1 Chapter 1: The power beyond power.

The sun was descending discreetly in the horizon, basking the scenery in a melancholic light. The dusk was settling, birds were flying back to they nest, and the melodious sound of crickets emerging created a symphony that was all too well known to the habitants of the Eternal Creek Village. The village was located in the eastern region of the Yeon Island a giant independent kingdom.

They were a clan of ordinary people, fisherman mostly all with brown hair and black eyes, at the exception of Taliyah and her father. As far as she could remember they had always lived in this village, her father was a hunter, and she would learn martial art and fishing with the rest of the villager's kids. She always knew by the mannerism and their estranged traits that her father did not originate from the Eternal Creek Village. Time passed and she was now a young adult, 16 years old, with a slander frame, firm muscles, and boundless beauty. She grew up to be the most promising youth in the village and was in charge of teaching the younger ones, the basics of the Soul Faction Techniques to prepare them for the draft season when they were old enough.

She herself was waiting for the upcoming draft ,3 months from now. Her father reassured her that her constitution was at the celestial rank so, as long as she had a good foundation, she was sure to be drafted as an inner faction member. She was the hope of the Shun village, at least they now had a chance to get a higher rank in subordinate region ranking and the benefits could help the raise a better young generation.

How could she not be aware of the weight of the responsibilities resting on her shoulders when she was reminded of it every second of everyday? "Taliyah our hope" "Taliyah the future of Eternal creek" " Taliyah the celestial". So many title to live up to, the pressure was pilling up but she could not focus, her eyes couldn't stop wandering in the direction of the 10 year old looking boy laying under the tree.

He was brought back home by her father 4 days ago after he found him floating in the Eternal River.

His body was riddled in wound and laceration scars that would induce nightmare to anybody who saw them. He hasn't said a word ever since he woke up, his eyes were always gazing and empty as if he was soulless. Everybody in the Eternal Creek village kept speculating on his past and the type of trauma that could turn such a beautiful boy into an idiot.

Some said he was probably the young master of a fallen clan, some that he was the son of a merchant family that was attacked by bandit, but she couldn't bring herself agree with any of them.

The eternal river ran through a large portion of the Yeon island, and it spanned over thousands and thousands of kilometers, he could have come from anywhere around the island. At least that's what her instinct told her. She had a celestial constitution, even if her constitution was recently awakened, she had a very strong intuition toward people around her. That kid on the other hand, terrified her.

The youth stood up from his sleeping spot, as if caried by the wind walked up to the Eternal River sat delicately on the bank to what seemed like a contemplation of his reflection.

He appeared to be 9 or 10 years old, with a pale white colored skin. His lips were thin and dark with a rosy tint, a perfectly aligned straight nose and a pair of gold and red heterochromia eyes. His features were delicate and refined like a scholar or a noble. He looked as skinny and fragile as a new calf, clearly signs of malnourishment and neglect. The noteworthy feature of his was his lengthy and luscious hair, they were ash grey colored that sometimes looked amethyst depending on the ambient light. It was the only thing that did not look haggard on his person. They were well preserved, healthy, and unbelievably smooth they radiated life and energy making the beautiful Taliyah self-conscious.

His name was Ryh Eli. The Ryh clan was a merchant group located at the foot of Eternity Mountain in the territory of the then Soul Mending faction. The then patriarch made a very nice donation to the Faction in exchange for the authorization to relocate his clan under the Faction doors.

For many years the relationship between the two was harmonious until the 3rd son of the patriarch of the Ryh was born with a celestial physique. The Soul Mending Faction, never having had a student with this much potential, felt threatened at the idea of the power and influence of the Ryh clan growing out of bounds. Some Elders of the soul mending Faction were aiming to absorb the Ryh clan completely into the faction, while some were advocating for complete extermination.

