A Devil's Praise

The boy cheered, nothing was more satisfying than mealtime.

Loretta opened the bag and pulled out a simple round loaf of bread. Devoid of any special ingredients, it was a food the elites of Babylon, the floating island, would disdain. But on the ground, it was a precious commodity, free of radiation and carrying a faint scent of wheat.

Wheat was as mythical as dragons on the ground. To Loretta's knowledge, only the sealed agricultural bases on the floating islands could cultivate such uncontaminated grain.

Watching her child take the bread with an almost reverent expression, carefully tearing it into small pieces and placing them into his mouth, meticulously licking even the crumbs from his fingers, Loretta felt a sudden pang of sorrow. If not for her so-called perseverance, could her child be living a better life now?

But it was too late for regrets.

After the sorrow came a burning anger. If not for that man, today wouldn't be like this. Clenching her delicate fists, Loretta pulled out a dagger from her bosom, sheathed in black leather. She drew the blade gently; it was a single-edged dagger with a ring of golden patterns on the spine. Its design was simple, adorned only with a red gem carved into the likeness of a devil's head at the hilt's end. Thus, the dagger had a fitting name.

A Devil's Praise!

A small room.

A bed made of planks, a patched but clean blanket—this was all the room held. Stepping down from the bed meant reaching the door; it was more a cabin than a room.

Asher sat on the bed, nestled in the corner. The orange glow from the ceiling lamp cast upon the boy's face. In his hands was a dagger, just learned from Loretta, named A Devil's Praise, and the tale of his father.

Father, a foreign concept to Asher. From birth till now, he knew only of his mother, not a single detail about his father. Loretta never spoke of it, the only exception being last year when he fought with town kids who taunted him for being fatherless. Asher asked Loretta, who responded not with answers, but with a few smacks to his behind.

Since then, Asher equated his father with punishment.

But tonight, Loretta was out of sorts. Recalling how she handed him the dagger, his usually gentle mother became twisted with emotion, shouting, "Asher, this knife was a gift from your father. Now, I give it to you. One day, use this dagger to plunge deep into your damned father's chest! Can you do that?"

Instinctively, Asher nodded, but he didn't understand why his mother showed such an expression.

A five-year-old couldn't comprehend the emotion called hatred. Years later, Asher would realize it wasn't just hate; it was a love so profound it could suffocate.

From love to hate!

He caressed the dagger's sheath, the best gift he'd ever received. Asher had long coveted Uz's small knife belted at his waist, promised to him at ten. But now, he had a far greater treasure. Asher swore he'd never seen such a beautiful dagger in town. The sheath gleamed softly under the lamp, and the devil gem refracted light.

If he had to describe it, only one newly learned sentence would do: This was just too cool!

Unable to resist, Asher drew the blade, the silver-white edge with its dark golden patterns took his breath away. He could see his own face reflected in the smooth steel, a mix of surprise and excitement. He licked his lips and gently ran a finger across the blade.

A chill, then a slight pain—his fingertip nicked by the sharp edge.

So sharp!

Far from scared, Asher was delighted. He quickly sheathed the dagger and sucked the blood from his finger, savoring the metallic taste before burrowing under the blanket with a soft chuckle. Soon, he drifted to sleep.

Unbeknownst to the boy, the tiny bloodstain on the blade began to move on its own, seeping into the steel. The dagger in its sheath returned to normal, but the devil gem on the hilt glinted with a faint rainbow light in the dimness of the bedclothes.

Three weeks later, the town welcomed its first winter snow. The silvery flakes fell gently from the sky, like a gift from heaven, painting over ugliness, concealing sins, and dressing the world in pure white.

Life on Earth was reviving.

After breakfast, Asher stepped outside. A thin layer of snow covered the ground, hiding the black and yellow paths, leaving a dazzling silver trail. He looked up, sensing something different about this winter.

Among the falling snowflakes, strange luminescent colors floated—reds, greens, blues, purples, a myriad of hues mingling with the snow. It was the most beautiful sight Asher had ever seen. He excitedly dragged a high chair from the house, climbed up, and tried to catch the glowing lights.

