…

In the beginning there was only you,

So you decided to go on to the end,

Till there was nothing left of you.

In the beginning I was alone,

So I went on to the end,

Till there was only I left,

Who am I?

Who are you,

We are [****],

The beginning,

And the end.

…

In a hall about fifty meters in length and breadth were two youngsters moving about rapidly, one of them had lightning flickering around his form with each tensing of his muscles lightning cackled and each fist he threw was accompanied by electricity but the other person looked quite ordinary and very unimposing and despite the difference in appearance none of the former’s attack was able to land as the ordinary looking young man seemed to effortlessly evade and parry each attack.

After several exchanges both came to a halt with the empowered young man barely out of breath while the ordinary one was dripping with sweat and totally out of breath, he had his hand on his knees with his dark hair matted across his face.

“Young master Aldrin is as exceptional as ever, a hundred fists and none was able to land, if only you had a Zen core I wouldn’t be your opponent.” The empowered man who had a brown hair and muscular build said with a flattering smile but the other man frowned slightly instead.

“Indeed if I had a Zen core I’d have killed you for what you just said.” Aldrin replied as he left the training hall for the attached locker room to have a shower and change of clothes.

As water drizzled from the shower head his mind flashed through his life, in this world zen practitioners and zen warriors were the rulers and law makers, those without the aptitude to become a zen practitioner nor constitution to become a zen warrior became peasants or trashes that everyone else looked down on and people like him who had no zen core were the worst of the worst, trashiest of the trash, in the community he had no hope, even amongst peasants he’d definitely rank amongst the lowest caste but as fate would have it he was born into one of the three ancient clans, second only to the imperial family and what made it worse was that he was the first son of the clan head.

…

Within a small room illuminated by a frost shaped chandelier hanging from the ceiling was a long rectangular table around which sat twenty men ranging from being middle aged to elderly and at the head sat an imposing man either in his late thirties or early forties, his seat was akin to a throne and this made the other twenty fancy seats look very ordinary in comparison.

He sat leisurely upon his throne with his cheek resting on his fist while watching the others bicker endlessly amongst themselves.

“The Ancient Dragon clan has been led for centuries by might alone, we can’t allow it to suddenly change now due to ‘peculiar reasons’” one of the elders said with a sneer while laying emphasis on his last words.

“Leading a clan is not all about brute strength, knowledge, wisdom, leadership skills are all very important, otherwise what difference would we make from barbarians.” Another countered.

“And what would happen if the clan came under the attack of enemies, of course he’d try to lead the others to battle but who would be willing to listen to someone weaker than themselves.”

“You can’t judge him using normal standards, it would have been a different case if he had a core but was too stupid to use zen then you might have had a point but he is clearly a genius but the gods are cruel creating him without one.”

“Elder Sky-Hand is right, Aldrin doesn’t even have a zen core, how would he hope to understand the principles of zen nor the struggles of warriors, all he’ll ever be is a fancy face.” A middle aged man replied with a sneer causing the one who spoke earlier to almost spit flames from rage.

“There’s also the case of bloodline, during his birth there wasn’t the slightest disturbance within neither the ancestral hall nor the bloodline shrine.”

“Tch, that is also to be expected, if not that the bloodline resonance test came positive I’d doubt he’s truly the child of the clan head or who knows some trickery could have been played in order to pull the wool over our eyes.” An elderly man with grey hair and wrinkled face spat out in disgust and the instant he completed his statement, silence washed over the entire room as a formless pressure descended suppressing everyone present and filling them with dread.

The source of the pressure didn’t even change his posture or expression but everyone had their eyes on him, the clan head slowly raised his head, his eyes trained on the elder who had just spoken.

“I need you to explain yourself properly.” The clan head said slowly one word at a time, his dark eyes seemed to contain an abyss within them and the elder who had just spoken slowly levitated into the air but not of his own power as it could be seen in the panicking expression on his face and the helpless flailing of his limbs

“Are you accusing my wife of infidelity or are you accusing me of harboring a bastard or perhaps you see within me a liar and a cheat?” The clan head said, taking his sweet time to speak each word.

