Snowflake: Frozen Child

HAJI woke up in his cabin. Last night was joyful and sad at the same time. Lurkia woke the janix up by l.i.c.k.i.n.g his face with its dry and sharp tongue.

"Not sweet at all, pal" Haji mumbled. He prepared his armor and looked at Lurkia. Egoris didn't need armors because they were fair enough to have one. Haji had a good sleep and that might be the last comfortable sleep he would ever have. The war was expected to start anytime soon. Haji was about to take a splash of water on his face when a rumbling sound and simultaneous steps in front of his door made the janix flinched.

"Janix! Janix! You have to come with us right now!!" an aeoni said, about four or five of them were panting and looked at Haji with wrath in their eyes. Haji suddenly thought of a horrible idea, he wished he wasn't right.

"What happened?" Haji asked, Lurkia hopped on his shoulder and the egori coiled its body around Haji's neck.

"The children... The frozen ones they're-"

Haji abruptly went out of his cabin, Lurkia hopped off of his shoulder and started flying in an instant speed.

They arrived at the secret chamber where Jhavu brought Haji last night. Haji's heart sank and his mind was blown.

"How...why..." Haji could't even utter a word as he saw Jhavu sitting hopelessly on the ground trying to fix a broken pod with the green fluids leaking out, inside it was a dying aeoni gasping for air. All the frozen aeonis were barely breathing and the egglike pods were destroyed and broken. Thousands of lives were lost and were slaughtered all at once.

"Hang in there, you're going to be okay!" Jhavu said helplessly as he tried to save the young and fragile aeoni in his arms. The poor being didn't know how to speak nor make a sound. But, his eyes were clearly asking for Jhavu to save and help him. It was as if the dying aeoni wanted to say the words: Please let me live.

The place was scattered with fluids and broken pods, corpses of frozen aeonis lying on the ground and the cry of the women aeonis could be heard from the outside tunnel, they must have known what happened already.

Their hope was gone.

"It was the king who did this. He sent the hunters to destroy and kill our children!" an aeoni said as he picked up a bracelet from the ground and showed it to everyone.

It has a text carved around it that said, "Ekr Verion" that meant "No trust and Love".

It was a bracelet worn by umbra hunters, a gift from the cruel king together with his words. 

"I'm going to kill you, Kradus!!!" Haji shouted as his eyes teared and his heart was pierced with wrath and sadness.

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"WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH! WITH ALL OUR HEARTS! LEAVE YOUR FEARS BEHIND, REPLACE IT WITH COURAGE AND BRAVERY. UNTIL THIS WAR ENDS, LET US FIGHT WITH OUR HEARTS! FREEDOM FOR AEONRIA!!" Haji shouted with all his might and raised his sword up high, feeling the superiority and power. All the aeoni warriors raised their swords with bravery and in unsion they roared, "FREEDOM FOR AEONRIA!"

A deafening sound of a dragon's horn echoed on the ground as the battlefield  slowly tranformed into a bloody ground. Most of the umbra hunters were after the janix. Haji wielded his sword towards anyone who dared to attack him, in front or from behind. Lurkia was breathing his fire nonstop as Haji blew the whistle. The hunters and warriors were retreating the moment Lurkia tranformed into his true form. The egori made a loud roar which made the warriors to attack him by group. His eight heads watching every enemy trying to attack him and swept them away with his tails.

"Careful pal!" Haji said and the egori just gave him a sneer and attacked the hunters.

"You dare to interfere here, mere Janix!!" a hunter tried to cut Haji with his sword as the janix shielded the enemy's blade with his own. They fought like they were dancing in a sword play as they both weilded their swords towards each other. With their blades creating clanging sounds, their eyes trying to scare each other's. Haji ducked and kicked the enemy's left leg towards his direction so the enemy fell on his back. Haji immediately stabbed him on the stomach the moment the enemy tried to wield his sword back again. The enemy's blood leaking from his wound as Haji pulled his sword back. The enemy's sword was a fine quality that Haji chose to picked it up and threw his sword cover away. Haji fought with two swords in his hands. Crying sounds, shouting warriors and a place full of wrath enveloped Haji's cold body. He felt numb and powerful as he striked every enemy whoever comes in his way. Blocking their attacks with his swords and counterattacking them with elbow punch or stabbing them directly. Slitting their throats with his blood drenched blades and kicking them away after pulling his sword out from their flesh. Lurkia was still unharmed from the distance and Haji whistled a single blow to summon his egori. Lurkia went to him and fight with the janix side by side. Haji rode on his back as the seven black eyed heads struggled and tried to make the janix fall down. They didn't like Haji riding them except White Eyes.

"Woah there pals! Don't be choosy okay!!" Haji said laughing as he petted their heads one by one.

"Now let's find the king!" Haji said with determination in his eyes.

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"Take this child away with you and protect him!" Jhavu said to his wife as he handed the fragile aeoni he happened to rescue during the sudden attack in the secret chamber. He was the only frozen aeoni who survived. The war has begun and the aeonis needed to fight. They kept the women and the children hidden in the darkest and hideous part of the underground city. They went above the ground and heard that the war has already started. Cries and screams could be heard from a far. Jhavu served as the guardian of the slave city. He would never allow anyone to enter their city again. He stood on his feet and would defend the entrance no matter what.

"Whoever shows in front of this opening shall die before passing through my dead body" Jhavu said as he studied the empty ground around him. The silence was scaring him and the coldness of that planet finally affected him.

