Magic remains a free to read work scheduled for release in October.
Weekly updates every Friday
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*ML2020 holders please refer to your usual link to access episodes*
*Note, there are no changes to the release dates, & there will be no schedule to say when new updates are available in advance for subscribers*
New chapters will be made available once i am done editing them.
6/11/2020 – updated
13/11/2020 – updated
20/11/2020 – Updated
27/11/2020 – updated
I can’t keep the artefacts in my car so I brought everything back up to my place.
It’s already coming to 4am.
The artefacts laid lifeless on my dining table and I don’t know what to do with them. With exception of the glove that is still wriggling it’s fingers at me, the rest of it looked dead.
I filled a red pail with water and I put all the artefacts in it to see what happens.
The string of pearls started swimming while the fishing spear and fishing rod vibrated slightly.
The glove’s fingers clung to the side of the pail like someone enjoying a soak in the pool.
I was exhausted and I don’t even know why I bother to speak to the weird objects in my pail, telling them to wake me if they needed anything.
I took a quick shower and fell asleep.
When I woke up a few hours later, I realised the artefacts looked comfortable and lively in the pail. I did a change of water and told them I’ll be back later to return them to Jingshui.
Heading to work, I saw Yip sitting at my desk talking to another colleague of mine.
The moment our eyes met, he nodded towards his office.
I shut the door and Yip demanded to know what happened.
Yip : It is chaos out there right now do you know that…?
Joel : You’re talking about the GBM…. ?
Yip : an elder of the water family was attacked by a GBM….this is not something to be taken lightly….. the ruckus caused by the incident riled some feathers….
Yip told me that aside from a slew of complains about noise and late-night gatherings at the private estate, the authorities registered tremors on the sea bed near Sentosa.
Yip : Joel….. the Navy was activated together with the coast guards….
Joel : Wow…. i… I don’t know if they would be of any help though….
Yip wanted a detailed account and I told him what happened. I went to Jingshui to learn and the GBM appeared.
The party was over after Jingshui Moby dick-ed the GBM and the rest of the elders arrived. I left out the part where Jingshui’s artefact collection were found in my car or that his house was broken into when the GBM came.
Yip : Is Jingshui ok… ?
Joel : He’s exhausted but he’s fine…
Yip : Stay away from Jingshui for the time being…. If the GBM is going there… that’s the last place you want to be… you hear me… ?
Joel : Orh…
Yip told me that there’s word there might be another emergency clan meeting.
One that only the clan leaders would be present.
Yip : I want you to try and find out as much as you can from Fong…. see if you can gain some insights to this… Felicia told me the fire clan has rallied it’s people and they are sending out groups of patrol every night from now on.
Joel : Patrols…. ? you serious…?
Yip : They want that GBM…. It would solidify the family’s status… the earth family is rising up to the occasion as well… they’re mobilising everyone they can grab….
The water family would usually sit things like this out but an outright attack on their elder triggered a strong reaction within the clan.
It’s a matter of ‘face’.
Your enemies show up at your doorstep, you would lose ‘face’ if you don’t do anything.
Heshui too is mobilising his men to look for the GBM.
Yip : The only one sitting this out is Fong…
I told Yip I’ll find out more and let him know if there are any new developments.
I only grabbed a couple of hours of sleep that day and it’s a challenge trying to stay awake. While I’m awake, I could feel my body aching. Muscles twitch and I get random cramps in my stomach and arm muscles.
A female colleague joked and asked if I’m having my menses.
My senses felt as if they were tweaked to be more sensitive. The water, the heat, the air, even the grains of sand holding the indoor plants in my office felt like they were about to jump out at me anytime.
I left work 30 minutes early and no one was the wiser.
Making my way to Fong’s place, I dropped Kristin a text to let her know I’m coming.
I was walking towards the lift when Hector warned me that Kristin is approaching me from behind.
Before I could react, she jumped onto me, clinging onto my neck and body with her limbs like a koala bear.
Kristin : argHH!!!
Joel : Arghhh!!!
She held onto a tuff of my hair as she shook me while I tried not to fall flat onto the floor.
Kristin : You disgusting piece of shit…! Arhghhhh!!
Joel : arghhh!!! It was an accident…. Arhghhh!!!
By the time Kristin got off me, I could feel my hairline receded but a couple or centimetres.
Heading up to Fong’s place, I was told that all consultation were put on hold and Fong is no longer taking appointments.
Kristin : Everyone’s gone mad….everyone…. did you hear what happened last night… ?
I told Kristin I was right there with Jingshui and she could hardly believe her ears. Making a fresh pot of tea, she sat me down with her dad and I told the 2 of them exactly what happened.
The attack, the theft of artefacts from Jingshui’s place and the arrival of the elders.
After I was done relating the events that transpired last night, Fong sipped his tea quietly while he got lost in his own thoughts.
Kristin peppered me with question about the GBM and how did Jingshui dealt with it.
Fong interrupted us after a couple of minutes.
Fong : The GBM appeared, and from what you told me so far, he did not attack you all right away…. Why ?
I shrugged my shoulders.
Joel : Maybe because Jingshui was there, do you know his helper is a powerful earth user ?
Fong : I don’t but I have heard talks about Jingshui saving a girl from overseas and bringing her back, Marie must be that girl he saved…
Fong added that base on what I described, that GBM is way too powerful for Jingshui. If he meant to hurt us, there’s no way we stand a chance.
Joel : Perhaps it knows the rest of the elders are on their way ?
Fong : Even with all the elders , I doubt we can defeat the GBM, not as if this is going to stop the rest from trying.
Kristin and Fong could feel the wind energy the GBM used in Sentosa from their place in Bedok. The energy it used was so strong that both of them jumped up from their sleep.
Fong : He made 3 clones of himself…. That is not a simple feat….
With a 20km distance between Bedok and Sentosa, the magic that was used had to be overwhelmingly powerful.
Fong : With 3 clones of himself, that GBM could level an entire town if he wanted to….
Joel : He wanted to use them to deal with the 4 horsemen that Marie called out…
Kristin : What is the 4 horsemen daddy ?
Fong explained that the 4 horsemen used by Marie is one of the most powerful magic ever by conjured by the earth family in Philippines. The 4 horsemen of the apocalypse bring doom and destruction whenever they are summoned.
Rumours has it that it has been used to bring down entire provincial governments and mercenaries.
Joel : Jingshui’s giant whale ate them all and then the GBM just disappeared…. The horsemen, the clones and the GBM…. It swallowed them whole…
Fong : between the appearance of the clones to the whale swallowing them whole, how much time do you reckon it took ?
Joel : less than a minute, maybe slightly more than one max…
Fong : Kristin and I could feel the clones moving through the island yesterday for up to 5 minutes.
Joel : What is this suppose to mean ?
Fong : The GBM disappeared alright but the 3 air clones he conjured did not disappear in the whale…
Joel : What ?
Fong : We could feel them spreading out in different direction in Sentosa…. So we tried to track them…
Joel : bloody hell…. Why would they do that… ?
Fong : Air moves faster that water…. If my guess is correct, the clones escaped the mouth of the whale so fast that Jingshui did not notice them leaving…..
Joel : Then why didn’t they attack us ?
Fong : That is the million dollar question…. The 3 clones could have gone for the 3 of you, but instead they spread out throughout the island….
Kristin : We didn’t even have to try hard to keep track of where they are going, the energy is just so strong. It’s like walking with a stone in your shoe. You can just feel it….
The 2 of them could not sleep until the clones were gone.
Fong : I have a theory but it may be a little farfetched.
Joel : What theory ?
Fong : someone else might be there before the GBM…and the air clones the GBM conjured up is actually going after whoever is there before it….
Joel : Impossible. I was at Jingshui’s place a good 15 minutes before I was due to meet him…. I remained in the car for a while and the coast is clear. There’s no one around…
Fong : If they meant to hide, you won’t be able to see them….
I asked Fong about the rumours of an emergency clan leader meeting and he told me there is one planned the following week.
A GBM appeared, fought us but end up he was just fucking with us. He was not there for us. Then why didn’t he go straight for what he wanted ?
The more I thought about it, the more questions it threw up and I could feel the excitement inside me. Like receiving a new case with so many unknown factors, I could not wait to get all the pieces together.
I walked to a nearby coffee shop with Kristin to buy dinner.
Kristin : were you hurt last night… ?
Joel : No… Jingshui was there… he did most of the work…
Kristin : I think you are jinxed …
Joel : come to think of it, I think so too.. hahah
We laughed and I let Kristin do the ordering.
I took a seat and my eyes wandered over to Kristin’s body.
She was wearing a tight singlet that followed the curves of her body. I swallowed a gulp of saliva and looked away but found my eyes slowly roving back to her body.
That white singlet hugged tightly onto her breast and I could see the horizontal bra straps underneath. The white shoulder straps of the bra sat on the outside of the singlet, forming a really sexy picture of white against Kristin’s nude skin.
Her top tapered downwards towards her slim waist before it opened and flared out, hugging the full curves of her buttocks. I swallowed another gulp of saliva as my eyes looked at that pair of shorts she was wearing. It covered her buttcheeks alright but if she were to climb a flight of stairs or if she bends over slightly, I would get a visual treat.
Kristin was trying to open her wallet to pay for the dinner when she accidentally dropped her keys. She bent down to pick it up and I was thankful I was sitting down.
Hector : Mama Mia….that was fucking awesome….
I looked away when Kristin turned towards me. I was not the only man staring at Kristin at the coffee shop. She remained oblivious to the attention she was attracting and she walked over to me and took a seat.
By the time she crossed her long legs with one of her flip flops dangling off her toe, I was massaging my eyebrow and trying to deal with the pain from the massive erection in my pants.
