《The Spacetime Archives [English/Ingles]》 Prologue: What are you doing?! We are supposed to be on the same side! "WHY!!! TELL ME WHY!!! AREN''T WE ON THE SAME SIDE!!! ANSWER ME!!!" The silver-haired man exclaimed. His mouth bleeding a pseudo-golden liquid; as he shouted in anger and confusion at the two hooded beings, levitating in front of him. "You don''t get it, do you?" Said one of the beings in front of him; it was female-voiced and with a marble of light formed on her index finger of her right hand. "If you''re so smart, why don''t you figure it out yourself?" "Nggnnn..." Moaned the silver-haired man from the pain; climbing out of the mountain wall where he was embedded; with his right arm completely broken, directing his left hand to the sheath at his waist. "If you wish to be killed, go ahead. Anyways, this must just be another one of The Architect''s hateful tests, none of this is real, right?" From the sheath, the silver-haired man pulled out the hilt of a sword, silver in color, wrapped in black ribbons for a better grip. From the hilt emerged a liquid metal that slowly formed the blade of the sword. "Don''t even think about it; you forgot who forged that sword didn''t you?" Said the other hooded man; with a masculine deep voice; pointing to the sword with the index finger of his left hand." The sword, whose formation was almost complete in the hands of the silver-haired man, began to deform, returning to its liquid state. "It is not only your will that affects the Tronium your sword is made of" The eminent voiced hooded man exclaimed. "We forged your weapon before you even existed; our will is imbued in this one, obeying our will is priority to it." "Shit... they''re serious. If this keeps up, I''m going to... going to...¡± The silver-haired man exclaimed, clenching his left fist as hard as he could; trying with all his will to materialize at least a bit of his sword. "No, NO!!! I REFUSE TO DIE! With tremendous force, the silver-haired man lashed out at the hooded men; so fast that only his silhouette was perceptible; so hard that the earth cracked, the ground shook; his battle cry echoed throughout the forest where they were fighting. "Cosmos, stop him!" The hooded woman shouted to his companion. "Aye-aye my lady!" The hooded man flew towards the silver-haired man with the same magnitude of power as he did. Colliding in midair as a sonorous bang followed the impact. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM The roar echoed throughout the region as the two clashed in the sky. Both swift as lightning and powerful as thunder, they managed to dodge or block each other''s attacks. "Come back to you, Cosmos! This is not who you are! You¡¯ve been brainwashed! Don''t you remember all the time we spent together!!! COME BACK TO YOU!" The silver-haired man exclaimed, as he continued to block and dodge the hooded man''s attacks. "I''m not in the mood for this talk, little brother. Much less for this kind of dialogue that seems to be straight out of a cheesy light novel." The hooded man exclaimed, blocking and dodging as his opponent did the same. "Perish at once." The hooded man''s attack pattern abruptly changed, his attacks did not connect, they were fake attacks that did not cause any damage. The silver-haired man realized this, but it was almost impossible to tell which were real attacks and which were feints. "Stop this, if you can." the hooded man told him. The hooded man in a new move, propelled his right leg towards the face of the silver-haired man, what appeared to be a direct hit. The silver-haired man raised his guard all the way up, a fateful mistake. "You fell for it, little brother" The hooded man''s kick was a feint, an illusion when, in reality, the kick was going towards the silver-haired man''s genitals. You could feel the pain of it just by looking at him. But the silver-haired man, however, he did not flinch. "You even forgot your own rules, brother. Always hide your genitals in battle." He said to the hooded man, taunting him. "And you forgot the first one; never let your guard down." The hooded man disappeared from the silver-haired man''s field of vision in less than a second, and with his heel struck the silver-haired man''s head with a mammoth force. Crashing it into the ground; forming a crater with the impact. The hooded man descended slowly, until he reached the ground, clapping his hands slowly on his way down. "Five minutes ahead of schedule. You owe me five mitrons, Nova." Said the hooded man in a playful tone, looking at the hooded woman. "Don''t even think about saying -I''ll give it to you next time-"If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Ugh.... Fiiineee" The hooded woman tossed the seven mitron coins to the hooded man. "Finally, we got what we were looking for, did you warn the Architect yet?" "I''m on it," the hooded man replied. "You''re lucky he falls for the same trick after so many centuries.¡± "He''s still the same ignoramus as before," the hooded woman exclaimed. "Do you think with this... Artemis can come back to life?". "That should be enough" The hooded man replied to him. Unexpectedly, out of the crater crawled the silver-haired man, trembling. His legs were pulverized, his chest crushed, and only his left arm was responsive. "I''M NOT DONE! YOU HAVEN''T GIVEN ME THE ANSWERS I WANT!". The silver-haired man shouted at them, trying to pull himself up with the bits of limbs that could still serve as such. "You''re impressive, your stubbornness is the only thing that keeps you going." Said the hooded man in front of the nearly crippled silver-haired man, then turning his face in the direction of the hooded woman. "Doesn''t this ring a bell by any chance, sister?". "Sounds like generic shonen, bro" The hooded woman chuckled, trying to hide it "Pff- let me guess, this is when we seem to