In the Gods' Realm, peace was as natural as breathing. Joy filled every corner, and the gods lived like families—bickering at times, caring at others, but always together.
Then one day, the sky turned dark without warning. Thunder rolled like distant drums of judgment. Suddenly, the heavens ripped open. Through the tear fell a fireball, glowing like a second sun, crashing toward their land.
The gods gathered, elders among them, faces drawn tight with resolve. They wove their power into a shield, hopes held in every strand. But the fireball struck the barrier and shattered it like brittle glass.
Flames and smoke roared through their homeland. Temples crumbled. Homes were torn apart. For many, life ended in ash.
In the palace, King Wei Chen and Queen Li Na watched the ruin around them. In that hour of sorrow, their son was born—a small boy with bright, curious eyes. Yet their joy was hollow. Famine spread across the realm. Years passed with no rain, no crops. Hundreds of gods fell to hunger.
As the survivors prepared to leave, shadows emerged—dark spirits from the Demon Realm. They hunted the divine beast, the Bai Hu, whose strength they craved. The weakened gods had no means to fight back. Many suffered and died under the spirits' cruel hands.
Wei Chen and Li Na knew their son would be next. Desperate, they forged a portal to the human world. They shaped a shell like an egg and drew a symbol on the child's forehead, a promise that they would find him if they survived. They placed their son inside and sealed the shell, hiding the Bai Hu's essence within him.
The egg vanished through the gate.
Anger and grief drove the dark spirits to the palace. They found only the king and queen. The demons walked slowly towards them with their sword on their shoulders, making a wicked smile on their lips. "Well, well. Mr. Wei Chen, we came in peace. We will spare your life if you hand over the Bai Hu." Wei Chen laughed as he feared nothing. Then he moved a step and said in a way that can make you feel angry. "No!" One of the demons jumped and caught Wei's chest and Li Na's head. They fell to the ground dead, and blood split out as a waterfall.
Wei Chen, wounded and weak, lifted a trembling hand and pointed at a wall, and draw a faint portal. His voice, soft but urgent, broke the silence: "Xiao… find my son." Then he slipped into stillness.
Xiao, the king's brother, knelt beside them, tears streaming down his face. There was no time for sorrow. He leapt into the portal before it closed, leaving behind the shattered halls and fallen gods. The spirits roared in rage but could not follow.
Silence fell once more. The Gods' Realm lay empty, its protectors gone, their legacy carried on in a single child.
---
Thousands of years passed in the human world. Generations came and went, especially across the lands of China.
The world had changed. Now, machines filled homes, and people lived faster lives. Everyone was busy—too busy, even for their own children. In the northern part of China, far from the noise of cities, there was a quiet village. The people there were poor but made do. They lived by hunting, fishing, and selling whatever they could.
Among them was a man named Li Shen. He wore old, torn clothes and lived in a small hut with his family. He was a hunter—tired, thin, and worn by the years. That day, he had been walking for hours into the cold mountains, looking for something to catch.
His breath came in slow clouds, his boots heavy with mud and snow. He stopped and looked at the sky.
"Oh, heavens," he whispered, his voice soft, almost breaking. "Please help me find something. My family's waiting. I can't go home with nothing again."
He kept walking, deeper into the wild. The trees grew silent around him. Wind howled faintly across the mountain's edge. After a while, he reached a cave where the air felt sharp and colder than before.
Inside, he saw something strange. A faint blue light was glowing at the back of the cave. His steps slowed, careful, steady.
"What in the world is that…" he muttered, squinting through the frost.
He crept closer. There it was—a large egg, frozen stiff, wrapped in thick layers of ice. The cold had sealed it in tight. Judging by the ice, it must've been there for years.
Li Shen knelt beside it. "What kind of creature leaves something like this?" he said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.
He reached out and placed a hand on it. The surface was smooth, icy, yet somehow warm underneath. Then, the blue light pulsed again—brighter this time. A wave of pressure pushed him back a few steps. His heart beat faster, but he didn't run.
He gripped his axe. "Whatever you are, I need to see you," he said under his breath.
He raised the axe and struck the shell. Once. Twice. Three times. It didn't break. Not even a crack. He hit harder, his arms shaking, but the egg held firm.
"What's inside this thing?" he whispered, his eyes wide with wonder. "I have to know."
Then, suddenly, the egg lit up completely—deep blue, almost blinding. Strange sounds echoed from within. A soft tapping, like something was trying to get out.
And then, with a loud crack, the egg burst.
