Comic Arts Spinoff: Tale of Two Souls

[Professor Fann]

I felt like updating. So here. Enjoy!

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This original fiction is mine, and all characters belong to me unless they are those of whom you know do not. I hope this fiction will be entertaining as you proceed along.
- M’siaFanWriter


Chapter 62: Souls One after Another Get Hurt


“Yawn …” Ken woke up on his bed. The sky was still dark; being only 5.30 am of a new day – 29th October a Monday. “Oh yeah … there’s no school today. Almost forgot.” He got up, throwing his blanket on the other side of the bed and stretched his arms upward.

“Right … there’s no Emi to wake me up, like before …” Ken looked around his dark room, at the furniture and over items. “I woke up this early … might as well watch some TV!” He ran downstairs to the living room, switched on all the lights and the TV set.

Last night, Ken had a surprise visit from Emi, who detailed her experiences in the other side to him as they went back to Ken’s home, relieving him of the sorrow of seeing her departure. The teen’s mood was greatly repaired, showed by the fact that he bade Emi off to the other side in his room after spending 2 hours with him with a smile.

“Gah … there are no good shows …” Ken yawned on the couch and turned to another channel. “Huh?” It was the male broadcaster. “… and police have managed to bring the crowd under control. And now, for another news update.” He shuffled his paper.

“Zhendou city council has issued a notice telling all residents to go for regular check-ups to guard against what has been observed in the city in recent days as ill spells.” That piece got Ken’s attention even more. “Ill spells?” “These ill spells were reported in the entire city sporadically, in what witnesses describe as sudden knockouts and collapses.”

“Doctors are confused, as they found nothing medically or physically wrong with these victims, despite the reports of, quote, ‘suddenly so dizzy’ and ‘horrible lack of energy’. Lacking further clues, the doctors recommend check-ups every now and then till there are no further signs of this ill spell in the coming days. Other towns are urged to follow suit.”

“Zhendou city is … about 40 kilometers from here.” Ken said to himself. “Ill spells, huh? Hm …” The news broadcaster continued his talking on other news as Ken dazed away before going back to sleep, like the rest of his family and his friends, presumably.

“Grrk.” We now turn to the Hoh penthouse manor in Shijun city. “Urgh … no! I’m not losing to you, Ken!” His hands moved by themselves. “Vroom! Vroom! He accelerates! He wins! Take that, Ken! I beat you in – WAH!” Hoh rolled and fell off his bed. “Ow!”

Hoh’s face met the floor first. “Ouch … at least I beat Ken in that video game … in my dreams, anyway …” The teen got back on his feet and dusted his pyjamas. “I’m hungry … time for a nice meatloaf sandwich!” H e exited his large room to his kitchen. “Yay!”

In a few minutes, Hoh’s thick double-meatloaf-sandwich was complete. “Yum! Delicious should come to daddy!” Then, he heard knocking on the front door. “Who could it be at this hour …?” He walked a distance and reached his front door – though there was the door-knocking sound, there was no shadow of anyone behind the blur glass window.

“This is …” He slowly opened the door. “Hello? Who –” What he saw was shocking, and he never got to eat his sandwich. “AAAAAH!!” Hoh’s terrifyingly-loud scream rocked his whole penthouse. It seemed like it was nothing from the outside world of Shijun city. Chaos soon descended upon the Hoh penthouse manor and other people would know this.

A clock ticked 9.45 am. “Yum!” Ken gulped down his hot chocolate. “That was so good. Mum, you have to make more of these!” Mother Saya smiled. “Sure, sweetie.” Brother Ryushi played on his egg-on-a-toast. “Ryushi, please don’t play with your food …”

“Whatever you say, big bro.” Ryushi ate a piece of egg from his plate. “I’m going to wake up dad …” Father Ajima said and got off his seat. “He needs his breakfast.” Ken looked on and back at his empty plate. “Sudden collapses, huh? Even in the streets … bah.”

Ken had read the newspaper he picked up from the porch at 8 o’clock and it had several articles on the Zhendou ill spells. They even managed to interview the first victim of the spell, who said it was 26th October a Friday – the same day when Ken returned from the Duohwa trip – when he collapsed. It went on to claim 23 more people in just 2 days.

“How strange …” He glared at the newspaper, which was on a living room couch. “This may happen today too …” He tucked up the sleeves of his red shirt and was about to go upstairs when his cell phone rang. “Hello? Speaking … WHAT!? … I understand!”

“Mum, I have to go to the hospital. See you later!” He ran off to the front door and wore his sports shoes. “What’s going on?” Mother Saya asked cluelessly. Sister Ayumi got all suspicious again: “Hey, don’t go running off again! What are you up to?! Spit it out!”

“Hoh’s broken down! That’s what!” Ken furiously said. “One of his servants called me! He collapsed at his door in the morning!” Ayumi glared at him. “You’re not faking this one, are you? And weren’t you the one who was watching TV all night last night!?” Ken was angry. “Ah, I don’t have time to deal with you!” He exited his home in a rush.

“Mum, I think he’s lying.” Ayumi plainly said. “I don’t think so, honey … please stop accusing your brother for no reason.” Mother Saya sighed. “You’re only making things worse …” The girl felt that her heart was stabbed and was thus depressed the whole day.

Ken was still talking to one of Hoh’s servants on his cell phone. “I’ve called some of Hoh’s other friends too …” The old man coughed. “It’s from his register … please come quickly. As master Hoh’s friends, I implore you –” “I know. I’m coming already.” Ken disconnected the call in the aerotrain, already towards Shijun city for a few minutes.

“Hoh …” The aerotrain alarm rang coolly. “Alright … I’m here.” Ken rushed from his seat past down the walkway to the Shijun city hospital. “Urgh, back here again …” He crossed the zebra line at the red traffic light. “I wonder which ward Hoh is in now …”

“There you are!” It was Wei calling him from his left. “Oh, Wei!” Ken replied, but then covered his mouth from speaking too loud. “How did Hoh collapse?” He whispered as he reached the girl. “You’ve got to see this. Quick!” She pulled him by his right hand.

“Ow! Hey!” He was dragged through the lobby into a conveniently-arriving elevator and she pressed the button ‘31’. “It … was horrible!” They were the only ones in the elevator. “Even Maz is upstairs, trying to figure this out! He’s puzzled just as I am and now!”

“HEY!” Ken nearly shouted at her. “Stay calm! We can’t solve anything if we’re panicky all over, okay? Just … lead me to Hoh’s ward.” Wei inhaled and exhaled. “You’re right … sorry, Ken. I got worked up. But … you really have to see this. It’s unbelievable …”

Wei was noticeably shaking. “This was like a repeat … of the time … you were struck with all the dark magic … when Maz was insane and bad …” Ken’s eyes widened. “Dark magic!? Hoh collapsed due to dark magic?!” Wei rubbed her eyes of the tears. “Yeah … thank goodness, his pulse is still beating …” It was silent until they reached the 31st floor.

They arrived. Wei dragged Ken into Hoh’s ward. “GAAH!!” He shouted. Hoh was struck in the head with seven giant dark magic blades and another three more in his chest. “My young master can’t recover …” Hoh’s servant was weeping at the corner. “No …”

At Hoh’s left side was Maz sitting on a chair. “Alright … I’ve figure it out.” Ken then walked to him. “What’s your analysis?” “Ah, leader … Hoh’s servant called me first … so I had time to analyze poor Hoh.” Ken blinked at his gibberish. “Here’s the thing.”

“It’s a little strong, this dark magic … but the only way … you can cleanse it … is for you both to do it together.” Maz rubbed his chin. “Remember when I was mad … and launched that mass attack … on the province … with dark magic and chemical leakages? I first shot you with my dark magic … this dark magic here is pretty close to mine.”

“We’re dealing with … some hatred here … the culprit who made these dark magic …” Ken gulped. “So, just as Hoh and Wei … cleansed you back then, leader … you and Wei should do the same to Hoh.” The trio looked at Hoh. His servant wept louder. “Sob …”

“Of course, without the old man here … Wei gave it a shot … but alone, she failed.” Maz coughed. “Where was he when Wei cleansed Hoh?” Ken asked. “He was in the corridor that time …” Wei mumbled. By mere coincidence, a nurse knocked on the ward door.

“Excuse me.” The servant wordlessly walked out and closed the door shut. “Now!” Ken and Wei simultaneously took out their spiritual weapons, charged them to bright yellow and slammed them hard onto Hoh. “Ah! It’s stubborn!” Wei said. “Hit it some more!”

Maz looked on with interest. “RAH!” Wei slammed her last before Ken. “Done!” All the dark magic was destroyed, fragmenting into millions of pieces, tiny and tinier. “Gah …” Ken sat on the floor. “Man, was this what you’ve been though when you cleansed me?”

Wei smiled. “Pretty much.” “Excuse me!” The trio glared at the nurse and servant when the door opened. “Stop shouting in here! It’s a hospital!” The nurse hissed. “Sorry …” Ken and Wei smiled guiltily. “Urgh …” Then, Hoh moaned lightly. “Master!?”

The old man rushed to him. “Where am I … hey, everyone’s here …” “Master Hoh! I’m so glad you came to! Mr and Mrs Hoh would’ve been so upset if I told them! Well, I did not tell them yet …” “I need my rest …” Hoh mumbled. “Hoh, did you see the culprit who did this to you!?” Ken quickly asked. “Master Hoh needs his rest! Away with you!”

“It was … I can’t believe it … it … was …” The teen gave in to his tired body before he could say anymore. “Darn.” Wei snapped. “So close … he could have told us who did it.” Maz nodded. “If only we had some hint … too bad I can’t trace the dark magic source.”

“Alright alright! Master Hoh is up, so be gone!” The servant pushed all three out of the ward and even locked the door. “Really, that’s one messy servant!” Wei remarked with disgust. “At least we cleansed his dark magic …” The trio sighed. “How do we go –”

“Hey.” Ken’s eyes widened. “I remember something. That thing on the news.” Wei was clueless. “Huh?” “There was this incident too … some Zhendou city with 24 people all ill to this spell. All of them were dizzy and suddenly collapsed – for no reason.” Wei rubbed his head. “Erh …” “What if this is related? Hoh knocked out the same way they were?”

Maz gave it a thought. “Hm … perhaps so.” The duo looked at him. “If the dark magic is strong enough … it can instantly … knock out someone. It looks like this is the case here. I … should check it out.” Wei instantly agreed. “Yeap, you’re the dark arts expert here.”

“It’s settled then.” Maz turned to Ken. “I’m going to Zhendou … go to the hospital … see the people … confirm if it is … I’ll call you both.” Ken sighed. “Yeah, I guess … just too bad I can’t come. My folks want me at home …” He shrugged. “I’ll go alone then.”

With that, Maz walked off. “Hey, what about your family?” Wei asked. “I have them … under control.” The silver-haired teen waved them goodbye without looking back. “That Maz … well, since this is dark magic, we should be careful too.” Ken nodded to her.

“Be in touch then.” The duo parted ways from the hospital lobby. Unknown to them, a slithery figure with a bushy tail was watching them from above the hospital roof. “Hiss … those two boys …” Its tongue flickered and it went off in another direction. “Saa …”

Indeed, Ken arrived home, just in time for whatever duties of his in the farm, or in his backyard. “There, he’s back.” Mother Saya greeted him. “See, Ayumi? He’s fine. I don’t see why you have to keep on complaining … he’s done nothing wrong.” Ayumi sighed.

“Brah.” The girl sulked. “Sorry … I thought you were up to no good.” Ken said nothing. “In any case, mum, is there anything to do?” “Ah, yes.” She took her to the kitchen where she was washing clothes. “You can hang these up and iron them later. Mop the floors …”

From then on to the afternoon, Ken had done many house chores – mopping the floors, getting the clothes hung on the stand, dust the furniture clean, collect everyone’s towels and soak them in detergent water, sweep the leaves on the road and later enjoyed a nice lunch of fried chicken and instant noodles. “There. All done.” He fell on top of his bed.

“Wonder if there is more stuff to do …” He gazed at the clock, ticking 1.31 pm. “No word from Maz though … what’s taking him so long?” Ken shrugged, got off bed and walked to his cupboard and took out all the comic books he hadn’t read yet. “La la …”

“Hiyah, Ken!” Emi shouted, just only arriving, in his room. “Whoa!” Ken fell over his bed and the comic books lay scattered. “Oh, hey Emi.” The ghost girl smiled. “How have you been? It’s been … about 14 hours since we last met.” She sat on top his bed. “Hah.”

“I’ve been fine, thanks …” Ken climbed onto his bed. “I was just going to read some comics … and waiting for Maz’s call.” “Huh? What’s it about?” Ken sighed, brushed his comic books aside and elaborated on everything about Hoh and the dark magic suspicion.

“That’s horrible! Hoh collapsed!? You should’ve called me and I would’ve been here already!” Emi frowned harder. Ken glared at her. “That’s not the issue now … the point here is that the symptoms fit. Sudden collapses everywhere … the culprit may be in the city now, after he departed from Zhendou! But as for the motives, I can’t say much …”

“Are you sure the culprit’s a man?” Emi asked. “Eh … no, it was just a term of reference. Just so we know what we are talking about …” The duo exchanged looks and laughed lightly. Ken sniffed. “That reminds me … what’s strange is that all the victims are males.”

“Men? This dark magic user is targeting men only?” Ken nodded. “Yeah … noticeably they were all 20 years and older. Except … Hoh is 15. That’s why this is even stranger. Well, it’s not much of a pattern, but it’s worth studying. Gah, I can’t read them now …”

Emi watched him put his books back in his cupboard. “Thinking over this has ruined my appetite for fiction.” The ghost girl was sad. “I wish I could help somehow … but I have to go back soon.” Ken smiled. “That’s okay … if you’re busy, it can’t really be helped.”

Ring. “Aha!” Ken dived to grab his cell phone on his desk. “Leader, it’s me.” The voice sender was indeed Maz. “Alright, so how’d it go!?” Ken hastily asked. “It’s confirmed … all these people were knocked out … the same way Hoh was knocked out today.”

Maz was in a Zhendou city hospital corridor. “Sorry it took so long … at the station about five more people collapsed … it was a mess. Those dark magic … came from nowhere … I tried to trace around … but the culprit was gone … quicker than me possibly … my spy bugs have been monitoring the city … no suspicious signs … it was just gone.”

“Wow … this got even worse … could be multiple perpetrators, or after attacking Hoh, he went back to Zhendou … hold it!” Ken gripped on his phone tighter. “I have a feeling that the culprit may have spied on us when we were visiting Hoh!” Emi was shocked.

“Are you sure … leader?” Maz remained emotionless. “You went to Zhendou to check the situation and we parted ways … after Hoh was attacked and then, just by chance, five people were attacked in front of you! Plus the fact that all the victims were guys! How’s that a coincidence!? Do you think … it could be after us too!?” Ken panted heavily.

“Ken, are you okay?” Emi asked. “Hm …” Maz rubbed his nose. “We’ll just have to watch our guards then … if you’re right … we’ve gotten its attention.” Ken gulped on his cell phone. “Anyway … next course of action, leader?” Maz coldly said. “Ah, that …”

The brown-haired teen called Wei, met up with her and they boarded the aerotrain to Zhendou city, with a map guiding them. Emi followed along, at whom Wei was most pleased to see. The duo’s plan was cleanse the nearly-30 victims in the hospital.

“And Maz said he’s coming up with a plan to look for the culprit.” Ken snapped his fingers. “Basically, that’s about it.” Emi tilted her head. “A plan? I wonder what it could be …” Wei looked at her. “Emi, you know what to do, right?” “Yes, definitely!” She raised her fist in the air. “Mm.” Ken nodded. “Good, let’s try and get this over with.”

Everyone was inching closer to a Zhendou aerotrain station. The whistle blew and the aerotrain stopped coolly at the platforms. “Ah … leader is here.” Maz was there waiting for the group. “Hey, coming to you in a jiffy.” They checked in past the ticket counter.

