1 An Unbound Soul

Exhausted, Linley slowly pushed his motorcycle to the nearest fuel station. He was trying to save some money on fuel, but unfortunately, he had to push the forsaken motorcycle at the end of the day.

What was he even doing?

He himself couldn't understand the path his life was taking.

For two months, he had been searching for the damn magical crystal the fortune teller told him about after he bumped into her by accident. He had searched all the oak trees he was told about but to no avail.If only he could find it. He would have all the money he ever needed and live a better life.

When he thought of all the things he would buy for his mother, he could only shake his head in resignation. Even his girlfriend would come back to him. If only he could find the crystal.

He was just about to put the nozzle inside the fuel thank when he heard a loud shout to his left.

"Fire!"

"Hmm?" Linley turned around and saw the driver of the blue bus screaming, then realized the gas pump was on fire! "Fire!"

The remaining drivers got out of their cars and fled the gas station. But before they had time to run far enough, they heard a loud bang behind them. 

Linley felt his body shake as the shock wave mixed with the debris fell on him. He opened his mouth wide and screamed, but he could not hear his own voice.

The surrounding scenery became increasingly blurry before his eyes, as if in slow motion. He saw a corpse not far from him, and another body slowly flying forward in his direction. The limbs moved in slow circles in the air.

The man flew farther than he could imagine, flapping slowly. Based on his clothing, Linley knew he was the bus driver.

The flame from the explosion roiled around, gradually engulfing everyone present.

Linley's eyes were suddenly blurred by a flash of light. Slowly, the light of the fire became brighter, and Linley, blinded by this strong white light, could no longer open his eyes. 

"Is this the way I'll die?" Linley slowly brought his hand to his eye and then stretched it out in front of him, trying to grab something in front of him. But there was nothing there, only endless white light. 

After a few seconds, his body slowly flew towards the white light. Before he knew it, everything had changed to nothing. And his consciousness gradually disappeared.

***

He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. He realized that maybe a little time had passed, or perhaps a long time had passed.

While he was thinking, his confused mind suddenly sensed a strange but powerful energy. He felt as if there was a force field around him, crushing his body to death. He felt like he was being held in a death choke-hold.

"It's painful. Where am I? Am I dead? Is this heaven or hell? Linley asked himself curiously. He tried to open his eyes to look around him, but he couldn't open them. Instinctively, he took deep breaths and tried to calm himself, but realized he couldn't breathe at all. 

Linley was shocked and confused and began to struggle, but his arms and legs seemed to be tied to something around him. They still couldn't stretch out.

While he was struggling, Linley vaguely heard the voices of women screaming. The voice sounded so close and yet so far away. He was really shocked beyond words. "Gracious lord, is this really hell? What crime did I commit to have to suffer like this?"

After a long while, his mind gradually calmed down, and he gradually gave up the fight. He unconsciously moved forward , looking in the direction of the vaguely screaming voice of a woman approaching him.

***

The strong wind seemed as if it would blow away everything in this world. Due to the solidified sand and dust, the originally clear sky of this world became cloudy in an instant. 

The spiritual star shining above the world turned into a huge silver disk behind the dust. And next to it was a black disk as thick as a stone pillar, formed by a black obsidian star.

At that time, at the edge of the forest, a lonely small tribe was struggling in the wind. Such small tribes, with a population of only a few dozen people, were the most common and lowest-ranking creatures on this continent, a world known as Khitai.

Now within this little clan was a strong, handsome man pacing nervously. The eyebrows of his determined face were drawn together in worry.

"My lord, the baby will be born soon." The midwife's encouragement came from the man's big hut, where his wife was in labor.

This tribe was known as the Ironwood Tribe, and this person who was eagerly waiting was Lin Kai, the chieftain of the Ironwood Tribe. After hearing the midwife's voice, Lin Kai stopped when the time finally came. Was his wife about to give birth? His pounding heart finally found a respite of peace.

 But at that moment, a panicked scream suddenly sounded from behind the hut. "Patriarch, this is not good! Come out and take a look!"

Lin Kai's heart trembled with fear. After some hesitation, he left the hut. 

The strong wind was no longer as strong as before, but Lin Kai was surprised to see that the originally yellow sky had turned into a dark night. Moreover, the silver star that was supposed to appear all night was now obscured by the endless darkness that covered the entire sky.

And the huge flaming spiritual star behind the Sacred Obsidian Star could only show a silver-edged circle under the darkening of the Sacred Obsidian Star, as if it were putting a silver coat on the Kitai Obsidian Star. The two stars were bound to collide one way or another.

