2 A Young Man

In a penthouse apartment in one of the largest and most luxurious skyscrapers in the world, a young man looked over the horizon attentively.

Even though thick clouds obstructed his view and cold winds rippled his long white cloak, he didn't seem to mind. His posture exuded an air of wisdom and a touch of solitude, giving a slight impression of being in harmony with the place and at the same time not belonging to it.

"Two hundred years. . ." he said out loud without turning back. "We have been here for more than two hundred years, and with such a short life span they were able to build such an impressive society."

"Why does it seem to me that you are still not impressed, master?" Another male voice came behind him.

A somewhat older man sat in a luxurious armchair, he was dressed with the same white robe as the young man and held a book in his hands. His long red hair shone in the sunlight showing traces of gray but the pure golden of his eyes were brighter than the sun.

"Indeed, they have no cultivation at all." The man couldn't help but to sigh.

"After living thousands of years, I think very few things can impress you, master." The red haired man smiled lightly as he said that. "For a world without Qi, I think they achieved some great deeds: a mortal can live up to a hundred years here, mostly at peace with no fear of death. Moreover, those projectile weapons really impress me! It's really remarkable that their technology was able to achieve such power, I dare to say it can even kill a careless Body Tempering Cultivator or above!"

"That's nothing compared to what true power can achieve!" The younger man harrumphed and turned around, making evident the large black star in his white robe. "Even so, I just wanted to meet the God responsible for such a creation, because this place it's clearly a flaw, a mistake! I can't feel any trace of his existence here!"

"Why would that matter? He clearly ignored this place after its creation or died in the process . ." The red haired man shrugged and lowered his eyes back at his book.

"Well, I guess you are right. Still, why would my sister say that my destiny lies here?"

"I dare not question the Oracle's remark, do not forget that she was always right! It is we who were short-sighted." Answered the red-haired man as he flipped the pages.

Soon after, a strange silence settled between the two for a long time.

"But I wonder: What would the people of this world be able to create if they had Qi?" The red haired man murmured to himself while reading.

"That's it!" The other one exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. "You are a genius Leo! Come with me!"

"Thanks master, but. . ." the older man looked at him perplexed. However, he received no answer as the man disappeared in thin air as if he had never been there.

"Looks like his boredom is over." He spoke out loud for no one and smiled.

Suddenly, he disappeared as well. With no support, the book he was holding fell on the floor.

On the cover, it reads: The inventions that changed the world.

*********************

Inside a huge cavern, thousands of kilometers underneath the earth;

Where one would expect to be filled with darkness, light filled the place from the magma that flowed like a river. Hundreds if not thousands of diamonds and other precious minerals were embedded in the cave walls and rocks. They glowed shades of red as magma light flashed between them, the sight was beautiful yet deadly.

In the center of the cave, the floor was formed of a black rock which did not seem to be affected by the temperature as the river of magma flowed around it. Above it, a strange star-shaped formation was emitting small particles of a cold white fog.

Suddenly, two figures appeared out of nowhere just above the hot magma, however, they were floating in the air clearly unaffected by it! They both wore a white garment with a black star in the middle and no accessories nor weapons could be seen in their body. Weirdly, their robe was also not affected by the heat which was enough to disintegrate any normal clothes instantly.

The youngest man had short black hair and bright blue eyes that fitted perfectly with his bony nose and small lips, creating an impression of a noble.

Without waiting any longer and not even looking for the rich minerals around, he floated directly towards the formation.

Alarmed, Leo asked.

"Do you really intend to do what I'm thinking, master? You know you'll lose most of your cultivation, don't you!?"

"Yes, I know." He turned around and smiled at back at his friend. "Perhaps I should have created a world long ago, now I'm going to take a small shortcut!"

Leo only smiled back and didn't rebuke him, that was his master's way, once the man put something on his mind it was impossible to stop him.

"There are indeed hundreds of ways of cultivation as a God, are you sure you want to restart yours?" Leo asked cautiously.

