Lukhanyiso looked at Mandlenkosi. He furrowed his eyes because he couldn’t feel what he always felt when he glanced at Mandlenkosi; a warm feeling that would always erupt inside him. But now it was absent as he looked at his one true love. He looked back at Arafci Ntiorce. “Why…?” he held the left part of his chest.

“Love only exists on Actual-Earth. It’s a gift from God and he only blessed those who dwell on Actual-Earth. Here on Distort-Earth you can’t feel love or fear,” he answered with his warm smile. “Happiness and curiosity are the only two feelings one can feel here.”

Lukhanyiso processed the information he received from Ntiorce as he sprang towards the entity and wrapped his arms around his waist as his head rested on his stomach. “Thank you Ntiorce,” he whispered in utter glee. The only emotion he could feel.

“My pleasure, Aghd Therill,” the purple entity said as he patted Lukhanyiso’s back.

“Why do you call me by that name, and Mandlenkosi and the creatures? What’s up with that?” Lukhanyiso asked as he walked back from Ntiorce.

“A new world means a new set of words, Aghd Therill. Every living animal, creature and entity have their own name which is unique to Distort-Earth. The names are bestowed by Wriem Dasmon, an immortal being that inhabits a lonesome hill which is hidden on Actual-Earth.” He answered.

“Oh wow… but wait. What are you?” Lukhanyiso asked as he narrowed his eyes.

“I am glad you asked that.” Ntiorce’s smile widened revealing his pearly white teeth, “I am a -”

Before he could state what he truly was, a piercing roar emitted from beyond the jungle, a screeching cry was followed by two other distinct growls which would have flooded the hearer with sheer fear and despair, but fear didn’t exist in those who dwelled in Distort-World. Lukhanyiso became curious.

“AmaRhamncwa! He finally enslaved them!” Ntiorce said as he turned his head to the sound of the roars. “I need to break them free…”

The earth trembled and ancient winged creatures emerged from deep inside the jungle and flew in the opposite direction without panic. “Lukhanyiso,” Ntiorce turned and looked at him, “the Scourge has enslaved the dragons and is now using them to destroy the curtain. I will break the hold it has over the dragons.” He turned to Mandlenkosi, “Take a feathery friend and follow me to the other side of the jungle. I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.” He nodded his head and closed his big gleaming purple eyes before his body turned into a lustrous purple mist which shot up to the sky.

“Paen, you need to go. This might get messy and I don’t want you to get injured.” Mandlenkosi embraced the giant ape with a hug before it followed the birds on land. He looked at Lukhanyiso, “Oh…” he displayed a bleak face, “I forgot that love doesn’t exist here.”

He looked up to the sky and search for a winged creature. Lukhanyiso’s jaw would’ve been on the floor if his feelings were all present as he stared at the birds which were already extinct on Actual-Earth. “There!” Mandlenkosi exclaimed as he made one loud pitched click which echoed to the sky and beyond.

Up in the sky, a winged creature with robust legs and talons, a large slender beak, 1.5 meter tall body, seven metre wingspan and dark feathers altered its direction at the sound of Mandlenkosi’s click. “Hurry! We have to get to higher ground. It can’t swoop down,” he said as he climbed up the nearest hill, Lukhanyiso trailing behind him.

The gigantic bird glided low enough and the two men jumped on its back, Lukhanyiso clenched tightly to Mandlenkosi’s waist as he looked around the tableau. “Vieranstag, please get us to the other side of the jungle,” he requested of the giant bird. It responded with a cry and flew towards the jungle.

The winged creature zoomed forward and occasionally flapped its gigantic wings. Further into the jungle they saw it.

A twenty metre long, two headed bipedal dragon roared a piercing high scream as the other head released electrical energy from its mouth. The yellow energy struck Ntiorce Doveira, who had grown several metres since the last time Lukhanyiso and Mandla saw him. He blocked the attack with his forearms, which he held up to his face. The attack landed directly on his silky purple cloth, the colour of the cloth began fading and it altered into an earthy-brown cloth.

