Prologue

When I was a child, I had dreams of a battlefield.

The ground was soaked in crimson with blood, and the sky was clouded by ash and smoke. Corpses littered the earth, belonging to both humans and demi-humans. There were also bodies of creatures that I had never seen or heard before.

Amidst the chaos, a figure stood tall, a beacon of hope amidst the carnage. A female knight, clad in shining white armour, wielding a silvery-white sword that emanated a celestial glow, illuminating the gloomy battlefield.

She exuded an aura of purity and righteousness akin to the heroes of legends. With a single swing of her sword, she cleaved through the barriers of heaven and earth, severing the relentless tide of darkness that surged toward her.

Sometimes, those dreams would change, replacing the female knight.

There was a druid who commanded the forces of nature, summoning storms and earthquakes to decimate hordes of monsters.

An orc shaman appeared in another dream, harnessing the spirits of animals and wielding twin axes. He charged into the battlefield with a mighty roar, tearing monsters apart with his loyal beasts.

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A warrior wielding a spear and shield dominated the next dream. She was like a chariot, trampling over her enemies with wild abandon. However, she was also an impregnable fortress, shielding her allies with her trusty shield.

Once, I dreamt of a man who looked remarkably similar to me.

He had wild black hair that reached his waist and deep golden eyes that burned with a beast-like ferocity. He was garbed in a simple martial artist attire and wielded no weapons.

Against the flood of monsters that charged towards him, the man gave a savage grin and unleashed a mighty roar that shook the heavens.

His hands were like war hammers, crushing skulls and shattering armour. His legs resembled swift and lethal blades, slicing through enemies with a single kick.

He was like an unstoppable tempest, leaving nothing in his wake—a force of nature with no regard for anything or anyone.

At the end of the dream, the man would stand alone in a sea of blood and corpses. He would howl towards the sky with maddened glee as a crimson star shone brightly above him.

My teacher said that they were prophetic dreams, a glimpse into the future.

She said that perhaps the world would soon be engulfed in the flames of war and that the man in my dreams might be my future self.

I didn’t believe her, of course. After all, the man seemed overwhelmed by madness. It scared me, who was a child. I didn’t want to be like him.

Also, the world was at peace. The abyss was sealed, the adventurers slew any stragglers that roamed the lands, and the seven countries were in an equilibrium no one wanted to break.

The chance that the world would descend into another war, like the legendary war from ten millennia ago, was practically zero.

But the fact that I was currently standing here told me I was wrong for not believing my teacher.

“Fuuuuuuuck…”

I couldn’t help but groan as thousands of monsters crawled out of the abyss like cockroaches scavenging for food.