"Your existence isn't accidental; it's all destiny."
—The Black-Robed Man
A fine snow fell from the sky, tiny ice crystals drifting onto the leaves of the trees. Everything around them was covered in ice and snow.
In the midst of this snow-covered forest, strange houses stood, and around these strange houses stood a group of people, their bodies covered in ice crystals.
They were currently grasping two figures. These two familiar voices were our own, Taga and Syl.
Taga and Syl's hands were bound with ropes, and the elves were leading them towards the center of the village.
At the very center stood a hunched figure, his hand resting on a scepter. He gazed at the sky, pondering like a wise man.
Taga and Syl were being led by the elves before the hunched figure.
The hunched figure turned to look at Taga and Syl, who were being forced to their knees by the elves' shoulders. "So, what are you doing here?" Taga demanded loudly, a hint of wariness in his eyes as he surveyed the surrounding elves.
Taga could easily have untied the ropes binding his hands, but to ensure Syl's safety, he kept a constant watch on the surrounding elves.
The hunched figure coughed, then raised his staff and tapped it on Taga's head.
Taga and Syl both stared at the figure with puzzled eyes, unsure of what the old man was up to.
The moment the staff touched Taga's head, the old man paled with shock and waved his hand.
The elves standing beside the old man, upon receiving his command, immediately stepped forward and untied the ropes binding Taga and Syl.
After being untied, Taga and Syl stared at the old man across from them, bewildered.
"Please forgive my people's disrespect... I'm so sorry..." the old man spoke, his tone thick with apology.
"You speak our language?!" Syl was stunned, his pupils widening.
"Hahaha! I've lived for many years and seen many races, so naturally I've learned some things," the old man replied politely and cheerfully.
"So, what was your people's purpose in bringing us here?" Taga observed the two's reactions and interrupted the meaningless conversation, getting straight to the point.
"To be honest, they sensed the altar's energy fluctuations, but they didn't understand it was the energy emanating from the altar itself. They mistakenly thought someone was destroying it." The old man shook his head and sighed, his tone filled with apology.
"Does the energy fluctuation refer to the energy emanating from my touching the altar, which they sensed?" Taga frowned, looking at the other man in confusion, arms folded across her chest, listening carefully to what he had to say.
"Indeed, I have been guarding this altar with my people for hundreds of years. It normally doesn't emit any energy, but only with your arrival has it begun to emit a massive wave of energy." The old man's kind voice tinged with doubt about Taga's energy, and he gently raised a finger to point at her.
"Me? Is it my body's energy affecting it?" Taga raised a finger to herself, indicating that her energy and the altar's energy were interacting.
"I can feel it! You have this ancient energy within you! It's so wonderful, so vast, so vast that even the entire universe cannot contain it!" The old man excitedly raised his hands to the sky, and a golden light emanated from his scepter.
"Is he possessed?" Syl whispered, pouting as he gently approached Taga. He felt like he was a lunatic.
"Don't be so rude." Taga raised a finger and gently tapped Syl's forehead.
After being flicked on the forehead by Taga, Syl fell silent. Resignedly, he rubbed his forehead, reddened by Taga's finger tapping.
"So, what exactly does this altar hide?" Taga looked at him in confusion. He was quite interested in what the altar held.
"This altar hides ruins from ancient times, and these ruins hold everything in the universe!" The old man tapped the ground heavily with the pointed end of his scepter, as if to say something very important.
"This... everything in the universe?" Syl tilted his head as he looked at them, wondering if he had seen anything about this altar in the ancient ruins.
"That's right! That's the 'Heart of Truth'! It's the very foundation of the universe! Without it, the universe would cease to exist! And the energy within the altar originates from it!" The old man looked at Taga with a serious tone.
"And you! You are the key to saving this entire universe! You are the destined one!" The old man raised his scepter and pointed it at Taga.
Taga pointed at herself, looked at him with a puzzled expression, and began to speak doubtfully.
