Sabaku

In the world of Sabaku, there are magical energies that can provide powers.
One can master these energies and use them to become more powerful. Everything is
made of these Sixteen Energies; 2 Primordial, 4 Elemental, 8 Mortal, and 2 Divine.
Together they are called the Sixteen Heavenly Energies. Each energy has its own
powers and weaknesses, a person can Master an Energy, and can extend their energy
with mastery. Each energy stems from the Yin and Yang, the two Primordial Energies,
each representing darkness and light respectively.

“Harvest all the fruits by nightfall,” A man instructed a row of hundreds of

slaves, a clear disgust for them, “Or no one will get dinner.”
‘Ugh’ A boy in simple clothes with a sickle in the back thought to himself.
He was tired when they were summoned, but he couldn’t argue, he was a mortal and
was inferior to his Master.
“Let’s go, Wuming,” An elderly man guided Wuming to the fields, “Let’s get to
work.”
Wuming was not really the boy’s name, he was not given a name, his parents
had died when he was a child.
The old man was a father-figure to Wuming, being a guardian and protector to
raise the young boy.
“Old man, tell me more about the 16 Heavenly Energies.” The young boy ran up
to the old man, energetically pestering him bout it.
“In this world,” The old man began, “There are several different energies
instilled in the very nature of everything. The first two Energies in the world
were the Two Primordial, Yin and Yang representing balance and serenity.”
Wuming was attentively listening to him speak, very interested on the
subject.
“The next four arised much later but still far before humans,” The old man
continued to lecture, “They were the Four Elementals, Earth and Fire stemming from
Yin while Air and Water stemmed from Yang. This is the point where the physical
world was created.”
The crowd of slaves had been walking for 10 minutes, still far from the
fields they had to tend to.
The man went on explaining, “When the first humans were created by the great
Yin and Yang, they were accompanied by demons and devils to create balance. The
humans stayed on Earth while the demons and devils were sent to the underworld. It
was a time of great chaos until the Great Mortal Emperor unified all of Sabaku,
designing the Eight Mortal Energies. Flora came first, making the land prosperous
and fertile. Metal provided protection and safety. Mist and Lightning created
weather, and Magma, along with Explosion energy created defensive along with
offensive power. Ice and Poison created the Venom Glaciers, a place to put public
enemies. These eight formed the Eight Mortal Energies.”
“But what about the last two?” Wuming piped in, counting only Fourteen
Energies.
“The last two were the Divine Energies, they are only rumored to exist.”
“What do you mean ‘rumored to exist’?” Wuming was confused, he thought that
all sixteen were completely real.
“When the Great Mortal Emperor ascended from this world to become a Divine
Being, he created the final two, called the Divine Energies. They are the Body and
Soul Energies, the most powerful, being mortal evolutions of the Yin and Yang. Soul
derives from Yin and Body from Yang.”
A little while after the lecture was over, the crowd reached the fields. Each
person spread out, tending to their section of land. Wondering about the Sixteen
Energies, he took his sickle and harvested his plot of land, caring for it.
‘I wonder if I could master one of the Energies’

10 Hours Later
 Day had turned to dusk as Wuming diligently finished harvesting his field for
Master.
“Old Man! Old Man!” Wuming ran to his mentor, excited to hear more about the
world of Sabaku.
“What is it Wuming?”
“Old Man, can I master an element?” Wuming was hopeful.
“Anyone can, in time.”
The slaves gathered together, taking the long trek back to their quarters.
The sun had already set and light was fading. Once the light was gone, it wouldn’t
be safe anymore.
“When can I start? I want to be a great master!” His dreams were vast and
extreme, being almost impossible.
Wuming was only 10 years old, but the old man knew that his life was already
set in stone.
‘His life is going to be like everyone else here. He was born a slave and he
was going to die a slave.’ The old man felt that he could change the boy’s life for
the better.
“Wait, my boy, patience is a good thing to have.”

