Somewhere in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, in deep,deep and unfathomably deep waters,there lay an odd-looking rock embedded firmly in the seabed.
For thousands of miles in every direction, schools of sea life gathered around this specific rock.Sharks and whales drifted alongside octopuses and crabs; every kind of known species of the ocean seemed drawn to this single point.
And nearer still, where the water grew darker and heavier, creatures thought to exist only in myths and legends could also be seen. Krakens coiled through the deep, flooddragons gliding between currents, kunpengs eclipsing the light above, and merfolk watched the happenings in silent reverence.
The rock itself shimmered with an unnatural violet hue, its jagged edges traced with veins of dull gold. It was the kind of treasure that screamed its value at first glance.
Something that would awaken greed even in the most devout believer, something that demanded to be revered by all living beings. This rock exuded an aura of majesty, an aura that induced a feeling of debt and destitution. Like it had toiled for all living beings on earth and it was now demanding acknowledgement.
It was this irresistible presence that lured the countless sea creatures to it. Yet none dared touch it. None even approached within a hundred meters. Instead, they circled endlessly, tracing vast, silent rings around the stone, as though bound to an ancient, sacrilegious ritual older than the ocean itself.
RIPPLE!
A rippling sound erupted as a bubble squeezed it's way out of the rock. All circling movement suddenly stopped. The humongous underwater cyclones formed from the sacreligeous movements eased.
A million gazes concentrated on a single point.
Pop!
The bubble born from the rock popped with a gentle silent pop, releasing pure spiritual essence that the world had been accumulating since time immemorial.
The pure spiritual essence diluted in the water, escaped and polluted the air with it's rich origin spiritual energy. The sea creatures started to evolve, many of which dying due to the high concentration of energy, floating topside as they covered hundreds of thousands of miles.
If people were to look at the planet from space, all and sundry would see a translucent violet hue slowly encompassing the blue planet. The hue could be seen slowly forming a complete barrier that concentrated at one particular point.
At this particular point, another rock was also embedded on the sea bed. This one emitted a crimson bubble that popped with a thunderous bang!
The sound was so loud and domineering to the extent that every single living being heard it.This time,billions of ears bled simultaneously,while billions of eyes all went into a trance, all sharing the same vision.
***
In the near future, in a multilayered independent pocket dimension, a blob of fire was also caught in a trance. He had been reliving Hexwill's memories as his own just moments ago, seeing him and two others doing their best to tweak the final touches of a Spirit Gathering Formation.
To be fair, Gregory Skoll was very curious about this Breath of the World. He had never heard of such a thing, and considering his background as someone groomed by an entire race, that fact alone was shocking.
What he did not expect, however, was that even though he was reliving this through someone else's memories, he was still affected by the phenomenon itself ; seeing the same vision as Hexwill.
It was as if this phenomenon traversed time and space, affecting him in the future, within a multilayered independent pocket dimension originating from the Celestial Tower of Providence.
Honestly, he was shocked. Scared witless, his blob of fire dimming as he stared at the vision.
Then, excitement slithered into his soul. Although costly, Hexwill could feel that this was an unexpected boon. Something that would take his Racial expression to the next level.
***
William Hexwill, son of Richard Hexwill, had just arrived in the country with his family. Convincing his wife to come hadn't been easy. She had resisted at first, dismissing his warnings as paranoia, but William had persisted.
He showed her what he could, from records to the quiet movements among the old families. He convinced her that the patterns were too deliberate to ignore. Fortunately,In the end, she agreed, though reluctantly.
If nothing else, she had told herself, she would treat the trip as a vacation.
They had barely settled in. The car was already speeding along the road toward Richard Hexwill's estate when it happened.
A pop.
It was so loud in the in every sense, A sound that seemed to exist beyond hearing, pressing into the skull rather than the ears. It hit them all at once.
Pain exploded through William's head.
Blood trickled from his ears as his thoughts scattered, slipping away before he could grasp them.
Then everything stopped.
The world froze mid-motion. The car, still moving at high speed, hung suspended on the winding road.It felt like a single broken frame torn from a twenty four frame motion film.
