The soul of the youth opened its 'eyes.' Although it had none since it was just the soul, no physical body. What he saw around him was nothing short of breathtaking.
A land full of green grass, filled with vitality. Lakes clear as air, one could see the bottom of them. The sky was so blue and clear it seemed to be a miracle. The air felt pure. His soul felt free in this space. But it was then:
"Hello." A voice echoed in the area, making him put his guard up, although he knew he had no physical body. He also didn't know he was in his soul form.
"W-who?" He asked, as a blinding light flashed and made him close his eyes, when he opened them he saw a man so handsome that it seemed to outshine the surroundings.
But there were a few peculiarities about the man. First of all, he had horns protruding from his head. Scales on his face and hands, majestic wings on his back as well as golden eyes. He wore golden robes that the boy had never seen before. His long golden hair swaying in the air.
"Me? I am just some dead old man." The handsome man chuckled.
"You are dead? Then how are you here?" The soul asked.
The handsome man looked at him, "So are you, yet here you are." those words made the soul frown. Although it had no physical body, his soul had the shape of his previous body. Therefore he could express his emotions.
"Right. So who are you? What am I here? There is no way this is hell." The soul asked the man, who simply sighed.
"All in due time, listen to me." The handsome man answered.
"I am a dragon, the mightiest existence within the cosmos. You, my boy, are here because you will be given the opportunity to transmigrate into a new body, one of my descendants. Hold your questions, I will give you some basic information. Also no, this is not hell.
"I'm sure you suffered when you were used as a lab rat. It must have hurt, I understand. You will be taken into a new world, where you can become strong by absorbing special energy. You can break mountains and fly if you become strong enough, just never, never give up.
"These people are known as cultivators. They can grow strong enough to live millennia with ease. I just want you to hear me out first." The handsome man took a break to take a breath.
"The reason why you, and I stand here today is because I want to ask something of you." The handsome man finished speaking, as the soul pondered about what he had learned.
The boy had read some cultivation novels, but not many, even those he read were incomplete. As most of the chapters were either missing or never made. So he knew the basis of cultivation. But he still listened on.
"I want to ask you to save the cosmos." Those words made the boy look at him crazily.
"Me?" He replied, thinking the handsome man had some screw loose.
"Yes, I have seen your life, you suffered, a lot..." The handsome man's voice this time was very quiet.
"You know that yet you chose me?.. Hahahaha!" The boy laughed crazily, not believing what he was hearing. After all, who is sane enough to choose a broken kid, someone who could very well become a madman from all that he went through.
"Listen to me, I used my comprehension of fate to look into the future. There I saw you boy, only you have the potential to save the cosmos. So I used my powers to bring your soul once you died here." The handsome man spoke, his eyes shining with a golden shine.
"I am dead. Dead. Weak. What else?.. Useless." The soul spoke what he felt, every time his soul lost its color and became darker.
"Kid, we have bad memories. We have all suffered in some way, shape, or form. This is what it means to be weak! That is why you should be strong!" The handsome man's words made the boy stop and look at him.
"HAHAHA! Strength? How... how?... How can I acquire strength?" The boy's soul shook, showing his inner emotions. Sadness. Fury. Grief. Greed.
"I told you, cosmic energy. That is the answer, anyone with the proper technique can absorb it and become strong. If you accept, you will have all of that. In fact, more than that. You will be able to become strong.
"It is up to you whether you believe me or not. Just save the cosmos and after you can live happily ever after. You will be able to become strong, to protect those who you love. If any." Those last words were almost a mutter, which the boy could not hear.
Although he didn't want to become a hero, he just wanted to live. Although he was a broken person due to everything he had gone through, he would try to at least live a better life. Alas, fate is something not many can comprehend, much less change. He did not know that even if he didn't want to be a hero, he would become one.
"So then will you accept? If you do, you will take over the body of a twenty-year-old cultivator of the clan made by my wives. Once you open your eyes, you will have everything you need on you. I made sure to prepare everything millennia ago."
