KA-BOOM!
Countless red rays, mixed with black and white ones, filled the horizon, creating the backdrop of an unparalleled storm capable of shaking the soul of even the greatest experts in the world.
Meanwhile, such a thing destroyed the surroundings, which were already completely in ruins, signaling the beginning of the end of a perfect catastrophe.
Over an area of tens of thousands of square meters, thousands of corpses mingled in the devastated terrain, where streams of blood could already be seen at the lowest points of the terrain.
The bodies of gigantic beings, mythical animals, humanoid beings with wings, and much more were part of the now diabolical scenery of what was once a peaceful region.
And while the terrible smell of death filled the reddish sky of that region now under the sounds of only lightning, a man was on his knee on the ground, badly wounded.
He seemed to be in his early middle age, but his age could not be judged by his appearance alone. But at the moment, no one, if there were anyone else there, would pay attention to this.
Instead, anyone in the vicinity would pay attention to the cuts on this man's chest and his incomplete arm, which were cut in half, with the bones showing.
His clothes were burned in several places, his armor in pieces. However, his back had not even a wound or a scar to show.
"Hah... Hah... Hah...." His tremulous gaze, which was losing focus with each passing instant, was focused on the ground in front of him as he took a hurried breath, feeling that there was not much time left.
'Another failure...' He wailed in his mind, ignoring the surroundings, ready to make his last move.
He then placed one hand on the ground and made a brief finger sign until a red ring appeared there coming from his hand, rapidly increasing in size, until a lightless hole formed under him.
Sacrificial Skill: Temporal Inversion!
Using all that he had left, his body shook vigorously. At the same time, the surroundings seemed to be collapsing in on themselves, as would happen to a grand star before it died and became a black hole.
Meanwhile, that man's body started to burn, slowly fading away.
'I'm going to try one last time. Maybe the next candidate...'
Unfortunately, before he finished his thoughts, his body completely disappeared, while an explosion of planetary magnitude surged from that place.
...
POW!
"Ahhhh!"
"What was that?"
"Hey! Hey! Did you see that?"
"I don't know. I was walking by and then..."
"Boom!"
"Looks like a pedestrian threw himself in front of a carriage!"
"Ahhhh! Is he dead?"
The tumult began to form in the middle of one of the main streets of Peters City, where carriages and people passed by. Still, the crowd was already beginning to disrupt the normal traffic flow over there.
But considering the unusual phenomenon that had just happened right in front of many of those eyes, it was not easy to blame these people's curiosity. After all, how many times in one's life would one have the chance to watch some random dude throw himself in front of a carriage running at high speed?
The world was so big, there were so many people, and yet, right in front of them, a city good-for-nothing threw himself like an idiot in front of a moving vehicle. But, unfortunately for such a person, the coachman of that carriage could not brake in time.
Anyway, while curious onlookers began to create a commotion in the surrounding area, some looked at the accident scene with shining eyes.
That had been unbelievable!
Even more so for the people who despised or envied the poor good-for-nothing, some of whom could not help but look up to the heavens and think that he had finally realized his pathetic existence and destroyed himself.
'This wretch has been lucky in his life.'
'Now the heavens are collecting karma used on this failed project.' Some more frowning individuals thought similar things, not smiling but not lamenting that youth's death.
Yes, death. None of them knew if such a victim had died, but who would live to tell about being hit by a carriage going more than 70 kilometers per hour?
Nobody there knew stories like that, even considering that this was the infamous cultivation world!
Thus, some locals who had problems with that person or were jealous of him for marrying the city's number one beauty could not help but grin while seeing his body.
Miss Viktoria Frost was the most beautiful and talented of the young generation in Peters City. Yet, she had married a nobody with no talent or intelligence.
How could her many suitors accept such a thing?
If only he had something to count... But no!
He was a good-for-nothing who spent his time gambling, was famous for his big mouth, and 'spewed' unfounded nonsense that only embarrassed all sides.
That was the person who had had the grace to marry the goddess in the eyes of thousands of people in this city!
And considering that negative fame, there was no way that some of those individuals could feel any pity for such youth.
No, at the sight of that body full of wounds, of the face that looked like that of a drunkard, some people laughed internally, using their best acting skills not to let out laughter.
After all, it was not good to laugh aloud at someone else's misfortune, even more so considering that now Miss Viktoria Frost would become a widow.
How many of them did not want the chance to console her?
And so, they watched that motionless body on the edge of that street, where over 40 people were already gathering at this point.
"Hey! Somebody get the coroner!"
But as that small crowd vigorously discussed the matter, with some of the few concerned individuals trying to deal with the situation, one of the fingers on that youth's right hand moved slightly.
...
'What the fuck...' Lothur Ritter exclaimed in his mind, feeling a pain in his head as if an ax had struck him and now had his head split in two halves.
However, as he exposed his expression of pain and tried to bring his hands to that part of his body, all this young man could do was run his hands along the inside of his head.
'Ahhhh!' He tried to scream, but all he could do was open his mouth.
But that was not strange at all. That's because, without a physical body, how could Lothur speak or touch himself?
And in fact, if this young man looked at himself at the moment, all he would see was a semi-transparent aura, which looked very much like himself.
