Twelve hours had passed since Tianrui fell unconscious.
Then, without warning, his consciousness stirred—drifting into a vast, empty void.
There was no sound, no warmth, no cold. Only a boundless whiteness that stretched infinitely in every direction. It was neither sky nor ground, neither near nor far—simply endless.
He tried to blink, but his body refused to move. His chest tightened, each breath feeling as though it belonged to someone else.
"Where… am I?" His whisper slipped into the void, but no echo returned.
For a long, eternal moment, nothing answered. Then—like ink bleeding across paper—the whiteness rippled. Black lines shimmered far in the distance, curving, bending, splitting. Shapes began to form: mountains, rivers, tools… but each dissolved before they could fully take shape, as though they were sketches erased by an unseen hand.
Then a voice—no, not a voice, but a truth pressed into his mind—stirred.
[You have awakened your innate ability: Universal Simulator.]
The words carried no sound, yet Tianrui felt them resound inside his very bones, as if they had always existed there, waiting to be read.
"Innate… ability?" Tianrui murmured.
This was no unfamiliar phrase. He had heard about them since childhood ,one in a million could awaken an innate ability. Some were simple—like making plants to grow faster. Others were said to be divine, bending heaven and earth itself. He even heard Rumor that claimed that the Sect Master of the Evergreen Sect the overlord of this region possessed such a gift. Whether it was just a rumor or the truth he never knew, Tianrui had never expected the term to be tied to him.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears. "Universal… Simulator?"
The whiteness pulsed again, and more words etched themselves into his thoughts:
[Explanation: The Universal Simulator is a timeless and boundless inner world that mirrors the laws of reality. Within this space, all things imagined with sufficient intent may take shape as simulations. Here, mountains may rise at a thought, weapons may be tested, and constructs may move according to their design.]
[Limitations: The Simulator cannot create true life, nor can it bestow techniques. It is a mirror, not a teacher.]
[Note: All simulations are bound by the user's knowledge, imagination, and intent.]
[Note: Time does not flow within the Simulator.]
The words faded, but Tianrui's breathing quickened. His gaze swept the void, and where others might see emptiness, he saw possibility.
A thought stirred. Tentatively, he imagined the rough shape of a wooden sword—the kind he had once carved when he was younger and he wanted to be a hunter, whittling away at scraps of lumber in his free hours.
[Command accepted.]
Lines etched themselves into being, weaving together until the grain of wood appeared. In moments, a crude sword floated before him, humming faintly with false weight.
Tianrui reached for it. the sword settled into his grip as if it belonged there.
His lips parted, disbelief spilling from him in a whisper. "…This is… insane"
The whiteness pulsed again, softer this time. Like a heartbeat. Like his heartbeat.
And though he did not yet understand it, Tianrui knew one thing with absolute certainty:
This was no dream.
This was the beginning.
Tianrui stood in the endless whiteness, the crude wooden sword still in his grip. His mind whirled, thoughts racing faster than his breath.
"If intent shapes everything here…" His voice trailed as a spark of realization lit his eyes. "Then as long as my will is firm… it will work."
He closed his eyes, focused, and poured his intent outward.
[Command accepted.]
The void shuddered. Lines drew themselves beneath his feet, unraveling like threads across the nothingness. Shapes rose: the outlines of fields, fences, a crooked wooden house, the familiar rows of spirit wheat swaying in an unfelt breeze. In moments, Tianrui stood upon an exact replica of the Feng family farm.
His feet pressed into soil that crumbled realistically beneath him. The walls of his home gleamed in the distance, down to the smallest detail. Only the absence of air and sound reminded him this wasn't the real world.
Tianrui's lips curved in wonder. "Since time doesn't flow here… I can experiment as much as I want."
[Command accepted.]
Before him appeared a simple desk, a bound book, a brush, and an inkstone. Tianrui sat cross-legged on the earth and began to write. Stroke after stroke, he etched down every need his family carried—big and small.
Fifteen minutes later, a page was filled with rough script. He set the brush aside and stared at the list. His words distilled into three simple desires:
"Strength… protection… and ways to enhance our farm."
Saying it aloud made his heart steady. He clenched his fist, eyes burning with intent.
"Then something powerful enough to protect my family!"
[Command accepted.]
The void did not respond gently this time. It rumbled. The ground beneath his feet trembled as if a great beast stirred. The sky above—though it was not truly sky—darkened, cracks of light splitting through it like thunder before a storm.
A pressure like a drumroll built in his chest—he could only choke out, "What… is that?"
Something immense was coming.
Blinding light erupted across the void. It seared Tianrui's eyes, converging into a shape so massive it defied sense.
"What… what the hell am I looking at?"
Before him towered a wall of white streaked with pulsing veins of gold. It stretched upward without end, and no matter how far Tianrui craned his neck, he could not glimpse its top. Nor could he see where it ended to the left or right. It was endless.
Then a voice boomed. In a place where no sound should exist, it came all the same—deep, resonant, inescapable.
"I AM NEXUS"
The words resounded in a place where no sound should exist, reverberating directly through his soul. Tianrui staggered back, his breath torn away.
The wall contracted, folding in on itself, shrinking with terrifying speed. A form emerged: limbs of porcelain-white, patterns of golden light etched like living veins. The more it shrank, the more its figure sharpened until at last it stood before him, a towering puppet in the shape of a man. I'm the position where a face should be there was only a flat surface leaned down, and though it had no eyes, Tianrui felt its gaze pierce through every hidden corner of his being.
The construct lowered to one knee. Its thunderous voice rolled through the void:
"Nexus greets the Lord."
Tianrui froze. His thoughts scattered, his instincts screamed—this was impossible.
And then, another line seared into his mind:
[Warning: Simulation exceeds current material and spiritual capacity. Current construct exists only as a Simulation. Cannot be reproduced in reality.]
Tianrui's lips trembled, caught between terror and exhilaration. He had asked for protection. The Simulator had shown him a glimpse of godhood.
"…If this is the phantom," he whispered, voice hoarse, "then what happens the day I make it real?".