Chapter 1: Transmigration

In the myths of many living beings.

The vast sky is the boundless yet ever expanding darkness we all call the silent universe.

Only the stars could bring light, hope, and warmth to life.

The planets became the starter towns, spawning lives and civilizations to liven up this unexplained emptiness.

Amidst the coldness of the indifferent cosmos. Despite its despairing fame, causing many to lose their way and never return.

It's allure to all living beings to explore the unknown has never diminished.

And in this section, somewhere remote from the center of all events, lies the life planet called Earth.

A beautiful world filled with its unfilial children running amok all year around.

It's planet brothers and sisters have long since gone cold; only the reminder of the father sun could sustain its warmth and hope for the future.

At this moment, something got twisted out of existence from within.

In this planet's atmosphere, a broken passage leading to the golden river appeared to be bursting outward.

Despite the grand effects, the vacuum space was true to its name and reputation, containing sounds and even the shockwaves from spreading further for the beings below to reach.

A ball of gray light tainted by a greenish-dark hue flew out of the broken passage.

Fleeing forward, like a star that has found its gravity to shoot onward.

It broke free from the planet's gravity before disappearing into the sea of numerous stars.

Left in its wake was the disappearing, broken passage that was slowly healing by itself.

A few seconds later, it had already disappeared like nothing had happened.

Returning to the ball of gray light, it's speeding its way towards the unknown distance of space.

The existence of this strange object is what all beings call the soul.

The foundation of all life and intelligence. After escaping the constraints of reincarnation, it broke free and escaped to the real world.

Searching for an unknown destiny that might lead it back to life and achieve the desired immortality that keeps it going.

Unfortunately, it was a soul that has lost itself in a jumble of chaotic memories.

Unable to find its real intention, the soul has no way of stopping but to continue forward.

All it instinctively did was to escape, forever to be free and unfettered from its fate's control.

Soon, as time passed, The speed at which it was traveling through space has long since broken through the sound barrier.

Before long, the soul entered the lightspeed.

Vanishing before the eyes of many unseen, prying on it's identity and existence.

It might have been a century or a millennium already. The gray light around the soul started disappearing.

As thought being cleaned, purified, and condensed into the purity of gold, which is neither described by legends nor folklore.

Just like how a hot iron keeps on being hammered and turn into an ingot.

Impurities were slowly being quenched as the soul started to emit a golden hue.

Coincidentally, or maybe it's destiny. By this time of it's fully transformed state.

The now-golden soul of the untainted crashed inside the darkest and most horrifying trash can of the universe—the black hole.

Covered by the tongues of its blazing golden fire. It pierces through multiple layers of realities and illusions, staying inside the unknown time and space like trapped in a maze.

In the center of all hallucinations and unreal things. The numbers that govern everything before his eyes broke for him to open.

On the edge of its path, it came into contact with the seed of all miracles.

Nurtured by an almighty, bored to see the world still the same after countless eras of change.

An unprecedented feat to behold, thanks to the courage of this unknown soul.

To actually swallow as if hungered by the aroma and allure of what it's instinct can tell.

The seed that colored all the bleak colors and blackness, starlight covering it like a luxurious marble.

The space vibrated, produced by some kind of intense reaction like that of countless mini explosions.

The golden soul disappeared amidst this tumultuous rippling frequency.

A second later, a will that doesn't belong to this time and space.

Transcendent yet still interested in observing the universe descended in a glittering figure of light—millions of meters tall!

"Ah, my seed is gone. I even waited for it to sprout. Now it was stolen by a little thief. Hmm."

The voice isn't clear, as though the world was in tandem in tone to make it sound like this figure of gigantic light was talking.

Another will descend, this one with the galaxy's figure standing millions of meters tall. It bended down over looking at the directions where the little soul escaped.

"If you're feeling angry or sorry, why not take it back? It's just a matter of thought for us anyway." said the galaxy figure, as though he were saying this as a passerby.

The figure of light was silent for a bit; its arms were on its waist, bending sideways in thought.

A while later, that might mistake all beings for eternity.

"Well, just let it be. It's just one of the many anyway. I still have many gardens like this; it just took a little time for another seed to grow."

...

Passing through the countless folds of space. Through the layers, it might seem like thin films are being pierced.

A golden soul streaked through the vast, empty, yet all-white, blank sky.

It's a state that knows nothing but to move forward and never stopping. It passes through a temple suspended in the void of this blank domain.

Sometime later, which can be counted as millennia, it came upon many pieces of debris of varying sizes.

All of which are too gigantic for it to truly marvel and understand.

The temple that just passed by back then seems to be the only architecture that was right in size according to its common sense and the one still intact in this domain.

As the golden soul streak passed this ruin in a zigzagging manner like a race driver in a race tracks, avoiding obstacles on its path.

It passes through the whole challenge and is still moving onward.

Only then did it come into contact with the unseen filament like that of what happens when sinking deep waters.

Producing ripples from an invisible space before disappearing in an instance.

...

Above the mountain is a forest of pine trees.

There is an empty, flattened ground where a youngster looking to be in his sixteenth years of age is wearing modern clothing.

Short green pants made from soft fabrics of silk and a brown-colored shirt.

On his feet, he was wearing a slipper made of rubber. Now this youngster was sound asleep, using the ground as his bed.

Snoring like there's no tomorrow even when the sky was bright orange red.

Just in time for the morning to rise and make all lives open their eyes to find something to feed their empty stomachs.

Juan opened his eyes, feeling the hard ground he was leaning on—or not.

Sitting up from his lethargic morning sleep, he suddenly realized the difference between his previous home and his current location.

"Ehm...where...am I?" This surreal feeling of waking up in the morning only finds oneself in the middle of nowhere.

Wait, is he actually dreaming?

Guess not if he can still feel his whole limb aching from sleeping on this hard bed—actually, a ground bed.

And to make this unreal reality more acceptable.

Juan stood up, stretching amidst his confused mind and chaotic thoughts as he assembled his memories.

Birds flew by chirping, and the roars of the animals in the forest below rang true.

By the time a teacup of coffee is brewed. Everything that has made Juan confused so far has already been thoroughly solved.

Now questions are starting to pop up to further query his new found surroundings.

"My name is Juan, and I came from modern Earth. I seem to have died from old age at bed. I don't remember much when I'm asleep. But by the next thing that happened, I'm already here."

Looking down at his get-up and current smooth skin, lean muscles, and youthful vibe.

It came to him, a term he had long wanted to wish and be granted, that he can only utter from reading books and imagination.

"Transmigration. I did not expect this." This can also be a guess, much like how he had other ideas and thoughts about his real situation.

Possession of a body, reincarnation, or maybe returning to his youth. "Possibly be the afterlife for souls."

But this doesn't solve his primary query of where he was and what he was doing here.

As for having thoughts of this as his lucid dream?

How can a lucid dream be like this, freely moving his own body with his own will with clarity?

As an old man by heart, Juan had long wanted an adventure.

And he didn't mind these questions, for they would be his fuel for his motivation to push him through in his search for a civilization.

"This is dangerous. I'm on top of this world."

Lifting his head up, Juan chuckled, his arms hanging loosely as thought to show how powerless he was in face of nature.