Chapter 01 - Life or Death in the Afterlife
Darkness was the only thing to be seen and no matter which way you looked, darkness was everywhere.
John tried to raise his hands, but to his surprise, he had none. If that wasn't enough to panic, he discovered he didn't even have a body. He tried to scream in despair, but without a body, there was no mouth for sound to echo through, only occasional thoughts would emerge.
After a long time — and no one knows for sure how long — his memories returned and the most vivid memory in his chaotic mind was that of a very beautiful young woman, with black eyes as bright as the starry night.
She looked like a model, with her graceful and striking figure. John, however, was terrified, so he ignored her beautiful appearance. He focused on the feelings the woman's memories evoked—warm feelings of sisterhood.
In his memories, it was the only sense of peace in the vast darkness.
It seemed like the only family he had left in his life, if John was still alive.
His situation was unknown even to himself.
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Venhorst Castle
In an ancient castle, reminiscent of medieval European castles, hidden magic circles and matrices were found throughout, demonstrating the ostentatious display of a nobleman's abundant wealth. Although the castle displayed a majestic appearance, a somber air descended upon it, as Mrs. Van Horst encountered a misfortune unlike any she had ever experienced before.
It had been months since Mrs. Van Horst contracted an unknown illness. The peculiar thing was that her base power of a respectable wizard was useless; even high-level spells were completely useless.
In the most well-protected room, a woman lay on the bed, aging. The pace of her cellular decay made it seem as if each hour were a year or more for her. There was barely any vitality in her withered body. If someone had said that the woman lying on the bed was only 28 years old, no one would have believed them; they would even have mocked them, because she looked over 100 years old.
A man sat beside her, seemingly worried. With just one look, anyone could tell he had strong feelings for the woman lying in bed. It was evident just by looking into his eyes—love and concern—a sight rarely seen, considering his reputation, position, and prestige.
Helpless, the man had tried everything in his power, but the only thing he could do was keep her between life and death.
A high-grade magical array covered the entire room; the array rotated, imbuing vitality into the woman's withered body. The life energy generated by the array was quickly consumed by the fetus in the woman's body; the remaining half was absorbed by a crystalline egg in the woman's soul. Although the egg drained vitality, it was the only link between the soul and the body. Only the soul of a higher being could withstand such a drain on soul energy; only vital energy could suppress the wear and tear on the soul, which was reflected in the body. The five golden cores and one core
Paragons were feeding the matrix. Just two golden cores would be enough for someone to live a carefree life for the rest of their lives, and here was a man wasting five of them and a Paragon core to boot.
If anyone knew, he would undoubtedly do everything he could to steal them, even at the cost of his own life.
In the bedroom, white sheets and curtains gave the room a sacred air, and freshly cut flowers gave off a pleasant spring scent. Two maids accompanied the man in the room, adept at healing magic targeting the life force, and of course the average warrior butler was also at his master's side, ready to attend to his every need.
"My lord, you could go get some rest. It's been three days since you've slept or eaten anything," the butler said with a worried look.
The man looked away from the woman and with a pale complexion asked.
— I'm fine. When will the envoy from the capital arrive?
The butler wasted no time in responding.
— My lord, the envoy will arrive in three days, four at most.
"I'm relieved to hear that," the man said with a heavy sigh. He had spent nearly his entire fortune, as well as the favors he had accumulated, to buy the matrix of life in the royal family. A glimmer of hope shone in his eyes.
"You can leave for now," the man said to the butler and the maids, who were in the room with him.
—Thank you for your hard work. Let's rest for now.
One after the other they bowed and left the room, until only the woman and the man remained. The man kissed his wife's forehead and said softly,
— Honey, I will save you and our child, or my name will not be Fernando Van Horst.
After spending a few more hours with his wife, Fernando Van Horst left the room and went to take a shower and attend to his duties as lord castellan of the Northern border.
Three days later
After three days, a flying ark arrived at Venhorst Castle. A man emerged from the flying ark, accompanied by two others and a woman. The three seemed quite respectful, as men were all average beings for those who had evolved to this level of pride.
They were escorted by the butler and, unhindered, walked toward the castle. Ferdinand himself came out to greet them personally, demonstrating the importance of the royal family's representatives.
"Greetings, Mr. Jeremia, welcome to the northern lands," Fernando greeted, demonstrating the courtesies of a nobleman, neither arrogant nor servile, just appropriate. Fernando smiled slightly.
"Mr. Fernando, courteous as always. I'm glad to see you again." Mr. Jeremia greeted Fernando with the same courtesy. Then, Mr. Jeremia's sonar scanned Fernando's body. While rude, it was undoubtedly a custom among old friends to probe each other's progress. Of course, Fernando did the same, achieving the expected results. However, the same could not be said for Mr. Jeremia. After probing Fernando, Mr. Jeremia's face turned red and his jaw dropped.
—Wh... wh... How? Is that possible? — Mr. Jeremia stammered.
"This evolution has come at a heavy price," Fernando said with a bitter smile. He hid his sadness and invited Mr. Jeremiah inside, along with his subordinates, and so they entered the castle side by side. While they talked, after updating each other, Fernando led Mr. Jeremiah and his men into the room where his wife was.
When Mr. Jeremiah and his men saw the figure on the bed, they could not believe their eyes, because the woman in their eyes was just skin and bones, it almost looked like a corpse in front of them.
