The trees danced to the rhythm of the passing wind.
Today seemed yet another day for Russel to work again.
The pay wasn't great, but that's all he could do to support himself and his sick brother.
It had been a year now since Davi fell sick, and each day his rapid decline in health only made Russel worry all the more.
"If only I could awaken my magic attribute, I wouldn't have to live in these slums. I could get higher pay from the infamous Mercenary Hall in town," Russel thought out loud.
Just then, he stood up from where he lay under a big apple tree.
This was the only place in Area 4 that offered a refreshing sense of nature.
Most of the slums had an unsightly look with sewage waste along the streets and extremely narrow pathways where trash couldn't be properly disposed of.
Thankfully, Area 4 bordered the outskirts of town, providing a much greener scenery.
Russel proceeded to go home.
When he reached his rundown shack, he was greeted by its usual pitiful state.
His home didn't have a door; instead, Russel used a rag to cover the gap, creating a sense of privacy and, most importantly, increasing warmth against the cold.
Reaching for his pouch, a little brown leather bag that hung on the wall, Russel opened it and his face fell.
This was the last of the rubbies he had left.
"Just 15 bronze rubbies?" he asked himself.
Russel sighed, wondering when things would get better.
After drifting off in thought for a little over a minute, he went to check on Davi.
Davi lay there unconscious, shivering uncontrollably due to the cold.
Russel placed his hand on Davi's forehead.
"Hot!" he exclaimed.
"His fever has risen drastically. I'll have to get that restoration pill from Mr. Frank… but will my 15 bronze rubbies even be enough?" Russel thought seriously, weighing his options.
"I'll have to ask for credit, it seems. Sitting here won't do any good, the earlier I go, the better," Russel decided as he picked up his brown leather pouch and prepared to leave.
He looked back at his brother one last time.
"Get well soon, brother. I'll be gone for a while." With that, he left, heading toward the alchemist shop in town.
As he rushed, he also remembered the need to make it to the mine where he worked.
While running at his fastest pace, Russel dreamed of the day he'd finally awaken his magic attribute.
***
Immortal Celestial World
The five Immortal Ascension Realm experts stood before the enormous throne room, barely able to stand.
The sheer aura radiating from the empress was suffocating.
Adding to their discomfort was the fact that she had been in a foul mood lately due to the Asura spirit.
The immortal experts sent to the World of the Forsaken Saints were all holding their breaths, using their respective cultivation bases to shield themselves from the empress's oppressive aura.
Cleopathra, the Immortal Celestial Empress, studied the five with a piercing gaze.
Noticing their discomfort, she dismissed the pressure she had placed on them, allowing them to speak.
"You may speak!" she commanded.
"Your Imperial Majesty, we have completed the assignment given to us and have annihilated the World of the Forsaken Saints and all its inhabitants," Immortal Feng reported.
"While we investigated the surrounding space within a million-radius of the world, we found no traces of the Asura spirit," Immortal An Wei added immediately.
"We believe the Asura spirit never intended to possess that world in the first place. It was likely after something else, but we were unable to determine what. Our investigation was cut short as the cosmos expelled us from the void as we overstayed our welcome," Immortal Gu Tai followed, his words echoed by the other two immortals with nods of affirmation.
The speech seemed almost rehearsed by Feng, Gu Tai, and An Wei.
"You are dismissed!" the empress commanded.
As soon as the five experts left, the empress sank into deep thought.
Elder Hong's advice lingered in her mind.
She was certain there was a massive piece of the puzzle she was missing.
"I have to pay him a visit," the empress muttered.
Cleopathra stood from her throne. After assigning duties to the high elders, she departed, convinced that only those old monsters might hold the answers she sought.
***
Back to the Present…
The fever that gripped Davi slowly began to subside.
Yet his heart rate struggled, and his breath grew increasingly labored.
After an intense fight for survival, Davi's body gave out. His pulse stopped.
Davi had passed on.
But then it happened.
A streak of light, bright as a shooting star and laden with spectral colors, tore through the void and entered this world.
Its immense speed left trails of shimmering hues that painted the skies.
The light passed through various empires and kingdoms until it reached the western continent.
It traveled further, entering the province of the Blue Sky Kingdom. Even then, it didn't stop.
It streaked toward the border of the kingdom, settling just above Area 4.
Finally, the light descended into Davi's lifeless body passing through the space between his both eyebrows and entered his gabella fusing with this body.
***
This all happened so fast, yet the dazzling display of light caught the attention of all the top mages in the world.
They felt a queer type of energy, somewhat foreign, that made them believe a legendary treasure was about to be born.
Despite its speed, the light's vibrant spectral trails were visible to the top powerhouses, gliding past the distant horizon.
Word of this phenomenon spread rapidly.
Powerful kingdoms and magic guilds dispatched mages of various ranks to the western continent to investigate.
While they couldn't pinpoint the exact location, they knew the treasure had landed somewhere in the western continent.
The king of the Blue Sky Kingdom didn't need external confirmation.
Confident that the treasure was within his territory, he launched a kingdom-wide investigation, determined to seize it before outsiders arrived.
Unbeknownst to all, this 'treasure' was not a relic or artifact.
It was the soul of Saint Sage Li Kai, who had just transmigrated into Davi's body just after the destruction of the world of forsaken saints.