CHAPTER 40: WHO IS THE SHADOW KING?

Patrolling soldiers moved, slamming their boots and sending dust in the air as they marched through the road at the eastern side of the city, where women sat behind staircase-style tables stacked with fresh vegetables and cuts of meats. There were no steams, yet sweet fragrances drifted softly, from that of peppers, herbs, and raw onions. Some of the soldiers passing by slowed their steps, inhaling the scents before moving on.

Four women draped in aprons huddled together, whispering over their baskets instead of calling or attending to customers. Their gossip carried in the small burst of people vanishing without tracks and threw blames on the leadership of the military for recruiting the boy with dual eyes three years ago, concluding that he was the cause of those disappearances.

Black cats meowed, walking right underneath the crossed sword symbol on the wall before running under the empty water tunnel stretching long from the entrance of the barracks to the last building in the barracks.

Inside the barracks itself and under the scorching sun of the early afternoon, boots slammed the ground one after another as soldiers marched, throwing their hands in the air and stiffening it on their side when taking a turn.

At the training courtyards inside the large building, both men and women between the ages of seventeen to twenty-seven stood there, some raising and dropping huge metals, while others hit the sand bags hanging on metal chains fixed and dropping down from the metals on the ceiling. Scent of sweat filled the room as drops of water fell from their faces and hit the floor with a thudding sound.

Jinx, who was among those hitting the sand bags, stopped and turned to Jane, the lady with white hair who always seemed to be quiet all the time.

"Hey girl, I’ve never seen you walking with anyone like I do or talk to anyone. Care to tell me why?" Jinx said, picking one of the towels hanging on the metal hinges, brushing it on her face and wiping away the sweat beading her arms.

Jane, who was highly focused on the speed at which her fists slammed the sand bag, stopped, gasped, bent down and gasped, then straightened herself.

"Mm... there is nothing, I just don’t like poking my nose in other people’s businesses," she said, turning her head slightly and cracking the bone in her neck, then walked toward the fridge, pulled two bottles of water, emptied one in an instant and handed one to Jinx who stood there with a confused expression.

"Take this, I think it can help you," Jane added, throwing the bottle carefully at Jinx and walked toward the scaling machine, stood on it, pressed the buttons and closed her eyes while inhaling deeply.

After emptying the bottle, Jinx threw it on the floor, squeezed her eyes as she focused her gaze on Jane who was now returning back from the scaling machine and stopping at the sprinting machine.

...

Kai, draped in his morning training suit, walked in the direction of the courtyard, swinging his hands in the air and on his waist. Noises rose up wherever he passed, from the throats of soldiers in groups of four and other individuals who couldn’t jolt their eyes from him. Yet Kai remained the same, walking without minding or lending them the time they needed.

Few meters away from the door, he spotted the boy he saw one evening sitting calmly on one of the benches in the courtyard, stopped and gazed at him. Kai moved toward him, ready to ask him questions of his whereabouts as he spotted a strange red glow around him and also felt a different kind of vibration he had never felt since he started meeting other people in the barracks.

"Hi," Kai said, raising a hand and drawing the boy’s attention.

"I’m Kai, what’s your name?"

The boy turned his head upward, looked at Kai and smiled.

"I’m Ryo," he answered, but squeezed his eyes and widened them afterward.

"Your eyes," he added, shifting his head backward and tightening his fists. The memories of the monsters that destroyed his village surged in his mind. And for a brief moment, Ryo nearly ran off, but stopped the moment he rose up and saw Kinji staring at him from afar.

"What’s wrong?" Kai said, standing there confused. Though people had been calling him names like monster, cursed child, beast, yet he hadn’t seen someone running off in recent years like he did when he was still in Gilgal Village.

"I’m sorry, I just remembered some mon... someone who had this same reddish eye color," Ryo said, trying so hard so he doesn’t look at the right eye of Kai and kept focusing on the left eye which seemed to be filled with heavenly calmness.

Long before they could know each other well, Lieutenant Gray entered the courtyard and called on both Kai and Ryo. Though Gray’s voice was soft, yet it tensioned the other soldiers doing workout like an unspoken command sent from the depth of hell.

...

"Sit there and watch," Gray said, pointing to the square-shaped stone raised slightly, and handing Ryo a book and a pencil.

Without hearing any word, Kai walked and stopped in the white rectangular shape that stretched from the stone Ryo was sitting on to the far side of the walls, where two trees stood, some of their leaves falling and floating in the air and landing on the ground filled with brown and dead leaves.

"You asked who a Shadow King is, right? Defeat me in just sixty seconds and I will give you all the information you need," Gray said, stretching his arms as he neared Kai.

’Just sixty seconds, hah...’ Kai thought, smiled, clenched his fist and dashed toward Gray who stood there crossing his hands on his chest.

Before reaching him, Gray moved, tilting himself swiftly and dodging Kai’s punch. Though there was an opening on Kai, Gray didn’t utilize it, he simply moved back and smiled.

"Try again, this time, if you’re able to strike me with one punch, I will tell you," he said, smiling, and opening his hands.

Kai, who was now overwhelmed with what he heard, dashed again, this time, moving sideways like a snake but still ended up not being able to land the punch on Gray.

"Harder!" Gray said, shouting and clapping, folded his hands on his chest and closed his eyes.

’Easy...’ Kai thought, his expression changing from disappointment to happy and dashed again, this time, silencing the way he stepped on the ground. Just an inch closer to Gray, his hands moved past Gray’s cheeks, missed, yet managed to draw a scar with his nails on Gray.

"I’ve done it, now it’s your turn to brief me with what I want," Kai said, jolting and hopping happily.

"Alright, since you managed to scratch me, I will give you half of the information you really need. First of all, you asked of your eyes the day you joined the recruitment, right?" Gray said, his expression changing as he walked toward Kai.

"Yeah, I did, but right now I need to know that of the Shadow King before I get to seek answers on why I have those eyes."

"Alright, then listen..."