The Dawn of the New World

Jin Wang was staring right into his eyes so he noticed the change when the words "Godly bastards" were mentioned.

Hao Xuan's dull vacant expression swiftly changed to one of writhing fury as he kicked Jin Wang in the chest that sent him flying away.

"You son of two-bit whore!"

Jin Wang was not expecting such a violent reaction even in his wildest dreams and was thus unprepared to defend against it. The kick connected directly with his body which was basically a manifestation of his soul.

It was equivalent to getting kicked right in the heart and pain was as real as it possibly could be.

"Argh! S-Stop!"

He raised his hands as a gesture of defeat but Hao Xuan was unwilling to even consider it. Nine ethereal rings of spiritual energy manifested around him all rotating at a different speed. His body rose from the ground from the sheer force of the potent spiritual energy.

"I only told that dream to one person and one person alone. Did he send you here?! You fucking degenerates, the whole lot of you."

Jin Wang had never seen such a disgusted expression on his face before. That degree of emotion, how could he say anything to placate him now?

Hao Xuan unsheathed his sword.

The scabbard fell through the rotating rings and was in small pieces by the time it hit the ground. The blade he was holding was crimson, a testament to the lives it had taken and the blood it had bathed in.

Such a foul smell, it had been a long while for even Jin Wang since the last time he had smelled something that revolting. He tried to sit up with some effort and managed to stitch together a few words.

"That blade...is it yours?"

Hao Xuan shook his head in disdain.

"That is the kind of master you serve. He did not even tell you what kind of man you were supposed to manipulate?"

Jin Wang did not what to say. There was nothing he COULD say right now, everything would sound either like a poor excuse or ramblings of a mad man.

The roof of the building they were on was started to cave in under the pressure of Hao Xuan's Qi. He raised the blade in Jin Wang's direction and Jin Wang could already feel it resting on his heart.

"I might have been born a slave but I stand here now only because of my master and there is no foul scheme that your retched self could come up with that would make me betray him."

"I am the general of the armies of his majesty, Lord Alucard, the one and only being worthy enough to be presented with the title of God of War. I am his blade on the battlefield and the dagger in the backs of any who try to contend against his rule."

Every single building within 200 meters of them collapsed from the pressure all at once but Jin Wang's body stayed afloat in the same spot.

"I am not who you think-" he tried to explain which was not met well, as expectedly.

"SILENCE! I will hear no more of your wicked words but worry not, I will send your master and his entire bloodline to visit the gates of hell so wait for them there. And if you manage to crawl back out, then I will listen to your excuses."

*Sigh*

Jin Wang closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall through the world, through time and space into another. Every time his feet would touch the solid ground he would look around to inspect the surroundings but each instant was something incredibly violent.

Either on the battlefield, on the precipice of war, or running to or from one.

But there appeared to be a single exception amidst this orchestra of blood and brutality as he was welcomed by the faint pitter-patter of raindrops and the touch of a cold breeze.

He slowly opened his eyes to check the surroundings. The location was somewhere in the wilds. There were no buildings in sight and only a colorless grey wasteland stretched across the horizon in all directions.

The sky was colored in much the same colored clouds.

There was a withered old tree trunk nearby, one of many in the area but this one had some signs of life coming from within. A slow wheezing sound.

This time he didn't let his guard up and walked towards it with measured steps. He caught a glimpse of someone laying inside upon getting close. He poked his head inside and saw Hao Xuan laying on the ground.

Jin Wang's expression darkened and he had had to do a double-take to make sure it was what it looked like. Hao Xuan heard the noise and slowly turned his head in its direction.

"You...are late..." he muttered weakly through laboured breaths.

Jin Wang took in a deep breath to calm his tumultuous emotions, telling himself the same thing he was supposed to tell Hao Xuan.

'It's not real, only a possible future that did not come to pass.'

He stepped inside the trunk which was more than big enough to accommodate them both, not that Hao Xuan took up much space.

He was less than 10 years old in this timeline. Both his legs were cut off and relatively recently from the looks of it. There were numerous other wounds and marks of abuse on his body.

He was on his death bed, moments away from the eternal slumber.

'It is not real,' Jin Wang told himself again while taking off his shirt to cover Hao Xuan's naked and bruised body.

"Who did this to you?"