Kristin started talking to me about a new upcoming zombie show from Korea before talking about the last one she watched.
Talking about flesh eating zombies pretty much too care of the erection in my pants.
We collected the food and while walking back to Kristin’s place, I felt something was off.
Cutting through the large open carpark, I felt as if someone was following us.
I pretended to talk to Kristin and turned and started walking backwards in order to see who was behind us.
A man from the coffee shop.
I saw him drinking beer earlier at a corner looking at Kristin.
Well, Kristin is hot and given the way she is dressed, attracting a drunkard or a uncle who got too high from his drinks is not impossible.
Kristin did not notice the tail and she continued talking about how much she cried when she watched ‘Train to Busan’
Kristin : Damm sad la… my heart cannot take it man….
I was uncomfortable with the tail and I turned to look at him as we got closer to the lift lobby.
He saw me look at him and he smiled.
Then he stopped following us and walked away.
Kristin : what are you looking at ?
Joel : Nothing…
I could not shake that unsettling feeling throughout dinner.
After I was done eating, I left Kristin’s place around 8pm.
I drove home to grab Jingshui’s artefacts and put them on the passenger seat.
During the drive towards Sentosa, I could not help but feel someone is following me.
Joel : Is someone following me Hector … ?
Hector : I don’t know… something feels off too… but it’s not the GBM…
Joel : Is it someone from the fire family…?
Hector : I cant feel a concentration of their energy within the vicinity…
I continued driving to Jingshui’s place and when I came onto Ocean drive, I could feel a large concentration of energy radiating from Jinghsui’s house.
It’s a shield.
Someone’s put one up with that house being the epicentre.
I slowed down my speed as I rolled towards the house at the end of the road.
Everything looked calm but something felt off.
The moment my vehicle pierced the shield, I floored my pedal as my eyes took in the sight of the destruction along the road.
Several cars are on fire and the entire patio of Jingshui’s house has collapsed.
I screeched to a stop and just before I could get out, I felt a car ram into me from the side.
Joel : fuck !
I engaged the handbrakes and I could smell the burn of the rubber along the tar road as the vehicle who hit me continued pushing my car towards the side of the road.
Joel : Who the fuck is that Hector ?
Hector : I can’t tell…. his energy is all messed up….
My car hit the kerb and I could see the car door on my side change shape as the vehicle continued pushing against my car.
I got out of the driver seat and exited via the passenger side.
My car got pushed over by that larger SUV and I barely backed away when I watched my ride get tipped over.
Joel : arghhhh ! fuck !
The SUV accelerated and mounted the kerb, pushing my car onto the turfing towards the slope that leads down to the water barely 4 metres away.
Clenching both my fist, I slammed them down onto the bonnet of the SUV which I realised is without a driver. I wanted to pull the water for the hit but somehow I pulled enough air to form a cushion of sort to shield my flesh.
The bonnet caved in like someone beating in bread dough but the SUV continued pushing my car towards the sea.
I wanted to push it away and this time round, I got it right.
A horizontal streak of sea water stretched from my left and I pushed it with all my might, shifting the SUV out of it’s axis.
The attacking vehicle continued moving forward and now that it’s pushing against the bonnet of my tipped over car, it sent the boot of my ride towards me instead.
I didn’t have time to block and I took the hit with the side of my body. I fell onto the turfing and I quickly rolled onto the road instinctively in case the vehicle topples on me.
Both cars stopped moving and seeing that there’s no one around, I ran towards Jingshui’s place.
The patio looked like a 3m tall giant had sat on it.
The metal structure that held up the glass canopy laid mangled on the turfing and Jinghsui’s place was pitch dark.
Joel : Jingshui !… Marie !!
I shouted as I ran into the house.
I could not believe what I was seeing.
The beautiful house is now wreck beyond description.
There’s sand everywhere in the living room and the grand piano laid in shambles.
There’s water coming down the staircase and all the glass panels in the luxurious dwelling has been shattered.
Joel : Jingshui !!! Marie !!
I ran out into the pool deck and checked the beach.
There was no one outside.
Heading back into the house, I asked Hector if the GBM is nearby.
Joel : Is it him ? Did the GBM do this… ?
Hector : No… I can’t feel it anywhere….
I took the steps 2 at a time, wading up a miniature waterfall.
I kept calling for Jingshui and Marie but there were no reply.
Opening every door on the 2nd level, I found no one inside.
There’s just water and sand all over the place.
The stairs leading to level 3 is tucked on the other end of the corridor and I ran towards it. My wet shoes left prints on dry steps as I went up to level 3.
A cool sea breeze greeted me as I walked up into a family room that would have offered a great view of the sea in the comforts of an air-conditioned interior if not for the shattered glass cladding.
Beyond the family room laid an expansive open deck and I finally saw Maire and Jingshui.
They were huddled at a corner by some outdoor deck furniture.
Joel : Jingshui !
Marie looked like she was seriously hurt. Jingshui was trying to stop her bleeding from her left thigh.
As I got closer, I could not believe what greeted my eyes.
Jingshui’s left hand was gone from the wrist down and he too was bleeding profusely.
Joel : oh fuck… oh fuck…!!
I removed my top and quickly went over to try and apply basic first aid.
Jingshui’s lips were white and he still had that smug smile on his face.
Joel : Jingshui !…. what happened…. Who did this… ?!
I wrapped my top around his wrist and I tried to call for an ambulance but there was no signal. The shield blocked out all the cellphone signals.
Joel : Get rid of the shield Jingshui…! I need to call an ambulance…. Hurry…
Marie’s eyes were closed and the only sound came from the rapid breaths she was trying to take in order to stay alive.
Jingshui shook his head slightly as if telling me he was not the once holding up the shield.
Of course. How could he possibly put up a shield in that state.
Upon close inspection, I realised his body has been peppered by bleeding wounds. It’s like he was riddled with bullets.
Joel : oh fuck…. no!!.. no!!…
I held up my phone towards the sky in desperation while trying to get a signal and that was went I saw him.
Squatting on the roof of the family room was the man I saw earlier at the coffee shop. The same man that was stalking Kristin and i.
His white shirt looked impeccable, like he didn’t even break a sweat doing what he did.
He smiled at me, giving me that same weird smile as he looked down on us like we’re a joke.
Jingshui’s voice was coarse and weak when he spoke with much difficulty.
Jingshui : Joel…. No…. don’t…
The man looked at Jingshui and shook his head before looking at me in disdain.
I clenched my fist as he slowly rose to his full height, striking a relaxed pose with his hands in his pocket.
Joel : who the fuck are you….
I asked the man on the roof.
He did not answer me.
Joel : arGHHHH!!!
I clasped my hand together and within that split second, all the water from beneath Jingshui’s house shot up towards the roof. It punctuated the concrete slab the man was standing on and instead of a whale opening it’s mouth, I had conjured up a Narwhal with it’s massive tusk piercing through everything in it’s path.
The man did a backflip down onto the ground level below as the space within the shield began to rain when I stopped holding the Narwhal together with my energy.
I gave Jingshui my phone and told him to keep calling for an ambulance.
Jingshui : we can’t…. not with the shield up….
I got up and just before I ran towards the edge of the level 3 deck, I told Jingshui that I will get rid of that shield.
My head was in a blank as I did something suicidal.
I jumped off the edge of the open deck as I pulled water up from ground floor.
While I imagine being able to levitate like I’m magneto from Xmen, reality is a lot uglier.
A column of water shot up and I jumped into it like I was going into a pool.
The water broke my fall and within a second, I was on my feet even though I was dripping wet.
The man kept his hands inside his pocket as he stood in the middle of the road.
He still has that cocky smile on him.
I ran towards him and with my hands spread out on each side, I moulded 2 octopus the size of motorbike and slammed it towards him like I was using the cymbals in an orchestra.
Joel : arghhhh!!!!
The man repelled both my Octopus with a shield of air and although his hands remained in his pockets, I could see them move. He’s moulding the energy with one hand.
I tried to punch him but he avoided me.
Kicks, punches and even an outright bear hug, he avoided me.
If I could hug onto him, I’m going to burn the life out of him with Hector’s energy cloak.
However he kept avoiding me.
He’s fast, like he was walking or floating on a layer of air.
He went on defence all the way before suddenly turning on the offensive.
A rapid furry of punches was blocked by a flimsy water shield I managed to get up in time.
He was laughing at me.
He was laughing at how pathetic I was as he kicked effortlessly at my shield, sending me staggering back with every strike.
Then, with a powerful punch through the air, the man smashed my shield into bits and sent me flying back towards my tipped over car.
Before I could recover and catch my breath, I watched that man rotate his body slightly like a striker taking a penalty shot.
Joel : aRGHH!!
Hector’s energy shield appeared like a ball of flame that suddenly blazed from an explosion. It covered me from top to toe to protect me from that kick but that impact was so strong that it sent me and my car tumbling into the water.
I could feel my blood boiling by then as I climbed back up onto the turfing.
Hector : Be careful Joel… he’s really good … the way he moulds the air…. it’s precise and accurate….
My left hand reached towards the water and the surface bubbled for a couple of second before the leather glove crawled out of the water like a horseshoe crab.
It fitted onto my left hand and I felt a weird sensation.
The water around me felt different.
I got back on my feet and I wiped some blood from my lip with the back of my right hand.
From the water, the fishing spear whipped out of the surface and stabbed itself onto the ground in front of me.
I grabbed it and my senses literally came alive. The spear did not remain a spear, instead, it thinned itself and coiled around my right wrist, becoming a brace of sort.
The water around me felt different the moment the artefacts were on me.
It’s felt as if I’m short-sighted my whole life and I didn’t know about it.
