The fire cracked and popped as it released plumes of smoke in the air. The smoke danced in the wind before it dissipated into tiny specs of Virya, only higher cycles of cultivators would be able to discern. Quiet nights in Nablar were rare and only allowed in the top layer of this inverted triangle prison. Though the quiet nights were quickly disturbed by the blood moon that plagues the human layer more often than not.

  The blood moon changes the creatures that lurk in this layer into demonic beasts that effectively turn them into bloodthirsty high-tiered beasts whose only goal is to kill anything in their sight. The Annoids who made a home in the human layer of this prison mostly hide from the blood moon and its beasts; only surfacing when the blue moon comes back in order to gather resources for when they need to hide again.

  Toflann, however, built a cabin fit for a minotaur like himself on the surface despite the blood moon. He was not bothered by the ravaging beasts that came within his vicinity. He was one of the few Annoids in Nablar who was strong enough to kill and fend off the beasts alone. But what else did Toflann have to do in Nablar? It was a constant battle and survival with no chance of a normal life.

  It was all fine with Toflann. He long accepted his fate here.

  Toflann hated blue moons. Though they last randomly each time, this blue moon seemed to last longer than other times. He had nothing better to do than be stuck in the confines of his mind. But on blood moons, he was able to thrust his mind into what the blood moons effects do to the creatures on this layer.

  Mindless battle.

  He rarely thought about heading down the layers of Nablar, for he’d heard rumors of the second layer of Nablar. The spirit layer. From what he has gathered, rumor or not, the spirit layer is filled with illusions and forces the soul to undergo torture of the mind. That was something Toflann was not willing to put himself through.

  The mindless battle of the human layer fit him as an Annoid and as punishment. But as time passes, he wonders if he should traverse to the next layer to see the truth for himself. But the truths locked in the pits of his mind would surely come out. Truths that he would rather die to keep them away than to relive them again. He’s heard of many rumors in Nablar and has found relics in this prison that seems to be the source of said rumors, but he dismissed them all the same. There was one he could not forget, no matter how much he tried.

  Comets of two shall become meteors that will shake the truths of the Realms. There is no escape. Only Enlightenment.

  The rumor was not so much a rumor but some verse scratched into a random tree he had come across. Toflann tried to shrug it off when he saw it, assuming it was another Annoid who was at their wits’ end, but it was the only thing over the years that stayed relevant in his mind.

  When he saw those two streaks in the sky, he instantly remembered those etched words. He wanted no part of it, but could not resist investigating what those streaks of lights were, especially when the prized possession in his Soul Space beckoned him to. It had been dormant long before he was exiled to Nablar, and for it to awaken at the same time the blue streaks came made him all the more curious.

  The curiosity only increased when he saw a skinny human child with wavy brown hair dressed in red robes lying unconscious in an open field. Toflann looked up to the sky and sighed. Even when exiled to a prison locked away from the realms, troubles always seem to find him. He picked the boy up and headed back towards his cabin. Hopefully, this child would have answers for him.

  He sat in the cabin, staring at the boy until he woke up. To Toflann’s surprise how however, the boy woke without panic when he laid eyes on Toflann. Even a regular Annoid with the vice of strength would panic at the sight of a 9-foot-tall minotaur, but this boy looked to him with the calmness of an ocean. The boy assessed his body, noticing the bandages wrapped around his wounds from when he fell from the sky.

  “Thank you for nursing me back to health, honorable Annoid.” Toflann stared at the boy for a bit longer, slightly unnerved by his calm demeanor. In the end, Toflann settled for a grunt that he figured the boy would take as a welcome.

  “Was there another boy who fell with me?”

  Toflann shook his head. If this boy were one of the blue streaks, then he could easily assume the other blue streak was the other boy this one was asking about. The boy gave a wry smile.

  “You nursing me back to health is already a debt I have no idea how to repay, and I must ask you for a favor to which I also do not know if I would be able to repay. But as my family has told me before, Annoids are souls of honor, pride…” The boy paused contemplating his next words.

  “.. And greed. While I cannot provide much currently, if you help me find my brother and help us on our journey home, our family could provide you a fortune.”

  Toflann inwardly scoffed at the child, while not giving any physical indication. Flattering and insulting him is how he plans to convince Toflann? Under normal circumstances, he would set this child on his way. But circumstances were far from normal.

  Not only did two human children find their way into an unbreakable prison, but the verse that seemed like prophecy was coming to fruition somehow. And the main irregular circumstance was the artifact in his soul. It still pulled him in the direction of the other blue streak.

  Toflann breathed out cool, visibly air from his nostrils that brought the temperature down to a chill despite the fire that burned in his brick fireplace. He noticed the boy flinch slightly, but did not give in to the fear he knew the boy felt. This boy was far too calm for a human, let alone a human child.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  “Your tongue might betray the goal you currently have set in mind, boy. Regardless of what your kin has told you, I have lost my honor, pride, and greed long ago. What I desire is what you can not provide.”

  The boy stared at Toflann with placid eyes for a long moment before smiling and rubbing his bandaged wounds. “I don’t think that’s true. About your honor that is.”

  The boy stood from the cot he lay on and bowed deeply towards Toflann. “There is nothing I can offer for help or give for the help you have given me already. I am in your debt, and if our paths cross again, I do hope I have something I could provide.”