“I went to visit Hoh again, just before Ken called me.” Wei said. “Hoh’s doing fine. He’s sleeping in his bed … we still have no idea who the perpetrator is.” Emi shook her head. “To think he was spying on you … I wonder how he moved so fast between two cities.”

Ken replied: “Maybe we’re dealing with an experienced dark magic user. His dark magic on Hoh kinda proves it … dark magic spy bugs, or he can get minions to send those dirty things to his victims. Kinda like old Maz.” The pale teen hung his head down. “Let’s go.”

They rushed to the target hospital down many streets. “Hah, this hospital is not as tall as the one in Shijun.” Emi remarked. They stood before the 7-storey structure from a small park. “All victims … are on the 4th floor … 5 big wards altogether.” Maz said coldly.

“Alright.” Ken nodded. “Emi, go and check the 29 people with blades or axes sticking out of their bodies. We’ll see if they’re in the same place now or not. They might have moved to other wards when we were coming …” Emi saluted him. “Right away, Ken!”

She flew straight into the walls of the 4th floor and started scurrying around. “Wow, she’s so ever loyal to you, huh Ken?” Wei asked with some envy in it. “Eh … we’re thick and thin, you can say.” He scratched his head. “Something like we can’t live without each –”

“We’ve got a problem!” Emi loudly shouted barely 20 seconds later, shocking the trio. “Ow … she’s done.” The ghost girl formed her feet and ran to them. “I’ve spotted all the 29 possible victims; none of them has shifted wards … but they don’t have dark magic!”

All raised their eyebrows. “No … dark magic?” “Yes!” Emi looked concerned. “I saw dark magic blades, knifes and stakes … but not on the victims’ bodies! They are all piled up beside the victims! If what you said was true about them being stabbed … it seems like the culprit removed all of them! All 29 piles of them!” Wei couldn’t believe her ears.

“So … they’re all clean?” Wei rubbed her eyes. “Yes!” Ken then grunted. “Darn it, we were too late … so the culprit is onto us already. He knows of our cleansing powers, and to clean up his trail, he just removes them … what about the dark magic side effects?”

Maz shook his head. “When you cleansed Hoh … it was clean … no more traces. It’s not like my dark magic … mine is of far more hatred … and a touch of creativity.” The trio shivered on hearing that. “I think … the culprit just wants … to knock out those men … that’s all. He won’t be that … creative enough … to continue into a … complex torture.”

“Gulp.” Ken fidgeted. “I think … a simple swipe should clean the place.” He turned to Wei. “Let’s launch it together.” “Right!” The duo brought their weapons out, charged them quickly to glowing white and slammed on the ground. “Hmph!” “Ice tornado!”

Out from their blades, an expanding fury of ice and fire mingled into a giant tornado of spiked iceballs and spiraling flames. “Whoa!” Emi was taken aback by the display. “Ah … most interesting.” Maz looked on. The tornado enveloped the entire hospital.

“Yah!” “Ah!” Some small ghosts were caught in the winds, along with the dark magic blades. “What’d you know?” Wei remarked. “There’s the extra piece.” Fortunately for the four of them, no one was around to notice their loud shouts. The dark magic was all gone and destroyed. All that’s left was the few stunned ghosts that fell everywhere on the road.

“Wei, can you send them off?” “Sure thing!” She quickly drew circles in the air, which caught the beings off-guard. The formed bubbles shrunk and without them knowing, they were all sent off to the Yellow Springs. “All done!” Ken smiled. “Thanks a bunch, Wei.”

“Amazing …” Then something hit Maz. “So … it was that Shinjuku Han person … who gave you these weapons, isn’t it?” Ken and Wei became silent. “Um, yeah. He gave them to us … to fight you when you were stupid and evil.” Ken hesitantly replied. Maz was quiet.

“The culprit removed … those dark magic … I must have missed him.” Maz clenched his fists tighter. “I shouldn’t have … let my guard down.” Emi actually felt sympathetic to Maz. “Um …” The teen forced himself to smile. “No matter … I will have him now!”

Instantly, Maz raised his open palms to the sky and emitted thousands of black spheres. “Ah!” “Yikes!” “Eep!” The trio retreated a few steps. “These are … 200 thousand spy bugs … I will not miss the culprit this time … they will search every single crack in this whole province … if they spot anything odd, I will know … and I’ll call you two first.”

He made quick hand movements, spreading them throughout Chuhongyun Province. One more sphere rested on his right palm. “This one … will monitor the city … with the other ones.” A red eye opened, looked around and flew off his hand. “That … was … creepy.”

Emi hid behind Ken, making him sigh. “Well … at least Maz is helping us.” He looked at the others. “I think … we’re done for today. We’re counting on you, Maz. Let’s not have anyone else collapse like Hoh.” The trio wordlessly nodded and walked off to the nearest aerotrain station. The atmosphere was so grim that everyone quietly parted ways soon.

The hours passed. There was no word from Maz. Emi departed back to Paradise once Ken made it back in his room. Ken was so restless he couldn’t relax. Hoh was still asleep in the Shijun city hospital. It was time for dinner. Ken hurriedly ate and left his family.

“Sigh …” Ken flipped page 230 of his History textbook back and forth. “Already 8.30, huh?” He got off his desk and laid on his bed. “I’m bored … I really wonder if dad will plan a vacation for us … he usually does that on November every year.” He sighed.

“I’m done.” We turn now to the Osada temple manor. “Thanks for the meal.” He clasped his hands together. “Oh … you finished all your food, Matsuo. That’s good.” Mrs Osada tried to be happy for him. “Thanks, mum. I need to handle a serious business now.”

He plainly walked out of the large dining room. “I’m done …” Mr Osada said. “Let’s wash up the plates.” “I’ll help!” Ria cheerfully added. “How sweet of you, honey.” Mrs Osada collected all the dishes and everyone got to work. “…” Bak remained seated, looking at the door which Maz departed off to. “Is this about … Ree, Yon and Sim?”

Back in the altar hall, Maz stood and gazed at few of the 200 thousand conjured screens from his spy bugs. “There’s still no sign of him … come out, you piece of garbage … let me tear you down for good.” He let his canine tooth pass his lips and clenched his fist.

Suddenly, an alarm rang. “Hmph!?” Maz turned to a screen that turned fuzzy and grey. “Spotted in the outskirts of Zhendou city – hm!?” More screens turned fuzzy, one by one, very fast. “It’s moving very quickly … it’s coming here! It’s coming for me! This is!!”

The clock ticked 8.37 pm. “I’m bored … still waiting for Maz’s call.” Ken tapped his fingers on his desk, imagining he was a famous pianist. “Oh, come on.” Emi suddenly appeared behind him. “GAH!” He fell off his chair. “Hey Emi … you have got to stop doing that! Surprising me like that!” Ken looked at her angrily. “Ahah! I’m sorry, Ken!”

“Besides … what are you doing here?” Ken sat on his bed. “Nothing to do in Paradise? Why not try kicking your ancestor’s behind in a duel again?” Emi frowned. “I can’t be that bored to be always fighting him, right?” They continued talking. It was 8.45 pm.

“AAAH!!” Ria and Bak were shocked. “That voice!” “Maz!” They ran down the corridor to its end, into the altar hall. Maz was lying on the floor, rather petrified. “Ah! Maz!” Bak ran to the pale teen first. “What happened to you!? Say something!” “Urgh …”

Maz clenched his fist. “I almost had it …” Bak felt all his limbs. “You’re having muscle spasms all over!” Bak couldn’t see it, but Maz was stabbed with 8 long stakes all over his head and body, which were all cut short neatly, as he attempted to dislodge them with his energy falchions. “Grah … so this must be how Ken feels when he’s shot … argh!”

“I’m calling mum and dad!” Ria said before running out to another door. “Hang in there, Maz …” Bak looked on worriedly. “Bak … call Wei now … tell her to call Ken … tell them … a demon’s coming for him … NOW!” Maz looked at Bak straight in the eyes.

“Yikes! Alright, I’m on it!” The frail boy was frightened of his wits. “Call Wei, tell her to tell Ken something’s coming for Ken! Got it!” He ran off to where Ria ran off, leaving the spiritually-injured teen alone. “Darn it … next time, I’m using my mind power to crush all sneaky little spirits … no more weapons … just speed and mind … urgh …”

Bak dashed to the nearest telephone. “Wei’s number, Wei’s number … aha! I recall it now!” He quickly pressed the buttons. Back in Shijun city, Wei was watching TV with Mr Chou. Ring. Ring. “Oh, the phone. I’ll get it!” Wei got up and rushed to her phone.

“Hello? Oh, hey Bak … what was that!?” Wei’s eyes widened. “Yeah, what Maz said. He said to tell you this … that a demon’s coming for Ken. I’m so worried … Maz is down …” Bak tried to control himself on the phone. “Alright! Just hang in there!” Wei fidgeted about. “Go help Maz! I’m calling Ken!” She hastily put down the house telephone.

“What’s wrong, Ziwei?” Clumsy Mr Chou asked. “Are you going somewhere?” Wei was wearing her dark pink jacket. “Sorry dad! I have to go!” She grabbed her cell phone and spare house keys, rushing to the front door. “It’s terribly urgent! My friend’s in danger!”

Somehow, Bak managed to reach Ken’s cell phone first. “Hello? Oh, Bak.” Ken calmly answered him. “Ken! This is urgent! Maz thinks that a spirit like Ree, Yon and SIm is heading to you! He even described it as a demon!” The teen’s eyes widened. “What!?”

“KEN!!” Emi shouted. Two giant black wrecking balls were flying from the sky towards his room. “What the!? Bak, message taken!” He hastily said, disconnected his call, put his phone in his pocket and rushed to the sliding window. “Argh, it had to be now!”

In the quiet, empty farming village, Ken climbed to his rooftop and within split seconds, he took out his sabre sword, charged it up and formed a giant aura barrier. “Get away from my house!” The two 6-feet-diameter wrecking balls clashed onto his aura shield.

“Push harder, Ken!” Emi floated through his roof and cheered on him. “Wow, always during these battles, it’s so conveniently lacking of people …” “I’m not allowing my house to be attacked again!” His sabre sword emitted some pounding flame waves.

Boom. The wrecking balls exploded in the instant. “Whoa!” “Ah!” Emi held tightly onto Ken, who toughened his feet on the roof so that the spiritual wind doesn’t blow him off. “Urgh!” He slipped off his feet, but his fingers held onto the roof tiles. “Phew! Urgh …”

“Hiss ~” “Ken!” Emi was squatting down to hold onto him. “Here it is!” Ken looked up and he saw this life-size foc with purple smoke emitted from its paws. It was of orange spiky fur, green beady eyes, a wild slithery tongue and three bushy tails. “Foolish …”

It landed nicely on his rooftop. “Bothersome human … you dare to disturb my revenge … you’ll pay the price just like all the other males …” Its mouth was drooling heavily. Emi made a face at it. “Ew … hmph!” She looked at it. “A fox spirit … quite typical.”

“Eh … run that by me again?” Emi answered Ken: “You should know the folklore myths, Ken … there are all sorts of bad spirits. Like I said before, evil spirits, demons and devils … fox spirits are among those that are so immersed in evil – very powerful they are.”

“So that explains it all!” Ken grumbled. “An evil spirit, shooting dark magic, being able to move between places so fast … why are you doing all this!? Why my friends too!?” He managed to stand up and retreat slightly. “Hiss … all men are scum!! RAAH!!”

The fox spirit blew foul grey flames at Ken. “Urgh!” Ken dodged it and fired a fireball at it. “GWARH! Taste this, male scum!” It turned around, slamming its big sturdy tails onto Ken. “Urgh! Ah!” He blocked the tail attack, but was swept off the roof by sheer force far behind. “KEN!!” Emi flew after him. “YES! DIE, BOY!!” It thus gave chase.


Continued in Chapter 63.


Notes:
Enjoy, everyone! About Hoh’s dark magic issue, refer back to the end of Chapter 34 and Chapter 35’s first half on how Ken was attacked and then cleansed by Wei and Hoh. In Chapter 30, Maz’s demons attacked Ken’s home, hence he was yelling about that … and in the middle of Chapter 4, Emi did explain how evil spirits come to be. Stay tuned!

[Professor Fann]

Hey everyone. It's that ime again for an update. Enjoy! A couple more chapters to the end!

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This original fiction is mine, and all characters belong to me unless they are those of whom you know do not. I hope this fiction will be entertaining as you proceed along.
- M’siaFanWriter


Chapter 63: Souls versus the Fox Spirit


“The number you have dialed is not available –” Wei immediately disconnected her call. “Darn it! I must hurry!” She rushed all the way down from her apartment home to the nearest aerotrain station. “I can’t reach Ken … that means the something’s got to him!”

She hurriedly bought a ticket to Handao suburbs. “Aha!” The aerotrain arrived in the nick of time. “Grrk!” The station didn’t have that many people, so her running to the aerotrain doors was relatively smooth. “Pant … pant … I’m coming!” The doors closed shut and the train began to pick up speed. “I hope Ken … can manage that being on his own …”

“AH!!” Ken was sent off flying in the air by the fox spirit. “NO! I’m coming!!” Emi flew straight at Ken in a light-speed. “Looks like we have to become one!” Ken grimaced on the thought of having her possess him. “No way! There’s no need for that!” He protested.

Emi was aghast. “You can’t be serious, Ken! I –” “Aha! A tree branch!” Ken amazingly spun his body in circles; his left hand stretched out while eventually grabbed on tightly to a thick tree branch. “GAH!” His body wobbled here and there, until it was stable.

“This is …” Ken finally got the chance to look around. This was an area he had never visited all these years. Just behind his house was no longer the farmlands; it was all bushy grassland, never developed into grazing ground or residential areas. It was left alone.

“I can’t believe I was thrown off so far …” He stared at his home, which was the size of an eraser from here. “Get lost!” Emi had dashed to the fox spirit and dealt a hard smack on its face. “RAH! You!” “I’m not done yet!” Emi toughened her right leg and slammed it hard on its back, slamming the fox to the ground below. “ARGH!” It was a crash.

“Hiss … why are you on his side!?” The fox growled and got back on its feet. “What!? What do you mean by that!?” Emi slammed a tight fist into its side, throwing it up in the air. “RAGH!” Though quite a distance away, the fox spirit was thrown towards Ken.

“What the! HAH!” Ken thrust his sword forward, stabbing into the fox spirit’s thigh. “AAH!” Ken was greatly surprised. “This is impossible! Let me try it again!” Ken took out his sword and stabbed even harder and deeper into the same wound. “GRRK!!”

“Oh, just get out of my sight already!” He lifted his left leg and kicked it on the right cheek, sending it down to the grass. “Bah! Urrk …” The fox choked and got back on its feet. “Yah. Hahah.” Ken pulled himself up the tree branch he was holding onto and walked towards the tree trunk. “Ken, are you okay?” Emi appeared before him instantly.

“Ah, yes, Emi … I’m fine.” His hand held onto the tree trunk. “See? There’s no need for you to possess me. I just … have to do the right thing.” “RAH!!” The fox spirit aimed its open mouth at the duo on top and fired a laser beam. “Yikes!” Emi vanished off.

“Whoa!” Ken dodged, jumping down to another tree branch before that area was hit with spiritual fire. “Aha! Yihah!” He jumped from branch to branch, bit by bit approaching the ground, from that 55-foot-tall old tree. “Pesky male! Perish from existence! Rah! Rah!”

The fox hissed and continued firing its laser beams. “Yes!” Ken’s foot touched the wet soil. “Made it!” He swiftly turned the other way round and launched several fireballs that collided with some of the laser beams. “AH!” Emi yelped from the resulting explosions and smoke. “You’ll pay for that!” The ghost girl assaulted the fox non-stop.

