An old man stood on the peak of a mountain. He looked down and gazed at the world he had once lived in. The area was hot and the sand covered the mountain. He looked up and watched the suns as they did nothing. They did not move and looked down upon the world. He laughed and then asked:
"Who am I really? Ever since I possessed this ability, I have pursued a single goal. Was I born to fulfil this task, or to change the destiny for which I was chosen? I have no time left. I must act quickly."
***
In a desolate area, far to the west, a young man struggled to get up.
Saeyo had no alarm to wake him, but he didn't need one, for he possessed something of greater importance. Something one needs to survive in this world. His instinct.
He knew when he should get up.
Today was an important day for him. Saeyo had to visit his hometown again to earn a little money. There were many people there interested in his wares. Potions that grant someone certain powers for a short time. Whether they bestow stamina, strength or speed. Any improvement was always an advantage, even if it wasn't that great.
He usually earns enough money to afford food so he can survive. But that's only enough for two days at most, as the journey takes several hours. And since he's only human, he can't get through those hours without breaks. Few ordinary people can survive that long in this heat.
Once he gets back to his hut, he usually has two days off. If you can even call it a break. He never had any rest. Saeyo never wastes his time lazing about. He dedicates his time to training, knowing that he wants to achieve something one day.
Even when he had no powers yet, he knew that one day he would be chosen. With every passing week, more and more people are being chosen.
At first there were just a few people, but now it is clear that, according to statistics, every tenth person has been chosen by the merge. Or by the being that triggered the merge.
The merge was both a misfortune and an opportunity. Lots of people lost their lives or those of their families in the numerous natural disasters. However, people who were previously insignificant have been given the chance to live a successful life thanks to the powers they have gained.
The merge gave the Kenzas something they could never have dreamed of. An opportunity to truly live.
Saeyo slowly sat up. His mind was still in a dreamlike state, but only for a few seconds. Shortly after getting up, he reached for the glass on his bedside table. It was filled halfway with water. He raised the glass to his lips, took a short sip, and the cool water snapped him out of his sleepiness, filling his body with energy once again. He was finally ready to start his day.
The air was dry, and bits of sand were floating around. There was no breeze. The air was completely motionless. Every breath felt as though his lungs would stop working from one moment to the next.
After getting up, he made his way to the broken fridge standing next to the front door of his single-room apartment. He pulled the handle and was not surprised by the interior. It was empty. There were no drinks, no hygiene products, no fruits, nor vegetables. Even his toothpaste was used up.
The room wasn't huge, but it was perfectly suitable for him. In the corner was a mattress that could be described as a bed. Next to it was a narrow bedside table, where he always kept a glass so he wouldn't die of thirst at night. One of the bedside table's two drawers was broken, whilst the top drawer was undamaged. Inside were his toothbrush and a green towel he had found somewhere.
On both sides of the mattress were wooden planks that formed the frame of the bed.
In the other corner, two steps away from the bed, stood a homemade desk. It was made of simple wood that he had found in a crater and taken with him. On the desk were empty water bottles, which he had emptied into his glass over the course of several days. Unfortunately, all but one were empty.
In front of the makeshift desk stood a chair. The chair had four legs, which were meant to prevent it from tipping over. Nevertheless, he never sat on the chair because it appeared unstable. There were also interesting patterns carved into the wood. Saeyo didn't know, whether they had a deeper meaning or were simply there to add to the beauty.
On the wall above the desk hung three pictures in frames, which had once been given to him by an elderly woman. They were pictures of two different houses and a cave entrance. Saeyo himself didn't know what they were meant to represent, but he had a theory.
His theory was that they meant absolutely nothing. They could, of course, be hidden maps leading to a legendary treasure. But as soon as he considered this possibility, it struck him that if that were the case, no one would give him something so valuable.
He didn't have a sink where he could brush his teeth every day. So he brushed his teeth in front of his hut. There was a small well there, so deep that you couldn't see the bottom with the human eye. The well was completely empty. The water he used to wash his mouth or clean his face, came from a cheap shop in his home town, and he usually kept it in the water bottles on his desk.
The well was perfectly round and built of white stone. Saeyo didn't know who had built it or what lay down there in the depths.
In the middle of the room was a red rug in the shape of an owl. No matter how warm it was, the floor was always cool, which could really make one's day easier. Even the rug gave off a feeling of coolness.
Saeyo closed his fridge and admired himself for a brief moment in the mirror attached to it. The mirror was oval and had a silver frame.
Before him stood a young, slender man with slightly dishevelled, raven-black hair. He had very pale skin and poor posture. His black eyes were dark, even though the sunlight was shining into them through the open window in the roof. It wasn't a actual window, but rather a hole in the roof that let in some fresh air. His trousers and shirt were a dark grey, gloomy tone.
