Shackles of Humanity

Luo Kai crawled back to his cell through the tunnel. By then, the sky was already growing light. He took out the Beast Hide Paper the old man had given him. It was covered in crookedly drawn figures in strange poses, sketched with some unknown ink. To Luo Kai, it looked like some kind of gymnastics... no, more like yoga.

Luo Kai was utterly exhausted and had no energy left to study it. His mind swirling with questions, he gathered his straw bedding and fell into a deep sleep.

The first thing Luo Kai did upon waking was study the ”Body Techniques” on the Beast Hide Paper. They were really just a series of strange poses. After studying them for some time, he discovered they all had one thing in common: they stretched the body to its absolute limit. For example, the first movement required him to stand on his tiptoes while stretching his body and arms upward as far as they could go, elongating his entire frame into an exaggerated line.

Luo Kai tried to perform the movements, only to find that his current physical condition made it impossible. Over a year of inactivity had left his body as stiff as a robot. The sharp pain that shot through his muscles as soon as he began forced him to abandon any thought of practicing.

That evening, Luo Kai entered the book-filled Underground Space through the tunnel. The space was vast, and it took him a while to follow the light and find Shui Su. The old man was at a massive desk, scribbling and sketching with intense focus, seemingly oblivious to Luo Kai’s arrival.

Luo Kai cautiously approached and noticed that the cluttered papers on the desk were covered in various geometric figures. It seemed Shui Su was working on some calculations.

”I’m busy. You’ll have to wait,” Shui Su said without looking up.

Luo Kai silently backed away to a nearby bookshelf, his gaze falling upon the surrounding shelves. The script of this world was very similar to Chinese characters—extremely concise, but with many additional symbols. He found he could instinctively understand the meaning of the words. The variety of books on the shelves was immense, covering physics, biology, engineering, mechanics... nearly every known discipline.

The title of one book caught Luo Kai’s attention: *Era Canon*.

Luo Kai gently pulled the book from the shelf and began to flip through it. A line of large, blood-red words on the title page was startling: ”The stars fell, the magnetic poles reversed, the land split asunder, Earth Fire erupted, and the apocalypse arrived.”

It was a history book, chronicling a great cataclysm that had occurred at some point in the world’s past. Many species were wiped out, and human civilization was brought to the brink of collapse...

After an unknown number of years, the external environment gradually improved, and the surviving humans finally began to rebuild their civilization. But the world had undergone drastic changes. Many powerful and bizarre life forms had appeared, and humanity now lacked a vital energy source from before the great cataclysm, resulting in a major gap in its technological progression...

At some point, Shui Su had walked over to Luo Kai’s side. He glanced at the book in his hands and asked, a little puzzled, ”Haven’t you ever been to school? What’s so interesting about a history book?”

Luo Kai seemed not to hear Shui Su’s question, his expression suddenly turning vacant. A memory hidden deep in his Mind Spirit surged forth—the memory of the moment just before his ”death.” ’Ten thousand meters up in the sky, a giant blue fireball descended, instantly vaporizing the passenger plane he was on. In that instant, time and Space seemed to be Frozen forever. He hadn’t even been aware of his own death...’

Seeing that Luo Kai’s complexion was off, Shui Su reached out and patted his shoulder. ”Young man, are you all right?”

Luo Kai’s face was deathly pale and his forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He shook his head. ”I’m fine, sir. Can I borrow this book to read?”

”You may. In that case, I won’t teach you Body Techniques tonight. You can just read,” Shui Su agreed with a nod, returning to his desk to concentrate on his research.

Luo Kai sat down near the desk and began to carefully read through the *Era Canon*.

”After the Great Cataclysm, a vast number of powerful life forms known as ’Fierce Beasts’ emerged. These Fierce Beasts were immensely powerful, bloodthirsty, and cruel, consuming nearly everything in their path. The human living environment rapidly deteriorated... But the resilience of life far exceeded imagination. The harsher the environment, the greater the evolutionary potential a species could unleash. One portion of the human race was forced into the oceans, where they evolved the miraculous ability to breathe underwater. The most exceptional among them could even perform the art of Summoning Wind and Rain! This group of humans who lived in the sea came to call themselves the ’Sea Race.’”

”Another portion of humanity eked out a difficult existence in the barren, deep mountains. Faced with food shortages, they began to draw nutrients from rocks and minerals, evolving a process similar to photosynthesis in plants. Gradually, their bodies grew larger and larger until they possessed Infinite Strength. They called themselves the ’Titan Race.’”

”Yet another human faction retreated underground to escape the Fierce Beasts hunting on the surface. A life spent underground led them to forsake the sunlight essential for life and instead embrace the Dark Abyss, becoming something neither human nor ghost. Rumor has it they mastered a terrifying, corrosive Power of Darkness. They called themselves the ’Abyssal Clan’...”

”The majority of humanity, however, continued to resist the onslaught of the Fierce Beasts. Relying on the legacy of civilization from before the cataclysm, they quickly redeveloped firearms, gunpowder, and machinery. But the Fierce Beasts were unexpectedly formidable. Their bodies were covered in tough Scale Armor and hides, and their speed and Power were immense, rendering them nearly impervious to conventional firearms...”

”The advanced weaponry humanity relied on was still not enough to gain an advantage against the Fierce Beasts, not until another powerful biotechnology was developed. In their struggle, humans discovered a way to harness the powerful Abilities of the Fierce Beasts. This method originated from a grand scientific research project from before the cataclysm: the ’Human Genome Project.’ The advent of the Genetic Potion finally allowed humanity to achieve a balance in the war against the Fierce Beasts.”

”Human territory began to expand, and the population swelled. Nations large and small started to form, with the nine great Lordship Kingdoms being the most powerful. As external pressures lessened, internal conflicts came to the forefront. The various countries warred endlessly for people and resources. Among them, a Lordship Kingdom called the Dongyuan Kingdom gradually rose to prominence. After decades of war, it conquered nations large and small and forced the other eight great Lordship Kingdoms to submit to its rule. The founding of the Dongyuan Upper Country finally ended the century-long human civil war on the Eastern Continent...”

An unknown amount of time passed before Luo Kai let out a long sigh. He stood up, somewhat dazed, placed the book back on the shelf, and turned to Shui Su, who was still sitting at his desk. ”S-Sir, I’m heading back. I-I’ll come find you again t-tomorrow.”

Shui Su glanced at him and waved a dismissive hand.

Back in his cell, the sky was still pitch black. Luo Kai leaned against the corner. ’The *Era Canon* I read today has completely changed my limited understanding of this world. It was clearly a massive disaster that changed everything. ”The stars fell” must refer to meteorites striking the Earth’s Surface—the source of the Great Cataclysm. It was also very likely the cause of my death in my past life. Could it be... that I didn’t transmigrate to an Otherworld, but instead arrived on Earth many years in the future?’

He thought for a long time. ’The only way to find the answer is to escape this prison and see the outside world.’ Just before falling asleep, he suddenly remembered the Water-Repelling Totem that Shui Su had carved into him. He scrambled to his feet, lifted his grimy prison uniform, and used the moonlight to look under his arm. The wound had already scabbed over. Wincing in pain, he peeled the scab away. Underneath was a strange, dark red tattoo. It looked like a small fish composed of a cluster of odd symbols. The tattoo was incredibly lifelike; as his skin twitched, the small fish seemed to come alive, flicking its tail as if swimming.