There was silence.
There was wind.
There was vastness.
There was water— Yeah, water.
Nothing but water.
Drake opened his eyes.
It was fully dark, just like his hair.
There were five young boys with him. They weren't very muscular, but also not so lean. They sat in a semicircle in crouched positions, all with shining white hair and eyes.
They had external wounds with blood.
Drake felt an itchy sensation in his eyes.
He couldn't see through his left one.
Blood was flowing out of it.
Suddenly, a sound echoed in their ears.
"How long are you guys going to sit there, weeping over fighting a Ravager? When are you going to grow up?"
That was Captain Waltz.
He was a man in his late forties with shining white hair and eyes. He wore full closed light clothing—not fabric, but a material known to this world, perfect for a high-ranking officer in the Warcrier.
A clumsy hat sat sideways on his head.
He was in charge of this Cradle, where young men went to hunt whales to become Warcriers.
These whales were monstrous creatures that populated these worlds, and the tribe that inhabited this world was called the Crier Tribe.
As Drake recalled his thoughts, the guy in the middle slowly woke up.
His name was Evan.
As he stood straight, the area widened.
They were traveling on a big sea animal.
It didn't have scales. It looked like a snake but had almost six limbs and fins to travel in water.
It was a Ripple, a creature bonded to the Crier Tribe and used to carry them.
This Cradle was their tradition.
A place for young guys to experience real-life battles.
The five young men had been shaken to their bones on their first hunt.
With a troubled expression, Evan asked,
"Sir, why didn't he help us? If he's coming with us, does seeing young ones suffer make him happy?"
Waltz was silent for a moment.
Then he asked,
"Why did you come here, kids?"
His voice became sharper.
"Just to cry and weep over fighting a Ravager?"
"Has the fear gotten to your heads so badly that you even complain about him not joining the battle?"
"You even dare accuse him of enjoying your suffering?"
Evan replied,
"Sir, now that we let go of the Ravager, there's no meat. No food for us."
"We didn't perform well in the Cradle."
"If we went back like this, wouldn't the Queen be angry with us?"
"Why do you think he didn't do anything?" Waltz asked.
"It's to test what you young ones are capable of."
"Just because today's hunt didn't go your way doesn't mean you failed."
"Not many perform well."
"Only a handful shine here."
He stopped for a moment and looked at Drake.
"And about the food?"
"You don't need to worry."
As his view widened a little more, there was almost a troop of Ripples.
Ten--Five--Three--Two--One.
They were pulling a great sea creature.
Its size was easily larger than one or two kilometers.
Its lower jaw had been completely cut off.
Its body had no fins or limbs.
Just a body.
There seemed to be a hole near its tail, with standing scales where its heart must have been.
There was a man in his thirties sitting on top of it with a katana on his back.
Its sheath was black with golden lining.
The guard was gold.
The handle was fully black.
A small string of thick golden cloth wiggled in the air.
He rested one foot forward and leaned slightly on it.
Grey hair.
Grey eyes.
A large scar ran from his face, cutting through his left eye and reaching the middle of his torso.
He wore no cloth on his upper body.
Only a black tunic with golden lines.
He didn't seem like he'd used any effort to fight that thing.
It was as if he was a disaster that had befallen the whale creature.
Hot steam rose from his body.
A nonchalant look rested on his face.
"Wait... wait, sir!"
Evan pointed.
"Is that a Cleaver?"
"Can someone damage a Cleaver like that without getting hurt?"
"And he doesn't have any blood on him!"
"How did he do it, sir?"
There was a little giggling sound.
"The world is vast kid there are many inexplainable powers and people."
"But you know he's a Creator, right?"
"So he created some sound, waved his hand, and that enormous thing was like that the next second."
Then, a drop of blood spilled from his eye.
It was Drake.
He was thinking about the Commander sitting on the Cleaver.
He's one of the chosen ones, right?
He gritted his teeth.
Why can't I perform well in battle?
If I was a little more powerful...
If I too was a chosen one...
I'd be able to kill those wretched whales.
Drake's eyes started to heal.
