In a completely dark space, filled with a deadly silence and devoid of any living creatures, there were only two beings who disrupted this order. They were gathered around a wooden table with two chairs floating in this vast space, and on the table, there was a candle emitting a faint light.

On one of the chairs sat a young human in his twenties, with dyed red hair and modern clothing. His heart was filled with indescribable anxiety and fear, but he did not dare to show it in words or actions. Instead, he appeared extremely focused, paying attention to every word spoken by the other party.

"Hahaha! And so, I encountered the Crocodile Head that emerged from the Upper World. That beast was the size of a planet, possessing the body of a wolf and a tail composed of intertwined serpents. Each of its three necks ended with a crocodile head. For your information, it had a variety of abilities, to the extent that its damned belly would sometimes open up and release a group of its smaller replicas. I didn't care about them and left them alive after killing their mother… or perhaps their father? As you know, it didn't have a reproductive organ despite having offspring. Or maybe that was one of its abilities. Anyway, I noticed that some of its offspring headed towards Planet Suzumo..." The creature opposite the human continued speaking, its voice echoing throughout the vast space.

'Damn! It's still hard to believe this is happening. That beast he's talking about—no matter how cautious I am, it could still kill me with a mere breath! Ah, if I had known I would die today, I wouldn't have left the house...' The human could only sigh.

Unfortunately, he had died after being hit by a speeding truck. He had thought death meant the extinguishing of the soul and the permanent disappearance of consciousness, but no! His soul had left his body, then was pulled by some unknown force to this place, where he met the strange being before him. At first, fear had surged in his heart to the highest degree, but over time, he calmed down. Contrary to his expectations, the creature invited him to take a seat and began telling him terrifying stories.

With time, he realized that this world was not as he had imagined—it contained things beyond belief. He was forced to accept this reality in the end, for what set humans apart was their remarkable ability to adapt.

The creature before him had a massive black body, seemingly composed of dense darkness, radiating a terrifying aura of death. This contrasted starkly with its white eyes, which emitted a strong aura of life. Its height reached several meters, while its chair exceeded two meters.

The creature finally stopped speaking and said, "Sigh… unfortunately, I intended to tell you more stories, Arthur, but there is not much time left. Do you have any questions?"

Arthur's lips trembled. From the creature's speech, it seemed they were friends and that it was telling stories at his request. But he was merely an unfortunate soul forced to listen.

In reality, he had many questions he didn't dare to ask. Since he had been given the chance, he chose to ask the most important ones: "Who are you? What is this place? Am I not dead? Or does death lead here?"

"Oh, you have many questions. But I told you to ask only one. How bold of you! The last person who disobeyed my orders was thousands of years ago. I killed him and trapped his soul, and I am still torturing it to this day," the creature said in a cold voice.

Its icy tone caused the very space itself to tremble. As for Arthur's condition, it was pitiful.

Noticing Arthur's fear, the creature spoke again: "Hahahaha! Don't worry, your fate will not be like his."

The creature's words did not bring Arthur any comfort; instead, they only increased his anxiety.

'You didn't specify! Will my fate be better or worse?! Ah, I still want to live. I regret everything I've done in my life, so at the very least, I want to live the rest of it in a way I can be satisfied with!'

Arthur's eyes showed sorrow.

To his surprise, the creature actually responded: "As for your first question, I am the Lord of Life and Death, the one who controls the essence of the Path of Life and Death, one of the nine most powerful beings in all existence. As for this space… it is simply space."

Saying this, the being who claimed to be the Lord of Life and Death revealed a wicked smile. Then, it raised its hand and clenched its fist! The space began to distort and tear apart, as if it had lost its life force, becoming like an old man on his deathbed struggling to keep his eyes open.

Arthur trembled. He had always been intelligent, calm, and confident, but since coming here, his heart had not stopped trembling. He realized that he was just a powerless human. He now knew that there were beings capable of crushing him—and even his entire planet—like an ant!

The life he had pursued… he knew he could never attain it while being aware of the existence of such creatures, even if he survived.

In his past life, he had believed that every life had value and should be lived to the fullest. No life was more valuable than another; all were equal. But that belief changed.

How could anyone claim that his life was equal to that of this creature, which could crush him like an insect?

At that moment, he realized the importance of power! Only through it could he ensure that no one considered their life more valuable than his!

The Lord of Life and Death placed his hand back on the chair, then continued with a serious expression: "You ask if you are dead? Not yet, but that may change depending on your answer. Arthur, you have now realized the importance of power in achieving your desire to live a life you are satisfied with—without being at the mercy of others who believe their lives are worth more than yours."

