Saved from Death

A miracle, that is what he had hoped.

Surely, amidst the chain of ill-fated circumstances and the unforgiving cruelty he'd weathered in his existence, Alex believed that the heavens above owed him at least one divine intervention.

But then again, he had already prayed for it throughout his entire life and gained nothing.

Kaboom!

In an instant, the condensed energy of the laser canon pulverized his entire body completely.

No divine intervention happened, Alex died on the spot.

Maybe his fate has already been set in stone, to live and die a weakling, to be a victim and be powerless to change anything. The happiness that he felt briefly with Delilah was not real, it was nothing more than a facade.

Just like what his father said, the weak don't deserve to have luxuries.

Alex tries to rebut his father's words as he gets older, yet his words prove to be right again.

Despite the awareness of his own demise, he found himself locked in the same position, a spectral echo of his former self. As he raised his hand, it shimmered with an ethereal azure hue, a testament to his transition.

His fleshy body was relinquished, and now he was left as a soul.

Shortly, his vision distorted. A black portal appeared, comes from it was a hooded figure.

Persisting even to the present year of 10,371, a prevailing belief held that in the throes of death, the Grim Reaper would be guiding the soul of the fallen. It seems this conviction appeared to hold true, as that very spectral entity now reaches out its deathly hand towards him.

No use in resisting, he was already dead. This is the law of the universe.

But even though he couldn't move his astral body, shackled by the power of the Grim Reaper itself, he couldn't help to keep yearning for a second chance. It's not fair that Migel and his accomplices could live after doing such an atrocity.

'There should be a balance in all things! This is not right!'

A tempest of fury surged within Alex, causing his very soul to exude a seething vapor.

In response, he captures the Grim Reaper's attention as it grasps his soul.

Despite the absolute abyss that covers the inside of the hood, Alex could feel that the Grim Reaper was smiling at him. "Submit yourself to death, mortal. No deed or emotion can shield you from death's grip"

Listening to this didn't dissuade Alex, it instigated him even further instead.

Grip!

Shockingly, the wrath inside grants him the strength to move his astral body. Alex's fingers clamp around the Grim Reaper's arm, his eyes ablaze with mighty fury, "I'm not done with life yet, let... me... go"

"Fascinating..." the Grim Reaper praised his attempt and chuckled.

However, despite this deed, there's no way that Alex could overpower the Grim Reaper.

With the black portal so close to them, it's futile.

Out of nowhere, as Alex began to struggle against the Grim Reaper, his body halted when he heard a whispering voice seeping into his eardrums. It was silent, hardly audible, but rang inside his ears clearly.

"I sense your ire, my child. Speak, what is the desire that stirs within you?"

"I... I want a second chance! Just let me live again so I can have my revenge!"

Despite the unknown rasping voice, Alex allowed himself to hope.

If there's even a small chance that the entity behind this voice could fulfill his one desire, he would allow himself to hope and respond with utmost clarity. A charged silence hangs in the air as the black portal draws near, yet in due time, an answer comes to be.

"Granted... but this second chance will not be as you expected"

"I don't care. As long as I'm alive again, no matter the circumstances, that is enough!"

"Very well..."

Stealing a glance from the side, the Grim Reaper thought Alex had lost his mind.

Unbeknownst to this entity of death, this moment would etch itself into the annals of history. Abruptly, a brilliant burst of light materialized from the void, diverting the Grim Reaper's focus in an instant.

It comes out of nowhere and hits the Grim Reaper right in its hand which clutches Alex's soul.

An astral growl of anger reverberated like the anguished cries of countless departed souls converging into a single howl, a haunting symphony that sent shivers down spines and pierced the very fabric of existence.

During the heat of the moment, Alex can see the world spinning.

Making sense of the situation is beyond him, the dizziness was too much for him to focus.

Just then, he felt something hit his abdomen before he got propelled away.

Alex's astral form was hurled away, the Grim Reaper and the dwindling black portal fading into the distance. As he was propelled onward, a whirlwind of frenzied blur enveloped his vision, carrying through a cosmic expanse. Countless stars streaked past his eyes.

Chaperoning them was a cavalcade of celestial bodies, planets, moons, and asteroids.

Such a sight is unimaginable and overwhelms his mind.

"NO ONE CAN ESCAPE DEATH!"

"I WILL FIND YOU!"

Even from a distance, the Grim Reaper's haunting howls managed to reach him.

But Alex's mind isn't in the right state to feel anything.

Unable to bear the rapid galactic motion, his mind succumbed to unavoidable darkness.

"I've saved you from the grasp of death, and the fate of the universe rests upon your shoulders now. There is no more opportune moment than this, for the key that was lost has appeared and is now in your hands"

"Don't disappoint me, harness the fire of anger and ascend to greatness, Alexander..."

...

"Heuhk!!"

Jolting awake, Alex started gasping for breath and clutched his chest with wide eyes.

