The setting sun cast a warm, golden glow on the serene landscape of a quaint village where Xavier was hard at work in the backyard of his home. The sunlight shone on his athletic physique, and his pristine white shirt was now soiled and crumpled. Though it did little to hide his broad shoulders and strong arms as he pulled out the unwanted weed, plucking off the pesky intruders with ease.

Sweat beads glistened on his broad torso and his sandy brown hair looked golden as he knelt on the ground, the contours of his muscles accentuated with every tug.

Hands smeared with dirt and sweat drenching his back, the young man continued to shovel the dirt away, trying to dig through the dense root network of a plant that had shot up in the last few weeks.

“This is not how I imagined spending my break” He sighed, looking up at the disappearing sun while wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“Xavier…I need you for a moment,” A hoarse voice rang through the backyard, “Quickly, if possible…”

Xavier stopped in his tracks. The shovel slumped to the ground, and he looked around. Knowing very well what the matter of urgency might be, he could only shake his head.

Again? I’m not even done here…

“Xavier, you won’t be able to protect your father today!” The high-pitched voice of his mother followed soon after, “Can you believe what nonsense he bought again?!?”

Don’t tell me!

Xavier sighed deeply. He could guess what his father must have done to enrage his mother like that. It was not hard to anger her, but his father was a professional, nonetheless. He was as experienced at angering his wife as purchasing deadly weapons for an exorbitant price. Though, if Xavier had to be honest with himself, he actually liked the assortment of weapons his father had purchased over the last few years.

The only issue was that he didn’t look at the price tag when he saw a uniquely forged sword, or exotic weapons that were hard to come by. He just bought them while blindly ignoring the money he had to shell out. And it looked like today was no different.

With a weary expression, Xavier walked slowly through the backyard, sincerely hoping that his father hadn’t been foolish enough to purchase another sword just after he purchased a katana made from tempered Damascus steel two months ago.

He reached the terrace, a fairly large outdoor space with a rustic wooden deck, dotted with small shrubs and flowering plants. Plush chairs were placed around a coffee table and vines climbed down from colorful earthen pots. Pushing the vines aside, he saw a scenario he had gotten quite familiar with. His mother was glaring at his father who had the look of a deer caught in the headlights.

Xavier suppressed a chuckle as he saw his mother narrow her eyes when his father subconsciously clutched a large metal case that was the reason for his mother’s ire.

Even I can’t save you now, Dad…

Trying to not make any noise, Xavier slowly stepped in the living room. The room wasn’t too huge but gave off a cozy vibe. He wondered if he should stand behind the cream-colored sofa that his mother made him clean every other day or sit in the recliner and flip through the pages of a random book from a small bookshelf placed in a corner.

Maybe, mom would simply pluck the sword off the wall and charge at dad.

He mused, while staring at the two swords hanging on the wall opposite him. One of the swords was a Damascus katana, the beautiful weapon for which his father had paid an insane amount of money just two months ago.

In the end, he decided to simply lean on the doorframe and observe what was going on.

“How much?” Xavier asked, looking at the metal case with a tinge of curiosity.

His father, Mark Vador’s gaze fell on Xavier, and a trace of relief flashed in his eyes. However, he couldn’t even open his mouth after noticing the emerald eyes of his son staring intently at him. He was too familiar with this gaze. It was the same gaze his wife cast upon him when it was a life and death situation, such as the current situation, involving the survival of his precious little metal babies.

Mark’s hand moved subconsciously to the metal case. He held it as if his life depended on it.

“How much did he pay?” Xavier asked his mother, Silvia Vador, when his father didn’t answer.

He saw the way his mother’s hand went to her forehead to rub her temples.

“5”

“5?...Wait! You don’t mean 5,000, do you?”

Silvia Vador didn’t say anything, but that was enough of an answer. Xavier’s gaze returned to his father, a deep frown appearing on his face.

'Seriously? Was it really necessary to break a new spending record shortly after buying that katana?' Xavier wanted to ask, but the expression on his father’s face caused him to hesitate.

