Chapter 1: The Descent
Darkness.
For a moment, that was all he felt. Not fear. Not pain. Just the echo of a last thought: "I should've said no."
The jolt had knocked him straight out of his shoes. The wire he grabbed hissed like a furious beast, and before he could even shout, his heart had stopped. A single mistake. A single lie. "Yeah, I've done wiring before." One second, he was a broke 17-year-old pretending to be an assistant electrician. The next, he was floating—weightless, breathless—in a place far beyond anything earthly.
The void around him shimmered like space dipped in ink. Stars blinked like curious eyes. There was no wind. No sound. Just a feeling, deep and crawling in his gut, that he wasn't alone.
A ripple passed through the space before him, and with it, he appeared.
A figure—tall, ageless, robed in woven galaxies. His eyes were like molten moons, gazing through the boy as if peeling apart his entire soul.
"You are… quite unfortunate," the being said calmly.
The boy tried to speak, but no words came. His throat was locked, like even sound had no place here.
"And foolish," the being added. "But amusing."
The being raised his hand and waved it lazily. Sound returned.
"Where… where am I?" the boy stammered.
"Between realities. A shard of silence. A place where dying souls pass before being judged… or discarded."
"So this is heaven?" he asked.
"No. Heaven would not take someone who lied on a job application."
That stung.
"But I only lied a little," he muttered.
The being chuckled. Galaxies shifted around him as if laughing too.
"You sought survival. Not malice. There's a difference."
The boy blinked. "So… I'm not dead?"
"You were. For three seconds."
"Was?"
"I intervened."
The boy's breath caught. "Why?"
"Curiosity," the being said, drifting closer. "You lived simply, but when faced with death, you didn't panic. Your soul stabilized instead of fading. A rare thing."
The boy could only stare.
"So I offer you this," the being continued. "A second life. A new realm. A world of cultivation, spirit, and endless struggle."
He raised a finger, and a swirling orb appeared—mountains floating in skies, golden rivers glowing, towers twisting into clouds. It looked… divine.
"This world will accept you. But you must prove yourself. Survive. Grow. Or be swallowed by those stronger."
The boy nodded quickly, eyes wide with new hope.
"You may make two wishes," the being said.
No hesitation. "I want infinite energy. Physical, magical, mental. All of it."
The being paused.
"Denied."
"What?! Why?"
"Balance matters. You'd shatter the world before you even understood it."
"But I've watched cultivation stories!" the boy blurted. "They always kill someone and then the villain's father appears. Then the grandfather. I need enough energy to fight their entire family tree! You think I'm joking?! If I can't fire techniques all day, I'll die before episode three!"
The being squinted at him.
"...Fine. You shall have infinite energy—within your limits. You may use your full strength endlessly, but you cannot go beyond what your stage allows."
"Deal!" the boy said, grinning like a fool. "I'll take it."
"Second wish?"
He thought fast. He wanted versatility. Power. Escape routes. Control.
"Void-space. I want to control the void and space. Teleport, slice reality, disappear, store things, erase attacks—all that."
The being smiled slowly.
"Ambitious."
"I'm broke and dead. I think I've earned it."
"Then it is yours."
A pulse of energy erupted from the being's hand, slamming into the boy's chest. He gasped—light and darkness swirling through his bones, etching something deeper than memory into his soul.
"Now," the being said, "descend."
"Wait, descend? To where?"
"To the world where your trial begins. Survive. And perhaps, in time, you will become something far greater than a man."
The stars tore open.
A hole in the cosmos spun beneath his feet, and he was falling—headfirst—through clouds of gold and storms of lightning. Wind screamed past him, yet he felt no fear.
In the distance, below the falling clouds, a massive continent glowed with ancient light. Towering peaks kissed the sky. Immense cities floated on lakes of spirit mist. Strange creatures roared in faraway forests. And in the air itself, he felt it—cultivation energy—like endless threads waiting to be pulled.
His descent slowed, drifting him toward a glowing forest clearing bathed in blue light.
Thud.
He landed softly, like a feather… and promptly fell on his face.
"Okay," he muttered into the grass, "step one: don't die."