win, but suddenly and by magic of the script, the heroes show up and end up defeating us, that only happens in- AUCH! Out of nowhere, the hilt of the silver-haired man''s sword hit the hooded woman''s head, complaining about the pain and trying to relieve herself. "LISTEN TO ME AT ONCE!" The silver-haired man shouted at them, pointing his broken fingers at them. YOU DON''T HAVE TO- ! "No. Shut up already" The hooded woman said to the silver-haired man, pointing her right index finger at him as if it were a gun "Ivaris Replica." From the marble on his finger, two beams of light shot out towards the arms and legs of the silver-haired man, pulverizing his limbs, leaving only his entire torso and head. The silver-haired man''s gaze looked dead, lost, empty, his mouth was not completely closed, and you could barely hear his breathing. The hooded men lifted him from the ground, one of them held his body and head, making him look directly at the other hooded man, who positioned himself in front of him. ".... W....Wh...." The silver-haired man could no longer even formulate words, the physical trauma he had received was too much for him, but still. He did not die, rather, he could not die. The hooded woman knelt in front of him, and very gently stroked the silver-haired man''s bloody hair, and from within the shadows of her hood, a hint of her mischievous smile could be seen, escaping through the small amount of light that reflected back into it. The silver-haired man, in his bewilderment, could only make some meaningless noises, unintelligible to any tongue. It could be observed how, slowly, some tears were leaking from inside the glasses he was wearing. "Hmm... What''s the matter, little brother? You''re not so brave and strong after all, are you?" The hooded woman was still stroking his hair slowly and carefully. "Hmmm... you wanted to know so badly, I kinda feel sorry for you... I think I''ll tell you." The hooded woman stood up, and leaned over him, causing the silver-haired man to look up at her. "Your work was always spectacular, from the first soul, we knew we were going to have an energy supplier competent enough for our demands; we weren''t wrong, every one of them was perfect. But..." The hooded woman cleared her voice after coughing a couple of times. "You were so effective; you completed our demand much sooner than expected and we are ready for the next step." The hooded woman chuckled a little. "We can''t waste any more time or resources, and the only missing piece is... You." "........." The silver-haired man looked physically and mentally shattered, so much so that it seemed his head was empty, with no thought at all. "Not counting the harvesting thing, you were always a pain in the ass, do you know how many timelines we had to fix thanks to you!!! How many biomes we had to alter!!! How many memories we had to change!!!; you''ve tried to do it more than once, you know how horrible it is to get into Synapsis." The hooded woman snapped her fingers, and a marble of light reappeared on her index finger. "A blessing and a curse all at once, that''s what you are. Unfortunately for you, we do not require your services anymore, Codename: Spacetime. Or should I say Charly..." The final curtain has fallen, it''s the end. With his index finger pointed at the forehead of the silver-haired guy, the marble in front of him, taking the shape of a bullet, it was just a matter of pulling the trigger and ending it all. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM Out of nowhere, a blast sent the hooded men and the silver-haired man flying in opposite directions, it seems that the explosion did not cause any damage to them, only repulsion. "Ugh... and now WHO''S butting in!" the hooded man exclaimed angrily, pounding the ground in fury. From the undergrowth, a red-haired elf appeared, wearing adventurer''s robes of green-brown and sky-blue, carrying a wooden staff of sorcery, with a trigger near the gem. "I don''t know who you are, but I like you less than the silver-haired fellow. If you want to get to him, you''ll have to go over me, The Archmage of the Seventh Ring." From another bush at full speed appeared a wolf beast of gray fur, wearing a pair of Arabian pants of the same color of reddish sand, with chains wrapped in his arms imbued with a strange aura; straight to attack the elf. "YOU''RE OUT OF YOUR MIND IF YOU WANT TO DEFEND THAT SON OF A BITCH WHO ALMOST SUCKED MY SOUL!" "YOU INEPT BEAST PRINCE, GET OFF ME, YOU FOUL-SMELLING SACK OF FLEAS WITH RABIES." The hooded men looked at each other, seeing the "scene" just created out of nowhere, saying at the same time, "What''s going on here?" And I think you too, readers. You must be wondering what does this all mean? You see, this story started a long, long time ago; about two days ago. Chapter 1. Let me see if I understand… An aurora borealis? In this time of year? It had been several days since a blinding emerald glow illuminated the night sky during a thunderstorm in a region near the fifth ring of Lydenfrost. The inhabitants of Vereida¡¯s Kingdom thought it was just another meteorite, one of the many that had fallen in the past. But when they went to investigate the place where the glow came from, they found nothing more than what appeared to be thin, but very resistant, silver-colored fibers. At dawn, the astronomers and sages of the kingdom gathered to investigate the matter further along with the king, after many hours of reading the records of star sightings, they discovered that it was not the first time something similar had happened. In one of the many files of astronomical events they had at their disposal, there was one particular case that fit the description, except for two details, the glow at that time was reddish and the event happened above the fifth ring, but even that case remained unsolved. The