The Lord of Life and Death's words made Arthur tremble. Could he read his thoughts?

The being continued: "Your way of thinking is good, and I am impressed. So, I will give you a chance to start anew, with the possibility of reaching my level. Do you want it? And if you are thinking about the risks, they are indeed great—even for me. Doesn't that excite you?"

A savage smile appeared on the Lord of Life and Death's face, and his white eyes shone brightly.

"I will take that chance!" Arthur's eyes gleamed with determination and excitement. He had indeed wished for such an opportunity after arriving here and realizing his own helplessness.

Sure, he had felt fear—that was natural. But what mattered was that he wouldn't let it stop him.

"Alright then…" The Lord of Life and Death said with a smile.

A black and white smoke-like substance emerged from the body of the Lord of Life and Death and then disappeared into the space around him before he extended his hand. In his surroundings, distortions began to appear, and over time, tiny drops of white liquid started to form. It took a while for them to fully condense and merge into a small white orb, about the size of a child's fist.

After that, white and black gas once again left the Lord of Life and Death's body, forming a smaller creature before it entered the orb.

But it didn't end there. With just a thought from the Lord of Life and Death, a drop separated from the white orb and entered Arthur's body, disappearing into his soul.

Suddenly, Arthur's entire soul transformed into white liquid—this was its original essence. Then, it began reshaping itself anew, not as before, but in the form of a talented soul brimming with spiritual energy. At the same time, Arthur's consciousness was also restructured, now possessing a much greater mental strength.

"Now, you are ready. Your ordinary soul is now filled 100% with spiritual energy, but that should not be revealed—it would attract far too much attention."

Saying this, another drop of the liquid moved and merged with Arthur's soul, though nothing appeared to change.

The Lord of Life and Death then extended his other massive hand to the side and muttered, "Soul Search!" before tearing at the very fabric of space.

A rift appeared, revealing a different scene on the other side—one of a beautiful woman with black hair and black eyes, her belly slightly swollen. She sat on a wooden chair in a neat and orderly room, wearing a purple embroidered dress and a matching headscarf that covered the area below her eyes.

She rested one hand on her stomach while the other floated just above it, holding a compass. No matter how hard she stared at it, the needle didn't move, causing her frown to deepen.

Suddenly, she raised her eyes and looked toward the door of the room.

Outside the door stood a strong-built man with black robes and black hair. His hand was already raised to knock, but he paused for some unknown reason, then turned around and left—as if he had already accomplished what he came for.

Inside the room, the woman muttered, "I'm sorry, my love..."

She then resumed staring at the compass, her frown deepening in thought.

Back with Arthur, he was still staring in shock at the rift.

'Is this an ability that allows the opening of a teleportation passage? Could I have one like this…?'

Arthur didn't have time to complete his thoughts because the Lord of Life and Death suddenly moved again after freezing for about ten seconds following the rift's opening.

"Alright, I've checked over there. It's safe, so now it's time for our farewell," the beast looked at Arthur and smiled before moving the white orb toward him.

"This is the World Crystal—it's yours. I've placed some of my will within it, but it is weak and dormant to avoid attracting attention. Nevertheless, it will instinctively follow you. You can command it to do anything four times, after which my will inside it will disappear. However, the crystal itself will remain—keep it until you are able to use it when you reach the Royal Soul Rank. In any case, there is a hidden power within it."

"Remember this—I will come to visit you in 30 years. By that time, you must reach the Sovereign Soul Rank in the Path of the Mind. And I emphasize—the Path of the Mind."

As Arthur listened, excitement grew in his heart, but so did the number of questions in his mind.

Why was the being who claimed to be the Lord of Life and Death giving him this opportunity? Why him? Was it really just because of his personality? What was his true goal? Why was he being so cautious?

He had previously mentioned that there were eight other beings of his level—was he in conflict with one of them and wary of them? Who exactly were they?

What was the true nature of this world? And what were these soul ranks he had mentioned…?

"Do you understand what I have told you?" the Lord of Life and Death asked, ensuring Arthur had time to absorb the information he had revealed.

After receiving a nod, he smiled.

"Then this is farewell! Don't disappoint me, Arthur!"

As he finished speaking, the Lord of Life and Death's eyes changed, becoming like swirling vortexes.

At that moment, an unseen force appeared out of nowhere, forcibly pulling Arthur's soul from his body.

His soul was a transparent form resembling his physical self, but inside, it was filled with a dense collection of radiant white smoke-like substance that completely occupied his essence.

This was spiritual energy.

Afterward, an unknown power moved Arthur's soul at an incredible speed, causing it to pass through the rift and enter directly into the womb of the pregnant woman.