This morning was a beautiful morning, the sky was clear and the air was cool, the atmosphere in the village of Eston was as peaceful as ever. On the street you can see people leaving for the rice fields, they appear to be walking casually while chatting with each other, farmers are the work of most of the residents of the Eston village, others work as breeders or traders.

Even though most of the population in this village was farmers, that doesn't mean farming was the job that was most liked by the people here. If they could choose, almost everyone here wants to be a hunter, not because this job sounds cool or great but because the hunter was the only job here that can make a lot of money quickly.

One of the main jobs as a hunter was to hunt animals, animal meat will be sold at a fairly expensive price, the skin can be used as clothes or multipurpose tools, such as a place for drinking water, shoes, etc. A hunter is also in charge of protecting the village from attack by wild animals and robbers. Therefore, they receive self-defense training and also how to use weapons.

Gordon's mother actually disagreed with Gordon's choice to become a hunter, because it was dangerous and Gordon was her only child, but she had no other choice because the money from Gordon's job as a milkmaid was very small.

Gordon himself was actually a little afraid when he signed up for the hunter guild, he often heard stories from his friends about how dangerous work as a hunter was, some lost their legs, their hands even became blind from wounds when fighting wild beasts. Gordon shuddered at the thought of spending the rest of his life handicapped. But he went ahead because of his strong intention to help his mother and for his love for Sharon.

In one of the houses on the edge of the village, Gordon standing in front of his house. He was stretching himself in preparation for today's training, Gordon was determined to become strong with a daily practice routine as he planned to finish Loksum's sentence in less than a year. He did not want his humanity to diminish so he had to succeed.

Gordon took a deep breath then exhaled again, took another breath and then exhaled again. After his mind calmed down Gordon concentrated on the place at the back of his mind, he named the place at the back of his mind as a castle because he was a Baron so according to him, the place that was the source of his strength was his base or castle.

When Gordon's mind touched his castle, Gordon felt a very strong pull, everything was spinning and his eyes could not see anything but the colors that kept changing, then he heard someone screaming loudly and without realizing he was not in front of his house anymore.

Gordon was standing among the trees that looked strange, he looked around and felt sure that he had been in this place before. He looked up and was'nt surprised to see the sky was so black without any light.

I'm sure that I've been to this place.

Suddenly there was a sound of a very strong wind swirling around the trees, then the wind rose up and formed a vortex from below to above the black sky. Then from under the trees came out very dense dust, the dust mixed with the whirlwind up to the sky without a single drop falling towards Gordon.

The whirlwind grew louder until it made a sound like a wild animal growl which made Gordon's body tremble as if he wanted to pass out. The trees around Gordon started to swing in the gale of the wind, and then they started making noises that gave Gordon goosebumps.

The loud screams came from various kinds of voices, there were the voices of women crying, the voices of men in pain, the voices of women begging for forgiveness, the voices of men laughing and various sounds that made Gordon's head feel like it was about to break. This was all too much for Gordon and he felt that if he stayed here any longer it was certain he would become a lunatic.

Gordon felt very sad then suddenly he felt very angry, then sad again then despair, then guilt that was so deep, Gordon kneels on the ground hugging himself, his heart and mind was in chaos. He didn't remember who he was, why he was here, all he remembered was pain, sadness, regret and various other feelings that slowly erased his identity as Gordon.

"You are fool"

"This place is Autumn, a mortal like you will perish here"

Gordon heard someone talking but he couldn't think clearly anymore, the pressure was too intense and he screamed.

"AAAAAAGGGGRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH ……"

Suddenly someone grabbed his shoulder and the screams gnawing at his mind disappeared.

Gordon sat on the ground with a gasping breath, almost his life was lost because of the sounds, he was really surprised by the fate of having to face death many times, he was afraid that something like this would often happen to him in the future.

"Interesting ……"

Gordon gasped in surprise at the sound of someone behind him, he stood up quickly and turned back, his breath caught after he saw who was behind him. A very elegant man stood tall, about two meters tall and slender in shape, his brown mixed with gold hair was long to his knees, olive skin with morning star-like eyes. He wears clothes made of cloth or leather patterned with wind swirls and leaves and on his head there was a crown made of tree branches and dry leaves.

"Who are you" Gordon asked the stranger.

The mysterious man just smiled at Gordon's question.

"You shouldn't be here" The stranger said, his voice like the leaves on a tree blowing in the wind, beautiful and soothing.

"I don't know why I was here"

"Lying is extremely disrespectful, especially when it is done by an uninvited guest." The stranger said in a critical tone without losing the smile on his face.

