The night was silent.
Not the kind of silence that calms the heart, but the kind that clings to your skin like cold mist… thick, suffocating, absolute.
In the outer servant quarters of the Ironroot Sect, a thin figure lay curled beneath a patched wool blanket. His breath was shallow, and his back ached from another day spent scrubbing stone tiles and carrying water for disciples who wouldn't spare him a glance.
His name was Shén Mu.
Another strike of pain wracked his chest. He coughed into his sleeve. Blood.
"Again?""How many days do I have left...?"
The chill wasn't just in his bones anymore—it was in his soul.
Ever since he turned twelve, the elders had declared him talentless. No spiritual roots, no cultivation potential, nothing. They kept him around for labor because his mother had once served the sect master faithfully before dying in a demon beast raid.
He was a shadow of a memory. Nothing more.
And yet—
As the last ember of a flickering oil lamp dimmed beside him, something stirred.
DING—[Life Simulation System Activated.]Would you like to create your first world?
His eyes snapped open.
"…What?"
He looked around. No one was there. Just the wind whispering through rotted wood and stone.
[Select parameters: Terrain. Life. Rules. Timeflow.]Warning: Initial Soul World will permanently reside within Host's spiritual core.Do you accept?
Was he hallucinating? Had the blood loss finally reached his mind?
But deep inside, something pulsed—warmth. A light in the endless dark.
For the first time in his life… he felt something awaken.
He didn't understand what this was. But instinctively, he answered:
"Yes."
The world around him disappeared.
A void. Endless. Silent.
And in front of him—nothing but a flickering seed of light.
[Initializing Primary Soul World...]Select Terrain: Mountain? Desert? Forest? Ocean?
Shén Mu hesitated, then whispered:
"…A valley. A hidden place where life can begin."
[Confirmed. Generating...]
[Insert: River Source — Y/N][Insert: Fertile Soil — Y/N][Insert: Basic Lifeforms — Y/N][Insert: Human Templates — Y/N]
He didn't even know what he was doing, but each choice felt right.
One by one, he built.
And then—he watched as it all bloomed.
From the seed of light grew a valley shrouded in morning mist. A river snaked between green hills. Grass swayed in a wind that didn't exist. In the center, tiny dots of light shimmered... they began to walk.
[World Created: "Mu-01"][Link established. Soul Core strengthened.]
Shén Mu fell backward—his breath caught in his chest. His vision blurred.
But before he passed out, a single thought echoed in his mind:
"They are real… and they are mine."