Chapter 729 Don't Want To Be Alone, Again

Lee Seng landed on a tree branch and held the tree as his head continued to stare in the direction of the odd presence. A chord of notes played next to him, releasing Lily. The branch swayed under their weight as the wind died.

"Do you feel that?" Lee Seng asked.

"Yeah." Lily quietly answered. Her eyes glowed a mixture of pink and gold. Years of constantly using Energy Eyesight had made her well adept at it. A black smoky energy caught Lily's attention. She began to say something to Lee Seng when harsh winds kicked in.

"Argh!" Lee Seng and Lily yelped, fighting to stay on the branch. Lily yelped, losing her footing as she whipped away. Lee Seng turned and released himself, following. He lifted his hand and grabbed her, stabilizing their fall as the entire forest shook. Shouts from Revit caught Lee Seng's attention.

'This wind came outta nowhere.' Lee Seng thought. 'I should—'

"Argh!" The two plummeted to the ground. Lily managed to stabilize their fall, lessening the pain while Lee Seng's cosmic energy flickered. The two turned to look in the direction of the strange energy and noticed red eyes staring at them from deep within the forest. Lee Seng watched as a red mouth opened and began to say something in the wind.

"He has woken – I shall --- prepared." It turned and, like the sudden wind, disappeared. The trees rattled around Lee Seng and Lily as the presence disappeared. Lee Seng and Lily looked around, noticing the energy had disappeared.

"What did it say?" Lee Seng asked Lily as they stood up.

"I couldn't read it. It looked like gibberish to me." Lily answered.

'Was it speaking a language only I could understand?' Lee Seng wondered. He only knew English, Hmong, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, a bit of Thai, Fox, and Goblin. 'Between Lily and I, she would know four of the languages I know. So, if it didn't say something in those four languages, what language was it speaking?' Guards shuffled out for Lee Seng and Lily, noticing them right away as they checked their surroundings.

"Are you alright?" Guard 1 asked. "Any others with you?"

"Doesn't seem like it, sir." Guard 2 answered before Lily could.

"Did you feel that energy by chance?" Lily asked the guards.

"I definitely felt it." Guard 3 answered. "What was it? It felt… dark in nature." Lee Seng's eyes kept his focus on the spot he saw the dark entity.

"We should continue our search around in case there's damage from the sudden wind." Guard 4 suggested. The other guards nodded.

"Let's keep a look out for people, too." Guard 1 nodded.

"You two should be careful. Especially the Leader since you haven't been cleared by the Priestess and doctor, yet." Guard 4 pointed.

"Easy on him." Lily smiled. "He just wanted to stretch his legs. Right, Leader?" She turned to look at Lee Seng, but he was lost in deep thought. He was swaying side to side as Lily tapped him. He turned and zoned back in. Lily raised her eyebrows at him, and he turned to focus on the conversation he had missed.

"Hm?" Lee Seng asked.

"You wanted to stretch your legs, right?"

"Yeah." Lee Seng nodded.

"You should go back in Leader Chang." Guard 1 motioned. "Our scout saw something, and we want to make sure everyone's accounted for."

"Sure." Lee Seng nodded. He patted Lily and motioned to leave.

"We'll see you later then. Thank you for checking on us." Lily bowed. Lee Seng gave a small bow as the guards bowed back. The two made their way back to the gate.

'I couldn't understand all of it. Something about "he has woken. I shall" – it cut off and then the last thing I heard after that was, "prepared."'

'Hmm, this could be something.' Lily looked at him. Lee Seng nodded.

"For now, let's just see if the gang's back." Lee Seng stretched his arms. "Could just be an intelligent monster trying to spook us."

Lee Seng and Lily made their way through the growing village and into the home Lee Seng had known for only a short amount of time. The home had been built and left there for guests of Lily's family. It was currently being used by Lee Seng and the gang as an easy way for the doctor to quickly get to Lee Seng at any time.

Lee Seng grabbed the door handle and watched runes glow as the door clicked. He turned it and stepped into the dim room. A single lamp was on as Lee Seng slipped his shoes off and moved over to the couch.

