Kion opened his eyes to a bright light, a heavenly voice reverberating all around him.
For a while, he was dumbfounded, assuming this was some machination of the afterlife. But when the light receded, he was breath taken.
He stood in a dark expanse, sort of like a void, but beneath him, where there should have been empty space, his knees met the stinging cold of an obsidian marble floor.
A pathway stretched before him, murals etched into the floor with intricate fashion. At both sides of the pathway were skulls of different creatures, but what was really mind-boggling, was what lay ahead of him.
A tall beauty with skimpy clothing and an aura that could make most men drool stood before him. In her hand was a sceptre adorned at the top with a magical jewel.
She had stark white hair and blue soulless eyes. It was almost as if she didn't give a care for anything in the world.
Yet, when her uninterested eyes landed on Kion, her face beamed ever so slightly.
"Oh. He's finally here!" She said with an upbeat voice.
"I was wondering when you were gonna die."
Kion was starstruck.
He had expected nothing but the cold grip of nothingness with the arrival of death, not this, whatever it was. It didn't seem to be the afterlife either. It was almost as if he was still alive; just in another world.
"I see that you're confused and I understand your doubts—" the lady said with a new conviction in her voice.
"But even if I took my remaining lifespan—which is very long by the way—to explain all this to you…" she said as she gestured around the dark space they were in.
"You still wouldn't comprehend it, soulless one."
"Wait, just hold on a minute." Kion had pretty much had enough of this drama.
"Who even are you? And what is this place? The afterlife or something?" He asked.
"You are in the lands between, soulless one." The lady answered.
"Don't mind the darkness. It's usually more colourful than this when you leave my pocket realm to other realms. The lands between is enormous compared to your mortal world." She added with resolution.
"As for me, I am Thea, the goddess of souls, and I have been expecting you, Kion." Thea said as she stood, thin strips of silk material draping over her smooth curves.
Kion felt a tent rise in his pants.
The goddess stood at more than 7 feet tall, taking smooth steps towards him.
"As a soulless beacon yourself, you bear the very thing I need to destro—ahem."
It was as if the goddess caught herself saying something, then quickly reconsidered, reforming her words.
"—to restore balance to the world." She added.
Kion still wore a confused expression, and the goddess let out a light sigh.
"Okay. See the thing is—that you are actually dead."
Kion already knew this. He wasn't confused about the state of things, but rather, the state of her intentions.
In his world, there were no gods. People came close to that level of ascension, but a Great War many years ago had seen to the fact that no one claimed divinity.
Somehow, seeing this magnificent beauty standing before him, Kion didn't doubt that she was godly. Her aura was imposing, ten folds of what he had felt from the strongest Lords in his world.
This led him to believe that gods may not currently exist, but definitely did at some point. And the only reason he would be seeing one here in the flesh instead of basking in the peace (or chaos) of the afterlife was because she wanted something.
Meanwhile, the goddess closed the gap between them and knelt to Kion's level, her bosom and hips glistening under the faint light of the crystal gem she brandished on her sceptre. Her piercing icy gaze bore through him, and Kion couldn't help but flinch under the pressure.
"See…" she began to speak, "…you've been treated unfairly in your first life. You were the crowned prince and commander of the Imperial Army, second to none, not even your scheming brother."
She paused, allowing her words to settle.
"You gave it your best, and led your kingdom to an age of glory. Your parents were very proud of you. Everyone was proud of you. That was until that very day…"
The goddess' eyes darkened, and Kion felt visions of his past life flood his memory, just like they had done in his death. Memories of the day of his Ascension, where his soul domain would be confirmed and his powers would finally express themselves.
He was only 16, but a warrior at heart, firm and resolute in all he did. He was the favourite of everyone that day, but all that changed when the one single day that would define his fate ended as a total disappointment. In front of the cheering crowd, he had undergone the awakening ritual for ascension, a high priest stood by him to ascertain the results.
But when it seemed that his efforts were finally going to be crowned.
A happy ending just in his line of sight…
The script had flipped.
The cheers slowly died down as they witnessed no blessing of mana, no genetic ascension…
Nothing…
Kion was branded "soulless", a select group of people who somehow lacked the genetic ability for cultivation.
In a world filled with talents, these people were seen as powerless, useless…
And of course, this didn't exclude Kion, everyone's beloved prince.
He was banished by the very parents who swore to protect him, discarded and ridiculed by the very people who sang praises of his heroics.
And in the end, even after he had found a way to survive by harnessing the power of stolen soul cores and imbuing his weapons with them, he, along with all his friends, was killed unceremoniously by his kingdom's vice admiral: Kuvira.