Right after the alteration concluded, he charged forward and held the head with its left hand as the other hand made contact with the dragon’s forehead and released a purple mist which drugged him when it inhaled the mist. The other head, with icy-silver scales, coiled back its neck. Ntiorce turned his gigantic body into mist once again and disappeared. The second head released shards of ice which struck the ground, instantly covering it in ice.

The brown mist descended from the sky as it morphed into Ntiorce’s physical form. Just after he regained his physical appearance, he slid on the ice as he advanced, while his brown clothes swayed majestically in the wind. The head then shot an ice-beam towards the enemy; again he blocked the attack with his forearms. As soon as the icy beam made contact with the brown cloth it froze his arms…

Up in the air, Lukhanyiso gasped as he looked down at them. “Don’t worry, his clothes alter their colours which represent fire, wind, water, earth, poison and more. Upon contact with the mentioned elements, the cloth will alter into a colour which represents an effective element against the element which struck it.” Mandlenkosi informed Lukhanyiso, who didn’t look worried at all.

Ntiorce’s robe’s brown colour faded into a fiery-red as the ice melted away. He smiled at the dragon as he looked at it, but his smile dwindled when he realised that he was enjoying the fight. The dragon coiled its slender neck back as it gathered enough energy to release a ferocious attack, and it brought its head forward to release a beam of ice covered by razor-sharp ice shards.

The attack landed directly on his chest, but the power of his robe suppressed damage as the beam and shards melted away the second they landed on the fiery-red robe. Ntiorce clasped his hands together and exhaled a purple mist which made contact with the icy head.

The entire body collapsed to the ground, “Is it – I mean… are they dead?” Lukhanyiso asked.

“No, they are just asleep. You see, the purple mist released by Master Ntiorce Doveira can do whatever he wants it to; kill the inhaler, paralyse, burn or send it to a long slumber.” Mandla said as he made a clicking sound which was different to the one he made to call the bird. The bird began descending as it flew to the highest branch. “Hold my hand, we have to jump.” Lukhanyiso took his hand as they jumped twenty-five metres and landed on a tree which was nineteen metres high.

They both held on to the same branch and laughed at themselves, finding this situation hilarious. They jumped down from branch to branch like monkeys. They landed on the ground and ran to the two-headed bipedal dragon.

Ntiorce vaporised again, and the mist altered from a red colour to the normal mystical purple which morphed into Ntiorce’s physical form, the one where he was not a gigantic titan. He then placed his left hand on the scaly forehead of the electric head, the scales gleamed purple and turned into purple cotton. His hand made its way inside the body as he reached for something, “Ewe!” he said in glee as he took out his hand.

At the tip of his fingers, a murky cube-shaped gem, exuding pure darkness, started melting as soon as he released searing purple flames from his mouth. “One more to go!” he said, as he watched the gem disappear and the purple flames died out.

“Mandla, what was that?” Lukhanyiso asked as he stood next to Ntiorce.

“I don’t know…” Mandla said with a bleak face. He remembered that he’d be upset if he was still back on Actual-Earth and didn’t know an answer to Lukhanyiso’s questions.

“This,” Ntiorce said as he pulled out another murky gem, “is an instrument of evil. This gemstone can manipulate whatever it dwells inside. It was created by the Scourge in order to destroy the Curtain so that he can infiltrate Luxury City and Actual-Earth.” He burned the gem and turned to look at Lukhanyiso and Mandlenkosi, who looked at each other with bleak faces.

Ntiorce tapped inside their thoughts and knew exactly what they were going through. “I know it should be harder for you two to not be able to love each other… to feel love.” He placed his hands on their shoulders and looked up at a mountain clouded by a black ominous cloud. “As soon as he destroys that evil creature, I can beam you out of this Distort-world that bares no love.”

“I’d love that,” Lukhanyiso smiled as he reached out his hand and held on to Mandla’s, who smiled too.

“Okay then lovers, let’s head down to my fortress and formulate a plan to get rid of that Scourge,” he said as he clenched his fists and walked forward.

***

Tell us what you think: Would you cope in a world where you couldn’t feel love?