Like I was getting used to seeing stuff with less than perfect vision.
The glove and the spear were like a pair of glasses in literal sense.
I could feel the energy coursing through my body as the sea water behind me started to bubble.
I looked at that man with that smug smile who still hasn’t uttered a single word and said.
Joel : I’m going to enjoy wiping that smug look off your face….
The man barely flinched.
Man in White : Talk is cheap……. Show me…
Everything my eyes took like look crisp and sharp, like I was watching something on those high resolution TV. The kind on display at the electronics shops with vivid colours and textures.
A fish conjured of water shot out at the man from behind me and he rolled to the left and avoided it. Missing it’s intended target, the fish slammed itself into the mailbox of Jingshui’s property that was integrated into his gate post.
The fish ripped into the metal and tore off a chunk of concrete.
He turned to look at the damage that fish did and I took the opportunity to send more his way.
A 2nd and 3rd fish flew towards him but the man was faster.
Like a skilled parkour athlete, he feigned left then right before rolling forward towards me.
Clenching my fist, I was about to charge into him when Hector warned me to get back.
Hector : No !…. back now !…
I reacted in time and a pair of hands reached out of the water like a parent carrying a crying toddler. It grabbed me from under the armpits and pulled me 3 metres backwards as I saw the turfing and road in front of me get pockmarked with multiple holes.
Seeing the damage appear on the floor is like watching a miniature barrage of artillery appearing in front of me.
I could feel the energy from the hit.
At that distance, I could feel the air arc from behind the man like a scorpion’s tail. Instead of just one stream of energy, a few dozen of it fanned out and slammed into the ground where I was standing moments ago.
It I had fell for his trap without Hector’s warning, it’s unthinkable what would happen if those needle like energy of air punctures my body. I would have become a literal pin cushion.
The man, realising his trap didn’t work, immediately rolled backwards and adopted a low stance, keeping his body near to the ground.
I sent a dozen more fishes at him but they all missed and he hardly moved.
The water behind me is lower than the spot I was standing at.
The trajectory of projection is wrong. I can’t control the direction well. If I put more emphasis into the accuracy, I realised I lost speed.
If I increased the speed in which the fishes attacked, I lost accuracy.
With the man lowering his body, it made landing a hit harder.
I realised this is probably why Jingshui made all the fish swim above him.
At an elevated angle, it is easier to aim and shoot at your target.
All this information and analysis streaked through my brain at breakneck speed.
I stopped the fishes and the man took the opportunity to strike.
Taking a leaf from his earlier attack, I employed the same method using water.
I was shock when I felt the mass of water whip towards the ground in front of me. The artefacts I have on me have amplified my connection with water at least one fold.
It’s like you want to close a door but you end up slamming it instead. That was the amount of strength difference I experienced.
It happened fast, even before I had chance to concentrate on moulding the water.
The first few strikes felt more like how the line of a fisherman move after they cast their line through the air. It arc high before landing randomly. The man avoided those and just when he was barely 5 metres away, I got a grasp of it and instead of thin needled like strikes with water, I saw the thick tentacles of an octopus jab into the ground.
Not just one or two, but dozens and dozens of it jabbed and followed the man’s movements.
Clasping my hand together to concentrate, the water was behaving like the needle from a sewing machine, determined to attach the body of the man that almost killed Jingshui to the ground permanently.
Just when I thought I have a chance of hitting him good, he literally rotated his entire body while he was barely 30 centimetres off the ground. It was a move that no human could make. How can someone rotate and spin with no leverage and momentum at 30cm off the ground while travelling forward.
I felt the strong repel of air as it ripped the water into shreds.
The tentacles that were supposed to pin him to the ground instead got smack and repelled away by the man.
Before I knew it, Hector’s energy cloak came on again, blinding me for half a second before I felt myself sailing through the air.
I crashed against an already bent palm tree, snapping the 20cm thick truck cleanly.
The man not only glided through the air, broke my magic and he landed a hit on me as well squarely on my chest.
Even with Hector’s energy cloak, I could feel a horrible bruise forming on my back.
Without it, I would probably be dead or immobilised.
The man shook his head with that same smirk on his face as he righted himself off the ground in a ghostly manner like how Chinese vampire were raised by the Taoist priest.
Not only am I angry, I was also frustrated. This guy is obviously holding back.
If he had gone all out, this might be long over.
Hector : He’s good with air… he can control it so well that he can float on them…
Well, if he is good with air, then I’m going to deprive him of it.
I grabbed a massive amount of water and I sent it up into the air the same time I asked Hector to cloak me with his energy. I felt almost like the god of gambler throwing a deck of cards into the air.
Rushing forward, I intend to engage him up close and distract his attention.
He did not fall for my trick. Using his air needles, he jabbed at the ground in front of me like the prickly limbs of the warrior arachnids in the starship trooper franchise.
The jabs kicked up chunks of road towards me as if someone was shooting into the ground. I did not stop running towards the man despite the needle attack, I just changed my direction of approach.
And when I did, I observed how the man moved. Then I changed again.
I zigzagged my approach towards the man and I noticed something.
He was angling his body towards me.
For his needle defence to work, he needs to face me straight on. Afterall, the scorpion like stings originates from behind his body and protects his front.
I estimated within that few seconds that his frontal defence covers about a 30 degree arc right in front of him. With him trying to keep me in his line of sight, there’s a high chance his back is open.
The water I sent up into the air rose about 25 metres give and take before it lost steam and it started to fall.
Moulding the water as it falls, gravity gave me a hand as I moulded the water into a hail of falling fishes. Instead of taking precision guided strikes at my target, I decided a blanket approach is better.
The fishes slammed into the ground, pock marking the tar road to the point that it would make driving impossible unless you are a tank. It ripped fist size holes in the road, throwing up chunks of tar and exposing the reinforcement underneath.
I have him.
The radius of my aerial attack is wide enough to cover his retreat.
I did not stop going forward, feigning my attack direction as the fishes slammed into ground beside us.
The water releases it’s energy just before it hit me, but I could feel remnants of my energy striking my body. It’s not hard but it still hurts. Like someone punching me with a boxing glove. Subconsciously I was already damping down the impact of my own attack on myself while keeping it at full force at my opponent.
I started to whip my fist forward, throwing fishes off the ground towards his face like a protestor throwing a Molotov cocktail.
From sending 1 or 2 fishes with each strike, I started to increase the amount as more water fell to the ground. Within seconds, I was sending almost a dozen fishes straight at his face with each set of punches.
My opponent, now has to content with blocking the attack from above and from the front.
His shield of air is taking care of the fishes from the top while he continued with his needle strikes at my approach. He is still smiling, like he was having fun. The frontal defence took care of more of the fishes I sent at him, I did not stop.
I continued throwing it at him and the spray of the water after my fishes were decimated only served to obscure his vision for barely a second.
Almost 5 minutes has passed since I left Jingshui and Marie.
I need to break the shield soon or Jingshui is going to bleed out, or he may never get to re- attach his hand.
With the top and front of my opponent taken care of, there is just one spot left for me to hit. It’s a fine balance.
The timing needed to be right.
There is only so much water I threw into the air. The fishes coming down from the sky will not go on forever. I need to make sure before the water in the sky is depleted, I have enough on the ground to strike him from the back.
With his attention on me, I hope he did not realise that I have been dropping water at a faster rate behind him, barely moulding with my magic at all.
Man : Is that the best you can do… ? hahaha…
I ignored his taunts as I held my breath.
Just 2 more seconds.
2 more seconds and I would have enough.
I need more water.
The man stopped retreating and just before he could use his next skill, I could feel that volume of water on the ground beckon. It’s just right.
This time, It was my turn for me to smirk.
I clasped my hand together, clapping them loudly as the water behind the man changed it’s shape. It took on the tentacles of an octopus spread out in a radial pattern like sun. It did nothing, the octopus just remained on the ground.
The octopus I moulded is about the size of a badminton court with it’s limbs spread out.
That’s not all. I sent several fishes towards the man from his back, 2 scored a direct hit. Even when he is protected by his air shield, it was enough to cause him to stagger and stumble as more hit him.
Half a dozen more fishes hit him in his back and side then it stopped.
The man paused and I could see he was caught off guard.
He looked at me with a grin as if trying to say is that all.
Is that all I can muster ?
Is that all I can throw at him.
Joel : Fuck you…
I concentrated my energy and the tentacles of the octopus snapped shut like the jaws of a venus flytrap. All 8 tentacles snapped from horizontal to a vertical position.
The columns of water slammed so hard into the man, snapping upright like a sprung bear trap. It smashed right through his air shield, and it gave him a concussion.
I could see it.
His eyes rolled back from the hit and his mouth opened wide for a few seconds before he regained consciousness. In fact, I saw his whole body relax and go limp for a moment. I held my magic together and I could feel my body shaking like I was trying to do a deadlift in the gym.
The man in white is now trapped in the column of water as wide as that circle in the middle of the basketball court.
There’s not a single bubble of air inside.
He looked at me as he exhaled with bubbles coming out from his nostril.
He could not move.
I make sure he could not move.
I could see the twitch on his lips. He was trying to smile.
This is madness.
Here I was trying to drown a man with a column of water and he is using whatever strength he has left to smile at me.
Nothing on his expression indicated he was panicking.
I’m doing this right. I know it.
I can feel it.
He’s not moving. If he can’t move, he can’t mould his magic.
He’s fighting it from the inside but I knew I held the upper hand.
The artefacts helped definitely.
Hector : The barrier Joel… the barrier around us is weakening….
I can feel it too.
It’s starting to thin.
The barrier is starting to collapse. I could feel the life of the man slowly slipping away. I began to tremble.