“Gah! Urgh! Ah! Ouff!” The fox spirit was slapped, punched and kicked multiple times by Emi. It had no openings for a counter-attack. “You ignorant girl! Urk! Why are you – argh – on that boy’s side!?” It hissed before it was punched on the face. Emi got angrier.

“Like I asked you just now – what exactly do you mean by that!?” Emi slammed her toughest kick so far onto the fox spirit’s side, throwing it and skidding away on the soil. “What’s with that gender discriminatory attitude of yours!? Something you have against males!?” Before she knew it, the fox got up and fired a ray blast that hit her hard.

“AAH!!” Emi was engulfed in a big explosion. “RAH!” Ken dashed out of the smoke from his own explosions, armed with a glowing sabre sword and slashed onto the fox spirit’s neck. “SCAWL!” Black ooze poured out of the wound. Ken was still unsatisfied.

“Ha! Ha! You!” He slashed repeatedly on the fox’s neck, thus more black ooze spilled out in strong gushes. “How come you’re not – ah! So that’s how!” Ken stopped his attack and retreated a few steps backward. “Foolish move!” The fox swiped Ken with its tails.

“Yaargh!” Ken was thrown off, albeit using his sword to defend himself, to where Emi was. “Urgh … that hurts … huh? AH!?” The teen crash-landed on top of her, making her sort of buried a little under the soil. “OW! Hey!” She dived into the soil and floated upwards to just beside Ken. “… It smacked you hard, didn’t it?” She scratched her head.

“Definitely. Sorry about that …” Ken dusted his clothes and stood up. “I figured out something … why when I stabbed that demon back there, it wasn’t stunned, not like all the other demons I’ve fought before.” Emi stared at him. “Um … hello? EraS to Ken? Fox spirits are among the most powerful evil spirits? Didn’t I just tell you that?”

“I know, I know, but … its wounds are able to regenerate!” “That’s right!!” The duo turned to the panting fox spirit. “I’ve cultivated myself … for some 20 years now …” Ken was shocked. “20 years!? How old are you now!?” Emi slapped her left palm onto her face. “That’s not the right question to ask now, Ken …” The fox spirit howled.

“Kill all men … kill them all …” The fox spirit howled again. “All the men in the world are evil … they are the basis for all my suffering … my being …” That was when Ken exploded. “You’re unbelievable!! Some guy gave you horror time and you’re blaming it on everyone!? You’re just using me as an excuse for your anger!” Emi furiously nodded.

“I DON’T CARE!!” The fox spirit yelled. “Just … just get out of existence already!” It dashed so rapidly to Ken, who quickly drew his sword to defend himself. “Rah!” Its paws slashed here and there in light-speed, but Ken merely repelled them. “Human boy scum!”

“Yah!” Emi darted in with a strong leg attack. “Hmph!” The fox spirit jumped in the air to avoid her. “Ah!” Ken thrust forth the flat area of his sabre sword. “Wonderful, Ken!” Emi jerked briefly on that flat plane and bounced off towards the fox spirit instead.

“What!?” The fox swung its body in several circles and faced Emi. “Saa!” Its tails swung to fire away five slash waves onto her. “AH!!” Emi was hit all over, making her fall back to earth. “Emi, watch out!” Ken called. “Sure thing, Ken!” Their hands stretched out.

“Got you!” “Thanks!” The ghost girl smiled. Ken swirled her in a semi-circle to stabilize her and instantly thrust his sword blade to the fox. “Fiery rain!” From the clouds above, rocks hot on fire fell onto the fox like meteors. “TAH!” The fox spirit dodged the meteors here and there, but Ken waved his sword around, thus seven meteors smashed onto it.

“Urk! No – ARGH!” Three more meteors plummeted onto it, resulting in a big explosion. “Tah …” It collapsed with a crash. “Hah …” Ken panted. “Its injuries keep on healing themselves … it’s not stunned … how am I going to end this?” He fell on only his left knee. “Ah, Ken!” Emi bent down to him. “Don’t give up! I’m sure there’s a way!”

“The only way … is to lock it up … at least suppress it.” Ken panted. “Mortal and his fool of a ghost …” The fox spirit slowly regained composure. “Men will be men … and ladies will be ladies … the oppressor and the oppressed … I hate you!! GRAAAH!!”

“Geesh … this must be a female fox spirit.” Ken grumbled. “Judging from that dislike for men … and based on what it said.” Emi frowned. “I suppose so …” “Have this lot!!” The fox spirit opened its mouth and blew out limitless red fire all over the place. “Gah!”

Meanwhile, somewhere so far away … “I don’t want you involved in any fights! Don’t you understand me!?” The female voice sounded weak. “But, sis, it’s a fox spirit! Plus, look at who’s it fighting against!” A male voice protested. “Huh!? That’s darling Ken!”

“Die already, mortal! Perish, you ignorant ghost!” Emi felt a snap in her mind. “Grrh … that no-gooder …” She hid behind Ken, who conjured his aura shield against the strong flow of fire. “Hang in there … this will be over …” Ken flared up his aura shield again.

“Eh … Ken, just so we’re clear again …” Emi said. “You’re really sure we don’t need to become one? I can use my strength to push ahead and smash that evil thing …” The teen grimaced. “Yes, I’m quite sure, Emi … but with strength alone, how can we defeat it?”

“Here’s the best part!” The fox swirled its open mouth about, forming a large square flame. “Yikes!” Emi and Ken watched that large flame surround them. “There’s even more!” The fox exhaled a spherical flame that clashed with Ken’s aura shield. “Argh!”

The fox spirit laughed. “This is the power of fire!” Instantly, that square and sphere erupted in great flames and the duo somewhat felt hot inside Ken’s shield. “It’s hot! It’s hot!!” Emi cried. “No! Must … resist … it!” The teen flared up his aura shield, but for some reason, he felt he was on the losing edge. “No … no!” “Bwah hahah! Die now –!”

“BAH!” A being flew out of nowhere, kicking the fox spirit in the face. “RAWRH!” It was thrown off several meters. “OW!” The sudden loss of focus caused the evil flames to die down, thus Ken and Emi were free from that trap. “Hah … hah …” Ken panted.

“Who did – Ree!?” Ken was shocked. He saw Ree standing from him about 25 meters away. “You got that right, kid!” The 23-year-old, dark blonde of blue eyes, male spirit smiled. “I’m here for action! Glad I came in just on time to save you!” He smiled widely.

Emi was surprised too. “Ree!? Why are you here!?” Ree grunted: “I kind of watched you two fight that thing for the last minute back in Paradise. I really can’t take it missing out on all this!” “GRAW! You!” The fox regained its balance and pounced towards Ree.

“Urgh!” Ree defended himself with a tough elbow. “Meddlesome fool!!” The fox hissed and tried to bite Ree. “Gah!” He held each of the fox’s jaw with one hand and wrestled with it. “I was nearly stopped by Yon, who wanted me not to fight, but – urgh!” Ree then swung the fox in circles. “When Yon saw you, Ken, she enthusiastically let me come!”

“Ah hahah …” Ken laughed weakly. “YAH!” Ree threw it to the sky, but the fox spirit cleverly swung its body and it was soon flying back to the trio. “Hmph!” Ken then got serious. “Take this!” He swung his sabre sword multiple times and created many flames.

“Get it!” He thrust his blade forward and all the 13 flames flew to attack the fox spirit. “Foolish man!” The fox spirit spun itself like a tornado and deflected the flames. “Oh no you don’t!” Ken clenched his fingers and made his flames enter the tornado from the top opening. “You! ARGH!!” A large explosion stopped the tornado. “Awesome! I did it!”

“YAH!” Emi and Ree charged at the falling fox with strong elbow knife moves. “AGH!” With an elbow knife on each side of its neck, it seemed like they were strangling it with their elbows. “YAH!” The duo simultaneously dealt a strong punch each onto its face.

“TAH!” Once again, the fox spirit collapsed to the ground. “Grrh … this is not over! We can fight like this all night long, and I’ll still win in the end!” Its aura turned dark red and its fur spiked up. “HAH!!” Out of nowhere, a black treasure chest appeared above them.

“Something bad! Shield time!” Ken dashed to the two ghosts and formed his aura shield. He was right – the treasure chest opened up and a huge dark magic sludge poured out all over the place. “Ah!” Ken’s aura shield neatly repelled the sludge. “Ew!” Ree spat in disgust as the sludge that was poured elsewhere formed into strange objects. “Gross!”

Huge grossly-disfigured humanoid beings with worms pouring out of their mouths and eyes and horrible smiles aimed at that large aura sphere. “TAW!” They slammed their tight fists onto the aura shield. “Hahahah!” The fox spirit laughed. “You’re doomed!”

“Ken! Holding up here is going nowhere!” Emi said. “We split up and see what we can do to destroy these gross objects!” Ree nodded and said: “I agree with her!” The brown-haired teen grunted. “Fine! Now!” He ran about and the duo ghosts flew up in the air.

“Hahahah!” The fox continued laughing, as its gross humanoid beings formed scythes and rapiers, trying to strike the trio down. “Eep! Ah!” Emi narrowly avoided the sharply-falling scythe blades. “These things!!” Ree grunted, kicking off some blades, only to be approached by several more. “AH!” He was smacked on his left side and thrown off.

“Ree! Gah!” A dark magic being exhaled greenish-black breath at Emi, but thankfully, she dodged the gaseous horror in time and flew to help Ree. “There we go!” She tightly grabbed on Ree’s right hand and pulled him up. “Argh … thanks a lot.” He grumbled.

“Don’t mention it.” She smiled. “Eep!” “Ah!” A gross dark magic being reached its sharp claws out and nearly slashed onto the duo. “Come on, let’s get it!” Ree grunted and she nodded to him. “I couldn’t agree more!” Emi let go of Ree and the duo darted towards the fox spirit. “OH!?” The fox spirit darted at the duo and began their clashing again.

“Have this!!” “ARGH!” Emi had kicked the fox very hard in the face. “Disgusting thing! RAH!” Ree unleashed a fury of non-stop punches on it. “No! You! ARGH! Get off me, you disgusting male!” The fox nearly dealt some damage to Ree with its fast slashing.

Ken grunted: “BURN!” He unleashed another series of flame waves at the three gross beings running to him. “SHA!” Indeed, they were all set on fire; thus trying to put out the fire themselves by knocking into other beings, though that only made the fire spread.

“Urk!” Ken dodged the stomping foot of a gross being, slashing onto it a wound which made more black ooze pour out of it. “This is insane! I don’t know if I can last! There’s a fox spirit that just can’t be defeated and – GRAH!!” He ran a great distance from all the chaos. “This ends now!” Ken swung his sword in multiple circles and charged it up.

“Hm! You think you’re so smart, boy!?” The fox spirit growled and all the ghastly dark magic beings ran towards Ken. “I’ll destroy you for good, as well as your friends here, both whom are so ignorant!!” It hissed even fiercely. “AH!” Emi avoided its slash attack.

“The Edge!” He dramatically jumped and stabbed his sabre sword into the ground. Those golden lines sprouted out, enveloping a large area. “That is!?” Ree was shocked. “Ah, I know that attack!” Emi remarked. The golden lines covered all the grasslands in seconds.

“Huff, puff …” Wei just got off the aerotrain at the Handao village border and rushed down the platform staircase. “Blast … the call just can’t make it to his phone again.” The green-haired girl gritted her teeth. “Huh?” She spotted flames rising into the air far away.

“I recognize that style of attack … that must be where Ken is!” She hurriedly ran on the soil road leading to his house. “Be gone from this earth!” Ken shouted as many orange-glowing dragon heads sprouted from the ground and began to literally eat up those dark magic gross beings. Several blew flames from their nostrils to destroy the treasure chest.

The fox spirit was surprised. “This … not a bad move, boy!” It howled again and brought up more of those gross dark magic beings from the ground. “RAH!” Ree and Emi helped Ken by tearing apart giant limbs and cutting even entire beings in half with elbow knifes.

“GAWH!” Another dragon head bit on a gross dark magic being, tearing its upper body apart from its torso and disintegrated it into millions of vanishing pieces, gnawing non-stop. “Hah … hah … we’d see now, fox.” Ken panted. He watched the carnage ensue.

“This … this can’t be possible! Grrk, I shouldn’t have underestimated you just like that boy from this morning!” The fox spirit growled. “Boy?” Ken hit realization. “Yeah … you mean Hoh alright … you really want to shoot down all the guys, don’t you?”

Amid all that fighting of Ken’s dragon heads and the fox spirit’s gross dark magic beings, the fox had retreated from fighting Ree and Emi, choosing to approach Ken himself. “Yes … as I have just said.” Drool poured out slowly from its sharp teeth. “All of them …”

“So, answer me this, lady fox.” Ken gritted his teeth. “You first started your rampage this few days in Zhendou. You then suddenly attack Hoh out of nowhere – I mean, Shijun city and Zhendou city are so far apart! You even spied on us and you attacked 5 more people when Maz was in Zhendou! And for some reason, at the hospital … gah, you … WHY!?”

The fox spirit remained indifferent. “Zhendou … yes, the place where I attacked more than 20 people … the attitude of men there ignited my anger … how they act towards the ladies and girls … they deserved it!” Ken became angrier. “Why did you attack Hoh!?”

“Why Hoh!? He has nothing to do with any of this! Jumping from one city to another!” The fox spirit suddenly howled. “A wind of irritation came from him … I had to get rid of him …” It returned to drooling on its mouth. “But he was funny … so different …”

“This aura around him … so annoying … I decided to keep watch on him.” Emi severed a gross being’s head. “I spotted you and your friends. I was shocked at how you were so able to destroy my pieces of vengeance. Such level of power … I had unwittingly gotten your attention. If you could do that to the boy, why not do the same to my other victims?”

Ken recalled when he, Maz and Wei embarked on to investigate the case in the morning and how he cleansed Hoh of the fox’s dark magic. “You had my attention, alright …” He growled. “Shooting dark magic at everyone … why wouldn’t we come after you?”

“See!? Exactly that!!” It suddenly shouted. Ken was a little stirred. “You and your friends talking among yourselves on how to find the culprit – me … you intrigued me. I tested your other friend” – it referred to Maz – “to see if he also had your same kind of power.”

“I was shocked like never before …” It started to pant heavily. “From his palms … those black orbs with horrible red eyes … started flying around the whole city. I knew in an instant, he was searching for me and I knew how you all would be in my way for revenge … I had to hide, only after removing all the blades and stakes I stabbed on every man!”

Ken remembered back at a Zhendou city hospital and Emi’s reports at the time. “You did that to cover your tracks.” The fox wordlessly nodded. “Clever … but that just made Maz angry. He sent his spy bugs all over the province … and he found you.” The fox stirred.

“I revealed myself!” Ken still smiled nastily at it. “I could not take it anymore! Being trapped in that place, without freedom, just like what the evil men did! I got angry and took it out on that pale hair kid! I had to come for you next; otherwise I’ll be in danger!”

Unknown to the fox spirit, the conversation with Ken wore off its focus on keeping its dark magic everywhere, thus the chaos largely simmered to near-calm. The dragon heads destroyed most of the gross beings by now and Ree and Emi took out about 10 of them.

“Yeah … coming after me indeed.” Ken held onto his sword. “Stopping me so that you can continue shooting guys around for some prejudiced reason of yours … your action was wrong from the start, obviously!” His attack, The Edge, was also simmering down. “I still don’t get what you meant by Hoh’s ‘wind of irritation’, though! What’s that all about!?”

“Don’t have to get anything from that thing, Ken! HAAH!!” A voice shouted not too far behind him and a giant icicle was fling at the fox spirit’s chest. “GRWAH!” Its shout stirred the ghostly duo’s attention. “That’s! Wei!” Ree exclaimed. “Ah!” Emi gasped.

Wei was panting on a soil road, with her flaring awl-like weapon. “Got here … hah hah … just on time …” Her watch showed 9.07 pm. “Finally, I’ve made it to you …” The fox spirit, with the icicle stabbed clearly in its chest, scowled: “Grmh, you’re that girl today!”

