Chapter 2
A hooded man walked alone across the open field, the soft wind brushing past him as if testing his resolve.Tall grass swayed
As he passed through, his face remained hidden beneath the black hood, his presence slightly distorting the air around him.
It was an unmistakable aura of a master magician dense, controlled, honed through countless battles. And yet, a sword rested at his side…
His name was Zen..
"It looks like I'll reach the next location in two days on foot."
He exhaled quietly. "I'll need to find a village to rest at for the night."
From beneath his cloak, he pulled out a worn map, his fingers tracing its edges with precision as his eyes scanned the markings.
"Oh.?" His tone sharpened
"There's a village just barely past my destination where the fragment is supposed to drop.."
His jaw tightened.
"One of the fragments fell tonight," he whispered, "I can't afford to cause chaos in the village."
For a brief moment, darkness stirred at the edge of his mana core.
"Using it would be faster.."
The air around him seemed to grow heavier, darker, shadows subtly stretching at his feet, his fingers twitched slightly
"No, Not yet I need to save even the slightest mana for a fight that might break out"
He suppressed it for now..
The wind responded instead.
"Turbo:Incitus"
Mana erupted outward.
The air twisted violently, wrapping around his body and lifting him a few meters off the ground.In an instant, the land below blurred into streaks of green and brown as he was hurled forward, his cloak snapping like a banner in a storm. The world compressed into motion, distance collapsing beneath him/
As he neared his destination the pressure of the wind eased, spotting a village snapping into focus he dispersed the spell, landing lightly but breathing heavier than before after travelling at such high speeds
He paused for a moment remembering something
"The Protectors…" he murmured "They're close by to this village.."
"They've existed since ancient times when the realms were divided, I have to deal with them as well..."
He exhaled heavily
"This won't be easy..haah"
As he approached the village something was wrong, the village got caught up in it just as he expected. People laid scattered across the streets, collapsing where they had stood. He moved quickly to the nearest figure, an elderly woman
Her chest rose faintly. Her skin was pale, her life force thin and fraying, as though something invisible was feeding on her very existence, as he turned to leave to find the source a weak hand grabbed his sleeve. The elderly woman awoke her eyes cloudy, but sharp with fear
"It's that woman's child doing all this.." she rasped.
Her fingers trembling as she pointed down towards the far end of the village
"I saw it… the black light around him." Her voice grew harsher "You're a sorcerer from the kingdom aren't you?! Go get rid of them before we all die.."
His eyes glancing at her
Zen's Inner Monologue: fear makes people cruelly honest, when people feel truly scared they only think of their own survival above all, abandoning the idea that others exist. That is the true nature of humans.
THAT IS SO FUCKING FIRE IM COOKING WHAT < will be removed
He sighed
Slowly removing her hand from his sleeve, he responded "I'll deal with it
"Corrabo."
Wind burst around his legs as he sprinted through the village, searching for the source. He noticed bodies everywhere, Alive yet hollow, breathing yet fading..
Then he saw her, the source.
A mother sat slumped against a wall, clutching her child a boy who appeared to be around ten years old, His body glowed faintly, thin strands of pitch-black mana threaded into his core like veins of corruption
He went to her side immediately
As he reached for the boy, the mother loosened her grip, her voice trembling violently.
"Please… please take care of him," she begged. "I made a terrible mistake."
"It will end soon," Zen said softly in a reassuring voice "I promise.."
He placed his hand against the boy's solar plexus, the mana core. The dark energy fought back violently, thrashing like a living thing.
Zen's eyes darkened.
Black mana surfaced from his palm deeper, heavier, controlled.
Darkness answered darkness. He carved a seal into place through sheer will, the glow had faded.
Zen took the boy carefully, more carefully than necessary.
The boy clung to his mother, trembling, quiet sobs escaping him. Zen's chest tightened. Something about the way he froze, helpless and afraid, flashed him back to a field of green grass, laughter echoing in the wind, a girl with light blue hair slipping from his grasp. He had been powerless then. He couldn't fail now.
Zen turned back to the mother
"Tell me the truth," he said calmly "Did you make a deal with a devil?"
The air shifted.
Mana pressure thickened over the village..
The woman nodded, sobbing openly now.
"I was dying during childbirth," she cried. "My husband… he tried to save me. He offered himself."
Her hands trembled. "The devils refused. He said… 'You alone are not enough. Let me use your first child as a vessel.'"
She choked. "My husband agreed in a rush to save me. He gave up thirty years of his lifespan just to grant the child a few years of freedom."
"If I had died… if only I had just died instead…"
Zen closed his eyes briefly for a second.
"What's done is done," he said firmly "But I won't let this continue."
The ground trembled.
Zen cast Float, lifting himself into the air without any difficulties, he stabilized, drifting sideways to gain distance from the village to check if the situation had changed.
The air changed. It didn't explode with pressure, It thickened…
Each breath grew heavier, as if the sky itself had gained weight, pushing Zen down
Then it emerged.
A colossal figure rose beyond the village, its form resembling a golem carved from divine stone, layered in something far more refined, It radiated authority and power.
One of the Protectors had awakened
"Human," the voice boomed
"I am the Protector of the Human Realm. Why do you shield a child tainted by forbidden power?"
"Because I chose to haha ...," Zen replied, teeth clenched with a smile.
"You bear immense potential," the Protector continued.
"Blessed by his power."
"Leaving the child alive will doom humanity. Will you fight me and the world for him?"
The pressure intensified.
Zen's knees bent slightly. Sweat rolled down his face, yet he still kept that slight smirk of his gritting his teeth..
Zen's Inner monologue: If it were me from two years ago… I would have been crushed instantly but..
"I sealed the boy," Zen said. "I'll raise him to be humanity's hope, not its end."
Laughter thundered
"What if he loses control? What if he kills you? Are you prepared to die for him?"
A faint smile touched Zen's lips.
"I don't intend to die for anyone except her," he said calmly.
"But I will not abandon him, and I swear on everything I have left."
Silence followed
Zen ready to draw his sword, a Pitch black aura surrounding his Katana
The pressure lifted.
"Hahaha very well," the Protector said.
"I shall grant you a few years to teach the boy to control his powers."
The figure slowly ascended skyward.
"You are the beam of hope."
The protector her voice faded
But the village came first
Back at the village, the mother clutched her son tightly, her sobs raw and uncontrolled. Zen approached slowly, each step measured
"If he stays here," Zen said quietly, kneeling to her level
"Everyone will die. Including you." She shook her head violently.
"No… there has to be another way. I'll leave. I'll hide him, her knuckles whitened. "I'm his mother," she sobbed. "He's my everything."
Zen listened without interrupting
"This isn't what your husband wanted," he said
"He didn't give up his lifespan so his son could be hunted for something he never chose."
Her breathing broke, tears streamed down her face
"I'm sorry," she whispered to her son. "I'm so weak…"
She pressed her forehead against his.
Slowly inch by inch she loosened her grip.
Finally, she let go.
Zen took the boy gently to ensure no sudden moments would change her mind.
"Will I ever see him again?" she cried, her voice cracking as the distance between them grew.
Zen met her gaze "Yes." he said without hesitation, "I swear it. On my life".
Relief and sorrow collided in her expression
"My son's name is–"
Zen had vanished into the shadow, leaving no trace behind. And with him went her child and a promise heavier than any curse he had ever carried.
[Information Box]
Villages far from the capital contain lots of people due to wars and other side effects from hundreds of years ago, although they still pay taxes to the dedicated kingdom for letting them stay there.
The Protectors have been around since the ancient times guarding each of the realms {More information to be unlocked}