His father loved collecting unique weapons and often enough he would run back home to show off his latest prized possession to his wife. The innocent hobby had soon turned into an obsession, draining the family’s savings.

Xavier’s eyes studied his father’s expression. He had the look of a toddler who had a good reason to justify why he had been rolling in the mud and covered in dirt as if he had worked hard to find some hidden treasure.

Something felt off.

Xavier threw a second glance at the metal case. It didn’t have a brand logo and looked different from the weaponsmiths his father usually bought his stuff from. Even the color of the metal case was different. He had never seen such a shimmering metal case.

“What exactly did you buy?”

Mark’s gaze flicked to his wife who was still staring daggers at him. He needed an ally and could use this opportunity to turn his son into one. Not wanting to waste time, Mark held the metal case in front of Xavier and slowly reached for the lid. Xavier peered at it curiously. The small metal case was obsidian black and had a smooth polished surface that opened with a soft click. Nestled in plush red velvet was a dagger set unlike anything Xavier had seen before.

It was a pair of two identical daggers, both with a greenish tint to it. The blade was thin and razor sharp while the hilt seemed to be made of high-quality leather. But his eyes locked on the other weapon lying in the box, a katana with a long, curved blade that glinted like a ruby as the room’s light shone upon it. Subtle, decorative menuki adorned its hilt while the hamon ran along the blade’s edge, displaying superior craftsmanship.

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They look very impressive. What metal are they made of?

Of course, he couldn’t tell that to his mother, but Xavier was impressed with the beauty of the dagger set and the katana. The overall look and feel of the katana was also much more majestic than the damascus steel katana resting on the wall. He was not sure if it was worth the money his father put into it, but the weapons were certainly a rarity.

While the two men gazed at the weapons fondly, Silvia scrunched her nose, taking a whiff of the air. Not even a second later, the smell of something burning along with the crackling of fire reached their ears.

“I think someone set the kitchen on fire,” Xavier said lightheartedly in an attempt to rescue his father from Silvia Vador’s famous fury. Recalling she had the kitchen stove on and the broth had probably spilled all over the kitchen counter, she hurriedly ran inside to salvage their dinner. His father let out a sigh of relief as Xavier added, “I’m done in the backyard for today. I will probably finish everything by tomorrow.”

Xavier could have finished his work in the garden today, but he felt like tonight was going to be eventful. His parents would most certainly have a big fight and he would have to act as a mediator. And as much as he would prefer to see them scream at each other and calm down like always, he feared his father had gone a bit overboard this time. He didn’t want to end up fatherless, and see his mother charged with murder.

Mark Vador looked at Xavier as if he just saved him from eternal doom and closed the metal case quickly while Xavier simply shook his head and went to the bathroom. He was still covered in mud and felt icky after battling with the weed for hours. There were small cuts on his hands and he smelled horrible. Thus, he picked up dry clothes and a towel on the way and entered the bathroom. Next he threw his soiled clothes in the laundry basket and turned on the shower.

The hot water immediately made him feel refreshed as he let himself soak in the water for a while before turning it off. His gaze fell on the mirror and he stared at his reflection for a while. His muscles looked sore and a bit red. Some of the thorny shrubs had also managed to leave cuts on his face though nothing too alarming.

Xavier could not help but grumble as he lathered the shampoo over his head. Back at the university, he had been looking forward to the summer break and spending time with his friends, maybe playing a few video games, or reading some novels, but the day he arrived, his parents simply handed him a list of chores that he had to complete. Xavier felt like complaining but he remained silent. He loved his parents even if they made his head hurt more often than he cared to admit.

Chuckling to himself, he began scrubbing himself with soap. Xavier had been a chubby kid in the past but now he could definitely see the muscles replacing the fat all over his body. His physique was well-defined and he gained some much needed weight due to the extra curricular activities they made the students do at college. His light green eyes now shone a deep emerald while light stubble was dusted across his chin. The chubby little child had been replaced by a young man with an athletic build though his sandy brown hair was still an unruly mess.

“Guess some things never change,” He muttered while humming a song to himself.

Covered in lather, Xavier reached for the shower knob and turned it on but the water never came. He waited for a second or two but didn’t feel the droplets of water trickling on his body from the shower head.

