Karsha woke up just as the person finished speaking. His vision cleared instantly, revealing the back of the figure standing before him. The first thing Karsha noticed was the ears—longer than his own, signaling that the person was an Elf. The figure was also taller, with a build more refined and powerful than his. Just staring at this stranger's back made Karsha feel insignificant.
"If you keep staring at like that, people might start calling you a pervert," the voice said, snapping Karsha back to reality. He quickly walked forward and, stopping about 30 ters from the figure, asked, "Excuse , but is this heaven?"
The person's laughter echoed through the space they were in. "Hahahahaha! Follow ," the figure said, and with a snap of his fingers, their surroundings changed. They now stood before a waterfall, the setting strikingly similar to the place where Karsha had once cultivated in the Purple Tail Anaconda Sanctuary—Queen's Embrace.
"Even after killing so many people, you still think you're going to heaven?" the person teased. Karsha could only smile. Indeed, he had killed a lot of people, both on Earth and in Quinox. Asking about heaven seed absurd, even to him.
"Who are you, and where is this place?" Karsha asked again, his curiosity piqued. The figure remained with his back turned. "You're dead, Karsha. You died fighting the snake, rember?"
Karsha was startled. He had never ntioned his na to the snakes, yet this person knew exactly who he was as if soone had whispered his identity to him.
While the situation was both bizarre and infuriating, Karsha didn't particularly care. After all, what good is knowing soone's na if you're dead anyway? But that didn't stop him from being curious. He suspected soone was behind this, and only one figure ca to mind—the mysterious person the snakes had made a deal with.
"It's you, isn't it? The mysterious person," Karsha ventured, unsure but needing to try. The figure stood still for a few monts before turning to face Karsha. The instant their eyes t, Karsha was hit with the shock of his life.
The person standing before Karsha looked exactly like him, but many tis more handso. His refined bone structure, perfect hair, kissable lips, and even his golden-red eyes were just like Karsha's—only several tis better.
"Oh my, the look on your face," the person said, waving his hand. A mirror appeared between them, and Karsha stared at his reflection, his jaw practically on the floor.
"Who are you?" Karsha asked after finally pulling himself together.
"I am you, dork," the person replied with a smile so wide it seed like he was laughing at so inside joke.
"I know that, but I ant your na. And why do you look exactly like ? You're not a shapeshifter, are you?" Karsha asked, still shocked.
"Oh, you're funny," the person chuckled. "My na is Nfang, the First Generation."
Karsha tried to process what he had just heard, but even the na sounded bizarre to him.
'What kind of stupid na is Nfang?' Karsha thought to himself.
"That stupid na is mine," Nfang said, pointing at himself with a hearty laugh. Karsha was taken aback.
"Did you just read my mind?" Karsha asked, his voice slightly raised, though more out of curiosity than anger. He was intrigued.
"I did, but that's not the important part right now. Aren't you going to ask why you're here?" Nfang asked, his tone almost playful.
"You're going to tell anyway, so why waste ti?" Karsha replied nonchalantly. He wasn't particularly worried. After all, he was already dead. The last ti he died, he t another strange character, so he was used to it by now.
"Arrogant—my style," Nfang remarked with a smirk, taking a few steps forward before sitting down beside Karsha, both of them now facing the waterfall. "Do you know why I brought you to this place?" he asked.
"I don't," Karsha replied. "I've only been to a place that looks like this once." He recalled it was where he had cultivated for 18 days and where he had found the Ti Tablet.
"Well, this is where it all started," Nfang said, his tone becoming more serious. "You might not rember now, but one day you will. All I can say is that this place is where I, the First Generation, encountered the seed—the very reason you and I are here today."
Karsha's thoughts flashed back to the Red Planet, where Old Man Teye had ntioned sothing similar. The old man had said that the seed still hadn't awakened. Karsha had asked for more details, but the old man had brushed him off. At first, Karsha had dismissed it as sothing he would eventually figure out, but now, hearing it from soone who looked exactly like him, he couldn't help but ask.
"What is the seed?" Karsha inquired, his curiosity piqued.
Nfang sighed quietly, then waved his hand. The scene in front of them shifted, and like a GIF, it began to play out before their eyes.
A beautiful, swirling pool of golden radiance appeared, moving in a calm, clockwise motion with a healing current. Karsha was imdiately captivated by its beauty. The golden pool was enchanting, exuding a motherly aura that felt both comforting and powerful.
