Douluo Dalu: 1st Cycle: Dancing Panda

"Haaa. Finished." A body, lit only by a soft lamp beside the desk, stretched and yawned. A young man, looking to have only about 20 years and only now starting to shape into an adult.

On his face was a lazy smile of content, as he slid down the chair into a half-lying, awkward pose. He blinked a few times, before repositioning himself. He yawned again, before clicking a few times on the computer, sending a file. "Assignment finally finished. Now to…" He opened up YouTube, relaxing in his chair.

It felt like a waste to go to sleep immediately. "Though it might be more comfortable to lie in bed instead."

Disregarding his own words, he opened up a random recommended video, before a ray of light made him look outside the window.

"Of course it's getting light outside." He softly said to himself. He really had to stop starting assignments at 1am. Birds were already chirping outside.

Procrastination. Waiting until the last moment to finish what he has to do. He had trouble finding motivation to get to work soon enough; many of the assignments were kind of a drag. Meanwhile his life was perfectly fine as it was: he was on his way to get a stable life, as long as he had enough motivation to stop procrastinating at some point. You might call him a typical student of computer science.

Of course, he was somehow at his most productive during the night, which brought with it a messed up sleep schedule. Combine that with his lazy nature and you have a… him.

He stopped watching the video and opened up another page. It was a fandom site of Douluo Dalu aka Soul Land. He was quite a fan of the series, as he found the world and the take on the Chinese cultivation system unique. He was a fan of all things fantasy, whether western or eastern, and this one was a nice mix of both.

He opened another page on his second monitor. All computer science students preferred two monitors. This was probably his only other hobby: anything to do with computers. The fact he was also good at it made him become even more lazy when it came to assignments from his university.

On the second monitor was a word document and on it was a file called the Guardian Greatsword Douluo. In here he created his own abilities based off of the series. It was essentially fanfiction without the story, just making his own martial soul.

A Douluo was a top existence in the novels, and he decided that he would try thinking some stuff up as well since he was bored.

So far all he had written was: Guardian Greatsword. The same as the Douluo Title. Very original. Not caring about the name so much, he would fix it later on anyways, his mind was instead going wild with the abilities he could create. What would fit a giant greatsword? Well it can be both a weapon and a shield, hence a Guardian. He had to balance things out. An interesting challenge.

Though before he could start writing down abilities, a person walked into his room. Her hair was long light blonde, and this person's face looked to be around 35.

"Karni you're still up?" A feminine voice could be heard as the woman looked worriedly at the young man.

"Hah, the schoolwork took a long time, so yeah." He looked at her apologetically.

"Well, want something warm to drink?" Her reply was comforting.

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks." Karni said. She turned and left, while he turned back to the screen.

"Oh yeah, mom!" He stood up to go toward the woman, leaving his thoughts behind for a second.

The woman, his mother, was nearing her 50s. However she looked very youthful and beautiful. Even his friends teased him about it.

"When you get home today I wanna talk to you about the part time job during the summer." 

"Yeah we can do that sweetie, don't worry." She replied, then yawned and nodded to him. Karni simply smiled in return, then also yawned.

The two had a close relationship, both relying on one another. She raised him mostly alone, as Karni's parents separated when he was young. He couldn't really remember it. Despite that, he was still in contact with his father. He had both parents, even if he saw one of them far less than the other.

Really he had a great life, an almost perfect one in fact. He had good friends, was close with his family, and despite the laziness and the nonexistent sleep schedule, he was very happy. His family was middle-class, but he never did care about the money as much. As long as he could live comfortably with the given money, it was enough.

He went back to his computer and back to surfing on the fandom. He looked at his notes of abilities he just created. Still empty. 'It would be cool if our world had magic and superpowers. Maybe get reincarnated with the help of Truck-kun.' He chuckled at the thought dismissively.

He did love to daydream. Usually, he daydreamed of fantastical worlds, exploring them. He found Earth a tad… uninteresting? Sure, there were incredible landscapes, and he would definitely go and look at them someday, but magic? It would make the world more… magical. In all the ways.

Some days he'd prefer just… going to a different world where there is magic.

Despite his thoughts, as soon as he took 5 seconds to think about the possibility: be reincarnated and become super strong easily; he would decline it. He was living a very happy life. All of his loved ones were here. The world might be bland, but a world, even if magical, without connections, would be miserable.