More bubbles left his mouth and nostril and I could see he was twitching. It was a sick feeling but I could feel water entering his mouth and nose, even his lungs.
I was afraid.
I’m murdering a man.
I’m drowning a man.
A man that when he was about to draw his last breath, is still trying to smile at me.
The barrier disappeared totally.
If anyone was looking, they would see the madness that is happening at this stretch of the road.
I was trembling. I know if I don’t stop, that man will die.
Joel : aRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
I released the magic and everything just fell apart.
The man collapsed to the ground and I panted for air to catch my breath.
Water ponded and searched for the nearest exit base on the gradient of the road now that magic is not longer holding them together.
The man vomited and retched on all fours.
I was about to go check on Jingshui when I heard the coughing of the man change to a laugh.
He was laughing.
I stopped walking towards the house and turned back to face the man.
He was laughing and shaking his head as he got back up unsteadily.
Man : too weak Joel…. Too weak…
What the fuck ?
I spared his life and he had the cheek to say that to me.
He man spat out a mouthful of salty sea water and his wet hands slicked back his messy hair. That man was fucking trying to comb his hair with his fingers as he smiled at me with a cocky look on his face.
Man : You don’t even have what it takes to kill a man….. tsk…. Tsk.. tsk…… in this world….. if you don’t kill…. You will be killed…..!
He suddenly closed his thumbs on both hands, with both hands displaying 4 fingers, he held both of them up towards me as if we were about to play some drinking games at a bar.
I could feel my body tense up as I got ready to handle whatever it is this man send my way.
He faced the back of both hands at me and I could feel the coastal wind pick up speed.
Man : thank you… for helping me warm up…. Hahahah..
He suddenly fanned both hands outwards towards me and Hector immediately cloaked me with his energy.
The air hit me so suddenly I was lifted off the ground.
Before I knew it, I was sailing through the air.
I felt as if a giant grabbed me and shook me like a toy when my flying body was sent straight through a boundary wall of a property and into the car parked on the porch.
The people inside the car screamed and exited the Rolls Royces Wraith from the other side.
My body wacked a chunk into that luxury car and I felt as if my lungs had no air in them as I looked at the starry roof of that car’s interior.
I had no chance to recover when I felt the next gust of wind.
Instead of pushing me, this one pulled me out of the car and straight towards my opponent.
I saw what was waiting for me and a series of tentacles reached out of the water and grabbed onto my left hand.
More tentacles wrapped around the first few and they intertwined, braiding and growing it’s thickness as I continued being dragged towards my opponent.
Joel : aRGHHHHHH FUCK!!!!!..
It’s a tug of war and my body is that rope.
Hector’s energy shield never burned me before but for the first time, I could feel that intense heat as he did what he could to keep me from being tore into shreds.
Nothing in the immediate surrounding seemed to be affected by this weird suction.
It’s targeted only at me.
I can’t afford to let go.
I could feel the needle like spikes of energy the man has put up all over him. If I let go, I’m going to be sucked towards him and impaled by the air around him.
Joel : arGHHHHH!!!
Hector : Do something !… Anymore and I will risk burning you to crisp !…
Just when I thought all hope is gone, I felt a massive shift in the amount of water in the vicinity.
It’s like the tide receded all of a sudden.
A water spout slammed into the man from the skies and the suction was gone immediately.
I fell to the ground and my face kissed the ground hard enough for my gums to start bleeding. Gums aside, my arms were shaking and my muscles and nerves felt like they were on fire.
I could not move.
Not after that tug of war.
The waterspout split into 2 as the man sliced the water cleanly into half with his wind energy.
Then he repelled with both hands like a man pushing 2 walls aside.
Jingshui landed with a splash beside me.
We exchanged a look and I could see it in his eyes.
Marie is gone.
She’s dead.
Man : Have you come to make this more fun for me Jingshui…. ? hahahah….
I could see the rage in Jingshui’s eyes as blood continued dripping from the stump where his left hand used to be.
Jingshui closed his eyes for a moment and I felt the glove on my left hand and the brace on my right loosen and slip away.
The artefacts went over to Jingshui.
The glove climbed up Jingshui’s leg before hopping over to his left wrist. The brace coiled itself around the glove, attaching it to Jingshui’s arm.
I could not believe my eyes. This is literally magic happening in front of me.
The attached glove moved each digit of the finger and when Jingshui opened his eyes, he now had 2 full functioning hand.
From the corner of my eye, I could see something appearing out of the sea behind Jingshui’s destroyed house.
It’s the head of a dragon.
I would have cursed and said something but I could barely push myself off the ground.
The man in white narrowed his eyes at Jingshui and he made his move abruptly, dashing towards Jingshui at breakneck speed.
Jingshui clasped his hands together, undeterred by the charge.
The man may be fast, but that dragon was faster.
Like a car ignoring a red light, the head of the dragon slammed into the man so hard it sent him flying and bouncing off the surface of the water behind me.
The dragon continued towards the man and it was then I realised it’s not a full dragon. It’s just the head.
I remembered that Jingshui needed his brother Heshui in order to summon a whole dragon.
The dragon head glided across the water towards the man who somehow managed to right himself.
Like a wakeboarder gliding on calm waters, the man laughed and easily avoided the dragon.
Big it may be but it lost out on it’s ability to maneuver.
Jingshui drew a circle in front of him with his gloved hand and I could feel water rushing to fill it.
Jingshui : DIE!!!!!!! aRGHHHH
From that circle, bullet like streaks of sardines fired at the man.
It was a mind blowing scene.
Jingshui looked like he was directing a minigun from a helicopter at the man that can’t seem to die.
Still, the man managed to avoid the water heading straight at him.
With a massive dragon his tail and a hail of bullets going straight at him, the man was still laughing.
He was laughing and running around the surface of the water like he was playing tag with kids at the playground.
There was a sudden boom and the man broke the sound barrier. He was too fast.
The next thing I saw was him smiling with a outstretched fist standing at the spot where Jingshui was.
Jingshui, on the other hand flew back into his yard and crashed into what’s left of his landscaped garden.
Joel : Jingshui !!
The man looked at the spot he sent Jingshui to for a couple of seconds to see if he is getting back up.
Shaking his head, he turned back to me.
Man : I thought this would be an interesting night… but it seems…
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly somersault backwards and literally flew 5 metres back when I saw tornado strike the spot he was standing moments ago.
A tornado.
A thin column of whirling wind that like magic, did not affect it’s surrounding.
The spinning stopped as abruptly as it appeared and I saw a familiar figure in front of me.
Fong.
A 2nd tornado struck 15 metres away and when it stopped, I saw that Kristin has arrived as well.
The man looked at Fong , then at Kristin before laughing again.
Man : Fong….. it’s been so long….. ahhaha…hahah…
The man spread his fingers on both hands and he clapped them together while keeping the fingers apart.
The air gushed towards him and I saw the horrifying sight of the masks.
The masks Fong told me about.
The masks of the 2 impermanence. I looked on in awe as the floating head and hat of the 2 scary characters that gave kids endless nightmares appeared beside the man.
Man : It’s not everyday you get to fight with so many elders hahahha…..
I didn’t even realised it but Kristin was already trying to drag me to a corner.
My attention was on the masks.
The 2 mask.
They demand their pound of flesh when summoned.
Fong seemed calm and composed when faced with magic that was supposed to remain in his family.
Man : hahaha… aRGHH!!!! Feed my mask would you !!! ahhahaha!!!
The man sent both masks flying towards Fong.
Fong put both hands behind his back like the abbot of a shaolin temple who knew perfectly well what he is dealing with.
A split second before the man’s mask hit Fong, Fong summoned his own masks.
Instead of just the head and hat of the impermanence, 2 full bodied figure of the impermanence appeared and they grabbed onto the attacking mask with one hand each.
Fong’s summon looked with disdain at the attacking mask as if they were not worthy.
Turning the cheap copy towards each other, Fong’s impermanence smashed the masks into each other. The ripple of energy shattered the windows of all nearby properties.
Car and house alarms went off in the entire private enclave of rich property owners.
Fong’s impermanence looked at the grinning man who started clapping before they disappeared.
Man : hahahah… woooooo….hahaha…… truly an elder indeed.. hahah…truly and elder….
Fong : And you….. will forever be a copy cat…. Yingzi….i thought you were just a story…. Made up to scare kids….
Yingzi. His name is Yingzi. Shadow.
Yingzi : hahahah… so you know….. who I am….
The man did not seem bothered by Fong’s comment and he started stretching.
Kristin : are you ok Joel… ?
Joel : My arms are breaking…
Right about then, I could feel another barrier appearing.
It’s not made out of air.
It’s made out of earth energy.
And it originated from that mysterious man.
As if things could not get worse, he pulled out a waterproof lighter from his pocket and within a second, set Jingshui’s car on fire.
That man, like me, is from the space family.
The air around us came alive and I could feel the debris around us vibrate regardless of their size and weight.
It appears that Yingzi is not going to fight Fong with his element.
With Kristin’s help, she dragged me further away from the action.
Something, or rather someone, pierced through the barrier from the direction of Jingshui’s house.
A ghostly apparition of a boat sailed right up to Jingshui’s wrecked house before it disassembled into water seeking the closest drain outlet.
It’s Heshui.
He went to his brother and I could see Yingzi alternate his attention between Fong and Heshui.
From the main road, a heatwave forced itself into the barrier.
Moments later, Sanhuo and Erhuo appeared.
They could not believe the carnage that is in front of their eyes.
Sanhuo : What happened Fong….?
Sanhuo looked at Fong, not knowing that he only arrived moments before them.
Yingzi : this is turning out to be a party…. Hahaha…
Sanhuo : who is he Fong… ?