A wave of force threw Li Shen across the cave. He slammed into the wall, groaning as he hit the ground. But even hurt, he looked up. His eyes locked on the broken shell.
There, lying in the center of the shattered pieces… was a baby.
A boy.
He stared, breathless.
"What… what are you?"
Li Shen moved slowly through the cave, each step echoing against the cold, damp stone. His sword hung from his hand, but his grip hadn't loosened. He knelt, cautiously, before the strange glowing figure on the ground. A child—barely the size of a toddler—wrapped in a strange, shell-like cocoon. The boy's body gave off a faint blue light, and on his forehead, a strange symbol pulsed softly, like it was breathing with him.
Li Shen stared.
"What am I supposed to do…?" he muttered under his breath, pacing slightly in the small space. "Take him? Leave him? What if he's cursed?"
He crouched again, slower this time. His eyes stayed locked on the glowing mark as he reached out and gently lifted the child. The boy was warm—alive. Li Shen could hear the soft rhythm of his heartbeat, steady and strong despite the cold.
"Who are you…?" he whispered, voice barely more than a breath. "How're you still alive in a place like this?"
Snow had already started to fall outside when he stepped out, the wind biting through his clothes like small knives. He had no extra blankets, no warmth to offer—but he stripped off his coat anyway, wrapping the child in it without a second thought. His own body shivered as the cold gripped him harder.
He trudged forward through the snow, holding the child close, trying not to think too much. Then, just ahead, something moved.
Three big cute rats scurried across the white field, their noses twitching like they were hunting. Li Shen's eyes lit up. Food. With one smooth motion, he grabbed an arrow from his pack and flung it. It struck with perfect aim. All three rats dropped.
A small grin touched his lips. "Rats… on snow? That's not right. But who cares right now?"
He scooped them up and continued on, disappearing into the white blur.
---
In the Demon Realm…
Inside a cold stone hall, the air crackled with dark energy.
"Mr. Tai," a figure knelt, fists clenched. "My strength is ready. I'll go to the human realm and bring back the Divine Beast."
A slow, rumbling laugh echoed from the shadows.
"Haha… Very well. But don't take this lightly." Mr. Tai stepped forward, a dark robe sweeping the ground. His face was hidden, but his voice held a weight that silenced the room. "That child—if you fail to kill him—he'll be the end of us all."
The man nodded deeply, then turned and walked away into the mist. Behind him, Mr. Tai stood still, whispering to himself.
"It's been a thousand years... and now the boy awakens. Hah… let's see what fate has left behind."
---
Back in the human realm…
Li Shen finally arrived at the edge of a small wooden house tucked among the hills. Smoke rose gently from the chimney. His two children rushed out the moment they saw him.
"Baba!" the little boy shouted, leaping into his arms.
"Papa's back!" the girl squealed, hugging his leg tight.
Li Shen gave them both a tired smile, crouching to hold them close.
From inside the house, a woman stepped out—her face soft and kind, even in the cold. Her name was Meiyun, and her eyes widened as she noticed the shape bundled in Li Shen's coat.
"What are you carrying, Li?" she asked, puzzled, her voice gentle but alert.
Li Shen gently set the rats on the table, nodding toward his daughter. "Xinyi, cook these up fast. We've got something warm to eat tonight."
Then he turned to Meiyun and carefully unwrapped the coat. The glow of the child's body was faint now, but the strange symbol on his forehead still shimmered like trapped lightning.
"I found him in a cave," Li Shen said quietly. "I couldn't just leave him there."
Meiyun stepped back slightly, her breath catching. Her warm expression faded into one of fear and confusion.
"Li… no. No, look at that mark on his head. That's not human. What if he's a demon? Or worse—a curse?"
He stared at her, unsure of what to say. Her sudden anger made his chest tighten.
"I know what it looks like," he said, his voice low. "But I couldn't let him freeze to death out there. Snow bears, wild wolves… anything could've killed him. I'm not heartless. Just… let's care for him. Just until we know what he is. Let's treat him like our own. Like a little brother to the kids."
Just then, his son—Xun—puffed his cheeks and crossed his arms.
"What?! I don't want a brother! I like it just me!"
Li Shen sighed, crouching again to meet his son's eyes. "Sometimes we don't get to choose our family. But we can choose to protect them."
As he spoke, a strange light flickered. The mark on the mysterious boy's forehead sparked like lightning—sharp and sudden. It lit the room with a crackling pulse.
Then… silence.