The Palaces of the Twelve Sacred Beasts

Chapter 2: The Legendary Beasts

"Hello?? Dr. Gu? Are you listening?"

The sound coming from the mobile phone alerted the nearby administrator. He followed the sound to the sourve, shouting from afar:

"We're closed for the day, you should visit again tomorrow... .Uh?" The administrator came to a halt as he got closer. Under the dim lights in that empty corridor, lied an active mobile phone flipped open on the floor.

Gu Ting Yu woke up from the confusion, he opened his eyes to find a night sky so deep and a far away.

He could see fire sparks dancing in the air. The wooden logs emitting crackling sounds as it was devoured by the fire. Gu Ting Yu felt his head pounding hard as he vaguely realized that he was surrounded by a big crowd.

"I... Where am I?" Gu Ting Yu struggled to sit up.

Suddenly, an ederly man whose body was painted with oil and was holding a walking stick made of an animal skull, lets out a piercing scream-

"He has appeared!! Our Gods have finally heard our summons!!!" He announced as he got his knees bowing deeply.

Following his actions, everyone around caught on to the action. Immediately, they kneel before Gu Ting Yu's feet, their expressions filled with awe and sincerity, they wouldn't even dare to lift their heads. The atmosphere sinks into an eerie silence.

Gu Ting Yu was overwhelmed by their actions.

"What's going on?" Gu Ting Yu asks as he takes in the scene before him; he was surrounded by approximately a hundred weird people. From their attire, it seems like they were from a certain tribal clan. Men were exposing their upper bodies with different varieties of shells decorating the fronts of their chests, their lower halves were covered using simple animal hides or leaves and branches. While the women wore feathers as head ornaments, using weaved grass to cover their bodies.

The old man nearest to Gu Ting Yu carefully got closer as he spoke, "We beg you... Please save us..."

The thoughts that were frozen in his mind began to work again. Gu Ting Yu moved foward to helo the elderly man, but his actions were abruptly stopped as the old man shrieked and backed away, "No! No!! Oh, benevolent Gods' Messenger... Please do not let our filthy bodies taint your dear hands..."

"Oh, the Gods' Messenger!!!-"

"Dear Gods-"

Before his mind could register, the people kneeling on the ground started chanting out loud.

The chants overshadowed one another in waves, frightening the hidden solitary birds. They began crying as they hovered high up across the tree shadows, blending into the twilight.

"You... All of you... Who exactly are all of you?" Gu Ting Yu retreated backwards, at a loss for the current situation.

The old man before him raised his head fearfully. Gu Ting Yu was shocked to find the old man with tears forming in his eyes. He choked uo and waved a hand gesture, prompting the people surrounding them to quiet down. He replied, "Dear Gods' Messenger, we are the people of Mo Yi tribe of the bottom of Wu Yeng Mountain."

"Wu Meng Mountain?" Gu Ting Yu felt disturbed as he recalled his memories. Just a moment ago, he was at the history museum, how did he get here? He looked around noticing that his bag was still with him. Gu Ting Yu faced the people around him amd said, "Move away, I want to look for a way to go back."

"The Gods' Messenger is leaving!" the words that Gu Ting Yu said unknowingly agitates the crowd... they moved closer, encircling themselves around him.

"I've told yoy I'm not the Gods'..."

Without letting Gu Ting Yu finish his sentence, the vicious old man that was previously kneeling stood uo abruptly as he recites out loud:

"As the first ancient relic formed, the Wu Tribe served the Gods, we have waited for the moment when the Evil Source awakens and They shall bestow upon us the Gods' Messenger to save all of the humanity."

The old man takes a deep breath as his gaze falls on Gu Ting yu: "Only YOU may succeed in taming the beasts, to stop the Evil Source from awakening... We... descendants from centuries ago have sworn our lives as we awaited your arrival..."

The moment when Light was born, Shadow was also created.

In this world, all forms of darkness were created from the [Evil Source]. During the sacred battle that happened a thousand years ago, the Evil Source was broken up by the Leader of all Gods. It is also in that fateful sacred battle where the Leader dissappeared... lingering in this world year after year around the grey area where the good and the bad exists.

As time passed, slowly, people began to question the existence of Gods.

Even the mysterious Mo Yi Tribe began to fade away from the public's eye.

The Mo Yi Tribe was a clan of people devoting their lives to serve the Gods since ancient times begun. Just before the Leader of all Gods vanished into the world, He made a prophecy, "Before the Evil Source awakens, the Gods' Messenger will descent on this land. He will light up the hopes of humanity..." However, the Leader did not mention who be was or when he would come.

"We have waited for a thousand years... descendants after descendants, stubbornly waiting for the Gods' Messenger to fulfill his promise."

"In thar thousand years that the Evil Source was scattered around, those responsible of protecting him were the Twelve Sacred Beasts. If we want to destroy the Evil Source before he awakens, then we must pass the [Twelve Palaces of the Sacred Beasts].

Among the Palaces of the Twelve Sacred Beasts, every palace was differently leveled according to strengths and weaknesses. The more powerful the beast were, the further they would be ranked, hence nearer to the Evil Source itself."

"But... ." Gu Ting Yu doubts, he's not any Gods' Messenger.

"Yes, you are." The old man affirms.

As the patriarch of the tribe, a grand summoning ceremony was held every hundreds years.

Enduring through thousands of yers of passing moments, spending a lifetime worth of wishes, they held their faith close to themselves.

"This day is the moment where we hold the summoning ceremony with all members of the Mo Yi tribe. We sensed the prediction and gathered ourselves. As I recited the summon of power, you appeared---in a flash, you suddenly appeared in front of us, right in the middle of the sacrifice. When we first witness your arrival, we had all strongly felt it---it's you! That unique savior who will win against the Evil Source."