Sanhuo asked just as Yingzi pulled a column of fire and sent it towards the 3 elders standing in front of him.
The column of fire spun like a jack in the box with it’s body attached to Jingshui’s burning car. Just before it plunged towards the ground where the elders stood, it took the form of a serpent with it’s mouth opened and fangs bared.
Erhuo sliced the serpent into two with one hand. Just when it appeared that the fire serpent is disabled, it split into 2 smaller ones, circling back for another attack.
Before Fong and the fire elders needed to do anything, a fully formed water dragon popped out from behind Jingshui’s wrecked boundary wall and it swallowed the fire serpent, body, tail and all as it extinguishes the burning car.
Heshui supported Jingshui who was barely conscious but with one hand each moulding the water, they summoned the fearsome dragon.
Yingzi : hahha… Looks like this is not going to be a fair fight….
Erhuo : Who are you…. ! You are not from the fire family. !
Yingzi : the biggest and the mightiest, but always the most daft… hahaha… I am…
Before Yingzi could finish, he was suddenly assaulted by an octopus and a squid.
The tentacles of each creature the size of a car held onto Yingzi’s limbs.
Fong : stay back !… aRGHHH!!
There was an explosion of air around Fong and I watched him summon the 2 impermanence again. The 2 horrifying mask with it’s signature hat and dangling tongue flew towards Yingzi.
Both of them bounded Yingzi with their chain. It happened so fast there was nothing he could do.
With a forceful tug, Yingzi, the water creatures bounding him all exploded at the same time.
As the bits of clay and dirt rained down on everyone present, the remnants of Yingzi’s body presented a disturbing truth.
Yingzi’s left leg and parts of his right feet was all that was left standing after Fong’s attack.
While I expected to see bits of his flesh perhaps with bones and blood splatter, all that was in front of us was bits of clay and soil.
Fong : amazing… he’s an earth clone….
I could not believe my eyes.
I looked around at the neighbourhood and I could hear the approaching sirens.
All these destruction and power from merely a clone ?
Sanhuo : where is the GBM ?
Erhuo : yes, where is it ? are you here for it too Fong? I thought you were not interested in it !
Fong turned to the 2 of them and replied calmly that he did not come because of the GBM.
Fong : I came because i felt the massive disturbance in the wind… the wind energy gathered around here is not normal…..aside from me and my daughter, there should not be another wind user on this island…..
Heshui : we cannot talk here… we need to go….
Heshui’s boat started to build in front of our eyes.
Water stitched itself together rapidly, taking the shape of a junk. A Chinese sailing ship with fully battened sails.
All of us got on and the boat glide over land and past Jingshui’s damaged house.
From the sea, I could see the lights from the approaching emergency vehicles converged on the private property.
Heshui : Jinghsui…. What happened…?
Jingshui : the man appeared out of nowhere and attacked Marie and me…. he could have killed us but he didn’t…..
Heshui : why… ?
Jingshui : I don’t know….
Heshui looked at me and demanded to know what I there.
Jingshui : It’s got nothing to do with him…… he came to visit and to learn…. Wrong place at the wrong time….
Heshui did not look convinced and the impatient Sanhuo and Erhuo again, brought up the topic of the GBM.
Sanhuo : Something is wrong Jingshui… you be hiding something…. There is a GBM at your place !….i’m sure of it….
Jingshui : You’re mad….
Sanhuo : what did you say !! ?
Fong stepped in to calm everyone down.
Fong : There are bigger things at stake here besides the GBM….
After a childish glaring match, the water and fire family finally calmed down, allowing Fong to speak.
Fong : That man is Yingzi…
Sanhuo : Yingzi… ? impossible… that is just a myth… a story …
Fong : I have always suspected it to be more than a myth…… so has my father and my grandfather….
Heshui : that is not possible…. It’s a story….to scare kids who do not want to practise their magic properly….
Fong : It’s the truth…. He admitted it… you can ask Joel and my daughter…
Jingshui : Fong speaks the truth… I heard it too….
Erhuo : you cannot be serious….
Fong : There can be no other explanation….. Yingzi knows the magic we all wield….i’m sure you can feel the familiarity in the magic he moulds… it’s like he is an extension of us….
Kristin : who exactly…. Is this Yingzi… ? why didn’t you tell me about it before….
Kristin looked at Fong and I could see the name finally resonate with the elders present.
For a moment, everyone went quiet. It’s as if the older men in the room finally realised that their childhood nightmare is not a myth.
The boat sailed calmly along the water as we head to deeper waters. I could see we are turning left and heading towards the east coast. Base on the route we are taking, I assume we are going to take a loop round the right side of the island, heading back up to Changi before taking the straits of Johore towards the clan building.
It’s surreal and truly magical.
It felt like I was sitting on opaque piece of glass. I could see the waves beneath. Like a series of hands handling a fragile piece of glass, they rolled and passed the boat we were on further down the path to other watery hands that reached up.
There were no bumps, no jerks or vibration. I could well be on a Maglev train if not for the speed.
I’m not familiar with speed in knots but if I were driving at this speed, I would say we’re going at about 30km/h max.
Enveloped by water all around with pieces of viewing panels, the junk traversed the busy water ways surrounding Singapore.
We passed by parked container ships, tankers, even bumboats, not to mentioned a coastguard patrol craft. However, none of them paid any attention to us.
It’s like we are invisible.
Kristin : Daddy…
Fong looked at his daughter and he revealed the story behind Yingzi.
Who he is and how he came to be.
Yingzi, or also known as shadow, is a story told throughout the years to kids who did not want to take their magic or their gifts seriously.
Everytime the young ones don’t take their practise seriously, Yingzi would be watching from the side. You cannot see him, you cannot feel him, but he is there, learning, watching.
He will observe you, and he tries to mimic the smiles of a ginger breadman.
When he sees you fail to mould your magic, he will try to learn what you could not. If he masters it before you, he is going to come for you and use what you are practising against you.
The only way to stop and deter Yingzi, is to learn the magic before he does.
Not only must you learn it, you must be good at it.
You must be better than Yingzi.
Only then, he will leave you alone.
Yingzi belonged to the space family and he has existed ever since the 1st elders among each clan discovers their element. It is a story told throughout the years. Handed down from generation to generation.
Father to Son, Mother to daughter.
As an outcast from the space family, Yingzi was not taught any skills, so he was forced to learn secretly by spying on others, thus earning him the name of copycat.
Yingzi would appear from time to time, especially during periods of chaos and war to sow discord.
Yingzi did not function merely as a myth to scare the kids. For the older teenagers, Yingzi’s shadow loomed over them constantly, not as a magic stealing monster hiding in the shadow, but as a reminder of what they should not become.
With the eventual disappearance of the space clan, Yingzi’s story slowly died off.
In modern days where kids are more concerned about whether their mobile phones have WIFI, the story of a monster out to steal their magic never gained traction.
It’s a old story but it stayed on the minds of the older generation nevertheless.
Kristin : Why didn’t you tell me anything about this…. ?
Fong : Look at the world around us… people hardly believe in magic anymore…. Not to mention a myth of a monster hiding in the shadow…
Joel : you said he likes to smile…. Or rather, mimic the smile of a GBM … why is that so.. ?
Fong : Where some people keep gluttons as an extension of their power and abilities , Yingzi believes that he can keep a GBM…. This is of course, not proven…it’s merely a story…. A legend… no one can keep a GBM… it’s too unstable…unpredictable….
Yingzi believes that in order to gain the trust of a GBM, he must first be able to communicate with it on the same level. Starting with a smile.
That explains that eerie smile that never seemed to leave his face.
Sanhuo : The appearance of the GBMs in Singapore must have triggered his return then…?
Fong : It’s possible… the manifestation of 2 GBMs on such a small island is drawing attention….
Heshui : The water family in Malaysia is asking us for updates…. They felt the energy too….
Kristin : so Yingzi came for the GBM…
Fong : I believe so…
Heshui : why did he attack Jingshui… ?
Everyone looked at Jingshui as the boat we are in sailed past the Naval fleet docked at the shipyard.
Erhuo : because he is hiding something that’s why…
Jingshui : fuck you Er huo…
Sanhuo : if you are not hiding something… why would Yingzi attack you for no reason… ?
Heshui : what are you trying say Sanhuo !
The bickering among the older men started again with each of them trying to accuse the other of hiding the truth.
Fong, as usual tried to stop the bickering but the noise only got louder.
Kristin went over to her father and I could feel goosebumps appearing on my body as I linked the chain of events together, piecing together a plausible theory.
First. Hector.
Hector remembered clearing that he was ripped off his host GBM by masks.
The mask that Fong conjures.
The 2 impermanence. Seeing Yingzi mould the same magic, it is possible that Yingzi was the one that ripped Hector from the host GBM. This means that Yingzi has been hunting both GBM for a while.
The host that is now missing, and Hector, that is now inside me.
The GBM that appeared in front of us in Pasir Ris park and later at Jingshui’s house must be the host from which Hector came from.
Now that I look at it, it was not there to take our lives.
If it wanted to, we would not have stood a chance.
That GBM tried to feed Hector, like he wanted Hector to become stronger in the park.
Appearing again at Jingshui’s place, that GBM did not outright attack us either.
It was playing defence like it was testing us. It wanted to see what we could do.
And then it was gone. It disappeared.
Yingzi appearing shortly after is too much of a conincidence. Despite the shield Jingshui put up, Yingzi must have detected the GBM and tracked him to Sentosa.
Taking a step back, I recalled the incident where we were attacked at the industrial building in Bedok. The incident where the gluttons and the hags came for us like they were planted there.
That must be Yingzi as well.
