In the Northern Region, one of the hottest territories of the Phoenix Dynasty, the clouds in the sunny sky suddenly trembled and split apart, accompanied by a deep, resonant sound. The cause was a golden cicada that tore through the heavens at lightning speed, descending toward the surface and shaking the air with its impact.
Below, an area surrounded by trees began to sway violently. The wind from above was so fierce it tore off every leaf. Birds resting on branches took flight in panic.
Amidst the chaos, a young man sleeping on a fallen log suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils trembling. Yun Han felt his heart pounding erratically, and his ears nearly burst from the deafening sound waves echoing through the air.
To make matters worse, the force of the wind hurled leaves against his skin, slicing it open with deep cuts due to their insane speed.
"That hurts!" Yun Han grumbled, standing up with a distorted expression. Adrenaline surged through his veins, numbing his senses for a brief moment.
He stepped on the ground and ran with all his might.
He didn't look back. He didn't stop to see what was happening. He didn't even care about the blood staining his clothes red.
For Yun Han, only survival mattered at that moment. Running without rest, he soon escaped the danger zone. When he no longer felt the wind tearing into his flesh, he collapsed on the ground like a dead dog.
"I survived! But why the hell did that wind come out of nowhere?"
Still curious, Yun Han pressed his palm against the blood-splattered ground and used his remaining strength to stand up.
As he rose, his muscles tightened, and the weakness only grew worse. His vision darkened, and his head throbbed painfully.
Eyes wide open, Yun Han turned around, driven by curiosity. Then he saw something golden descending from the sky—a shining streak sliding down like lightning. Before he could blink, that bizarre thing shot straight into his open mouth, which had dropped in shock.
"Swallow!"
He swallowed his saliva along with the thing, which slid down his throat and instantly choked him.
Cough! Cough!
Yun Han tried to spit it out, but it was useless.
"Am I going to die?"
Tears streamed from his eyes, running down his pale cheeks.
"What a shitty life!"
Yun Han never imagined that a simple nap would lead to his death. "What a pathetic way to die! Damn curiosity! Why was I stupid enough to look back?"
He regretted it.
But unfortunately, there's no medicine for regret in this world.
Closing his eyes, he prepared to die. However, before losing consciousness, he felt the thing he had swallowed dissolve in his throat, turning into a liquid…
"This is… sweet!"
Yun Han suddenly became lucid, surprised by the sugary taste—like honey. It was the most delicious liquid he had ever tasted. Drinking it as if it were water, he relaxed, feeling a warm sensation spread through his body, sealing his wounds within seconds.
"This is real!"
Yun Han shouted, his vision clearing. Joy overflowed from his face. In just a few seconds, he had gone from hell to heaven.
But before he could celebrate, the sound of breaking trees echoed nearby, followed by dozens of footsteps—a furious horde charging his way.
"Not again!" Yun Han panicked. This time, he didn't make the same mistake. With all the strength in his legs, he bolted forward.
Explosion!
Boom!
Behind him, a beast tide was rampaging. The smaller ones were crushed into blood and pulp, while the larger beasts smashed trees apart with their massive bodies. The fastest ones led the charge.
A leopard darted past Yun Han at blinding speed but didn't even glance at him—its own survival mattered more.
Seeing this, Yun Han's scalp tingled.
"Damn it! Why did fate decide to screw me today?"
He cursed, running with everything he had, overtaken by several agile beasts. Now only the largest ones remained—the most dangerous of all. Swallowing hard, Yun Han heard the thunderous roars less than a hundred meters behind him.
"Faster! I have to run faster!"
As if possessed, he pushed his limits, leaving only a blur behind. The beast tide swallowed the dust he left.
"I still have a chance!"
Yun Han smiled—but his eyes widened when he realized the solid ground ahead vanished.
"Screw it!" he yelled, trying to stop, but he was going too fast. He tripped over his own feet, tumbling across the ground and reopening his wounds. And to make things worse, he fell into a bottomless abyss.
"Aaaaaaah!"
His scream was swallowed by the wind. The world spun around him—blue in every direction.
"Fuck this blue shit!"
Yun Han still managed to curse before hitting something hard.
Boom!
He crashed into an icy surface that froze his body instantly. Thousands of droplets exploded around him.
"I fell… into water?"
Dazed, Yun Han remembered something crucial.
"I can't swim!"
Before he could finish the thought, he sank deeper into the river. Holding his breath, he thrashed his arms desperately, hoping for a miracle—but nothing happened. He kept sinking further and further.
'What a day, huh? Can it get any worse?'
Out of air, Yun Han gave up. His mind cracked. Three near-death experiences in less than an hour—it was too much.
He stopped struggling, accepting his fate. But before he truly died, something emerged from the depths.
Woooooooh!
A sound like a whale's song echoed, making the entire river tremble. The waters surged upward like a tsunami.
Before Yun Han completely lost consciousness, he found himself being hurled upward, carried by the rising wave. Before he could even process what was happening, he was already airborne.
"..."
'Damn it! I accept death—I live! I want to live—shit happens! I overcome it—more shit comes! Are you kidding me?!'
He felt like a toy—a puppet in the hands of fate, which seemed to be laughing at his misery.
For example, now. He was back to square one.
How the hell was he supposed to survive falling from the sky?
Once again, Yun Han gave up. And as he plummeted, he gazed at the view from above. It was beautiful. Ahead, a lush green plain stretched as far as the eye could see, and below, the river flowed in a vast blue expanse. But for some reason, the water was still rising.
"If it keeps rising, won't it flood the plains? It'll kill thousands of people living there! Damn it!"
Yun Han felt guilty, though he didn't quite understand why.
"Wait… why am I feeling guilty? I didn't do anything wrong! Fate's the bastard here! But… is it really my fault?"