ALKISAH: Prayer for the World [1001 Indonesian Fantasy Stories]
EDEN IV/Everything Burns

"The "miracle was just like a beautiful dagger made of pure jewels. But, right, in the end it's still a dagger, isn't it? That's sharp... And able to slice your tone." The words came out of Aqil's mouth without his will.

The words he got from the letter sent by his new friend, One. Though, they had only met once, yesterday dawn to be exact, but the ambiance, the girl had already sent Aqil a letter, as if they were old friends.

The golden-eyed boy daydreamed at the blue sky that lay before him, while his right hand was busy stroking the head of Kitsunae, the Fox of Fire, who was asleep in his carriage.

What a beautiful sight. Although he could actually see it every day, but somehow it felt too magical to ignore.

People can say that all of them are just ordinary things, things that are always there every day without exception. But in reality, the blue sky, the clouds that wave, the birds that fly, and the gentle gusts of wind, they are all beautiful gifts from the Powerful One.

No matter how you deny it, reality is still reality, it's all beautiful as it is.

On a clear day, Aqil was in a field not far from his home. The field is wide, but the grass is already high and thick, considering the residents there are very rarely using the field.

Aqil was happy to spend time there because the field was surrounded by thickets and rather tall trees, so there was at least a little privacy there. You could say, the field was already like a third home for the skinny boy.

"Hm... Odin, Regi, and One... How, yeah, how are they?" Aqil mentioned the names of the three strange people he had met three days ago.

People who have a miracle on their hands.

Odin is able to bring Aqil to the middle of the sea in the blink of an eye. Then Regi, the cop who gave Kitsunae–The Fire– fox to Aqil, and One, the girl who claimed she was the strongest, and she also gave Serberus Necklace to Aqil.

They do have their own miracles, but unfortunately, in fact, their lives can even be said to be the same as in hell. Although Aqil did not know exactly what kind of path they went through, but that was the truth. They can all die at any time with young.

Is that worth it?

Aqil himself even felt strange easily just because of the words and views of his friends.

The other children always stayed away from Aqil looking at him with odd gazes. Especially when looking at Aqil's severed little finger, they also looked extremely disgusted, and it made Aqil frightened and confused.

Just imagine it hurts.

As Aqil was deep in thought, Kitsunae suddenly jumped out of her arms, and landed on the grass below. However, the grass around Kitsunae was badly burned because of the heat emanating from the body of the little fox.

Kitsunae stretched her body, then after that she started walking around as if the fox was enjoying her freedom.

"Hey, Nae, you think this life actually means something, don't you?" Aqil crouched down and asked the fire fox. "Why... Is this all so scary sometimes? And why does the world feel wrong?"

But something unexpected happened.

There was no wind, no rain, all of a sudden there were a lot of yellow blooms that appeared out of nowhere. The amount of interest there are millions of–no, maybe billions instead. The flowers just appeared like thunder, then in an instant locked Aqil and Kitsunae in it like a giant hurricane that soared into the sky.

"E-Eh...? What's the matter!?" The extreme horror filled Aqil's entire body. He was trapped, and the yellow flowers looked like they were ready to crush him.

This was clearly a miracle, but to the worst of it, the miracle Aqil was seeing right now had instead made the boy feel an overwhelming terror. The atmosphere became dark and gloomy.

However, Kitsunae did not remain silent.

The flame burst from inside Kitsunae's body, and at that moment Kitsunae's shape changed; the once cute and adorable little fox was now growing like a tiger, and she also looks very graceful and beautiful, and at the same time looks very dangerous and threatening.

Kitsunae darted to Aqil's side to protect the boy. However, the walls of the flowers were also getting longer even narrowed and made Aqil more frightened.

However, when the Fire Fox noticed the panicked look on Aqil's face, Kitsunae immediately howled with all her might, and along with the shrill voice that came out from Kitsunae's mouth, a blazing fire rampage suddenly exploded from all directions and burned all the flowers to ashes in a matter of seconds.

