Prologue (V2)

"NOOOOOOOOOO!".

A heartrending scream was heard in the deep hours of the night, in the mountain range of the kingdom of Ansem.

A dozen black hooded individuals were surrounding a young couple. The woman had a very haggard look, and despair could be seen in the bottom of her eyes. A small line of blood adorned her beautiful red lips, and she was embracing a small package wrapped in a blanket right next to her chest.

The young man next to her was quite handsome and had a heroic look. However, he was currently in great pain and holding his side while breathing with difficulty. He was gravely injured, and in a short time, his death seemed nothing but inevitable.

The hooded men surrounding them didn't rush to attack them. To finally injure the young man, they had wasted a great part of their power, since they had been in hot pursuit for several days without rest. Originally they had more than 30 men, but during the cruel persecution, more than half had lost their lives and limbs to the couple. This pursuit had gone across the ocean, all the way from Lutzomya to Ansem. The hooded men knew that even if the young man was on the brink of death, he was still incredibly powerful, and they only managed to hurt him after an ambush. They were all fearful of a desperate attack right before passing.

One of the men, who seemed to be the leader said:

"You are going to die. No one can save you, and you know it. You should have accepted my proposal. You have brought this upon yourself."

"Hahahaha. Accept being a dog like you all? I'm afraid it's against my principles to behave like an animal".

The young man replied between breaths. Even if he was quite weak, there was still a strong brightness in his eyes. The pride embedded in them, as well as his contempt for his attackers, could not be hidden, even at the very gates of death.

The face of the leader darkened, even under his hood. He was more than aware that the only reason the couple couldn't escape from his hands was that they took advantage of the woman in from of them, who had recently given birth. Sometimes, fate can be cruel like that. Had she not been pregnant, had she not escaped her mighty family, not even twice the amount of attackers would have been able to encircle them. Even though the leader was considered one of the most powerful men in the whole world, he himself acknowledged his inferiority to the man in front of him, and such acknowledgement only grew his resentment and jealousy towards him.

"Armand, forgive me. This is my fault. Had I not been with you, none of this would have happened. Your future was bound for glory and I took that from you. Please, please... forgive me".

The woman said in between sobs.

"Please, I beg you. I'll give you what you're looking for. Just let my son live. I'm begging you".

There was a bit of schadenfreude among the attackers at this point. Being able to see this woman, who was usually so proud and haughty, managed to fill them with a very dark pleasure in the depth of their hearts.

"We may consider leaving him crippled with his sorry life. We just need the Genesis Stone. Who knows? If you manage to also satisfy the need of all of us brothers, we might just leave you two with an intact corpse. I mean, after all, several of us have died while chasing you. Some compensation seems due."

Said the leader while guffawing, and looking at the woman with unconcealed derision. His companions laughed while looking at the couple as if they were a pair of cornered rabbits.

"YOU..."

The woman responded while looking venomously at her enemies.

"Quiet, Lilina".

The young man yelled with the last of his strength as he closed her eyes filled with rancour. He knew better than anyone, that the chances to get out of this alive were close to null. Even when he was one to always fight till the last breath, he knew that if he fought, even if he could kill half of the assassins, his son and wife would be finished after him. Watching the despaired heart of the woman next to him, he knew they were at the end of the line. The incredibly beautiful Lilina opened her eyes and looked into the eyes of Armand. They could see each other's decision in that look.

Without forewarning, the man raised the arm holding his side, and it was filled with immense power and a multicolour light. The hooded men raised their defences to the top while watching nervously, and afraid to get close. Even on the brink of death, they knew just how dangerous that man was, he who was supposed to be crowned The Gloria of EON, one of the most prestigious titles in the continent, reserved for the mightiest of all soldiers who fought for The Church.

But, much to their surprise, his attack was not against them. He pierced his own side, gravely aggravating his injuries.

'Suicide?'.

That was the thought among all the attackers, who began to smile among themselves. However, the smile was short-lived in the face of the leader, who after sensing the Qi in his opponent, immediately yelled:

"ALL ATTACK WITHOUT RESTRAINT!"

