Chapter 13: Independent Personality

BOOM!

The force of the impact reverberated like a high speed collision of two asteroids.

BOOM!

By the second strike everyone had to take a step back or risk losing their hearing.

BOOM!

The pointy end of the pickaxe buried in the hard rocky wall of the crevasse and large chunks of stone crumbled.

“That’s enough, rest!” Zechariah yelled to old man Zax.

Dropping the pickaxe, Zax dragged himself a short distance from the excavation spot for the new numbered tunnel and slumped on the ground.

Although he used a lot of dark attribute energy, he was not spent. Far from it, he could land hundreds more blow easily. The problems were that each blow had to be with his full force and the constant brunt of every impact. It was as if the crevasse was alive and hit back.

TING!

TING!

TING!

...

Now was the turn of the followed up group of twenty to ring their pickaxes.

The standard initial size parameters of a new numbered cave were a hundred meters length, four meters height and three meters width. All this had to be done in the timespan of one year. Then, if the Ever Pure Solid’s output is sufficient, the project may proceed for a year of a test period that will exempt the prisoners from penalties in the case of unsatisfactory revenue.

“You are really strong, Grandpa Human”. Nulivs sat beside Zax and turned her neck to stare at him as applauded with a mechanical tempo. “Because of you we are alive and no one’s bothering us. I’ll be sad when you leave”. Her unemotional countenance said otherwise, but the girl was blunt and honest, also pitiful.

“Leave?” Even after Zax regained a morsel of awareness to his surrounding and the ability to reflect, his responsiveness to what not directly posed in front of him was monotonous. Instead, of listening and talking to others, he was preoccupied in making a nick in the dam that forced him to drown in standing water.

“Yes, when you will fail or succeed in your Evolutionary Ascension”. Nulivs explained.

“No”. Zax shook his head and for a split second a tiny glint passed in his eyes. “I mean; I need to leave ... soon, to do something”.

“Grandpa Human, you are saying nonsense again. You can’t leave before your Evolutionary Ascension”. Nulivs clicked her tongue. “Where else do you have to be or do anyway? We don’t have home, no more, it’s dead like mom and big brother”.

Zax opened his mouth to reply but he got stumped. He felt like he has the answers to Nulivs, but his disoriented head constantly lost them each time he tried to focus.

“Grandpa Human?” Nulivs weirdly look at him, then somewhat her gaze softened. “Please tell Uncle Vimoc and I goodbye before you leave”. She rested her head on him and together they quietly watched the motions of the pickaxes and listened to their tune.

...

Someplace far, far away ... Situated in a the Sior Plain of light, a Star like the pearly pupil of a saint omitted divine fluctuations. This was the Holy Palace.

A sweet sea of emerald surrounded the sole continent on the planet. Warm glow shined upon golden grasslands and silver rivers. Mountains exuding aura of sanctity perked from the earth and some even floated between it in the bright sky of ever changing white, pink, red and blue.

Of the livings, humans were the dominant race, but of the population of trillions, they only accounted for half. Beasts, insects and all sort of intelligent Beings, from the lowest of mortals to Sacred Immortals, worshiped in the same manner from under the doom of the sky, huts, caves, stone houses and palaces, all by the guidance of the one and only Holy Palace prayed for the benevolence of God Yerfijado The Almighty.

Spectating from a pavilion of white pillars and violet thatch, atop the Welcoming Heaven turret of the Holy Palace, His Holiness Morien cordially greeted a pair of blue haired, white skinned man and red haired black skinned woman, husband and wife Mythical Immortals known throughout the First and Second Valleys as the Aqua Ruby Couple.

“Morien!” The blue haired man hugged the religious leader of uncountable in the vastness of the First Valley as if they were bosom friends.

“Morien!” The red haired woman reached and tenderly kissed him on the cheeks.

“Iven, Shikolet!” His Holiness Morien took both by the hand and led them to the table and chairs at the center of the pavilion.

The three sat by the round table. His Holiness Morien gestured and a tray with a battle of wine and small fruits appeared on the table.

Iven gestured and three glistering glasses appeared also.

Shikolet smiled. She did not have anything essential to add so she accepted the role of the server, pouring for all three and pealing the fruits for the two men before her, though neither started to eat before she took first sip and bite.

“Delicious!” Shikolet marveled.

“Presents from The Almighty”. His Holiness Morien said. “From the Third Valley”.

“We thank his generosity!” Iven and Shikolet toasted excitedly.

The First Valley was Nature’s, the second belonged to Immortals and the third to Gods, where no one but Gods can set foot on.

A short while later of dining and chitchatting, the table was cleared and His Holiness Morien took the Aqua Ruby Couple to tour the planet to help the digestion.

“Where are we going?” Shikolet inquired as she tiptoed from cloud to cloud with her husband.