The scene then shifted, showing the golden radiance exploding, forming countless orbs of different colors and sizes. Each one had a distinct appearance, and Karsha could tell they were so kind of planet. Whether they were planets, moons, stars, or even entire universes, he wasn't sure.
The scene shifted once more, revealing another swirling pool. But unlike the calm, golden radiance from before, this one was dark, radiating death and decay. It exuded an aura of pure destruction. Karsha's mood darkened, and his aura began to leak uncontrollably. He felt an overwhelming hatred toward the dark pool. It was chaotic, destructive, and filled with all forms of sinister intent.
The dark pool also exploded, but instead of countless worlds, only nine colossal ones erged. These nine dark worlds were several tis larger than the worlds ford from the golden radiance.
The scene shifted again, and Karsha's senses sharpened. Countless golden worlds were engulfed in flas—so shattered, others cracked and crumbling. The scene shifted yet again, and now, almost all the worlds created by the golden radiance had vanished.
In the next mont, the worlds were completely annihilated, leaving only the nine dark worlds. Karsha's anger flared, and Nfang, sitting beside him, couldn't help but smile at his reaction.
The scene shifted once more, this ti to complete darkness. However, in the far right corner, a single red dot shone brightly despite the overwhelming void.
"The beginning, the end, and everything in between—all wiped out," Nfang said, shaking his head.
Your journey continues with empire
"What was that?" Karsha demanded, his voice thick with anger.
"That, Karsha, is the beginning and the end. Everything we know—the plants, humans, insects—that's how it all began, and how it all ended," Nfang replied.
"I get that, genius," Karsha retorted, his frustration evident. "But I'm talking about those dark worlds. What are they, and why do I hate them so much?"
Nfang just shook his head. "I can't tell you their nas. You're not ready for that yet. But what I can tell you is this: they are the Nine Calamities—the banes of existence."
Karsha glanced down at his finger, touching the soul space ring. "Is there a way to stop them?" he asked, his voice tinged with both desperation and determination.
"That depends on you, Karsha," Nfang said, his tone growing vague. "You're the one ant to figure all this out. My job is already done."
"What do I have to do?" Karsha asked, his voice tinged with the frustration of soone who has always known deep down that sothing was off. Even back on Earth, he sotis felt destined for sothing greater, but every ti, he just saw his weak self and laughed off those thoughts as wild imagination.
But now, Karsha felt different. He knew he was ant for more, but he didn't know what that "more" was supposed to be. And Nfang wasn't exactly making things any clearer.
"You have to beco stronger—much stronger," Nfang began, his voice firm. "You need to beco the strongest because, without you, the calamity you just witnessed can't be stopped. Right now, you're weak—pathetic, even. But you're still young, and you've got ti.
Stop wasting it. You're ant to do more. Stop squandering your potential. You're not like everyone else—you're destined for greatness, to rule it all. So stop acting weak and play it safe.
You're smart, intelligent, and brilliant. Use that intelligence to its full potential. The only reason you're here is because you died at the hands of a snake. Pathetic. If you think that's the strength required to awaken the seed, you might as well climb the highest tower and jump off it headfirst."
"Excuse , are we still talking about what I'm supposed to do?" Karsha interrupted, waving his hand at Nfang, who seed lost in his own monologue.
"Ah, I might've gone a bit too deep," Nfang chuckled, snapping out of his rant. "I've been practicing that speech for a while." He stood up and faced Karsha. "Your journey is laid out before you, but it won't be an easy one. You'll suffer, you'll feel pain, but that's all part of the process.
As Karsha felt the warmth from Nfang's words, he bowed deeply, showing his respect and gratitude. With a determined look in his eyes, he couldn't resist asking one last question, "How long did it take you to get this handso?"
Nfang burst into laughter, a sound that echoed around them like a comforting lody. "Too long, my friend," Nfang responded with a grin, then with a wave of his hand, he sent Karsha flying into a portal.
As the world around Karsha blurred and twisted, he heard Nfang's final words: "You know what to do. Rember, the Nine Calamities are coming—prepare yourself."
Then, just as quickly as he had left, Karsha felt an agonizing pain in his chest, as if his entire being was being torn apart. He struggled to hold on to consciousness, and with his last bit of strength, he muttered three words...
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