Two hunters appeared in front of Jhavu with long and sharp weapons. The aeoni took out his weapon from behind. It was an egori's tail with the length of ten meters when stretched. It was a gift from his deceased father when he was young. Jhavu's father was an egori summoner and fought for so many wars, he died on the war with his egori beside him. Jhavu prayed, " I hope Lurkia will protect Janix with all his might in the war."

"Another rebel!" The hunter shouted and darted towards Jhavu. But before the enemy could strike Jhavu with his clunky sword, Jhavu wielded his ribbonlike egori tail and it sliced the enemy across into half. An egori's tail could slice even a stone when weilded with full strength. Egoris were too strong that whenever they use their tails to defend theirselves, you would end up being torn into  pieces.

"Come at me, demon!!" Jhavu shouted at the remaining hunters in front of him. One hunter ran towards Jhavu with a fullspeed and intended to cut him again with a sword. Jhavu ducked and faced the enemy as he gave him a hard headbutt. Jhavu wrapped his weapon around the enemy's body and finally pulled it tighter. The hunter's flesh scattered on the ground as Jhavu watched his eyeballs rolled and turned into crimson red. After a few minutes, the other hunters made their way to find the leader of the warriors.

"All against me, Not bad for a hero huh" Jhavu chuckled. Simultaneous attacks and attempts being thrown at Jhavu as he counterattacked them with stabs and cuts on their heads. Blood splashing here and there. The sounds of creaking bones sounded like the melodic voice of Jhavu's wife. The screams of pain and the voices of Jhavu's veins as their blood showered his skin tickled his pointed ears.. Jhavu was soaked with blood, his wounds reminded him of being alive. His sight reminded him of the sadness caused by war. Dead umbra hunters lying everywhere, blood watering the ground and their horrible faces with eyes widely opened. Jhavu kneeled on the ground and said, " Father I've protected my city. Am I brave enough now?"

Jhavu smiled and looked up at the galaxy above him. It rained. A rain during the war was quiet memorable.

"Playing the hero huh?!" Jhavu heard a familiar voice as he saw a familiar figure standing not far away from him.

"It's been ages, Jhavu" a harmful looking aeoni said with a fake smile.

"Rekam, you traitor!" Jhavu hissed. Rekam was an aeoni and the only one who betrayed Aeonria. He left Aeonria and chose to become a hunter for the king instead of being a slave. He chose to kill his own kind for his own freedom.

"I am not a traitor, I am just a wiseman, Jhavu. You could live a better life if you will come with me. We were friends after all. Leave this place and serve the king. I can guarantee you true freedom." Rekam said and laughed at Jhavu. Rekam was Jhavu's close and true friend before but now, never.

"A friend never betrays for his own sake. You betrayed everyone including me, you dare call yourself an aeoni?" Jhavu spatted. Rekam frowned and walked towards Jhavu.

"Stop playing the hero already. Just come with me and you will be free!" Rekam said eagerly.

"You know, I know someone who suits better to be called a friend than you. His name is Haji, he's a human and not even an aeoni. He's more deserving to be called as an aeoni and a friend than you are." Jhavu hissed.

"Enough with your filthy words! You will come with me by hook or by crook!" Rekam said.

"And I will stand here until  my last breath!" Jhavu shouted back. The guardian aeoni clenched his jaw as he clutched his weapon tightly, wielding it towards Rekam the moment he started moving forward and striking Jhavu with his sword. Rekam let go of his sword and threw it towards Jhavu's direction but Jhavu dodged it luckily. Jhavu looked at Rekam who was smiling at him.

"You fool" Rekam said. Jhavu looked behind him and the sword Rekam threw reversed its direction and hit him from behind. Jhavu made a loud groan as he felt his blood leaking out from his flesh.

"Ugh! Bwaak!!" Jhavu g.r.o.a.n.e.d as he spat mounted blood from his mouth. He kneeled on the ground with his head bowing down. His hands and body felt heavy and his back hurt painfully. Jhavu saw a pair of feet in front of him and he looked at Rekam.

"You will forever be remembered as a hero, my old friend" Rekam said and pulled the sword behind Jhavu. Jhavu's head hit the ground, he could barely breath and the light in his vision started fading away.

"And you will be remembered as a traitor of this city, my old friend" Jhavu said. Before Jhavu closed his eyes, Rekam said something with a single tear that escaped from his eye.

"I'm sorry, Jhavu" Jhavu didn't happen to hear what his former ally said since he released the device Haji gave him before the janix left.

"Zakir gave this thing to me. He said that this thing will create a barrier once exposed to an open area. Zakir told me that the barrier in the forbidden land has becoming weak and he maintained it by using these. He protected the egoris from the umbra hunters trying to hunt them and making them their pets. You can use this to set up a barrier in Aeonria" Jhavu remembered Haji said it to him.

"Let's be reunited again" Jhavu said in his mind.

The device created a loud explosion and a barrier that hit Rekam. The raindrops coming from above penetrated in the barrier and created a crystal light effects as it touched the ground. Jhavu watched them falling one by one like the stars in the sky. Jhavu felt a tender touch of liquid on his forehead and remembered his wife.

"I will wait for your return"

Her loving and gentle voice surrounded Jhavu's ears.

Jhavu smiled and released a heavy sigh.

"Looks like I won't be coming home tonight, my lady" he thought.

Jhavu dared not to move nor to stand but he smiled as he remembered that frozen child he just rescued before.

"At least I left someone who will look after her for me" with a confident thought, Jhavu closed his eyes peacefully.