On an immense lake, so vast and silent that it seemed to blend into the horizon, stood a young man of attractive but simple appearance. His presence was neither imposing nor intimidating; it was serene, almost humble, as if he himself sought to go unnoticed. No one who saw him would think there was anything extraordinary about him... until they met his gaze.
His eyes were a universe unto themselves. They sparkled with the reflections of the sun, the softness of the moon, and the twinkling of countless stars. It was like observing all the lights of the cosmos gathered in a single pair of pupils. That young man was Daverion, the master of light.
As he gazed at the vast lake, motionless and calm as if it were part of the landscape, the fishing rod at his side began to tremble slightly. First it was a gentle, almost imperceptible tug. Then, suddenly, the water around him began to ripple with unnatural force.
The transformation was abrupt.
The lake, serene until a moment ago, convulsed as if an entire ocean had awakened within it. Giant waves rose one after another, crashing against the shore with a roar that made the earth vibrate. A deep roar emerged from the depths of the water, a sound so brutal and primitive that it would have frozen the heart of any living being.
Then, breaking through the tumultuous surface, a huge serpent appeared. Its body was so large that it seemed to displace the lake itself around it. Its every movement caused the water to explode in cascades, and its presence was so overwhelming that even the strongest beings on that planet would be on guard when they saw it.
But Daverion remained there, sitting calmly, completely indifferent to the chaos that this colossal beast had unleashed before him. His expression did not change for a second, as if the monster's fury were merely a breeze around him.
Daverion watched the snake with an almost disconcerting calm.
"Why all the noise?" he murmured, almost amused. "You're just a little snake. I've caught much bigger things when I roamed the universe."
His voice did not rise; it was soft, relaxed, as if he were commenting on the weather. That serenity contrasted sharply with the chaos of the lake and the colossal creature facing him.
Upon hearing those words, the serpent released such a dense aura of murderous intent that the air became heavy, almost solid. Its entire body vibrated with rage. From its reptilian eyes emanated a burning hatred, an indignation that seemed to set fire to the water still dripping from its scales.
Inside, wild thoughts raged like storms.
How dare he?
That tiny human, powerless, with nothing to distinguish him...
How dare he try to fish me?
The waves continued to crash around him as his mind roared.
I am the ruler of these waters.
One of the most powerful creatures on this entire planet.
Not even the emperors of the great dynasties, bearers of ancient and feared lineages, would dare to provoke him in this way. They all respected him, feared him, surrounded him
with caution.
But that young man...
That ordinary human...
That being who showed not the slightest trace of cultivation...
How? How could he force me out?
The snake couldn't understand it. It saw no spiritual energy in him. It sensed no strength, no pressure, no sign of power. It was like standing in front of an empty pond, a presence without ripples.
And yet...
There she was, torn from her depths by something she couldn't understand.
Indignation burned even more fiercely in her chest.
This makes no sense.
I don't accept it.
I won't tolerate it.
The serpent opened its mouth, and immediately the air around it seemed to crack. Inside its throat, a whirlwind of energy formed, sucking in every particle of the environment as if the whole world were breathing in. The light in the room curved, the winds stopped, and even the shadows stretched toward that open maw that devoured everything.
The accumulation of power was so dense that space trembled, vibrating like a string stretched to its limit.
Then the serpent attacked.
The gathered energy compressed into a fierce point and exploded outward, turning into a beam of light so intense that the sky instantly changed color. The beam was thrown directly at Daverion.
As it advanced, its trajectory divided the waters of the lake into two gigantic walls, separating them as if an entire ocean had split apart in obedience to a furious will. Anything in its path—rocks, plants, creatures, even the air itself—disintegrated without a trace.
The lake trembled.
The earth shook.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
And the lightning bolt continued on its course, straight toward him.
I could have avoided all this spectacle, all this disturbance. All I had to do was show the slightest trace of my aura, a fraction of my power, and this creature would have fallen to its knees without a sound.
I could even suppress it, compress it until it was tiny, hold this being in the palm of my hand as if it were a worm, and crush it with a simple snap of my fingers.
So easy.
So trivial.
But what would be the point?
Daverion let out a soft, almost lazy laugh that faded away on the wind.
It was more entertaining this way.
More interesting.
More alive.
"How else would I show my greatness?" he murmured, letting a mischievous smile curve his lips.
There was a particular gleam in his eyes, the kind of gleam that comes when one is amused by something that, to anyone else, would be pure terror.
