Two children were rushing through the woods at breakneck speed. He was a tall, slender thirteen-year-old boy with short, black hair and blue eyes, and he stood out among the others since he was so tall for his age. Other people in the room included a blond-haired girl with brown eyes who was a year or two younger than the boy. It was obvious that they were both clothed in dirty, old clothing.

Her tears were streaming down her face as she ran with the boy's hand in hers. Her failure to recognize a small mound of stones on the ground resulted in her falling to her knees and sobbing even louder as she collapsed.

“Mom, dad...”

She was lying on the ground when he noticed her, and he immediately turned around and raced towards her.

“Sister! Get up, we need to run!”

The tiny girl could do nothing except gaze at him and respond, despite her best efforts to keep tears from streaming down her face.

“Big brother, mom and dad they… I can’t anymore.”

When her brother heard this, he immediately grabbed her up and hurried away with her in his arms. But before he could do so, he heard something approaching them at high speed.

He braced himself, closed his eyes, clenched his hands, and whispered something to his younger sister.

“Listen to me sister. Run in that direction until you get to a city ok?”

His finger pointed into the distance, and when he saw her nod, he proceeded.

“Don’t look back. I will take this beast as far as possible, so run!”

So she began racing in that way, crying even more as she ran. Because of the demonic beast that is chasing them, she is certain that her brother will perish and she will never see him ever again.

‘It’s all my fault. If not for me all of them would have escaped. They should have left me behind!’

She desperately wanted to stay with him, but she realised that doing so would be a betrayal of his sacrifice, so she forced herself to leave.

The moment he noticed his sister fleeing, his pupils constricted and he turned aside. He became alerted of a beast approaching him that charged straight at him. It was a gigantic bear that projected a great deal of crimson and dark energy, and he was terrified of it.

He gained the attention of the monster, therefore he decided to go in the other direction of his sister, efficiently making the bear follow him. Unfortunately, a bear outran him and cut him with such force that the youngster was launched several meters before colliding with a tree. He was left with a massive wound on his back, as well as a few fractured bones along with a loss of consciousness as a result of this incident.

‘I hope you will survive...’

With that, he closed his eyes while smiling, fully prepared to never open them ever again.

When the bear realised that its prey had surrendered, it let down its guard and began walking closer to the prey in order to complete the hunt.

A sword slashed its way, slicing off one of its legs in the process. It began crying in agony and exploring the surrounding area for the culprit.

A figure in white-blue robes appeared out of nowhere, kicking the beast in the process. The kick was so powerful that it was able to lift the bear into the air. Meanwhile, a figure, who appeared to be a middle-aged blonde-haired man, hurled a blue lightning spear at it from behind. The beast was pierced by the spear, killing it and be burning the body in the process.

After turning to face the unconscious youngster, the man immediately began assessing his health and condition.

‘Broken ribs, cracked skull and blood loss. He won’t survive another minute.’

With that in mind, he retrieved a pill from the inner pocket on the right side of his robe. He examined it to ensure that he was getting the proper medication and that he was administering it to the child correctly. After that, he takes both of the boy's palms in his hands and closes his eyes, allowing his energy to help channel the pill's effects into wounds by circulating it.

After half an hour, the boy's condition began to stabilize, his wounds began to close, and his bones began to reattach themselves. It would take some time for him to fully recover and replace the blood that he had lost.

When he finished the process the man took an apprising orb from his storage artefact and placed it on the boy who was lying on the ground.

It is possible to find artefacts of this type in a variety of shapes and sizes. Jewellery such as rings, earrings, and even full suits of armour are among the items available. In terms of significance, the array's unique shape and the substance on which it was etched are the most noteworthy components.

His wide smile spread across his face when the sphere began to glow after a few seconds. It means that the boy has a potential and can be taken to the sect and train to be a cultivator.

‘I will take him to the sect and we will see what kind of an element he has. Who knows he might even be a genius. Either way, I have to wait until he wakes up to ask him what happened here.’

With that in mind, he accompanied him to the monastery. With his speed, they can arrive there in a matter of hours, whereas if they had taken a normal carriage, it would have taken them months to get there.

When he awakens, a young boy is lying in a bed, resting. He took a few steps back and realized he was in an unfamiliar environment. His ability to stand was severely limited as a result of the widespread discomfort he was experiencing throughout his body.

He notices that he is in a clear and simple room with only a few different types of furniture. He continues to feel at ease in the space, despite the fact that it is constructed of low-quality and shabby materials.

A man enters a room, looks around and sees him.

“You’re finally awake. I’ve found you almost killed by that demonic beast. Fortunately, I was nearby and rescued you.”

Then he remembers something and says.

“Ah right. My name is Lewis and I’m a great elder of this sect we are in.”

He deliberately did not say the name of the sect because the young boy across from him might get scared that he was taken to a demonic sect due to all the rumours that were circling among the masses.

While thinking about that he takes a chair and sits down facing the child.

“So, mind introducing yourself and explaining what happened to you?”

The boy starts fidgeting a little and starts narrating his story while starting to cry.

“My name is Auron Fade. My family which includes me, my sister Ayda and my parents were just normal villagers. One day a lot of knights, cultivators and others attacked the village. My sister and I ran away while mom and dad stayed to buy us enough time. Unfortunately, during the run, we encountered a demonic beast and split up.”

Lewis was listening through the whole story and when Auron stopped explaining he said.

“Where did your sister go?”

At that question, the boy stopped crying and calmly said.

“To the neighbouring town. Please, can you find her?”

Auron had been unconscious for two days, and the elder sighed and decided to send someone to assist in finding her. He also considered the possibility that she was either dead or in serious condition, but he might still try and hope for a miracle in the meantime.

“I will send someone to find her.”

Auron quickly expressed his gratitude by bowing his head to the ground. He was having a conversation with a high-ranking member of a sect. That clearly proves that he wields considerable authority and exerts substantial influence. People like that would typically never even bother to look at a mere mortal such as himself. That's what his parents used to tell him when he was younger.

“Thank you my lord!”

Lewis mentally rolled his eyes and felt uneasy when he saw a little lad bending before him. He, too, comes from a poor home and, in comparison to his peers, is quite nice and peaceful. As a result, he is the most popular elder among the sect's followers.

“Stop bowing and call me great elder or elder Lewis.”

He then proceeded to retrieve a set of clothes from his space artefact as well as some food and place them on an adjacent table.

“Here. Eat something and clothe yourself. I will be back in an hour.”

Following his departure, Auron sat down at the table and began eating his meal, after which he dressed in the clothing that the elder had given him. Strangely enough, the garments initially appeared to be too large for him, but after he finished putting them on, they shrank to fit him perfectly. After that, he fell asleep with his face against the bed.

Meanwhile, Lewis was walking down a hallway towards the mission hall.

Mission hall is a place in the sect where disciples elders or high ranking disciples distribute missions to new members. Everyone is welcome to participate in a mission as long as it is not detrimental to the sect's interests, and those who complete it are rewarded with mainly spirit stones. In the event that the mission cannot be completed, nine out of ten spirit stones are returned to the mission giver, with the remaining spirit stones remaining in the sect.

The reason for Lewis coming here is simple. He wants to issue a quest for finding Auron’ sister.

‘I don’t know what happened, but I will help your son as much as I can. Just like you did to me Master.’