(Prologue) Changed Soul

It wasn't the first time he had died, but he was sure it was going to be the last. As a black beyond darkness encroached on his consciousness, he stared at the sky with a pained smile. He could only smirk at the irony of his death, betrayed by those who had encouraged and supported his decent into madness and bloodlust. He know that the humans who thrived off of the Continental War were using him, but he was too concerned with drowning his sorrow in the relentless slaughter of his most hated foes. He remembered how his face first contorted in blackened fury at the moment of her death. At that moment when he first felt the despair that still sits like a void in his chest, pulling his darkest thoughts and beliefs to the surface. The image of the only person in the world that showed him the warmth of being loved, having their body ripped and torn with a wet tear and a spray of crimson. The violence, the brutality, on such a kind and forgiving person. The blackest rage he ever knew grew from the depths of his consciousness. He awoke he had scorched the land, shattered boulders, and violent blood stains for miles. Ever since that moment he had turned to drowning his sorrow in black-out rage, hiding the trauma just beneath the surface. "I was willfully blinding myself, hiding from my pain behind despair", his words came forth with a deep disgust and anger.

He had done investigations into the death of his late wife. She had been on a peace mission, that much he knew. But, what he hadn't realized is that he wasn't the only one who believed in the possibility of her success. Those who profit from the Continental War are the very people who are directly involved with the warfare operations. On the surface those who are actually involved are the ones funding the war out of a sense of duty, so its only natural to seek some returns to maintain the war effort. However the war was far more lucrative than anyone had anticipated. Those who turned a struggle of life and death into a mercantile operation had slowly lost interest into ending the war, and begin to think of others life and death as a means to an end. They had foreseen her success, and sent her to her death. It was meant to be a negotiation with the beast people, the first ever peace talk after more than 2,000 years of brutal war. Yet the beasts, being intelligent and capable of psychic communication, have no bureaucracy, they operate a tribal system that is not led by any central group or entity. So it was no surprise that the tribal leaders needing a single council of representatives for the peace talk caused some contention between the tribes. After all none of them could be sure they were fully represented.

In his investigations he ripped through tribe after tribe, each time demanding answers. No matter what method was required, he stopped at nothing to discover the truth. In the end he hadn't learned much except that the beasts believed that the representatives and their tribes were colluding with humans to create a centralized governance and control over the beast tribes in order to end the war. They believed that their plan was to use the human advancements like technology to maintain control and dominance over the rest of the beast . Many of the outer tribes who were much smaller that the representatives tribes feared that the representatives tribes were colluding with the humans in hopes of being monarchs and intended to make the rest of the tribes indentured servants for generations to come.

It wasn't until he had broke into the Office Of Strategic Records and stolen the memory stones that had been carefully hidden in a secret room that is accessible only those who have a role within the Organizers Of Collective Warfare that he learned the truth. The stones detailed an operation to deceive the beast races to turn against their strongest tribes by sending secret warnings via messengers about a collusion with the humans in exchange for position and human assistance in oppressing the outer tribes. The messengers made it clear that their organization believed the peace talks where "dangerous" and that it was in their mutual interest to ensure that they did not successfully reach an agreement. The messenger provided the location and time of the talks as well as the human escorts travel route as well as their assurances their their organization would use its influence to ensure that no specific tribe would be targeted in the even that the human envoy was killed or went missing. Ironic, he had personally made sure to eliminate every tribe responsible as well as any beast he had laid eyes on, and the Organizers Of Collective Warfare hadn't lifted a finger, not even in secret. Thinking back, from their perspective, the less witnesses, the better.

