1 Chapter 1 : Beyond the Walls

'' I'm tired of reading these cautionary tales, how are they going to apply to me when I'm cooped up here?'' The young boy asked as he held a giant scroll in his hands, rolling it up and placing it to the side of the sleek table before him with no sign of worry about the story being described to him.

He felt it was a waste of time as well as being a huge tease to him to have to hear about fables of the past, deeds of people who had come before that were so epic that they were cemented into the annals of history.

The young boy was known as Seiya Hiroshi, the Third Child of Parents that he barely remembered as they left far before his memory could recall.

He was a Prince of the Tenkyoku Empire within Japan's borders, a Kingdom located at the Base of Mt Fuji and his Elder Sister had been his caretaker for as long as he could remember as well as the standing Empress while their parents were away.

The Empire was filled with Yokai , supernatural beings that wielded abilities that could bring about peace or destruction depending on the person behind those powers but this was not to say humans couldn't as they knew how to wield spiritual abilities with practice to even the playing field.

Seiya and the rest of his family were classified as Inugami Youkai, beings that had dog-like features and were powerful enough to suppress their true appearance so that they could take on a more humanoid form since it was more convenient for them.

The boy did like using his true dog appearance when he wanted to cause some mischief such as playing hide and seek or whenever he caused a problem that he didn't want tied back to him and attempted hiding in a bush somewhere but his Older Sister had always found him no matter what he did.

'' I wonder what my Sister is up to , I haven't seen her all day '' The boy wondered as he walked past the tall male assistant guard who was in charge of watching him.

The assistant had not responded to the comment earlier about the importance of reading about the past as it was not within his place to talk to him but now that Seiya was planning on going to see his Elder Sister in the conference room, he had decided to do something.

The assistant guard gently placed a hand on Seiya's shoulder and spoke with a stern tone '' Please Master Seiya , Her Majesty is occupied with Military duties so why don't you read up on the Zenith Cultivation Scroll? '' and with that , the Assistant offered the scroll to Seiya to read.

He had known Seiya skimmed this particular scroll and wanted to ensure he had spent more time actually absorbing the material.

It was a well-known fact by all those within the walls of the Palace that Seiya was discontent with his day-to-day life and that it wasn't going to be long before he started doing something major but how it'd manifest was unknown to everyone.

'' Cultivation to reach a higher state of being, this applies to all races while for yokai it helps us from being corrupted by our own power over the longevity of our natural lifespan. How many levels are there for this? '' The male had rolled out the scroll to see the various levels that applied to this guide and saw 9 Ranks in total, Sprout, Disciple, Practitioner, Adept, Specialist, Venerate, Master, Ascient, and Empyrean.

Seiya in his curious nature wanted to ask about his own Cultivation Level but realized that in the text it had mentioned that you need to have begun cultivating to have reached the starting level, he was curious about his own Sister's relation to this path but was afraid of finding out the gap between himself and the Ruler of the Empire.

He wasn't a fan of thinking about how ''normal'' he felt compared to his Sister or the parents he can't recall, only being told that they are powerful and that they have business that makes it difficult for them to remain with their children.

The young boy could only begin ruffling up his snow-white locks as he felt a headache coming on as he tried to search his mind for any possible memories of his parents but to no success, it just wasn't in his power.

After more hours of reading the Cultivation Scroll and once more he had failed to truly absorb the information within the scroll, he had noticed that the sun was finally gone and the Moon taken its rightful place in the sky.

He had gone to his room to prepare for bed, his robes were bright white and blue and they matched with the night sky and at the top of his outfit laid a necklace that had a lock on it.

He was told it was a present left behind by his Mother and that when the time had come , he'd find an answer within the necklace.

He fondled the necklace longingly as he wondered '' Where are you both ? Do you ever think about us like we do you ? ''. He yawned as he went to his bed to finally lay down and hopefully have a better tomorrow but he knew deep down that if his days continued on like this that there wouldn't be a better tomorrow and if he had done nothing about this all, it would just be more of the same.

The boy had nothing left to do but close his eyes and inevitably he'd drift off to his dreams , a safe place away from his reality but this particular dream had been anything but what he'd expect.

Within his dream, he found himself in the center of an astral realm with 11 others whose form was hazy and unclear. He knew he never had a dream this vivid before but he couldn't speak, he felt a form of tension so thick that he couldn't utter any words but look at the night sky itself along with the other un-defined shapes.

''Follow the Guiding Star before the world falls to ruin'' a distant voice spoke unto them before the dream began to crumble and Seiya knew he didn't have enough time to understand it before it receded to the distant corners of his consciousness as he'd wake the following morning.

The male had been covered in a cold sweat , sitting upright on his bed immediately as several Aides opened the door to his room which scared him due to his reflexes hearing the sudden running and the forceful opening of the door.

Seiya wasn't sure what they were so fearful of but then he had looked around his own bedroom to notice it was covered in a blue glow , glistening light brought about by a layer of frost that hugged the prince's chambers in its entirety.

'' What is this ? '' the boy asked his aides as he tried to grab his previously warm blankets that were now prickly due to the ice coating it, removing it while waiting for an answer from the aides who had to take several steps away from the room so that they didn't get affected too much by the temperature change.

'' This is your main power awakening , you have hit puberty and we were just waiting for it to be unleashed '' the tall male assistant had told him while sounding unsure whether or not the primary explosion of his energy had been a one and done or if its still being released from within his body.

After an awkward silence between the people involved , the ice began to melt while the young prince was thinking about what these powers meant for him.

He had been envious of his Sister's powers and had always wondered why he was lacking and it was also his own fault for not reading certain scrolls that described the details about powers being unleashed when reaching a certain age threshold.

There was no doubt in his mind that this was perfect timing for him.

'' I think its time. '' the boy said as he walked to his assortment of clothes for the day which left his aides curious on what he was talking about.

'' What exactly is it time for ? '' the aides asked since they had to report back to the Empress on any updates associated with her younger Brother.

The young boy looked out the window as he gave his response to the aides inquiry '' It's time I go beyond these walls , I want to see the world in its entirety ''.

He knew what he wanted , he wanted to experience the world beyond the Palace and he wanted to find out more about the dream as well as those strange entities in his dream.

He knew he wouldn't find the answer here so surely the answer was out there.

Little would he know how dangerous the world beyond his home had been , a world filled with danger and fatal battles waited down this path.