In an outdoor pavilion, a small child was lying on a large pillow, playing chess with a black-haired maid.
This small pavilion was located in the center of what should have been the poison garden, but because of the winter, the surroundings were bare, completely covered by white snow. Unlike the cold environment outside, this small pavilion was engraved with heating runes, making the temperature warm and comfortable, despite being open to the wind. The surroundings were filled with rolling hills of snow and ice covered trees, giving them the perfect view.
Petra played her move, her little face red in frustration.
"Why are you so good! Who did you even learn from! Stupid stupid stupid!"
Nebula looked across the board at the cute little green haired child who had puffed out her cheeks.
She chuckled without saying anything.
Petra angrily snatched a box of cookies from the side of the table and stuffed one into her mouth.
"Let's play a different game! I want to--"
"Little Master, something happened!"
"Mmm?"
Lilly ran over from the mansion, the tail of her maid dress dragging through the snow.
Petra blinked a few times.
"The expedition group has scattered!" Lilly exclaimed.
Petra tilted her head, not understanding.
Lilly continued, "The group of thousands of people has scattered around the forest!"
Petra nodded.
She held up a cookie and nibbled on it, not understanding why it was such a big deal.
"Little master! They scattered around the forest 'in an instant'!"
"Mmm?"
Petra cutely hummed.
"You mean like a mass teleport?" Nebu asked.
"Yes!"
Petra's eyes widened.
'So that's what I felt earlier! Aha!'
Petra's little mind turned, then she suddenly had an idea. "Why don't we go out for an adventure tomorrow?"
Lilly looked at Nebula, not daring to agree. If Petra was asking, then she probably didn't want to only take a quick walk around. As the most mature, Nebula often had the final say on things like this.
Nebula nodded. "That's not a bad Idea."
Lilly and Petra's eyes lit up.
"I'll go tell the others!" Lilly called out, disappearing back into the house.
Petras smiled, slightly excited.
Nebula looked at her. "Do you still want to play board games?"
Petra shook her head. "No! This little lord must go and prepare!" Petra jumped up from her cushion, stepped forward, then used her new teleportation ability to blink away.
Petra's teleportation ability came from the Ethereal Echo Silverwing that had taken up residence in her Sea of Consciousness. Petra had no Idea why it could do this or how it worked, but she was not going to complain.
The ability was only in its infancy stage, so it could basically only teleport Petra and the clothes around her. Other than the basic illusion abilities that Petra was too lazy to learn right now, she could also slow her fall, similar to feather falling. When she did this, two little transparent black butterfly wings would appear behind her like a game cosmetic, flap a few times, then gently plop her down.
After the butterfly entered her Sea of Consciousness, the connection between them did not disappear. If anything, Petra felt like it had strengthened. She could sometimes feel the emotions of the little black butterfly as it flew around her Inner Library. Unfortunately, all that was transmitted was the incredibly lazy emotions provided by the little bastard.
Petra appeared on the fifth floor of the tower. With her current level, she could only move about a kilometer at best.
The little girl greeted Luna, who was busy cleaning, then began packing her stuff.
This erratic behaviour made Luna confused.
Petra packed and packed, packing all day, until she finally got hungry. When she got hungry, the little girl skipped down the stairs until she reached the dining room.
Soon, the girls gathered around the table, eating happily.
Petra kicked her little legs underneath the table, still very energetic.
She looked at Wind.
"Story time?"
Wind just looked at Petra, gently snorting, before turning her head and not giving her the time of day.
Petra turned to Rose.
"Tell a story!"
Rose clicked her tongue and turned her head.
Petra looked to Luna, then turned away awkwardly.
She looked at Lilly, but Lilly just shrank her neck and shook her head.
Petra finally turned her gaze to Mell.
Mell pursed her lips.
She paused for a moment, then nodded.
"There was an old story back in the village. One of my elders used to tell it."
The six girls all listened to Mell's story...
* * *
One day, a nameless young boy came to a small village by the seaside.
It was unknown where this boy had come from, or what he had seen, but this young child did not speak. He remained mute, never opening his mouth.
The boy wore loose rags and dirty leather boots, but his young face easily won the hearts of the villagers. They allowed him to stay in the village, with the condition that he helped out around the village, pulling his own weight with daily chores.
The boy quickly settled in, occasionally helping out. He would take care of the chickens, milk the cows, feed the pigs and wash the horses.
-
One day, a sudden plague struck the village. The lively atmosphere became dark and oppressive, quickly corrupting the village that was once friendly and peaceful. The villagers returned to their homes, living in seclusion. They were in constant fear of being infected, not wanting to die a long and painful death.
The once friendly villagers looked at each other with suspicion and scrutiny, becoming paranoid.
The boy watched, each day, his big black eyes watched the villagers turn on themselves, changing friendship into suspicion, and family into enemies.
After a long time, the plague subsided.
Although nothing seemed to change, everything had changed.
-
One day, a doctor came to the village.
He was a simple man, claiming to be a servant of the regional lord. He was sent here to confirm that the plague had not spread.
The boy watched as this doctor went from home to home, checking on each villager.
His inspection was quick, but he took more information than was needed.
