Welcome to Gaia! ::

The laboratory report was not going along as planned. It had all started with the sudden but painful rattling that emanated from deep within the computer’s core. This was then subsequently followed by a slow and dragged beeping and grinding that made the entire keyboard vibrate alarmingly. If such cases could be conveyed physiologically into human terms, Hazeline was sure that the diagnosis for the poor being/creature/machine was a sad one. It’s deep internal rumbling would probably be likened to that of a painful muscular spasm while it’s mournful beeping would probably be the sound of some electrocardiogram telling the good doctor that the patient’s life was about to come to an end. No doubt that the physician would then shake his head solemnly at this and make motions to have a private talk with the patient’s parents or closest kin; whichever applicable. Hazeline was sure that neither the computer nor the physician really cared. It was life after all. You win some, you lose some. That was how it has always been. That was probably how it would continue to stay.

The baleful beeping had now increased in consistency and frequency and the pale light of the monitor flickered weakly like the light of a candle on the verge of extinction. A pop-up window appeared, announcing indifferently to whoever was concerned that due to some malfunction or another, the computer would have to be shut down. All open files or recently used files would be lost, or so that hateful announcement claimed; its sentence ending with a bright exclamation icon to emphasize its point. An inaudible curse escaped Hazeline’s lips as the screen (with the accompaniment of a small ‘pop’ sound) went blank. This was indeed an unexpected turn of events. And the root of it all?

Joshua.

Hazeline sighed and ran her fingers carelessly through her sun-spoilt hair as she hit the restart button. She was already running behind schedule as it is but her little brother, Joshua, had pleaded that he needed the computer to finish his school assignment; something he had neglected to do during his two weeks term-break and, going against all sense of dread and foreboding, Hazeline had agreed. What had occurred next has already been chronologically describe in the paragraphs above. Joshua had not only completed his assignment on the aforementioned computer but had also taken the liberty to install a whole troupe of never heard before games and software. That was what had caused the breaking of the camel’s back or…in a more modern and technological savvy term, the computer’s hardware to frizz. An old computer such as this should never have been subjected to such trials and tribulations. It was not programmed to, and now that it had been exposed, its poor hard drive could not take it. In a way, Hazeline felt sorry for the old thing. It had served its time and purpose. But now, it was time to look through the computer catalogue. Hazeline could not afford another delay such as this anymore. It was affecting her sanity and work.

A slight rustle in the day’s newspaper caught her attention and Hazeline shifted her gaze from the glowing screen of the computer to the printed words on the paper. It would seem that the headline for the day was “THE DEMOLITION OF A LOCAL TEMPLE”. Hazeline casually scanned the article and was surprised to find out that the temple involved was none other than the one she’d used to visit as s child. According to the article, it would seem that some politician or another had decided that the temple was redundant as the local residents were either not around or no longer living. “It’s a shame, a real shame to waste such a divine land (no pun intended) as this,” the politician had said shaking his head benignly while smiling in a sad puppy kind of way to the press. “But now with the building of a waste water treatment and sludge disposal plant on this holey land (here he pauses to chuckle heartily to himself) we shall be able to increase the standard of living of this wonderful city and its residents. I promise you, you won’t regret this,” he (the politician) then added raising his fist to the air in a forceful show of determination which was then followed by a round of applause (whether initiated or not, it was not known). The way that the said politician stood in the captured photograph triggered a long forgotten memory in Hazeline’s mind. Although not confirmed, Hazeline now had a sudden inkling that this was the very politician who was responsible for her current stress level. Sometime ago, the research grant in her work place had been revoked. Apparently the public had deemed it unfit to have a microbial version of pesticide. What had been the cause of this public outcry was the mechanism used to kill the pests. It had been announced (whether accidentally or not) that the method of pest control used by this strain of bacteria was to rupture the intestinal lining of the said pest and proliferate its way throughout the pest’s entire system causing the pest to die of bacteria over-contamination. And starvation. This piece of information had had the public concerned. Animal rights group had claimed that it was a cruel and inhumane way to kill the pest while the general public was concerned that the disease may spread to humans; nevermind that the target of the said bacteria was mainly worms and not mammals. Perhaps the press should have also mentioned that the receptor sites of the target were different as compared to humans and that the bacterial crossing over rate was practically non-existent. But what did it matter anyway? The deed has been done. Contracts and funds were revoked; the politician (if he was indeed the same person; he must have been. Hazeline recognized the stance) made an eye-watering speech on the dangers of uncontrolled science, and now Hazeline was left in charge of sending out funding request to anymore who’d seem like a potential sponsor. Wonderful life indeed. A sudden surge of anger bubbled within Hazeline as she once again stared at the picture of the politician. I wonder how do these irritating specimens manage get themselves involve in practically everything? Hazeline thought as she scanned through the next article of the day.

