In a very small room with one single bed, lying on it was a black-haired young boy of around 10 years old.
He was sleeping deeply.
The boy opened his pitch-black eyes slowly.
He saw an elder sitting on a chair beside the bed, with his arms on the bed crossed and his head resting on them. Loud snores escaped from his nose.
He had white hair; wrinkles had occupied his entire face.
The boy stared at him without saying anything.
After a while, the elder slowly opened his eyes and rubbed them, before letting out a long yawn.
He looked at the boy and said in surprise "You are finally awake"
"Who are you?" the boy asked.
"I am the Village Chief. I found you on the outskirts of the village unconscious" the village chief replied "What were you doing there that made you faint?"
"I don't remember." The boy said with a pained expression as he tried to remember.
"Hmm? Do you know your name?" the elder asked
"No"
"Not good" The elder muttered "Until you remember, I will call you Desper. You will live with me for now."
…
Beeeeeeeeeb…
Beeeeeb..
"WHAT?!!!" Desper woke up horrified on the sound coming from the small circular board called watch.
"Aghrrr.." he growled as the sudden movement provoked the pain in his body.
He slowly reached for the watch on the table. Holding it in his hand, he had no idea how to stop that sound.
"How do you stop this thing?" Desper grumbled.
But, after five seconds, it stopped on its own.
Desper sighed and put the watch back on the table.
He felt a warm sensation on his cheeks.
"Tears?" Desper was surprised when he touched his cheeks.
He lay back on the bed, thinking about his dream.
'So, I lost my memory when I was 10 years old, and then losing it again eight years later, what an irony' Desper laughed in mockery.
'I must get stronger' he thought.
Desper widened his eyes in shock. he didn't know why, but he felt a strong desire to get stronger.
'I need to get my memories back to understand everything' he reckoned.
"Good morning, Desper"
Suddenly, a voice came from the door.
Desper turned his gaze toward the door. A handsome man with brown hair and dazzling blue eyes was standing there.
'So handsome' Desper thought.
"Good morning,…." Desper tried to return the greeting, but he forgot the man's name.
"Darek, my name is Darek. Don't forget it please" Darek snapped in annoyance.
"Sorry for that" Desper apologized sincerely.
"You have lost all of your memories; It is not that strange to forget my name" Darek looked down and sighed.
"Anyway, come with me. it is time for your lecture" Darek pulled Desper's arm.
"Lecture?" Desper asked in confusion.
"Yes, there is a lecture every month for the new disciples." Darek explained. "In this lecture, you will learn how to start your path as cultivator. It is a very important lecture, so let's go there before we are late" Darek added urging Desper to hurry.
"Could you let me take a bath or change my clothes first?" Desper asked. His clothes were torn and burnt, and he smelled really bad.
"No, we have no time. just come and do not care about these trivial things" Darek pulled Desper out of the room.
Desper felt the gentle, cool breeze brush against his face with the soft rays of the rising sun. He breathed deeply and felt as though life had returned to him.
"That is refreshing" Desper said in delight, while he was walking with Darek side by side.
They passed through many buildings ranging from small to huge ones.
Also, they passed across many people just like Darek wearing the sect's uniform of an orange robe with irregular black lines, just like a tiger. Some of them were whispering, and some were speaking loudly, but most of them were looking at Desper and Darek while they were walking.
"Who is this guy? and why is he walking with Darek?"
"Why is there a smile on Darek's face?"
"They are walking toward the lecture building. I heard that Darek is the Elder's assistant for this month."
"What? How lucky are the newbies of this month!"
"Hey you brat, get your dirty clothes away from Darek" someone shouted at Desper in envy.
"Hmm?" Desper was surprised for a moment. then he looked at Darek and found that there was no reaction on his face.
Desper smirked at the man as he moved closer to Darek.
The man clutched his teeth in anger.
"You are quite famous over here." Desper murmured.
"Kind of. If you work hard, you will be famous as well." Darek replied with a smile on his face.
