CHAPTER 5.1: K.I.D.: THE CRUCIBLE — RENUAQ

CHAPTER 5.1: K.I.D.: THE CRUCIBLE — RENUAQ 

[08:15] 05.01.2090

City of Haust, 

Country of Bordumond,

Mahabumi Continent,

2305Km to the Northwest of JUSM tower

The ground shook. Ignoring the slight tremors, they got up and continued. "Zuu!! Don't dig too deep... Actually what are you even looking for??!..." Renu turned his head back to look at what Zuuri was doing. 

He knew that she would just pulled something ridiculously big and make the whole pile come crashing down, if left her unchecked. It wasn't a problem for her, but to him, it was a life of death situation. But still he didn't mind Zuuri being there. He just needed to check what the older girl was doing from time to time. 

"Hey... I'm helping you remember....." Zuuri declared while holding a ridiculously large piece of metal. 

"You didn't even bother asking me what i need right!! How do you know what to search for??" Renu doubled down with the most obvious comeback and followed it with the most obvious question. 

"Well you know.... i thought once i see it, I'll know it..." Zuuri whispered looking down while tangling her little fingers. Ashamed of her no brain response. Thinking if her father was right all along. But that thought never even made into her consciousness. It just rose up for a second and was pushed down to the deepest parts of her subconsciousness.

Both of them went silent. After a few seconds, their gazes met. "Ha ha ha ha!!!" Both started laughing uncontrollably. Both knew it didn't made sense so they laughed it off. As children who hasn't even reached the double digits would. 

The ground shook again. Renu fell on his back. This time he knew Zuuri had nothing to do with it. Then the ground shook again and Zuuri fell off the pile of junk she was standing on. 

The ground shook more again, violently. Piles of old hardwares, machine parts, vehicle parts and what not came rolling down. However, before the whole junkyard could come falling down, the terrors stopped. 

Both of the kids got up. Luckily none was buried inside the piles of junk and stuff. "I think we should go...", Renu came to Zuuri and grabbed her hand. He started waking towards the exit but a fierce tug held him back. 

"Eehhh... Do we really have to??!!" Zuuri held Renu's hand tighter and kept him from moving. 

"Come on!! Don't be ridiculous...we are leaving!!" Renu pulled his hand harder and harder but neither moved. Only after a few seconds did Zuuri sighed and moved from her spot. 

Renu understood mortal bodies, But not Zuuri. As long as she could remember, she used to practice her flight. She didn't need to know magic or use tools. She could do it. Just needed her body to adapt it. It was just like walking but both the reward and the risk were enormous. But to match it, Zuuri had a very sturdy body. During her flight practices, she walked out of deadly crashed like it was nothing. And her body was made for it too. It didn't even have a scratch.

However as they were about to leave, the ground shook again. Extremely violent. All the remaining piles came crashing down at them. Zuuri quickly pulled Renu close. Coiled her small arms around Renu's chest and took off. If there was one thing she learned from all those crashes, it was a zero delay response between her thoughts and actions. 

Even with all the layers on top of Renu, Zuuri was able to fully coil her little arms around Renu's chest and grab them for extra grip. "Ahhh ahhh.... hey, don't crush my che-" Renu shivered from the force and started his pain influenced lecture, yet he couldn't finish it. 

Zuuri suddenly lost altitude and went sideways. After a lot of screaming and Wriggling around, both adjusted to the flight. The cold winds crashing directly to their faces prompted Zuuri to slow down. Not because she was cold, but she could literally hear Renu shivering.

As they turned back to catch a glimpse of the disaster, they were greeted with a much greater disaster. Everything behind them was being covered with a pristine white. Like millions of white rabbits running down a slope. With the sound of their millions of little feet trampling over everything.

One of the biggest avalanches they saw in the last few years, were crashing down at full speed. Devouring everything in its path. They didn't know what had caused it, but seeing it, they knew one simple thing. It wasn't going to stop anytime soon. 

Zuuri did her best to carry Renu and get away as soon as possible. Leaving behind the giant, white colored disaster approaching them. 

Soon they reached Renu's house. Or rather the settlement like houses which lied in the furthest north of the Haust city. Just a few meters away from the never ending snowy mountains. Fortunately the avalanche didn't come so far. They were faste. Yet what awaited them was not something a child should ever lay their small eyes upon.

The settlement was gone. Crushed, flattened, and reduced to ash. In its place, a realm of inferno was born. Despite the bitter cold of the northern ice, the flames burned bright, swelling by the second to consume everything in their path. Rising high into the morning air, the black smoke pulled across the sky like a heavy curtain, plunging the world below into darkness.

"Grandpa..." Renu whispered unconsciously.

As soon as they set foot on ground, Renu rushed to where his house was. He ran, through the burning houses which still stood and the flattened houses reeking of burned pork. Yet his house wasn't there. 

Instead, what he saw was only a vaguely shaped disc not even 5cm thick. Completely flattened to the ground. As if an oversized elephant just stepped on it. Scattered around, he could find some of his tools which probably flew out with the uneven downward pressure. And mixed ro them was pieces of his grandfather's medical equipments.

"No...NO....NO!!! GRANDPA...." Renu screamed and started frantically rushing into the fire. Zuuri shouted and chased him inside. "Let go, Zuu, let go of me... Grandpa is still inside... he's still in his bed waiting for me to give his medicines.... zuu... let...me.....go...."

Forcefully, against the opposing strikes of Renu, Zuuri dragged them outside of the Inferno. They weren't even a few seconds inside. However Renu caught a glimpse of something glimmering of a pale white. Something that shattered his entire being. Small white pieces of crushed horns were scattered across on the burning ground.

