Chapter 23: Lavin
A RITUAL and traditional burial was made for the dead bodies and fallen egoris. The barrier that Jhavu left remained strong around the free city, Aeonria. The forbidden land was decided to be made as the grave of the heroes. Zakir and Jhavu together with the other aeoni warriors were buried on that land. The dead frozen aeonis were blessed by the egoris with their flames. The dead egoris were buried in the land where they came from. Without Zakir, they felt lost and being left behind. The egoris as expected, returned to Antos to Aeonria as wild and free monsters. Haji built another barrier for the land. The egoris served as the guardians of the heroes' land. Haji felt the sadness as Jhavu's widowed woman handed him a cloth. It was Zakir's cape. Haji's chest ached as if he was stabbed repeatedly. Not just one, but too many important beings were gone.
King Kradus, Haji's father was buried together with the hunters on the dark cave in the farthest portion of Antos to Aeonria. When the burials were done, Haji remained sitting on the ground as he stared at the tombstone of his father. Everyone left the cave except Haji. Now he felt how a kingdom would look without a king, it was sad and tragic. Haji hugged Zakir's cape around him as he whispered.
"Father, I can't take this anymore. This is too much" Haji cried like child in front of his father's grave.
"I wanna go home" he whispered and cried silently like a child being lost in the middle of the city.
"I need no more fight. I don't want anymore war. I want to see my best friend again. I want to see Jhay, father" Haji said and bit his trembling lips as he covered his face with his palms. His tears won't stop flowing so he used his arms to wipe those tears away. He looked like a crying child trying his best not to cry just to prove that he was strong.
He wanted to scream but his throat hurt since crying and screaming was all he ever did after the war. Haji hugged his knees and covered himself with Zakir's coat like a puppy. His tears dripping slowly as he stared at the tombstone.
"I'm scared, father." Haji said while forcing himself not to cry.
"What will happen to me now? I'm not even sure where the hell I am" Haji said while sobbing like a child.
"What should I do, father. How will I be able to go back there? Where am I? Am I too far away from Earth?" Haji said as if he was merely talking to someone. As Haji was about to bury the late king's body, he saw the necklace around Kradus' neck. He leaned forward too take a better look. The necklace looked like a golden medallion with Stalwa's image encrypted on it. Haji grabbed the necklace carefully and examined it. Haji flipped the other side of the medallion and saw a hidden map encrypted on it.
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"It's the real thing" Haji whispered slowly, his eyes were staring at the semifixed ship in front of him. The map represented the location of his lost spaceship, under the kingdom of Umbra. It was only Kradus who knew that place before Haji. Kradus had always wanted to go home. With that reason, the former cruel king never hesitated to grab the ship and took it away. He had been doing his experiments secretly under the ground of Umbra without anyone noticing it. He never intended to stay on that planet forever. He grabbed the opportunity to take the power of king Verma. He managed to become cruel so the city would fear him. With that solution, he could leave the planet without ease. Kradus did all his best to repair the ship with the help of advanced technology on that planet. When Kradus arrived at Aeonria, his ship was totally Broken and hopeless. With Haji's sudden arrival, his ship had undergone fast and strong improvement secretly. Kradus intended to leave the planet instantly without leaving any traces nor clues. If the kingdom would find out, that would be a huge crisis and they would never allow that. Kradus would probably be chased. Following his father's path, Haji was doing the same thing.
"I'll be home soon, Jhay. Wait for me" Haji said with a mixed emotions on his face. Happiness and excitement overflowed. Courage and fear collided. Hope bloomed within the janix's heart as he slowly touched the well polished ship. The ship was finally in front of Haji. And there was more. Not far from the hidden ship, there were significant things that seemed to be used for communications. Haji's eyes widened as he immediately walked towards the hi-tech receptor and a mini phone. Based on the data written on a table stone, Haji could never recognize a single letter. He thought if only Jhavu was there or Zakir, he would have never had a hard time deciphering those codes and its hidden messages. Beside the calligraphy looked like a map. A map of the universe, there was no milky way nor the earth's solar system. Haji placed the medallion beside the drawn map, which later on created an unexpected holographic light. The medallion produced a blue ray light and the late king's human face appeared on the air as it stated the long kept message:
*By the moment this message will be discovered, I am already dead. I have been living in this cold planet for almost a decade. I had made a lot of troubles and mistakes, as a king I am sorry for that. A lot of aeonis hated me because of my selfishness and cruelty. I am fully aware that the result of my death would be the greatest feast for the slave city I owned. I have my own reasons and I am not allowed to explain anymore because of the things I have done. As a king who had no loyal kingdom, I beg of you. Aeonis of Aeonria, I entreat you to castigate me by sending my body back to the land where it originally belonged. Using this new and improved traveling ship, put my body inside it and let there be universe to guide my destiny. Please send me back to where I truly belonged, the earth.*
The hologram ended with the king Kradus masked face being displayed. Haji touched the medallion once again and for a few seconds, he saw a vision.