"Why don't you tell me about the sect or about the cultivation?" After losing his memories, Desper was ignorant of the simplest information.
"For the sect, I will take you on a tour of the sect and introduce you to its different parts." Darek replied. "And for the cultivation, you will learn from the lecture."
"Instead, let me tell some basic information about our world"
"Everyone hates being a cultivator because we—cultivators— are in continuous fight against death, either being killed by a ferocious monster or at the hands of a Spoiled Cultivator." Darek explained in grief.
"Monsters…. Spoiled Cultivator…." Desper seemed to know these words, but he couldn't remember them.
"Monsters are terrifying creatures feeding on humans to get stronger. They have great strength, so only cultivators have the ability to fight them. They emerge into our world through something called Spatial Cracks."
"Spoiled Cultivators are those who use the abilities of monsters. These abilities slowly consume their minds, increasing their hunger for power and turning them into something more monster than human."
"Both of them have their shares in killing humans. the Spoiled Cultivators target other cultivators, and usually don't harm the ordinaries, while the monsters don't spare any. So, the monsters present a greater threat to humanity"
Darek had the same smile on his face while explaining.
Desper looked at him in a weird manner.
"How can you smile while talking about these things?" Desper asked.
Darek stared at him for a moment, then…
"HAHAHAHAHA…" he laughed out loud. His body was trembling, the smile on his face grew wider and wider.
"That is because, unlike anyone else, I like these things. I love fighting so much. The warm sensation of monsters' blood on my hands fills me with euphoria, the sounds of their screams quench my thirst." He declared while licking his lips.
"My wish is to die in the battlefield, feeling cold despite the warm blood covering my body, with my sword penetrating a monster's heart and the other hand choking a Spoiled Cultivator's neck, with a smile on my face, I leave this world." He finally finished.
"Wouldn't that be so amazing?" he asked, his handsome face returning to normal as he looked at Desper.
Desper stared back in absolute shock. For a moment, he forgot how to speak.
"Ha.. ha.." Desper gave a choppy laugh. He felt shivers running through his body.
"That is special" he finally replied, struggling to smile.
'Freak' he said inwardly.
"Hahaha" Darek replied with another laughter. "You don't need to lie; I know I'm a freak, but that is my nature, and I love it"
"Anyway, let's get back to our main conversation." Darek stopped laughing. "Monsters and Spoiled Cultivators are the main reasons why cultivation has become the nightmare of everyone."
"Every sect is responsible for protecting its own territory. When I say territory, I mean the cities and villages surrounding the sect. The sect's disciples are scattered through its territory, waiting for any Distress Signal to rush there and get rid of the danger which is usually a monster." Darek continued explaining.
"Many disciples had lost their lives because of that, so people started to refuse to join a sect and cultivate; they preferred to live a peaceful life under the protection of others." Darek sighed.
"That led to the weakening of the human force. The sects had fewer disciples and couldn't protect their own territories anymore."
"The monsters faced less and less resistance, to the point that they could enter a city, kill all its people and leave without even a scratch."
"Humans faced the risk of extinction, which forced the higher forces to take action." Darek grinned as he said. "They set a new rule, which was this: if you have awakened your Origin, you must join a sect, and if you refuse, you are not allowed to stay in any place under any sect's protection."
"Therefore, if you don't want to join a sect, you must leave its territory which is the safe zone. Beyond it, you will face countless monsters and Spoiled Cultivators, and eventually, you will meet your demise."
Darek finished his explanation, then looked at Desper and asked.
"What do you think about their decision?"
Desper thought for a moment, then answered.
"They made the right decision, although it is unfair to the cultivators to risk their lives for others. If they don't do so, there will be no future for them or for anyone else" he analyzed.
Desper rubbed his chin and added "But, there must be some cultivators who break this rule and hide in cities and villages"
Darek widely grinned as he said "You are totally right. That is why the higher forces established another rule: if you are caught breaking the first rule—hiding in a city despite awakening your Origin— you will be punished. And the punishment is death!"