sages could not give a logical reason at that time, everything was derived from myths and legends of many generations past, even when investigating the silver strands, they did not find any creature to which it belonged. It was noon and they decided to leave their research until the afternoon, after lunch. The sages were in the hallway outside the hall just as..... "My lord!!! My lord, it''s urgent!!!" Panting, a royal messenger came running in, drenched in sweat, his face completely red from exhaustion and his cap about to fall off his head. "My lord, I beseech your attention!!!" The sages in the hallway stared at the messenger, some of them looked at him in disgust, others recoiled and there was one who held his nose in his presence. "Oh, I beg your pardon, eminent sages of the realm!" said the messenger, as he bowed and knelt before the sages. The sages passed by the messenger quickly, trying to get as fast and far away from him as possible in the narrowness of the corridor, whispering things to each other that could not be understood, but were clearly hateful remarks to the messenger. Inside the meeting room, the king was still seated in the most luxurious chair farthest from the entrance. "You may come in, messenger. Come and tell me what you have to say!" exclaimed the king, taking a sip of red wine from his golden goblet. "You have said it was a matter of urgency, declaim it as such." The messenger cautiously walked in the direction of the king and noticed how very luxurious that hall was. The floor was covered with a very soft fur rug, presumably of beasts, and in the center of the hall was a huge table carved from an ancient tree. On its sides could be seen statues carved in marble of the previous rulers of the kingdom, the last of them being those of the current king, which was still in the process of being finished. On the table, there was a scale wooden model of the kingdom and the troops that had been deployed in the territory, every house, smithy, tavern, and guard post, everything was there. "Well, messenger, what is this message you have brought?" The king insisted, looking directly at the messenger. The messenger took out of his bag a paper envelope, sealed with red tree sap, and with no particular design. "Your majesty, I have brought you this message of urgency, I beg you to read it." As he said it, he knelt to hand it to him. "Hmm? What is... this material, some kind of paper?" The king looked puzzled by the letter envelope, never had he seen paper so perfectly folded, or so white as this, the letters he had seen were yellowish, the paper, more brittle, and the seals, with the emblem of the kingdom it came from, but this was nothing like it. The king then removed the seal and opened the envelope, inside was the letter, and began to read it aloud. As he began to read, the messenger audibly gulped. "This letter is addressed to that greater sovereign who rules this kingdom. I will appear before you at the hour when the sun goes down and the stars come up, the hour when I will come to snatch your most prized possession, don''t bother to even try to stop me, I will get to you sooner or later. For the sake of your kingdom, I beg you not to alert the guards or put them on high alert, or whatever they have when the king must be protected at all costs. Neither you nor I would want any more people involved in this matter. I may sound bad in the tone of voice I am expressing myself, but I am just trying to get to the point I want to make, I was never good at writing in this language. I will arrive at the north entrance of the kingdom. I will be on time. Sincerely yours: No one." The king then slowly turned his head looking directly at the messenger saying to him in a very serious tone. "Who delivered it to you?" "I-I have no idea... he looked like an ordinary peasant, but-" The messenger hesitated a little in his speech but was rudely interrupted by the king, who struck the table sharply and in an angry tone shouted at him. "You dare to play a joke on your king!!! Guards!!!!" The two guards immediately appeared behind the messenger, grabbing him by the arms and lifting him off the ground, immobilizing him. "Take him to the dungeon!"If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "No, no, no, no, let me go, I beg you!!! But I am telling you the truth, my lord!!! Observe!!! Tell your guards to pick up my right sleeve!!!" The king felt doubtful about that last thing and disguising his curiosity with pity, he said. "Guards, I approve it as a last wish, pick up his sleeve." The messenger then, with the help of the guards, picked up his sleeve, revealing strange, elongated markings with emerald sheen. "See it, my lord!" "Guards, release him immediately!" The guards then released the messenger, dropping him to the ground. "Ouch!" The king lifted him, grabbed him by his clothes, sitting him on a chair in front of him. "That color... Could it be...?" he asked, covering his mouth, trying to believe it. "The color that all your subjects saw the night before, so it is my lord," The messenger told him nodding his head. The king then put both hands together and pointed to the messenger. "Tell me how you got these marks, in the minutest detail." The guards were still in the meeting hall, approaching curious about the subject. The king glared at them furiously and pounded the table again. "You, what are you still doing here, get out!" "Ah! Yes, my lord!" Both guards replied, retreating to their posts outside the hall. "Now tell me, faithful subject, tell me about this peasant," said the king to the messenger, looking at him very closely, straight into his eyes. "Ehm- uh... heh, heh" The messenger again faltered with his words "It is somewhat... embarrassing, my lord." "I can still send you to the dungeon," the king replied threateningly. "All right! Ya... I''ll