Chương 1: Chapter 0: The End of an Age

The sky was burning. Not red. Not orange. Gold. Entire oceans of golden fire stretched across the heavens. Stars shattered. Mountains collapsed. Reality itself screamed. And in the middle of that apocalypse— A lone man stood. Blood covered his body. Countless wounds marked his skin. His armor was broken. His sword was shattered. Yet he remained standing. Around him floated hundreds of Astras. Lightning. Flame. Shadow. Storm. Ocean. Sun. Moon. Creation. Destruction.

Thousands of divine powers circled him like loyal stars. The battlefield stretched endlessly. Broken kingdoms. Dead gods. Fallen monsters. Ruined worlds. The corpses of giants covered the horizon. This was not a war. It was the end of existence. The man slowly lifted his head. Golden eyes shone beneath blood-soaked hair. His gaze fell upon the being standing before him. The enemy. The final enemy. A colossal figure beyond mortal understanding. Its body was made from galaxies. Its eyes contained entire universes.

Its voice alone distorted reality.

"Human." The heavens trembled.

"You have lost." The warrior laughed. A tired laugh. A broken laugh. Yet somehow— A fearless laugh. Behind him stood no army. No gods. No allies. Everyone was gone. Everyone had fallen. Only he remained. The cosmic being spoke again.

"Why do you continue?"

"Why struggle?"

"Why resist?" The warrior looked toward the shattered sky. For a brief moment— He remembered. A kingdom. A family. Friends. A girl who smiled beneath blooming flowers. A brother who never stopped believing in him. A monkey warrior who laughed in the face of death. The countless lives entrusted to him. The countless sacrifices that brought him here. Then he smiled. And answered.

"Because someone has to." The being raised a hand. Entire dimensions collapsed. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Stars exploded. Existence trembled. The final attack had begun. The warrior slowly closed his eyes. Not in surrender. In acceptance. Because he already knew the outcome. He had seen it. Long ago. The future. The truth. The cost. Everything. A golden symbol appeared on his chest. The symbol of Dharma. Brighter than the sun.

Brighter than creation itself. The battlefield froze. Time stopped. The warrior opened his eyes. And for the first time— The cosmic being looked afraid. The warrior raised his broken sword. Golden light exploded across reality. The power illuminating the battlefield was unlike anything before it. Not an Astra. Not magic. Not divine authority. Something older. Something greater. A choice. A single sentence echoed throughout creation. A sentence that would one day become legend.

"Dharma is not power." The golden light expanded.

"Dharma is the courage to choose what is right..." Worlds shook.

"... even when the entire universe stands against you." The light consumed everything. The enemy. The battlefield. The heavens. The stars. All of it vanished. Silence followed. Then darkness. Absolute darkness. A single heartbeat echoed. Thump. Another. Thump. A voice emerged from the void. Ancient. Forgotten. Patient. A voice that had waited thousands of years. A voice searching across countless futures. Searching for one soul. One successor. One final hope. The voice whispered.

"I found you." Far away. Thousands of years in the past. Inside the kingdom of Ayanor. A black-haired boy opened his eyes. Unaware that the fate of every realm had already chosen him. His name was Rayan Ashvar. And this... was where the legend began.