Yamato stood up from a wooden chair in his room. His face was calm, but there was a hint of distance in his eyes. He turned toward the door and said softly, "Mom, I've done all the chores. I even made breakfast. Please eat and rest."
Esther, still seated on the bed, slowly raised her hand as if to stop him. Her fingers trembled slightly.
"Yamato…"
But before she could say more, he opened the door, stepped out, and gently closed it behind him. A soft click followed — he had locked the door.
Outside, the sun had risen, casting a golden hue across the village. Yamato walked slowly, hands in his pockets, his eyes scanning the ground. Though the villagers no longer ran from him like they used to, they still avoided him.
Adults whispered as he passed. Children were quietly pulled away by their parents.
"The head told us not to speak to him," one villager murmured. "His family is the reason this village nearly fell years ago."
Yamato didn't respond. He was used to the silence. But it didn't make it any easier.
He kept walking under the sun, breathing in the morning air. Then suddenly—he stopped.
He felt it.
Something strange was in the air.
His eyes narrowed, and he looked up slowly, scanning the sky.
This aura… I've felt it before…
The energy moved, spreading across lands. It didn't stay in one place. Yamato tried to locate its source, but it kept shifting.
Unable to track it, he sighed and continued his walk, eventually making his way back home. But instead of entering the house, he moved to the backyard.
There, standing quietly, was a large tree.
Yamato stood before it, staring for a long time. His expression shifted — from curiosity to confusion.
He walked forward, slowly placed his palm on the bark of the tree, and closed his eyes.
It's been a while, he thought. But this energy… it doesn't feel normal. I've seen trees like you before, but none of them ever gave off this kind of feeling…
He pulled his hand away and turned, sitting down on the grass with his back resting against the tree. The grass felt cool beneath his hands. He relaxed.
But then…
That strange energy grew stronger.
It was coming from beneath the ground.
Yamato's fingers twitched. He leaned forward and started digging with his hands. Bit by bit, sand and soil flew to the side.
Then—thump—his fingers hit something hard.
A book.
He pulled it out, covered in dirt and old leaves. The cover was cracked and dusty.
He wiped the dirt off slowly and read the title:
_The Fall of Yamato_
His eyes widened.
"What…?" he muttered under his breath. "Why my name? 'Fall of Yamato'? Why am I seeing my name like I'm some villain?"
His hands trembled as he opened the book.
The first page read:
"The Justice to the 7. His name was Yamato. His fall was bad and not well timed."
_In the beginning was the PRIMORDIAL, he was and is the one above all. He created the ENTITIES — they were the Good and the Bad. GRESS and AININ
The Entities created all things — gods, life, planets, dimensions, galaxies… even the concept of balance._
Their power holds unimaginable strength — just a piece of it can make a regular man godlike."
Yamato leaned closer, reading each word carefully. His mouth opened slightly, amazed at what he was seeing.
"The Entities then created the ORDER — made up of 7 high supreme gods. Their job was to balance Good and Bad.
Then came the God of the Unknown — his role was to create balance among the 7 gods themselves.
He was so powerful that the PRIMORDIAL said:
'If he trained hard enough, he could rival the ENTITIES.'"
Yamato's eyes were wide. He rubbed his chin slowly, lips parted in shock.
That kind of power…? A god who could rival the creators themselves?
He flipped to the next page.
"But the world began to grow corrupt. The Bad Entity grew stronger than the GRESS.
He wanted dominance.
We — the Order — fought. But we couldn't win. His power was more than we could handle.
So, we called on all gods, from across dimensions.
But to our surprise, many gods had already sided with the AININ.
The Parliament of the gods broke into war.
And our only and last hope… was not fighting."
Yamato's hand paused on the page. He slowly adjusted his sitting position, placing the book on his lap.
The words were beginning to feel real. Like he was there. Like he was witnessing history.
He continued reading:
"We all thought he — the God of the Unknown — had been influenced by the Bad Entity too.
But then… he stood up, and echoed these words:
‹When you all are done with him, come and face me.›"
Yamato's breath caught in his throat.
The energy around the book pulsed.
A small breeze blew past him, though the air had been still before.
The tree behind him hummed faintly, as though it remembered what was written in the book.
Yamato looked up, staring into space.