Three hundred years ago, long before the horror of Zephyron was known throughout the clans, he was merely a cute and adorable human child. He lived with his small family in the Abyss Clan—a name that is, just like 'Earth' to you.
The Abyss Clan was a distant clan difficult to read within the inter-clan horizon. Its surface stretched wide, but in its center gaped a giant hole of immeasurable depth.
To understand how isolated this Clan was, one must know that travel between clans is not a simple rocket journey or other transportation technology. Heading to another clan does not mean needing vehicles with light speed, or sophisticated rockets, but rather splitting the dimensions of space and time, through portals that can only be opened with super-advanced heavy technology or extraordinary cosmic magic power.
However, clan transfers do not always go well; there will always be danger awaiting them.
News and legends throughout the dimensions are always the same: never mess with space and time. For The One will appear, the Ruler of the Universe and Multiverse who oversees everything. Violating the boundaries of time means summoning The One to come and erase the identity and being of the violator from existence.
Those stories about cosmic entities and strict dimensional rules, for us living in the Abyss Clan, were merely fairy tales told at night. We were isolated, far from the technological advancement and magic of outside clans. The Abyss Clan was a hidden world.
I—Zeph, the boy from the Abyss Clan who still very much enjoyed hunting green Slimes near the house. This was our reality. Though primitive, nature here was brutal. In the outer parts of the gaping Abyss Hole, thousands of dangerous living creatures roamed. The deeper one went into the Abyss chasm, the more savage and powerful its inhabitants became.
The Abyss Clan was divided into four major nations (West, East, South, and North), with geographical landscapes and cultural characteristics that clearly separated them. The East was blanketed by towering mountains and shrouded in captivating beauty. Conversely, the North was an expanse of eternal ice with an extreme super-cold climate, a place where snow never melted. Meanwhile, the West and South regions enjoyed a perfect climate balance, offering dense tropical forests and green hills that spoiled the eyes.
On this vast land surface, life proceeded peacefully, without racial discrimination or wars between nations to divide us. However, the peace we enjoyed was always fragile, disturbed by terrible creatures that never ceased emerging from the belly of the Abyss, a cosmic chasm of untouched and mysterious depth.
Occasionally, groups of researchers or adventurers from other clans arrived here to study the Abyss chasm. They often returned with extraordinary bounties: heads of ancient dragons, stones glowing with unimaginable energy, or fruits that could not be found on any other land. They were often viewed as heroes and bringers of wealth.
I lived in a small village near the lip of the chasm in the East nation. The Slimes that appeared not far from home were always my favorite targets; my best weapon at that time was merely a wooden slingshot. Protecting my parents' garden from the Slimes was a fun routine. We lived simply: gardening, and hunting land animals which, although not as special as the chasm creatures, possessed juicy meat quality and were very delicious to serve on the dinner menu.
"Father, will you go hunting today?" asked Little Zeph innocently one morning.
Father, who had a stern gaze yet was always full of love, looked down. He appeared restless. "It seems not, Son. There is something Father must take care of, and it is very dangerous. It is better for you to stay with your Mother."
Mother approached me, stroking my hair gently. "Yes, Son. Tonight we must sleep at your aunt's place first, okay?"
"Hmm, but Mooom..." Little Zeph pouted, not understanding why the atmosphere suddenly turned tense.
"Enough, come with Mother." Mother held Little Zeph's hand tightly, there was an unusual urgent tone in her gentleness, as if she were hiding a great fear. I didn't know what was happening, but that uncomfortable feeling spread from Mother's grip to my chest.
However, far behind the bustle of the four capital cities, in the heart of state affairs, that discomfort was far more real.
On the other side of the Clan, the leaders of the four great nations gathered in a meeting. The atmosphere inside the majestic stone room was gripping, the energy of conflict filling the air. They were not discussing harvest results or Slime threats; they were discussing the fate of the entire Abyss Clan.
"Hey, it seems you all have crossed the line!" snapped an elder from the West delegation, his voice booming. "This Clan must not be subjected to massive expeditions! That is the mandate our elders passed down!"
My father, who participated in that meeting, added with a heavy voice. "Correct. We believe conducting excessive expeditions into the Abyss will create an imbalance in this clan in the future."
"But with this, we can make this clan much better!" interrupted the King of the North, slamming the table.
