133 CHAPTER 132

"Are you alright?" Ham asked.

Kira nodded but stopped when the muscles under her jaw began to throb. Must have hit her head on something. Plus, those guards had been anything but easy as they had dragged them to this place, which looked nothing like a place of comfort.

It was a small room but large enough to accommodate the three of them. The only source of light was sipping in from the bar that was hanging on the wall above. Not even a single window was in place. The single door that stood opposite to Kira was so small that it could barely allow one person through them without threats to curse bruise on the person's skin. Stones of different sharps and sizes etched like an emblem on the walls. Rough and dirty. It was no doubt; this place was designed for the worst in society. And the small single door proved the fact that it had been made for the Miens. Most Miens can hardly survive without air and light.

Kira heaved, feeling the stuffy air getting to her already. They have been here for two days. It's just a matter of time before the hallucination kicks in. Damn, I hate this. She hissed under her breath. Of course, this was not the first time she has been trapped in a place with little air. During her training seasons with the Founders, she had been made to fight in a room with no light at all or with light to be little air. She was prepared for this. Her body was ready to drift in and out of her consciousness. But the real fact was that she was not ready mentally and emotionally.

Clare. The words formed in her mind's eyes even before she could think of them. The older woman was the family she had—the only one that accepted her at least. But now she just…she just. Kira shook her head, trying not to think of it. The pain of betrayer was heavy on her stomach. She could feel them coursing through her stomach, threatening to overwhelm her. How could Clare? How can…

"Are you sure you are okay?" Ham asked again.

"Oh, me?" Kira asked and wiped her eyes, not realizing that tears were already dripping from her cheeks, "I am fine," She said, trying to force the smile which never crossed her eyes.

Ham nodded and leaned back on the rough wall. Kira lifted her head towards his direction. Looking at him made guilt flood through her belly. She felt sorry for making him worry. The boy's face looked like a punching bag. His left eyes were swollen and his lips were twice the size of his swollen eyes. Yet, despite his critical state, he still cared for her wellbeing. Through the pains and the discomfort, he still had the heart to ask if she was okay. He must be foolish, or did he really cared about her?

"So, your best friend sold us out," Matt said. 

He was sitting at the other end of the room, opposite Ham, with his hands hugging his knees. But for the little wound on his lips, the boy was perfectly okay. He was not the one that had tried to resist when the guards tried to arrest them.

"Sounds familiar isn't it," Ham said absent mindedly.

"Yeah," Matt nodded "I can still see their faces."

Kira could not understand what they were saying, but one thing was certain. Whatever they were talking about really shaped the events of their life. They may still look at each other as friends, but there was something deep. Kira could see. The bond that held the two boys was more like a brotherly bond. It was more like a bond of blood, rather than a mere bond of friendship.

"I should have warned you," Kira whispered, feeling sorry that she had dragged them into this mess.

"No need for apologies." It was Matt who spoke. He was scratching his head now. "There was no way you could have known. That's just how life is. People are just full of surprises. This moment you trust a friend, the next moment the same person you laid your life for is willing to exchange you for the price of bread. That's life"

"But it hurts. Why does it hurt so much?" Kira asked.

The feelings she had kept at bay for a very long time were trying to sprout their head again. She had not felt this way ever since she had run out of home. But now…It's just so overwhelming, and she doubts if she has the willpower to overcome it this time.

"That's what makes us human." Matt said, but he paused when he suddenly realized his mistake, "Not human in the nature of our skin," He continued, "But human, in terms of feelings."

Kira could not say she agreed with him, but she remained silent and did not argue. All she wanted at the moment was for these feelings of weakness to go away, and if that means becoming a human, then she really doesn't mind.

"Those feelings are the right kind of feelings. It is the only thing that differentiates us from the likes of Vudga, or Boze or Xerta."

"Or Clare," Ham said, completing Matt's statement.

"No," Kira shook her head, "Clare? No. She is more human than any Miens I have ever known. She was the one that had accepted me into her home. She had sheltered and fed me when my parents had abandoned me. Clare is the only family I would ever have."

The silence seemed to stretch among them. If the two were offended by what Kira had said, they didn't show. They just kept staring blankly on the floor as if they were lost in their own thoughts.

"Then why did you do it?" Ham asked. "Why did you risk your life to save me and Matt?"

The question lingered in Kira's head for some time. Until now, she really cannot place a finger on the very reason why she had imperiled her life for people she had never known. They were Humans for crying out loud. And Humans to an average Miens were slaves. That was before the breaking of the world, though. Now, most Miens believes that Humans were more like a virus in the system and would try everything within their power to get rid of them. But why did I risk my life for them?

"I don't know," Kira said. So soft were her words that it could have been mistaken for a whisper.

"That's because you are a good creature, Kira," Matt said, smiling.

Kira turned sharply, looking at Matt as if she was ready to pounce on him and beat the living day out of his body if he repeated the word. Ham must have noticed, for he was laughing when Matt started to back away.

"Dear Matt." Ham chuckled, "The Miens believe that the word, creature, is below their standard. They would rather use those words on humans, than the other way round."

"Oh," Matt nodded, "So, humans are inferior to your kind?"

"Slaves," Kira said leaning away from the blond haired boy.

"Phew. This is strange." 

"But that was a long time ago," Kira muttered when she noticed the uneasiness in Matt's eyes. "A very long time. Before the breaking of the word."

"Can I ask you something?" Ham said.

Kira nodded slightly. It was as if the strength in her body were ebbing away with every muscle she raised.

"The chosen one. Or the one that comes with the sun. How is he different from the Blaze?"

"They are very different." Kira shifted her weight. The skin on her buttock was beginning to sting, "Think of it as a furnace melting a metal."

"I don't understand," Matt said. 

The look on Ham's face also showed that he too had not understood, leaving Kira with the task of explaining more.

"Okay." She said, this time, leaning away from the wall. "Let's start by explaining the relationship with Lord Vortex and the Blaze. Now, Lord Vortex is the most powerful dark force in the universe. But the Blaze on the other hand is very dangerous but has some good in him. He is like a bridge between the one who comes with the sun and Lord Vortex."

"So, you mean the Blaze is not perfectly good or perfectly evil?" Ham asked.

"Exactly," Kira nodded, "But he is a catalyst to either of the two. That is why it is bad to have the Blaze around. Most times in history, the Blaze has been killed and his blood used to make weapons that could kill either the one who comes with the sun or Lord Vortex."

"Hmm" Matt grunted as if suddenly uncomfortable, "So you mean Lord Vortex can be killed?" 

"That's what the books say." Kira leaned back on the wall, "Since nobody had used the forged weapons against him, it's hard to tell."