His movement came to a halt as realization dawned on him, he had arrived.
Since the intricacies of rebirth eluded him, he was not aware of how the reincarnation process worked. He could only wish that there was someone here to guide him as he thought he had entered here accidentally.
Before him was a silvery white space that he could not wrap his mind on. It gave him a mysterious ethereal vibe with a certain kind of futuristic tinge.
He aimlessly flew all over the place as he tried to figure out this place.
Many fruitless hours had passed but there was nothing else other than the space.
'This is strange! There seems to be nothing here!'
He muttered to himself as he tried to seek out an explanation of what could have gone wrong.
Endless moments slipped by before he encountered another presence, it was more of the presence encountering him.
A slim figure materialized before him slowly by slowly.
A woman who was more than a mortal, perhaps a goddess.
Her eyes held hues of twilight.
"Welcome to the Binary Dimension!" Her voice chimed like wind through chimes.
Ye Chen's mind speedily raced. The Binary Dimension? Was it a game? A dream? A world?
But answers eluded him leaving his thoughts adrift.
The woman persisted, "Fate has guided your steps here. Am Lady Jaya."
She continued to unravel the secrets of this dimension.
As the Dimension master, she revealed that it was more of a virtual place but still existed within the nodes at the borders of all realms.
Each realm harbored its unique Binary Dimension and Master.
The place served as a cross-over point to another dimension as well as a surveillance center for the universe, overseeing all beings across realms.
But it had its own rules, only a few chosen ones would have a one-in-a-lifetime chance to encounter it during the process of reincarnation.
Whether by chance or design, whoever encountered it would be given a choice to make.
Remain in this realm of 0's and 1's and be more of guardians to stay here forever as they oversaw over its proper working.
Or embrace the rebirth process to which they had to choose a system of their choice.
They would then shoulder the task and responsibility bestowed upon them later when they reincarnated.
The decision lay in their hands.
--
Ye Chen's skepticism warred with curiosity.
Unjustly killed, he harbored little trust for humanity.
Yet, the prospect of lingering indefinitely in this enigmatic realm compelled him to consider Lady Jaya's offer.
"Eeh, Lady Jaya," he hesitated, "this feels almost too generous. Why extend this choice to a nobody like me?" He was rather dubious of all this. Was there anything for free, probably not.
She just smiled at him before she addressed his issue.
"The world sprawls wide, teeming with adversaries," she explained.
"It is only fair to grant souls of your kind a chance. You don't need to be wary of me; I seek nothing in return. Simply choose the system you desire and I shall guide you beyond that."
Her sincerity left him little room for refusal. He had already tasted death once, what more could he lose if he died again? Besides, rumors whispered on Earth before of powers bestowed by systems.
Lady Jaya continued with her explanations as she revealed the intricacies of the Binary Realm to Ye Chen.
Finally, with a graceful wave of her hands, she unveiled an array of systems.
Virtual holographic projections took humanoid forms, mirroring Ye Chen's soul.
"This one is the Great Martial system, it guides the host on the path of martial arts while giving him missions and rewards…"
"Harem system, you can just tell what it does by the name, no need for lengthy introductions…"
"Cultivation System, same as the Great Martial system…"
"Binding system, Dragon system, Advanced scholar system, Farmer system, Sorcery system… they are all here as well as a guide manual…"
All the systems he could imagine were paraded before him yet none stirred his excitement.
Their predetermined programming hinted at obsolescence over time- a limitation he could not ignore.
He yearned for a system that transcended temporary bounds, one that he could reprogram at will.
As Lady Jaya observed his expression, she found no joy or contentment. Instead, disappointment etched his features.
Curiosity piqued her as she asked, "Hey, are you not happy with all this? Is it not to your liking?"
His response was candid as he pondered over this matter.
"Honestly, I feel like they lack something. Could you if you don't mind craft a custom system tailored to my desire?"
'Outrageous it may sound, but since am here already, why not ask?'
"You are really something indeed. Since you have made your request known to me, then I shall indulge you for once!"
"Eeh, really?"
"Yes. Share your specifications. Am not bored enough to toy with you."
With no hesitation, he launched into a fervent monologue as he gave all the specifications he could think of.
Whatever he gave there, we shall come to know.
"This is enough for you, don't you think it is crazy to add more. Let's pause here for now. I believe this compromise will suffice for the current you. Mm-hmm, let's call it AI or Aurora…"
"Nope! I'll call it Xing, a star."
They bantered back and forth until settling for a single name: Xiao (small).
A lackluster name indeed.
The only regret was not adding the reward system specifications early enough before she stopped.
There would be no rewards for him.
--
Ye Chen promptly bound the system to his soul, unwilling to risk losing it.
System initiation ongoing
Status: Initializing
Feedback: Positive
Host: Ye Chen
Body: Soul
Race: Human
Previous life: Tragic death
Activation: 16 years after today
As the information flooded his consciousness, Ye Chen pondered. Why mention his death? And what was with this activation time?
Would he survive without it for sixteen years? What if he died without even using it?
As Lady Jaya read his thoughts, she quickly made up her mind to send him away.
"Hey goddess, can we do something about this activation time, please!" Y e Chen implored.
"Bah! Your time is up. GO, go, go!" She said while sending him off.
"We'll meet in the future-though I hope we never cross paths again. See you never gain. Farewell."