On a cold night illuminated by the beautiful, large moonlight, high up in a peaceful and simple village, the villagers were fast asleep under a soft and tranquil quietness, so much so that hearing these words would make you fall into a deep sleep.
Suddenly, a white object appeared in the sky. Wait a minute, what could it be? Is it an airplane? Wait, there are no airplanes in our era. No, it is a goat! Are you kidding me? Goats do not fly here. Maybe it is a dragon wanting to buy some rice from the villagers. I am just kidding. It was something like a shooting star that pierced the Earth's ozone layer, accelerating under the influence of gravity.
At first, its color was white, but due to friction and gravity, it began to burn and turned dark red. The closer it got to the earth, the more its speed increased. With its slanted path, it crashed heavily into a flat area high on a mountain near the quiet village.
The moment of its impact with the earth was deafening, to the point that rocks flew into the sky. It caused a massive tremor felt by everyone sitting or sleeping. The villagers woke up to this tragedy, not understanding anything. Did they wake up because of an earthquake? Or because of the loud sound? They were terrified and panicked.
The villagers did not know what to do. The situation was as chaotic as messing with an anthill.
The village men went out to control the situation. They asked the women and children to take cover in the fortified shelter, hoping they would be safe. They told them to turn off the lights and stay quiet, as this is an inherited protocol to protect themselves from any emergency that might happen.
Then, the village chief asked them to form a scouting party to investigate the situation there, as things did not look good.
Out of extreme fear, no one dared to carry out the village chief's order. "Do you want us to go to our doom while we are young men in the prime of our lives? The youngest of us is fifty years old, and we should leave this paradise we are in?"
A conflict quickly broke out among them between those who supported going and those who opposed it. Some saw it as walking to their death, while others thought it was better to see what was happening and manage the situation.
In the midst of this argument, a brave man decided to take the matter into his own hands and undertake this difficult, daring mission himself. It was Rin, the village doctor.
Even though they tried to stop the doctor, he was determined to take on the mission requested by the chief. He felt that the responsibility of the village fell on him, not on the chief, who had grown old and could not handle such matters at all.
He gathered his courage with determination and strength. And why not, as he was the wise one among them. He took a fiery torch to light his way into the wild forest, and an axe he used for planting rice, and he made his way toward the disaster that had struck the villagers, which could not simply pass unnoticed.
At that moment, fires began to ignite in the forest, apparently caused by the burning that occurred at the moment of the crash.
Our brave doctor had to hurry and see the matter. As he approached the flames, he saw the impact site. It was a very large, burnt crater. And what was in the middle of it?
Is it a meteor? Is it an alien? Neither this nor that. Instead, it was a man who looked to be in his twenties, lying on his burnt shield. With his ragged clothes, long hair, and black beard, he looked like a Viking, but he was neither skinny nor muscular. He seemed to be dead.
Doctor Rin approached him in astonishment! He had never in his life seen someone fall like a meteor and cause all this chaos of earthquakes and fires. Is he dead?
Doctor Rin could not believe it. It seemed he had lived long enough to see people falling like meteors after we used to describe them as stars.
He got closer to check his heartbeat, and it was very faint, almost disappearing. He was amazed for the second time. It seemed the night would be very long for our poor doctor. He placed his hands on the battered body and released his healing ability. He channels an energy called "Blakin" in this world, which comes in various shapes, sizes, and types. It is a complex system that we will not explain right now, and the poor guy is almost dying. How heartless of you.
With his kind hands, he tried to save him, or save what he could. He tried, as usual, to convert the energy inside the doctor into a tangible energy that restores all body organs.
But the matter was beyond his power, and unfortunately, he could not do it. While he was busy with our noisy guest, the flames surrounded Doctor Rin. He made the only choice he had, which was to carry him on his back and drag him away from the fire. But it was too late. The flames surrounded him from all sides. It seemed like the end before it even began.
He had no choice but to accept his fate. He was the one who decided to take this action in the first place to check on things, and he was the one who decided to heal this stranger because he is a doctor. One of the qualities of doctors is loving the profession and helping patients above all else.
In an instant, a burning tree trunk came toward him with a massive flame, and he could not move a muscle. He is the type who heals people and has no ability to attack or defend. Furthermore, he never trained himself properly in the first place. Suddenly, a strong wind came from behind him, extinguishing the fire and forcefully pushing that tree in the opposite direction. In the blink of an eye, the fire was put out, and certain death was avoided.
