It was the cool breeze blowing on Neo's testicles that actually woke him up.
Not even half a second after regaining consciousness, he was bombarded with an influx of pain so severe that he spasmed uncontrollably. Alas, that only made the pain worse.
It was a vicious cycle. The pain made Neo spasm, but the spasms made the pain worse... It would have gone on endlessly, but Neo expertly concentrated on his breathing, inhaling and exhaling in a specific pattern until the spasms gradually subsided.
Neo was no stranger to pain. Ever since he was a mere toddler, he had been coping with intense, excruciating pain due to the mysterious orb placed in his chest.
They say necessity begets creativity. Neo was forced to research multiple techniques to manage pain and reduce the intensity of the immense agony he had endured since childhood.
He had cried himself to sleep every single night as a baby and woken up to the pain in his chest throbbing like a machete wound from a bloodthirsty goblin every morning.
Neo was so exhausted by this vicious fate of his that he didn't even realise when he began crying.
He lay on the rocky floor of the cliff in silence, crying his heart out in soft whimpers. He cried until his cheeks hurt even more, and the multiple palm imprints on his face burned from his tears.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep Beep!
Neo's left wrist vibrated softly as the old Personal System strapped to his wrist beeped.
A melodious, artificial voice recording began playing from his wrist.
"Happy birthday! Happy Happy birthday!..."
On the silent cliff of EagleBeak, exactly 12:00 am, the voice of a system recording rang out.
It was the only sound for hundreds of metres, and Neo couldn't help but notice...
It sounded quite sad. And quite lonely...
He was quite lonely...
He had finally turned eighteen. Eighteen years of endless suffering.
And he was probably going to die soon as well. His wounds were so severe that only a healing pill made by an alchemist could save his life.
And since he neither had enough money to buy one of those nor enough energy to even call an ambulance, he was probably going to die atop this cliff.
On a chilly night...
'What a life,' Neo chuckled bitterly—or at least, he tried to. Here he was, splattered over a cliff like bird faeces, with no one to—
Tiring! Tiring!
Neo smiled to himself.
At least one person remembered him. Even though she was currently not in the city and could only call, Neo felt warm nonetheless. Warm and dizzy from blood loss.
'Now, how to pick up the call...'
Neo's body was currently plastered over the rocky floor; he had no usable hands to pick up the call. Wanting to at least tell his best friend his last words, Neo was getting desperate.
He wasn't even this eager to call an ambulance to save his own life...
Just as he was about to get creative, his already blurry vision suddenly swam. Seriously.
It looked like the cliff was shooting towards the moon for the briefest of moments before everything suddenly went dark.
Only the ringing sound of Neo's Personal System continued to echo endlessly.
___
Clang Clang!
The distinct sound of iron chains colliding with a hard surface rang out continuously.
Neo awoke to this sound ringing in his ears. He opened his eyes and took a faint look around him.
'I'm not dead yet?' he thought. 'And what's this heavy feeling on my neck?'
After his blurry vision cleared, Neo finally took in the appearance of the hospital ward he was probably in.
Dark grey walls with gigantic pillars, spires, gargoyles, creepy murals...
Hold on! This wasn't a hospital!
Neo shot upwards instantly. But his neck was yanked downwards so forcefully he thought he was going to swallow his Adam's apple.
'Why the heck am I wearing a collar?!'
Neo felt his neck with his hands and confirmed that he was indeed wearing a collar attached to chains...
'Where in the world is this?'
Neo rose as cautiously as possible until he got to a sitting position, his head whipping downwards to observe the place he was in. His eyes took in the sights around him, and he gasped.
He was in the most magnificent yet utterly creepy chamber he had ever seen. The floor was a dark blue colour, crafted so intricately that it formed majestic runes that spread for thousands of kilometres before leading up to dark blue walls.
Neo had never been in a room so massive. He felt minuscule, like a speck of dust or a grain of sand by the riverside.
The walls were tall and archaic-looking. They were made of a material so heavenly that Neo felt his eyes hurt just by looking at it.
Neo was suddenly startled. Where was the pain?
He was experiencing a novel sensation for the first time in his life—one that made him feel weightless and floating on clouds.
He felt no pain at all!
Not even in his chest area!
'Am I truly dead? Is this the afterlife?'
Neo's confused thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a guttural, rumbling voice that crackled like thunder echoed out.
"THE FATE OF THE CHOSEN BEGINS, UNSHACKLING THE CHAOS WITHIN. WHEN ALL THE SEVEN GUARDIANS CONVERGE, AND THE DEMONS OF THE END EMERGE, A CALAMITY SHALL BE BORN, TO PROTECT OR TO WREAK ASUNDER!!"
Neo felt his mind ache tremendously. The words, though not spoken in English, conveyed a meaning so intense he almost lost consciousness. He couldn't even wonder how he was able to understand the mysterious language spoken by the divine being.
Suddenly, one of the seven chains attached to his collar lit up, and Neo finally saw the gigantic edifice the chain was connected to.
It was a throne.
An absolutely enormous throne, hundreds of kilometres tall. It was so magnificent and enormous that Neo was sure even the greatest Ascended Earth had to offer was not worthy of touching its armrest.
"Hmph! Pathetic!"
Another voice, more feminine than the last, echoed out. Neo instinctively knew that the voice came from the throne.
Despite knowing that he was absolutely pathetic, as the mysterious being said, Neo still felt a rising anger grow within him. The disdain in that voice was so intense that it made Neo's blood boil.
Abruptly, the chain connected to the throne suddenly straightened, like a rod. A purple, chaotic strand of energy slithered towards Neo, using the chains as a bridge.
Neo shivered. Something in that strand of energy gave him an immense feeling of foreboding. He instinctively knew that if he was touched by that energy strand, his life was going to change for the worse.
But no matter how much he struggled, the rod-like chain held him in place, and he could only watch as the strand of energy neared and neared.
Gong!
A high-pitched gong sound resounded through the vast chamber, coinciding with the arrival of the purple strand of energy reaching the end of the chain.
The feeling of foreboding grew immensely. Neo felt as if death was near, and then it slithered across Neo's face and entered his head through his nostrils.
"Argh!!" Neo felt a sudden pain descend upon him. It felt as if his head was about to implode. It was the worst pain he had ever experienced in his entire life. In fact, it was worse than all the pain he had ever endured combined!
Five seconds later, Neo's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he crashed down with a thud.
He had passed out.
"WELCOME TO THE GATHERING OF GUARDIANS, GUARDIAN OF BALANCE!"
The mysterious, rumbling voice rang out once more.
"Hmph! I guess the time has come."