THE PLAGUE

TWO DAYS LATER* 

THE WEDDING DAY 

"And then what? He died with remorse." 

"Huh? Did he perish? What about the vindication?"

"Yeah, it's just starting...later he was reincarnated."  

"Reincarnated? Really? Is reincarnation real? Do you believe in such things?

"Are you stupid? Anything is feasible with black enchantment." 

Megara sighed and stared at the two youthful girls sitting in front of her. They were sitting in the inn's restaurant having tea and pastries.

"Reincarnation is possible with black magic but it's highly risky. You have to reincarnate the person in someone's body or you can even use your body for such activities but...such a thing never happens." Megara said calmly and took a sip of her tea. Her eyes darted toward the girl sitting in front of her.

"But the story I'm telling is authentic." The girl said and took a bite of her pastry before fully turning towards Blossom.

"He did reincarnate and is alive, he must be somewhere in this world." The girl said and Megara nodded. Although she knew such things were impossible the girl in front of her looked convinced and enthusiastic. In the end, she said nothing and just nodded.

"Say, what did he do after getting reincarnated?" The other girl asked and the little storyteller sighed in sadness.

"He turned evil and is now taking revenge, from the world that turned his back on him when he needed them the most." The girl said and lowered her eyes while shaking her head. Megara kept silent, keenly hearing her words.

"Do you know his name?" Megara asked and the girl shook her head. "But he is known as the 'Ghost of vengeance'."  The girl let out and drank down her hot tea, nearly scalding her mouth. 

Megara lowered her gaze, the tip of her finger circling the cup placed on the table in front of her. "You girls, go get ready for the wedding. Not much time is left." She ordered the two girls sitting in front of her. Both of them stood up without a word and respectfully bowed at Megara. "Master Megara." 

Megara nodded at them.

They straightened their stance and went up to their respective rooms to get ready for the wedding which was in the afternoon and the celebration was held at night. Megara sighed and finally reclined her back against the wall behind her. Still sitting on the buffer, she raised her left leg and placed her left arm on her raised knee. 

Since no one was around, sitting in such a position was fine for her. Sometimes, she gets fed up, trying to act as elegant as she can but there is a boundary to it.

She closed her eyes and recalled the scene from the prior night.

The wind was cold, almost a curse to those sleeping on the streets, desperately trying to find warmth. Hurrying into the corner and tightly clasping their arms as their teeth chatter and their eyes tightly shut down. 

During such cold weather, Megara sat on the rooftop of her inn. The night was silent and chilly. The wind was noisy and freezing. Her cheeks burned as the cold wind caressed her face. The small wine bottle in her hands was almost empty. She had nothing on her mind, yet she silently sat on the rooftop in such cold temperatures.

With a profound breath, she lay down on the rooftop, her left arm beneath her head, and her right ankle rested on her left knee. She stared up at the black sky filled with stars, they were so bright and dazzling but the mist around covered them away. 

Such as the cold face that covers the beauty within.

She closed her eyes and rested there, she was in her full senses when she closed her eyes but by the time slowly passed, she gradually started to fall into a slump.

Losing half of her senses, when suddenly she felt suffocated as if something was hovering over her but she was unable to open her eyes. She couldn't breathe, trying to move her hands but she felt like she had frozen. 

Her mind was in chaos but she appeared calm from the outside, everything went blank, when she heard someone breathing near her ear, and goosebumps rose on her skin. She tried to part her lips to recall her spell but it was worthless. She can't believe someone like her was being effortlessly held down by something or someone.

Perhaps it was a demon but since when did demons get this powerful?

She relaxed her state of mind and started to recall the spell in her mind, but midway the breathing got intense, caressing her ear. She ignored the sensation and continued to recall the spell when...

"I will ravage you." 

The voice was bottomless yet thin. It was calm yet intense, full of animosity that she felt even in her bone marrow. Just as the words fell on her ears, the breathing fade away and the burden was lifted off her. 

She snapped her eyes open and in front of her was a black ball of fog that looked very familiar. She raised her right hand to catch the ball but it dodged her and like lightning traveled towards the right side. Her lips parted and the chain around her wrists rushed behind the black ball to catch it.

A breathless gasp left her lips and she quickly halted her chains. Her chains retreated and circled her, she quickly stood up and stared at the man in black. He was sitting on the other rooftop beside her. 

