Where am I, am I dead? Oscar asked himself in apprehension as he tried to open his eyes, but realized he couldn’t. Since the explosion at the gas station, his mind had been foggy.

Instictly, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind, but found that he couldn’t breathe at all. Shocked, he began to struggle in panic, but his hands and feet seemed to be bound by something.

After a long while, he calmed his mind, and gradually gave up the struggle. He grappled towards the direction of the vaguely screaming voice of the woman closer to him, and subconsciously wriggled forward.

https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvEim52t.png [https://i.imgur.com/vEim52t.png]

As the wind blew fiercely, rolling-up sand and dust, the originally clear sky began to appear dim in an instant.

The sun began to turn into a huge silver disk, high up in the sky. Beside it was the black disk of the moon.

The Birch tribe, a lonely small tribe on the edge of the forest was struggling in the wind at this time. This small tribe only had a few numbers of dwellers since it was one of the most common and lowest-ranking communities on the continent.

At this moment, in this small clan, a powerful looking man was pacing around anxiously, the brows of his resolute face were knitted together in concern.

“Chieftess, hold on, the baby will be out soon.” The midwife’s encouragement came from the inner chamber of the man where a woman lay in childbirth’s labour.

Hearing the voice of the midwife, Kai finally stopped pacing as the time had finally come. His wife was about to give birth?

He was having a panic thought when a voice suddenly sounded outside the hut. “Chieftain, you need to have a look at this.”

Kai’s heart jerked in panic, but after a moment of hesitation, he walked out of the hut. Although the wanton wind was no longer as violent as before, he was surprised to find that the originally blue sky had turned into a dark night.

More so, the sun that should have appeared all day was now being overshadowed by endless darkness which occupied the entire sky. It was an eclipse.

A few seconds later, an enormous world-splitting thunder suddenly rumbled and exploded in the sky.

“The abandonment....” The village Shaman shouted, her body covered in magical items.

Kai had learned of this situation from his father before. So, he furrowed his brows, watching the surrounding movement vigilantly.

The people of the tribe were all kneeling on the ground at this time, begging for heaven’s forgiveness together with the unique tongue of the tribe, while the clan leader chanted words and kept chanting unintelligible spells.

Accompanied by the constantly exploding sky thunder, the atmosphere was strangely worrisome. The sky exploded for a full quarter of an hour.

At the beginning, it was more frequent. Slowly, the interval between the explosion of the sky thunder became longer and louder. A while later, it only exploded once in every minute or two.

During the interval following the sky’s thunderous explosion, a loud cry of a baby suddenly came from the inner chamber of the hut.

Then the midwife’s voice rang out. “The Chieftess has given birth to a son!”

Kai looked at the hut in surprise after hearing this. But the changes in the sky hadn’t passed yet, and the Shaman was still chanting some incantations.

The chieftain, who was anxious to see his long-awaited child, decided to discard the sky phenomenon from his mind, and made long strides towards the entrance of the hut. His wife just gave birth.

He was about to enter the hut when he managed to controll the warning impulse in his heart and stopped. He knew it was always better to remain alert to changes in the surroundings.

All of a sudden, there was a gigantic thunderbolt, streaking across the dark sky. It was followed by an unprecedented huge sky-thunder. Then a bolt of blue-white lightning streaked down from the sky, towards the roof of the chieftain’s hut and disappeared inside.

Kai was scared witless by this development and rushed inside. He was fearful that his wife and son inside could have been hurt by the lightning.

https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvEim52t.png [https://i.imgur.com/vEim52t.png]

Oscar tried to move his body forward. He thought that as long as he could break free, he would see what was going on.

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If he wasn’t dead, maybe he could find Dannie and Sammie. But as he gradually recovered his memory, he began to think about the explosion at the gas station, of the fierce bodies flying in the air.

Was he really dead? What are these sticky things around him, blood, or grease? What about his friends, were they still alive, and if so, where would they be?

After squirming for a long while, his body suddenly felt lighten, as if he had escaped from the depths of an ocean. But befor he knew it, he was dragged by a pair of hands, turned upside down on his head while being lifted with his legs. He immediately stretched out his hands, trying to grab something.

With his mouth open, he spat out a burst of liquid and coughed violently, and found that he could finally open his mouth. He couldn’t stop himself from greedily breathing in the fresh air. He tried hard to open his eyes, but they were sticky, and couldn’t open them.

Again, there was the vague voice in his ears, but Oscar couldn’t hear it clearly. He felt a little bit of tiredness in his body, so he gave up struggling.

He let his body be moved around, and it seemed that someone was helping him clean up the filth on it. He had to try and open his eyes to see who was helping him.

Oscar didn’t know how long it took, but he finally felt that his eyes could open a bit. Through this gap, he could vaguely see a grey surroundings.

