… I pull it open, and I see the outside for the first time.

The area on this side of the structure is completely different than the other. There are trees, but they are not the same size and shape. These are much shorter and skinnier. They are also much sparser, providing little protection from the fierce sun.

The wall is sloped. The surface is not covered in vines. It doesn’t look as worn.

Since I am on the other side now, I may as well pick a direction, and start walking.

…………………………………………………………………

“Halt!” The guard readies his spear.

After a long time of travelling, I found a city with a wall about three meters tall. Multi-story buildings, crowds of people bustling around, and a few people in blue uniform in front of the entrance, keeping an eye on the people passing by.

The monsters that inhabit this area are much smaller, weaker, and, in general, much easier to handle compared to what was inside the Wall. I suppose that’s why the security of this place relies on only two guards.

I walk towards the entrance of the city, and as I do, the men block my approach to stop me from entering. Are they cautious of me? Maybe it’s because of how I look. The grey cloth surrounding my shoulder has copious amounts of drying blood, my clothes are torn in several places, and if I were one of the guards, I think I would react in the same way.

“Identify yourself.” The other guard speaks up.

“You want my name?”

“If you don’t have any other identification, then yes.” He replies.

I look down, trying again to remember my name. Something about myself, at the very least.

“I can’t remember. I have memory loss.”

The guards glance at each other before facing me again.

“What happened to you?” The other man asks.

I look down at myself before responding.

“I was attacked.”

“Where? By what, and when?” The first guard queries.

“On the other side of that,” I say while pointing at the stucture with my good arm, and continue, “The beast that took my arm was a Hyenaraptor and it happened this morning.”

The first guard gets a look on his face that says to me he wholly believes that’s a lie.

“That’s impossible. There is no way in or out of there. And even if you were there, I don’t think anybody could survive the Nightmare Zone.”

The second guard speaks to the other, “If he really can’t remember his name, then we’ll have to use that thing.”

The first guard groans, “Must we, Mikael? There’ll be a bunch of paperwork if we do.”

“I think we have to.” The guard, who is apparently named Mikael, replies with a short nod.

“Alright, fine.”

“Just give us a moment, please. We’re going to use an Identification Stone to see if you’re telling the truth. It should tell us your name and if you have a criminal status.”

“Okay.”

…………………………………………………………………

[Name: ]

[Criminal Status: None]

Both guards remain silent for a long while.

Mikael is the first to speak up with, “That's strange.”

Quickly after, the other guard says, “Well, since you aren’t a criminal, we have no right to prevent you from entering, I suppose.”

Both guards move from the path into the city and return to their posts beside the entrance on either side. As they do, I walk past them and into the city.

“Wait!” Shouts Mikael suddenly. “You said you lost your memory? Do you even know anything about the city?” He pauses, and continues. “If you don’t, then someone should bring you up to speed.”

“It would be great if you could help me.”

…………………………………………………………………

“And here’s the Hunter’s Association. If you’re good at fighting or heavy labor, this is the place to earn money for it.”

“What do you mean?”

I look at the building. Its exterior is a layer of bricks. There are a few glass windows. A sign hangs just above the entrance. It reads, "Hunter's Association".

‘Well, basically, people come here if they have a problem that relates to monsters. Whether that be hunting them or whatnot. Or even if they are willing to pay for some manual labor. This is the place for them to post their request. Anybody can take the job, but some are pretty high risk. If you want to do one of those requests, then you need to be rated for it.”

“How do you make money from it?”

“You get paid for completing requests or selling monster corpses. Just so you know, pre-processed materials go for a better price since the association won’t have to do it themselves.”

“In that case, I have something to sell.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I have some parts from the monster that ate my arm.”

“Wow. Guess you showed it who’s boss, then?”

“I wouldn’t say that. It was more luck that it fell and snapped its neck.”

“Oh.”

A few seconds passed by until Mikael finally broke the silence.

“Well, you should be okay from here on. I’ve gotta get back before my superior finds out I left my post.”

He walks away, looking back and waving. Waving back, I walk toward the door of the Hunter’s Association.

'He's a pretty friendly guy. Or maybe he just wanted to get away from his post?'

