As night falls, the cobbled streets of the Old Town reflect the mottled moonlight, bathing the old wooden buildings in a soft glow. The red lanterns on either side of the street sway gently, giving off a faint light that adds a touch of warmth to the still night.

By the river, the branches of the willow trees sway gently, their reflections mingling with the water. Occasionally a night heron glides across the surface, stirring up a circle of tiny ripples. The river flows quietly, as if telling of the ancient city's past.

In the distance, a small bridge spans the river, its stone steps polished to a mirror finish over the years.

At the head of the bridge, in the old town, a night watchman walks slowly by. He wears a long coat of coarse blue cloth, with a yellow badge hanging from his shoulder. A black belt of coarse cloth encircles his waist, from which hangs a bronze lantern and a wooden staff. His hands, weathered by years of sun, are full of scratches and calluses. He wears straw shoes that are a little old and worn, but he walks with a steady confidence.

His face is lined with wrinkles, his eyebrows thick and slightly pale, beneath which lie a pair of bright, alert eyes. His slightly prominent nose gives his face a certain dignity, while his beard is a little grey.

As he walks through the streets of the old city, he taps his staff, creating a "dong dong" sound that echoes through the quiet night, bringing a sense of solidity and reassurance.

"Be careful with fire and candles," says the Nightwatchman, holding a bright lantern in one hand and a wooden staff in the other, his voice making a steady "more" sound that hits the city walls and echoes around.

The night sky, like a vast black curtain, is deep and mysterious. It is dotted with stars that twinkle softly like bright jewels, captivating anyone who looks up. Suddenly, numerous lights streak across the sky from the horizon, like a galaxy raining down. The guard looks up at this spectacular scene, mesmerised for a moment.

Suddenly an even brighter light appears in the sky, catching his attention. He stops and looks up, the light in his eyes reflecting the brightness above. What first appears to be a meteor soon grows brighter and larger. The guard's eyes widen in disbelief and alarm. At first just a tiny speck, indistinguishable from the stars, it begins to brighten and expand. The depths of the night sky are invaded by this growing light, as if a new sun were rising directly towards him.

At this moment the shape of the meteor becomes clearer, changing from a mere speck to a bright ball surrounded by fiery flames, like a meteor but much brighter and larger. Its radiance illuminates the surrounding sky as if it were daylight, making everything on the ground clearly visible. In its brilliance, the meteor resembles a huge, fiery ball of iron, with flames dancing and streaking across its surface. It travels a long path across the sky at incredible speed, instantly cutting across the view. Accompanying it is a powerful humming sound, like the roar of a giant beast, that shakes the heart.

His breathing becomes rapid, his lantern shakes, and the familiar "more" sound stops as his body seems to freeze, only his eyes moving wildly. Suddenly he feels a strong wave of heat that almost burns his face. He instinctively covers himself with his arm, but the burning sensation is unstoppable.

Giant meteors, like celestial fire, tear through the sky with intense flames and boundless power, hurtling towards the village. Their speed is so great that time seems to stand still, leaving only their fiery trail. The large birds in the sky scatter in panic at the sudden change, their cries mingling with the thunder of the meteors to create an apocalyptic vision.

The villagers are shaken from their sleep and rush out of their homes in a frenzy. One by one, they stare in horror at the giant fireballs falling from the sky, children crying, elders praying, the whole village thrown into chaos. People panic, running everywhere, trying to find a safe place.

The impact of the meteors with the ground creates a massive shockwave, as if the earth is splitting open. The wilderness is cratered, forming a huge vortex that swallows up everything. Those who try to flee are engulfed by the shockwave; houses, trees, animals - all are wiped out in an instant.

The massive shockwave slams into the ground, filling the air with dust and smoke. The entire village is destroyed, leaving only ruins. Dust fills the air, making it almost impossible to see ahead, only the screams and cries from around can be heard.

The watchman turns to find shelter, stumbling. His lantern is tossed from his grasp and crashes to the ground, the flame extinguished. He mumbles in panic, "The sun has set".

Suddenly, a shockwave hits him, throwing him violently into the river under the bridge, where he is knocked unconscious.

Countless fireballs fall from the sky, the sound of their impact echoing through the night.

The impact of the meteors is so great that a lake is instantly vaporised by their intense heat, leaving a huge hole in the earth like a gaping wound.