The next article had not included the politician this time (thankfully) but rather the face of a sprightly young man. Beneath this photo was the caption “MAGICAL MYSTERIES OR SCIENTIFIC MADNESS?”

That’s odd…magic and science rarely went along with each other thought Hazeline as she proceeded to read the article. Magic was a term used only by people who could not explain things scientifically; and science? Well, science tended to take the magic out of things…


But the article itself was proving to be an interesting read. According to this piece of news, a scientist named Dr. Kyou had managed to create sentient beings out of what he terms as fel essence; substances that went against nature and captured souls.
Captured souls? Goodness…what was this guy thinking when he said that? Hazeline thought as her eyes widen with shock. No scientist in their right mind would ever dream of saying that their experiment involved souls. No sane researcher that is…or…could it be that Dr. Kyou was some sort of paranormal investigator? Hazeline guessed that he was as those were the only relatively ‘scientific’ people who’d ever get away with telling others about the possibilities soul capture and nature’s abnormalities. A rather shaky branch of science to pursue a career in thought Hazeline as she folded the newspaper. The computer by this time had restarted and a pop-up icon asked if it should retrieve the files that were lost due to the sudden shutdown it experienced earlier. This was indeed a pleasant surprise. The computer had never been known to do such a gesture of thoughtfulness before. Smiling inwardly, Hazeline then reached for the mouse and clicked the ‘ok’ button. Perhaps there was still hope for this tough old patient yet.

Meanwhile, the newspaper and its contents were left forgotten….

A week had already gone by since the arrival of the briefcase and yet, apart from a littered table full of notes and scribbles (mostly summarized notes taken from the booklet as well as what internet and library sources she could find), Hazeline had nothing to show for it. And to make matters worse, Mrs. Bediever’s mood was not encouraging at all throughout the past week. Her disapproval towards Hazeline’s decision to keep the black briefcase containing the vial and bottle from Lab 305 was very obvious; even to the most ignorant of people and all day, Mrs. Bediever hovered about the house and shop like an immense thundercloud of doom. Even Joshua (who could be oblivious to most things when he had a game in hand) had taken subtle but effective measures to avoid the direct and raw emotions of the expressive housekeeper; mostly by staying back in school after classes more often or making excuses to visit his friends. Hazeline could not blame him for it (since it was her idea to keep the bottle and vial in the first place) and at times she had even wondered if it was really such a wise choice after all.

After another fruitless hour of pouring through piles of books borrowed from the library as well as those that could be found within their own bookstore, Hazeline gave a tired sigh. Finding a soul to capture was harder than she had thought. Granted that the instruction manual had said that any soul would suffice but Hazeline had decided from the very start that having the soul of a cockroach being turned into something that she had to be responsible for later was not a feasible thought at all. In fact, it was the fear of accidentally trapping the soul of a random cockroach and other such nastiness within the soul bottle (and of course the fear of Mrs. Bediever finding the bottle and throwing it away) that had made Hazeline lock the briefcase containing the bottle securely within her cupboard at all times for safety’s sake.

A series of short raps on the bedroom door indicated that it was Mrs. Bediever who was knocking. Hastily, Hazeline swept away all her jotted notes into the nearest drawer that she could find and opened the door.

“Hazeline, I will be going out this afternoon to do some grocery shopping and perhaps visit a friend or two. Could you look after the shop on your own? You’d probably have to scrounge up your own dinner too later on as I might be late in returning; I hope I am not bothering you, am I? ” Mrs. Bediever asked and although it was subtle, Hazeline could see that the old dame had cast a quick glance into her room; probably to see if she was still working on the soul bottle and fel essence sent by Lab 305. And as if she could read Hazeline’s thoughts, Mrs. Bediever turned to face the young woman. “I hope…you aren’t still at it are you?”

