An apocalyptic scene was taking place in the blackness high above the skies. Some immortals had turned themselves into beasts, some used their immortal qi to cast battlefield killer moves, trapping their enemies, while some fought with their mountain-sized swords.
It was an unprecedented battle for this world that threatened to destroy heavens themselves. Some of the spells escaped the battlefield, landing on the mountains and rivers below. The mortals stared in horror before getting wiped out in a matter of seconds. City after city got destroyed, yet the nightmare had only just began.
A bald old man sat on a throne within his own secluded domain, patiently tapping his fingers on the armrest. He could see both the immortals above and the mortals below. Nothing could escape his penetrating eyes.
"It's time."
The space obeyed his will, opening a hole right in the front that led to the outside world. He immediately extended his hand and snatched the yellow fruit that was the newborn child of the Void Tree.
"It's mine! Hahaha!"
His laughter echoed throughout the battle, reaching the ears of every immortal. They immediately stopped fighting, stunned. Even the Void Tree looked stunned, withering up in the process.
"Old Monster Hang Lung! How come you are still alive?!"
"You dare steal right in front of us?!"
"Attack him!"
Transformation experts in their beast forms were among the first to launch their attacks. Their sharp claws tore everything in their path, not even sparing space itself. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't reach the man who sat on his throne and who now grasped the fruit between his fingers.
"Righteous fools! After protecting this Void Tree for an entire Epoch, have you finally realized? All of this was part of my calculations. The rise and fall of civilizations, the endless karmic cycles. All of it led to me standing at the top of this world! No one can compare! I am--"
"Shut up you hairless old monkey! Eat the fruit and be done with it! Stop wasting our time! Go and reincarnate already!"
"You..."
The bald old man stared with fury at the black sphere of light that flew out of his left eye.
"Elder sister Susu, you are being too harsh. This hairless monkey worked so hard for this tiny fruit. Don't you see how happy he is? Moments like these are so rare in this world. Let him vent for a little, okay?"
"Little sister Airi should listen to her elder sister. Look at those impatient little worms outside. What if they possess overpowered hidden sneaky trump cards? You never know! Yet this fool is about to narrate his entire life story!"
Hang Lung couldn't stand it any longer. He got so angry that he sneezed!
The two spheres of light got covered in green goo and were forced to transform into two beautiful fairies. One was white haired and wearing a white dress, while the other black haired and wearing... a pink dress.
Their eyes almost bulged out of their little heads as they started screaming.
"Master, not again!" Airi couldn't stand the sticky feeling that engulfed her entire being.
"Don't call him that! He's but a lowly pig in the skin of a hairless monkey! Argh!"
"Shut up you both! I will eat it now, okay? Come back inside." He commanded them.
A black light flew into his left eye, and a white light into his right eye.
"Dammit, dammit!" Hang Lung flicked his finger and summoned an orb of water and cleaned his eyes. "Annoying little witches!"
Meanwhile, the group of immortals outside got better at coordinating their attacks, and had actually managed to crack several layers of defense, which was somewhat unexpected. But even then, there were still hundreds of layers awaiting them, so there was no need to panic.
"Forget it, forget it. I'm a man of culture, one among trillions. What are these little challenges to me? A mere breeze. Hmm..."
His gaze suddenly became contemplative while ignoring the group of immortals outside. Should he reincarnate now or not? The two fairies who were actually a unique World-level treasure had never failed him before. They were annoying but useful. Cute but... too prideful!
Too prideful indeed... Would they lie to such a "lowly" creature as himself? Hang Lung didn't really know. He could only gamble with his life.
He had been stuck at the final realm for far too long, growing tired of it all. The battles didn't truly excite him anymore. This final one was somewhat amusing, yet still too predictable. In the end, he was just too old. The endless success took a toll on him. In this light, dying didn't really seem too bad of an outcome. At least he would die while trying to achieve something unprecedented. Escaping this damn cage of a world!
He raised his head to look at the fuming immortals who were still trying to break into his secluded domain. Oh how naive they were! He, the Great Hang Lung, was cross-generational overlord-level existence who had long achieved true immortality. These new batch of immortals were nothing but little babies in his eyes. Their immortal techniques were too simple, too crude. Should he reveal his true power level and kill them all before reincarnating? The two fairies were clearly too cautious. What trump cards could these kids have? Truly laughable.
Hang Lung stood up from his throne and stretched his back. He gave his secluded domain a final glance.
It was home to around a hundred villages. Each village held a different race that he collected during his lifetime. Merfolk, taurens, orcs, humans, cat ladies, specters, and many more.
In this world each Epoch was unique and gave birth to different creatures. It was a hidden rule that only he understood after living for so long. But there must exist other worlds, with different sets of rules! He must explore them all! The stars in the sky were a testament to it. But no matter how strong he became, he could never reach them. He was truly pitiful.
He had once set out on a journey that lasted for an entire Epoch only to come back eventually. On this journey he saw nothing but empty space upon empty space.
At the end of that Epoch he got a bad premonition that if he didn't come back, he would simply die. This must have been another hidden rule of this world.
He couldn't get stronger and he couldn't leave. What the fuck? He became depressed and ended up living like that for an entire Epoch. During that time he wandered around in the mortal realm, leaving many cities in distress, becoming known as Peeing Immortal. And no wonder! He post-estimated that at least half the wine of that Epoch ended up in his stomach.
It was at the end of that debauchery when he finally came up with the ultimate plan of escaping from this damned world.
The plan included two steps:
1. Create a treasure that would allow him to escape from this world.
2. Use that treasure to escape from this world.
And today was finally The Day. He would finally take the second step.
It's just... was that truly the right choice? He was immortal, after all. And immortality... held so many possibilities. What if there was another way? A way that didn't require fusing his soul with time and space, risking its complete annihilation.
"Master, what are you hesitating?" It was Airi's voice once again. "This thing you gave us called... consciousness? It's truly too horrible! We can't wait to get rid of it and regain our original forms. We beg you!"
Another Epoch with these two? Give me a break!
With these thoughts in mind, Hang Lung swallowed the fruit.