He raised his hand and the black fog circled his wrists, settling around on his wrist and forming a demonic tattoo on his skin. "Evandros?" She whispered under her breath and stared at him with a light frown on her face. He was far from her so she could not make out his expression clearly but he was looking in front of him. His long black hair was resting on his shoulder and dancing with every gust of wind. 

His black robe was slightly loosened and he was not having his sword with him.

"What's the meaning of this?" She asked, loud enough for him to hear. He said nothing and after a good while slightly turned his head towards her in a tilting manner.

"My pet can be easily attracted to evil." He said and the side of her mouth twitched. 'Just like, it's wrapped around you.' She thought and stared at him. Her chains got smaller in size and going back in her sleeves, wrapping themselves around her wrist.

She slightly bowed at him with respect and turned around to leave. Her eyes sharpened and she halted on her steps when she saw him standing on the same roof as her, he was standing on the edge of her inn's roof with his back facing her.

"Why are you here?" He asked. She kept quiet for a second before answering him. "Why are you here?" She inquired him back. He kept his back to her. "My pet was hungry, it wanted to eat someone..." He said and her jaw twitched. "Since he is attracted to evil, why don't you give one of your men to him to feast upon?" She asked, quite satisfied with her query.

He said nothing for a good while. 

She turned her feet to the right side to leap down on the veranda of the inn but before going down she looked back at him. 

He was not there. 

She wasn't surprised by this because that man was very strong with almost every ability he had. 

'I will ravage you.' 

'I will ravage you.' 

She opened her eyes and stared at the table in front of her. "How do you plan to do that?" She whispered under her breath and looked around the inn, she almost flinched when she saw Luna leaning near her face from the right side. 

"W-What are you doing?" She asked the little one who was staring at her intently. Megara sat up straight and so the little one backed away. "I thought you were sleeping." She said with a smile on her face. 

"Where were you?" Blossom asked her as she eyed the little one from head to toe. "I was on the veranda." She said and Megara nodded. She looked at Luna's face and ordered her to turn around. Luna asked nothing and did as she was told.

"Since your internal injuries are better now. I will check your spiritual core. Straighten your back." She ordered the little one in a slightly stern tone. Luna straightened her back and inquired. 

"What do you think, Master? Will I have a strong spiritual core? I'm not twelve so I won't know if I have any magic." Luna said while side-gazing at Megara.

"A good spiritual core is enough for you to enter a sect as a disciple," Megara said, ignoring the little one's question. She wasn't sure Luna will have a strong spiritual core judging by her background. 

However, she slammed her hands on her back and started to mutter a spell. Luna stood quietly, mentally praying for God to give her a strong spiritual core. Soon the pressure on her back was removed and Megara lowered her hands. Luna quickly turned towards her. Her bright smile vanished when she saw an intricate expression on Megara's face.

"Is...Is my spiritual core not strong?" Luna asked reluctantly.

Megara quickly shook her head and looked at Luna with a gentle smile on her face. 'Surprisingly'..."Your spiritual core is very substantial." Megara said and her eyes lightened up as she clapped her tiny hands together.

"Does that mean I can be your disciple?" She asked and Megara quietly stood up from the buffer. She fixed her clothes and grabbed her sword from the table, placing it in the scabbard at the side of her waist. 

"We will see about that," Megara declared.

*********** 

After the vows were conveyed at the wedding in the afternoon soon the celebration was carried out in the heftiest hall of the sect at night. The hall was filled with the chatter of people standing in groups. Some young masters even find their soulmates. The hall was filled with dazzling lights and the aroma of delicious food makes one mouth go watery. 

Everyone was dressed nicely, and when there was a delicious aroma of dishes there was also a tiny bit of powder seasoning in the air. Most of the ladies were dressed extraordinarily, even more than the bride herself. 

After congratulating Marco and his wife, Megara strolled down the stage and scooted toward the corner of the hall with a wine glass in her hand. She was wearing a green long robe with wide sleeves, and two silver gauntlets around her wrists with carved designs on them. A black leather belt around her waist. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and some rogue hair strands fell on the side of her sideburns. She wore no makeup other than moisturizer to soften her dry skin.

She believed she would look stupid in makeup and her comrades would laugh at her. Back then there was a day when she dressed like a maiden and put on a little makeup to act like a normal girl. In the end, her comrades laughed at her and everyone asked if she was possessed by a female demon.