Even though he didn't live with his dad, he still kept in touch with him, visiting him during the weekends and holidays. There were bad times in the past due to that, sure, but they overcame them, making them closer to each other. He didn't miss anything in this world, except for the silly thought of magic.

As he stared into the computer, he didn't notice his mum bringing him a cup of cocoa. Not coffee. "Thanks." He took the cocoa and sipped on it. It was still hot. He did prefer its sweetness to coffee's bitterness, though a coffee would definitely do the trick when one is sleep deprived. He went back to the computer while his mum started getting ready for work.

After an hour, she came to his room. "Karni, I'm going. Don't stay up for too long and get some sleep alright?"

Seeing her worried look, he laughed a tad embarrassed. "Yeah I'm getting tired anyway, drive safe."

"I will." She smiled and waved him goodbye. He waved back.

It was quite a regular routine for them. He was often awake in the morning after an all-nighter. He likely wasn't going to wake up until his mom got home, and he had his classes in the evening.

He went back to his computer and went to watch the anime of Soul Land. He's gotten past the half point of the story. The anime was almost completely faithful to the original, with only adding some things here and there, or making some small changes in how a fight progressed.

Of the novels, he had read the first three, but was familiar with the 4th and the 5th through the fandom. He just wasn't as interested in those anymore. He'll read them someday.

After a few episodes, he noticed just how tired he was. Shutting off the computer, he went into the bed, but not before still checking his phone one last time, surfing the latest news.

Scratches at the door disturbed him. He lazily got back up from the bed, a tad annoyed, but smiling. He opened the door and a small dog looked up at him, tail wagging. Asking for permission to come inside the room.

Karni just moved aside and the dog immediately ran into the room, then on the bed, taking over one of the pillows.

He chuckled then lay down next to the dog, pressing his head next to her body.

"Famous Chinese actress is moving to the United Kingdom. The reason? To find her true love." Karni rolled his eyes instantly, then turned to the dog, as if telling her: "isn't this just a load of bullshit?"

"Yeah right." He clicked on the clickbaity video.

The video did have a beautiful Chinese actress. She had very modern looking glasses on her. She also had surprisingly ginger hair. Another surprise was her fluent English, especially for someone who just moved.

He himself didn't live in the UK, but in a small country on the eastern border of Italy. Despite not having English as his first language, he was fluent.

When he heard the actress answer the question, "why she's moving", he paused the video, shut off his phone and went to sleep. "That's enough internet for today. Goodnight Luna." He patted the dog before closing his eyes. 

The actresses answer, lacking any shame? "To find true love."

… … …

Complete darkness. Karni opened his eyes… At least he thought he did. He couldn't feel his legs, nor his body. He only knew that he was somewhere, and nothing could be seen here.

'Where… is this?' His thought felt heavy. His thoughts felt obstructed, like he needed an exceptionally long time to put this singular thought together.

He barely finished thinking when a bright golden light could be seen in the distance; it was a simple dot. Slowly, it was getting closer and closer. He could see.

Finally in viewing distance, he saw what was in front of him. It looked like a bright, gentle, golden river. It was coming towards him. It was so slow, that one could mistake it for a slow motion video.

When it got closer, he saw another thing behind this flow. Just like the golden water before it, it was a simple, small dark red dot.

If the water gave him the feeling of amazement and comfort, this light felt like a big question. Neither wondrous nor evil, just… uncomfortable.

Before he could see what it was, the golden stream, feeling both small and big, slowly reached him. It encircled him. Enveloped him in it. The sensation this flow of "water" gave him was incredibly refreshing and warm. Suddenly, he felt extremely energised.

The slowly approaching dark red light released a voice. It was deep. It was heavy. It was… slow. "Is…this… what the Great Flow presents as a… countermeasure?" There was a certain darkness to the way it talked. It seemed to be mocking the small golden stream of water.

"Your heroes combined were… unsuccessful against me. A shame… their death was… unnecessary. And now… a child? Not even your own?" Continued the voice slowly.

As a response, the stream enlarged, the bright golden flow forming into a wild river, then into a raging ocean. And Karni? He was at the very centre of it. The ocean turned into a vortex, the seemingly endless river using Karni as its gathering point.

