Chapter 3：Awakening (1/2)
Millions of kilometers away in the space a grey orb of light is traveling at a great speed, feeling as if it was fading in and out from reality itself, passing through obstacles like asteroids as if they were air.
After an unknown amount of time, it is nearing a blue planet, eventually falling into its atmosphere. The ground getting closer and closer, small continents expanding to a vast length, mountains rising to a great height. In the end, the grey orb collides with an insignificant tree making it shake, the orb fading away leaving behind a rusty grey ring embedded halfway through in the trunk.
In his sleep Lin Mu found himself in a dark place, he could not see anything at all, he could feel his arms and legs, even touch them but he still could not see them at all.
”Where am I? Is this a dream, I've never had a dream like this ever before”
He walked around in the darkness for what could be a few minutes or days; He had no method to measure the time by there. Eventually, he woke up because of sharp pain at the top of his head. Looking around, he found himself lying below a familiar apple tree, a small apple fallen beside him. The sky was slowly getting brighter, and the sun hidden below the horizon had not risen yet.
”Huh, looks like this apple fell on my head and woke me up, that's strange though this apple is still unripe why did it fall?”
Standing up, Lin Mu stretched his arms and looked up at the sky and estimated that it's around 5 am most likely. He went up to the small stream to drink some water and quenched his thirst. After drinking some water, he felt his stomach groan with hunger.
”I have to find something to eat, it would be no use going back to the town as I don't have any money left, the guards took away the last of which I had left, guess I'll head back to the apple tree and get some apples.”
Walking back to the apple tree Lin Mu looked for a ripe apple to eat, spotting a few with his eyes Lin Mu began to climb the tree. Pulling himself up on a branch, Lin Mu plucked some apples.
While getting down Lin Mu spotted a glint on the trunk of the tree. Getting closer to inspect what it was, he found a curved rusty metallic piece stuck to the bark; he tried pulling it out but was stuck very hard. He put his whole strength into pulling it out and finally pulled it out as he fell to the ground, as he lost his balance.
Looking at the object in his hands, he found that it was actually a rusty grey ring like one could find in a flea market. The ring had a peculiar design having five small spurs equidistant from each other rising from one side of the ring.
”I don't think I've ever seen this before here on the tree. Did someone put it there? I may as well keep it, maybe I can sell it in the town later on.”