Dim, opaque clouds crowded the sky as rumbling thunder could be heard occasionally from time to time, trying to break in.
Surrounded by mountains and hills, a nameless village lay quietly there.
Near the outskirts of the village, inside a shed, a child around the age of 10 was sitting on a chair.
He was dangling his feet while looking at the vast, clouded sky with an inexpressive and inanimate gaze.
If one was attentive, he could see a tinge of despair, longing, and other complex emotions inside these deep, abyss black eyes that were covered with his dark brown hair.
"How did it come to this?" the child sighed after a while and left the shelter.
"I should probably head back home now..."
This is Arthur, a child who lives with his parents, Fei Caesar and Sara Caesar, hard-working farmers who work diligently to make enough money to scrape by the day.
Knock knock
After arriving in front of the wooden house, Arthur knocked twice before a woman around her thirties with brown eyes and hair, but white strings of hair were visible, wearing peasant clothing with sewed patches, opened the door.
"Little Arthur, you're late. I was worried about you." his mother said with a sad expression upon seeing Arthur.
"Sorry, mom, I had to wait for the storm to calm down."
After removing his wooden shoes, Arthur asked with an expectant gaze.
"Mom, did you borrow the book I told you about from uncle Steve?"
"Oh yes, I placed it in your room." his mom didn't hesitate to answer his question.
"Thank you so much, mom!" Arthur replied with a smile on his face wanting to go to his room immediately.
Uncle Steve is a retired adventurer who experienced the wonders of this world.
During his youthful days, he travelled around the continents and had contents with many people in power.
He often sits around the village's centre and narrates his countless tales and stories to primarily children.
As a result, little Arthur developed an interest in the mysterious continents and influential people that his uncle always talk about, so he's been going around borrowing books relating to this stuff.
According to his knowledge so far, there is a mysterious power that grants humans abilities. However, that occurs rarely, and it depends on the individual.
They are just like magicians; they control nature's elements to some extent and possess an unimaginably powerful physique.
And according to uncle Steve, the mysterious power that grants them strength is called Qi!
...
A rusty door opened as it made creaking noises, and a child entered.
The room was small, around 5x5 meters square.
The cold wind was leaking from a crack in the ceiling, giving whoever entered the room a chilling feeling.
The room had no decorations whatsoever, no chair, table, or even a bed, except for a blanket lying on the ground.
After shutting the door, Arthur closed his eyes for a second, feeling the cold wind, but he wasn't bothered. All he could think about was the book that was left in his room by his mom. However, he opened his eyes to something completely different.
He found himself standing in front of a handsome man around 25 years old, staring deep into his eyes with his dark eyes that had faint red in them. Arthur's heartbeat started to race as he tried to move back but soon realised that he had lost control of his body and couldn't move a single muscle. Arthur's eyes started to turn white, and he lost vision; he felt like those eyes would consume him.
After a while, a smile surfaced on the man's face, and he slowly closed his eyes. Arthur felt a painful headache straight away, he felt like tears were rolling down his cheek, but he saw blood at his fingertips upon touching it.
In shock, he started to walk back slowly, not taking his eyes off the man looking at the floor even though nothing was visible due to darkness, but he could see the man.
After a few more steps, his vision became more apparent, and he could perceive that this person's hands were chained to each side of the walls that were not visible due to darkness. Arthur's thoughts and emotions froze as he looked at the man again, he could see two pairs of wings formed with shadows behind him, but within a split second, Arthur slipped into unfathomable darkness.
"Erra! wake up"
A female voice abruptly echoed in his ears, but it didn't sound like his mother.
Arthur finally reopened his eyes and noticed himself kneeling with blood dripping from his nose, but all he could think about was what he had just witnessed. What felt like hours occurred in merely a few seconds.
'Home' this thought entered his mind for a second before being dismissed.
If one laid eyes on Arthur, they wouldn't be able to see a hint of emotion on his face. He used all his strength to get off the floor.
On top of the blanket, there lays a thick black book with attractive red letters as the title that read: "World Encyclopedia".
World Encyclopedia is the book he asked his mom to borrow from Uncle Steve; it provides an elementary introduction to the world's geography, modern powerhouses and various animal species.
After lighting up the candle, Arthur laid on top of the blanket and looked at the ceiling.
'Those eyes... why was he chained? Why did I end up there? Who's Erra?' questions start to pop up in his head again.
'Qi, huh? If I become one of the so-called "Qi Experts", will I be able to find my answers?' Arthur thought as a peculiar light flashed across his eyes.
'I have to... that is my only way... they're waiting for me... this feeling... what is this feeling?' he lost control of his thought and emotions. Arthur's eyes reddened as tears started to float down his cheeks.
'This loneliness, I can't curb it... I have a family showering me with love. Why do I feel empty all of a sudden? I feel nothing...'
'I'm spacing out again. I have to focus and work hard.'
After opening the book and reading through a few pages, Arthur got a general idea about what kind of world this is.
This world is enormous; there are five continents, each around 40 million km², except the central continent, written from the legends to be 80 million km².
A sea separates each continent called the Sea of Death. Many people tried to explore it but failed to return. The ones that travelled across the continents were powerful beings that used time rift.
Not even above average so-called "Qi Experts." could handle the teleporter since it puts a significant amount of pressure on the body and tears you apart.
Temporal rifts were weaknesses in space and time through which objects and people can pass through. However, the space force produced habitats that hunt's the travellers. Therefore, it is not just the pressure on the body that people must be careful.
Arthur shut the book and looked at the ceiling once more, lost in thoughts.
'How am I supposed to learn Qi that only the noble and the privileged can learn? Even my uncle couldn't come across a method to learn it even if you have an aptitude.'
'I need to find a way to leave and explore. This village will only slow me down.' Arthur slowly closed his eyes as he was planning for the future.
....
"Erra, my love. I want you to have this watch in memory of me. With every tick, remember us." a gentle female voice entered his mind as he stared at the watch.
With the first look, you might think that it was a simple and ordinary synthetic black watch. However, it was counting down.
As a teardrop came running down his face. He fell on his knees with complex emotion staring at the watch. Arthur saw this while standing next to him.
With every tick of the watch that echoed in his ears, a glimpse of memories rushed into Arthur's head.
Standing in front of a luxurious mirror, now a young man with an extravagant black suit as Arthur touched his face, with every tick, the scenes changed.
He swam through the ocean, killed, stood on top of the world and looked down on everyone passing judgement.
He was sitting on an opulent throne on the next tick of the watch, leaning and glancing at the people kneeling before him.
"Everything at some point will meet the end. Death, death was a living creature tormented by his past. Death was once a mortal." the female spoke once more.