Thousands of years ago, in a village located at the outskirts of Belham Kingdoms' Milleta City, there is a family of three.
A young wife together with her husband was preparing for the day. The wife is an ephemeral beauty compared to the other women in the village. If not for her kindness, she would garner ire and jealousy from the other village women.
The husband looks like a valiant knight with an unfathomable countenance and sharp aura radiation outside his firm muscular body.
Without knowing them, you will never believe that these two were farmers. Outside the beautifully built wooden house, is a vast plantation of different fruits and vegetables. On the deeper parts are some mysterious herbs that no one knew about especially in a kingdom like Belham.
Aside from the lovely beautiful couple, a cute child is playing with a wooden sword. The child is not displaying intense moves nor a profound martial technique. He is merely playing.
"Morbius! Stop playing, the breakfast will get cold." The woman nagged. The nagging did not decrease the beauty of this woman instead it made her more beautiful in the author's eyes. If the author was nagged by her, the author would probably be arou- awed.
The husband laughed because he found his wife adorable while showing an angry mother facade.
The silver-haired boy named Morbius ran towards the table and put the wooden sword on top of its surface. Seeing the wooden sword which is unsanitary, being place above the table, the woman's buttons seem to be pushed.
"Put that dirty sword down or kiss your breakfast goodbye!" Steam went out of the woman's nose like a kettle boiling water.
"Yes ma'am!" The child hastily put the sword down. It is quite hard to appease this woman's anger. To prevent the upcoming calamity it is better to comply as fast as possible.
"Hahaha! Calm down, Areya. You'll sprout wrinkles if you get angry easily." The husband joked, as he warmly looked at his family. He felt that farm life with family is not that bad.
Areya pouted. She served the rest of the breakfast. As she sat down, suddenly, a series of knocks could be heard from the door. This kind of knock will probably cause someone inside the house to frown.
"Dorian." Areya frowned and called Dorian, her husband's attention. Dorian is the man of the family. He must protect his family from harm. Though they are not sure what is the matter, there is no harm in being cautious.
Dorian nodded and went to the door. Before opening it, Areya took Morbius inside the room and went to where Dorian is.
As Dorian opened the door, a valiant-looking woman appeared. She might look fierce with her armor on but at this moment she is harmless.
She glanced at Dorian a bit, "Tch!". She sneered at him without any pretense. "Priestess Areya! The Empire is searching for your and your man's whereabouts. The forces are nearing Belham Kingdom's borders and in a matter of days they will reach Milleta, Please leave this kingdom as soon as possible."
"Were you being tailed?" Dorian asked. Earlier, he was thinking that having a farmer's life is not that bad. Suddenly, his dreams were meant to be shattered again because of that damned empire.
Being questioned by this hateful man, the valiant woman which seems to be a soldier or a knight, was enraged. "How dare you question me, you puny mortal!"
Slap!
Disrespecting her husband, Areya which is the priestess, slapped this woman hard.
"I am so sorry priestess. It is just so hard for me to respect this person. Because of him, the Empire is chasing you down. If not for this person... Y-you could've..." The valiant woman lost her valiant demeanor and tear began to form on her tear glands.
Areya sighed and forgave this woman. Areya knew that it is all her fault for leaving her subordinates for Dorian and her child Morbius.
Dorian felt the same as Areya, but if he could redo anything, he would not change a thing. Areya is apple of his eye and his soul. He would always do the same thing even if he had unlimited attempts in life.
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Dorian White was the former Sword Saint of the Seven Mountain Alliance. The Seven Mountain Alliance is an allied force between the biggest kingdoms to compete with empires for resources. Being a Sword Saint, Dorian served as the vanguard of the alliance.
While Dorian was on a mission, the Seven Mountain Alliance was razed by the Verdein Empire to its core. The alliance became an eyesore and Verdein Empire took the liberty to remove them from the picture.
