Episode 1: Deported
Humanity has been stuck in a cycle of war and ceasefire between nations.
At that time, religion was the sole dominant force that transcended national borders,
In the north, the divided countries of Basra and Noema were in a delicate balance, with each trying to counter the other.
In the northeast, the imperialist Carcer, where the ambitious King Berkas, driven by a desire to conquer all nations,
In the southwest, Astrel was ruled by King Alterion, a monarch known for his idealistic and indecisive nature, who sought peace,
In the southeastern Canato Plains, a group of indigenous people who had rejected technology and revolution lived a life of isolation.
February 4, 960
As the sun began to set, a crowd of passersby, not sailors, started to gather at the Astrel harbor.
A distant ship was drawing everyone's attention as it drew closer, and the naval fleet began to assemble one by one.
"That boat..." "MAGELLAN?"
"What's that? You're talking about Magellan?" You've been completely unresponsive for seven years! "You're back to life, aren't you?"
"So, did Magellan actually complete his circumnavigation of the globe?"
There was a sense of wonder and a hint of unease that something was off, amidst the murmurs of the crowd.
The ship finally limped into the harbor, its hull heaving and bucking like a ghost ship on a stormy sea.
The wooden hull was splintered, and the sail was tattered and flapping wildly in the sea breeze.
As the deck descended and people rushed to board the ship, the area was eerily quiet, as if it had been abandoned.
The only sound was the eerie stillness that made me think I was a ship that had been tossed about by the waves.
As the silence was broken, the door to the ship's captain's quarters swung open, and a man stumbled out, looking weak and helpless.
As they watched, a sense of fear and familiarity washed over them, and in the crowd, they caught glimpses of a man they knew,
A fisherman rushed out to grab the man and pull him to safety, saying.
"Magellan!!" What's going on? Why are you the only one who's been affected? The crew
The fisherman bombarded him with questions nonstop,
Magellan continued to gasp for air, managing a few words before his consciousness began to fade.
"It's my first time seeing a continent like this..." A massive wall.. "Other civilizations..."
As the mysterious words continued, those around him began to whisper to each other in hushed tones,
As the chaotic harbor came into view, the Astartes' Skyfist Knights began to emerge.
The clanking of armor grew louder and louder, echoing through the air,
As the crowd parted, the only sound that echoed was the creak of the deck beneath our feet,
As Theo, the Grand Master of the Order, looked on, Magellan, who had fallen, caught his eye.
Without a word to the fisherman, Theo, the Grand Master of the Order, turned around and took off with a simple command.
"Hurry up and transfer him to the Magellan Medical Center - we need to get this to the king ASAP!"
The streets were filled with the sound of gunfire,
In addition to the Grand Master of the Order, there were also those who ran the streets to spread the news.
Before the Grand Master even arrived at the castle,
The hastily written ink was splattering everywhere, and rough newspaper cutouts were being made one by one.
As Theo continued to run through the square, a multitude of questions swirled in his mind.
The story of a continent and a wall that's been lost in the crowd,
I'm still trying to wrap my head around how he managed to come back, and what happened to all 50 crew members,
What impact will it have on humanity, which has been unable to circumnavigate the globe for decades,
Can we keep this under wraps and not let the enemy find out,
His mind was a jumble of thoughts, wondering if he could turn this competition into a win, even if it meant revealing his true intentions to the enemy.
"If the Carcer Empire were to find out..." "
The knights guarding the castle gate hastily flung it open as Theo sprinted towards them.
As the door swung open, Theo's eyes landed on the figure standing before him in the castle,
It's not about having a perfectly styled blonde hair and a fancy makeup look,
He sat on the throne, dressed in the bare minimum of attire to maintain his dignity,
Altherion Pemtor, the 15th king of Astrel, comes into view.
Theo knelt before Alterion Pemtor, struggling to catch his breath as he spoke.
Alteirion Pemtor remained unruffled, his gaze steady and unflappable, even as he took in the unsettling sight of the Knight Commander.
"Your Majesty! Magellan has been rescued!"
"Just now, a ship docked at the harbor, but there was no one on board - only Magellan was left alive."
As he sat on the throne, the Alterion femtor listened intently to the report from the leader of the knights,
Despite being taken aback by the unexpected news, his eyes widened for a moment, but he soon composed himself with a faint smile.
"Magellan?" "What's that?"
"So he failed, did he?" Did you
The Grand Master of the Order, Thea, responded to the inquiry of the Alteirion Pemtor,
He struggled to give a clear answer, hesitating and rambling on.
"That..." That's right, I saw the New World from a distance, but what struck me was the massive wall that stood between us.. "I didn't hear it firsthand, but I've heard people talking about it in the crowd."
Alterion rose to his feet, his eyes locking coldly onto Theo.
With a look of calculation on his face, he didn't hear any more of the story,
I moved to the balcony overlooking the castle.
The king's attendants, visibly perplexed by his sudden pace, trailed behind him,
Theo also reacted in the same way.
As Alterion opened the window, the entire country unfolded before him, stretching out as far as the eye could see,
A sense of excitement was building somewhere, and scraps of paper were flying everywhere.
At that moment, a woman in a traditional Korean hat, known as a do, covered her face,
As I was walking through the crowd, I picked up a piece of paper, took a quick glance at it, stuffed it into my pocket, and continued on my way.
"I really need to get to Carcer..."
A few days later, on February 7, 960, the rumor began to spread to the entire world.
The rumors originated from the enemy kingdom of Carcer,
The Canato people, a small ethnic group living in harmony with nature,
The division of the country led to the spread of Noema and Basra.