“Clan head…..” one of the elders tried to speak but the moment those pair of demonic eyes belonging to the clan head landed on him he instantly shut up and the entire room was even more quiet than a graveyard with the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife, everyone was afraid of even breathing too loudly for fear of angering the human shaped demon sitting upon the throne.

“You have five breaths to explain yourself or I shall judge you guilty of treason.” The clan head said facing the floating elder who was still trashing around

‘If only you were truly giving him the chance to speak.’ All the remaining elders had the same thought going through their minds, the guilty elder’s face had turned pink from suffocation making it obvious that the clan leader was responsible for choking him making it impossible to even breath not to talk of speak but despite knowing the truth no one said a thing as it was already obvious that the clan head was intent on killing the said elder

“Time up. Since you can’t defend your words then die.” The clan head said and without any superfluous motion the floating elder suddenly had his body wringed in the opposite direction like a ragdoll before being tossed aside, his bones bent into odd shapes.

“Now let me make this clear, there were twenty of you here, seven of whom have remained silent wearing a façade of neutrality, three who have supported Aldrin in taking over as the clan head and ten who were against that motion.

As elders of the clan you have a right to tender your thoughts and I have a responsibility to hear you out but the reality of things is that I have no reason whatsoever to listen to your ramblings or do I need to obey whatever it is you say.

I am the leader of this clan and my words are law, anyone who goes against this law dies, like that old fool over there, don’t worry as long as I don’t kill thirteen of you at once the ancestral hall won’t make a move, all I need to do is kill you one at a time and slowly replace you.” The clan head said with a natural smile as though he was just talking about the weather or what to have for supper, both his demeanor and power rendered everyone else in the hall speechless.

“This is the power of a supreme master, easily crushing a grandmaster like it was the most natural thing in the world.” One of the elders murmured and the others agreed with a solemn nod.

“Clan head please allow this old one to speak.” One of the elders who had remained silent during the earlier bickering suddenly spoke up and all attention turned to him, the clan head waved at him to continue while he leaned on his knuckle once more wearing a lazy expression

The old man stroked his snow white beard with a chuckle as he turned his head from side to side surveying all the elders present.

“Everyone here has one concern and that is the question if young master Aldrin is suitable to lead the clan after your esteemed self and I have an opinion that might favour everyone present, first the position of clan leader is one that tests leadership skills and not raw power so I suggest we put all the candidates through a test that checks their leadership skills and secondly is bloodline power, young master Aldrin would have to make it to the inner section of the bloodline shrine, successfully passing through these two tests would prove him worthy to the entire clan.” He said with a smile while stroking his beard and everyone had different expressions, some of panic, some of joy and some felt just incredulous.

“That sly old fox, reaching the middle section of the shrine is impossible for any of the youngsters, being crippled is the best outcome and death is the worst.” Many of the elders whispered amongst each other.

“I accept.” The clan head declared and everyone burst into a noisy chatter.

Everybody has a zen core within themselves, it supplies energy for the body to run and keep function, its importance is no less than that of the heart and its location was just beneath the navel which was the centre of the body.

Like arteries and veins run from the heart to every part of the body, energy pathways sometimes known as zen pathways run from the core to every part of the body, the pathways passes through organs, muscles and tissues, through veins and arteries constantly supplying the zen that one either absorbs from the surroundings or that one digests from meals.

Just like a man cannot survive without his heart one can’t survive without their zen core as its destruction would lead to inevitable death, there are weak cores and strong core but there has never been a recorded case of someone born without a core, Aldrin is the first case or perhaps the first recorded case.

Aldrin took in a deep breath and closed the book he was reading, he looked out of the window and spotted the sun sinking slowly into the horizon, bathing the skies in a fiery red afterglow, the library was lit brightly by bulbs that glowed in white fluorescent light, in the whole clan this was his favourite place to be.

Not many people visited the library which made it that there was a very slim chance of him encountering anybody and if by any bad luck he did encounter someone they would be too busy with their studies to pay him any attention.