I felt my heart beat faster as it dawned on me why Yingzi did not kill Jingshui and Marie right away. He was waiting for me.
From the incident at the industrial building, Yingzi knows the GBM he ripped off the host is now within me, thereby proofing his theory that a GBM can be hosted in the same manner like a glutton.
Yingzi must have been watching me ever since.
The bickering descended into curses and the pushing and shoving started. From where I was sitting, it looks as if I’m watching a few drunk uncles fight over a beer lady at the coffee shop after having too much to drink.
Heshui started threatening to throw Sanhuo and Erhuo out the boat while Sanhuo took out his waterproof lighter and started waving it in a menacing manner. Curses in a smattering of colourful languages erupted.
Kristin came over to me as she gave up trying to talk to the group of stubborn old men. Taking a seat beside me, she hugged her knees and suddenly apologised.
Kristin : I’m sorry….
Joel : Huh… sorry for what…
Kristin shrugged her shoulders.
Kristin : for everything… I mean….i shouldn’t have brought you into this mess…introduced you to this world…
Joel : don’t be silly… it’s not your fault…
Kristin : hmmm… I think so too… it’s not my fault….
I laughed and so did she.
The boat picked up speed a little, as if it would detect Heshui’s temper.
Upon arriving at the clan building, the bickering stopped and after letting us alight, the boat melted into the seawater below. I’m not sure if melt is a good way to describe it but it was what I saw.
It just melted away.
All of us entered the clan building and Yeow rushed out to receive us.
Seeing the state Jingshui was in, he directed everyone to the first aid room.
A woman appeared and she seemed to be medically trained.
Yeow : everyone out now… let Cynthia do her work…
The rest of us went to a conference room and the mechanical grind of the coffee machine reached my ears before the aroma of freshly ground coffee hit me.
Erhuo was calling the rest of the fire family while Heshui demanded Yeow to call the earth family in at that hour.
Heshui : They are always the slowest, fucking earth movers…. No wonder our construction industry’s productivity never increased these few decades… !
Kristin handed me a coffee and she lowered her voice to ask me if I was ok again.
Kristin : you ok Joel … ? you look a little rattled…
She’s right.
I was still trying to wrap my mind over what happened, especially the theory I just came up with. It’s a lot to take in.
Fong : I think what we need to do now…. is for all of us to agree to a common strategy …. To deal with this crisis…. Yingzi knows he is no match for all of us… he will seek to divide us…. And pick us out if we get in his way…..
Sanhuo : Get in his way of what ? finding the GBM… ? This is why we need to find it before him….! We can keep it safe…
Heshui : Oh fuck you and your GBM… is that all you can think of…..My brother almost died…
Sanhuo : he’s still alive Heshui….don;t make a big fuss over nothing…
Heshui : Oh screw you….. if this happened to you…. I wonder if you would say the same thing…
Joel : Looks like this would never end, this, childish endless squabble….
Kristin : sigh… when they get tired, they will stop…
Not wanting to stay in the conference, I made my way back to the treatment room where Jingshui is at.
I barely took a few steps when I felt it.
It’s like a jolt to my heart by a wave of energy. It felt like a heartburn.
I looked down the empty corridor and I asked Hector.
Joel : Did you feel it Hector… ?
Hector : Yes… I did…
Joel : that energy….
Hector : It’s the same wind energy from earlier… Yingzi…
I started running towards the treatment room.
Turning the corner, when I came face to face with the large glass viewing panel, I was horrified to see Cynthia pinned up against the glass with multiple wounds all over her body like a pin cushion.
Joel : NO!!!
I dashed through the door and there he was.
Yingzi with that eerie smile on his face.
He was standing over a breathless Jingshui who was defiant to the very end.
Jingshui had a small dagger made out of sodium chloride that Cynthia was using to clean his wound. He had buried it in Yingzi’s ribs but Yingzi still managed to mould enough air to kill Cynthia.
There was nothing I could use in that room and I had to make do with what I could grab.
Air.
Trying to mimic what Yingzi did, I collected enough air as I clasped my hands together.
Joel : aRGHHH!!!
I had enough for 3 scorpion like spines and I sent them towards Yingzi.
Yingzi saw my attack and he smiled momentarily.
He was not blocking my attack.
I have him.
At the very last moment, I felt my heart sink when Yingzi wrestled the energy from me.
He redirected my attack.
Before I could stopped myself, Yingzi plunged all 3 spines I moulded into Jingshui.
Joel : NO!!!..
Yingzi : hahahahah…
Jingshui took one through his right lung, another punctured his intestine while the 3rd went right through his left arm.
Yingzi laughed as he retreated against the wall before he disappeared.
I ran over to Jingshui and I held onto him.
Joel : oh fuck… oh fuck… oh fuck !!! I’m sorry… I’m really sorry Jingshui…. Oh fuck !!…
I fumbled for my phone and I could see it in Jingshui’s eyes.
He shook his head slowly as if to tell me that I’m not to blame.
The commotion attracted the rest who came over.
I turned and I heard the gasp of shock.
Heshui saw me first.
Followed by Fong, then Kristin and the rest of the fire family.
Everyone saw me.
Everyone saw me with the 3 spines of air going into Jingshui’s body.
Kristin covered her mouth and her knees buckled, collapsing onto the ground.
Joel : I can explain !…
Heshui : arGHHHH!! …
The sprinklers above our head burst and needle like spikes came at me from all sides.
There was no other option.
Hector knew that.
Within that split second, my GBM cloak burst into flames, repelling all the water spikes that Heshui sent towards me.
Sanhuo and Erhuo had a flame burning out of nowhere and I saw 2 fire serpents streaked towards me as I put up a shield of water to repel it and protect Jingshui’s body.
Hector : coming out !…
Hector came out of my body and he put up a shield because he knew whatever was coming is too strong for the one I could mould.
A battering ram made out of water smashed into Hector and it levelled the 2 rooms beside us while blowing an opening the size of a truck behind us. Debris and bits of concrete flew onto the open amphitheatre.
Heshui :aRGHHHHHHHH!!!
Hector disappeared into my body and he told me something which I could not disagree with.
Hector : alright… we’re royally fucked now… !
Erhuo and Sanhuo’s serpents double in size, no doubt helped by the additional oxygen from the new opening.
Heshui broke the water barrier I put over his brother and I could feel the entire sea along the Johore straits vibrating. The water carried not just ships and the organisms that lived in it, it carried the wrath of a brother who watched his own sibling die.
Sanhuo : he has that GBM inside him !!!
Fong could not move. Neither could Kristin.
I looked at Kristin and I managed one last sentence before Hector forcibly bundled me up and ripped me away from the building.
Joel : It’s not me…
As I flew backwards towards the straits of Johor, the fire serpent dove towards me with it’s mouth opened, ready to engulf me whole.
Overwhelmed with anger and frustration, I clenched my fist and I saw the shadow of the magnificent beast against the clan building before I see it in front of my eyes.
A dragon, one made out of water. As big as the one Jingshui and Heshui summon rammed straight into the fire serpent. The massive collision of energy caused a sector wide blackout for the entire industrial district, plunging a part of the island into darkness.
Trees were uprooted and all the windows on the clan building were blew out. Claddings were ripped off their support and nearby heavy vehicles were flipped on it’s side.
Sanhuo and Erhuo were already moulding their next magic when I landed on the amphitheatre ground. A fire hydra pushed it’s head out from the building where I exited.
I never expect Kristin to jump in front of me.
Clasping her hands together with her eyes closed, I was reminded of the time I first saw her do this.
Kylie appeared above her sister and I felt the drastic increase in energy as Kristin opened her first gate.
A circular shield of air expanded outwards, slamming into the Hydra’s many heads as it tried to attack me.
Turning to me, Kristin said something that sounded awfully familiar.
Kristin : Joel….. run ….
It’s not me.
I shouted over and over again.
It’s not me.
Flames licked the shield Kristin put up and I could see the sparks explode as the different energy clashed with each other. I might well be standing in a factory producing steel beams with molten metal.
Each time the flames hit the air shield, it felt like heavy metal parts grinding against each other. The sound is like the dry scratch of nails on a old chalkboard. Teeth chattering and disturbing to the ear.
Overwhelmed by emotions, tears rolled down my cheek as I I watched the hydra ram into Kristin’s shield. It’s not going to hold.
Heshui’s left hand grabbed onto the broken shards of glass on the curtain wall and he started to bleed.
He pressed his eyes shut for a brief moment and I saw his glutton appear.
He kept one too.
Muscular and well built like that of a feather weight boxer, the glutton’s mouth had traces of the fresh blood Heshui just fed it.
The glutton came straight for me and it penetrated Kristin’s shield, ripping a hole big enough for it to squeeze through as the Hydra reared it’s body up for another strike.
Kristin : Joel !!!.. RUN!…
Heshui’s glutton streaked towards me and Kylie intercepted it. She bulldozed into the glutton and the 2 of them tumbled and rolled along the ground while landing hits and jabs at each other.
Fong, recovering from his shock dashed to his daughter’s defence.
He reinforced the air shield Kristin put up while urging everyone to calm down.
The water behind me bubbled and I could see the hammer like head of a giant squid slowing rising out of the water.
Fong : everyone just calm down !!
Fong pulled Kylie back just as Heshui’s glutton smashed a punch into the ground, sending chips of concrete flying half a metre into the air. With his right hand, Fong lifted it above his head and I could feel a web like structure reinforcing the shield Kristin was holding.
Fong : Stop !…. all of you… just stop !…
ErHuo and Sanhuo were too engrossed with trying to get Hector. Aside from the Hydra, I realised they had surrounded the whole clan building with a swarm of angry bees.
