Let’s rewind a bit to the start of the Proxy Battle Royale. Tang had been teleported into the Ruined City like everyone else. He could sense that there was no one near him. Instead of searching for opponents Tang took a seat on a random rock and waited. He knew that everyone would be coming for him so he didn’t need to search for anyone. Whether it enemies or allies, he was truly the first person on everyone’s mind. As he expected, someone came to find him and that person was Biyu who gave a report about Miko’s location. He gave her an order and she left to carry it out, leaving Tang alone once again.

“…….”

He sat in silence, just him and his thoughts. He looked up and stared at the sky.

“What does blue look like again?”

He placed his hand on his heart. He could feel it racing in his chest.

“I’m getting excited for the upcoming battle and yet the world still looks so bleak.”

He sighed.

“I want to see it again. The vibrant colors of this world.”

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Old memories started coming to him.

********

“Tang, you are the person who will succeed me and lead Dragon Storm to another millennium. Make me proud.”

Tang had long lost count how many times his father had said that to him.

“The Young Master is so talented. He just needs to see something once and he’ll be able to do it.”

“The Young Master will definitely become a great leader in the future.”

“The Young Master is so wise. I can’t imagine how high Dragon Storm will soar under his leadership.”

Tang had long gotten used to receiving such praises from his subordinates.

Tang Xian was what you would describe as a rare talent. Combat, Leadership, Warfare; Tang excelled in all of these from he was a child. So it was natural that everyone would have high expectations of him. But if you were to ask Tang what he thought about it-

“It’s all worthless.”

Tang was sick of the praises of everyone around him. He was sick of everything coming easy to him. He was sick of life itself.

“……..”

A young Tang was looking at the sky with an uninterested look in eyes.

“Biyu.”

“Yes.”

Biyu appeared behind him.

“What color was the sky again?”

“…..Blue, Young Master. More specifically Azure.”

“And my hair is the same color?”

“That’s right, Young Master.”

Tang grabbed his hair and looked at it.

“….Is it beautiful?”

“Very beautiful, Young Master.”

“I see.”

He released his hair and continued to look at the sky absentmindedly.

“Tang is still colorblind?”

“Yes, Master Fang.”

Biyu was kneeling before Fang making a report.

“I don’t get it. He could see colors just fine when he was younger; so why can’t he see them any more?”

“I believe that he’s suffering from some mental issues.”

“Tang? That’s impossible. He’s probably a little stressed out. Cancel all of his lesson for a while and allow him to rest.”

“….Yes.”

As Fang had instructed, Tang was freed from all of his responsibilities for a while. Because of this Tang found himself with a lot of free time, time which he used to think. That’s all he did, think. He thought and thought and thought until Tang came to a conclusion.

“Life is meaningless.”

This was what a young Tang came to believe. It was because he believed this that the world seem so bleak to him. Since before he was born it was already decided that he would become the next leader of Dragon Storm succeeding his father, so he didn’t get to choose what he wanted to become because it was already decided. Because he was born with a rare level of talent everything came easy to him, so he never felt challenged. Because he was always surrounded by powerful subordinates to protect him, he never felt threatened.

Tang Xian was born with everything and to him that was a curse that sucked the joy out of his life.

However, everything changed after a certain event.

“The Young Master ran away!”

“What do you mean he ran away?! How did he leave unnoticed?!”

Fang roared at his subordinates.

“The Young Master knows the ins and out of this place and considering his high intellect it wouldn’t be hard for him to leave undetected.”

“Dammit!”

For the first time, Fang had regretted that his son was a genius.

While everyone at Dragon Storm was panicking, Tang was on his way to leave the Han Dynasty. He was planning on using the money he took from the treasury to take a trip around the world, but he didn’t even make it out of Ao Guang where Dragon Storm resided before he got in trouble.

“Ugh!”

Tang was pushed onto a wall by a muscular man and groaned. He had wounds all over his body.

“You brat, how dare you attack my brothers like that?!”

The man was furious.

“They tried to rob me. He got what was coming.”

“Shut up!”

Tang was slapped to the ground by the man. The man then approached him with a scowl.

“I’m gonna teach you to not mess with others.”

The man kicked Tang in the stomach and then started stepping on him.

“Come on, come on! Where’s that spunk you had earlier?!”

The man signaled his friends to lift Tang up. He then started punching him like a punching bag.

“Guh?!”

Tang face became swollen and his body was black and blue from all the hits he had taken. Even so, the man showed no signs of stopping. While this was happening to him thoughts ran through Tang’s mind.

(It hurts…This is the most pain I’ve ever felt. If this continues I’m gonna die.)

“Hm?”

The man stopped. He looked at Tang and lifted his head. With a frown he asked-

“Kid, are you smiling?”

