Chapter 129 Free will.
HA\LF: Dead nor Alive
Archie landed on top of the giant tree, and he looked down but saw nothing but flowers that were as tall as a tree. He was fascinated by the scenery but he came there not to sightseeing but to see the Adam.
Archie stealthily climbed down the tree while the wind witch observed his surroundings and gave him a third eye of the situation. He managed to land on the ground but it was just silence other than the sound of bugs and birds on the trees.
âThis is making me nervous,â Archie mumbled under his breath as he looked around. âI donât feel any presence of parasite around here. Where do you think they go?â
âI canât feel anything as well, let me go and have a look,â The wind witch whispered into Archieâs ear and a gentle wind blew on his face.
Archie wandered around the big tree, he touched the grass and the flower, they all felt normal and the only difference was the size. He looked at the birds and saw they were ten times bigger than their original size, he was so confused by everything that was bigger than it should be.
While Archie was busy admiring the scenery, he felt a sudden presence right behind him and so he immediately turned around. He saw a man in a worn-out white shirt standing not far from him, he was surprised because he didnât even sense the guyâs presence at all.
Before Archie could open his mouth, suddenly he could feel dozens of parasites staring at him from the trees. Something felt weird and Archie decided to take a few steps back but then he stepped on something and when he turned around, he saw a parasite was ready to gouge his eyes with its needle-like arm.
Archie dodged it and immediately tore the parasite in half then he threw the body away and immediately dozens of parasites appeared out of nowhere. He realized that it wasnât because those parasites appeared so suddenly, but it was because of the flowers that made him hallucinate that he didnât notice their presence.
âWelcome to my island,â The man said with his arms open while Archie was being attacked from all directions.
Archie didnât have time to respond to the man because his life was depending on his strength.
âHow strong, do you think you can handle all of them at once? Especially when all your senses are deceiving you?â The man said and then Archie suddenly couldnât hear, feel, or see them again.
Archie looked around but they all disappeared again, and so he decided to run away from there because something was playing with his brain. But before he could leave the area, his body was being scratched and stabbed in all directions which annoyed him very much.
Archie swung his long claws around and he didnât feel anything at all so he decided to spread his wings and flew up high from the forest.
âWhatâs happening down there?!â Archie asked as he looked at his body was covered with open wounds.
The wind witch appeared next to Archie. âI realized that the whole biome is being controlled and manipulated by him,â She said as she stared down. âThose flowers made you hallucinate and lost all your senses because of it. So, if you want to fight them, you have to get rid of those flowers first,â
âAre you sure? Do you think itâs because of the flowers?â Archie didnât want to believe it immediately because he might be able to leave for the second time after the Adam knew he could fly.
âNo, but itâs the only thing that came out from my mind,â The wind witch answered.
âItâs more than that I believe because how can a being like you who donât even have a real physical body could be affected by it?â Archie said as he looked at her. âYou went there yesterday, and it didnât happen to you, so I believe the Adam was the one who did this, but I donât know how he did it,â Archie explained as he kept staring down.
Archie could ask the wind witch to help him prove her theory by blowing and making havoc on the forest with her power, but the problem was she wasnât allowed to interfere as well. She could only help by giving information and fighting the parasites other than the Adams.
âI canât fight them like this, I need insurance for my own safety because those parasites are so smart that they could hit my weak spots,â Archie said as he looked at the island where he stayed the night last night. âI think itâs time for me to eat the dragonâs heart tissue because if the parasites alone were enough to threaten me, I donât think I can fight him with just this,â
âItâs up to you, and if thatâs what you want, I can protect you while youâre sleeping,â The wind witch replied.
âYeah, Iâm going to need your help for that,â Archie nodded his head in agreement. âLetâs leave then,â
Both Archie and the wind witch left the island.
Archie opened his backpack and grabbed the dragonâs heart tissue, he looked at it and hesitated to consume it. He looked at the wind witch and then he nodded his head and started chewing it, it tasted nothing and it was hard like a rubber that it made his jaw hurt from trying to chew it.
âAlright, I ate it,â Archie said as he felt the pieces of the tissue stuck on his throat and tried to push it down. âNow we are going to wait,â He looked at the wind witch.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âI will be here when you woke up,â The wind witch answered.
Archie stared at the sky and his body started to feel warm, the fever was kicking in so he immediately grabbed his backpack and used it as his pillow. It was just silence and his eyes started to feel heavy that he stopped trying to stay awake.
The wind witch stared at Archie falling asleep and then she looked at the island because she could feel the parasites roaming around the beach. When she planned on dealing with those parasites, she heard footsteps from the shore.
âI told him to not consume it yet, but he didnât listen,â Eve said as she walked toward them.
The wind witch looked at Eve and she looked disappointed and worried at the same time. âHe believes that it was the only option since he wasnât confident with his current strength to fight him,â The wind witch explained.
âI know, I have been watching him from above,â Eve said as she sat down next to Archie with her wings folded on her back. âYou can leave, you must be tired of using your human form. I will be taking care of Archie until he wakes up,â
âEve, can I ask you something?â The wind witch asked as she looked at Eve with curiosity.
âGo ahead,â Eve said while she carefully lifted Archieâs head and put it on her lap.
âI have no idea about whatâs really happening between you and the men that are chosen by them. Iâm curious about how you feel about Archie,â The witch said.
âI feel comfortable and happy around him, he showed me the life that I have forgotten. Heâs also depending on me in some aspect that makes me feel like Iâm needed in his life, and that makes me really good about myself,â Eve answered as she gently stroke Archieâs hair because it gave her peace of mind.
âAre you not curious?â The witch suddenly asked a weird question that made Eve looked at her with a bit confused.
âCurious? About what?â Eve asked.
âFate,â The wind witch answered. âHave you ever thought about it before that everything that happened was already planned? If thatâs the case, donât you think your fate has been written as well?â
âWhat makes you think that my fate has been written?â Eve asked back.
âI donât know, maybe because I have been living all my life as a witch with no free will that I donât even know if my life has any other purpose than this,â The wind witch answered as she stared blankly. âIf you have no free will, then doesnât that means they have planned everything and prevented you from doing things that might change the plan, and in this case your fate,â
Eve was a bit shocked because she didnât realize that until the wind witch said that.
âIâm not saying that I hate it or complain about it because right now, I feel like I have a free will and Iâm fine with what I have and what Iâm doing,â The wind witch explained. âDonât you think that you and Archie are really meant to be together that everything suddenly moved really quickly as if they had been waiting for this moment?â
Eve chuckled and then looked at the wind witch. âI never thought about that, but as you said earlierâ¦â
âIâm fine with this even if thatâs what they want,â Eve smiled as she looked at Archie.