chapter9

  On the Akkad planet of the Eldus, dozens of kids were gathering at a star-gazing square on the summit of a high mountain. A few grandmasters were bustling with putting on white robes enchanted by spells for them.

  “Woahhh——! I don’t wanna go! I’m scared of getting lost in the universe!” A child was weeping when the grandmaster helped him wear the robe.

  “You’ll be fine as long as you listen to your teacher. You have my words,” the grandmaster tried to comfort him gently.

  However, it failed to soothe the unsettling mind of the children. The fact was because a serious accident happened a month ago, which led to the missing of 30 children in the vast galaxy.

  When an Eldus reached a specific age, he or she would be required to leave the home planet for space travel. 

  To those kids not familiar with mana and spells, they could not go alone and had to be accompanied by grandmasters and mature Eldus. The white robes were especially made for the kids to walk in the universe.

  But that was not a guaranteed safe play from any risk. A month ago, a sudden meteor shower made the situation out of the grandmaster’s control, causing the children to be lost in the boundless space.

  After the accident, some Eldus suggested cancelling this ritual, but eventually continued under the insistence of the grandmasters. Although they had already added a few more entourages, it did not do much to alleviate the children’s heavy moods, except for a boy looking up to the sky. Saint, filled with excitement in his eyes, was full of vigor, standing a stark contrast to the fear of the others.

  The preparation took twice as long as usual. Then the grandmaster gave a command to officially set out towards the space.

  The innocent children were soon captivated by the beauty of the universe, carrying the mixed feelings of fear and curiosity to look around. A grandmaster who took the lead turned round with a kind smile. “Fear is necessary. Fear can calm you down. Calmness makes you think. Thinking helps you understand. Understanding gives you inspiration.”

  Most of the children were perplexed by the grandmaster’s words, but Saint was the only one to comprehend and think deeply about the meaning inside while gazing at the abysmal universe.

  Suddenly, a strange shaking happened, from insignificant to violent like raging waves in the storm.

  “A quake caused by a meteor shower.” Saint soon realized the reason for the oscillation and analyzed calmly unlike others in a panic.

  “Don’t be afraid! We’ll be fine in the spell of protection,” the teachers explained. However, it was muted by the screams of the children. Eventually, one was unable to bear the terrible ambience and run out of the spell protection.

  “AHHH!” While he was pulling away by the gravity, someone caught him in time——Saint. Spinning his body to create inertia, he got the child back into the spell protection but drifted away in the universe in exchange.

  “Great, the child is safe.” Saint felt relieved as he knew the child went into the grandmaster’s embrace. Alone, he closed his eyes to welcome the unknown world ahead.

  The white robe could only sustain his life. Saint, wandering in the galaxy, had passed through rings of planets, fire of meteorite and magnificent milky way...

  Lossing track of time, Saint had no idea when the odyssey would end as time went by. Shrouded in an eternal silence, he began to realize there was no way back; Unspeakable panic and great fear flooded Saint’s heart.

  “Am I going to be alone in the barren space forever? No...I don’t want to...NOOO...” Saint cried in great despair. Suddenly, he recalled what the grandmaster said——

  “Fear is necessary. Fear can calm you down. Calmness makes you think. Thinking helps you understand. Understanding gives you inspiration.”

  “Fear can calm me down. Calmness can make me think…” Tears stopped. Saint opened his eyes and saw a faint light was shining ahead. Then he moved his hands to help go forward to the light.

  “Come...” A voice came into his mind, driving him to follow the shine to a broken planet.

  “Oh! It’s a friend! Wake up everyone!”

  “Great! You must be here to bring us back!”

  “These are...the missing children!” Saint was shocked to see the long-lost children waving at him excitedly. A moment later, he was enlightened. 

  “It’s the will of the stars guiding me to come here. Yeah...How insignificant I’m in the torrent of the universe.”

  Afterwards, Saint led the children to follow the holy light, without any doubt. And his absolute faith in the guidance of the radiance successfully brought them back to the home planet.

  “Saint, not only you came back from the vast universe, but also saved the helpless kids. Amazing!” The grandmaster was full of praise.

  “No, I'm not strong. The powerful is the will of this universe, I'm just a carrier of its greatness, a humble servant.” Saint's delicate face glowed with holiness, like a shine that appeared in the long dark night with solemn divinity. “I'm just spreading its light.” He spoke determinedly.

  “Right...This boy is special. He is chosen by the stars.” The grandmaster exclaimed. 

  The young Saint's deeds made him highly valued by the grandmasters, and he lived up to expectations to become the leader of the new generation, responsible for expelling alien ancient demons who took the vitality of the planets.

  The first battle ended with a triumph of the Eldus. One of the alien species was seriously injured. Saint took it back for treatment, while he was busy with chores.