“That’s one … the one to deal more damage to you!!” Wei swung her weapon in many fast movements and suddenly brought forth a blizzard tornado that gushed through the grasslands. “TAKE THIS!!” “Yargh!” Ken dramatically leapt and took cover in the grass.

“Eeep!” “Get down!” Emi and Ree hid among the grass, shivering from the cold. “Grrk – GWAH!” The fox’s sharp claws could not hold tightly onto the soil and was blown away by the strong pressure. “I! I can’t get down! AAAH!! You snotty girl! Ignorant fool ~!”

It continued yelling inside the tornado, drawn into its icy center. “That’s some tornado, Wei!” Ken remarked as he looked up. The spiraling wind was now in the center of the plains. “Yeah, you know physics … can’t fight against pressure. Or even this for sure!”

Wei aimed her awl at the tornado and fired amazingly sharp-spiked iceballs like a real machine gun. “Yeow!” “RAAH!!” They darted so fast into the spiraling wind and Wei was sure she heard the fox spirit howled in pain, predictably from being hit a lot.

“I’m not done yet!” She drew back her weapon and formed two gigantic ice blocks in just a wave. “Smash that thing flat!!” She pointed her finger at the tornado and the ice blocks flew up. They spun into light circles and stood vertically. “GO!” The blocks, sandwiching the blizzard chaotic tornado, slammed onto each other. “ARGH!” The fox spirit howled.

“Collapse!” She hastily pointed her finger down and the blocks crashed onto the plains, breaking into millions of sharp jagged pieces. “AH!!” The fox scowled again. “Stop this! Stop this I say!” Wei smirked back: “As if!!” She waved her weapon again. “No, stop!”

Emi was surprised to see Ken halt Wei. “This won’t do, Wei! Trust me!” She grunted: “Are you sure!? You’re saying we shouldn’t stop it!?” Ken grimaced: “No, that’s not what I meant! I meant that all this deliberate attacking is pointless!” Wei calmed a little.

“You are saying …” Ken sighed. “I’ve attacked it a lot already. I was making it feel pain, but apparently, that was not enough to stop it. Our weapons can’t stun it, unlike the other demons we’ve fought before … the only way we win this fight is by suppressing it!”

Wei was a little frustrated. “So, how do we suppress it!?” Ken waved his sabre sword. “Try ropes, prison cuffs, aura barriers; you name them. I really should have done it earlier … if I wasn’t defending myself from its attacks.” “Hmm … alright, if you say so, Ken!”

“Foolish mortals!” Everyone turned to the resurgent fox spirit, up from the cold mist with some scars of black ooze on its body and cheeks. “Grrh … purposely delaying your own doom … the fate of irresponsible men is inevitable … all will perish under my anger!”

Emi twitched. “You’re still saying that nonsense!? Who gave you the right to judge other people so selfishly!?” Ree clenched his fist. “Yeah, that’s totally ridiculous!” “ALL OF YOU BE QUIET!” The fox spirit had yelled its loudest. “Once you’ve seen what I’ve gone through myself, you’ll have to admit that I’m right! You’re all wrong! WRONG!!”

Wei looked at Ken half-eyed. “Eh … that’s one ridiculous demon.” Ken shrugged. “You know them … evil beings do evil for no good reason …” Ree moved closer to Emi. “I … I have a bad feeling about this.” Emi toughened her body stance. “Be ready for anything.”

Meanwhile, two boys were running on the soil roads of Handao village. “There’s the battle … we must help them quickly … it’d take a lot … to deal with that monster.” The other boy nodded. “Yeah! Based on what I saw … they will definitely need our help!”

“GRAH! Male or female, you will all perish!” The fox spirit’s body glowed an eerie red and a series of waves was emitted from it. “I don’t like this at all …” Emi grimaced. “Eh … who doesn’t?” Ken plainly remarked. “Shrk!” Wei formed her aura shield around herself.

“You might want to do this too, Ken!” She advised him. “Sure!” The teen did likewise. “Eep!” Emi gasped. The fox’s three tails became tough spikes and stood vertically. Its eyes shone orange. “Hide away!” Ree and Emi ducked behind Ken’s aura shield. “DIE!!” The fox spirit released a fury of dark magic in the air, gushing like a tsunami wave.

“Argh!” Ken and Wei felt the strong winds gush through their aura shields, but not the dark magic. “This wind is cold!” “Hang on tight, Wei!” Ken gripped on his sabre sword even harder. “KRRK!!” The fox spirit hissed and a most horrible stormed brewed. “HAH!”

Lots of black smoke sizzled out from its fur and shrouded the sky. “That’s!” Emi gasped. “There’s so much evil feeling in it!” Ree gritted his teeth. “PAH!” The fox spirit had this gigantic eerie blue lightning strike slam down onto both aura shields. “Extra shields!”

Ken powered up his aura shield, forming three more layers of those. “Good thinking, Ken!” Wei followed suit, and just in the nick of time when the lightning strike struck the duo. “AAH!!” It was a tremendous pounding force onto them, causing big shockwaves.

“Wahahah!!” The fox spirit laughed again. “You horrible lady …” Emi grunted. “It’s a – what did you just say!?” Ree was stunned. “That’s right …” Emi sighed. “That fox spirit must be a human woman … since she hates the men so much … Ken came up with the assumption.” Wei was not distracted, however. “Well that’s news to me! The – URGH!”

The pounding force of the lightning increased again. “Hey! Focus on resisting!” Ken reminded her. “Oh, right! Sorry!” Wei increased her aura power. “TOO LATE!!” The fox spirit happily shouted as it sent a far bigger lightning strike onto them. “AAAAARGH!!”

“Yeow!” The earlier two boys ducked for cover. “That lightning strike! The guys are in trouble!” “Of course they are … I sense dark magic.” That instant, great purple smoke enveloped the area where the battle was occurring. “Oh no! We’d better hurry now!”

“No! Not this!” Wei began choking on the dark magic vapour, being too weak to repel them. “Argh … ouughrlp … no …” Her mouth heavily bubbled saliva and she curled up on the ground. “No … help …” Emi and Ree were getting weaker by the second. “No … arghghf … that witch …” Ree collapsed next to Emi. “Ken …” She could only murmur.

“How dare you stand in my way … I’m making all the males suffer … for their horrible mistreatment of ladies … taste their own medicine!” The fox spirit growled. “Urgh …” Ken struggled to stand. “I’m not falling for this … must form shield … ah! My knees!”

Ken was struck with numerous needles on said spot. “I’m not letting you fight me easily, kid!” The fox spirit hissed, with the dark magic sizzling out from its skin. “Have some more!” More smoke gushed onto the gang. “NO!” Ken shouted. “Argh! Must … ah …”

He said no more. “Ken … I couldn’t help you …” Emi moaned from the opposite side. “Bwahahah!!” The fox laughed loudly. “Revenge upon men will be complete! All will surely perish! Ladies will have me to thank for!!” Wei spat with disgust. “Complete … evil … urgh, we could really use some help …” “HUH!?” The fox suddenly jerked.

“I hear … footsteps coming … darn it! I wish I could see in this fog … who goes there!?” Its tongue hissed. “Ha ha …” The first cold voice laughed. “This will end soon … hmph! There!” Out of the dark magic smoke, three large fiery arrows stabbed the fox’s paws.

“ARGH! This!” The fox waved its tails furiously. “I have you locked on target! Jolts of horror!” A cheerier voice shouted and instantly, four great lightning jolts blasted onto the fox, resulting in a massive explosion. “AAAH!!” Wei was surprised. “That voice! It’s!”

“I know … that first voice …” Ree managed to grumble. “It’s my former master … Maz. He’s here …” Indeed, it was Maz. “Correct … now, let me clean up …” A great gush of wind blew the plains, sending the dark magic fog away and to self-destruct. “Urgh!”

Ken grunted. “The other person … it’s my friend Hoh …” True enough, there was a perfectly-fine Hoh, armed with his machete weapon, together with a well-healed Maz, wielding a giant war fan. “Hey, every – oh goodness! You look horrible! The dark magic effects are on you all over!” Hoh exclaimed. “Yeah …” Wei moaned. “You can tell …”

“I’m quite fine … thanks to Hoh … he cleansed me … he should probably do the same here too.” Maz emotionlessly commented. “Coming right up!” Hoh pounded his weapon on the ground, sending shockwaves that ripped the evil mist from everyone’s bodies.

“Alright!” Wei jumped in jubilation. “Don’t relax now! Our company’s back!” Ken said, and thus everyone turned to the fox spirit not so far away. It growled: “More people here … ladies and men working together … what abomination! Abomination!! AAAH!!!”


Continued in Chapter 64.


Notes:
It’s another battle, and took a while to write … refer back to end of Chapter 59 for Ken’s attack “The Edge” and back to the previous chapter to make sense of the plot as the fox explains her point-of-view. Well, the suspense builds … what will happen next?

[Professor Fann]

Greetings all! Today is the day of the final chapters of the Comic Arts Spinoff: A Tale of Two Souls!!

You heard me - final chapters. I'm posting both the last two chapters today! Well, first I've post Chapter 64 and then after 15 minutes the final Chapter 65.

Reason is because each chapter tends to break the character count limit for each post, so here, they each deserve their own post.

Anywho, enjoy the penultimate chapter - Chapter 64!

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This original fiction is mine, and all characters belong to me unless they are those of whom you know do not. I hope this fiction will be entertaining as you proceed along.
- M’siaFanWriter


Chapter 64: The Group of Souls Have a Victory


It has been quite a development: fighting the fox spirit that was the mastermind behind the ill spells in Zhendou and the one who attacked Hoh and Maz. Ree and Emi lent Ken their support, Wei arrived in time to help and Hoh and Maz, both who appeared very fine, showed up out of the blue to help the gang. “ABOMINATION!!” The fox howled.

“Grrh!” Ken grunted and everyone assumed a defensive pose. “You’re back again … I just wish there was some way to suppress you …” Emi frowned. “Hmm … if only I can tribute in a much better way …” The battle has come to a stalemate once again.

“Humans … so evil and bloody … especially the males …” The fox glanced around and analyzed each individual one by one. “Grrh …” Wei growled at it. “You’re so not getting away this time!” Hoh shouted. “Correct …” Maz said. The fox was wide-eyed at Maz.

“Gah! It’s you! The one who installed those black eyes everywhere!” The fox spirit was referring to his spy bugs. “That’s right …” Maz replied in turn. “I was determined … to get you … and stop you … before you remind me more of myself. Now … I almost had you … and here goes!” Maz widened his insane yellow eyes. “Gah! No! Not again!”

The fox dashed away from the spot, which was surrounded by strange waves. “Get it!” Ken said, thus Ree, Wei and Emi were the first to give chase. “Get away from me, you insane boy!” The fox cried. “Hmph!!” Maz stared continuously where the fox ran.

“Eh, Maz, what are you doing?” Ken asked. “I’m using my mind power … to attempt to crush it … I almost had it earlier … but seems it anticipated my moves.” Maz coldly answered. “It’s the only way to stop it … I learned it by experience.” Hoh walked to him.

“Care to elaborate more on that?” Before Maz could answer, Ken interrupted him. “Mind power … mind power … say, wasn’t that how you … you know. The last time you wore that cloak of yours and the demons surrounded us, and you stopped them all.” Maz took a while to ponder on what Ken was trying to say. Moments later, he got it.

“Ah, yes … that time … when all the demons … those not taken away to that prison of horror … the Yellow Springs … correct.” Hoh stared at Maz’s mumbling. “Uh …” Ken coughed: “Ahem!” The duo looked at him. “So, in any case, mind power is the answer?”

Maz nodded lightly. “Yes … but it’s moving very fast … as expected of a fox spirit … so powerful, even more than demons … it will take a while … for me to stop it.” Hoh saw a strong glitter in Ken’s eyes. “Uh oh … I sense a plan in my buddy Ken’s head!”

“You got that right!” The brown-haired teen was energized. “I know just how to solve this battle! Come on, Hoh!” He flared up his sabre sword. “Alright!” Hoh flared up his spiritual weapon likewise. “I’m all the way with you, Ken!” “Bravo … leader …”

Both boys rushed to the scene of the battle, where the fox had just swiped Emi and Ree out of its way and Wei made multiple charge attacks in an attempt to stab it. “RAAH!!” Hoh whirred his rotating machetes fiercely and smacked on the fox spirit very hard.

“GRAH!” It was thrown to the sky, but not before swinging itself around and firing three pulse waves from its eyes. “Pesky humans!” Ken grunted: “Everyone! New plan! Put up your aura shields!” “GRH!” Wei formed her aura shield, just when the pulse waves were going to strike her. “Nice call, Ken! By the way, what’s this new plan you just talked of?”

“A plan to stop the fox for good!” Hoh enthusiastically replied, repelling the pulse waves with his lightning aura. “I’m not sure what it is … but whatever Ken though of sure must be good!” Ree and Emi simultaneously ducked under Wei’s aura shield. “A plan, really?”

Ree was skeptical. “How do you plan to stop it!?” He shouted back to Ken, who was holding back against a flame blast of the fox spirit’s. “Grrh … just a bit more … HAH!” He pressed more energy into his sword and threw the flame blast back towards the fox.

“Hmph!” The fox swirled back; the flame charging into the skies. “What the!? The boy!” It watched Ken dash quickly to everyone except Maz, who was far away. “I have you now!!” Maz widened his eyes at the fox. “Huh!? NO! Not again!!” It hurriedly dashed elsewhere in the air, away from the sudden strange waves at the spot. “Come back!!”

While many more strange waves formed in the skies, Ken got everyone to regroup. “The plan is just this simple. We’ll do what we can to trap that fox … and at just the right time, Maz will use his mind power to suppress it! End of battle!” He earned glares from Ree.

“That’s it? Your wonderful perfect plan?” Ken scratched his head. “Well, no matter how much we fight it, it just wouldn’t quit … even with our weapons, we can’t stun it like we stunned demons before … so we have to rely on Maz. He’s got the right ability for it …”

Emi nodded. “If that’s what will stop the fox, then so be it!” Her words encouraged the rest to lift up their spirits. “Let’s go!” Wei said, and everyone dashed simultaneously to the spot below where the fox was avoiding Maz’s mind power focus. “Have it at you!”

Wei concentrated on charging up her giant awl-like weapon and fired four giant ice crystals at the fox. “GYAH!” A giant explosion ensued, making it fall to the soil. “Tsk! You! Ah!” The fox was able to swiftly dodge the combo attacks of both Emi and Ree. “Come back here, you filthy snot!” Ree shouted and dashed to it. “YOU WANT ME!?”

“AH!” The fox spirit fired a blue blast from its mouth, hitting Ree hard. “Ree! Watch out for this!” Emi anticipated the counter-attack and reached her right hand out to him. “Grk! If you say so!” Ree reached out and Emi held to him tight. “Here you go! HAH!” “AH!” Emi swung him in very fast circles and threw him back to the fox spirit at light-speed.

“Huh? Oh! Thanks!” Ree gave a thumbs-up to Emi and proceeded to give non-stop kicks and punches on the fox spirit. “AH! No! I won’t be defeated by a male!!” The fox threw a slash wave at Ree, but he neatly dodged it and slammed a strong left leg kick into its face.

“JAH!” It fell off quite a distance, and Hoh was there just to greet it in time. “Let me show you how much pain you struck me today for no reason!!” Hoh formed six great orbs of blue lightning floating before him and fired it straight at the fox spirit.

“NO!!” Another gigantic explosion ensued. “Nice one, Hoh.” Ken ran up to him, charged up his own sabre sword. “RAH!” Ken fired three burning poles horizontally, pounding first onto the fox spirit and creating another explosion. “Enough with the explosions!” The fox spirit shouted miserably. “Attack it then at will!” Ken smiled and shouted.

