In a large room, an old woman sat in a faded red wingback chair. Around 60 or so children from the ages of 5 to 12 were sitting on the floor in front of the elderly lady. She was holding a large blue leather book that held a hexagon impression on the front. She opened that book and started to read from the first page.

"Long ago, the nations of the old world lived in harmony. But everything changed when The Red came. The Red had taken control of metal beings that looked similar to us humans and they attacked the people of the land. Millions of people were lost before a sliver of hope arose. A group of 12, that everyone called Exo, became the heroes that the world needed. They saved entire cities before The Red could attack. They became known as the 12 legends. The war between The Twelve Legends and The Red lasted for many years before The Legends managed to defeat him. The day The Red was defeated was also the day the Twelve Legends disappeared.

From the time the Twelve Legends disappeared, there were 2 major events/things that happened. For the past 1500 years, people began to develop elemental abilities similar to the legends, but not exactly the same. Back then, no one could tell what type of power someone would have until they actually used their ability. But now, a person's hair colour indicated which main element they were connected to. They would have different shades of colour depending on what aspect of the element they could control. People with Fire had red hair, Water had blue hair, Air had white hair, and Earth had brown hair.

Around 1000 years after the Legends disappeared, the Terran population was decimated when an epidemic swept through the nations. People would get sick and fall asleep. Their condition would either worsen or get better, no one could tell what would happen to anyone that got the sickness. The only ones that survived were non-ability wielders and those strong enough to survive the sickness. Thankfully, the times of hurt and pain are long gone and done. Though some people say that The Legends will return in our time of need once again," she said as she closed the book.

Kyungsoo, one of the older boys of the younger group, was in awe. The Legends sounded so cool. They managed to defeat The Red and save the whole world! The other children that were around him were all talking about how cool and awesome the legends were. The room was getting really loud, but Kyungsoo didn't mind. He was just as excited as they were.

"Now, children!" the elderly lady in the front called out. Everyone quieted down as she continued to talk. "They may sound 'cool' and 'awesome', but they had work and chores that they needed to do and so do you!. Now shoo! Go do your jobs young ones," she said as she shooed them away with her hands. Kyungsoo stood up with the rest of the children. He admired the legends and hoped that one day, he could be just like them.

10 years later

Kyungsoo woke up breathing heavily. He had been dreaming, although it was more of a nightmare for a few days now. The dreams had started on his 18th birthday. He sat up in his bed, brown covers falling off his body and onto the bed. He put his feet on the floor and sat there with his head in his hands. He took a few deep breaths with his eyes closed as he tried to calm his beating heart. He saw the same images flash in front of him. One of them stood out, more vivid than the rest.

"Remember, Legends, when you perish on the battlefield, you will awaken sometime around 1,500 years in the future. Do not be afraid as your bonds with each other will still be there. You will remember everything once you turn 18." MAMA explained to the twelve of them.

Kyungsoo was reborn 1500 years into the future, he knew that. MAMA had said that he would remember all of it, but he could not remember who the other legends were. When he first heard that phrase, he felt confused. Over the past few days, it has turned into fear and anxiety. He didn't understand why he couldn't remember everything as MAMA had said, but he knew that he shouldn't dwell on it long.

He stood up and looked around the room for his travelling bags. He had already informed the village that he would be leaving and travelling to Exodus. It was the largest city on the Continent of The Four Great Nations. The city of Exodus was almost the size of one of the smaller nations.

Kyungsoo didn't tell anyone in the village about who he was because of his concern that they would all panic. The story of how the legends would return only in a time of need, would come to the minds of the villagers and then they would think the world would be ending. Kyungsoo had to find the others, and the only thing that he could remember that connected them was The Tree of Life.

In his memories, he could remember how large and magical it was. The brown and green colours of the tree popped out and attracted the attention of those that noticed its beauty. At the start of dusk all the way to the beginning of dawn, the tree would give off a bright white glow from its leaves. The tree had stood in the centre of their operations, reaching a height of 90 feet the last time he had seen it.

He opened his closet and found his bags at the bottom. He had already packed the essentials several days before. He grabbed the two stuffed brown bags and exited his room. He wandered down the short hallway and into a small kitchen and living room. He looked around the place he had called home with sadness creeping into his soul. He probably wouldn't be coming back. He turned to the door and walked out, closing the door behind him. Kyungsoo walked down the path toward the village without looking back.