tell you, ¡°The messenger said, putting his hands in front of him, moving a little away from the king. "It all happened at night... I was leaving the tavern at the eastern part of the kingdom, after finishing with a..." The messenger paused at this part, stalling to say the following words out of embarrassment " ''Night job'' was when a man appeared out of nowhere and stood next to me, he asked me if I was a messenger, I answered yes and he gave me that envelope; I asked him what it was for and he answered me that they were not necessary details, that he only needed me to take it to the king as soon as possible, I tried to refuse, but my body did not respond, I simply took the letter so that later the strange man shook my hand and ended up marking me, and he said something like ''In your hands is the destiny of the kingdom'' or something like that. I also remember that his eyes were glowing slightly in the dark and from his right palm a liquid of the same color as that glow was dripping." "......" The king was silent for a few seconds, finishing the remaining wine in his glass in one gulp. "Guards, communicate to the general that we are facing a great unknown threat, I need all the troops we have available at the north entrance, close the other entrances, and activate the mana turrets around the wall to its max" The king stood up from his chair and walked towards the statue of his father. "I am sure, father, that you would do the same and much more." The messenger slowly rose from his chair and began walking toward the exit "I-I think I can leave now, I-I don''t think I''ll be of any use." "Guards!" The king exclaimed, pointing to the messenger "Take him to the barracks, give him armor, sword, and shield!" "E- Ehhh!!! Why, my lord!" Startled, the messenger responded by trying to run for the exit, but in his attempt to escape, the guards pinned him down again. "You know too much to let you go like this, I don''t contemplate someone causing chaos before an attack on my kingdom." The king smiled at the messenger, "Not that you have family to worry about." "I knew that your father created a heartless being, you should not have inherited the throne so young, in the end, you are still immature as always" The messenger exclaimed, angrily voicing his words. "I was going to have a little mercy on you, old friend, but I see you are not worthy of such a privilege. Guards, tell the general that he is going to the first line of defense." "No... Wait!" Those were his last words before the guards took him away and with him closed the gates. It was then time for the sunset, hundreds if not thousands of troops had been strategically deployed in four lines of defense, starting with the first line, with low-ranking troops, followed by the knights in the second, the horsemen in the third, and the templars in the fourth and last line, waiting patiently for that man to show up with an army or worse. The messenger was trembling with fear, standing there with other warriors, ready to assassinate whoever the threat was. "Attention troops!" Shouted the commander of the first line of defense "Our eyes in the sky say something is approaching at high speed, be alert!" Aye, aye, aye, aye! They all shouted. But out of nowhere, an unfamiliar voice spoke up. "Aye, aye sounds very old-fashioned, don''t you think?" exclaimed the silver-haired man beside the commander, leaning back on his left shoulder. "You all should change it to something more inspiring, I don''t know..." Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The commander exclaimed, standing on guard, trying to stab the silver-haired man, but he vanished in the blink of an eye. "Where did you go you bastard!" "I warned the king not to take his troops out for a walk, but I see he paid me no heed at all" The silver-haired man dressed in brown peasant garb exclaimed, a few feet away from the hundreds of troops. "What the hell do you want, is there anyone else with you?" the commander asked, noticing how little importance the silver-haired man attached to the situation, he looked... relaxed and disinterested. "I''d like to chat with him about some unfinished business, would you let me through, if you don''t mind?" The silver-haired man held out his hand, trying to convince them. "Besides, it''s just me." "If you want to get to him, you''ll have to go over me!" The commander exclaimed, pointing his sword at the silver-haired man. "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" "And from me!" The warriors repeated. The silver-haired man lowered his head and sighed and then said. "I expected you to say that. I guess..." Pulling from the sheath at his waist that silver hilt, liquid metal seeping from it, slowly forming the blade of the sword. "That I have no choice left." "Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! The war cry of all of them resounded on the battlefield, courage and pure strength in a sonorous state was present, a sound capable of pushing back entire armies, that latent danger that no one wants to face. But even with all of them, lashing out at him. He did not retreat, he just positioned himself on guard ready to counterattack. One man against a thousand troops, who would have imagined what was about to happen¡­ Chapter 2. You must be exhausted. Do you want something to eat? My treat. "Ahh... this is life," exclaimed the silver-haired man, taking in his right hand a glass of wine and in the other a piece of medium-rare beef. "It''s a pleasure to finally be sitting on this table with , King... Ehhh what did you say your name was?" "Eendij, King Eendij," he replied from across the table in a serious voice. After finishing with the troops, the silver-haired man imprisoned the king in his own castle, forcing him to ask the royal cook for dinner for the two of them. A strange request that the king had