“Oh err…well…I…ah…,” faltered Hazeline, unsure if she should tell the truth or give an answer that would satisfy the concerned housekeeper. However, due to her faltering, the old dame was quick to catch on. “I see, well take care then Hazeline and remember, it isn’t our right to play with the life and souls of living creatures,”

“Y-yes, of course Mrs. Bediever! And don’t worry; I’ll take good care of the bookstore and will close it up properly after business hours,” promised Hazeline as she watched the petite figure of Mrs. Bediever left the front door with a shopping basket in hand. “Just have a good day and enjoy yourself Mrs.Bediever,”

Once she was sure that Mrs. Bediever was gone, Hazeline then settled herself comfortably at the counter of the bookstore with mug of chocolate and was about to tally up some figures regarding the sales and purchases of the shop when her eye caught the day’s newspaper on the far left of the counter. Mrs. Bediever was probably reading it this morning thought Hazeline as she reached out and took hold of it. The shop’s account could always be done later.

After browsing through the entertainment section, Hazeline had begun to move on to the local news section when an article on the second page caught her attention. ‘TEMPLE WITH A TEMPER’ was the chosen headline of the article and as Hazeline read on, she was not surprised to find out that she was secretly rooting for the old worn-down temple with its ancient carvings and paintings. And according to the newspaper report, it was said that that particular temple which was mentioned briefly sometime ago and was due for demolition, was still standing strong despite all efforts to tear it down. For example (the newspaper said), tractors and bulldozers would mysteriously malfunction just as they reached the temple’s gate while attempts to enter the temple itself was barred when two large trees had been uprooted during the recent storm and now lay securely across the temple’s entrance. “It looks almost as thought the temple was preparing itself against a siege,” One local was quoted saying as he stood observing the demolition process. “Although why that is so, I do not know. We were told that after the first two failures, rituals were done to relocate the temple and its deities to a different location and that the relocation process was a success. No idea why the demolition can’t go on though …,” The article then went on to explain about the geological properties of the land as well as its magnetic field which may have some scientific effect on the electrical components of the machines involved. But what exactly were these effects on the machines were of no interest to Hazeline as she reread the article once more; this time, with a sense of increased excitement bubbling away within her chest. Not that she’d believe in supernatural things of course; Hazeline considered herself far too practical for that; but it would be interesting check the place out at any rate before the demolition process actually succeeded. The young lady then decided that since today was a slow day anyway, she’d close the shop early and head out. Joshua was staying over at a friend’s place for the night and it would probably be ages before Mrs. Bediever returned. She’d have plenty of time to visit the temple, have a nice lunch outside and return home with time to spare and none would be the wiser for it.

Having thought that, Hazeline then turned the “Open” sign on the shop’s door to “Close”, took the black briefcase containing the soul bottle and fel essence from her room, went over to the garage where her car was located and started its engine.



The drive to the temple was all in all, rather uneventful and Hazeline made it there safely sometime past lunch hour. Stepping out of the car, Hazeline noticed that there was no one about. Probably because it being the weekend; most workers were only working for half the day and probably left early. For this Hazeline was also somewhat thankful as it would have been a problem to try to explain to the burly workers that she intended to visit the temple that they were trying to tear down. Hazeline had no doubt that she’d probably be turned away faster than she’d have time to explain the purpose of her visit.

With the black briefcase held tightly within her grasp, Hazeline then carefully made her way across the uneven landscape that led to the temple. Along the way, she noticed that the two trees that were reported to have been blocking the temple now lay to one side of it. Perhaps someone has already removed them thought Hazeline as she approached the building. One of the front doors was slightly ajar and Hazeline squeezed herself into the temple’s compound. Apart from it being completely devoid of people and urns containing smoking joss sticks as well as figures of deities; the building itself had not changed much since the last time Hazeline had visited it as a child. In fact, as Hazeline wandered through the temple’s now vacant halls, there was still a faint but lingering scent of incense emanating from the old walls of the temple. Feeling nostalgic as well as spooked by the familiarity and emptiness that seemed surround the building, Hazeline was just about to leave when she noticed that the door she had used to gain entry into the temple was now shut. That’s odd…I do not remember closing it and it looks far too solid to be blown shut by the wind; it would have made a sound if it did so anyway… thought Hazeline as she approached the closed door and gave it an experimental tug. The door did not budge. Hazeline then tried opening the door once more but this time exerting a greater force onto the door’s handle; but still the door would not open. Fighting the urge to panic, Hazeline then took a few steps away from the main entrance and wondered about the temple’s compound once again with the hopes of finding an alternate exit. However, she found none.