Who unleashed the wind? Yes, it is the village teacher "Yuri" with his boy "Shin", who is Rin's son, of course.
"The village teacher is usually a soldier who served under the authority he wanted to serve, whether a barony or a duchy, etc., and retires after his service. He dedicates himself to teaching children in that region to continue his journey and protect everyone and the kingdom above all else from any evil."
His son Shin was checking on his father during that chaos to make sure he was okay, but he did not find him. He decided to ask for help from his teacher "Yuri", to look for him. When they learned he was the only scout on the investigation mission, he and his teacher rushed to check the situation as well.
Shin: Father, father, are you okay? What happened? Do not tell me you are hurt.
Teacher Yuri: Doctor Rin, what happened?
Rin: Do not worry, I am fine. It is just that the fire surrounded me and I found no way to escape, so I thought it was the end.
Shin: Crying hard. How could you risk your life like this? Do you want to leave me just like my mother left? What a cruel father you are.
Rin: Shin, my son, do not misunderstand me. All it is is that I had to take responsibility for the village since no one decided to see what was happening.
Shin: I heard a loud explosion and an earthquake, so I evacuated the villagers to the shelters and looked for you. When I heard you volunteered to investigate, I was afraid something would happen to you, so I rushed to you with my teacher.
Shin: What are you carrying? Who is this person? Is he an enemy?
Rin: No, do not worry. I found him here. It seems he miraculously fell from the sky, and if it were not for this shield on his back, he would be in pieces. Plus, his body seems strong even though he is not muscular.
Yuri: Unbelievable!
Shin: Is he alive? Because I see a lifeless body.
Rin: No, my son, he is alive, but his heartbeat is very faint, almost disappearing. He might be between life and death right now, and my energy is not enough to save him here.
Yuri: All I know is that meteors fall from the sky, not humans like us.
Rin: I cannot believe it either, but it is exactly as you see.
Teacher Yuri: The explosion reached everyone. The matter might cause a problem for the village later.
Rin: I do not know. I hope nothing happens later.
Teacher Yuri: As you know, the Barony is very careful with strange matters, and they might send a scouting mission to investigate.
Rin: We will see about that later. First, we must take him to the wise old woman. Maybe she will find a solution for him and save him.
Yuri: Let me help you with that.
Doctor Rin, his son Shin, and his teacher Yuri took that person to the village, specifically to the village's wise old woman. On their way, the villagers were amazed at what he was carrying. Is that a corpse? Did you kill an enemy, doctor? We never knew you were such a fierce warrior.
Long live Doctor Rin, long live!
Wait, wait, do not misunderstand. The cause of all this chaos is this person. It seems he fell from the sky and miraculously survived, but we must get him help from the old woman, hoping we can save him.
So they went to the old woman and entered her place. She was in her spot meditating as usual.
Old Woman: What is this corpse, Doctor Rin? Did you intentionally kill someone this time? I suspected you were a serial killer from the start, and now your true colors show.
Rin: No, no, it is not in my nature to kill my patients. Do you want me to go to jail? You are such an evil old woman, haha.
Old Woman: Hmm, maybe that is your place, haha.
Rin: We found this person at the foot of Mount "Fuin". He seems severely injured, and I cannot treat him. That is why this depends on you, old woman.
Old Woman: I only have one bit of energy left, and you want me to help people? You really want me to die badly so you can take my place, you miserable doctor.
Rin: It would be great if we got some rest from you and your shouting in the village.
Old Woman: You brat, I raised you well, and this is how you honor me.
Rin: Your death will save a lot of food for the village since you eat all the resources.
Old Woman: Fine, I will grant your wish for my death, but not today, haha.
She got closer to him, then placed her hands to check his body thoroughly through a technique called Deep Listening, where she listens to the "Blakin" flow in the person to know the body's problems. But what happened was unexpected.
Old Woman: How amazing. The person is healthy, doctor.
Old Woman: Despite his wounds, he is somehow healthy. He is just in a coma, and his faint heartbeat is probably due to something else... Honestly, I do not know.
Rin: I cannot believe it. It seems to be an eventful night. How did that happen?
Old Woman: It seems this person is in a deep slumber and will not wake up today or next year. In fact, I believe he will stay like this forever and will never wake up, meaning he might be in an eternal slumber.