He was filled with a deep regret and guilt, if he had seen through their lies sooner, if he hadn't delayed attending the meeting to engage in a battle that was already all but won, he could have been by her side and protected her, if he had done things differently, she wouldn't have died. As he thought these things he resolved himself to kill the Organizers Of Collective Warfare. They had capitalized of the spoils of his endless slaughter, all while pinning the blame for the death of his wife on those he murdered with malevolent deceit behind their eyes. He awaited his opportunity to for them all to be gathered at the same place, and he didn't have to wait long. The very next morning the Organizers Of Collective Warfare had called for an emergency war party. At least four million warriors had been gathered in response to a state of extreme emergency, the Organizers Of Collective Warfare had called for an immediate gathering and dispatching of all of the able warriors on the continent who where close enough to gather within the hour. It was announced that a threat like never before had appeared at a normally peaceful part of the continent and that they had to leave immediately to dispatch it or it could mean the end of humanity in the war.

It was at that moment he should have realized something was wrong. But he was a prominent figure in the war, known for his solo missions and unmatched might on the battle field. He had no opportunity to

do anything before he was roped into heading the front lines of the expedition. He considered attempting to kill the Organizers Of Collective Warfare right there, but as they stood on their marble stage on the other side of the four million warrior army, the distance between him and them felt too great, he decided to wait until he was celebrated for his battle in the Courtyard of Honor, then he would avenge his beloved as they placed the medals on his neck. As he departed on the front lines he began to a pinch in his stomach, a feeling of deep unease. Something was screaming at him that something is wrong. He hadn't known fear in or of battle for centuries, so he pridefully pushed though the feeling with every stride twords the destination.

It was when they were in the middle of a field that the army abruptly stopped. When he turned around to see why his gaze was met by the four million. When he saw the look in their eyes a single thought flashed though his mind "they knew". Just as he met their gaze the commander simply extended their hand twords him with a chopping motion. At the signal a bloodbath began. Not one of the four million hesitated to surround him and begin attacking. It was clear that he was being watched for a long time, now that he knew the Organizers Of Collective Warfare knew what his objective would be. His fury rose and he began to scorch the battlefield with the flame he had cultivated all these years. He incinerated tens of thousands in an instant but the warriors kept coming for a killing blow without hesitation. Whatever they were told, they believed in what they were fighting for. He fought and fought, but as he did his remembered his slaughter of the beast tribes, killing the humans that he had fought along side, his false vengeance against the beast that his wife worked so hard to make peace with. As he remembered, something built up in his heart, and suddenly a single question echoed from the stillness of his mind "what am I fighting for ?". With that question he hesitated, sword after sword pierced his body, and the rage in him ignited again. He sent out a shockwave of fire and heat greater than any he had ever created before from the lower dan-tain of his body, and most of the remaining army around him. What remained of the army dared not get close once they saw that he was stabbed through with countless swords . They no longer needed to risk incineration to kill him. He was dying.

The army retreated out of sight, leaving him to his death bed. "It was like this then too". He had remembered dying before this world had exploded into his vision. Dropping him into a world where power and strength were the only way of things. He first learned about qi in the Education Centers, it had deeply moved and fascinated him. His perspective was unique, his previous world did not have knowledge of qi. He was like someone who never had legs suddenly gaining the ability to walk. While others studied it as a mundane part of every day life, he had a passion for it that burned differently than others. He dedicated his life to the study of qi and self empowerment. His other world taught him how painful death is, this time he believed he would be ready.

He had only known loneliness and anger in his life, he did not seek relationships or companionship, pursuing power and strength on his own was all he needed. It was an effective life style to thrive in this world, but he found himself feeling empty. That's when he met his wife. She encouraged him to protect life and cherish others, she looked at him as a person, not for what he could give her. She was like that for everyone, and it was that unconditional warmth and commitment to recognizing and action on the importance of all life that led him to believe in the possibility of good in the world again. Now he saw the error of his ways, the virtues he valued most where thrown away in the cowardice to face his own pain and the blindness of revenge. Till the very end he was trying to solve problems with his sword, not the way of love.

His mind became disorganized as he looked over the bittersweet memories. It was insanity. The pain hit him all at once, and at the same time, he faded from the world. Those who would find his body would see a tears still streaming down its face.