Again, there was the low voice in his ears, but he still couldn’t hear what or who it was. Was it Dannie or Sammie? Were they all alive?

He wanted to shout, but there seemed to be something stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t make his voice heard. He only made some babbling sounds.

But after struggling for a while, he realized that his eyes were finally opened. He opened his hands, and shook them before his eyes. Realizing he could see clearly now, he tried to grab the shadow in front of him.

Then, the voice in his ears became clearer and clearer. It was true that someone was talking, but he couldn’t understand a word of it. While he was busy thinking, his mind sensed the same powerful energy and he also heard a vague voice. The voice sounded so close, and yet so far away.

After several long minutes, his mind gradually calmed down, and he gradually gave up the fight. He unconsciously moved forward, looking in the direction of the vague voice. With all his might, he tried to move forward, thinking that if he could break free, he would be able to see what was happening.

If all this was a dream, then maybe he would go and find his girlfriend and the two of them would have a great time together.

As he gradually regained consciousness, he suddenly thought of the explosion at the gas station and the bloody looking corpses flying in the air. Did he die in that explosion? What are these sticky things sticking around? Is it blood or fat?

He kept wondering if he was dead or insane. He tried to scream several times, but could not open his mouth. He couldn’t help but feel greatly uneasy. It was as if his body or perhaps his soul, was being transformed in a terrible manner.

Oscar struggled for a while, until suddenly, his body became lighter. It was as if he had escaped from the deepest part of the Amazonian jungle.

He immediately reached out his hand and tried to grab something, but he caught hold of nothing. He tried to open his mouth, but spat out some of the liquid which appeared to be blocking his throat. He coughed violently until he realized he could open his mouth. He couldn’t resist taking a greedy breath of what seemed to be fresh air.

Afterwards, he tried his best to open his eyes, but couldn’t open them. Then a vague voice reached his ears, but he couldn’t make out the words. So, he gave up his struggles. He had to try to open his eyes to see who was helping him.

He didn’t know how long it took, but he felt that his eyes were finally able to open a little. Through this gap, he could only see the gray surroundings. He couldn’t see anything clearly, but he could still see something moving.

Once again, the vague voice reached his ears, but he still couldn’t hear what or who it was. He wanted to scream, but something seemed to be stuck in his throat again and he could only made a muttering sound.

After some difficulty, Oscar finally realized that his eyes were open. Now he could see clearly. He was cheering in his mind when he suddenly stopped. He raised his hands up again and saw that they were nearly transparent, wondering what was happening.

[At long last]

Then the voice in his ears became clearer and clearer.

[Welcome to the arcane world, mortal]

"What...who are you?” Oscar asked in apprehension. He couldn’t be talking to God, could he?

[I’m the Remnant. One of a kind....hm...the last of a kind]

The Remnant? Oh, he was surely dead. Accepting the certainty that he was dead, Oscar asked slowly. “I’m dead, right?”

[Yes, you’re here because you’re dead. Totally dead. This is your afterlife. Lucky you]

Oscar frowned, thinking of how this strange voice seemed to know what he was thinking. “But how am I talking to you if I’m dead?”

[Can you see your body?]

“No. I can’t anything.”

[Of course, you can’t. Do you know what that means?]

“I’m blind or dead?”

[Dead. Burnt to ashes. No bone was left. So, without any doubt, you’re dead]

"Can't you not sound..."

[Gruesome? Okay. You. Are. Very. Dead]

“Oh God, who, are you?”

[I’m what remains of the essence in the crystal that’s fused to your soul. That’s why you can talk to me]

“The one on my mother’s chain?”

[Yes, and it’s what kept your soul alive. So be grateful to your mother]

“But why, how... I still don’t understand how, why, I’m talking to you?”

[I’m the crystal guardian, or what is left of the guardian. I have nowhere else to be]

“So, you’re like a leftover of yourself, or something.”

[You made it sound like it was the end of the universe. But yes, I am. Once I served a powerful refiner, a divine mage. But now, only a shadow of my old self is left]

“And the mage?”

[Dead, as the dead can be. This I believe you’ve already guessed]

A chill ran down Oscar’s spine. So, he died only to know he was going to die again?

[It was a daunting task to become a true immortal. I was with him as he traveled all over the realm, searching for the scroll of divinity]

“Scroll of divinity, what’s that?”

[Too much for your brain to comprehend] The Remnant sighed before continuing. [Now that I think about it...]

After the Remnant finished recounting the ordeals, Oscar finally understood the situation.

All those who harnessed ether in this world were called refiners. No matter the class of a refiner, the highest level any essence refiner could reach was the Omnium level, a realm mortal.

Only if a refiner found the scroll of divinity before entering the gates of Hades, would he break through the mortal realm to become a true immortal.

[The crystal in your soul was supposed to be his way out, but my essence has been fading ever since. This is what remains of me to guide you]