"Oh King of the North, we know the snowy conditions in the North make the economy and such difficult," replied an elder standing beside Father. "However, opening the clan and making deals with outside clans to expedite our nature will not resolve anything. It will only invite destruction. This Clan possesses many things other clans do not, and they will come not as partners, but as conquerors!"
The Southern representative, who previously often served as a delegate to other clans, defended himself. "But if we don't do this, there will be no chance for this clan to become better! If you have ever visited other clans, seen their technological progress and mastery of magic, I am sure you would agree with our opinion and the state leaders!"
The meeting split into two camps. The elders and representatives of the East and West strongly rejected the massive opening, worried about the clan's survival. Meanwhile, the King's camp (North, South) was tired of living in difficulty, always being hunted, and wanted to achieve technological progress.
The great meeting ended without a conclusion, only leaving a heated feud and ideological cracks splitting the Abyss Clan.
...
Months passed after that dark meeting, and the poison of division began to spread throughout the Clan. The peaceful life that had sustained inter-racial relations in the Abyss Clan began to crack. Discrimination and racism emerged. Each race began claiming superiority.
Even the Elves living in the depths of the Abyss rose to the surface. With grim faces, they warned the upper world. They opposed the massive expeditions, telling stories that expeditions into the Abyss would only make the Abyss angry, spew out its contents, and destroy the land. However, because those were just ancient "fairy tales" they knew from past inhabitants, the Elves were unable to convince the upper world.
Hatred and inter-racial discrimination grew stronger day by day, until finally, that day arrived.
In the clear blue sky of the Abyss Clan, hundreds of portals suddenly opened—Dimensional Access Holes pulsating with purple and black energy. The appearance of these mass portals changed the expressions of the inhabitants: most were shrouded in fear, but a small portion were actually illuminated by hope.
The people who opposed the expedition immediately flocked to the kingdom to demand confirmation. They knew, to open so many portals, the Kings of the four regions had to activate the Clan Access Keys in each region simultaneously. This was a planned betrayal.
However, the kingdom was surrounded by soldiers. The people were not allowed to enter. Even worse, the residents who agreed with the expedition actually helped the kingdom block those who did not accept it.
Disappointment, heartache, and palpable betrayal exploded. The disregarded people were angry and rebelled. From tired parents to small children brought along by their parents, chaos was no longer controllable. Domestic destruction occurred everywhere.
For four days, the rebellion continued. The Kings, who were supposed to appear and give an explanation, instead vanished. They hid behind the walls of their luxurious kingdoms, leaving the people to destroy each other.
When the rebellion began to grow increasingly uncontrolled, a massive dull black spaceship, shaped like a giant dagger, slowly emerged from the largest portal in the sky. The appearance of that Mothership, followed by thousands of other small ships, made the people on land fall silent for a moment.
Some of them saw destruction emerging from the portal rift. Others, who were still blinded by false hope, instead cheered cheerfully, happy because they could finally experience the technological progress and magic from outside clans.
The small ships landed on the beach. From the ships' hulls, troops in distinctive black military uniforms emerged, equipped with advanced technology. They were not delegates, they were colonizers. Quickly, they drew plasma weapons and detained, even attacked, the residents approaching the beach with curiosity.
"Hey, what is this?! Why are you attacking us?!" shouted a resident, his voice filled with confusion and a sense of betrayal.
Then, from the giant Mothership in the air, a large hologram was projected, overshadowing the entire land. In that hologram, the Kings of each nation appeared. They looked calm, wearing luxurious new robes, but with cold facial expressions.
Everyone choked. This was the moment the bitter truth was spoken.
"Oh inhabitants of the Abyss Clan whom I love very much... This Clan is a great clan. This land is rich in all things very amazing, beautiful, and rarely possessed by other clans."
The King of the South took a deep breath, his face filled with fake sadness.
"However... we, the leaders of every kingdom, feel unable to uphold this responsibility any longer. We are unable to lead this Clan toward a bright future, a future worthy of you all. Therefore, starting now, this clan officially becomes a clan sheltered by the Nefros Clan—a civilization capable of providing the prosperity you crave."
A satisfied smile—which absolutely did not reflect 'sacrifice'—was instead carved on the face of the King of the North after finishing his sentence.
"This is the greatest sacrifice we give. We sold this clan for the sake of your future."
The closing of that speech felt like the blow of an iron hammer on every resident's chest. They finally understood. The Kings had sold them, sold the Abyss Clan—their homeland—to colonizers, just for their own luxury and safety.