I was conscious again.
Where was I? How long had it been since the world had collapsed?
There were so many questions bouncing back and forth in my brain but the one thing I knew for sure was that my body was... gone?
Everything around me was dark and when I tried to open what should've been my eyelids, there was no feeling. It was as if my body had been destroyed from its core. I couldn't move my legs but I felt like I was on solid ground. I wasn't falling. It was as if I was floating through an abyss.
There was nothing I could do except struggle in my own mind. It was a painful, but I would also be inclined to say it was a peaceful experience. But I couldn't escape the thoughts that constantly pounded through my mind. What happened to everyone else? Is Meredith okay? Does that mean the end of Planet 9? How many lives were lost in this tragedy? And the most prominent question, why am I alive?
Out of everyone on my planet, why did I survive? I've always been weak, I mean so weak that I would struggle to take down a single rank E goblin. My strength was tragic and so was my mind. I never excelled in school, I never did anything special. I was quite literally just... Average?
So why am I still alive? The questions repeated themselves, like a barrage on my soul, reminding me of everything I had lost.
Until I decided to let loose the thin hold that tethered me to my consciousness, and once again, I let everything go dark.
-------------------------------
"Hey brother. How do you think dad's doing? You know, being on Planet 2 and all." The voice of my sister made my heart flutter as I opened my eyes to look around at the scene around me.
The farm was just like it had always been. We were tilling the furthest field away from the house, there should be carrots in this area by next harvest.
"I don't know, I mean, he still sends over letters occasionally so I guess hes still alright. At least we know hes not dead." My voice escaped my mouth, unintentionally. It wasn't me speaking, more like I was observing a memory.
That's what it was, a memory. I remembered now. Four weeks after my initial move to the farm, when my sister was teaching me how to do everything around the place, trying to get me to fit in.
The sound of a stone being kicked in my direction lifted me from my daze and my head ducked down and my left arm was brought up to protect myself from the assault that my sister was firing at me. She was sitting on the floor, looking as stoic as ever, just... Throwing stones at me.
"I didn't mean that. Idiot. Like, do you think he's lonely? He misses us right?" She questioned me again, her stoic expression lowering into an expectant gaze. "I mean maybe. But for all we know he could've started a new family out there. Maybe we have younger brothers and sisters in all of the different planets. He was that sort of man after all" I teased, and my sisters face lowered into a frown as she hurtled a larger stone at the side of my head.
I brought my hand up from where I had lowered it and protected my head, catching the stone in my palm. "Hey that one could've hurt if it had actually hit me. It was going straight for my temple."
A laugh erupted from my left as Meredith seemed to take joy in my worrying. "You're fast brother, I knew you'd catch it don't worry." She managed to scrape out in between her laughing. "That's true though. I could see that old sleazebag starting a different family on each planet he visited." She continued as she got up and grabbed the hoe that she had planted into the ground as she began to work the soil.
It was a lovely feeling. Being back with the person I valued most in the world. But I knew the reality of the situation. This whole scene had happened before and I was just seeing it in my head. The whole life flashing before your eyes thing was true after all, that means I must be dead.
At least if I died I wouldn't have to float through that abyss again.
"Agh crap!" A scream ripped free from my lungs as my right arm was left hanging, loose, by my side. I had hit the ground too hard with my hoe and had managed to dislocate my shoulder. I remembered that after Meredith told aunt what had happened she decided not to send me out on the fields again.
"come here I'll pop it back into place." Meredith sighed as she walked over to me as slowly as she could. "You really are a stupid brother. But even though your useless, I still love you. I guess that's what it means to be related by blood." She smiled sadistically as she popped my shoulder back into place, but I never did get to feel that sensation of the bone in my arm popping back into the right socket.
It was dark again, but a different kind of dark.
I could feel the damp floor beneath me, covering my back.
My back! I can feel my back!
I hurriedly opened my eyes in order to observe what was around me.
The ceiling was about 3 meters away from where i was on the ground, and when I twisted my head to get a better look at the walls I found myself in the middle of a maybe 6 meter wide hallway.
