In the southern city's low district of Sanctuary 17, there is a bar named Dragon Pillow. Today, the bar appears to be more interesting than usual. The people in the bar were discussing news and their misery.
"I think it will be the end of the world."
"If only I were awakened, I would finally leave this damned place," one added.
Hearing that, another responded, "Please spare me your nonsense."
...
'Why would a Paragon be stationed in the slums of the western city?' wondered a bartender, who was a 15 year old boy, with his raven hair and dark eyes. He had an average face, and lean body unremarkable in any particular way, yet his eyes, though shadowed by deep bags, held a haunting intensity.
Seeing an employee slacking in the middle of busy night, Oliver, the owner of bar scolded him.
"Idiot, quit thinking and start working."
The boy named Ethan was flinched and complied with the owner's words as he served the people. watching this, Oliver sighed and shook his head.
While the boy was serving, he heard a whisper, "#######."
Upon hearing it, he began to sweat. He had been hearing these strange whispers from 5 year ago.
5 years ago, he and his family used to live in middle district of central city. Due to a doorway opening up in their colony, he was lost in the chaos and was taken to a refuge center by a stranger. Together with the stranger, he searched many refuge centers to find his family and filed numerous police reports for his missing family.
But all that was in vain; he did not find them. The stranger was none other than Oliver. From then on, he started hearing whispers, but strangely, he could not understand them, and he consulted many doctors, and they all said the same thing: "He developed some kind of trauma due to missing his family."
As the moon rose high, the time turned to 11:00 PM. Ethan left Dragon Pillow after bidding farewell to Oliver.
"Be careful going home," Oliver warned.
"I will be careful," Ethan replied as he started going home.
...
Ethan took the short route on the way home, as it was already late at night. However, in the way, he encountered a group of masked men in their mid20's robbing a person.
Ethan's heart sank as he saw these people and turned away. He knew he wasn't a hero who helps those in need. In this cruel world, only the strong and smart will survive and he knew he wasn't strong, and he was smart enough to walk away.
'I need to get out of here'
He began to quicken his pace, but one of the masked men spotted him and grinned.
"Where do you think you are going, little cat? Do you think we did not see you?"
Upon hearing that everyone saw Ethan, who was walking silently.
'Yes, I do. I bet you are the only person who saw me,' Ethan thought.
"Come here, kid. We will not harm you if you are obedient," said the masked man who appeared to be the leader of the group. Ethan had no choice but to listen. one of the men checked Ethan's clothes and said, "This kid is penniless, Arti-- cough! cough! boss."
Upon hearing that, the masked leader stared at his subordinate, who almost spilled his name and thought 'I will definitely beat the hell out of you'.
The subordinate, who already aware his future, lowers his head in shame. 'Rest in peace, future me'.
Observing the brief exchange, Ethan was amused. The masked leader turned to Ethan and said, "You may leave."
Ethan, who finally got a chance, quickly started to leave.
The masked leader turned to previous guy, who they are robbing and started checking his clothes and finds a card token.
"What's this?" he inquired as he murmured, "Candy creation factory." He became irritated and shouted, "Why is this happening to me? Why doesn't anyone have money"
Ethan, who was walking, heard the words "candy creation" and was stopped in his tracks. He heard a whisper, *###&###*.
However, unlike previous one, this time he understands the whisper for the very first time.
"The Cradle of Creation," he murmured.
As soon as he spoke those words, the world changed.
...
In the heart of a Forgotten Ruin, there exists a place of haunting beauty, where the sky is pierced by colossal black spires that seem to reach into the very depths of the sky. Here, blood flows like mighty rivers, carving their way through the earth and staining the land a deep, crimson hue.
The soil seems to be composed of coagulated blood, its texture thick and viscous, as if the very ground were still bleeding. The air is thick with the metallic scent of iron, and a chilling silence hangs over the landscape, broken only by the occasional drip of blood from the spires.
The spires themselves are an imposing sight, their obsidian surfaces reflecting the blood-red light of the sky. They twist and turn like skeletal fingers, reaching out to touch the sky, as if beckoning to some unseen force. Their presence casts long, eerie shadows across the blood-soaked land, creating a sense of dread and foreboding.
In this place, life is scarce, and the few creatures that dare to venture here are twisted and deformed, their bodies warped by the blood-soaked earth. They move with a silent, predatory grace, their eyes glowing with an unnatural light, as if they were creatures of the night.
It is one of eerie beauty, a place where life and death are intertwined, and the boundary between the two is blurred. It is a place that both fascinates and repels, a place where the very essence of existence seems to be twisted and distorted.
--Ethan Pov--
I opened my eyes, which felt rather heavy. As soon as I saw what lay before me, I was shocked. My fear and curiosity were rising. I did not know where I was, but one thing was certain: I was not in Sanctuary 17. Where was I? What is this place? why am I in different clothes?
As I horrified, the whispers, which I hear grew louder and louder, suffocating me. Just when I thought I would suffocate to death, I heard a voice that made the whispers disappear.
"COME HERE"
I turned towards the source of the voice and discovered a blood-soaked throne made of bones in the middle of a river of blood, with someone sitting on it. he was dressed in pitch black cloak with golden markings and for some reason I can't see his face.
As if my body had its own consciousness, it began moving towards the river of blood. With each step I took, blood emerged from the ground and touched my bare feet.
As my feet touched the river of blood, which I thought would swallow me, the unexpected thing occurred. Bones from the depths of the river started floating and formed a bridge leading to the throne, as my feet touched the raw bones, my stomach churned with nausea, but I pressed on.
With each step I took, gravity seemed to increase. I finally reached the throne, and as I tried to raise head to see the figure sitting on it, strangely, my head did not budge even a little. All I saw were his feet.
I tried to speck, but only a strangled "hel- ickk" escaped my lips. A searing pain erupted in my mind, as if needles were being driven into my skull.
"hmm"
I felt that the figure before me amused by my struggles. I tried to speak again but cut off by the figure.
"We don't have time for nonsense".
Suddenly, his feet vanished, and I was able to raise my head, but there was no figure sitting on throne. I felt someone gripped back of my head, and then
"arhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
Pain, so much pain, pain that I have experienced never before. I felt my mind being torn apart. Why can't I just lose my consciousness to escape from it? in middle of my torture, the man said
"Participate in 'The Cradle of Creation' and gain the title 'Eternal' then come find me here in crimson keep".
Then the world blacked again.
.....
As the man watched Ethan disappear from the crimson keep. He started walking towards his throne. while saying.
"For millennia, I have watched. Not from some lofty perch, but from the shadows, a whisper on the wind, a seed planted in the fertile soil of human minds. Fear, doubt, ambition… these are my tools, my paintbrush upon the canvas of their destinies.
They call me the ????, a fitting title. I do not command, I suggest. I do not dictate, I influence. I weave my threads through the tapestry of their lives, nudging them towards their predetermined paths, fulfilling the grand design.
Some may call it manipulation, a perversion of free will. But I see it as guidance, a gentle push towards their true potential. Some may bloom, reaching for the stars, while others may wither, consumed by their own desires. It matters not. For every action has a consequence, every choice a ripple in the vast ocean of fate.
And now, my pawn stirs. A vessel, molded by my whispers, a weapon honed for a purpose yet to be revealed. Soon, the game will begin. The pieces will fall into place, and the world will tremble beneath the weight of their actions.
Whether they bring salvation or destruction, it matters little. For in the end, it is all part of the grand game, a symphony of chaos and order, played out upon the stage of human existence."