15 CHILD AT HEART 7

Yizzy's eyes danced, sparkled and shone as witnessed his mother's torture and a feeling of restlessness yet lightness birthed in his muscles. Heat radiated through his chest as smile tried hard to escape out of his lips. And it eventually succeeded.

"Yavin, Zeke, Wiktor, Vadim... and Tamsyn. I'm extremely sorry for everything I have done!" His mother shouted as she got whipped on her thighs from the front. "I deserve this punishment. I know I do. I know, I..." Her blood dripped down and fell into the bowl underneath and turned its liquid redder than it already was.

Yizzy's smile subsided. He clenched his fist and turned away before hurrying out of the portal along with many other souls. Unlike him, the souls changed into thin air as they entered the human world. However, their presence could subtly be felt by him. The atmosphere around grew a lot dimmer and many lives were dying as darkness spread like a disease.

Soon after Yizzy came out, the portal closed by itself, and the energy gathered around him vaporized itself into nothing. And the next moment, hundreds of souls tried to enter his body, which he couldn't fight against and it rendered him unconscious.

By the time he woke up, weeks had passed and he was in his North Lapol kingdom, with Godrick beside him. In those few weeks, Godrick had taught various martial arts to members of different nations as per their choice, which enhanced the body, mind, and spirit of people.

Though they were unable to join hands with any of the Beyonder kingdoms — thanks to the Hell Crack incident caused by Yizzy — the world was still united with most of the other major kingdoms in what was called a Federal Union.

Things were exceptional for humans for the next few decades when they had broken their limits in many aspects. Martial arts had become a norm and those who exceptionally learned the arts were given the title of a martial.

Everybody knew that the world's first martial was Godrick who had looked younger as time passed, and even after living for hundred years, he had no white hair anywhere on his body. He would later be known as the only human who had become a martial at the ripe age of hundred.

Unlike Godrick, Yizzy didn't stand out too much. However, he involved himself more in political affairs but also taught some type of martial arts to others whenever he had the time.

Over time, Godrick gave ten honors for the common people to follow. These common people would eventually be referred to as Hollows. And the ten Hollow Honors described the qualities a Hollow must to live life to one's heart's content.

HOLLOW HONORS:

1. Have an open heart.

2. Be patient, honest, kind and calm.

3. Have a life of your own and depend on nobody unless you are disabled.

4. Pursue what you want to, not what you were told to.

5. Do foolish things with people you like.

6. Accept the flaws of others and know when to compromise.

7. Do not bear grudges or keep a record of wrongs that others do.

8. Take no delight in speaking the truth, for it's always born from within and spreads out.

9. Try not to love everyone but to love each other.

10. Assets make you careless. Liabilities make you careful. Having them both in your life will teach you the value of every entity of the world.

Though he wanted to add another honor — do not fear death — to the list, in the end, he never added it. Maybe, he might have thought it was the only fear that could never be erased from the heart of every living being — not as long as new lives were born.

The ten Hollow Honors became so popular that they spread to every kingdom that was a part of Federal Union, and even to some other foreign kingdoms. At some point, almost every family had a scroll painted with the ten hollows and a few of Godrick's teachings. It was called the Scroll of Scrolls. In time, some also referred to it as the Sacred Scroll.

For about a hundred and forty-three years, everything was peaceful for the countries that lived together as the Federal Union. There was a saying that nothing lasts forever.

New martials kept popping out from various parts of the world, more so than ever. Becoming a martial was more important than anything in the world at the time. People took so much pride in it, that nations took pride in winning the tournaments set between them. Over time, the results of the competitions affected the kingdoms in many ways, and especially those who lost the betting during the competitions were the ones who suffered the most. These sort of situations created inequalities among the kingdoms in the Federal Union.

The differences created egos, which grew so big that they didn't even listen to the words of Godrick and told him to not participate in political affairs as he wasn't a royalty. The increase in strength grew invisible horns on most people's heads, and Godrick realized that. He expected that people would eventually understand each other, but he got proved to be terribly wrong. He knew that greed was the most troublesome thing in the world but he later realized that it was still an understatement for it.

Greed bred people's ego and took them for a ride, as they disregarded peace and desired for individual glory at the cost of bonds at cultural and economic levels.