If only he was the son of a servant then his life would probably be ninety percent less miserable than it currently was as there wouldn’t be anyone to even pay him attention to begin with but being the powerless son of one of the most powerful man didn’t give him that luxury, he was in the limelight no matter where he was and even if they tried to hide it, the ridicule was evident in their faces and their words while some didn’t even bother hiding it.

While in thought an energetic teenager suddenly appeared before him, his fiery red hair swishing about each time he shook his head.

“Ah, I knew I’d find you here big brother, let’s head home before it gets dark” He announced in an overly cheerful voice and Aldrin smiled brightly.

Of everyone he had met there were only three people who treated him like a normal person, looking beyond his disability like it never existed and those three people he loved dearly ready to sacrifice anything for them, this younger brother of his was one of them.

“Alright little brother let’s head home.” Aldrin said with a warm smile as he gazed into his brother’s dark eyes, something they both inherited from their father.

Heading out of the library they passed through a garden taking their time to savour the beautiful scenery of the setting sun against the flora and fauna.

“Brother I heard that you’ll be having a test to determine if you’ll be selected as heir in the next coming of age ceremony.” Fabien suddenly declared in an excited tone making Aldrin’s eyebrow suddenly shoot up in surprise

“If you spent more of your time training rather than in gossips you’d improve better, have you completed the principles of circuits and the basic arrays that I gave you two days ago?” Aldrin reprimanded his brother while bonking his head lightly with his fist, this made Fabien pout while rubbing his head exaggeratedly.

“It’s not called gossip when you’re gathering important information, also I heard that you have quite the chance of passing the test.” He replied with a grin and Aldrin smiled while shaking his head

“I’d rather not get involved in mindless struggles, it would be better if you were the clan leader and I was your adviser, after all you’re stronger but too stupid to do something so complex, so I’ll back you up with ideas and strategies to keep winning.” Aldrin said and Fabien suddenly hugged his brother’s arm with an excited expression only for the excitement to turn into disappointment almost immediately

“If only I had a chance.” The younger brother murmured, during this time they had walked from the garden into a park with tall trees everywhere and underneath the setting sun they cast several large and long shadows which darkened the area considerably.

Aldrin suddenly paused and his right hand shot up towards the hilt of the sword hanging across his back

“What’s wrong big brother?” Fabien asked with a raised eyebrow

“There’s something wrong, I sense danger nearby.” Aldrin replied grimly and Fabien wore a wary expression as he looked around vigilantly

“I can’t see……” he was speaking when suddenly a metallic glint appeared in the corner of his eye striking towards Aldrin from his blind spot, as though possessing eyes behind his back Aldrin unsheathed his sword and in one fluid motion swung it in a wide arc while spinning around successfully parrying the attack.

Failing the assassination the attacker took two leaps backwards putting some gap between themselves and Aldrin.

“Just as they said, your combat sense is really superb but unfortunately you’ll die here today.” The assassin said, his voice revealing him to be a male as his entire body was covered in pitch black robes that didn’t reveal anything but his eyes.

“With just you, I don’t think that would be possible.” Fabien said with a sneer and almost instantly his hands began to move, making hand signs and mudras while his lips moved as he mumbled an incantation.

“Fire arrow barrage.” He concluded after a little more than three seconds and suddenly a myriad of arrows conjured from flames appeared before flying towards the assassin rapidly but just as they were about to hit him he suddenly vanished into a puff of black smoke.

“He’s a bona-fide zen practitioner.” Fabien said with a fearful expression and Aldrin nodded grimly.

“Who told you I’m alone.” suddenly a voice called from atop one of the branches and several figures began revealing themselves from hiding spots surrounding the brother duo, this was an obviously planned assassination attempt and it wasn’t an ordinary one as it extremely hard for ordinary people to enter their clan, someone within the clan was aiding them.

“A twenty man team, five on the outside, three to the east four on the south, two on the north and six on the west, a basic interference formation, escaping won’t be easy.” Aldrin said lowly as he surveyed his surroundings and analysed the positioning of his opponents.

“What are you talking about big brother?” Fabien whispered back as he noticed his brother mumbling to himself.