Everyone sat at ease.
Evan was lost in thought.
"How could he be this powerful?"
Then the guy sitting next to him, with a calm look on his face, spoke.
It was Phil.
"Come on, Evan."
"You know who it is, right?"
"It's the God Killer—Levize."
"Yeah, I heard about him in the Trial of Body, but it can't be to this level, right?"
There was some silence.
These kids were tired and bleeding in various places on their bodies.
Captain Waltz spoke, noticing the boys' faces.
"Don't frown too much, kids."
"And don't ever compare yourselves to him."
"You guys completed only the Trial of Body, right?"
"You'll learn more about him in the Trial of Mind."
"He is a Creator, which only a handful of people can attain."
Phil asked,
"Right, we know he's a Creator."
"But the title God Killer..."
"How could someone attain that?"
"You guys are a really motivated bunch, huh?"
"Okay."
"It's time for a small lesson."
As Captain Waltz said those words, the five kids, who had been weeping and cowering, turned their full attention to him.
A small smile appeared on his face.
Maybe at least a small number of kids take this peaceful world as a challenge.
Because there's no way a lot of people are going to complete the Trial of Truth.
So they wouldn't know how cruel the peace we're living in now truly is.
He pointed toward Levize.
"You see his katana there?"
"It's a God-Etched Weapon."
"Now time for a question."
"How many God-Etched Weapons are known to our kind?"
Everyone looked confused.
With a bit of hesitation, Drake answered,
"Six."
The other four immediately turned toward him.
Even Captain Waltz looked surprised.
Then he laughed.
"Kid, you're something!"
"How did you know about it?"
"Even if you finished the Trial of Body, there's no way you could know this."
Drake remained silent for a moment.
Then he said,
"I attempted to clear the Trial of Mind."
The surprise on the others' faces turned into incomprehensible shock.
Evan and Phil stared at him.
The other two were twins.
Jike and Pike.
They were mostly identical.
Those two might have passed out already if not for the continued healing stimulation in their bodies.
Captain Waltz nodded.
"Well, well..."
"Guess you know your stuff, huh?"
"Good."
"And coming to the question, he's right."
"There are six God-Etched Weapons available in eternity."
"In our world, there is only one."
"And that one is possessed by Levize."
He stopped for a moment.
Then asked another question.
"How does one come into possession of a God-Etched Weapon?"
"There's only one way to obtain it."
"Any ideas?"
The other four turned toward Drake in perfect sync.
Drake sat at the corner of the group with an annoyed expression.
"What?"
"I didn't clear the second trial or something."
"There are a lot of things I don't know."
The others turned back toward the captain.
Captain Waltz chuckled.
"Well, there's no way you can know all of that."
"You know, being aware of the existence of such a thing is in and of itself an achievement."
"And don't ever disclose this information to anyone."
"Knowing more than what you need to know is not good for marching forward in life."
"So you should learn the details by properly attending the trials."
"Even I have things to learn by completing the third trial."
"Don't go around spilling this information easily."
"And it might not be easy for you to hear it."
"You could pass out before hearing it."
"Or you'll forget it once we get near the tribe."
Suddenly, everyone tensed.
Their bodies stiffened with determination.
Captain Waltz opened his mouth.
The surroundings became foggy.
Unclear.
The twins passed out immediately.
Even Phil, who usually wore a composed face, struggled to remain conscious.
Only Evan and Drake could barely hear what the captain was saying.
"The only way..."
"...you could obtain a God-Etched Weapon..."
"...is only by..."
"...ki...""...ll...""...ing...""...the...""...Ancient...""...One..."
Evan coughed up blood.
He couldn't endure the words.
Phil and the twins were already unconscious.
But Drake was still barely aware.
Ancient One... Ancient One?
Wait... An Ancient One?
Everything started coming together.
A troubled grin appeared on Drake's face.
He looked toward Levize.
"That crazy guy... That man..."
"He is the one who killed the god of this world."
"So his title isn't just because he's strong."
"He... He actually killed a god."
"The Ancient One of this world!"
