As the man spoke, his voice roared, echoing across the street, and despite of that huge echo as it exploded across the entire street, the people on either side of his house instead of intervening, used to their eccentric and energetic neighbour's tone, exhaled and inhaled their breath and stayed in their own home.

  "Do not even start-Daran, I have been chastened enough already"

  The senior assitanct countered, and barely did an instant pass before the big man opposing us lifted either of his arms, opening them wider, and wider, and advanced himself forward. And seeing that action, taking control of their pace and their body, both the man beside me stopped in their tracks, so that they would not involuntarily take part in what was inevitably about to occur. As for me, I had no such privilege, because barely had my left leg retracted itself a step, the man moved like a thunder, gripped hard and embraced me, till my feet dangled and sailed and swayed in the air to such an extent that my heartbeat beat itself faster than inhumanly possible, all the while my fingers desperately gripped the satchel that much tighter.

  And strangely enough, as the purest form of muscle lifted me in the air-embracing me, pain did not flood my bloodstream, because there was no malice in that embrace, all it contained was warmth. And that was enough to soothe me, and rejuvenate me, so even though my bones in my back suffered from that embrace, ignoring all that pain, my lips extended towards either side, and splattered a smile like none other.

  But before I could relish on that, a sudden echo of a violence dragged all our concentration and focus to the present, dragging us back to this realm of reality. And that reality was a woman whose height that of a sprite, whose palm, and feet shorter than a broadsword, whose entire body frame reached till the midsection of the man beside her. And this woman, whose fingers did not tremble or shake as she smacked her better half, roared at the giant of the man beside her.

  "How many times have I told you not to embrace him? Our kids and neighbours are suffering your wrath daily; do you want him to suffer as well?"

  A heartbeat of pause where the big man that lifted me lowered me to the ground. And after my feet touched the ground, and my back realigned itself, and my heart began to lower its pace, while my chest and my shoulders continue to rise and fell, the giant of the man before me, ignoring my reactions to his embrace, wiping the bleached white skin on his forearm, countered to the woman beside him.

  "Ouch-woman. I do not know where you have that energy stored. I have fought against titans and rakshasas whose energy is nothing compared to yours."

  The woman who stood beside him was ready to provide a fitting rebuttal, but before she could do that, a small pair of eyes, whose pony tail sailed on either end, whose sprint was faster than that of a panther came rushing towards me. And seeing those energetic gazes, and the laughter on her lips, sliding down both the satchels from my fingers to my forearms, my right leg lowered itself to one knee. And when she was quarter of a pace away, my fingers opening wider, plucked, lifted, and rose that child above my head, and firmly planted it on the back of my neck, till its feet swung back and forth hitting my chests.

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  But still this did not end their, because barely had she comfortably sat, her index, middle and ring splattered by the liquid from her mouth, she began to wipe and comb the huge strands of hair that hid my entire half of the face, and cleanly and methodically began to tuck it behind my ear. As for the man behind my left, the man who was a year older than me, the man known as Arvil, upon seeing that, both of his legs automatically stepped back, before he too gets the same treatment.

  "Well, there is that."

  Upon hearing and seeing that by her better half and her daughter, as the woman beside him twisted her neck from one end to another, disagreeing with her child's and her husband's behaviour. Despite her disapproval the smile never once left from the edge of my lips, because there are precious moments in my life as it is, so when one of these moments come towards my way, I always cherish it because I know what life has in store for me, and I know how all of this is going to play out at the end, so when moments like this happens, I choose to relish in it a little bit more.

  As for the men and woman surrounding me, I do not know how they perceive me in their eyes, but in my eyes, these people, my people are my family. They are my hope. They are my light in this wretched and vicious world. Hurting them is hurting me. Wounding them is wounding me. Crushing them is crushing me. If you were to ask me to lay down my life, I would do it gladly, and willingly even. But if you were to ask me to sacrifice any men and women of this valley, then I will unleash hell upon them.

  Earlier when Arvil asked me about the Empire and my hate, the response from my end was only half the truth. The real reason that I could not only control the beast within me, but also channel its power within me from that chained beast is always because of these people who surrounded me. Even though they are not of my blood, their concern and their warmth have always been kind to me. Because these people are my strength. They are my NorthStar. And everything I am today is because of them. So with them, there is purpose in this life. With them, there is a meaning in my existence. With them the value of compassion and kindness I learnt.

  And upon any men, woman and children of cold valley who sheds a single tear because of the cruelty of their foes. The things that I would do to that foe is unlike anything this world has ever seen. Anything this Empire of monsters has ever seen, because my wraith will be unleashed upon those foes to such an extent, that even the lord and ladies of this accursed earth would flinch in their realms of heaven.

  And now those men and women who had dared to take my younger brother is going to experience that same wraith. And it is of such calibre that even if Lords and ladies of this world may have mercy on them; and they may even forgive them, but this demon of the cold valley will certainly not.

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