Once out of the fire, both looked like mine workers. Covered in black soot. Most of their cloths were burned, but Zuuri didn't have any scratches or burns on her. However Renu had all of those and his bush like Azure hair was burned revealing two small white horns, intruding from his forehead.

Ignoring everything around him, the seven year old genius inventor crashed to the ground. Without a hint of light in his Azure eyes. And crashed to the ground as a lifeless doll. But soon he felt something warm around his neck. Something relaxing. Something that made swept away the dread in his eyes. 

Zuuri had knelt down and wrapped her small arms around Renu's neck. Bringing her face close to his. She didn't say a word. Zuuri just rested her face on Renu, letting him release everything.

Renu started bawling his eyes with Zuuri closely behind him. He arms coiled around him. But he couldn't indulge in that warmth for long. Through the gaps of his tears, he saw something. Something dreadful. 

The massive footprints that seemed to have flattened the settlement, didn't stop there. They continued south. Leaving behind a trail of massive stomps. Each burning brightly in the white snow. However, the stomps didn't seem like an animal. They just seemed like massive poles. 

And unfortunately, they were headed somewhere far worse. Somewhere more populated. And in their path was something that made Zuuri shiver. As both were facing ahead, both saw that. The tight grip Zuuri had on Renu, loosened. Without even realizing it, Zuuri mumbled with wide eyes. Her face displaying a terrified expression. 

"Mom...Nuu.......dad..."

Zuuri soon realized the meaning of the word uttered by her. Her grip on Renu loosened further and she almost got up. But she remembered one thing. Renu was in worst shape than her. 

Not wanting to leave Renu in his state, Zuuri looked back on him only to be met at eye level. "Go to your family...." Renu stated before Zuuri could even be surprised. However she regained her composure and asked in a disturbed voice, "will you be okay alone??"

"Yeah.....", he responded. And added with a smirk, "hey I'm the greatest inventor in the world...i will be okay" Renu confirmed but the smirk on a face that had just bawled his eyes out wasn't exactly convincing. 

Doubtful yet without much options, Zuuri let go of Renu and took off again with a nod and tears in her eyes. She couldn't take Renu with him. Although both had different thoughts, the interests were always in the others best interest. Renu knew he would just be dead weight while Zuuri knew Renu would be safe here, rather than following a trail of flaming stomps. As the bigger friend, she needed to look out for him.

As she flew forward, a stream of wind blew past. And in her trail, the fires died down. As if being slapped by the wind that Zuuri created. And near the flaming ruins, Renu was left alone. With no survivors in sight. 

Despite the arrogant act, Renu was, in fact, not okay. As soon as Zuuri left, Renu crashed down again. However he could not stay still. Because the burned pork and rotten mango smell started to diminish. He felt unusually chilly in the middle of the fires. And his brownish ears heard something get closer. He didn't even need to look back.

The avalanche was at visible distance. It was approaching the settlement and Renu at massive speeds. He got up to run but soon changed his mind. He was in no way able to outrun it or fly above it like Zuuri.

'What to do, what to do... is there something... anythi-' His running thoughts were interrupted by something. 

His eyes scanned the surrounding and he saw a snow-bike. It's metal shinning against the black smoke. As the sun peeking through the dark clouds after a rainy day. But that sun was just peeking. It didn't come. It was a snow-bike that was half-crushed. 

But he couldn't remain idle for long. He needed to get out of there. For his sake, and all those he will end up saving in the future. After all, the greatest inventor in the world getting buried in ice was just tremendously uncool. 

Renu rushed there and quickly examined it. Dragged it out of the snow, and fixed the engine within the first minute. The engine just needed to be connected properly and tightened. Fortunately he had all the tools he needed. The undermost layer of his clothes was a sleeveless jacket designed to hold them. He needed tools to dismantle the necessary parts from the junkyard after all. 

But that was where his luck ended. The rear was completely crushed and unusable. It must have had a tire with two wide metal pieces with spikes covering it, but that was gone. So he did the obvious. At least what he considered to be the obvious. 

Renu removed the front tire and fixed it to the rear. As the snow bike had a rear wheel drive system. And took a piece of metal laying around and bent it. Forming an L-shaped structure. It had a simple job. Balance the bike enough to use it with only one tire. And before even 3 minutes had passed, he had fixed it. Now all that it needed to do was, work. 

*KRAZ KRAZ KREAZZZ*

Even if not optimally, it started. Renu got on and almost pressed the accelerator. But then he remembered something. He looked at the burning settlement and almost got off the snow bike. 

'I need to take at least the horn pieces of grandpa with me... but the avalanche might reach me.. think stupid think....' He thought with a terrified expression. His powerlessness disgusted him. But if he was dead, there was nothing he could do. So he decided to not feel so powerless again. And for that, He decided to live. Once again. 

"Goodbye Grandpa, thank you very much for looking after me... for staying with me... now you can rest.... you don't have to worry about me. I will be fine. So, kick back, relax and find a good seat to watch.... because I am going to be the greatest inventor in the world!!!"

Taking one last look at his former house and saying his final goodbyes to his one and only family, Renu got on the bike and took off. Tears streaming down his azure eyes. But the dread in his face was gone. He now had a confident smile pasted on his face. 

Even if crooked and swinging, it started and went forward. With black smoke shooting out from the engine and a terrible sound of metal hitting against each other assaulting Renu's ears. 

'What is wrong with this... am I really that bad....' He thought but swinging to right and left, it picked up speed and after a few meters, it was going straight. And although not completely, the assaulting sound died down too.

Now, Renu and his quick fix snow-bike was heading along the path of the imprints on the ground. On the path of destruction infront of him. But Renu wasn't following the trail. He was following the a wind trail. He was following Zuuri.