Forget & Remember

Chapter 1-He came back

All you can hear outside in these modern times is the chatter of people coming and going, the engines of the cars beeping in the traffic and the rubbish flying in the air. This 21st century has turned into a living factory for the pleasure of humans. Since this factory can not grow bigger, these ravenous things expanded by building things on top of each other making high rise skyscrapers blocking  sceneries where people hundreds and thousands of years ago admired. Here in this vast world of pollution was a little shop of books telling antiquated legends of the past.

" Books are on sale 50% off! Books are on sale 50% off!"

A high school girl strolled into the shop as a part of her weekly routine. This caused a gush of wind to come into the store which swung the chimes filling the shop with the clamour created by it.

" Hello LaoFu", the girl greeted coughing, whilst walking down the isle of books, touching each one along the way. She read practically the entirety of the books in the books shop and loves Mythology.

" It's you again," sighs the old man on the counter dusting the books with the old chicken quill duster. Despite the fact he cleans almost all the time, the book shop is filled with dust flying noticeably all around. The corners of the building had dust accumulated there in chunks with cobwebs wrapped around them from previous bug infestations. Cracks were on the wall and the once white paint faded and wrinkled away. Piles of books were also stacked at the back of the counter after the elderly man finished dusting them carefully.

The girl walked up to the counter ,dusted it with her hands and laid down her head on it making herself comfortable, looking down at the man below the counter still dusting the same book. She had a mask on nearly all the time she came there from the amount of dust developing there.

" What's the story today? Give me something exciting. I've been coming here every week for a year now. This marks the 1st   anniversary of coming here. Can you show me the forbidden book and tell me the story?" She asked, making her best cute face while doing so.

"No!",the man snapped closing the book. The girl stomped hard and groaned in frustration. Why was she not permitted as she when there 52 times this year just to get to know something about that book.

Girl, " How about just tell me the story huh? You said if I come here every week, for a whole year you would tell me the story", whined the girl. She took the hand of the old man and shook it. " Please  can you do it for your no.1 customer?"

Man," Fine but I'll only tell you the story of it. Listen carefully cause I ain't rehashing it."

The girl jumps and sits on the counter waiting for the old man to speak. She is a famous blogger and would do anything to get some juicy information. Even if she needs to wait a whole year for it.

Man, " All right let me think. How did the legend go again?", The man walks front and back thinking of it the story went, "Umm I forgot."

Girl, " See you don't know it. Can you just get the book out?"

The man brushed his grey beard again and again thinking if he should show it to her or not. Reluctant, he spent a couple seconds in silence. In those few moments of boredom, the girl placed her school bag down next to a wall in the shop.

Man," Fine, I'll show it to you but you can't touch it no matter what"

The old man tells her to follow him into a secret room behind the counter. There it was under the mat where there was a trap door. On it was 2 locks where the man glanced around before opening them. Both of them went down into the narrow space to see a worn out iron door with yet again 2 locks.

" Why is there so many locks in this place?", questioned the girl who was slightly spooked about how much it looked liked entering a secret mission for spy's.

When entering, the girl found herself in circular room of iron with a book in the middle, sealed in a glass case.

" I don't have the foggiest idea how you can come here every  morning 6:30 in the middle of the winter. Most people would normally wake up now. Young people these days, so energetic," echoed the voice of the old man in the distance. All she would do was gaze at the book made of leather with a oval ruby in the middle , wrapped in thick chains of steel. It is if a light was sparkling on the book calling out to her, telling her to come closer. Gradually, she edges herself as if possessed by a phantom.

" Ah don't go any closer. This book lures you to it's trap", warned the man holding back the girl. Once his hand touched her shoulders, she shuddered getting her conscious back. But there was still that scream in her mind telling her to come closer. The voice twirled in her head, each second throwing spears inside of her mind. The agony won't stop.

Man" Let's get you to a safe spot. The further away from the book, the safer you are."

The man pulled the girl, and slowly, the voices inside her mind squeals in in this loud high pitch voice and then goes away. Gasping, the girl sits upright trying to stable herself from backing out.

Girl," What huff huff, w was that huff huff?"

Man, " So you can hear them? Those are just some of the voices from the people the Hei Emperor killed. Ya see that ruby? Don't even dare touch that. My grandad said the power of the Hei Emperor is sealed in there. There are also the spirits that he captured in there too. 1000 years it has been. Every year, these voices would grow louder, cause they're desperate to reincarnate."

The man ventured closer to the book. " The first time I came down here I was like you too. It's normal. My family was in charge to protect this book from outsiders who want to obtain the powers. My ancestor used to be the servant of a famous cultivator. Can't remember what his name was. Right now I am the only one that can get close to that book. You wait here."

The man stepped away from the girl who was still panting but not that vigorously any more. His steps echoed clear and loud on the cold metal floor, the keys dangling on his side in each progression . He than halted in front of the glass case. It was clean, excessively clean for something sitting underground for so many years. Not a fingerprint or a bit of residue was on that case. Either it gets clean a lot of the time in a very professional way or there was some voodoo spell cast on it to keep it clean. Neither can be true as looking 100% clean is impossible and magic doesn't even exist in the 21st century, or so they say. The man fiddles with his keys finding the one that fits the hole. The key was unkept unlike the case. The silver shading had started to fade away revealing the bronze colour. It even started to build up rust. Staring at it, the wait for the old man to unlock it.

" Cough hack ahem," the elder went as he turned the key.

TICK! As soon as that glass case was unlocked, a dark aura filled the inside's of the case. It had seem as if to have come out of the ruby. What looked like gas to a normal person. It leaked out of the keyhole and drifted to the ground, expanding it's size.

KA BOOOOOM!!! The black aura extended in a tremendous size which pushed the old man away flying. Ashes floated up to the sky swirling into a monstrous ball.

When the ashes flew back down to the hard metal floor a man was standing there smirking.

"I'm Back"