A clear blue sky shone down on Halo City, the capital of the southern continent. It was a day in paradise, like every other since the Halo Cult had been created. Birds circled in the skies above, their eyes gazing down at the gleaming city of blue below them. Children ran about the translucent blue ground, laughing as they tumbled through market stalls and siehnti stairways.

The bridges were bustling, as always. Each over thirty meters wide and however long they had to be. Farmers entering with their produce, and exiting with their earnings. Cultivators, their blue robes rippling in the light wind. Street peddlers advertising their wares. Officers patrolling their designated areas. The tarpaulins dangled below the complex grid of bridges, collecting the power emanating from below.

The power stations, one each for the eight buildings surrounding it. Lush plants, the largest in the world, grew in the spacious verges which ringed every bridge and tower, nurtured by the small aqueducts next to them. The cultivation temples and libraries, the barracks and refineries, the arenas and agoras. This was the largest city in Land, the pinnacle of human achievement, created entirely out of the siehnti left from the War of Bloodlines and two millennia of accumulated blessings. All balanced above the yawning abyss of the Hellhole, the great blessing and curse of the southern continent.

Created during the cataclysmic War of the Bloodlines, the Hellhole had allowed devils and their demon hordes to cross over. They ravaged the southern continent for a thousand years until he vanquished them like the Ancients did the primordials. Now, the chasm enriched the entire southern continent with its power emissions, a monstrous feat given the continent was over eight hundred billion square kilometers.

He stood there, seven kilometers above the ground at the top of the highest tower in the city, looking down at the gaping darkness of the abyss. He had tan skin and brown eyes which seemed to drink in the light, a stark contrast to his translucent blue armor, which glittered with the light. On his mind was not the blue sky or the blue city, but the black darkness of Hell.

“Letting the Harbinger’s descendants in Eden live on was a mistake.” He spoke. The sunlight diffracting through his armor danced across the ground as he turned around. Behind him sat three women and two men. Like him, they were all youthful in appearance, the result of millennia of unhindered cultivation even after achieving immortality.

One of them, a woman with rich caramel skin and a completely unblemished face, shook her head in disagreement. “The Harbinger was human, and so are his descendants. You were not wrong to spare them.”

“He is far beyond human now. And his intent is clear: to reestablish that hellish kingdom of demons, the Garden.” The man spat the last word out with clear disgust.

A bald youth chortled. “No greater euphemism has ever been made, true.”

“No single person has ever done greater damage to Land than the Harbinger, not even the bloodlines. Summoning was the darkest art ever made, yet it is not dark enough for him. Did you read the transmission from this morning? He had the audacity to-”

“We need only journey to the western continent again.” The caramel-skinned woman stood up from the glittering ground. “It will be the fifth time this millennium, but we cannot delay when it comes to that man. Already, Land has lost two continents to the nothingness. If the western continent follows…”

A dark-skinned man raised a hand to cut her off. “We cannot. The Harbinger himself cannot enter Land. His descendants are human, and their devils hide as he did when we first sought to destroy him. Let us approach it in a more indirect manner. Otherwise, the Pantheon will use our actions as leverage against us in future negotiations.”

“The Pantheon has amassed too much power.” The man spoke. “And our knowledge of their affairs in the central continent remains as scant as ever, despite all your efforts. If they continue their impious actions towards us, I will have to take action, no matter if they are man and not monster.”

The dark-skinned man frowned. “Bahamut... ”

“Enough discussion. We will go with your proposal.” The man nodded at a woman, who wore on her head a translucent, jelly-like helmet with faint, red lines glowing under its surface. “Adela, contact Eden’s neighboring countries and the Pantheon. They will help us… no. We will help them with their territorial disputes. As far as everyone is concerned, it will just be another war in the Warring States.”

Three years later, in a forest clearing on the western edge of the western continent.

“Again!” Vinoh shouted, swiping his wooden sword across towards him. He tried to dodge, but the wooden sword sped up and struck him between the legs, sending him sprawling into the ground.

