Inside the box was a bracelet.
The kind that was big and bulky and could cover up your whole wrist. It was a big round creamy white bracelet that had a few jewels that looked like diamonds encrusted in it. The jewels sparkled like stars as they twinkled on and off.
The entire bracelet shone with a soft glow as compared to the previous blinding brilliance it gave off and there was a metallic luster on it. Overall it was very beautiful.
As soon as Arran saw it, his blood started flowing quickly and his heart was beating franticly as if he had just taken a hundred-mile jog. Arran felt like he always did whenever he had just finished an intense workout with his dad.
Arran was frozen for what seemed like a very long time which in reality was a very short few seconds but in that time, he saw a lot of things that baffled and confused him.
He saw scenes of raging battles filled with blood and slaughter, of wars being fought over and over again. Scenes of various mythical creatures like dragons whose roars could shake the world and phoenixes soaring across the skies.
There were also scenes of the birth and destruction of stars and the birth of countless innumerable races as well as the spark that lit the fires of civilization for those races.
All these images flashed rapidly across his mind and Arran was feeling very overwhelmed, finding it hard to pull away from them.
It was not until he heard a very loud voice that contained laughter and mockery entered his ears that the images were broken.
The voice had a very strong and compelling power that shocked Arran's mind down to the very core of his being. If it were not for Arran's powerful spirit that allowed him to pull away from his stunned state, he would have been directly turned into an idiot.
"Hmm."
"Hahaha, I'm surprised that an ant from the lower realms would have a strong enough spirit to avoid being be turned stupid by the sound of my mere voice."
"Well I guess it is to be expected from the person who could find this supreme treasure and still be able to resist its spiritual influence," the stranger said.
Following these words, the space around Arran started distorting and a tear in space could be seen breaking out and out of this tear in space some distance away from Arran, a figure that was completely covered in thick dark shadows stepped out.
As soon as the figure appeared, the space in the surrounding ten kilometers was completely covered in total darkness.
It was like an apocalyptic scene where a total blackout had suddenly occurred with the only speck of light coming from the bracelet in Arran's hand. This darkness spread panic into the citizens in these ten kilometers who were awaiting the coming of the new year.
Everywhere the shadows passed, the people that came in contact with it collapsed and there were signs of mutations occurring in some of them that led to feral carnage as people ran mad and engaged in frenzied slaughter.
Outside the dome of shadows, those that were witness to this could not help but panic as no one could understand what it was that was going on inside.
Arran was completely stunned by what he was seeing but strangely enough, he was not scared. He who was very confident in his experience and knowledge in the world, if someone were to ask him to list some of the most confusing and perplexing things that he had experienced, then this would definitely be at the top of the list.
Seeing Arran's reaction, the shadowy figure was puzzled and said.
"Mortal, you don't seem very frightened."
"Is it that my presence is not terrifying enough or are the lower realms just filled ignorant ants that do not know how to fear a superior being when they are in front of one and kneel."
Saying so a powerful force spread out and with the figure at the center, everything in the surrounding few hundred meters from him had a compelling pressure that pressed Arran into the floor.
Arran was pressed so tightly against the floor that he was finding it impossible to move his body but even so, in this situation, he still managed to raise his head…though with painful effort, to look at the figure, trying to pierce through the veil of shadows and see the creature within.
Arran's mind was filled with doubts and there were a lot of confusions and questions clouding his mind at this moment.
Arran had never expected that opening the box that his parents left behind for him would lead to such an earth-shaking phenomenon and would in turn attract such a terrifying entity.
Yes, Arran was very aware of what a terrifying entity was before him at this moment because any being that can force a person to the ground like this without so much as touching them, had to be very terrifying and powerful.
No amount of his valued experience could prepare him for anything like this.
But even so, Arran did not panic not because he was fearless in the face of danger but because he knew that there was no use in doing so. Certainly, someone as powerful as this entity could kill him as easily as it is would to kill a bug.
Arran could only wait calmly to see what it was that could draw its attention and what it would do.
Kasack was very irritated.
Seeing as the ant before himself was still looking at him with those calm eyes that looked as if nothing could ever faze them, he had the urge to pluck them out before erasing his very existence. So without further ado, he said,
"Mortal, I commend your courage for being able to keep calm before the presence of this great one but unfortunately I do not have the time to appreciate you and would have to take what it is that I am here for. Now be on your way."
Saying so, the pressure on Arran increased tremendously.
Kasack was trying to crush him into a pool of blood and bones.
It was at this time that there was an intense reaction from the bracelet that had been softly glowing ever since Kasack showed up. It gave off a very bright light and following this, the pressure over Arran disappeared completing.
Arran noticing this immediately sprang up like a bolt of lightning and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.