Nevertheless, it was too late, as a sudden light force field surrounded the couple. The air fluctuations were quite strong, and the earth seemed to be quaking.

"MY WILL IS... UNBREAKABLE".

Armand yelled.

- OOOOOM -

The dark and silence of the night were broken by a myriad of rays, lights and attacks that destroyed their surroundings. Destruction, fire and thunder, enough to erase a small city weren't able to leave as much as a scratch on the force field.

"Damn... Unbreakable Life Barrier. One of the most powerful defensive skills. You sacrificed your body, your blood and your soul for what... A force field that can withstand any and all attacks, but for how long? You are nothing more than prolonging that which is inevitable. The field will soon be gone and both Lilina and the Jewel will be ours. You will die for nothing!"

The leader said while looking like a snake watching for his prey.

Nonetheless, the young man paid no attention whatsoever, but his eyes kept looking lovingly at the woman next to him. His look was filled with a pang of deep sadness, attachment and pain for having to leave her side. However, his resolution was as his will, unbreakable. The woman was weeping. But there was as well a deep-seated belief in her eyes.

"If you die, I will go, right after you".

Then she turned to her attackers:

"You may have achieved our deaths, but you will never get what you want. Our hope is alive. The coming age of darkness will just last for a while, I'm sure. Because the seed of hope we are planting will be opposed to you".

Afterwards, she looked at the package in her arms. It was a boy. A baby boy, so beautiful, with clear and deep eyes, and brown hair. The boy kept raising his arms trying to hug his mother, who kept looking at him with unwavering love and affection.

"Forgive me, my son. I can't be with you, nor raise you. I can only hope that someday you will know how much your mother loved you. I will keep loving you even after my death".

Right at that moment, an overwhelming golden fire covered the woman. Her face, beautiful as the full moon, was quickly ageing and gaining wrinkles. She was burning her life force, in order to unleash all of her potential, giving her a power beyond belief. The price for such power, however, was her life. She then put the child on the ground and quickly started to make seals with her hands, faster than the eye could follow. A magic circle full of esoteric and strange symbols was surrounding the baby.

"I want to send him to my family. I know they will be harsh with him, but they will at least protect his life".

Said the woman in whispers.

"No. Your family rejected our union, and perhaps, some of them might be responsible for our predicament. Don't look at me like that, you know it in your heart to be true. There is someone I can trust. Someone who at the very least, will not deliver him so easily. He lives nearby. It seems that in my moment of greatest sorrow, I subconsciously wanted to go back and see him".

Whispered the man, while blood was pouring out of his seven orifices. However, there was a gentle smile on his face, while looking at his only child. The events that triggered their pursuit and deaths kept passing through his mind. He saw the great tribulation that was closing in on the world, but the only thing they could do was save the life of their son.

'Forgive me, master. It's quite likely that death will be around the corner because of this that I'm doing. But I'm left with no choice.

The man thought quietly while looking at the hooded men. Then he came closer to his wife who was just about to finish all the seals. Lights of all colours were flying around them while he put his strong hands on her shoulders while saying quietly:

"I can barely feel his aura with the help of the spell... We don't have much time. I can only hope that he will protect him, at least until he can fend for himself."

"That is... NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The black hooded leader screamed. Right at that moment, a great whirlwind surrounded him and his power kept on growing violently. He raised his hand and seemed to vanish from existence, while a great sickle appeared in the sky in the hands of a dark spectre, with black holes where his eyes were supposed to be, and covered in a dark and cold mist. He attacked the force field with such great power, that space itself seemed to be breaking, and everything in ten kilometres square was almost levelled while a great tremor was felt in the earth.

- BOOOOOOOM -

He did not wish to unleash his power, because he knew, that there was a small chance the mighty warriors and masters of the kingdom of Ansem could detect him, and if he was discovered, his plans might be ruined. He couldn't afford such a blunder, however, he recognized the spell the two young people were trying to invoke. Never in his wildest dreams, had he thought that they would be able to use the ancestral spell of RAKNA-EON. This spell required a mix of very powerful Qi and Mana, something thought to be inconceivable. Right at that moment, while watching Armand, he understood that he was pouring his Qi into her, matching it to her level of Mana and creating a cosmic balance between the two.