no choice but to accept. They were sitting face to face at the table and, as they waited, not a single word came out of their mouths until, in the middle of the meal, the silver-haired man finally broke the ice. "You have a very nice meeting room here in the palace, I wonder how much did it cost?" Taking the glass of wine in front of him, the silver-haired man exclaimed, "They call me in many ways, but you can call me Spacetime," he said adjusting his glasses. "Thank you for your hospitality, the food is delicious, and the wine is perfect, but regarding your defense plan, was it necessary to send almost all of your men to die?" Pointing to the king with his fork, the silver-haired man asked. "I tried everything to keep you from coming..." The king put his elbows on the table, bent his head, and placed his hands on it. "And yet... you still managed to come," the king expressed himself in a trembling voice. "How... how... how... how... how did you manage to survive?! "Hmm...? I just did, there''s not much mystery to it," the silver-haired man said, taking a bite of the meat, and chewing it as he spoke. "I think from the holes in my clothing and the reddish color of it you can get an idea. That armor you''re wearing isn''t too bad." "Stop chewing with your mouth open, beast!" Claimed the king who took a deep breath before continuing to speak. "Get to the point, what have you come for?" "Pff..." Laughed the silver-haired man a little. "I mentioned it in the letter your messenger delivered to you; in short, I''ve come to take away your most prized possession." "Gold, jewels, my kingdom?" said the king, rising from his chair quickly, motioning to reach for his sword at his waist. "Never!" "No, no, no, not at all." The silver-haired man then poured himself more wine. "Neither gold, nor jewels, nor kingdom are that valuable to me or my superiors. What I seek is something... far more valuable than that." "So..." Said the king, taking a large gulp of wine from his goblet "You are not coming alone." "I come alone, but not in bad company. My superiors are watching me from above while I hold up my end of the bargain." In the blink of an eye, the silver-haired man had finished his meal. "My compliments to your cook, he doesn''t cook badly at all." "Don''t divert the subject, damn you!" The king slammed his hand down hard on the table. "What exactly do you want from me?" The silver-haired man rose from his chair and with his index finger pointed at the king. "All I need, is you." The king stepped back, and in confusion asked, "You wish to murder me, as well as all my guards, and then you will subdue my people! Isn''t that so?!" "I was already thinking you didn''t have a heart; this is the first time you''ve mentioned them at this dinner, I even thought you''d be on the battlefield, but I see someone chickened out. At least I see you do care about them." The silver-haired man smiled, chuckling. "Shut up! You wretched devil! It''s your duty to protect me!" the king exclaimed, picking up his plate and throwing it towards that man. "You don''t know who you''re messing with!" "Actually, I do know exactly who you are. At first, I just wanted to break the ice...let me see." The silver-haired man then looked at the artifact on his right forearm. A bracelet made of metal with a screen embedded in it displayed a summary of who the king was. "What is... that thing... some kind of magic mirror or black magic artifact?" the king asked without getting any answer. "King Eendij, 21 years old, your father died two years ago, and your mother died giving birth to you. You had an older brother from another father whom you know, but you don''t know who he is, and you detest beasts with all your soul," he said, wiping his hands and then using them to support his head. "Someone who doesn''t mind killing others for his own well-being, of an explosive temperament, who doesn''t have much experience running the kingdom, hence, the sages run this kingdom." "What are you getting at? Freak. The sages would never do such a thing," the king said, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword again. "You say one more thing that annoys me, and I''ll be done with you for good."This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "I''m not coming to judge you or anything, I''m just telling it like it is. Adding to that, the sages were planning to mutiny against you shortly." Said the silver-haired man, scratching his head. "And how do I know what you say is true!" Claimed the king "I may have slain almost all of you warriors, but they put up no resistance." From his pocket he pulled out a pin from one of the sages, it possessed a light blue glow. "From what I understand, these pins only glow if they have been given in goodwill to the person who will own them." "You damned bastards!" the king exclaimed angrily, "You''re all going straight to the gallows when this is all over! The silver-haired man again chuckled a little. "It feels good to have absolute power over a nation, doesn''t it, remember when you first sat on the throne?" "I already told you not to change the subject, you bastard. The massacre you caused gives me plenty of reasons to murder you, but that very massacre is what makes me cautious." "It''s on topic, tell me, how long has it been since you''ve felt empowered? When was the last time you made decisions on your own?" the silver-haired man asked him persuasively. "For a long time now... you are right... I have not seen it that way... The sages have been deciding for me." The king said to himself a little discouraged "Do you remember that day, the day when everyone bowed before you? That day when that crown came into your possession. That day when you became king?" The silver-haired man said to him, smiling. "I remember it clearly... yes... yes... I remember saying... this is the best