Chapter 1 Chasing the Dream
Chasing the Dream
When the mountain wind swept across Jadegreen Mountain, the trees stirred into rolling green waves. Golden sunlight fell through the canopy, edging every leaf in light, so that the whole slope shimmered like sunlight on a dark sea. It was a famous sight in Zane Blackwood lands—they called it the Gilded Green Haze.
To the people of Anya Ashford Realm, the golden blaze said to seal the world from the void, the fiery gales that even Celestials feared, was nothing more than a distant beauty. They named countless scenic spots after it. But for the farmers who worked these slopes year after year, neither gilded haze nor green light mattered half as much as their own patch of ground.
Below Jadegreen Mountain, in Small River Village, a few dozen households were working the fields. It was spring, the season for planting.
One field held only a single boy. He looked about ten years old, but he worked a large plot alone, sweat already streaking his young face.
“Corin Hawthorne!” A clear voice called.
He looked up. A girl with two small braids was running toward him, carrying a cup of water.
She wasn’t especially pretty. Years of labor had roughened her skin and darkened her complexion, but her eyes were bright as stars.
She reached him and held out the water. “Corin Hawthorne, you must be tired. Have a drink.”
“Thanks.” He took the cup but didn’t drink. He just stared at his own reflection in the water.
It was a decent face—lean, fair-skinned, with a fine nose. The nose, he thought, was the most important feature. If the nose was good, the rest couldn’t be too bad. He had a good nose. But the eyes looked timid, weak. That bothered him.
He narrowed his eyes a little, straightened his neck, tightened his jaw. His gaze sharpened, and his whole bearing turned colder.
In his memory, this body had another name: Stellan Hawthorne.
On Earth, he’d been a civil servant in the personnel office of X City. His father was a chief physician at the city hospital. His mother taught math at the city’s top high school. By every ordinary expectation, Stellan Hawthorne would have climbed the ranks and become a promising government official. He’d worked hard for it—diligent, honest, well-liked by his superiors. He even had a girlfriend from a similar family, a little temperamental but nothing serious.
No one could have predicted the sudden disaster.
He’d been walking down the street when a man burst out of nowhere, swinging a knife. Stellan was the second victim. He saw the stranger cut down a woman, then drive the blade into his own chest.
Little Corin’s death had been similar.
Two years ago, when he was ten, Corin had gone hunting with his parents and the villagers. While they fought a vicious bear, a boar with two long tusks appeared. One of its tusks punched through little Corin’s chest—exactly where Stellan had been stabbed.
The boar died under the rage of Corin’s parents, who fell with it.
But then something strange happened—something tragic, or maybe fortunate. Little Corin didn’t die. He woke up again.
That was when Stellan Hawthorne came into the boy’s body.
He woke up an orphan.
At first, the shock and confusion were buried under the grief of losing both parents. The villagers took care of him for a while. Gradually, he adapted to his new life and began to support himself.
Two years. It was hard to believe two years had passed.
“Corin Hawthorne, drink some water!” The girl blinked her bright eyes at him.
“Oh.” He came back to the present and downed the slightly cloudy water in one gulp.
She smiled, pleased. Looking at the field, she said, “You can’t manage all this alone. Let me help.”
He stopped her. “No need, Gwen Reed. This field is only half done. I’ll finish it in two more days.”
“But what about the three fields east of the village? You can’t handle those by yourself.”
“I sold them,” he said flatly.
“Sold?” Her eyes went wide. “You sold all your land? What will you do?”
He didn’t answer. A middle-aged man walked over and patted her head fondly. “Silly girl, can’t you see? Corin’s heart isn’t here. He wants to leave.”
“Leave?” Gwen stared at him. “You’re leaving Small River Village?”
In Anya Ashford Realm, a twelve-year-old girl was no longer considered a child. In two years, she’d be old enough to marry. Corin was an orphan, but he was sensible—his soul was an adult’s—and he was handsome. It was natural she liked him.
Now she heard he was leaving, and her heart sank.
He nodded. “Leander Fletcher is right. Next year, I’ll sell the last two fields and leave.”
“To do what?” Her voice trembled.
“To see the world beyond.”
“What’s so good about that?” She couldn’t understand.
