The inner domain of the Leng Bing Realm is divided into five levels.
The further away one is from the center of the domain, the harsher the everlasting winter's coldness is.
The first level is considered to be the slums. It is where non-Sinners are gathered. Housing here is rather rundown with a few being on the verge of collapsing.
The second level is the dwellings of the Ashen River Hall's lower-class members. The dwellers here are charged with the task of hunting and gathering.
A rural village with patches of farmland, that would be one way to describe the area. And to ensure stable productivity, the plots used for growing crops are kept in a usable state all year round by magic arrays.
The third level is made up of mostly inner members, along with core members of the hall.
Different from the inner members, core members are charged with leading ruins excavations and hunting and gathering activities with the former group.
Although inner members are able to act solo for hunting and gathering activities, they are not allowed to enter ruins without a core member leading them.
The fourth level is the inner domain's largest area. It is occupied by the well-established core members, along with the hall's executives.
The buildings here are all modern, no different from an outer domain's Grounded City—with towering skyscrapers and industrial structures throughout. This is the place that all inner domain denizens seek to enter.
As for the fifth level, it is the smallest area of the inner domain, and it is also where the hall master's residence is.
...…
Within the inner domain's second level lived a certain boy with black hair and dark eyes.
He wasn't anyone extraordinary.
However, there was one thing that made the boy different from others.
He is aware of the world's true nature—regarding the gear-filled skies over his head, being a mimicry of the true heavens, a place that is much vaster and more magnificent than the artificial scenery above him.
But that was all that made him unique, and it wasn't something to be bragged about—because he knew how insignificant of a knowledge that was.
Attire wise, the boy was commonly seen with a short-sleeved black shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans.
Despite being a Sinner, the boy was only an ordinary member of the Ashen River Hall, only slightly higher in status than those who lived in the first level areas. That being the case, he mainly performed odd jobs to get by—all of which, required some form of manual labor.
Within the inner domain, the moment a child is able to think, they're expected to work—regardless of their age. This is to drill the harshness of the inner domain into their bones early on.
Unlike others of his age, the boy was known to be fit physically and was quick to recover his strength, this was theorized to be the ability of his Relic that is merged with his flesh. But even then, this wasn't considered to be anything extraordinary.
One could consider the boy to be one of the weakest Sinners around, and because of this, he was often picked on by others—with most of these individuals being the jealous sort, due to the boy having a childhood friend of the opposite gender.
The circumstances of the two's meeting could only be described as ordinary—simply a matter of them being neighbors with one another, and the circumstances of their parting were just as ordinary.
At some point, the girl was taken away by an executive of the hall, due to her Relic being able to serve as a key asset to the excavation of ancient ruins.
Prior to the girl's departure into the inner domain's fourth level with her parents, the boy had promised her that he would make a name for himself and marry her after.
In response, the girl said that she was looking forward to it with great expectations.
...…
As a few years flew by, the boy—who had forgotten about his promise, due to his realization of how impossible it was, took up an odd job like he usually would.
Only this time, the job required him to enter an actual ruin.
The task was rather simple. All he had to do was go into the ruins, and carry out the magic treasures that were contained within the treasury.
With his fellow co-workers beside him, the task went rather smoothly, but just as they were about to carry the final cart out, a stray beast had appeared, and in a merciless manner, it ripped the boy's co-workers apart—prior to setting its cold gaze onto him.
As the beast raised a ferocious roar, the boy's back was flayed open by the former's claws.
In the same instance, a rift—which led into the outer domain, had appeared, and desperate to survive, the boy had leaped into it.
...…
Appearing out in the middle of the wilderness surrounded by trees and greenery—under the false night skies, the boy falls onto his back, as blood oozes rampantly from the opened wound.
Sensing his blood leaving his body at a trickling rate, which can only be described as despair-inducing, the boy through tear-filled eyes mutters—
"Please… Someone, something, anything, I don't care what you are… A god or a devil, please, let me see… The true heavens before I die…!"
Moments passed in silence, and just as the boy was about to draw his final breath with his heart filled with immense regret—
"Very well."
An androgynous voice speaks.
"…!"
The entity that had appeared in front of the boy was difficult to describe with words; for the entirety of their body is shrouded within a layer of white fog, but the air this entity gives off—
"God…?"
Instinctively, the boy thought this odd entity to be a god.
Instead of answering the question, "the God" asks—
"You wish to see a glimpse of the true heavens, was it? Then…"
As "the God" inside the white fog waves their hand, a rift in the fabrics of time and space is torn open—revealing a space that is as dark as the night.
Littered across this dark space are numerous celestial bodies, all of which are currently giving off a vast array of different colored shines.
"This is… The true heavens?"
Before the mesmerizing sight, the boy had forgotten about the fact that he was dying, and towards their question, "the God" answers—
"Merely a portion of the vast outer heavens."
Waving their hand once more, planets of varying sizes and colors appeared. Other than planets, there were also colossal continents.
Dwelling upon these vessels for life are a myriad number of species with their own culture and appearance.
Some looked similar to humans, others looked similar to beasts; among them, there were even a few that weren't entirely human or beast, but were akin to inanimate objects given sentience.
"…"
Towards the things that are being shown to him, the boy finds it difficult to hold back his tears.
And for reasons unclear, he finds the sights shown familiar, but also foreign at the same time.
However, what was certain was that within this world that rests beneath an artificial heaven, he is the sole individual to have been blessed with a chance to see the true heavens that are beyond the reach of his peers.
"Are you satisfied?"
Towards "the God's" question, the boy continues to keep his eyes on the true heavens, all for the sake of looking at it for just a moment longer, and answers—
"Satisfied… Thank you…"
Answering as such, a faint smile appears on the boy's face.
His expression prior to death was one of peace and fulfillment.
Upon the boy's death, his corpse gives off a faint blue glow, and with it, his soul is forcefully pulled outwards.
"…Cruel, how very cruel the laws of this world are. Even upon death, a soul may not rest."
Raising his right hand, "the God" mutters—
"Soul Extraction Art."
*Boom…!* a sound that is akin to a blast goes off, and with it, the invisible chains—that were pulling onto the boy's soul, are shattered.
Holding the boy's soul on top of his right palm, "the God" says—
"Long Hua, that is your name, is it? Then, Long Hua, to you, who calls me God, I grant to you—freedom from the confines of this world."
Saying this, "the God" tosses the soul of Long Hua into the rift behind him.
"I wish to you a better life, Long Hua."
Turning away from the rift, "the God's" expression beneath the white fog turns solemn.
"God, is this path right for me?"
The foreign visitor of the Leng Bing Realm knows not the answer to this question that he himself had raised. However—
"God, devil, monster, it doesn't what I end up becoming—so long as I can realize that whim of mine, and eventually, rip that snake's head off."
Saying this, two ominous glows of azure radiance, shine through the fog shroud.