In one of the higher worlds — a world said to be created by a god's own hands — on a young and untamed planet, a boy was born.
A human boy.
He had black hair and eyes as dark as the empty void, eyes that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it.
Like any other child, he played without worry, climbing trees, running through orchards, and filling his days with simple joys.
But everything changed when he turned six.
One day, while gathering fruit from a tall tree near his home, he climbed higher than usual, reaching for the ripest ones. The branch beneath him creaked — thin, dry, and unstable.
It snapped.
The boy fell.
Below the tree stood a small, crude furnace he had helped build — an improvised structure of stones and hardened rods, used for simple cooking and burning scraps. He fell straight into it.
There was a sickening crack.
His skull was damaged.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Minutes passed.
Then, impossibly, the boy moved.
Slowly, unsteadily, he pushed himself up and stood, as if nothing had happened. The human head is the most vital part of the body — any such injury should have been fatal.
But he felt no pain.
None at all.
Only warm blood streamed down from his head, thick and constant, blurring his vision and dripping onto the ground below.
Confused and terrified, the boy reached out blindly, his hands trembling. He tore a large leaf from a nearby plant — oversized in his small grip — and pressed it against his head, trying to stop the bleeding.
It barely helped.
His vision darkened at the edges, not from pain, but from blood and weakness.
Driven by pure instinct and adrenaline, he stumbled forward, then broke into a desperate run toward home, passing through the orchard he knew so well — though now it felt unfamiliar, distant.
He burst through the door and began to scream.
Calling for his parents.
Over and over again.
But no one answered.
The house was empty.
In the distance, his mother was returning home, carrying a small basket. At first, she thought she heard something — a faint, broken cry carried by the wind.
Then she saw him.
A small figure, covered in blood.
Her heart stopped.
She dropped everything and ran toward him in panic.
But the boy didn't see her.
His strength was gone.
The world around him faded into darkness.
And before she could reach him…
He collapsed.