"..........................."

"I don't know what you mean." Gordon had a very bad feeling about this stranger.

"You know why you got here, you came in with a key that shouldn't have been given to you." The stranger looked at Gordon with a look that suggested he knew Gordon understood what he was saying.

Shit

"Who gave you the key, mortal?" the stranger asked in a voice that echoed like a bell in the wide room and made Gordon feel an irresistible urge to answer the question honestly. "He told me that his name was Loksum, The prince of Undying Bark, he who gave all this power to me so I could steal The Spring Crown for him" The words just escaped from Gordon's mouth, before he could think.

With all his might, gordon tried to stop himself from speaking.

"Go on, don't be shy" the stranger said and Gordon's mouth immediately spoke again.

“A few days ago I got lost in the Malakit forest, I accidentally found a tree without leaves with lots of fruit, because of hunger I took two fruits then I ate, suddenly Loksum appeared, he told me that the tree was a sacred tree belonging to his court and I should be punished for stealing the fruit, he gave me two options, the first was to be locked up in a tree for three thousand years or to steal the spring crown for him, after I chose option number two he gave this power to me".

Son of a bitch, this stranger was the same as Loksum, made me speak without consent, someday I'll finish them both.

The stranger looked into Gordon's eyes with a gaze that made Gordon's body tremble.

"Loksum, what a fool," the stranger said slowly.

In the blink of an eye the stranger suddenly stood right in front of Gordon, he touched Gordon's forehead with his index finger and his body was freezed.

"A mortal like you shouldn't have the power of the autumn court, it will eat you up from within, erasing who you are little by little until you lose youself."

The stranger stared at the sky blankly for a while and then he said, "We are immortals, we are strong and have our pride, we don't need a mortal like you to face our enemies, what Loksum did was a mistake."

Gordon felt very scared, whoever this stranger was, Gordon believes he was more dangerous than Loksum, who knows what sins Gordon has committed to make his fate this unlucky.

"Too bad, what has been given to you cannot be taken back unless it price is paid, find someone named Greta, he can help you" when the strange man finished talking suddenly Gordon was back in the yard in front of his house, he looked around, confused.

Gordon's mother came out of the front door and said, "what are you doing standing there, you already have an appointment with Mr. Arden, you'd better go to see him, don't make him wait. " Gordon was a bit confused because he suddenly returned to his house, he stood there staring at his mother without saying anything.

***************************

Gordon stood in front of the hunter's office. He felt confused about what to do, he should have a meeting with Mr. Arden but Mr. Ander apparently hadn't returned from town since yesterday. Gordon thought of going back to his house and sleeping because a strange incident this morning had made his mind tired. However, after thinking for a while he decided to go to the Village Head's home.

Gordon actually felt very reluctant to meet with Markus, but what can he do, he wanted to meet mr. Antam to ask about his job at the Hunter Guild.

Hopefully Markus isn't home, I really don't want to meet him.

When he was almost there, Johan saw two unknown men that looks suspicious. Gordon followed the two of them to the edge of the village. The two men stopped near the old John's house, they seemed to be discussing something.

Gordon moved slowly toward the two of them to hear what they were talking about, luckily there was an empty house near the old John's house so Gordon could sneak closer without the two people knowing.

He was standing near the back door of the empty house, and concentrating on being able to hear their conversation but all he heard were whispers and it irritated him.

Gordon took a deep breath and concentrated on the castle behind his mind. He was still afraid to touch it so all he did was summon his power which resides inside the castle from afar, he hoped this would work because he didn't know what else he could do to summon his power.

Power flowed through Gordon's body and then he ordered the wind to bring the sound of the two men to his ears. The wind blew slowly following Gordon's orders, it passed the two of them and then blew towards Gordon, now he could hear their conversation clearly, as if he was standing there with them.

"You are stupid huh," the man with shoulder length hair said."This is our only chance, all of our money has run out and we have a long way to go, we have to move quickly to bring the girl to Nias city, with such a beautiful body and face we can definitely sell her at a high price".

Gordon was angry after hearing their conversation

These bastards have kidnapped a girl, and they're about to sell her like merchandise.

"I do not know Ros, I feel worried we are too hasty to kidnap the girl, I think we better return her to her house and find another way." The man with short hair said to his friend.

"Are you crazy! We took so much effort to kidnap that girl you wanted to return her to her house. ”Ros said incredulously after hearing Tal's suggestion. "I don't want to discuss this anymore, the girl is already in our hands, I said we should go as soon as possible and sell the girl."