In the Middle of the Night

Long past everyone had went to sleep, the old man stayed up. He left his
quarter in the cover of night, making sure not to be caught.
“Hey! Who’s Ther—”
“Hush, go to sleep.” The guard was put to sleep and the old man continued to
his goal, the Master’s house…

The Next Morning

Yawn!
Wuming woke up to the sound of birds chirping, knowing that that day was
going to be a day of rest. He jumped off the mat, a face of excitement on his face.
“Oh? What’s this?”
In front of him, a scroll neatly placed at his door. It had an ominous aura,
and it immediately caught Wuming’s eye. He picked it up and examined it, flipping
it over to find any hint of its origin. He found nothing.
‘Could I open it?’ He was skeptical, he didn’t know what would happen.
Click!
Without even touching it the latch unlocked, its harsh aura turning into a
very welcoming one.
Almost too welcoming.
But he was too curious to notice, he opened it.
“Let’s see,” He opened the scroll, noting the old looking parchment.
It had only a few words although he could not read it easily, since he was
illiterate.
“Hmm…” Wuming sat down back on his mat, looking at the parchment, trying to
decipher its meaning.
“S-Scr-Scroll!” The boy sounded out the words, understanding that this was of
utmost importance.

Five Minutes Later

“Scroll of Floric Energy!” Wuming was excited, “This could help me master an
Element!”
Reading the next line, he found out a secret on how to use it.
“Blood Bonding” These two words were a miracle.
With a sharp rock, he dripped his life essence onto the scroll, taking the
red liquid and forming it into an eerie green glow that lit up the enclosed room. A
wide smile spread across the boy’s face, his body casting a dark shadow on the
wall.
The light started to condense, first starting as green, but then including
red and blue. Once the Blood Bonding Ritual was complete, all the light was taken
from the room and sealed inside the scroll, now having a slight glow of gold.
“Wow” A short response escaped his lips as he was shocked in wonder of the
prior events.
Wuming’s hands slowly reached the golden scroll, having his mind captivated
in wonder and excitement. As soon as his fingers grasped the golden paper, it
exploded, shining light everywhere and took him by surprise. He closed his eyes,
then slowly opened them.
In front of him was a beautiful garden covered in flowers. A elaborate
pavilion lay at the center. He slowly walked to the center, warily looking around.
Once he had made his way to the center, Wuming heard a voice in his ear.
“Breath In, Breath Out,” He followed the voice, “Sit down and close your
eyes”
He did so, sitting in the middle of the circle. A gentle green glow emanated
from the tiles, slowly raising him up, layer by layer, until he was high up.
“Imagine a vast field, and a column raising up like a fist.”
Wuming did so, raising his fist with a column of vines raising to his
command. The boy then opened his eyes and saw the fist. As soon as he was
distracted, it fell to the ground.
“Keep control over the Flora, don’t let anything distract you.”
He regained control, suppressing the excitement building up inside of him.
Slowly, the column reformed in front of him. Then another right next to it, and
another. In a matter of minutes, he had created hundreds of columns reaching from
the ground below to the sky. Once the total pillar count reached ten thousand, he
stopped, taking a moment to open his eyes. Wuming remained in control, looking at
the vast creations he made. Finally, with one last act, he raised the land he was
on up to the sky, seeing his work in its entirety.
“Feel the energy in this world. Can you feel it?”
“Yes…I can.” He remained daunted at the feat he just witnessed, his feat.
“Create a ring to store the energy of this dimension.”
“But won’t—won’t that destroy this place?” He was genuinely protective of the
dimension.
“Yes…and No. For Masters of the Elements, only the destruction of a object’s
energy or life force can ever ‘destroy’ it,” The voice became more and more humane,
shedding its harsh outer layers while doing so, “If you store this place’s energy,
it will still live, just not in its physical form.”
“Oh, well, in that case,”
Wuming sensed the energy in the world and took control. First, he formed a
ring of Flora as a container for the energy. It was a vines wrapped around a wooden
core, perfectly fitting his finger, which he slipped inside.
The boy then sat back down, in deep concentration, taking the energy from the
world. The horizon slowly crept in, the land turning into a golden light, funneling
to the ring.
“I can feel it! The ring is filling up!”
“Hush,” The voice instructed, “Concentrate on your transformation.”
In a matter of minutes, which felt like just seconds to Wuming, the world had
disappeared, with no traces of it besides Wuming and the voice. He opened his eyes,
glowing with a blue energy.
“Where’s the world!?” His eyes darted around, looking for any sign of land.
“In your ring.”
“How do I get back?”
The boy’s quickly raised his hands to his face, to make sure that he was
still intact.
“Do you see your ring?”
“Yes, what do I do with it?”
The ring felt heavy with the energy, not a physical pressure, but a mental
pressure.
 “It is instilled with energy, picture your world and imagine yourself there,
and calmly flow the energy into your imagination.” It talked with experience,
something that reassured Wuming.
The black surroundings slowly turned into a world of life again, transporting
him and the voice back into his quarters. It was the next day.
“We made it!”
{Congratulations, you have achieved Floric Energy: Wooden Level Mastery}
A line of words popped up in front of Wuming, scaring him so much he took a step
back.
“WHAT IS THAT!” He tried to look away, but it stayed in the center of his view.
“Calm down, it is just an notification”
“HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?!” Wuming was frantically waving his hand in front of his