Kasack was stunned and by the time he could get back to himself, Arran was already a hundred meters away from him.
Roaring furiously Kasack said out loud, "don't think that just because you got rid of my pressure you can get away from me."
"An ant-like existence such as yourself is not worth my time because it would not even take more than a thought to get rid of you."
"Very well, I have a little bit of time and will play with you to give you a taste of despair."
Saying so he raised his voice so that it reached all the corners of the space in his dark domain.
"Come out everyone. There is food to be had."
"It's time to hunt."
As soon his words fell, all around the domain, countless amounts of shadows rose up from every corner of the domain. They came in various shapes and forms and they all had very hideous appearances. They all rushed forward like a massive flood of shadows and tried to drown Arran to feast on his flesh and drink his blood.
Arran took a quick look behind him before releasing another burst of energy as he renewed his efforts in escaping.
He was not just running haphazardly but was using the soft glow of the bracelet that was still in the box all this time to illuminate the way in front of him.
Arran quickly left the park and made his way to a major roadway in order to use the cars that were scattered along the road to try to lose the shadows in this concrete jungle.
Unfortunately, there were just too many shadows coming after him coupled with the already frenzied humans that were engaging in mass slaughter… attacking everything that was in sight… it was almost impossible to lose all of them, and while it might seem that the light of the bracelet was deterring them from attacking with all their might, the sheer number of them made it so that the wounds on Arran were continuously piling up and it would only be a matter of time before he would succumb to his wounds and be exhausted.
It was only a matter of time before everything would end and as expected, Arran was so exhausted that he could not go on any further and fell down on the ground with the box and the bracelet slipped out of it.
All along Kasack was looking on with a sneer on his face as he watched Arran struggle to stay alive.
Even now, in this situation where others would have already given up hope, even as Arran was sprawled on the ground, he was still trying very hard to stay alive. The look on Arran's face as he struggled in the face of death, was like a drug to the system as Kasack derived pleasure from this.
Arran, at this moment where death was almost certain, still looked around desperately trying to find a way to survive.
It was at this moment that his eyes fell on the bracelet that had fallen out of the box.
For some reason, his body compelled him to reach out and grab it. Arran knew that at this moment the bracelet would be his only hope of surviving this. He knew this because he knew that there would be no way his parents would leave him something that would be a danger to him.
Without any time to hesitate, Arran reached out and grabbed it.
Pain, the first thing he felt was the pain. A very intense pain that made him feel like he was being torn apart. His body felt like it was splitting into many tiny pieces and those tiny pieces were also splitting into tiny atoms.
Along with the pain, there came a sense of power. His body was filling up with immense power that he felt like he could smash a mountain to pieces and split the earth in two. The power was filling up his body so fast that he felt like he was going to explode and he needed to release all this energy.
"Arrrgh"
That was the only way he knew to release all his energy and he also jumped onto the shadowy creatures and started a slaughter in the streets.
Kasack, seeing Arran start a slaughter, was very surprised by the sudden development and decided to immediately take action himself.
With a wave of his hand, a mass of dark energy flew until it hit Arran who was killing everything that came into his sights.
Arran, after being hit head-on by Kasack, flew for a dozen meters and crashed on the ground spewing blood from his mouth. He was flooded with another wave of pain and his body was covered with blood.
Arran, whose vision was going red with pain and only had Kasack in his sight at this point, felt his back start to tear up as he felt something protruding out of him.
Glancing behind him, Arran was very shocked to find out that he had started to grow wings at some point in time.
It was not only Arran who was shocked because Kasack was also surprised by this new development.
Compared to them, the shadows had fewer concerns and were only frenziedly attacking Arran.
The pain that one feels when their skin was being torn open was one that was very difficult to describe.If a comparison had to be made, it would feel like how it felt to have a vat of burning hot oil poured all over one's body. The kind of feeling where the heat of the oil penetrates into your flesh in order to cook your insides until nothing could be felt but endless pain.That was how Arran was feeling at the moment.The wings growing from Arran's back were causing him to be drowned in a flood of pain and the only way for him to escape the pain was to destroy all the enemies in front of him.Arran lunged forwards with a great leap and crossed a hundred meters that separated him and Kasack in two seconds. Raising his hands to strike him down, a shimmer of light manifested in his hands.The light took the form of a sword and everywhere it passed, all obstacles would be cleaved apart like a hot knife through butter.Kasack felt a threat comi
Arran woke up to bright lights overhead and a wet and sticky feeling all over his body.Looking all over at his surrounding, he saw all sorts of machines and apparatus that he did not know the functions of and some that while they were in various weird forms, he could still infer the functions of.Arran came to the conclusion that he was in what seemed to be a hospital ward. After checking his surroundings, he decided to check his own condition. That was when he was surprised to find out his own situation.Arran found out where the wet and sticky feeling came from.As it turned out, Arran was wrapped up and submerged in a small liquid bubble that was floating suspended in the air. It was through this bubble that Arran was seeing all that he had seen.Arran could also make out a group of people in uniforms who were making their rounds in the ward he was settled in. One of these groups came to check up on him, only to find out that he was awake.