A few seconds later, when the Khitai Star and the Burning Spirit Star collided, a huge thunderstorm that split the world suddenly exploded in the sky with a roar.

Suddenly, all the tribesmen were shocked and fell to their knees and bowed to the sky. 

"Your heavenly majesty, please relent in your endless anger and forgive your loyal subjects." The wrinkled old woman screamed to the heavens in fright, slowly moving her body which was covered with magic items.

Lin Kai had only seen this situation once in his life, and she couldn't help but frown his eyebrows as he carefully observed the surrounding events.

At this time, everyone in the tribe was kneeling on the ground and praying for heaven's forgiveness in their own language. 

Lin Kai repeated his words and continued to cast incomprehensible spells. 

The atmosphere was strangely uneasy, with the constant sound of thunder booming.

The sky exploded for several long minutes. At first it happened more often. Then slowly, the intervals between bursts of thunder became longer and longer, but louder and louder. 

Later it exploded only once every minute or two.

Fortunately, the sound of thunder only rumbled in the air and did not come close to the ground. Otherwise, not to mention Lin Kai's small tribe, even tribes several times larger than theirs would have been annihilated in an instant.

Shortly after hearing the deafening sound of the sky exploding, the sound of a crying child suddenly came from a room inside the large hut. Then they heard the midwife's voice. "She gave birth to a son!"

After hearing this, Lin Kai looked at their large hut in surprise. But the change had not yet passed, and the spiritual woman was still repeating the blessing spell. 

Lin Kai, eager to see his long-awaited son, took two steps, but quickly suppressed the impulse in his heart and stopped. It was always best for him to be aware of changes in his environment first. 

Suddenly, an unprecedented thunderstorm exploded in the heavens. Immediately afterwards, a stream of blue-white lightning fell from the sky onto the roof of Lin Kai's hut and streaked down before disappearing within.

Lin Kai and the others were frightened by this development. When he came to his senses, he jumped up and ran screaming to the large cabin.

"Lin Ming! Lin Ming!" Lin Kai prayed in his heart. He was afraid that the mother and son in the large cabin would be struck by the lightning.

"Too much noise." Linley was trying his best to push his body forward when he suddenly heard an explosive sound in his head. "Is it New Year already hell? But who starts these fireworks here? Are fireworks popular in hell? Is New Year's life in hell the same as in the world? Or is it that I wasn't completely dead yet? 

Linley tried to move forward. He thought that if he could break free, he would be able to see what was happening. If he hadn't died, maybe he could have gone and found his girlfriend and had a great night drinking together.

As he gradually regained consciousness, Linley suddenly thought of the explosion at the gas station and the bloody looking corpses flying in the air.

Did I die in that explosion? What are these sticky things sticking around? Is it blood or fat? He kept wondering if he was dead or insane.

Linley tried to scream several times, but could not open his mouth. He couldn't help but feel greatly uneasy. It was as if the powerful force was pushing him forward. 

He struggled for a while, until suddenly, his body became light. It was as if he had escaped from a crowded jungle. A pair of hands had pulled him out, and they flipped him over on his head and lifted him up by his legs.

Linley immediately reached out his hand and tried to grab something. Opening his mouth, he spat out some of the liquid which appeared to be blocking his throat. He immediately coughed violently and finally realized he could open his mouth.

He couldn't resist taking a greedy breath of fresh air. He tried my best to open his eyes, but his face was sticky and couldn't open them. Another vague voice reached his ears, but Linley couldn't hear it clearly.

He gave up his struggles because her body was a little tired. He felt his body moved and it seemed as if someone was helping him get the dirt off of him.

Back in his home world, when he got older, he always showered and other people rarely touched him. So he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at this moment in time.

He had to try to open his eyes to see who was helping him. He didn't know how long it took, but Linley felt that his eyes were finally able to open a little. Through this gap, Linley could only see the gray surroundings. He couldn't see anything clearly, but he could still see something moving. 

Once again, a vague voice reached his ears, but he still couldn't hear what or who it was.

"Are these people paramedics?" Linley wanted to scream, but something seemed to be stuck in his throat and he could only made a muttering sound.

After some difficulty, Linley finally realized that his eyes were open. He couldn't help but open his hand and shake it right before his eyes. Now he could see clearly. He couldn't help but cheer in his mind.

Then the voice in his ears became clearer and clearer. It was true that someone was speaking, but Linley couldn't understand a word. He wondered if the rescue team had saved him.