Episode1：THE GOD

【Masomra, The Kingdom of Prerahar, June 5, E.C.1657】

“Hey, Quon. Do you think The God really exists?”

A mature man with a stubble beard, rum in one hand and a flushed face in the other, mutters to himself, I'm not sure if this is a question, or just a soliloquy. Perhaps it was a play on words, a play on the power of alcohol, and he was not waiting for an answer.

The 16-year-old boy called "Quon" has a puzzled look on his face. His black hair is slightly shaken by the night wind blowing in, and his face, which could be considered either neat or lovely, is shattered.

He spins words that are not quite coherent while drinking water, wondering what he is suddenly going to say.

“What is it, suddenly? But what about ......? The name is often mentioned in myths and scriptures, but whether it is real or not is still up to the interpretation of the individual”

The myths and scriptures referred to here are the so-called Prelaharic mythology. The stories of The Gods, The Sons of Gods, and The Humans, known today as Prelaharic mythology, have been handed down orally or in written form since the outset period, long before the establishment of the kingdom.

“Maybe. The God is a kind of substitute for responsibility created by human beings. If the result is good, it is thanks to The God, and if the result is bad, it is The God's fault. If not, we can't live without it”

But," he said, putting his drink on the table.

“To create something, you need a suitable trigger. In other words, in order to create The God, one must have seen or experienced something that is worthy of it. If that is the case, it may not be a lie that there are The Angels and The Devils”

Quon looks at him with a cold gaze. Is it contempt or mere dismay? He sighs, thinking that it is probably the latter.

“...... Master, you are unusually drunk”

“Maybe”

The man again sips his drink while letting loose a hearty laugh. The conversation is unconnected, the arguments meaningless. The incomplete conversation, in which the heads and tails of the words are not continuous, is the best proof that he is not a straight man.

Was his flushed face caused by intoxication or by the light of the candle? Quon, who is not in the habit of drinking, could not tell.

Quon, sighing inwardly, changes the subject.

“By the way, you are going to the capital tomorrow morning, right? Is it safe to drink that much?”

“Hmph, don't worry. If you want, you can go instead of me, Quon.”

“What⁉ Me? You're so sudden again ......”

Quon looks at the workshop attached to the side of the building. Various types of weapons and armor, both finished and unfinished, were lined up there.

As if caught by Quon's gaze, the man also looked at him and let out a small breath.

“You're already 16......?　It's time for you to get ready to be on your own. If you are held in a cradle forever, your growth will be at a standstill. Change the environment as they grow. Isn't that the basic principle of child-rearing? I'm staying here, so I've left you in charge of tomorrow. Think of it as your first errand, and take it easy”

After saying this, he downed the rest of his drink in one gulp and plopped down on the spot to fall asleep.

Sitting there in a daze, Quon could only stare at his master, who was asleep on the other side of him. In the faintly flickering candlelight, only the man's snoring echoes in the room.

Quon, unable to back down, gently drapes a blanket over his back, saying in a muffled voice, "Yes. Then, holding a tabletop candle, he returns to his own bedroom.

The next day, Quon finished his morning preparations and went outside. There, a carriage full of luggage was already ready. Quon approached it at a brisk pace and sat down on the driver's stand. Looking back at the cart, he saw that it was filled with various weapons and armor made by his master. Among them were several items created by Quon, but he himself knew that there was a distinct difference between them and those of his master.

These items were given to a vendor in the capital, who then supplied them to soldiers stationed in the capital.

The expansion of the sphere of human life that accompanied the development of civilization gave people further development and leaps forward. At the same time, however, it was also the beginning of an offensive against the threats of the natural world. These weapons and armor were created to protect the people from the onslaught of the natural world, namely disasters and ferocious beasts.

“Well then, Quon, you can take care of the rest as you see fit. I'm sending a message to the other side, so they'll be able to manage without me”

The master, sober from his deep intoxication, struggles with headache and nausea from the hangover, but still smiles as he sees Quon off. The growth of his both apprentice and adopted son must be akin to a father watching over his own son's growth.

“Yes, I'll be there. I'm off”

Quon hits the reins, and the horse slowly paces. As the wheels turn, the rough road is trampled, and Quon's body shakes up and down with each step. Quon looks back and sees that the shaking is as bad as ever. The master was already gone, and the house where they lived together became smaller and smaller, and soon disappeared into the distance. Quon watched the house disappear into the distance, then turned his head in the direction he was going and let out a breath.

“Okay, let's go for it!”

Quon, who has tightened his grip on the mind by saying out loud, never spins around, but keeps his cool and holds the reins. This was the first time he had been given a one-man job. Even though it was just an errand boy, Quon was determined to complete the job to the last detail.

【A Certain Time, A Certain Place】

The space is enveloped in a blue-green glow, with billions of stars shining through the evening darkness. The stars spread out in front of, behind, to the left, and to the right, as well as up and down, in other words, surrounding a three-dimensional space, causing those present to lose their sense of equilibrium.

It is a place of exile, isolated from the habitat of life, called The Azure Sky. A space where no human, beast, insect, microbe, The Angel, The Devil, or The God exists. There are only microscopic atoms that exist only to construct the space. Even that is a very small amount compared to the "The World. Even if all of them were gathered together, there is only a quantity that would not even be enough to construct a single winged insect.

In such a space of nothingness, a girl floats. Her black hair, with accents of azure deeper than the deepest ocean, reaches to her shoulders. Her eyes, as big as a cat's, hang up slightly, and her ocean-blue eyes shine sharply like a snake's, making her both lovable and brave. Her black attire, along with the coat she wears on her shoulders, wraps her in a dignified manner. Her snow-colored thighs peeking out from between the hem of her skirt and her boots are brighter than the stars in the sky.

She exists in a place that doesn't exist, and she floats there, looking around aimlessly.

“As I thought, you were not even in this "The World" ....... But only 10,000 years have passed since then. Is it still too early ......?”

At the end of countless "The Worlds" floating like stars in the sky, the girl perceives something. She focuses all her attention on it, and her blue eyes glow gold as she clearly recognizes what it is.

She is convinced that this is exactly what he has been chasing for 10,000 years.

“I didn't expect to see you again so soon. And in this direction ......, "dark under the lamp" seems to be a very apt phrase”

Well," the girl exhales. Her coat and skirt sway in the windless space. A glimpse of her legs, in a sensational snow-colored color, fascinates the empty space.

“It's the first time in 10,000 years that I've been return back. Let me have my fun!”