By this time, twilight had just about settled in and Hazeline felt a cold shiver run along the back of her spine as the thought of spending the night in a lonely temple did not appeal to her at all. Whipping out her cell phone as a last resort, Hazeline was dismayed to find out that there was also no connection to be had.

The sky had now begun to darken and Hazeline could feel the chill of the night’s air creeping up upon her. But as always, being the practical sort of person that she was, Hazeline decided that if she absolutely had to stay in a place such as this, she’d at least get as much shelter as she could. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Hazeline was just about to make her way into the interior of the temple when a calm but powerful voice called out to her from somewhere within the courtyard “Greetings, human,”

“Huh-?” Hazeline barely had time to exclaim as she turned around and saw the being that had spoken. Covered in a pelt of whitish grey fur, the creature (Hazeline was inclined to think of it as a ‘creature’ as she had no idea what it was) that was standing before her resembled a large feline in stature and grace but unlike any feline she knew, there was also something quite draconic about it. Perhaps it was the pair of horns that was located on the top of the creature’s head and the slightly tufted mane that ran along its spine; or perhaps it was even the fact that it had wings and a pair of menacing fangs that seem to radiate an aura of hidden ferociousness about the creature… Hazeline was not sure; but she rather hoped that she’d not have to find out.

A moment of awkward silence passed between them before the creature chose to speak again. “I said, greetings, human,” This time, there was just about the right amount of contempt placed within its greeting to snap Hazeline out of her astonishment. “I-ah…I mean..errr…” Hazeline stammered; her tongue quite literally frozen with terror. The creature after all had very sharp looking fangs…

Noticing Hazeline’s plight, the creature merely raised its eyebrows once before settling itself onto the paved courtyard of the temple. “You interest me, human,”

“I- WHAT?!” exclaimed Hazeline in horror at the being’s words. What could she had possibly done that would interest a creature such as this? Perhaps it was hungry and her intrusion into the temple had created a perfect opportunity for it to devour her! Stumbling backwards, Hazeline could barely contain her terror when the being spoke again. “Do not get me wrong. I am merely interested in the contents of the parcel that you are holding,”

“Y-You mean the contents of this briefcase?” Hazeline asked holding out the black briefcase before her. The creature merely nodded in reply and got up. As it made its way towards Hazeline, the young lady was surprised to notice that there was hardly a footfall to be heard from the creature and that intelligent looking eyes shone out from beneath its fearsome exterior. The contrast was simply astounding and in all her twenty five years, Hazeline had never met anything quite like it before. The creature was both fearsome and breathtaking at the same time.

Once it had reached what it thought was a suitable distance between them, the creature once again settled itself down in an almost catlike manner and eyed the briefcase. “Open it,”

“O-of course!” Hazeline replied, eager to oblige lest she should incur the wrath of this unknown being. “H-here,”

“Hmm?” the creature said as it took note of the briefcase’s contents. “Tell me, how did you come by an item such as this?” it asked indicating the vial containing the fel essence.

“It was delivered to me,” Hazeline replied casting a sideways glance at the seated being. Perhaps if she kept it occupied…

“Oh?”

“Uh…yes, it was sent over as a sort of experiment,” Hazeline then added; prompted by the creatures curiosity.

“Tell me more about this…experiment,” the being said looking directly at Hazeline as it spoke and Hazeline felt herself mesmerized by the creature’s intense gaze. “I-it might take a while to explain everything…,”

“Take all the time you need,”

“Uh, okay then. Here goes nothing…,” replied Hazeline and began telling the creature before her the course of events which led her to the possession of the vial and bottle. The creature was attentive, much to Hazeline’s delight and very soon, the young lady found herself sitting quite comfortable beside the creature and telling it about the nature of the experiment as well as the reason for her coming here. When it heard this, the creature gave an offhanded flick of its ears and asked “You mentioned that you required a soul, would it have to be of any particular type?”