“…….”

Tang didn’t reply but there was indeed a smile on his face.

“I’ll give you something to smile about!”

The man started punching Tang harder than before. He held nothing back and slammed his fists on Tang’s body like he was a piece of meat being hit by a meat tenderizer.

“What’s with this kid? He won’t stop smiling.”

Despite being beaten beyond recognition, Tang kept a wide smile on his face.

“It’s creeping me out.”

To be honest, even Tang didn’t know why he was smiling. If the man didn’t point it out he wouldn’t have noticed. All he knew was that the thought of him possibly losing his life made him excited. He didn’t know if it was because if he died then he would be freed from this pointless life that was already decided for him, or because of another reason. All he knew was that for the first time in a while he felt alive.

“This kid is too creepy. I’m gonna kill him now.”

“I don’t think I can allow that.”

A bright light flashed which caused the man to closed his eyes. When he opened them he was shocked to see Tang covered in blood; just Tang.

“Where’s everyone?”

“They were vaporized.”

The man heard a voice and looked beside him. He saw a man wearing a white trench coat with a smiling ghost mask.

“W-Who are you?”

The man asked with a trembling voice. He felt overwhelming pressure coming from the masked man.

“Does the name Phantom ring a bell?”

“?!”

The man’s eyes widen with shock he wanted to speak but his head suddenly exploded before he could. Pieces of the man’s brain splashed onto Tang’s face.

“……”

Tang sat on the ground with the brains on his face, absentmindedly staring at the man who called himself Phantom.

“…….”

Phantom looked at him in silence as well. He kept looking at him for a while before speaking.

“Kid, why are you smiling so widely?”

Tang had a wide smile on his face that stretched from ear to ear. He looked like his face was painted like a clown’s. It was a smile that could make anyone feel creeped out.

“I…I can see colors.”

“…….”

Phantom didn’t say anything and watched as Tang look at him with a blank expression. In Tang’s eyes the world was vibrant and full of color. Even the blood that was around him looked like the most beautiful thing. When he looked at Phantom it felt like he was looking at a god, a heavenly being that brought back light to his world. He was honestly glad to be alive.

“It seems that you’re experiencing an adrenaline rush from a near death experience. Your case seems a bit extreme though.”

Phantom stooped down and looked Tang in the eye. Tang could see a pair of blue eyes behind the mask.

“The world that you’re currently seeing, is it beautiful?”

“Very.”

“Do you feel alive?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to feel like this forever?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry but that’s impossible.”

“What?”

“I can tell you how to feel alive, but you’ll eventually get bored of it. So there’s only two things you can.”

Phantom showed a finger.

“You can constantly live life on the edge hoping to get some kind of rush. This however is a small fix. You’ll grow accustom to danger and fear and the world will become bleak again.”

“Then how can I make it become vibrant after that?”

Tang asked with a desperate tone.

“You’ll need to do something so outrageous that you’ll be cornered so bad that your destruction is almost certain. However, if you do that I guarantee you that you won’t live long but I can also guarantee a glorious death.”

“I..”

Phantom placed his index finger on his mouth.

“Don’t be hasty. Take time to think about it. I might be wrong and this is all phase and you’ll grow out of it.”

He stood up and offered Tang a hand.

“However, if I’m right and the world becomes lackluster again despite all your efforts, then give me a call. I’ll make you meet the person who will help you see the most beautiful scenes imaginable. Ones that’ll make you satisfied for an eternity.”

“……..”

Tang looked at him in silence and then took his hand. Phantom pulled him to his feet and cleaned off his face.

“What do I do now?”

“For now, just go home. I’m sure your people are worried sick.”

Tang nodded. Phantom then turned around and started walking away.

“See ya, Tang Xian. For your sake, I hope we never meet again.”

“Wait! How do-”

Before Tang could finish Phantom was gone.

“How did he know my name?”

He stood there in a daze.

“Wait, How am I going to contact him? Hm?”

That’s when Tang noticed a card in his hand. It was a card that had a ghost on it.

“….If I keep this then I’ll be able to meet with again huh?”

He smiled and started walking.

“Live life on the edge…I think I’m going to need Dragon Storm after all.”

********

“……..”

Tang opened his eyes and had serene look on his face. He turned and saw Miko heading towards him. When he saw him a smile appeared on his face. That was because in his eyes everything other than Miko was gray while Miko gave off a vibrant light.

“You were right, Phantom.”

He stood up.

“This really is the best person for the job.”

Miko walked up to him with a smile and Tang spoke with a welcoming tone.

“Hey, Miko. I’m glad that you were able to make it.”

The two then spoke in unison.

“Now let’s kill each other.”