Before Su Ming ever questioned the world, he questioned himself.
He grew up in the Dark Mountain Tribe believing he would someday stand beside its Berserkers, the warriors every child admired. Instead, the answer waiting for him was one he never wanted to hear. Without the Berserker Body, he could never follow the same path no matter how hard he trained. While others prepared for battles and glory, Su Ming was expected to gather herbs, grind medicine, and spend his life helping those who possessed the talent he lacked.
He accepted the work, just not the conclusion.
The mountains surrounding the tribe became his classroom. Dangerous cliffs hid rare herbs worth risking a broken leg for, poisonous forests taught him where not to step, and hunting trips often ended with him returning covered in scratches but smiling anyway. An old medicine basket over one shoulder and a noisy little monkey following close behind slowly became part of his everyday life. The elders worried about him more than once, though they also knew talking him out of climbing another mountain was a waste of breath.
Life inside the tribe carried on much as it always had. Children dreamed of awakening, hunters disappeared into the wilderness before sunrise, and every ceremony reminded everyone that fate favored only a handful of people. Su Ming tried convincing himself that watching from the sidelines would be enough, yet every time another young warrior earned the tribe’s praise, the feeling returned.
Then something happened that nobody had expected.
A strange object found its way into Su Ming’s hands, and not long after, the final Berserker Initiation drew near. Questions he had never considered before started creeping into his mind. Was destiny truly decided the day someone was born, or had everyone simply accepted an answer without asking why?
Those questions refuse to stay inside one small tribe.
Ancient secrets buried beneath forgotten legends begin surfacing, familiar faces slowly become harder to understand, and even Su Ming starts wondering whether the memories he treasures are really his own. The road ahead stretches far beyond Dark Mountain, carrying him toward truths tied to an eternal prison, a sealed soul, and a fate that seems to have been decided long before his birth. Whether those truths will set him free or destroy everything he believes is another matter entirely.