Leander Fletcher sighed. “Think carefully, Corin. The world is hard. Small River Village is poor, but it’s peaceful. Once you leave, life might not be easier. The money from selling land won’t last long.”
“I know, Leander. I have hands and feet. I’ll take care of myself. Besides, I still have a year.” His voice was calm.
Leander saw his mind was made up and said nothing more.
Then, in the distance, a blinding light flared. It blazed like a second sunrise, forcing everyone to squint. When the glare faded, a thunderous crash rolled across the sky. The girl Gwen went pale and fell to the ground.
Everyone looked up. The sky had changed. Clouds churned, golden haze whipped wildly, and the air grew heavy with menace.
In the midst of that storm, two figures moved across the clouds. One shone like a god in golden light. The other wore white robes, and his sword traced arcs of cloud-like energy. Wherever the blade passed, trees on Jadegreen Mountain snapped and fell.
“Cora Stone, you can’t escape! Surrender!” The golden figure thrust a massive hand toward the white-robed man. The man dodged like lightning. The giant handprint struck the mountain peak, pulverizing a boulder and shaking the whole summit.
“Celestials? Celestials fighting?” The villagers of Small River Village cried out in fear. Some threw down their tools and ran for the caves.
When Celestials fought, common folk suffered. In Anya Ashford Realm, the villagers knew to hide from the backlash of a Celestial battle. Though Small River Village was remote and poor in mana, and its people rarely saw Celestials, they had long since learned to dig shelters.
Now they ran for their cellars. Only Corin Hawthorne stood still, gazing at the battling figures with a fierce light in his eyes.
He whispered to himself, “Celestials… so that’s what they are?”
Since coming to this world, Corin Hawthorne had known that Celestials existed. But he had never actually seen one. Everything he knew about them felt like legend, something that existed only in stories. He had longed for it, yes, but not enough to drive him to desperate pursuit.
Today, that changed.
Two Celestials stood high above the clouds, releasing terrible power with every gesture as they clashed. The shockwaves of their battle reduced everything in their path to rubble. The very ground trembled, roaring like an earthquake.
So this was the might of a Celestial.
Corin Hawthorne never imagined his first glimpse of a Celestial would be such a spectacle. In that moment, a fierce longing seized him.
I want to practice the celestial arts.
No reason was needed. None.
Just watching the clouds scatter at a Celestial’s command filled him with endless yearning. That single glimpse planted a vow deep in his heart: he would find a way, no matter the cost.
“Yes,” he murmured. “This is why I came to this world.”
What kind of path? What did it truly mean? He didn’t stop to think about any of it.
None of that mattered.
A Celestial was a Celestial. Where one existed, he would seek it.
He strode toward the two figures fighting in the distant sky.
“Corin, get back!” Leander Fletcher shouted.
Corin called back over his shoulder, “You two take cover. I’m going to see if I can get close enough to join one of the orders.”
“That’s impossible!” Leander yelled. “The Orders don’t take just anyone. Don’t be a fool, Corin!”
Corin smiled.
He understood that well enough.
The drive to seek power was a human instinct. He wanted to walk the celestial path, but so did everyone else. Because of that, the gate was impossibly narrow. It was like a thousand warriors trying to cross a single bridge.
And the allure of the Celestials was far greater than any earthly prize.
That was all the more reason to strive.
A human life was barely a hundred years. He refused to drift through it in mediocrity. He had been given a second chance, and he meant to seize it. If he didn’t press forward with all his strength, he would betray that gift.
The path would be steep and dangerous. But those were just colors on the journey, scenes to be savored.
He turned back to Leander. “I know,” he said. “That’s exactly why I have to take the chance.”
With that, he ran toward the distant slopes of Jadegreen Mountain.
“No, don’t go! You’ll die!” Leander and Gwen Reed shouted together.
The Celestials’ battle raged with devastating force. Even getting close as a mortal could reduce him to dust. Charging forward like that was practically suicide.
Other villagers noticed Corin rushing toward the fighting. They understood his intent and called out warnings. “Corin, don’t be stupid! Even if you reach them, they won’t take you!”
Corin just smiled. “I know. But some things you have to try, even if they might fail. If you never try, you’ll never have a chance.”
He lowered his head and ran into the swirling clouds and crashing waves of power, charging toward the place where his dreams lay.
