World of Time

The kingdom 'Límíng' fell into chaos as the sky turned dark and ominous, with mountains crumbling and stars falling. People screamed in terror as ghostly figures floated aimlessly in the moonlight. Límíng Kingdom was shrouded in dense fog, making it impossible to see what was happening. In the midst of all this chaos, an unknown cultivator emerged, brandishing a bright silver sword. He danced gracefully in the moonlight, cutting down several ghosts with each swing of his sword. The lowly merchants cheered for him, amazed at his skill. 

Even the strongest cultivator couldn't defeat as many demonic creatures in one swing as this young man did. 

However, there was one problem. The ghosts kept reappearing, no matter how many times he defeated them. The young man refused to back down, fighting tirelessly. Each time he defeated them, they multiplied. It was clear that he couldn't do this alone. One ghost even managed to wound him, causing a small cut on his shoulder. Some merchants below shouted at him to give up, warning that he would get himself killed. 

The young man was determined. He raised his sword high, pointing it straight at the white figures in a threatening manner. They refused to back down, so he held his sword close to his chest, with his index and middle fingers on the blade. A glowing force appeared and he slashed them all in one blow. As the young man caught his breath, he realized that the ghosts were not just any demonic creatures. 

They were the embodiment of fear and despair, and he had just defeated them. The land began to transform, with the fog lifting and the stars shining brighter than ever before. The people who were once screaming in terror now cheered in joy and gratitude. The young man had saved the kingdom, and his bravery and determination had inspired others to stand up and fight against their own fears. From that day on, he became known as "Triumph of the Land" who saved the kingdom from The Darkness.

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The sound of grass swaying, the tides rippling, and crepuscular rays shining the brightest in the Cerulean sky. 

"Luan." 

A man said with his arms behind his back, facing the wall. He has a unique appearance, with white hair that reaches his waist and a slender yet muscular build. Although he appears youthful, there is also a sense of age and wisdom about him. He carried clear, deep, vivid purple eyes. He was dressed in a light blue Robe.

There was a man that stood behind him, "Yes, Grandmaster?" he replied.

The man looked graceful with his dark navy hair cascading past his waist and his amber eyes glistening. He was dressed in a blueish-greenish robe, which added to his overall elegant appearance. 

"Demons have emerged from the "Afterworld realm." Said the Grandmaster.

"Just give me the order and I'll clear them immediately." 

"Luan. I don't want you to do this on your own. I've assisted you with two underlings to help clear this mission."

"I am grateful that the Grandmaster is looking after me, but I don't need any help. I've been living for centuries, I am strong enough to defeat Mid-Rank Monarch's."

The Grandmaster sighed. "Luan, you don't understand. You need to learn to work with groups of people to develop your communication skills. You've been abandoning your position in the palace. Do you know how long it took me to convince you to come back?"

"You sent your disciples to beg for me to come back and help defeat the evil from coming. Obviously I only came back to make sure no evil comes into the palace, not to defeat evil outside the palace."

"When will you ever learn to help the commoners out there? Why don't you do something good for once. When you did back then, when you saved an entire kingdom."

The Grandmaster turned around, glaring at Luan.

Luan's nose was scrunched up, his eyes turned into hatred.

He stayed silent for a second then spoke up, "That was back then, centuries ago."

The Grandmaster opened his mouth ready to talk, but turned around facing the wall again. "One of the four Monarch's has been acting up again. We're keeping a close watch on them-" The Grandmaster was interrupted by Luan, then spoke.

"I thought there were three monarch's, why is it four now?"

"You didn't know?"

"No..." Luan gave the Grandmaster a look.

The Grandmaster took one breath before saying anything, 

"About a century ago, long after you defeated the embodiment of fear and despair, The mountains shook, as if it were angry. People associated with our clan either went missing, or died. It wasn't a spirit or any demonic creature, but it was a single handed man. The man was dressed in midnight blue, wearing a Robe. The man's appearance was somewhat peculiar, as he was wearing a mask on the left side of his face. However, it was the right side that truly caught one's attention. There was a spot that glowed red, bright and intense. Those who resided in the area still recall the terrifying experience of encountering that malevolent eye. The mere sight of it was enough to instill a deep-seated fear in anyone who laid eyes upon it."

"Where is he right now?" Luan asked.

"The Kingdom of the Netherworld is under his rule," replied the Grandmaster.