Hector : Nothing you say would register in their head right now Joel… we need to go….
Joel : Go where… ?
Hector : Anywhere but here….
The bees rained down on me like a hail of bullets from a machine gun. The water shield I put up was torn to shreds in seconds as the 2 fire brothers concentrated their attention on me.
Hector’s energy shield came up and while it disintegrated the bees to nothing, it got the brother’s more excited to see the power they could wield with a GBM.
The bees retreated and this time round, the spread out over a bigger surface area.
They are going to rain it down on everyone on the ground, Fong and Kristin included.
Sanhuo : FONG !… GET OUT OF THERE !!..
Fong : STOP!!
Joel : aRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
No words could express the anger I was feeling. My blood was literally boiling.
The rage started to consume me and alongside the giant squid that Heshui conjured up, my octopus too started to take shape, albeit at a faster pace.
Heshui’s squid immediately attacked my Octopus, the tentacles of the 2 watery beast entangled together, rendering reach other immobile.
It’s ok if mine cannot move.
With one final burst of energy, my octopus orientated itself and sent a jet of water so strong that it ripped through not only the Hydra that the fire brothers conjured, it penetrated a hole that came out the back of the clan building.
If someone were looking from above, it would appear as if someone too a piss over the industrial estate and the piss dripped and left a line along the dry ground and buildings right up to it’s source.
After that strong concentrated jet of water, I sent a spray of sea water at the bees hovering above the amphitheatre. It extinguished about 30% of them, enough for Sanhuo and Erhuo to pull them back from the water coverage.
I could feel my muscles aching and I’m juggling so many things at the same time.
I could feel the tug and pull of the squid against my octopus.
I could feel the fire brothers moulding something massive to send my way.
Heshui’s glutton just barely avoided Kylie’s razor like fingers as she sliced a tall hedge behind the seating area cleanly into 2, reducing it’s original height by half.
This madness will not stop until I’m gone.
Seeing that the Hydra is no longer a threat to Kristin and Fong has come to his daughter’s aid, I proclaimed my innocence one more time even though I knew no one would hear me.
I spoke so softly that I could barely hear it myself.
Joel : It’s not me…
I turned and jumped into the sea the same time the 2 watery beast in the sea crushed each other into salty sprays of mist and droplets in the air.
Instead of landing in the sea, I jumped into a small boat I had moulded.
Using the same method of movements, I glided smoothly across the water towards Malaysia.
I don’t know what I was thinking but I’m a cop myself.
With a few witnesses including an angry brother seeing me holding onto the corpse of his sibling can be a little hard to explain. Especially when the tool of the murder originated from my body itself.
I need someplace where I can calm down and think things through.
And I definitely cannot do that while I’m being hunted like a dog in the country.
As I glide along the water, I could feel a school of fishes chasing me from behind.
Turning around, I could see fishes with crystal like body leaping out of the surface like dolphins playing in open water. They jumped out and slammed into the position where my boat was barely a second ago.
I zigzagged my path, avoiding the attacking fishes sent by Heshui.
I must be sticking out like a sore thumb on the water.
I’m exposed to the whole world in the topless boat and it didn’t take long for the coast guard to realise some dumbass is travelling at a fast speed towards the border.
I’m literally flying along in pitch dark waters but there’s no way to hide in the darkness. Not with the array of sensors, radar and night vision technology at their disposal.
Behind me, I saw the school of leaping fishes in pursuit.
I could see a patrol craft coming towards me from my right.
Hector : Joel…
Joel : I know…. I’m trying to think…
I had no time to think. Time is a luxury I did not have.
The strong spotlights of the patrol craft powered up and lit up the waters in front of me. It took them less than a second to cover me in that powerful search light.
I could barely open my eyes as the loud hailer fired up.
“This is the Singapore coast guard. Boatman of unidentified craft, your are hereby ordered to stop your craft immediately”
I ignored the warning and Hector, knowing that I can’t see with that glaring light in my face, saw fit to fire up the energy cloak.
The moment the shield came on, I could see again. The energy cloak somehow filtered out the glaring lights in my eyes.
The warning on the loud hailer sounded 2 more times before the patrol scraft started shooting flares into the air and towards me.
Joel : oh fuck… oh fuck…
From my left I saw a 2nd craft approach at fast speed. A 2nd set of search lights lit up the water along my intended path.
The only consolation was that Heshui’s fishes stopped it’s pursuit as a 10m radius around me is now basking in strong white light.
I can’t stop.
If I am caught, I would need to explain how the fuck am I flying across the water in what seemed like a boat made out of water on top of the other mess looming over my head.
I heard the boom of the first warning shots.
Still I did not stop.
A volley of rounds hit the water in front of me and I streaked sharply to my left before turning back.
“ This is your final warning. “
I don’t know where the invisible border is but the land across the border seemed to be getting nearer.
Hector : oh fuck !
The rattle of powerful machine gun echoed along the northern coastline that night as both patrol crafts fired at me.
Joel : Can your cloak stop bullets Hector ?
I shouted as I zigzagged my path as I watched the volley of tracer rounds track the path of the bullets.
Hector : Never tried before !
Joel : Great…
The 2 patrol craft slowed down but they kept firing volleys of shots towards me.
Suddenly they stopped.
Just when I thought I caught a breather, a 3rd set of lights lit up in front of me.
“ This is the Malaysian Coast guard. Stop your craft or we will shoot!”
Barely 5 seconds passed and they fireworks lit up the night skies.
I screamed like I was going down a roller coaster as I arc my path along the water while I raced towards the coastline that is within reached.
Another Malaysian craft is approaching to intercept me and I was suddenly struck with an idea.
I moulded 2 octopus under the water of each craft both patrol boats stopped abruptly in the sea like they cast their anchor.
It bought me the precious minute I needed to reach the shores of our neighbour.
I arrived at the waterfront of some high end condominiums and I scrambled to get onto solid ground. I cut through some construction hoardings and across empty roads before I read the first signs that greeted me.
I’ve arrived at Danga Bay in Johor Bahru.
It’s coming to 4am in the morning and I’m tired, exhausted and my whole body was aching.
I tried to act normal as I walked along the road. Aside from the occasional bike and car, it’s pretty much deserted.
Stopping at a water feature by a condominium, I looked at the massive towers of residential units, many of which remained empty and unoccupied. A lot are bought by investors.
I pulled column of water and using it as a makeshift elevator, I sent myself up the large 8 storey carpark and onto the landscaping deck where the amenities and pool are located.
I stopped and looked around to make sure no one spotted me.
I casually strolled to the lobby and Hector asked me what am I up to.
Joel : Trying to find a place to hide….
Hector : in here… ?
Joel : You prefer the streets ?
Hector : I just didn’t think the 1st thing you would do here is to break the law…
Joel : I’m neck deep in shit anyway…. I figure breaking another one doesn’t hurt now…
I hit the 20th floor, a random number and upon arriving, I asked Hector to check out all the units.
Joel : choose one will you…. you can walk through walls.
Hector : alrighty…
He came out of my body and I stood at the lobby looking towards Singapore. I need to figure out how to get myself out of this mess. It felt weird to look at Singapore from over here.
Hector appeared and told me out of the 6 units on that level, 2 are unfurnished. 1 is occupied by a single man while the other 3 are furnished and empty.
Hector : we’ll take the one at the end..
Joel : why .. ?
Hector : Owner is a Chinese woman… she looks like she won’t be back for a while…There’s a layer of dust on the furniture and the food in her fridge is expired..
Joel :wow…
Hector : She’s quite good looking, single and she’s rich.
Joel : How can you possibly know that….?
I followed Hector to the unit and he entered it and unlocked it from behind.
I walked in and I saw the photos of the owner displayed at several spot and I immediately ducked when I saw the cameras and the active router.
Hector immediately told me the cameras are dead.
Hector : I burned the circuits on all of the cameras don’t worry.
Joel : I guess we would at least have a few days before she decides to fly over and see what is happening ?
Hector : I guess so.
Joel : I assumed you say she’s rich because she can afford to buy a place here and leave it empty…
Hector : of course not…
I followed Hector to the only bedroom in the unit and he pointed to a safe the size of a 28inch suitcase.
Joel : Woah…what’s inside ?
Hector : A shit load of RMB and some gold bars…
Joel : jackpot then…
I was too exhausted to do anything else and I pulled back the sheets and collapsed onto the bed.
…………………………………………
When I woke the next day, I checked out the news on TV.
A massive cover up is underway from what I can see.
The carnage at Sentosa has been explained into a gas explosion by an unauthorised works and modification of the gas stove. The casualty is a domestic helper.
Marie.
Fake names of the contractor and even footage of the authorities raiding an empty office is being shown on TV.
I caught a glimpse of Yip on TV at the scene and he was on the phone. The moment he saw the news camera pointing at his direction, he turned and walked away.
Another news covered the collapsed of a building crane in an industrial estate. The 40m crane supposedly crashed onto a building from the neighbouring site.
Nothing much was said of the accident except it claimed the life of a hawker stall owner that sells Sugar cane juice in Serangoon garden.
A cover up.
A massive one that that.
Nothing was mentioned on the news about the incident with the coast guard on both sides of the bother too.
Hector : What now.. ?
Joel : let me think…. Let me think…
……………………………………………
I thought of calling my boss, or Kristin, or Fong, but I would risk giving up my position. The house I broke into is not going to be safe indefinitely, I need to keep moving.
I buried my face in my hands as a lifetime of running definitely is not what I was looking for.
There are only women’s clothes in the unit and I stole some men’s clothing from the drying rack on a couple of floors above.
With Hector’s help, I took some money from the safe.
Along side the money are books of transaction records and movements of money out of the country. You don’t need to be an accounting expert to know someone is cooking the books.
