Chapter 1 : The journey begins..

In a pocket dimension belonging to a legendary warrior,
A little boy called Ao was born, grew up and was raised by the inhabitants of this small place,
His master and his many servants
In this dimension, a great temple was built, in memory of a deity in whom the inhabitants have faith, and an enormous library in the basement, containing a vast quantity of books, films and other knowledge from the ancient world.
Today, 11-year-old Ao is enthusiastically preparing for his journey.

Aaaarghhh.. I'm in so much pain ! My master's training is extremely brutal recently
He must be preparing me for the world below !
I can't wait for the journey to begin, I'm sick of living in this temple!
It's cold, the people are unbearable and always think they're better than everything else, we eat the same food every day, and between the training sessions, the exams where I nearly die, the endless revision sessions on the ancient world, star magic, self-control and all the rest...
I WANT TO LEAVE! AAAAAAAAH

Domestic: Knock on the door ‘Ao! Wake up, your master is waiting for you!’
Ao (Child) : ‘I'm coming !’

I can't wait to get out of this damn temple !
Ao gets up from his bed and prepares himself by putting on his training clothes, which consist of a simple brown haori and trousers.
He opens the door to his room and descends the stairs to his mezzanine to meet his master at the entrance to the temple.

Brrr.. It's so cold, I'll never get used to it !

Ao sees his master at the entrance to the temple, a tall man dressed in a white cloak falling to the ground with a large hood that hides his face, a long white beard is the only thing he shows.

Master of Ao: ‘Ao, come here!’ Points at his feet
Uuuuh... As friendly as ever, the old man, not even a hello !
Ao (Child): Gets closer to his master ‘Yes master ?’
Master: Slaps Ao in the face ‘Show some respect, Ao’
This old wizard reads in my mind !
Master: Sneers silently ‘Come with me’

Hmm.. We're going to go training again.. I can feel it, he's prepared another sick test for me!
I'm going to come out of this with broken bones all over again!

Ao and his master stop in front of a closed door, which isn't attached to any wall or building, it's just a door that stands on its own in front of them

Master: Stands next to the door and looks at his disciple ‘Listen to me carefully Ao, because once you go through this door, you won't be able to go back’
Ao (Child): ‘Hmm.. Right?’
Master: Sigh ‘I'm serious.’
This is.. weird? It's very rare for my master to speak to me so.. naturally?
Master: ‘Well...’ Deep breath
‘This is the last trial of your training.’
THE LAST?! THAT MEANS THAT AFTER THIS I'LL FINALLY BE ABLE TO GO ON A JOURNEY!
Master: ‘You're going to have to adapt to many situations, fight creatures you don't understand, make trusted allies, and be prepared to act according to your principles and ideals.
Everything you've learned here will stand you in good stead, but you'll need to learn new things to survive once you get there
You're bound to make mistakes, but NEVER let them get you down, do you understand, my boy?’
Puts his hand on Ao's shoulder
Um.. Ao looks at his master with a embarrassed look
Looks around Eh.. Why are the servants here too? Why do some of them look so.. sad?
Master: Taps Ao on the shoulder ‘Well, here's the purpose of this test’
Ao (Child): Turns to his master ‘I'm listening Master!’
Master: ‘You must ░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒ ▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓’
Ao (Child): Confused look ‘Wh.. What?’
Master: ‘Go on, Ao, open the door.. and don't look back.’
I.. didn't really understand the test.. well, here goes!

Ao opens the door and sees nothing beyond, just emptiness.
He takes one last look at his master, then leaps inside the door.
...
...
...
...

I can't see anything.. it's too bright.. or.. too dark ?!
What's going on here ?

Cart driver : ‘OHI KIDDO ! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY !!!’

Woooooow !!

Wait, where the hell am I?! A dirt road, half-destroyed wooden houses around me, people looking at me from all sides, and.. a cart behind me? And horses?! I've never seen any horse in real life! Fascinated look at the horses

Cart driver: ‘GET OUT OF THE ROAD KIDDO!!’
Cart guard: ‘I'll take care of it, sir’

A man with a sword gets out of the cart and walks towards Ao, ready to draw his weapon.

Cart guard: ‘Get out of the road, kid, we've got nothing to give you!!’
Ao (Child): ‘Ah.. Sorry, I was completely fascinated by those horses, I'd never seen one before!!!’
Cart guard: ‘Tss, go away now!’