Did I empty the water tank?

He opened his eyes – or tried to – when he realized that suddenly his eyelids felt extremely heavy. Moving was nearly impossible but he somehow managed to open his eyes wide enough to see a drop of water trickle down his forehead. However, the strange thing was that its speed was extremely slow, almost as if gravity was malfunctioning.

What is going on?

One moment everything was perfectly normal and in the next moment, the laws of the world stopped working?

Am I hallucinating or something like that? I must be tired. Maybe I should take tomorrow morning off and finish the rest of the work in the afternoon.

Just as the thought of a break flashed through his mind, words with intricate lines and bold text appeared in front of him.

[Scan completed. Branch of the Origin has been detected on the planet known as Earth.]

[Invasion of the Schema confirmed.]

What the fu–

Before Xavier could even finish his thought, more words appeared in front of him.

[Energy leaks detected. Measures to counter energy leak have been initiated. Gates and monster spawn points will be generated. The planet will be merged with additional realms.]

[Inferior intelligent lifeforms have been detected.]

[Error! Probability of the lifeforms’ extinction within 48 hours exceeds 90%. Protocol Sylarinu-X8sr5Sd0 initiated.]

Just as Xavier finished reading the last line, the words in front of him twisted and distorted. The lines were ripped apart and pushed together. Following that the lines compressed until space itself seemed to collapse. A tear in the space – ominous and dark as the darkest night – appeared. Something popped out of the tear of space just before it dispersed.

[Pathway for survival has been created. Odds have been adjusted. Preparations Complete.]

Huh?

As the last message dispersed in front of Xavier, a cataclysmic event was set in motion. The earth began to tremble. At first, subtle vibrations reverberated through the bathroom like the distant rumbling of thunder. But the subtle vibrations quickly evolved into intense tremors. The ground beneath Xavier’s feet felt unsteady like a ship navigating through rough seas. What he saw outside through the bathroom window made his mouth almost touch the floor. It was almost like the very earth was about to awaken and retaliate, groaning in protest to the events that had just occurred.

Following the protest of the earth, the sky split open as well. Nature seemed to have declared war against the unknown entity as torrents of rain were unleashed upon the planet. The raindrops were large and cascaded down from the heavens with blinding force, sounding like war drums. Thunder rumbled like the growls of an angry, feral monster. Lightning currents crackled across the sky, illuminating the turmoil below.

As the thunderstorm raged on, the earthquake’s force became more pronounced. The world seemed to sway, all while the rain outside danced in chaotic patterns. Amid the cacophony of thunder and lightning, Xavier heard the alarming creaking and groaning of buildings. Huge cracks tore through the buildings, ripping them apart like paper as the ground under them heaved and caved in. The explosion of debris was muffled by the heavy rain while visibility too became limited as everything was enveloped in a watery haze.

Nature unleashed its wrath upon the unknown force that had appeared out of nowhere.

Is that how the world is going to end?

It felt like an eternity, but not even a whole second must have passed before the catastrophe ended as abruptly as it had begun. A hail of water droplets poured out of the shower head, down on Xavier’s head as the cataclysm succumbed. Xavier slipped, not expecting to regain control of his body all of a sudden. He smacked hard on the bathroom floor, and a bolt of pain surged through his tailbone. However, Xavier didn’t scream aloud. It was painful…and real… The pain was not an illusion.

Wait. The pain cannot be real. I have to be hallucinating.

Xavier’s eyes fell on the object that had fallen out of the tear of space. It was a small box made of leather, big enough to house a stack of cards. His eyes narrowed on the only thing that was not supposed to be there. Or was it?

Xavier ignored the pain in his tailbone and the water pouring down on him. He stared intently at the box without moving for a few seconds before he finally picked it up. The leather felt slightly rough due to its coarse texture. It was dark-brownish and bore scars and blemishes. One way or another, the leather box was real and certainly not an illusion.

I’ve definitely gone insane.

But, he wasn’t dreaming and this was not an illusion either.

No. The world’s probably gone batshit crazy!