The Rising Sun: Episode 1 Read Online Free
stretch over his lips.
“Excellent.”
The pair of
hands holding Argos’s mouth released, and Argos gasped for breath.
As Zardin surveyed the mineral detector, Argos stared at him,
looking thoroughly confused.
“The mineral
detector? ” he blurted, clearly as perplexed as he sounded.
“ That’s what you came here looking for?”
Zardin slowly
turned to the man, feeling his unpleasant smile grow longer. “No.
we came looking for the truth. And the truth,” He bent closer to
the man, whose face was aflame with shock and terror, “is that
there is no escape … from the pain .”
He shot his
elbow into Argos’s face, and the man slumped on his seat,
unconscious.
Zardin and the
other mystic on the backseat exited the car, and saw the three
other mystics glide over towards them from three corners of the
parking lot. The group gathered by Zardin’s side, while he
continued to gaze at the mineral detector keenly, twirling it
between his fingers.
“Mission
accomplished.” he said, pocketing the device.
The men stood
behind him, their hoods still drawn over their faces.
“It has now
begun, men.” said Zardin, striding over to the entrance of the
parking lot, sprawling outside of which was the lifeless desert.
The velvety sky spread overhead like a vast dark mast, sprayed with
tiny dots of silver.
The chill
cloaking him from all around felt soothing to his skin. And to his
soul.
“Prepare
yourselves,” he hissed, turning to the men who stood behind him.
“This is just the beginning … we have work to do.”
And together,
they strode out of the entrance, into the cold desert that
meandered outside.
2
A place far,
far away … A haven, an abode of beauty and perfection … The flowery
fragrance wafting the air … The beautiful, sloping hills filled
with greenery … The sky brimming with light with the freshly arisen
sun…
The boy gazed
across the sloping hills, his beautiful orange eyes gleaming. His
tidy crimson hair rippled in the gentle wind as he stood there.
He could hear
two elderly voices from the cottage hut behind where he stood. The
two most beloved voices he knew in this world … And then, as the
soft padding of feet on the grass came behind, he corrected: two of
the three most beloved voices he knew in this world.
He turned to
see his twin brother Eol walking up to him, stretching lazily and
yawning. He thumped Eol on the back, and the two of them walked
back into the hut where their elderly parents, Marion and Selia,
awaited with a steaming breakfast.
Ion let his
gaze carry over the three of them.
His brother
Eol.
His father
Marion.
His mother
Selia.
The four of
them seemed branded in that speckless, beautiful moment … one
beautiful, happy family. And life was as it had been meant to
be.
And then,
darkness ripped the world.
Marion and
Selia’s forms were frozen before him. But as Ion watched in horror,
they slowly faded … withering into the nothingness that now
consumed everything. They were gone, but their cries of grief
lingered as a lasting echo in the sudden darkness. An echo that
thundered through Ion’s mind.
And he whipped
around to face Eol … But Eol, too, was gone. He was falling down
into the darkness that swallowed everything. For an eternity, Ion
watched his brother Eol fall through the darkness … and for an
eternity, their eyes were locked, watching the breadth of blackness
abound between them.
And then the
darkness wrapped Ion’s brother, engulfing him too…
And Ion was
alone, in the middle of a boundless darkness. His parents were
gone. Eol was gone. He was alone. And he had now grown. His tidy
hair was now long, messy and unkempt. His skin was tightened over
his bones, and his orange eyes burned from within, no longer tender
and beautiful as they’d once been.
Everything was
gone … And all that remained was the blackness.
And
“Excellent.”
The pair of
hands holding Argos’s mouth released, and Argos gasped for breath.
As Zardin surveyed the mineral detector, Argos stared at him,
looking thoroughly confused.
“The mineral
detector? ” he blurted, clearly as perplexed as he sounded.
“ That’s what you came here looking for?”
Zardin slowly
turned to the man, feeling his unpleasant smile grow longer. “No.
we came looking for the truth. And the truth,” He bent closer to
the man, whose face was aflame with shock and terror, “is that
there is no escape … from the pain .”
He shot his
elbow into Argos’s face, and the man slumped on his seat,
unconscious.
Zardin and the
other mystic on the backseat exited the car, and saw the three
other mystics glide over towards them from three corners of the
parking lot. The group gathered by Zardin’s side, while he
continued to gaze at the mineral detector keenly, twirling it
between his fingers.
“Mission
accomplished.” he said, pocketing the device.
The men stood
behind him, their hoods still drawn over their faces.
“It has now
begun, men.” said Zardin, striding over to the entrance of the
parking lot, sprawling outside of which was the lifeless desert.
The velvety sky spread overhead like a vast dark mast, sprayed with
tiny dots of silver.
The chill
cloaking him from all around felt soothing to his skin. And to his
soul.
“Prepare
yourselves,” he hissed, turning to the men who stood behind him.
“This is just the beginning … we have work to do.”
And together,
they strode out of the entrance, into the cold desert that
meandered outside.
2
A place far,
far away … A haven, an abode of beauty and perfection … The flowery
fragrance wafting the air … The beautiful, sloping hills filled
with greenery … The sky brimming with light with the freshly arisen
sun…
The boy gazed
across the sloping hills, his beautiful orange eyes gleaming. His
tidy crimson hair rippled in the gentle wind as he stood there.
He could hear
two elderly voices from the cottage hut behind where he stood. The
two most beloved voices he knew in this world … And then, as the
soft padding of feet on the grass came behind, he corrected: two of
the three most beloved voices he knew in this world.
He turned to
see his twin brother Eol walking up to him, stretching lazily and
yawning. He thumped Eol on the back, and the two of them walked
back into the hut where their elderly parents, Marion and Selia,
awaited with a steaming breakfast.
Ion let his
gaze carry over the three of them.
His brother
Eol.
His father
Marion.
His mother
Selia.
The four of
them seemed branded in that speckless, beautiful moment … one
beautiful, happy family. And life was as it had been meant to
be.
And then,
darkness ripped the world.
Marion and
Selia’s forms were frozen before him. But as Ion watched in horror,
they slowly faded … withering into the nothingness that now
consumed everything. They were gone, but their cries of grief
lingered as a lasting echo in the sudden darkness. An echo that
thundered through Ion’s mind.
And he whipped
around to face Eol … But Eol, too, was gone. He was falling down
into the darkness that swallowed everything. For an eternity, Ion
watched his brother Eol fall through the darkness … and for an
eternity, their eyes were locked, watching the breadth of blackness
abound between them.
And then the
darkness wrapped Ion’s brother, engulfing him too…
And Ion was
alone, in the middle of a boundless darkness. His parents were
gone. Eol was gone. He was alone. And he had now grown. His tidy
hair was now long, messy and unkempt. His skin was tightened over
his bones, and his orange eyes burned from within, no longer tender
and beautiful as they’d once been.
Everything was
gone … And all that remained was the blackness.
And