'Just a bit faster and I would have made it.' Rudolph sighed as he stood a few meters away from the train that zoomed past before him.

For Rudolph, the whole day was nothing short of a disaster. The twenty-two year old software designer from Beijing, China just got fired from his job after getting framed by one of his coworkers. He was accused of stealing important documents from the office which 'miraculously' ended up in his bag. This mere evidence was enough for the boss to fire him who had been itching to find fault with Rudolph ever since getting embarrassed by him some ten days ago.

The latter even threatened to make it a police case when Rudolph demanded the salary for the twenty days he had worked at the place. Rudolph even thought that this typical ploy was masterminded by the boss himself. He didn't deny or admit to the accusation because if that was the case, his boss would have multiple ways of proving him guilty. Would the police rather listen to a simple office worker like him or the manager of an internationally acclaimed firm?

Facing such circumstances, he had no choice but to pack up his belongings and leave the office earlier than intended.

It was half-past eight in the evening and the next train was scheduled to arrive in two hours. He searched his pockets and found a single note of 10 Yuan.

"I barely have enough money to buy myself a meal or two so the taxi is out of the question and I would rather walk half an hour than wait for the next train back home."

He took one glance at the now-empty platform before walking towards the exit of the subway.

"Seems like my luck isn't the only thing bad today." He frowned upon exiting the subway and assessing the weather.

The night sky had lost its luster as thick dark clouds converged beneath the starry sky. The clouds competed with each other to gain superiority, the air rumbled and the sky crackled with lightning as if announcing the arrival of doom. It started raining.

According to the weather agency and as checked by Rudolph before leaving the house, the weather should have remained pleasant for the entire week.

The situation though bizarre wasn't anything strange to Rudolph who had gotten used to the erroneous predictions by the weather forecasters. The predictions were purely based upon wind speed, humidity, and certain other values which are subjected to change now and then.

The streets of downtown Beijing which were known for their liveliness were completely deserted at this point. He had been walking for 10 minutes since leaving the subway but hadn't come across a single soul. The shops all had their shutters closed and the previously glowing billboards were turned off.

The only source of light came from the sparsely lit street lamps outlining the edges of the slick, wet road.

"People are basking under their shelters while here I am, drowning myself in rain and sorrows," he said, chuckling with self-deprecation as he walked through the desolate streets.

From the day he had been born, Rudolph had been living a miserable life. His father was a carpenter while his mother was a housewife.

Growing up in a poor family, he lacked the basic amenities of life. As far as he could remember, his parents were always fighting, shouting, cursing, and screaming at each other. He who wished for peace and serenity found it within the books and novels. He sought an escape to the imaginary world he had built over 15 years.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that he knew more about the imaginary worlds of novels than that of reality, to the point that even his high school days were spent burrowed in books and novels. He failed to secure a satisfactory grade in his high school and in turn had difficulty getting admitted to a good university.

This gave rise to his introverted personality. He disliked large gatherings and parties. He refrained from partaking in useless conversations and even with his fellow students and co-workers, he only talked to the point of work.

And then it all came down crashing. The imaginary world he had built got shattered like a castle of glass.

His parents got divorced and his father, the sole earner of the family went God knows where. Soon after, his mother was diagnosed with Hepatitis and got bedridden. The responsibility of earning fell onto his shoulders and reality was staring him right in the face.

His university life was all consumed by trying to make a decent living, enough to cover his tuition fee and feed himself and his mother. He did whatever he could to earn something.

The house they lived in was soon sold to cover the expense of his mother's operation who at that time was on her deathbed. But it seemed like he was destined to be alone in this lifetime. The operation couldn't save his mother's life and he lost her during his second year at University.

Alone and heartbroken, he spent the remaining years of his university trying to fight depression and find his purpose in life.

He graduated 6 months ago and found a job 2 months ago which didn't exactly go the way he hoped to and now he was walking his sorry butt back to where he came from, drenched from head to toe.