“I don’t think so,” Hazeline replied. “The booklet did not mention anything about soul specificity so I had assumed that any soul would do,”

“I see…,” the creature replied and fell into a thoughtful silence. Hazeline, who by now could not contain her curiosity any longer turned to face the creature “So uh, I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but…what are you exactly?”

At this question the creature gave a soft chuckle. “I am a sentinel of this temple,”

“Really?”

“Yes,”

“But there’s nothing left to guard here is there?” ventured Hazeline as she eyed the deserted temple. “The news said that everything had been relocated to a new location,”

“Looks like they have left one out,”

“You mean you were left behind?”

“In a manner of speaking,”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Hazeline. Somehow during the course of the conversation, Hazeline had become the one asking the questions while the creature had become the one who answered them. This change in role however did not seem to perturb the sentinel and Hazeline pressed on.

“Why were you left behind?”

“I was forgotten,”

“Why?”
At this, the sentinel got up. “Follow me,” was all it said before disappearing into the inner halls of the temple. Scrambling up, Hazeline hastily grabbed the black briefcase and followed the sentinel into the temple only to find him standing before a thick wall. “Stand back” cautioned the being before raising one of his front paws and in one fell swoop, a portion of the brick wall was destroyed revealing a gaping black hole. Within that hole, Hazeline could just make out the outline of a large statue. Stepping past the sentinel, Hazeline approached the statue. Despite being covered in dust, the statue still looked as impressive and imposing as the real creature standing beside her. Hazeline guessed that this particular piece of work was probably done before the era of mass production and would have gone for a fortune if it was ever sold in an antique auction. Perhaps it was because it would have cost a fortune if it were ever to be sold that it was hidden behind these walls in the first place and ironically, left forgotten.

“Is…that you?”

“My representation,”

“It looks…similar,” said Hazeline glancing from one to the other. “It must have been hard work, carving this large stone,”

“It is not made of stone,” the sentinel said in a slightly offended tone. “Jade,”

“But it’s all brown!” exclaimed Hazeline in surprised. “Surely you don’t expect me to believe that there is such a thing as brown jade?”

“No, there is no brown jade,” agreed the sentinel. “But it has been a long time since my representation has seen the hand of a cleaner,”

“Oh, I see. Here, let me help,” said Hazeline as she took out a wad of tissue from her pocket. “I won’t be able to clean everything but…it’s definitely better than nothing,”

After half an hour of intense wiping and an aching arm later, Hazeline had only managed to clear away a portion of the dust coating the creature’s face but that was enough. From the glow of the moonlight behind them, Hazeline could see that the statue was carved out of a slab of beautiful white jade; not unlike the colour of the creature’s pelt. In fact, so detailed was the statue that Hazeline could really almost believe in it coming alive to guard the place it had been assigned to. As Hazeline stood to admire the carving, she was aware that the sentinel had also moved forward to inspect the statue. After a brief moment, the sentinel turned to face Hazeline. “Thank you,”

“Y-You are welcomed,” replied Hazeline as she dusted her hands. “It’s the least I could do,”

“I see…,” the sentinel replied once again relapsing into a period of quiet thoughtfulness; similar to the initial one when Hazeline had mentioned about requiring a soul for the experiment.

“Hazeline?”

“You know my name?” Hazeline asked feeling surprised. “But how?”

“You used to visit this place as a child…your grandmother called you by that name once,”

“And you remembered?” asked Hazeline in an even greater shock. “But that was such a long time ago,”

“Not to me, it isn’t,” the sentinel replied as it made its way towards the courtyard once more. “I remember those whose legend even time itself has forgotten,”

“Speaking of legends, you were interested in the vial containing the white blood just now. May I know why?” asked Hazeline as she followed the creature. “You said you were interested in it,”

“Yes, I was. The person whose blood it belongs to was a very honorable being. I recognized its purity,”

“You mean you knew the guy?” Hazeline asked in surprised.

“Not in person, but his legend,” the sentinel replied once again settling itself down. “Hazeline…would…my soul do for your…experiment?”

