The world called Lacrima is a small blue world, among trillions of small blue worlds. Perhaps a bit larger than others, its surface measuring 80 billion square kilometers. There are a total of 42 continents, almost like some god had a sense of humor.

On the continent called Southern Tear, there is a river, called simply the Agate. 

The river goes for 10 thousand kilometers, and ends in a sea, but our story starts at the beginning.

Much like the Agate starts in the endless forest beneath the Tian Mountains, our story starts with a small cabin in the woods. The woods are enormous, going for thousands of kilometers at this latitude, oak or denja trees reaching even 500 meters in height, and sparse copses of bamboo or pines scattered here or there.

The cabin is located about 500 meters east of the local village, and close to the spring where the Agate is birth.

In the cabin, there is this middle-aged woman, toiling over a stone stove, and preparing the morning meal, and only meal of course, for herself and her son. 

It's a maize porridge, sort of dark brown in color, and slowly turning yellow as the heat of stove gently boils it.

The smell of porridge awakens our hero, mighty Pef. Well, not that mighty now, being three years old and barely walking upright, but he will be, everyone says so.

Everyone being his mother, of course.

"Ma, is it ready yet?" Pef asked in a sleepy voice.

"Perhaps 30 minutes. Go wash!" her dearest mom replied in a fake stern tone. 

Pef grumbled and rolled off the wooden cot, the dry hay on the floor scrapping at his tender skin.

'Damn it, being reborn in a world without carpets sucks!' he muttered to himself, then rushed outside for toilet and grooming business. 

He checked the water barrels, and noticed them depleted over half. 

'Less than a week then. Not having water on a tap, sure spoils this whole nature embracing second life...' our hero grumbled again, then bravely poured a bamboo cup of cold water of himself.

'I'm a real hero all right. Look at me Ma', I can withstand a cup of water!' the three-year-old boy muttered, as he washed himself.

It was sad new life, for someone used to some comfort in his old life. 

It wasn't all bad, as he knew fairly well. 'Last life, at this age...hmm. I was kinda sick back then. Pneumonia and bronchitis, due to freaking cold winters and ice a centimeter thick, on the inside of our apartment walls.' Winters were harsh, and the regime was saving on central heating, so they could build a glorious future. Didn't work so well.

At least the forest was warm and strangely devoid of wild life.

He looked up, at the majestic trees going up for hundreds of meters. The mountains in the distance had to be tens of kilometers high. 'Maybe I am in Star Wars now?' he wondered again. 

He kinda hoped it was Star Wars. But it probably wasn't. 

The culture of this planet appeared to be kind of Asian, with proverbs of old sages and hidden meanings, stories about Immortals flying around and magic of various kinds.

He did ask mom, once, but she just sighed and cried. He didn't ask again, and just listened.

'Maybe next week, when we visit the village, I might hear something...'

He went to check the maize field, the strange maize garden that allowed him and mom to live here.

Just a patch of land, 20 by 20 meters, where tall maize grew, mysterious and curious. 

Every morning, two or three sprouts would open, allowing them to collect their meal. When the field gave them an extra, they could trade it, for salt, or clothes, in the village. When mom appeared, carrying a few maize corns in her backpack, some elder would receive them like they were holy or golden.

And yet, he has never been sick, in this new life.  'You would think living in the woods, without nearly any sanitation or medicine would make one catch like a thousand things, every day...' Pef wondered, a bit amazed and also curious.

"Ma, why don't the villagers grow their own maize?" he asked aloud.

"It's not a normal plant, as you already know. It is a gift..." her mom answered, avoiding the crux like always.

"From my father!" Pef exclaimed, as her mom poured the hot porridge in a stone bowl.

"Yes. Now eat!" she demanded raising a finger. 

Our hero ate in silence. 

Time flew by, and soon Pef became five.

Nothing much has changed, except he was a bit taller. His mom has begun teaching him some basic of writing and math, mixed with confusing parables.

The writing was overly complicated, various intersecting lines, changing meaning for bizarre reasons.

You could write tree in a hundred ways, and have it mean tree house, or tree branch or any kind of combination.

