The Ancient Genes

"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

The sounds of insects buzzing and a cool refreshing feeling which the cold brought was a great experience for new people around. And, there were indeed two such people currently staying in this place.

"This is not half bad.." Blinken muttered with a smile as he looked at the moon shining brightly in sky.

"Don't get used to it. We have to return one day.." Max replied from his cell.

The cells in this place were very different from the current ones. These were actually nothing but small pits dug into the ground with a barricade above which acted like a prison gate. There was not much space to move, and one only had a little space to twist their body a little. Even stretching your hand all the way into two directions was impossible there.

"This world sure is strange..but something feels good about it.." Blinken replied with a complicated sigh.

"Feeling at ease?" Max asked with a laugh. He once had similar feelings when he entered the Trials too. Being a stranger in a world sure could be depressing on one side, but another end; it wasn't that bad. There was no one whom you knew, there was no tension, stress or anything of sort of.

It was a kind of unique feeling if you forget about everything else for a second.

To be simple, it seemed peaceful.

Even Max felt like closing his eyes and forgetting about everything for a moment. But, he knew he had to return to reality at some point. They didn't have the luxury to play around, or live peacefully.

Not to mention, this world was all an illusion. This was indeed a life they were living, but not as themselves, but in place of someone who had lived here sometime. It would come to an end, they would never take their places.

The Gods of the Ancient Era, really had some ability to be able to create something like this. It was really a wonder to think what they had in mind while deciding all these trials.

"Creak.."

A noise suddenly entered both Max and Blinken's ear. In this peaceful environment, any unnecessary noise was like a bone in meat. It was annoying, hence people were very clear about it.

'He is here..' Max was especially good when it came to his ears. He knew that it was the sound of someone stepping on twigs. And, let's be honest, it was a deliberate action. He knew it too.

He could easily sense things around, and he knew that the person had every intention to walk over that twig.

"Open the cage.." A voice soon rang, and this time it was very clear to both Blinken and Max. A second later, the gates of their cells were opened up by two bulky looking guards who were still staring at them vigilantly and with a little hostility.

When Max and Blinken got out of the pit, they were greeted by the sight of the person that Max was expecting to.

It was the Village Chief. And, he was there alone.

Talk about confidence.

"Go away, give us some time.." The Village Chief looked at the two bulky prison guards. The two really seemed hesitant and wanted to protest. But, in the end they could only leave quietly when the red haired man stared at them for a few more seconds.

"Shall we change the place of meeting a little?" The Village Chief once again smiled as he looked at Max and Blinken. There were other prisoners around too. So, it was better if they didn't talk here.

Max nodded in understanding.

"Good, follow me then.." The Village chief nodded, and the next instant, he waved his hands, and the soil from ground suddenly rose up and turned into ashes which the slowly attached itself to the guy's back taking the shape of a pair of wings.

And, these ashes were not cold, there still seemed to be some residual heat in them.

This surprised both Max and Blinken a little. This was their first time witnessing some ability here. The other people they had seen before were indeed strong physically, but hadn't shown any kind of supernatural ability.

"Whoosh!"

The guy took a leap, and both Max and Blinken immediately followed behind.

'Hmmn..interesting..' The Chief too noticed Max and Blinken in action, and his eyes shone with a little interest.

It took a few minutes, and with the three of them tearing through the air, it didn't take long for them to get very far from the village, and arrive on top of a mountain.

"This place is good to talk..." The red hair guy finally spoke as he stopped and turned around to look at Max.

"You sure treat us a severe threat if you bring us this far away from your village.." Max replied with a smile.

"You are sharp, my friend..." The Village chief laughed, before calming down again and asking, "So, what are you? Friend or Foe?"

Max could see that the guy seemed pretty chilled about this, but he was sure that the moment he replied that they were enemies. He would probably strike with full intention to kill.

But, that wasn't the most important thing in Max's mind, right now. To be honest, he was more interested in something else.

'Why does this guy look like Wilson?'

Yes, this man indeed shared a stark resemblance with Wilson.

'Is the red hair making tripping me?' Max thought to himself. After all, every red haired guy was not Wilson. But, red hairs were really rare. So, you couldn't blame him for it.

"No, we are not enemies. We just came across your people when trying to find anyone in this barren land after losing our path. Who would have thought it would end up like this?"

The Village Chief looked at Blinken who had spoken up and then shifted his gaze at Max for confirmation. And, this ticked Blinken a little.

'Is this guy looking down on me? Do I not look like a leading figure? I am sure he never looked at me like this for confirmation at other time when Max said something..' He really got a little pissed.

"He is telling the truth..we are not enemies." Max nodded. "To be honest, we want to be friends if you ask me.."