Emperor of the Nine Realms

Among the vast expanse of the Nine Realms, the Beast Realm was the most primal and vibrant. Here, mountain ranges stretched endlessly, forests grew dense and deep, rivers rushed with powerful currents, and countless rare and magical creatures called it home. On the southern edge of the Beast Realm, there was a small village called "Greenwood Village." The village wasn't large, with only a few dozen households, and the villagers made their living by hunting, gathering, and simple farming.Cliff was a sixteen-year-old boy in Greenwood Village. No one knew his surname because he was an orphan. It was said that sixteen years ago, on a stormy night, the village chief found him as a baby under an ancient tree at the village entrance, with only a wooden tag carved with the name "Cliff" beside him. The village chief raised him, teaching him to read and write, to hunt, and to identify medicinal herbs.Cliff was different from other youths in the Beast Realm. People in the Beast Realm typically awakened their beast nature at the age of twelve, gaining the ability to transform into a certain wild animal—a talent that residents of the Beast Realm took great pride in. However, Cliff was already sixteen and had shown no signs of awakening. This made him an outcast in the village, often subjected to ridicule and exclusion by other young people."Those without beast nature don't deserve to live in the Beast Realm!" This was something he heard frequently.Despite this, Cliff wasn't discouraged. He believed that one day he would find his own path. He was more diligent than his peers, learned more survival skills, and became one of the most outstanding hunters in the village. He could move silently through the dense forest, accurately track wild animals, and even see clearly in the distance at night. The village chief often said that although Cliff hadn't awakened his beast nature, his senses and intuition were sharper than many who had already awakened.On this day, Cliff ventured deep into the forest to hunt alone, as usual. The sky was crystal clear, with white clouds drifting lazily, and a gentle breeze rustling through the treetops. He had been traversing the forest for most of the day, had caught two wild rabbits and a pheasant, and was preparing to return to the village.Just then, the sky suddenly changed.In the once-azure sky, a strange rift appeared, emitting a blinding golden light. Cliff had never seen such a sight before. He gripped his hunting bow vigilantly, staring intently at the anomaly in the sky.The rift grew larger, the golden light intensified, bathing the entire forest in a golden glow. Suddenly, a faintly glowing object fell from the rift, streaking across the sky like a meteor, and finally landing in a nearby valley.Almost instinctively, Cliff ran toward that direction. He didn't know what it was, but deep inside, he had a strong feeling that the object falling from the sky had some connection to him.Pushing through the dense undergrowth, Cliff arrived at a small valley. In the center of the valley was a shallow crater, and in the crater lay a crystal about the size of a fist. The crystal had a peculiar blue-purple color, with what seemed like mist flowing inside it, occasionally flickering with faint light.Cliff cautiously approached, crouched down, and reached out to touch the crystal. The moment his fingers made contact with it, a strange energy surged from the crystal, traveled up his arm, and quickly spread throughout his body. Cliff felt dizzy, and before his eyes flashed countless images both strange and familiar: vast wastelands, towering mountains, deep oceans, brilliant starry skies... and nine enormous worlds, suspended in the void, connected yet independent of each other."The Nine Realms..." Cliff murmured, the words naturally flowing from his lips as if he had always known this concept.The images vanished, and Cliff came back to his senses to find the crystal lying quietly in his palm, no longer emitting light. He tried to recall the images he had just seen, but they had become blurry and indistinct, leaving only the concept of the "Nine Realms" deeply imprinted in his mind.Cliff knew that the Nine Realms were the Alien Realm, the Beast Realm, the Mystic Realm, the Elemental Realm, the Legacy Realm, the Spirit Realm, the Divine Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Void Realm. Each realm had its unique laws and beings. And the Beast Realm where he lived was just one of the Nine Realms.He looked down at the crystal in his hand, feeling a strange sensation rising in his heart. This crystal came from the Legacy Realm, a world filled with ancient ruins and lost knowledge. Why would a crystal from the Legacy Realm fall into the Beast Realm? Why would it fall before him?As Cliff pondered these questions, the crystal suddenly emitted a faint glow, and then, something incredible happened—the crystal began to slowly merge into his palm! Cliff was horrified and tried to shake off the crystal, but it was too late. The crystal, like a liquid, had completely merged into his skin and disappeared.A sharp pain shot through his right palm. Cliff gritted his teeth, trying hard not to cry out. The pain lasted for about a minute before gradually subsiding. When he looked down at his palm, he found a blue-purple mark in the center, shaped like an ancient rune."What is this?" Cliff murmured, gently touching the mark with his other hand. The mark felt slightly warm but not painful.Suddenly, a breeze blew by, and Cliff heard what seemed like a faint voice carried on the wind: "Chosen one of destiny... Key to the Nine Realms..."Cliff jerked his head up and looked around, but the valley was empty, with only the leaves rustling in the wind. The voice was so faint that he wondered if it was just his imagination.The sun was already setting, and Cliff knew it was time to return to the village. He took one last look at the rune mark on his palm, then clenched his fist, picked up his game from the ground, and headed toward Greenwood Village.He didn't know what this crystal from the Legacy Realm meant, nor why he could see visions of the Nine Realms, nor what the mysterious voice meant. But one thing he was certain of—from today on, his life would no longer be ordinary.On the way back to the village, the mysterious voice kept echoing in Cliff's mind: "Chosen one of destiny... Key to the Nine Realms..." These words were like a puzzle, waiting for him to solve.By the time he reached the village entrance, it was completely dark. In the distance, the lights of Greenwood Village twinkled like stars in the night, warm and peaceful. Cliff took a deep breath, hid his right hand behind his back, and stepped toward the village.He decided not to tell anyone about what had happened today, including the village chief who had raised him. This secret, he would keep to himself until he understood the meaning of it all.And so, bearing a mysterious crystal mark from the Legacy Realm, Cliff returned to Greenwood Village, returned to his familiar life. But he knew that everything was different now. A fantastic journey across the Nine Realms had just begun.Night fell, and Cliff lay on his simple bed, gazing at the starry sky outside his window. He raised his right hand, and in the moonlight, the blue-purple rune mark was faintly visible, emitting a weak glow."The Nine Realms..." Cliff whispered, closing his eyes.In his dream, he saw himself standing between the nine enormous worlds, holding the blue-purple crystal in his hand, and the fate of the Nine Realms seemed to be in his grasp.This was a beginning—a beginning of the fate of the Nine Realms, a beginning of Cliff's search for himself.And it all started today, with that mysterious crystal that fell from the Legacy Realm.