The Messenger of Death

The neon-like inscription came in contact with Al's face. He watched as it approached him as couldn't shut his eyes, move or talk no matter how much he wanted to. What Mr. Guardian said had left him unable to move any of his muscles.

-Dnn!!

It touched his face and disappeared. Al was waiting and expecting to feel some kind of life-ending pain assault his brain, but contrary to his expectations nothing happened.

Mr. Guardian smiled. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. You can move now, it's your turn to make a move." He pointed at the board.

"What did you do to me?" Al asked as he checked his body for anything strange or foreign.

"Nothing, I just helped you to hide the treasure that is on your face… It is something amazing that I have never seen before. It was able to track down the energy of the Midas petal, something that cultivators at the immortal realm wouldn't be able to do.

Although the treasure is hidden well on your face – people with high cultivations will be able to tell that there's something odd about your face. What I did was to keep it invisible for you and also I included an inscription that will help you protect it."

"You know about it now… I thought you were going to punish me for cheating."

"Hahaha. I told you to use everything in your arsenal to play against me, the treasure is also an arsenal of yours so it is allowed." Mr. Guardian stated.

"Oh… that's true, Th-thank you." Al looked at the board and the system had already mapped out his next move and it was attempting to predict Mr. Guardian's next move. Al followed the system's suggestion.

"I can see that the pattern of how you play has changed. How 'bout this, let's make the game bigger. A game of Go? I would like to see who is better at mind games, me, or your treasure."

"Okay, a game of Go it is."

Mr. Guardian tapped the Draught board and it changes into a board of Go. "You make the first move."

"Okay," Al said. He didn't need to tell the system what to do, it had already indicated where he should play.

Al picked the black stone and placed it on the board. They started another game that was even heated than the previous one. None of them spoke, although Al had the support of the system, at one point he decided not to use it, but use his brain.

['What are you doing Al? why aren't you doing as the system suggests?'] Alex asked.

['Don't worry, I got this. Now stop distracting me.']

The pace of how they played was fast, the two of them looked like war generals making strategies that would topple and counter their opponent's tactics. In 10 minutes the game had ended.

"I give up, I lost."

Al uttered as he frowned at the board. He had been cornered and trapped. Any move he made now will still lead to his demise, so he decided to give up.

['I thought you knew what you were doing but you still lost. Now we can't get the petal.'] Alex uttered. Al didn't respond to what Alex had said.

"You stopped using your treasure, why?"

"Because I have my pride as a strategist too, I want to go against people that are hard to beat. Those that will give me the push I need to be better." Al had a serious expression on his face.

Mr. Guardian stared right into his eyes.

After a while, he smiled at Al.

"This attitude is good, it is exactly what you need. Young friend for a kid you have the mind of a veteran strategist; your future will be filled with a lot of hurdles, dangerous hurdles but with this determination and ideal of yours, you have a chance to scale those hurdles."

"My future? You can see the future?"

"After I played a game with you, I saw a glimpse of your future difficulties. I cannot see the future per se."

"Do you want the petal now or you want to ask the questions that you still have in your mind?" Mr. Guardian asked.

"Huh, I still get the petal?"

"Haha, yes. I didn't say that you had to win the game before you got the petal, I only said that a game would suffice." He smiled at Al.

"Yes!!" Al rejoiced.

['Hear that rabbit, I told you that I knew what I was doing.'] Al blurted out shamelessly.

['You freaking mutt, you knew nothing about 2 seconds ago. How can you still shamelessly claim that right in front me…']

['Haters will hate.'] Al stood his ground shamelessly.

['I just can't with you Al.'] Alex backed down and let him be.

Lex chuckled at Al's childish display. ['Let's continue with the questions since we get the petal either way.'] He suggested.

Al cleared his throat and tried to act like he wasn't excited anymore. "I'll ask the questions then. What is the Midas seed?"