The heavy wooden door swings in, and on the other side is a large wooden counter, an oversized cork board with a lot of papers, and a common area capable of fitting perhaps several dozens of people if they sit close together. There are leather couches and other seats. A few tables are between them. Double doors lead to another area hidden from view, and a single door resides behind the counter.

There are currently 4 people sitting at the counter. Three of them are talking with people whom I assume are hunters. I walk toward the only available person. She gives me a small scowl as I walk forward.

“What do you want?! I’m too busy to help with normal requests!” The old crone spat out.

Her wispy white hair sways slightly as she talks.

“I have some stuff to sell.”

“If you’re bothering me just to sell some demonized squirrel bits, then walk away.”

“I have Hyenaraptor fur, bones, and teeth.”

My words cause the woman to look at me with suspicion.

“You killed a Hyenaraptor, and dismantled it yourself?”

“Yes.” I say simply. “But I only got lucky.”

“Yeah, right. You’d need to.” She snorts. “Show me what you have, and I’ll tell you what it’s worth.”

I proceed to drop the items out of my inventory onto the counter’s surface.

“So how much does this go for if it came from a Lv. 26 Hyenaraptor?”

“Lv. 26?“ She cackles. “That’s not possible. There’s been no record of any raptor anywhere reaching a level higher than 15.” She pauses. “If it is actually from a Lv 26 Hyenaraptor, then its research value is several times that of an average Hyenaraptor. It may well be one of the most valuable finds for the branch this year”

“Oh, interesting.”

The woman leaves her seat at the counter to get a vertically challenged man with a large amount of facial hair from past the double door. As the man comes out, I see an expression of confusion, or perhaps annoyance, on his face. Maybe it’s both.

“Is this it?” The man points at the material and asks gruffly.

“Yes. What do you think?” The old lady asks.

“Give me a moment.”

The man takes several minutes to feel the materials. He strokes the fur, hits the bone against his his head, and eventually comes to a conclusion.

“This is the highest grade of Hyenaraptor materials I’ve ever seen.” He has an expression of dumbfoundedness. “What level of beast did this come from?”

“Level 26.” I answer.

The man goes pale. “26? As in two - six?”

He looks over at the old woman.

“He really said 26?!”

“Yes.” She says briskly.

“How in the world did you hunt it?”

“As I said before. Sheer luck.”

The man stares for several seconds before having another semblance of thought.

He looks at the woman and says, “We should buy this. It is worth a lot, but it is definitely worth buying.”

At this moment, I realize I have no idea how much money I had been lugging around in my inventory. It seems that the Hyenaraptor is worth quite a lot to these people. I also have no idea what money looks like. I am quite curious.

The man suggested that is to be bought for a lot, and the woman considers for a second.

“How about 10 Large Gold?”

“Is that a lot?”

The woman looks like she is about to spit out her dentures as her soul tries to leave her body.

“Quite a lot, young lad.” The short man laughs. “It’s enough to last an average citizen about 8 years living frugally.”

“Oh. That is a lot.”

‘I’m rich! … I think.’

“So is it enough?” The woman asks carefully.

“I believe so, if I’m understanding its value.”

“Alright!” She says loudly.

She goes past the door behind the counter. It takes her a few minutes to return with a small pouch containing clinking metal pieces.

“Unless you want a receipt, with this, our transaction is over.”

“Thank you.” I say as I place the pouch of coins into my inventory.

“No. Thank you.” The man says.

I turn to leave the building, and start feeling extremely dizzy. At that moment, everything becomes dark. I feel myself hit the ground, and also become floaty. Like my everything is just a bunch of fluffy clouds.

And I fall unconscious, right in the middle of the Hunter’s Association’s lobby.

…………………………………………………………………

Record of the time before the Beginning.

Void.

Neverending void.

A void that is without end.

Do I exist alone, here in this void? I am not able to know. If there are others, I am not aware of their presence. If they knew of my existence, would they make themselves known to me?

But what if there truly are no others, no existences like me? If that is so, then I am alone. In an infinite emptiness that only contains myself, there are no others.

If I have no way to know if there are others, then I cannot know. But there is a possibility for there to be more.

