The moment Eric reached home, he rushed into his bedroom and starting rumaging his drawers which he stored all the souvenirs from his overseas trips.

"I remember that thing.... It should be in here...."

Eric managed to locate the crystal ball that was gifted to him by the Tibet monk. Eric placed the newly acquired crystal ball from the shop on his bed, next to the first crystal ball.

Eric sat on the floor by his bed and peered at the 2 crystal balls. Just as what Eric had expected, the crystal balls were of same size and the animals inside the crystal balls were of the same style. One was a wolf while the other was an eagle.

Staring intensively at the crystal balls made Eric drifted into a trance. Eversince Eric returned from Tibet, he seemed to be trapped in a peculiar situation. Strange and unfamiliar images appeared in his minds. There seemed to be an invisible force which was getting stronger and it made Eric to be deeply affected.

"Just what is all these leading to me.... What is it hinting at...." Eric frowned and muttered.

The straying rays of sunset reflected from the windows and poured onto the crystal balls. A soft orange glow emitted and Eric felt dizziness hitting him. Eric shook his head to make himself conscious but Eric felt he was slowly loosing his consciousness.

Eric glanced at the crystal balls again and saw that the orange glow was getting brighter. Eric had to shut his eyes to avoid the glaring brightness. Eric opened his eyes when he felt the brightness fading away. He realized that he was in a strange environment.

He was no longer in his bedroom but was floating in mid air. In his view was vast blue skies and underneath his feet was the boundariesless plains.

Eric widened his eyes as he was shocked at what he saw. What had happened! This was impossible! 

He saw a group of people dressed in monk-like attires and they were crowding around a lifeless body. One of the monks was cutting up the body and it was a gruesome sight.

Eric suddenly recalled what he had seen in documentary programmes. This was the unique Celestial burial. They would cut the flesh of the deceased into small pieces and crushed the bones so as to feed the eagles. If the eagles consumed everything, it indicated that the deceased did not commit any grave sins and the deceased would be able to reincarnate. If the eagles did not finish everything,  the next-of-kin would have to perform ritual to lead the soul to the path of reincarnation.

Eric was too shocked. Was he hallucinating? How on earth did he witness this!

Eric turned his head away as he could bear to see the whole process. His gaze landed on the sand dune away from the Celestial burial. He saw 2 males standing and were engaged in conversation. One of the males looked up and Eric met his expressionless iris. Eric's heart skipped a beat. He was the boy in thw photograph. Why was he appearing here?

The sun was blocked by the large group of soaring eagles and they were charging in Eric's direction.

Instinctively, Eric raise his arms to shield his head and he shut his eyes tightly. He could not fathom himself being hit by the large number of soaring eagles. Eric heard loud flappings sounds of wings but none of the eagles hit onto him.

Eric began to relax. He dropped his arms and opened his eyes when the flapping noise died down. However, Eric found himself in, yet, another bizarre  place.

"Where... where am I? " Eric felt himself losing his sanity.

In front of him was a magnificent palace supported by red beams. The roof was doused in all sort of colourful designs. The 2 large windows were opened and the natural light lit up the whole place. 

For a moment, Eric thought that he was back at Potala Palace but in his mind, he knew it was not Potala Palace. It was just very similar to Potala Palace.

It was total silence and not a single soul was seen. It was some time later that Eric saw a man coming out from the corner. The man was in an unknown fine  tribal clothings. The man was around Eric's age but he emitted the aura of a Royalty. Eric followed the man and ventured deep inside the palace. They stopped in front of a large sculpture. Eric had a mixed feeling as if he was reluctant to move on.

It was a clay sculpture of a deity which was twice of a human's height. It had a menacing looks with a third eye on the forehead. The sharp claws hands were raised and under the feet was hoard of little Demons. Eric felt himself becoming tense. 

There were 13 crydtal balls encased on the base of the sculpture. One of the crystal balls had an eagle inside.

"That... that was my crystal ball...."

The man seemed to have heard Eric and turned his head. Their gazes met and the man was frowning.

Eric took a step back and asked, " You can see me?"

There was no reply and Eric saw that the man was looking behind him. Was there something behind? Eric curiously turned around and saw a blurry figure standing there. The figure was about half a body taller than Eric. The sihoutte was in between a human and a monster.  A deadly aura enveloped the figure.

Eric  was confused. He did not know what was happening. Were these real? Fake? The past? Present? Eric was totally clueless.

The figure was getting larger and the deadly aura filled the whole palace. The man was not fear while glaring at the figure.

Eric was worried that something bad would break out. What should he do? Eric nervously looked forth between the 2 of them, not knowing what would happen next.

"Ring .... Ring...."

A shrill ringing tone sounded and caused Eric to yelp in fright. The ringing tone was getting louder and louder. Eric could not locate the source of the ringing tone.

