The world was still changing.
Fire blazed, water flowed, and trees grew.
Even so, the earth still held many things within it.
Far away, somewhere deep beneath the quiet ground, a change occurred.
Something stirred.
This time, it was neither a gentle wind nor the whisper of life.
It was a deep, low resonance.
It seemed quiet, yet it had been condensed for a very long time.
Under the pressure of an age beyond reckoning, it was taking shape and growing hard.
At last, now influenced by its power, the earth trembled.
From deep underground, a dull metallic sound rang out.
The earth split open, and from within it, a dark yet gleaming substance revealed itself.
A new energy buried beneath the ground had begun to awaken.
Clods of earth scattered into pieces and stones shattered as metal awoke.
Cold veins of ore slowly moved, gathering into one.
The energy that had remained within the earth converged, and it began to take form.
At first, it had been nothing more than a vague, simple mass.
But after tempering itself over a long span of time, its outline gradually became clear.
Pieces of metal interlocked as though assembling themselves, and soon it formed a single being.
A hard yet lustrous skin, the grain of shining metal, wrapped around its body.
Its once-dark surface received the sunlight and gradually shone white.
Its eyes, too, held light for the first time. Deep and weighty pupils.
They contained the memories of the earth’s long ages.
When he moved for the first time, the sound of metal fragments striking one another echoed across the land.
His fist, made of metal, clenched the soil, and from there the energy of iron spread outward.
With his existence, the earth was gradually hardening like iron.
His name was Oruma.
The monarch of iron, and the creator of machines.
From deep within his body, the resonance that symbolized him spread.
“Oruma, Oruma……”
His name, sharp and hard, dazzlingly bright—Oruma.
He was the symbol of metal.
Oruma felt his own body for the first time.
His body was not merely flesh.
It was intricately carved metal.
A hard surface, a bonded structure.
His skin was as cold as steel, and at every joint, exquisitely connected pieces of metal reflected a pure white light.
His joints meshed smoothly and precisely, like the mechanisms of a colossal machine.
Oruma’s body was not something made by nature alone.
It was precisely composed, the result of ceaselessly tempering itself.
He let out a heavy breath.
Then the resonance from his mouth traveled through the earth and spread outward.
The sound of iron and stone colliding echoed to the very bottom of the world.
What made Oruma’s heart beat was an energy that was hot, yet coldly rational and solid.
It did not stop.
It always pulsed in a regular rhythm, never falling into disorder.
His fingers moved slowly.
Like gears meshing together, his joints moved smoothly.
He clenched his hand.
That was proof of the power Oruma possessed.
When he set his foot down, the earth rumbled.
Every time he walked, the sound of iron clashing with iron rang out from deep beneath the ground.
The earth was no longer made only of soil and stone.
Within it was metal, and now that metal had begun to awaken.
He looked upon the world.
The earth was still rough and incomplete.
He thought that he had to bring order to the world.
He was the being who would grant structure to this world.
He would govern iron, and with that power, he would organize the world.
Oruma spread his hand once more.
At that moment, the ground rumbled again.
Fragments shattered, and from deep within the earth, pillars of metal rose up.
Metal interlocked with metal, forming an immense shape.
That form was precise, perfect like a bonded structure.
It was his throne.
He slowly stepped toward the throne.
Each time his footsteps touched the ground,
the metal took shape and aligned itself more firmly.
Oruma ascended the throne.
Cold, powerful iron wrapped around his body and became one with him.
Oruma had become the emperor of the empire of iron.
Oruma looked toward the distant sky and cried out.
“Hear me, all of you. At last, I have come to this place. My name is Oruma. I am iron, I am order, and I am the fruit obtained after long toil.
This place is the symbol of that glorious fruit. And from this moment on, this place shall become my empire. Its name shall be the Metallum Empire!
We are steel. We are solid, and we do not collapse.
We metals are beings unlike all others. Metal is tempered. It is refined. It is made stronger. Since we ourselves are already completion itself, what would dare look down upon us!
Iron was not strong from the beginning. Thus, it must melt in fire, its impurities must be removed, and it must be struck and forged. What is completed after tempering and honing itself in that way is iron—steel.
I do not desire power that crumbles. I create perfect structure. Everything must be in its proper place. Strength comes from there. True strength is tempered. Unrefined iron is nothing but a dull lump, and an unsharpened blade can cut nothing.