Most martials who fought against each other during big stages were his disciples whom he taught for decades and developed a deep connection with. Seeing them radically change after leaving his side, had saddened him to an unimaginable extent, especially since he put lots of hope on them being doing things greater than he could ever imagine. But he got proved to be gravely wrong as people who showered praises on his kindness for decades had now taken that as an advantage. Though they didn't dare disrespect him directly, they avoided him and his teachings.

New martial arts were invented by various martials, which gave birth to new struggles, new pride, and new habits. People with similar goals formed clans, groups, clades, organizations, guilds and such sorts of groups and divided the society into smaller sections — each of which sought the material wealth of some sort. As time passed, women were looked down upon more and more. The divisions between the rich and poor had furthered. And all new adverse things stopped human potential from growing into what it otherwise could have. Though the Federal Union still existed, it was only in the name.

Seeing the world turn into what it did, on one day, Godrick mysteriously disappeared from the eyes of everyone. The common crowd had never heard of him since then.

"So that's how Federal Union formed huh..." Lirzod took a deep breath. His heart beat in a strange manner, which made him feel unease. "But the Hollow Honors... Aren't they just random statements now?"

The old man nodded twice. "The ten honors didn't teach how a Hollow could become a martial. They only taught what a Hollow must strive for to live happily in their lifespan. During the time when becoming a martial was considered the greatest achievement, Godrick also made people believe that being a Hollow wasn't anything smaller than that. He wanted the martials to show the way for the future generations, but those same martials brought more and more differences between themselves and between them and the hollows."

"Hmm, no wonder the Sacred Scroll got put aside over time. I myself heard of it a few times as my clan heads spoke to each other," Lirzod rubbed his chin as he went into a deep thought and then shook his head.

.

"Though many martials were still corrupt, some of Godrick's disciples understood the danger the absence of their master had brought to the world. They remembered the words of their master: Those who climb a mountain doesn't climb it to stay at the top. Only the ones who look for a different mountain and continue their adventure would be happy. Some of his disciples who understood that Godrick didn't want to be their leader but brother — did their best to counterbalance the deeds of the martials but doing overly good deeds and turning people who were better than themselves into martials, and telling people to explore newer things."

"Hmm," Lirzod nodded to himself. "so that's how it was. These were the ones who overshadowed the bad deeds done by lot other martials. Our history makes more sense to me now. But..." He looked up at the old man. "Why all this? Why tell me now? What exactly for?"

"For once you've asked the right question at the right time." The old man softly smiled. "How does the pain you experienced in your life fare against what Godrick did in his life?"

Lirzod startled and paused for long. "For sure, nowhere near."

"Mm, you are more honest than I thought."

"Hmph, I'm the only honest guy in here." Lirzod lifted up his chin a little.

After a few moments of silence, the old man continued. "There's no better way of becoming a martial than using the knowledge you obtained from knowing how the early martials were born."

Lirzod nodded in repetition. "Hmm, becoming martials help us know the roots of many things, which helps us in becoming more and more perfect, like gods, right?"

"Nothing in this world is perfect. Nobody is perfect. Everyone has their flaws because Mother Nature designed us that way, and Godrick said that one must work on their flaws and be conscious of them. He said everyone must feel blessed to have born with a flaw or two. Even while growing up, he said it was crucial to have some flaw at some point. He said it keeps them grounded, keeps them human."

"You mean Godrick wanted people to have some flaws?" Lirzod jerked the head backward as his fingers touched the parted lips.

"I think he's spot on. Nobody is perfect in the eyes of everybody, but everybody can be perfect in the eyes of somebody."

Lirzod's eyes subconsciously looked at the birthmark on his palm, and strange emotions stirred in his heart. He kind of understood why even with the birthmark, he appeared perfect to his mother, and it turned his eyes wet. And as his eyes narrowed, a drop of tear slid down his cheeks and his body posture loosened. Flinching his head back, he stared at the old man. "What's his flaw?"

"He was overly nice to people, even to his disciples who no longer showed any respect to him. He worked on it throughout the time. But, he was like a child at heart. Once he took a liking to someone, he failed to objectively judge them for their deeds. And..." The old man tilted his head down, just a bit.

"His flaw won over his disciples huh..." Lirzod sighed deeply.

