[Present]
Today, Ace headed toward the pill market in River-Flower City's outer region. His destination was an alchemy shop, where he wanted to buy alchemy pills for Alina's affliction.
Ace bought two alchemy pills for eight gold coins from a famous alchemy shop. Since he knew little about the pill market, after asking around, he found this shop and bought the pills there.
Now he was left with only one gold coin after he'd purchased a rundown hut in the slums for one gold coin. Nevertheless, he was determined to save his little sister, no matter the cost.
In his hurry, Ace didn't notice the shimmer of contempt in the shop owner's eyes when he bought those two pills. After Ace left, the shop owner's lips twisted upward, and he smirked scornfully.
---
After feeding Alina the "Black Alchemy Pill," Ace let her rest for the night.
Early the next morning,
Ace hadn't been able to sleep, out of anxiety. He'd been like this for the past three days now. He checked Alina's condition for the tenth time, but to his dismay, little Alina's condition hadn't improved even slightly.
Ace assumed something was wrong with those black pills, because before selling his old house, he'd asked around about alchemy pills and knew just how great their effects were supposed to be.
These pills could heal diseases far worse than his sister's, yet this one still wasn't working on her. He began to doubt that even alchemy pills would work on Alina, just like the other medicines hadn't.
Perplexed, Ace went back to the pill market again. This time, though, he went to a different, not-so-famous, small pill shop in the outer region's pill market.
This little shop was more modest than the one he'd visited the day before. Uncertain, he went inside. Inside, an old man, seemingly in his sixties, sat in a long chair behind a small counter. He had short white hair and a long white beard on his wrinkled face.
When the old man saw Ace's skinny frame and tattered clothes, he instantly knew the boy was poor. But the old shop owner had a kind nature, so he didn't chase him away.
With a warm smile, he asked, "Little brat, what do you want?"
Seeing the old man's easygoing smile and friendly way of speaking, Ace's tightened nerves loosened a bit, and he spoke attentively, showing the old shop owner the utmost respect.
"Sir, yesterday I bought these alchemy pills from a famous alchemy shop near here, for my sick sister. But it hasn't taken effect on her, even after a whole night. Could you please inspect these pills, sir, and tell me if they're not what she needs and she requires something else?" As Ace asked, he took the remaining black pill out of his pocket and showed it to the old shop owner.
The old man smiled kindly at Ace's small request, which was nothing to him at all. He took the black pill and examined it seriously. He gave it a little whiff, and his expression stiffened instantly.
He looked gravely at the black pill first, then at little Ace, who stood nervously nearby, his hands clenched together.
The old man sighed in pity as he looked at Ace, feeling quite bad for the poor little boy.
When Ace saw the old man's heavy expression, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest, because he knew something was wrong.
After a moment of silence, the old man said gloomily, "This is a 'failed pill' — meaning it has no healing or curative properties whatsoever. Simply put, it's just a piece of trash."
When Ace heard this, the world around him seemed to turn dark, and he nearly lost his composure. But he forced himself to stay calm, because he knew that fat-faced bastard had duped him, and the most infuriating part was that he couldn't do anything about it—so there was no point burning with rage.
He couldn't afford to fall into despair at a time like this, with his sister's condition still uncertain.
'That fat bastard!' Ace cursed the shop owner a thousand times in his heart, since all he could do was curse silently and keep the hatred buried inside.
Ace took a deep breath and suppressed his boiling rage in front of the old man.
This old man had been very kind to him—he'd appraised the pill and asked for nothing in return. Ace knew that if anyone else had been in the old man's shoes, they would've kicked him out of the shop for asking such a question, or demanded payment.
No one wanted a poor commoner like him stepping into their shop — most merchants were wealthy, especially in the pill market, and they all looked down on the poor and ordinary.
"Sir, thank you for your kindness. I'll remember this favor."
After sincerely saying those words, Ace bowed deeply and asked, in a pleading but determined tone, "Sir, can you tell me what kind of pill I need to cure my little sister's illness?"
Ace wanted to know what pill would cure his sister's condition—and, most importantly, its cost.
Since he'd already lost the money and wouldn't get it back even if he reported the fraud to the city guard, he'd have to raise the money some other way.
The old man was astonished and moved by Ace's determined eyes and firm resolve. "From your description, your sister's illness resembles 'Nerve Cold Illness.' Unfortunately, it's a rare condition, so you'll need a 'Nerve Heating Pill' to cure it. It'll cost you one Ruby Coin."
(1 Ruby Coin = 100 gold coins)
When little Ace heard the exorbitant cost of the Nerve Heating Pill, he nearly fainted on the spot.
'It's too damn expensive!'
Even if he had ten gold coins, he'd still be missing ninety. It was an unimaginable sum for an ordinary person like him—even if he sold himself!
Ace pressed his lips together and asked, clenching his teeth, "Sir, can this pill really cure my sister's illness?"
The old man nodded solemnly at Ace's firm resolve. Any other commoner would have fallen into despair upon hearing the price of one Ruby Coin.
The old man replied sternly, "I stake my name—Gale Galos —on it!"
