This tale has been passed down for generations but only within a very specific and unique place.
In a time long past, a male youth awoke from a very long slumber.
“Who am I?” The youth curiously asked.
People answered.
You are a child, a lost boy, a pitiful orphan….
Others looked down upon the youth.
You are an idiot, a beggar, a motherless dirt-bag!
There were even those that just cursed to the youth.
So he punished the person who cursed him.
That one person returned with ten additional people for revenge.
So, he punished the ten people, but then an additional hundred people returned.
Later the hundred people turned into thousands.
“Get out of my Kingdom,” the King who led the thousands of people said.
However, the youth rejected the King’s command.
“I don’t want to. But if you tell me who I am, I will leave.”
“Only the wise man with the knowledge of the entire world will know.”
“Then I must find the wise man.”
The youth left, and the King ridiculed the youth.
“He will be searching for hundreds of years. How could a wise man with all the knowledge of this world ever exist?”
The youth spent a hundred years looking for the wise man, and found the man.
“Who am I?” The youth asked the wise man.
The wise man didn’t answer and simply presented the youth with a book.
“All the knowledge of this world can be found in books.”
The youth read through the book, but he still could not find the answer.
So, the wise man taught the youth of the biggest library of this world.
The youth traveled on foot for many many days until he reached the largest library of this world.
After reading through hundreds and thousands of books, the youth finally found the answer to his question.
“I am an angel.”
The philosophers of the library did not believe in the youth’s words.
“Then prove to us that you are an angel.”
The youth had no way to prove to anyone that he was an angel.
So, he left on a journey to find another angel to prove that he indeed was an angel.
The youth continued to search for another hundred years.
He traveled to mountains that went higher than the sky, and discovered places far above the clouds.
He swam together with fishes whose eyes glowed of light, and finally after enduring a very long time he found the land of angels.
However, the angel who guarded the land of angels blocked the youth’s path.
“Am I an angel?” the youth asked.
“I have never seen an angel without wings. You do not have wings.” The angel replied.
“All angels have wings?”
“Angels who don’t have wings are the fallen and corrupt.”
“I want to ask other angels.”
“If you cannot beat me, you cannot enter.”
The youth fought against the angel.
However, the youth could not gain the upper hand against the angel who wielded a spear and shield.
“I am the weakest angel and you lost against me, you cannot possibly be an angel.”
The youth was very upset.
“I didn’t have any weapons like you.”
“Angels are given weapons like this on the day of our birth. Seeing that you don’t have one, it must mean that you are not an angel.”
“Then I will return after finding a weapon like yours.”
The youth left the land of angels.
The youth left on a journey to find the world’s best blacksmith.
“Please make me a weapon so that I can fight against angels.”
However, the black smith couldn’t make such a weapon.
“According to legends, only dwarfs have the skill to craft such weapons.”
So the youth asked,
“Where do dwarfs live?”
“They live underground.”
“How do I find the place?”
“The elves know.”
The youth left to search for elves.
The blacksmith mocked the youth.
“Someone still believes in the existence of elves and dwarfs. He won’t find anything even if he searches for a hundred years.”
The youth spent ten years looking for elves with the knowledge of the land of dwarfs.
Finally, the youth met an elf who was familiar with the dwarfs.
The elf taught the youth of three underground tunnels.
The first tunnel belonged to raccoons.
The second tunnel belonged to bears.
The third tunnel was the gate which led to the land of dwarfs.
The youth didn’t take long to find the best black smith among the dwarfs.
“Please make me a weapon which could defeat angels.”
The dwarf black smith rejected his request.
“We dwarfs never fight against angels.”
“You’re not the one fighting them.”
“They will seek vengeance against us.”
“If you don’t make it then I will punish you.”
“You do not scare me.”
So, the youth destroyed the stone pillar which supported the underground city of dwarfs
The blacksmith ran to the Dwarf King in fright.
The Dwarf King approached the youth with a proposal.
“We need umparoton in order to craft a weapon which could defeat angels.”
“Where can I find it?”
“There will be many round rocks in the center of the land of angels. That is umparoton.”
“I will bring you one.”
The youth returned to the land of angels.
The Dwarf King jeered.
“He will be killed by angels when he tries to steal the rock. He has no idea how precious they are.”
The youth returned to the land of angels.
However, he did not steal them.
The youth asked the angel who stood guard.
“I returned to this place for an umparoton stone. I only need one.”
“Why do you need it?”
“I need it to make a weapon to fight against you.”
“It will be useless even if I bring you one. No blacksmiths in this world can craft with this rock.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The angel who was annoyed thought of a trick.
“If you cannot find a blacksmith that can craft a weapon with this rock, you must carry this rock on your back for your entire life. Understand?”
“That’s fine.”
The youth carried the umparoton stone on his back and left the land of angels.
The guard mocked the youth.
“The only species who can craft anything from umparoton stones are dwarfs, and dwarfs never dare to fight against angels. They will never craft it for him. I can finally punish that youth.”
The youth brought the umparoton stone to the dwarf.
The Dwarf King was shocked.
He never thought the youth would be able to bring the stone.
“Here, now make a weapon for me.”
The Dwarf King contemplated and spoke.
“Three dwarf master blacksmiths will make three different types of weapons, you can take only one.”
“I only need one.”
“You promise?”
“You promised!”
The King ordered the three master blacksmiths to make weapons.
The first weapon was a hammer which could be thrown and in turn would boomerang back to the user.
The second weapon was a sword which could cut through anything.
The last, was an unbreakable pole.
The Dwarf King used trickery.
When the hammer is thrown, it would kill its user.
The handle of the sword which could cut through everything was also a blade itself.
