I tasted something salty with a hint of copper fell on my lips. It was my tears mixed with sand and blood. I felt like I was in a trance, ears buzzing and blurred vision, but the smell of charred flesh took me back to reality.

The warmth of the body on top of me grew colder and colder. I tried to look behind the black trail on his skin, but it made me sick to my stomach. I gagged, but I toughened up and I braced myself, putting my hand on his chest.

“Still breathing …” I sighed.

This is all my fault. He's hurt because he shielded me. He saved my life.

It didn't take long before I felt my heart sink. The screams of Devi charging at the beast caught my ears, and I felt the static build up in the air once more.

A familiar terrifying feeling.

I tried to scream, but I felt like there was a lump in my throat choking me, preventing me from speaking.

Few seconds passed, and I noticed the glow.

It was about to attack again.

At that terrifying moment, I was able to say something,

“Devi Noooo! …”

It wasn't like my screams would do anything, but there was nothing I could do but scream.

“No ... no, no, no. He is going to die!” That was the only thing that I kept repeating in my head.

As the flash blinded me, I knew it was over, and I was next. 

My vision got blurry, and my mind gave in. I fainted from the shock. All I saw was a big flash, followed by darkness. 

In my unconsciousness, I remembered a similar ominous feeling I had three days ago during the catastrophe that struck our village ...

I was washing up after training, enjoying the warm water in the open baths.

I had no care for the world, scrubbing the dirt, sweat, and fatigue off of my body. It felt good.

A strange feeling enveloped me. The water was vibrating around my body. I became convinced that there was a pattern forming in the vibrating water that felt ominous and strange.

Startled, I grabbed my towel as quickly as possible, wore my clothes, and stepped outside just to fall to my knees.

The earth shook underneath my feet like it was moving. It began to tremble violently. The only thing I could do was put my head between my legs and wait for it to stop.

The shaking slowed down finally, but I could still feel something in the air, lingering. I looked up, and the sky looked like a broken mirror. No! more like a broken window because you can barely see something on the other side of each crack. Like there was another world behind them.

I couldn't believe my eyes, the colors I saw. The night sky was painted with a mesmerizing dance of vibrant colors; Wisps of green, blue, and pink hues swirled and rippled like celestial curtains, illuminating the darkness. These ethereal lights danced across the night sky, creating a truly enchanting spectacle. I've never seen something like it before.

The ground kept shaking and drifting. I felt the air grow thinner and thinner. It reminded me of the times we climbed the mountains for training. I was struggling to breathe and then everything went pitch black...

I opened my eyes, and it clicked in my head. I remembered where I was.

As I glanced down, master was still on my lap. His body was still cold, but his shallow breaths were steady, but Devi and the beast were nowhere in sight. 

Where have they gone? Please be ok.

It was hard to see with all the dust in the atmosphere. There were only flashes of light inside the dust cloud, going up, down left, and right.

I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know what happened to Devi. And I didn't understand why the beast was not attacking me. But at least we were still alive. For now.