The sound of a heartbeat echoed in the endless dark.
Thump.
Darkness.
Thump.
Cold.
Thump.
Then... nothing.
Time seemed to stretch, distorting the very fabric of existence. No light, no sound, nothing. The stillness suffocated everything, wrapping around him like a heavy shroud. In the depth of that void, a consciousness stirred—faint, broken, yet inexplicably... alive.
He had no sense of time. How long had he been here? Seconds? Minutes? Or had it been years? All he could remember was the sharp screech of tires, the blinding headlights, and then... silence.
But now—something. A pull. A presence, faint yet persistent, beckoning him back.
A soft, mechanical whisper resonated in his mind.
[Initializing System...][Binding Soul to Host...][Error Detected. Host Soul: Incompatible.][Soul Fragment Detected. Compatibility... 87%. Proceeding.]
Pain.
Excruciating. White-hot. Like fire tearing through his very being.
"AAARGH!" The scream ripped through his throat, but there was no one to hear it. No city. No people. No body. Only the vast, empty void.
And then, everything shifted.
He opened his eyes.
The sky above him was not the soft blue of the world he once knew. No, this sky was a blood-red, swirling with ominous black clouds that seemed to bleed into each other. He lay on the edge of a cliff, gasping for air, his lungs burning as though he'd never breathed before. The ground beneath him was cracked and dry—nothing like the world he'd known. It was as if this land had been scorched by some ancient fire.
He sat up, pain shooting through his body with every movement. His vision blurred, but through the haze, he saw distant mountains and the faint silhouettes of winged creatures soaring far above.
"Where... am I?" His voice was hoarse, unfamiliar—like it wasn't even his.
A mechanical chime rang in his mind:
[Welcome, Host. You have been granted access to the "Immortal Path System." Binding complete.][Current Host Body: Ren Zian, Age: 14, Cultivation Level: None][Initializing Starter Quest...][Quest: Survive the First Night. Reward: System Upgrade (Passive Skill Unlock). Failure: Death.]
His eyes widened. A system? This wasn't real, was it?
"System?" he muttered under his breath. "Like... in those webnovels?"
Silence.
"Ren Zian... is that me?"
A sudden flash of memories—foreign, yet painfully vivid. A quiet village, a frail boy coughing blood, a voice, cold and mocking: "You're useless. A disgrace to our clan."
His head spun. "What the hell is going on?" His hand shot up to his head, clutching his skull as if it would keep the pain from splitting him open. "These... these aren't my memories."
The truth crashed into him, hard and fast. He had died. He remembered his life on Earth, his death, and everything in between. But now... now he was here. In another world. In someone else's body.
The boy—Ren Zian—had died. And somehow, he was in his place.
A howl broke through the air, distant but unmistakable.
Wolves. A growl, followed by another howl. They were coming. Fast.
The system chimed again:
[Danger Detected. Host is advised to take immediate action.]
"What am I supposed to do? I have nothing! No weapons, no powers. Where the hell am I?"
[Activating Emergency Protocol...][Skill Unlocked: Basic Shadow Step - Lv. 1][Skill Unlocked: Energy Sense - Lv. 1]
Suddenly, a flood of knowledge filled his mind. His body felt lighter, quicker. He could sense the energy around him—something deep within the ground, a path leading down the cliff, a dark cave beneath a boulder. His instincts screamed at him.
Without thinking, he sprinted toward the cave, adrenaline pumping in his veins. He barely heard the wolves' howls over the sound of his own rapid breathing.
As he ran, he activated the new skill: Shadow Step. A burst of speed propelled him forward. Each step was like a blink—he moved several meters in an instant, barely touching the ground before the next bound carried him further.
The wolves were close now, snapping at the air. One lunged toward him, jaws wide, but he dove into the cave just in time. He felt the heat of its breath on his legs as he slipped through the entrance.
Inside the cave, darkness enveloped him, but his newly unlocked Energy Sense skill outlined everything in silver: the jagged walls, the narrow passageway leading deeper. He could hear the wolves snarling just outside, pacing back and forth, but they couldn't reach him here.
[Quest Updated: Survive Until Dawn. Time Remaining: 7 Hours 42 Minutes.]
He slumped against the cold, rough stone, panting. "Okay... calm down. Breathe. Think."
His name. He couldn't forget it. Ren Zian.He's only 14, but his physique says he's in his twenties! He had to remember who he was. Back in his world, he had a name. A life. But here? Here, there was nothing.
The system spoke again, its voice calm and matter-of-fact:
[Optional Quest Available: Investigate the Cave. Reward: Unknown.]
The idea of staying here, huddled in the darkness, was tempting—but something inside him refused to just hide. "Well... I didn't come back from the dead just to sit around," he muttered. "Let's see what's in this cave."
He ventured deeper into the cavern, his footsteps echoing eerily. And what he found wasn't safety. It wasn't comfort.
In the heart of the cave was a chamber, wide and circular, with ancient symbols glowing faintly on the walls. In the center stood a pedestal, and atop it, a black orb that pulsed with strange energy.
[Artifact Detected: Void Seed. Rank: Unknown.][Warning: Host's cultivation level is insufficient to absorb artifact safely.][Recommendation: Do not touch.]
His hand moved instinctively.
The moment his fingers brushed the orb, the system screamed in his head:
[WARNING! WARNING!]
His vision exploded into white. Pain seared through his body, tearing at his very core. Energy surged into him like a storm, crashing through his veins, rewriting him, reshaping him. He screamed, but he didn't pull away. He clung to it. He had to.
[Forced Synchronization Initiated...][Void Seed Imprint Acquired.]
The world spun. His body collapsed.
When he woke, the orb was gone. So was the pain.
A new screen flashed in front of him:
[Congratulations. You have obtained the Void Seed Imprint.][New Passive Skill: Void Adaptation (Lv. 1) - Host can absorb ambient energy to heal minor wounds.][New Active Skill: Void Pulse (Lv. 1) - Releases a shockwave of energy. Cooldown: 60 seconds.]
He blinked. The wolves were gone. The night was over. Dawn had broken.
[Quest Complete. Reward: Passive Skill Unlock - Keen Awareness.]
For the first time since his death, he smiled—though the smile was small, fragile. "Okay, System... let's see what else this world has in store."
End of Chapter 1.