face, but the words appeared over his hands, like an visual impairment
“Do you have your ring on?”
“Yes! Now what do I do?!”
“Your ring is your key to Mastering the Elements it ca—”
“WHAT DO I DO?!” Wuming cut the voice off, still freaking out.
“Take your ringed hand, and wave it in front of the notification.”
The nameless boy took his ringed hand, which wasn’t the one he was using to
wave in front of his face, to swipe the notification away. Like the voice said, it
went away. Wuming, now exhausted, sat down and looked at his surroundings. He could
only note three differences from earlier that day:
The scroll was no more, with no sign of it anywhere,
The ring on his hand, which he felt immense mental pressure because of, and
The most important thing, the voice.
“Who are you?” The question came out thin air, taking the voice a while
before responding.
“I am… your guide to this world.” The voice was hesitant, choosing each word
with great care.
“A guide?”
“Yes…I am here to show you how to achieve your dream.”
“To become a great Master of the Elements?”
“Yes”
“How can you talk to me?”
“A gift of Mastering Elements is that one can project their thoughts into
another’s brain, essentially talking without talking.”
‘Now that I’m back, should I still trust it?’
Wuming took the past day into account,
‘The voice helped me, and guided me, so I think I could trust it.’
“What do I call you?” He asked the voice.
“Whatever you want.” The voice was indifferent.
“I’ll call you… Yuyin.”
“Yuyin, that is an interesting name.”
Yuyin wasn’t an actual name, it just meant ‘voice’, but it didn’t care.
Wuming looked at the ring, and wondered out loud, asking Yuyin.
“How can I master elements with this thing?”
“There are two stages to master elements, the first is the Yin stage and the
second is the Yang stage.”
“What do I do for the Yin stage?”
“It is a period where you learn to use the energy in the ring and how to use
it efficiently.”
“What about the Yang stage?”
“One uses this time to explore and find an area or a world with adequate
energy to store more.”
“Why can you just store all the energy you find?” He was sitting patiently,
listening to the lecture.
“Because, Wuming, you will not be able to control the energy and your soul
will be locked in a state of pure torture.” Yuyin’s tone was dead serious.
Silence filled the room after those words, causing the boy to shudder. He
looked at his ring, harmless to the touch, but the rose had thorns.
‘This thing, it could kill me’
At that moment, Wuming was unsure if he should continue his dream if it could
kill him.
“Here’s the ring back, I don’t want this life.”
He took off the ring, placing it on the floor in a corner and went outside.
Stepping outside into dawn, he was saddened at the thought of not being able to
achieve his dream, but he knew that he would rather live a life of serventry than
being killed. Also, since the old man was getting older he still needed to be able
care for him.
‘It’s not worth it.’
When he stepped out into the common area, he was greeted by a huge crowd of
servants.
“What’s happening?” He walked up to one of the servants.
“There is going to be an execution!”
“What?!”
“Yeah! Some idiot stole a precious artifact from a High Master.”
“Someone dared to steal from a High Master?!”
There was a hierarchy in the system of Sabaku, Wuming knew that. Although he
only knew up to the High Lord Master, not the highest in the world, but he was not
expected to learn more. Under the High Lord Master were the Lord Masters and Elder
Masters. The next lower ranks were Duke Master and High Masters. The lowest levels
were Masters and Apprentices, but they still held slight importance. Him, along
with the crowd were all servants, expected to work for life for their masters. On
the land in which he worked, the person in charge was a Duke Master, so an act
against a High Master would be deemed as treason and execution.
Wuming’s gaze drifted up to the execution platform, seeing who the idiot was.
‘Oh no’ All color and emotion drained from his face.
“The executioner said that the idiot stole a Scroll.” The person continued,
‘The ‘idiot’ was the old man!’
The boy ran up, weaving through the servants to the platform.
“OLD MAN! OLD MAN!” Through the murmurs of the crowd, his shout pierced the
air.
The old man turned his head to the voice, hearing Wuming’s cry. The
executioner raised his ax above his head, causing him to say his last words.
“NO!” Wuming knelt to the floor, crying and sobbing, causing bystanders to
look at him with sorrow.
‘Wuming’
The thought came in his mind, not his own. He understood that it was the old
man.
‘Wuming, can you hear me?’
Between sobs, he responded in his mind, sending telepathic messages.
‘Y-yes, I c-can”
Time seemed to freeze as Wuming watched the old man’s last breaths.
‘Did you see the scroll?’
‘Y-yes’
‘And did you master it?’
‘Yes’
‘Good, good. Now, I will tell you one thing. When I die, they will come after
you.’
‘W-why?’
‘You have the scroll. But don’t be afraid, you will have about a day before
they find out.’
‘A d-day to do w-what?’
‘You are to pack your things and sneak out of here.’
‘H-how?’
‘Run to the fields. After about 2 days, you should reach a small town called
Inake. Find the blacksmith in the town and tell her the Rouzin sent you.’
‘B-but why?’
 ‘Whatever is in store for you out there is better than in here.’
Wuming knew that the old man was right. The outside world would be better
than his life of servitude, but he wouldn’t leave if the old man had to die.
‘N-no! I won’t go!’
‘You must, and get ready to go. Goodbye, Wuming.’
And with that, time resumed.
The ax came down on the old man, one last smile was directed at Wuming.
‘This is it, life is so beautiful.’ One final thought crossed his mind, he
finally felt accomplished.
“NO!” The boy fell to the ground sobbing.
He punched the ground over and over again, forcing his eyes closed so he
would wake up from this nightmare.