Wei, Emi and Ree seem to have heeded that calling, for they were the first to charge in and attack the fox relentlessly. “Take that!” “Some of these!” Some of the shouts from the frenzy. “Uh …” A distance away, Maz watched over all the fight. “I shall join …”

He formed a giant yellow mallet with his aura and charged into the frenzy. “This is for that time!” He began whacking the target and from those pounds, for some reason, there was smoke everywhere and it engulfed everyone. “Wow … what a fight.” Hoh said.

“You said it.” Ken panted. The duo were alone. “Say, Hoh?” “Yeah?” “I was surprised … how you and Maz managed to … know where we are … how did you two get here so fast?” The bespectacled teen chuckled. “Ha hah. It was all coincidence, more likely.”

“I was discharged from the hospital at about 7.20 … I wanted to go out for a walk after that.” Hoh continued: “My servants were against it … of course, I had my way. I wanted to go to you first, because I wanted to answers your questions to me in the morning.”

“Oh …” Ken recalled asking Hoh who was the one who hurt him with dark magic. “It was this horrible-looking woman – hair covering her face, her white clothes tattered … and she held some many dark magic blades in her hands … and she shot me with those.”

“But … I then decided to see Maz … him and his spiritual powers are more suitable for spying and all that … I went to Zhili town, searched for his home, and then there was this fox that flew out of his wall.” Ken nodded to Hoh. “I knew that had to be his house, so I went in, found him and cleansed him and managed to talk Bak to let him come here.”

“Ah, that explains a lot.” Ken remarked. The fighting within the smoke continued. “I’m kind of wondering how Maz knew that only mind power can suppress these beings …” “GAH!!” The fox spirit shouted and unleashed a fury of shockwaves everywhere. “AH!” Ree and Emi were thrown off first. “URGH!” “TSK!” Next were Wei and Maz.

“Pathetic beings! Just leave me be!” It howled and its eyes beamed; blue laser projections waved through the grassy plains. “AAH!!” Everyone shouted from the great explosions. Fortunately, the site remained as lonely as before, having no one else come and leave.

“Urgh …” Wei panted. “That thing …” Ree grunted, half-kneeling on the grass. “I almost had it … I was going to strangle it …” Maz followed up from his words: “Greater shroud of evil on that body … no ownder … it is able to regenerate itself … the weapons of Ken, Hoh and Wei … cannot simply neutralize it like that … it’s all in the mind now …”

Wei did not understand a word Maz uttered. “Uh … if you say so.” “Hey! Help us!!” Ree shouted as he and Emi joined forces again, fighting the fox in arm combat. “YAH!” Emi struck the fox’s chest with a tight fist. “GAUW! You!” “I’m not finished with that yet!”

Emi gave it another fury of unwanted punches and kicks, again leaving no room for it to slip away. “BWUUH!!” A final kick on its chin made it fly in the air. “How’s this?!” Ree came in, landing an elbow assault on its forehead. “GAH!” It thus flew downwards.

“How about this!?” Hoh dashed to it out of nowhere and thrust the whirring machetes of his upwards, causing the fox spirit to be thoroughly pierced through its spine past the stomach. “AARRGH!!” Emi gulped at the scene. “Ow … there’s limits to fighting …”

“Jah!” Hoh blasted a lightning jolt onto it, making it freak out and be blasted into the air and be caught in an explosion that resembled a fireworks explosion. “Wow … that was freaky.” Ken remarked with twitching eyebrows. “Ah hahah …” Hoh laughed.

The fox spirit was thrown downwards, but it neatly swirled its body around and fired a ray blast from its mouth. “RAH!!” Hoh gasped. “Oh no!” To his left, Maz came running as fast as he could. “Watch me, you piece of trash!” He swung his thick mallet at the blast and you can imagine its intensity in a slow-motion play, smacking it back to the fox.

“HAVE IT BACK!” Maz grumbled with wide pale, yellow eyes. The blue ray blast slammed the fox spirit unprepared. “GAH!!” Ken suddenly turned serious. “Hoh! Wei! Now’s a good chance to try and block it!” He shouted at the duo. “Got it!” “Roger that!”

“No! It isn’t!” Maz hurriedly protested to Ken. Indeed, the fox’s wounds had regenerated back to normal, although still sporting a generally-injured status, and it bounced back off a large tree nearby. “You won’t get me!!” It pounced towards Ken with an open mouth.

“Yikes!” Ken swiftly turned his sword and thrust it outwardly horizontally. “NOW is a good chance!” Maz widened his eyes at the fox. “NO!!” It was caught off-guard, bending and twisting in all manner of directions, wriggling out of control. “LET ME GO! AH!!”

“Are you joking!?” Maz retorted. “No way will I ever do that!” Its head twisted in an outrageous circle and paws bent the other way. “Hmph! I’ve met countless demons who I’ve controlled and many small and evil spirits whom I’ve turned into demons with my power! Let me see if this is the first time I can control a higher level evil spirit, you fox!”

“Hey! Don’t let Maz have all the fun!” Wei said, thus running to the duo with a charging weapon. “Gah!” Hoh remarked and ran after her. “This is not a good time to have fun!” Emi quickly flew to Ken’s aide. “Are you okay!?” Ken panted a little. “Yeah … I guess.”

“Wait!” By chance with all that happening, Ree spotted something unusual. “That thing is up to something!” Maz heard him quick. “What was that?” Before he could take action, the fox spirit managed to wriggle itself so that its open mouth was aimed at Maz. “BAH!”

It fired a red laser projection. “GWAH!!” Another giant explosion occurred. “Free! You! I’m not falling for the same power again, you pale freak!” The fox spirit taunted Maz and charged at Hoh and Wei. “What the!? Ah!!” Wei slipped on the soil. “Wei! Yikes!” Hoh barely avoided the sharp claws as it flew past him towards Ree. “I’m taking you first!”

“Grrk!” Ree thrust out his open hands and wrestled with the fox’s jaws. “Not letting your claws scar me!” His legs repelled off the incoming attacks of the paws. “Hmph!” The fox spirit swung its mighty tails to Ree, but that too he managed to repel with kicking.

“Cough … cough …” Maz hunched on the ground, a little injured from the attack. “Not again … another powerful strike from it.” Ken made another command: “Everyone help Ree! Maz are you okay!?” He dashed off to the teen while the others followed his words.

“Darn it … it escaped me again …” Maz panted. “You mean … this happened before?” Ken asked. He nodded. “Yes, leader … I nearly had it pinned down … but it threw some blades at my head … cut into me … and it escaped … I assumed it was coming for you.”

The brown-haired teen smiled weakly. “Well, you assumed right. Or else, we won’t have this battle.” Maz grabbed onto Ken’s right hand to pull himself up. “Hey, that reminds me.” “Yes, leader?” The duo met each other’s eyes. “It’s about your mind power …”

Maz said nothing. The others went all-out fighting the fox spirit. Someone’s cell phone clock ticked 9.20 pm. “When you used your mind power to suppress the thousands of demons from last time, you suppressed quite well … but why not the same for just one fox spirit?” Ken bluntly asked. “… Come on, leader. Don’t you know your folklores?”

“Uh …” Ken simply scratched his head. “In any case … the fox spirit is on a higher level of evil … greater compared to demons … of course, more focus and power … regardless the kind of power … is needed to get them to submission. You have to experience this yourself … it was a snap controlling those millions of demons … this one takes more.”

Ken nodded enthusiastically. “Well, I hope you can prepare yourself with that focus for afterwards, because by then, we’ll defeat it for sure!” He tapped Maz on his shoulder just like that and ran off to assist the others. “The leader depends on me … I won’t fail you!”

While Maz focused his efforts by unknown means, Ken charged it and slammed a blazing rod on the fox’s face. “ARGH!” “Whoa!” Ree gasped as the fox was thrown off before he could get it. “Hey, don’t spoil my fun!” Ree protested. “Sorry about that. Now, you can attack it!” Before that, Hoh had blasted the fox spirit with some lightning jolts.

“Ah! Hey! Hoh!” Ree also protested to him. “Argh, might as well I go to that thing first!” He grunted and flew off. “SQUAW!!” The fox spirit regained its stand and used its three tails to fire a slash wave. “Heads up, Ree!” Wei fired an icicle that destroyed the wave.

“Grrk!” Ree avoided the explosion in time. “Hey, what’s this all about!? I want my turn at the fox!” He grumbled heavily. “So do I!” Emi came up to him. “Come on! Combo attack?” She reached her hand to him. “You got it!” Ree energetically held her hand.

“HAH!!” Emi suddenly swung Ree in fast circles, but the ghost didn’t faze out. “Hmph!? We’ll see about that!” The fox spirit fired three orange blasts from its mouth. “Watch us, evil witch!” Emi spun Ree even faster and that smacked the blasts away from them.

“What!?” “Ha hah!” They formed a spinning top and spun towards the fox. “ARGH!” It was of course terribly hit – like a train knocking off a cab. “Hammer!” Emi hardly halted the spinning Ree and used him as a hammer, smacking the fox’s head with his legs. “AH! No!” The pain this time was worse than before, but of course, Emi didn’t stop there.

“Nice one, Emi!” Ree said. “Thanks!” She pulled him up and together, they descended onto the grass plain with a stomp. “You little!” The fox grunted and attempted to slash them. “Hold on tight!” Ree grabbed her hand even harder. “Yes, it’s not over yet!”

The fox aimed for Ree, but he swung around and it was Emi who kicked the fox off. “AH!” It tried to attack Emi in turn, but Emi spun around and Ree dealt multiple punches with his single left hand. “WARGH!” The fox quickly fired a fireball at the duo. “Aha! Separate!” Ree and Emi left go of each other’s hands and parted to avoid the blast.

They flew around in circles, certainly distracting the fox. “AH!” The duo dealt a series of punches on crossing the fox repeatedly and in a seemingly final attack, Emi and Ree held each other’s hands and their legs clung tightly to each other and rolled in a fierce sphere.

“Rolling ball!” Emi shouted and they rolled so greatly to the fox spirit. “NO!!” The fox was ran over, squished and flattened on the ground several times. “Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!” The duo continued to ram the fox over time and time again. “AH! ARGH!”

“Whoa, those two work well.” Hoh remarked. “So should we! Wei, come on!” Ken called out. “Ah! Roger that!” The duo grouped together and charged up their weapons. “Hey, I want to do a combo attack too!” Hoh ran up to the duo and charged his weapon as well.

“This should be interesting.” Maz looked as both his palms pressed on his temple region. “The Edge!” Ken stabbed his sword into the ground. “Ice tornado!” Wei rotated her awl-like weapon in the air furiously. “Lightning blast!” “Ah! Ree, let’s move out!” Just in the nick of time, Emi and Ree made one last joint pounding on the fox spirit and retreated.

“Urgh …” The fox spirit limped on trying to stand up. “Huh!?” Golden yellow lines spread on the soil and the air turned both chilly and blue-like. “What is this!?” Twenty dragon heads blasted from the soil, a horrid tornado of many spiked iceballs swirled in the area and the sky was brewing. “Yes!” Wei jumped joyously. “Combos always work!”

Emi and Ree rolled off to a nearby ancient tree, but somehow crashed onto it. “OW!” “GAH!” The duo separated from the crash, flung far from each other. “Ouch … seems we will need more practice, Emi …” Ree struggled to stand up. “It was fun though …”

“AH! BAH! GRK!” They turned to look at the myriad of attacks confronting the fox spirit. Golden dragon heads of fire gnawed and bit on the fox everywhere, even nearly tearing it apart; also getting trapped in the icicle fury and stabbed all over with spikes.

The tornado vanished and so did the dragon heads after 2 minutes of non-stop horror. “Gaah …” The fox whined, with icicles still stabbed in its wounds. “You humans … and ghosts … cooperating … men and women … how’s that possible!?” Before it continued, Hoh’s lightning attack finally surfaced, striking it hard in a great shock. “KYAAAH!!”

“Alright! Now that’s my attack!” Hoh rejoiced. Several blue orbs flew out of the strike and his attack was already over. “Argh …” The fox whined. Ken realized something vital. “Oh right! Maz! Now!!” He turned to the silver-haired teen, being just a distance away.

“Right … there’s a lot of focus of this.” Maz smiled nastily and his hands were let go from his temple region. “Whoa!” Emi gasped at his burning yellow aura enveloping him.

“I have you now!!” Maz glared at the fox spirit and indeed, his mind power worked on it. “AH! NO!!” The fox’s head and paws wrenched horribly in dangerous angles, twisting it all up in a weird figure. “NO!!” Its head swung around its neck 360 degrees several times and its three tails squashed and swirled to form knots. “Please have mercy! Please sir!”

Wei couldn’t believe her ears. “You attack all the guys mercilessly … and now you want us to give you mercy!?” She smote its neck with her awl tip. “AH!” It twitched further, trying to free itself, but Maz was piqued by it and continued to torture it. “Filthy scum!”

“No! AH! AH! Please! STOP!” Its cries fell on deaf ears. “Do you think I’d want to stop now!?” Maz widened his eyes again; the fox was lifted and bent in half, breaking its backbone and the sound of it clearly heard. “AAAAH!!” Emi hissed at it: “Tssk …”

Maz clenched his fists like what an evil villain would do. “For all the trouble you caused everywhere!” The fox was twisted in more outrageous manners and its insides wrenched everywhere. “AH! AH! AAH!!” The pain increased many-fold as the torture went on.

“I surrender! I surrender! Please stop it!” Maz reached out his hand and formed iron cuffs with shackles and heavy iron balls, cuffing it at all its paws. “Hmph!” The sheer weight of it, supposedly, made it fall. It wriggled for freedom, but was bound tightly to the iron-like items. “Urgh …” Everyone else gathered with Maz around the pathetic fox spirit.

“Hmph.” Maz grunted. “If you dare to make any move, these shackles will electrocute you instantly.” The fox spirit growled. “You male … ever dominating …” Wei spat with disgust. “Oh come on! Show us your real form, instead of hiding yourself in this evil!”

The fox glared at her. “What was that …?” “Just do it!!” Emi slammed an elbow knife onto its neck. “AH!” “Show yourself already!! Answer us!! What is with your gender hate attitude!? Do you have to strike all the guys you see, to your own pleasure!?” No one dared to interrupt an angry Emi, even Ken. “Gah … fine, you idiotic girl … you see …”

Sudden black smoke sizzled from its body, scaring Emi. “Eep!” She retreated and hid behind Ken’s shoulder. “The thing!” Ken commented. “Ah … its real form is here.” Maz remarked. “Gasp!” Hoh was surprised. “You’re what I saw earlier!” Everyone else stared.

The smoke vanished away, revealing exactly what Hoh had described of it – it was really an ugly-looking woman, wearing tattered white clothing, a slash mark or two on her face and long black hair nearly covering her face of beady blue eyes. “Yes … this is me …”

“I had these marks from the one I loved … the marks of sorrow and despair from my history … why I hate all the men in the world.” She sobbed while saying that. Ken just sighed. “No good if you do all this without a reason, you know … come, tell your story.”

The lady looked at Ken: her hair covering all but the areas of her face under her eyes. “I … I have been dead for 30 years …” Ree gulped on hearing that. “I have been cursed for crimes I’ve never committed … my own child died because of that man … all the men.”

“Hmm … you must be of the Ehmenggu ethnicity.” Hoh commented. Wei raised her eyebrows. “Oh? How’d you know that?” “Well … you just listen to her accent, you can tell, despite the Beihua language she’s speaking now …” Hoh shrugged and looked at the horridly-white lady. “Yes … I am … I come … from the northeast of this place …”

For a strange reason, Emi got the feeling that the lady came from a province even further than her Homyunggan Province. “Hmm …” She frowned. “I … I …” The lady stuttered. “I once had a happy family … many brothers and sisters … there was a great war …”

She referred to the 417-year Northland Civil War. “Soldiers overran places … destroyed towns and murdered people … I remembered so clearly … the cruel soldiers slaughtered my mum and dad … we were all taken away … forced to work as slaves.”

