"Hiss... Hiss... Hiss... hiss..."
"Master... You are bleeding..."
Rak's vision was blurred. He was panting as if he were exhausted.
"Hiss... Hiss... Master," Sao continued calling out.
Rak said, "I... I am okay..." With a heavy groan, he used one hand to cover his other.
Rak slowly approached the temple with heavy steps while the sun was not yet ready to set. People who had come to pray was shocked to see him.
"Oh... look, someone is covered in blood. Is he alright?" another person added.
"I think it's a prank. If he was really bleeding, he wouldn't come into the temple,"
someone else said as a small crowd formed in front of the temple.
Seeing the crowd, a monk came to see what was happening.
On the monk's hand, there was a mantra bracelet made of wood, its color neutral.
He touched the bracelet as he walked and looked. He saw Rak— pale, covered in blood, and no longer having the strength to take another step.
Suddenly, the color of the bracelet turned white. The monk looked at the bracelet, touched it with his fingers, and closed his eyes. Then he said quickly, "We are sorry. He is someone from here."
His voice was calm and soft. Upon seeing the monk, the people became quiet, even though they were curious and wanted to know what was going on.
The monk said, "He is a student who came to help us. He always comes like this. There are elderly monks here who all like him, so he always pretends and dresses like this."
The crowd whispered, "I knew it, something like that..."
"Then we are going," someone added. "Hey kid, don't do this! We were really scared," someone said.
After the crowd left, the monk helped Rak enter the temple. They did not go to the main temple; instead, the monk led him to the area where the students lived.
In the distance, the sound of another monk could be heard: "You need to paint it like that... oh, that was good..."
After seeing the monk carrying Rak, the students and the other monk helped move Rak into a room and let him stay there.
The monk who carried Rak said, "Can you stay here? I have to inform the Master."
Just as he said, he went to inform the Master.
In the deep hall, made of cold and rough stone, a blood-red light filled the space.
Someone sat in front of the light, chanting mantras that echoed against the walls. A few wet drops of water fell, the only sound alongside the low chanting.
Drip... drop....
Drip...drop.....
The person was painting on a blank sheet of paper—drawing with no colors at all.
Slow and calm footsteps approached from behind.
"Master... may I..." the monk said, keeping his composure.
The Master stopped painting and asked in a low voice, "Is there something?"
"Master, there is an outsider. It looks like he has faced a punishment. He is injured, and he carries the presence of a white soul," the monk said, bowing his head.
The Master slowly rose from the floor, and together they went to where Rak was lying.
The Master stood in front of Rak, who was still unconscious.
"We can't do anything; he will heal himself," the Master said, looking down at Rak with a pathetic expression.
"Hiss... Hiss..." Sao was hiding in Rak's robes. Sao looked up at the Master and hissed, "Don't do anything to my master... Hiss... Hiss..."
"I am not doing anything," the Master replied, looking down.
"Hiss... Hiss... You can understand what I am saying?" Sao hissed.
The Master didn't reply, as if he didn't want to talk. Instead, he thought to himself " Why did this child face punishment? What is going on demon realm ?"
The Master sighed and said to the monk, "Call Nut. Tell him to stay here."
"I will call him, but he is probably with that child..." the monk said with hesitation.
"Didn't I tell him to stay away from the Phassakorn family?" the Master said furiously.
He closed his eyes in anger and headed back, ignoring the little snake.
"Hooh... Hoo... Hoo... Hoo..."
A large owl flew in circles around the temple. Darkness had already filled the air.
There was no wind, and even the single leaves seemed frozen in place.
The owl continued circling. "Hoooh... Hoo... Hoo... Hoo..."
"A beautiful pair of eyes— pitch black and deep. Fully white and fluffy, its very look held ancient mysteries..."
It dove inside at high speed toward the Master, who sat on the outside balcony with his eyes closed, chanting mantras.
"You are here, Thuet," the Master said without opening his eyes.
"Hooh... Hoo... Master... I found what you asked of me," Thuet the owl replied. "The soul escaped from the Door of Eternity, and the second son of 'Lord of Demon Realm' was assigned to bring it back."