The math was simple, and quite different from what he knew. Using one hand, you created numbers, which then you rotated and spun to obtain various operations. 

"There are higher forms of numbers, like shadows of your hand on the wall and different paints on the nails, even under water or in the smoke. But I don't know how to explain those to you. If you ever go in a city, you will learn there." his mom whispered after waving her own hand in front of the stove. The boy nodded wisely. Irrational numbers perhaps.

'What city is the closest mom ?" Pef asked, blinking a bit surprised. 

"Closest, would be Agate Stoneport on the river, maybe two thousand kilometers south." the woman relied on after searching her memories.

"But?"

"My hometown, Yellow Tear is three thousand kilometers south-west. You shouldn't go there. It's a bad place." 

"Where then?"

"The capital of the continent. Lacrimosa City. It's about 8 or 9 thousands kilometers east, or maybe south-east? Anyway, it's on the coast, very big and easy to find."

"How big is that city, ma'?"

 "No one knows, my dear. At least a hundred kilometers on every side, but likely much more. Millions of people live there. Even a few sages." his mom explained with wistful eyes.

"Sages? Those are real?" Pef asked to make sure.

"Oh yes. Fighters and mages and oracles. Even crafters. Spirit rank or lower though. Our continent is quite weak in that regard." his mom answered looking at him with piercing eyes.

"Are you?"

"A sage? No. Not anymore. My core was crippled." the woman replied shaking her head with dismay.

Pef looked over his mom with new eyes. He already begun figuring out the setting of the story.

"Your core. Your magic core?"

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"Yes. The core where qi essence is transformed. From the energy of heaven, into strength and abilities. Like making magic maize." 

Pef looked up in thought. "Father too?"

"I don't know. His clansmen are fierce warriors. Wander the world, fighting beasts and men alike. Mostly bad men though." his mother answered with a sad smile.

"But all men are bad, eh?" Pef joked as he collected the stone dishes.

"Most men. Someday you will be able to sense it, just like I could. An aura around people, white or silver or gold. Those are good people." the woman replied with a genuine smile. 

Pef nodded, then went on about the chores around the cabin.

Then he ran, a hundred laps around the maize field. He wasn't a hero. 

Even if everyone said so. 

Time flew by, and soon Pef was seven.

The smell of boiled corn wake him up, and Pef opened his eyes. Noise of water falling drew his attention.

He stared at the cabin's roof, and noticed a bit of water leaking through. 'I gotta fix that. Can't let mom do everything' 

His goal for today set, Pef ran outside, ignoring the rain. 

'What to use? Bamboo? Should work, if I can split a piece of it in half.' Pef muttered barely audible.

He dragged a bamboo section to the cutting stone, and began chopping at it with the stone axe.

The rain and slippery surface didn't help, but Pef insisted. He focused, and somehow the noise disappeared. His hand became stronger, the grip on the axe firmer.

Chop! The bamboo log split perfectly in the middle, and noise resumed.

"That was weird..."Pef voiced softly, as he picked the two pieces and went to climb the roof.

'Hyperfocus or something?' Pef wondered as his hands worked to tie the bamboo shingles over the compromised roof. 

A flash of light illuminated the sky, then crashed directly down.

"Lightning?" he managed to ask before he lost balance and tumbled off the roof.

Light filled the sky, and Pef lost consciousness.

He woke up later, his back in pain, and his head feeling swollen.

'Last life, at this age... I tried to flip over a beam in the park. Fell on my back. Nearly split a vertebra.' he remembered, memories fading in a haze.

"Stop trying to worry your mom to death." a familiar voice spoke next to his head.

"Sorry mom, lighting fell and..."

"Yes, you slipped and hit your head. I can feel your boo boo." his mom replied in a sarcastic tone, poking at the painful volcano on his head. 

His hand rose by instinct, and he felt round the contusion. Barely a centimeter of height, if quite painful.

'Huh, I guess kids must have nine lives?' Pef mused wisely.

"It is a big boo boo." Pef voiced embarrassed.