day of my life," said the king. The silver-haired man''s eyes sparkled in response to his words, so much so that it was reflected in his glasses. "Good, good... I want you to focus on that day, the happiness it caused you, the elation you felt, and how full your soul felt." "It was the most glorious time of my life, my eyes water at the thought of it, thank you... I thank-". The king, as he spoke his sentence, was interrupted, not by words, not by a noise, not by some natural disaster. The silver-haired man, faster than the speed of sound, pounced on the table, extending his right hand toward the king, staying millimeters away from him. The king, reacting, stepped back as far as he could to then unsheathe his sword, launching a vertical slash, splitting the table in half, causing the silver-haired man to fall helplessly to the ground. The king immediately pinned him down, crushing his chest with his foot, raising his ominous gleaming sword over that man with all the hatred in his blood. "You¡¯re done for!" "Oh... well, I tried!" The silver-haired man exclaimed. With both hands, the king thrust his sword into the man''s head and then stabbed him three times in the chest. Unloading all his fury in each of those. The king''s flurry of attacks did not stop there, he continued with cuts to the chest just to de-stress. The king, breathing heavily, dropped his sword to the ground as he finished, turning immediately toward the door, and going outside the palace. "If you want to do a job well done, then do it yourself, they said" The king exclaimed loudly. "That''s the way I like it." The king could not believe his ears, it was the voice of the silver-haired man. For a moment he thought it was his mind playing a trick on him, but behind him, he felt an ominous presence, as if that presence was breathing behind his neck. The king then decided to turn around, and in less than a second, he saw him there. It was that silver-haired man, who was still alive with all the open wounds from the lacerations caused by the king, practically disfigured. The king instinctively screamed in terror, while the silver-haired man gave him a blow with his right hand, and from his palm came a mechanical proboscis that pierced his heart. "To be honest with you, this is going to hurt," The silver-haired man told him calmly, visually regenerating his wounds quickly. The king''s cries and howls were heard even in the farthest reaches of the kingdom that day. It was visible that a light green aura was drained from his chest, as if his very essence was being harvested, draining into that bracelet on his arm. The scene lasted for more than three minutes, between the king''s struggle to escape and the silver-haired man preventing him from moving. When he finished, he set the king free, who could not get up, but he could speak. "What is this!!! I... can''t... move!" the king exclaimed, his skin turning a pale color, as his hair did as well, which as the seconds passed lost its coloring. "What did you do to me!" Leaning over that handicapped man, the silver-haired man said, "My superiors thank you for your cooperation in giving us your mature soul for the purpose of improving this world." "What!!!" King exclaimed. "Spacetime wishes you a safe journey to Synapsis" With that, Spacetime, the silver-haired man, turned and walked toward the castle entrance. "Hey! This isn''t over! Come back!" the king said, still motionless. "In three... two... one..." "Hey, wai-...." The king had turned to black ashes, which floated in the air and vanished after a short time... "They are always half-hearted in their confusion; I hope my superiors know how to fix this timeline after this. I''ll stay here for a while and then leave." One soul more... one soul less, that was what Spacetime kept repeating as he sat on the ground, at the entrance of the palace. Staring at the stars of the cold night in Lydenfrost... Even so, something made him uneasy, he felt that someone was watching him... From the beginning of the meeting until this outcome, that feeling became a constant... that he shouldn''t be feeling anymore. A witness who did not stand in the way and fled to the trenches... A witness that you and I know very well already... "I know you are listening to me, messenger, I have one last job for you. Go outside this realm, tell everyone what happened here, tell them the story, of how your half-brother perished at the will of a being superior to him." After saying these words, the feeling of being watched ceased to exist... maybe he was right after all. Chapter 3. Rest assured, champ. Tomorrow will be the best day of your life. "¡­. Seven, seven are the rings that make up Lydenfrost, each one higher than the other, from the icy mountains of the seventh ring to the tropical beaches of the first, each with a different biome, different creatures, and different cultures. The Lydenfrost region was created by the impact of a meteorite made of a strange material that, upon impact, dispersed into the air, creating the icy dome that protects us from the boiling helmet outside to this day. The concentrations of that material at the time were extremely high, so much so that the elements came together and became alive. It was then that one of those life forms came to the fore, which is what you and I are. Beasts. Are you paying attention, Prince Hunter? "Wasn''t there something else to show me or what? Uhhggg... I¡¯m getting sleepy..." It was already midnight in the region of Lydenfrost, and while that silver-haired swordsman was finishing his work, a lesson was being taught in the palace of the central beast kingdom. In an empty hall, so silent that the breathing of both beasts could be heard. "My lord, I beg your attention. You will need this information later; the tournament is tomorrow, after all." "Well, just fast forward to the