The Birth of a Prodigy
Momon's story began in the isolated mountain village of Althenor, a place untouched by the ambitions of kings and lords but haunted by the ever-present fear of the waves. This calamity, a cycle of destruction that plagued the world for centuries, unleashed monstrous hordes with no warning, leaving countless lives shattered in their wake.
Legend has it that the night of his birth was marked by the very heavens with a fiery comet larger and brighter than any seen before or since streaking across the sky. However, no one truly knows if such an event was true or made up by historians to add more grandeur to the tale.
His parents, simple farmers by the names of Ardyn, and Sylara would raise Momon in peace alongside his 2 older brothers. But even as a boy, Momon exhibited an unusual wisdom and strength beyond his years. He often wandered the fields to aid his struggling neighbors, even sneaking food from his own family's store to share with those in need. His parents chided him gently worried, that his generosity might one day cost him dearly, but Momon would only smile and say
"If I have the ability to help people, why wouldn't I use it?"
His early years were a simple time, he would go around the village helping wherever he could. But his favorite place to go was the village's inns where adventurer teams would stay whenever they came by. He would stay there for hours listening to the adventurers tell him about their journeys of course most were exaggerated but they were still fun to listen to. These stories would resonate deeply with a young Momon, he would always ask his parents if he could maybe one day leave the village and explore the world like those adventurers, but he would always get a concrete no because the world outside the village was too cruel and a kind-hearted boy like him would never survive out there. So for the time, he was stuck in his village although the thought of a grand journey never truly left his mind.
This idyllic life came to a brutal end when Momon was just 10 years old. It was a day like any other, the air filled with the sounds of harvest work, when the sky turned an almost crimson red. The winds howled, and the earth seemed to groan in protest as the first monsters of the wave descended upon his village.
The people of the Althenor had no defenses beyond wooden barricades and farming tools. The monsters tore through them like paper. His brothers had already fallen, and he watched as his father fought valiantly to protect him, and his mother, but it was clear they wouldn't survive.
As the creatures closed in from around them, his mother Sylara shoved Momon into the grain cellar, looking up in shock he saw his mother desperately trying to hold back tears although her attempts failed horribly. As they stared at each other his mother spoke to him one last time in a quiet trembling voice, but even then her words were loud and clear as day to him.
"We love you, so much" Momon's eyes widen as she quickly closes the door.
He reaches out in a desperate attempt to stop her, so shocked and overcome with adrenaline that when he attempted to scream no noise came out of his mouth. Hours passed as Momon listened to the screams of his people. When silence fell, he emerged to find his home reduced to rubble and ash. His parents, his brothers, and every soul he had known lay lifeless amidst the wreckage.
Momon wandered the ruins, stopping at his father's corpse, kneeling down, and grabbing his father's now-broken scythe. As he kneels there clutching the broken scythe in his hand with tears streaming down his face. It was the first time he felt the crushing weight of helplessness-a feeling he vowed never to endure again.
Three days later, starving and delirious, Momon stumbles upon a lone warrior at the edge of the woods. The man, clad in battered armor and wielding a staff, introduced himself as Kael, a wanderer who dedicated his life to combating the waves. Kael saw the potential in the broken boy and took him under his wing.
Kael's teachings were harsh but necessary. He taught Momon the art of survival, the fundamentals of combat, and the philosophy of sacrifice.
"A true warrior doesn't fight for the glory or the power" Kael often said. "We fight because someone must."
Under Kael's guidance, Momon grew stronger, both physically and mentally. But he also learned of the wider world, a fractured land of kingdoms constantly at war, too consumed by their petty conflicts to unite against the waves. The bitterness in Kael's voice when he spoke of this left a deep impression on Momon
When Momon turned 15, Kael fell in a battle against a monstrous wave. His final words to Momon stayed with him forever.
"You were always the stronger one cough cough my friend," Kael whispered, his voice strained but filled with a sense of peace. "I…I never wanted to hold you back…I only wished to see you carry on, and grow beyond me even after I was gone."
Momon's heart clenched at the words, but he said nothing. There was nothing to say, nothing that could ease the inevitable.
Kael smiled weakly, the edges of his mouth twitching as he spoke one final time.
"Promise me, Momon… when the time comes… don't let the world fall into despair. Carry on, even when it feels like there's nothing left. There's always hope… even in the darkest of moments. You were always meant for something greater… don't let my death be the end of that."
With those final words, Kael's hand fell limp, his eyes closing as he exhaled his final breath.
Momon, feeling the weight of his master turned friend sacrifice, placed a hand on his chest, quietly swearing an oath that would carry him through the darkest days ahead. This marked the end of Momon's tutelage and the beginning of his true journey. Alone once more, he forged his first weapon, a staff carved from a tree struck by lightning during a mighty thunderstorm. Though the staff was crude it would be the first of many staffs he would forge and wield in his short lifetime, with it becoming a symbol of his ever-growing resolve.