“W-what?! I can’t take your soul!” Hazeline replied horrified.

“But that was the purpose of your visit was it not?” the creature then asked. This time, there was a tinge of amusement in its voice.

“Yes…but I had thought well…,”

“I am old Hazeline and my powers are great,”

“But that’s still not a good reason for me to take your soul,” Hazeline snapped clutching the briefcase tightly to her chest. “That’s not a good reason at all!”

“I guess not,” the creature then mused as it stared at Hazeline.

“See? Now you just get that thought right out of your mind…,”

“No,” the sentinel replied flatly. “I shall not,”

“But-,”

“After a certain amount of time has passed, you would wish for a change too. Now that the temple’s gone and I have been stripped of my duty; let my soul be one with that essence. Let me be a guardian one again, let me be your guardian,” the sentinel said as it gazed directly into Hazeline’s eyes. “Though loyal I may be; I know when my time as a guardian is over. The new temple would have new guardians to watch over it and I do not wish to return to heaven just yet; I’ve grown to like humans and to be joined with an essence of that purity would be a great honour to me. Regardless of whether I remember it or not when I am reborned,”

“W-well…I guess if you have no problems with it…,” Hazeline replied carefully. “But I have now idea how you’d turn out to be once the fusion is complete,”

“It is fine with me,” the sentinel replied nodding. “One cannot choose how one will turn out even if one wished it,”

“Err… if you say so…,” Hazeline said as she took out the soul bottle. “Where would you have me place this? And are you really sure about this?”

“Placing it beside the statue should do and I am sure about this,” the sentinel said as it made itself comfortable once more. “And once you have placed the bottle, come and sit by my side and I shall tell you of the legend of the being whose blood is white…,”





The sound of something large and heavy crashing down upon the ground made Hazeline got up in a hurry. Glancing around, Hazeline was only lost for a moment before the events of the previous night came flooding back to her. After placing the bottle close to the jade statue, Hazeline had settled herself down beside the temple’s guardian and listened to its tale of the white blood (which was rather long and boring) and somewhere between its telling of the tale and the rising of the sun Hazeline must have fallen asleep only to be awoken by the aforementioned noise. Scrambling up in haste, Hazeline was horrified to find out that the statue had somehow collapsed (thus creating that loud noise) and fearing the worst, Hazeline rushed over to see if the remnants of the soul bottle could; at least be gathered. However, as she approached the crumbled statue, Hazeline was relieved to find that the soul bottle alright and even more importantly, filled with a gentle but glowing swirl of whitish grey light; similar to that of the sentinel’s pelt. So the soul capture was a success after all thought Hazeline as she picked up the bottle and as she did so, a small piece of jade; a part of the statue no doubt tumbled towards her. Picking it up, Hazeline was surprised to find that it had markings on it similar to that of certain Chinese characters. Tucking the piece of jade safely within her jeans, Hazeline quietly thanked the mysterious guardian and left the temple (the door leading to the temple had by this time mysteriously opened too).

Upon reaching home, Hazeline was greeted by the sight of a frantic Mrs. Bediever who was just a telephone call away from reporting Hazeline’s disappearance to the police. Her younger brother Joshua was there as well and he looked as worried as the concerned housekeeper and when the both of them spotted Hazeline, the sense of relief that came over their worried faces was infectious. After much hugging and scolding from both Mrs. Bediever and Joshua, Hazeline then settled down within the house’s dining room to relate the events which had finally led to the capturing of the soul. Joshua was speechless with awe while Mrs. Bediever was silent. Hazeline could tell that the old dame still did not approve of the catching of souls but now that a soul was actually caught, Hazeline was sure that the old housekeeper would not threaten to throw the bottle away. Now all that was left was to send the soul bottle as well as the fel essence over to Lab 305…

“…and done,” said Hazeline with relief as she hit the save button and leaned back with the air of someone who had just managed to meet the deadline (which was the case actually). “…and not a second too soon either,” muttered Hazeline as she massaged her temples.

