Chapter 2

Kaner Chang was surrounded by utter darkness.

He couldn't even feel his own body and as he tried to touch his face, there was no sensory response. Complete nothingness.

'Eh? Don't tell me something went wrong. Even if I was a baby in the womb, I should still be able to feel things, right?'

He was at a loss. Was he supposed to be a freshly formed zygote? Couldn't Crystalia have him be born first at least? What was he going to do for a few months while he developed?

"Kaner, we have a problem."

'For real? I knew this was no good, I should have just went and gotten Mother's groceries.'

"Don't be like that. I didn't want this to happen either. It seems like someone influenced the transportation."

'Eh? You can hear my thoughts?'

"That's right. We have a temporary link while the transportation is still in progress. Don't waste too much time. It won't last long. I just wanted to let you know, that your destination has changed. I'm not sure you'll be able to complete the mission."

'What? How am I supposed to get home? And what about the other stuff we talked about? What if I die?'

Kaner was in a state of panic. He couldn't bear the idea of being unable to return home. What would his mother and father do once he suddenly disappeared? Would they search for him, would they panic?

'What if... What if Mother were to cry...'

Kaner started to become unstable. He was very uncomfortable in his current state. He could feel nothing and the reality of not being able to go home was pressing on his heart.

"Don't panic! You can still go home, but it will be a lot more difficult."

-Sigh.

Kaner sighed in relief. As long as there was a way home, he would surely return.

"But let me make this one thing clear. YOU ABSOLUTELY, MUST NOT DIE! Your soul is going to a different place than recorded in the system. If you were to die... I don't know the horrors you would experience. I'll try to do something to help on my end. I suggest you live as safe a life as possible, wherever you're sent to."

'Mm. But how will I get home?'

"This... You'll have to open a Heaven Gate. That way you can come back to my room. It's just..."

'Just what?'

"It requires a tremendous amount of energy. You essentially have to reach the peak of power in whatever world you go to, to open one."

'That's all? Shouldn't be too hard. You have given me what I asked for right?'

"Well yes, but it's not that easy. When I said peak, I meant peak. You have to be recognised as the world's strongest..."

'This... Strongest in terms of what?'

"Combat Strength..."

'... B-But... My mother... Sh-She told me not to fight...'

Kaner was shedding phantom tears.

"This... These are your own problems... I can't exactly go there to pick you up, it's outside of my area of influence. But I'll see what I can do for you."

'You better. It's all your fault that I'm here.'

"I-I know. I feel bad for you, really, I do. But I have my own problems to worry about right now, so it's your choice. You could wait for me to have the system recognise your new location, or you could try to become the world's strongest. Ah, by the way. The strength of those loyal to you is also considered part of your strength."

'Oh?'

Kaner's eyes would have shone if he had any, but he was currently very hopeful. He felt it was extremely wise to ask for a way to find talented subordinates. This was his way back home.

"Yes, but a lot of these worlds are dangerous, and the people have to be loyal to the point of giving their lives for you so... it may not be as easy as you think."

'That's not a problem. I just have to find some hidden gem and make them the world's strongest. How can that one not be loyal to me? There are all sorts of main characters who had a rough start, I'm sure I'll be able to find one or two. As long as I exploit their situation appropriately, it shouldn't be too hard to make them undyingly loyal to me.'

"If you say so. Anyway, that's the end of our time, prepare yourself for a new life. Once again, I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

'Oh I won't be letting you off easy, I expect compensation for the mental trauma you have put me through. When I return, you shall pay in full.'

He would have said this with a smile and a thumbs up but...

"Ugh. It's only fair. If you do manage to come back, it will save me a lot of trouble too. The sooner the better actually."

With that Crystalia disappeared. Somehow Kaner was aware of this.

'Now what? I should have asked her how long this would take...'

Almost immediately after thinking that, Kaner could see a bright light, It hurt his eyes.

'Eyes? I can see. But I can't hear anything... Don't tell me I was born deaf...'

As his vision became clearer Kaner could see the face of a young woman extremely close to him.

She had a blank look on her face and was holding him in her arms.

'So... This woman birthed me? Or...'

Kaner turned his heavy baby head and what he saw left him surprised.

'Well... Now I know why I couldn't hear anything.'

What he saw, was a room full of people all staring at him with the same expression that the young woman had. One thing of note was that everyone in the room looked Asian.

'Is there something on my face? Why are these people looking at me like this?'

Kaner raised his little baby arms and what he saw made things clear to him.

'Ah... I'm black...'

He now understood why everyone was looking at him the way they were. He was a black baby in a room full of Asian looking people. Obviously, something was odd about the situation.

'Looks like the circumstances of my birth aren't so simple.'

Just as Kaner was thinking this, everything began to shake. Everyone in the room was surprised, and quickly grabbed onto something.

"What is this?"

"The earth shakes. Has some heavenly treasure been formed?"

"Haha. This is good news for the clan. We can't let those Fang Clan weaklings get their hands on it."

"Hold on, we need to be sure of the situation first."

"That's right. It would be foolish to rush out into a potential trap. Don't forget that those Fang Clan bastards still have a deep foundation."

"R-right."