One Hour Later

All the tears had run dry as he cried his heart out. The only father-figure
he ever had was gone. But, he needed to fulfill the old man’s last wish. He
breathed in and out, stabilizing himself.
‘I need to go.’
He got up, from the now empty common area, eyes red from crying, and walked to his
quarters. Every ounce of strength was being used to keep his composure and not
break down.
“Hey,” Yuyin’s voice came from the ring, ”You’re ba—”
“We’re leaving.” Wuming interrupted an expressionless look on his face.
He took the ring and put it on, ignoring the weight being put on him.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
A long uncomfortable silence hung in the air, causing Yuyin to worry. After a
while, he asked a question.
“Where are we going?”
After a second, Wuming hesitantly responded.
“A town, two days away. It’s called Inake.”
In just a minute, he had packed everything and was ready. The ring was necessary to
his survival, he needed to master it. He found a place to sit and meditated.
“How do I master Flora further?”
“Sit and calm down.”
Wuming was not calm, he could never be, he had just witnessed the death of the only
person who made him feel at home.
“You are not calm.”
The boy snapped.
“How can I possibly be calm! I have just saw the closest person to a father
I’ve ever had just DIE!”
He broke down in tears, collapsing from the exertion.
“I have a way to fix that.”
“How?” Holding back tears, Wuming looked up.
“I will do a memory block, I can seal those memories. Do you want me to do
that?”
“Yes, seal it. I can’t handle it.”
And with that, the ring of power started to absorb the memories of Wuming. He
was made unconscious by Yuyin in fear of mentally injuring him. He also went
through the memories since Wuming had shocked him with the sudden change in
attitude.
‘Even though the Emperor said not to interfere, this is for a better cause.’
Yuyin put all his might into helping Wuming.