He attacked with everything he had, however, the force field only showed a couple of ripples as a testament to his great strength (especially when considering it couldn't even be moved by all the men attacking previously).

Armand couldn't stop himself from laughing:

"Hahahahahaha... Even in death you are inferior to me".

Lilina finished the seals. Her face, once breathtaking, was completely aged and wrinkled. Her beauty was completely gone. However, there was a gentle smile on her face. The baby kept looking around while searching for his mother.

"It is time".

Said Armand. The deep pain in both their eyes couldn't be hidden. It was not the physical pain, nor the fear of death. But the thought of leaving their newborn, who would have to fend for himself in this cold and unforgiving world. Soft tears were in the corners of their eyes.

"STOP... If you stop the spell and give me the Stone, I'll make an oath to leave the boy alive and alone. Otherwise, I swear that I will use all my power to chase him till the end of the world if it is necessary to erase his existence. Nothing shall be able to protect him from me".

Said the dark spectre.

The woman raised her eyes and softly giggled. She resolutely lowered her hands and touched the ground. Right at that moment a great light came from the heavens into the magic circle. The radiant light turned the night into day for just a moment. There was a blinding flash of light and everything went silent. The forcefield vanished.

The couple was just standing there. Their life force was close to being extinguished. The hooded men were flabbergasted. The boy was missing. There was not the smallest trace of where he could have gone. He could be on the other side of the world for all they knew, and there was no way to find out. This was one of the great mysteries of the Ancient Spell of RAKNA-EON: Absolute Teletransportation. The couple was looking at their enemies with delight. As if they managed to get a great victory from the claws of death itself.

The eyes of the dark spectre went even darker, and an overwhelming and unending rage was growing in his soul.

"I will kill him in the most inhuman and cruel way I can. If I ever get to know him and recognize him, I swear that I will not only kill him, but everyone who even knows his name, to erase his memory from ever existing on this land".

Nevertheless, the couple had no fear whatsoever in their eyes. They simply closed them and waited for the death that was coming to get them. Right at that moment when they delivered their lives and left all their worries behind, both their thoughts were joined and achieved an unprecedented balance, completely unexpected to them, a consequence of the power that both used while using the Ancient Spell. Both their conscience were lifted up and they managed to see a glimpse of the coming future. They managed to see the coming shadow that menaced to engulf the whole world, an all-encompassing darkness in the form of a tall, dark and cruel figure, with the lust to devour everything in existence. However, at the same time, they saw a small light of hope in the middle of said darkness. That light took the form of a handsome young man with a heroic and brave look, with a great sword in his hands and clear and deep eyes.

The couple suddenly opened their astonished eyes and looked at each other.

"EON has not forsaken us".

All of this takes a lot to describe, but it happened in the blink of an eye, and after saying these final words, and before their attackers could come close and defile their bodies, they turned into light speckles and vanished from thin air. Armand and Lilina had died.

....

800 Km away, close to the small town of Radem, on the border of the kingdom of Ansem, an aged and wrinkled man, with scars all over his face, was travelling through the woods. Next to him was an 8 year all boy, with a dauntless and brave attitude, a chiselled face and a wild mane of hair as if he were a lion. They were night hunting. The old man suddenly sensed a strong Qi turbulence far away to the north and while looking there, he managed to see a flash of light that made the night disappear just for a moment. Deep in his eyes a glint appeared and vanished just as quickly while looking at the horizon, towards the mountain range of North Ansem. No one could tell what was going through his head.

"Father, quickly come over, check this out."

Screamed the boy while running towards a nearby brook. Right next to it, there was a blanket surrounding something. When the old man got close, he stopped the young boy and saw a burnt magic symbol surrounding the blanket. All of a sudden, there was a crying sound that shattered the silence of the night. It was the crying of a baby.

_

Author's note:

I edited some of the mistakes in the writing and grammar. Thanks a lot, Crimsom_Assasin for his annotations. Hopefully, there will be fewer and fewer mistakes in future chapters. Thank you all also for your support.