"Yeses, very big. Now, tell me everything. What did yo do? Why did that bolt tried to pierce our formation?" mom asked with a bit a real worry.

"Well, I woke up, saw the leak, went to fix it.... I split the log, and the rain stopped..." the boy mumbled with his brains still addled.

"Ah, you awoke. Was it the rain that stopped, or the noise?" his mother asked with a curious look, her black eyes glinting with some hidden intent.

Pef closed his eyes, trying to recall the moment. 

A picture formed in his mind, the rain beads frozen like a painting, or a certain movie.

"The noise is what I noticed then, but the rain stopped too. Only splitting the log mattered." Pef confessed with some confusion.

"Hmpf. Just like your father then. Tomorrow you will go and find another splitting rock, my boy. And don't use that skill again. You won't always have a sky ranked formation to keep lighting away." the woman demanded, pressing the pain button twice as a reminder.

Pef nodded briefly before he fell asleep.

Next day, he checked the stone, and indeed it was split in half, just like the log had been.

The cut appeared smooth, like done by a water jet or a laser.

'A skill can cut rocks like nothing? That's a huge thing, isn't it? With a metal weapon then, it should cut anything...' Pef ruminated while observing the cut.

'Except, this is the stone age. Wood and stone tools only. Not even animals around for meat and bones and pelts...maybe is that formation mom mentioned?'

Pef ran inside the cabin, his eyes glowing with a need to know.

"Sky formation?" he asked after a short breath. 

"Awaken, Practitioner, Core, Nascent, Spirit, Earth, Sky. Learn how to run, before you can fly." his mother replied calmly, stirring the daily porridge with a distant look.

"Was he?"

"I don't know. At least Sky ranking. Maybe an Emperor. You don't think these forests were always devoid of animals, do you?" mom asked rhetorically, her eyes looking far away.

'My father is an Emperor! Now how can I beat his teeth in, for abandoning us?' Pef muttered inside, both excited at the discovery, and dismayed at the height in front of him.

"Guess I'll have to train hard..." Pef voiced aloud.

" Write a hundred words starting with sky. Then you can ran around the maize." his mother demanded while pouring the daily meal.

Pef sighed in defeat.  Back to school. And learning a Qi method.

 Pef tried meditating, he really did.

But how can you empty your mind?

Just try it. It just doesn't work.

The second you think you have succeeded, you think of something. 

"My son is moron. Wait! Even morons can meditate. In fact, it is easier for them...maybe I should hit his head with a rock?" mom commented wisely while she sat in front of him, and observed with confused eyes.

"Aha. Maybe your qi condensing method isn't suited, for me?" Pef wondered out loud, his eyes still closed. 

"Nonsense. Millions of people have used it perfectly through the years. I used it, before...anyway, you have half my blood, so you should have at least half my talent. Plus whatever you got from your father. His muscles maybe?" the woman explained in a straight tone.

'Pretty sure that's not how genetics work.' the boy muttered to himself.

"So, all sages have kids that become sages?" Pef asked curious.

"Hmm. Of course not. The majority of cultivators are born morons, just like you!" his mom replied proudly.

Pef decided to ignore the jabs. Maybe they would work on some kids, but not this one.

"So, beside this Diaphane Way to Building the Bridge to Heaven, what other cultivation methods can I try?" the boy asked while he thought of something else.

"There must be thousands, but I don't know them. Some sages make their own methods, but most of the ones who try, die horribly." his mom explained cheerfully.

"Because of backlash?"

"Yes. Or bloodlines. Or magical beasts eating them. Maybe lighting striking them." his mom replied, nodding wisely.

Ah. At least a few of those are kept away here. 

"Nothing else?"

"Well...he used to wear that glove, but he stopped wearing it after he sown the maize. Maybe he did leave a method for you."

"In the maize?" Pef asked a bit confused. Sure, the thing was nutritious, but...

"Under the field, my moron son. I'd start in the middle, and dig a bit..." 

Pef picked up a bamboo spade, and went digging.

A few hours later, he found it, some 3 meters underground. 

A dirty yellow-brown leather glove, without fingertips. Sort of large, for his hand.

