Questions arose, but not even have a chance to find the answer, a voice sounds right next to Duong’s ear:
– HUMANNN… I’LL KILL THEM ALL… KILL THEM ALL …
The sound is somewhat distorted, hissing full of resentment. “The death” is constantly being repeated from nowhere as a haunting thought that sends a chill down Duong’s spine.
Ari is standing next to Duong, she sees that he was normal a second ago, suddenly his face changes, and she cannot help wondering: “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Lose your brain after a fall, huh??” But Duong now has no mind to answer, he is a bundle of nerves, and he feels that everything is not over. In an insecure moment, his hands clench and begin to spin the virtual Rubik’s Cube along instinct.
At the same time, the ground seemed to be shaking again, Rin wondered if it was just a brief hallucination, but she still vaguely realized that something was wrong with the situation.
– It’s no good!
Rin rose up, looked towards Duong and Ari’s direction and shouted in an insecure voice.
Boom!
A huge sound explores responding to Rin’s thoughts. The Pan lord is like “rise from its grave”, from the pile of rocks it leaps up to create a great thrust that pushes the debris to shoot out in all directions.
Surrounding its body is a madly burning blue flame. The thing that fed to the magic arrow that previously brought the lord down was now making it look much more dangerous.
Everyone is terrified by the loud noise. It is unknown if the Pan lord is still alive or just in death throes, only knowing that its speed is faster than before and the flames and resentment covering it.
The thorny, oversized orb of Pan filled with magical flames is rushing towards Ari and Duong. It is coming closer and closer, and Duong clearly hears the wind strongly soaring. Pan’s murderous rage is strong, this time it strikes extremely fast, with determination to eat the whole two damn weak preys that dared to build a grave for it right before. Now, with the current distance, they are completely impossible to avoid or directly confront this lord.
– They gonna die!
Rin screamed hoarsely, her eyes were extremely tense, and she fell into a panic when she saw that Duong and Ari were on the edge of danger.
Could it be that Duong Duong and Ari’s final moment has come?
No!
Immediately, Duong launches a counter-attack. Then he places his hand on his left chest, and prepares a ritual to open the way to another dimension – inside his heart.
The moment he started the ritual, the scene around him quickly changed.
Ari, her whole team and everything around Duong Duong seem to freeze in his mind.
Whew!
Duong appears in the middle of an unknown dim space. In the glimmering blue light. Duong is hovering. It is unable to see the position where his foot is on. At a fairly high distance above him, a mysterious figure and a giant Rubik’s cube are hovering as well.
The creature has the appearance of a little girl, that’s Vishnu, she has a small head with thick platinum color hair covering her eyes. She is wearing a light blue wizard dress, her hands are clutching the jade-inlaid magic staff.
From above the Rubik’s cube, she doesn’t bother to lower her head. Lowering her gaze toward Duong, she says in a mocking tone.
– How’s this going?
– It’s not like someone swore they’d never come here again.
Embarrassed by that question, Duong quickly puts his hands together and sincerely apologizes:
-Sorry! VISHNU, I KNEW, it was MY FAULT.
Duong bows low and tries to be as sincere as possible.
– THAT TIME, it seemed LIKE I was under a curse, then I have spoken unbridled like that.
He slightly opens his eyes and looks up, seeing that Vishnu still has no response, he continues to beg, trying to say in a hurried voice:
– Don’t hold a grudge! I’m dying out there! If I die, who will you haunt?
Duong lowers his voice and keeps begging.
Above him, Vishnu’s face is still cold as ice, just snorts lightly and replies:
-Without you, I’d still find another stupid HUMAN.
Duong shouts:
-Why are you being so apathetic like that?
Vishnu replies, its voice still emotionless:
-Don’t talk like we are close.
Duong emphasizes and he seems to be going crazy:
-I am going to die, stop talking, PLEASE DO SOMETHING.
He feels so helpless with this mysterious and snobby character, it’s not by chance that he doesn’t want to use this method. Now he has to find a way to talk to it.
Thinking about it, there is still only one way that Duong knows it would work, he just sighs and promises Vishu:
-ALRIGHT! -NEXT TIME, YOU’LL HAVE YOUR BOOKS, DEAL?
-Deal!
The answer is given so quickly that Duong begins to doubt if she has any intention.
-Does she think the books are cheap?? How can she agree so quickly??
Doubting himself being taken for a ride by Vishu but Duong could only mumble reproach and not dare to say anything. If she gets mad and changes her mind, he will not know what he has to do next.
Vishnu is a greedy being. She won’t ignore any chance to get what she wants.
Having achieved her goal, Vishnu does not make Duong wait for long, her body lightly flies up. She raises the stick in her hand and makes her move to wake up the turning abilities of that giant Rubik. Vishnu’s whole body emits soft light, and a gust of wind rises from nowhere, causing her outfit and platinum hair to be blown up, revealing her unfriendly smiling face.