Wei gulped. “Child labour at construction sites … non-stop working … my other brothers and sisters perished one by one … there was always the horse whip lashing here and there … all everywhere!!” She howled and everyone retreated by one step. “I managed to survive … if I hadn’t snuck out … then I met a nice man … who treated me nicely.”

“The horror started from there … passed on from one man to another, always abused and mistreated … as if I was some kind of commodity … there was always the horse whip!” She howled and cried again. Ken and Emi exchanged looks. “Ew … wasn’t slavery sort of abolished when the Republic was formed?” Hoh asked bluntly. Maz nodded to him.

“Always there were men … all of them horrible looking … either they’re outright evil … or they hid their evil behind those handsome faces … really treated us like nothing … all of our beautiful faces turned on the horror inside them …” Everyone remained silent.

“I couldn’t take it anymore … I also escaped the trade before they found out … and again picked up by another handsome man.” Wei rolled her eyes clockwise. “At first, I felt so liberated … but I don’t know what happened … 5 years of friendship … that man killed me in cold blood!” She wept even harder. Hoh and Ree exchanged looks. “That’s sick.”

“He wanted to slit my throat … when he approached me in my sleep, I woke up just on time! He missed, scarring my face! I struggled … and he finally stabbed my heart. I could never forget that day …” The lady wept a little more. “Where is the justice, tell me …?”

“I was dead, but alive here … I followed him and learned he was bewitched by some witchdoctor … that fat man told him that in years I would take his life and said to kill me first before I got to him! How can that be possible!? He was the first I’ve truly loved!”

Emi scratched her head. “I’m sorry …” No one said more. “Men throughout my life have caused me nothing but trouble … is it not only fair that I take revenge on them!?” Before Ken replied, the lady continued: “But, I chose to go far away from that hellhole that was once my life …wandered at first for 10 years … hid away in the forests for 20 years.”

“Then, for some reason … you got so immersed in evil … sorrow, despair, hate …” Maz said. “What made you do this … to the men in Zhendou? Why attack Hoh as well … why now only … have you woken up?” Wei glared at him for speaking in a creepy cold tone.

“I …” The lady said. “I heard a noise in the woods that day … close to where I lingered … I saw a man arguing with a woman … and he wanted to hit her … with glass. I got angry that instant, I burst out in rage … stabbed him with dark magic on his head. That reminded me of my horrible times when I was alive … I couldn’t take it anymore …”

Maz made a hissing sound. “Clearly, the world has changed so much … a strange place of strange buildings … I saw with my eyes … bad men have stints of black spots of aura all around them … they had the ability to perform evil … I had to stop them at all costs.”

Ken grimaced. “So, that’s when you decided to go on a feast, stabbing all guys with your dark magic, deeming everyone as bad … indiscriminately and even when they haven’t done anything wrong yet.” The lady scowled: “I had to!! Who knows when they will!”

“You know, somewhere there doesn’t make any sense.” Wei said. “That kind of twisted logic … I kind of get it.” Everyone stared blankly at her. “So absorbed in hate and sorrow … so, if you attacked those guys whom you saw have black spots of aura all over them, which I assume is the dark side of their hearts … I’m confident Hoh is an exception.”

Emi nodded. “Yes … look at everyone here.” She walked to the lady and waved her hand at the gang. “You’ve seen their own auras … only Maz and Ree here are yellow, while the rest are white. Going by your logic, and as Wei said, why did you attack Hoh then?”

“I … I …” The lady’s hair covered her face even more. “I don’t know … it’s something about him … it feels so detestable … the white light glowing out of his home, I presume” – she referred to his penthouse – “is so irritable … I hated it … it disgusted me, even when I know … he’s a good person … I had to shoot him! I don’t know why! Really!!”

All present were befuddled. “Hoh’s our friend.” Ken said. “We’re all friends. It’s natural that if one of us is down, we’ll come helping each other out. By attacking Hoh, you’ve got yourself some unwanted attention … we had to hunt you down. It’s only right …”

Maz, Wei and Emi nodded whereas Hoh looked like he was about to cry. “Buddy …” “You’ve got some wrong perceptions about guys. You can’t simply say all guys are evil based on your experience. Some are bad … but there are good guys too. There are those who care … I know I care, because if otherwise … why would I bother listening to you?”

“Ah … yes … you’re right …” It’s amazing that the lady had come to terms with her own misguided thoughts so quickly. Emi smiled. “That’s my Ken …” “I … I’m so sorry …” The lady knelt down to Ken. “I … I don’t know … how do I … my debt to you …”

“That’s easy.” A familiar voice appeared out of the dark. “You’re going to pay back the dues for the damages you’ve done … and I expect you to repent and be a better person. Isn’t it the perfect solution?” Ken and Emi stared at the walking figure. “HAO!?”


Continued in Chapter 65.


Notes:
Another nice end. Hope all that action satisfied you … refer to the end of Chapter 62 and beginning of Chapters 31 and 48 for the mind power issue and Maz. So, what is to be done with this hideous lady? What is this light of irritation? Final chapter up next!

[Professor Fann]

Well, it's been ... more than 15 minutes. Blargh. So anywho, enjoy the last chapter of the story! I really have decided to stop writing and posting stories on forums, so ... maybe the next time I write a story, you may just find it published in a bookstore. Haha.

This chapter is the longest in the story - being 15 pages long. Anywho, if you've really this far, congratulations to you. You've just read about more than 350 thousand words of paragraphs altogether. Congrats, and enjoy!


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This original fiction is mine, and all characters belong to me unless they are those of whom you know do not. I hope this fiction will be entertaining as you proceed along.
- M’siaFanWriter


Chapter 65: Warnings and the Souls Are a Couple


“Hao!?” Ken and Emi gasped. The duo, together with Ree, Wei, Hoh and Maz, had just defeated a ghost lady in the form of a fox spirit – a being more powerful than demons – on this grassy plain behind Ken’s home. “You and your surprise entrances …”

The Shaman smiled and his face crept out the other four. “I’ve been watching you since Hoh got shot … you’ve displayed wonderful performances, although my spiritual weapons cannot defeat a fox spirit. Great teamwork.” Hao was in a white shirt and blue trousers.

Maz noticed something strange. “Hao? Isn’t his name … Shinjuku Han?” Ken quickly turned around. “Ah, yes, well … eh, it doesn’t matter … as long as you know it’s about him we’re talking, it’s fine. Hao … Han … whatever.” Emi hung her head down.

“This is …” Ree was confused; this was his first time seeing Hao. “Apparently, Ree … this is Ken and co’s friend … Shinjuku Han … the one who gave them … their weapons, I presume … just like the staff Emi used … to fight us that day …” Ree was clueless.

“Emi fought you guys? Darn! I wish I had seen it!” Ree exclaimed. Everyone sighed, and before the topic got out of track, Wei snapped her fingers. “Back on topic, guys …” “Oh, yes, thanks for the reminder, Wei.” Hoh said. Everyone thus looked at the ghost lady.

“Uh …” She looked worriedly at the group. “I … I’m … I’m sorry … for all the mess I caused … please forgive me …” She bowed repeatedly and Hao halted her at the fourth bow. “At least you’re open … most evil spirits are too stubborn to listen to reason.”

“However, you’re going to pay for all your dues if you’re sincere enough.” Hao bored his eyes into her, making her shiver. “Simply attacking anyone like that … I know you’re a good person, little missie, but the Yellow Springs cannot afford to overlook those acts of yours.” The ghost lady freaked out. “Huh!? Yellow Springs!? But – but!” She stammered.

“I don’t want to go there! I don’t want to go through more suffering!!” The lady looked around, expecting for mercy and someone to defend her. “Sigh …” Wei sighed. “Here we go again …” Ken firmly shook his head. “Well … I feel you really should go …”

The lady vehemently refused. “No … please! No! I don’t want to go there! You … you can’t do this to me! I don’t want to experience more horror! No! I beg of you!!” She even bowed to the group. Ree shrugged. “I can understand you … I was forced to go to the spirit world myself.” He briefly glared at Ken, Wei, Hoh and Emi. “But, you know …”

“Huh?” The lady blinked her eyes repeatedly. “It was also hard for me to accept going to the other side at all; like you, I was also worried that I’ll be locked up in Yellow Springs, enduring countless punishments for all eternity … but, what’s done is done.” Ree said.

“If you know you’ve done wrong, then boldly admit you’re wrong and make it up to it, no matter what the cost.” Everyone listened to Ree speaking. “It’s only the proper thing. Face your own wrongs, admit it … and you redeem yourself. Your heart redeems you.”

Ken turned to Emi. “I’m amazed Ree can get all philosophical …” “What was that!?” He made Ree angry. “I learned all this when I stepped into the spirit world, you know! Do you think I’ll bother making up all this stuff and act all nice for no good reason!?” Thus, everyone except Ken and Ree laughed lightly. The ghost lady was speechless to that.

“You have to be strong … show us and everyone around you that you are strong and good.” Emi continued from Ree. “I don’t deny you have suffered a lot. Your face itself tells everything of your past … but, please, you can’t run away from all that dark magic shooting actions of yours. How can you bear with that ringing in your mind for eternity?”

“…” She remained speechless. “No matter what it is, please bear with it … go redeem yourself in a better light. I believe you can overcome all this … you’re a good person.” Emi placed her ahnd on her chest. “I believe after that … then you can enjoy life.”

The ghost lady was skeptical. “Are … are you sure?” Emi nodded. Ree did so, followed by Wei and Ken. “I get the feeling this woman’s over 60 years old …” Hoh commented to Maz, but no one else heard that. “Who knows …” “Then … please send me over …”

She bowed to the gang. “Hm, that was fast.” Hao remarked, to which Emi stared coldly. “A trip to the Yellow Springs, and a one-way ticket to self-redemption – coming right up.” Wei took out her awl-like weapon and pointed the awl at the ghost lady.

“Yikes!” The ghost lady shivered. “Here you go!” Wei waved the awl tip into a circle and that circle enveloped the ghost inside a bubble. “Ah!?” She was clearly shocked. “Don’t worry! You’ll be fine! Just be strong!” Wei chirped back to her. Emi became skeptical. “Oh dear … well, I’ll pray for you!” Emi waved back at the ghost lady. She heard it all.

“…” The lady said nothing, as the bubble shrunk and vanished in a pop, ensuring that she was sent over to the Yellow Springs for good. “Oh thank goodness …” Ree sighed. “I thought this will take forever … but it’s all done!” Everyone stared at him. “What?”

“I’m sure … Yon will be happy for you.” Maz said coldly at him. “Uh …” Ree shrugged. “I don’t know about that … she only let me come since Ken was involved in the fight.” Ken was pretty sure at that moment that Emi’s face glowed red, from either anger or jealousy, but he wasn’t sure which one. “Well!” Hao suddenly said. “In any case!”

Everyone turned back to him. “I think you all heard from her … why she had to attack the city boy here” – he looked at Hoh – “without any reason? Something like a light of great irritation from him?” Ken nodded. “Yeah, she did say that … I don’t understand it … what did she mean by that?” Maz asked: “I suppose … you know the answer, Han?”

“REE!” Someone shouted not too far away. “You’re done fighting, right!?” It was Yon, who just descended from the skies towards the half-brother. “Yon! Um … yeah, I guess you can say that.” Before she was to say anything else, Ken interrupted her: “Hey there, Yon … aren’t you being a little too hard on Ree? He just helped us fight this ghost.”

“Ah, dearest Ken …” She immediately spoke softly, making everyone else raise their eyebrows, save for Hao and Emi – the latter who felt steam billowing out of her ears. “Was Ree of any help?” Ken nodded. “Very much.” “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

Hoh and Wei smacked themselves on the faces. “I got hurt, Yon, but I’m fine … you didn’t watch us fight, did you?” Yon shook her head. “No … I stayed away from it. Well, come on Ree … can’t you just come home?” Talking to Ken somehow made her lose all her anger. “…” Hao chose to say nothing – he liked the lack of attention from Yon.

“Fine … fine, let’s go.” The half-sister and half-brother held hands. “Thanks for your concern.” “You’re welcome, Ree …” Yon leaned her head on his left shoulder and the duo vanished off just like that. “Well, Ree’s gone … I’ll see him later.” Emi remarked.

“But, you know, Ken.” “Hm?” The brown-haired teen looked at the purple-haired girl. “Yon’s gotten more active since she arrived in Paradise … back when she was locked up inside Bak, she was always silent.” “Huh. Really?” Hao then coughed. “May I continue?”

“Yeah, sure.” Hoh said. “Anyway … it just so happens that things may get even more interesting from now on.” He certainly got everyone’s attention from that. “Evil really hates the presence of good anywhere, so to say. That’s why she would attack Hoh …”

Emi felt awkward. “And your point is?” “Remember back when your Osada friend was twisted and insane … that whole case?” To that, Maz coughed. “Can we … not talk about that again …? I’m sick of it … it hurts …” “Terribly sorry, but it’s just for a reference.”

“After you four stopped an entire series of mess to come, having poured so much effort into saving millions of people … believe it or not, the entire province is now covered in faint good aura.” Hao rubbed his hands. “Faint … but bright enough to distinguish itself from the rest of this nation. Looking from space, it’s like a small dot on the planet.”

“This aura … can be traced back to your respective homes. In fact, it comes from your very beings.” Hao pointed at the four of them – Ken, Wei, Hoh and Maz. “Well, our Osada friend here too, because of his turning over a new leaf and a change of heart.”

Maz commented nothing to that. “As a result of all your good merits and the state of your hearts, you four are definitely going to attract some forces to yourselves.” Hoh shivered a little. “Uh … what kind of forces?” “Simple. Good forces … and most likely, evil.”

“Like I said … evil simply hates good and it would really want to destroy you. The fact is …” Hao shrugged. “Evil detests the possibility that it would one day be wiped out by all those who are good, so rather, they would work first to destroy you. Be prepared.”

Everyone was more or less surprised. “So … get ready if some ghost asks you to send them away for enlightenment, if some random demon … or spiritually-awakened evil people you meet … attacks you out of the blue. Essentially, they’re coming for you.”

Wei gulped down her throat. “This … is nothing to do with me, right? Or Ree?” Emi asked. “Oh no, certainly not.” Hao replied. “But, you’re free to do what you want, as a spirit – help the boy in his quests, or spend every day with your friends in a normal life.”

“Thanks!” Emi bowed to Hao, who in turn laughed. “It’s nothing, my dear … well, I should leave you here. This trouble hotspot is over … if there’s anything important, I’ll just come and inform you. Goodbye.” Instantly, flames covered the Shaman and he whisked away. “That kind of power!” Maz gasped. “How can he do that …?”

“Huh?” Hoh turned to him. “Eh, it’s nothing.” Wei shrugged. “Hao’s able to appear wherever he wants, even if it defies all physics and the time-space continuum. He does that all the time, so I’m not surprised.” Maz was gapping away. “But … that power …”

“Come on, Maz … throw this one aside.” Ken dragged him on the shoulder. “You were shot with a lot of dark magic and I’m pretty sure Bak and Ria were very reluctant to let you come here … plus, there’s your folks.” “… I supposed … you’re right … leader.”

The group laughed lightly as they walked off the grassy plains and headed back to Ken’s home. Mother Saya was surprised that Ken somehow managed to get out of the house at the time of 9.45 pm and brought his friends here. Of course, all would leave soon, with Wei going back home while Hoh escorted Maz back to the nagging care of Bak and Ria.

“Sleepy time.” Ken buttoned his shirt, looking at far-away lit Shijun city. “Another battle and another rest … Hao makes it sound depressing that there are more to come.” Emi sat on his study chair and watched him lay on his bed. “I find it depressing, actually …”

“If you and everyone else keep on fighting these ghouls and evil people, won’t that interrupt your time for your studies in the future?” Emi looked at him worried. “Um … maybe. But, we’re not there yet, so when the time comes, we’ll think of something.”