They were clearly one or two sizes too big. The fabric of his shirt was comfortable and ideal for the heat in this environment. The trousers were quite durable and suitable for long journeys, and the two pockets were mainly there to store a melee weapon, so that he could be ready to fight at any moment. During this time, many robbers try to steal people's belongings. Even though Saeyo had nothing, he always had to be prepared.
In the worst-case scenario, he could also fight off extremely weak monsters that would attack him on the way. The city was relatively safe, since something prevented enemies from entering it.
As a melee weapon, Saeyo used a dagger forged to parry all sneaky attacks and, if possible, turn them into a counterattack. It was shorter than other weapons he had been able to buy, but excellent for rapid attacks. His training was largely focused on improving the precision of his strikes.
To afford it, he had to put himself on a strict diet for quite some time. Although the weapon was relatively cheap compared to others, the purchase hit him hard. Others might manage it, but unlike him, they have jobs, unlike him, who lives at the end of the world. He could of course move there and work every day of the week, but he didn't like to work merely to survive when he could just live in his hut. Besides, there were other reasons why he had chosen such a distant place to live.
Saeyo blinked a few times before fixing his gaze on his mattress.
'Enough self-admiration.'
After a moment's thought, he went over to where he usually slept, knelt down and lifted the mattress slightly. From underneath, he pulled out an important piece of equipment: a leather sack. It was so large that he had never been able to fill it completely with his food supplies. But one day he would have enough money that he would need several of them. That, at least, was his plan for the future. But enough money to ensure he would never have to worry about hunger again would be more than enough.
The leather pouch was an excellent way to carry his purchases over long distances. He had no vehicle with which to traverse the desert, so there was no choice but to cover the terrain on foot.
Saeyo carefully untied the knot of the leather bag, grasped the two ends of the string and pulled them towards the bag so that the edge loosened. He then gently pulled the edge apart with his fingers, revealing what was inside.
He was holding a long strip of leather. A simple black belt. Saeyo threaded it through the belt loops of his stylish trousers and slipped the belt through the loop of the pouch. Then, with a quick flick of his fingers, he pulled it tight around his waist and secured the belt buckle in a hole to keep his trousers where they were supposed to be. The leather pouch hung at his side, where he could reach into it at any time.
Saeyo stood up and took one last glance in the mirror. His trousers now seemed to fit properly and didn't look as though they were about to slip down at any moment.
He glanced up and once again inspected the gap in the roof. The sky was clear blue, and there was no sign of any rain or storm. In fact, there wasn't a single cloud in the entire sky.
At first, simply breathing in the air outside had made Saeyo's lungs burn. But now he had grown somewhat accustomed to the pain. From his house a sand tornado could be heard in the distance.
For some reason, it wasn't moving an inch. It was fixed in one spot and spinning continuously. When the wind picks up and carries rubbish along with it, it can get pulled into the tornado. And that means those bits of rubbish will never leave the tornado.
It was a few hundred metres away from Saeyo's hut. There were days when you could hear it very loudly and days when you couldn't hear it at all. Today was the former. Saeyo never approached the whirlwind and avoided it on his journeys.
Every now and then, he would sit down on the sandy ground and watch the tornado for a few minutes before going to sleep, giving him time to think.
Saeyo spent this time thinking about the next days. How and what he would train, and whether or not he would sell potions. It was simply relaxing.
The potions were stowed in a chest outside his hut. The chest was rectangular and its surface was flat. It lacked a lock, but there was no one who could steal it, because no one with evil intentions knew where he lived.
He's never been targeted for his earnings. At least, not yet. But why would he be? Those who need it will have enough money to buy it and those who dont need it, will see it as a waste of money for such a minimal boost. But those who have neither money nor strength don't even try to steal it from Saeyo, as there's always the chance that Saeyo is a hidden Kyoza just waiting for someone to come after him. Only a very stupid person would do such a thing.
But Saeyo couldn't hold that gaze for long. The three suns above the southern desert of Kokyokona were blinding his eyes, momentarily obscuring his vision. He instinctively looked down towards the ground. His eyes burned and he furrowed his brow.
At that very moment, Saeyo heard someone approaching him. The person was stomping loudly on the ground with each step.
'Huh?'
With every passing second, the footsteps grew louder. Saeyo took a deep breath out of fear, and barely a moment later, a knock could be heard at his door. He hadn't actually been expecting anyone at his front door. Saeyo had absolutely no idea who it could be.
The footsteps stopped just outside the door. Silence enveloped the surroundings for a while. Suddenly, a stern voice cleared its throat:
"Mr Arakawa, open the door immediately."