The smooth Rubik’s cube suddenly appeared in two blue-purple colors. Each color occupies a small square, and those two cells are on two different sides of the giant cube. The two colors represent two different objects. Each object corresponds to a coordinate in the real world.
Vishnu’s ability is tectonics, she breaks the structure of each object, then modifies and rewrites a new material formula, the Rubik’s cube will rotate until the formula is completed and then the displacement will begin.
Under Vishnu’s control, the two colors gradually fade and permute. According to the magic line, corresponding to the change of color, Duong has chosen a large rock right in his sight, it will be removed from its place and the new position will be the place that shields right in front of Duong and Ari. In the thousand-pound situation hanging by the hair, there is no other way to get rid of the Pan lord, so he has considered teleporting something big enough to stop it because the Pan lord has already reached a tremendous speed. Asking Vishnu for help seems to be a bad solution but also is the best way for Duong now.
When the disturbance on the Rubik’s cube has stopped, the blue and purple colors have swapped places.
Right at that moment, everything in the outside space immediately continues to happen, where Duong’s true self is standing, the conversation between Duong and Vishnu seems to never exist, the Pan is descending aloft with a terrifying speed.
A large rock has disintegrated from where it is.
And in a split second, it has emerged right in front of Duong and Ari, to the amazement, and bewilderment of the rest of the group.
as soon as the rock finishes moving, everything in outer space immediately continues afain.
And once again, the Pan lord’s strength becomes its weakness when it can not turn back because of its overcontrolled speed.
It is not only a normal cannonball but also a super-duper one that is full of thorns. It is burning with fire, rushing into the small mountain.
CRASHHH.
The impact makes a shrill sound, the rocks splash like a mountain avalanche. Then the tremor has spread, causing the ground of the surrounding area to shake. Ari is standing nearby just in time to realize how lucky she is when she has just escaped from a close call, which makes all her pores seem to expand, her hair stands on end, and the freezing goes through her body. Right now, the scene in front of her is a dusty sky, with jagged rocks everywhere.
– Uahhhhhhh!
Their mates not far from there also hit by rock and soil spreading from the excursion, it was too fast, they didn’t have time to react.
The thick layer of dust gradually subsides. Because of nearly getting her body shattered for the last moment, Ari changes from fear, and panic to anger:
– Let me put an end to it.
Although it is not clear how it all happened, or what has just happened, there’s no time for questions. Ari impatiently grips the bow with a strong desire to take down this monster:
– Don’t shoot Ari!
Duong speaks up as he approaches the Pan lord without fear. The Pan is now completely exhausted, its eyes are filled with faint blue energy fading, and its small head is partially exposed beneath the rubble.
He stands in front of the Pan, at the moment he looks at his opponent that is nearly dead, Duong suddenly finds that the monster, which was extremely terrible before, is getting weak now, he sees in its eyes that there is no longer anger but now trembling and mourning for the fateful moment of its life. Duong slowly takes another step forward, crouches closely to Pan and gently places his hand on the lord.
The influence of Vishnu’s “Constructive” capability allows Duong to see through past events. The angry burdens of grief that cling to the sinful souls of the Pans culminate in misery that transforms this species into cruel creatures.
Duong closes his eyes and slightly lets his consciousness integrate into Pan Lord. With clairvoyance, he scans through every deepest area of memory within the Pan and their soul is weighed down by the lonely darkness, everything looms very suffocating and dark.
Duong suddenly stops at a seemingly familiar scene, it’s still this place, the forest where the Pan lives, but the ground beneath Duong’s feet seems wetter, a strip of moist soil stretches in a long streak on the ground, following Duong’s tracks to face a huge, towering rock mass, blocking all traces left.
No, it’s not a rock, but it is… a deterrent, an unnatural existence.
– Is it a dam?”
Duong wonders, and vaguely realizes something. Trying to take a closer look, now the scene is clearer, a land of depletion and Pan’s dead bodies lay waiting to die.
Indeed, there used to be a river!
Then, in a fit of devastating hunger, the Pans ate humans, possibly living people, possibly corpses, but they made mistakes. Since that moment the Pan species turned into a bloodthirsty species.
-How pitiful!
After seeing through everything, and understanding the reason, Duong senses that the goodness inside this vicious monster has not been completely destroyed yet, it seems that the cruel reality has driven it into a corner and made it corrupt. Duong slightly gives Pan a sorrowful look and asked:
– Did the villagers block the water, making this place dry and causing your fellow-creature to slowly die?
He genuflects, places his forehead against Pan’s and gently puts his hand on the scales. All of Duong’s actions are very gracious as if to share its pains and express sympathy:
– But you have fallen, you have eaten man, your essence has irretrievably changed.
He communicates to the Pan what it needed, letting it know that it’s time to stop, about what it should do and what he could do to help the Pan:
– The last thing I can do is free your children from magic so that they can return to their normal lives, and make this land a peaceful place for Pan.
Duong next to Pan, the one that wanted to kill him before, gives him a sense of forgiveness and allows it to leave peacefully.