Dorian is an orphan so he does not have a family to mourn for, but still, the Kingdom he belonged to is part of the alliance. His friends and comrades were killed along with the decimation of the alliance. His home, his fatherland, was easily destroyed.
This series of events happened before the Alma and Pleasure Master period. During this time, Legends along with their contracted Factions went to wars to monopolize resources from all over the Mezoph continent. Greed and man's duality took part in many misfortunate events causing deaths and the economy to plummet.
During his grief, Areya, the Shrine Priestess was sent by the Shrine Empress to cleanse the lands of the Seven Mountain Alliance. It is a tough mission, but it is necessary for the conquest. An ocean of blood was shed on the lands of the Seven Mountain Alliance during the invasion and with that, the formation of ominous energies is inevitable. Therefore, with the power vested upon the priestess, Areya must cleanse the land for it is her duty to the shrine and the Empire.
Dorian was grieving and wandering until she met Areya. Seeing that the men accompanying her had the Verdein Empire crest and treats her with respect, he instantly knew that she is a high-ranking official of the Empire.
To vent his grief and anger, being a sword saint, while Areya was out cleansing the lands, he skillfully killed all the soldiers from small fries to bigwigs. He killed a general during the massacre. If not for the existence of Legends, it is only a matter of time for him to destroy the whole empire.
Verdein Empire is blessed with Legends and that is usually the case for other empires. Only empires could cater the resources needed to cultivate a Legend.
Dorian might be strong, but in front of a Legend, he is nothing. He realized this when he fought with Areya. He could've killed Areya while she was cleansing the land since she will be vulnerable at that time, but he chose not to. He wanted the lands to be cleansed as well. In his mind, letting them rest is the most he could do after the people's deaths.
Dorian fiercely fought with Areya until a sword stuck in his heart ending the seemingly endless battle. Dorian, with wounds bleeding, tried to mutter words thinking that it was his last chance.
Areya tried to retrieve her sword from Dorian's chest. As she reached for the sword, Dorian held her wrists tightly.
She tried to get off but stopped when she saw Dorian smiling. She first suspected that the smile is stemmed from a cunning plot, but what she felt is a genuine smile.
"Y-yo-you are strong. Stronger than a Sword Saint like me. Power is out of my grasp and my title is the only extravagant part of me. Use your strength for the grace of the people and not for pillaging their homes and looting." Dorian said while gasping for air.
"Hmph. You dare oppose our empire, what is our difference then? You are threatening the authority of my motherland. How dare you demoralize our cause?!" Areya haughtily said. She had an arrogant demeanor and a twisted sense of justice. In her mind, everyone gaining power outside of the empire is a threat that will harm the people.
Dorian smiled again and looked straight at the sky as if the one he is talking to is in that direction.
"At the end of the day, the losers of these wars are not the factions, but the weak who can't fend for themselves. Is it satisfying to tore the limbs of those who can't walk in the first place? How ironic for the murderer to send the souls of those they killed to the afterlife. You are interesting. I wish that you, a Legend, being on top of the food chain could someday see the truth of the world with your own eyes.
By the way, thank you for helping me vent my grief."
Areya took the sword out and blood gushed faster from Dorian's heart. She looked away from him with her back in front of Dorian's sight.
She pondered and sighed. "Thanks for your advice stranger, but I still believe in my Empire. For a dead man, you sure are noisy. I will give you a free soul cleansing and I wish that you would be less talkative in your next life." She faced Dorian's direction again to perform the cleansing ritual.
"Eh?..." Suddenly, she saw a fully healed guy resembling Dorian... No... It is Dorian.
The guy bleeding to death a while ago gasping for air, staring at the sky as if he had an eternal longing for the heavens, suddenly stood up and dusting off the dirt from his clothes.
Dorian stared at Areya and laughed awkwardly. "Oh... Hehe. Pretend that I'm dead, you did not see me stood up and returned from death's door."
Before Areya could speak, Dorian disappeared from her sight as he is merely a fleeting dream.