Ryh Eli was born a few months after his third brother. Contrary to expectations Eli was born ordinary, he had no special physique, no special soul, no special fate, nor a special constitution. On the other hand, he was otherworldly beautiful. His normal constitution and exceptional features helped delay the fate of the Ryh clan as the opposing side was confused on the appropriate decision. Was the Ryh clan rising or declining? Nobody could tell accurately.

With the protection of his third brother, Eli grew up to be a kid filled with grace, poise, noblesse, and absolute beauty. Very quickly the ostracizing and demeaning comments on his martial aptitude led him to choose a scholar route. He was very proficient in the 4 arts, well read and a genius at mathematics according to his old teachers. Rumors about his beauty reached the corners of the kingdom, leading people to trave countries to propose marriage. The stories about the absolute beauty overshadowed the accomplishments of his brother on the cultivation path. Business was booming and the Ryh clan became more prosperous than ever.

Unfortunately, the strife between the Soul Mending Faction and the Ryh clan reached the tipping point. In an attempt to kidnap the Ryh clan third young master, the Soul Mending faction Warriors proceeded to exterminate the Ryh clan.

The defenses collapsed very fast, the patriarch's escape plans were seen through by the enemy, it was a classic case of the tallest tree in the forest falling to the wind first. To prevent the soul mending faction from gaining any benefits from the situation, the clan leader did not hesitate to behead his third son and placing the murder weapon in the hands of the hands of the young Eli before committing suicide.

That night Fire and blood dyed the Ryh clan ceilings red. Screams, sword clashing and explosions rhythmed the atmosphere creating a sadistic symphony to complete the barbaric play Eli was the witness to. No Ryh was left alive that night, children, elderly, women, slaves, or masters were all cut down hundreds of innocent and vengeful souls were left wandering in the ruins of what was a few minutes ago the Ryh clan.

The terrified nine-year-old was left alone alive to feel full the wrath of the soul mending faction. It was a well calculated move from the merchant patriarch, a last gambling attempt because if the ordinary Eli managed to survive the rage of the soul mending faction, the Ryh clan could revive.

Aware of the scheme of the dead merchant, the assassins had to decide of what to do with the jewel in their hands as his worth was equal to a royal treasury. Eli discovered the intent behind the assailant and clawed his peerless face.

In a rage fit the Soul Mending faction 3rd Elder carved an evil attracting array diagram on Eli's back all the way up to his face with the sword used to kill his beloved brother before dumping him alive in the clan water well with the hundred's bodies of his clan members.

"If you manage to crawl out, I will let you live, only power makes the rules" he said to the drowning Eli before pulling the lid covering the well.

The evil attracting array proceeded to gather the blood and the vengeful souls of the Ryh clan member inside the body of the barely breathing Eli. The 3rd elder ignoring the water well was connected to the Eternal Soul River, unintentionally offered Eli his way to salvation.

The eternal soul river was a natural array treasure similar to the array carved on Eli's back that could attract wandering soul in the form of a pool and provide nourishment to wounded soul of living beings.

The survival journey was slow and torturous for Eli, his soul was pierced, broken, shattered by the multiple souls in the Eternal River. Simultaneously the nourishing powers of the Eternal River were mending and preserving his soul from eternal collapse. It was an infinite loop that lasted millenniums. It took four to five centuries for Ryh to regain consciousness, another four or five for him to become numb to the pain, three more for his body to decompose and disappear and a final six for him to gain control and stability.

At that moment his soul had become an amalgamation of the billions of souls that bathed in the eternal river since its creation. He had lost his human body but became the strongest soul entity in existence. Planting his roots deep in the eternity river and extending his amethyst-colored tread all over the universe. He had no family, nobody to look out for, he had knowledge expanding through epoch and an immortal body, so he explored the worlds of eon.

He discovered all its secrets, its forbidden realms, its treasures, broke its taboos. For millions of years, he taught sovereigns, raised Heroes, battle gods, crushed empires, built epochs he was the terrifying tale that kept children and adults up at night, the hand behind the curtains, the great sage, the king maker and the destroyer of world, the owner, the power beyond power...