The endless city that covered the horizon was now engulfed in smoke. It was impossible to see beyond a few buildings. The clouds were gone. Flames rained down on the city. Mighty figures flew and crashed in the sky. Buildings collapsed, people died. Screams were heard all around. It was a terrible catastrophe that had engulfed the capital of Jadeweb. With each shaking of the barrier, more buildings in the city were destroyed. Blood flowed and people drowned. More and more people died.
In the sky, mighty figures of the Tao spoke their power, while on the ground, weaker figures fought their opponents by forming armies or taking forbidden pills. Today, many people sacrificed themselves. Many cultivators had reached the end of their journey.
A pirate clapped his hands, and the sound waves destroyed hundreds of buildings in the city. Then a spear in the sky turned into a bolt of lightning and sliced the pirate in two. Before the spear could turn back, a golden glow enveloped the lightning spear. A figure hiding beneath the ground reached up to the sky and secretly moved his hands and arms to make the spear disappear.
Shhhh!!!
At that moment, he felt a sudden pain in his shoulder. A heat hit his face. He turned his head in the dirt and saw his shoulder. His right shoulder was split in half.
On the battlefield, everyone was killing each other. No one was anyone's enemy. Everyone was everyone else's enemy. Interests dictated the direction of the troops. It was not even clear who was a friend. The true nature of countless people was revealed. Meanwhile, a white-haired man dressed in black robes emerged from the earth. He had no beard. In his hand was a two-metre sword. His green eyes reflected power. He radiated a power that could turn a building to dust with a touch. His forehead was furrowed. But you could see a little worry in it. His aura had shaken countless auras in the city, sowing seeds of fear. In his heart he carried a seed of the vastness.
A sword that could never be stopped.
He was the strongest of the strong. His sword could split an entire planet in two. He was vast and powerful. He was strong, but he knew that in this war, strength could be meaningless. Numbers could trump strength. And more importantly, this was not his war. But they could be connected. Through one person.
"Where are you, Lagos?"
***
The barbarians in the westernmost part of the city, the poor and the power-hungry, revolted with the pirates. They wanted power and wealth. Some wanted women. Others wanted men. They wanted more things. In short, they wanted more freedom. Other people's freedom...
Meanwhile, between the two collapsed buildings sat a little boy, a little child, our Prince in red robes. He was crying with his head on his knees, while outside there was chaos and the hunt. He didn't know what to do. He was alone. He was trapped in a war for a small and weak boy who had always had someone by his side. Would he go out and fight and escape the city? We knew, and he knew, that he could not.
This little baby, who had turned the Treasure Palace into a ring and was trembling beneath the building, had very few options. Options that were no less frightening. Dangerous options. What had just happened frightened him. How was it possible for him to stand upright? In a world of power, he was weak. Wherever he went, he was in danger. Our little genius knew his weaknesses. He was small and weak. He was a target. The existence of the Treasure Palace made him a target. What if someone found out? He was already alone, and now he was too insecure to ask anyone for help.
A soft breeze in his face? A simple light? A small pebble? They were all deadly to him. Couldn't someone kill him even if he walked down the street? He was the weakest person in this town.
"Mais? You're there, aren't you?"
Mais heard a familiar voice. It was the shrill voice of the friend he had parted with in the palace, a voice that was thick at times. But at this moment he was very calm and had not suffered any voice distortion. He was very quiet and relaxed. It was a rather unreasonable tone in the midst of the chaos. Although this seemed strange to Mais, he trusted him. He stuck his head out and walked out of the buildings. That's when he saw his best friend. Lagos was helping him.
Lagos' black robe was stained with blood. The sword in his right hand was covered in blood. His robe was torn across his chest. There was blood on his neck, but it was clearly not his own.
On the way here, Lagos had lost his innocence. Or so it seemed. There was a slight change in his gaze. Mais found it surprising that a person could change so little after killing someone. But inwardly he admitted that even this slight change in Lagos frightened him.
A dangerous feeling had sent shivers down his spine.
For no reason.
He was scared.
Mais felt his aura. His aura, which he had always suppressed, now glowed with a terrifying intensity. He would reach the realm of Ascension he had always dreamed of, but only as a young man. Mais, on the other hand, was unlikely to reach those heights in his lifetime. Not even after hundreds of years. He probably wouldn't live that long. This person, worlds above him, reminded him of what talent and power meant. Just by standing in front of him.
He looked at his blood. Was this red stuff the source of a man's life? No, Mais could sense that there was something more important than that. He felt the presence of something he was not far from touching, but he was afraid to acknowledge it, afraid to approach it. He lifted his head.
"What is it?"
Mais asked, looking into Lagos' eyes, surprising even himself. There was neither coldness nor joy in his face. He was tired. But he was still alert. He saw the hostile expression that Lagos could only have towards his enemies. This dangerous feeling he had was not because of Lagos' experience or strength.
Something was wrong. Something was wrong with Lagos.
"I asked you if you had a dream. You said you wanted to live. I have a dream too."
It was then that Mais realised how quiet their surroundings were. All the chaos was just sounds in the distance. Their surroundings were empty. At least this little neighbourhood they were in.
The sharpness in Lagos' eyes increased. His aura grew stronger.
"Then I didn't tell you. No, actually, I feel I've never been honest with you in these few years of our friendship. But I'll leave you in the dark about my direction and my dream. I'll just tell you why I did what I did.
Mais looked Lagos in the eye and put a hand behind his back. He reached for his staff. Even though he was weak, he would not give up without a fight. He reached for his staff because he believed he would fight. He really didn't look like the friend of a few years ago.
He didn't know why Lagos had said those words. Was it to prove that he was not a copy or a foreign cultivator who had become an imitation? Was he giving him proof by repeating what he had said earlier? And why?!
He bathed in the same bath with him. He attended the same classes, had fun, laughed and cried. He was only 8 years old, but Lagos was the only one who was kind to an incompetent prince. He was his friend. He was his buddy.
He was more his brother than his brothers.
He looked into Lagos' eyes. He could see nothing in those eyes, but he saw a smile on Lagos's face. He did not know what it meant.
"I stand before you now with my sword because I have a dream. A dream against your dream of life. Now I have my sword in my hand and with it I will cut your dream. Forgive me, Mais. For my dream to come true, your dream must be destroyed."