The ghost girl merely nodded. “I see …” Ken pulled his blankets over. “Emi, what’s the time now?” “Ah, it’s um …” She turned to his study desk. “It’s 11.15. Wow, it sure is late already. I like you … time management.” “Eh, sure.” The teen tossed around.

“I’m so glad we met … even if we had to become one just to do so …” Emi bluntly said. “Huh?” Ken tossed his head. “Did you say something, Emi?” “Ah, no. It’s nothing … it’s nothing at all. Just have a good sleep, Ken.” She kept shaking her head. The curtains close but the lights still on, Ken gradually fell asleep. “I miss being one with him …”

The next day – 30th October a Tuesday. Handao village and the Zhendou city far away have more or less returned to a peaceful state. The news announced that many of those hit by the fox lady’s black magic would be released from the hospital in the coming days.

“Guwah …” The teen in pyjamas yawned and stretched his hands outward. “Argh … good morning, Emi …” He then quickly realized that Emi was no longer in his room, having returned to Paradise. “Oh yeah, that’s right … she’s gone. Time to get up …”

Ken brushed his teeth and got changed by 8 o’clock. He went to have a hearty breakfast and family time with the other Kazuguchis. He even managed to talk to father Ajima on getting a new tractor to replace the current one which frequently breaks down.

“Ah …” Ken skipped around on the soil road in front of his home. “Fresh air again … and this time, no dark magic.” The clock in his living room ticked 10.20 am. “Though … there were three ghosts that crept up to me in my room … and I sent them away to the Yellow Springs instantly.” He spun himself in a full circle. “Sigh … no chores to do.”

Just then, to his right, he witnessed the neighbor old lady burning some bits of paper, which resembled design of clothes, a human-lookalike sketch and material possessions like a couch and a TV. “I hope my husband gets this on the other side …” She said.

Ken looked at her briefly. “Hmm … I wonder what’s that all about …” He stared at her some more, as she prayed to the heavens. “I want my husband to be fine … please, oh dear Heaven, let my husband receive these gifts … I loved that man for 40 years now …”

In that instant, something sparked in Ken’s mind. “… hey! That would be awesome! I just had an idea of what to do!” He zipped back into his home, opened a door for a store room just beside the living room itself and browsed through some magazines.

“Hm … got to look for some ideas … let’s see …” He flipped more pages. “That style’s not so good … that looks fine … ah! That’s good! This one is good too! Alright!” He slammed the magazine shut and the store room door too. “I know just how to design it!”

The teen locked his door, took out several paper sheets and colour ink pens. “Let’s get it started in here.” He began to scribble something only he knew. Of course, not all went according to plan. Ken messed up with some designs, grunting a little, and even crumpled the paper up, throwing it in his bin. “No no no! How come I’m forgetting it already!?”

“Darn it …” He crumpled up the next paper and threw it into the bin. “I think … this is not working out properly … I may have to refer back to that magazine of mum’s …” Just when he turned around to go back downstairs, he met face to face with Emi Takahiro.

“Hiyah, Ken.” She simply said. “BAH!!” “AH!!” Ken shouted loudly first, thus shocking the ghost girl in turn, and he fell on top his bed. “Emi! You scared me! Don’t just show up so suddenly like Hao, okay!?” “Hey, I just came here to visit you for a while, okay!?”

The duo glared eye-to-eye and moments later, they couldn’t contain the laughter that was somehow generated from all the glaring. “Puwhahaha … so, what brings you here this time, Emi?” Ken asked. “Ahaha … like I said, I came to visit you for a while … ahaha.”

Emi slowly walked over to his bed and sat at the study chair. “You sure did sleep well last night.” Ken nodded. “Yeah, the fight with that fox lady was tiring … but I’m fine. It’s like going through another normal day … I wonder what happened to her?”

“Ah, yes! That’s right! I bring some news on that issue too!” Emi shook her head. “How could I have forgotten!? Silly me! Silly me!” She began knocking herself on the head with tight fists. “Um … you can stop that now … so, about that news?” “Ah? Right.”

“Well, after I left you asleep last night, just when I was going to enter Paradise, I recalled about her and quickly descended to the same courtroom where I was tried with Ree, Sim and Yon by the King of Yellow Springs himself.” Emi looked sad. “How did it go, Emi?”

“Hmph!” In that large courtroom, where the ogre guards stood at the side walls and the fox lady sat on her knees, hands cuffed behind her back, facing the gigantic being called the King of Yellow Spring, who was sitting behind this gigantic desk. “Oh no …”

“I hope she’ll be fine …” Emi watched from the farthest entrance of the courtroom. The King of Yellow Springs sported robes of ancient culture, a tall hat of metal, had a firm, brown and rugged face, intimidating hands and a particularly long beard. “You have a sorrowful past’ – his rough voice spoke – “but what you’ve done is really unforgivable!”

“What do you have to say for yourself!?” The fox lady touched her head on the ground. “I … I’m guilty …” She referred to her dark magic rage on the innocent living. “Do what … you see fit …” Emi couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. “My verdict is finalized!”

The King stroked his beard. “You have suffered much, but you still require training on patience and self-control! I’m giving you a chance to start over. No punishments, but you must wander the vast regions of the Yellow Springs and practise restrain by mingling with the people until you are qualified enough to leave this place! You’re dismissed!”

Emi sighed with relief. “Oh thank goodness …” The guards dragged the fox lady upward, still cuffed and escorted her out of the courtroom. “Next!” As other guards let a few more cuffed spirits into the chamber, the lady walked out and was approaching Emi slowly.

“Good luck. Keep having hope in yourself. You can do it.” That was all Emi said to her. The lady nodded and at last, she smiled. “Thank you …” Emi stood at the great entrance and watch the guards fling the lady into a portal to an unknown Yellow Springs region.

“Wow.” Ken remarked. “That’s a relief … I thought she was going to get punished, but … she deserved a chance.” Emi smiled. “You’re right.” The duo stared into each other’s eyes, not saying anything for a while. The ghost girl then looked onto Ken’s desk.

“Uh …” Emi became curious. “What are you doing, Ken?” She glanced at the sheets of paper and many colour pens around. “You’ve been up to something … sounds like you’re using a lot of brains here.” She giggled lightly, but she brought the teen back to reality.

“Oh no … um …” Ken rose up. “It’s nothing, really. I was just … I was just doodling to waste away time! I was bored, and there were no chores to do … my mum is doing all of them, together with Ayumi.” As you know, half of that was a lie and the rest was truth.

“Hmm …” She gazed over the mess. “Hm?” She looked back at Ken. “You sound quite fidgety … are you trying to hide something from me?” Emi stared on with a bit of anger. “What makes you … say that?” Ken tried to make up a good reason, but failed horribly.

“Come on, Ken …” Emi stood up. “You’re up to something again. Just tell me what it is. It’s no harm, right? Pretty please?” She clasped her hands, suddenly changing her mood to be that of puppy eyes. “Um … uh …” Ken found it hard to resist her. “Argh! I can’t!”

“Ahah!?” His response took her by shock. “I’m really sorry, Emi, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave! Goodbye!” He grabbed her right hand firmly. “Ah!? Hey! Let me go! What are you doing!?” “Sorry!!” Ken swung her around and threw her past his wall.

“Gyah!” She fell downstairs in the living room, just beside the snoring Grandpa Ojiro. “What was that about!?” She got back up quickly and rushed to his stairs. “I’m really sorry, Emi! But this is important!” Ken took out her sabre sword, flared it and set his whole room ablaze, thus preventing Emi from even entering. “Eeeep!” She gasped.

Emi saw Ken’s entire room burning in hot spiritual fire, so hot she couldn’t even get close to him. “Ken … what are you doing?” She asked sadly and with shaking eyes. “I … I’m sorry, but this is private.” Ken forcefully turned his head and got back to his work.

“But … but … gah! Forget about it! Who cares of what you’re doing!!” Her temper burst and she flew away from the Kazuguchi house. The poor girl couldn’t hold back the tears from being treated so rudely suddenly and as she flew off, several droplets fell off.

“I … I really regret this, Emi, but … you came at a wrong time.” Ken sulked at first, but put them off and worked hard on his secret project. “Gah … I really need to refer back to mum’s magazine.” Ken got off his chair and would return to finalize his secret project.

Emi didn’t know how far she flew, but she went pass many people, streets and taxis, sobbing all the way. “Ken … sob … why? Why!?” She rubbed her nose repeatedly and cried some more. “What was with Ken just now … I’ve never seen him this horrible!”

“The caring Ken … all gone in that instant … sob …” She flew past a few more cabs before unintentionally settling at this bench in front of an aerotrain station somewhere in Shijun city. “Ken … why …” She sobbed some more. “Why did you do that to me …?”

She remained here, sobbing until she calmed down about 15 minutes later. Her mind was so confused, asking why Ken would deliberately drive her away from him. It had to do with whatever he was doing on his desk, but Emi was too sad to bother finding out.

“Why … why did the Ken I love and care for … do this to me?” She clenched her fists on top of her knees. “This is not like him …” Several people walked past her, never sitting on that bench. A familiar figure came up to Emi as well, but for a totally different reason.

“Gah … let go already.” It was the green-haired Wei, hissing at the three ghosts clinging tightly to her right leg as she walked heavily. “Ah?” Emi looked up and saw that. “Wei? … ah! Wei!” She realized Wei’s situation and called out to her. “Hm? That is … Emi?”

“Use your weapon and send these beings to the other side! Now!” Emi said somewhat energetically to her. “Oh!” Wei smacked herself on the face. “I forgot about that … gah!” Wei formed her awl-like weapon, throwing off the ghosts to a corner rather easily. “Ah!” They yelped, and before they knew it, Wei drew that circle that encased them in a bubble.

Wei waved them a mischievous farewell. “See you.” The ghosts screamed in horror, and soon, they were gone to the Yellow Springs. “Phew …” Wei ignored the stares from other people around and walked to Emi. “Hiyah Wei. Why were you so upset just now?”

“Urgh … it was horrible …” Wei stared walking down the street and Emi followed behind slowly. “I was going out for a walk … and then some strange incident here and there … and poof. Three ghosts came crawling to me and hugged my leg … yuck.”

“Huh? … Emi, why are your eyes red?” Wei glared at Emi, whose fingers touched her cheeks and felt the moist tears on them. “… Let’s go and talk somewhere …” The girls walked off to the apartment compounds where Wei lived and talked on a bench.

“Ken what!?” Wei said in disbelief. Emi to her left rubbed her nose. “Yeah … that’s what he did to me just now … I don’t know why … he was up to something … but apparently, so secret he had to throw me out …” The ghost girl mumbled. “I wish I knew what it was … but knowing Ken … there must be a good reason to it. I can’t imagine him ever being bad.”

Wei folded her arms. “Yeah, you have a point … but really, to throw you out of his room like that; the brutality … you have to find out what’s in his mind! What’s he thinking of! Then we’ll know if it’s bad or good!” The ghost girl nodded. “Yes, I know that, but …”

“But what?” Emi played with her fingers. “Well … I don’t really know how to put it … but … I’ll rather wait for time to pass by … I’m sure he’ll call for me and he’ll explain what that was all about. I … I have faith in him.” She placed her hands on her chest.

“Hmm …” Wei grimaced. “I don’t know … I’m just as confused as you are.” Both girls sighed. “I don’t know if I can help you in any way, Emi. Ken isn’t someone to act that irrationally, despite just knowing him for over a month now … but if he DID, give him a piece of your mind, will you?” Emi was at first skeptical, but turned happy. “Yes!”

“That’s the girl.” Wei and Emi tapped each other’s knuckles and shared a moment of laughter. “Hah … it’s been wonderful talking to you, Wei. Thanks … I feel much better now.” Emi smiled at her. “But … I don’t feel it just right to go back to Ken now …”

“Aha!” Wei jumped up. “Why don’t you just stay with me for the time being?” Emi was surprised. “Ah … but … wouldn’t I be troubling you?” Wei shook her head. “Nah, you are in no way a bother to me. Besides, I can use some company. My dad’s at work.”

“You sure?” Emi asked skeptically. Wei nodded. “If you say so …” That instant, Hoh suddenly showed up a distance away from them. “Hey, Wei, I just remembered – huh? Emi? What are you doing here?” Emi turned sad instantly. “Um … I …” “Hold it, Hoh.”

The clock ticked 11.31 am back at Ken’s place. Grandpa Ojiro just woke up and was demanding early lunch, while sister Ayumi and brother Ryushi are playing in the fields. Father Ajima is attempting to fix the tractor, so he wouldn’t have to buy a new tractor like Ken suggested and mother Saya was making herself a bowl of porridge.

“Ah … it’s almost done.” Ken was clearly sketching out something, colouring it with the colour pens he had. “Yes … it’s coming along just the way I like it. But …” Ken sighed and looked around his room. “I’m sorry … Emi …” He stared onto his carpet floor.

Something then struck Emi’s mind: a moment of pure silence. “Ahah!?” She shocked Hoh and Wei; the trio were walking towards an elevator of the block Wei lives in. “Huh!?” “What is it, Emi!?” The duo looked at her. “I thought I felt something …”

“Um …” Emi thought about it over again. “It’s nothing, really … I’m sure it’s just an empty premonition …” Wei frowned at her, but was interrupted by Hoh: “Yeah, I came because I wanted to pay back the money I owe you.” “Oh yes, back to our topic, see …”

Wei then told Hoh about Ken’s sudden rough actions and he was also shocked to hear that. At the elevator, Hoh finally said: “Emi, I … I can’t believe Ken would do something like that … but I can’t deny your testimony on this, so … I also wonder what happened.”

“It’s not a good time to go check it out, isn’t it?” Emi shook her head. “No … but I still believe in him … I hope he has a good reason for this. Otherwise, I’m … I don’t know what to say.” Their somber mood permeated in the elevator too. “Well” – Wei said to calm the mood down – “in the meantime, let’s do something fun at my place, okay?”

Thus, Emi watched Wei and Hoh play an online computer game on Wei’s computer. The ghost girl was surprised that Wei wasn’t interested in video games, to the irony. Everyone played on for the coming 3 hours or so, having lunch as well. Meanwhile, at Ken’s …

“A little more … a little more … perfect!” Ken finished colouring something in brown. “This will look wonderful!” He placed the paper towards his ceiling lamp. “Yeah … this will definitely look nice when it’s materialized.” Ken looked around. The flames he had conjured were still burning in his room. “Hm.” He waved his hand lightly and a portion of the fire lit off instantly. “Huh, it goes away when I want it to … but … Emi …”

“I guess … I must finish what I’ve started.” Ken brushed four papers aside to his desk computer. “One more item to go. I’ve done the first four.” The rest of the family was too busy with their own affairs to bother Ken, but just then, someone else did.

“Grrh …”A familiar face of ice cold emotionless walked down the soil road, holding a paper bag in his hand. “Why am I … the one to do all these chores? Coming over to … my relatives’ house again … what happened to the family time I was supposed to have?” The wisp of roasted meat buns entered Maz’s nose, but he chose to ignore the smell.

Maz dragged his feet while walking. “Huh? This is?” He passed by Ken’s home, finding the flames burning in his room. “Leader’s room … is on fire!? No! Wait …” Maz glared at the place properly. “No smoke … that must be the leader’s … but … why is it there?”

“Hm.” He took a small stone and threw it to Ken’s window. “Huh? What the?” Ken got the hint and opened his sliding door. “Who’s there!? Oh, it’s you, Maz. What are you doing here?” “Visiting relatives again … why is there fire … in your room, leader?”

“Oh, that … um … sorry, I can’t answer that question yet.” Ken scratched the back of his head. “Is that so …?” Maz raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, I’m a little busy right now. Please don’t disturb me.” Ken went back inside, slamming the sliding door shut. The flames remained burning as they were. “Hmm …” Thanks to Ken, Maz just got curious.