Ao moves out of the way and shakes his clothes full of dust and dirt
Sigh Well, I'll explore around a bit, I'm sure I'll find some clues somewhere.
But still, it's strange.. It's the first time I've come across people in an ordeal!
Hmm.. Let's see, there are people sitting all over the place on the ground. They look malnourished, others are sleeping... Doesn't it look like a poor village ?
I think I saw it in a book about poor people who live in villages that are cut off from the outside world.
On the other hand, the trial area is.. gigantic, isn't it?
I try to find an exit on the horizon, but...I just see mountains and a forest in the distance

A little girl with long black hair and a torn, blood-stained dress approaches and begs
Little girl: ‘Please.. help.’ Starts to cry
Ao (Child): ‘What's wrong ?’ Compassionate look
Little girl: ‘I.. bad guys.. they want to kill me!!’ crying
Ao (Child): ‘Ooooh.. Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you!’
Little girl: ‘Really?’
Ao (Child): ‘Yes, I promise!’ Smiles
Little girl: Throws herself into Ao's arms ‘Thank you!’
Ao (Child): ‘What's your name, little one?’
Little girl: ‘Miki’
Ao (Child): ‘Nice to meet you Miki, I'm Ao! Follow me, I'll take you to safety’

This poor little girl looks completely lost.. not so different from me, hehe
I'm going to go in a building with her. She's probably hungry
Huh? Looks at the sign of a dilapidated building A saloon? That's what you see in westerns!
Anyway, I don't really know where to take her
They'll probably have something to eat for her, and some information for me

Ao and the little girl head into the saloon, and see lots of people inside, getting drunk
He directs the little girl, staying close to her, and tell her to sit down at an empty table

Ao (Child): ‘Sit here, I'm going to see the saloon manager’
Miki: Stomach growling ‘Hmm.’ Embarrassed and blushing

Just as I thought, she's hungry
I'll see if the manager has enough to feed her.. if not, I could probably go hunting, I saw a green forest not far from here, there must be some wildlife around..

Ao goes over to the main counter and sees a half-drunk waiter waiting him
Ao (Child): ‘Hello, sir! Um.. I'd like to know if you have anything for that little girl over there to eat?’

Manager: ‘Whaaat?..’ Shocked look, then ‘AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA’ Loud laugh
What's he laughing at? Did I say something funny?
Manager: ‘Eeeeh guys! Look at this little guy, he's asking me for something to eat! AHAHAHAHAHAHA’
People inside the saloon: ‘AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA’
Ao (Child): ‘Tss.. What's so funny?!’
Manager: Wipes tears from his eyes ‘Aaaah you're new, right? Uuuuh.. You should get out of this village, kid, you won't find anything resembling food here’

I see.. it's clearly famine here..
Ao (Child) : ‘Heuu.. OK, but I'd like to know where.. ‘Cuts off

The door of the Saloon slams loudly, a group of 5 people dressed in long black ponchos with a gold design embroidered on top arrive aggressively, and shout

???#1: ‘We're looking for a little girl with long black hair! Have any of you seen her?’
???#2: ‘Boss, she's here!’ Points to the little girl sitting on the empty table
The 5 people are getting dangerously close to the little girl, but Ao gets in their way

???#1: ‘Kid? Move over, we've got a job to do’ Gets pushed
Ao (Child): ‘You're not touching that girl!!!’
???#2: ‘Hey, half-pint, don't get cocky with us! Let us pass and everything will be fine for you!!’
Ao (Child): Smile ‘I don't think you understand.. this little girl is under my protection now!’
???#3: ‘What kind of bullshit is that?!’

The man in the poncho #1 holds his men back to avoid escalating the situation
That guy with the red hair.. he's probably their leader, he seems to be giving the orders in this group

???#1 (Leader): ‘Listen to me, kid, I know you're trying to do a good deed, but you're wrong!
This little girl is dangerous and needs to be set free as soon as possible’

Ao (Child): ‘When you say “set free”, you mean to kill, don't you?’ Serious look
???#3: ‘Well done, kid! You're learning fast, keep it up and maybe you'll get to the adults one day!‘

Those bastards.. I won't let them hurt her.. no way!!

Ao gets angry, and releases his aura,
The saloon tables shake, the wood of the building cracks, and a small blue aura surrounds young Ao

Ao (Child): ‘I don't need to talk with you any more than this, GET OUT NOW!!!’
A shockwave emerges around Ao, pushing the men in the black ponchos back and getting into a fighting stance

???#4: ‘You wanna play warrior, kid?! Take that!!’ Runs at Ao

Ao quickly dodges ???#4, and gives him a huge flying kick in the face and go through the wall of the saloon
The people inside start to get scared and run away from the scene towards the counter

???#3: ‘YOU LITTLE..’ Prepares to throw a punch at Ao
Ao takes his punch with his arm, and throws a right punch that sends him flying out of the Saloon

???#2 : ‘SHIT, YOU'RE ALL USELESS OR WHAT ?!’
???#1 : ‘Don't move’
Is that it? They've got it?

