Return of the Mythic Bloodline

"It ain't the right place ta talk 'bout this," I said. Suddenly the world blurred around us and in the next instant, we stood beneath an enormous tree in a large open ground.

"Jus' how serious the situation?" I asked as we both sat, leaning against the tree.

"The Atlas Kingdom is completely destroyed," Ruru spoke, dropping the words like a bomb.

"How—how could this happen? They were jus' second in power compared ta us!" I muttered, my hands trembling from the shock.

"Since the portals began to appear, Vyoman itself is becoming unstable—drought in one place, floods in another. The seismic events have also grown more frequent, causing volcanic eruptions and landslides.

You asked why I didn't contact you all these years. The portals had already emerged in my land. I've been fighting the monsters appearing from them for the past five years. And honestly, I'm not sure how much longer I can protect my land," Ruru murmured, her voice shaking with every word.

"Portals already appeared in yer area? Why didn't ya contact me then?" I snapped, jumping up in anger.

"And what if they had appeared here while you came to aid me? Who would have protected your land?" she shouted back and with a brief sigh she continued,

"When you retired from the battlefield five years ago after losing your father, we didn't stop you. We knew you had already done more than enough for Vyoman. But...

things are becoming dire. Queen Gumiho sent me to convince you to fight again. However..."

She got up, and moving a few steps forward, spoke further, "You don't need to come out of retirement. You have a family to protect now. I'm sure Queen Gumiho will understand."

"Hah! When did ya get so darn mature? Ah've already rested enough. It's time to put some terror back into them monsters again." I said, cracking my knuckles.

"No you can't! How will Vani live if something happens to you? You should live here safely with your family." She snapped, turning around.

"There ain't no place safe in this world as long as those damn portals won't stop appearin'. And don't ya dare underestimate mah Vani. She's the daughter o' the God o' Strength, after all. Tell the Queen I'll be reachin' the Capital by next week." I replied, a wide smirk appearing on my face.

"Sighs— I can't do anything since you have already made up your mind. I will get going and inform the Queen," she replied, rubbing her forehead while sighing.

"Ya leavin' already? Enjoy the feast before returnin'," I exclaimed, slapping her back lightly.

"That's not possible. I can't leave my clan for long. It's being protected by Vyaghra for now. But you know his personality. I can't trust my people with him," she replied, hitting me back for the slap.

"How'd ya even convince 'im in the first place?" I gasped in disbelief.

"Well, the Queen told him to, so he had no choice," she replied, chuckling.

Her antlers began to glow vibrantly, and leaves on the ground started floating around her body. She turned and, with a light smile, said, "Let's meet soon."

And vanished into thin air.

I was about to move, but something strange happened.

Sounds grew distant, and the ground in front of me began distorting. Strange glitch lines appeared, and suddenly I was standing in the hall of the castle, hugging Varena and Vani.

"When will ya return, papa?" Vani asked, wrapping her little hands around my neck.

"I will come back once every month. So get stronger until I return. And here take care of this for me," I said, giving her the stone she gifted me.

What just happened? Why was he already leaving? Wasn't he gonna leave after a week? Did that glitch skip one week of time?

"Take care, m'lord," Varena said, her eyes brimming with tears.

I reached closer to her, but then a loud sound thundered, trembling the entire castle.

"Aghhh, what was that sound?" Varena shouted, holding her ears.

"It-it can't be...," I muttered and ran towards the main door.

I snapped it open. My entire body trembled as my eyes fell on the scenery in front of me.

My hair went up from the goosebumps, my lips shivered. I wasn't sure if the terror I felt was just mine or if Jambavan's fear was influencing me.

The sky above the city was cracking and splitting apart. Hundreds of thousands of red-colored portals, radiating an ominous energy, appeared—and from these portals emerged something… something I couldn't even name.

It had limbs similar to a human, but its appearance was grotesque. It was completely purple in color with a large hole in its chest. Its face had only one eye at the center, and just below it, canine teeth gleamed menacingly.

Within seconds, thousands of similar creatures began pouring out from the portals. Some were as small as a cat, while others were taller than a tower.

"Empty the city this instant 'n retreat to the Capital!" I shouted at the chaos unfolding in the streets.

"All knights, guide the people to the exit in the back!" I commanded the soldiers as they began to bring some order to the panic.