Rin: Unbelievable. It is like a coma, but a coma on the brink of death. Do things like this exist in our world?
Old Woman: Maybe we should get rid of him. After all, he fell and caused a huge commotion heard by everyone around us. I believe scouts from the "Seed" Barony or even the Duchy will eventually come to investigate, and you know very well how these matters are handled.
Rin: Ah, yes, you are right. But it is my duty as a doctor to care for patients until their last breath.
Old Woman: Do you know why I have not died yet and have stayed around so long despite my old age?
Rin: Because you are an old hag who spends her time loitering, and no one cares to mess with old women, haha.
Old Woman: Respect yourself, you patient-killing doctor.
My assessment of situations, my sacrifices, and walking according to logic are what brought me to where I am now. If you do not want to bring trouble to yourself, get rid of this person immediately. You know what the Barony scouts mean, and the matter will grow if it reaches the Kingdom. They will accuse us of collaborating with enemies, and we will be executed. I am still too young to die. Does your conscience not bother you to execute a flower in the prime of her youth who has not lived her life yet and has not married?
Doctor Rin: Oh, you really think with logic. And how do I get rid of him?
There is a feeling inside me drawing me to this person, as if I know him or have met him before. I do not know how to describe it well, but I prefer death over leaving him until I truly understand his situation.
What do you think, Teacher Yuri?
Yuri: I think that in the best-case scenario, you will be fed to the monsters as a dessert.
Rin: Oh, wonderful...
Old Woman: Wait, wait. I will not let anyone execute my students while I am alive. If you are insisting on this, here is the following:
Move this chaotic person immediately to the cabin near the stream at the bottom of the mountain opposite ours. Take care of him there until he wakes up, or maybe he will not wake up, haha. He is like a living corpse right now. I will handle the scouts and tell the village chief about the situation and what he needs to do.
I do not want to get involved in this, and I do not want to involve any of my foolish students in it either. All I want is to live in peace.
We must take the necessary measures, put everything in its place, and not build our plan on a fragile lie, or we will fall like dominoes.
Doctor Rin: Thank you, old woman. I will take good care of him until he wakes up. I do not care how long I have to wait. This is my principle in the end, and I will never change it.
Shin, help me carry him. We must put him in the grandmother's second cabin near the stream as fast as possible without any snoopers noticing us. Then we must inform the villagers about what happened and take the necessary measures if needed.
It seems your chaos, you brat, will not end well. I got myself into this, and I have to finish it in the best way possible. Even I have a counter-plan to the old woman's plan, and I will see if I can succeed and spare myself from death as well. In our lives, we must make a plan for the plan to succeed, or as we call it, the backup plan.
Come on, Shin, let's hurry before dawn breaks... This is our chance to save everyone.
Teacher Yuri: Wise old woman, does the fall of men from the sky warn of a disaster?
Old Woman: I am not sure, but I will investigate the matter.
Yuri: During my journey, I met a wise old man who warned of a disaster, saying it begins with stars falling from the sky. So is the star here this person?
Old Woman: The matter is concerning. I hope that is not the case. I want to live for a thousand years, haha.
Yuri: Ever since my time in service under the wing of the "Crain" Barony, I have encountered many strange things. I survived some of them, and we lost friends and loved ones, but I never found anything as strange as this.
I do not want the sacrifices of my comrades to be in vain, and I want us to live in peace until our death...
Does the world want to change, or do periods of rest bring ruin, and ruin brings peace?
I really do not understand the nature of life and the path it is walking on.
Old Woman: You babble too much, teacher. It seems you have grown very old, or you got into an accident that made you lose your mind, haha.
Yuri: I am sorry, wise woman. I am just worried about this world.
Old Woman: Honestly, I cannot hide my worry from you. But what can you do? It is heading towards its inevitable fate either way. All we have to do is let things run their natural course.
Meanwhile, Doctor Rin reached the cabin. He placed the man who fell from the sky in a bed, changed his clothes, and washed the dirt off his face.
When he reached his hand, he saw a necklace held on his wrist. It looked as if it was glowing and had an engraving with letters unlike the letters of Earth.
He did not understand what was written on it, but he decided to write it down on a piece of paper and research it later in the library after they get past the current disaster problem.
On the other side, the Barony guards wake up to that explosion. They are all on high alert, thinking a disaster has occurred. So, what happened next?