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Chapter Twelve: Echo of the Forgotten Millennium
The words seeped into Linder's consciousness like a faint cry from unfathomable depths: "Myth Star." It wasn't just a passing term—it was an ancient echo reverberating through the corridors of his soul, awakening an irresistible hunger for remembrance, as if his very being yearned to reclaim a lost fragment of itself. He closed his eyes, trying to gather scattered thoughts, searching memory's labyrinth for a slender thread linking this strange present to a past that seemed like a distant dream—or perhaps an unfinished nightmare.
Suddenly, like a cosmic spark igniting eternal oblivion, that moment arrived. It wasn't a fleeting visual flash or an audible sound, but an innocent smile from the child in the man's arms—a smile carrying the fragrance of a thousand years, opening a gateway to a past Linder never knew he possessed, a past he'd dismissed as mere fantasy or myth.
In that moment, Linder ceased to be an infant gazing naively at the world. A truth surfaced, connecting his current existence to a distant memory, as if the entire universe had contracted into a single point within his awakened consciousness—a point expanding to reveal secrets buried beneath the rubble of time.
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Flashback: Fate and Irony
In the heart of a pristine white room, bathed in soft light streaming from a high window like a divine eye watching creation, everything breathed order and precision—a reflection of an engineering mind that knew no chaos. A deep blue sofa, like a tranquil sea, embraced the wall; a polished wooden desk stood at the center, gleaming in a silence that suggested calm, yet it was the stage for the tumult of ideas born upon it.
Behind this altar of thought sat young Linder, eyes sharp with fierce intelligence and restless passion, like twin stars blazing in a dark sky. Across from him, in a comfortable chair, sat Jin, his friend and partner in this mad dream, sipping coffee calmly, but his eyes watched Linder with anticipation that betrayed deep curiosity and unmatched intellectual partnership—a partnership built on shared dreams and ambitions that transcended reality's limits.
"Linder, do we forge the power system, or unleash the AI to create it? What's your verdict on this pivotal matter?" Jin asked, his voice tinged with hesitation, yet his eyes watched Linder with an intensity that spoke of profound partnership, as if seeing in him the mastermind who would lead them to new horizons.
Linder clutched his head, a deep sigh escaping him as if bearing the universe's weight.
"I don't know... But why shouldn't we be the creators? I have a vision, Jin—a vision that will make this game an eternal legend! It will transform it into a living world, breathing beyond virtual reality's confines!"
His voice rose with fervor, as if a cosmic spark had ignited within him, piercing the darkness of deep thought to reveal worlds that existed only in his imagination.
Linder continued, eyes fixed on the void as if seeing an entire cosmos unfold:
"I see that we cannot leave everything to AI. We must lay its foundations—a precise roadmap we follow step by step—until the world becomes independent, evolving and breathing. There will be no 'main character' in the traditional sense. A world transcending the game's limits to become a parallel reality—one that interacts with itself, grows, and changes by its own laws!"
His words flowed like prophecy, carrying the passion of a creator witnessing his vision materialize—a passion bordering on madness, driving one to challenge the impossible.
Jin was deeply impressed by Linder's idea. A wide smile spread across his face, like dawn's light dispelling darkness.
"And what do you propose for this power system—the backbone that will bear such weight, shaping the spine of this new world?" he asked, sensing Linder had grasped the idea's core—the beating heart of this future world, the point determining this nascent universe's fate.
"It's the Mythokin system, Jin!" Linder declared, eyes gleaming with a unique light as if holding cosmic secrets.
"Its essence is Myth energy, which unites five energies within itself: Qi, Aura, Nen, Mana, and Node. We can extract and refine these energies through Myth Stars—the key to power and ascension in this world!"
Linder and Jin debated with unending passion, exchanging ideas, planning, sketching the contours of a world yet unborn—a world birthed from their imagination. The meeting ended, leaving behind a seed destined to grow into reality—a reality that would alter Linder's life forever, transforming into an inescapable fate.
Oh, the irony of fate! A thousand years later, Linder finds himself trapped in a game he designed. What greater mockery than the creator becoming a mere pawn in his own creation? Fate laughs loudly, mocking the one who thought he held the reins, now ensnared by threads he wove himself.
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Return to Present: The Shock of Existence and Absurdity
Linder returned to awareness. The voice of the man holding him echoed in his ears. The man was cooing with paternal tenderness, a broad smile on his face reflecting overwhelming joy—a joy Linder couldn't truly comprehend.
The infant began to cry—softly at first, then escalating into a piercing wail mirroring the turmoil within the soul inhabiting this tiny body. In that moment, Linder—with his cunning mind accustomed to manipulating reality—realized he must act like a newborn to avoid suspicion.
"I must cry to not arouse doubt," he thought inwardly, and began to cry faintly—a manufactured sob.
But the man holding him gave him little time for contemplation. He began to soothe him tenderly, rocking him, whispering unintelligible words until Linder stopped crying. He resumed observing the world around him with keen eyes—eyes bearing the wisdom of a thousand years of trials, concealing a storm of clashing thoughts and emotions.
"Papa, Papa! What will we name my brother?" asked a small child, tugging at his father's pants, eyes shining with innocent curiosity untouched by life's bitterness.
The father smiled, looking at his wife asleep on the bed after childbirth—exhausted but happy, as if she'd accomplished life's greatest task: the act of creation.
"My dear, you will name him," the father said affectionately, his voice carrying love and gratitude for the life granting them this small being.
The mother replied softly yet clearly:
"I'm thinking of naming him Athreos. What do you think?"
Her words held hope and weariness, but struck Linder's heart strangely, like a key unlocking a mystery within his soul.
"Athrios! That's a wonderful name!" the father exclaimed enthusiastically, then began to play with the newborn:
"Athri , Athri, I love you so much!"
The language spoken around Linder was unfamiliar—the Rami language. Yet he knew it well. He had developed this game, and through the trial and its information transfer, this language had become part of his consciousness, like a mother tongue—a language speaking of his forgotten history.
The meaning of "Athrios" was "Born of Light," but in an ancient dialect of that language, the name meant "Heavenly Outcast."
What another cruel twist of fate! Linder—the forgotten creator—is born into a world he designed, and finds himself beside a child bearing a name prophesying an obscure, tragic destiny.
What fate awaits this world where a being like Linder exists?
A world that was once a mere idea in a mind has become his new reality—a reality that will unveil secrets beyond his imagination and force him to confront a destiny he never foresaw.
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