"Varena, take Vani and move, quick!" I barked, then turned to the five Wolven Knights. "You lot are the strongest in m'tribe. Protect those two—even if it costs ya lives."

"But Chief, there're too many of 'em. We won't be able to retreat!" one of the knights protested.

"They won't attack unless their leader shows up. And I'm stayin' right here. So don't worry," I replied, my voice low but firm.

"I'll be stayin' too! There're way too many of 'em!" Varena yelled, stepping forward.

"I know yer strong, Varena. That's why ya need to go 'n protect Vani. She shouldn't lose both her parents at the same damn time," I murmured, rubbing her head gently.

"Do you intend to—" she whispered, but I cut her off with a light push toward the knights.

I moved outside and stared at the monsters in the sky, mutterin' while clenchin' my fist,

"How dare ya show yer face here… after what ya did five years ago!"

In just an hour, the entire city was evacuated.

Amidst the thousands of portals, one gigantic portal, splitting the sky apart, appeared, and from it emerged a creature similar in appearance to the others, but it was about the size of the massive trees I had seen in the Forest of Gumiho.

I mumbled, glaring at him, "So yer finally here!"

Then I moved my fist backward and roared in a loud voice,

"Galactic Punch!"

As my fist moved upward, a thundering sonic boom followed, shattering dozens of creatures into pieces before it was finally stopped as their leader stepped forward, blocking the attack with his arm.

This was the same air attack Jambavan had used when he fought me, but the destructive power this one carried was hundreds of times stronger. If he had used the attack with this intensity against me, not even my bones would have been left.

"Haha...—So ya blocked it, huh? Good—Good. That means I can finally go all out 'n use the skills I picked up recently," I muttered, lowering my fist.

Then I joined my hands and howled at the top of my lungs. My body began to grow taller, my arms bigger, and fur sprouted across my body.

"Alert!! Jambavan has used the skills: Battle Cry and Berserk.

You won't be able to witness the memories of battle.

Skipping the memory to the next moment..."

"No way, Vivi! I want to watch this battle. It's like you're cutting the final fight of an action movie," I shouted inside my mind, but again the glitch line appeared, and in the next moment, the city was in complete ruins and dyed with purple blood.

There were no creatures left—only a mountain of thousands of corpses remained, and I stood at the top of this mountain, breathing heavily as I held the head of one of the creatures in my bloodied hands.

"Vani... Varena...," I mumbled, taking shaky steps toward the direction of the Capital.

"Galactic... Kick,"

I muttered, pushing against the ground beneath and launching myself into the air.

As soon as I landed, I whispered again,

"Galactic Kick."

Then again and again and again.

In the not-so-far distance, I saw something, and my eyes widened in terror.

I sprinted forward, and what I saw was nothing other than the lifeless bodies of the five knights I had commanded to protect Vani and Varena.

"No—no—no..." I muttered, running further.

There were marks of battle on the ground.

Corpses of knights, normal people, and creatures lay everywhere.

My heart pounded as if it would burst at any moment. I was feeling the pain of exhaustion in every bone of my body—or Jambavan's body, I should say—but I kept moving, desperately trying to find the body of the person I was desperately praying wouldn't be there.

But my fear became reality when I noticed something familiar beneath the corpses of two creatures.

I instantly pushed them aside. One of the creatures had a severed hand in its mouth.

"This—this is Varena's hand," I mumbled, and when I looked at the other creature, its mouth was filled with a red-blooded stone.

The stone was spherical in shape. Two small stones were embedded on top of it; a face with eyes, nose, and a mouth with canine teeth was carved into it.

Crimson tears poured from my eyes as I began to howl, splattering blood out with every scream.

"Vani... Aghhhhh... Varena..." I shouted.

I had never experienced this kind of pain before. Varena wasn't my wife, nor was Vani my daughter. So why?

Why did I feel like I wanted to destroy this world and trample everything to dust?

Was it my emotion—or the emotions of Jambavan?

It didn't even matter anymore.

"I will destroy everythin'..." I growled, hugging the stone to my chest.

"Kill... kill... destroy..." I muttered, slowly getting up.

"Alert!! Your consciousness is synchronising with Jambavan's memory.

You might lose your identity."

As I began to move, a sudden thud echoed in my ears, and I fell to the ground.

"How long after should I try to wake you up when you fall unconscious?" Nymeria asked, holding my hand tightly.