Megara shook her head and crossed her arms on her chest. She raised her gaze and looked around to find Evenor but instead of finding Evenor, she found her bad fate.

Evandros Leaned on the pillar of the hall, a few young masters of a certain clan surrounding him.These young masters either had a lot of guts to talk to him or they were just licking his shoes. Whatever it was, he did not seem very interested in them. He was more interested in staring at her. 

Why must he always stare at her?

Doesn't he get tired?

His hatred is beyond her expectations. 

She looked away from him and lowered her gaze. She decided to stand there for a few more minutes before going back to the inn...just as she was deciding that, the great door of the hall slowly opened, attaining everyone's attention as the hall slowly fell into eerie silence.

Everyone standing in between scooted towards the corner. Megara stood up straight and walked forward to have a clear look at the door. Her eyes narrowed when she saw two men entering the hall. They were limping. Their walking pace was very slow and they were wearing black cloaks. Since the guards didn't let them in, they took off their cloaks and showed them a coin with a certain logo on it. 

They were from the Shu Clan. For some reason, the head of the Shu Clan was not here. As Agnes said last time, they were busy teaching their younger ones for the upcoming exams to enter their dream sect. Every young one was working hard.

Everyone gasped and the guards quickly fell back when they saw the two men. The two men after showing the guards the coin quickly rush inside the hall, passing by people limping towards Marco who was sitting on his Throne. Marco stood up and walked downstairs. The people scooted back when the two men passed by them.

When they passed by Megara, her pupils dilated. Those two men were really weak, they were almost bald and on their skin were long rash marks that almost looked like demon claws but that was not the case.

It looked like a sickness.

The two men quickly limped towards Marco and fell on their knees in front of Marco. Almost wailing, they converge their hands together. The hall was filled with whispers until Marco raised his hand, politely asking everyone to shut up as he looked down at the two men keenly.

Megara could not help but worry.

What happened to the Shu Clan?

"Chief Marco...Chief Marco...save us." One of the men wailed and Marco nodded at him, telling him to calm down. Master Azure of the healer valley stepped forward to check the two men. While he was checking one of them. Marco requested the other one to tell them what happened...so he started sobbing while speaking.

"A deadly plague has b-broken into the Shu Clan. Everyone is p-perishing at a fast pace. We almost lost half of our c-clan in just three days. We d-don't know the cause. Even our h-highly healers could not c-comprehend this plague. O-Our Cheif sends us here...we are sorry t-to disturb your happy m-moment...but we need help. This place was the best since every high sect and Clan, Chief and Lord are here. Please help us...everyone." He sobbed and wailed. 

Everyone stared at each other, whispering things into each other's ear. Marco looked at Azure. Azure let go of the man and looked at Marco. "Even I can't comprehend it." Azure said and everyone gasped in horror. If they fail to stop the plague in Shu Clan soon it will spread to everyone and bury a lot of more people.

"But that doesn't mean I cannot heal it. I must go to the Shu Clan for further information." Azure said and stepped back from the man.  "Do you know who spread it?" Marco asked the man keenly before him.

"Y-Yes, it's a young man. We haven't seen h-his face clearly but he said that if we don't give him one of the evil s-stone we have, he won't stop the disaster." The man said. Once the word evil stone fell on everyone's ear the whispers got louder. 

"But we d-don't possess any evil stones." The man continued and coughed harshly. His coughing sounded extremely painful. What? Evil stone? Where did this evil stone come from? Is it the missing black stone? But he just said they don't possess any evil stone. 

Nah...a man who caused such great damage to the Shu Clan would not do such a thing without confirming the location of the stone. Everyone standing in the hall thought it must be the missing black evil stone which even the Chief of the Shu Clan isn't aware of. This thing set greed in many hearts of the great sects and clans. 

Everyone would stand forward, saying they will help in catching that man but all they want is the black stone, no one really wanted to help the Shu clan except Azure, Marco and the other two comrades of Agnes along with a few others.

This means...Linya Clan is not the only one behind the stones. There are many other Sects or Clans who want to attain the stone's so they can attain the power and all of this will lead to a lot of disaster in the martial arts world.

Everyone was greedy for the stone while the real mind master stood in the corner enjoying the drama as he circled the small cup in his long and slender fingers.

Eyeing his hatred every now and then.

He raised the cup near his lips, a slight evil smirk dancing on his lips and his eyes were dazzling with excitement.

"Let the thirst begin."