– PLEASE REST IN PEACE!
After the prayer, the giant Pan’s whole body slowly dissipates and merges into the space in front of Duong. The air is suddenly fresher as if after a thunderstorm, and the murderous air that envelopes the forest also seemed to disappear, returning the place to its original peace
Duong is relieved and no longer heavy, or resentful at all. Behind him comes a voice:
-We got it!
– Ari speaks softly and sympathetically. Seeing Duong’s actions and hearing them all, she immediately understands the root of this struggle. As a resident of Thuong Thu village, Ari, who is also the daughter of the village chief, is now more aware of what the villagers have done with the Gai Lan forest and with these Pans. It’s their actions that destroyed their own life and directly affected countless beings, which chose Gai Lan as a refuge.
No one else but people always considering themselves right, take it upon themselves to reform nature and bring trouble to themselves then eventually suffer the consequences.
-I didn’t expect that the construction of the dam would cause such a serious problem. I will personally demolish the dam and inform the villagers. From now on, no one will take the water of the Pan pack anymore.
After all the strenuous things and eventualities, the young heroes return together. Nic is seriously injured, so she is given priority of riding. Duong, Rin and the doctor cannot keep the same enthusiasm as when they begin the adventure.
Only Ari is still full of energy, and she constantly walks and chatters with everyone, even though no one seems to have the strength to respond to her.
-We succeeded, so I’m sure my father is willing to pay.
This had been a heavy burden on her mind all this time, so now she is happy to think of what they have done to help the villagers which will help her to handle the wage.
The way back is no longer dangerous, the group follows the familiar paths, quickly leaving the forest.
As the village gate gradually appears in the distance, everyone sees the villagers, including the chief standing at the gate. Looks like they’re waiting for someone.
-What’s so dangerous? – Rin asks shyly.
-Are they welcoming us? – The doctor tries to think positively even though himself finds it hard to believe.
Everyone feels that something is wrong, only Ari is always the most carefree, plus her joy is overflowing just wanting to inform the whole world. Ari, like a squirrel, rushes forward and says:
– Everyone, we have won….
Without waiting for Ari to finish her sentence, the village chief ordered everyone to arrest Duong:
-Come on, let’s get the fake mage.
Beside him, an elder villager speaks up:
-DON’T PRETEND! TODAY, THE TRUE MAGES OF THE VAN QUANG PAGODA HAVE ARRIVED!
-I SEE IT WITH MY OWN EYES! SO YOU’RE DEFINITELY A FAKER.
-YOU MUST HAVE VANDALIZED THE FOREST, MAKING THINGS EVEN HARDER TO CONTROL, WHAT CAN A FAKE MAGE DO?
The eyes of all the villagers stare at Duong.
After hearing those words, Ari dimly understands that she seems to have mistaken this mage for the magicians of Van Quang Pagoda. But now, the Van Quang Pagoda’s mage can not be compared to Duong Duong – who has been along with her group for the past two days. Not wanting her father and others to misunderstand more, Ari speaks up and wanted to explain:
-No, we really have won…
Before she can finish speaking, she is interrupted by the villagers’ voices:
-The fake mage wants to cheat our money.
Each word, each controversial sound, caused Ari’s small voice to sink. Is it true that trusting a stranger is still difficult to accept for people who always live close to the village?
While everyone is arguing, when the young heroes turn to look at the main character – Duong Duong – but the place where he is supposed to be has become empty, it turns out that he has quietly slipped away since.
-He ran!
– Catch him!”
At that time, the villagers who have just noticed the disappearance immediately shout.
On the path in front of the village gate at this time is the figure of Duong, running as fast as he can and a group of people chasing him. On the way back to the village, he was sure that the huge salary was already half in his wallet so that he could buy books for that unpleasant person. Who would have thought that five minutes ago he was still a savior, five minutes later he became a scammer like this, now he can only flee for his life. Leaving behind are four new friends who just watch without having time to say a word of thanks.
– I have not taken the money yet!!!
As he runs, he shouts about his heartache and keeps running with his legs over his neck, even though he has just experienced a life-or-death battle.
-Catch him! Catch him.
The crowd continues to shout loudly.
As for Ari, she can only scream out loud, hoping that among those shouting voices, Duong can hear her thanks.
-THANK YOU MAGEEE!
The essence of this life is inherently an ever-changing unknown. We will always have to do our best to adapt to all changes, but sometimes the simplest effort comes from changing perspective. This world is a story of good and evil, a story of courage, sacrifice, and wars. Stories of heroes that reflect humanity’s journey. It shows us that faith in the good, in the good things in life will always overcome the evil darkness of sin. Ari and the three warriors stand and watch the villagers and Duong fades away, they are silently grateful to the mage for passing by to help them win this battle. This ending may not be what the main character expected, but in the end, the fight comes to a happy ending. The village and the forest will eventually regain their inherent peace. And as long as there are people like Ari, the harmony between man and nature will be cherished and protected by the villagers for many generations to come.