At that time, no one knew what kind of impact the rumors would have.
The National Academy of Sciences in Noema is home to students on the cusp of graduation,
The stories about the rumors and their career paths were seen as their own gossip.
Standing in front of a boy who was more curious about the rumors than about his future, gazing out the window,
His friend approached him and struck up a conversation.
"Hey, where are you looking again? Where are you planning to go after you graduate, Elian?"
My friend Len asked.
Elian showed no interest in the question.
Meanwhile, Len is on the lookout for a safe and lucrative career,
Elian's mind was filled with other thoughts.
"What's it about safe and wealthy places that you like?"
"Isn't that just a given?"
"I'm not sure what's going on in your head, but every time I see you, you seem to be living in a fantasy world, and your expression says it all."
Len gave a brief and straightforward response, his expression suggesting he didn't quite grasp Elian's question.
Despite Ren's response and advice, the reaction was still lacking,
He simply followed the movement of the clouds as they drifted out of the window.
I... "I haven't made a decision yet, that's all."
His words were hollow, but,
Something was clearly growing inside.
Len let out a deep sigh at Elian's response and sat back down in his chair, prompting him to speak again.
"I guess I should decide now, since I'm graduating soon anyway."
"Ugh, is he just being laid-back or is he clueless?"
REN's words had a hint of condescension to them, but,
Elian listened intently, but then asked Len again.
This time, he asked a question with a faintly bright expression, one that was a far cry from Jinro's usual tone.
"Have you heard that rumor about Len?" "New World"
Len looked taken aback and asked back.
"Were you interested in that too?" "Is that a wish?"
Elian's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he grasped Len's shoulder, as if vitality was pouring out of him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" "It's talking about the New World, literally."
Len continued speaking, his words dripping with disdain as he yanked Elion's arm away.
"I've heard that the New World is said to be the place where the biblical God resides, and that if you visit there, your wishes will come true. But there are also claims that angels are present, or that other continents are invading, and many other theories are circulating."
Elian had a vacant expression, but his eyes sparkled with a hint of excitement.
What stuck with me was the rumor about the Bible, rather than the other rumors.
Ren's expression betrayed a hint of unease, and he hastily turned away.
The accidents that Elian had been involved in kept flashing through my mind.
"Hey, what's going on with that face? Don't even think about getting up to some weird stuff. That's just a rumor, a fabrication, you know? Just stick to what's real and don't get caught up in something crazy again."
Elian stood up and made his way towards the door.
It's a different story when you're contemplating your career path,
It was a gesture that conveyed a sense of certainty, as if he knew exactly where he was headed.
"You said that was the Bible, didn't you?" "Let's catch up later. I've got a place to go, so I'll figure out what I want to do first, regardless of my career path."
Elian closed the door behind him as he left.
"Hey, Elian!" "Where?"
Elian took off running towards the library,
As he unbuttoned his stifling school uniform, his brown hair flew out in all directions.
He sprinted to the library, leaving his bag behind and with nothing in his hands.
February 7, 960
There were also places that remained untouched by the rumors of humanity's great upheaval.
The dimly lit, oppressive atmosphere of the Basra underground prison, where a faint light seeps in through the barred windows,
The elderly man, who looked out of place, stood with his feet shackled to the wall, staring blankly at the wall.
The only sign of how long it had been there was the faint mark where the date had been scratched, and the wall was now illuminated by the faint light.
As I stood there, the sound of ironclad boots clanking echoed in from a distance.
The old man turned his head as if he was familiar with the place, gazing at the bars, and waited for the guard to approach.
The guard stood before the elderly man, who was standing between the bars, with a half loaf of bread and a canteen of water in hand.
"Hey, I'm on food duty today." "To be honest, I'm all out of stock, so this is the only option I have left."
The guard told the old man,
As I gazed down at the elderly man with his snowy hair and bushy beard, a fleeting sense of pity would often wash over me.
The silence continued,
As he handed over the bread, the old man slowly began to bite into it, and the guard cautiously pointed to the wall and asked.
"Mr. Barnell Katzman, sir." "When did you start giving up on that date?"
The old man was taken aback for a moment when he called out his own name, and then looked up at the guard,
It finally dawned on me.
It was clear that the security guard had been feeding himself every day for years.
He then glanced at the name tag and replied slowly.
"Oh, his name was Will Hunt, I see."
"Memory..." It's not going well.. "It feels like I've been counting for 10 years now..."
"You are..." "Did you support the soldiers?"
Will was lost in thought for a moment.
The fact that Barnell was just an enemy soldier right in front of him,
The thought of having endured here for decades or so left me speechless.
Will paused, collecting himself, and then answered Barnell's question.
"Of course, I was dragged along." "Who would want to take on a job that's so hazardous and treacherous?"
As he listened to his own response, he caught a glimpse of Barnell's expression, which was a testament to his own unintentional humility.
Barnell's expression betrayed a hint of disappointment, but he instinctively knew that direction wasn't his.
Amidst the heavy atmosphere, their hushed conversation was suddenly interrupted, and Will turned to Barnell with a question.
"Mr. Barnell..." I've heard you're a hero from the First War, Noema
"Really?"
"Oh, my..."
"The hero of Noema..." "Why am I stuck here?"
"Just a soldier..."
"Despite everything, I've been committed to it, I guess."
Will's expression seemed to give up, and he fell silent once more.
In his own country, no one was looking for him,
Maybe he's dead, and maybe he's not even interested in whether he's alive or dead,
Will couldn't fathom what Barnell was trying to convince him of at this point.
"I'll head back to my seat."
Will soon moved quietly through the underground prison.