In a realm once dominated by a singular sovereignty, a vast darkness veiled the land. The kingdom, shrouded in eternal night, knew nothing but gloom. Not a single speck of light pierced its thick veil. The denizens, adapted to these conditions, lived without an ounce of contentment. Yet, a piercing light eventually beamed through the center of this dense darkness, giving rise to three distinct kingdoms.
The Kingdom of Darkness Above, the Kingdom of Darkness Below, and the Kingdom of the Piercing Lantern. These three domains ruled the mortal realm for eons. The Darkness Below was consumed by sorrow and agony, while the Darkness Above was devoured by lust and greed. Only in the Piercing Lantern did beings find inner peace. But was anyone content? No. This is human nature; the more one has, the more one desires. Gratitude is a rarity among mortals, and thus began the eternal war between the three kingdoms.
The Piercing Lantern struck first, betraying its reputation as the most grateful. As time passed, it seemed they would win. However, the fewer lands the Darkness Below held, the louder their screams of torment grew. A single inhabitant equaled fifty warriors of the Piercing Lantern. And so, the Darkness Below reclaimed its rightful land.
The Piercing Lanterns bit their lips in defeat but refused to surrender. The Darkness Below pressed its advantage, and the Piercing Lantern sought help from the Darkness Above. The two empires clashed for centuries, until the 72nd ruler of the Piercing Lantern, Gilgamesh, took land from both. With limited communication, neither kingdom realized they shared a common enemy, igniting an eternal war.
The stalemate persisted, driven by spite, until the Ripper appeared.
The Ripper, a beast of pure animosity and overflowing power, threatened all kingdoms. They instinctively knew they had to unite to slay it. The Ripper's presence ripped holes in space, called "tears," the only way to kill the beast. Warriors harnessed these tears, imbuing them with thoughts to manifest unique powers. Two could imbue the thought of 'victory' into a tear, one manifesting as a statue of Nike, the other as a palm branch, both symbolizing victory.
In a small town on the coast of the Piercing Lantern, bordering the Darkness Above, lived a young boy named Akio. He lived a commoner's life, unnoticed and unremarkable. During the Ripper's attack, Akio stumbled upon a true tear while scavenging for food. This tear was born from the convergence of the Ripper's power and the root of Akio's hometown, the Tree of Eternity.
Ignorant of the realm's crisis, Akio dipped his hands into the true tear, driven by curiosity. The tear manifested this curiosity, fulfilling whatever Akio genuinely wondered about. If he wondered what it was like to be a fish, his soul would temporarily merge with a fish's.
The Ripper sensed trouble in the Piercing Lantern and stomped towards Akio's hometown. Feeling the ground rumble, Akio thought, "What is that rumbling?" and instantly knew its cause. He wondered, "What if I were to fight him?" and grew to the Ripper's size, clad in armor beyond this realm, knowing all the Ripper's attack patterns.
The Ripper charged at Akio, claws attempting to pierce the armor. Akio countered each hit, the Ripper's desire for power growing. Finally, Akio's last hit pushed the Ripper to the ground, ending this timeline's narrative and beginning the next.
Sensing the Tree of Eternity, the Ripper, though beastly, knew it was Akio's power source. He rooted out the tree and forcibly bred its power with his own, manifesting true tears. Harnessing these tears, the Ripper overcame the power difference and defeated Akio.
"Would you like a second chance?" a voice echoed in Akio's head. His closed eyes in death opened. He was in limbo, between life and death. He couldn't die, his last thought being, "What if I had a second chance?"
Three beings stood before him, humanoid in appearance.
"I am The One, the Paragon of Creation," said one. "I created this world, split the great darkness with a piercing light. I am the beginning of everything."
The other two beings, busy with their tasks, didn't introduce themselves. One carried a ball encompassing all creation, the Tree of Eternity within. The other effortlessly destroyed similar balls.
"Don't worry about them; you'll know who they are in time," The One said. "They are my equals. We existed when nothing else did. Conceptual non-existence. But that's aside the point. Answer my question: Do you want a second chance?"
Dumbfounded, Akio understood the vague question. "I will turn back time, creating a different timeline where tears are ordinary. You must grow strong enough to defeat the Ripper. Will you take this chance and be the savior? Or will you let it slip?"
Akio, confused why The One couldn't defeat the Ripper, accepted blindly. "I... accept. I want a second chance."
Darkness enveloped him, familiar yet different after tasting death. Perhaps he now perceived sleep as a false death.