Hunter flew through the sky so quickly that from the ground he would have looked like a shooting star. Very soon the woods and fields gave way to the immense blue expanse of ocean, and the land disappeared behind him. He had to constantly check his staff to make sure he had enough magic left and wasn't in danger of falling into the sea. When he was sure he was close enough to his goal, he took Flapjack and hid him inside his cloak; the Palisman made a slight chirp of annoyance, but he didn't take pity on it. "I know you don't like it" Hunter grumbled. "But you knew what you were in for when you chose to follow me, I haven't hidden from you what kind of person I am. You were the one that wanted coming with me so much, so shut up and stay under my cloak. In case you haven't realized it yet, Palismen like you don't end well where I'm going"
Ahead of him the sea mist cleared and an island appeared. It was relatively large, more than a kilometer long from side to side; it seemed no different from a normal atoll, one of those found randomly among the waves in the vast expanse of ocean. But that island was... strange. It looked sick. There were no trees, bushes, or any kind of vegetation above it: not even the tiniest flower or blade of grass grew anywhere. It was covered exclusively by a slimy film similar to a viscous powder that gave it a greenish color. It was as if life had repudiated that place... but that wasn't the scariest thing about the island. Those who came from the sea couldn't notice it, because from their perspective it appeared only as an enormous mass of rock; but Hunter, who was looking down at her, could see it very well. The island was hideously angular, so much so that the small mountains that made it up looked more like gigantic, horrible twisted elbows or bony, spindly fingers; and its sides were warped and curved, and despite if viewed from the ground they looked only like fjords, from Hunter's point of view they were more like enormous fins and sometimes tentacles. But the strangest, most deformed and most frightening thing was the upper part of the island, composed of a small rise with two large peaks rising into the sky, an unusual combination for a mountain... but to Hunter, that so-called mountain seemed rather the top of a giant head with two hideous curved horns above it.
The boy pulled his cloak tighter. "Whatever happens, don't stop hiding. No matter how horrendous and terrifying what you see and hear, if even my life appears to be in danger, you don't move and let me deal with it" he told Flapjack. "My uncle mustn't see you at all. If he notices you, we're both dead. No... actually, we're worse than dead"
The bird chirped worriedly, but listened to Hunter and ducked under his cloak, moving as little as possible to avoid detection. Hunter began to descend towards the island, and as he did so he could see the outline of a large amusement park in the center of it, in which there were thousands of kids having fun like crazy. Hunter closed his eyes and took a deep breath; he knew he shouldn't look at them, or he would feel guilty and yell at them to run. They didn't know what awaited them there... but it was now too late, even if he had decided to sacrifice himself to warn them there was no way to escape from that island. The only result he would have achieved... would have been that his golden mask and his head would have been added to his uncle's private collection. He could only ignore them and close his heart to their suffering; he'd done it hundreds of times by now, he had to keep doing it for as long as it took.
He landed in a corner of the amusement park, hidden from everyone, and there he hid his staff and the body of the greater basilisk, then he slipped out trying not to be seen and started wandering around. The kids seemed confused to see a guy dressed like him and with a masked face, but they weren't too surprised: there, where all of them could do what they wanted, there were not uncommon those who enjoyed dressing up in the most disparate costumes. Someone even tried to talk to him, but when they realized that he wasn't interested, they gave up. Hunter was grateful to them for this: he didn't want even the slightest connection with those people, since he knew what fate awaited them. He continued walking through the park, passing from one ride to another, whose architecture, while extremely refined, was truly strange: every ride, building, and even the smallest furniture was constructed using a spiral style; the columns were composed of sculptures that resembled intertwined snakes, and the same was true for the walls, the table legs, the wardrobes, everything. No... more than snakes, they resembled thousands of tentacles that emerged from the ground and merged together to form the rides on which the kids were having fun. Maybe some of them had even noticed this strange oddity, but they probably thought it was some strange fetish of the architect: after all, how could there be tentacles there? Everyone knows that tentacles could emerge just from the bodies of living creatures, not from the ground...
It didn't take Hunter long to find who he was looking for: in the middle of the crowd, almost to the side, there was a man who was serving cotton candy, ice cream and all kinds of sweets to the festive kids. The man was tall and slender and had long gray-brown hair, and a slightly aged face that gave the impression that he was a loving grandfather; he wore a long white and golden robe that covered him completely, leaving only his face uncovered, and even his hands were covered by gloves made of gold. But the most singular thing about the man were his eyes, blue as no human eye could have been, and which almost seemed to shine as if they were sapphires. Hunter grimaced as he saw the man smiling and joking with the kids and serving them whatever treats they asked for. If only they had known what that cute old grandpa really was... but they didn't know and they would never know until it was too late. Hunter took a deep breath, and then he stepped forward: "Uncle, I'm back!"