???#1 waves his hand and casts a spell
???#1: ‘Kōsoku’
A submission spell! But it won't work the way you want!
Ao (Child): Dodges quickly and puts his hand on ???#1 ‘Shōkyaku’

Kōsoku is supposed to immobilize a person without much mastery of star power for a few seconds, but Ao foiled it by using the Shōkyaku technique
This technique applies a more or less violent immolation to the opponent who is hit directly
???#1's poncho starts to catch fire, which he throws straight into the side of the Saloon
???#1 moves into a fighting stance and prepares to fight Ao

Ao (Child): ‘Bring it on, old man!!’
???#1: ‘Enhance: Full body’

Enhance: Full body is a technique that allows a large amount of star power to flow through the user's body
???#1 and Ao engage in martial arts combat, the two are fighting as equals and inflict wounds on each other
The black poncho on fire starts a fire in the Saloon, but the two continue to fight regardless, paying no attention to the situation they're in

Damn! The old man can fight, no doubt about it!

Thoughts of ???#1
Damn! That kid can fight, no doubt about it!

???#1: Waves his hand ‘STOP!’
Ao: Stops in front of him, still on guard ‘What? You admit defeat?!’
???#1: ‘Kid. You have to understand that this little girl can't be saved!’
Ao: ‘Stop lying, it's not working on me!’
???#1: ‘SHE KILLED HER PARENTS!!’
What.. No.. It's not possible, that poor little girl would never do such a thing, would she?
Turns to the little girl, and..

...
...
...
What the.. Completely shocked and frightened look
Miki: Growls and devours
Wha.. What the.. Breathes heavily Blood?!.. everywhere.. She's eating.. the people in the Saloon?!

A horrible scene takes place in front of Ao and the 3 people behind him, the little girl is like possessed, a black aura surrounds her, black pointed nails have grown on her, and are tearing the flesh of the people who had taken refuge at the counter to eat them

???#1: ‘Kid, back off!!’
Ao: Closes in on Miki ‘Miki.. What's wrong with you?!’
Miki : Turns towards Ao, his mouth is dripping blood, his face is full of black veins and his eyes are completely black
What the.. Sees Miki's changed face
???#1: ‘KID!!’
Miki: Jumps towards Ao and tackles him to the ground and screams ‘GUUEUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAHH!!!’
Ao (Child): Holds her back as best he can ‘CALM DOWN MIKI!! PLEASE CALM DOWN!!’

Ao starts to get scratched, and the little girl is about to bite him, when suddenly..
SLASH
A sound of severed flesh is heard throughout the Saloon

???#1: ‘Sorry, kid. But it's the only way’
???#1 pulled a katana from his belt, and cut the little girl's head off, blood streaming down Ao's face, completely shocked by the scene

I.. I want to.. I want to go home.. Master.. Call me back, CALL ME BACK!

Ao (Child): Yells and cries ‘CALL ME BACK, MASTER!!!’
???#1: Sheds the body of Ao's little girl and takes him in his arms ‘Breathe Kid.. It's alright!!’

I don't understand, why.. WHY DOESN'T MASTER CALL ME BACK!

Ao remembers
Why.. was the master sad?!.. and the servants too?!.. What does that mean?
Ao stops remembering

Ao (Child): Breath heavily ‘Where.. where am I?’
???#1 : ‘Huh? Listen kid, we'll take care of you, don't worry’
Ao (Child): Breathes hard and shouts ‘ANSWER ME!!’
???#1 : ‘You.. You're in a village on the outskirts of Ilenkrad, this region is completely torn apart by famine and the dark energy is starting to contaminate everyone here!’

Ilenkrad..? Dark energy ?..
...
No.. don't tell me I'm.. in the world below?!

Ao is breathing harder and harder and is having a panic attack, the people in the black ponchos are getting closer to him and are trying to help him as best as they can
His vision blurred.. and he understood why his master had told him the purpose of the test in such an incomprehensible way..
Ao.. must prove himself worthy.. by surviving on planet Earth, in the continent of the Pendragon Kingdoms
And above all.. he must discover the truth.. the truth about this world, and its destiny