There was a ringing in my ear, I couldn't hear much but I was able to make out the dripping sound of the water from the ceiling falling next to my ear.
"Lord soul! Lord soul! Are you awake lord soul?" I could hear somethings voice from my left and as I tried to pull myself up to see where the voice came from, I couldn't see anything.
"Down here lord soul, further down!" the same voice rang in my ear, my hearing still impaired.
"Stop trying to force him to move, Setrius. He'll get up once he feels like it." A raspy voice echoed through the tunnel from my right. I managed to plant my hand against the floor but it felt different. Like my arm had changed lengths since before I was destroyed.
"Can you see me, my lord? I'm Sandrus, Setrius' older brother. Please don't take him any mind, I promise to scold him later for his rudeness." A small red, goblin-like creature was caught in my vision. And with a look to my right I saw the one addressing me, Sandrus.
The questions that were still repeating in my head tore through my throat as I tried to speak but the only sound that came out was a nasal snort and a cough erupted from my mouth as I leaned over to the side.
"What is wrong, my lord?" The more level headed goblin asked as he stared at me with confusion.
My throat was dry, I couldn't muster a sound without a drop of moisture in my mouth, and in a moment of desperation, I found myself trying to drink the water that had dropped onto the cavern floor to my right.
The lighter red goblin came running from behind me with what looked like a waterskin and handed it to me "Sorry lord, I should have given this to you earlier. Excuse my rudeness." Setrius bowed deeply after handing me the sack.
My hand quickly brought the waterskin up to my mouth and before I knew it, I had drank the entirety of the bottle. But I felt much better, not just hydrated but I felt rejuvenated "What did I just drink?" My voice able to break through, but it was deeper than it used to be.
The older of the goblins clasped his hands in front of him "That was soul water, lord. It is from the soul river running through the city of trials." All of the words he spoke seemed lost on me. I was confused in what any of these terms meant. I had never heard of a soul river, or the city of trials. Where was I?
Maybe I had been sent to another galaxy or maybe I was in a different universe.
"Where am I?" The obvious question repeated in the form of a question, this time from my mouth instead of in my head.
I lifted myself to my feet, I felt around 10cm taller than I had previously been. "We are currently in the tunnel of the dead, in the centre of the soul collector, or as you humans call it, the world eater."
The name of the entity that destroyed my planet in a matter of minutes seemingly echoed across the halls as the memories I had recently forgotten, due to the circumstances, resurfaced.
I grit my teeth and mustered up the courage to ask another question. "What happened to everyone else." The question this time sounded through the gaps in my teeth, with a lot more malice than the last.
The authority seemed to have rubbed off onto the younger goblin as he took a step back before Sandrus replied, "They have all gone, Sir. Their souls were sacrificed and merged into a power source for the many cities inside the world eater."
My worst fears became reality. Everyone else was gone, but why was I alive? Why had I been the only one to survive this calamity.
My presence seemed to bear down on the youngest of the siblings as he collapsed onto his behind and looked at me with a confused sort of expression. "Lord, would you mind controlling the essence seeping out of you, the essence that we so kindly gifted you in order for you to maintain your new body."
It all made sense. The reason my body seemed so much more powerful than before. Essence.
During the first 16 years of my life, before the calamity, I had barely a need for essence due to my lack of affinity to fighting. I never tried to control it, in fact it was rare for a human to control it.
It was unnecessary for anyone who didn't want to make a living off of their strength. Obviously using the base essence to boost strength and productivity was a common occurrence however not many people mastered the use of essence, at least not on Planet 9. I heard stories from other people who had fought in wars and survived, stories of humans, monsters even, using essence in ways I couldn't even imagine.
Maybe things will be different this time. With my new body and clear affinity to essence, maybe this new beginning will allow me to finally control my strength and make a difference in this world.
But I only knew how difficult even a task such as killing a regent would be. This universe is vast, vast enough that there are monsters out there that could wipe out all 30 of the regents in this galaxy with a flick of a wrist.
And my new goal, my new found purpose in life... Was to be stronger than them?
Maybe it's hopeless after all...