Asher relaxed on the chair, enjoying the evening sunlight and feeling his disturbed emotions calm down.
But before Asher could relax, the time around him seemed to slow down until it stopped, and he noticed a faint, silky figure standing on a desolate wooden pathway stretching towards the horizon.
'Who?' He looked at the beautiful woman walking barefoot. He wanted to approach her and know who she was, but he just couldn't move, even as he tried to step ahead and was forced to observe her from his position.
As she moved, the dark one-piece hugged her tight, mature figure. Her hair fluttered with the breeze, carrying a sweet, ethereal fragrance along, which had a rich smell like blossomed flowers and honey. Her black hair resembled a silky scarf waving in the wind; she looked like she was a flower moving and swaying with the gentle wind.
With her beautiful face, smooth pale white skin, slender but full body, long black silky hair reaching down her butt, cherry pink glossy lips, tall with a large bust size, and thick thighs with black stockings, Asher admired her figure and realized she was like an enchantress.
Soon, Asher's gaze arrived at the silver-slit eyes, which gave out a unique charm that captivated whoever they met.
She looked at Asher with a seductive smile. Winking at him, she gave him a flying kiss.
Asher, mesmerized by her beauty, felt something touching hot on his chest, but he ignored it as the beauty disappeared from his view like a dream, like she wasn't real in the first place.
BzzzT!!
Everything sped up as Asher didn't even have enough time to blink. But he could only think about the enchanting lady until her figure disappeared from his memories, as if she had never appeared.
'How... why, what happened?' He rubbed his head, looking confused. He had an uncomfortable feeling like something had happened or someone had visited him, but he just couldn't remember.
It wasn't long before his pendant began to heat up on his chest. After taking a look at it, he found that the pendant was melting.
"Ahhhh," Asher groaned as he felt burns on his chest.
With the searing pain, Asher unbuttoned his shirt and saw that a golden rune had appeared in the middle of the pendant.
'Huh? What? What the heck happened to this pendant? How the hell is it so hot!' Asher couldn't think straight because of the burning pain he was feeling in his chest.
He was annoyed and wanted to tear apart the pendant, but before he could take further action, the runes had dissolved into liquid and soaked in his skin.
"Ah..! Ugh!"
He squirmed while groaning in pain.
But the pain didn't last long, and soon, a soothing sensation began to spread from the necklace before a purple gel liquid came out of it with a small round gem inside, which merged with his chest and healed his burn marks, regenerating a new healthy pink flesh over the burnt area and repairing any nerve and blood vessel damage the burning process caused.
Asher pressed the area, but other than the strange and warm feeling, it was as if nothing had ever happened, like the burns were not there before.
Staring in awe at his recovered chest. Asher kept feeling the spot where he was burned but found no signs of injury whatsoever. The gem also disappeared along with the pendant.
After a while, Asher's vision turned black, and his head became dizzy before the feeling of weightlessness consumed him.
He could swear he had no time to even let out a groan or mutter a single word before losing consciousness.
In the next moment, he found himself in the dark, as if floating in infinite space. It felt like a single moment, yet like a long time before, his eyes saw the beautiful world shrouded in the darkness of night. A shimmering and twisting mass of energies like waves rolling everywhere. A small piece of area was visible; other areas were shrouded in thick white fog. In the dark sky, beautiful stars were glimmering, giving light to the world.
In front of Asher, there was a magnificent, tall pavilion made out of shiny black rock, glowing with a violet aura, just as magnificent as the ancient ruins of Chinese architecture.
On top of the pavilion, it was made of purple bricks and seemed as if it were floating in an endless void. It was filled with an undulating, dense mass of dark clouds swirling around the area.
Asher walked at a slow pace, surrounded by beautiful darkness. The rays of beautiful starlight were so peaceful and tranquil that they filled him with comfort.
'Am I dreaming or dead?' Asher felt confused at this moment. He didn't feel his body hurt; he felt fine as he followed the stone path and went inside a pavilion hall.
He felt this hall was luxurious, although a small area was visible because of the white fog shrouding the rest of the structure.
At the center was a small stone monument that held a purple orb the size of the baby's head. Surrounded by an ethereal aura, it was the same as the gem that was absorbed in his chest.
Feeling attracted to it, Asher touched its smooth surface and felt a relaxed and soothing sensation from the orb filling his whole being.
The very next moment, information started to pour into his mind from the orb. Noticing that, Asher closed his eyes.
After a while, Asher opened his eyes, and a smile graced his lips as he got to know more about the orb and the place he found himself in.
Soon, Asher started to laugh out loud. "Hahahaha... I didn't think that as soon as I rejected the system, I would find myself with an even bigger cheat. This is the best!"
Asher felt little loss for rejecting the system before, but now he has both the means and the power to carve his path in this world.
"This is a Supreme Treasure ground to create my force, control masses, and rule whichever place I want. This orb called Astral Nexus Core will be my biggest cheat, as it is a soul-mystical artifact capable of storing a part of the soul and serving as a hub for connections. It can somewhat grant haven by giving a chance to resurrect anyone who has stored a part of their soul here in advance. If I accept to have stored a part of anyone's soul, they will be bound to me for eternity with no chance of betrayal."
Asher felt elated, thinking about the dark world. "This Mystic Starry Realm is a treasure ground on a whole different level from sacred grounds occupied by supreme powers on the Mystara continent with dense and pure Spirit Essence Energy. Also, anyone with jade connected to the Astral Nexus Core can teleport to this world and return to their previous place. Making it the best place to amass a secret force for any dark schemes, if I accept to have stored a part of their soul."
Soon, Asher got used to this place. He kept exploring this hall, observing the jades, antiques, artifacts, weapons, and books shelved around. Many places had specialized training areas for Alchemy masters, Artificers, and Formation masters.
All things were mind-boggling. However, his understanding of this treasure ground was limited to what the Astral Nexus Core Orb had taught him. Moreover, his knowledge of those arts and skills was not even primary level, so he was unable to accomplish the intended result, making them impractical at this time.
After that, in the realm, all of a sudden, Asher's vision turned dark before he was back in the outside world.
"Fufu… Finally…" A seductive voice echoed, but no one heard it.
….
Slowly, Asher's eyes opened to the outside world, but he seemed to be lost somewhere deep inside as he stared into the space.
As he returned from a dazed expression, a smile etched on his face when he recalled everything and exclaimed with a chuckle, "This is the beginning of my great journey."