I want there to be others.

If I somehow create others, there would be others. If there are others, then I would not be alone.

But, is it possible to create something where there is nothing? Two existences where once there was one? Maybe if there is one, there can also be two?

Though, if I want to make another in this void, who would I make? More beings like myself is what I want. What I need.

What I must create is another with the power to create life. To create more than just two.

………………………………………………………………….

'I am not alone.'

My first thought.

I can sense the other. The one that came before.

The one that came before... and created me.

But for what reason? I understand that I was created with a purpose. A purpose to create. A purpose to make others like myself and the Old One.

My purpose is simple, but complex. What will I create first? Must I create something I need or something I want?

The Old One created me because the Old One needed me to accomplish something needed… So perhaps I should create something I need?

What do I need? What needs to exist other than myself?

I am an existence that creates, but what happens after those things are created? Do they continue their existence, or do they not not?

Should they have an end, as they do a beginning?

The Old One created me for the purpose of creation, so should I create another with the purpose of destruction? To destroy that which has been created? A balance would be maintained. This is good.

………………………………………………………………….

I know there are others.

How could I not? Their mere existence makes me want to destroy them… Or perhaps only one of them? The one that created me. The one that gave me purpose.

I am the one who destroys that which was created. A destroyer of creation.

Is that why I do not desire to destroy the one that came before my own creator? Because the Old One was the first? The one that was not created, but exists?

………………………………………………………………….

My purpose is not clear, though I know what it is. It is to determine fate.

The one who created me also created one with the purpose of creation. That one created another with the purpose of destruction.

The purposes of these ones are clear, but mine is not, because I have been made to provide a story. A story that includes creation and destruction.

The Old One had a question when he created me. 'What will that which I have created do?'

To know what will happen, the Old One created me. My purpose is to determine beginnings and endings. These beginnings and endings will be carried out by the ones with the purposes of creation and destruction.

But what to make?

The possibilities are endless. I do not yet know what will happen.

Perhaps I need to see what happens when I have the others create a beginning and its coming end?

…………………………………………………………………

In the void there was once nothing but my own existence. Now it flourishes with immeasurable amounts of what I have come to call "souls". They were created by Life at the request of Fate.

It seems that Fate has a story prepared for them. One with a beginning and an end. Though, Fate told me that what they do would not only be up to it, that the souls have the power to do as they want. They have the ability to choose what happens, and the ability to carry it out.

The abilities Life has prepared for them will, in time, bestow each of them greater abilities to create and destroy as they wish, but the amount of power given to them regarding these abilities seem infinitely smaller than what Life and Death yet retain.

"What has been created so far is only a small part of what the creation will contain." Fate now communicates with me.

"That is good."

"Now, I need only have Life create the area and vessels in which the souls will reside, wherein they will destroy and create what they will, while experiencing that which is between the beginning and the end."

Fate has previously expressed to me that they will exist in a different way than ourselves. The world they will inhabit will be a construct of matter and energy.

I was once lonely, but now I am bored. I wait in anticipation as I see the end of the beginning come ever closer.

………………………………………………………………….

The first world has, at this point, completed several billion complete rotations around its star. In the time it has taken it to do so, I have created others in which there will not be life. These other worlds will serve the sole purpose of giving those of the first world the ability to understand the nature of their own world better. I wish them to learn, as Fate will not allow them to retain knowledge of the world from before they exist in it.

The form of the vessels has been decided, but they will slowly come to be. In order to prevent those in the world from learning the truth of how they came to exist, they will only learn that which suggests they were created by circumstance, slowly evolving from simple life in a primordial sludge, to the form in which they will one day exist.

As the universe is the only place where time passes, I do not know how long it has been since I first began creating. All I know is that the time has finally come to set the world alight with life.

…………………………………………………………………

I do not want to stay in the void. I want to be a part of that which has been created. Soon, I will not watch from outside my creation, for I will watch from within. I will one day create my own vessel, in the form of the other vessels, and I will be among them. This time shall not be far off.

It should be noted that I do not know if Fate will allow me to keep my memories of the time before the beginning of this world, even if I do not want to forget. That knowledge may be forbidden by Fate in this world.