1 Dark Alley

Wen Calendar, Year 350, March 20 at 23:55

"Breathe...

...In the sea"

Leo gazed at the starry evening sky as he immersed himself with the relaxing music.

"Free...

From the grief...."

As he opened his eyes once more, he smiled and walked his way back home. With each and every step he took, he passed by tens of people.

He was currently at the busiest part of Redwind City, the Golden District–an area filled with nothing but shops and people.

Some sold daily necessities, while others sold weapons, armor, and the like. Strangely, the latter items were releasing a faint aura every now and then.

Leo turned to a different street and the number of people he passed by was starting to dwindle. When he noticed what was happening around him, the teen tapped on his "watch" and the music stopped playing.

He examined the street and thought, "Where is everybody?"

Leo checked his watch and it did say, [23:57].

Thud!

The teen was about to shrug it off, but at that moment he heard something fall.

'What was that‽'

His inner thoughts ran wild, stricken with fear, he slowly searched for the source.

He heard the noise from his left ear first, so he glanced at the alley to his left. He tapped on his watch and a half transparent and blue panel manifested.

It was something similar to a hologram but tangible. The teen clearly didn't think much of it and hastily swiped and tapped on the panel. He seemed to have tapped on the wrong icons, so he had to swipe the extra ones out of existence. He only stopped when there were only two panels left, he calmed himself down before pressing on the panel with numbers.

He typed down the numbers, [911].

Leo thought, 'Now even if there's something like a monster, or a murderer, I'll be able to call for help. Although it might not be on time'.

Just as he was about to walk into the alley, he heard a voice, "He...elp!"

Already prepared for this situation, he dashed into the alley and scanned the area. There he saw a man, covered in blood, lying on the ground.

Leo scrutinized the man, but he couldn't see much as the man was wearing a black hoodie. He was about to press on the number, when he felt something grasp his ankle. Shocked, Leo kicked the ground and jumped away.

He relaxed once he noticed that it was only the hooded man. The man slowly raised himself up so he could lean on the wall to his right, smearing some blood on it in the process.

His gaze landed on Leo and with great difficulty he uttered, "Kid, I know my body best, I won't live for much longer. Even if you call for help now, it won't change a thing…

However, I hope you can fulfill a wish of mine."

"I'm all ears", said Leo as he took something similar to earphones off his ears.

The wounded man continued, "It's just that... at my age I don't have a single disciple, what more a son?"

As Leo listened to every word the man had said, his expression turned from confusion to slight excitement. Trying to confirm his thoughts, he asked, "So what are you saying? Are you asking me to be your successor or something?"

The wounded man's lips curved into a smile, "You catch on pretty quickly, but it's up to you. If you don't want to, then just give this ring to someone else".

He removed a ring from his right hand before showing it to Leo, but the latter couldn't see it clearly due to the darkness of the night.

The red haired teen asked, "Does it matter how I get a successor?"

The man answered, "It doesn't matter, you can do whatever you want with it. I'll just for one thing, and one thing only, tell them to revive the clan associated with this ring. If you don't, well let's just say this might not become a blessing but a curse instead."

Leo didn't get it so he asked, "Why?"

The hooded man replied, "You'll learn why once you inspect the things inside. Quick, take it. My time is nigh". Then his hands, like lightning, placed the ring on Leo's palm.

Now that the ring was on his palms, Leo could see it clearly. It was black like ink, shaped like a coiling dragon with purple gems for eyes.

The man smiled as he suddenly pulled his hood off, showing his face in it's full glory. Leo's eyes widened when he saw the man's face, not because he looked handsome but due to something else entirely.

The man had ash grey hair, blood red eyes, and two broken and asymmetrical red horns. His skin was as white and smooth as jade, but half his cheeks were covered by smooth black scales.

Those were the features of someone from the demon race, one known for their extreme magic talent and power. This one in particular had features from the Asura clan of demons.

However, as if to fix Leo's misunderstanding, a black and scaly tail slipped out of his hoodie. Leo who was about to ask him directly, left his mouth wide open in shock.

As for the old demon err... dragon? Well anyways, he didn't care and only continued.

"One last time, if you so very wish, you can accept the ring and inherit everything I own. If you somehow forgot my one and only request, do use the ring. Look for the word 'mission' once you are inside, you will get what I mean when you see it".

Leo understood almost everything the old demon said, but when he heard the last sentence he was confused. He thought, 'Mission?'

Leo was about to ask the man about it but he saw the old demon crumble into ashes. The old demon strangely kept his smile throughput the whole process, as if he was not about to die.

A short breeze of cold air passed by and carried the ashes away.

Leo thought, "Why would there be a sudden breeze on a closed area like this? It doesn't feel like something that would happen in reaality" but he just shrugged this thought away since he had something more important to do.

Leo closed his eyes, and like he was grasping for his own heart, he placed his right hand above his chest. He bowed and said, "It was short, but it was nice to meet you and thank you".

Leo continued his stroll but this time, he could see and hear people coming and going again.

~~~~~

The ashes slowly converged atop a building, it was slowly forming a humanoid figure. It was the old demon but this time, with a snap of his fingers, he suddenly became decades younger.

The old demon, now young adult, looked quite different from before. He had purple eyes, pale white hair, purple horns, smooth black scales, pale white skin, and a black pointed tail.

The demon thought, "Illusion magic sure is useful".

The demon smiled and said to himself, "So he really reaached that stage before me. If I had not met that old dragon, I would have never known if you were even alive."

He focused his eyes on Leo once more before he continued, "I might as well stay here for a bit."

As if he wasn't there to begin with, he vanished into thin air.

~~~~~

Leo ran as fast as he could, not even bothering to put his earphones back on, since all he had on his mind was, 'I can earn more than ten thousand Digital Points with these'.

Digital Points were the common currency for the people of the Twelve God's Union, it wasn't worth much but it was enough for the normal people. On average, a family's rent would be around ten thousand Digital Points or 10,000 DP for short.

Leo didn't even think of using the items inside for himself, not even for a single moment. He thought that he didn't have a single talent to be a cultivator, what more as a mystic?

'I should find out whether it's real though, I can sell it for more than that if it's real. If it's only an empty and small spatial ring, then I can only sell it for around a thousand DP'.

Although it didn't sound much, this was enough for a person to live with for a week or two.

When Leo was about to open the door home, someone suddenly opened it for him. Once he saw who it was, Leo tried to stop like his whole life depended on it.

Leo thought, 'Oh no! I got caught' and was about to apologize but the lady spoke first. She looked panicked as she said, "Leo, your dad is in the hospital".