Chapter 43: An unexpected encounter.
While Ebube, Kosi, Zara and Fa Yifei were getting ready to face of against the violent earth bull, something else was busy happening. Something no one, no man, god, nor Evo could've easily expected.
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(Earlier....)
Chinonso's awareness flickered like a dying ember as his vitality quickly plummeted, His heart beat becoming dimmer and fainter before he knew it.
At first, he thought he was caught in the darkness of death, the endless dark void that had swallowed him whole after disobeying the system. But something was different. Unlike death which he expected to be a form of eternal sleep where his consciousness was completely erased as well as his existence, He discovered that after being swallowed by that all encompassing darkness, his consciousness was slowly recovering, although a tad to slow if you asked him.
His eyelids, heavy as lead, began twitching before finally opening , but unlike the view of the forest he was expecting, he was awakened to a far more breathtaking sight.
" The hell is this supposed to be‽." Chinonso exclaimed in shock, While feeling confused and disoriented.
He actually discovered that he was floating and around him was an endless expanse of cosmic beauty that stretched out in every direction, filled with an infinite number of twinkling stars and galaxies which were swirling like liquid fire.
The stars pulsed, vibrant and alive, but they were distant, as if belonging to a world far beyond his reach.
" Ok, can someone please explain to me what's going on, Why do I look like a glowing nightlight!." He cursed when he realized that his body was no different than an astral projection floating amongst these countless stars.
" And these hands?!!, are these even mine?!, When did I become so toned?." Chinonso exclaimed at the sight of the ribbed muscular yet chiseled physique he currently had.
His breath was caught in his throat as he looked down at his own body, realizing with a shock that it wasn't the usual scorpion beast physique he had been so accustomed to. Neither was it his former 17 year old body which he had struggled with while fighting so hard against all odds.
No, this body looked like it was someone else's entirely. He was a left in disbelief because he looked completely older, more solid yet translucent like the afterimage of a man carved from a literal swirl of light, Moreover, His body was ethereal, glowing with a faint silver sheen.
All in all, This new form of his resembled that of a 27 year old man he had never been. Chinonso floated in the void, feeling both familiar and alien to himself.
While in the midst of surveying his body, His mind suddenly returned to reality.
" Just where the heck am I?." He muttered while staring at the cosmic expanse that surrounded him. Above all else, This question gnawed at him the most.
The last thing he remembered was the sensation of his death which was cold and absolute like a universal law he couldn't escape from no matter how hard he tried and he should know considering he struggled so hard to remain alive, even going as far as surviving a few extra minutes due to his strong will to survive.
"...Hmm, if I'm guessing correctly then this appearance shouldn't really be a mistake but my true spiritual form considering we did sleep for over ten years, so technically I can't be called a minor anymore...Non of us actually." He revealed a sheepish smile only for his expression to turn grim when he recalled his siblings were still back there...all alone in the living world.
His heart clenched at the thought of his siblings. Would they survive without him?, The brutal games of the system and those Sponsors or should he say god's who's wishes had left no room for error, and now the three of them were left to fend for themselves. Chinonso's chest tightened with anxiety at the thought.
" How could I have let this happen!!!, Dammit!!!!, Those bastards!!! It's all their fault." He cursed with unbridled furry. Although angry he felt completely heart broken knowing that he had failed them.
" No..., it's partially mine. if I hadn't collected that shitty coin from that lady non of this would've happened..." He mumbled but on second thought he shook his head in disapproval.
" No I don't think that's true, even if I hadn't collected that coin then those Evo beasts would've still emerged ten years later, at least I gave them a fighting chance, Although I hate to admit it, fighting as one of their pawns in this wicked game is still far better than being a useless bottom their Character....at least with this they have a means to protect themselves... even if I'm not.... around." Chinonso let out a listless sigh feeling dejected.
While he was still deep in thought, a voice unlike anything he had ever heard suddenly reverberated through the entire void.
" Mortal....."
"...!!!!"
" Who's there?!!." Chinonso became apprehensive when he suddenly heard an unknown voice appear out of the blue, his eyes glanced left and right in the void yet he still couldn't find anything.
To him that voice didn't feel like just a sound but more like it was a presence, one which was vast and incomprehensible, like the cosmos itself had found its voice.
" There's no need to be alarmed, I'm just here to help." The voice rang out once more, shaking the very fabric of the stars around him. It was neither male nor female, but something other, something primal. It carried the weight of eons, ancient and unfathomable.
Chinonso turned his gaze upward, scanning the infinite expanse with a wary look. " Just who are you?" His voice echoed, small and insignificant against the cosmic backdrop.
"I am one who stands apart," the voice replied, "one who has rejected the whims of the gods who toy with your kind for their amusement."
Chinonso frowned, his mind swirling with confusion. " What do you mean "
The stars shifted as the voice continued. "You, like many others, are part of a cruel game. The beings your kind knows as gods...my own race, who created the Evo race as a means to challenge one another, to watch as mortals struggle, fight, and die in their name. They meddle in your world, granting powers and twisting destinies, all for their entertainment. But not all of us share the same view, I for one am an example of such." The voice said, but it would appear Chinonso wasn't to keen on reading in between the lines of what it'd just said.