Dawn broke, sunlight blazing, all things shimmering.
Beasts stirred, basking in the warmth of each ray.
Roosters crowed, chimneys below the village puffed smoke, brimming with life.
A new day began.
What makes this moment special? I've watched it countless times, yet never tire of it, still finding it mysterious.
Bringing her here to see this was a brilliant choice.
"Beautiful, isn't it, Sister Liora?"
She's asleep? She must be exhausted.
Sleeping so peacefully… She's truly adorable like this.
I'm so happy...
Suddenly, the ground around the village glowed.
A mysterious ring of cryptic symbols appeared.
Then, larger rings formed outside it, one after another.
The valley below became a tapestry of colossal, radiant rings—ethereal, divine.
As I struggled to comprehend what was happening, the central ring began to spin.
Instantly, the earth beneath the village exploded.
Debris, soil, and trees hurled into the air.
As if in response, the outer rings stirred, too.
The sky darkened, the ground split.
A mighty force surged outward.
Where it passed, all things shattered.I tried to run.
But as I turned, the first wave hit, swallowing us.
At that moment, the parchment on me glowed, forming a halo that blocked the onslaught.
I was protected.
I was flung far, crashing into a mountainside opposite.
I felt I'd passed through it.
For how long, I don't know—I only clung to the girl in my arms.
Finally, we stopped.
Fighting dizziness, I saw a clear sky, a massive gray-white dome sealing off the horizon.
Where am I?
A rugged stone field… What is this place?
"Sister Liora, wake up!"
But Liora's eyes remained shut, her breathing slow.
We bore no external wounds—perhaps she's only unconscious.
"What the hell just happened?"
From behind a boulder, a middle-aged man stepped out.
"Strange. You possess such a treasure, yet I never noticed all this time."
"Master Fenric? Why are you here? Did you know about this? Who are you?"
The man before me was Master Fenric, the village's only teacher—kind, learned, respected by all.
But clearly, he'd been playing a role.
"Who am I? I'm Master Fenric. I mean no harm. Just hand over the treasure that let you escape, and I'll let you go, out of kindness."
…Silence.
"This wasn't my doing," he said. "Smithwood was built on an ancient grand array. When it activates, all life born there becomes a sacrifice. No one can stop it. There are many such places in this world."
"You're about to ask something, I know. Anything born there bears an imprint. Once the array activates, anyone or anything with that imprint—wherever they are—has their soul, vitality, and fate drained. Everything."
"You're lying! You think I'm that gullible?"
He spoke with confidence.
"You weren't born there, so you're unmarked, unaffected. But the sister in your arms was. Her soul is already gone. Soon, her body will dissolve into nothingness, like the others."
I looked at Liora in my arms.
Her eyes still closed.
Her body… so much lighter…
Tiny wisps of dust drifted from her. "No… No…"
"Master Fenric, save her! I beg you! I'll give it to you—here, take it!"
"Save her !"
Fenric sighed, taking the parchment.
"I'm sorry. No one can save her. But I can ensure you live safely, wealthy, for life."
In a moment, a gust of dust scattered.
My arms were empty.
Fear surged within me.
How could this be?
This is a dream…
Wake up, sister…Fenric sighed again.
He approached to knock me out.
…
But as he did, the parchment glowed, unleashing a force that forced a drop of his heart's blood.
The drop shot into the parchment.
A master-servant bond formed.
Fenric, terrified, stared at a shadowy figure before him.
A whisper echoed, then faded.
"Take this boy with you. Teach him what he needs to know. Protect him with your life."
Fenric trembled in fear.
What could force him into a master-servant pact?
Who was that soul?
His life felt like a thread in another's hands.
Looking around, he knew he had to leave—others would come soon.
…
After a day in a daze, I awoke.
Beside me was Luna Smith.
The room felt familiar, like I'd been through this before.
"Why are you here? Where am I?"
"You're awake! Are you okay? We're at the Prosper Inn . It's safe here—no need to be on guard."
…
Tears fell, unstoppable.
"So, Smithwood's destruction was real…"
Master Fenric entered from outside.
"Luna, step out. I need to check his condition."
The room fell silent, just me and Fenric.
He sighed, offering comfort.
"I know you're grieving. Anyone in your place would feel the same. The living must keep moving forward."
"I don't want to face it… I'm done… Why save me? Why bring me here?"
Fenric, prepared, spoke calmly.
"I saw your loyalty, your refusal to abandon loved ones for gain. I couldn't let you do something foolish in despair."
…Silence.
"You still have us, people you know," he continued. "Come with us. It'll ease my guilt."
I stared at him, as if to pierce his heart.
"You feel guilt?"
Tears welled in Fenric's eyes.
"I won't hide it. I'm not Luna's real father. I owed her father a debt. Before he died, he entrusted her to me, asked me to take her away. To avoid fate's eyes, we lived in that forbidden zone. Fourteen years there, I grew close to so many. Their deaths—how could I not grieve? I wanted to tell them, but what good would it do? Better they pass in a moment than live in daily fear."
How much of his tale was true? Who knows? But , I know, he had a purpose.
