Under a gray and dreary sky, the wind swept through the desolate village, stirring up waves of dust. The village sat on the borderlands ravaged by wild beasts. The crumbling walls seemed ready to collapse at any moment, but the people who lived here had long grown accustomed to this fear.
Ye Chen stood at his doorstep, gazing into the wilderness. At sixteen years old, his face was cold and composed, with black hair falling to the sides of his face. His eyes held the silence and stubbornness of youth. Beside him stood his father, a stern hunter with a bow slung over his shoulder.
"Let's go, Chen'er. If we hunt more today, the villagers can have a proper meal." His father patted Ye Chen on the shoulder, his gaze gentle.
"Mm," Ye Chen replied softly, looking up to see his mother standing at the doorway, worry etched on her face.
"Be careful and come back early," his mother said softly, her voice the only calm before the storm.
Ye Chen nodded and followed his father toward the forest outside the village. He didn't know that this farewell would be forever.
Not long after entering the forest, a low, piercing roar echoed from afar, rumbling like thunder and shaking the air. Ye Chen froze, his heartbeat quickening inexplicably.
"Father, what is that?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly as he turned to look at his father.
His father's face changed, and he suddenly turned to look in the direction of the village. The sky there was shrouded in a shadow, flames soaring into the air, accompanied by the sounds of screams and beastly roars.
"It's a horde of wild beasts! Back to the village!" his father shouted, breaking into a sprint. Ye Chen followed, running as fast as he could.
Through the forest, they darted quickly, but with each step closer, the stench of blood in the air grew stronger.
When they reached the village's edge, Ye Chen was stunned by the sight before him—
The village had become a sea of fire. Burning houses collapsed, thick smoke billowed into the sky, and massive wild beasts rampaged freely, tearing apart helpless villagers.
A familiar neighbor fled with a child in his arms, only to be swatted to the ground by a beast's claw, blood splattering across the dirt instantly.
"Mother!" Ye Chen shouted, pushing his father aside and running toward his home.
"Chen'er! Come back!" his father roared, but Ye Chen could no longer heed him.
When Ye Chen rushed into the house, his mother lay on the ground, blood pouring endlessly from a wound in her chest.
"Mother!" Ye Chen dropped to his knees beside her, his trembling hands trying to stop the bleeding, but it was futile.
His mother opened her eyes with great effort, her lips trembling faintly. "Chen'er… go… quickly…"
"I won't leave you!" Ye Chen's voice cracked with sobs, his vision blurred by tears.
Boom! The wooden door was shattered by a massive claw. A huge wild beast appeared at the entrance, its blood-red eyes locking onto them, its fangs dripping with foul-smelling blood.
With the last of her strength, his mother pushed Ye Chen away. "Run!"
Ye Chen fell to the ground, staring blankly at his mother as the beast pounced on her. Blood splattered, and his vision was dyed red by the fire's glow.
Ye Chen ran out of the house like a madman, the beast's growls close behind him. He stumbled as he ran, his hands scratched by branches, blood dripping steadily.
"Why… why?!" he howled, tears mixing with dust to smear his face.
Ahead lay the endless wilderness, and beyond it, the Abyssal Wasteland— the fabled path of the dead, a place where all who entered met their doom.
With the beasts closing in behind him, Ye Chen's gaze turned resolute. He bit his lip hard and dragged his weary body toward the pitch-black land.
The Abyssal Wasteland was deathly silent. No wind, no sound—only drifting black mist curling across the earth. Ye Chen collapsed onto the ground, trembling.
"Do you desire power…"
A cold, eerie voice echoed, carrying an irresistible temptation.
"If this is fate, then I accept!"
The scene froze: the black mist of the Abyssal Wasteland slowly engulfed Ye Chen, while the distant shadow seemed to smile coldly.