  “Phew...Finally done.” Saint, closing the last scroll, pondered as he stretched his taut shoulders. “The treatment should be finished as well. Let me take a look.”

  Saint came to the treatment room and once again marveled at this colossal yet  indescribable alien figure——a broken flesh body which was entangled, destroyed and split by trees and minerals, occasionally oozed with thick slurry that gave off a strange smell.

  As if sensing Saint's attention, the colossal alien awakened. At first it was extremely alert, but under Saint's sincere and infectious persuasion, it quickly put down its guard.

  “So in order to go to the place of birth, your kind needs to absorb the power of the planets to gain sufficient energy to make it possible?” Saint, sitting cross-legged on the table, rubbed his chin with two fingers.

  “Perhaps we can help!” He looked at North.

  “Em?” Shocked, North hesitated to ask, “Do you...know what you're talking about?”

  “Yes of course.” Saint nodded. “I haven't done talking yet. We Eldus can help you back to the place of birth, provided that you aliens promise not to absorb the vitality of the planets anymore.”

  “Can you really help us?”

  “Not sure. But I'll try my best. So I'm also counting on you to persuade your fellows to accept this offer.”

  “I persuade...” North dropped its shoulders dejectedly. “I can't do it...They won't listen to me.”

  “...Aren’t you their fellow too?”

  “No one treats me as one of them except for Laplace.” North continued, “because I'm too weak...Look at my body. I look like a freak all because I can't control my power...”

  “I'll help you sort this thing out.” Looking at North, Saint spoke with genuinity. “I'll help you control your power and transform successfully.”

  “...Why will you do that for me? For such an irrelevant alien...”

  “It's not irrelevant at all. We're blessed and living under the same universe. That's already a good reason to help.” Saint stood up, spread his palms and closed his eyes to pray sincerely. “North, my fellow, I'll be here to protect you as long as it is what you wish for.”

  Saint's selflessness shook North’s gloomy and dry mind. No, Saint himself had a special charm that no life was not affected by him.

  Soon, Saint set out to crusade because the alien species once again invaded the planets. Fortunately, they were not many; under Saint's overpowering strength, he claimed another victory in the battle.

  Saint returned to the home plant with Eldus, but saw an unusual green figure on the surface. His heart became uneasy all of a sudden. Regardless of the young Eldus following behind, he descended as fast as possible; and a horrible situation caught his eyes.

  The “Hall of History”, the landmark of their kind, was blasted away, which left only the base crumbling. Other buildings were not much better than it, full of potholes.

  However, the saddest thing for Saint was corpses of his fellows that paved the ground.

  “Mmm...” An Eldus groaned in pain. “Hang in there! Let me heal you.” Saint immediately lent a helping hand.

  The Eldus shook his head as he pressed Saint's hand to stop the spell. “Saint...Take that monster down...Only you...only you can do it...”

  After leaving the words, the Eldus passed away. Embracing the corpse, Saint was in tears; each death of a fellow was like digging a hole out of his heart.

  “I can't stop yet. I have to move forward to protect my kind before it's too late.” Saint gently put down the corpse, activated the spell to ascend to the air. Looking around, he soon found the location of the monster—star-gazing square.

  The monster was holding a female Eldus; Saint squinted to look clearly.

  “Ishtar!” 

  Saint activated a spell to concentrate mana on his legs. Driven by the golden light, his speed gradually accelerated. By the time he almost reached the square, Saint pulled out a blade and slashed the monster's hand.

  The monster's arm was cut off; Saint caught the falling Ishtar to protect her from the force of landing——

  Boom! A huge noise came after a cloud of dust and dirt. The sight suddenly became hazy. 

  “Cough!” Ishtar gasped for breath as Saint patted her back. At the same time, he remained vigilant in case of any ambush. What came as a surprise was that he never believed the enemy was...

  “North...Is that you?” The colossal figure was shrouded in dark and greenish black aura. Its appearance was indescribable, as if an alien mixed with all the malice, despair and destruction in the world.

  “North, why...why did you hurt my fellows!” Saint was furious. “We have a promise——”

  “It’s you who broke the promise!” North roared in a hoarse voice. It threw a deep cold gaze at Saint. “You lied to me! You hurt me! You took everything from me!”

  North raised its right hand to target Saint. “I won't just destroy you, but also everything related to Eldus.” It announced with hatred and fury.

  North’s attack initiated a battle between them. The two who possessed devastating power had fought for three days and nights, making the whole place like ruins. In the end, North was defeated, mainly because he was still not recovered, and did not get used to the overpowering energy inside. 

  North was dying, festered with blood. Still, it was exuding boundless hatred. Even facing such explicit loathing, Saint could not bear and was unable to kill North. 

  As a result, Saint and the other Eldus worked together to extract the power of destruction inside North and seal it with spells. As for North, it was imprisoned deep underground by the Eldus.

  However, Saint did not know that it was not the end...