Immediately afterward, Drake lost consciousness.
Just like the others.
Captain Waltz looked at the unconscious boys.
I need to control my actions now.
I need to explain this to the Queen.
The mere thought of explaining himself to the Queen made him tremble.
"Ahh..."
"She's the Queen after all."
Then suddenly...
He felt a gaze.
Deep.
Heavy.
Unbearable.
It came from the Cleaver.
There was no bloodlust, Only dissatisfaction.
A deep emotion directed toward him.
Waltz immediately knew who it was.
He might have found out that I disclosed sensitive information to the kids.
That gaze alone almost made me pass out.
I am a Writer.
Even though he is only one class higher than me, he is so vast.
To simply put him into class and division feels wrong.
Waltz slowly turned his head.
Grey hair flowed in the water.
Reaching almost to the man's shoulders.
Levize looked ahead.
Then he spoke casually.
"He never learns, does he?"
"When will we arrive at the tribe?"
As they traveled, a small island appeared in the vast sea of this world.
A world where there was no land to come across.
The island was only about twenty kilometers in diameter.
Circular in shape.
The nearer they got to the island, the more luminous the sea became.
Suddenly, the Ripples that had been moving above the surface dove downward.
Yet Captain Waltz and the others were completely fine after entering the water.
The kids were still passed out.
Blue luminous light slowly began to take shape around them.
It looked like a tree.
A tree underwater.
The small island on the surface seemed to act as its foundation.
The tree was vast.
Colorful.
Almost endless.
Nowhere could its top be seen.
It was as if the world itself had been inverted.
The endless sky seemed limited.
The bottom of the sea seemed truly infinite.
After traveling some distance, they encountered a number of guards.
They were in charge of allowing people into the tribe.
After processing Captain Waltz's identity and completing a few procedures, they allowed them to enter the tribe's nest.
At this point, the tree's beauty became even clearer.
Small treehouses were scattered here and there.
Large monumental buildings stood among the branches.
There were shops.
Restaurants.
Training grounds.
Everything needed for normal life.
Evan slowly opened his eyes.
Keeping one hand on his head, he groaned.
"Ahh..."
"Did we make it?"
"Aren't we fighting something?"
"Where are we?"
The others were already awake.
They stared at him with dumbfounded expressions.
None of them seemed to remember what they had heard from Captain Waltz.
The tribe's people looked toward the returning kids.
Their expressions were filled with pride.
The boys couldn't understand why.
They hadn't even killed anything.
"Why do they look so happy?"
Evan scratched his head.
"We didn't do shit."
Drake, who seemed calm as usual, answered.
"Even if we didn't kill it, we fought a Ravager."
The others turned toward him.
"There's no hope of fighting a Ravager without being a Reader."
"We're just Listeners."
"We went to the Cradle and fought a grown Ravager."
"It's a feat that's never happened in the history of our tribe."
He paused briefly.
"Well, there are those chosen ones."
"But we're just normal kids."
"And our weapons are only Man-Etched."
"So it's quite a great achievement."
Evan immediately puffed out his chest.
His face turned slightly red.
Like a real kid receiving praise.
The others couldn't help but smile.
The village felt peaceful, Warm.
The people welcomed the boys kindly.
Phil glanced toward Drake.
"You know a lot, don't you?"
Drake raised an eyebrow.
Phil continued.
"It's not like you're a Reader."
"And you didn't complete the second trial."
"So how do you know more than us?"
He looked ahead while speaking.
"I don't clearly remember everything we discussed on the way back."
"But I get glimpses."
"Glimpses of you talking about things we don't know."
"It's like my memories become hazy whenever those moments appear."
Phil narrowed his eyes.
"How could you know that information?"
He studied Drake carefully.
"Your hair color is rare too."
"Black."
"Most kids don't even know that color exists."
The others slowly became interested.
Even Evan stopped acting proud.
Phil finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"So... Who are you?"
Silence.
The noise of the tribe faded into the background.
Drake looked at Phil.
Then at the others.
The question lingered in the air.
For a moment, nobody spoke.