Earth 2023, some random city

School was finished for the day, and with nothing really going on in his life, Samuel's mind was drifting aimlessly. Like many others before him, an empty life and empty mind cause the thoughts to wander upon the mysteries of the universe. Of which, time is one of, if not the most mysterious.

What is it? How does it work? Was there something before time? Will there be something after time? All the questions Samuel was asking himself were seemingly going unanswered. "Has time always existed, or was it created by something or someone? Maybe time created itself". Suddenly, something clicked. "WAIT! YES! That's it; it must have created itself!". However, before Samuel could even react or expand upon his thoughts, an ungodly amount of pain seemingly ruptured his mind, and everything went black.

"ARGH!"

Suddenly, within an expanse of endless darkness, a person emerged. Well, a person is putting it nicely. Rather, it was a figure. A figure of dark gray, covered in runes, glowing with what seemed to be starlight. "Where am I?" the figure asked in an ethereal, fickle, almost non-existent voice. There was nothing but darkness, but upon asking this question, a single white and black glow emerged a vast, vast distance away. "What is that?". Samuel stretched his hand toward this glow in a pathetic, useless attempt to reach it. Only it wasn't useless. The glow, in a matter of moments, enlarged in front of him. Not understanding what was happening and still having his questions unanswered, he was swallowed by the glow.

…

"Do you really think we can find the rumored treasure of the First Sage here?", a young boy asked a similar-looking older female, presumably his sister.

"Every year, dozens of people find gold, spirit fruits, martial techniques, or even inheritances in the mountains; there is no reason we won't be two of those dozens of people," she responded. "We need the money; you know about the situation in the family. After what happened to Mother, if we don't show our worth, we will be discarded or even sold."

"I know, but maybe we can find a master or work in the city rather than trekking aimlessly in the mountains in search of a rumor."

"Evan, enough! We don't have time to search for a master willing to accept us or find work rewarding enough to help. We need to find something here. And if we can't find anything here, we should start thinking about whether we should ever even return home."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The young boy, named Evan, was startled. "You think we should run away? We are just at the Mortal Stage of cultivation; we would be dead within a week if we did that."

"At least it's better than being a slave".

"You would rather die a gruesome death and be eaten by beasts than potentially live your life as a slave?"

"Just focus on looking for treasures."

Just as Even was about to erupt in anger, a shocking tear in space emerged mere meters in front of them. Being approximately 10 meters in height and 100 meters in length, the tear was a mixture of white, black, and gray, with a golden rim. From this majestic tear, seemingly made to herald the arrival of an extraordinary being, an individual emerged. This individual was Samuel—well, barely. Samuel was in an extremely battered state, appearing to be on the edge of death, or rather, the edge of life.

Luisa, without even thinking about the situation, said, "Quick help him; he might be a powerful and influential person. If we help him now, he will be in our debt." Evan, agreeing with his sister, took out something wrapped in thick cloth—a bottle containing white liquid. Running over to Samuel, who was still unconscious on the ground, covered in blood, and breathing rapidly, Evan fed him the liquid with sheer hope on his face. "If this works out, we won't have to worry about contributing to the family anymore. Hell, he might even take us as his disciples."

"Evan, with these injuries, the healing elixir will probably require 2-3 days to fully heal him, maybe longer. It's not safe in the mountains; beasts and people roam constantly. Normally, we could run, but not with him here. I think we should go back home."

"But what about the rest of the family? We're already being ostracized; he might even be taken from us and thrown into the slums. At that point, we'll be helpless to stop them and have to suffer his consequent revenge. Alternatively, we can go to one of our friends and ask for help."

"But what if he only appreciates the help of our friend, and he doesn't feel the need to repay us?"

"Then that is fate. You said we needed to find something valuable here, and we did. As for whether this is a good thing, we can only hope for the best outcome."

While these two were conversing, the body of Samuel had already fully 'healed'. Blood still covered him, obviously, but his state stabilized. The painful sensations from reforming his body from scratch were all he had yet to recover from. Still, it was enough to awaken him from his not-so-peaceful slumber. About to ask the usual question of 'where am I', he recalled the last time he did that. No longer daring to pose such questions, he looked around, immediately discovering the two youths quarreling just next to him. "Why are they in such a heated argument standing just above my bloodied body?"

"Evan, you stupid, ignorant, impulsive bastard. What would be the point of taking a risk ourselves and giving the reward to someone else?"

"You're the stupid one. We are already taking a risk. What is taking one more? Moreover, if he is someone who actually wants to repay his debts, he will recognize our contribution, but you have such a narrow mind...".

"Cough"

Before Evan could finish his sentence, an awkward cough interrupted him.