Many lives of egoris, the slowly decreasing numbers of frozen aeonis being taken away from the secret chamber secretly. The purity of blood from young female aeonis and the blood of fullpledge umbra hunters mixed together as one in a golden vessel. And the blood of the outsider, the king itself. The medallion was made of the things that flashed through Haji's visions. The Janix never wanted to see how cruel his father had become but he couldn't look away and was being drawn towards the vision of history and truth. The process and the information filled his almost exploding brain. Inside the golden vessel were the blood of egoris, the blood of the frozen baby aeonis, the blood of the female aeonis, the blood of the hunters and a Janix's blood. Egoris represented Loyalty. Frozen aeonis represented Innocence. The female Aeonis represented Purity. The hunters represented Braveness and the Janix's blood represented Courage. The five factor that were required to offer in order to summon the Supreme Deity of the Universe, Lavin.
Lavin was the guardian of the undying universe according to Aeonria's mysterious legend. Aeonis believed that Lavin could do everything you wished depending on your offer. And for Kradus who was desperate to find his way back home, he summoned Lavin through making the medallion.
Haji shouted as loud as he could to ease the pain inside his head. He started panting heavily as the energy from the medallion released him. Haji's eyes were widely open. He stared at the medallion and noticed the medallion was moving on its own towards the map. The medallion stopped on top of one of the planet in the map which made the janix gasped both for air and extreme shock.
"All this time I thought I'm currently located somewhere in Pluto. But..." Haji slapped his face hardly as he tried to wake himself up and to face reality.
"How far did I go?" Haji asked himself and kneeled on the ground as he realized he didn't have any idea where he was at all.
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ASIDE from Jhavu and Zakir, no other aeoni gained Haji's trust. He became more patient and tricky for aeonis had their own different behaviors and thinking. Aeonis were dangerous, even more dangerous than egoris. Haji's ship was halfway done before he realized. .
The janix made his daily routine for the next couple of months, looking after Aeonria's peaceful community in the daylight and sneaking out at night to finish his broken ship.
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"What is it that you wish for?" a voice coming from the dark hollowed stone welcomed Haji as he entered the said legendary cave where Lavin was staying. Unlike Lurkia that only Kradus and Haji have seen his form before, Lavin's image was carved in every corners of Aeonria's holy places such as caves and stone resembling that everyone in that planet worshipped Lavin.
"I seek for guidance and protection during my departure. Please send me back to earth whole and intact." Haji said with a brave heart despite his trembling knees that might collapsed anytime soon.
"And what do I get back in return?" The terrifying voice replied which made Haji's hair stand from the back of his neck down to his spine. Even if Haji was not able to see Lavin's form personally, he could already picture out what this deity looked like. Haji took out the medallion from underneath his cape and raise it on the air as if he was surrendering the golden instrument. Not long before Haji could even flinch nor move even a single finger, he was slammed to the wall with his feet not touching the ground. As Haji slowly opened his shut closed eyes, he saw Lavin's dark blue yet glimmering eye. Haji could see clearly his reflection through that eye. The other eye was as black as the rough skin of the owner. Lavin didn't look like human nor an aeoni. His form was neither like that of the drawings and carvings in the caves as how the aeonis made it look like. Lavin could only be seen as a combination of black and gold with a blue glimmering eye. His body was almost seemed to be made of smoke that Haji could barely touch nor feel it.
"Who are you? Why do you have this thing?" Lavin's voice almost took Haji's soul away as if he was extracting it from the janix's body.
"I am the son of the cruel king Kradus" Haji said honestly. He wanted to add the phrase "Believe it or not, I am" but he didn't want to make Lavin think badly of him for his attitude.
"Liar" Lavin said. It was as if Haji's answer never made any sense.
"I am asking you who you are" Lavin repeated. Haji could not think of another answer. He breathed heavily, he thought his life depended on his next answer.
"I... I am..." The janix started as he paused and let out a sigh. He knew that Lavin was asking who he was and by any means, who is Haji.
"...the new king of Aeonria."
There was a second of silence before Haji continued talking.
"I never wished to make things turn out the way it is now. I never asked for war and never prayed for deaths of the enemies. I was just a mere teenager who was accidentally sent here because of my curiosity and carelessness. I don't deserve to become a king. I... I just wanna go home." Haji said emotionally but he managed not to shed more tears.
"Why do you wished to go back when you already have everything on this planet?" Lavin asked, trying to divert Haji's mind with reality that seemed to be fantasies.
"My home is not here. Even if I could posses all the powers and blessings from the city, still... I will never be happy. Because no matter how I convince myself to suit my life here, I will never belong here. Since I left earth, my heart felt so far away from my body. It was as if I continue on living in this planet with no reason to breath." Haji no longer understand everything what he had said. He thought that if he would be honest and tell Lavin about everything, he would be favored.
"Do you think that everything will be the same when you go back on that planet?" Lavin asked. Hesitating, Haji wanted to say that everything would be fine but he made an honest reaction.
"Even if everything has changed, still, I wanted to witness how the things I could relate slowly change around me. At least I am not that far away." Haji said with a smile. Lavin never added anymore words. The place was silent and Haji could almost hear his own heartbeat.
"Finish repairing your ship, and I will definitely send you back to earth well and healthy."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone