A young man with lustrous olive skin was walking on a long, grassless patch. The world was dyed red under the direct light of the crimson sun. The deep blue sky tried its best to hold the sun at bay, but failed miserably.
The young man's rough and unkept purple hair pecked his neck as he smiled softly. His chiseled body was covered in leaves, roughly bound by thick vines. The leaves were of uneven proportion, covering his waist. The vines were as they held a stone slate on his thigh.
A beautiful butterfly fluttered near, just in front of him, giving him a visual relief from the red sun and harrowing memories.
The butterfly flew around him for a while before coming to an abrupt halt near his face.
The butterfly started to shine brightly, slowly turning more and more dazzling. Elias cursed as he froze again, waiting for a proper aggression.
Requim beasts or any beasts for that matter were generally harmless to Chinenkind. It is the Chinen who show hostility towards them; the giant insects were most probably an exception.
Thus, as long as Elias does not show any aggression, he should be safe. Once again he stood frozen as the butterfly shone with magnificent white light.
The butterfly started growing in size as Elias stood there, baffled.
It slowly turned as big as Elias before starting to deform. It changed its shape before turning into a human form — an old man with a muscular and strong build, his white hair tied to the back of his head while some swayed freely. Unlike Elias, he was wearing dark red armour composed of dark red scales.
"A wanderer?" The man's voice was deep but soothing; he stared at Elias for a bit and then sighed, "A survivor? Of those giant insects…"
If this is a Requim beast, then I have no chance of surviving. However, I do not believe it is one.
It was a weird feeling, to not feel any bloodlust from something so otherworldly. The old man had an aura around him' standing near him felt... pressuring. The pressure was not like of tension and bloodlust, rather it was similar to the pressure of being fun around your friends or talking in front of your crush.
"Are you a priest?" Elias asked, looking at the old man with hidden curiosity.
"Sure am, boy, is your tribe hiding somewhere?"
The harrowing scene of the massacre flashed in Elias's eyes as he shook his head. The old man nodded and asked.
"Are you going to the Red Tiger Empire?"
Elias sighed and tilted his head, contemplating something before nodding.
"You do know you can not enter go empty handed."
The old man stared at Elias with knowing eyes. Elias did not answer; instead, he chuckled and asked,
"Are you going to trap me? I know I have the strength of a combat warrior or a grade 1 beast but I am merely a normal Chinen." Elias pointed at his third eye in the middle of his forehead. It was pure black, indicating that it was not even grade 1, but it was open, showing that Elias had gone through the ritual.
The old man chuckled, "Oh me? As a respected Duke, I would never!"
"Duke?"
"Son, if you want to enter the Red Tiger Empire without getting sold as a slave or 'Empire regulated labor' as they say, I can help you."
The red sun hung just above them, floating in the bright blue void which covered the heavens. The great cloud was quite far from the red sun, floating towards the rest of the world.
The old man's grey hair swayed in the wind as he spoke, "Let us make a deal then."
The young man looked at the 'duke' warily; waiting for him to continue.
"I have to find some good disciples; the empire fed kids are quite soft."
"So you want me to become your disciple?"
"Sure, but after a little test… we will have a little duel; don't worry, I will not use any Requim nor will I attack. I will only dodge. If you can hit me just once before the great cloud devours the red sun again, I will let you be my disciple"
The old man lowered his voice when saying a little test, speaking in an almost mocking tone.
Elias stared at him for a second, asking a silent question.
The old man smiled pleasantly, his magical charm outshining the bright red sun.
"If you cannot even do that, then… I guess you shouldn't be allowed to live."