Momon wandered the land, facing waves and growing in strength. His exploits earned him a reputation among the commoners, knights, and adventurers across many kingdoms as a mysterious protector, but he never lingered long enough to bask in their gratitude.
As Momon reached adulthood, the waves grew fiercer and more frequent. With each battle, he realized that his strength alone was not enough to turn the tide. The kingdoms needed to unite, but their rulers clung to distrust and greed.
Momon began to confront these rulers directly, using his charisma and the power of his deeds to sway them. He won over some with reason and others with demonstrations of his strength, toppling corrupt lords who refused to act. Slowly, he began to forge alliances, laying the groundwork for what would become the golden age.
By his mid-twenties, Momon was no longer just a wandering warrior he was a symbol of hope. He assembled a diverse group of companions, each a master in their own right, who shared his vision of a united world. Together with the combined might of the world's armies, they faced waves of unprecedented scale, defeating monstrosities that seemed beyond mortal power.
Momon's leadership extended beyond battle. He brokered peace between warring kingdoms, established trade routes to strengthen alliances, and built defenses against the waves. His dream of a united world began to take place, and for the first time in history, the world came close to knowing true peace, with only the threat of the waves remaining. But the peace that had been obtained didn't last long.
At the age of 30, Momon faced the ultimate wave, an apocalyptic event with monsters even stronger larger, and more abundant than any wave history had ever seen before and after. As the waves tore through the world he forbade anyone else from fighting not daring to risk any more death. As he faced this threat alone.
Even with his unmatched strength, he realized that this threat couldn't be stopped through sheer force alone. The legendary battle waged on for hours but there was no end in sight. At this point, Momon had tired, his once swift quick moves were now slower and sloppy, and yet he continued to fight not for himself but for the world he fought so hard to create.
But in the end, he succeeded, he alone had defeated the apocalyptic wave. But the fight had taken its toll on him, and he collapsed due to exhaustion. But as he lay there preparing for death he spotted his trusted companions with the united army behind them running toward him. As they all surrounded him Momon spoke one last time.
" Hehehe" he laughs a weak and short laugh as he looks up at the people around him "Listen to me, all of you for this will be the last words I'll ever speak" Everyone hearing his words focuses on him holding onto the final words of the legendary man in front of them. "I shall split myself into six relics, and they will scatter across these lands. I will trust you with the job of finding them and storing them for the one who shall reunite them."
As the people around him listen to his words one of his trusted companions, Thalion Stormrider speaks up and asks the question they're all thinking.
"Who is this individual?" he asks
As Momon looks up at him solemnly his gaze lingering on him for a few seconds before turning away and answering his friend's question.
"One day, among you an individual will be born, a… Destined One. He will venture out and reunite the six relics, such an individual could be born tomorrow… or perhaps centuries in the future. But rest assured one day they will appear and with the reunion of the six the waves will finally end, and this world will finally know…peace." His voice finally fades out as his head drops signaling his death.
As the shocked and crying crowd around him stands there processing his words his body begins to crack as light emits from the growing cracks across his body. The crowd steps back in shock as his body fully explodes into a giant beam of light the shock wave from the beam blows them all back. As the light dies down and the people look up they see six glowing orbs floating in the air far above them there were objects within those glowing magical orbs but due to the distance, it was impossible to make out what exactly was inside them.
The orbs then shoot off at blinding speeds each flying in a different direction. As the soldiers whip their heads and twist their bodies to watch the nearest orbs fly into the distance.
The death of Momon did more than end the apocalyptic wave, without his leadership the world started returning to its original state with the once united kingdoms splitting apart once more when they couldn't agree on who should rule in his absence. This created a new era similar to the previous one before the golden age, an era of pointless wars, and corruption, with the looming threat of the waves always there.
Although dead, his name was engraved in history as a legend that not only temporarily united the world, but also sacrificed himself to save it. His story became one told in books, sung in songs and ballads. He became an inspiration for future generations to come. Organizations, even entire religions are built and made to ensure his ideals would forever live on.
And even centuries after his death his name is still known across the world. As the most influential, and important figure to ever walk the world, with the four cardinal heroes coming right after. Although the threat of the waves still lingers people always hold out hope, for the arrival of the one who will someday end the waves once and for all. The one Momon spoke of in his last moments… the Destined One
Hello, this is my first ever story so please forgive any mistakes along the way. I've been thinking of this for weeks now, and it just built up until I just couldn't hold it anymore and I just had to write this. This is just the opening explaining the story of this world's version of Wukong and the birth of the Destined One's prophecy. The next episode will take place centuries later with the summoning of our favorite hero, I can't wait to explore this world, and for whoever is reading this I hope you guys stick around to see it too.