"The Midas seed are beads that Midas made, they are able to sense, direct, and guide their carriers to a petal of the Midas flower. Every 3,500 years, 9 petals appear in different locations and the beads have been entrusted to a sect to hand out when the appointed time for the petals to appear, arrives…

How they do it is up to the sect. There are 45 beads, the carriers will compete for the petals. If you can absorb the energy in all 9 petals then you are sure to reach the immortal cultivation realm in a short period of time."

['This might just be our holy grail, we find all the petals and absorb them. Once we are in the immortal realm I can enact my revenge.'] Alex said.

"That means the number of people that crave the petal is many," Al uttered.

"Yes, but it is restricted to those of the younger generation. Only the younger generation can get to the petals, whether they take it back for someone or they absorb it for their selves is their choice. The beads will not help those that are not in that category. And even those that the bead will guide will not have it as easy as you did."

"And what is the age limit?" Al asked.

"120 years. If you were above the age limit I would have killed you the moment you arrived here. When I found out that you had arrived here without a seed, and what your age was, I was surprised. I kept on wondering what treasure could track the petals apart from the beads" Mr. Guardian said with an innocent smile on his face...

Al felt chills run up his body. ['Is this what others feel when we say something like this with that smile on our face? Scary.'] He thought.

"Wait, why are you allowing me to take the petal if I don't have a bead on me, does that mean that anyone that mistakenly stumbles upon it can have it?"

"No, as I said previously, it must be destiny."

"What about the illusions and those berserkers in this forest? Do you know anything about them?"

"Although it hasn't been long since the petal and I arrived here, I know a bit about what is going on in the forest. The illusions you faced above were caused by the mist. And the mist was created by a very strong and brilliant runemaster, and so were the creatures you call berserkers."

"How strong is this person?"

"I don't know, because the person is not here. But if I had to estimate, the person is at least a stavlosa runemaster."

"Woah!" Al exclaimed.

"For the illusions down here, most of which you avoided thanks to your treasure – was made by me." Mr. Guardian explained.

"Okay what about-…"

"That's enough, it is time for you to take what you came here for. Your cogs of fate have moved." Mr. Guardian looked up as he interrupted Al.

"My cogs of fate?" Al looked up too, searching for something that could help him understand what he was talking about.

"If you want to know then you would have to leave here." Mr. Guardian smirked. He waved his hand and the bamboo hut disappeared. Where they were now was like a huge stone bunker.

At the western edge of the bunker, there was a red petal the size of an adult's head floating gently in the air, it looked like the petal of a rose. The air it exuded was magnificent and the scent it gave was mouthwatering.

"This is a petal from the flower of Midas." The guardian stretched his hand out and the petal came to him.

"Here, take it"

Al collected it and held it in his hands like it was a baby. Apart from the aura, size, and scent that it exuded nothing else about the petal was strange, it was very light to hold.

"What do I now?" Al asked.

"Normally you would have to absorb it the same way you do with energy crystals, but due to your predicament and the time that you came here, you would have to eat it. If it was someone else, the petal would kill them. Since it is you, you will be okay because of the dragon blood in you."

['Al, let's switch.'] Alex said.

['Okay.'] Al agreed without a fight.

-Switch!

"So all I have to do is just to eat this?" Alex asked to confirm.

"Yes. Something about you has changed again." Mr. Guardian noticed the difference in Alex again.

Alex ignored what he said and neatly folded the petal into a square. He opened his mouth and took a big bite out of it.

"Hmmm, it tastes amazing." He said with his mouth full. Alex continued till he finished it, he even licked his fingers.

"Nothing is happening." Alex checked his body for any difference.

"Just give it a second."

"Oka-…"

-Lub dub!!

Alex's heart thumped hard. He fell to his knees as a burning feeling assaulted his stomach from the insides.

He felt the urge to shout but he held it. His blood started to boil and he started to feel bloated.

-Brrt!!

Alex farted.