Prologue: Chapter 0

Nestled in the far hills, the village slumbered after a grueling day of toil. Moonlight bathed everything in a cold silver glow, turning the world ethereal. 

Trees rustled in the wind, their leaves whispering secrets like a lullaby. The narrow paths lay silent and serene, while the nearby river hummed a steady, 

soothing rhythm loud enough to drown worries, yet gentle enough to invite dreams. In one modest house, a woman named Elyra lay restless, her womb heavy with child. 

Her husband, Torren, hovered nearby, his calloused hands tender as he cared for her. His elderly mother, frail but fierce with love, assisted with a warm cloth and soft words. 

"My grandchild arrives soon," she murmured, her voice brimming with quiet joy."Ma, go rest," Torren said gently. "I'll watch over her."

Elyra managed a weary smile, her body finally easing. "I'm alright now. Everyone, sleep." 

A new life was on the horizon, promising light in their harsh world. The night wrapped them in fragile peaceuntil it shattered.

BBBBBBOOOOMMMMM!!!!!

The bandits exploded into the village like a storm of blades and fire. "Kill everyone!!!" their leader bellowed, his voice a guttural snarl that echoed through the flames. 

Doors splintered under axes, windows shattered, and the slaughter began without mercy. A villager's arms were hacked off in mid-scream; 

he staggered blindly, blood spraying in arcs as the bandits howled with laughter, chasing him like a game. Nearby, a woman was pinned down, 

her clothes torn away as bandits took turns molesting her, their grunts mixing with her pleas her husband bound in ropes, his legs severed at the knees, forced to watch with eyes wide in helpless agony. 

No one was spared: children had their throats slit mid-cry, elders were stomped into the dirt until bones cracked and blood pooled. The river's song twisted into a chorus of screams and gurgles.

The bandits stormed the house where Elyra huddled. Torren lunged with a desperate swing, but a hammer crushed his skull in a wet crunch, brains splattering the walls. 

Elyra wailed, shielding her mother-in-law, but the old woman was seized, her wrists bound tight. The bandits grinned as they carved into her chest, 

peeling back skin and cracking ribs one by one with deliberate twists of their knives. "Nooooo!!! Someone, help!!!" she shrieked, blood bubbling from her lips, her body convulsing in agony but the night offered no savior.

With the son and mother reduced to mangled corpses, the bandits turned to Elyra, her pregnant belly drawing their sadistic glee. "Let's kill her," one sneered. "No, torture her first,"

 another countered, eyes gleaming. They bound her limbs, blades slicing deep carving away flesh from her arms, legs, and torso while she thrashed and begged, alive through every excruciating cut. 

Laughter filled the room as they finally ripped open her womb, yanking out the undeveloped child and flinging his fragile body into the dirt like worthless scrap. 

The village was torched, flames devouring homes and bodies alike, leaving only ash and the stench of charred flesh. It was utter massacre.

In the smoldering aftermath, the soul of that tiny, undeveloped child flickered, adrift in the void. 

A cosmic presence stirred, pulling it into a dark expanse where star-like orbs floated like distant, uncaring eyes. "Kid, I choose you as my new master," rumbled the Cosmic Dragon, 

its voice a thunderous echo that shook the infinite dark. "But I'll only raise you. Then I'll cast you back into that cruel land. You must survive, become strong, and one day return to defeat me only then will I truly accept you as master." 

The Cosmic Dragon selects its heir once every 1,000 years, and this time, it was that boy.

End of Prologue Prologue