The Dawn of the New World



Hao Xuan jumped out of the way seconds before the Bal-Rah swung its blade in Micha's direction. The atmosphere ignited and a 20-meter-long wall of flame fell from the skies, rendering everything it touched into cinders.

Even though the attack wasn't directed at him he still received third-degree burns on his shoulder and back while running away. Thankfully though, it didn't break the 'Second Gaze' which allowed Hao Xuan to sneak away while the minor demon chased after Micha.

Another thirty minutes later they arrived at Gavril's marked location. It was a forest of stone pillars hidden in the corner of a valley. Some of the pillars were as big as ten meters with almost identical cylindrical shapes.

A layer of fog blanketed the floor and various runes etched on the pillars acted as both a deterrent and a barrier for any beasts that wandered too close. For humans like Hao Xuan it presented little to no warning but he could make an educated guess by reading the sequence and types of runes that were littered across their surface.

Hao Xuan's eyes returned to normal just as Baracus spoke up with some concerns.

*Beep*

"There are some strange readings coming from the area up ahead. None of the scans are working. Are you sure it is a wise decision to venture into unknown grounds? There is no telling what could be in there."

But Hao Xuan was a bit more knowledgeable about the subject this time around.

"He was right, this place will be safe for a little while. The runes will prevent any communication with the outside world and that will make tracking her down way harder. I just need a few hours to recover, then we will leave," he told Baracus before quickly going in.

Several of the runes lit up on the first row of pillars just as Hao Xuan passed them and the difference was immediately felt by Dai Zhi all the way in the mountain city.

Sitting on his throne he slowly opened his eyes, "Something is wrong."

A botfly flew over from the table where it was 'feasting' on some pieces of raw meat and landed on his shoulder. A sapped, husky voice came from its mouth, "What's...wrong?"

"Hao Xuan, I was keeping an eye on him but-"

"Did you...lose him?"

"NO! I can still feel them but they keep moving hundreds of kilometers in different directions. I can't pinpoint their location anymore, something is in the way."

"Sacrifice...a blood sacrifice...for the ritual...in return...I will find him..."

"Absolutely not!" Dai Zhi slammed his fist onto the table, "I have lost too many men already, no more sacrifices until the final battle. But in exchange, on that day you can claim all the fallen souls, there are sure to be thousands of them."

The botfly flew around a little before confirming, "I accept...you will have...his location...in one moon's time," and then it went still and died immediately.

"Wait!" Dai Zhi urgently called out, "How long is that in hours?!" he shouted but no response came.

**

Hao Xuan had already crossed the forest of stone pillars and came out on the other side. It opened up into a small hill with fields of purple flowers all around. There was one path leading up which he followed all the way to the top.

A small wooden house.

Hao Xuan pushed open the doors which were unlocked. There was only one bedroom that actually had a bed inside so he put Princess Ceni down and came back out to take another look at this little slice of heaven.

He walked around the flower fields keeping a close eye on the stone pillars that lined the bottom of the hill. In the direction he came from all the pillars were grey and ashen but on the opposite side all the pillars were pitch black.

Hao Xuan went down to get a better look at them and it turned out that even the material they were carved out from was much different.

"It feels like obsidian. But this much? I have never seen it?" he mumbled to himself while brushing his fingers against its smooth surface.

*AWOOO*

Just then a deep howl came from somewhere behind the forest of black pillars interrupting his thoughts.

***

Author's Notes: Sorry for the recent chapter delays.

The temperature is reaching upwards of 111 Fahrenheit (44 Celsius) during the day so the power keeps going out for one reason or another every other day now. Sometimes a power outage can last for as much as 6 hours and it usually happens when I sit down to write, which messes up the entire schedule.

But I'll try to stay as consistent as possible since we are so close now so, keep voting, even if I miss a day I'll try to make up for it whenever I can.