4 A New Earth (2)

USA

Inside a luxurious mansion far away from the city, an elegant young man was walking upstairs. However, his messy hair and the dark circles around his eyes were in disharmony with the great house.

The stairs were made of white marble and a bright chandelier was responsible for illuminating the place.

[What the f**k was that!? The security protocol was activated and I had to run like a madman to the secret room for nothing!? Damn you weather!]

Walking through a corridor, he turned right and entered his sacred place: The library.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this was his most cherished place in the world. Considered a prominent genius, he learned to read by the age of two. After that, he began to read each and every book he encountered, from fantasy to science.

Now sixteen, many universities have sent him invitations. He couldn't tell if it was because he was a genius or maybe the fact that his father was a billionaire played a part in that. But he didn't care. He just felt that the world was too boring: he could have whatever he wanted. Still the boy felt like something was missing.

Perhaps the time he spent reading fantasy books made him realize that his life would never be as interesting as the protagonists he knew.

And so he read on, imagining the adventures that he couldn't partake in, feeling the emotions he couldn't feel.

Sighing, the boy entered his library, yet what he saw made him angrier: empty bookshelves. His loved books that should be on them, were mostly spread on the floor.

[Stupid earthquakes!]

Trying to calm himself, he had no other options than to arrange his books, each one in their designed place. As he looked for the correct book, a shining golden object caught his attention.

It was an unknown book!

He grabbed it and took a closer look at its cover, the title was composed of strange symbols that resembled Elvish to him.

The boy knew each and every book in his library by heart.

"Weird, this book isn't mine!" He couldn't help but remark, still he felt attracted by the book.

Then, somehow, the meaning behind the symbols came to mind.

[Endless Vision Cultivation Technique]

"What!?" He was shocked, it was as if his own subconscious was talking to him.

Perplexed, he flipped the book open.

[A classic low-grade mind cultivation technique. By opening the Yintang acupoint, also known as the third eye in the middle of the eyebrow, the practitioner is able to evolve its mind and body. The steps that should be taken are... ]

"Cultivation? Like the novels?" He eyed it suspiciously.

It would not be the first time that his father had played a prank on him. Yet, he was really attracted by the mysterious book.

[It wouldn't hurt to give it a try, would it?] Shrugging, he sat down to meditate as told.

Moments later, he felt a gush of energy entering his mind. Immediately, he did as written and tried to lead it to his vessels, passing through his heart and lungs, then his legs and all the way back to his head. After a few tries he was successful and the sensation he felt was extremely rejuvenating.

"It's true!!" The boy jumped surprised.

After realizing the prospects of this event, he took his laptop and searched on the internet. To his surprise, he found that it was a hot topic around the world! Millions of posts in the media were discussing that fact.

There were thousands if not more people stating that they found strange books. Pictures were even available! And to the boy's shock, none of the books were the same as his!

"Damn! What the hell is happening to the world?"

Searching a bit longer he found people selling the books! Some even ordered as cheap as thousands of dollars.

Yet, the most shocking of all was the fact that he found that some techniques were available for free on some anonymous site! Unfortunately, he didn't have the courage to check it, his own book stated that there could be huge adverse effects of mixing techniques.

He would not miss that opportunity! The boy immediately ran downstairs to find his billionaire father.

[How can these people be so stupid to sell such a miraculous book? Well, lucky for me, I'll be able to buy and read them all!]

*********

Japan

Inside a traditional dojo, about twelve students were practicing the sword mimicking the movements of their master. They wore simple white robes with belts attached, each student had a belt with a specific color.

Soon, fast steps were heard coming from outside.

The door opened with a loud "bank" and a youngster passed through it. Wearing the same outfit as the others, the boy had short black hair, a straight nose, pale skin and small red lips. That all combined gave him a good yet childish look.

"M - master, I've stumbled upon something interesting, take a look!" He got on his knees panting and took out an object from his backpack.

Because of the commotion, everyone stopped training and looked at the boy perplexed.

First it was the storm outside, and now this?

"Furaya Reizo, what happened?" The master stopped teaching and asked the new kid.

As he understood the boy's personality, he knew that his disciple wouldn't be so reckless to barge in this way.

"A book…found it. . ." Reizo answered, still out of breath.

The man walked over and grabbed the object in his hands.

It was an old tattered green book, with a golden title. Yet, as the master looked over it he became mad: It turned out that it contained some strange language he had never seen! In the end, he thought that the teen was just playing a prank out of him!

His face turned red and he was just about to explode when suddenly, a meaning came to his mind.

[Wind-Sword Cultivation Technic]

Surprised, he said nothing but decided to take a closer look at the old book. He flipped it open and read. Shock filled his eyes at each word he 'understood'. It turned out that this thing contained a marvelous technique!

He couldn't even phantom how much they would be able to improve their lives at the dojo. Maybe his disciples would even be able to win the national championship and shock the world.

[Ha! I can't wait to see the faces of those senile old men!] the master couldn't help but smile at the thought of his old enemies.

"You did good, Furaya!"

That said, the master patted his shoulder and called every other studant nearby. With the book on his hands, he spoke:

"From now on, I'll teach you the manual contained in this book. With it, we'll be able to win the national championship for sure!" He looked closely at every students' eyes.

This was a small and poor dojo, but many of the kids had an even more precarious life back at their homes. And so, this place was their only way to aim for a better life.

"But remember, this will be our utmost secret!" After all his students nodded, the sensei continued. "Furuya Reizo, you are truly blessed by luck, my kid! And for this immense contribution, the only way I can think of to repay you is to make you my direct disciple and teach you all my secret sword techniques. What do you say?"

"Yes, Master!"

**********

In the wildness further away from society,

Between the dark woods, a pack of wolves was howling at the shining moon. Among them, a lot of dead animal's carcass were spread over the lawn. The shining moonlight reflected the red blood and gave off the impression that the grass was glowing red.

The pack was celebrating the arrival of a new leader. The one they knew would be their new king! The one who would dominate the entire land of beasts!

In the middle of them, a newborn wolf was licking its blood-stained silver fur. Its eyes were red as fire and transmitted an intelligent light that a wolf should not have, even more a newborn one.

These unusual things could be seen all over the world. People would soon know that a new time had begun.

A new earth had been born.