He has been walking for a while now. How long? No one knows, and no one will know. The landscape stretched forever onwards; the same sight eternally. This crimson space existed since the start of time and will remain after the end. The ground seemed living and pulsed under the feet, the air suffocated, forcing itself into the lungs and out again. The heavens above, tinted red as all things in this alien dimension, casting an ominous tint and ensued an anxious emotion upon the land.

He walked with a remarkable pace onward in no specific direction. He does not know why he is here or why he is continuing. Just a calling, calling him to push forward. The land beneath his feet rolled on and on, revealing the same desolate sight. As time passed on indefinitely, a looming structure appeared in the distance, radiating a primordial aura. The person walking stopped and gazed at the colossal building in the distance. He felt it: the calling. Even at this speed where regular people have trouble following, the distance didn’t seem to close.

The ground felt more alive now as he neared the structure. Previously still somewhat resembling an inanimate object, now felt like muscle without skin; fleshy soft and slowly radiating warmth. He was still a lengthy distance away from the calling but inevitably getting close. This character has forgotten his past, wandering pointlessly across this forgotten land, in search of a possible future. Eventually, after another eternity, he stood in front of the great beast. It was a beyond massive bronze gate, inscribed with magnificent beings, mythical creatures, scriptures of various ancient styles of immense power. The carvings seemed to move, roar, and jump out of its shell, emitting an ancient aura.

He raised his hand, coming in contact with the cold surface of the bronze. The engravings bellowed and the scriptures emitted a strong light upon the touch, then dying down again. For a while, everything was silent and undisturbed like always and then the dragons, beasts, creatures of the bronze, started to slither and flow under the surface of the gates. The chant of thousands reverberated across this desolate space, alongside the substantial increase of the primordial aura. However, the figure, under so much pressure, did not bow to this omniscient source of power, instead opened his heart and soul for this baptism. Along with the immense power he obtained, a stream of memories poured into his brain.

The intermittent sound of cars and the monotonous rumbling of the English teacher’s lecture casted a drowsy atmosphere within the classroom. Qiao Zimo lay on his desk, barely awake and looking at the empty school grounds outside. The wind rustled the leaves and the slight ticking of the clock slowly marked away the time. Finally, a sonorous clang of the bell ended the dull experience, as children rushed out the gates of the middle school. Qiao Zimo headed to the road where a grey car waited for him.

“How was school,” a sweet woman asked as the boy entered the car.

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“It was alright, I guess,” he replied, “same thing as always.”

The door shut and the car took to the road, passing houses, fields and buildings. This was a small and rather rural city, only housing a couple thousand, but although it was situated in a lonely corner, it did not get caught in the fray of the bustling streets and the raucous neighbourhoods. They passed a small grassland with a few trees that swayed a little in the wind and a stream that produced a crisp trickling sound as the water flowed downward. Qiao Zimo remembered that he used to run barefoot in the field and tried to catch the small fish trapped in the pools of water. His mother would then come and call him for dinner or to finish the homework.

Pulling up to an apartment-like building, the two people stepped out and headed to the entrance. At the reception, a figure sat casually with his legs propped up on the desk, seemingly asleep. The woman grabbed a clipboard on the desk and then signed off a name before leading Zimo inside. He was led to a room just like everyday after school and just like everyday, he was dropped off. There were a total of four small beds with a nightstand by each, two cupboards and some other items. Another boy lay on one of the beds, reading a book while fiddling with a toy. The boy glanced up before continuing his story while Zimo placed his backpack on his bed. Zimo placed his backpack on the bed and unlike usual where he stayed, he decided to head outside.

The boy walked out the rehabilitation center, without anyone’s notice and started towards the hills behind. They seemed to stretch beyond the eye, painting a sea of green.The grass seemed to splash and roll just like the waves of the ocean under the slight wind. Zimo took a step into the scenery, walking forward and then choosing a spot to lie down. It has been a while since he took some time to relax from school, the activities and his thoughts. After the incident, a voice seemed to haunt, to echoe within his mind. It sometimes annoyed him, chattering and sometimes it comforted him, distracting him from the trauma. He gazed up at the dusking sky which tinted a rosy orange.

“I know its hard,” the same voice rung out suddenly, “your parents have been dead for a couple years now”

No answer came from Zimo. Time slowly passed by, only noticeable with the slow coming of the night.

“Do you want to see the stars with me?” the voice said again some time later.

“Sure,” he answered.

And there, he laid on the grass, gazing at the stars as they crept up the horizon. It was different this time; the people of the rehabilitation didn’t run out and call him, instead the night grew longer. Qiao Zimo closed his eyes, his surroundings dissolved into nothing. This feeling was hard to describe, as if the sense of hearing, touch, sight, smell also dissolved. Floating in a void of sensory darkness, he seemed to be transported to somewhere new…

Qiao Zimo removed his hand from the bronze door, taken aback by the immense amount of information but quickly adjusted.

With determination, he said again, “Sure, I will see the stars with you brother. Let us be the dawn to a new era, a new place ”