CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER: 65, WHITEBURN (VOLUME2)

The heaven and earth were peaceful and the greenery across the wide, lonesome plains were blooming with vitality.

A huge white skeleton was piled in the middle of the lonely plains. The once alive being now had its long fleshless bone wings spread across the plains. Half of its body was all over the forest behind, towering above the huge trees like they were smaller than ants.

The towering white skull that looked like a lizard or cubone was so big that an entire large city looked like a mole on its white surface. A long, robust stone bridge connected the ground with the sky reaching surface covered in snow.

In a narrow alleyway within the city, a bunch of thugs were bullying a little boy who was trying to hide a pouch behind him while leaning against a wall.

"Hey! Aren’t we friends? Can’t you just help a friend in need~?" A thug mocked and said to the boy.

"I-I won’t! I need this money for my sister’s treatment!" The little boy muttered with tears forming in his eyes, his voice choked with fear.

"Huh? You think I care about that bi*ch? Now be a good boy and hand that pouch over." The thug said and reached over to take the pouch forcefully.

The boy tried to resist but he wasn’t strong enough. The thug opened the pouch and took out some copper coins on his hand which made some ringing sound like small bells.

"Hm... 34 copper coins should last a week. We’ll be ’borrowing’ these for a while, thanks for the help." The thug said and hung the pouch on his belt, then began to walk away with his goons.

The kid was despairing. This was the last bit of money he had left and needed those for his sister’s treatment. He knew the money wouldn’t be back ever again.

Suddenly, the panicked voices of the earlier thugs reached the narrow alley from the outside. He walked ahead to see something terrifying.

The bodies of the thugs were being devoured by a pure black liquid like thing. Their eyes held deep fear as their faces contorted with desperation. One of them met his eyes right before completely submerged into the black thing.

The boy was paralyzed with fear as the thought of the looming death haunted his very bone. ’w-what just happened? I-I saw this..."

He looked up from the ground -where the thugs were submerged into now nothingness- and saw a figure in black, standing still and looking at them.

He was wearing tight black attire while wearing a black mask of a fearsome demon with two horns coming out from the sides. The empty black eyes like the void seem to see everything truth or false, sin or virtue, everything was seen by those fearsome cold eyes.

The fearsome mask then looked at him, still not showing any hint of emotion when he suddenly swung his hand and threw something at his feet.

The boy looked at his feet to see the pouch the thugs snatched from him just a few moments ago. His heart was complicated, unsure if he should pick it up or not. Would the person hurt him when he picks it up, or is he genuinely giving it to him?

He had never seen anything out of the slums where he lived. The most money he had ever seen was a silver coin. For others with high status, this money might look insignificant, too little to do anything drastic.

But for people like him, this money could easily support them for a month. So, he was skeptical that anyone would give the money back.

As if to notice the boy’s nervousness, the masked figure looked back and walked out of the scene, leaving the boy and his pouch of copper coins alone.

Seeing the person leaving, the boy quickly bent down and picked up the pouch. He then quickly ran away from the scene, afraid the fearsome man would be back for these.

He didn’t look back nor did he stop even for a second. It was only when he reached his rundown house in the slums did he finally stop and look back, making sure the masked man wasn’t following him before entering through the door.

Inside, he saw his elder sister lying on the bed, her posture frail and weak. But even then, she looked at him and gave a pale smile, welcoming him.

"You’re back. Did you run into any trouble? Why do you look like that?" she asked worriedly. The place they are living in is notorious for being troublesome with many hooligans roaming the alleys. She was worried if her brother might’ve encountered some of them.

"Don’t worry, I am fine." The boy reassured her and handed her the pouch with the money, saying

"This is the money for your treatment. We should go to the doctor tomorrow and get you treated."

Hearing that, his sister shook her head and said solemnly, "This injury I got is from the land below. There are very few ways to cure it and even then, the cost would be much more than what these few copper coins can fill.

"You should just save the money you earn for your own future. Mine is just a lost case you cannot risk your future for."

The boy shook his head and threw the pouch on the ground in frustration, "What would I do if you aren’t with me in the future? I-"

"Brother! Look!" The sister looked at the pouch and pointed for her brother to see.

The boy looked over to see small golden colored coins shining in the sun rays drifting inside from the window.

Both of them looked, too stunned to speak. Eventually the boy walked forward and picked the golden coins among the original copper ones.

He was sure that they weren’t there when the thugs took them out, so how? Then his mind flashed to the fearsome masked man from before, his eyes moistened and he knelt down in gratitude.

To be continued...