Chapter 19 – The Sun

"They convinced their mother to support them and rebelled against the king. They thought if they combined powers, they could beat the king, but king proved to be far more powerful. King tried to reason with his sons and wife whom he loved the most, but they did not budge unless king promised to kill his youngest son; King utterly refused."

"In the greatest war, the world had ever seen, King fought against the eight greatest powers of the time while he only had one son and his clan standing beside him. After a long, tiring battle king ended up killing all his seven sons and his beloved wife."

"King was devastated and heartbroken from all this bloodshed. He had killed the same people; he had pledged to protect all his life. Killing the very same children, he longed and prayed and wished for all his life and the woman who filled his life with happiness and love, broke the king; he could not live with himself and vanished to be never found or heard from again."

"After king's disappearance, the heirs to his deceased sons claimed the thrones in their respective territories and the eighth son ruled over the central kingdom for very long time." Baba finished the story.

Sai was string at Baba with amazement. They kept quiet for some time until Sai realized that Baba is finished with his story.

"That's it?" Sai was confused.

"Yes…" Surprised, Baba turned to him "…Why? What else do you wanna know?"

"What about the Sun?"

"Ohhhhh..." Baba hit his forehead

"Yes." Sai nodded at the obvious.

"Cool story though. Right?" Baba winked at him as he smiled with embarrassment.

Sai nodded.

"Hm. Let's see…" Baba pondered for a while as he brushed his beard with fingers "…Celestial Weapons had never chosen any of the seven sons to be their masters except for the eighth, who was chosen by 'the Sun'. During the war…" he continued "…If the legend were to be believed, eighth son died in hands of his brothers more than once but every time, he miraculously returned to life."

"It was rumored that 'the Sun' had the ability to govern over the realms of life and death and it made eighth son virtually immortal."

"So… he never died?" Sai exclaimed in shock.

"He did…" Baba smiled.

"What happened?" Sai frowned with confusion "How?"

"Beats me…" Baba shrugged "…legend is silent about him."

"May I continue…" Baba bowed a little with his hand on his heart and said sarcastically.

Sai oblivious to his sarcasm nodded to permit with a smile.

Baba glared at him like he just saw something unsavory and continued with a sigh.

"After, death of sons, Celestial Weapons were also lost except for 'the Sun' that remained with eighth son. Eighth son renamed his clan after his mother's and continued to rule over Central Kingdom."

"Other seven families could not forget the war and blamed eighth son and his clan for all the causalities and disaster across the world. They always hated them for deaths of their forefathers or founders and this rivalry only grew over time. However, rumors about eighth son's immortality and power kept them away from waging a war, openly."

"Eighth son…" Baba paused as if he was gathering his thoughts "…who was fully aware of his neighboring clans' intentions, sealed 'the Sun' in one of King's Temples. The seal was designed to constrain 'the Sun' from disappearing as a measure to keep his family safe, after he died."

"After death of eighth son, none of his heirs were chosen by 'the Sun'. His descendants decided that every child of Elasta, after they reach puberty, would try to tame 'the Sun'. It was handed down from one generation to the another alongside Will of their ancestor. In due course, 'the Sun' ended up becoming just an heirloom and the Will became a legend."

��Elasta lost sight of its true purpose and believed that it was a lucky charm that brings luck, prosperity, health and wealth to the clan…" Baba exhaled "…If I remember correctly, they worshipped it as well."

"'the Sun' remained in their possession until it vanished from the temple. Elasta clan turned the whole world upside down, looked into every nook and cranny of the world in search of their heirloom but it was never found or heard of again. Only the legend of the Sun lived." Baba sighed.

"That's it…" Baba smiled.

"So…" Sai was thinking hard "…So…, you are saying that my mother could be from Elasta family?" Sai was confused "…that's why… she wanted me to find and bring her 'the Sun'" He looked at him inquisitively.

"That would have been my first guess but there is one glitch in that theory."

"Glitch?" Sai did not understand the word.

"Problem…" Baba rolled his eyes.

"Oh…" Sai chuckled. "…what problem?"

"Entire Elasta clan was massacred by King Ebdi Jalal around a billion years ago. Chances of you being their descendent are Zero especially when you are only…"

"twenty years old." Sai finished his sentence.

Baba nodded in agreement.

Beep… Beep… Beep…

A loud siren went off.

Baba sprung up from his seat and ran out of the room.

'Another Warrior…' Sai thought as he saw Baba leaving.

Every time siren went off, his room would lock itself off restraining him from entering the Communication Hall.

Sai was curious by nature, so he had really tried leaving the room earlier.

He got up reached the door, grabbed the doorknob, and tried to pull the door open with all his might. When it did not work, he put his right foot on the wall and pulled again but in vain. His stubborn nature would not let him quit; this time he put both his feet on the wall and pulled like a maniac. Door did not open but doorknob broke off; with a jerk, he fell on his ass and rolled over once or twice on the floor.

"Ugh…" He got up rubbing his ass, whisked his clothes off and went straight to his study table.

He would do that every time the siren went off, thinking, 'it might work this time'.