It was a short 5 minutes of walking with the sunrise behind him creating shadows on the ground that became shorter as he entered the town as it was waking up. He heard the sounds of families inside their homes as they were getting ready for a normal day. He walked down until he came to a familiar house. The house looked just like all the other houses in the neighbourhood except for the bright red peonies that were in the front garden. The house itself was made of stone and was the usual grey colour. The roof was also made up of stone, but it was a darker, more muddy colour. The door was made of wood from the limited number of trees in their valley. The house belonged to his grandparents and he entered the house without knocking. He found his grandmother already up and cooking breakfast. When he looked around, he noticed his grandfather wasn't in the room. This meant his grandfather was either sleeping or getting ready to go work in the fields.

"Good morning, Grandmother," Kyungsoo said with a straight face and a formal tone.

"Oh, Kyungsoo, honey. You know that you don't have to be so formal when it's just family," the woman lightly scolded him as she waved a cooking utensil at him. His face broke out into a small smile as he chuckled faintly.

"Sorry, Ma. I'm just used to using it all the time with the other villagers in the field. It's also great practice for when I get to Exodus in a few days."

"That's fine. Practice does make things closer to perfect," his grandmother replied. Kyungsoo placed his travelling bags next to the door, taking off his shoes. He was never allowed to wear shoes in the house because it could dirty floors and carpets. He moved to the dining room table and took out a chair to sit in. "Kyungsoo dear, before you sit down for breakfast, could you go wake your grandfather?" his grandmother asked from the kitchen.

"Yes, Ma," Kyungsoo replied as he walked over to the hallway. He walked past the door on the left and went to the door that was on the right. Along the way, he saw paintings that showed what his parents looked like before the horrible accident that took their lives. There was also a painting that included his entire family, cousins from other villages included. He was around 4 years old when that painting was made.

He turned back toward his grandparents' room. He opened the door and saw his grandfather was still sleeping. He smiled lightly before walking over and gently began shaking his grandfather to wake him up. "Pa, it's time to wake up. Ma is making breakfast. You don't want to miss that, do you?" Kyungsoo asked while he waited for his grandfather to open his eyes and sit up.

"Ah, I'm up. Tell Ma I'll be down soon," his grandfather replied while waving Kyungsoo away from him as he slowly sat up. Kyungsoo left the room, the mission his grandmother sent him on was a success.

He returned to the kitchen and found that the dining room table had been set and his grandmother was carrying in the food from the kitchen. Kyungsoo quickly came to her side. "I'll take this, Ma. I don't want you to hurt yourself," Kyungsoo said as he took the bacon and eggs. As he turned to set the food on the table, he didn't notice as his grandmother shook her head with a small smile on her face.

Once the food was on the table, his grandfather walked into the room. He was wearing the traditional farmer clothes that he, and all the other farmers, would wear almost every day. His grandfather's uniform was composed of a green long-sleeved shirt with brown overalls. Other farmers had either the same colours or different, but all the uniforms were the same. Kyungsoo sat down as his grandfather walked to the table, sitting where his morning tea was waiting.

"Myunghee, you make the best tea in the village," his grandfather said as he sipped the tea. His grandmother smiled softly.

"You say that every morning, Junyoung," his grandmother replied as she sat at the other end of the small rectangle table. Kyungsoo had already started to serve himself some food.

"Yet it never gets old," Kyungsoo's grandfather said with a small smirk. Kyungsoo began to eat his food, shaking his head at his grandparents' daily antics.

"So, Kyungsoo," his grandmother started. Kyungsoo looked up from his plate and to his grandmother. "Have you told your grandfather what today is?" she asked. Kyungsoo swallowed his food and turned to his grandfather.

"Pa, today I'm going to start my journey to Exodus," Kyungsoo said. His grandfather, who was in the middle of drinking tea, started to cough and sputter.

"What? Why would you want to leave the village? Everything you've ever known is here," his grandfather spoke as soon as he recovered from his coughing fit.

'I know a lot more than you think I know grandfather,' Kyungsoo thought before he responded. "I've always wanted to see what it was like in Exodus. It is a large city and I would be able to share the culinary skills and the baking skills that you taught me. I would show the city that we Terrans are good at making food and not just growing it," Kyungsoo explained. He wanted his grandfather to understand one of the reasons that he wanted to go to Exodus.

"That is a good argument. I don't like that you, our only grandson, is going to be heading off to somewhere unknown. Especially after the...accident," his grandfather sounded a bit sad at the end.

