The cold, northeastern winds of the Trident Mountains shrouded the endless icy plains in bitter frost.
Constant snow, ice and hail rained down from the heavens for days at a time, spanning across thousands of miles and coating a great portion of this Northeastern Continent in permafrost.
And yet, amidst the snowy plains, snow crunched with every step.
Leather boots marched on, and firm, clenched hands moved with every stride, undeterred by the potential dangers that lurked all around.
The harsh cold was dangerous enough, yes, but even in such a perilous landscape, what made things more dangerous for Northeastern natives were the beasts that stalked the ice-cold lands.
They were as dangerous as the giant fire-breathing lizards and geothermal "old-world" mechs that the natives of the Southern Continent tussled with.
Combined with the fact that these lands was freezing cold all day long, with snow up to the waist on some days, it made sense why tourists and travellers from other distant lands were not very common at all.
But, at least they were somewhat safe in their hands of those who ruled them.
In the past era of the Northeastern Lands, ruled by the arrogant gaze of the Golden-Eyed One and the Arbiter Sect he ruled, anybody who went against the absolute order of things was annihilated.
But now, in the lands of today, a passive overseer watched over this specific slit of land called the Trident Mountains, where there existed twelve palaces and eight kingdoms.
This mountainous terrain that was considered a country wasn't ruled by a Supreme Clan or one of the Ancestor Sects in the Noble Sect Alliance, which was the norm for most most of the continent.
Instead, a powerful warrior with scars all over his body declared himself as the overseer, and because there was barely any opposition due to his unyielding determination, it became the truth ever since.
He was henceforth known as the Hailstorm Sword King, wielding insurmountable strength that could perhaps even slay ice giants.
But not only that, his personal "aides" were also as dangerous as he was in terms of how hidden their true abilities were, thirteen unknown individuals known collectively as the Hailstorm Scepters.
Yet, on the scale of the wider continent, he was just one of many who had held their hearts and sworn their allegiance to the "Immortal's Path", swearing to find out the world's truths until the end of time.
"Urgh… May the Heavens guide me to my destination as always! I wouldn't want to die on a random day like this!"
The strange man was taking oddly-determined strides with a resolute look on his face, as if to say he wouldn't turn back, even if he was afflicted with frostbite right then and there.
He was a gruff 34-year-old man with a small stubble on his chin, and he was simply called Gabriel by his peers and neighbours.
He put effort into most things he did, and cared not a single bit about his past failures. He was a tenacious, unfaltering man.
And, once upon a time, he was a low-ranking guardian of a small Clan, of one of the two main Clan categories, a Legacy Clan.
But, after getting kicked out for making love with a female guardian, whom served under one of the Clan's Grand Preceptors, he decided to lay extremely low.
He was only lucky that he wasn't in a Martial Arts Clan or a Grandmaster Sect instead, or else all his limbs would have been chopped off as punishment.
Such a punishment wasn't a big deal on this small eastern continent anyway, as it was known as the "Land of the Sages who pursue Immortality", the Feathered Dragon Continent.
In this vast and boundless world of Verifude, there were hundreds of continents that spanned more than thousands of miles, and the Feathered Dragon Continent, named after the ancient features of the God of Longevity described in legends, was just one of them.
Anyway, after that incident, he found some work to do in the nearby villages, and often went to a nearby fishing pool on his off-days.
And then, his life there-on became stagnant.
Although, he tried to learn more recent martial techniques by taking the time to study the tri-method of spiritual renfinement and meditation in a first-rate scripture he stole.
This involved the training and tempering of the spiritual vessel, spiritual roots and spiritual veins, more often called the meridians.
Through this way, he managed to obtain a single core at the Core-Foundation tier during his time as a guardian, the very beginning of the spiritual and martial path.
Through this, anyone could get stronger with a bit of talent. However, he lacked everything, and talent. The only thing he had to his name was grit and dedication. Maybe luck, too.
That's probably how he found out that there was a secret in that fishing pond near Kumizan village. One that he dared not tell anybody else.
As he arrived at the fishing pond, which was around the size of a small lake, he stepped closer and closer until he was looking right over the edge.
"After so much time spent… I'll finally discover what 'that' is."
"The glowing, blue thing deep down in this cold abyss. I've trained my fishing ability to the very maximum for this."
"Perhaps it could be an ancient scripture! Oh, or maybe it's a hidden array for an ancient soul-refining ritual! I can't wait to find out!"
As Gabriel prepared to dive into the fishing pond, he wondered about several possibilities of what that strange object could be.
And, with all the possiblities spewing out, he desperately wanted it to be an opportunity, one that allowed him to become unfathomably strong than before.
In these harsh lands, the only way a nobody like him could become notable was by obtaining strength, because recognition through heaven-defying strength would never go away.
"Humph!"
Gabriel inhaled and exhaled, and dived into the fishing pool, feeling the bitter coldness of the water immediately.
Despite having all of his clothes on, he wasn't weighed down much due to the single agility martial technique he mastered during his time in the Legacy Clan.
As it turned out during his time as a guardian, he was slightly more talented than the average person at being agile, while being painfully mediocre at everything else.
"I see it!"
He dived deeper, his eyes concentrated on what seemed to be a glowing blue crystal at the bottom of the pool. Yet, there was something off.
The crystal seemed bigger than it appeared, and some of it was actually buried deeper underneath the ice.
So, using all the strength he could muster, Gabriel dug out the great glowing crystal, and without hesitation, peered into it.
"…"
"…This…"
"…This is… a human?"
Unlike what he expected, he saw a naked and sickly-pale teenaged boy in a fetal position within the glowing crystal, with white-streaked black hair and purple eyes.
This boy didn't seem to be awake, but was most definitely alive. On a spiritual level, Gabriel could still feel the boy's waning thread of consciousness.
Once he realised this quickly, he dragged the impossibly heavy crystal up with all his might, despite the great chance he could drown.
And then, once he and the crystal emerged, the glowing crystal began to melt away and the boy unraveled himself as if he was inside a cocoon.
As the naked boy turned to look at him, Gabriel asked:
"…Who are you…?"
"…"
There was no response for a while, and the boy turned to look at the sky.
After staring for a while, a single tear fell from his eyes.
He remembered a faint memory of the past, it was fuzzy, but he saw in his memories a mysterious individual with a bone-chilling glare who haunted him.
"…My mind… is fuzzy." He croaked out.
The naked boy placed his hand on his own chest. There was a strange coldness within him, but there was also a conflicting warmth akin to a small flame lit inside him as well.
He also felt internal pain in his upper and lower body.
It seemed his body was ruined beyond compare from unknown circumstances, and he even started to cough blood.
"My name… is Astor, and…"
"Ugh… I need… help…"
The naked boy glanced towards Gabriel, shortly before fainting.
"Huh? What in the…"
Gabriel approached the unconscious boy, who mouthed a few words in the empty embrace of his dream.
"Don't kill me…" He whispered, "…Revenant… Overlord…"