The look on Luan's face was foolish. He was surprised that he didn't know about this big event of the fourth monarch rising up the ranks. The rumors never did spread to him in all those years of disappearance.

The waves clashed, The sun that was once gleaming, turned into a bleary dim sight. The clouds huddled, the ashen color had taken the sky. Clamoring noises in the distance had been heard. 

The Monster of Arazebeck Showed itself. The golden orange lion hair around the face, the killing eyes were blurry red, the snout was shaped like the Hokkaido wolf, but with sharper and

prodigious teeth. The body was wearing ragged clothes, showing most of its fur. The legs were of those wolves and tigers combined. 

It was holding a hefty silvery sword. It was flawed but still was advanced enough to kill a bounty of men in one raise.

Luan acted swiftly as he reached for his blindfold, wrapping it tightly around his face. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of a sturdy wooden stick and soared into the ashen sky. The closer he got to the village the sounds of shrieking grew louder. 

As soon as he landed on the ground, bloodstains were covering the trees and houses, it seemed to be human blood. Luan walked through the empty streets, the only sounds were the creaking of broken structures and the occasional gust of wind. As he took a step forward, he noticed a small doll lying on the ground, covered in stains. He picked it up and stared at it for a while, dust blew in Luan's way, the immense fog blurred his vision. He dropped the doll that was in his hands, looking in all directions for any mysterious activity. There was nothing he could find. Only dust and fog in his way.

The sound of whisper's came in his way. "The hour has struck," Luan felt shivers down his spine, he didn't dare run away. He walked towards where the voice was coming from. However, the voice kept on whispering the same thing over and over again, "The hour has struck," Following the voice, Luan kept walking until he suddenly stopped. He stood still, As Luan waited for the fog to clear, he almost tripped over, he noticed a stone standing in his path. He bent down to touch the stone to see if there were any clues, he could feel some characters. The stone had ancient inscriptions on it, the language of "Kawtwangian." Luan seemed to know this language.

"It seems that this is the village of Kawtwang." Luan thought. 

The village of Kawtwang;

In 232, a traveler who was blind found solace next to a rock by a river where the gentle sound of the wind and birds chirping made it a peaceful place to spend the night. He then decided to build this land into a small village for travelers. A statue was built but then destroyed mysteriously. Some people thought that it was the wild animals, others thought it got old and collapsed. No one really knows what happened to the statue.

"What a boring history. No wonder no one talks about this place that often, just used for travelers to come and go."

The fog around Luan was denser than before, heavy footsteps were approaching him. Luan squeezed the stick in his hand tightly, but then someone shouted out; "Sir!" Luan looked back to see who was calling him, but he couldn't see anything. He was wearing a blindfold. "Who is it?!" Luan shouted out, he could hear his voice echoing. The heavy footsteps kept on approaching him. He stared at the ancient inscriptions on the stone. 

The inscriptions on the stone said;

"Our memories may become faint, 

but we have the strength to cherish

the ones who truly matter, to 

What the past holds."

Luan looked back, what was in front of him. Golden orange lion hair around the face, the killing eyes were blurry red, the snout was shaped like the Hokkaido wolf, but with sharper and prodigious teeth. The body was wearing ragged clothes, showing most of its fur. The legs were of those wolves and tigers combined. 

It was The Monster of Arazebeck.

Luan couldn't see anything, he wanted to take off the blindfold but he couldn't risk his identity. Especially if there are any villagers watching. 

"What do you want?" Luan said, facing the Monster, his tone was rather disgruntled but also apprehensive.

Usually, regular monsters couldn't talk, but only shriek, and groan. But The Monster of Arazebeck had intelligence. 

Luan grasped the stick firmly in his hand and addressed the creature before him, repeating his question with a sense of urgency and concern, "What do you want?" He was slightly agitated that the monster wasn't answering him, but also he was anxious. "Humans shall perish." the monster proclaimed. Luan fixed a steady gaze upon the creature before him. 

"The people inside the village are innocent" Luan debated. 

"You know nothing of this village! This was their own fault!" The monster bickered. As the monster began to assume an attack position, Luan appeared disinterested and made no attempt to engage in combat. The monster firmly planted its foot on the ground and leaped into the air, brandishing a shining silver sword towards the ash-covered sky. Its aim was to strike Luan with enough force to cleave his body in two. However, Luan didn't dare to move a single muscle. Just as the monster landed, poised to strike Luan, a bright white energy burst forth from the rock. Luan was taken aback as he turned to see a massive clock rising into the air. The clock's steady ticking was audible from a distance, yet it filled him with a sense of calm amidst the chaos. Luan immediately snapped back into reality. 