Solera was thirteen years old. He had tan skin, with prominent cheekbones, short black hair and brown eyes. Normally, he gave off a taciturn and reserved air, but right now, there was only indignance.

He got up, rubbing some dust out of his eye. “Dammit, Dad, I saw that swing.” He complained.

Vinoh shrugged. “You gotta be ready for anything, son. Sundan bulls do this all the time.”

“What, swing swords at me?” Solera snorted, getting back into position.

“No, they bait you with- HAH!” Vinoh suddenly swung the wooden sword, thwacking him on the shoulder.

Solera gingerly rubbed his shoulder, cursing in his mind. It was definitely bruised.

Vinoh was laughing. “All right, that’s enough for today. Let’s head back now.” He turned around, walking through the fields towards home. All sorts of produce was grown here, to be exported all over Eden and perhaps even further beyond. Solera wouldn’t know; all he did was train.

“Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to properly camouflage in the field. Let you heal up on those wounds some.” Vinoh hobbled back, his wooden leg testing the muddy ground for grip with each step.

Solera sighed to himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a break from all this training. Day in, day out, all he did was train. Yet Eden hadn’t had a war in two centuries! He couldn’t help but think that it was all a big waste of time. Sure, they were one of the thirteen Warring States, but that was just the name! If it had been peaceful for two centuries already, surely there was time for him to enjoy some of the finer things in life.

The fields grew plants three meters high. Passing through them was like wading through water. This particular field, filled with corn stalks, was particularly tough.

“This harvest is going to be good.” Vinoh commented as he pushed away some plants. “The Channeler last month did real well to Channel so much Power into the fertilizer. The plants are already this tall! By the time they’re ripe, they’ll be ten meters, or higher!”

Solera looked at the plants with disinterest. He had seen them too many times to care. The field abruptly gave way to an open clearing. A couple hundred meters away was a forest of majestic trees, each easily seventy meters tall. He could see a child running down a branch that had grown into a staircase, laughing as she chased her little brother.

This forest of trees was the Grove, Solera’s home! He had never been outside its borders. Thus, the idea of stone cities and paved roads seemed utterly alien to him, even though he knew it was the norm.

“Hi, Solera! How are you today?” A girl pulling water up from a well was looking at Solera with a bright smile on her face. This was Pinot, a freckled girl with smiling green eyes, soft lips, and wavy brown hair that reached down to her shoulders. Apparently, she was very popular. Solera thought this made sense; after all, she was very cute, even though she was ten years old, three years younger than him.

Solera just laughed awkwardly. “I’m doing okay.”

Solera had never known what to say when anyone other than Vinoh talked to him. Since he was always training, he rarely spent time with the other kids from the Grove, so he had no idea what effect his words would have. Thus, he preferred to remain quiet. This went well with his naturally shy expression, and as a result, he was seen as “that silent kid” that nobody talked to.

Pinot nodded cheerily before turning back to her task of drawing water from the well. Solera looked away, searching for the winged men he had seen in the morning when he was going out to train. Surely, they were important people, so they must be at the town hall.

The town hall was located at the center of the small forest, a kilometer away from the outside perimeter. It was the largest tree of all. Actually, it towered over the rest, like a mother standing next to her baby. It was five hundred meters tall, and had existed for over two thousand years, back when Eden had been part of a great empire known as the Garden.

He couldn’t see any winged men looking out through the thousands of alcoves carved into the town hall. In truth, he didn’t expect to see anything. The town hall was just too large; they were probably inside.

“Hmm, think we’ll have some nice rice and Eden reindeer meat tonight.” Vinoh rubbed his hands in anticipation as he went up the branch-staircase towards the tree Solera called home. Vinoh ascended to the top of the staircase, but when he was about to enter the opening into the house, he stopped still.

Solera bumped into his back, recoiling in surprise. “Hey, what’s going on?” He said, peeking around Vinoh.

