1 Born Forsaken

Somewhere outside a village, inside a dense forest a few hundred meters away from the populace.

There appear two kids running amok, one is chasing, while the other one is running away.

"Come back here, you little punk!"

The one that seemed older shouted as he kept chasing the younger one.

Running through a dense forest, a five-year-old boy shouted back with intense enthusiasm and full of energy.

"Catch me if you can loser, haha!"

Tired and exhausted, the boy chasing slowly comes to a stop. Catching his breath, the six-year-old watches as the five-year-old goes farther and farther away from him.

"D*mnit! I'll get you next time!"

The kid that had been running away from the older one is named Amro, and the older one is named Caulton.

Knowing that his pursuer was no longer after him, Amro takes a break. Sitting on an upright root, he smiles mischievously when he remembers what he had done to the boy.

An hour before...

In the village, an unremarkable youth sits down near a pond, looking at his facial features and contemplating his life.

Born with red hair, green eyes, and tanned skin, he often gets bullied for being different.

In the village everyone else either has black hair and blue eyes, or brown hair, brown eyes; furthermore, their skin is usually pale, with only the warriors and hunters having slightly tanned skin.

Having had no parents since birth, he was raised by his foster father, Gildhard and his wife, Sylvia. Unfortunately, he died two years after he was born.

Sighing, Amro looks at the other kids around his age, playing man-hunt with each other, talking to himself.

"I wish I could join in on the fun."

Suddenly one of the kids, a girl named Lucy runs over to Amro with a smile on her face.

"Amro, come and play with us."

Shocked, Amro looks at the girl with immense interest.

Looking at Amro, Lucy nudges him on the shoulder, saying, " Come on, why aren't you answering, are you going to play with us?"

Not knowing what to say, Amro just continues to look at Lucy with his eyebrows furrowed.

"I guess that's a yes then."

Pulling his arm, Lucy heads back to the other kids with Amro right behind her.

"Guys, I brought Amro to play with us."

Waving her free arm, she shouts at the other kids who are in the middle of a game of man-hunt.

Stopping their game, they look vigilantly at Amro. One of the kids, a boy named Joseph steps in front of the rest.

"You can't bring an outsider here."

Pointing at Amro, Joseph looks at Lucy and loudly speaks in a righteous manner.

Angry, Lucy stomps her feet and brings Amro away. Once they're back at the pond, the kids continue their game of man-hunt.

"I'm sorry Amro. I brought you over there to play but you were kicked out before we could play."

Looking extremely sullen, Lucy apologizes to Amro, giving him a consolation hug.

"It's okay. Lucy, but I have a favor to ask of you."

Smiling happily, he looks at Lucy and tells her to not worry and asks for a favor from her.

"Oh, what is it? I can help you with anything, as long as it helps cheer you up." Replies Lucy with a bright smile plastered on her face, forming two slits where her eyes are."

"Anything?"

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Amro asks in all seriousness.

"Of...Of course!"

Stuttering, Lucy replies with an uncertainty hidden in her voice.

"Come over here, Lucy."

Beckoning Lucy to come closer, he whispers something into her ear.

"Okay, so here's the plan..."

...

As Amro stops daydreaming, he takes out a small book from his pocket, opening it up, he reads the contents out loud.

"The content is split into 5 sections... blah, blah, blah."

Turning the pages, Amro finds what he's looking for. Reading it out loud, he says, "We dwell on the continent of Immortals, formally known as Life and Death Continent. The Continent is extremely vast, consisting of a multitude of Cultivators at different stages, ranging from lowest to highest. The lowest being the Physical Constitution Stage, and the highest being the Heavenly Immortal Stage, but above that is the highly sought upon, Immortality stage... Why doesn't this book explain anything else?"

Flinging the book to the side, Amro goes upside down on the root, hanging by his legs.

Sighing, Amro mumbles to himself.

"Why can't I live an exciting life. A life full of adventure and romance."

"Crack."

Torn, the root collapses on itself with Amro right on top of it.

"Ouch, I didn't know I was that heavy."

Mumbling to himself, Amro stands back up with a small bump on his head. As he scratches his head, he looks around and starts to admire the greenery and the organisms that inhabit it.

Walking around the forest, Amro picks up the occasional insect or plant that he finds interesting. Admiring their unique characteristics, he gently caresses them, one by one.

Standing straight up, he looks at the sky. Yelling with all of his might, he points a finger to the sky.

"I will stand at the peak one day, fighting the strongest warriors and reign supreme.

Laughing maniacally, Amro's shoulders droop down slightly, as if a burden was lifted from his heart.

Suddenly, a mini torrential storm broods in front of him. In the middle of the storm, a silhouette appears indistinctly from time-to-time.

A moment later, the storm vanishes without a trace and an old man stands there in its place with a cane in-hand.

Looking at Amro, the mysterious old man smiles mysteriously.

"Your name is Amro, right?"

Apprehensive, Amro looks at the old man while taking a couple of steps back. Skeptical of who he is, and where he came from, Amro prepares to run away.

Noticing his vigilance toward him, the old man introduces himself.

"You can call me Heavenly Emperor Guang, or just Senior Guang for short, and I can easily catch up to you, so there is no point in running away."

Shocked, Amro stops himself and relaxes, loosening his tensed up muscles.

"Since there is no point in running, let's just sit."

Introducing a new idea, Heavenly Emperor Guang swipes his hand twice at a nearby tree and cuts it into two logs to sit on. Moving them in mid-air with his Qi, they fall parallel, leaving enough room for a fireplace.

"Sit, we can talk after we settle down. Do you like sake?"