The unbreakable pole was too heavy that nobody could manage to carry it.
After much trouble, the youth selected the pole.
He easily carried and swung it around.
The youth spoke humiliating words to the dwarfs and left.
“Thanks.”
The youth returned to the land of angels.
The angel’s spear and shield shattered, and the youth was victorious.
“I’ve proven myself as an angel, so give me the duties of an angel.”
The defeated angel stepped down, and an archangel appeared.
“If I say reject this request, then you will just beat me up.”
“You already understand.”
“If you defeat me this place will be destroyed.”
“I don’t care.”
“I care. I will be greatly humiliated.”
“What does it matter that you are humiliated?”
“Angels are never humiliated.”
The archangel thought for a moment and spoke.
“We have a grape vine which blossoms only once every hundred years. There will be chaos if even one blossom is stolen. Can you guard this tree?”
“If I am the guard, nobody will dare to steal the grapes!”
The youth guarded the grape vine for over ten years.
You could not find a single insect which infested the tree in this place.
One day, the youth overheard the words of other angels.
“I heard that child still guards the grape vine.”
“Nobody had ever stolen from the garden for the past ten thousand years!”
The youth grew furious.
“They tricked me! They made a fool of me. Angels should never be humiliated!”
The youth immediately ate all the grapes.
He was still angry, so he caused great havoc upon the group of angels.
“You guys tricked me. Angels are all liars. I don’t want to be something like an angel anymore.”
The youth left the land of angels.
The angels mobilized their troops to capture the youth.
However they could not capture the youth.
The angel of fire ended up burning down an innocent mountain village.
The angel of water appeared and flooded an innocent sea front village.
The youth laughed until his stomach hurt.
“Haha, you’ve lived all your life in the sky, so you don’t understand anything down here at all. You should feel ashamed of yourselves.”
The archangel approached a hermit angel that lived amongst the humans.
The hermit angel criticized the archangel.
“You’ve tricked the child.”
“I admit it. Still, we cannot leave the child be.”
“The Dwarf King just sent word of complaint that a weapon was stolen from them. Archangel, if you help we can settle this easily.”
“What should I do?”
“Give me an umpaloton stone. Also, retreat your troops.”
The archangel listened to the hermit’s request.
The hermit sought the Dwarf King.
“Please use this umpaloton to create unbreakable shackles and chains.”
The dwarfs heeded his request.
The hermit angel turned into a dwarf and packed the shackles and chain, and he called the youth.
“I came here to make a bet with you.”
The youth who enjoyed bets agreed.
“The bet I made with dwarfs was fun. Speak.”
“Let’s bet who can race across this burning desert faster.”
“Let’s start on the east side of the desert, whoever reaches the west faster is the winner.”
Ready, start!
The two dashed at once.
The youth used all his strength to run across the desert.
The dwarf who had short legs could not catch up to the youth.
The youth didn’t accept the other’s loss.
“Let’s make a different bet.”
“Fine. How about an eating contest?”
“Fine.”
A hundred servings were prepared on a grand table.
Ready, start!
The dwarf and youth began to eat from both ends of the table.
The youth cleaned through the plates with great speed.
However, the dwarf ate not just the food but the table and plates as well with the power of fire.
The youth felt it becoming increasingly difficult to eat due to his fullness,
however the dwarf’s speed of consumption only increased.
“There are always three rounds to a bet.”
“You are correct. I will come up with the bet this time.”
“Fight me.”
“That is unfair for me. However, if you agree to put on these shackles, then I will agree. This is very heavy so it will make the fight fair.”
“That much is no big deal for me.”
The youth put on the shackles on his arms, legs, and around his neck.
The dwarf spoke.
“There must be a reward and punishment to this bet. If you lose, you will need to wear those shackles for the rest of your life.”
“Fine. However, if I win, I will kill you.”
“Ready, Start!”
The youth used his pole to attack the dwarf.
The dwarf wielded a similar pole to fight against the youth.
No matter how much they attacked one another, the pole didn’t break or even bend.
The two fought for over three days, and still there was no victor.
The youth felt tired and quit.
“I lost.”
“Then as promised, you need to keep those shackles on forever.”
“I don’t want to.”
The youth tried to run away, but the shackles were already locked onto his arms and legs..
“Why did I lose?”
The youth asked very angrily
The dwarf dragged the youth down into an underground cave of the desert and explained.
“The first race was actually not your idea but mine.
No matter how fast you could run, you could never be as smart as me.
For the second bet, there was no way you could possibly win against my fire.
For the last fight, you were fighting against yourself.
No matter how strong you are, you cannot possibly defeat yourself.”
“You tricked me!”
The youth tried to break the shackles,
However the shackles were unbreakable.
“The first two results were unavoidable, but you could have still won our third bet. I will keep you tied down here until you realize the truth….”
The youth cried.
“Everyone just keeps tricking me.”
“Yes. That is because you are too strong.”
“That is not my fault.”
“You’re right. You are not at fault. But you were traveling down the wrong path in life.”
The dwarf suddenly disappeared.
The youth fell asleep waiting for the day he would be freed once again.
The first hundred years, he wished to leave this place.
The next hundred years, he thought he should apologize to the angels and dwarfs.
The following hundred years, he thought he should live the rest of his life dedicating himself to the one who would save him.
However, nobody came to free the youth.
The youth gradually grew furious.
So, on the next hundred years, the youth had a change of heart.
He would have his revenge when he left this place!
And on his last hundred years,
He thought about how he could kill the person that locked him in this place,
and how he could destroy the world.
The youth changed his heart to be not an angel, but a devil….
Translated by iseuli