Five Minutes Later

“Where am I?” Wuming got up off the ground, unable to remember what happened
after he took off the ring.
 “You collapsed after taking off the ring because of exhaustion.”
“Oh,”
“You’re fine now,” Yuyin purposely left out any form of reminder of prior to
the memory erase, “At midnight, we need to leave.”
“Why?”
“An old man came in while you were unconscious, he said he had to go.”
“Where?”
“He didn’t say, he just said that you were to go to Inake to be looked after
while he was gone.”
“O-Ok.”
Wuming was still dazed from what he thought was fainting from exhaustion.
“Now, you need to get better at Flora Mastery. Sit and calm down.”
Wuming sat and meditated, being infinitely more calm than before.
“Breathe in, breathe out.”
The boy followed every word with care.
“Now take your mind and project it in this room.”
The walls of this room expanded to oblivion. Wuming felt his legs lift off
the ground and opened his eyes.
“We are in the Imagination Realm. In this realm, you can do anything and
everything without it having any effect on the Mortal World.”
“So how do I take advantage of this?”
With a simple thought, Yuyin created a training arena. It was a grass field
with several beings in it.
“These are practice enemies, you can train on them. Here, try using your
Flora to attack this one.”
With a command, Wuming had his ring energy seep out and control the grass
around him.
‘This is hard to control!’ His hand raced to hold his arm steady.
“Why is this so difficult? It was easier the first time!”
“This is the first time you are using the Energy outside of the Beginning
Dimension. It will get easier the more you use it.”
Wuming finally had control of the energy and the Flora around him.
“What do I do now?”
“Take the energy and form a cage around it, and crush it.”
He did what Yuyin said and a screen appeared in front of him.
{You have defeated ‘Enemy’}
{Calculating Experience…}
{Experience Calculated}
{You have gained 1 Exp. from ‘Enemy’. 19 more Exp. until level up.}
“Hey, Yuyin!”
“Yes?”
“What does the it mean when it says level up?”
“Say ‘Status Window’”
“Status Window!”
A screen popped up in front of him:
{Wuming}
{Elements Mastered: Flora}
{Flora Mastery Level: Wooden Level}
{Experience: 1/20}

“Do you see the third line?”

“Yes”
“Read it to me.”
“‘Flora Mastery Level: Wooden Level’. What does that mean?”
“What does ‘what’ mean?”
“Wooden Level, is there like a level system?”
“Yes, Wuming, exactly.”
“So what is after Wooden Level?”
“After Wooden Level is Stone, then Iron, Silver and Gold.”
 “What’s after Gold?” His tone was extremely curious.
“You will find out soon.”
And with that, Wuming knew that it was a goal to pass Gold level.
“I will pass Gold Level Mastery!”
Wuming spent the next five hours in the training realm, getting more and more
experience with the power of Flora. Even the weight that was once pressuring on his
mind was starting to be lifted with practice.
{Congratulations, you have leveled up to ‘Stone Mastery’.}
“Good, good.” Yuyin brought Wuming out of the training dimension, “Now, let’s
go to Inake now.”
Wuming calmed down from training.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go.”
The door was cast open, the bright moonlight shining through the doorway.
Wuming took off, running to the fields. Running since he thought the old man had
told him to, unbeknownst to him, he was running for his life.
“It should be about two to three days until we get there.” Yuyin instructed
carefully.
While running, the boy looked back, looking at the only home he ever had. He
thought he was going be returning, but he never would be able to.