The last thing Ren remembered from Earth was the blinding glare of headlights.
Rain.
Wet asphalt, a cheap umbrella blown inside out by the wind, his phone vibrating with a notification for the latest chapter of some web novel—and the roar of an engine that shouldn't have been that close.
He turned his head and barely caught the peeling blue letters on the side of the truck.
Then, silence.
A silence so deep it felt like sound itself had ceased to exist.
"So… that's how it ends?"
The question echoed through Ren's mind, adrift in a dark, formless void. There was no pain, no body—only consciousness floating in nothingness.
Fragments of memory flickered before him: endless hours of JRPGs, sleepless nights clearing games filled with class systems and guilds. Tabs filled with cultivation novels and transmigration stories. Protagonists reincarnating, finding systems, joining sects, defying heaven.
"Funny… in the end, I only lived other people's lives."
He saw his reflection in the monitor—dark circles, messy hair, and a faint smile as a novel protagonist finally founded his own guild.
The word guild shimmered in the darkness.
Guild.
The void trembled.
A thin line of light appeared ahead, like a crack in reality. Something within Ren—whatever was left of him—was pulled toward that fracture.
Then, a voice. No tone, no gender, just a presence.
[Initializing Transmigration Protocol...]
Ren froze.
"No way… did I just get a system?"
The crack widened.
[Compatible soul detected.][Special Condition: Obsession with class and guild systems. High affinity with Mana and Command structures.][Guild System of the Immortals detected.][Status: SEALED. 3% functions available.]
If he had a body, his eyes would've gone wide.
"A Guild System… of the Immortals?"
[You have died in your previous world.][Destination: transmigration to the world of Arkhésia.][Dominant races: Humans, Demons, Elves, Dwarves, Draconic Beasts.][Status: Searching for compatible newborn host...]
Light swirled around him—visions flashing like speeding screens: fortified cities, mountains piercing clouds, dragons tearing the sky apart in flames, demonic armies marching beneath a crimson moon.
[Global Conflict Detected: War of the Races.]
For the first time, Ren felt something heavy—an echo in his soul.
"War of the Races…?"
He saw humans in bloodstained armor, elves firing arrows of light, dwarves on iron battlements with runic cannons blazing, and demons smiling amid chaos.
And in the distant sky, colossal shadows—dragons.
[Primary Objective: Form the Immortal Guild, the only true guild of Arkhésia.][Secondary Objective: Survive.]
If he still had a heart, it would've been pounding.
"This… this is real?"
The void itself seemed to wait for his answer. He remembered every time he'd judged protagonists.
"If I were in their place, I'd do it better."
Maybe the universe had heard.
"Fine then… if this is a game, I'll play to win."
The light swallowed him whole.
He felt… cold.
Cold and heavy, as if something was pressing down on his chest. Muffled sounds reached his ears—cries, voices, some harsh, others soft.
Then, light.
He blinked. The world was blurry, colors bleeding together like water on glass.
A face appeared.
A woman with dark brown hair tied in a bun, sweat on her brow, tears and a trembling smile.
— "Is he… alright?" she asked weakly.
Another voice, older and firmer, answered,— "He's fine, Mei. A strong boy. The heavens were kind."
Ren tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak cry.
"I… was born?"
The woman hugged him close.
— "Ren…" she whispered. "Our little Ren."
A man approached behind her—broad shoulders, calloused hands, black hair tied low. Stern but kind eyes glowed with pride.
— "Ren Tianyi," the man said. "May you grow strong enough to protect those you love… and survive this mad world."
A chill ran through him.
Ren Tianyi.That was his new name.
A translucent message flashed in his mind.
[Transmigration complete.][Name: Ren Tianyi][Race: Human][Age: 0][Affinities: Mana (High), Command (High), Qi (Low)][Immortal Guild System: Linked.][Functions Available: 1/??]
One line pulsed brighter.
[New Function Unlocked: Potential Observer.]
Before he could inspect it, a thunderous noise echoed outside the small wooden house.
BOOM.
The adults tensed. The midwife, a thin old woman with gray hair, frowned toward the door.
— "Again… Those explosions are getting closer."