The lights seemed sentient, eluding Asher's grasp, none falling into the eager boy's hands. Yet he wasn't discouraged; his face broke into a radiant smile. Finally, one light landed in his palm. It was cool to the touch and burrowed into his hand, leaving a faint glow that traced circuit-like patterns across his skin.

The light vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Asher! Good heavens, what are you doing?"

His mother's voice startled him. He jumped down as Loretta rushed him back inside, "Didn't I tell you, staying in the snow will make you sick!"

Asher's cheeks were pink from the cold, and he exhaled a warm breath, "See, I'm fine."

Stubborn as ever, Loretta could only roll her eyes. Asher pulled her to the door, pointing up, "Mom, what are those?"

"Snow."

"No, no, I mean the things in the snow. They have many colors and they glow!"

Loretta flicked his forehead, "Stop talking nonsense, there's no such thing as glowing snow."

Asher touched his forehead, puzzled, glancing at his mother and then back at the sky. The glowing lights persisted, yet Loretta, and the other townsfolk, seemed oblivious to the anomaly in the winter snow.

At that moment, Asher didn't know what he had seen.

It was Source Energy, the primal energy of the universe. To see Source Energy with the naked eye was one in a million!

Something was awakening.

The world is often repetitive and monotonous, much like life in the town, day in and day out, year after year.

Three days had passed since the first snow.

That night, as Asher slept in a daze, he felt a cool sensation on his forehead, as if touched by icy fingers. He struggled to open his eyes. In the dim room, a blurry figure stood. Asher murmured as if in a dream, "Mom?"

The figure hummed in response, silent. The cool fingers danced rhythmically across the boy's face and body, lulling Asher back into slumber.

The next day, he had forgotten the night's events.

But today, Asher felt an inexplicable tension.

By evening, the feeling intensified. It was so strong that Asher couldn't sleep, his heart pounding, adrenaline pumping in excess, causing his pupils to dilate slightly as he gazed out the window. In those bright red eyes, the moon seemed unusually round and large, the majestic lunar mountains visible. As he watched, a sudden explosion sounded from afar, growing closer!

Startled, Asher rose from his bed. Gunshots and men's curses echoed outside, interspersed with screams of women or children.

Loretta burst into the room, swiftly climbed onto the bed, and shut Asher's small window.

"What's happening, Mom?"

She hugged him tight, forcing a smile, "I don't know, maybe Hazardous Species broke into town. It's okay, Uz and the others will handle it."

As she finished, several explosions erupted outside, louder than before.

Hazardous Species had breached the town before, but battles were brief and distant. Tonight, the blasts and gunfire seemed to spread within the town, advancing towards the center!

It's not Hazardous Species! A cold voice in the boy's heart declared.

Thud, thud, thud—

The frantic knocking sounded like a downpour, threatening to break the flimsy metal door.

"Stay here, dear."

Loretta patted Asher's head before leaving the room to open the door. Uz stood outside, covered in blood—his or something else's, Loretta couldn't tell. She saw a long, deep gash across his face, nearly to the bone!

"My God, you're hurt. Come in, I'll treat it," she said instinctively.

But Uz caught her hand, shaking his head, "No time. Listen, Loretta, take Asher and leave."

"This..." Loretta glanced outside, the town ablaze, "Hazardous Species? They..."

"No, Loretta. It's not Hazardous Species, it's the Predators!" Uz urged, "The men are holding them at the town entrance, but we can't last long. You need to escape now. Leave here, head to Gallic City or somewhere else."

He handed her two items: "This is a handgun, you know how to use it, right? And this is a grenade, pull the pin, throw it, kill anything that means you harm, okay?"

Placing them in her hands, Uz suddenly smiled, a radiance like their first meeting five years ago. Amidst the blood and fire, it was like a burst of sunlight: "I love you, Loretta."

She trembled, then gritted her teeth, "I know."

He laughed heartily, said nothing more, and left the cabin, charging towards the town entrance, resolute and undeterred!