchronized and arranged, boasting that they're a well-trained army.
A long grey-haired man can be seen leading the army.
The deep-sea blue uniform hugged the man's body tightly, his shoulders are covered with shoulder pads with the command cap on his head.
All of them match the deep-sea blue uniform, and the sword on his waist is also not ordinary.
While the grey-haired man leads the army through the abandoned city, they finally see another city on the far horizon they will meet after crossing the bridge in front of them.
After walking on foot for half an hour more, they're already close to the city.
The city is already a mile away from them, and it won't be long for them to arrive.
"Captain, one of our stationed men already prepared hundreds of mutated horses that we will use to go north where Eqosa City lies", an Awakened beside the grey-haired man said.
Hearing this the captain then shouted, "PICK UP THE PACE MEN! EQOSA CITY NEEDS US!"
The Awakened picked up their pace as they strode forward powerfully, it didn't take long for them to arrive at the entrance of the city.
But the captain frowns when he saw the people of the city evacuate inside after seeing them.
The frown on the captain's face becomes even more evident when he saw the gate closed as they near the city, it's clear for him that something is wrong.
"What is the meaning of this?", the captain asks while glancing at the Awakened beside him.
The Awakened beside him also frown upon seeing this,
Out of all the possible reactions of the city, this is the least he expected.
Arriving in front of the city gate, the captain looks up to the guards on the city wall before he shouted, "OPEN THE GATE! WE ARE ON OUR WAY TO REINFORCE EQOSA CITY!"
The city guard on the city wall didn't respond to him.
"WE'RE ONLY PASSING THROUGH THE CITY! LET US THROUGH", the captain added.
But even after shouting for the second time, the city guard didn't respond to the captain.
At this point, the captain is starting to get angry but the Awakened beside him calmed him down as she strides forward, "WE DON'T MEAN ANY HARM! PLEASE LET US THROUGH!"
After shouting this, the captain and the Awakened beside him see two people wearing different uniforms appear on the walls.
The woman wears a skin-tight grey dress with a grey-furred cape covering her body.
While the man that is walking by her side has a black tattoo on his arm that makes the captain and the Awakened frown.
"I'm the mayor of the city! We do not welcome Awakened in our city!", the woman beside the black hand shouted coldly.
Hearing this, the captain gritted his teeth in anger.
He then shouted back, "EQOSA CITY IS ATTACKED BY SUPERNATURALS! WHY ARE YOU BLOCKING US FROM REINFORCING THE CITY!"
After shouting that, the captain points at the black hand.
"STOP PLAYING PETTY TRICKS! LET US THROUGH AND I CONSIDER THIS NEVER HAPPENED!", the captain added with veins bulging on his neck.
The black hand chuckles lightly, "You're mistaken!"
"Unlike the UWO and their Awakened, we the black hand doesn't govern the cities but instead only protect the city! The mayor's decision is her independent will!", the black hand mocked.
The captain's face turns red, "BULLSHIT!"
Seeing that the captain is fuming in anger, the mayor's expression turns colder.
"If you want to reinforce Eqosa City, then go ahead! But don't go through our city!", The mayor shouted before she turns around and leave.
After seeing the mayor leave, the captain grinds his teeth.
Fire element burst forth from the captain's body as he glares at the city guards on the wall.
Eqosa City is going to crumble the longer their movement is delayed, the Supernatural is going out of control if they left them to conquer Eqosa City.
Every second counts and then these people appear and oblivious to such logic.
It pisses the captains off, this is not a small matter.
Looking at this, the black hand on top of the wall smiles in ridicule while taunting the captain by signaling for him to come attack.
This makes the captain's fire even more blazing.
Before the captain can make any rash decision, the Awakened beside him holds his shoulder.
The captain glared at the Awakened beside him before she shakes her head signaling that what the captain was about to do is a bad idea.
From the look of the black hand, it's clear that they're hoping for them to attack.
"How long if we make a detour around this city?", the captain asks in defeat, forcing a fight against the city will only pummel down the UWO's reputation even further.
The Awakened beside him look at the map for a moment.
After analyzing the map, the Awakened then said, "The east of the city is a forest filled with mutated beasts, while the west of the city is a rocky valley. If we take either one, it will take a day or slightly more to go around the city"
"And the addition of going to Eqosa Cit by walking, it will take half a day if we use the mutated horse. But by walking, it will take approximately 2 days if we power through and didn't stop to rest", the Awakened replied.
But this makes the captain feel worse, "Damn you Black Hand!", the captain cursed angrily.