Episode 01 Iloria Island

[ Earth 10,000 ]

// Iloria Island //

The aurora borealis shines in the night sky, revealing the beauty of a mysterious giant island in the middle of a vast ocean. The island is made up of mountains, lakes, and rivers that cover almost 20 percent of the island. At its center is a small community of people known as the Luminia.

They are a small, gentle, and kind-hearted people who are deeply connected to the magic that flows through their land. Every year, on the eve of the full moon, they gather to celebrate a traditional festival.

On the hillside, a boy of about 7 years old is chasing a torch in a glass to use as a night light, while others use magic to make a stone glow, attracting countless torches.

While running after the firefly, he tripped over a tree root and fell because he wasn't looking. This caused the mouth of the bottle to open, causing all the Firefly inside to fly out.

- Ouch

He struggled to get up again when suddenly a hand came to help him up. He looked up and saw a little girl smiling at him. She grabbed his hand. He used his hand to wipe his clothes that were stained with leaves.

- Thank you very much.

- Yes\, it's okay.

She smiled back and even gave him a magic stone with a light to call many nearby amphorae into the bottle.

The boy replied with a smile.

- Oh\, there are many amphorae! Thank you.

- It's okay! My name is Ree-ah; what's your name?

- My name is Ika!

- Nice to meet you\, Ika. Can you be my friend?

Ika opened her eyes wide and replied in surprise.

- What do you mean?

- If you don't want to be friends with me\, that's fine.

- No\, I didn't mean it like that. I was just a little surprised because it's the first time someone asked me to be friends!

- So you don't have any friends?

He shook his head and walked away. He closed the bottle cap and took a branch to hang as a lantern and walked with her. And continued talking about this and that. He also learned that she was one of the daughters who lived on the mountainside, and for him, he lived by the sea.

// Seaside Village //

Since today was the Moon Festival, many people came to participate solemnly. Everywhere was lit up with lanterns and magic balls, all colors alternating beautifully. Along the road, iron plates with firewood burning on the road were placed continuously to provide heat, and people were standing guard to prevent accidents. Orchids that were as clear as glass and as bright as the full moon were hung from poles and gates.

When they arrived at the ceremony, Ree-ah saw people telling shadow stories, so she led his hand to watch. They were the first audience. And there were many children running to watch, some with their siblings, some with their parents, and only they came alone.

The shadow puppeteers then begin to tell the story and demonstrate the movements of the characters, creating a vivid story.

[ Legend has it that in the beginning, the world was ruled by a great king. He subdued the demons and 100 kingdoms and united them into one kingdom. However, after he died without cause under the influence of darkness and a huge purple lightning in the war between demons and humans, the officials appointed a general to succeed him because he had no son, and only a general with the right ability could rule because he had a history of killing a lot of demon with the old kings.

Speaking of the new king, obsessed with power, he forgot all about royal duties. He only thought about having fun with women and drank alcohol without caring about the country, causing great chaos in society.

Wars broke out everywhere; people were homeless, suffering, food shortages, theft, and all kinds of atrocities were spreading like mushrooms. The officials killed the people at will. The law was in the mouth of the powerful.

Unable to bear the sight any longer, a general rebelled and led some of the people to flee by ship to live on a remote island, making the king very angry.

Since then, the king has always ordered his men to chase and kill the general and those who fled without stopping.

Because the king had so many soldiers, they, who were innocent people, were weak and few in number, always retreated and fled from one place to another.

Later, there was a hero: a mysterious man appeared to protect them using the magic art of fighting the enemy, causing all the royal troops to retreat without a trace.

Only now did the general realize that the real reason the royal army was not stopping after them was because some royal magicians disguised themselves as ordinary people to flee like them.

After learning that the rebels had strong people with them, the king led his army directly to fight them.

It was then that everyone realized that the one who used the black shadow and purple lightning was actually the current king. ]

Suddenly, a group of big kids rushed forward and knocked Ree-Ah down. Ika quickly picked her up and asked them.

- Ree-Ah\, Are you okay?

She shook her head.

- I'm fine.

- Hey\, why are you walking around without looking?

A big kid walked up to them.

- Oh\, who do you think it is? Actually\, you're a motherless kid! I want to hit! What's wrong? What do you want to do to us?

The other kids surrounded him and followed him. Ika could only grip his hand and couldn't do anything. The people around here didn't dare to touch him because he was the son of the village headman, a street gang kid, and everyone knew it. Ree-Ah looked uncomfortable and led Ika out of there.

- Come on\, Ika.

- Where do you want to take me?

Ika went with Ree-Ah without a destination. The shadow talker paused for a moment and looked at them. When they looked over the crowd, Ree-Ah was also murmuring.