The man nodded.

"Just like you said my friend: the Oracle is always right! Moreover, I have no fear with you by my side!"

"We just don't know what your sister was referring to. But I'll always protect you as you did to me in the past!" Leo laughed and assured him.

The men shook hands, the friendship they've developed through the years was harder than rock, sometimes it was stronger than the relation between blood brothers.

"Thanks!"

With a wave of his hand the man dissipated the cold white fog, revealing the view in front. The star-shaped formation had weird details and symbols never seen before. However, as the man looked meticulously over it he noticed a few flaws on its geometry. Moreover, some parts were flashing small black dots as if corrupted.

"The God who drew this was clearly inexperienced, was it his first try?" he pondered to himself.

Even though he wasn't a World God yet, he had a few shares of knowledge about it, many people had tried to convince him to create a world before.

In the middle of the formation, a withered black seed stood, just like an old fossil. If the whole thing worked as it was supposed to, the formation had to supply the seed with energy until it sprouted. But the thing now looked more like a stone than a seed.

[Just like I thought, it's broken and the Yggdrasil's seed has withered. This world will die in a few hundred years! They were very lucky to have made it this far!]

He carefully held the seed in his hands. Its black surface was rough yet soft, giving an odd sensation when touched. After that, he sat in a lotus position with the seed still in hands and closed his eyes to channel all his power into the world.

The man breathed in and out slowly. Immediately, huge chunks of what appeared to be a white fog went from his fingers to the seed in his hands. The fog was so dense that it was almost liquid.

Suddenly, as if he had activated some mechanism, the cave trembled and a huge black vortex emerged from the star-shaped formation. Immediately, huge chunks of Qi exited his body and went to the formation and the seed. Unfortunately for him, it was his own cultivation that was being sucked dry!

One might not completely understand the process, but for the man, it felt like a part of his body was torn apart. For him, the pain was similar to an amputation, yet he didn't flinch.

Leo watched everything uneasy, cold sweat was dripping from his neck.

In mere seconds, the black seed turned lush green and a small tree started to sprout. At the same time, the formation healed itself and no more flaws were visible. Blood gushed out from his nose and he was turning paler by the second.

"Cough!"

Red blood stained his once white robe.

He had successfully restored and taken over control of the world. However, he had faced the backlash from it: he was now heavily wounded and his God Cultivation was almost gone!

Soon, the vortex stopped and from the seed, a small and beautiful bud emerged. The bud was golden in color, it was just as small as a finger and had only one leaf. However, it exuded an incredible aura as if it contained the entire universe.

Felling a bit dizzy, he got up and planted the bud right in the middle of the formation.

Leo went to his side and admired the tree. They knew that the Yggdrasil would represent the world's strength from now on. Seeing that Leo was smiling he spoke:

"Now we can consider this to be a real world!"

"I can't wait to see it growing many leaves!" Leo agreed.

"Me too, but for now I have a mission for you, my friend." The young man smiled, blood turned his teeth red. "Go to the surface and spread as many low-grade cultivation techniques as you can. That thing they call 'internet' might be useful, I admit. If you want, you can build a Sect or grow some disciples, just make sure to initiate my World in the path of cultivation."

"You can count on me, master!" he saluted.

"Ah! Don't forget to keep an eye outside, I'll be recovering here for some time." Without waiting for an answer, the young man sat again and began to meditate. In his injured body, he sensed something new: thousands of ants were crawling on his skin.

He knew what that meant, he was not hallucinating. This feeling showed his connection with every and each form of life in his own world. With but a thought, a God could control everything! However, most World-Gods he met before wouldn't go as far as to interfere or kill some lifeform, because it would bring no good to the planet itself. Everything in life had its balance, and for a World-God that was even more important.

"Yes Angareus, I'll do everything in my hands to protect you!" said Leo while saluting in respect.

He then disappeared quickly, to accomplish his mission as soon as possible.