Arran was not overly worried. One reason was that he possessed something that they wanted and another being that he was currently a mystery to them, and everyone like to solve a good mystery.It did not take long for someone to come for him.Three days after he woke up, he received a visit from a bespectacled man in a tight-fitting tracksuit that looked so clean that It gave an impression that he always took a lot of time to make sure to remove the creases on his clothes. His eyes were also sharp, so much so that Arran felt that he wore those glasses not because he had a problem with his eyes, but because it was to prevent people from being intimidated by his intense gaze.The two of them stared at each other for a long time while trying to see who would break eye contact first.Arran was feeling a lot of pressure from their minor contest and he felt like at any time now the man was going to remove his glasses, and as for whatever was going to happen afte
After Rommel left Arran's ward, he made his way down the long hallway and climbed a fleet of stairs to arrive at the main command room. The room was already occupied.There were already a couple of people waiting for him in the room out of which captain Mei was a part of them, but compared to the rest of the people seated around the room, she was the least important person there. This was shown by the fact that she was not even entitled to a seat in the room even though this was her office and she was the base commander of this particular outpost.Rommel made his way to the head of the room where the winged warrior from before was seated. At this moment there was no sign of her wings on her body now. For that matter, Arran's wings were also nowhere to be seen ever since he woke up in the ward.As soon as he stopped in front of her, she asked, "well, how was it?"Rommel did not answer, instead, he placed the bracer that had now lost its glow on the table.<
It had been five days since the visit from Rommel. Arran was now located in a white room with soft paddings on the floor and walls. The room was fitted with various equipment ranging from a wooden rack filled with different weapons and also training dummies used for practice.Arran was currently in a training room used by the staff here.According to the description he received, the room offered a wide range of functions for its occupants to use. The functions included were but not limited to a gravity system, an obstacle course, and a battle simulation function.Unfortunately, Arran was told that he did not have sufficient authority to use these functions. That was why as much as he would have liked to try out all of those, he was currently only going through regular training.On the other side of the room where Arran could not see, there was a transparent one-way mirror that a few people were using to watch Arran as he was training. Unbeknownst to Arran
Seeing the group make their way into the training room, Arran had to clamp down on the sense of foreboding that he was feeling. When they had all gotten to him Arran finally had a chance to get a good look at them all.Apart from Rommel, who Arran recognized, the rest all gave Arran a mixture of various feelings. Arran was able to sense that all of them had very different opinions about him, chief of those being a strong dislike that Arran was feeling coming from the eyes of a particular well-muscled gorilla.As the group reached Arran, beating Rommel to the chase, Stock wasted no time in saying, "boy come over here, we have a little test we want you to participate in."Rommel, who was about to say something, shot a glare at Stock but ended up keeping his words to himself. It would not be good to look divided in front of an outsider who did not know of the rivalry that existed between them.What he failed to realize was that Arran did not miss this partic
The expression on the faces of Stock and the rest of his companions were a sight to be seen and Arran had to admit that he enjoyed the feeling he got from seeing them embrassed. He could almost hear a resounding slap that seemed to echo across the room.Stock's face was unsightly to look at and as he looked at Brendell who was passed out on the ring, he started to wonder as to who was the smart guy that came up with this idea in the first place. He had not only lost face in front of Rommel and his peers but had also done so in front of the mortal.At the time it seemed like a brilliant idea but now... not so much.It was at this moment Rommel spoke up. As much as he did not get along well with Stock, he had to at least spare him some face in front of outsiders."You did well."Arran nodded before asking again, "if it's possible, may I ask what purpose this test served to achieve?"Stomped for a moment, the faces of everyone changed once more
What was that saying again, 'The endless sea of stars is the road leading to the future'!These words that his father said to him at some point in his youth, continuously resounded in Arran's mind as he traveled across the cosmos toward the home of the Aeth-the Etherium.Along the journey, Arran was able to confirm some of his doubts, chief of which was the status of the known universe.From what he found out, the universe was divided into different realms, and these realms further existed in the form of layers, like the steps of a ladder. It is in these layers that the concept of lower and upper realms came into existence.Let's take an analogy, for example, take a tree as an example, the roots of the tree would correspond to the lower realm in the universe. From the roots onwards, the trunk of the tree, its branches and leaves, and also its fruits would all correspond to a different layer in the universe.In this way, the layers of the universe c