A blossoming of iridescent lights dyed the universe into a myriad of colors as if painting on a canvas. A brilliant inferno cascaded and swept the surroundings akin to the might of a tsunami on a universal scale.

Boom!

A lonely soul floating in the universe awoke.

A dream?

But now that was not the major concern.

The explosion of mankind's greatest weapon, the hydrogen bomb paled in comparison to its grandeur.

This wasn't a mushroom shaped blast but a sphere of concentrated energy rapidly expanding.

A white hot sphere of blinding light.

Space-time in the surrounding areas was heavily distorted.

Mankind's arrogance in front of such a spectacle would be crushed like pinching an ant.

No, not even an ant. In front of the explosion of a nebula, mankind was nonexistent.

Surprising though, there was a mortal being in the midst of such an explosion.

Perhaps some sort of deity? Alien? Or super invincible mega domineering water bear?

No! it was me…Balin! Kono Balin Da!

And Balin Qiubai felt that he was about to be deceased any second. (:P)

Though he had already died once…

He was suspended in space and his form of existence was quite transparent. In modern days terms it could be described as a ghost or soul. But as an avid space enthusiast, Balin Qiubai felt that description was not very accurate.

He felt that in scientific terms it was more like he was in some sort of quantum state between nothingness and reality.

Despite excruciating pain, in front of such an amazing spectacle, Balin Qiubai still had the leisure to ponder.

Maybe it was this strange thought process that allowed him to successfully graduate as a wizard when he turned thirty.

But soon that leisurely mood was replaced by a piercing pain that shot right down to the bone(soul) marrow. Like bones fracturing with a crispy snap or a tendon ripping off the bone with a pop. It felt as if the parts that made up his soul were crumbling.

Before all this, Balin Qiubai was just an ordinary homo sapien(human) from Blue Star.

Coming from a planet whose dominant civilization was only in the modern 21st century, even being able to witness an explosion of this magnitude up close was a miracle.

The physical energies were so intense it scorched him thoroughly down to the spiritual level. An immense pain that left a physical mark on his soul causing it to rapidly collapse and shrink.

Theoretically the soul shouldn't feel pain as it does not contain any nerves.

The best way to describe it was as if he was a heartbreak patient.

Heartbreak patients could literally die from trauma to the heart due to immense grief, despite no physical damage.

Their sorrow can actually manifest in physical form just like how the majesty of the energies that impacted Balin Qiubai's consciousness collapsed his soul.

His soul was melting like candle wax and his consciousness dispersing like smoke..

Had it not been for "that artifact" protecting his consciousness, Balin Qiubai would have long been fried into spiritual charred pancakes.

But it was also "that artifact" that kidnapped Balin Qiubai's soul to this ghostly place!

Hateful! ಠ益ಠ

And thus concluded the tale of Balin Qiubai…to be specific, the Balin Qiubai from the beautiful planet of azure, Blue Star.

…..

In the 527th year of the Sky Calendar and the twelfth month, mankind was prosperous and their branches spread throughout the Mortal Realm.

The gods and demons that had once ruled the world had one by one fallen into silence giving humans the opportunity to grasp the world and establish order.

The ambition of mankind could be seen when naming their calendar after the vast sky.

During this time of the year, the arctic snow blanketed the Skyspire Continent covering the ground with a quilt of soft, gloomy white.

In some unknown places, many ill-fated creatures perished from hypothermia.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The Kongwu Kingdom was one of the few exceptions. They had powerful spell matrixes deployed around their territory so the environment within the kingdom walls was a stark contrast to the rest of the world.

Within one the major cities situated to the south of its capital was the Great Gorge province ruled by the Qiubai family.

The Qiubai family had assisted the king to rule this land for over half a millennium(basically 500+ years) and their background was deeply rooted.

However, even their accumulation of more than half a millennium could not stop their decline and the ravages of time.

Many forces eyeing the Qiubai family's position were gleeful and sent their blessings to the Qiubai family urging them to have more children.

Normally this would be a joyful occasion, however now it was like putting salt on their wounds.

Precisely because the Qiubai family decline accelerated with the birth of their young master eighteen years ago.

In this world where supernatural forces run amok, strength was paramount in order for the Qiubai family to secure their position.

As such, each successor was required to possess extraordinary talents for using magic.