The surrounding forest is also devastated. Tall trees are instantly levelled, leaving only charred stumps and scattered debris. The calls of the birds disappear, the tracks of the wild animals vanish, the entire forest seems to have been erased by time, leaving nothing but silence.

The town is not spared either. The once bustling streets and sturdy walls are now unrecognisable, shattered by the impact. Buildings have been demolished and walls shattered as if by an earthquake.

The ancient bell in the town centre, used for time keeping and rituals, is also badly damaged. It is hit so hard that it becomes deformed, its ring no longer ringing, as if the heart of the city had stopped beating.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the watchman wakes up on the riverbank, stares for a long time at the desperate scene before him, and then suddenly runs home, crying out for his wife and daughter.

His home is gone, replaced by a glowing red meteor and a huge crater. The surrounding rocks have melted from the heat of the impact, the air rippling with the intensity of the heat.

He doesn't know how long he's been walking aimlessly around the meteor, when suddenly a baby's cry pierces the silence and he instinctively moves towards the sound. Bricks and tiles pile up, dust fills the air. Amidst this scene of destruction, a baby wrapped in a simple cloth lies crying, its skin pale, tears rolling down its cheeks, its mouth wide open in a heartbreaking wail.

But the baby's eyes are unusual, blood red and filled with tears. Amidst the collapsed buildings and rubble, only the cry is clearly audible.

The guard gently lifts the baby from under the rubble and, perhaps tired from crying, the child soon stops fussing and falls asleep in his arms.

Its tiny hands are slightly clenched, as if clutching a precious toy in a dream. The baby's delicate cheeks are flushed against the white nappy. The tip of her nose twitched slightly with each breath, and her eyes moved rapidly beneath her thin eyelids, as if she were having a dreamy adventure. Occasionally the baby would move his feet or make inconsequential murmurs.

In just a few days, fate had played a cruel joke on the town. As he watches over this little life, the watchman's grief for his lost family resurfaces. He strokes the baby's cheek, tears streaming down his face.

This catastrophe covered nearly the entire continent of Wildfire with endless celestial fire. Historical records would later refer to this catastrophe as the Great Celestial Fire, leading to the renaming of the era as the first year of Heaven's Dawn.

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In **Year 14 of Heavenly Commencement**, before the sun has fully risen, a dramatic chase unfolds by the sea. A group of wild beasts is pursuing a young man dressed in animal skins, his body slender, his skin darkened and his hair unkempt, his eyes filled with rage. As the beasts approach, he roars back at another young man not far behind, whose appearance is in stark contrast to the first: expressionless, with cold eyes. This second young man has sharp, elongated eyebrows and a blue birthmark on his forehead, bearing a slight resemblance to the fleeing youth.

After a long chase, the boy in the animal skin is covered in wounds, his blood-soaked skin barely held together by the torn animal skin. Every breath is agonising, his body trembling as if on the verge of collapse, yet he continues to flee.

The beasts finally corner him at the edge of a cliff, and a creature with a dog's body and a human face steps forward from the pack. It speaks in a beastly tongue, to which the young man responds with an angry roar.

The creature shakes its head and strikes with a lightning-fast palm, sending the young man flying. Severely injured, his legs no longer responding, he slides helplessly towards the vast ocean.

As he approaches the sea, his eyes meet those of the young man with the birthmark among the beasts. There is no hate or anger in his gaze, only unrelenting grief and self-reproach.

The beasts, thinking him doomed, turn their attention to the young man with the birthmark. But he seems indifferent, turns away and walks away, the beasts following him.

Severely injured and adrift for an unknown length of time, the young man feels his consciousness fading and his body sinking. Clutching a jade pendant in his hand

seems to be his last lifeline.

"Where am I?"

The young man suddenly awakens, a sharp pain shooting through his head. He frowns slightly, struggling to concentrate. His eyes open to a mottled earthen wall and faint yellow light filtering through broken windows, partially illuminating the sparse contents of the room.

In the room, an oil lamp on a low table burns almost out, everything around it eroded by time. An old quilt and an empty cupboard lie nearby.

He lies in bed, watched over by a blind old man and a village woman, with a shy little girl peering at him from behind. Their old peasant clothes and unintelligible chatter suggest a scene from another time.

"Is this a film set?" the thought crosses his mind. As fatigue and hunger overwhelm him, his consciousness blurs and finally plunges into darkness.