"Mister, are you a powerful person?" The cute young boy asks with eyes gleaming with curiosity, along with the adorable innocent look a child his age possesses.

Opening his eyes slowly, hearing and seeing the boy's expression, the old man laughed heartily.

When the old man came to this meadow located near a small city a few days ago, he never expected to meet in his final moments in life a ragged-looking child who was sneaking to him while he was sleeping, thinking that he did not notice.

Earlier, while pretending to be asleep and ignorant of the child, the child suddenly made a careless mistake when he failed to notice the twig right in front of him and stepped on it, producing a crackling sound.

When this happened, the old man opened his eyes, anticipating to see what kind of expression the child would show on his face as he got caught in his sneaking.

But to his surprise, what he saw was—standing in front of him—a child who was shamelessly feigning the pose a cute child, as if he was not committing an impolite action of sneaking at an old man. He did not know whether he should laugh, cry, or be amazed by the child's sharp thinking.

To some, if they were in his position, they might believe the child the way he feigns to be: innocent, cute, and without any intention. But to a figure like the old man, he already noticed the child's intention the moment he sensed the fluctuations in the child's aura.. (Of course, this was only something possible to figure on the level of the old man).

Seeming to be amused by the child's bravery, acting, and ability to think quickly once placed in a situation, he closed his eyes again, as if to show disinterest with the child—testing him what the child would do in this situation...

To his surprise, the child rapidly closed down the distance between them and aggressively posed like a cute child, and immediately asked the old man a question, probing his identity.

"How can an old man like me be a powerful person? I am nothing but a bag of bones." The old man replied with a teasing and laughing tone as if he enjoyed seeing the child continue in his play.

Hearing this, the young child was dissatisfied with the old man's answer and continued to pester him about where he came from, why he was here, and whether he was a powerful person. All in an attempt to uncover his identity.

After replying to the child's inquiries jokingly and teasingly, the old man got to know the child a bit through their short conversations. The child was 9 years old and lived alone. And as for the reason for the child's ragged, dirty, and deathly, skinny appearance, the old man already knew the child's economic situation just by connecting the bits of information he heard from the child.

Pushing these thoughts out of his mind, the voice of the young child once again rang in his ear, and he began to inwardly laugh at the cute child, trying to deceive him.

As night came, the old man was staring deeply into the night, as if he was reminiscing about a distant past while sitting in front of a large tree. Beside him was the child sleeping.

Earlier, after the child's endless attempts to inquire about his identity, he seemed to have passed out because of hunger and exhaustion. As he looked at the poor state of the child, he let out a sigh and went into the dark, eerie forest.

Usually, if people of the city were to see the old man walking into the forest at night, they might as well consider him good as dead. In this world, people were at the bottom of the food chain, and only a selected few of the people (humans who were born with latent talent) would be able to survive and defend themselves from ferocious beasts, demons, Inhumans, and more. People referred to them as Immortals, signifying a person who went beyond the shackles of mortals (not necessarily undying).

But, minutes later, after going inside the forest, not only was the old man holding a dead deer in his right hand, but he also emerged unscathed and calm as if he was just walking right out of a park.

Walking back to where the boy was sleeping, the old man swiftly but quietly sliced the deer in a manner that would make a professional butcher doubt their skills. Afterward, he chopped the deer into bite-sized pieces and flicked his fingers to create a steady flame that appeared on the ground, which would make any grand magus nod in delight.

Finally, the old man barbecued the deer, and a scent that would make anyone drool permeated the surrounding air.

As the aroma of barbecued meat wafted into the air, passing through the child's nostrils, the child roused from his sleep and noticed the old man's hand signaling him to sit near the fire and eat.

While the child was busy devouring the food in front of him with an expression as if he was in ecstasy, a faint smile curled in the old man's lips; and he asked the young child beside him.

"Child, do you want to hear a story?" The old man said, deciding to tell the young child a story to pass time. Hearing the old man's question, he nodded vigorously but still continued to devour the food in front of him. Seeing this, the old man let out a hearty laugh.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"There was once a child, maybe as young as you," the old man said while looking at the child, "who dreamt of reaching the peak of this world, interested to see what lies beyond the walls of the city, the world, and the universe. But, the child knew it was a distant dream for a child who lives in a small city, living a life of poverty—only to die without ever touching the base of the mountain he dreamed of reaching."

The old man paused and was seemingly reminiscing about a distant past. Noticing the urging gaze of the child to continue whose mouth was stuffed with meat, the old man faintly chuckled and continued.