"Am I destined?" Taga looked at Syl, puzzled, because Syl had also said that he was destined.
Syl looked at Taga and nodded solemnly. He raised his hand slightly in a thumbs-up gesture, indicating that Taga was right.
"Why am I destined?" Taga looked at him, puzzled.
"Everything was chosen by the Source!" The old man said "Source" with a hint of respect in his tone.
"The Source?" I am destined, but I only want to find a way to redeem my past." Taga looked at him, his fists clenched tightly.
"Everything that happens to you is destined. You cannot change it... No matter how you try, you will eventually follow the path that belongs to you. The old man smiled, a smile of affirmation for Taga.
Taga's expression was filled with confusion. He didn't understand the meaning of this statement at the moment, but he would fully understand it in the future.
"Have you received some guidance... that you want to enter the altar?" The old man looked at Taga and Syl, his tone demanding confirmation.
"That's right! We are going to the altar! Can you let us in?" "Syl spoke first, his eyes filled with pleading.
The old man lowered his head in thought. After a moment, he raised his head and nodded, agreeing to Taga and Syl's request to enter the altar.
Taga bowed, expressing his gratitude.
The old man turned and gestured for Taga and Syl to follow him, then walked towards the altar.
Taga and Syl hurried after him.
Soon... they arrived at the old altar. The old man walked to it, raised his scepter, and muttered in an unknown language.
Taga and Syl stood behind the old man, watching him chant to the altar, something they could not hear. The same language.
Suddenly, the rune at the center of the altar glowed strangely, its center slowly opening, and a vast energy surged from the altar.
Taga felt the comfort brought by this energy, flowing through his body and ultimately entering his soul.
Taga raised his palm and felt the energy within him grow stronger. He then looked toward the altar, observing the energy emanating from it, and his heart was filled with the desire to explore what secrets it held.
The old man turned and looked at Taga, his scepter radiating energy, his eyes filled with Taga's affirmation.
"Next, you will explore this ruin. I believe you can do it!" The old man nodded solemnly, looking at Taga with the tenderness he would give to his own child.
"Thank you for your help... I will do it!" Taga's tone was filled with emotion, and he smiled at the other person.
Taga then let Syl jump onto his back. Syl obediently jumped onto Taga's back and hugged Taga's neck tightly. Taga then jumped down from the center of the altar.
The old man standing at the edge of the altar smiled as he watched Taga's receding figure.
"Taga... you are beginning to grow... your future achievements are limitless..." With this, the old man turned and left with the elves.
Elsewhere...
Huge ships sailed across the sea, and aboard them stood numerous soldiers.
Rhazoth stood at the bow, gazing at the sea. He exuded the aura of the most powerful beings of the past, and the air around him was distorted by waves of energy.
Distortion suddenly approached Rhazoth, holding a glass of red wine in one of his tentacles.
"My great Lord Rhazoth! What do you see?" Distortion smiled with his fake smile, his tone tinged with a hint of doubt.
"The old ruins of the Heart of Truth have been opened... and the Destined One has entered." Rhazoth said this indifferently, his expression impassive from beginning to end.
"It's opened? That's fantastic! Thank you so much for your help!" Distortion slowly took a sip of red wine, a strange aura emanating from his strange eyes.
"Are you currently unable to fully utilize your power?" Rhazoth asked Distortion doubtfully, his gaze fixed firmly on the front.
"It can't be helped. This body is too weak, and I'm bound by this damn barrier. I can't use my power at all... but it's enough to deal with the Destined One!" Distortion's tone was filled with confidence, and the smile on his lips grew increasingly sinister.
"The Creator God has placed too many restrictions on us. I must recover my torso! Only then can we achieve our goal!" Rhazoth's tone was indifferent, but a hint of anger lingered beneath.
"We can do it! Hahaha!" Distortion laughed, looking up to the sky!
His sinister laugh echoed throughout the multiverse...