The boy sighed, "Fine, I agree."
The handsome man displayed a relieved smile. "Good! When you open your eyes again, you will find yourself in a new body with new memories. Let me warn you, the world you knew and the world you will go to are completely different. Be it laws, rules, or common sense. I hope you can save the cosmos while living a good life. Goodbye. Also, thank you." he spoke as the world twisted and started to crack, the boy started to feel a suction sucking him down.
His view of the world twisted and became blurry as everything vanished.
"It was fun meeting you kid. I hope that someone can heal your broken soul. That you can change, and live a happy life." The handsome man muttered as he saw the boy being sucked into space.
"What do you mean?!" He did not understand what the handsome man meant. But he would soon.
Fwsh!
Space shook as the boy's vision once more went dark.
――
In the high-rank world of Zolorix, a young man lay unconscious. But in reality, he was dead. His body started to grow cold, however, it shook for a moment before color returned to its body.
Opening its eyes one could see golden eyes, shining like the suns. The young man stood up, trying to make sense of where he was. But before he could do anything, his head started to hurt.
"Aaaah…" Memories not his came in, it took around five minutes, in the end the young man opened his eyes once more.
The gaze was calmer, his breathing more relaxed. Like he was a completely different person.
"Rhys... that is my new name, as well as the name of the young man whose body I took over. From the Zuldroan clan… I am an Onniano, a combination of a dragon, phoenix, elf, and light spirit. So this really is a fantasy world..."
The young man, the transmigator, spoke. Adjusting to his new body, his past identity was soon being locked away. Forgotten.
"Now I am Rhys…" He muttered as he started to arrange his memories. It would take some time to adjust to the new rules in the world he was in, but he did not mind. The boy… no, Rhys stood up and went to look at his appearance.
When he saw his new appearance he was shocked.
His new body was that of a twenty year old man. Standing at six feet, long messy blond hair that reached his mid-back, long elven ears, a handsome symmetrical face. Smooth skin, unnatural beauty, and a connection with nature deep in his soul. This all came from the elven bloodline, ranked at the universal rank since it came from a universal rank being, the goddess of nature.
Inside his soul flew a flame, it was a beautiful red flame. It strengthen and protected his soul, although the flame was a bit weak, like a candle that could go out at any moment. He could also feel a connection with the fire element around him. Coming from the Royal Phoenix bloodline.
Lastly, golden eyes, a strong, sturdy, and lean physique. Broad shoulders and well-toned body. From the dragon side. It was stronger than anyone in the same realm, giving him an innate advantage.
He knew about the clan's founders, in fact, he knew everything about the clan from the books the previous Rhys had read. So he knew about the bloodlines he had and whom they belonged to.
Although his Incandescent Light Spirit bloodline was still inside of him, it wasn't high enough to manifest in his body. His phoenix blood was almost in the point where it didn't manifest besides the soul flame and his attunement with the flame elements.
Combining all of this into one, Rhys was a handsome man, with the ability to use two different elements, Nature and Fire. This was the Onniano race, of course, his bloodline purity was less than one percent for Dragon and Elf, for Phoenix and Light Spirit it was below 0.5%. That was how much it had degraded over the millennia. Which made most of the abilities of his bloodlines useless, as he could not use them.
"Let's see... he said I would have what I need on me when I woke up..." Rhys looked around, then at himself, where he spotted a beautiful and intricate designed ring on his right index finger made of jade.
'Is this it?' The boy thought as he touched the ring with his other hand, the moment he did he felt his bloodlines boil, as well as his finger being cut and the blood being absorbed by the ring!
His finger healed instantly but the jade ringer shone a calming green before he heard something that shocked him.
"Confirmed. Destined owner has been found. Hello, Rhys Zuldroan. I am the spirit of this inheritance left behind by the Great Dragon Swarshlen. My job is to assist you in your endeavor to save the cosmos."
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