- It's so sad; I am watching the story with great interest.

- Do you want to continue?

She nodded.

- Um.

- Then come with me.

The locals also shouted for the theater to continue the play because they also wanted to watch.

- Why don't you continue the play? What are you doing?

- Hurry up\, hurry up.

- Yes\, I know.

Ika also took Ree-Ah to climb a large tree nearby where they usually played alone. It wasn't difficult for them because they had prepared a ladder for climbing (a rope ladder). When they reached the top, they sat down, swinging their legs and looking at the play.

- Wow\, this place is amazing. It's high up; you can see the scenery from afar\, and no one bothers you anymore. Are you the one who did it?

Ika scratched his head, making a sour face.

- I don't know how to do that; my grandfather did it. He saw that I liked to climb trees\, so he made a shelf for me to play on!

- Oh\, your grandfather is so kind! For me\, my mother can't even let me run around and take a shower in the rain haha.

- Haha\, maybe because she doesn't like to play that since she was a child.

- Haha! How many shelves do you have like this?

- 3 or 4 places\, even the ones we live in\, are in trees.

- Oh\, where is your house? I want to visit.

- It's close by\, but wait until daylight to come and visit. Grandpa is already asleep.

- Oh\, I understand.

- Let's continue watching the story.

The Shadow Teller then began to continue the story by retelling a little bit before continuing the story that was ahead.

[ Now the battle between the new king and the hero has begun, with the king challenging him to a fight. They use the art of slashing each other fiercely for 7 days and 7 nights without stopping on a deserted island.

Everyone could only hear the sound of swords and lightning flashes coming from them because their speed was really fast.

And in the end, the king was defeated.

Unable to accept such a humiliation, the king used his black magic to summon a demon king from hell, and this act required sacrificing the lives of many of his people as a sacrifice.

The king used the art of creating vines to bind the villagers to offer to the demon without mercy. When he found not enough people, he had his army added to it.

Seeing this, the hero quickly took out a sword and cut the king before the summoning was finished. But unfortunately, the demon king came out and hit the hero with one hand, breaking his mask and falling down.

At that moment, the king realized that the hero was actually the former king, and he did not die because of his murder.

- Impossible!

That's right, his head fell to the ground. The demon immediately came out, bent his arms, and stretched his neck to exercise slowly. He exclaimed.

- It's so refreshing; I haven't come out to see the scenery outside for a long time! Oh\, how come it smells so delicious? Oh\, it's actually your blood!

The demon raised the hero's bloody hand to lick it and showed a face that seemed to be very satisfied. One hit from the demon king earlier would have made a simple person lose their head far away, but it didn't even make the place where the hero stood move.

The second battle scene began. The hero used a sword, but the demon king used only his hands, but he could also hold his sword and smash it easily like a piece of cake. Then they fought hand to hand, continuing from place to place for a whole day.

Later, the demon also used a trick to kill the villagers because they could not win or lose in the fight.

Hero Seeing this, the man used the power of his last life to trap the demon king under the river where they were standing.

The demon king said:

- I feel like I've seen a new game.

- So do I.

- What game?

The demon king shouted.

- No\, I don't want that. Don't trap me.

- Just go back to where you come from.

After trapping the demon, Hero: The man died because he didn't have something to eat a lot of the day, and used too much energy. The death of the hero, who is the king in our hearts, is the highest heroism and must be recorded in history as an example for future generations.

And our hero is called the King of the Killing Fields, Arata.

Everyone clapped their hands and shouted in unison, memorizing the word Arata.

- Arata…Arata !

- Arata…Arata !

Even Ree-Ah raised her hand to recite the words with them. Ika smiled at her, and they all shouted like children.

- Arata is Amazing

- Arata is winning.

It took a moment for Ree-Ah to notice where the crowd had dispersed.

- Hey\, Ika\, where have they all gone? Is the festival over?

- Not yet; look at that.

Ika motioned for Ree-Ah to turn her back to the sea. Many people were holding lanterns lit by candles and walking in rows towards the beach.

This aspect really impressed Ree-Ah because it was her first time, but it didn't surprise her like she had seen other groups of people.

- Ika\, look what they're carrying\, shiny and colorful.

- I don't know either. Let's go and see.

They got down from the shelf and ran hand in hand to the group of magicians. When they arrived, they asked to see what was in the wooden box, only to find out that it was actually a newly hatched glass turtle.

They shone like diamonds when the moonlight shone on them. Their bodies were so transparent that you could see through them.

People started catching them one by one, writing names or wishes on them, then lifting them up and putting them on their heads before releasing them into the sea like the other group that was floating on the water. They believed that they were lucky turtles.

Please wait to see the next episode; thank you.

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