His black pant and black shirt stuck closely to his body as he walked through the desolate streets and for once he thought that the lonely streets were a perfect match for his lonely heart.

"Ouch!" he cried out as something hard hit him on the head, forcing him out of his stupor.

Before he could look to see what it was, he was hit twice and thrice in quick succession.

"Who the-"

He held back the urge to curse when he saw the lumps of ice falling onto the road in front.

'Hail!' he exclaimed as he hurried to find shelter from the incoming ice bullets.

He crossed several streets in a matter of seconds before spotting a store that had a rain shade. Coincidentally, this was the only store that had its lights on among all the stores he had seen.

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When he got to the rain shade, he was panting hard. The sprint to safety had left him exhausted and down on his knees.

“I better get myself a pair of flexible pants. Running in these jeans is too hard,” he said, blaming the choice of apparel for his embarrassing state.

Even in his college days, Rudolph had barely participated in games or any physical activity. To escape being bullied, he had once joined a dojo to learn Kendo but gave up after being considered 'a prodigy among prodigies' by the instructor. The only other time he had run seriously was when a dog had chased him on his way to the grocery store.

That was the extent of his physical conditioning which can be ascertained by his skinny physique. He might have been deemed undead if there existed any.

Rudolph took deep breaths and recovered a bit of the little bit of stamina he had. Now that the danger of hail had come to pass, he focused his attention on the store on whose porch he stood.

“Du'Udre Raén” he read the plaque which strangely wasn't shaking in this storm-like weather. 'I wonder what it means.'

The plaque depicted a raven chewing upon a creature that resembled a dragon. The raven had its talons stabbed into the dragon's skull.

‘A strange weather, strange name, and a strange plaque bearing a strange depiction. This whole scenario appears to be straight out of a fantasy.’

I won't be surprised if I find a witch inside the store.” Rudolph chuckled at his silly mumbling. He attributed the uniqueness of the store to a marketing strategy employed by the owner. Such stores are popular among young adults such as himself.

Even before entering, his impression of the store went up by a notch.

Rudolph averted his eyes from the plaque to the door. The strangeness of the store did nothing to hinder his desire to explore it, instead, it filled him with even more intrigue.

“Let's see what surprises this uncanny store holds.”

Rudolph pushed the door open and was greeted by chiming bells, announcing the arrival of a newcomer to whoever the store owner might be.

The store was illuminated by a couple of lanterns. The eerie light was just enough for him to see the contents inside the store. Thunder was still flashing outside the store, adding to the store's spooky atmosphere.

Contrary to his expectations, there were no bubbling cauldrons or eerie potions inside the store. Instead, a mahogany desk lined the reception, and dusty antiques filled the shelves. Overall the store appeared to be in dire straits.

‘The store doesn't seem to be that well off.’

“Hello, anybody here?” Rudolph inquired, his echoing across the walls.

He waited for a while but no reply came through.

‘Seems like storekeeper is out.’ he thought ‘I might as well look through the items until the shopkeeper arrives.’

He approached the nearest cabinet and started inspecting the objects lined on the shelves. It consisted of antique vases, clocks, and other antiques which didn't hold any appeal to him.

He then moved towards the portion of the store that held various assortments of weapons. There were antique knives, mace, war axe, and swords of different kinds — short swords, bastards swords, long swords, great swords, and katanas.

Among the katanas and all of the above weapons, there was one particular katana that caught his eye. Encased in an intricately patterned black sheath, the katana was different from every weapon present.

“It is said that if forged right, a katana can cut through everything,” he mumbled while picking up the katana.

“Hoho! Seems like black impermanence caught your eye.” he was just about to unsheath the katana when an aged voice called him out from behind.

From behind one of the cabinets emerged an old man. He had a fairly simple face, a type of face that you would forget after seeing for a while. His smile was full of benevolence as he smiled at Rudolph.