  Toflann stared at the boy blankly as he walked towards the door, no doubt to find his brother. If the blue moon turns or other Annoids find him, he would not make it far. This boy has been through much despite his age. Wise with words, but still a foolish child

  . Or was he the one foolish for falling for his words?

  “Hold. What is your name?” The boy paused in his steps and turned to face the minotaur. “Liam. Liam Mare.” “I am Toflann. Death will await you if you travel alone. I will accompany you for the time being.”

  Traveling during blue moons was always quiet for Toflann. No beast dared approach Toflann, and the Annoids feared Toflann enough to avoid him. Traveling with Liam was no different from traveling alone. He was quiet and followed along almost flawlessly, only asking questions when he wanted to gain knowledge.

  “And how did you figure that he went that way when his foot steps disappeared?” Liam asked.

  “There is a disturbance of Virya close to the ground. A dispersion of the natural Earth Virya caused by concentrated wind.” Liam squinted at the ground past where the footsteps first disappeared. Toflann sighed.

  “Your cultivation is nowhere near where it would be able to discern such small details. Not many are.”

  They continued on as Toflann followed the wind Virya, where they eventually found signs of struggle. It seemed Liam’s brother had engaged with Spikers and was then interrupted by a Komo. “It seems he ran this way.” Liam pointed in the direction where sticks and leaves were trampled over recklessly.

  “It seems that way, but the tracks were not made by your brother. It was made by the Komo that followed him.” The tracks of the Komo overlapped with the wind Virya for a short distance until the Komo veered off, most likely distracted by something else. Komo, in the blue moon, was harmless, only going after easy prey, so he was not surprised when the Komo no longer followed the boy.

  “He collapsed here. If he has been using the wind Virya like you say, then he must’ve passed from Virya sickness.” Liam crouched down, then observed the area before pointing in another direction where small branches were snapped.

  “He ventured off this way.” Toflann does not like to pry, but this child couldn’t be a child. He was too knowledgeable for his age and too calm.

  “You are an unordinary human boy. What of your past molded you into this?” Toflann asked as they continued on.

  Liam paused and turned towards Toflann, to which he saw Liam’s eyes change. He knew that look all too well. A look of a past buried. The look quickly disappeared, and he looked up at Toflann with the same placid face he had held since he first met him.

  “And what of your lost honor, pride, and greed that molded you into who you are today?”

  Toflann paused in breath, stunned. A human child wise and smart enough to evaluate Toflann’s character and choose words that would not offend him, but also stop him from asking any more questions. Simple and effective message. No one likes to speak of their past. Liam turned back and continued on the trail with Toflann following behind in silence.

  Explosions sounded off that causing alarm for Toflann and Liam. It came from straight ahead of them where the trail left by Liam’s brother led. They quickened their pace when they realized it and started to run when the explosions stopped. As they neared the area, Toflann held Liam back as he felt two familiar auras.

  Jelal and Catcher. These two Annoids were nothing of note, but if they were here, then that means they were also chasing after the blue streak. No doubt under orders from Olaf. He observed them from afar and saw Catcher leading a small boy with his hands behind his back.

  Toflann focused his senses to listen. “…you’ll make a fun pet.” Enslavement. Disgust rose in Toflann.

  He always hated the idea of slaves. He could wait and knock the two Annoids out and quickly retrieve the boy without them having any clue as to who took him. Then Toflann saw the boy more clearly as he was pushed and dragged.

  The boy looked like an animal with ripped pants, leaves covering his head and different parts of his body, and messy black hair. But what gave Toflann pause was his gray eyes and jet black hair with a face he had long left in the past.

  “Jack?” Liam looked back at Toflann in surprise.

  “I never told you my brother’s name.” Liam’s words barely came through to Toflann, and he didn’t care. Rage overtook Toflann as his blood lust filled the forest with such oppression, Liam finally showed an emotion.

  Guttural fear.

  Toflann threw his double-sided axe to stop Catcher from advancing. Catcher jumped back, but Toflann anticipated it and launched an ice spike that pierced his body and pinned him to a tree. Jelal tried to advance on Toflann by flash-stepping to his right, but hesitated when he realized it was Toflann. Toflann didn’t spare Jelal a look and simply used his horn to bash his head, which sent him flying back. The fight was over in one instance.

  “Toflann. Olaf would not approve of you killing one of us.” Jelal said.

  Toflann did not want to cause trouble with Olaf, but the sight of the boy reminded him of his past. It has been long since his anger bested him. “Would he approve of two, Jelal?” Toflann would not hesitate to kill him, and he knew Jelal knew that very well.

  “Leave the boy and go before I change my mind.” Jelal disappeared without a trace. He then looked to the boy as he begged for his life. For brother’s they sure do not act the same at all. But there was no doubt about it. The artifact in his soul has awakened and sought this boy. And this boy was a near spitting image of his dead best friend.

  “Jack!”

  That’s right, his name was... Wait, how did Liam know? Liam ran past Toflann and hugged the boy. “I thought you dead, brother! We only have the grace of this Annoid to thank for reuniting us!”

  His brother’s name is Jack? Was fate playing a cruel joke on him?