In a vast landscape, filled with nothing but tall grasses and peaceful streams, the young Lord Orion opened his eyes. He looked around and was entranced by the beauty all around him. He felt peace and joy as he watched, without a single worry at heart, but then he noticed that in the distance, a cloud of dust was rising and it was getting closer and closer.
He squinted his eyes, but the tall grasses around him were blocking his view. He quickly looked around and climbed up a rock that was a couple meters away from him. He exhaled and turned his eyes to the dust cloud that was getting larger and coming closer, and he realized that what he had called a dust cloud was actually a cloud of dust and smoke. Thick black smoke. The beautiful paradise he had opened his eyes in was being destroyed. He wiped his eyes, hoping that he was seeing the wrong thing, but looking again, he saw the same thing. A cloud of dust and thick black smoke, polluting the air, but this time he could hear the sound of horses running and the shouts of war.
The young Lord took a closer look and under the cloud, he could see an army charging forward, raining down fire and destruction upon the beautiful paradise, turning it into a desolate land. Villages he hadn't noticed at first were getting burnt down as the army rode by, killing men, women and children, leaving nothing but death and destruction in their wake.
Orion was confused as he watched what was happening. There was no one fighting against the army. Everyone was scared of them, everyone was trying to flee.
"Why… Why isn't anyone stopping them?" Orion muttered under his breath, looking more and more confused.
"Because the universe lost to chaos," he heard a voice answering from behind him and turned around in fear, almost falling off the rock he was on.
Orion quickly found his balance and looked up to see a man standing behind him. His eyes widened in shock at the size and height of the man. He was so tall that the six foot tall Orion could only measure up to the man's abdomen. Orion lost his footing and fell on his butt as he kept staring at the man.
The man was clad in a white robe with complex golden designs along its fringes. His face was covered by the hood of his robe, and try as Orion might, he couldn't see the man's face. But despite being under a hood, his face shone with a brilliant, ethereal light that blocked everyone from seeing his face.
"Who… Who are you?" Orion muttered, filled with fear and reverence.
"Who I am does not matter young Orion, but I am known to your father by the name Asterion," the eleven foot tall man replied.
"Stand to your feet son, look around and tell me, what do you see?" the man asked and Orion did as he was ordered.
"I see a beautiful world getting ravaged and destroyed," Orion replied. He looked on for a while before turning to the white robed man called Asterion.
"Why does everyone run away in fear?" he asked. "I can see members of the Night Clan fleeing as well. They have mighty warriors, why is no one fighting off the barbarian army?"
"It is like I said earlier, young Orion, chaos won. No one can stop them at this point," the giant of a man, Asterion replied.
"But my father, he left when I was ten years old, he left to stop the prophecy of the chaos world. And this… this isn't real right? It hasn't happened yet, so that means this is a vision right?" Orion asked.
"Hmm… Well, you can call it a vision, but this is a real world, a real time that might happen," Asterion replied. "It is so real that if you get killed here, you will die in your own time."
"Wait… what?" Orion turned to face Asterion. "What do you mean? Are… Are you saying that… that I could die? Here? In this world and in the real world?" Orion stammered.
"Yes," Asterion nodded.
"Oh. Well… Well, provided no one sees me and attacks me, I should be fine," Orion muttered to himself, to console himself.
"Too late," Asterion replied, his tone still calm and without emotions.
"What?" Orion raised a brow, confused, but just then, a fireball whizzed past his ears, the heat of the flames burning his silver hair.
Orion turned around and to his surprise, four men were charging at him on horseback, their hands burning with an unnatural flame that sent despair into his soul.
"Um… What the hell is going on?" Orion stuttered.
"They are riding here to kill you," Asterion replied.
"Yeah, I can see that," Orion replied. "Do something about it!" he yelled out in fear.
"I can't do anything about it," Asterion replied. "As powerful as I am, there is a limit to the things I can do, Orion. I can't save you, just as I cannot save those clans getting erased from existence."
"What in the name of the gods!" Orion exclaimed, getting flustered. "If… If you can't save me, then why did you bring me here?" he asked, instinctively knowing that Asterion was the one that had pulled him into this world of chaos.
"Because your father requested that I bring you here," Asterion replied.
Orion was about to take off running when Asterion's response registered in his mind. He froze and turned back to look at Asterion. He couldn't see his face to read his expressions, but he knew he wasn't lying. A being as grand as him definitely had no reason to lie to a mere human.
"You know where my father is?" Orion asked, curiosity and joy in his eyes.
"I do," Asterion nodded in response.
"Where is he? Tell me where I can find him, please," Orion pleaded.
"Survive this and I will bring your father to you," Asterion said and suddenly vanished.
The moment Asterion vanished, Orion felt a calmness and confidence suddenly leave him, and the feeling of fear and despair washed over him.
'That's right, his presence must have been keeping the chaos away,' Orion thought to himself, but then he realized something.
'If the chaos was what was keeping the chaos away, that means those riders are…' he had barely completed his thoughts when another fire ball hit the rock he was standing on, exploding on contact.
Orion had jumped off the rock just before the fire ball hit it. He landed in the tall grasses and looked up, only to see that the rock he was standing on a moment ago had been reduced to nothing but rubble.
'What kind of power does that have?' Orion's eyes widened as thought to himself.
'If I get hit once, I will die. And if I die, I won't get to see my father or my mother ever again. I… I can't die,' Orion steeled his resolve to survive. But deep down he knew that his chances were slim. He was only fifteen years old. He wasn't going to gain his Adept gifts until he turned sixteen, and he was only experienced in sword combat.
"Mother, I hope you are praying for me," Orion muttered under his breath as he prepared to engage his charging enemies.