As the people were discussing the situation, Kaner's attention was drawn elsewhere. He could hear a booming voice, seemingly coming from the sky.

"FOR AEONS THE HEAVENS HAVE TURNED A BLIND EYE TO THE FOLLY OF THESE LOWLY THIEVES. THE TIME HAS COME FOR RECOMPENSE. YOU, WHO HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED, RECLAIM THAT WHICH WAS STOLEN! RAIN DOWN JUSTICE, ENVOY OF THE HEAVENS!"

With the end of those words, everything returned to tranquillity.

'Eh? What was all that? Was it talking to me?'

Kaner looked around and saw that no one seemed to be discussing the voice in the sky.

'Is this an everyday thing? Or was it for me? Maybe I coincidentally heard it as a side effect of the abilities I gained from Crystalia.'

Kaner didn't know the exact situation, but he didn't really care either way. If it had something to do with him, he would surely face it again in the future. How was a baby supposed to rain down justice anyway?

After the rest of the people finished talking, Someone spoke.

"Since he looks like that, we'll call him Hei."

Kaner heard a male voice coming from somewhere his baby head couldn't see. His movement was restricted by the young woman holding him.

'Eh? What language is this?'

Kaner wasn't paying attention to the others so when this person spoke he was surprised. He could not recognise the words the man used, but he understood the meaning. They sounded similar to the Chinese language on earth, but he didn't think they were the same.

'Must be the language ability Crystalia gave me. Good to know she didn't swindle me.'

"Does anyone know what this is?"

"No, I've never heard of a case like this one."

"Me neither."

"I also havn't heard anything."

The people were all looking at Kaner and discussing something. He thought he knew the issue so he responded in his mind:

'Eh? Isn't it obvious? I'm clearly the result of an interracial relationship...'

"Actually, I've read about something like this in the clan library. There was an obscure book about a clan in the middle continent who would have children like this every now and then. But as we all know, information about the middle continent is unreliable here."

"Oh? What did the book say?"

"This... I'm afraid it's the Innate Shadow Physique..."

'Innate Shadow Physique? That's your assumption? Are you telling me there are no black people here? What in the?'

"Innate Shadow Physique? I think I heard about that somewhere. From the middle continent? That means it is powerful?"

The people in the room seemed to become excited and Kaner could hear murmuring.

"This... It is apparently very famous in the middle continent... As the worst physique of all... Those with the Innate Shadow Physique are born with no spirit roots. They can only cultivate using external resources. The only advantage the book described was an unusual stealth ability that can only be used in the darkness."

"This... Another trash."

"That's right. We all had high hopes for that Tianlan, but he ended up to be the same."

"Ah, this Xiulan can only produce trashes, why did the patriarch take her in as his wife?"

The audience once again broke out in chatter.

'Well, that's a little much. Just because her children are considered 'trashes' doesn't mean she has no value. I'll have you know, some of the best main characters started off as trashes. Those like yourselves always end up with slapped faces. But this Tianlan fellow sounds like a good candidate. Not to mention, he seems to be my brother, which helps with the loyalty aspect.'

Kaner then turned back to the young woman who was holding him. He assumed she was the 'Xiulan' that the other's mentioned.

What he saw surprised him.

Even with all of the criticism hurtled towards her, the woman was still staring blankly at him. He wondered why she didn't have any reaction.

'Wouldn't people normally retaliate, or at least show some kind of response?'

She was relaxed, fully at ease, or maybe she was resigned to the situation, but the look in her eyes seemed familiar to Kaner. He didn't like this.

He turned away from this uncomfortably familiar young woman and saw a young boy standing beside the bed. The only thing was, this boy was radiating a strange light.

Kaner was intrigued, so much so that he didn't stop to wonder who the boy was, he was single-mindedly focusing on this strange light.

He then felt an unpleasant tingling sensation on his face.

He turned his gaze to the boy's face and what he saw creeped him out.

'Eh? What's up with your eyes? Don't you know they make people uncomfortable?'

After a while, Kaner realised something. This boy was staring at him. His gaze didn't leave Kaner for even a moment, as if he was carefully observing Kaner's every action.

'Ah, A creep! This boy gives off a very uncomfortable feeling. He's probably going to end up a villain. Such a shame to see the young tainted. You need to get rid of whatever technique is turning your eyes blue.'

At some point, Kaner noticed the boy's blue eyes which stood out in the room. In order to get away from the creep, he could only try to get closer to the young woman.

'Ah, take me away from this weirdo. The sooner the better.'

"Alright, Little Hei. Let's get going."

To Kaner's surprise, the young woman did just that. She got up off the bed, and proceeded to exit the room, she didn't even spare a word for the people in the room.

'Eh? Can she also read minds? And is this OK? If you just gave birth, aren't you supposed to rest for a while? Aren't there any checkups for yourself and me?'

Thinking about the things his mother had taught him about childbirth, Kaner could only be confused by the lack of medical procedures in this situation.

As the young woman took Kaner away, he noticed that the creepy boy was still staring at him.

'Ugh. You're already a creep. Don't be a stalker too. Mother warned me about people like you. I won't be lured into your traps. You best believe I'm going to stay by this woman's side until I can take care of myself.'