Agartha - Quest for the Legacy

Brad wasn't sure but he too felt that the man was really dangerous. He felt that what he said was not what he thought. Brad was sure that he couldn't read the man well. When Brad was thinking about these, he heard a noise and a loud groan.

He broke out of reverie and saw that Luke was writing on the ground holding his broken arm. But the funny thing was, he wasn't screaming at all. He kept his mouth shut and was rolling from side to side.

The man titled "Lord" had a smile on his face as he watched Luke writhe in pain. He looked at Brad out of the corner of his eyes and gave a mysterious smile.

Brad knew that the smile was meant to be intimidating for him. But why? That was the question Brad couldn't find an answer to.

Brad shook off all the thoughts from his mind, as he focussed on the journey to the East Village. He needed to reach the East Village as early as possible. He knew that Olympia's condition was getting worse by every passing minute.

Since the man did not harm him, he gave him a polite nod before he slowly backed away. The man smiled and looked at him with a twinkle in his eyes.

"At last I found you." He whispered when Brad was quite a distance away from him.

****************

"Master, I have great news." A squeaky voice said with great excitement.

"Shoot, and I will decide whether it is great or not." The man replied without lifting his eyes from the stack of papers sitting on his ancient desk, as he was squinting at them in the dim light from an old oil lamp. Holding a quill in between his teeth, he shook his head before dipping it into the inkpot and scribbling something on the paper.

"Erm…"

"Why aren't you speaking, Eun?"

"Master, they found him."

"What?" The man sitting behind the desk was so shocked that he dropped his quill on the parchment, and upturned the whole ink bottle.

"Yes, Master. They found him." Eun bowed his head before continuing, "Master, I failed you."

"Go and bring this news to that brat. He would know what to do."

"But Master, he is in 'that place'." Eun reminded his master.

"Release all the mechanisms at once." He ordered.

"But Master, he can die there!" Eun jumped in shock at his master's statement and fell, hurting his backside. He looked at his master dumbly for a while. Then he got up, massaged his backside and said, "Isn't that too cruel?"

"Eun, you don't understand." The man shook his head and got up from his chair. He walked slowly towards the window, and looked at the setting sun. It colored the entire sky red, the shade of red, one would see in the battlefield. A shade of red he saw through his entire life. A shade of red that still stings his heart. How much he wished that he was there. Those bastards were lucky to have escaped his clutches, but not anymore.

Eun felt the changes of his master's fluctuating mood. From melancholy to bitterness to malice. Underneath them, he could feel the subtle feeling of regret. But Eun didn't know why his master felt regret. What was it that hurt his master so much?

"Master." He slowly called out afraid to disturb him, but he wasn't sure about releasing all the mechanisms. 'If Little Master dies due to that, Master will surely blame me. No, I can't let that happen. How will I find my Euness? I still haven't married. No one will take me as their husband if I have a bad reputation.' He frowned at his thought and cleared his throat again. This time, he called loudly, "MASTER!"

"Huh? What are you doing here?" Eun's master answered him.

Hearing his master's question, he slapped his forehead and then slowly but carefully replied, "Master… Lil Master… He… I don't think…"

"Just do what I asked you to. He will be fine. He is my child. And after you finish the task, gather some information on them. It is time for me to visit that place." The last part of the sentence, he murmured to himself.

"As you wish, Master." Eun deeply bowed, his long nose automatically touching the ground before retreating to finish his tasks.