The thought of it all made him grit his teeth, and Thea smiled as she saw his response.
"I want to give you a chance to make amends, Kion. A do-over, so to say."
"And what's the catch?"
Thea seemed startled for a second.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"No one does this kind of favour for a person for free. You've been testing my patience with your games, goddess. Just tell me what you want already." Kion shot back.
Thea was shocked by his boldness, as for a moment, silence filled the void around them.
But then, the fire in his audacity was equally matched with his resolve. This made her smile.
"I am the goddess of souls—and the moon, although that's not important." Thea explained as she stood back up, pacing around Kion in short strides.
"As you would know, souls determine everything about you mortals. Your domains, your affinity for ascension, your status in society, everything…" she finished off with a hint of finality.
"And I am the source of all of that." She added.
Kion was quickly starting to get annoyed with her beating around the bush, but he chose not to speak of it this time.
"If you were observant, you'd find that this pocket dimension we exist in is not my world. Oh no, it's far too dull to be that. This place is more like a prison, soulless one."
It was as she said this that Kion noticed the coiling darkness that swirled all around them, creating a dark space within. It all seemed like a barrier of some sort, an enclosure, and something told Kion that if he ever left the confinement of this darkness, he would never come back.
"I was trapped here millennia ago by the very war that spins the fairytales and myths of you mortals: The Great War." Her fingers weaved through the air, icy blue light dancing at the fingertips, tracing images and drawings that depicted an ancient war of gods.
Kion saw death in the numbers, both in the mortal and divine realm. He saw fires, stormy skies, and fissures that split the earth in half.
"The details are unnecessary…" Thea said as she waved off her creation, the wisps of blue lights scattering every which way.
"But at the end of the war, so many things changed. And I was trapped here." She continued.
"This world isn't just a prison, but a veil. It dampens my powers, my reach across the mortal realm. It is the very reason that soulless mortals like you exist, Kion."
"Of course, it was never meant to be, but it is, and this is where we both have something in common, Kion. We were rejected by our worlds, fated to bask in obscurity, but it doesn't have to be that way. It won't."
She paused, allowing Kion to soak in all the information.
"I can make it that your life of failures never existed. A trip back in time to a timeline where you remained on top." She paused, lacing her words with power.
"I can make it that you always had what you always wanted." She crouched down to his level again, eyes boring through him.
"A soul."
"And I only need one thing from you, my beacon." She added. "For you to crush everyone who stands in your way. For you to rise in the realms. For you to ascend to divinity."
Kion was a bit confused. It shouldn't have been possible for that to happen.
"Oh but you are soulless. You can do it. I wouldn't choose you if you couldn't." Thea said, as if she was reading his thoughts.
"So what happens when I reach godhood?" Kai asked.
"Reach the divine realm first, and then we shall see." She responded.
With a twirl of her fingers, four symbols materialised in the air: the domain of fire, water, earth, and wind. The four basic elemental domains.
"We're running out of time. I need you to choose, and choose wisely, of course."
Kion already knew what he would pick before it was suggested. He wouldn't be the calm collected warrior that he was in his previous life. This time, he would be a raging storm. No more of that bullshit.
"Fire soul." He said with resolution. It was an element he was used to in his past life as a soulless weaponeer. It encapsulated all that he ever needed, and ever would.
He felt the appeal to choose something different, but sometimes, it was best if things didn't change.
"Very well." The goddess replied. "But this will be your starter domain. There will be opportunities for more."
Kion frowned. "Wait, what—"
"And do know—" Thea interrupted, "that this new timeline wouldn't be an exact replica of the one you lived. While some things may remain the same, it would be best if you were cautious in your decisions."
Kion began to glow with a bright light. The voice of Thea and the background of darkness all fading away as his vision swam with colourful lights.
"I wish you well on your journey, Kion. And for the love of the gods, do not die this time!"
With a flash of white, Kion felt his body wrenched through realms at hyper speed, coulourful streams of light zipping past the edges of his vision until he lost consciousness.
As he left, Kion's mind flashed over the little details that didn't add up.
First off, the voice that had called him from the brink of death wasn't Thea's. That much was confirmed. If anything, she was somewhat surprised when he got to her realm, as if she wasn't the one who summoned him there.
And also, from his basic knowledge on her divinity, she shouldn't have been able to send him back in time. Giving him a soul that came with new elemental domains was plausible, yes, but not granting him a new timeline.
Kion knew within him that something was a bit off.
However, he had no intention to worry about her further, as the very last of the blinding light faded, and finally, darkness consumed him.
"Wake up, sonny."
Kion heard the voice of a woman, the love with which she spoke to him vaguely familiar.