In past lives, some people believed in that, some people didn't, but what nobody could do was actually provide solid proof of that phenomenon, and until a couple of years, I understood why. Because you're already in the next life by the time you notice, and there's no way of coming back to the past one.

"Niamh! Dinner is ready!" (Kaiya Ashwin)

A yell coming from the kitchen downstairs woke up Niamh from his inner monologue.

"Coming!" (Niamh Ashwin)

He stood up from his desk and exited his room on the second floor. Coming down the stairs, he saw a beautiful brown-skinned woman with black curly hair and a lean body at the table, carrying large amounts of food, probably enough to fill an entire football team. This woman was his mother, Kaiya Ashwin.

Seeing her teenage son coming down the stairs, she said

"Go grab some plates from the upper left side of the cabinet in the kitchen, please." (Kaiya Ashwin)

"Yes, mom!" (Niamh Ashwin) He didn't complain and went for them.

*Clank* *clank*

Noises of plates being moved could be heard from the kitchen. A couple of minutes later, both of them were having dinner peacefully when the nob at the front door began to move.

*Click* *Bam*

From the front door, an imposing, muscular white male with light brown hair and caramel-like eyes enters the house. On his right hand, he was carrying a birthday cake; the 15-year-old candle can be seen on top of it.

"Dad!" (Niamh Ashwin) He yelled at the man.

He immediately stood up from his seat and went running to him.

"Happy birthday champion!" (Lukas Ashwin) He extended his left hand to embrace his son.

"You came home early (Kaiya Ashwin) She was already behind Niamh when she said that.

*Kiss*

"I couldn't be late for his birthday (Luke Ashwin) After kissing his wife, he used his left hand to ruffle his son's hair.

"Ok, Niamh, go get another plate (Kaiya Ashwin)

"Yes!" (Niamh Ashwin) He went running.

*****

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Niamh, happy birthday to you!" (Luke, Kaiya Ashwin)

On the dinner table, the cake was in front of the excited Niamh. His excitement was not only because today was his birthday but also because in this life there was something that his previous world didn't have: cultivation.

Every person on his or her fifteenth birthday is tested to know what type of cultivator he or she will become in the future. 

Currently, there are only three types that are officially recognized by the Human Cultivators Federation: the first ones are called [energy cultivators], the second ones are called [physical cultivators], and the rest of them that didn't have any qualifications for the two previous ones could only become [genetic cultivators].

On the morning of his fifteenth birthday, he and his mother went into one of the many labs to take his tests.

He was nervous because, after all, the results would determine his future prospects for jobs, freedom, marriage, and privileges.

"Don't be nervous, young man; the test will be quick." (Nurse)

A kind female nurse tried to comfort him and calm him.

The nurse first took some blood samples, and after that, the nurse took him into a big scanner-like machine, which took several pictures of his body both inside and outside of it.

Finally, on the final test, the nurse stuck some electrodes all over his body, and after a while, a minor current of energy coursed all over him.

After an hour, the test was done, and the nurse told them that the results would probably be in the afternoon.

Back at the dinner...

"Here are the results from the test that you took in the morning"(Luke Ashwin) he said it with a serious voice.

He picked them up on his way home.

*Ripp*

His father opened up the envelope and saw the results. For a moment, everyone in the house held their breaths until he finally said it.

"Congratulations, son! From today's forward, you are an energy cultivator!" (Luke Ashwin) With mixed emotions, his father congratulates him.

"Yes!!" (Niamh Ashwin) He jumped excitedly.

To Niamh, it didn't matter how his father felt right now; to him, what mattered most was having the possibility to experience something that, in his previous life, was just a fantasy created to amuse the masses.

After celebrating for a couple of minutes, his father and mother came in front of him with a gift. This gift was wrapped in colorful paper, but the outlines of the gift could only be recognized as some sort of thin book or notebook.

"Niamh, this is our gift to you(Luke Ashwin, Kaiya Ashwin).

Niamh looked at the potential book on his father's hands, but instead of feeling disappointed, he felt excited. Why?  Because if his instincts were right, this wasn't just an ordinary book or a notebook; no, this was something else, a cultivation technique.

*Ripp* *crank*

After ripping the paper wrap, Niamh saw the words on top of the book cover and confirmed his thoughts: [Infinite Cosmos Gathering Technique]

"This..." (Niamh Ashwin) He couldn't find any words.

He knew how expensive these types of techniques were after searching on the universal net for a while.

"Thank you mom, thank you dad(Niamh Ashwin) with red eyes and some tears on his eyes, he thank them from the bottom of his heart.

**********

The next day, Niamh had breakfast with his father and mother. After breakfast, his father went to work, and his mother went to the grocery store to restock some vegetables.

Now alone in the house, he was going to read the new cultivation technique. Although his parents told him not to practice without adult supervision, they didn't say anything about reading it.

"[Infinite Cosmos Gathering Technique]—what an imposing name for a basic energy gathering technique"(Niamh Ashwin)

He previously researched all that he could find about cultivation on the net. According to his research, [energy type of cultivators] and [physical type of cultivators] had their own realms or thresholds, with the exception of [genetic type of cultivators], which belong to a different type of category.

[Energy Cultivators] start in the [Energy Gathering Realm]. In this realm, basically, you need to fill your body with raw energy until your body can't take it anymore. As for which type of energy you fill yourself with, well, it depends on what type of gathering technique you practice.

That's why if your gathering technique had the name Cosmic or Primordial on it, it could cost at least sixty times the price of the elemental and regular ones, as they are the most looked after due to the purity and versatility of the energy it gathers on the body.

"Let's just have a peak..."(Niamh Ashwin)

As the saying goes, "curiosity kills the cat."  As soon as he opened the book and looked at the letters on the pages, his consciousness was trapped inside the book.

Niamh was in a dark place; there was no light whatsoever. He could only feel his body floating around, but at the same time, he knew that he didn't have one.

Over time, light gathered at a specific point, and the light grew bigger and bigger every day until...

*BANG*

...an extraordinary explosion filled his sight. From the explosion, billions upon billions of stars were born. These stars began their transformation; some imploded on themselves, others collided with others, while others, with the passing of time, gave birth to life.

Before his eyes, the beginning of the universe took form. He saw the time pass extremely quickly, as if he were seeing a movie speed up by ×24 times.

"What is happening..."(Niamh Ashwin) He didn't fully understand the situation he was in.

The more time he saw the universe, the more it was expanding until, at some point, it stopped and then began to contract on itself until the combination of all the stars, planets, galaxies, and debries collided.

*BANG*

The same explosion happened, and the same stars, galaxies, and planets were born.

"Is this what it means—infinity?" (Niamh Ashwin) He questions himself.

.