Finishing the report had been a grueling task and the occurrence of certain unforeseen circumstances had not helped either. Firstly, her now decrepit and dysfunctional computer had died on her once again, but this time with a suddenness that was both shocking and heart stopping for Hazeline had, despite past experiences, not been saving her work every five minutes or so like any other sensible individual would under such circumstances. The problem however was solved when the computer repairman (was there really such a term as a computer repairman? Hazeline did not know but she’d always referred to them as such) had arrived and saved the day by somehow retrieving her lost files without so much as breaking a sweat. Hazeline could have hugged him for that but being the relatively reserved person that she was, Hazeline had merely grasped his hand (as a flood victim would to a fellow rescuer) and thanked him profusely before leaving him a relatively large tip with the bill that came with the cost of repairing the computer.

The next unforeseen hindrance that had prevented her from completing her report on time was the death of her seedlings in the tissue culture room. As part of her research involved the formulation of an optimum growth medium for various plant species, Hazeline had prepared an especially rich nutrient medium for the cultivation of a rather rare species of forest plants when lo and behold, a trainee had allowed her samples to be contaminated by fungus over the weekend and by the time someone had noticed the fungal contamination, practically a third of Hazeline’s seedling had to be autoclaved and thrown out lest the contamination spread. All in all, it had been a very stressful week indeed…

However, whenever Hazline entered her room, the first thing that entered her mind was not (for the first time in years) work related but rather something more of the supernatural kind for, within the confines of her room, lay the captured soul of an ethereal being. What exactly that specimen was, Hazeline was not sure but an uncle of hers who made his money through the sales of various luck bringing gizmos and gadgets had claimed that the being was none other than a Pi Yao, and upon further research, Hazeline found out that the Pi Yao was considered as a divine mythical beast that had the capability of transforming demonic energy or beings into wealth and usher in luck.

The soul of the said mythical being now lay swirling serenely in the glass bottle beside her.

“So when are you gonna turn it in?”

Startled, Hazeline turned around and noticed that her younger brother Joshua had somehow sneaked himself into her room and was now sitting quite comfortably on her bed.

“I plan on doing it this weekend,” Hazeline replied as she left her chair to sit beside her younger brother. Then staring once again at the bottle Hazeline murmured “Amazing isn’t it Joshua?”

“I’ll say,” Joshua replied as he followed his sister’s gaze. “I can’t believe that that thing had allowed you to uh…well…obtain its soul so easily…,”

“I think…it was lonely…,” said Hazeline tentatively to which Joshua let out a peal of laughter. “Fine, be that way!” huffed Hazeline as she batted her brother with a pillow. “You are the one who brought the subject up in the first place after all,”

“Okay! Okay! I surrender!” yelled Joshua as he parried Hazeline’s rather vicious pillow attack. “But could I come along when you drop it off? I want to see this ‘Lab 305’ you have been talking about,”


“Sure, but you’ve got to promise me something,” said Hazeline as she stopped whacking her brother.

“Depends on what it is,” replied Joshua cautiously. “If it’s about finishing my homework and stuff…,”

“No, nothing like that at all,” said Hazeline airily. “I want you to promise me not to tell Mrs. Bedievier about this,”

“But why?” asked Joshua perplexed. “She already knows that you’ve captured a soul…,”

“Yes, but I am afraid that she might just…attempt a last desperate effort to free it or something if she knew when the soul and fel essence was going to be delivered to the lab,” said Hazeline as she got up and fingered the softly glowing soul bottle gently. “I simply…couldn’t bear it if it were to happen…,”

“Why? What’s so special about it?” asked Joshua frowning. “You’ve been acting weird lately,”

“Perhaps I have,” replied Hazeline turning to face her brother. “But to have it otherwise would seem like…I am betraying it…or something. It was on the terms that its soul would be combined with the white blood that it had allowed me to acquire its soul so readily in the first place,” said Hazeline. “And if Mrs. Bedievier really does find a way to release it into the wide world…,”

“Oh, alright. I get the point. A promise must be kept,” said Joshua as he hopped off the bed and made his way towards the door. “But we are in this together okay?”
“Okay,” replied Hazeline smiling. “I’ll call you when I am about to go,”

“And I will be ready when you do,” replied her brother before closing the room’s door behind him.

Summary: Ongoing

Link can be found here

~: Chapter 7: Adaptation Period :~

Story coming soon...

Story: Coming soon...

Story: Coming soon...