"I guess they aren't home yet." Lily commented. She made her way to the sitting area and sat in one of the armchairs. Lily shifted and leaned forward. "What happened earlier? I thought you were doing okay."

"I feel fine. I really do. I just…" Lee Seng stared at his hands. "I'm not sure what happened… This is why I want to practice, but nobody will let me." He leaned into the couch and sighed. "I feel fine, physically. I don't really feel much mentally or psychologically. Emotionally… Well, it's been an emotional rollercoaster of trying to learn what happened, but nobody tells me anything… I don't really know if I am okay or not."

Lily leaned into her chair and nodded. She couldn't fully understand how Lee Seng was feeling, but she did her best to place herself in his shoes. He spent the last couple of months doing all sorts of things to get better. He fought endlessly to be able to stand without any assistance and then be able to walk and run on his own. Building that sort of stamina was tiring and Lily could tell it was wearing on Lee Seng.

The door silently opened, and Lee Seng sighed and flipped to lie on the couch. He raised his hand up into the air and stared at it.

"I don't want my friends to shoulder all the work. All the pain and suffering." Lee Seng quietly told Lily. Lily watched as the group slowly shuffled into the conversation. Lee Seng let out a sigh and lowered his arm. "Shouldering all of that… I know what that feels like. I did it – no, I constantly do it. Even though I have friends to help me, I feel like I was already set way behind everyone else. I'm already different because I was born into the Creator's family… Even though that was my circumstance, I still tried my best to play with the hand I was dealt.

"I tried to make friends. I tried to be a dutiful son. I tried to be a good bratty younger brother, too… I tried everything to get my dad's approval, but he never saw it… Even now, I wish he would see me as me. I'm not some kind of weapon. I'm not just a test subject. I'm his son…" Lee Seng's voice broke. "And everything that led up to this point makes me wonder if he will ever care… How many people have suffered? How many more need to suffer just because he wants to further the human race? It's unfair. What about me? What am I supposed to do?"

Lee Seng lifted himself up and turned to look at Lily. He hadn't even seen his friends stand near the entrance, listening with their pained faces. He cracked a sad smile.

"That's why I was happy when Keng came into my life. I had… I have someone to know exactly how I feel. I have someone who knows what I've been through. I have someone who doesn't see what the world tells everyone to see. I have someone who just sees me as me… I don't know what happened in the last two Earth years, but… I feel like even Keng's been trying to withhold things from me because he wants me to get better… Just like everyone else… How can I be better if I'm not included? If I don't know how everyone is? What happened in the last cycle since they left Earth? Are they sad they had to leave people behind? Does Olivia miss her grandmother? Does she wish she could see what happened to her home? Does Ritsuka dream and wish he could see his siblings and parents? Do they all have someone they wish to see again?" Lee Seng looked at Lily. His eyes shook with tears, falling. He kept his somber smile and wiped his tears.

"I may not be able to understand what all of that really means… But, Liz, Olivia, Evan, Rtisuka… Hell, even Manny, are still my friends. I still want to know how they're doing even if I… I put them in this situation… Even if I—"

"YOU CAN STOP FEELING LIKE YOU'RE SO ALONE!" Liz shouted. Lee Seng turned, only to see a dark shadow of bodies tackle him onto the ground.

"I didn't want to tell you because I wanted you to rest and get better!" Ritsuka cried.

"I didn't know you were thinking about all of these things! I'll never withhold information from you ever again!" Keng cried. Everyone sobbed as they piled on top of Lee Seng. Lily smiled and wiped her wet eyes. She glanced over Manny who was sitting on the couch, watching while Calis quietly stood by the door. Lily gave a small wave at Calis, who returned with a wave of his own. The two turned and watched the group continue to have a 'body pile cry.'

"It's been a hard time!" Evan cried. "We really just wanted you to wake up and you did!"

"I'm sorry I put you in this situation!" Lee Seng cried. "I was only thinking of myself! I'll think about all of you from now on!" Manny smiled and scooted forward, and air hugged the body pile. Manny was happy that Lee Seng had said what was weighing him down.

"It'll be okay." Manny softly spoke. He knelt and patted each person before lying on the ground and looking at Lee Seng.  "It'll be okay."