You, the apocalypse and me! [YiZhan FF] Fantasy

Chapter 25 - Puria

A/N: We are going deeper into the fantasy now. I just say, "the center of the earth". Have fun reading. Feel free to leave me a comment and tell me what you think of the story so far.

After only a day and a half of fever, Yibo woke up again, clearly proving what a good physical condition he was and is in. I enviously noticed that he was even able to get up and walk around right after waking up. He ate something and then accompanied me to the king and his captain as if nothing had happened.

Back when I had the fever, I was unconscious for days and could not walk or do anything even after that without help. Yibo, on the other hand, was absolutely fit. I don't know if that was partly due to the care of the elf vampires or if it was really only Yibo's physical condition that made him immediately fit for action again.

He Peng was still unconscious. He would take longer to wake up, one of the other folk told me. Apparently this is not because He Peng is physically weak, quite the opposite, but because he is so exhausted and mentally damaged that he probably needs several more days to want to wake up himself. So this is more because of himself than because of the bite.

Already in the morning I had noticed with surprise that the king's soldiers brought an old woman, who looked as if she was at least 100 years old, into the cave and directly to the king. She did not seem frightened or as if all this was new to her. It was probably more like she knew each and every one of these elf vampires, welcomed them with smiles, and was greeted by them with gentle hugs and kisses.

When Yibo and I went to the king, the old woman was still there and she was sitting in a seat right next to him. She as a human, small, old, wrinkled and gray-haired, sat next to the king as if it was perfectly normal. And, she spoke to him in his language! And, she immediately beckoned us to her when she saw us.

Yibo and I walked up to her and she gestured for us to sit down in front of her. She exchanged a few more words with the king and then turned to us. She smiled, and the wrinkles around her mouth seemed to double as a result, and you could see that she had very few teeth left. But despite all these wrinkles, her missing teeth and the long curly gray hair, you could somehow still see that she must have once been a beautiful woman. At some point, an infinitely long time ago, she had turned the heads of many men, I'm sure.

"Are you now done staring at me young man?" She asked me in a raspy voice.

"I, um yeah. Sorry. I was just wondering..." I began, but she interrupted me with a wave of her hand and a broad smile.

"I'm 105 years old and I have no idea how much time I have left, so we'd better focus on what I have to tell you."

"Of course." I said and Yibo nodded.

"So, my name is Puria, I am the keeper of the history of this folk. The Amores. King Bac you already know, and also his Beautiful Wife, Queen Maha." We nodded. "Good. The Amores live, just like all the other beings who cause chaos here in your world, at the center of the earth. There they live in jungles and oases, pyramids and huts. It's a whole world of wondrous things. At least if you don't come from there. There live the Amores, the Demoids, who are in constant battle with each other. But also other beings and peoples live there. However, very few of them have names. They usually name them after what they do. The flyers, the gatherers, the diggers and so on. Very few of them are friendly beings and peaceful."

"Why are they here? And most importantly, what are they doing here?" Yibo interrupted them.

"Some time ago, the earth kept shaking where we live, and new caves and passages were formed that led upward to the earth. Before, there was only one way in and out. Many of the beings were initially curious and made their way up. And there they found a people who immediately fought them. And the warlike beings thought they had found new enemies. New enemies and food."