Mysteriously, Xiao's soul drifted to the River of Lethe, a place where souls go to reincarnate into new lives. It is the destination for many after death, unless their soul meets a different fate or is unlucky enough to take another path.
The River of Lethe is where people drink the waters of forgetfulness and are reborn as new individuals. Xiao finds himself among a long line of souls, surrounded by various beings from different races. It's so diverse that he struggles to find anyone resembling his own race among those he can see.
Xiao was about to rage when he remembered why he was there in the first place.
Suddenly, a sound echoed in his mind:
System Initiating: 10x Exchange System unlocked.
The voice was so faint and fleeting that Xiao quickly forgot what had occurred. He turned to the person behind him and tried to speak.
"Hey, what brought you here?"
"..."
To his surprise, no words came out of his mouth, yet he could see others around him talking. Puzzled, he tried speaking to a few more souls in line, but the same thing happened—his voice failed, as though he were invisible and mute.
With no other choice, Xiao started paying attention to his surroundings, listening in on conversations.
"This must be the River of Lethe, where souls are reincarnated," said a random man in a black shirt with a goofy expression.
"That explains why there are trillions of souls here, as far as the eye can see," replied another person, speaking to the man in the black shirt.
Elsewhere, a man in pajamas murmured, "Weird, I was just with my brother's girlfriend, and he should never have known..."
Another person sighed, "At last, I'm here. I can finally forget all the betrayal... all the memories of my girlfriend cheating on me," he said, wearing a green hat.
Frustrated by the lack of useful information, Xiao left the line to figure out why he was invisible and unable to communicate. Suddenly, he felt a powerful force pulling him in an unknown direction.
He was sent flying eastward, far from the line of souls. No matter where he looked, there was nothing in sight.
What's happening to me? Xiao thought, and as he looked at himself, he realized his body wasn't visible at all—it was as though he didn't exist.
That's strange… so why can I still form thoughts? he wondered, slowly remembering the events that had led him here.
I'll never forget you, Liu Wei. If I ever return, I'll kill you. Xiao vowed to himself, swearing to live on with the sole purpose of revenge.
Time passed strangely while Xiao floated aimlessly. He began to feel as if he were losing his sanity.
When will this end? It feels like I've been here for centuries...
After what felt like an eternity, Xiao finally saw something—stars. They glimmered in the distance, millions of them. As he drifted closer, he noticed massive worlds and colossal titans, some standing still, others moving at an impossibly slow pace.
As he neared one of the titans, it took years to approach. When he finally got close, he saw a gigantic worm covered in millions of stripes, its eyes closed as if it had been sleeping for eons.
Then, without warning, the worm opened its eyes and stared directly at Xiao.
Crap, crap, crap, why did I look at that thing?!
Xiao was overcome with fear, and if he had a physical body, he was sure it would have reacted instinctively. Fortunately, the worm closed its eyes again, confused by the presence it felt but couldn't see.
This experience taught Xiao an important lesson: avoid looking at random things in the void. For however many years he wandered the void afterward, he kept his gaze down and avoided eye contact with anything.
But just when he thought his torture might end, it only grew worse. He passed countless terrifying entities, some so powerful that their mere existence emitted crushing pressure, but strangely, Xiao felt protected by some unseen force.
Even Xiao was baffled by what was happening. Then, as abruptly as it started, the fear and pressure vanished, leaving him alone in the void once again.
With so much time passing, Xiao grew bolder. He opened his eyes to witness the breathtaking beauty of the galaxy. Planets filled his vision, each one seemingly holding its own story, from worlds on the brink of destruction to bizarre creatures of all shapes and sizes.
His curiosity grew as he floated, his perspective expanding with each new world he encountered.
Then, as if no time had passed at all, Xiao felt himself being pulled toward a green and blue planet. The planet grew larger as he descended, until he was pulled toward a massive mansion. Inside, a sickly young boy, no older than 13, lay in bed. Xiao's soul merged with the boy, disappearing into him.
The uncountable years Xiao spent drifting through the galaxy had finally come to an end.