The boy watched, taking note of a specific house.
The wandering doctor took extra time in this house.
In this house lived a dying old woman.
Living with the old woman was a young girl.
This girl had bright blond hair and a cheerful personality.
She was a sun in these dark times.
When the doctor left, the village was already doomed.
-
One day, the village was attacked.
The men rode black horses and claimed to be knights from the regional lord's army.
Despite their kind behaviour, their treacherous light quickly shone.
The boy watched as the iron swords tore through flesh and bone. The boy watched as villagers screamed and ran. The boy watched as the village that he had lived in was reduced to ash and dust beneath the flames of war.
One by one, the villagers were slaughtered.
The men were cut down on the spot, but the women and children were captured, taken away like livestock. They struggled, kicking and biting, but they were too weak to resist.
The boy watched as the weak were taken away, no different from the cattle in the village.
-
One day, a group of young slaves was sold to the mountain bandits.
Many children, both boys and girls, were taught how to work as cave servants.
They took care of the caves, washing and cleaning, slowly growing up as simple servants under the nameless men who treated them like objects.
The boy watched, he followed, and he worked.
Each day was more difficult than the next.
But unlike the other slaves, this young boy was different. He did not age, he did not tire, he was static, immutable. He was there, watching, but he was also ignored, almost like he didn't exist.
There was one exception, one girl, and the only one… who even seemed to know he existed.
His fellow survivors from the old village had long fallen, leaving only him and this blond-haired girl to remember, to reminisce about that seaside view.
Although life was good, fate never stood still.
-
One day, an unknown force began a large war against the mountain bandits.
Blood was shed, and few survived.
A girl, young and aspiring, raised her sword and led the slaves to overthrow the mountain bandits!
The slaves rebelled, finally remembering that they were more than just tools.
They picked up a weapon and advanced.
This girl was hailed a 'Hero,' becoming the savior for those weak and oppressed.
The boy watched from the darkness, years passing.
He watched her rise, leading the slaves, and slowly building them into the first Army of the Hero.
-
One day, a Hero rose!
She swung her sword and challenged the demons.
The young boy followed, watching the Hero grow, fight, lose, stand up, fight, lose, and improve. The Hero continued this cycle, slowly becoming a symbol that everyone could look up to.
The world worshiped her as the Hero of Light, the chosen of the Sun God!
There were tales told, stories written, and legends engraved.
But what the world didn't know was that the greatest light always produced the darkest shadow…
-
One day, the Hero clashed with the Demon King.
Many years had passed, and the young girl had long become a legendary Hero.
Their clash changed the landscape, removing mountains, creating rivers, and splitting the sky. Darkness and light intertwined, resulting in a grand battle that would stay unmatched for a millennium. They fought under the sun, watched by the world.
The Demon King held her wand, casting black magic that reshaped the landscape. The Hero swung her sword, its blade bathed in a royal flame that burned with an intense purple and golden light.
The battle lasted for days, ending in an explosion of light that turned night into day.
The result was unknown.
The Demon King had disappeared, leaving the army of demons in disarray.
The Hero had vanished, becoming a monument to the might of mankind!
Only a young boy, who had watched silently from the side, understood the outcome.
-
One day, two women ran away.
The fallen demon king giggled from the shadows, pulling the lost hero by the hand. The defeated hero, whose hair had turned black, was pulled along, willingly following the demon king into the unknown.
They escaped together, hand in hand.
Although the world could not find them, a certain young boy watched quietly as the two girls disappeared from their story, leaving what should have been a devastating war in a stalemate.
He just watched, allowing them to leave.
The young boy, the 'Sun Gods Vessel', turned away, unwilling to continue his game.
'He had lost. Now he had to-'.
* * *
"Wait!" Petra's little voice cut through the story. "We have to put this on hold!"
The six girls looked at Petra, confused.
Petra's little face grinned from ear to ear.
"We have a visitor."
* * *
Outside the domain of the Emerald Ghost Tree…
A lonely young girl was walking around aimlessly, struggling to find her way through the snowstorm.
Elena guarded her face with one hand.
Her body was showing many signs that she was approaching her limit.
Even for an experienced adventurer like her, being teleported to an unknown place without any supplies was close to a death sentence in an environment like this. Even with her Spatial Ring, there were still limits.
Her red lips had turned blue, her fair skin was deathly pale, and some bits were even starting to turn black. Her legs shook with each step, and her short breaths had started to turn cold, signalling that her body was running out of energy. Frost stuck to her hair and eyebrows, adding unnecessary weight. On her neck, purple veins ran down like a spiderweb, strongly contrasting against her pale skin.
After the mass teleportation, she was extremely unlucky.
She had found herself dropped into the den of countless poisonous snakes, making it impossible to avoid getting bitten. Combining her frostbitten body with this unknown poison that was slowly spreading through her veins, Elena knew that her situation was bad.
Her eyelids were heavy, and Elena felt like she was at the end of her rope.
Her mind flashed back to her silly little sister, wondering if she would get to see her in the next loop.
Just as her body gave out, she felt like she had seen a flash of green ahead in the forest.
Without the energy to move, her body collapsed, falling face first into the snow, blacking out.