Ros was about to leave but Tal stopped him and said "I beg you Ros, you know that my instinct is never wrong, and now my instinct is screaming that kidnapping that girl is a very bad idea" Tal was still steadfast in his stance and trying to convince Ros.

Ros sighed and said "Yes Tal, I trust your instinct". He saw his friend's face and then left. "Let's finish this business as soon as possible, the sooner the better".

The two of them headed towards the forest while Gordon followed them from behind. He was curious about the girl they had kidnapped.

They stopped in front of a big tree, then Tal made a symbol with both hands and suddenly a small tent appeared in front of the big tree. Tal said to Ros "take the girl".

Ros went into the tent and then came out with a girl on his shoulder. Gordon's heart paused for a moment when he saw who it was, Sharon. Gordon clenched his fists because of anger that was rising in his chest.

Gordon summoned his strength and was about to attack the two of them here, but because he was afraid that something might happen to Sharon if he attacked them, he decided to keep an eye on them first.

"I have to be patient, I'll wait until they return Sharon to her house, then I'll finish them both".

"Damn, that girl bit my neck!" Ros shouted, the two of them immediately chased after Sharon who ran towards the village.

"No, you don't" Gordon said. He flew up then shot out the wind from both of his hands. His attack hit Ros and Tal's back, they flew and crashed into the trees. But Tal immediately stood up and cast his magic spell, he shot a small green spear-shaped beam from his palm at Gordon.

Gordon fires a windball and the two attacks collide.

BOOOOMMMM

Ros didn't stand still watching his friend fight, he pulled a knife from under his shirt and charged at Gordon, a slash down Gordon's neck from the side. Using the wind Gordon pushes his body aside; he manages to dodge Ros's attack.

Dozens of green rays rushed towards Gordon, making his breath catch with shock and fear, but he didn't want to just give up and fired as many windballs as he could towards the green light hoping that his ball of wind would destroy all of Tal's attacks.

BOOOOM… BOOOOM… BOOOOOM

There were repeated explosions that created shockwaves around them, pushing Gordon backwards and knocking down several small trees.

The stinging pain from his back broke Gordon's concentration and one of the green rays almost hit his face if Gordon didn't act fast by forming a wall of wind in front of him then he flew over the trees to get a better look at the situation, he saw Ros where he had been before, grinning with a bloodied knife in his hand.

Blood spilled from the wound on Gordon's back, and the loss of blood made Gordon's head sway.

Bastard.

Gordon took a deep breath of his power and a gale of wind swirled around him, he drew the wind into a whirlwind in his hands then used the wind to move swiftly towards Ros, with a fist of wind in his hand Gordon hitting Ros with all his might.

Ros crossed his arms to block Gordon's attack but a blast of wind from Gordon's fist threw him deep into the air, Ros was knocked several times against tree after tree and then he fell to the ground motionless.

"Feel that bastard!" Gordon shouted.

"AAAAHHHHH ... .." Tel screamed seeing his friend not moving, his eyes glowing green and in his palms were green fireballs.

Tal brought his palms together and the two fireballs came together to form a bigger fireball, the longer the fireball got bigger and bigger until it was about the size of a house, Tal looked like a small shadow under the fireball which was more like a small sun while Gordon create a wall of wind to keep the heat from the fireball.

The trees around them caught fire from the heat of the giant fireball and Gordon realized that he would die if he didn't prepare for a counter attack immediately.

Damn it, damn it.

Gordon used all his strength to summon the wind, until a large tornado appeared with Gordon at the center.

He took a deep breath and calmed his mind, "I am the Baron of the Howling Dust" Gordon called out his true title, his own voice sounding like a whisper from a distant place, calling out something, something old and dangerous.

Thousands of human screams rang through Gordon's mind, he knew what it was.

Autumn

The whirlwind surrounding Gordon gathered together over Gordon's head, he used both hands to hold back the ball of wind that kept growing in size. Dust rose from the ground to join the giant ball of wind above Gordon, making it look like a ball of earth spinning fast.

A sound like a savage growl could be heard from the giant ball of wind. Gordon knew the time had come.

He looked at Tal with the little sun above him and shouted.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGG ……"

Accompanied by the screams of thousands of people in his mind, Gordon threw the wind ball at Tal who also threw the ball of fire, for a moment all sounds seemed to disappear and time stopped.

KAAABOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Gordon joined his arms in front while making a wall of wind as strong as he could, but an extremely powerful explosion hit him and Gordon was blown away, the last thing he saw before passing out was fire, a sea of flames everywhere.