Chapter 1-1: Prologue

... I can see the end of the tunnel.

The path was shorter than expected...

It wasn't the road I'd wanted to take.

However, I was delighted with the ending it offered.

So just this once, allow me to tell you about my life, but also to introduce you to that of the little boy you'll be following.

... I still have a little time left, just enough, while I wait to admire the sunset.

Where to begin? First, who am I? My name is Vald A-, ...We'll settle for Vald.

That's how I introduce myself since I gave up my name.

Running away from home, I left behind all the responsibilities and commitments that came with it.

Why did I run away?

There was only one reason, to satisfy the yearning for adventure that was itching me night and day.

The world portrayed to me in the stories I read and those I was told seemed so enchanting and exciting that I couldn't resist its call.

I wanted to stop imagining myself in the place of those great beings and heroes who had marked their eras, and inscribed their names in time, thanks to their heroic stories and epics.

My wish was to become like them...

My family? It didn't mean a thing to me, nothing more than an obstacle to overcome in pursuit of my dreams.

So I didn't hesitate for a moment when the opportunity arose for me to escape my cage and discover the world.

I was young, intrepid, and ignorant, and that had played many tricks on me, far too many to count.

Although it got me into difficult situations at times, I never got fed up, because I found it all fun.

For me, it was part of the process of learning and discovering, and every mistake and failure enriched my experience.

It was to experience these kinds of moments that I set out to discover the world.

... Unfortunately, my happiness didn't last long.

A ship at sea, a storm, and a Cromlech circle were enough to put an end to my journey...

Cromlech circles are maritime zones renowned for their ability to teleport all beings caught in their clutches to the world's various marine spaces.

Alone on my ship, I found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time...

I was sent into waters that were completely unknown to me, and on the horizon, I could see no shore.

... I'd been thrown into the middle of nowhere.

Not knowing which direction to take, I set off aimlessly into the immensity of these waters on the strength of my muscles.

And just as I was getting dangerously close to my physical and mental limits, I suddenly found myself caught in a powerful ocean current that left me unconscious on the shore of an island.

Was it luck or misfortune that I was stranded there?

A blessing, because I wasn't going to die pathetically lost in the middle of the ocean, or a curse, because I'd be trapped there forever.

When I regained consciousness, I could see the severity of my injuries, my survival depending solely on the care I had received from a native of this island who possessed a beauty I had rarely seen.

I was happy to be alive and grateful to her for taking the trouble to look after me.

All the people I saw on this island had white hair and black eyes.

They spoke a language completely unknown to me, and the fact that I couldn't understand a word they said made me realize something.

... I had lost something important, very important.

My aspirations and my dreams, I could forget everything if I didn't manage to get it back.

And to do that, I had to get off this island as soon as possible, even though I was still far from over my injuries.

But reality was much crueler than I had prepared myself to accept.

A boat, big or small, heavy or light, there was only one result, I couldn't get away.

A powerful sea current ran through the whole island, making it easy to get drawn in, but difficult if not impossible to get out, especially for the handicapped person I had become.

When I realized this, the impression of the whole sky collapsing on my head seemed so real...

In the days that followed, I spent crying and screaming at the sky, blaming the world for the misfortune I was going through...

My mind was emptying, I was losing my mind and slowly becoming unbalanced.

I wandered around the island before deciding to end my life.

And just as I was getting ready to put an end to it, the native who had taken care of me since my arrival here got in my way.

My reaction to this made me commit an irreparable act, that day I had done something that made me deeply disgusted with myself.

In my hysteria, I had abused her...

Why had I done it? Was it an unspoken desire for her that had driven me to do it? Did I even know what I was doing?

I felt profoundly ungrateful and cursed every part of me that had led me to this madness.

... I didn't even know her name.

She didn't deserve this, not after all the good I'd received from her, not after she'd saved my life again.

After this event, I ran away, I wanted to isolate myself completely, I was so ashamed of myself.

I wanted to forget and be forgotten by them, especially her...

And as I made my way through a forest darkened by the fading sun, on the edge of a cliff, I came upon a phenomenon of indescribable splendor.

... It was beautiful!

Wonder was the only emotion I felt at the sight.

It was just a simple sunset, but why did it have such a profound effect on me?

Was I captivated by its beauty, or was it my soul sinking into darkness, crying out for the first source of warmth it could find?

Whatever the answer, the only thing I wished for now was to be here to watch the next sunset.

Not far from there, I managed to find a secluded, well-hidden cave, where I'd set up home to live alone for the rest of my life.