บท 2: A Soul in the Void

In the endless Void, a hurricane made of winds of assimilation roamed aimlessly. The Void lacked any physical or philosophical concepts, such as time and space. Consequently, the 'wind of assimilation' was both infinitely fast and infinitely slow simultaneously. It would also vanish and reappear in a same time.

Suddenly, after countless such teleportation, the wind of assimilation materialized next to a massive black sphere. In theory, nothing, including shape, size, and other concepts, should exist in the Void. However, this enormous black sphere exhibited a distinct spherical form, emitting an overwhelming and stifling pressure. This black sphere was a universe.

In the very next moment, when the "wind of assimilation" once more materialized at the edge of this black Universe, something even more perplexing than the wind of assimilation itself could be seen within it—a soul.

Punk is floating along with the wind of assimilation. Currently, he is in daze. He had been on his way back from the supermarket after buying groceries, still concerned about the upcoming college entrance examination. However, in the next moment, he found himself in this place, which instinctively made him feel empty and cold.

"This is the Void. There is no concept of existence in the Void, just endless nothingness." "This was Punk's thought. He didn't know where this thought came from, but he instinctively knew that this was the truth, just like newborn babies, who, despite being born without any prior knowledge, knew they should cry and breathe.

"Surprisingly, Punk's initial reaction wasn't panic or fear. Instead, he found himself thinking, 'Well, this means I won't have to worry about the college entrance examination anymore."

After all, regardless how unbelievable this situation was, he was a nerdy person, who had read countless fantasy novels. Thus, he started to recall those protagonists who transmigrated to a new world and how they dealt with their situation after rebirth.

"First, I must gather information about the outside world. Whether it's through listening or observing with my eyes, or even attempting the legendary mental power perception. Then, I must ensure my safety," Punk thought.

However, the first step proved to be quite challenging for Punk; in his current soul state, his vision and hearing are gone.

"Well, now I can only hope that my 'legendary' mental perception will work," with remembering his reading of novels Punk thought this idea. Immediately, he began to concentrate and sent out a strong desire to perceive the outside world.

This level of calmness and focus had been completely unattainable for Punk before. Yet, in this moment, he easily harnessed his mental perception, and everything suddenly became visible in front of him.

The first thing Punk see was the 'wind of assimilation.' The chaotic hurricane formed by the wind of assimilation now seems to have stopped. It was silently blowing at a point that seemed both infinitely distant and remarkably close to the black Universe. Punk directed his mental perception toward the prominently visible black sphere. As soon as his perception made contact with it, he experienced an overwhelming sense of familiarity, instinctively recognizing it as the Universe he was born in.

Punk tried to move toward it, but he could not move at all; the 'wind of assimilation', which had almost no texture somehow with an unexplainable binding force that seemed to hold Punk tightly, as if he were embedded inside it.

Go back.Punk could only scream in his mind and sigh helplessly in his heart.

There was no time in the Void. It felt as though countless years had passed and yet, not a single moment had ticked by. In reality, even this sensation was merely an illusion created by Punk's soul.

The only fortunate thing was that Punk's soul has evolved because of this extreme environment of the Void. Even Punk didn't realize that the reason loneliness and Fear no longer bothered him, because of his evolved soul. Which eliminated these emotions to prevent them from distorting his mind. Just as Punk was trying to move his soul, a large purple sphere suddenly materialized in his perception.

Punk knew that this was also another universe, but this Universe was much larger than the black Universe where Punk's home Earth was. It was more than five times bigger than his universe; the black Universe looked like an egg beside a football.

Just as Punk was wondering how this purple Universe was so big, two Universe collided with each other. And because of the collision force, the wind of assimilation where Punk was trapped faded away by a lot.

Just as Punk was wondering about the enormous size of this purple Universe, suddenly two Universes collided with each other. Due to the collision's force, the wind of assimilation that had entrapped Punk began to dissipate significantly.

"The aftershock was so powerful that, if it weren't for the protection of the assimilation wind, Punk's soul might have been completely annihilated by it."

"When the two universes collided, a large number of small gray fragments burst out. Some of these fragments flew into the Void and disappeared forever, but the majority were caught up by the wind of assimilation and carried away with it. Punk also felt that something like a force field that was enveloping the Universe broke simultaneously. Now, Punk could perceive additional information about these two universes."

Punk could sense that, although the black Universe was small, it was robust and powerful. At the same time, although the large purple Universe was gorgeous and huge, there were many inconsistencies within it, "which was like a giant Mecha that had been repaired with plasticine. However, Punk suddenly found himself back in a situation where nothing could be perceived again."

"The protective layers of the two universes appeared to be restored, and access to information from both the purple Universe and the black Universe was once again blocked. Punk felt somewhat disappointed as the two universes started rotating together in a calm manner.

He guessed that this was akin to watching wrestling experts in action. To onlookers, it might appear as though two individuals were merely holding each other's waist and doing nothing, but in reality, there were dangerous and rough moves known only to the combatants themselves. Punk realized that he was now in the role of that outsider, unable to see anything."

However, he quickly discovered something new.

"At some unknown moment, a gray fragment engulfed by the wind of assimilation drifted close to Punk. When the fragment drew near, Punk felt a strong instinctual desire to devour it, so he swallowed it. Afterwards, he experienced a warm current flowing through his soul, akin to a hot spring in winter; it was incredibly comfortable for him.

'What is this? Could it be the Origin energy of a legendary world!' Punk exclaimed with excitement. 'Such a thing is a rare find.'

"Unfortunately, the distribution of these fragments was too scattered, and their movement was too disorderly. Punk could only watch as many fragments flew past his him. He obviously tried to catch them, but his soul had very little mobility, in the end he could only watch as many of these fragments disappeared in darkness without any trace.

"After another unknown period of time, Punk managed to absorb five or six of these fragments. Following this, Punk sensed that his soul was undergoing another evolution. He instinctively understood that the unknown energy from these fragments was aiding in his soul's development, even though this process might be quite time-consuming.

"Fortunately, or unfortunately, time is one thing I don't lack at the moment," Punk thought, with a touch of discontent."

"During the time when Punk's soul was evolving, the wind of assimilation gradually decreased until it eventually vanished. It was as if the two universes, as if they had a prior agreement, began to draw all existence from the Void, including Punk.

Punk could only feel himself approaching the vast purple Universe in a peculiar state, one that felt both infinitely fast and infinitely slow. He was concerned that if he reached the purple Universe in this condition, he would be swallowed up. The clear purpose of these two Universes was evidently to replenish themselves by devouring other existences from the Void.

"As he saw the purple universe drawing his soul toward it, tension gripped him, and he urgently shouted in his mind, 'Oh, my soul, it doesn't matter what form you take; evolve quickly, or you'll be devoured without ever knowing the extent of your transformation!'

For an unknown reason, He began to imagine his soul's transformation, from the system that give protagonist cheats to a simple bird soaring freely in the sky.

But regardless Punk's soul seemed to have heard his wish, and the evolution was actually completed in the next second, just as Punk thought about it.

"But..." When Punk witnessed his evolution, he became a little dazed and even overlooked the imminent threat. Unexpectedly, a system had emerged from this transformation. Could it be that my soul was broken in two?