"But even though he knew that a simple child-like him would never be able to reach the peak of the mountain, he refused to yield to the fate of dying as an old man who will never see what lies beyond the walls of the small city he lived in; to never experience the vast lands the earth has to offer; to never escape the shackles of his destiny. And at that moment, at night, he stared at the heavens—similar to the night we are at— and declared with his voice that seemed to hold an unyielding passion that betrayed his young age, 'I, a child of humble birth, born into a family of poverty, destined to achieve nothing, only to die and be forgotten, declare to those entities above that I, no matter what it takes, will defy the wills of the fate, destroy the shackles of my destiny and rise above the heavens and gaze what is beyond the peak I am reaching. And even if I fail in this life, I will imprint this vision onto my spirit; and once I am reincarnated, I shall remember this moment and continue to defy the wills of fate!'"

While hearing this, the child's eyes gleamed with admiration and amazement at how heroic the person was. Betrayed by his curiosity, the child asked passionately, "what happened next!?"

The old man, seeing the child's ardent desire, chuckled lightly and a faint smile appeared on his lips. And as if he wanted to tease the child, the old man replied jokingly.

"What do you think happened to him? He might even be the old man who you are talking to." The old man winked teasingly to the child.

Displeased by the old man's joke, the child retorted. "How could a figure as heroic as him turn into an old man like you." Hearing this, the old man remained silent and seemed to show a hint of sadness and regret but was immediately replaced by a loud laugh that resounded throughout the night sky.

As the old man's laughter came to a halt, he suddenly stood up slowly and said, "Child, what do you dream to be?" The old man turned to look at the boy with a weighty but calm expression.

The child stood up, patted his clothes, and stared at the night sky. "I do not know yet…" As the old man saw this, he noticed a hint of sadness and weakness in the child's eyes. "You will know it sooner or later. No rush. The world is not going anywhere.." Hearing this reply, the child nodded and abruptly said something which startled the old man and quickly laughed at the sharpness of the child's thinking.

"Mister, are you here because you are going to die?"

"What makes you say so?" The child thought for a while and reasoned, "Well, considering that you look so old and are here waiting alone in a quiet, peaceful, and isolated place, then I assumed you were spending your final moments in life."

As the old man heard this, a hint of admiration appeared in the old man's expression. "If I was to say you are correct, are you going to bury me if I ask you?"

Hearing this, the child paused for a while and seemed to be considering whether or not to bury the old man. After a while, the child nodded and was about to say something but hesitated, as if there was a deep reason why he agreed to bury the old man.

The old man chuckled and patted the young child's sickly-small frame. "There's no need, child. I can handle my own."

In fact, individuals like him would attract the attention of different figures throughout the country if it was ever found out by the people that he was buried here because those people have a way to sense him. And that would be troublesome to the people living in this place. So he would choose to pass away secretly and avoid causing trouble—only a select few he trusted knew of this. Of course, he never told the child about that.

Hearing the old man's response, he decided not to push it and ask one last question.

"Mister, I never got to ask, what is your name?" The old man paused for a while and smiled faintly at the question.

"You will know it in the future."

Hearing the old man's reply, the child decided to let it go and not pursue the matter anymore, just treating it as the old man's dying wish to be not known. But deep inside, he was still burning with curiosity about the identity of this old man.

Seeing the child not pursuing the matter any longer, he thought of imparting a small gift to the child as thanks for accompanying him in his final moments. As he walked nearer the child, secretly sending out a wisp of his power into the child, a frown appeared on his face as he felt his wisp being rejected by the child's body. After attempting a few more times, the old man realized something and quickly sent his spiritual perception on the child to analyze and confirm something.

After a few seconds later, a face of disbelief appeared on the old man's face.

"...you..."

What he saw within the child were enormous shackles that bound the limbs of the young child to the earth.

The old man knew very well these shackles and the destiny that befalls them…Normally, people born with latent talent grew easily into strong immortals who would roam the world and seek their own fate.

But there were those people whose birth was seen as a mistake by the heavens and were punished by sealing their destinies with divine shackles that bound them on the earth—making it far harder, painful, tortuous, and almost impossible for them to climb the peak immortals sought for.

"Child." the old man said seriously while looking at him with intense eyes... Noticing the change in the old man's voice and aura, the young child was startled and moved a step backward.

Seeing this, the old man realized what he did, so he reigned in his aura and reverted to the typical old man. "As a sign of appreciation for accompanying this old man's last few moments in life, I shall bestow upon you a gift." At these words, the young child's face grew excited.

"In the future, should you decide to seek what lies beyond the walls of this small city, take this letter to the next town in the north and show it to a woman named Arya, I am sure she will help you," the old man said gently.

As the young child accepted the envelope containing the letter, he felt a complicated emotion inside of him and decided to just sincerely thank the old man while bowing his head.

As the old man saw this, he nodded in approval. And just as the young child was about to raise his head, a sudden wave of dizziness consumed his mind which made him collapse to the ground. And as he forced himself from not blacking out, he saw a blurry vision of a person standing far away from him. And in front of that person was an enormous mountain that seems to be as wide and high as the universe, boundless and impossible to climb.

As he was just about to look at the blurry figure located at the base of the towering mountain seemingly headed to the bottom of the mountain, he was again attacked by a wave of dizziness, then his vision went completely black...