It was a silent night. The weather was clear with not so much as even a cloud on the horizon, which was quite a rare occurrence these days.

A cool breeze blew in through the forest, carrying with it the scent of freshwater.

The lone figure was hunched over the dried-up creek, staring in the direction of the large body of water some distance away. The moon and the starry sky perfectly reflected on the water's mirror-like surface.

The figure belonged to an aged man from the looks of it. His entire upper body was hidden under the raggedy old hood he was wearing for protection from the cold, revealing only the bottom half of his face which had a light stubble.

He sat facing the direction of the lake, humming what sounded like a nursery rhyme while gently swaying back and forth as if cradling a newborn.

He sat in that position for what seemed like an eternity, accompanied by nothing but the occasional gust of cold wind and the sound of small insects and wildlife that it carried over from the nearby forest.

But this serene moment came to an end when the sound of footsteps came from behind him. The man turned his head halfway to peer towards the approaching figure which belonged to a tall and thin man with dark circles around his eyes.

If Hao Xuan was here he would instantly recognize this man as the creature formally known as Tomas. (CH 577)

Seeing his face the first man looked away, staring at the lake once again.

*tap*tap*tap*

Tomas walked right up to the man, standing beside him with the same affable smile as he had back in the pit. But his smile widened even more when his gaze fell upon the picturesque view in front.

"What a beautiful place," he commented, "Quite peaceful, I think."

The man who was still rocking back forth came to a slow halt.

"You think?" he asked curiously.

Tomas nodded, "Yes. Even after all these years I am still not used to the human's idea of peace. It continues to elude me to no end."

"Why?"

"Because it is illogical. There are times when you lord over a flawless ecosystem and scream injustice, but then other times when your world, your very existence and reason for being is on the brink of extinction yet somehow, somehow you manage to delude yourself into thinking everything is still fine, that peace still prevails."

"All you have to do is look behind you to see the truth, but even that is never an option. The animals have an excuse, they are not sentient. What about you?"

The man was looking in Tomas's direction. He shook his head lightly, "Are you not human then? Why do you speak like it has nothing to do with you."

Tomas chuckled, raising his chin towards the sky with no small amount of pride in his words.

"Humph, I have long since broken free from the shackles of humankind. Lord Ba`al has taken me under his wings and allowed me to gaze at the 'cosmic truth'. These temporary notions of peace do not exist in my vocabulary, nor did they ever."

The man looked away, resuming his watch of the moon's reflection on the lake. He seemed uninterested in continuing this dialogue but still managed to throw out a question.

"Then tell me, what is this cosmic truth that has set you free?"

It looked like Tomas was waiting for just such an opportunity and jumped to answer but whatever drivel he was about to spout did not have the opportunity to leave his mouth. His body went taut, shuddering for a short moment before relaxing once again.

The man was waiting for an answer when he noticed the abrupt silence. It wasn't just from Tomas not talking but every other type of sound had also stopped. All the noise coming from the small insects and rodents nearby was gone, even the wind had stopped howling.

A hush had fallen over all of creation.

He became alert. His back straightened as he raised his head to look towards Tomas. And just as he expected, a change had occurred.

*Bzz*Bzzz*Bzz*

As if given birth by the man's gaze, a swarm of flies had surrounded Tomas. There were so many of them that nothing above his neck was visible. It looked like the swarm WAS his head now. He couldn't even tell if he was looking towards him or not.

The incessant buzzing bore into the man's brain like a parasite, attacking his psyche in a bid to bring him ever so close to madness.

"Did you also come to teach me about the 'cosmic truth'?" the man lightly inquired. His voice was low and it almost sounded like a joke.

Two distinctly different voices overlapping with one another came from the swarm of flies.

"You know why I have come."

The man shook his head, "My answer is still no."

"...."

"The one you seek will arrive soon.. I have made it so," the swarm spoke again.

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