What is eternity?
How to achieve it?
Clay Woodman wondered as he lay on his hospital bed surrounded by machines and tubes running through his body, some for air and some for feeding.
His body was shutting down as the days went by. And with no hope in sight, he wished they could give him eternal rest to get away from the pain that had been eating its way into his organs for months.
This was too much to handle, even for a twenty-five-year-old who had thought the future was his to take. But one fatal mistake a year ago left him paralyzed, a leg amputated, and no strength to even lift an empty cup by himself.
He stared at the ceiling, tears rolling down his temples.
The world he had dedicated half his life had failed him. The people he had trusted had betrayed him. And the goodness in his heart had disappeared.
Those responsible for the accident that brutalized his body, a powerful construction company had brushed it off as an accident rather than negligence on their side and paid off the media not to investigate.
Even his family had accepted compensation so as not to sue the company.
They'd stop by his room and smile comfortingly while discussing amongst themselves how to spend the money since his bills had been cleared.
And with his voice gone after his throat had been destroyed by the steel bars that crashed him, he couldn't even curse them.
All Clay could do was go through this hell in silence and with an aching bitter heart, shedding tears in private that carried with them his pain.
###########
It was around midnight when he opened his eyes to welcome the dimness of the light hanging from above.
It gave him a sense of calmness since he hated darkness... Another night in the company of beeping machines.
"Clay Woodman," a stranger's voice suddenly spoke out.
This startled him, sending the heart monitor on a beeping rampage from the shock.
A man stepped into Clay's view and snapped his fingers. Immediately, all the noise in the room died out but Clay's widened eyes only further.
"Hatred darker than the void. Why is it like this in every life?" the stranger spoke with a sadness in his eyes as he halted beside the bed.
Clay noticed how his eyes possessed a golden glow and the air around his body seemed charged as the golden strings sparked like lightning.
'Am I dreaming?' Clay wondered as he continued staring at the odd male with long white hair that fell to his waist.
"You're not dreaming my little kitten."
'He can hear my thoughts?'
"Yes, I can."
Clay's heartbeats immediately shot above normal range and his breathing grew heavy.
"I can grant you your wish. But I'll need something in return."
'What wish? Who are you? How did you get in?'
The beautiful man, who seemed to be in his late twenties, sighed before he sat next to Clay's amputated leg. "You have too many questions which I cannot answer right now. It's too tiring. All I need is for you to sign this contract-" a blank green screen materialized in front of Clay "-here, and I'll give you the power to get your revenge on those who have wronged you."
'What the fuck is this?' Clay questioned staring at the screen, wishing he could touch it to verify its existence.
Suddenly, his right hand began rising until his thumb touched the corner of the screen, unbeknownst to him that he had just signed the contract without realizing it.
"Thank you for your cooperation Clay," the man grinned wickedly as blue words in Chinese appeared on the green translucent screen.
'What is this? What do they mean?' Clay asked looking at the stranger hopelessly.
"I'll now send you to the fourth star where your journey will begin. Your survival will depend greatly on how badly you want to survive. From today onwards, your name will be Renshen," he said placing the tip of his forefinger on Clay's forehead. A golden light diffused into his skull as the white-haired male continued speaking, "Your ultimate goal; ascend to the first star and destroy the gods."
'What? What about my-"
In a blink, Clay's world went blank. There was no light, no sound, and no feeling. Just a void.
##############
"Teacher! Look! A spiritual ginseng!" The voice of a child made it to Renshen's dark world. "How old is it?" He determined that the voice belonged to a little girl, probably seven or eight years old.
"Don't touch it- argh! What have you done Lian?" A second voice reached Renshen's darkness as the feeling of touch came for the first time in a long time.
He couldn't even remember just how many days, months or even years had gone by since he came to this unknown place.
The warmth of sunlight nourished him, and the coldness of moonlight nurtured him in his ginseng form.
From time to time, a beast would pass by and attempt to eat him. But each time, his Void would swallow its vitality and kill it in an instant. It was like sucking a drink from a straw in the comfort of his ground without the need to hunt. It was also his defense mechanism to keep him alive in such a fragile form.
*Ding*
The screen appeared;
Name; Renshen
Form; ginseng
Ability; the Void
Cultivation level; 1000
Cultivation stage;---
Life; ----
Initiate defense system?!?!?!
'She feels like a little girl. Her cultivation is only 26.' In the end, Renshen held back and didn't harm the little girl. That would have been a waste of absorption.
"Look what you've done Lian. I've told you so many times not to disrupt spiritual plants. They're cultivating just like the rest of us for a chance to transform and ascend to the higher realms. How would you feel if an immortal came here and pulled your head off?"
"But...won't I be dead?"
"That is the lesson."
Renshen felt a different hand touch his ginseng body and he immediately saw the man's cultivation; 567.
He could easily suck it out without any strain since it was beneath his. And just as he was about to initiate his void, he felt the stranger pour something at his roots.
Since he couldn't taste it, he could only feel its effects.
"This is all I had left of the immortal dew little ren shen. I hope you will earn mortal blessings and transform soon. This mountain is no longer as peaceful as it used to be. More vile beasts are appearing."
He then sighed.
"As a farewell gift, I'll put up a protective array but it can only last five years."
Renshen felt a surge of power cover him from his roots to his berries, offering an odd sense of comfort.
'This is stupid. How can you waste your energy protecting a wild plant?' Renshen scoffed.
"Goodbye, little spiritual ginseng. I'll be your elder sister if you ever transform. Just come to Duanpei Sect and ask for big sister Lian."
And as silent as they had appeared, Renshen no longer sensed their presence.
As time began moving on the mountain, Renshen wondered why no beast had approached him. This reminded him of the formation the man left behind. 'I wonder what they look like. How long has it been since?'
After their encounter, the dew he had absorbed had fully integrated into his body, strengthening several aspects of his, including his soul. He could now sense the spiritual vein running deep in the ground.
It was different from the smaller ones accessible only a few feet below. But his roots weren't long enough to tap it.
###############
*Ding*
"Mortal blessings accumulated. Initiate transformation."
'Shit, yes! Immediately!' Renshen yelled.
A golden light began filling his darkness and his plant body from the outside until it formed a golden cocoon big enough to host a human.
The sky high above that had been radiating in the light of the orange ball started darkening. Clouds formed above the mountain. And before long, thunder began rumbling and lightning crackled and sizzled as well.
The first string of lightning traveled straight down to the cocoon in an attempt to destroy it. Then more followed.
As the tribulation lightning reached Renshen's cocoon, a white array made of three hexagons appeared above him to protect him. But only took a minute to shatter it like glass.
'Fuck! Why wasn't I informed that transforming would be this painful?' Renshen groaned as intense pain filled his ginseng body as it metamorphosized bit by bit into bones and flesh.