Taking a moment to calm his breathing, he suddenly stood up before he was struck by intense confusion and a slight migraine. Raising both of his arms, he realized that they were back! His arms were back!

"How in the world...? Wait- did that voice actually give me a second chance?!"

Alex ponders out loud yet frowns when he hears his own voice.

This wasn't how his voice was supposed to sound, it should've been clear and resounding. Now, it was still strong but held a hoarse quality. However, his attention was diverted as he noticed his body encased in a sleek, dark bluish skin-tight suit.

From a glance, he could instantly tell that he was wearing an environmental suit.

"Environmental suit...?" Alex muttered as his eyes slowly widened.

Now the harsh reality began to sink in as he realized he was no longer in his own body, but inhabiting the form of another. To compound matters, he awoke in the body of an individual from the Hyperion Empire, a situation that he had not anticipated.

"So this is what the voice means..."

Despite not expecting this situation, he didn't mind as what matters is a second chance.

Alex accepts his condition, but a fierce migraine suddenly hits him.

Falling to one knee while holding his throbbing head, the memories of the previous owner of the body surged into his mind. It was a conflicting sensation, he felt that these memories were brand new yet not at the same time.

He was forced to re-live every moment of it.

In these memories, he learned that the body belonged to a young man named Xander.

Xander has a similar experience to Alex in terms of family, he was an outcast for having a naturally incompatible body with most technologies. His mother is the first wife within the Sitradus Family of the Hyperion Empire, a prestigious family that governs 50 Imperial Planets.

Due to Xander's condition, her standing diminished, and was taken over by the second wife.

Out of pettiness, the second wife suppressed their lives.

Living under the second wife's tyrant was hellish, the three of them alongside Xander's sister were banished to a distant mansion. All loyal people were killed by the second wife. Recently, his mother fell extremely ill which puts them at rock bottom.

Pressured, Xander decided to work as a street scavenger, gathering metal scraps.

But that didn't cover the bill, and thus he ended up here.

Xander in desperation joined the trial for rookies to become Mech-Soldiers, he needs to survive a month in Planet Sion 2T to pass into the academy. But the first day, he and his squad got attacked by a hostile life form. He is injured and tries to recuperate inside a cave.

However, in there, he trickled with an unknown object and got chased by weird monsters.

In the end, Xander died from internal injuries as he reached the mouth of the cave.

Upon realizing his predicament, his gaze shifted to a metallic sphere resting nearby on the snowy ground. It was the unknown object that Xander had picked up. Driven by curiosity, he approaches and closely examines it.

Taking a closer look at the sphere, Alex finds a subtle blue energy emanating from it.

"Is that mana...? A magical object?" He mused in confusion.

Just as he scrutinized the unknown object, the sphere unexpectedly parted with a metallic sound, unveiling a blue-glowing orb adorned with intricately three circling rings. It resembled a fusion device between technology and mana which is frankly impossible.

Both empires know that technology and mana don't complement each other.

Regardless of the density of one's mana, infusing it into a plasma laser to enhance its power for instance is impossible. Similarly, no matter how sophisticated a technological device may be, it won't be capable of interacting with mana.

Due to that, Alex was intrigued by this weird object that seemed to have both.

Furthermore, the helmet he wore, integrated with the environmental suit and currently fixated on the object, emitted a resonating mechanical sound. Its analyzing interface moved into action.

[Unidentified Object. Scanning failed to determine composition and origin]

"Huh... even the Hyperion Empire's advanced technology failed to identify it. What could this possibly be? It must be something important for it to be guarded by those weird crawling monsters" Alex pondered aloud, his gaze fixed on the enigmatic object.

Intrigued, he decided to try touching the glowing blue orb with his index finger.

Since he's in an environmental suit, layered with a defensive mechanism, he should be fine.

But the instant his fingertip grazed the luminous blue orb, its radiance intensified into a blinding brilliance. In rapid succession, he could feel a searing sensation that seemed to seep beneath the skin on his wrist.

"Graarggh!"

Alex grunted in pain, trying to endure the heat while holding his right arm tightly.

Stumbling to his feet, he looks at his right arm and finds the blue orb digging into his skin.

The process inflicted excruciating pain beyond measure.

It took nearly two minutes for the searing pain to fade away leaving Alex panting heavily, accompanied by a sheen of sweat covering his body. The environmental suit's defensive mechanisms had proven ineffective against the power of the blue orb.

Giving no resistance as it easily tore through the suit and into his skin.

[Warning!]

[Suit compromised! Extraneous object penetration detected!]

[It is recommended for medical evaluation!]

Deciding to ignore the robotic sound warning him of the obvious, Alex shifted his gaze to his right arm. There, he discovered a peculiar tattoo or mark on his inner wrist resembling battery bars, five battery bars to be exact.

Each of them glowed light blue for a moment before eventually dimming once again.

"What in the world happened...?"