“Their positioning might seem random but their currently in a formation that allows them to block signals going away from this zone by releasing light zen pulses at intervals. Basically we won’t be able to call for help.” Aldrin replied with a sombre tone, hurriedly Fabien dipped his hand into his clothes and fished out a hand held device with a small display screen and a hard surface upon which one could inscribe letters, using his finger Fabien quickly wrote a string of words on the writing surface but the screen remained blank.

“Don’t bother, we’ve blocked all communications, it would be better if you just died obediently.” The male assassin said before leaping off the tree and dashing towards Aldrin again, several of the others who were dressed just like him began weaving hand seals while chanting an incantation.

“They’re after me, I’ll try opening a path for you to escape and get help.” Aldrin said before dashing to meet the sword of the first assassin while dodging spells and attacks from the others, a few others were also zen warriors which made his battle more intense as he had to face more than one opponent.

“I’ll help you big brother.” Fabien declared in a loud voice filled with indignation as he began weaving hand seals as fast as he could trying to defend himself and support his brother.

Just a few minutes had passed but for Aldrin it felt as though a few hours had passed, varying degrees of injuries adorned his body but none of them were fatal he stroked a pair of bracelets he always wore on both hands and the sword in his hand hummed with power causing it to glow in a crimson hue.

“As expected of the young master of an ancient clan, you possess so many lifesaving treasures, even without a zen core you managed to last longer than most practitioner grade and amateur grade zen practitioners.” A voice appeared behind Aldrin and before he could react a sword pierced through his abdomen.

“Brother No!!!!.” Fabien roared and his eyes narrowed into slits as his pupils suddenly turned reptilian, the right arm of his clothes burned off to reveal a pitch black dragon tattoo spanning across his entire arm, his aura spiked up instantly exceeding his former grade and reaching the next grade, his hands moved faster than ever as he used a zen technique.

“Fire Dragon Roar!!!” he bellowed and a three metre fire dragon appeared, the assassin was about to escape but Aldrin would have no such thing, he swung his arm and grabbed the assassin by the collar just before he vanished pulling him over he stabbed his sword through him before turning him to face the incoming flaming dragon but right before the dragon made impact with the assassin the dragon weaved around and struck Aldrin instead, sending him flying a few metres backwards.

Aldrin coughed severally, normally his robes were enhanced with a circuit array allowing him to tank a considerable amount of impact without taking damage, but having fought for about five minutes the protection was already wearing out and with a sword piercing through the robes many of the circuits were damaged reducing the protection the robes offered by a large amount allowing the fire dragon deal more than seventy percent it’s total damage.

“How?” Aldrin managed to growl as he wiped out the blood dripping from the corner of his lips while trying to stand up, although Fabien wasn’t the best fighter there was it wasn’t to the point of making such blunder, the panicking expressions that was on Fabien’s face throughout the fight was suddenly nowhere to be found instead was a ridiculing and disdainful sneer, an expression which he wouldn’t find surprising if only he saw it on anyone else that wasn’t his brother.

“They say geniuses are often so stupid and I must say I quite agree, or don’t you?” Fabien said with a ridiculing smile

“Why?” was all Aldrin could muster as he and Fabien have been best buddies since they were kids, he always helped his brother and loved him unconditionally and Fabien displayed the same affection, always coming to meet him to explain concepts he didn’t understand, Aldrin could even confidently say that he thought Fabien most of the skills and spells he knew despite not having a core himself.

“This is why you’re stupid, you can manage to understand and explain the most complex concepts in such a way that even a baby would understand and yet when a very simple situation displays itself before you and you don’t seem to understand.

All my life I’ve been in your shadow, no matter what I did or do I just can’t seem to surpass you, despite being so trashy you manage to gain the attention of everyone, I can’t believe you even understand the concept and manipulation of zen despite having no access to it, it’s so infuriating, you’re a pathetic dog who will die a dog death so how and why are you able to stay ahead of me.