The man looked up and as soon as their eyes met Hunter felt a shiver down his spine; then the old man exclaimed with a smile: "Dear nephew! You're finally back, how was the trip? Oh, sorry, I'm a bit busy now. Go and wait for me in the usual place, I'll be with you straight away"
He was acting, of course; Hunter knew it. He simply didn't want the boys to see the real him, and what he had made wasn't a request but an order. Hunter nodded and went back to the place where he had hidden his things, filmed them and then flew unseen to the top of the island and circled. Seen from his new perspective, it resembled a skull in all aspects, it was simply bent so that the empty eye sockets and sharp teeth seemed simply natural oddities. Hunter entered what looked exactly like the mouth of a giant monster and descended into it for a few dozen meters, until he reached a platform raised above the sea water that quite explicitly resembled a tongue. He sat there and waited.
He didn't have to wait long: his uncle appeared from the darkness without even a sound. Now he no longer had the same jovial expression: on the contrary, as soon as his eyes saw the dead greater basilisk, his eyebrows arched and his teeth gnashed. "Did you kill your prey again?"
Hunter lowered his head. "I'm sorry, I had no other options. But I preserved the body perfectly; it can be used to create another one and..."
His uncle's right hand suddenly transformed into a tentacle and traveled towards him almost instantly, passing within two millimeters of his cheek. Hunter tensed and his heart skipped a beat, but he didn't dare show such emotions. "Forgive me, my liege. I spoke out of turn"
His uncle withdrew the tentacle and it transformed back into his hand. "You're an idiot" he said, grabbing the corpse of the greater basilisk. "Even if I only need a small part of this body to create as many as I want, a live subject is still better. I'm starting to seriously think that you don't try hard enough since you keep bringing me only corpses... if I had known that you would have been so lazy I wouldn't have told you this detail. Tsk... well, let's see what this miserable creature has to offer"
A horrible sound spread through the cave, similar to that of a scolopendra mixed with that of a rattlesnake. Hunter shivered and watched his uncle slam the greater basilisk on the ground, or rather, on that tongue-shaped rock they were standing on, which started to tremble after a few moments, moving as if it was tasting something. His uncle's body then deformed and his hands turned into scythes composed of black and purulent slime, and he tore the greater basilisk into pieces, exposing all the internal organs one by one and placing them on the 'tongue'. When he finished, his expression was not happy at all. "Tsk! This body is useless, it won't last even four months with these limitations. Let's at least try to get something good out of it... KIKIMORA!"
The sea water surrounding the tongue-shaped rock boiled slightly and a small creature emerged from it, no more than half a meter tall and with red skin and a dress too big for her size, so much so that it covered part of her face; on her head was what looked like an octopus, whose tentacles also covered one eye, and her hands and feet had claws instead of nails. "Did you call me, my liege?" she asked, bowing in front of me.
"Take this greater basilisk and examine it. Even though I have already checked it, there may be some magical residue that I am missing. Subject it to a careful analysis and inform me if you find anything useful. If not, when you are finished throw the remains in the my throat, so I can consume them. At least I will get a tasty meal out of them, I haven't eaten a magical beast in a while" the man ordered.
The creature named Kikimora nodded. "Yes, my lord. It will be done" she said, and after grabbing the greater basilisk's corpse she dragged it away with a strength that seemed impossible for such a small being to possess and dove back into the water, disappearing with it among the waves. Hunter caught a glimpse of what looked like a fish tail disappearing into the murky water.
His uncle started walking in circles. He was irritated, and somehow the cave they were in seemed to reflect his mood: a rumbling from deep inside filled the air. "Another failure... as always. And you don't make it any easier" he said, fixing Hunter with his icy eyes. "I hope you know that your conduct continues to be very disappointing. You continue to choose the simple path of killing your prey instead of bringing it to me alive. You have no idea of the secrets that can be obtained with a good interrogation... but out of guilt of your inability or more simply of your laziness, I don't have that option. You're becoming useless, Hunter". His voice became like the sound of a crawling reptile: "This body I'm using won't last much longer, I'll need a new one soon. Tell me, Hunter: do I have to create another one, or do I have to use those useless limbs of yours in a more profitable way than the one you use them with?"
The boy shuddered at those words. He knew very well what 'becoming useless' meant if it was his uncle who said it. He had to change his mind immediately, and he knew how; although with some guilt in his heart, he said to him: "Please, wait a moment befor get angry, my liege. I have found something that may be exactly what you are looking for"
His uncle stopped walking and stared at him with such intensity that Hunter felt like he was peering deep into his soul. "What is it?"
"A puppet"
"Do you think it's time to talk about stupid toys!?"