"Holy crap.... what is this...."

Eric was into darkness, and he felt the dizziness returned. When Eric regained his consciousness, he found that he was in his bedroom.  It was pitch black outside and the only light source in his room was the faint glows from the 2 crystal balls on the bed.

It was total silent in the room and the ringing was gone. Only Eric's heavy panting could be heard.

Eric was perspiring profusely and he could not calm down his haywire thoughts. He just encountered something out of this world which he was still trying to reconcile.

"Arrgghh. .." Eric scowled as he felt a numb and heated feeling from his right shoulder. He pulled up his sleeves to check.

Eric saw a pale pinkish scar which was about the size of a $50 coin. It was a birth mark that Eric had which was irregular shape.  Now Eric saw that it looked more like certain wordings.

The birth mark did not have any impact on Eric's life and so he was not too bothered by it. However, his birth mark was emitting tingle of numbness and heat while the colour of the birth mark appeared to be darker. It was weird.

Why was the birth mark acting weird now? Although the numbness and heat lessen gradually, Eric felt being spooked by everything. 

"Ring... ring...."

The sharp shrill broke the peace and distracted Eric. Eric realized that it was the ring tone of his mobile phone.

Eric fished out his mobile phone from his pants pocket and answered. "Hello."

"Eric you brat. Why were you doing? Why didn't you pick up my call?" The voice at the other end sounded impatient.

"Hey I did not hear it ring earlier." Eric rolled his eyes. It was his father and the old man really know when to pick the time to call. "What do you want from me Dad?"

"I have an assignment to refer to you. How?"

"NO!  I dying with the several assignments that I had. I must be mad to take up yours." Eric rejected outright.

"Are you sure you want to reject my offer?"

"Yup." Eric was firm.

"Oh that's too bad." Eric's father faked a loud sigh. "I heard that recently, you are into Tibet and will like to go again. Since you reject....."

"Dad, wait!" Eric stopped his father and squealed. "The assignment that you are referring to me is related to Tibet?"

"Yes. But you rejected and so I will have to find someone else to..."

"Wait Dad. I will take it. If its going to Tibet, I am on." Eric's gleamed with excitement.

This was a good opportunity in his opinion. Eric had to go to Tibet again to solve everything. Crystal balls and that mysterious boy.

Eric knew that something was waiting for him. Waiting for him to step foot into Tibet again to awaken the side of his deep slumber side.....

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

Tibet Highlands

Strong wind, heavy snowfall. A gruelling cold weather at the Highlands. It was covered in white and no other colours or lifeforms could be seen.

At the foot of the mountain away from the wind was a simple hut. There were 7 people sitting around a fireside. They were wearing their traditional costume and the young girl closed her eyes with her legs crossed. She was holding a crystal ball with a snake inside while the rest looked on.

Faint orange glow reflected the flickering orange flame which casted a enchanting feel. After a long time, the girl opened her eyes and beamed.

"How was it?" The others started questioning her.

"I saw it. The image was clear this time." The girl smiled. Through the crystal ball, she was enlighted in her mediation and saw a ray of hope.

"Really? Where should we start our search?" The others was affected by the girl's mood.

"Everyone please calm down. This time..... He will come here. We must seized the chance." The girl was determined. 

After a century of waiting, He appeared. It was so distinctively clear that they could not miss this chance. They had to make Him stay, no matter what!

Their King...... has reincarnated. He will appear before them.

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

"How can this be? He is not here?"

After reaching Tibet, Eric  expedited on his assignment so that he could return to Potala Palace. He wanted to seek the monk who gifted him the crystal ball. That monk seemed to have vanished from earth. If it was not that Junjin and him seeing the monk, Eric would think that he was dreaming.

Eric checked with some locals, antique shop owners but no one knew the origin of th crystal balls. The antique shop owners even expressed interest to purchase the crystal balls from Eric. Eric was baffled.

Nothing was doing well for Eric, even the search of the boy.

Eric came to the plains where he first spotted the boy and made enquiries at nearby villages. Luckily, Eric brought along the photograph, else most people would not understand what Eric was talking about. Eric managed to make some sign language after showing the photograph.  He asked several people and hunted for a few days but no one had seen the boy.

Eric assumed that the boy was living at nearby villages. But now, Eric had no idea where to locate the boy.

"Arrgghhhh....." What was his luck so bad.

Another day had passed and Eric returned to the home that he put up with. Eric was feeling miserable when a  Tibetan girl walked out of the hut. "Eric oppa, still no luck for today?"

The Tibetan girl was Mei and she was 18 years old. She had a sweet smile against her tanned complexion and she was likeable.

Mei helped her parents to raise the cows and her elder brother was working overseas, returning once in a while. A few days ago, Eric was asking Mei's parents about the boy with a photograph. Eric and Mei's father hit off well. Being generous and friendly, Eric was invited to put up in their home so that Eric could save money on accommodation. Eric was unable to decline the persistent kind gestures.

