Monsters Within

Chapter 3

YEAR 06XX

Jaxus woke up with the rays of the sun hitting on his face. He covered his eyes with his right arm and looked the other way around.

A moment after, he sat up abruptly. Flashes of memories that happened last night came inside him like a flowing water. He remembered everything he did so vividly that it made him shiver.

The village... the people... the whole kingdom.

He did all those to the race, who sheltered him. No matter how much he convinced himself that it was not him, but the monster inside him, the fact that he failed to control it was all his fault. He even watched how Archaic killed everyone. He could have prevented it from happening, but he let his feelings won.

Yuuki...

He could not help but blame himself. He was the one who did that to Yuuki. He was the one who killed her. If he did not say those words to her, she would not end up dead. Yuuki could have had a life ahead of her. But the thing is, she wanted to die. That was the only thing that was keeping Jaxus sane. The fact that he granted Yuuki’s final wish.

He did not know what has gotten into him. When he felt a force inside him wanting to be released, he lost consciousness. He let that powerful force inside to use his body.

Once the monster saw an opportunity, he did not waste any time and consumed the host so that he would be in full control.

After that, Jaxus did not know what happened next. He just woke up lying on the ground, the kingdom destroyed, and Yuuki was being killed. He was conscious, but he was not.

The friend that he had been longing for came, and it was Yuuki. Yet he was also the one who put her life in danger and killed her. Because of revenge, someone got killed. Because of his selfishness, Yuuki died. He failed to protect her because he was too weak, physically, and emotionally.

He did not want this power anymore. He would instead choose to be powerless than have something this cruel. He did not even wish for this kind of power to begin with, he just wanted to live normally.

Play with the other kids outside until their parents called out to them for dinner. He wanted to do silly stuff like a kid and cry when their parents hit them on the butt. He wanted to be scolded for stealing a piece of bread just so they could have something to eat. He would prefer that kind of bad deeds than killing.

"Yuuki, why did you leave me alone?" he could not help but mutter.

Would all of them leave? Would no one stay by his side? Just thinking that no one wanted to be with him pierced his heart. Was he really that dangerous? Was he really that detestable? He wanted to be loved, too. He wished to be happy just like them.

A soft thud woke him up from his daydreaming. He did not even realize that he was staring at the empty space for a long time, mulling over things, regretting his actions, and thinking of what-ifs.

On the corner, he saw a sword lying on the floor. He immediately remembered Yuuki. This sword was her power, a sword that replicates its master's personality. He saw her once in its monster form, an innocent child, Gravis. This was her monster or also called a familiar.

He got up from bed to pick it up and examined it. It was heavy than expected that he almost lost hold of it. It was a meter long. Its point was thin, and the handle was like a stick that it would snap if not handled with care.

He had never seen one of these before. He did not know that it looked like that. It had a light red handle with five-petal flower designs stamped on a rectangular tsuba. It was not as sharp as he imagined it would be. Touching it was like touching a fragile glass.

"Release me," said a tiny voice.

Jaxus creased his eyebrows as he listened to the voice more clearly. He did not know where the voice was coming from at first, but when he looked at the sword, it whispered into his ears again. It was like the voice was just standing behind him.

"Say my name and release me."

"What?" He waited for the voice to speak again, but it did not. Instead, he did what he was told to do. "Gravis." And just like that, the sword transformed into the child he saw before.

It was indeed Gravis, the familiar owned by Yuuki in her monster form.

"It has been a while, Felix-chan," teased Gravis.

Jaxus seemed irritated of the nickname given to him. "It is Jaxus." He did not want anyone but his friends to call him Felix, not like he had friends though.

"Whatever you say."

"Is that how you thank me for releasing you, rapier?" He was pertaining to its sword form which was also called a rapier, or a thin sharp-pointed sword used for thrusting.

"I do not have time for this. I have to warn you on where they are going to send you. You will not be able to use that monster in there for he is not yours. Archaic is only sealed inside you to keep its power useless. The only weapon you can use is me. In short, I am the only one who can help you survive," Gravis mocked him.

His eyebrows creased more, his face forming into a grimace. "And what do you mean by that?"