Maz took out his cell phone and dialed Hoh on the spot. “Maybe I should inform him … something’s strange.” Both Ken’s siblings stared at Maz from nearby. “Fire in big bro’s room? What’s he mean?” Ryushi cluelessly asked. “I don’t know … those crazy boys …”

In Wei’s living room, the clock ticked 2.41 pm. “Yes! I beat you flat, Hoh!” Wei rejoiced proudly. “Yeah, well, that’s because I’m better in video games, not computer games!” He sulked. “I bet I can beat you in a video game anytime!” Wei snapped back: “You’re on!”

“Ultrablast 450 at your place tomorrow afternoon!” Hoh smirked: “I won’t lose!” The duo glared with the air of competition at each other in the eye. “Ahaha … come on, you guys. Don’t get angry now …” Emi smiled weakly as she tried to calm them down.

RING. “Huh?” Hoh turned to his pocket. “I have a call … Maz?” Hoh answered his cell phone. “Hello?” “Yes … I was wondering … if you knew … that Ken has set his room on fire … not literally … but with his power.” Emi heard him and turned sad again. “Do you have any idea?” Hoh sighed. Wei looked on. “Um … why don’t you drop by Wei’s?”

In short, Maz agreed to Hoh’s suggestion, only after briefly passing the roast steam buns to his relatives and talking with them for a while. Soon, the four of them gathered in the living room of Wei’s and Hoh explained to him what he heard so far from Emi.

“That’s … that’s impossible.” The silver-haired teen said emotionlessly. “Unbelievable … Ken did something like that … that would explain the fire … I thought he and Emi fit together all along.” Hoh and Emi hung their heads down simultaneously. “Uhh …”

Wei smiled weakly. “I’m sure … the reason behind Ken’s sudden actions is not because of that, Maz. The only thing we can do … is to cheer Emi up.” Maz nodded. “I agree with that … but more importantly … when are you going to see him, Emi?” She was silent. “I’m sure it’ll be soon. I can wait, although I’m missing a lot of things back in Paradise.”

Hoh’s interest was piqued. “Paradise, huh? What’s it like there?” Emi tilted her head. “It’s okay. Like the folklores say, it’s quite a happy place. There’s a lot of stuff to do … it’s quite wonderful.” Wei asked: “What kind of stuff?” “Um … I can’t tell you yet.”

Maz raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?” “Um … I don’t know … I feel it’s just not right to tell you yet … I’m sorry.” She hung her head down. “It’s okay … when we’re ready for it, we’re ready for it.” Maz replied. “I guess this … takes time.” Everyone would descend into a series of chats, being distracted from the main topic. At the same time, at Ken’s …

Ken’s clock ticked 3.35 pm. “Alright! It’s finished!” He put his black pen away and held up five pieces of paper against the light. “Awesome … I’m confident Emi will accept these. But … I chased her away. I was rude like heck too … I don’t know if she’ll forgive me … Emi … please give me a chance to explain myself. Emi …” He said softly.

“AH!?” Emi gasped, shocking everyone else. “What the!?” Hoh gasped. The ghost girl experienced yet another moment of pint-drop silence in her head and that same feeling of sadness and regret filled her. “This is …” Emi looked sad. “I think Ken’s calling me.”

Wei was curious. “He is? How’d you know?” Emi replied: “It’s a little difficult to explain but … I felt him. His heart. You can know whose feelings they belong to.” Maz rubbed his nose and chin with his left hand. “Well then, Emi … you should go. Back to him.”

Emi blinked her eyes. “Uh …” Maz remained emotionless. “Is this … your first time?” She shook her head. “It’s happened before …” Maz raised his left eyebrow. “Then you know … the time is now … there’s no need to wait anymore … go and see him now.”

“Yeah, after the way he chased you away from him, there’s no way he can’t regret that action, whether they’re for good or bad!” Hoh got pumped up. “Go back to him! We’ll see what he has to say to you!” Wei nodded. “We will be waiting for you here, Emi.”

“Ah?” Emi was confused. “Really? You’re going to wait here … for me? All of you?” Maz, Wei and Hoh nodded together. “Yes … I think it is important … you two make up quickly … after all, if it weren’t … for your friendship … we won’t be here right now.”

“I …” The ghost girl’s eyes glittered. “Thank you, everyone. Please … wait here for me. This won’t take long.” Hoh and Maz smiled. “Go on, Emi …” Wei made a hand move that asked her to leave. “I’ll be back soon!” Instantly, she vanished off her couch.

She was back at the Handao farming village, barely a second after thinking of the place. “Home …” She floated in the air towards the Kazuguchi household. “Hey, the flames in his room are gone.” No spiritual fire was burning through his window. “That’s a good sign. That means I can come back anytime … but, I wonder where he is. Um …”

Emi jumped to his sliding window, saw no one in his room. “Ah?” Not in his bathroom. “Not here?” Ayumi’s room. Ryushi’s room. The parents’ room. More bathrooms. The living room. Store room. Kitchen. Dining room. Grandpa Ojiro’s room. Totally nowhere.

“But … but …” Emi looked desperately around. “Where is he then? His folks are around but … him?” Then, through the window, she spotted him in the backyard. “He’s there!”

Before she floated, she forced herself to stop. “No … wait. There’s something fishy still.” Emi walked out of Grandpa Ojiro’s room, to the living room and the front of the house. “I should quietly approach this. Who knows what he’s up to? I wish I read his mind …”

The ghost girl walked past windows and came to the edge of a wall. “Gah.” She heard stones being piled together. “I don’t know if Emi will ever accept this … but I’d best make everything ready.” Ken said. She then heard twigs and more branches collected together.

“This is …” Emi took a sneak peek. Ken was in his backyard, preparing what it looks like to be a camp fire surrounded by large granite stones. “Grrmm. Humk.” He took out a fire lighter and burnt some twigs and papers. “This should do it. I don’t know if she’ll come.”

He was obviously referring to Emi. “A fire? Ah?” She spotted Ken hold the same pieces of paper from his desk. “That’s his drawings … what is this got to do with that? No, wait here!” Emi hid behind the wall and brainstormed. “Something’s still fishy here! Fishy!”

“I’m supposed to be angry at him! He flung me out of his room, for crying out loud!” Emi fumed. “Alright, prepare yourself, Emi! Be angry. Look angry.” She inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Hmph! What do you want, Ken!?” She grumbled. “Yes, that’s perfect.”

“Ken, what are you doing?” She heard sister Ayumi talk to Ken. “Preparing a fire … that’s what it is, right?” Ken lazily replied. “You can’t play with fire!” “Who said I was?” After some moments of arguing, Ayumi left in another fit. “Oh dear …” Ken sighed.

“Let’s start this.” Emi tightened her fists and walked to Ken. “Hey.” Out of the blue, he heard her say that, shocking him and he collapsed to the ground. “AH! … Oh, hey Emi. Perfect timing.” That was all he could say. “What is it you want, Ken?” She asked.

The teen slowly got up and faced the ghost girl. “You called me, so I’m here.” Emi maintained her angry face. “This had better be good. Normally, I’ll forgive you if you do silly things by accident, but throwing me out of your house on purpose … it’s different.” Ken was initially speechless. “Yes … I know that.” Ken’s left leg ground on the soil.

“I’m really, really sorry for what I’ve done to you in the morning, Emi.” She felt his aura of great sadness. “But, I was working on something for you, and I wanted it to be a good surprise. I had to throw you out! I couldn’t bear to spoil this secret! All for you!”

“Oh really?” She looked on indifferently. “I want you … to take a look at this.” Both his hands held up the pieces of paper. “Hmm?” Emi grumbled and looked at them carefully.

Ken had sketched out some women’s clothing – a grey-silver blouse of knitted designs, a light-red skirt with two pockets, a brown belt, dim orange leather boots with black rims for their soles and brown jacket with two more pockets and buttons to button up. “So?”

The teen scratched his head, embarrassed. “Well, the thing is … these are for you.” Emi was stunned on the spot. “For … for me?” Ken nodded. “I never really gave you a proper gift all this while … you’re my close friend, why should you not? So … surprise, Emi?”

Emi turned skeptical. “Um … thanks for the drawings, I guess.” Ken took them away. “No, I’m not giving them to you as drawings … but I hope they can be real. So, I’m burning them.” Emi raised an eyebrow. “How’s that going to work?” Ken sighed.

“If I’m not mistaken, during Tomb Sweeping Day during the middle of the year, we all would go and offer sacrifices to our ancestors, right?” Ken fidgeted. “Well, the theory is that the ancestors will get these burnt sacrifices as in real objects.” Emi was shocked.

“So that … that is …” Her anger was gone. “I hope you get these … from me to you.” Ken dropped the papers in the fire, burning every single bit of it. “Ah!?” Some magical lights glowed above Emi and all those things Ken drew appeared to her as real clothes. “Whoa! Ah! Yelp!” She rushed to catch all of them before they got dirty on the soil.

Ken himself was surprised. “Wow, now I know that old lady’s husband IS going to get all those burnt offerings.” Emi heard him. “Excuse me, Ken?” The teen shook his head. “Ah, no … it’s nothing … just an observation.” The ghost girl glanced slowly on the clothes.

“This is … I …” Emi couldn’t help but cry. She was immensely happy, that Ken did all this for her. “Ken … I don’t know what to say.” She rubbed her eyes of the tears. “Well, I got inspired by the neighbor lady burning stuff this morning, so … thank her instead.”

“I …” Emi sobbed uncontrollably. “This is … sniff … the most beautiful present anyone has ever given me … well, the second best.” Ken was clueless. “Eh … second best?” She nodded happily. “Of course … the best present … was our friendship … isn’t it so?”

Ken scratched his head. “When you put it that way …” Emi sobbed. “I’m going to try these out, canI!?” She burst happily. “Oh … sure, go ahead.” “Alright!!” She flew up to his bathroom area instantly. “Ah …” Ken sighed with great relief. “She likes them …”

Almost 10 seconds later, she came down to him, fully dressed in the clothes he just gave her and holding her trademark school uniform dress in her right hand. She smiled widely.

“It’s wonderful, Ken … I’m loving it already.” She threw her previous clothes, and shoes, in the air, warping them back to her residence in the spirit world. “This is the first time … I’ve worn anything else than my old clothes.” Ken was stunned. “Are you sure, Emi?”

He looked at her – that grey blouse covering the quarter top of her red skirt, buckled on tightly by that belt; the jacket gracing her being and the orange boots covering her white stockings. “Yes … I came from a poor family, remember? Those were my only ones.”

“Thank you so much!!” Emi pounced to him and gave him a tight hug. “I … really love you so much!!” Ken was slightly taken aback by the hug, nearly tripping on the fire he set up. “Whoa! Ah … thanks, Emi … I … I love you too.” He gave her a tight hug as well.

A chilly wind blew on the backyard, mildly blowing the dry brown leaves of the ground for the duo. “I’m so grateful … finding a person such as yourself …” Emi sobbed lightly. “Yeah, me too …” No one came to interrupt their private cherishing moment. “So … about me throwing you out …” Emi looked at him. “For this? Of course I forgive you!”

They held tight onto each other for a while more, until Emi let go of him. “I’m keeping these forever. My best friend giving me a present …” Ken nodded. “Oh no!” Emi gasped. “I forgot! The others are waiting for me!” Ken got the message. “You told Hoh and the others, didn’t you?” Emi played with her fingers. “Maz and Wei too … I was sad …”

Back at Wei’s place, the trio were talking about some other stuff before switching back to Ken’s brutal chasing off Emi. “Hmm, I wonder what’s the progress …” Hoh sighed. “Did Emi forgive him … or did my good old buddy suddenly turn evil?” Wei grimaced.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad … but, let’ssss just make sure just in case. Just in case!” The two boys looked at her. “Just … in case?” Maz was clueless. “Yeah, we give that Ken a real good beating if he was really mean to her!” Wei smacked her right fist in the air.

“Why are you … so excited to beat leader up?” Maz felt uneasy. “He deserves it … if he did trash Emi for sure.” Hoh became enthusiastic. “Oh! Oh! Do you have a baseball bat!? I always wanted to smack someone with that!” “I think I have one in my closet … I did not play baseball for a long time … even back in my hometown Gaowu …” Wei said.

Maz glared emotionlessly at them. “I’m out of here.” “Oh no!” Both Wei and Hoh held onto Maz tightly. “If Ken’s a meanie, as friends, we should teach him a lesson!” Both of them said simultaneously. “I don’t believe this …” Maz was dragged into Wei’s room.

Meanwhile, back at Ken’s home … “I have a feeling I’m going to get beaten by Wei …” Ken fell on the ground before getting up again. “Ahaha …” Emi laughed. “I’ll defend you. You did tell me the truth after all.” Ken sighed. “I’m so grateful … so, want to go and show them your new clothes?” Ken asked. “Of course!” Emi replied happily. “Come on!” Emi flew out of the backyard to the soil road. “Hey, wait for me!” Ken said.

The teen rushed after her, keeping his keys and cell phone in his pockets. “Wait up!” Ken and Emi went on a brief chase on the soil roads, until Emi settled down and held his right. “Let’s go together … as friends. As partners. As a couple.” Ken blushed.

“Ah, I’m going out with Emi as a couple!” He cheered, but then asked: “This is a date, right? Right?” She laughed. “Well, it depends on you, Ken. I’m just playing along.” They took a slow but very heart-filling walk to the aerotrain station, down the soil roads.

“Ha ha hah …” Far away, in an office in a certain skyscraper, the Shaman was watching them through a flame he conjured on his palms. “A wonderful happy ending, this is …” Hao looked over the Core City heights. “A much-sought after ending by all humans …” The flame dissipated and he got off his luxurious black leather chair. “How beautiful.”

“I will watch over these kids … guide them wherever I can … that life of happiness is so pure.” He smiled, looking down at Core City. “I might be biased … but this is the most wonderful I’ve ever seen so far … this is truly a wonderful tale of the two souls.”


THE END


Notes:
The King of Yellow Springs and his judgment duties were stated in middle of Chapter 14 and concept itself too. Tomb Sweeping Day is a real Chinese event about middle of the year annually; details were as Ken explained just now. Ah … the end, as it says. A happy end … don’t you think so? Do Ken and Emi fit together as a couple, do you think?

Well, the Comic Arts Spinoff: Tale of Two Souls is complete. When I was inspired, I started drafting immediately from 19th December 2007 to 25th February 2008 and typed, edited and finalized all from 25th February 2008 to 18th April 2009. The drafting took 69 days whereas the typing, editing and finalizing all took 418 days, all in Asian time.

Thanks so much to all you readers who have taken your time over the years to read this original fiction. Great thanks goes to all the readers and those who commented along the story course, as well as the Zero Virus administrators and moderators who kept the place going alive and to host this fiction all this while.

Other great thanks go to Keiji Inafune whose Megaman series inspired me to have the Lumine character be named here as ‘the Premier’, and Hiroyuki Takei, creator of Shaman King for his Zeke Asakura character, being named here as ‘Shinra Hao’, as well. Thank you all for your patience and readership! Bless you all!

[Professor Fann]

*wipes the dust off this old thread

I know this post ain't an update of any sorts (more stories and whatnot), so I apologize for that.

If anyone is still reading this original story of mine ... thank you so much.

This isn't so much an update, but more of an information. Previously, I have dreams of writing a sequel to this Tale of Two Souls story, and even another sequel to that - so it's like a trilogy of sorts that I previously wanted to do.

But, after reading loads of books, as noted in the last post, I decided to make this story to go more professional and original, as well as the said two sequels - by going into the publishing world and really get them sold in a bookstore. Our beloved characters are going to do more than what you've just read (which is a lot) and unfortunately, three books ain't going to cover it. So be warned, you might just find these stories soon near you.

The stories will be longer, but will be conclusive ... and I will not pull a Robert Jordan (die before the series). Will let you all know what the title will be in the future.

Wish me luck, and I sincerely thank all of you for your reading patronage, for giving this poor silly fellow a chance to show a-finally-original-and-not-fanfiction story to the world (I hope).