Darkness. That's all Nirmal felt as his life slipped away, the weight of his dying breath leaving his body on Earth. The searing pain from the car crash had been overwhelming, but in the silence of death, there was nothing—no pain, no noise, just an endless void.
But then, something changed.
Nirmal's awareness returned slowly, not to the familiar world he had known but to something entirely different. His mind stirred, consciousness floating back as if he was being called from the depths of slumber.
He opened his eyes to see a faint, glowing light above him. It flickered gently, like a soft ember burning in the cold. The air was stale, heavy with the scent of dust and ancient stone. As his vision cleared, he found himself staring up at a vaulted ceiling made of dark, weathered stone, intricately carved with symbols and scripts that glowed faintly.
"Where… am I?"
He sat up slowly, wincing as he felt a strange heaviness in his body. It didn't feel like the body he had known on Earth—no aching bones, no familiar aches from a life lived. Instead, it felt… different. Stronger, more resilient. He glanced down at his hands—slender, pale, almost unnatural. He flexed his fingers, feeling an unknown power course through them.
"This isn't me," he muttered, his voice echoing through the large chamber.
Nirmal looked around. He was in what seemed like an ancient ruin, a grand hall of sorts, its walls covered in moss and overgrowth. Stone pillars lined the space, some broken, others cracked but standing, holding up a roof that looked as though it hadn't seen light in millennia.
As he rose to his feet, he felt his balance shift unnaturally, almost as if this new body wasn't accustomed to his movements. He took a few hesitant steps, his mind racing with questions.
"Am I… dead?" he whispered to himself.
But if he was dead, why was he here? And where exactly was "here"?
Suddenly, memories of his last moments on Earth flooded his mind—the car, the crash, the blinding light. He remembered the impact, the pain, the sudden, suffocating darkness.
And then… this.
He wasn't in the world he knew anymore, that much was clear. The air was too thick, too rich with something he couldn't quite understand. It buzzed with energy, pulsed with life that felt ancient, older than anything he had ever known.
Walking deeper into the hall, Nirmal's mind grappled with the reality before him. Was this the afterlife? Some sort of purgatory? Or perhaps something else entirely? He could feel something stirring within him, a presence—or was it a force?—that wasn't there before.
The walls of the ruin seemed to hum as he walked past them, the carvings glowing faintly in response to his movements. Symbols and runes etched into the stone shimmered as though recognizing him.
Then, he reached what appeared to be a dais at the center of the chamber. Upon it lay a large, ornately decorated mirror, its surface cracked but still reflecting a distorted image. He stepped closer, hesitant but curious.
And when he looked into it, he didn't recognize himself.
The reflection showed someone else entirely—a tall, pale figure with short, silvery-white hair that gleamed under the dim light. His eyes were a deep gold, shining like molten metal, and his features were sharp, ethereal, as though crafted from something beyond human understanding.
"That's… me?"
His mind spun as he stared at the unfamiliar figure. This wasn't his body. It couldn't be. His body was… gone, left behind in the crash.
Yet here he stood, alive—or something like it—in a body that felt alien but strangely powerful. As if sensing his confusion, a surge of knowledge suddenly flooded his mind, not from within but from something… ancient, older than time itself.
A voice whispered in his mind, deep and resonant, like a god stirring from slumber.
"You have awakened, at long last…"
Nirmal froze, his heart pounding. "Who's there?" he called out, but the voice continued as though it hadn't heard him.
"The vessel has been waiting… dormant for eons. It was meant for one such as you…"
The voice echoed in his mind, its words filling him with a strange sense of fate.
"This body was created in the beginning of time itself, preserved for a purpose. You have been chosen to inhabit it, to wield its power."
Nirmal felt a rush of dizziness as the weight of those words sank in. This body—this vessel—had been waiting for him? Since the beginning of time?
"What is this place?" Nirmal whispered, still grappling with the reality before him.
The voice did not answer his question directly but continued, its tone calm and commanding.
"You stand at the center of the multiverse, a world of infinite possibilities. Here, beings can ascend to godhood, where realms overlap—where power knows no bounds."
His heart raced. The center of the multiverse? Ascend to godhood? It all seemed like a fantasy, something pulled from the wildest imaginations of storytellers.
But here it was, real and tangible.
As Nirmal's thoughts raced, he suddenly felt a sharp surge of energy coursing through his new body. It was overwhelming, like a dam had broken inside him, releasing a flood of raw, unrestrained power. He staggered, gasping as the sensation filled every fiber of his being.
The world around him seemed to ripple, as if reacting to the surge of energy from within him.
"This power… what is it?"
The voice spoke again, this time quieter, as if fading.
"This is only the beginning. The true nature of this world will reveal itself in time. But remember, your journey has just begun… and with it, the fate of all realms may rest in your hands…"
With that, the presence within him faded, leaving Nirmal alone in the vast, ancient ruin, the weight of its words pressing down on him.
A new world, filled with unknown dangers and unimaginable power, awaited him. And Nirmal, a man once ordinary, was now something far more than human.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself.
Whatever this new existence held for him, he was ready to face it.
Or at least, he hoped he was.
End of Chapter 1