'What's happening, gods? Is this some kind of dream?' He wondered in awe, feeling nervous and apprehensive, sensing the increase in his heart rate, even though he did not have a body.
However, while trying to make sense of his situation, this earthling, that was in his first year of college, noticed something strange slowly appearing in front of his eyes.
'What is it?' He looked at what looked like a ball of light getting closer to his forehead.
Lothur then tried to move away from the damn thing, fearing it would make him feel worse.
'Damn it! What the fuck is this?'
'Is this just a delusion of mine?'
'Tsk!'
'I have to stop drinking!' So, he thought, convinced that he could no longer hang out with his old friends or he would go completely insane.
But before Lothur realized it, the previous ball of light entered his head without giving him a chance to at least think of a counterattack.
[Establishing connection with the host's soul...]
[Initiating system...]
[The host doesn't have a physical body...]
[Initiating unilateral possession...]
[Protocol-1 activated, annihilating soul not connected to the system...]
Several messages appeared in the middle of Lothur's vision, as if they were text boxes from a computer, with the 'screen' about 50 centimeters away from his eyes.
As he watched those letters that seemed to change color depending on where he looked, this young man shuddered, stopping his previous thoughts.
[Toxins detected in the new body. Eliminating all toxins and seals present in it...]
'This is no ordinary delirium!'
'Incredible!'
'I must be the first in history to delirium nonsenses like that!' He chuckled in his mind, feeling that the stories of people who saw monsters in their illusions seemed more interesting than seeing messages in text boxes in his head.
Lothur thought that if he were ever going to experience something like this, it would be after waking up in the middle of the night and having to turn off the lights in his house while running so the demon in the dark would not catch him.
But who knew? He, Lothur, was raving about virtual absurdities!
'At least I'm not hearing voices!'
'That's already good!' Lothur smiled just before seeing the text box again in the middle of his vision.
[Finalizing initial preparations...]
[System activated...]
[Status activated...]
[Name: Lothur Ritter]
[Physique: ****]
[Bloodline: ****]
[Cultivation: level 0 (weakened)]
[STR: 0.7] [CON: 0.3] [DEX: 0.8] [AGI: 0.9]
[INT: 15.0] [PER: 4.5] [WIL: 18.1]
[Host, do your best and find the Lost Tree!]
[Find the Lost Tree Seven Fallen Scrolls to discover its location!]
[For each scroll found, the benefits to the host will be immeasurable!]
[The host must fulfill this mission at any cost. Otherwise, be prepared to perish alongside this whole world! Find the Lost Tree. This is your last hope!]
[This third attempt is the last, there will not be a fourth!]
[Until a next time, host. Do your best or die trying!]
'What?'
But before he could think anything else, he felt pain again, this time in his head and all over his body.
'AHHHHHHH!'
...
"AHHHHHHH!"
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
"Ahhhhh! Damn him!"
"The rascal has returned from death!"
"Ahhhh! Kill him!"
"Don't let this abomination defile our land!"
Screams of terror spread through the same street as before, just after that city good-for-nothing's body suddenly moved, before an unexpected scream left his throat.
It had frightened the soul of every single person there, be they men, women, young or old!
Hence, many could not help but tremble in fear, pleading for some brave soul to extinguish the abomination that seemed to have returned from the underworld.
"Fuck! It hurts!" The youth, who coincidentally was named Lothur Ritter, cried out in pain, finally managing to use his hands to touch his head.
"Elders, kill him while he's disoriented!"
"Maybe he is dangerous!!" Some young men said this almost simultaneously, lamenting that Lothur's luck was too great.
'Hell!'
'Even being poisoned and hit by a carriage couldn't kill this worthless bastard?' Someone in the crowd thought about it silently, looking at Lothur with an expression that could scare even children.
As for Lothur, he finally noticed the commotion in his surroundings and tried to hold back his cries of pain to beg those people to stop trying to kill him.
"Damn it! What about are you people talking? You want to kill an injured person?"
"Quick, help me get to the hospital!"
"Hospital?"
"What's he talking about?"
"He's gone crazy! He's saying things that don't exist!" People in the surrounding area commented without caring that Lothur was listening to them.
'What? Isn't there a hospital around here?' Lothur looked at the surroundings in doubt, not understanding into which place he had fallen.
"Ahhhhhhhh!" But at that moment, a sudden wave of information flooded his brain, causing him to fall face-first to the ground as he cried out in pain.
"Clear the way! Clear the way!"
More voices arose there, but this time they were not curious people but the local coroner staff, a group responsible for investigating the death of people in this place.
However, when one of the local coroner's men arrived next to Lothur's body, he immediately frowned, realizing that there was no dead man for them.
"What's going on here? This person is undoubtedly alive!"
"This..."
"A carriage hit him... We... We thought he had..." Someone said this while shaking with nervousness.
"Hey! Isn't that the Frost family's son-in-law?" One of those men from the local coroner's office identified young Lothur.
"So, that's him?"
"What do we do now? Do we just abandon him here?"
"No!"
"Coroner Klossner is close to the Frost family. If we leave their son-in-law here right after we arrive, I'm afraid we might leave our boss in a strange situation!"
"Yes, that's right!"
"Let's take that good-for-nothing son-in-law to the Frost estate!"
"Yes, let's go!"
...