Sigh!
An old man let out a breath of turbid air in worry, looking at the pitiful three Essence Stones in his savings. He had fallen sick, unable to work recently. And hence, he had to use up the meagre savings that he had accumulated when he was healthier.
He was alone. His son had been working as a servant to a Clan's young master. And when he had spoken out of order once, he was beheaded, and the punishment also extended to his family, resulting in all their deaths.
The old man had gone to a village far away to buy some local specialities as a present to his granddaughter, only to come to an empty, blood-stained house.
Even though he wished to seek revenge, he was just a weak old man while the other party was the young master of a powerful Clan of cultivators.
As the years passed, he gradually fell sick due to both age and worry, resulting in the current situation where even his hatred had cooled down, only leaving behind emptiness.
"I'll meet the lot of you soon enough." He sighed, gazing at the sky as he sat at the entrance to his house, watching the clouds span past, muttering, "I don't have enough to survive. Today will be my last. This old body is done for. If only I could hear their voices one last…"
"Granted!"
He hadn't even finished his sentence when a heavenly voice resounded in his ears. Immediately after, the old man's eyes glazed over, immersed in a hallucination of the past where his family existed.
Sure, they had a lot of troubles to face, but they were still happy as a family. Unlike usual nostalgia, the old man's hallucination allowed him to experience the time from the past, wholly, as if he had returned to the past.
Until he understood that it was just a hallucination, the old man was there, gradually returning to reality, staring at the clouds continuing to span past like usual.
"Aaah!" He teared up, sighing as he closed his eyes, "That's enough for me."
And through that, he breathed his last, seated at the entrance to his house, leaning on the door, a pitiful old man that only wished to see his family, nothing else.
In a similar fashion, people from all walks of life heard the same heavenly voice, resulting in a miracle that granted their wishes.
Though, these wishes never happened for those that only made the wish while spurred by greed, avarice, hatred, etc.
Only those that desperately sought solace to cull their sufferings had their wishes granted.
And as he continued to grant the wishes of everyone, Hazen's figure gradually began to shrink as the horns on his back vanished eventually. Moreover, his form slowly turned ethereal, lacking any mass, turning into a concept.
One after another, his figure appeared above various cities, granting the wishes of the people en masse by consuming the Mental Energy suffused with their desperate wishes.
And eventually, he left the Realm, entering another Realm, repeating the same.
"Granted!"
Tonas heard the majestic voice as immediately after, he could feel his mind healing as he sensed his thoughts clearing up, gradually setting in a sense of peace.
He could feel that he had become mentally healthier, as if he had taken a long, peaceful sleep, feeling refreshed. He blinked his eyes, closing them as he heard the rustling of leaves, smiling in response.
After all, these sounds of nature were calm to the current him, no longer startling him. Tonas realised that he had overcome his trauma, tearing up in happiness as he looked at his comrades, observing that they too were the same.
"Ha…haha…hahaha!" Bursting into laughter, Tonas fell to the ground, closing his eyes as he began to sleep, appreciating the calmness, the peacefulness of his sleep, and the steady sounds of his breathing.
Upon staring at his peaceful sleeping face, his colleagues smiled happily, dropping to the ground in unison as they didn't care about anything else, taking a peaceful nap for the first time in four years since the devastating war.
Hazen flew past them in the sky, unnoticed for his body had wholly turned ethereal, now a form of Mental Energy.
Only those that wielded Mental Energy were able to see him now. As for everyone else, he was non-existent.
For the next three years, Hazen didn't have a wink of sleep, constantly on the move without a will of his own, almost autonomous as he went around granting the wishes of everyone. And eventually, he found himself back at the Gaider Realm, arriving above Hazen Village as he stared at the people below.
Gradually, his sight locked onto the figure of Alika, staring at her actions as she expertly plucked the fruits from a tree before landing on the ground.
He slowly appeared before her, gently extending his hand to touch her head, watching his hand pass through her, unable to come into contact as he was an ethereal figure now, composed of Mental Energy.
His lifeless eyes gradually regained light, shedding tears soon after as he closed his eyes, accepting his fate, muttering, "I'm…done with my task."
"You can come out now, Compass." Saying so, his form gradually vanished.
"Eh?" Alika suddenly looked around, clutching the chain around her neck, muttering, "Hazen…?"
"Are you here?"
She held it, tightening her hold as she was able to feel his presence stronger now. She looked around, restless as she was unable to find him anywhere, "Hazen! Are you there?"
"Come out if you have returned!"
"Hazen!"
She continued to shout his name, going through the forest, looking around but unable to find any traces of him.
In the meantime, near the edge of the island, a tiny gun materialised into existence, morphing in shape as it expanded in size, turning into a man sporting a darkish-blue hair, possessing an androgynous appearance.
His navy-blue suit sparkled under the light reflected from the water surface as his feet gently touched the water, causing a ripple as he stood on the surface, taking in a deep breath as he sensed the power brimming within him, muttering, "I'm back."
Main Character—Level 1!