"You have to do what I tell you or we both suffer from their harsh punishment," she said as a matter of fact.

"Punishment?" Jaxus asked in confusion. What the rapier was telling him did not make any sense to him. All he can understand was that his life was in danger, and he needed to be careful on wherever he was going. But why?

"You will know soon."

And without further explanation, Gravis went back to her rapier form. Jaxus was left alone, thinking of what the familiar had told him.

A minute later, the door opened, welcoming the sacho of the dwarves, Sacho Elfred. Jaxus stood straight and bowed a little to show respect to the highest position in the kingdom. Even though he was not a dwarf like them, he still needed to do that.

The man in front of him was the one who accepted him in the kingdom despite the other’s treatment. Sacho Elfred stood high despite his small figure. He was only three feet tall compared to Jaxus' six feet and an inch. He also had his tortoise stick taller than him for support of his weight.

A small emblem was at his right chest which symbolized his power and authority over the dwarf race. Sacho Elfred eyed the guy in front of him, and Jaxus could not help but feel small around the sacho.

After everything that he had done, he still did not know how to repay them. He could help in restoring the houses that he destroyed, but the lives of the townsfolk could not be replaced with any help. No matter how much he worked, it would never be enough.

"You must know by now how much my kingdom suffered because of you," the Sacho said with a low voice. He was like threatening and giving a warning.

Jaxus automatically shivered from his voice. This was not the first time they talked, and the Sacho was different from before. The friendly atmosphere around him was changed with a dark aura. It was heavy and scary. The surrounding was suddenly filled with invincible power pressing Jaxus down.

"I am willing to accept any punishment you give me," Jaxus said, finally realizing that the only way to pay them back was to risk his own life to protect them.

"You should be."

Jaxus bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything. He wanted to defend himself from what the dwarves had done to him, but he knew that it was not enough of a reason. He still killed a life, no, hundreds of lives who begged at him.

Will they send me to the dungeon? Will they sentence me to death or throw me on the end of the world? No matter what it is, I have to face it.

"The ministry and I decided to send you to other kingdom."

Jaxus shot a glance at the sacho but did not say a word.

"The Faerie Kingdom is the only place, our last choice, where we can keep you."

He immediately shook his head in disagreement. "But what if this monster took over my body like what happened before? I don't want to kill innocent lives anymore!"

Sacho Elfred sighed. He saw how devastated Jaxus was for having the power in him that he could not even control. He wanted to help the child, but he did not know what to do. No one could kill the monster, not even Jaxus, aside from Aka Manto who was now dead.

The only one who could do that now was the one who owned Aka Manto's power. But right now, no one knew where it was or who had it.

"The kingdom has this seal which only they can create. They can seal almost anything and everything. Lightford Academy also offers training on how to control power and that will be a great help for you and the races around you."

It took a little while before Jaxus could sink in everything that the sacho said. Realizing that he did not have any choice but this, he nodded. "I understand," was the only thing Jaxus could mutter.

But what could he say? He did not have any choice. And if he had, he would not do it. He would still choose what the sacho would say and instruct him to do.

He realized what his status was. He was a nobody. He did not belong to any race out there. No one would want to accept him. No one was willing to keep him anymore. He knew that whoever let him live on their kingdom was only forced to and they did not have any other choice.

"Your race would be a top secret. That monster inside you must be hidden to everyone aside from the higher ups. If you want to live normally in there, do not let anyone know about Archaic's existence. He is not only known in the East, but also everywhere. Archaic is a living legend, and he is a legend for a reason."

Jaxus stared at his palms. "He is that powerful?" he asked in a low voice.

"He is, indeed. You saw half of the things he could do. That is why you have to train and control him. It is the only way for destruction to stop. If you can't do that, no one will. No one can. And if no one can stop him, everyone will perish on his hands when the time comes."

They both remained silent. Jaxus stared at the air, thinking of the things he had heard from the Sacho. He did not know it was that powerful. He thought it was just a simple monster like him who wanted to achieve more power.

Before the Sacho left, Jaxus asked for the last time, "When will that time comes?"

He stopped walking away and faced the kid. "Only you can tell if the time has come."