The Dawn of the New World

He tried to get up or call for help but all he could manage was to flail about on the ground, much like a chicken with its head cut off.

Hao Xuan could see the bird beast hanging from the ceiling right above him. At the end of one of its claws was his heart which was still beating forcefully with a purple hue. Even now Hao Xuan could feel the piercing pain in his chest, almost as if the heart was still connected to him.

The Nightmare Hounds that had backed off due to the intrusion of the bird Ether Beast closed in once again. Their silhouettes appeared at the edge of Hao Xuan's vision and he could see their brightly colored gemstones releasing ethereal lights.

Maybe it was due to the severe loss of blood or maybe it was something else, but either way, it was too late. One of the smaller hounds closed in on him, sniffing around his body cautiously.

When it was sure Hao Xuan wasn't faking it and was in fact at death's door, it signaled the others before quickly biting off his entire right hand for itself.

Hao Xuan's body continued to twitch and quiver from the pain but there was nothing he could do. But he still felt the pain when the hound's teeth pierced into his skin, broke his bone and ripped apart the flesh. It was all he could focus on.

Thankfully that sensation didn't last very long. Hao Xuan saw the hound suddenly go flying away with his hand still in its mouth. Tasgall leapt into the frame, landing another two punches right in the hound's face mid-air, forcing it to drop Hao Xuan's severed hand.

Tasgall then bent down and placed his hand over Hao Xuan's gaping wound. Hao Xuan couldn't see what was happening but he knew that simply applying pressure wouldn't do anything at this point.

A quarter of his chest was missing.

"Hang....on..." Tasgall anxiously signed while trying his best to slow down the bleeding, "Help...is...coming!"

He looked to their left, making Hao Xuan turn his head just in time to see Burak rip a hound in half with his bare hands while the rest of them charged forth towards them.

"N-No....you will...catch...their....attention..." Hao Xuan forced himself to utter the words of warning and rightly so. They were making too much noise.

But his was voice was too low for anyone to understand. Hao Xuan saw the humanoid ether beast stand up in the distance, looking in their direction.

Meanwhile, Isak and Jarek reached him before anyone else could.

"Move your hand, let me see," Isak ordered, making Tasgall pull back to reveal the half a foot wide hole in Hao Xuan's chest. His pupils shrunk and his expression turned grim.

Burak came up from behind them at this point, bending down to check Hao Xuan's condition as well.

"Can you stop the bleeding?" he asked Isak in a low voice.

Isak gave a stiff shake, "It will be useless. His heart is gone, there is no way to regulate the blood."

Hao Xuan's arms and legs had gone cold. He couldn't feel anything below his head and even his hearing was coming and going, making it that much more difficult to understand what they were saying. He had to read their lips to know what was happening.

'Hah, you didn't leave me behind!' he wanted to say but the situation did not give him the opportunity.

Using the last bit of strength he could muster, Hao Xuan grabbed Burak's arm, "Go...lea...ve...me.."

The humanoid Ether Beast was walking towards them.

Burak shook his head, taking Hao Xuan's hand and placing it on his chest, "We didn't come this far for you to die here. We will ALL make it out! Just hang on for a little bit more, my mother will definitely be able to save you!"

That was all Hao Xuan picked up before his vision gave way as well.

'No! Just go already you dumb barbarian! What the fuck is wrong with you!' he wanted to scream and curse out loud but his consciousness was already starting to fade.

Deaf, blind and mute, he was teetering on death's door in every sense of the word. He was scared, much more so than he thought he would be.

Hao Xuan closed his eyes, his mind bringing him back to the first few months of bliss he had upon arriving on the beast world almost 4-5 years ago now. He had even lost count of how long it had been but it still felt like yesterday.

Sprinting across the fields on Joey's back, racing with Maaz almost every single day. And then leaving the Khan family and meeting Xu Qing.

'Ah, you again. Why do I keep thinking about you even now?' he asked himself looking up at her like he had done so many times before.

She hummed that same tune as Hao Xuan rested his head on her lap, taking his last breath.

'If there is another life and we meet again, I hope you would at least tell me the truth about who you are...'

His body went limp.

*Crack*