good part when the ''plague'' began." "As you wish, sir." Beasts are animals that evolved due to the influence of the meteorite, taking an anthropomorphic form over the years and resembling their ancestors very faithfully in certain aspects. Both Hunter and his teacher are beasts; the teacher, a descendant of reptiles who possessed mostly resemblance to an axolotl, dressed in a robe the color of the sea. Hunter is a descendant of the canines, with a high resemblance to the Mexican gray wolf, wearing only red sand-colored Arabian bloomers. "The history of magic seems to interest you." "My dad used to tell me those stories when I was just a puppy. It''s the only bit of history that really matters to me." "Oh, might I know the reason?" Asked the teacher, intrigued by the young wolf''s thought. "Humans are a pest; they should never have even existed in the first place; they are weak, and the only thing they are good for is to eat them." Stretching its right paw forward, the beast explained. "I see your point, young beast," said the axolotl as she picked up some books from the floor. "Let me see... where is it... Ah! Here it is." Pointing at it with her middle finger. "Go to the conflict part and nothing else." "Understood, my lord." Clearing her throat, the axolotl began to narrate. "Years and decades passed, and the human battlefront would not relent; what had taken us over two generations to perfect, they managed to learn in a matter of years and adapt to their lack of mana in their bodies. Studying their techniques further, they discovered that humans used mana from the environment to be able to replicate our spells." "The only way I could see those vermin learning magic is if a beast taught them," said the wolf confidently. The axolotl wagged her index finger side to side, indicating that Hunter was wrong in his statement. "I''d like to say yes, but there was no traitor. It turns out that those spells were cast differently, having a similar but not same result. Look at it yourself; human spell tracings are more erratic compared to our magic." "And we''ve already gotten to the part I don''t give a damn about, isn''t there something more epic?." Expressed the wolf, crossing his legs over the table in front of him and throwing his notebook on the floor. "My lord, I have known you since you were fifteen years old, and you are about to turn eighteen, but you refuse to learn about magic or history, apart from battles and all that. If you keep this up, you will be an ignorant king." "Blah, blah, blah. Every class of yours ends the same way; all I will need is a battle strategy and an army; my reign will be one of the best, Annivelle. Rest assured." "My name is Ativelle! Ati-velle! Learn it already! You barely know how to cast basic spells!" Said the axolotl, raising her fist in anger. "Whatever, with these claws, what should I be afraid of?" "You...!" Suddenly, a burly beast burst through the door, slamming it hard against the wall. "Did you have any mishaps, Miss Ativelle?" "Prince Hunter wishes for something more ''epic'' to learn; I wonder if you have something in mind, Your Majesty." "Yes, you''re dismissed, Ativelle. Go and relax; I''ll handle it." "F-father, what are you doing here!!! W-weren''t you supposed to be taking care of preparations for tomorrow?" the young wolf said, quickly picking up everything he had thrown away. "I finished early and thought I''d see how you were doing." The king then put his hand to his chin. "If classes are boring according to you, then come with me." The young wolf stood up and to his father claimed: "I don''t want to." Then the king put his paw on his shoulder, looked him straight in the eyes with a warm smile, and said in his son''s ear, "I wasn''t asking you. "The king then grabbed him by the arm tightly, and although the wolf resisted, he was dragged along the ground. "Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch! Stop it!" Both father and son slipped through the corridors, walking for a long time through the huge palace until they reached the royal combat arena. There, the wolf father threw his son in front of him.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "Agh... my arm, what are we doing here in the first place?" Said the young wolf, getting up from the ground. "Pop quiz," the king told him, extending his hand forward. "I want to see if you''re ready for tomorrow." "Pop quiz?" "Varneo Axima Erpilka," he exclaimed, and from between the king''s claws, a bluish-colored igneous ball began to form. "I suggest you run!" "Oh, shit." The igneous ball began to rotate on its axis, concentrating all its energy in its center. The rotation of it periodically caused a hissing sound, indicating that it was ready to be launched. The king attacked his son with multiple of those fireballs, one after another, exploding on impact with the arena or the multiple test dummies, even decapitating some of them. "E-Eeeeh Dad! We can talk this out, you know!" said the young wolf, dodging his father''s attacks as he could, taking some grazes from the igneous projectiles on a few occasions. "I won''t stop until you prove to me that you are ready; Miss Ativelle should have taught you how to repel this two years ago," his father told him, smiling mischievously. "Who the hell remembers what you learned in previous years!" Said the wolf, trying to keep up with his father''s attacks. "It would do you a lot of good now, don''t you think?" The young beast was beginning to get tired; his movements were becoming slower and slower; it was certain that he was going to end up burned by one of those orbs of flames that his father was throwing at him if he didn''t do something. It was then that the young wolf remembered a bit of those defense spells, and extending both hands forward in mid-air, he said: "Opori... Erm... Emuro... Dettatio!" Obviously, nothing