"Not just any puppet, my liege. A living puppet"
His uncle's face suddenly became interested. "I'm listening. Continue"
Hunter took a deep breath, then he explained: "Her name is Luz Noceda. She's a puppet made of Palistrom wood. She talks, walks, and moves just like any other human being. I haven't been able to verify this, but there's a possibility that… her body can hold up unlike all the others"
His uncle's eyes became much more interested and happy; he looked like a shark that had just smelled his favorite prey. "A puppet made of Palistrom wood... a human-size body, but built with that strong material. It sounds promising..." he muttered, but then he became even angrier. "Why didn't you bring her here!?"
"That puppet had powerful friends, and my magic was almost exhausted after the fight against the greater basilisk. I thought it was best to return first and..." Before he could finish his sentence, Hunter saw his uncle's hand again rise up; he closed his eyes waiting for the blow, but the man's fingers closed on his staff instead. After just a moment, the orb on it glowed like the red light of a dying star, and Hunter felt more magic than he had ever felt before. "Go get her right now!" his uncle ordered him. "Find her! Go all over the world if necessary, but bring her to me!"
Hunter bowed immediately, as he always did when his uncle gave him an order. "As you wish, my liege"
"Good" his uncle said, and then he touched the stirrup again; a strange symbol appeared on it, only to fade after a few moments. "I have placed a new spell in your staff. With it you will be able to contact me wherever you are. If when you find her again this Luz will be still surrounded by enemies too powerful for you, call me immediately, so I will take care of her personally"
Hunter was surprised: his uncle had never given him a communication spell before. It had to be said, however, that before then he had always successfully completed the tasks and had always brought him whatever he asked for; he had never used the 'I couldn't take her because she had too powerful friends' excuse. His uncle probably wanted to make sure he didn't lose the puppet a second time.
"Are you still here? MOVE!" his uncle roared. "Go! Fly everywhere, search every house, every village, every field, every forest, every mountain, every plain, every possible corner of the world! Don't return until that puppet is in your hands! Bring her to ME!"
That last word didn't emerge from his uncle's mouth, but rather it came from the depths of the cave, which for a moment seemed to writhe and move like a throat, and the tongue-shaped rock they stood on moved as well. Hunter felt a wind stronger than a hurricane hit him and his eardrums nearly exploded from the extremely loud sound. He didn't have it repeated and immediately jumped onto his staff and took flight, rushing towards the exit from that strange cave that resembled sharp teeth. As soon as he was out he flew away from the island, heading back towards the continent.
His uncle let out a furious growl as he watched him walk away. "If that incompetent fails again, I'll create another one... hoping it will be more efficient" he said to himself, then a monstrous grin formed on his face, much wider than that of a normal human being could have. "Well... I'll console myself with my favorite show. I've entertained these brats long enough; it's time for them to entertain me!"
While Hunter flew off the island as fast as the wind, Flapjack peeked out from his cloak and chirped something. "Why did I do it?" Hunter said with a hysterical laugh. "Because that's how things work here, you idiot! If my uncle were to convince himself that I was no longer useful to him it would be the end of me. Now instead we can travel the world again and live a little longer"
Flapjack chirped again. Hunter's hands tightened on the stirrup. "I know it's mean and petty, if not cruel" he said. "But this is about her and me. I have no problem choosing me"
Another chirp. "Run away? Are you kidding me?" Hunter sniffed. "Do you think that if I could escape, I wouldn't have done so many years ago? No one escapes from this place, least of all me. Even if I were on the other side of the world, if my uncle understood that I betrayed him, it would be my end. And I have no way to defeat him, so I'm stuck in this life"
Flapjack hugged his wings close to his body and let out another chirp. "In your opinion I should be braver since I'm someone who hunts monsters for work?" Hunter exclaimed in a surprised voice. "Flapjack, don't live by illusions. That is not a monster... that is the devil himself"
Flapjack looked like he wanted to say something more, but remained silent and flattened himself against Hunter's chest. The two of them flew away from the island, heading towards the setting sun. Behind him, Hunter could hear the kids' joyful laughter turning into horrified screams; and then, a horrible laugh arose, louder than any human, any animal, even any monster could ever utter, and it was a terrifying laugh, the mere sound of which penetrated Hunter's bones and seemed to cut them with a razor blade, piece by piece. The boy closed his eyes and tried to ignore that horrible sound, but he couldn't ignore what accompanied that laughter: barely audible due to the noise above them, but very evident to Hunter's ears, because he knew them too well by now to don't recognize them instantly, there were other sounds, sounds of desperate kids. Hunter could hear screams, calls for help, cries, desperate voices calling for their parents; and in the midst of that cacophony, even the braying of a donkey.
And here we have, the first Belos debut. Really a nice guy, right?