"I see… so this is your choice…. Instead of letting me continue… you will entrust yourself upon this child." The voice seemed depressed as it said that, still speaking as slowly as before. But then… the sound of the ancient voice changed.

"Wait… This energy… This child… No… It cannot be, you… Wait!" The red dot appeared shocked, but more than that, unwilling. There was longing in its voice, and helplessness also.

Karni never understood what was going on, but before he had time to think, the golden vortex seemed to vanish, and everything went black again. No sign of the small golden stream. No presence of the voice. 

Ten seconds seemed like years. Slow, yet fast, a scene appeared that made Karni's stomach turn.

A battlefield. Or at least what was left of it. Floating rocks that were destroyed, buildings of unknown design. The battlefield did not have many people on it, a bit more than ten, yet it was gruesome nonetheless.

Everyone was dead, yet their bodies still emitted strong auras. One was extremely cold. The other was as vast as the sea. One made Karni choke, and others made him feel at ease.

In the distance a familiar red shine appeared, however it was much clearer now. The body was something Karni couldn't clearly see, as if shrouded in mist.

The last thing he heard was the same deep voice he heard before. There were no words. Only a sigh.

… … …

Karni opened his eyes, taking in a sharp breath of cold air, before coughing. His breathing was heavy, the kind of thing he just saw… It was horrendous.

"Why is it so cold…" It seemed like a cold autumn morning. The day just started rising up and in the middle of an empty forest… a boy, around 5 or 6 years old, blinking in confusion. It was him. The scenery he saw was incredibly calming compared to the small battlefield full of dead bodies.

His eyes seemed greyish blue, just like the colour of the sky. His hair was dark blonde and of medium length. As one looked closer, they would notice that currently, he looked quite comical. He wasn't dressed. He was completely naked. Everything was so foreign to him.

"Where… Where the fuck am I?!" He squealed in a high pitch, then looked at himself while touching his throat… "And why do I look so small… and sound so…". He looked at his body and quickly figured out what was going on. "Of course, this must be a hyper realistic lucid dream." It was the only sane explanation. One that he had to say out loud to convince himself.

It wouldn't be the first one he had a lucid dream, they were a surprisingly fun experience… however he never quite had such a realistic looking one. 

He remembered the slow deep voice and the golden river that appeared before. That was more like a dream than this. Though the very end… didn't feel like one. He started having some doubts. Controlling the supposed lucid dream seemed to be the best idea. He thought and tried to consciously control for something to appear but nothing did. Sometimes in lucid dreams, it was possible to control everything; clearly this was not the case here.

Left without any other ways to find out what this actually is, he took to exploring the lucid dream. Dreams, even lucid ones, are known to be a bit… odd. Not quite natural, as there were details usually missing from the surroundings.

He started walking around and the more he did, the more doubts he had that this was what he thought it was. Another idea flashed his mind, before denying it. He was familiar with the concept of going to another world. With the stories that interested him, it was hard not to know of it. More than that, he himself enjoyed daydreaming about different scenarios connecting to that idea.

"No way this is a different world", he thought to himself out loud, still trying to convince himself. It felt too miraculous. Nothing special happened to him when he went to sleep! It was a regular boring routine, the same cycle he had repeated since he started studying at the university. He didn't die, he wasn't hit by Truck-kun, there was no special event outside… outside… He wasn't sure what that empty space with the golden river was.

What about his mother? His father? His friends? He grew worried. If he really did come to a different world, his number one priority has to be getting back to Earth; there were too many precious people for him there to just leave behind.

He sighed, feeling frustrated at the thought. If he really came to another world, going back won't be easy. It will likely take him years. Just the thought of this made him homesick. He wasn't one to usually feel that way. Travelling during holidays was a tradition in the family, but he knew then that he would always get back home… Home to his mom, his dog. Knowing that he'd see his dad after a long time again. Hanging out with friends. Now all he felt was loneliness. Loneliness and a bit of fear.

Deep inside, he already knew… This was a different world. Everything was too realistic. The smell, the feel, the sight. But he was still willing to convince himself, for now, that this is a bad dream.

He continued to walk for some time. He found a semblance of a road, which he followed until in the distance, finally a town. The heartbeat fastened. It was time for the truth. He walked into the town with a low head and a sense of fear.