"Why tell me all this?"
"I just want you to know we're not hiding anything."
"Hiding?"
"Before we left, Luna insisted on saving you, since you weren't born in the village. I searched but couldn't find you, so I had to force her to leave. Then I found you, flung outside. Unsure of your state, I tested you."
"She doesn't know. She thinks I saved you. Please, don't tell her the truth."
"Everything you had is still with you—I haven't touched it. Take your time, think it over, then tell us your decision."
"Oh, and spend some time with Luna. She's hurting, too."…
Fenric left.
Luna entered, carrying a tray of food.
From her, I learned much.
She spoke truthfully—I saw no deceit.
The same gentle, honest Luna I knew.
She was proof that Smithwood, Liora, everything was real.
To me, it felt like a dream.
I woke, and everything had changed—except her.
She begged me to come with her.
Learning Smithwood's fate broke her heart, but she was powerless.
So she treated everyone kindly.
To her, only two people remained close: me and Fenric.
After a night of talking, I decided to go with her to meet her grandfather.
She explained her clan's struggles—her side had lost power, so she was hidden away.
Now, with stability, she must return to awaken her talent at sixteen.
She wanted me along, fearing she'd face it alone.
How could I refuse her, despite my pain?The next morning, we set out.
The journey took half a month.
Fenric told me much about this world.
Some, through disciplined cultivation, could soar the skies, move mountains, fill seas.
But there were also cruel, wicked souls.
Smithwood, called a forbidden zone, was a relic of a war between humans and other races, tens of thousands of years ago.
Forbidden zones hold grand arrays set by those races to trap human champions.
Some say the souls there are enslaved, cursed to live as bait, luring our heroes to become part of the array.
Others deny it, claiming all life there is an illusion conjured to deceive.
Many tried to break these arrays, but none succeeded.
Yet I felt I could do the impossible.
I knew I had to grow stronger—only strength could make it happen.
A new hope sparked.
An idea flashed in my mind.
I asked about cultivation.
Fenric didn't hide it.
It relies on bloodlines.
Those without must be nurtured young—past fourteen, it's impossible.
But he said not to worry.
No ordinary person would leave their child in a forbidden zone—my parents were likely cultivators.
If I found them and activated my bloodline between sixteen and eighteen, I could cultivate.
The sooner, the better—after eighteen, even activation wouldn't help.
My first task: find traces of my parents.
I showed Fenric the wooden plaque with my name and the glowing parchment, asking if he knew their origins.
His hands trembled as he examined them, then returned them.
"I don't know the parchment's nature, but the wood… it bears a unique sigil. Back at the clan, I'll find someone to trace it."
"Your parents… they weren't ordinary cultivators. A treasure that activates to save you from a forbidden zone's collapse—I've never heard of such a thing. "
I,
"Is that why you didn't kill me?"
" If it's so powerful, why didn't it stop you from knocking me out?"
He said this, but in his heart, Fenric thought, It didn't protect you—it forced me into a master pact. Even the ancient array couldn't touch it. I've never heard of such power. The sigil on the wood, ancient yet simple, screams importance. Even scouring the clan's library, I may not find it. But Luna chose well—this boy, a lost heir of some great house. I'll pair them first…
…
After half a month, we reached the Lei Clan in Lei City.
Luna was warmly welcomed.
After awakening her bloodline, she was even more valued—her bloodline was exceptionally pure.
I searched everywhere but found no trace of my origins.
I tried awakening my bloodline, but nothing worked.
At seventeen, I lived in the clan's library, frantically researching bloodline awakening.
Still, nothing.During this time, my body grew stronger, my senses sharper.
I discovered many fascinating things… but none helped.
At eighteen, I'd read every book in the Lei Clan's library—no clues.
My constitution wouldn't activate.
I was desperate, unwilling, and tried the hardest methods.
Nothing changed.
The Lei Clan began to distance themselves, some showing disdain.
Only Luna remained kind.
Every evening, she came to the library, encouraging me, helping me search.
But her presence made me ache, made me think of Liora more…
On my eighteenth birthday, I was utterly hopeless.
That day, I sat alone on a mountain peak, overlooking Lei City.
"Why?" I asked myself, replaying everything that happened.As night fell, the last sunlight faded.
Something in me shattered, fell away.
I knew it was over.
I knew, if she were alive, Liora would want me to live well.
Tears rolled down, unbidden.
I felt powerless, yet strangely light, empty…
Watching the bustling people below, living their lives.
Time passed.
Suddenly, a thought sparked, something surfaced.
Something I hadn't recalled in ages.
It flooded my mind like a torrent.
Something about time, its flow.
I sank into endless memories.
I saw fragments of recollection.
I saw myself, but in another form.
Knowledge, insights, laws from that form…
It emerged, as if it had always been there.
Lost in those memories, I saw what I could do.
In that moment, as my consciousness drowned in recollection, I instinctively turned my gaze to Lei City.
I acted as I had in that other form, those memories.
The heavens shifted—day to night, night to day.
Light and darkness churned.
All things seemed as ants before the colossal wheel of heaven and earth…