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Lirzod and Hundred were still inside the rented room, with not even flies but tinier beings, ants busy eating leftover bread, for extra-company.

Outside the test hall, Mikey was smoking next to Yohann and said, “Jehez… he helped me quite a bit. If not for him, I would still be rotting in a room like thrown-away bread. He didn’t want to die of old age, but I didn’t expect him to die so soon. At least, he lived like a lion for as long as he did and had no regrets, but...” He exhaled smoke and paused for a bit. “Do you think he made his way up into heaven?” Yohann didn’t reveal much emotion on his face. “Seeing how you are still unsure, how can I say anything about ‘your’ friend and convince you for sure?” His reply startled Mikey. “Nevertheless, why wonder if he had lived without regrets? Your friend is where he should be, though he didn’t get to ripen. Many folks dislike growing old just like your friend did, and I don’t blame them, but I believe there’s no better way to die than of old age. The more naturally you leave the body, the better—just like an unburdened breath. Now, I’ve got many more streets to cover, and I’m not a

(This chapter has pure narration that briefly describes the setting of this fictional world. You can completely skip this chapter and not miss anything. You can always come back and read this prologue whenever you can digest a telling of a thousand words! Having said that, the choice is yours.) Every mortal in the world was bound to the laws of nature, but none except a certain few—the ones at the top of the Martial Chain, knew the bounds better. Such was the belief rooted in a good deal of lands across the whole world, and nearly all, if not every sensible soul under heaven at least once dreamed of reaching that level, which, in their eyes, could be attained at best through the pursuit of truth with integrity. Dreaming was one thing, but turning a dream into one’s destiny was another thing entirely. Countless members formed groups, divisions, legions, clades, clans, tribes, sects, kingdoms, empires and everything they could to survive and help themselves get close to the summit of the

Exvo, at the moment, was sailing through the Byinshi river. Fish in thousands got caught in nets maneuvered by tough-looking seals raised on the ship. These seals smartly trapped fish in the nets before slipping through the air-barriers serving as temporary inlets on the ninth deck, successfully bringing all the fish into the underwater portion of the ship. Only a couple of seals jumped out of the waters and landed on the tenth deck, along with their catch that was well over a thousand fishes of different kinds. Gerett picked up a few smaller fish and hand-fed those two seals before sending them off back to work on the ship. While eating a baguette with a boneless, roasted fish hidden inside, Gerett watched over as other gloved workers packed the fish in containers. “It looks like we’ve got plenty of salmons this time. It’s only the month of Mitvallen, yet they have already begun migrating for whatever reason. Lucky us. Keep a few gravid ones aside,” Gerett ordered. “We can have some

As Gorka was leaving, “Excuse me, sir...” a voice rang out from within the crowd, as it had only seconds ago. Everybody got even more surprised this time because the voice came from someone who was partly responsible for most of the recent turmoil cultivating on the twelfth deck. The voice belonged to a boy wearing mismatched armor. Gorka stopped and looked at him. “You want to teach me rules as well?” “One of your shoelaces isn’t intact,” Lirzod pointed his finger down at Gorka’s shoes. Gorka glanced at his feet. A lace had indeed come out loose. “Oh...” He lifted the knee and tied it up swiftly. “You have my thanks.” Saying that Gorka turned and began to walk away. He remembered the time when he was young, and some woman whose face he still couldn’t remember was tying his laces. All Gorka could see was her hands and also could hear her voice. He had a guess as to who she was, but he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was because of that unsureness, he always wore laced shoes even though they d

Love is probably the most positive emotion of all. It can make you do impossible things, but the most beautiful thing about love is that it can’t be bought. Love can never ‘intentionally’ hurt others. Love sets you free but at the same time builds bonds that go beyond death. I have given examples below, which describe love, but it's in your capabilities to decide to use the example that best fits your scene.

Guilt is the feeling of answerability for some wrongdoing you believe you have committed. It can come from doing as simple a thing as pinching someone hard, or something as unfortunate as mistakenly killing someone. When guilt is strong, you feel ‘ashamed’ of yourself. I have given examples below, which describe guilt, but it's in your capabilities to decide to use the example that best fits your scene.

Happiness is probably the best positive emotion that humans need, but it can also appear to be the most elusive. Many people seek happiness in achieving great things, but it’s much more effective if you find happiness if every little thing you do. That’s how you create your own happiness. I have given examples below, which describe happiness, but it's in your capabilities to decide to use the example that best fits your scene.

Like the inflexible celerity of a lying tongue, the quality of the milk didn’t change as had been agreed and as Lirzod had looked ahead to. The ease with which droplets of milk spilled out of the bowl while the felines quenched their thirst further solidified Lirzod’s understanding. This affair seemed akin to how a good many of his clansmen kept burdening the animals by making them overwork time and again, despite being advised otherwise on numerous occasions. He was aware that some habits, especially addictions, were hard to get rid of, but it had always been harder for him to digest the thought that there were people who would smile and promise to do one thing but then never keep their promise, and they would repeat the same thing ad nauseam, either publicly or secretly. Would these people ever stress a little in an attempt to change themselves and keep their promises? Would they ever feel guilty for not living up to their word and for having to constantly lie? Would they ever have r