The old man took a deep breath and spoke, "The key to succeeding in life is to be a child at heart throughout your existence. A child lives according to his thoughts. The only selfishness of this world which is guilt-free is that of a child's." (Though the definition of a 'hollow' got metamorphosed over time, the current generations should have no problem in accepting this statement.) He inwardly sighed before speaking firmly, "A true hollow is a human at heart whereas a true martial is a child at heart."

Lirzod grinned from ear to ear. "My mother always treats me like a child well."

"Every mother does. But is there any special reason as to why she treats you like that?"

"Hmm, maybe because I tell others that she rarely wears the dress on her own. No." Lirzod shook his head. "Maybe because I daily hug her?" he shook his head again. "No, that's not it either. It may be because I still listen to her fairy tales now and then." he slowly nodded his head. "That's it. She's really good at it, you know. We used to sit out on the staircase in the lawn, me and Duera together get told many stories as we watch the moon and the stars, as long as it took for twin candles to finish."

"Now I know why you keep asking questions," the old man's shoulders hunched slightly.

"Is it wrong to ask questions?"

"Not at all," the old man rubbed the back of his neck. "But it can get annoying quick."

"O-Oh..." Lirzod's chin dipped down and spine bent a little.

"For a Hollow, home is the best school and parents are the best teachers. But for a martial, mountains are the best schools and Mother Nature is the best parent," A sense of calm and ease could be felt in the old man's voice. "You may be trying to become a member of Shambala Sect, but do not expect too much tutoring. Even the brightest entries may end up alone, without a master for their entire time as a Martial Child."

"No tutoring?" Lirzod was immediately displeased. "After doing all the hard work for joining the sect, you are saying we may not get chosen by any professors at all? That's just ridiculous."

(Guess he didn't get the point.) The old man sighed. "It's not ridiculous as long as it's just. Doesn't matter what it is, you got to earn it. Just because you are a young master of a clan, don't assume you deserved all the luxuries you've experienced till now."

Lirzod's eyes enlarged, "How... How do you know that I'm —"?

"Doesn't matter how I know about you," The old man's voice turned sharper. "Now that you've come out of your clan, it's time to stop snatching things from others and start earning things. If you don't... You will never become a Shambalian." The old man turned into leaves and spiraled away into the skies.

"Wait!" (I didn't even ask his name.) Lirzod was saying, but he got sucked into a portal which opened behind him.

The next moment, he popped out of a book and fell on his four limbs on the ground beside the bed. A groundnut fell on the ground right in front of him, and grabbed his attention for a moment. His hand reacted by instinct and he quickly put it in his mouth, so fast like how a lizard would snatch its prey with its tongue. As his teeth crunched the nut, he looked around, he realized that he came back to the room. He glanced at the pocketbook and quickly fetched it, and opened the cover. He touched the painting of the bell which was on the first page, but nothing happened. No matter how many times he touched it, nothing changed. He eventually sighed and put the book aside for a moment, before grabbing it again and flipped through the rest of the pages.

It was filled with lots of information regarding the ship. But what attracted his attention were the rules of Extensive Voyage. There were lots of them.

EXTENSIVE VOYAGE RULES:

Rule 1: You hold the responsibility for everything you do on the ship.

Rule 2: If you kill someone, and found guilty, then you shall pay the price with another life from your end.

Rule 3: If you look in the eye — without permission — at entries who are at least a belt higher than you, then you are responsible for all the trouble that knocks at you.

Rule 4: No abortion must take place on this ship. In case if it happens, both the mother and the father will be kicked out of the ship within nine days after the delivered date.

Rule 5: Teasing and ragging of most sorts are tolerated, but raping members of any gender will result in a death by thousand stabs.

Rule 6: If you don't pay heed to the orders of the commander of a deck, then that commander has all the rights to force you to stay at the given deck or lower.

Rule 7: If you're found bribing or blackmailing or refusing to listen to the words of a referee of any deck, you will face a review.

Rule 8: ...

There were almost a hundred rules, and before reading even a quarter of them, Lirzod put the book aside and rested his spine on the bed, his arms spread on both sides. He brought his right palm closer and looked at the mark on the palm, and after a period of time, a smile beamed out of his visage. "You are far more than I ever deserved to have… Mother."