Standing in a concave formation around the dining table were two men and one woman, dressed in armor with a hue of whitish-yellow that reminded Solera of sunlight. At their head, sitting in a chair at the dining table, was a man who looked to be around thirty years old, with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

He wore a hard expression that looked as if it was chiseled from marble. Encasing his body was a brilliant suit of armor that emitted light so radiant, Solera found it difficult to look at. The faint outline of maple leaves could be seen etched into the armor. They had a faint green hue, but it was almost completely covered by the bright sunlight emitting from his armor. Along with his seated pose, this man’s expression and armor gave him a regal air that commanded respect from anyone who looked upon him.

“... It’s been a long time since I gave that armor to you, Reginald.” Vinoh spoke, entering the house. “I literally paid an arm and a leg for it, and you actually pay me back by barging into my home and making yourself comfortable in my chair?”

Reginald looked at Vinoh, not saying a word. Behind him, the woman smiled and waved.

“And you, Chianti! That night you ran away, I gave my goggles to an eleven-year old girl. Now, it’s been seven years already! Seems like Reginald has taken care of you well. Still looking for that love of your life?”

“Still got your goggles, pops, but the rest is a negative. Never even met the boss until a year ago!” Chianti pulled out some ratty goggles, smiling cheekily. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail that hung down to her breasts. A scar that started near her eyes ran down her face, splitting her lips apart. Despite this scar, Solera found her incredibly pretty. Even with the armor on, she clearly had a lithe form. And her almond eyes and small nose… Solera couldn’t help but stare.

Vinoh guffawed, pulling out a pack of meat and throwing it onto the kitchen counter. “Keep trying, Chianti. I’m sure you’ll find the one you’ve been looking for someday. Anyway, I don’t know these other two by your side. Why don’t you introduce us over a nice dinner?”

“No need.” The regal-looking man, Reginald, spoke. He had a deep, gravitone voice that could probably be heard from a kilometer away. The voice of a leader. “Dinner will be at the town hall with the Grove Tender.”

Vinoh frowned, picking the meat back up and tossing it back into the ice box. “What’s going on, prince?”

“Father has died.” Reginald said calmly. “They’re all finally making their move. It’s beginning.”

Vinoh pulled up a chair and sat down, his eyes narrowed. “Surely you are not asking any more from me?”

“Not from you.” Reginald folded his hands together. “From your son.” Solera blinked, startled.

“No.” Vinoh said bluntly. “Haven’t I done enough? That damned journey to the Wastelands to retrieve your ancestral armor, you know what happened there! Leave us be, prince, no, king. I want nothing more to do with this.”

Reginald gazed off into space for a bit before speaking again. “Not the Wastelands. The Motherland of our Garden, Vinoh. Don’t you want to see it returned to its former glory? Have you forgotten what you said to me that day, before you set off?”

“Fuck off!” Vinoh shouted angrily. “Fuck your glory, fuck your dream! I was on my way to immortality, Reginald! Instead, I lost everything. I can’t even get limb regrowth treatments for this arm and this leg because of that fucking miasma. All I have is my son, and you want to take him away too.”

Solera listened, shocked. He had never seen his father this angry. He had no idea what they were talking about! What was going on?

Reginald held up his hands, waiting until Vinoh was done with his tirade.

“Vinoh, your son has been trained by you ever since he was a toddler! I need people like him working for me. Otherwise, this entire country will be reduced to ashes within three decades, and you and your son along with it. You know who we’re up against. There’s nobody on our side but us, Vinoh.”

Vinoh smashed the counter. “It’s too dangerous! It would be much better for Solera and me to relocate to the Verdant Empire.”

Reginald shook his head. “Vinoh, I’m not going to be throwing your son into battle. He’s still just a child who needs to be educated. You’ve had him for ten years, you can’t possibly have much left to teach him. Let me cultivate your son into someone who can surpass you at your peak.”

Vinoh glared at Reginald. “No fighting, just learning?”

Reginald nodded. “You have my word.”

Vinoh clenched and unclenched his fists several times, his eyelids twitching. Finally, he sighed. “Let’s talk this over at the town hall.”