Darkness, I felt boundless darkness around me.
Nothing could be seen but I felt everything, it was warm and comforting yet cold and primal.
'Where am I, wait who am i?'
As much i tried to remember i didn't know who I was or rather I didn't want to.
'It feels like I am in a void where existence turns to nothingness as it loses meaning... wait how do i know that?'
The more i thought about it, a fog clouded my mind.
' Bai Hu that bastard, wait who is Bai Hu?'
A name suddenly surfaced from my memories, I tried to think about who Bai Hu was and the fog clouding my mind started to disappear.
'I remember... some things and I don't at the same time, why are my memories so scrambled into a mess'
Countless memories emerged from my mind, I began to organise them and time passed.
Days, weeks, months, years, centuries, Millennia, eons i felt the passage of time rapidly pass within an instant however my memories were organised in the end.
'Where am I, I feel extra memories besides my own let me get out of here, first'
My eyes slowly opened but the 'Darkness' was still the same, i threw a punch that connected to a hard surface.
Crack!
Small rays of light emerged from beyond the cracked surface, i continued to throw punches until a large hole was created.
My body propelled forward as I escaped through the hole, the light blinded my vision but I continued to push forward.
Thud!
My body fell on a rocky surface, perhaps it was the ground. Before opening my eyes, I took a deep breath but as air entered my lungs it felt as if my lungs could expand infinitely or rather...I didn't even need to breathe at all.
"So you endured eternity and survived, not only did you endure the void the true eternal darkness at the end but you also regained your free will and identity
Your desire to survive and be free made you a better candidate than your soul was"
I turned my head around as I looked at Bai Hu's corpse, it was unraveling.
The carcass was breaking into countless particles of light that filled the atmosphere, it was bizarre yet beautiful.
" I always wanted to be free but the cost of choosing a successor is being erased from existence permanently... the irony"
Bai Hu's voice was filled with nothing but sadness, and for the first time since we met I felt sympathy for him.
"Boy listen well and listen carefully, successors are not bound by the principles of the abyss
Kaiju is a name given to us by humans, originally we're called Beasts of the end and among these Beasts there are those called the Great Old Ones
Successors can only be chosen by Great Old Ones not all beasts of the end, By giving you all my essence you're essentially a Great Old One by nature and essence"
"Why are you complicating my life for this shit! I just wanted the heart herb...is that so hard to understand!!!"
As much as I complained I felt Bai Hu smirk, the corpse completely turned into light particles and those particles soon entered my glabella.
' What is this information..., so this is knowledge'
As my knowledge of the universe continued to expand I understood a few things, such as the Authorities of Bai Hu and how to use them, the laws of the universe and how to influence them, the purpose of a Great Old One and my loneliness as a Great Old One.
' So it's the [Authority of Metal], [Authority of Water and Ice], [Authority of Electricity], [Authority of Air and Wind] and the [Authority of Autumn] do i still need my stand...yeah it's not like I can stop time on my own anyway '
As I took a deep breath I realised that Bai Hu was truly gone, opening my palm i created a ball of water and gave it shape.
Seeing that the ball of water looked like Bai Hu I froze it and put it on the ground, I waved my palm and bronze emerged from the ground.
Using my authority over metal, I changed the bronze from solid to liquid and purified it.
The bronze soon changed its crude shape and became a cup. Within a second I created water from within the cup and filled it to brim.
"I don't know what we were, but I am grateful for the opportunity you have granted me, let's share a drink"
As the cup tilted, I poured half the water to the statue and I drank the rest.
'This... can't be, is this what water is supposed to taste like'
The water was clean and pure, it was neither ashy nor bitter. As each gulp went down my throat I actually felt relaxed.
' I've been here for a few hours, I didn't find the heart herb, so I have to change tactics'
I planted my feet, coiled my body and leaped.
The air roared past me as i surged upward, my strength carrying me higher than I imagined. Then, almost instinctively, I spread my arms and felt the wind hold me...I was flying.
From this height, the world stretched beneath me. The ice of the Kunlun Mountain shimmered, vast and radiant though I noticed it slowly vanishing.
Despite the change, the scenery captivated me: the jagged peaks, the glinting ice, the rivers carving their way through the mountains.
Even as the frozen world faded, it was beautiful, almost painfully so.
'What a day it has been. That mother of mine is still a problem to be solved'
Although i could easily fly back home, I still wanted to enjoy the scenery of the world beneath so an idea came to mind.
I spread my arms and focused, calling the wind and the atmosphere itself to obey me.
A wisp of mist coalesced beneath my feet, glowing faintly with electricity coursing through it.
The cloud thickened and got darker with each passing second. I stepped onto it, and it held me perfectly.
"This is nice, is this what freedom feels like?"