Therefore, we shall be tempered. We shall advance. We do not stop. The weak shall break, and the incomplete shall be dismantled. Only that which endures to the end shall become steel.
Unlike others, we can be honed. We remove impurities, refine ourselves, and are tempered. And at last, we form a perfect structure. That is our dazzling glory and our solid pride.
And our gears do not turn alone. My movement is our pulse, and our tempering becomes the very foundation of the empire. We are one piece of a perfect structure.
Thus, when we are together, we can become even more powerful. Even the strong have clear limits when they exist alone. But if we interlock together and form one perfect machine, then there will be nothing for us to fear!
I do not want a world that collapses. I create a world that endures. Our Metallum Empire will never be divided. We will be connected and interlocked, and we will possess an efficient structure.
All of you, remember this. The law of Metallum is like metal. The unnecessary will be removed, and only the essential will remain and be aligned. Only those who refine themselves in that way can form one part of Metallum.
All beings of this world, keep yourselves far from chaos. Reject disorder. Chaos is imperfect. But metal maintains its form through any trial, and instead becomes even harder. Our existence itself proves this.
Here and now, I proclaim in glory. I am the one who leads Metallum, and the one who will establish the law of iron!
Our Metallum Empire begins here and now. From me, Oruma, an orderly structure will be formed and completed. The rules of our Metallum will soon become the laws that move the world.
Now this land is no longer rough and incomplete. Metallum is structure, order, and fruition.
The Metallum Empire will never collapse. Metallum shall be tempered. Believe in me and follow me. We shall remain solid beings for all eternity!!”
At last, through Oruma, the Metallum Empire was born.
Sharp metallic sounds rang out noisily in every direction, as though raising a roar.
As soon as Oruma’s declaration ended, the earth began to shake once more.
As the soil covering the land broke apart, shining metal continued to reveal itself from underground.
They were not simple ores. Already as metals tempered in an orderly fashion, they began to take on specific forms.
As the earth shook again and again, pillars of steel rose up one by one.
At first, they seemed to be nothing more than rough lumps of iron, but soon they aligned and formed a single structure.
And those metals bonded with one another.
Within perfect balance and order, walls of steel revealed themselves.
The fortress of the Metallum Empire had been completed.
Oruma’s voice thundered, making the surrounding metal structures vibrate.
“The name of this place is now Oruka. The heart of the Metallum Empire, a city made of tempered steel. None shall dare covet this place!”
With heavy steps, Oruma walked toward the throne.
Before him, energy cores were neatly arranged.
They had yet to take on any color, but they shone together, reflecting the luster of the surrounding metal.
“Yes, to temper Metallum, energy is needed. I must use these energy cores for us. Come with me, energy cores.”
Oruma reached out his hand.
A powerful pressure spread from his fingertips.
Beneath his hand, the energy cores began to tremble as they received his power.
Oruma’s power went beyond mere force and tempered the energy cores.
The rough surfaces of the cores grew increasingly refined, and unnecessary impurities gradually vanished.
The energy cores shone pure white, like metal.
Now, the energy cores had gained an even more ordered structure as Metal Cores.
Oruka, the heart of Metallum, emitted a dazzling radiance.
That radiance was almost indistinguishable from the sunlight in the sky above.
The steel structures grew even more solid, and everything achieved perfect balance.
It was the result created by tempered power and refined order.
Oruma sat upon the throne.
His voice still carried majesty.
“At last, Metallum is complete. We shall never collapse.”
Now, the Metallum Empire had begun here.
The surrounding space was refined, and their iron was tempered, becoming even stronger.
But the world still needed something.
Fire blazed, water flowed, trees grew, and metal bonded, yet something that would support all of them had not yet awakened.
Once again, a new vibration arose.
What, then, was the true nature of that vibration?
It was neither raging flames, nor surging waves, nor a dense forest, nor the cold resonance of metal.
It was a deep and weighty rumbling.
After the fire of the south, the water of the north, the wood of the east, and the iron of the west had founded their own empires, another vibration was ringing out from the very center among them.
The earth itself began to breathe.
The soil and stone that had kept silent for so long now slowly moved, as though their turn had come.
The earth had always held everything within it.
But now, it too had come to awaken independently.
At last, the earth awakens.
The fifth age was approaching.