The sky was aglow with hues of pink, yellow, and blue, as if the colors were in a constant state of flux. Littered all around were shattered clocks, each one still ticking away. Rather than the sun, an enormous clock seemed to hang in the sky, casting its warm glow upon Luan. 

Luan found himself suspended in mid-air with no solid ground beneath him. Despite the peaceful surroundings, he remained on guard, scanning his surroundings with caution. He knew that even amidst the tranquility, danger could be lurking around any corner.

With a sense of wonder, Luan began to walk slowly through the air, removing his blindfold to take in the stunning landscape. In the distance, he spotted two figures standing on a cliff. One was a young boy, while the other seemed to be his mother. 

Both the mother and child were dressed in ragged clothing, their forms appearing slender and malnourished. The mother, in particular, seemed bony and frail, while the young boy appeared fragile and weak. Despite their dire circumstances, they held hands tightly, gazing at a grave in front of them.

As Luan watched, the two figures vanished into thin air. Behind him, a new scene unfolded. He saw a teenage boy, dressed in armor, with his helmet lying on the ground at his feet, slightly askew, with a sword with the design of snowflakes. The boy was surrounded by trees with frozen leaves and snow-covered ground. Luan noticed bits of frost had collected on the boy's forehead, where a mark of frost had been displayed.

Frozen tears dropped down from his face. Luan cautiously approached the scene depicted in the picture. As he drew closer, he could see a hand lying in front of a young boy, its fingers covered in a thin layer of frost. But as he examined the image further, he was met with a chilling sight -  a woman was frozen solid in front of the boy. The icy tendrils seemed to have spread from his fingertips, encasing her in a cocoon of frozen air. Luan couldn't help but wonder what kind of power could cause such a haunting and terrifying situation. He had killed his own mother by the power of his hands.

However, the expression Luan wore was not surprising. He felt some pity for the boy. He tried to caress the boy's shoulder, but as soon as he could the whole scene vanished.

Luan turned his head to retrace his steps and find the scene once more, gingerly stepping over the broken clocks. As he came to a halt, another vision materialized before him. It seemed to depict the same boy he had seen earlier, but this time he was kneeling humbly before someone who appeared to be his master. The boy was now clad in a tattered poncho that looked like it had seen better days. 

The boy knelt before his master, his midnight black hair cascading down his back in a shimmering wave. As the master's hand reached out, it seemed to stretch on forever, casting a dark, demonic spell upon the boy's forehead where the frost mark lay. The air was thick with the heady mix of demonic and frost magic, creating an aura of otherworldly power that seemed to fill the very room. As the spell took hold, the boy's energy surged, making him feel more alive and powerful than ever before. Despite the overwhelming force of the magic, he remained steadfast, his eyes locked onto his master's, ready to do his bidding.

The flickering frame before Luan eventually vanished, leaving behind a powerful aura that filled the air around him. He sensed a presence behind him and turned to see a figure dressed entirely in black. The man's cape was in tatters, and his navy-black hair shimmered in the light. Luan noticed a mark similar to the one on the boy from the frames on the man's forehead. The aura emanating from the man grew stronger by the second, causing Luan to feel a sense of dread as he covered his face with his sleeve to try and block it out. Suddenly, the man vanished in the blink of an eye.

Luan trudged along the pathway, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of the man with the powerful aura. The clocks that surrounded him seemed to be on the verge of shattering, adding to the sense of urgency he felt. It was clear that the man was good at hiding, and Luan realized he was at a disadvantage. He walked for hours, his hair frizzed up and his face slick with sweat. A small bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and fell to the ground as he pressed on. 

He soon found a place to rest. The Castle stood tall and majestic, with a giant clock at the very top that could be seen from afar. Water spouted from the sides of the Castle in a mesmerizing display, cascading down in a graceful dance that sparkled in the sunlight. Surrounding the Castle were trees of various shades of green, with some being Celadon and Vermilion, while others were a hint of Gamboge. The colors blended together to form a vibrant and stunning landscape that was truly breathtaking to behold.