"Ishmael."
Cha Na heard soone softly calling out, but he imdiately found that the voice ca from his mind, not through the air.
The sun’s black spot grew larger, until, eventually, it completely covered the sun.
It was indeed a person floating in the sky, shouldering the strongest light of this world, so he was also engulfed in the deepest darkness.
The person ca closer and now flew in front of him—a handso man whose age was hard to guess. One only felt contradictory auras emanating from him, with red pupils that reflected both tenderness and brutality.
This person lifted Cha Na’s face gently with his hand, his thumb wiping the tears from his cheeks.
A hissing sound ca from Cha Na’s throat, but the man shook his head, signaling him not to speak.
"Ishmael." The man’s lips didn’t move, yet his voice ca through very clearly in Cha Na’s mind.
In contrast, the sounds of the surrounding soldiers were gone, the rustling of leaves in the hot wind also disappeared, and the chirping of cicadas vanished.
"Ishmael, co with ," the man spoke again.
Cha Na felt the ropes binding him dissolve, and the tal fra behind him beca as soft as putty. His body lifted off, drifting closer to the man.
The person reached out to one side, and a soldier flew up; his hands ca together as a look of terror crossed his face.
The wounds on his body instantly disappeared without a trace.
Cha Na felt as though he was in a dream; he turned his head to look around—no camp remained, the surroundings had been leveled, black soil beneath his feet, and all the soldiers were floating in the air.
After his injuries were healed, Cha Na finally saw the man’s face clearly—four fiery red pupils sparkled.
"You are..." Cha Na’s eyes brimd with tears.
"You’re no coward," Wei Tianyang said.
He grabbed the boy’s hand, pulling him aloft a bit higher.
Cha Na saw the floating soldiers, their heads slowly detaching from their bodies, their spines following into the sky, blooming in bursts of flesh and blood.
He did not ask, for he knew who the man was.
Cha Na tried to speak, but the wind in the sky carried his words far away. All he could do was fly alongside him.
Cha Na felt a force cradling his body, maintaining a rather comfortable posture in flight, his hand tightly grasped by the man. In silence, they flew over the ocean, soared over unnad continents, and arrived at a strange land.
At last, they alighted above a hotel, Cha Na landing on the windowsill, bending at the waist as he jumped down.
It was a spacious room, ornately decorated. Even though so objects were worn, one could still tell they were expensive.
The first living person to catch his eye was a girl in a black dress and white shirt, her long black hair hanging loose, with light makeup on, quietly watching him.
"I am Starbucks. Hello," Starbucks said.
Cha Na didn’t understand her, as she was speaking in Spanish, and he only knew the dialect of his hotown.
Then, the man also entered the room, closing the window and turning the coffee canister on the cabinet.
"What’s your na?" Starbucks continued asking.
Cha Na shook his head.
"Just call him Ishmael," Wei Tianyang said.
"Alright," Starbucks nodded.
Cha Na saw the girl smile, speak a few words to the man, and then she left the room.
The man turned, carrying two cups of coffee over. His mouth didn’t move, but his voice transmitted into Cha Na’s mind.
"From now on, you go by Ishmael," he said.
"Are you...Wei Tianyang?" Cha Na sought his personal confirmation.
Wei Tianyang nodded.
"I’ve heard your voice, heard it many tis, I know what you’ve been through, similar to my past self," Wei Tianyang said with a smile.
Cha Na fell to his knees, head lowered, crying out loudly, "Please... Please help ... end that war!"
Wei Tianyang looked at the boy kneeling before him and said nothing.
"Please... You have that power! Help !" Cha Na pleaded.
Wei Tianyang placed his coffee cup on the windowsill, shook his head, and said, "I refuse."
Cha Na raised his head, his face a mix of disappointnt and confusion.
He asked, "Why? You are the War God!"
Wei Tianyang laughed, replying, "I am not the War God."
"Then... then who are you..." Cha Na suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
"I don’t even know what god I am, for people expect different things from , and in many minds, I’ve beco various gods," Wei Tianyang explained.
"If you’re not the War God... then do you know the War God?" Cha Na asked.
Wei Tianyang smiled, took a sip of coffee, and said, "No, I haven’t seen any other gods up in heaven."
"No matter what! You have the power... I beg you... Help ... I want to annihilate that tribe of foreigners! I want revenge!" Cha Na exclaid.
Wei Tianyang sighed, leaned against the wall, and said, "Ishmael, revenge is endless. War cannot be completely eradicated."
"Why not?! Annihilate the enemy! Then the war will end!" Cha Na insisted.
"War is a natural phenonon, a normal state of mankind. It is human limitations that lead to this. It’s inevitable that people will beco divided until thoughts and wills are unified," Wei Tianyang stated.
"I have to go back... I need to... I need to avenge Nick... my parents... and those who took care of ..." Cha Na clenched his fists.
"Go back? You would die aninglessly, no one will rember you, you can’t change anything, wars won’t end, they will just cycle, like an endlessly running machine fueled by oil... You are that oil," Wei Tianyang explained.
"You’re so powerful... why don’t you do sothing for this world?!" Cha Na challenged.
"By doing nothing, I do better for this world," Wei Tianyang said with a smile.
"You refuse to help ... then why did you save ?" Cha Na continued.
"I respond to all children in need of help, adults should bear their own mistakes. You are innocent, you shouldn’t suffer this pain, I provide you with protection, that’s what I’m currently doing," Wei Tianyang explained.
"I don’t need such protection! Besides, my people are suffering! I’m no coward, I can’t just run away alone!" Cha Na argued.
"So you want to go back now?" Wei Tianyang asked.
"I’m going back... I will continue to fight!" Cha Na declared.
"Next ti you get caught, I won’t co to save you," Wei Tianyang warned.
"I won’t pray to you anymore... You’re not the War God in my mind! You’re a coward, hiding in this hotel, indulging in what you think are good deeds, nothing but deceiving yourself!" Cha Na raged.
"In this world, only I transcend alone. I see the essence of war. I pulled you out of the mire, yet you think I’m rely entertaining myself?" Wei Tianyang moved towards Cha Na, his four pupils flashing red.
Cha Na, too tense to speak, slowly backed away, trembling.
Wei Tianyang picked up the coffee cup and handed it to Cha Na, saying, "Drink this, and then follow Starbucks to your room, and get a good sleep."
"I... I want to go back!" Cha Na said.
"Get out of my room," Wei Tianyang ordered.
At that mont, Starbucks tily pushed open the door, smiling and gesturing Cha Na to co.
Cha Na could only carry the coffee cup and follow Starbucks out of the room.
As the door closed, Baphot peeked out from under the bed, telepathically asking, "Why do you care so much about this boy?"
"He’s too much like ... I don’t want him to die a aningless death on a senseless battlefield," Wei Tianyang sighed.
He then turned to Baphot, angrily saying, "Damn it, why are you hiding under my bed?!"
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