As he walked into the town, everybody looked at him funny. His clothes were very DIY. He made them on the way so he wasn't walking around naked. Both for warmth and to not be as embarrassed. He did find one thing odd though. There were only whisperings regarding his clothes, not the fact that he wasn't alone.

In front of him was a hard to miss row of people. Most of them looked to be aged 5 or 6, all of them children. Around them seemed to be their parents with hopeful gazes. The line went into a sort of pagoda-style building that spanned 7 stories.

He stepped to the end of the line and quietly asked a boy in front of him. "What are you all standing in line for?" 

The boy looked at him weirdly. "Are you making fun of me or are you just a dummy?" Karni, the boy with shabbily made clothes, a 20 year old on the inside, went silent for a bit and started to blush. He wasn't sure whether this was due to the emotional instability he's been put through leading up to this point; or if it was the fact he weirdly did feel 6 years old, that made him so unstable. "Actually I am a bit lost…". 

The other boy, who also looked to be 6 years old, answered. "Well, you came to the right place for the awakening day. This leads to the awakening chamber. We are the last in line, so we will have to wait for some time."

Karni who currently wore DIY clothes nodded, without actually understanding, and offered his hand. "My name is Karni, but um… what is this awakening you speak of?" 

The other boy laughed at himself. "You got me. You were making fun of me, weren't you? Also you have a weird name."

Karni tried to think of an excuse, not being sure if he should be embarrassed or not. "Please, I just got sent here without being told anything. I have no clue what is going on."

"Have you been living in the boonies?" The kid felt both confused and a bit mad now. He wasn't sure whether Karni was still trying to pull his leg or not. Eventually though, he gave up. "I'm talking about the awakening of your Martial Soul, what else would I be talking about."

Seeing the annoyed look on the unknown boy's face, and guessing that this is general knowledge, Karni nodded, finally getting an idea where he was. "So where exactly is this, I come from outside and I was completely lost before coming here."

The answer was monotonous. "It's the Green Tiger Town, near Star Luo City".

When Karni heard that, he was finally sure. "Is this the Douluo Continent?"

The nameless boy looked at him as if looking at something completely alien. "That's a really weird way of pronouncing Douluo Continent. Just from where are you? Yeah, this is the Douluo Continent."

"Shit!" Karni exclaimed, a tad frustrated. He immediately covered his mouth, embarrassed, in the next moment. All the parents looked at him strangely; this was a 6 year old cursing. If they knew the reason for the reaction, they would give him even stranger looks.

He actually came to the world of Soul Land? He was a fan of the series. He was deep enough into it where he would regularly search the fandom. All of these people spoke English, except for the naming convention, like Douluo Continent. Just what was going on here? Why here? Was this more a blessing or a curse? This world was cruel, but it also might give him some hope.

He collected himself and finally answered back to the boy. "Sorry about that. Yeah, I was somewhere else and then woke up in the forest. I don't know how I came here."

He wasn't lying when he said that. He really didn't know where he came from, though the place he was at was a different world, not a different place. 

Karni now knew completely what was happening here. They were going to get their Martial Souls awakened. The Martial Souls. A part of one's own soul, or at least a connection to it. Unique from person to person, it came down to both genes and luck to get a good Martial Soul. 

Everybody in this world possessed it. From a simple gardening tool, where no one could compare to you in gardening; to a fearsome dragon, where your physical capabilities would be unrivalled.

There was a high chance that your martial soul would not have any power. This was 99 percent of the population. Only one in ten thousand people were able to become strong with their martial soul. Or was it one in a thousand? Karni wasn't quite sure. 

There was just one question remaining: when was he? He knew the world very well, however the stories that were in this world were separated by 10.000 years, each with a different protagonist. He knew those stories like the back of his hand, however if he appeared somewhere in the middle, he would be a bit lost.

He stopped thinking there. Would he even get a martial soul? He was from a world without magic. Then again, he came here through magical means. To have hopes of returning, he would not only need a martial soul, but a powerful one as well. If he couldn't reach at least the highest level, returning home would be but a pipe dream. 

Unless this is all a dream… which he had trouble believing now.

He was sure however, that after the awakening, he would know whether he is dreaming or not. The Martial Soul being a part of the soul, as its name implied, would definitely give him a clear answer. If a concept as magical as a soul couldn't tell him the truth, then nothing could.

