"Where am I?" he asked the moment he opened his eyes. He was standing on a very small stretch of land; not exceeding three meters in diameter, shining with white light among an ocean of pitch black around him. "Is this my garden? Or my star map? Or perhaps… I'm dying!"
'Ding! Don't be silly, you are far from dying!'
The strong voice of his system echoed in his ears coming from a specific direction. Arthur glanced at the small rounded piece of earth he was standing upon as he asked: "Are you this land?"
'Ding! I'm the seed this land needs,' the system vaguely answered, 'Ding! And this isn't my land, it's yours!'
"My land?" Arthur muttered before glancing all around, "what land?" he asked as he added, "and what is this strange eerie darkness? I can feel a strange familiarity with it!"
'Ding! Try to remember the last thing that happened to you.'
Arthur went silent for a moment. His mind was fuzzy right now. "I recall going to my city world, coming back and finding Amanda sick…"
He paused, as his eyes went round. "This is the monster I was fighting? Is it eating me now?" he asked in extreme vigilance while his eyes shone determination to battle even in his last moments of life.
'Ding! Don't be drifted away by this, think… there is something else you forgot!'
"Something else…" Arthur muttered and this time he felt a great headache assaulting him when he tried to remember more.
'Ding! Focus! Endure the pain! You have to!' the system kept pushing and he kept trying to remember. Each time he tried to recall that missing thing, the headache became fiercer!
"C'mon!" he gritted his teeth while enduring all the pain that hit him. "I was… standing amidst lightning… I was amidst my path… I was facing… the tribulation!"
The moment he said the last word, all the headache went away and suddenly he felt the darkness around him getting fainter. He even could see small areas next to the ground he was standing at.
'Ding! Congratulations, you are now officially on the path to redeem your soul.'
"System, you have to explain things to me!" Arthur wasn't excited. In fact he was much puzzled with this more than ever!
'Ding! Sure, but let me explain things in brief right now.'
"Am I in danger?"
'Ding! Sure, danger lurks in this shadow!'
"Then make it quick."
'Ding! You need to know that the tribulation you started wasn't a normal one; it was the birth tribulation; the origin and everything else will follow. But for it to be successful, it needs an offering.'
"That monster, right?"
'Ding! Correct, and it also needs a host, a seed, and area to expand.'
"You are talking about it like…" Arthur paused as his mind realized what this was.
'Ding! Yes, it's not a heaven tribulation for you to be tested, it's the seed of your cultivation path. Without it you can't return to your old days no matter what!'
"This is… the path?" Arthur glanced around before adding, "this is really a minute desolate place to be!"
'Ding! You are the host, and you were deprived of all your powers before coming here. So, don't blame it and blame yourself instead.'
"That's harsh," Arthur smiled as he added, "but as long as there is a cultivation path for me, I'm content."
'Ding! Don't celebrate early, this monster is still alive.'
"I can see that, thanks!"
'Ding! You need to kill it so your cultivation path will be solidified and expanded!'
"How can I do that? We have been fighting it for hours back there and look… it's fine!"
'Ding! It's far from fine, it's almost dying,' the system said before adding, 'Ding! Your cultivation path is already eating it away. you only need to accelerate the process, or else…'
"Or else what?"
'Ding! You will be left in a coma for a long, really long time!'
Arthur went silent for a moment. If he kept himself in this state for so long, everything he worked for would be lost!
"What should I do to help?" he asked.
'Ding! You need to sacrifice part of this monster to your garden.'
"Isn't my garden my own? Why do you seem like I'm going to lose here?"
'Ding! For your cultivation path to work, it needs energy. This monster will act like that until its entire energy gets depleted; either by time or by your progress in your new cultivation path.'
Arthur wasn't a newbie in things related to cultivation, so he realized what his system was talking about. "This cultivation path isn't supported by this world then, right?"
'Ding! That's a fact! Without great energy supporting it, you won't be able to utilize anything from it.'
"That's… weird," he muttered before a thought came to his mind, "that means every time the energy here is about to be depleted I will be assigned a new quest?"
'Ding! You got it fast.'
The answer of his system explained everything to him. "Fine, at most this will accelerate my next quest," he muttered before adding, "my garden is considered one of my strongest assets. Let it enjoy some benefits as well."
'Ding! Alright, I will start channeling part of the energy and you need what to do.'
"Good," Arthur sat on the ground while he closed his eyes and started checking his body. All of a sudden, a violent and immense amount of energy entered his body. "This… it's really much purer and aggressive dark energy than I ever experienced," he said while he simply guided this energy to link with his garden.
The first step was hard, yet the moment his garden got connected with that monster's dark energy; he sensed a strong suction force erupting from within the necklace around his neck.
"Calm down, you are really more excited than me!" he laughed while waiting and watching on the side, just like Mr.. E standing next to his body.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