Before I believed you wouldn’t have a chance at being the clan head so I was relaxed and hope to discard of you later on but now things has changed, if you aren’t in the picture then I’ll become the only son of our father and since I’m not disabled then there won’t be need for any competition and would become the default leader of our clan, thanks to you I’ll soon become a practitioner grade after being stuck in the novice grade for so long, and before my coming of age ceremony I’ll probably be an amateur grade already displaying my endless potential to every elder I’ll easily ascend the throne. Now keep to your promise and die peacefully step brother, I’ll make sure to take care of myself in your absence.” Fabien rambled on and on leaving Aldrin nothing less than shocked

“What do you mean step brother?” Aldrin asked as he managed to get on one knee while resting on his sword

“Of course you wouldn’t know, our mothers aren’t the same, at birth mine died and yours took me in raising me like her child, I also got to learn of this recently and this is part of the reasons I can kill you without qualms.” Fabien replied nonchalantly and Aldrin let out a chuckle which made Fabien raise a questioning eyebrow but from a chuckle Aldrin began to laugh hysterically

“I am indeed stupid, to think I raised a snake as my own brother.” He said with a bitter smile

“Well don’t blame me, blame yourself for being weak.” Fabien replied with a shrug

“Normally I should feel pain but I only feel rage right now, endless rage boiling within the depths of my soul.” Aldrin said as he slowly stood up, the assassins who had paused their attacks suddenly took a battle stance, Aldrin’s eyes began to narrow as his iris began to slim down and turn reptilian, his robes suddenly combusted into flames and across his back and two arms was a pitch black dragon tattoo.

“Impossible, I thought you couldn’t use the bloodline power.” Fabien yelled in surprise as he took several steps backwards in panic

“Now die brother.” Aldrin spoke in a cold voice that bore not the slightest shred of warmth, Fabien wanted to resist but suddenly he felt as though Aldrin’s words were some kind of existential law, a dictum that cannot be defied or the will of a deity, the light suddenly vanished from his eyes as his soul dispersed and his body dropped dead leaving all the assassins in shock.

Before they could react, Aldrin crossed the bracelets on his wrists before spinning in a circular motion creating a whirlwind of flames that expanded and engulfed all the assassins’ majority of who weren’t able to execute a skill to protect themselves in time.

That single attack claimed the life of about fifteen assassins, leaving only four alive all with varying injuries.

[Detecting vast amounts of spirituality] Aldrin suddenly heard a mechanical voice but his mind was clouded by rage thus he paid almost no attention to it as he gazed at the surviving assassins, his body moved at a speed that he wouldn’t dare believe he could before now, instantly appearing before one of them and in a single fluid motion he decapitated the assassin before flickering towards another

[Unlocking first seal] another sentence echoed in his ear but no attention was paid towards it as he proceeded to reap the life of his targeted assassin, the third assassin went down without much of a hassle but by this time the last surviving assassin was already escaping putting some distance between himself and Aldrin as the former harmless lamb had suddenly revealed itself to be a ferocious wolf, seeing that he wouldn’t be able to catch up in a chase Aldrin held his sword before tossing it with all the strength he could muster

[Binding to host.] Aldrin heard another sentence and suddenly he fell on his face, exhaustion washing over him as his consciousness began to fade, he wasn’t even able to confirm if his sword met its mark or not before everything went dark.

…….

Aldrin opened his eyes but couldn’t see anything, everywhere was pitch black, he tried looking at his hands but realized that he couldn’t see nor feel his hands or any part of his body, saying that he could see would be an overstatement the best word to describe it was that he could sense, he could sense his own self and somehow he felt that he could sense he surroundings as well but yet he couldn’t sense anything else apart from himself.

‘Is this the afterlife?’ he thought to himself when suddenly he ‘saw’ a bright source of light in the distance, alone amidst a massive darkness, he then began to approach the light but despite the fact that he appeared to be getting closer the light didn’t get any brighter and when he was just a few metres away from the light he heard a voice.

[Welcome to the system space, initiating initial contact with host.] The voice said in a tone that lacked emotions of any kind, it was at this point Aldrin recalled that he had heard the voice before but he couldn’t remember what it said, while he was still in thought the light in front of him suddenly moved closer towards him and merged with him.

[Bond created with Aldrin Draca, compiling statistics] The voice called out again and Aldrin felt his consciousness disappear again with everything returning to darkness.