Seeing the old man's solemn expression, Ace felt somewhat relieved.
After expressing his gratitude, he bid farewell to old man Gale and hurried out of the shop.
On his way back to the slums, Ace passed the fat bastard's shop and saw the man himself, grinning ear to ear while counting gold coins.
'I hope heaven strikes you down!' Ace ground his teeth in hatred, cursing the fat bastard even more vehemently in his heart. He wished he could plunder every gold coin from that shameless man.
Cursing and fantasizing about robbing the fat bastard, he made his way home.
Ace opened the hut door and saw Alina trembling even more, sniveling. Her condition had somehow worsened.
Ace rushed to her side and hugged her tightly. She felt like a block of ice in his arms—he was terrified.
Alina had been feeling icy cold, but when she suddenly felt warmth, she knew immediately that her big brother was back. A weak smile bloomed on her pale face, and she felt slightly better.
Ace's eyes filled with tears at the sight of Alina's weak smile, and he thought, with despair,
'Life has always been so unfair to me. First it took my parents, then my grandparents — and now even Alina is going to leave me like them?'
"NO!" Ace cried out loud, unable to stop himself.
He muttered wildly, "I don't want anyone dear to me to leave again!"
His voice rose, "I want to fight this unfair life! I want to fight this corrupt, unfair world! I even want to fight this damn, unfair, blind HEAVEN!"
In the end, there was nothing left in his heart but bitterness and grief.
"If I had the power, I'd fight every last one of you who wanted to rob me!"
His mind was in chaos after seeing Alina's peaceful yet lifeless expression—it reminded him of his grandparents' cold bodies, all those years ago. All the grief, pain, and loneliness that had been buried deep inside him for years poured out like an unstoppable waterfall.
Right as he was cursing the unfairness of everything, a bizarre thought struck him like a lightning bolt. It was an absurd thought—so foolish and preposterous that he laughed, even as tears streamed down his face.
He thought,
'Everyone is stealing from me. What if I had the power to steal from anything—even Heaven itself?!'
'Even if it makes me a criminal of Heaven, even a criminal of the Ages, I would still steal from all of you, if it meant prosperity for the ones I love!'
'I would steal everything — from this life, from these detestable people, from this unfair, high Heaven!!!'
---
Abruptly, the golden sky of the Golden Sky World turned pitch black, and everything fell into darkness, with not a speck of light left. It was as if darkness itself had come to pay this world a visit.
The sudden blackness alarmed every race in the world. Everyone thought a calamity was about to occur.
Suddenly, inky lightning clouds formed in the black sky.
Deafening thunderclaps could be heard, but there was no trace of lightning—or perhaps it, too, was black. No one knew.
Either way, it was a vision of doomsday.
The scene alarmed every top expert in the Golden Sky World.
The inky clouds formed a vast, dark hole.
No one knew what the strange shape was, but everyone shared a single thought: 'A catastrophe is about to descend!'
But contrary to everyone's expectations, a single dark blue bolt of lightning descended with a rumbling thunderclap.
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmm...
A thunderous boom echoed across the world.
Something even stranger happened next: the dark blue lightning didn't fade like ordinary lightning. Instead, it bolted instantly toward a specific direction, like a shooting star—clearly visible against the pitch-black sky. It was as if the lightning had a life of its own.
It became a dark blue streak, moving so fast that it vanished in a flash.
This turn of events left everyone watching stunned. After the beam of lightning disappeared from view, the dark sky and clouds returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
No one knew what the strange lightning was, but since this was a world of cultivation, everyone immediately assumed it was a Heavenly Treasure that had fallen from Heaven.
Some of the top experts from every race raced toward the direction the light had gone. But it was too fast for anyone to catch or chase.
Its final trajectory pointed toward the human continent—the Azure Wind Continent.
The top sects of the Azure Wind Continent were watching too, and when their experts realized the dark blue light was heading their way, they grew excited—but they, too, couldn't catch up with the streak of dim blue lightning.
It swiftly vanished toward the lower-level lands, while everyone else was left wondering where it had gone.
---
Meanwhile, in River-Flower City, in the slums, after venting his pent-up emotions, Ace finally calmed down and felt light-headed. He also felt rather ridiculous, thinking back on his absurd notion of stealing from Heaven.
'No one can steal from Heaven,' Ace chuckled meekly, still despairing.
A streak of dark blue lightning swiftly entered the sky above River-Flower City.
Its direction was, shockingly, toward the slums. It moved so fast that no one noticed its arrival. In a flash, it entered the slums—its target a rundown hut with holes in its roof.
It stopped and hovered above the hut's roof, as if observing the little boy inside, who was lamenting in despair while holding a frail little girl in his arms.
Suddenly, a streak of dark blue lightning struck down onto the boy's head!
Then it vanished, as if it had never existed.
The little boy was none other than Ace.
He had just been about to go out and find a way to raise a Ruby Coin when he suddenly felt as if he'd been struck by a scorching sledgehammer, his head splitting apart.
He couldn't endure the excruciating pain and fainted on the spot. The last thing Ace remembered before blacking out was a melodious yet staticky voice in his head.
"[The initialization has begun...]"