Years ago... when the Earth was first formed, humans were formed, and some humans were special. They were blessed, cursed, and bound by magic and nature. Some had God's blessings, others were abominations, and all of them were different from each other.
For a few years, all lived in harmony, but the people with greed, pride, and envy took matters into their own hands. Humans considered those with powers as non-humans and waged a war against them.
As expected, the war ended in favour of the non-humans, yet the leader of that time was unhappy after seeing the aftermath of the war, and then he created a different dimension for the non-humans to live in. Upon his insistence, they left the Earth and never came back.
The New World was thus formed and was named "Crystal World". It was named after the abundant amount of crystals found there. The people then found the use of the crystal to increase their powers.
They could extract power from the crystals—the higher the quality, the better. They ranked the crystals in ranks of Z, A, B, C—Z being the highest and C being the lowest.
The non-humans lived in harmony after coming to the Crystal World, but as all happy things come to an end, it came to an end when, a millennium later, a rumour started spreading in the Crystal World: that deep in the West Volcanic Mountains, there was a buried treasure which was precious. Another millennium passed, and another rumour circulated—that the hidden treasure was none other than a crystal sword, and it could give you the power of the gods.
As years went by, many tried to find the sword, but going into the West Volcanic Mountains is a guaranteed death, no matter how powerful you are. So slowly, people who went never came back, and thus, people stopped going after the sword. But once in a while, people who reach a high level of power try to search for the sword—but they never return, unless they give up midway.
Even after thousands of years of living in the Crystal World, it stands as a mystery to everyone as to whose sword it was—and if it even exists.
The Crystal World is inhabited by people with the ability to walk between worlds and through time. It was only a matter of time before these individuals traveled back to the world we had left behind. Over the years, they learned the same science and every other useful advancement from Earth—without forsaking magic—making our lives much easier. As a result, even in the Crystal World, they have phones, laptops, cars, airplanes, and more.
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Present Day...
The forest stirred beneath a canopy of towering trees, where golden light danced through the leaves, and the air was rich with the deep, earthy scent of wood and moss. Birds sang from hidden branches, their songs threading through the silence like a secret only the wild could understand.
Eva opened her eyes as she came out of her meditation. Taking a deep breath, she smiled, noticing that her power had increased a bit. Eva looked around her, and after seeing her bodyguards, she got up and walked toward them.
"Congratulations, Young Miss Eva. You are just a step away from reaching the last stage of the Eternal Level. One or two years, and you will surpass me," Marcus, the Bennett family's General, spoke as he walked beside Eva.
Marcus was one of the many generals who had trained Eva over the years. For reasons unknown, Eva had been kept hidden from the world since birth. The only people who interacted with her were her family and the army of the Bennett family.
At least one general was always stationed near her to protect the heiress. Over time, Eva grew used to it and eventually stopped fighting back.
"You make it sound easy, Uncle Marcus," Eva said with a smile, as Marcus gently patted her head. After walking to the bank of a river to refresh themselves, Marcus turned to Eva. As he looked at her, he remembered the little girl who used to cry in his arms after being scolded by her grandfather for begging to go out during a festival.
Now that he thought about it, it had been years since he'd seen that carefree, reckless Eva. He couldn't even remember the last time she had thrown a tantrum about being let outside.
Marcus thought that maybe it was time to let the little butterfly out of the jar. He made a mental note to speak with the Duke regarding the matter—they needed to make some changes.
As Eva was washing her face, she noticed Marcus deep in thought. With a mischievous grin, she scooped some water into her hand and splashed it at his face. Marcus jerked back, he laughed as he wiped his face, and then started counterattacking Eva. They played around for a while before returning to their mansion.
After freshening up, Eva was relaxing in her room when Marcus came in to give her an update. Although they lived deep in the mountains, Eva was tasked with overseeing the treasure tomb of their family. The tomb was filled with all kinds of treasures that the Bennett family had acquired over the generations.
Eva listened to all the updates given by Marcus and signed the written document to be sent to the Main Mansion to her grandfather. After signing the documents, she handed over another letter to be sent to her grandfather without being traceable by magic or technology.
As Marcus exited the room, he looked at Eva playing with the fire and thought, Over the years, the Bennett family had merged with different bloodlines through marriage, gaining a variety of powers. But one gift remained common in all Bennett children: fire. The Bennett bloodline could manipulate fire with their minds.
In the Crystal World, every person could develop a new gift, as long as they had the right resources—gadgets, crystals, or training. However, nothing was more powerful than the ability they inherited from their core bloodline. It was the source of their strength. Only a rare few could not only strengthen their core power but also awaken an entirely new one.