During the years, Dorian and Areya's encounters on the battlefield became more frequent. Until now, Areya did not understand how Dorian could've survived a stab in his heart.
From wars to private skirmishes turned to hang out and dates. In the end, they eloped and that brings us to the scene wherein the Verdein Kingdom is planning to hunt the White family.
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Before they could escape the Belham Kingdom territory, an envoy came and announced an Imperial Edict.
Areya and Dorian will join the recent war between Verdein Empire and a certain empire. This war was said to be the last one and winning this war will ensure peace in the Mezoph continent for a long time.
The Verdein Emperor at that time will grant them freedom after the war in exchange for their service. Their freedom comes along with Noble title and citizenship which might entice other people but not them.
They agreed to the terms in the end, not because of the rewards, but because of the safety of their child Morbius. The battle between Legends, aside from being amazing, is also dangerous. It is a life or death battle including the soldiers and even civilians if wars escalated beyond the battlefield.
The empire is not aware of their child. Even the valiant woman did not know about the existence of Morbius. Since they are going to war, Morbius might be subjected to the danger of being a hostage.
Dorian and Areya might or might not return depending on the outcome of the battle. Being a soldier for many years, Dorian is prepared of dying.
During his fight with Areya in the past, the reason he did not die was that he couldn't. He has the Immortal Body constitution.
He could still age, but he does not die of old age. The aging process is quite slowed his prime. He could grow till adulthood normally, but after that, his aging slowed as well.
He could not die as well. His body might be invulnerable, but that is the case when his soul is intact. He needed to cultivate his body to cater to his soul and maintain it. If one's body is fragile, the soul could disperse during a deadly injury before an immortal body regenerates. If that is the case then a soulless body will fail to regenerate and that is the death of an immortal person.
Dorian and Areya secretly brought Morbius to Ignatius Belham, the First King of the Belham Kingdom. Dorian and Areya might be farmers at the outskirts, but Ignatius knew about them, especially Areya.
The reason why they brought Morbius is to entrust him to Ignatius. Ignatius's status might be the highest under the heavens in the Belham Kingdom, but these two were stronger and has more prestige.
He even wanted to adopt Morbius and make him his successor, but the couple disagreed. They wanted to hide Morbius well to make their child invisible from other people's eyes. They decided to put Morbius as a young squire in the barracks. They also changed his name to Eckart Schtrum, to hide his identity more, since it is not too much to be cautious.
Finalizing their plan, with an aching heart, they left their young boy to the king. It is their last resort and wished for the best. For their family and their only child.
Before they left, Dorian went to Ignatius for a bit. Morbius aka Eckart Schtrum was bravely standing during that time. He looked at Dorian who resembled him so much with a more mature and independent demeanor. Dorian hugged his boy and cried. His action wiped the sharp image he once had. He didn't know if they could see each other again.
"Morbius, my child. Before we leave, I want you to know... That... Sob... We love you." It is just now that Dorian, the brute, showed weakness in front of Morbius.
He caressed Morbius's hair and suddenly a strong light was emitted from his hand to the boy's head.
No one knew what he did, but himself. He the undying sword saint, Dorian White, transferred his Immortal Body constitution to Morbius.
Ignatius was shocked but understood what happened. He knew that Morbius received his inheritance from Dorian. For what it is, he did not know until Dorian had spoken.
"Ignatius, take care of my child while you are alive. Just make him as normal as possible. I am not sure if we could come back from this war, but I am still hoping for a better future for my child.
Also, I would like to tell you a heavy secret, but I wish for you to make an oath.
Ignatius could understand his request on the first part, but when Dorian requested an oath, he gasped.
" I Ignatius "King Belham I", under the heavens swear my undying oath. May the heavens grant my peril for breaking the oath of secrecy."
Dorian nodded and told him about his Immortal Body constitution. He also requested Ignatius to make a way for Morbius to change his name and identity every 100 years as well as.
With that, everything concluded and, Areya and Dorian went to war and died at the hands of the enemy. No war was ended and no peace was attained.