516 million years ago

Earth. It was very different from how it is now. On the surface, it was barren, with small pieces of land barren of any life. But underneath the ocean, it was a different story.

At the bottom of the ocean, strange alien-like creatures flourished on the sea floor, from trilobites to tiny fishes to giant predatory invertebrates. The area was diverse with life, but in the end, there is one universal truth: survival.

Several small creatures, around 25 mm, were slowly crawling along the ocean floor on the sea floor, passing various sponges. This is a species called Hallucigenia, tiny scavengers that were, unfortunately, easy picking for many predators living on the sea floor.

A large shadow swam over them, causing the Hallucigenia to panic. They scattered for a place to hide, but they were spotted. Their pursuer was an Opabinia, a predatory invertebrate around 7 cm long with a claw attached to its face.

The Opabinia lowered itself at its prey, the Hallucigenia moving as fast as they could. But it was not fast enough. The predator's claw managed to snatch up one of them, pulling it closer to its jaw and devouring it. Then, it did the same with the other three before its strange eyes caught onto one last Hallucigenia. The sole survivor noticed a small hole in one of the rocks and hurried to it for safety. However, it was a rather slow animal, and the Opabinia swam closer to it, claw reaching outward to grab it.

Suddenly, a splash from above scared the Opabinia, and it swam off in another direction, abandoning the hunt. The Hallucigenia did not bother stopping, eventually arriving at the hiding spot and tucking itself inside. Before long, the cause of the splash revealed itself: a space rock slowly floated to the floor below, right in front of the spot where the Hallucigenia was hiding. Once it landed, things were mostly silent, save for the sound of the ocean.

The lone survivor turned its head, not sensing anything outside. Slowly, it crawled out and noticed the rock. Curiosity hits the creature, and the Hallucigenia crawled forward, inspecting the rock. Noticing another hole small enough to crawl inside, it did so.

After crawling through the small tunnel, the Hallucigenia entered a small chamber, where its senses picked up something unusual. Inside the chamber was a tiny, diamond-coated stone, giving off a strange aura. The Hallucigenia was drawn by this and approached it closer. Tapping its head against it, it failed to notice the stone beginning to glow. Then, something incredible happened.

From the outside, the rock shivered before diamond-like material began to expand from where the stone was. Then, the hardened material raised upwards and broke the surface, creating a lonely pool in the shallow sea.

Inside, the Hallucigenia was panicking. It searched for a way out, but it was hopeless. After a while, the Hallucigenia stopped moving, resting despite the predicament.

Time went by, and the Hallucigenia, strangely, did not starve. It was thanks to the stone, which gave off energy, sustaining the creature. This allowed the Hallucigenia to survive and grow while the rest of the world changed around it.

Speaking of the world, the pool remained unperturbed throughout time, as hundreds of millions of years went by, and the former ocean floor soon rose to become dry land. During this time, a tree seedling landed on one edge of the pool, and thanks to the energy provided by the stone inside, it grew into a giant tree, bigger than anything else surrounding it. The tree and the pool inside of it, as well as the surviving creature, remained undisturbed until now…

Inside the pool, the Hallucigenia continued to float around. It had grown much larger thanks to the energy provided by the stone, and it was now the size of a child. It remained floating until it heard another splash from about.

The source came from a heavily wounded child; a little girl with a broken dress and some arrows on her shoulder. She was struggling to get to the surface, but exhaustion was getting to her, and she soon ended up sinking to the bottom. The Hallucigenia swam closer to the girl and briefly inspected her. Instincts told it to latch onto the girl. Approaching the girl from the back, the Hallucigenia attached itself to her. Suddenly, there was a flash of light coming from the Hallucigenia and the stone from below. The girl, barely conscious, felt light, and a new surge of energy flowed within her veins…

13 years later

The little girl was now a young woman, and she was resting on a fancy bed. She was panting heavily, tended to by various maids. The woman heard a booming voice outside, praising something with pride. She sighed as she let her head rest on the pillow. As the maids treated her, the door soon opened, and three young girls walked inside. The oldest girl approached the woman and gently cupped her left hand.

"Mother, dad's coming back with our new brother," she said softly. The woman looked at her and gave a tired smile, gently tightening her grip on her daughter's hand, to which the oldest girl returned the gesture.

Then, the door opened again, and a bearded man with brown hair stepped in. He was wearing a crown on top of his head, signifying his status as king. In his hands was a tiny baby who was crying still.

"Ymir. Take him to your arms," he instructed as he reached the baby out to her. The woman, Ymir, reached her arms out and gently took the baby from him before pulling the baby close to her. The king then approached her, and they looked at their child, who had stopped crying and had opened his eyes. Unlike everyone else in this room, whose eyes were hidden in a sorrowful, lifeless shade, the boy's eyes were bright and filled with wonder.

The boy looked at his mother and reached out for him. Ymir held him closely, face expressionless as the king said to her,

"This boy will be my successor to the Eldian Empire. He will rule with an iron fist, bringing more wealth and prosperity to us and crushing anyone who dares threaten our hegemony over the land. You and your daughters will do well to raise him properly. Is that understood?"

Ymir, without looking at him, nodded. The king then turned to the other girls, who flinched under his gaze, but nodded as well. The king soon left the room, leaving the girls with their mother and baby brother. As they approached them, Ymir looked at her happy baby boy, and for the first time since the birth of her youngest daughter, she felt a prideful smile grow on her face. She pulled him closer and kissed him on the forehead, making him giggle. The daughters smiled as well.

"Mother? Do you think he will succeed father?" the eldest daughter asked. Ymir frowned and shook her head with a slight shrug. The baby boy, meanwhile, wiggled his arms as he looked at his family, smiling at them happily and reaching for them. Ymir then lifted her arm and gently wrapped two of her fingers around the baby's hand, momentarily lost in her little world with the boy…

AN: Hey everyone!

Yep, I'm putting a prologue into this story. Why; because I figured it would help set up this story in a better way! I elaborated more in the latest chapter (chapter 7), so please check out the AN for that story.

Anyway, that's all I have. I hope you enjoy it, leave any criticism, and stick around for more!