What a terrible and terrible sight. Aqil could not stop taking his eyes off the moment that was happening to him at that time.

One voice sounded from Aqil's back. The boy immediately turned around turning his head, and he found the figure of a young girl standing right behind him.

The girl who did not wear any footwear but looked charming, with a beautiful yellow dress attached to her body. The yellow dress looks exactly the same as the flowers that almost******** Aqil earlier.

"Aah!?" Aqil was fixated on the beauty and beauty of the girl, but she still felt fear for some reason.

"Previously forgive me." Said the girl while putting a sweet smile on her lips. His brownish-yellow eyes were in stark contrast to his sun-colored hair. She's really pretty.

"But... Why?" Aqil.

"Look, son, I didn't mean to attack you. The vow. I was shocked, because your Kitsuna burned my hand." Said the girl while showing the charred black color in her hand.

"Well? How, can, anyway? Kan, Kitsunae from earlier the same I keep, you know." Aqil felt something lightly land on top of his head. He was initially a little surprised, because he was still a bit shocked by the incident, but it turned out that it was only Kitsunae who intended to sleep again.

"Eh..." The girl looked at Aqil with a strange look for a while, yet it was not the disgusted look that Aqil used to receive. The girl seemed to be confused for what reason. "Look this." The girl smiled back. "My name, Yeon. And this is me, Elementum. Elementum Plant, exactly." Reveal it.

"Oh, I'm Aqil, brother. But... Elementum, what is it?" The horror and panic Aqil felt disappeared instantly. After all, he now knew that this girl was not a bad person.

"I am a half-human Elemental Plant. I have a physical body, but I can also do all the things that Elemental Plants can do. Like this one." Yeon suddenly drowned in the ground.

The girl really sank down.

"I can blend in with this whole field, its trees, its bushes, and its flowers." Yeon's voice echoed in Aqil's ears like a gust of wind. "Obviously, this whole field is my body." The girl now appeared again behind Aqil without him noticing.

"Gee..." Aqil was amazed by that incredible truth. "That's great, brother." Oath, Aqil's heart thumped loudly hearing it. It was so magical and awesome, to the point that he didn't know what else to say.

Yeon did something magical again. He moved his fingers as if he was gesturing, and at the same time, suddenly there was a small tree sticking out of the ground near the foot of Aqil. The tree grew and grew quickly to the height of the boy, and amazingly there were three fresh red apples hanging from his branches.

"Now, take it." Yeon.

Aqil was actually still amazed by what had just happened, but he hurriedly regained his consciousness while immediately moving his hand to pluck the three apples. And to his surprise, after he had taken the apple, the tree went back into the ground and vanished without a trace.

"I've known you for a long time. Moreover, you are always hanging out here almost every day." Yeon spoke up as Aqil was about to bite her apple. "I know how you think... And I also know what happened to your little finger..."

"Hmm?" Aqil who is chewing can only put his ears well.

"Actually I also heard your words earlier. You're asking, why does this world feel wrong, right?"

Aqil nodded at Yeon's remark.

"Well... Because the world is wrong, right. It's all been discovered from the beginning, you know." Yeon explained. "I mean, have you ever asked, why did God create that fruit with such a beautiful appearance? In fact, the fruit is the seed of the first sin... Weird, no."

Aqil was still watching closely even though his mouth was busy chewing. However, Aqil did not understand what Yeon was saying. The boy averted his eyes, watching the girl's face.

For some reason, Yeon's face looked full of grief, and relieved at the same time. It was very contradictory actually, but Aqil could feel it clearly.

"Just like what just happened... The raging fire made by Kitsunae was very beautiful in my eyes... But, it can hurt you, right?" Aqil.

"Yes, you're right. That's exquisite... It's just too beautiful, to the point that you could die for it." Reply Yeon. The girl reached out to Aqil's face, and stroked her right cheek.

"But I still don't really understand." Aqil said while putting on an innocent wide smile.

"You're too good... To this wicked world." Yeon pinched Aqil's cheek slowly. "Well, at least now I've got a friend here to talk to."

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