Early in the morning the sun was about to set. Urue Everhour got up from bed and sat on the bed, deep in thought.
How did i end up like this? he wondered.
A memory that had long been buried deep within his mind slowly surfaced.
In the memory, Urue Everhour stood on top of a wooden ship. The ship was badly damaged and torn apart in several places. Large holes could be seen across its body as seawater rushed in. The vessel was already beginning to sink.
Standing before him was a strange creature.
It had the body of a human, but there were clear differences. Two horns grew from its head, and dark scales covered parts of its skin. Its head was smooth and shining like polished metal, reflecting Urue Everhour's own image upon its surface.
There was not a single strand of hair on its head.
In this world, such a creature was known as a demon.
Any being that possessed a human body and face but bore horns was classified as a demon the strongest type of monster in Earth.
Reverse Flow.
As soon as Urue Everhour waved his hand, the ship became completely intact. The ship reversed to the state when it had not yet been destroyed.
Urue Everhour sighed in relief.
He asked the demon, whose blood was dripping and rolling continuously from its body, what its name was.
The demon replied in a weak tone, like someone who was about to die at any moment.
"Sen… Sen… Senryanku."
Cough… cough… cough.
Senryanku coughed out a mouthfull of blood continuously.
Urue Everhour's face was still expressionless as he said,
"I will heal you."
"But what you become after this moment… is no longer my concern."
"Every being walks a path written by fate, yet shaped and changed by their own will. Some walk toward the light, others toward darkness but both paths are still choices and options left by fate."
"Do not mistake this act for kindness. I am neither righteous nor merciful."
"I am not a righteous man, nor do I pretend to be one."
"Everyone has their own beliefs."
"I act according to mine alone."
"I followed the quiet voice deep in my heart."
"I have no regrets."
"There is a part of me that wants to help you. Even if you bring disaster and chaos to the world. Then so be it."
"The road ahead, the path you choose, whether it leads to righteousness or evil is yours to walk."
Reverse Flow.
The demon, Senryanku, was completely healed. All his limbs were regrown. His body, which had been covered in blood, was completely restored. There was not a single drop of blood left on his body.
Senryanku rolled across the deck of the ship toward Urue Everhour, then moved to the edge of the ship.
He stood up and dived into the sea.
Urue Everhour blinked as his vision began to change.
He was standing at the entrance of the room. The door was open, and both of his hands were holding the sides of the doorway.
Was I daydreaming? It felt so real like I was the one there, like I was reliving a memory.
Urue Everhour shook his head.
"I will just forget about it. I always have dreams like this. This is not the first time time Urue Everhour have dreams about his former life but it was the first time he was relieving his past life event."
He closed the door of the room, took off his clothes, and went to take a shower.
After that, he wore his clothes and walked out of the room.
From the room, he walked to the staircase. From the staircase, he went down to the Reception Hall.
He met Lionel, who was standing at the exit of the staircase.
Urue Everhour was slightly startled.
Lionel's face wore a smile as he said, "What took you so long? Where is the card? We don't have much time. Let's get to work."
Urue Everhour did not reply. He simply stared at Lionel as he removed the card from his pocket and give it to Lionel.
Lionel and Urue Everhour walked toward the reception office. The receptionist was sitting while writing in a book. Another receptionist stood beside her, looking at the book. He was a male receptionist muscular and short, with an average appearance.
The female receptionist raised her hand to stretch, and a yellow ring glowed on her finger.
Lionel tossed the card toward her fingers. It moved so fast that the male receptionist could not see it.
The ring absorbed the card almost instantly as soon as it came near her fingers.
Lionel let out a sigh of relief as he patted Urue Everhour on the shoulder and said, "My brother here wants to take the evaluation and become a Raider."
The male receptionist suggested that Urue Everhour go to the evaluation hall. If he was lucky, the evaluation might prove that he had Rank 1 cultivation and that he could start cultivating. The male receptionist laughed quietly and said that he had seen things like this happen many times.
Lionel and Urue Everhour walked from the reception office to the place where the rest of their squad was sitting, and they regrouped.
The table was surrounded by six chairs: two long chairs one at the front and the other at the left corner and four small chairs filling the gaps to form a circle around the table. There were two pillows on each long chair and one pillow on each short chair.
On the long chair at the corner, Elaine was lying down. She rested her head on the pillows. There was also a pillow on the floor close to Elaine. Her head was turned to the right, facing Cedric, who was sitting cross-legged in a chair. Both of his hands were resting on a pillow placed on his waist.
As soon as their eyes made contact, Cedric turned his head to face another direction while still glancing at her.
The rest of them were talking, laughing, drinking, and chatting.
"Good morning," Lionel greeted the squad.
Urue Everhour did the same.
They all replied in unison, "Good morning, Captain."
Lionel stretched and said, "I will be taking Leywin to go for the evaluation. Let's meet at the arena."
That same day, Urue Everhour and Lionel walked toward an office. The office was small.
Lionel was accompanied by Urue Everhour. He opened the door of the office. On top of the door, the word Evaluation was written.
As soon as they entered, they could see another area outside the office. There were long chairs where people were sitting, while some chairs remained empty.
Inside the office was a large space. There was also another door that led to another room.
Lionel and Urue Everhour went inside that room. The room was twice the size of the office they had just come from.
Inside the room, there were a white crystal balls glowing like snow it was five meters tall.
There was a line in front of the crystal balls. A woman wearing a black suit was sitting beside a printer machine on the left side.
While staring at Urue Everhour, she said, "Join the line. When it is your turn, place your hands on the evaluation crystal ball. If the light changes from white to black, it means you have no qualification to become a Raider. If it turns green, come and meet me. I will print your evaluation results. You will take the result to the woman in the office you entered before coming here. Give it to her, and she will get you a Raider's ID card."
The woman's lips curved into a smile as she spoke.
Urue Everhour nodded and joined the line.
More than half of the people in the lineup were youths, about the same age as Urue Everhour.