He looked around the town. Based on the buildings, the world should be as developed as Earth. He should be closer to the timeline of the third series, called the Legend of the Dragon King, a period all about dragons. Maybe a bit too many dragons? Nah. You can never have too many dragons.

But how was he going to go and ask about something as weird as the time period? There was never a calendar explained in the stories. But there was a simple and effective, if awkward, idea forming in his head.

"Hey kid– ahem, friend. While we wait, why don't we talk about something, oh I know, who is your favourite Titled Douluo in history?" As soon as he said it, he cringed. Even if he knew it, it really was awkward and uncomfortable to be so oddly direct. He could've thought about it some more, but he was quite impatient right now.

He was lucky too. The kid didn't really mind. "Hmmm, at least it's a normal question this time. I don't know. It's hard to choose between the Thousand Arms Asura and Spirit Ice Douluo… ", he looked like he fell into thought.

"I think ice abilities are really cool and showy though, I would definitely choose Spirit Ice Douluo. Don't Eye and Ice powers just sound awesome?" Karni quickly added excitedly, both to find out more, and because it was the truth, he found Huo Yuhao the Spirit Ice Douluo very cool. For a moment, he forgot that he wasn't home and simply went all fanboy on the characters.

The unknown boy countered. "Yes, however don't you think the ultimate power of the Hammer and the complete control Tang San had is cool as well? Having both complete control and absolute power to change everything! He was said to control the very seas!" It was clear that the boy was very passionate, but honestly, even grown ups would find it fun to talk about such topics.

"They were both 10.000 years apart, I wonder if another legend will appear 10.000 years later?" Karni asked, hoping that the boy would also say anything about how much time has passed since then.

The boy's eyes brightened. "I hope so! It might even be you or me! Wouldn't that be awesome? Even if we aren't, we get front seats. Hehe." Karni was delighted. THe finally had a rough time period. Soul Land 3, 100 years up or down. No. Not up, Tang Wulin would already be known in that case. Either way, he can use this information for future purposes. 

For starters, his chances of obtaining a good martial soul just went up! In this time period humans have developed along with the world. If his memory served him right, he would have better chances at getting a martial soul which he could cultivate!

The boys continued to nerd about what the history was, and it was soon time for the boy in front to get his Martial Soul awakened. "Though you have a weird name and talk funny, it was nice meeting you. My name is Tie Tiao. Good luck with the Martial Soul!" He waved and nervously, but excitedly walked into the awakening chamber.

Not long after, he came out looking quite happy. Tie Tiao looked at Karni. "My martial soul is the Little Swallow, I awakened with rank 2, which means I might someday at least become a Soul Master!" He didn't look too confident, but this was already rare. One in 1000 got lucky enough to even have Soul Power, especially so among commoners.

There were jealous eyes looking at the boy, mostly from the parents of other kids. Tie Tiao was the first to get a Martial Soul with Soul Power today. It was a testament to its rarity.

"Next!" A loud voice boomed from within the chamber. It was finally time for Karni to awaken his Martial Soul. Will he get something incredible, something mediocre, or will he be stuck here forever? It might also still be a dream?

He stepped into the chamber, amazed at the intricate designs he saw inside. A middle aged man that looked to be in his 40s was standing next to a platform.

"You're the last one today? Finally, I can go home and relax." He looked to be mentally exhausted. The man reminded him of himself before going to bed yesterday. Yesterday? Was it yesterday?

"Please step onto the platform." There was someone with soul power awakened just before. The man had practically no hope for Karni to awaken with a decent Martial Soul.

Karni took a deep breath. He strode towards the platform with wide steps. As he got on, the inscriptions started to shine. The Soul Master activated a device to the side of the platform.

Karni started to glow. 'Will I be able to become a Soul Master? Will I have Soul Power?' So many questions were running through his mind.

He felt his soul rumble as something came out from the very depths.

"Thi… This is?"

He felt his arm and body burn with energy. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. Opening his eyes, he saw it. There was now a Staff in his hands, looking like a Bo Staff from one of those martial art movies. It had intricate designs of gold and silver and in the middle, he could see 4 symbols, as he turned the staff around, there were another 4 symbols.

While turning, he noticed something else. On his arm… black and white fur. It grew from his arm. His arm felt bigger than normal, and his hands… weren't hands, but paws.

Isn't this the legendary…?