Magic…it was a special force in the Mortal Realm that magic casters can learn to wield in order to achieve superhuman feats.

Generally, children of powerful magic casters had a more significant chance to inherit talents.

However, exceptions do happen. And the young master of the Qiubai family was such an exception.

Countless financial resources were poured into his magic casting career but to no avail.

No matter how much water you pour into a leaking bucket, the bucket will never be full.

This put the Qiubai family into a dilemma. Because their family rules only allowed the head to have one child to prevent future infighting.

Although this rule limited the potential growth of the family, it was safe to say that partially because of this rule, the family was quite united. Brother and sister slayers that were common in the noble circle did not appear. (Yes, there are also uncle, aunts, niece, nephew, parent, etc slayers. But we will save those for later <3)

But grace will eventually wear out. That day, on the beginning of the 527th year of the Sky Calendar, the head of the Qiubai family made a decision that went against their ancestors.

He decided to abandon the old and create a new account. ( •ॢ◡-ॢ)

…..

Kongwu Kingdom Capital.

Vestiges Of Truth Academy.

The Vestiges of Truth Academy was an institute of higher learning that gathered many of the world's talents in the field of magic casting. Most aspects relating to magic could be found at this academy.

This academy was a behemoth rolling out various technologies that benefitted the development of magic casters. Its importance was evident that even the royal family who governed the Kongwu Kingdom sent their successors here.

Their instructors were all magic caster very accomplished in a certain field. It was even rumored that there were as many as eight arch casters residing there!

From apprentice caster, senior castor, grand caster, and finally archcaster. They were the pinnacles in the field of magic casting and with a wave of their hands a mountain would crumble.

Literally humanoid walking modern nuclear bombs. ( ⁰д⁰)

Fortunately, they were usually reclusive trying to break through and touch the illusory realm of gods.

And in a remote corner to the north of the academy near a small patch of woods was an area inconsistent with the architecture in the rest of the academy.

The academy was built in a circular fashion divided into four quadrants. It was surrounded by high walls inscribed with complex patterns that appeared to be child graffiti at first sight.

But those truly experienced knew at a glance not to mess with the wall. Even children, drunkards, and animals knew this wall wasn't something they could casually pee at. (:3)

The buildings inside the wall seemed straight out of science fiction and the style was inconsistent with the rest of the world.

Levitating buildings, high rise towers, marble bricks, crystal pillars, and mystical blue lines running across buildings like veins. Blue arteries constantly flickering and setting off a brilliant light work.

The space within the walls was an independent world!

It was rumored that this spectacle was the joint efforts of several arch casters creating a world within the walls. As such it was difficult for enemies to invade and could save plenty of territory. (like a storage ring or inventory)

Enemies attempting to peek from outside the walls would only see loneliness within a mist. The real academy was located inside, created from folding space causing the inside area to be many times larger than can be perceived from outside.

But within such a wondrous creation of magic was a wooden hut in a remote corner of the academy.

Such a style was seriously inconsistent with the academy style and one could even say that it tarnished the overall appearance. (Maybe the landlords were bribed?)

Next to the wooden hut was a young man sitting in a rocking chair leisurely basking in the evening sun.

The setting sun left an orange tinge on his gentle face. Despite the soft grin on his face, it couldn't dispel the overall gloomy atmosphere he admitted.

Long raven black hair, lanky body, and the emotionless eyes hidden behind his long hair all accentuated his atmosphere.

This lifelessness still didn't stop the tenderness emanating from his beaming grin like two contrasting feelings of sorrow and relief.

(Maybe the young man just released a shot of magical powers and had a refreshing intracranial orgrasm? Jk…) ¯\_( ' ' )_/¯

His demeanor deviated from the image of a vigorous young man should have. It was like an elder going into retirement! (:3)

This "retired" young man was Qiubai Balin and he was precisely the reason for the accelerated decline of the Qiubai family. (In this world full of nobles, the family name is given first.)

_______________

(For reference: Handsome and beautiful book friends, here's the research. Enjoy! So far into 2023, the greatest explosion recorded so far in the cosmic universe is named AT2021lwx. It was a continuous explosion lasting for more than three years and was 10 times brighter than any supernova! The most accepted cause was a group of stellar gasses or dust clouds being disturbed by gravitational forces. The occurrence in this novel has a similar setting. A nebula (giant dust cloud/gas) exploding.)