happened; it didn''t even resemble the original spell, so... What was it that the young beast remembered; it was nothing related to magic or enchantments or combat; it was more like part of a fruitcake recipe, distorted by the adrenaline of the moment. "I didn''t know you wanted to be a chef," the king scoffed. "How about trying to cook something that stops this!". The king repeated the same attack spell, but on his other hand, he had redoubled his attack power, and it was now much more complicated to escape the fierce magical flames of the sovereign. "If you wanted to test me, fine, then see what I''m capable of!" The young wolf started running straight for his father. "You finally stopped running away." The king extended both arms and began shooting his son at point-blank range with the igneous orbs. But this time, it was different; instead of dodging them, the young wolf began to strike them through the outer flames with the palm of his claws, making the orb disappear. Little by little, the young beast was closing the distance between him and his father. "Impressive, my son." The king summoned many more projectiles, but the more he summoned, the more his son repelled them. The young beast arrived right in front of him and, with a leap, propelled himself into the air so that he could checkmate his father. "Ah, no, you won''t." The king leaned in and, touching the ground, exclaimed, "Varido Aximo Taracte" and immediately, stalagmites of ice sprouted from the sand, aimed solely at the young beast in the air. The king raised his paw, and the stalagmites flew out like harpoons at a whale in the sea. But the young beast, with the back of his arms, pulverized the stalagmites just like a martial arts master. The young beast, with his fists clenched, concentrated all his energy into a flying punch that would send his old man straight to the asylum. "This test is over, father!" But his father took his son''s punch and didn¡¯t even flinched at such power it carried. "That''s right, son. You passed the test," he said as he took his son to the ground slowly. "I thought you had lost your mind, my old man!" exclaimed the young wolf, catching his breath and making a relieved face. "I''ve known you since you were a cub, I know you detest magic to a fault." Said the king, laughing out loud, "Not bad your handling of the beast arts; I never thought you''d be able to deflate one of those fireballs." "Such a joker, I nearly scared the shit out of myself, and well, what was all this test fuss for?" "After preparing everything for tomorrow, I got bored and thought that it would be good to practice." "Heh, heh, heh, you don''t take away your lively old man; you''re still fighting like in your youth." " Well, I''m your papa; what did you expect." Said the king, patting his son on the back, "I see you will be a great representative of Wolf House tomorrow." "It will be an honor, Father." "I''m too old to compete, but it will be a real sight to see you smash the other houses'' faces in," said the king, looking at his son, placing his hand on his head. "Go and make tomorrow... the best day of your life." "I''ll do my best, I must use... you know ''it'', right?" "Yes, you need to use ''it'' if you want to secure your victory; the Wolf house cannot afford to lose." "I understand, Father." Running suddenly, one of the kingdom guards, a descendant of the snow wolves, appeared, looking for the king. "Ah, Sain, how good it is to see you! exclaimed the king to the guard. "It''s still good to see you, your majesty. I have a little message to give you privately." "Whisper it in my ear; I''m with my son now; be quick," said the king, walking away from his son for a while. "I''ll be right back with you, champ." The guard then approached the king''s left ear, saying the following, "We captured a human inside the palace; we don''t know how he got here, but when he was discovered, the first thing he did was give us a two-page writing, and he didn''t resist. We already have translators working on it; at the moment, they have only deciphered a couple of words ''beware, silver, and human.''" "I''ll be on top of it; it looks like the human didn''t resist, so give him a room and some food, and in the morning, let him go." "As you wish, my lord," expressed the guard, retreating from the arena. "Dinner must be ready by now, Hunter, I''ll wait for you upstairs." "Going!" Without worry and without further ado, the young beast then went up to the royal dining room, where his father and some commanders were waiting for him to eat. It was a huge feast, which, at least for a human, it would be. For them, it''s just a normal meal. Time passed, and the time to sleep came to what we say to them: good night to both of them. Something for sure, at dawn, awaits them. The coliseum was packed, the beasts settled as best they could in the stands, and the smell of beer and street food pervaded the atmosphere, where warriors would fight for possession, honor, glory, and the kingdom. "Let us then commence the first bout, The Defiant Tribute of the Hawk House versus The Defending Tribute of Wolf House; let the combatants enter the fighting arena!" the announcer exclaimed; the beasts stomped loudly and in euphoric rhythm as the combatants entered the arena at once. "Defending for Wolf House, we have the firstborn son of our current king, Hunteeeer Wooollff!!!" "And challenging the defender, coming from the seventh ring of Lydenfrost, the archmage...! IT CANNOT BE!!!" Silence invaded the arena; no one could believe their eyes... "And who the fuck do you think you are!" he asked in a furious tone, the young wolf immediately going on guard. With her hand on her chest and at the top of her lungs, that unexpected guest exclaimed: "My name... is Griezu, and I come on behalf of the true owners of these lands! The Humans!"