Kyungsoo looked back down at his food as he remembered that night. The screams of his parents as they burned inside the house. The way the fire consumed the whole building, leaving only parts of the walls. The tight hug of his grandparents as they held him while he cried for his parents. He snapped out of it before it became too real. He took a deep breath in and exhaled a shaky breath as before he continued.

"Pa. Travelling the world and serving our food in Exodus has been my dream since I was small. You can't expect me to just throw it all away," Kyungsoo replied as he looked at his grandfather. Kyungsoo stood up and pushed in his chair. He looked towards his grandmother. "I'll be leaving the village before the sun is at its peak." He walked to the door, put on his shoes and grabbed his bags. "I promise to write letters to you both. I'll explain what everything looks like and write about my experiences," Kyungsoo said as he walked out of the door.

He still had to say goodbye to his childhood friends. He walked in the opposite direction of his grandparents' house and toward the town centre. His friends always hung out in the centre of town near the fountain in the morning before starting their jobs. He walked through the streets, ignoring the other villagers looking at him with interest. They have never seen anyone, let alone Kyungsoo, have travel bags with them. Once Kyungsoo entered the centre of town, he saw his friends, a young man and woman, sitting by the fountain in the middle. He walked to them and dropped his bags on the ground with a soft thud. They stopped in their conversation abruptly and turned to see what had made the noise.

"Kyungsoo, what are you doing?" asked Kwanghoon, the tall man with a quizzical expression.

"Why do you have travelling bags? Are you leaving?" the young woman, Sanghee, asked, worry was laced in her voice. Kyungsoo looked at his friends.

He took a deep breath and said, "Sanghee, Kwanghoon. Today, I'm going to Exodus. I'm leaving in a few hours." Sanghee looked shocked. Kwanghoon was also a bit shocked but didn't show it like Sanghee.

"Why are you leaving? Everything you've ever known is here!" Sanghee said with tears in her eyes. Kwanghoon took her into a side hug and let her cry.

"Now that I'm finally old enough to cross the border, I'm going to fulfil my dream of going to the city," Kyungsoo answered. Sanghee was still crying as Kwanghoon rubbed her back. Kyungsoo felt a bit uncomfortable because she wasn't the type to cry. "I only came to say goodbye before I left," he continued. Kwanghoon sat Sanghee on the edge of the fountain before he embraced Kyungsoo in a hug. Kyungsoo hugged him back before they both pulled away.

"Remember to come and visit every once and a while, or at least write," Kwanghoon said as he patted Kyungsoo's shoulder.

"Okay. But don't expect any letters for a while as I will need to get settled in and get a job before I can send letters. And even those will take a few weeks to travel," Kyungsoo said as he went to pick up his bags. Before he could pick them up, he felt a weight jump onto him, sending him to the stone ground of the square.

"I'll miss you Kyungsoo!" he heard the voice of Sanghee cry from on top of him. "You better write about your experiences and about what the city looks like," She said. Kyungsoo was still being crushed into the ground.

"Hee, you're squishing him into the ground. I also don't think he can breathe when you're sitting on top of him," Kwanghoon said with a smirk. Sanghee instantly sat up.

"I'm so sorry, Soo!" Sanghee quickly apologised. "I'm just sad that you're leaving," Sanghee said as Kwanghoon pulled her into another hug. Kyungsoo got used to seeing them hug after they started dating years ago.

"Before that, I'll need a place to stay and a job and earn some money. But, yes. I promise I'll write," Kyungsoo said as he grabbed his bags off the ground. He waved to the two of them as he walked out of the village.

He had a lot of ground to cover before he could even reach the border of the country. Though the actual thought of getting to Exodus excited him. In just over a week, he would be in the largest city the world had ever created. There were going to be so many things that he had never seen before. It would take over a week of walking through an unfamiliar forest before he arrived in Exodus. 

The thought made his excitement quickly fade away. He would have to walk a long way to finally reach the city. Kyungsoo sighed. He left the village not even an hour ago. He was going to be going on a long walk and he was going to be so bored during this trip. It wasn't until he was a good distance down the road before he dared to relax. Only then, did he think about the real reason for why he was going to Exodus. 

Questions flooded his mind. Would he meet the others there? Would he be able to remember everything? He hoped that MAMA could help him with his problem. The thought that excited him the most, was that he could share the ancient and probably extinct food from his past life.