*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

Countless "thunders" were raining down from the sky as if they were boastful of how loud they were. Forget the phoenix, a bird so majestic that the people claim as the kings of the skies or the invincible dragons as they crush anything in its way. The thunders were the third Kings of the sky.

Whether they could harm or be harmed was two separate things entirely.

Whenever they wished, they could easily send a living being into the afterlife.

Though harming them was impossible.

Sure, a phoenix can reincarnate after death. Sure, a dragon with its tough scales, powerful robust wings, sharp razor claws, and its hellish flames would incinerate everything. Though what about thunder? They can travel faster than most living being could and yet still be able to do as much damage a dragon could.

This was what made the thunders so boastful about themselves and today they were mocking a wandering peasant.

The peasant was draped in a worn out brown leather robe. The robe could be seen as if it was worn for decades. Holes were everywhere from the peasant's head to toe. The robe was surely eroding away.

"Hahaha , you dare to mock me? Today will be your end. Don't blame me for your deaths, but your mocking attitude." The peasant sneered.

The peasant soon pulled his robe off to reveal an aging old man. Surely, you would think that he should be dead from how malnourished he looked. From his aging skin, to his toothless gums, he was the epitome of what you'd call someone who's lived through the ages.

The elderly man gave out a ferocious roar at the sky. In but a mere second, he was up in the sky holding a bolt of thunder. The thunder tried to squirm free from his hand but it couldn't.

The man then crushed it by just closing his palm.

Immediately, the storm ran away South upon seeing its brethren die.

How could a mere mortal kill thunder? The kings of the skies were all frightened to death upon witnessing the impossible.

Although the thunders in the skies tried to escape South, they couldn't. The elderly old man was too fast, even faster than them!

Each one of them were grabbed and crushed as the man flew in the sky doing the impossible.

*chirp* *chirp* *chirp*

The birds cried out as the storm all but disappeared in the sky.

The sun's gleaming rays were shining brilliantly as it gave an embrace to the wet and cold land.

The trees, flowers, and animals were all glad that the sun came, all except the elderly man.

He immediately wore his tattered robe and continued walking. His eyes dull, losing all its light. A walking corpse without a soul was the perfect description of this man.

*****

It all started long ago, when a young teen decided to explore the world. He was naive then, but that was due to his inexperience.

Heck, he even thought that while traveling, he'd find the love of his life. Although there are couples out there that do get married while traveling or adventuring, it's not for all cases.

When he left his village of 800 people, most of them warned him of the dangers lurking on the continent of Vahsil. Unfortunately, he didn't listen.

Not only did he get raided by a bunch of bandits, he was even sold off as a slave to the slave merchants. This took place all but in just 3 days. If his parents could have lived long enough to see him, they would have shoved a huge "I told you so" right in his face.

While he lived painstakingly as a slave, one day he was beaten to "death" by his master. Obviously, for disobedience.

What should have been the day death's door greeted him, he avoided. Through a stroke of luck, he was one of those rare cases where people died but didn't actually die.

In several days time, the young man would wake up to find himself in a forest pit. The forest pit was full of bones except for the bodies that were recently killed by his master.

As he looked around, he spotted a couple chunk of meat being slowly eaten away by all the worms. The way the worms squirmed and wriggled as they poked their head out of the bodies were horrifying.

As he climbed out of the pit with the stench of death, he wondered why he wasn't dead. He was so sure that he'd die to the whippings and torture from his master.

Actually, it was only due to luck that his heart started beating again that he "resurrected".

He'd climbed out and escaped deep into the forest. Where he'd bump into a beautiful girl on the way. What should have been a danger sign for all those that would find a beautiful girl in the middle of nowhere, he paid no heed.

Spending a couple weeks with her, he fell in love. Thus, he got married in the middle of nowhere to an unknown girl. What should have been the day of his life, it secretly wasn't. It became one of what you'd say...a beginning of a nightmare.

During their wedding night, they engaged in what newlyweds would always do. After the intercourse with his wife, he was drained...literally.

He felt as if his mind and body were completely drained. It was only after later on that his wife revealed to him her dark secret. She was a succubus but what made her reveal herself was her astonishment.

Surprisingly, only his mind and body were tired after every time they had their adult fun. She couldn't drain his soul away, which was her goal all along. The man had no soul. This was something that would shock most people.

To not have a soul meant you met death's door but couldn't be pulled in. Only powerful experts and in really rare cases would there be a person with no soul.

When the young man saw how astonished his wife was, he was also shocked. His wife had razor sharp claws, scaly reptilian hands, two black horns upon her head and a devilish black tail with a cone-like end.

The next thing he saw was her claws coming for him. As he backed away from her claws, it prevented a fatal injury. He would retaliate and fight back by using her own claws to cut her throat. It wasn't an easy feat, but it wasn't impossible either.

Since succubus were rather weak, they would use their charm rather than their strength to catch their prey. It was only during sexual intercourse that they would be able to feast on their prey. A succubus diet was very unusual as they were able to maintain their beauty and live longer as they feasted on more and more souls.

It wasn't surprising when he overpowered the succubus and killed her just like that. He soon left the wretched place and searched for a human settlement or town.

Outside the forest, he stumbled across a barren field as two large scale armies were at war. It was due to him being mistaken as an enemy was he taken in as a prisoner of war.

Although he pleaded and pleaded, no one listened. It's because the nearest villages and towns were miles away. So why would there even be a villager anywhere near a battlefield. It was thus how he became a prisoner of war and locked for decades in a cell.

It was during in jail that he came to reflect on what life had offered him. His strokes of misfortune made him enraged at the world. He came to believe that it was the other humans and the world that led to his demise.

Everyday he'd think, "What did I do to deserve this." It was due to pondering that he became enraged and confused.

One night, he stared out at the night sky. Through the window, he'd noticed how dazzling and beautiful the night sky really was. In his mind he felt as if the stars, comets, and space were calling out to him. You may say he became a lunatic after being in a cell for too long but that wasn't the case.

The night sky was something he came to love. He'd sleep in the morning and wake up at night to stare at the sky. Since he came to animosity with the world, he felt that the sky was something that he could believe in. Something that he could trust. Something that would never betray him as long as its light kept shining upon the world.

It was through his star gazing that he fell in love with the sky. He'd dance under the moonlight, swaying to and fro. The other prisoners would sneak glances to fill their boredom that engulfed them in prison.

The aging man looked like he was bonkers. The way he moved was disorderly and unorthodox. It was through a wide set of weird movements, meditation, and star gazing that gave the man hope.

It was through his apprehension and perception of the universe that he came to grasp power. Being over the age of 80, he looked fragile. You'd think he'd be just like any other elderly person but you'd better think twice. His movements were unfathomable.

Breaking through the cellar, he made his escape in the blink of an eye. It didn't take long before the continent was shaken by his existence. People everywhere would remember him as the Magistrate.