And in that stillness, a vision began to take shape.
****
Around the Hexwill Mansion, Edwin and eight others split into nine different directions, each carrying a flag of a different color.
After reaching their designated locations, they acted at the same time, planting the nine flags firmly into the ground. Almost instantly, streams of light shot out from each flag, binding them together. The lights formed a wide circle, with nine glowing lines stretching from the circumference toward the center, creating a strange, orderly pattern on the land.
As the formation completed, a familiar sound echoed in Edwin's head.
Ding!
[Diplomat Class Skill Activated: Diplomatic Relations]
[Skill Rank: SSS]
[Skill Description:]
Diplomatic discussions must be held within a neutral and unrestricted jurisdiction.
Within this jurisdiction, all stats are equalized, all expressions are nullified, and all hostile third parties are expelled 5,000 miles away.
[Note:]
The host may allocate the positions of the discussing parties (2 delegates) and may expel only one hostile party.
Edwin smirked as his fighting spirit rose. He knew better than anyone what this meant. Once the jurisdiction was fully established, power and numbers would no longer matter.
In the next few hours, only one of them would be leaving this place.
Either him,
or Hexwill.
He lifted his walkie-talkie, ready to relay orders to his men, but before a single word could leave his mouth..
Pop!
The popping sound was sudden and out of place,booming through his head with undisputed veracity.
In the next moment, Edwin's vision was swallowed by a flood of light, an unfamiliar sensation crashing into his senses as something forced its way into his perception.
And just like that, the world changed
****
Outside the hospital where Norlan had been admitted, Helene and three men in suits made their way toward Ward 4B. They were there to put an end to his suffering.
The men walked with cold efficiency, a vicious intent clear in their eyes. To them, this was just another task to be finished as quickly as possible. Helene, however, felt her chest tighten with every step. Her thoughts were in chaos.
She knew the truth all too well,the three men behind here weren't just here for Norlan. They were here to watch her. To make sure she followed through with the mission.
"You three wait outside," she said, forcing her voice to remain steady despite the pain that etched across her face. "Don't draw attention. I'll make it quick and painless."
Then,
The moment Helene stepped into the ward, her eyes fixed on the teenage boy lying motionless in the bed, a sharp popping sound echoed through the room, reverberating deeply inside her head.Her breath caught.
'What was that!!' she panicked. That popping sound was too domineering. She felt it such that her soul and spirit were also hearing this sound. Breathing hard, she looked at Norlan. She stopped mid step.
Norlan began to rise, his body lifting slowly from the mattress as if pulled by an unseen force. He was levitating in broad daylight.
A violet glow wrapped around him, soft but yet overwhelming, carrying an aura and halo of healing and change. His body jerked as faint cracking sounds filled the air, his bones shifting, realigning and reforming at an impossible speed.
"Norlan – !" Helene gasped, rushing forward.
But before she could reach him however, he vanished.
Gone without warning.
The bed lay empty, save for the crumpled hospital gown drifting down, like a silent reminder that he had been there only moments ago.
Helene froze.A sharp pain pierced her senses. Her ears rang, warm blood trickling down as her vision blurred and then fractured,sliding into another perspective.
The perspective of a third party looking down on the world.
A vision unfolded within her mind.
In the vision, everything was rapidly evolving under the duress of Spiritual energy. The sky was getting higher, the seas were getting deeper and the land masses were being stretched as if they were finally breathing after being compressed for an eternity.
Since she was at the perspective of a third party, she could even see new land masses appearing from the void.She could see the nine continents of earth merging and forming a new continent. She could see underwater waterfalls forming at the edges of the continents, all the while acting like spiritual glue that merged them into one humongous land mass.
But still it could not compare to the newer land masses appearing from the void in terms of size. The planet stretched, going from being round to being one flat plane of existence. Then it began to shrink, compressing itself as if it was getting rid of quantity for quality.
The vision ended, then begun again. And again. And again. Like an infinite time loop.
END OF PROLOGUE —