The Beginning of Descent

The nascent five-colored morning glow slowly illuminated the skyscrapers in the center of Shanghai.

The warm sunlight streamed through the clouds, shining on the earth, signifying the start of a new day.

In the early morning, in an unremarkable residential area, a cold spring breeze slowly blew in... Whenever the spring breeze gently blew into residents' homes with doors and windows not properly closed, a man wrapped in a blanket would peek his head out, reach out his hands to gently close the doors and windows, and then return inside to catch up on sleep.

The slightly cold morning breeze, like a mischievous child, darted in and out of houses. After the occupants inside closed their doors and windows, it would then slip into another house.

As it felt like it had visited every house and was about to leave, it suddenly discovered a house in an inconspicuous corner whose doors and windows were still not closed. Feeling somewhat disrespected, the wind gathered all its strength and whipped up a gust, rushing straight inside.

Whoosh~~~~~

The strong wind blowing into the house sent the purple curtains on the windows fluttering wildly. Along with the curtains, a pungent odor and the metallic smell of blood wafted from inside the house.

The pristine white floor inside was stained with specks of crimson. Following these crimson specks, one would find that these drops of blood led all the way from the window inside to the living room.

Looking down, four corpses lay on the ground: two elderly people, a woman, and a child... On each of the decaying bodies, four to five flies crawled and buzzed, extremely disgusting.

Shifting our gaze from these seven corpses, we looked to the side, where a boy of fifteen or sixteen lay slumped on the ground. This boy sat quietly on the floor, his eyes looking at the four corpses with disgust, as if they were those disgusting bluebottle flies...

The boy, slumped on the ground, held a kitchen knife in his right hand and a short knife in his left. Glancing back, the numerous stab wounds on the corpses on the ground, when compared with the blood-stained knives in the boy's hands, made it clear who had killed the unseeing corpses and how.

Clink... The sound of the blade hitting the floor.

The boy forced himself to stand up, walked to a landline phone not far away, curved his lips slightly, picked up the receiver, and reported himself to the police...

On the third day, the case of the Shanghai mayor's entire family being murdered, which had shocked the whole of SH City, was brought to trial at the High People's Court.

When the bailiffs brought the murderer of the mayor's family to the entrance, all the reporters stared in shock at the boy standing at the defendant's table. From their perspective, the boy, who was less than 1.7 meters tall, appeared weak and frail. His pale face and the bruises on his face told a story.

No matter how they thought about it, the reporters couldn't fathom how this boy, who looked like he was about to faint, had brutally killed five people with a knife, including a child who was around his own age.

During the trial, the boy confessed to his crimes one by one without hesitation. He showed no concern for a life that would likely be spent behind bars forever. In fact, whenever the boy's gaze swept over the prosecutor, the mayor of SH City, his previously indifferent eyes would fill with the pleasure and fervor of revenge.

Finally... before the judge announced the verdict, the judge, who was nearly fifty years old, turned to the boy one last time and asked, "What is your name? And why did you so brutally murder Mayor Wu Xiong's entire family?"

The boy glanced at the judge, then turned around and said, "My name is Drake D. Xia. As for why I killed this bastard's family? Heh heh..."

The boy lowered his head and chuckled eerily, then raised his head again and said ferociously, "Naturally, it's because that bastard was too hard to kill! So I had to 'pay the debt myself'!"

"You animal!! You beast!!! What did I ever do to deserve such revenge?! Why would you do this to me?! My child was only 10 years old! 10 years old! He was so young, and you could still do it??! You beast... beast!!" The mayor, who had been trying to remain calm, finally erupted under the provocation of Xia's words.

Agitated, he desperately tried to move his obese body to rush over, but he was immediately stopped by the bailiffs who rushed to his side.

Meanwhile, the reporters (in the public trial) raised their cameras and took numerous photos of the mayor and Xia. Looking at the mayor, who was crying and sniffling as he accused Xia of his crimes, people couldn't help but feel sympathy for him, instinctively viewing Xia as a wicked murderer who had taken lives, and moreover, a juvenile offender.

After the judge sentenced Xia to life imprisonment, as the bailiffs were about to escort him away, Xia suddenly turned his head and said, "If you want to hate, hate your momentary greed when you accepted 200,000 yuan in bribes from the perpetrator who hit and killed my 6-year-old sister. This led to my mother, who had just emerged from the shadow of being betrayed by her husband, raising me and my sister through hardship, only to die from excessive grief over my sister's sudden death!

In just three days, I lost the two most precious people in my life!! Experience this hellish pain yourself!

Repent! Regret! Be enraged! Hate! And then die with your filthy body! This is my lifelong curse... just as I curse the man who betrayed my mother! The scars left by his betrayal are tens of thousands of times more painful than what you are suffering now!! Bastard!

After saying his last words, Xia was completely led away from the courtroom. When the reporters snapped out of Xia's almost demonic curse, they found that both parties involved had already left the scene.

