Chapter 5: Purposed
1486 Words
It was at a time before the extraterrestrials ever set foot upon the Earth. Droplets of water froze mid-air, hanging like scattered gems. The wind held its breath. Light from the sky didn’t just dim, it vanished, as though the heavens themselves had gone blind. Everything seemed as if time itself had halted, yet the daily lives of people carried on as if nothing were wrong. Despite the natural course of life which stopped, everyone moved in their routines.
And then, from beneath the soil, it began. Wisps of raw essence, ancient, luminous, alive, spiraled upward all across the world. They seeped from deserts, from oceans, from cracked sidewalks in forgotten towns. The earth itself exhaled.
Minutes later, the world shuddered, then snapped back into motion. Light returned, winds stirred, droplets fell. Normalcy reigned once more.
But nothing was normal.
That moment had been a birth cry. The birth of the one who would shake the world, Ngwan Le Tou.
Ngwan Le was born complete. Strength, talent, wealth, everything others spent their lives chasing after was placed in his hands the moment he opened his eyes to the world. And yet, he felt nothing. By six years old, he could shatter stone with his bare hands, yet his playmates seemed no different from toddlers fumbling in the dark. They could not understand him, nor he them. Toys, treasures, praise, none of it mattered. He already had more than enough.
What he craved was the one thing he could not touch. The unattainable. The unknown. Somewhere beyond his gilded walls, there had to be something, someone, that refused to be conquered. The thought consumed him.
The day he decided to leave, his family’s faces turned grim. A hall that had always echoed with reverence and pride now bristled with hostility.
“Damn them,” Ngwan Le muttered under his breath, his small fists trembling. “Do they really mean to chain me here?”
From the crowd stepped a figure, black hair streaked with silver, beard groomed with the precision of a man who demanded control over all things with an arrogant posture, a trait in their family. His presence silenced the others. The old man’s eyes, sharp, weary, and filled with the weight of centuries, fixed on the boy.
“_ Tou, why, Do you even understand where this path will lead you?”
Ngwan Le didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. If he had cared for safety, or the luxury of an unchanging life, he never would have spoken of leaving. Beyond the gates lay chaos, danger, and despair, but also the only thing worth seeking.
The ancestor raised his hand. For a moment, the air itself seemed to tighten, the boy’s future teetering on the edge of his will. The family waited for him to strike, to stop this reckless child before he damned them all. But the hand trembled, and fell. He could not do it. Not if it meant shattering the fire in Ngwan Le’s eyes. Better to let him go, even into ruin, than to force him into chains.
And so, at six years old, Ngwan Le stepped out into a world of uncertainty, leaving behind the chains of a life too perfect to endure.
After he left his home, Ngwan Le embarked on a great adventure with nothing but determination burning in his chest. He clashed with formidable foes through fire and blood, forged bonds, discovered breathtaking sights. As for those who weren’t strong, he paid no mind. For him, the sole existence of a weak warrior was to hinder progress on the battlefield. He despised them all, those who would bow down in front of a greater challenge. The weak. He would have even killed such people, but for some reason, he restrained himself.
Word of his strength spread like wildfire. Admirers followed him everywhere, so many that he could have formed a harem if he had cared for such things. But love and lust were distant luxuries to him. His heart belonged to one thing alone, a purpose yet unfulfilled.
By the age of twelve, Ngwan Le had already roamed through most of the world. And though much was left to discover, he had reached a conclusion, beyond this world, greater wonders awaited. Yet still, that was not his true purpose.
When he turned fourteen, the world itself changed. The skies cracked open, and strange beings descended like a storm. They were unlike anything men had ever faced. Their weapons glowed with alien light, and their strength defied reason. The people named them simply, the Extraterrestrials.
Ngwan Le stood, his gaze fixed on the falling, materialized wind that carried the invaders. His lips curved into a smile not of joy, but of recognition.
“Could this be it, The gift I’ve long awaited, Will I finally find my purpose?”
By then, he was no ordinary fighter. He was already among the strongest of his era. He was not sent along with the exploration team, but with the leading one, the one given the task to exterminate them if possible. But the extraterrestrials were merciless. Cities burned. Oceans turned red. Millions fell before them, and even Ngwan Le struggled to stand his ground. The bitterness of his people’s suffering weighed on him, yet beneath it, he felt exhilaration. At last, opponents who could truly push him to his limits.
Two long years of bloodshed followed. Comrades fought beside him, and one by one, most perished. New allies rose to replace them, only to fall as well. Ngwan Le endured, cutting a path through endless bloodshed until, at last, humanity began to push the invaders back.
When the final extraterrestrial fell beneath his blade, Ngwan Le raised his head to the heavens and roared:
“I killed them all, but where is my purpose?!”
But he would not abandon his dream. Without hesitation, he pursued the extraterrestrials across the corners of the world, saving countless realms preyed upon as he fought them. After another two years of relentless battle, he returned victorious. The invaders could no longer claim a single world. He had become what they feared most, an immovable wall. The undefeatable, unstoppable, Ngwan Le Tou.
And yet, even in his triumph, his true purpose remained out of reach. So he abandoned the search for his dream and instead stood as the guardian of his world, recognized and revered by all.
Now, time had passed, and Ngwan Le, who stood upon a landscape of death, ravaged by the battle between himself and his dream, had finally accomplished his purpose. And yet,
“Is this how I imagined it,” he whispered. In his hand, he held the fortune-source of his world.
“Damn these ingrates. After all I did for you,” His voice rose, yet carried an unnerving composure. “You should know me well. I will give you all a miserable end.” His gaze burned into them with intensity. For what they had done, what these people had lowered themselves into. They had aligned with a being that once preyed upon their world. The one he despised the most. The named, extraterrestrials. To him, they were no longer human. No longer his people. They were alien. He saw them as, Extraterrestrials.
And fear devoured them. Some ended their own lives on the spot. Others shattered their cultivation, tearing apart the very power they had lived for. Some crippled their own limbs, choosing agony over facing his wrath. Yet, a stubborn few remained. Unbroken. Waiting for Ngwan Le to strike them down with the final blow. Among them, the so-called extraterrestrial Mei Li had already fainted.
“What a coward,” Ngwan Le muttered, pressing his hand to his forehead with a frown. “Coward till the end, eh?”
But then, he forgot himself. He forgot the truth of his condition. His strength was gone. His body was already on its last thread. He took a step forward, and crumbled. Before he could even move, his form dissolved into dust. Yet the people had already fled, terrified by nothing more than his faintest gesture.
“Oh, is this it,” Ngwan Le whispered, looking at his own hand as it dissolved at chest level, his body vanishing into the air.
From afar, the fleeing crowd dared to look back. Their voices trembled with curiosity. “Look! Where Ngwan Le stood, only dust remains. He is nowhere to be seen. Was he pretending just now?” They paused. And when the dust had fully evaporated,
“Hohohoho!” They laughed, and they celebrated.
Still, Ngwan Le protected his world even as he fought for his life’s purpose. Yes, his purpose still came second to none. No other than his duty as a guardian.
If I had given my all, to the point of ignoring my own world’s safety, surely I could have won, he thought.
- Writer
