Far beyond Earth...
Beyond the endless sea of stars...
In a world known as Euphoria, a new life quietly began.
The normally peaceful Vera Tribe had fallen into unusual silence.
Warriors stood guard outside the chief's residence, their expressions tense despite the absence of any enemy. Servants hurried through the courtyard carrying hot water, clean cloth, and medicinal herbs while elderly healers moved in and out of the room without pause.
Inside, cries of labor echoed through the halls.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Standing outside the chamber was the tribe's founder and chief—
Varinder Vera.
The man who had once carved a tribe out of the wilderness with his own hands now paced back and forth like an anxious child.
His fists were tightly clenched.
His breathing was uneven.
Several elders watched him with amused expressions.
One of them chuckled.
"I've seen our chief face beasts twice his size without blinking."
Another nodded with a grin.
"But today he looks ready to faint."
A few guards struggled to suppress their laughter.
Varinder ignored every one of them.
His eyes never left the closed wooden doors.
Then—
A baby's cry pierced the silence.
For a single heartbeat...
Everything stopped.
The doors slowly opened.
An elderly midwife stepped outside carrying a small bundle wrapped in white cloth.
A warm smile appeared on her tired face.
"My Lord..."
"Congratulations."
"You have a healthy son."
Varinder stood frozen.
Then relief washed over his face.
Without saying a word, he removed the ring from his finger—a priceless spirit artifact that had accompanied him through countless battles—and placed it into the midwife's trembling hands.
"You've worked hard."
Before she could thank him, Varinder had already taken the child into his arms.
The tiny boy slept peacefully.
His small fingers instinctively wrapped around Varinder's thumb.
The fierce tribal chief's eyes immediately softened.
"So..."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"My son."
One of the elders laughed.
"Chief, I think your wife deserves your attention more than the boy."
Only then did Varinder seem to remember.
"My wife!"
The hall erupted into laughter as he hurried into the room.
Several hours later...
The entire Vera Tribe celebrated.
Bonfires illuminated the streets.
Hunters donated fresh game for a grand feast.
Merchants distributed food without charge.
Laughter echoed throughout the settlement.
For the people of Vera, this wasn't merely the birth of the chief's son.
It was the birth of hope.
Standing atop the central platform, Varinder held the child before the gathered tribe.
His deep voice echoed across the valley.
"From this day onward..."
"My son shall be known as..."
"Rajiv Vera."
Thunderous cheers answered him.
"Young Master Rajiv!"
"Long live the Vera Tribe!"
"Long live the Chief!"
Hidden deep within the newborn's soul...
A faint golden light flickered.
It disappeared almost immediately.
The seal remained untouched.
His memories slept peacefully.
Waiting.
The years passed quietly.
Rajiv grew into an unusually calm child.
At three months old, he rarely cried.
At six months, he crawled through every corner of the estate with endless curiosity.
By the age of one, he was already speaking simple words.
The tribe's elders praised him as a heaven-blessed child.
His parents simply smiled proudly.
Only one man occasionally looked at the young master with thoughtful eyes.
Vicky Smith.
Long before the Vera Tribe had existed, Vicky had stood beside Varinder.
When Varinder abandoned his position as the heir of the mighty Varrien Tribe to build a new home with his own hands, countless people believed he would fail.
Many mocked him.
Most refused to follow.
Only a handful remained.
Among them...
Vicky never left.
Together they had crossed dangerous wilderness, survived countless battles, and watched the Vera Tribe rise from nothing into one of the strongest middle-ranked tribes in the region.
To outsiders, Vicky was the chief steward of the Vera Tribe.
To Varinder...
He was family.
There were very few people in the world whom Varinder trusted completely.
Vicky was one of them.
Over the years, very little surprised him.
Yet Rajiv often did.
More than once, Vicky noticed the young boy quietly observing conversations that no child should find interesting.
Whenever discussions about governance or military affairs took place nearby, Rajiv would stop whatever he was doing and simply...
Listen.
Not with childish curiosity.
But with careful attention.
As though trying to understand every word.
The first few times, Vicky dismissed it as coincidence.
Children were naturally curious.
But after witnessing the same behavior again and again...
He began to wonder.
"Our young master..."
"...is extraordinary."
Still...
He never mentioned it.
Whatever blessing the heavens had given the Vera Tribe...
He would simply be grateful for it.
If Vicky was the person Rajiv respected most...
Then there was someone else who spoiled him the most.
His elder sister.
Ananya Vera.
Despite being one of the tribe's greatest young talents, Ananya never acted like a prodigy around her younger brother.
Whenever she returned from training, she immediately searched for Rajiv.
Sometimes she brought sweets.
Sometimes beautifully carved wooden toys.
Other times she used her water-element magic to create tiny birds and fish that danced around the room.
Rajiv never grew tired of watching them.
The two siblings quickly became inseparable.
Yet there was one thing Ananya found rather strange.
Unlike other children, Rajiv rarely asked for toys.
Instead...
He asked questions.
"What lies beyond the mountains?"
"How many tribes are there?"
"Who is stronger than Father?"
"Are there kingdoms outside the Tribal Region?"
At first she laughed.
Eventually...
She realized he genuinely wanted to know.
So she answered every question she could.
Through Ananya's stories, Rajiv slowly learned about the world.
A world called Euphoria.
A vast realm divided by an endless ocean.
On one continent flourished countless races.
Humans.
Elves.
Dwarves.
Beastkin.
Kingdoms and empires constantly rose and fell.
Across the sea lay another continent.
A continent ruled entirely by magical beasts.
Even powerful human kingdoms rarely dared venture deep into its territory.
Every story only deepened Rajiv's curiosity.
One evening...
The siblings sat beneath the largest tree in the estate.
The setting sun painted the sky crimson.
Ananya suddenly smiled.
"Do you know..."
"The Vera Tribe wasn't always called Vera?"
Rajiv looked up immediately.
"What do you mean?"
"Our father wasn't born here."
"He came from the Varrien Tribe."
"One of the strongest tribes in the region."
Rajiv blinked.
"Then why did Father leave?"
For the first time that evening...
Ananya's smile became complicated.
"Because Father believed that some things were more important than power."
"He gave up his position as heir."
"He left everything behind."
She looked toward the bustling streets below.
"When he began..."
"There was nothing."
"No walls."
"No homes."
"No tribe."
"Only a few people who believed in him."
Rajiv quietly watched the people below.
Warriors training.
Children laughing.
Merchants bargaining.
Families living peaceful lives.
Everything around him...
Had once been nothing.
His father had built all of it.
At that moment...
A seed quietly took root within Rajiv's heart.
One day...
He wanted to become someone people could rely on.
Just like his father.
Late that night...
Unable to sleep, Rajiv climbed from his bed.
Moonlight bathed the estate in silver.
Outside his window, several warriors continued training.
Rajiv watched every movement carefully.
Then...
He quietly stepped onto the floor.
He copied them.
One punch.
Another.
A step forward.
Another step.
His balance was terrible.
His punches lacked strength.
After only a few moments, he lost his footing and landed on the floor.
"...Again."
He stood.
And tried once more.
Again.
And again.
Until exhaustion finally overcame him.
As the young boy drifted into sleep...
The golden seal buried deep within his soul shimmered for the briefest instant.
Far beyond mortal sight...
Three figures silently watched.
The old man smiled.
"The first step..."
"...has finally been taken."