On the third day after Xia was sent to the labor reform prison...

He was found to have bitten his tongue and committed suicide in his cell.

"A tragic existence... my poor child. Wake up, wake up..."

In a warm, azure ocean, I vaguely heard someone speaking, as if to me.

"Wake up, my poor child... Return to me..." Such a warm voice... like a mother's... I thought as I heard the voice clearly again.

When I regained consciousness clearly and then got up from the water, all I saw was the boundless azure sea.

The seawater flowing around my feet was so warm and reassuring. Breathing the air, which was as fresh as a dream, and looking at the spotless sky. I gazed at the pure white clouds drifting across the sky.

Turning around, I saw a small island not far away, covered in green grass and blooming with countless flowers. On it were various gentle animals that had become extinct in ancient times.

Even the normally ferocious carnivorous animals became gentle and kind under the island's atmosphere. For example, rabbits wrestled with lions, and tigers raced with white deer... The entire island was filled with an atmosphere of peace and mutual love...

Seeing all this happening before my eyes, I couldn't help but be slightly stunned, then I mumbled uncertainly, "The legendary... utopia? Avalon?"

"Heh heh, that's not right, my child... This is not the fantasy utopia that humans imagine, but the convergence of human consciousness's goodwill, the Silent Sea," the mysterious voice said gently.

"...Your voice is very gentle, and it makes me feel very at ease. But please don't call me your child. I only have one mother! And she is unique!" I said, looking up at the sky.

"Heh heh... then... shall I call you Xia? Child..." A light laugh echoed from the sky, and the gentle voice spoke again.

"...Still a child... Never mind. Then... even though you probably already know my identity, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Drake D. Xia! A man who has just completed his revenge! Although I don't know who you are, can you please tell me quickly what you want to do?" I asked, clearing my throat.

"To invite you to be the guardian of my being. To become the guardian of this sea of goodwill," the disembodied voice stated directly.

"Uh... are you trying to tease me? Alaya..." I paused slightly, then spoke the true identity of the voice to the sky.

"Heh heh, you've already figured it out..." Alaya, dressed in white, leaped down from the sky and stood directly in front of me.

"When you said this was the convergence of human consciousness's goodwill, I realized it. The one who can hold the key to enter this place, which was once only a fantasy in my mind, can naturally only be the convergence of human consciousness, Alaya," I said, smiling as I looked at the goddess before me.

"Heh, you're smart. Then... your answer? Also... please don't ask me foolish questions about why you chose me. I don't like to discourage people," Alaya blinked and said with a smile.

"...I accept, but on three conditions." I held up three fingers to Alaya.

"Mm.. tell me," Alaya said.

"First: I want to enter the Fate World. For you, the convergence of human consciousness, finding such a parallel world won't be very difficult. Second: After I enter that parallel world, please allow me the right to bring one Heroic Spirit back here with me. Third: I need a 400-year growth period. That's all..." I finished speaking and looked at Alaya.

Alaya looked at me with a strange expression and asked, "Don't you... want to resurrect your two important family members?"

"The dead are dead. Bringing the dead back to life is merely a substitute with someone else's memories forcibly inserted into a body. It's vulgar, self-deceptive, and an inability to face the truth. How could I possibly make such a ridiculous request? Moreover... since Alaya exists, then reincarnation is also inevitable.

Right now, my sister and mother are simply proceeding ahead of time with something they were inevitably going to do. Although I feel sadness and loneliness... I will absolutely not let the past blind me! Where I look directly is! Always forward and to the future! What's more..." As I said this, my expression became like that of a blissfully happy young bride.

"If I can truly find that world, I will be able to meet someone more important than my soul! More important than my very existence! She is noble, she is honest, she is chaste, she is pure, she will never betray her vows! She is like a goddess in my heart! She is also the only woman I completely trust and adore!" As I spoke, I unconsciously grabbed Alaya's shoulders and said excitedly.

Seeing me so excited and happy, Alaya once again felt confusion and incomprehension towards a certain emotion in humanity called "love." Even as a composite entity of human consciousness, she could not fully grasp what this thing, which humans called "love," truly was.

It could make someone powerful enough to overturn the world fall from the sky to the ground. It could turn a weakling, whom even a stray dog could bully, into an existence that even the heavens would have to avoid.

It drove humans mad.

It captivated humans.

It allowed humans to develop their potential and evolve faster than during wartime.

It was the object of everyone's desire.

It was everyone's most precious possession.

It could be more intense than anger.

It could be more sorrowful than sadness.

Yet, it could not be touched, seen, or heard, but it could be clearly felt.

"It's an emotion more willful than willfulness..." Alaya finally concluded about love. Then, Alaya turned her head and told me that she could fulfill my three conditions.

But now I had to tell her where I planned to go for training.

Hearing this, I smiled a smile brighter than the sun and said, "Do I even need to say it? Of course, it's Knight King's Britain!"