With the largest denomination at 100 RMB, taking too much of it is heavy.
I don’t want to be seen lugging around a large backpack either.
I grabbed 150 thousand RMB from the safe and I barely made a difference to the amount it contain.
Hector : Why aren’t you taking all of it. ?
Joel : We’re on the run dude, not heading into retirement.
Hector : No telling it would be here the next time you’re back….
Joel : No way I’m coming back after we leave….
I waited till night fall before heading out into the street.
I went to a payphone and I called my boss.
He picked up immediately.
Joel : Boss….
Yip :What the fuck Joel …? What the fuck were you thinking ?
Joel : I didn’t kill Jingshui… it’s not me…
Yip : I know it’s not you….there’s cameras in the building and in the treatment room… you shouldn’t have run !
Joel : Erhuo and Sanhuo are out to kill me…. not to mention Heshui….
Yip : you have no idea how much shit you are in Joel…
Joel : so I’m not wanted for murder… ?
Yip : it’s much worse I’m afraid….
As far as the authorities are concerned, Jingshui died of an accident. The story within the clan is another matter altogether.
The fire family wants the GBM and they managed to convince Heshui to pin it on me.
I may not be the one murdering Jingshui but I was indirectly the cause of his death.
Yip : You’re now wanted by all the families…. They’re going to hunt you down…. no matter where you go…
Joel : Great… what else…
Yip : The angry families aside, you are wanted for property destruction in Sentosa and most important of all, for illegal entry into Malaysia… you nearly spark off a diplomatic shitstorm….
Joel : I’m having a really bad headache now….
Yip : there is however, an option….
Joel : What option. ?
Yip : the Ministry of Defence is aware of the GBM inside you…. and if you would willing to come in, we can make all of these go away….
I went quiet for a moment and Yip asked if I’m still there.
Yip : You there Joel … ?
Joel : Yeah….
Yip : No one has successfully kept a GBM before…. Do you have any idea how valuable this is to the country….
Hector left my body suddenly and he just looked at me with no expression on his face. He was a permanent smile alright but I could see given a choice, he would not be smiling.
Joel : Why is the ministry interested in the GBM…
Yip : do you need me to spell everything out… ?
Yip went quiet for a while and he could read my mind.
Yip : I know what you are thinking Joel…. You don’t want to betray the GBM but look at it from another perspective…. If we can understand it…. Study it…. We can work with it for the betterment of…
Joel : you mean you want to put him in a cage… or rather, both of us in a cage…
Yip : Joel…we don’t know what we are dealing with….
Joel : Goodbye Yip…
Yip : Joel !…Joel !…. don’t you dare hang up on me JOEL !…
I put the phone back on the handle and I looked at Hector.
Hector : I’m bonded to you Joel… if you die… I die….
Joel : I know….
Hector : But I can leave you if you want me to….
Joel : Don’t be ridiculous….
Hector : aww….. I know you are sentimental…hahah
I gave him the finger as he chuckled and disappeared back inside my body.
I made another call to Kristin.
She answered the call cautiously with a hello.
Kristin : Hello… ?
I kept quiet for a few seconds and Kristin knew it was me.
Kristin : They’re listening Joel….
Joel : I know….
Before I could say anything more, I could hear commotions on the other end of the line and Kristin managed a hurried goodbye.
Kristin : Take care of yourself Joel….. lie low….
And she hung up on me.
I walked briskly away from the phone booth and I went to the money changer in the mall. I changed some Ringgit for my travels before taking a taxi to the bus interchange.
I looked at the large map in the interchange and Hector asked me where should we go.
Joel : Away from Johor, I’m still more comfortable with using water….so we’ll stick to someplace with a large water body….
I decided to travel up the west coast and take one day at a time.
………………………………………………………………
One week after the incident.
I found myself in Pangkor Island in the state of Perak.
I got accommodation at a backpacking hostel and the owner was willing to hire me to help with some odd jobs if I’m willing to take the pay of 6RM an hour.
I accepted.
I thought I could stay a while but I was wrong.
Barely a month in, I came home from a walk in the nature reserve where I secretly practised my magic to see several magic users loitering around the hostel where I was staying.
I retreated into the woods and with Hector’s guidance, I summoned a clone of myself out of earth.
Hector infused that clone with his GBM energy and I sent it running in the opposite direction of the hostel.
The fire family immediately went off in pursuit.
I quietly headed back to the hostel, packed my belongings and disappeared into the night.
A life on the run meant not staying long enough in one place.
For a whole year, I went from town to town. Villages to villages.
Magic made it easy for me to survive, to evade capture. Magic made it possible for me to move around without ID.
Clones easily took care of people in pursuit.
I would head deep into the woods to practise my magic.
Water, air, fire and earth.
I was pursuit not only by the families in Singapore, but also those the families in Malaysia and recently from Thailand.
The news of a GBM successfully kept by a Space user has spread throughout the region.
I kept running, and they kept hunting.
It’s a game of cat and mouse. One that kept me on my toes.
I lost count of the times they found me and surrounded me in the depths of the tropical rainforest.
Fire, water, earth users. However, they were not my match.
I met the 1st wind user in Penang around Christmas, he was from the family in Thailand.
He’s young, probably in his early twenties.
I could feel him pulling the air around me towards him but his mother appeared out of nowhere and stopped him.
They spoke in Thai which Hector translated for me.
Hector : She says they are not our match.
The mother and son was joined by their father, who came in between us, determined to protect his family if I were to strike first.
I backed away, signalling I have no intention to fight and the small wind family gave a polite bow. One that I returned with a bow of my own.
I went up to Kedah, and met one of the most stubborn earth family from Malaysia.
No one was hurt in our confrontation, but a lot of good land and trees were destroyed in the process.
They refused to stop until the watery arms of my octopus picked all 6 of them up and threatened to throw them into the sewers.
I fought on average twice a week.
And each time, I got stronger. So did Hector.
Hector ate countless gluttons and hags.
He grew bigger, stronger and before I realised it, on the eve of the approaching new year, I realised Hector is as well built as the original GBM he was ripped off from.
Joel : You might just well be his match if we meet again eh.. ?
Hector : You never know…. you never know….
……………………………………………………
22nd February 2020
Saturday
Last day of the lunar 1st month.
I was having breakfast at a old coffee shop in Malacca when Hector spoke to me.
Hector : Joel…
Joel : I know…
I felt it.
That familiar energy.
One that I never forget.
Not since the day I last saw him. Like the stench of a rotting animal, it stays with you. That unique energy streak.
It’s as distinctive as smelling durian in the middle of an airconditioned office.
The energy feels really strong.
Hector : He’s near….
Joel : Can you feel him….
Hector : coming from the front…. Less than 50 metres away….
I sipped my coffee as I looked at the group of tourist heading down the narrow alley.
I could feel the heat of the charcoal burning on the stove to my left.
There’s enough soil from a construction site 30 metres to my right.
With a prevailing breeze coming from the back.
There’s no lack of munition for me to use.
As the tourist group parted , I saw him.
I broke the handle of the porcelain cup I was holding and I could fell all the water that is running along the pipes within the entire neighbourhood.
Yingzi strolled towards me casually. He was wearing a pair of shades and his hands remained in his pocket. He smiled at me and I could feel Hector stirring.
Hector : Joel…. This one is not a clone.
As Yingzi closed the distance between us, I could feel the tremendous amount of energy that is coming from his body.
It’s several times the one I fought at Jingshui’s place.
The narrow alley is crowded and I saw 2 kids running by with a toy in their hands.
If we fight here, people are going to get hurt.
Yingzi is barely 10 metres away and as he stepped into the shade of the open air coffeeshop, he removed his shades and looked at me.
I could feel the muscles tightening and the patrons in the coffee shop suddenly commented on the vibration of the copper pipes on the wall.
Yingzi’s energy is much stronger than me and as he took a seat, I could feel the stark difference in our ability.
I was barely holding on to whatever I could of the different elements as he took a seat at my table and ordered a coffee.
Yingzi : Hi Joel…. How are you… hahhaha…
The coffee was served and the boss was waiting to be paid.
Yingzi did not take out his money and he looked at me instead.
Yingzi : Buy me a coffee…. And I’ll tell you how I killed your father….
The charcoal stove burst into flame the same time all the pipes ruptured, sending water into the streets.
Everyone in the coffeeshop ran into the streets and only Yingzi and I remained seated on the table as I clenched my fist.
I ruptured the water pipes and cracked the floor along the narrow alley so I can get the public running. There’s no telling what is going to happen once the fight breaks out.
Yingzi laughed and he reached for both my hands with such speed that I could not evade his grab in time.
The moment he touched me, I felt the disconnect between me and the elements.
He’s blocking me.
I struggled to break free but Yingzi held onto me effortlessly.
Soon, the immediate vicinity of the coffee shop was cleared of people but I could feel the energy of more magic user arriving.
Just when I though I could pinpoint which family they belong to, Yingzi let go of my hand and added.
Yingzi : Calm down Joel….
A woman in white appeared. Then another. Followed by a man, then another.
All of them dressed in white.
One landed on the roof of a neighbouring building, another landed on the cracked concrete pavement.
Within seconds a dozen others arrived.
There’s no way I could take on all of them at the same time.
Yingzi : Joel….. I want you to meet the rest of the space family….or rather, what’s left of us….
What’s ML2020 suscribers?
Motherload 2020 🙂
How can I subscribe to that? Can’t find any links or payment method.
Hi Happy.
Motherload 2020 is a 1 off purchase of all my paid works since 2012. The cost has ballooned into a sizable amount.
Here’s the link https://gumroad.com/l/caEqt
Cheers 🙂