Chapter 2 — Beyond the Milky Way: The Miner Who Became a God of War

The central square of Black Stone Mine was filled with people from early morning. Thousands of miners, technicians, and supervisors were forced out of the living quarters to gather under an artificial sky illuminated by giant energy panels suspended above the colony. Lam Vũ stood crowded in the middle of the crowd, clearly feeling the stratification in the way people lined up: those with Linh Cốt stood in the covered area near the stage, while the crowd of "Cot blanks" like him were pushed to the back, under the harsh artificial sunlight.

On the high platform, a representative of the Council of Elders of Quang Nguyên stood upright in a white robe with gold trim, surrounded by dozens of Saint Guards wearing shiny black armor, holding energy weapons.

"Citizens of the Milky Way!" The representative's voice rang out through the amplified speaker system, reverberating into every corner of the square. "According to the will of Thiên Khải Quang Nguyên, Grand Patriarch Kha Bạch Vân - the one chosen to maintain order in the entire galaxy - announces the organization of the seventeenth Great Training Trial, taking place at the Abyss Arena within the next thirty days!"

Murmurs spread throughout the crowd. Lam Vũ heard those around him whispering about the prize: the winner would be granted noble status, priceless resources, and a large portion of Aurora Crystal — enough to cure any incurable disease.

"However," the representative continued, his voice sharper, "to preserve the dignity of the Force of War God, this year's Grand Trial reaffirms the ancient rule: only those who have passed the Bone Screening and are confirmed to carry the Spirit Bone are eligible to enter the Abyss Arena. Any Boneless person who dares to impersonate their identity to participate will be executed on the spot, without mercy!"

Lam Vũ felt a cold run down his spine. He glanced at Bốc Vấn Sơn standing next to him and saw that the old man was also frowning, his eyes complex and unpredictable.

The ceremony ended, the crowd dispersed amid endless chatter. On the way back to the living area, Lam Vũ pulled Bốc Vấn Sơn into a hidden corner.

"Uncle Vấn Sơn, do you know anything about the Power of War God? I want to ask... do only people with Spirit Bones have special powers?"

The old man's eyes were slightly startled, then he pulled Lam Vũ deeper into an empty hallway, where the noise of the crowd no longer reached.

"Why do you ask this question?" He asked back, his voice cautious.

Lam Vũ recounted what happened in the tunnel yesterday - the story of him holding a rock many times heavier than his strength with his bare hands, a strange warm feeling running down his spine. Bốc Vấn Sơn was silent for a long time, his old eyes shining with a ray of both pain and hope.

"Sit down here," he said, his voice quiet. "There's something I've been keeping from you for twenty years, because your mother told me to protect you at all costs. But if power has begun to rise within you, perhaps it's time for you to know the truth."

Lam Vũ sat down on the cold stone steps, his heart pounding.

"You and your mother are not natives of the Black Stone Mine," Bốc Vấn Sơn began. "Twenty years ago, we lived in a small village called Thôn Tà Huy, very far away, near the edge of a little-known star system. It was a small community, making a living by farming and mining rare minerals. But my family, the Zhet family, carries within us an ancient blood - the true God of War blood, which has nothing to do with the Spirit Bones or the Holy See's Bone Illumination ritual."

"Really the blood of the God of War?" Lam Vũ repeated, his voice confused. "But the Holy See said that only people with Spirit Bones..."

"That's a lie," Bốc Vấn Sơn interrupted, his voice suddenly hard. "The Spirit Bone is just an innate bone-nerve structure that the Holy See uses to divide society into superiors and inferiors. It has nothing to do with the true power of the War God. True power, the power that can turn an entire battle around, only exists in a few rare bloodlines scattered throughout the galaxy — and your Zhet family is one of them."

Lam Vũ sat silently, trying to digest what he had just heard.

"So why... why do we have to live like this? If you really have that power, why don't your mother and I use it to escape this hardship?"

Bốc Vấn Sơn's face suddenly became dark, the wrinkles were as deep as carved stone.

"Because twenty years ago, the Holy Light discovered the existence of the true God of War bloodline in Tà Huy Village. One night, without warning, the Holy Guards invaded the village and massacred almost the entire population. I only escaped because I was hunting in a distant forest. Your mother, pregnant with you at the time, escaped down a secret tunnel with a few other survivors. We wandered for many years and finally drifted to this Black Stone Mine, pretending to be civilians fleeing famine. We did not dare to say a word about Tà Huy Village."

"Why did they massacre an entire village just because of... blood?" Lam Vũ asked, his voice shaking with anger.

"I don't know the full reason," Bốc Vấn Sơn replied, "but I know one thing for sure: after that massacre, the Holy See took away an ancient artifact from our village - a family heirloom that the elders called the Blood Seal, kept at the ancestral temple. I don't know its exact use, but based on what the elders told me, it is closely related to the blood of our God of War."

Lam Vũ clenched his hands, the stories that seemed to exist only in ancient legends suddenly became the naked, painful truth.

"So what should I do now?" He asked, his voice filled with confusion.

"You have to keep this a secret," Bốc Vấn Sơn said decisively. "If the Holy See knew there were people left with the true God of War blood, they wouldn't let you live. The price of a secret like this is the lives of your entire family, including your mother who is being held in that quarantine area."

That sentence was like a bucket of cold water poured straight into Lam Vũ. He suddenly understood why his mother had been detained in the name of "quarantine for Marrow Toxicity" for the past five years — perhaps it was not simply because of illness, but also because of some hidden supervision from the Holy See.

"I can't just sit still," Lam Vũ said, his voice choked. "Your mother is not going to survive without the Aurora Crystal. If you really have this power, you must find a way to use it to save her, no matter how dangerous it is."

Bốc Vấn Sơn looked at him for a long time, his eyes both worried and as if he found a small ray of hope that had long since disappeared.

"I understand what you want," he said slowly. "But you must remember, your powers are still too young and untrained. If you act hastily, you will die before you can save anyone."

"So will you help me train it?" Lam Vũ asked, his eyes shining with a rare ray of hope.

Bốc Vấn Sơn sighed deeply, then nodded. "I was a warrior before the disaster happened. The skills I still remember, I will pass on to you, little by little, in secret. But you must promise me one thing."

"What?"

"No matter what you discover about the Tà Huy Village massacre, no matter how much you hate the Holy See, you must not act alone. Our enemy is too great, too dangerous. With just one mistake, both you and your mother will pay with their lives." Lam Vũ nodded, although in his heart, the fire of anger had begun to smolder, just waiting for an opportunity to flare up into a big fire.

That night, when returning to the cabin, Lam Vũ could not sleep. He lay looking up at the stone ceiling, clutching the piece of dry cake Bốc Vấn Sơn gave him this morning, thinking about the village of Thôn Tà Huy he had never known, about the blood of the God of War flowing through his veins, about the Great Training Trial about to take place at the Abyss Arena with the prize being a mineral that could save his mother's life.

The rules say that people with empty bones cannot participate. But that rule, now, for Lam Vũ is just a wall that needs to be broken, at any cost.

He turned over and looked to the corner of the rest compartment where a few other miners were sleeping soundly, their regular snores mixed with the sound of the wind whistling through the rocks. He wondered how many of them were carrying a buried secret like him, how many of their fates were also twisted by the Holy Light just because of an unreasonable Bone Screening ritual from birth. That thought made him feel both lonely and a vague sympathy for the strange people around him.

Little did he know that, the very next morning, a new face would appear in his mining team — a new female prisoner transferred in, carrying secrets even bigger than his own.