"How is that possible? Wasn't she just pregnant? How is she like this?" Mr. Jeremia bombarded him with a series of questions.
"What the hell did you find in the tomb of the primordial sin? How could someone of your caliber let this happen?" Mr. Jeremiah was shocked.
"It's a long story, I'll tell you later. We'd better start implementing the matrix as soon as possible," Fernando said impatiently. Clearly, this was a topic Fernando didn't want to address at the moment.
"Haim. Yes, of course." Mr. Jeremiah couldn't believe that the woman who had once coveted his beauty had turned into a dried-up corpse. When he spread his sonar throughout the woman's body, what he discovered shocked him even more. All the vitality was rushing toward the fetus. Mr. Jeremiah wondered if it was a monster, not a child, forming inside—a rare case.
When Mr. Jeremiah tried to probe the soul, a barrier prevented his sonar from proceeding any further.
—Only because of this unusual pregnancy. Mr. Jeremia came out of his thoughts and ordered his men.
"Carlos, prepare the materials. Sandro and Felícia, prepare your spiritual powers, and we can't make any mistakes. Fernando, I'm counting on you to extract the Paragon cores."
After the words were spoken, Mr. Jeremiah began his work; after all, he was a master of arrays and magic circles. After Fernando provided the cores, they headed to the castle basement.
It didn't take long for everyone to reach the castle basement.
"Fernando, you have the strongest evolutionary foundation, so you'll be the one to balance the cores with your own. Luckily, you have a golden core; that will be very useful," Mr. Jeremia said, demonstrating his expertise. He drew a complex diagram with high-grade mulatta stone. Quickly, the matrix took shape, with the help of his subordinates and Fernando. The matrix encompassed all the fundamental elements, and everyone quickly took their positions, each representing a different element in the diagram. Fernando took the center, following Mr. Jeremia's instructions.
— Water, earth, wind, fire, wood, metal.
— Life comes from the goddess, elements created by the goddess, death fears the goddess.
Everyone followed the steps indicated by Mr. Jeremia, at the same time that an incantation in the Baboan language echoed through the basement.
"Fernando, now!" Mr. Jeremia shouted, sweat pouring down his face. Fernando didn't delay; in his hand, the cores flew toward the ends of the matrix, each core representing a corresponding element. And his golden core in his dantine region spun rapidly, producing the corresponding elements. After a few hours of hard work, a plant sprouted in the middle of the matrix, right in front of Fernando, brimming with life force. After another half hour, a daisy flower blossomed from the plant, and five sighs echoed simultaneously.
"Fernando, our work here is done. For now, the rest depends on the goddess, as well as your efforts," Mr. Jeremiah said.
Afterward, Fernando moved his wife into the daisy, which was brimming with vitality. At a rate visible to the eye, the woman who had previously looked like a corpse began to rejuvenate, revealing a beautiful, youthful woman. After stabilizing the matrix, Mr. Jeremia explained to Fernando how to manage the matrix of life.
Time flew by, and several days passed in which the envoys from the capital were well accompanied in the castle and the gloomy air in the castle gradually disappeared.
The following month, the envoys from the capital said goodbye and returned to their flying ark, back to the capital.
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In the Limitless Darkness
After John had lived in darkness for an unknown amount of time, he gradually became acclaimed. Then, John began to make assumptions about your current situation. He couldn't see or feel anything around him. At first, he thought he had died and was therefore in some kind of hell or something similar.
John had never heard a story about his situation in his life. One day, John felt something he couldn't explain, because what he felt wasn't coming from his senses, but from his soul. It was like being naked in public, and suddenly you find something to wear; it's a great relief after a while.
Changes occurred, one after another, until one day, he could feel a body. Although his senses were undeveloped, John could somehow sense it. A great current of vitality coursed toward the newly formed body, as if seeing water after a long journey through the desert. John's body frantically absorbed the current of vitality.
Suddenly, a miracle truly happened. John could no longer see the surrounding darkness; on the contrary, he was in a completely different place. Now, he was in a boundless sea. The crystal-clear water reflected the blue sky; the waters were calm, without any ripples. The sea was calm, with no land or sense of direction—a sea with no south, north, east, or west.
John was happy to no longer be in boundless darkness. Then he tried to look at his own body. To his surprise, John was now a ghost baby—the word he found most appropriate to describe his own current body.
John was an adorable baby, just a few inches tall. Black hair, dark eyes, and smooth, clear skin. Most striking was the small tail protruding from the back of his waist. John was surprised to see that he looked like a little devil, but that didn't last long. He began to analyze his surroundings. A boundless sea, with no land in sight, no direction whatsoever. Even looking beneath the crystal-clear water, there was no trace of land, which contrasted with his knowledge of the sea.
As John looked more closely at his surroundings, he discovered something shocking. There was a translucent egg, about 1.75 centimeters tall. Inside the egg was another ghost baby. The baby looked even more ghostly than John himself; it seemed as if the baby in the egg would disappear at any moment.
John tried to communicate with the baby in the egg, but there was no means of communication available at the time. This was the first time he had been in a pure soul state; he somehow knew it was a battle between life and death in the afterlife.
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In the Castle Basement
It had been six months since the envoys from the capital departed, and three more months since Fernando's wife had conceived. She was nearly nine months pregnant, and the due date was approaching day by day. The womb had done its job well. Four months after implanting the womb, the woman finally regained consciousness.
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