Chapter 2: Welcome To The Machine
Cris, a golden-blonde youth with a passion for magic and dreams of global stardom, found his destiny veering far beyond card tricks and illusions. He inherited advanced meditative arts and occult sciences from Tenzin, a mysterious Tibetan master—arts that Cris once dismissed as "unnecessary" for his career as a magician.
But reality proved cruel. Without a supporting crew, his street magic was exposed, leaving him destitute. Under crushing pressure, Cris was forced to unleash the "real" power he had learned... and that became the genesis of a tragedy. Under the watchful eyes of an anonymous organization, a single mistake led to fatalities and revealed a secret the world was never meant to know: Cris didn't just perform tricks; he possessed the cataclysmic power to "shatter the sound barrier," defying gravity at Mach speeds.
The sonic boom from his movement stripped everything from him, leaving him naked, tattered, and hunted by a government and secret societies hungry for his power. In a desperate bid for survival, Cris stepped into the darkness, taking the lives of his own family to bind their souls into "Soul Orbs"—a forbidden ritual passed down from his master.
Amidst the wailing sirens and the metallic stench of blood, Master Tenzin’s telepathic voice echoed in his mind, guiding him to his final destination. Welcome to the relentless wheel of fate. Welcome to a world where he must become a heartless machine to survive!
The Blood Covenant and the Eight-Thousand-Year Separation
Cris’s descent into darkness continued without mercy. He journeyed to take his grandfather’s life to claim the fifth soul before securing all six orbs—five from his family and one from the victim of his magic show. Under a new guise and with his powers fully awakened, Cris headed toward the supernatural coordinates whispered by Tenzin.
At a meeting point where time seemed to stand still, Cris encountered a group of strangers: Ren (under the alias Nenets) and Kurin, an elder in the body of a young boy. Both addressed Cris as "The Liberator," as if they knew his preordained fate. Though their journey was intercepted by sorcerers who soared through the sky like living killing machines, their combined powers allowed them to break through, gaining a vital ally in Victor along the way.
The major turning point arrived mid-journey. Yuri, a stunning Russo-Korean woman, appeared with a "Mysterious Object" that left Ren visibly shaken. The moment Ren saw it, he ordered everyone to pursue her immediately... heading toward the secret Yamantau Base, buried deep beneath the frozen Russian tundra.
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This was no mere military outpost; it was a gathering ground for elite sorcerers and the site where cosmic secrets were unveiled. There, Ren was reunited with Oon and Meia, his true parents from whom he had been separated for a staggering 8,000 years. The world Cris and his companions once knew was about to crumble, giving way to a reality greater than anyone could imagine.
The Edge of Faith and the Mara’s Shadow beneath Kailash
Despite the warmth and camaraderie he found within the Yamantau base—feelings he had never truly known—Cris could not abandon his blood covenant. His sacred and terrifying duty was to return the six souls to their origin: Mount Kailash, following Master Tenzin’s call. Cris tried to bury the secret coordinates deep within his mind to fulfill his master's dying wish, but his plan to "escape" shattered before Ren. With limitless telepathic power, Ren could pierce the consciousness of anyone he desired. The coordinates Cris fought to hide were laid bare. Ren decided to form a team of guardians to travel with Cris, knowing that if the souls within the orbs became unstable before reaching their destination, a global catastrophe might erupt once more. Cris was forced to travel with the very group of friends from whom he had become a "target."
Reaching Mount Kailash was no easy feat, with hundreds of soldiers encamped around the sacred peak. To subdue the human forces without bloodshed, Ren manifested their "Arrival" with terrifying grandeur. Blood-red auroras and massive tremors broke the spirits of the proud soldiers.
Under the veil of darkness and mystical power, hundreds of soldiers dropped their weapons and fell to their knees, slamming their foreheads against the stone until they bled, firmly believing that "Lord Shiva’s Wrath" had descended upon them. Amidst the rhythmic thuds of heads hitting stone and the blood of fanatic faith, Cris and his companions crossed the threshold toward the final secret hidden within the heart of the world... Welcome to the true beginning of the machine of destiny!
To the World Time Forgot and the Secrets beneath the Stone
Behind a colossal, dark, and frigid cliff face, Cris led the team through a swarm of hundreds of thousands of bats, flying like a great black cloud. They squeezed through desolate stone fissures into an inner sanctum. But what awaited them was not the gloom of a typical cavern. Warm sunlight from a "Synthetic Sun" bathed lush meadows and crystal-clear streams flowing through a bountiful forest—a perfect ecosystem manifested by the unimaginably advanced Prom technology.
Though Master Tenzin did not appear in person, his familiar telepathic voice resonated in Cris’s ears alone: "Carry out the plan as intended. You have arrived..." That confirmation assured Cris that every step of his journey was no coincidence, but a chess piece moved specifically for this day. Cris led his friends into the new world hidden beneath the foundation of the sacred mountain.
Mount Kailash, which the outside world sees only as a silent, snow-capped peak, holds unanswered questions and universe-shaking truths waiting for Cris and his team to discover. Welcome to the true beginning of fate, in a world where secrets never die, and the adventure has only just begun!
————————————————————————————— Ruth VT-Hin —————