"Hooh... Hoo..."
The owl continued, "After that, the child failed his mission. What I have learned is that the child, Rak— the half-demon—has withdrawn from the succession and stripped himself of his title. The demon realm is in a mess. They other demon elders want to kill him, but Rak has escaped."
"Hoo... Hooh..." Thuet went on. "Master, the outside realm is in chaos. If that child is caught, they will kill him. Master, can you not...?"
"It is enough," the Master interrupted.
"What about the soul? Did you find it?" the Master asked.
"Hoo... Hooh... I did not. Its presence is nowhere to be found.But Master... even the demons do not understand why a soul would leave the Door of Eternity, especially when it was so close to salvation, only to go and kill humans."
" I will continue the search, Master," the owl said, flying off to circle again and resume its hunt.
The Master slowly opened his eyes and whispered, "Why does every single troublesome one come here? The past was the his father, and the present is the son."
The Master sighed. "I need to pray harder. Well, who knows what other secrets this world is holding?"
He looked into the darkness with envy, thinking that the dark, at least, must know some secrets.
Rak slowly opened his eyes as the light woke him.It's already morning. He let out a sudden scream. "Ah...!"
Sao, who had been sleeping on Rak's chest, was startled and jumped from the bed.
Nut, who had spent the whole night cleaning Rak's body and changing his clothes, had fallen asleep nearby out of exhaustion. He also jumped up in shock, nearly cursing Rak for the sudden noise.
Rak looked at Nut, and Nut looked at Rak.
Suddenly, Rak started crying—very loudly.
Nut stood up, clueless, and quickly covered Rak's mouth with his hand to silence him.
Rak stopped crying and looked at Nut, grabbing Nut's hand and smelling it. Rak continued to sniff him curiously.
"Wait... don't sniff me like a dog!" Nut said. He looked at Rak and thought,' Oh, he even looks like a cute dog now.' Nut cleared his throat.
"I am in the temple, right?" Rak asked, his eyes searching the room.
"Mm... you are in," Nut replied.
Suddenly, Rak's stomach let out a loud growl.
Nut smiled. "Can you get up? If you can't, I'll go get you something to eat."
Nut spoke, but Rak looked at him as if he had something important to ask. "That kid... is he okay? Has he already gone?" Rak asked.
Nut paused, thinking to himself:"Now he looks like I'm the one who abandoned him".
Nut immediately cleared his mind and asked with a bit of doubt, "Which kid are you asking about? Oh... Nong Artit? Is that it?"
He looked at the clueless Rak.
Suddenly, harsh footsteps sounded from outside. "Nut! Nut!" Mix called out his name until he burst into the room.
"He's here! He's here!" Mix panted.
"Mix, calm down," Nut said, hitting Mix's head. "Calm down and tell me." Nut glanced at Rak, who still looked confused. "Mix, stop this whining and tell me!"
"Nong Artit's grandfather came to pick him up," Mix finally said.
Nut's expression changed instantly. "Is he going back?"
"It's already been too long since he came here, so he's heading back. What I heard is that he's going to his father's hometown and won't be coming back here," Mix said, his voice full of sadness.
"Mix, I have to go!" Nut said in a rush and ran outside.
He left Rak and Mix alone in the room.
"Sawasdee khab," Mix greeted Rak, but there was no response.
"Hi... how are you?" Mix tried in English.
"Hello?" Mix said again. Still no response. What the—is he deaf? Or is he from another country? But why does he look like someone from right here?" Mix wondered.
"Wait,is he a ghost or something? Oh, Nut... why did you leave me alone? I'm scared! "
"Oh... don't look at me like that... but his eyes, they somehow remind me of something. What is it? Oh! The stray dog I feed every day on the way home from school! Oh, Mix... what are you thinking?"
An awkward smile blossomed on Mix's face, while his head filled with all those stupid thoughts.
On the other side of the temple, the two of them struggled to speak, looking at each other but not wanting to fail.