Eric greeted Mei with a bitter smile. "If not for this photograph,  I will think that I dreamt the boy into life."

"Don't worry Eric oppa. " Mei consoled him. " I'm sure that you will find him one day and I will help you too."

"Thanks Mei."

"You are welcome." Mei's smile was pure and childlike. Eric could concentrate on his search with Mei taking care of his washing and meals.

"Oh Eric oppa. We are travelling to another village for trading and the journey could take 4 to 5 days. If you are not scared of the hardship, you can come with us. You can meet up with people from other villages and you can check with them.  Maybe one of the may know the whereabouts of the boy."

Eric beamed and his energy level shot up," It's a good idea. It beats staying here."

Eric was not afraid of the hardship of travelling.  He was afraid of doing nothing and he would try anything.

"Alright. We set off tomorrow." Mei smiled.

"Okay." Eric nodded and replied with a smile.

The following day, before dawn, Eric helped Mei's parents to pack their belongings and also the items that they were trading. Th items filled up 2 horse carts. Mei's parents drove the first cart in front while Mei drove the other, following behind. Eric travelled with Mei. They set off once the day started to brighten.

Eric sat in front with Mei and he was enjoying the scenaries. The weather at the Highlands was so unpredictable. It could rain thunderstorm this minute and next moment, it could be a bright sunny day.

They travelled from morning till noon and it started to get foggy. The clear blue skies was covered by dark clouds. The visibility was getting lower and they could easily lost their way.

"It's so strange." Mei frowed.  " The weather is so strange and I don't feel comfortable."

The first cart stopped and it caused Mei to bring their cart to a halt. Eric was worried, " Mei, what's wrong?"

"I don't know. You wait here while I go and check with father. "

Mei jumped down and ran to speak to her father. Eric could see the grave expression on Mei's face but he could not hear what they were talking about. The conversation lasted a while more.

"Is everything okay?" What happened?" Eric asked Mei when she returned.

"Father says that it is not wise to continue in this bad weather and so we will stopped here till the weather improves. "

"How long will it takes?"

"A few hours if it's fast and it could take days."

Hence, they had to suffer under the power of Nature. "It can't be help then. We will have to wait." Eric was not really upset with the news. He jumped off the cart and walked around to stretch his legs.

The fog seemed magical and naturally, Eric ran back to the cart to take his camera. He wanted to take some photographs to mark his travel journey.

Click. Click.

The wilted branch surrounded by the fog, the blurry cart, the elusive woods in front looked enchanting with only being enveloped by fog. Eric captured all these using his camera.

A red shadow flashed past his len and vanished. Eric lowered his camera and chased after the vanishing shadow.

The fog turned thin and thick making the red shadow distinct and distorted. Eric broke into a jog as he was afraid that the red shadow could be the person that he was looking for.

"Hey. Wait up."

"Eric oppa. Where are you going." Mei shouted and followed.

The red shadow was getting smaller and smaller and Eric fastened his pace. He wanted to lessen their distance but that red shadow was moving at an alarming speed. Even though Eric ran and he was beginning to get breathless, their distance was getting further and further. 

"Damn it."

After some chase, the red shadow stopped and Eric started to slow down. Eric was exhausted. He did not have energy to chase again if the red shadow started moving.

Eric was pleading and panting," Please wait.... I just want to make sure if you are...."

The red shadow turned around and the facial features appeared amidst the fog. Eric was stunned and he almost yelled in happiness. He found that mysterious boy.

He was still dressed in his traditional clothings with the short black hair framing his face, fluttering away in the air. He seemed divine. He took a look and turned away. He started moving off  and treated Eric like a stranger.

Eric summoned his remaining energy to follow. He would not let him get away after he went through so much to search for him.

"Please wait. I want to clarify something...."

"Eric oppa. Stop running.  It's dangerous!"

Mei's scary screams echoed. Eric saw that the fog cleared and he realized that he was near the edge of a cliff. The boy was standing at the edge of another cliff some 5 feet away.

How on earth did he cross over to the other side? While Eric was thinking and trying to retreat,  the soil loosen at his feet and he plunged down. He tried grabbing the dangling roots but to no avail.

"Ahhhhh."

A small bit of rock followed by larger ones dropped down. Eric saw that he was far away from the edge of the cliff. The rocks fell on him and he experienced pain all over his body. Slowly, his vision turned black.

Was he going to die just like this. Eric was reluctant to have his life ended like this.

"Eric oppa. Eric oppa...." Mei was screaming from the edge of the cliff. Mei was terrified to see Eric falling down the cliff and she knew that it would be death or serious injuries for Eric.

Mei could not let Eric perished at the bottom of the cliff. She had to rescue him somehow.