Just as everyone became speechless by the sudden turn of events, one of the soldiers took no time to give out a scream...

"R-runn!"

Clearly even without being told this was exactly what everyone was about to do. Their survival instincts soared to the skies as they chose a particular direction with no sense of reason, and it so happened that they were heading for the river.

"Why are we going this direction? Isn't it a dead end?" asked the young girl who ran closely behind Doran

"We have no choice, it's our only path of escape..." Just as a spoke, he caught sight of a large boat by the river bank.

"Haha, the heavens haven't abandoned us! Thankfully there's a boat here" the one who spoke was the soldier who held the map.

"Hurry, let's get this thing moving" he beckoned on the rest of the group. Without delay, the boat was pushed into the river by the joint effort of the group and was set sailing.

"Faster! paddle faster you blockheads!" one of the soldiers yelled at the top of his voice. The boat was paddled more intensely increasing their pace, soon reaching a considerably safe distance from the purple fog.

"It stopped moving" looking back at the purple fog a voice called out excitedly. To their amazement, the fog had stopped advancing towards them and began to disperse.

"We're saved!"

"Haha. I have a great destiny yet to be fulfilled, why would I be hurt by mere phenomenon?" Said one of the soldiers defiantly.

'Somethings not right, just like that? I didn't think it'll be that easy... Now that I think of it, a boat, out of nowhere... this place sure is strange' Thought Doran as his eyes suddenly fixed on a position on the surface of the water. There was something moving on the surface of the water, it gradually approached their boat but the rest of the group were too excited to notice it.

'What's that?' He thought, and just as he noticed it, the strange entity rose from the water and plunged towards them. At this time he as well as the rest people could clearly see huge black tentacles. In the next moment, terror reigned supreme and the waters became turbulent.

"What's that?"

"This can't be... "

"Help!"

Just as everyone's hearts were caught up in their throats, the giant tentacle descended on the boat. To their surprise, the tentacle was decisive in choosing its target as it skimmed through everyone and it landed and wrapped around a shocked-looking fellow.

"Doran, watch out!" The young girl tried her best to scream out, but the speed of the tentacles was just too fast for anyone to respond.

"Take my hand!" She shouted as she stretched out to him, but he was wrapped around too tightly by the tentacle and dragged in the water. After that, the whole area became as calm as a summer sea, making it look like their entire experience was nothing but a lie.

"That damn brat! It's obvious he's been the cause of all the misfortunes we've experienced" Said one of the soldiers.

"He must have been cursed by the heavens nothing more, that explains why he insisted on following us," said another soldier thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, deep within the water... Doran, wrapped around by the tentacles was being pulled deeper and deeper. It was like an endless abyss with thick darkness. 'Is this the end? how can I die like this? I've been through a lot already... my parents, how will they feel?' He began recalling his life experiences, the hardship, and suffering he had experienced since birth being from a poor background.

He felt total emptiness, regret, hate. He loathed his cruel destiny, 'Is this what faith has in store for me?' Just then the giant tentacles suddenly loosened their grip on him. Amid the endless darkness, he could figure out two bright red lights approaching him.

'Those lights... What are they?'

Just as he thought within himself, the light got closer and soon looking like two giant suns above the endless darkness. It was only after a while could he see that the giant light was nothing but the two eyes of an enormous dark figure. Facing this existence, he was like a speck of dust, so he couldn't discern its exact form. He could feel immense pressure emanating from its eyes and just by staring at it, he felt like his soul was about to leave his body.

'This is...' He was left confused as to what was right in front of him.

'Could this be a God beast?' His thought ran amok while trying to figure things out. God beasts were existences heard only in the legends. They were superbly sentient creatures with enormous power. God beasts were in record much stronger than human deific saints. The majority of them were enormous in size but they could also take the shape of humans or other small creatures to conserve energy.

They existed in this world and were very secretive. There could be almost no record of anyone sighting a single God best for tens of thousands of years, but the truth is that they existed in the world. Of course, a God beast could live for millions of years experiencing the rise and fall of several nations and powerhouses, so they didn't consider humans to be anything at all. There was no reason for them to get close or form a relationship with humans who could die at any moment.

The enormous figure opened its mouth which looking like a giant black hole capable of swallowing all existence. Doran was drawn in and the next moment found himself in a place that looked like an ancient tomb. In front of the tomb was a stone door that seemed to be the entrance.

The stone door was built in between the legs of an enormous statue of a man resting hands on a standing sword.

As much as he was confused by the sudden transmigration, driven by curiosity he looked closely at the statue.

'What the...'

To his greatest shock, he discovered that the statue had a resemblance to him.

'Definitely not, it should be some kind of coincidence right?' He thought.