"Yay! My super powerful dad, left me a vagabond's glove. Maybe an archer's glove?" Pef exclaimed in fake joy, as he tested the glove.

'Pef, I am your father!' he muttered, while strangling his neck with the stupid glove.

'Link detected. Genome scanned. Allele omicron/192212214 present. User recognized. Human near-baseline, Homo sapiens immortus, male, age 7. Compatibility 0.0011 percent.

Veritas power pistol not detected. Up-link to higher command not detected. Scanning nearby space. Planet Lacrimosa, Golden Tear galaxy, Universe Tear/10033. Universe is Tier 1, no existing military outposts for Veritas Legion. Contact with command lost, user must return to his post.'

"Glove, was that you?" Pef asked to make sure. Did the thing just scanned the entire universe?

'Uploading mental up-link protocols. Sir, do you require assistance?'

'Is this on?'

'Yes, sir. Do you require assistance?

'Got any methods, for learning how to condense my core?'

'Veritas Legion standard indoctrination method, sir. Tried and tested over trillions of universes, species and wars. Never failed, till now' the glove replied proudly.

'Proceed with upload then' Pef whispered in his mind, after a bit of deliberation. 

'Already have, sir. Welcome to Veritas Legion, Aspirant. As the sole Legion member present in this universe, you are also de facto commander-in-chief.'

'What about you, mister glove?'

'This glove is an expert system, generally used to protect the user against radiation and other types of reality altering hazards of the Veritas pistol. As a Tier 8 power word weapon, the Veritas pistol is able to pacify, subdue, destroy or uncreate any being or entity of tier 6 or less.'

Our young hero blinked confused. 'Which means?'

'Sir, this glove means: Gods, Elder gods, Demons, Archdemons, Abominations, Beasts, memetic amalgamations...'

'Hive minds, hegemonizing swarms?' Pef interrupted the enormous list that kept going.

'Some of them, yes sir'

'Any of such in our vicinity?'

'Local vicinity is clear, sir. Planet Lacrima is devoid of potential enemies tier 2 or above.'

Pef heard the implied term though. 'But?'

'There are 12 Tier 1 Entities on this planet. Loose Divinity, or such.'

'Higher than an Emperor?'

'Much higher, sir.'

'I need that word gun, right about now' Pef muttered with some dismay.

'Yes sir, you do. Nearest Veritas gun is located in galaxy sigma-615, or Path of Demons, local universe, azimuth 19...'

'Hold it. How about transportation?'

'Sir, all Legion members are perfectly capable of self translation to local destinations. As soon as they completed their training...'

'And I haven't...' Pef muttered with a sigh, then picked up the bamboo spade and started climbing out of the hole.

'Right. You will need to acquire access to neuro-holographic... Scanning nearby resources. Neolithic technology. And standard Legion harsh terrain rations maize. I have to remind you sir, that NaCl2 or salt additions are necessary for humans to remain combat capable...'

'Yes, salt. I know. Low tech, not savage!' Pef muttered with some dismay.

'Right. Compatibility rating at 0.0014. Aspirant is faring better than most neolithic Legionnaires this unit has met!'

'How many did you meet?"

'Including current one, 47, sir. '

'My father?'

'Him too, sir. Aspirant Wixtal Xi, compatibility 0.0008. User is now dismissed from the Legion, as his projected chances of reaching the energy requirements, to achieve self translation were negligible. Current user Pef Xi, is deemed capable of reaching basic energy needs for ranking Soldier.'

'Which is what, Loose Divinity rank?'

' At a minimum, sir. Perfect Divinity is the standard for the Veritas Legion soldiers. However, one lower rank would still allow alternate means of spacial translation.'

'Spaceships?'

'Yes, sir. Well, metal working first, but ultimately spaceships!' the glove replied amused.

'And then, we go get our gun!'

'And kick some Eldritch ass, hurrah !' the glove replied, with some traditional Legion motto.

Pef walked slowly towards the hut, with a better goal in mind. A gun that could kill gods!

Bad gods, of course. But like men, most gods were bad.