A sigh escaped from his chest, long and deep, laden with a nostalgia that bordered on the eternal.
"I suppose all that makes life more interesting," he said quietly. "After all...
it's been so long."
His words hung in the air, as if the world itself listened with respect.
Daverion stood there, motionless, with the same carefree calm as before. However, when he raised his hand, his power was unleashed. That presence, which until then had gone completely unnoticed by all beings in this world, became impossible to ignore.
The world shook.
The heavens thundered as if they were about to split apart.
Every living person on the surface of the planet—from the humble farmer to the kings and emperors locked in their palaces—trembled without understanding why. The leaders of the great sects were dismayed, unable to explain the phenomenon that shook their souls.
In the Celestial Court, suspended high in the sky, the members of the council's expressions changed radically. Faces that had been serene turned to pure astonishment, fear, and bewilderment as they watched the transformation of the world caused by that devastating presence.
Without exception, they all directed their consciousness toward the source of the power.
And what they saw left them speechless.
A young man.
Just a young man whose mere existence caused such enormous pressure that their hearts seemed about to break.
As he raised his hand, a small sun began to form at the tip of one of his fingers: a bright, compact sphere, so dense with light and heat that it seemed to contain the fury of a real star in miniature. As that sun grew, a scorching heat spread throughout the world, devouring everything it touched.
When it reached its fullness, the immense lake at Daverion's feet lost a fifth of its volume in an instant, evaporating in a sigh.
The serpent, a direct witness to that horror, felt terror take hold of its entire body. Its breathing became frantic. Despair flooded it. Regret corrupted it. The heat of the sun began to melt its scales as if they were butter under a divine flame.
"M-Master... please... don't destroy me," the serpent implored, its voice trembling. "I didn't know who you were... I didn't recognize you... Sovereign of Light, why dirty your hands with someone as insignificant as me?
Daverion only laughed softly.
And then he threw the sun.
The sphere he had created was three times larger than the lake itself. As it fell, the surface of the water evaporated in a matter of seconds, and all life within it was consumed without resistance. The lightning bolt the serpent had fired earlier struck the sun, but far from stopping it, it was devoured by it, further increasing its size and power.
The serpent tried desperately to flee, but as soon as it moved a muscle, it realized it couldn't. Its body refused to obey it. The invisible chains of fear and Daverion's energy completely paralyzed it.
But none of that mattered.
When the sun came into contact with its body, Daverion uttered a single word, a final sentence that sealed the fate of everything.
"Solar explosion."
The sun exploded.
The explosion destroyed everything: the serpent, the lake, and the mountains surrounding it. Space itself was torn apart; parts of it melted, distorting like glass under a hellish fire. The sound of the explosion reverberated throughout the region, reaching even the Celestial Court.
And yet...
Daverion was still there.
Standing in the same place.
The area around him, not even a square meter, remained intact, completely oblivious to the utter destruction that spread beyond his feet.
All the power, all the overwhelming aura he had manifested, vanished in an instant. All that remained was a simple young man, with no visible trace of power, as if nothing had happened.
"If I didn't have power, you would have destroyed me, little snake," he said calmly, looking at the huge smoking crater. "I just went out to play. I was walking around, saw this huge lake, and wanted to fish. Then I was going to let you go... but you didn't know how to behave. And this is the result."
Daverion silently contemplated the ruins and desolation. The smoke rose slowly, as if the world were still trying to process what had happened.
"I should go to the Celestial Court of this world and say hello..." he murmured playfully.
For a moment, he imagined the chaos, the trembling on their faces, the forced silence. All of that would have been fun... a long time ago.
"No. Better not," he concluded. "It would be a waste of time, and time is shorter than you think."
The wind passed by him like a tired sigh, stirring up dust and ashes. Then, a faint sensation brushed the depths of his being. It was not a voice or a sound, but an ancient echo vibrating somewhere beyond the sky and the world.
A call.
Familiar.
Forgotten.
Impossible.
Daverion narrowed his eyes.
"Ah... I see," he whispered. "The channel
is beginning to run dry."
He walked away from the crater, unhurried, as if following a path already traveled in dreams.
"This universe will soon reach the end of its river," he said slowly. "And when that happens, everyone will disappear. Even us, the rulers."
A calm smile accompanied his last words.
"I suppose it's time to prepare myself. After all... the call always returns."
And Daverion continued on his way, leaving behind a world that still did not understand what it had awakened.