Ren's father, still kneeling beside the bed, clenched his jaw.— "Probably the sect testing another artifact," he muttered, though fear hid behind his tone. "No one sleeps easy while the wars continue."
"Sect…"
Ren's mind immediately connected the dots.
Sects. Clans. War of the Races. Cultivation.
He wasn't in an ordinary world. He was in that kind of world.
The following days blurred together in sounds and lights.
As a newborn, Ren's body was frail, but his mind wasn't.
He learned his parents' names: Ren Jian and Mei Lin. They lived in a remote village near the edge of a vast forest, protected—barely—by a minor sect called the Scarlet Leaf Sect, subordinate to one of Aurelis' great human sects.
The village was humble: wooden houses, fields, a dirt path ending at a crude wooden gate. Occasionally, real cultivators passed by—men and women with swords on their backs, fine robes embroidered with emblems, cold eyes.
When they did, villagers bowed their heads.
Ren, swaddled in his cradle, watched everything.
"Yeah. No doubt. This is a cultivation world."
One morning, he heard the cries of another baby next door, then children running and laughing outside.
The village was full of young ones.
And if all his JRPG knowledge was worth anything, every great journey started with a village party.
"I have a guild to build…"
The idea burned inside him.
And as if in response, the system pulsed again.
[Immortal Guild System – Function: Potential Observer][Description: Allows limited assessment of nearby individuals' growth potential and affinities.][Restriction: Observation limited to individuals under 18 years old. Rating Scale: F to SSS.]
Ren almost laughed, but all that came out was baby gurgling.
"Perfect!"
If JRPGs had taught him anything, it was that team composition was everything. No healer? No tank? You don't beat the boss.
This wasn't just a game anymore—it was his life.
"I need ten people… ten members for the Immortal Guild."
The number surfaced in his mind, and the system confirmed.
[Initial Member Slots: 10][Current Guild Rank: None (Unformed)]
He reached out with his tiny fingers, as if trying to touch the interface only he could see.
"Archer, Assassin, Tank, Warrior, Lancer, Healer, Elementalist, Fighter, Technomancer… and me—the Mage."
He pictured them one by one: a silent elf with a bow of light; a smirking demon cloaked in shadows; a dwarf raising a shield as heavy as a wall; a princess healing the wounded with glowing hands.
He knew it would take years before he could walk, talk, or train—but that didn't matter.
In games, you always start weak.What matters is how you build from Level 1.
That night, moonlight spilled through the cracks in the wooden walls.
Ren awoke to a sound—wheels on dirt, chains rattling.
His mother, Mei Lin, rose quietly and peered through the window.
Outside, torches flickered in the dark.
— "A caravan?" she murmured.
Rough voices echoed through the village.
— "Just passing through! Travelers! We mean no harm!"
The gates creaked open. Heavy footsteps, laughter, and the clink of metal filled the night.
Chains.
The system whispered in Ren's mind.
[High-potential targets detected.]
A chill ran down his tiny spine.
"They're… in the caravan."
He didn't know how, but he was certain. Those chains weren't for cargo—they were for people.
Slaves.
Every JRPG, every novel flashed before his mind. Orphans. Slaves. Children abandoned by fate. Protagonists always met their companions like this.
The heavens were giving him a chance.
"So this is where the Immortal Guild begins."
He struggled to move, but all his baby body could do was make the cradle creak. Mei Lin returned, smiling, tucking the blanket around him.
— "Sleep, little Ren," she whispered, kissing his forehead. "The world out there is too cruel. You don't need to worry about it yet."
Too late.
Ren Tianyi was already worrying.
As his eyelids grew heavy again, the interface pulsed one last time:
[Potential members of the Immortal Guild detected.][Condition for recruitment: Survive until able to speak, walk, and negotiate.][Suggestion: Strengthen body and study early. The world of Arkhésia does not forgive the weak.]
"Then let's start training… even if it's only in my mind."
In his dreams, Ren was already designing skill trees, stat builds, and party compositions for the perfect guild.
Outside, the slave caravan rolled through the moonlit village—unaware that among its weary, chained faces were those destined to become something greater.
Not merely survivors.
Immortals.