“Black impermanence?” Rudolph asked.

“It is the name of the sword you are holding,” he answered.

Seeing that Rudolph was still holding onto the tang, the old man beckoned for him to unsheath it.

SWISH!

Rudolph pulled out the sword from its sheath. He felt something inside him change but he couldn't quite point to what it was.

“Beautiful isn't it?” he asked, seeing the dazed expression on Rudolph's face.

“Very!”

Rudolph caressed the body of the blade. Similar to its sheath, the katana was black. It was darker than the darkest black he had ever seen. Even the light falling on it seemed to be sucked into it. He felt like he was staring at the deepest reaches of hell.

“It sure fits the name.” Rudolph praised. “Who forged this?”

“Oh, you wouldn't believe it even if I told you.” the old man chuckled.

“Hahaha. Right. No human can forge such a perfect blade. Seems to be the work of Dwarves.” Rudolph chuckled along.

“Hahaha. Maybe.” he laughed. The old man's eyes widened for a bit but returned to normal before Rudolph could see.

Seeing that the weather had lightened up, Rudolph sheathed the katana and handed it to the old man. Though he was reluctant to part with the blade, he couldn't possibly afford it. Furthermore, he wanted to get home before the weather worsens again.

“Thanks for the display old man. I would visit again someday.”

The old man hesitated for a while and as if making up his mind, called Rudolph out before he could leave the shop.

“Stop for a minute young man.”

Rudolph turned around and saw the old man coming to him.

“Do you want this katana?”

“Want?” Rudolph couldn't help but put on a bitter smile. “This- It's a wonderful sword, old man. I am sure many would pay enormously for it. But currently, as I am, I can't even buy myself a cup of noodles, much less afford such a magnificent sword.”

“No. I don't want anything from you.”

“Don't want anything?” he narrowed his eyes at this reply. He couldn't imagine someone giving out such fine treasure for free. Surely there must be some strings attached?

“I don't want anything except a promise.”

“Promise?” he replied. The conversation was going further and further away from what he had expected.

“Yes. A promise,” he explained. “Promise me you will try your best.”

Rudolph didn't know what to make of this promise. Sure, trying his best isn't difficult but at least he should know what should he be trying his best for. In learning to use the sword? Being kind to people? Improving himself? Life in general?

“I don't quite understand.” Rudolph was getting more and more puzzled. If it wasn't for the allure of the katana, he would have long left the place.

“You will understand when the time comes.” the old man insisted.

“Sure, I will. I, Rudolph Foster promise that I will try my best,” he announced, deciding to go with the flow.

Seeing that Rudolph had agreed, the old man breathed a sigh of relief. He then pushed the blade into Rudolph's hands.

“So the katana is mine?” he asked, confirming if he had gotten it so easily.

“It is but be sure to remember the promise.”

“I will,” he replied. “Goodbye old man.”

With that said, Rudolph quickly ran out of the shop with black impermanence in his hands. He was afraid that the shopkeeper would get back on his words and decide to take it back.

“Ah, one more thing Rudolph. Don't lose the katana. It will be of immense help in the upcoming trials.” Rudolph heard as he got out of the shop. He didn't pay any attention to his words as he was too focused on staring at the katana in his hands.

‘I can probably sell this for a couple of thousand dollars at the least. ’ he thought ‘Easy money.’

He only stopped when he entered an alley some distance away from the shop. The rain had come to a stop, and moonlight shone through the clouds.

The black impermanence looked even more majestic in the moonlight.

Before he could unsheath the sword, something appeared in his vision and a robotic voice rang in his head. Something that overturned his view of reality once and for all.

Medium integration completed

Secondary gateway established

Linking the secondary gateway to the primary gateway

Action completed, preparing for teleportation in...

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“What the h-” before he could realize what was going on, the ground beneath his feet trembled and with a flash of light, Rudolph disappeared from the place.