If you could restart your life, would you do it? This was a question that constantly surfaced in Andre Browner’s mind. 

Andre was born in America, the supposed Greatest Country in the World. Maybe it was, but that didn’t mean life was easy. Andre wasn’t born into wealth of any sort. From the beginning, all he had to rely on was his intelligence. While a lack of wealth didn’t mean he had nothing, it meant accomplishing anything would be more difficult if he couldn’t get money. Therefore, if Andre wanted to live a good life, he couldn’t take ‘the legal route’. Early on he learned to lie and cheat. He took advantage of others and earned money in the fastest and easiest way possible. He sold drugs and laundered money; he did pretty much anything he could to get what he wanted. To many people he could be considered ‘the worst of the worst’, but to him it was life. That was to say, he wasn’t heartless or without a conscience, he just put himself first. 

Andre is now in his early 30’s, he’d been living like this for decades and it was starting to weigh on his conscience. But what could he do? It was too late for him to change his life now; he was too mired in this life to change the way he lived. He’d never been arrested due to his intelligence and capability; however, he had nothing that could allow him to lead a respectable life in the eyes of other people.

Nowadays that singular question seemed to pull his attention more often even to the point of him becoming unfocused. The reason for this was the fact that he knew his life wouldn’t last much longer. He’d finally been caught, the police had tracked a number of crimes to him and he was on the run. The last few weeks had consisted of him staying wherever he could, never in the same place for long. He had made many acquaintances over the years, but they were the same as him. Their lives were more important so they wouldn’t keep him for long.

At the moment he was staying in a shady rundown motel on the outskirts of a poverty-stricken town. His possessions consisted of a small number of clothes and a little bit of cash remaining from what he had swiped before he had to run. Right now it was 8:42 pm, he planned to leave in the middle of the night, around 1 pm. This was his normal routine now. He hardly went anywhere in the daytime for fear of being recognized. 

“I better get some sleep”, he mumbled to himself. Being alone as much as he had recently had birthed a habit of talking to himself. ‘Tomorrow’s gonna be another long day,’ he thought.

*BEEP* *BEEP*

The alarm he’d set for 12:40 was going off, it was time for him to leave. He swiped the cash sitting on the table and zipped his backpack. He grabbed his keys and opened the room door. It was pitch black outside, the lights outside his room were broken and probably had been for a while. He stepped out of his room and closed the door. Just as he was turning to leave he heard a sound he knew well.

*Click*

He heard the sound of the hammer on a pistol being pulled back, and the sound came from a few inches away from his ear. 

“Don’t move, I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Drop that bag and walk away and keep walking until I can’t see you.”

*thump*

The bag made a soft thumping noise as it hit the ground, but Andre hadn’t moved yet.

“Go!”

Andre hesitated, everything he had was in that bag. If he left it, it’d be the same as walking to his death. After coming to a decision, he turned and made a grab in the direction he heard the gun.

*BANG*

The moment he turned a gunshot thundered around the motel. ‘He was true to his word’ thought Andre, ‘he really didn’t hesitate.’ He felt pain in his chest which quickly spread throughout his entire body. 

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One of his lungs had been punctured and it would be minutes before he drowned in his blood.

He heard the footsteps of the man and a swishing sound as he picked up the bag and ran off. ‘I guess it ends here,’ he thought ‘there’s one less criminal in this world.’ The pain faded and a numbness replaced it. His eyesight went blurry and he faded from consciousness.

Sometime later he felt an odd sensation. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling anything, but for some reason his body felt light and airy and full of energy. He opened his eyes and found himself standing on … nothing? Everything around him was a gray abyss. He couldn’t make anything out only that it seemed to stretch endlessly. He looked down at his body and found that it seemed to be made of something like smoke. He felt a presence behind him and turned around, a dark shadow was standing not far from him. Close enough that he could talk to him but just far enough away that he couldn’t make out any details other than the figures humanoid shape.

He stared at the figure and wondered what it was. While the figure was mysterious, he didn’t feel fear while looking at him. The figure faced him and he had the odd sense that it was peering right into his very being.

After some time of silence, the figure spoke. “You aren’t ready to go yet. I can see it in your soul.” The figure’s voice was flat and emotionless and was neither high nor low. “Do you want another chance? You have the capacity to accomplish much if you set yourself to it.” 

“Another chance at what?” Andre looked up at the figure, his interest piqued.

“Another chance at life of course. A strong soul like yours is wasted on a mundane place like Earth where the soul has no effect on life.”

“So you’re saying I can live again? Like reincarnation?”

“Yes, exactly. There are many planes of existence and earth is on one of them, the plainest one too. Each of these planes has different laws of nature and life works differently. If you want, I can give you another chance on one of these planes. You’ll be able to use that remarkable soul of yours to live a great life if you have the perseverance to do it.”

Andre stood there and thought for a moment. “You said that the laws were different on all of these planes. What would the new one be like?”

“This plane’s laws don’t use the science that you’re used to but rather use something the inhabitants call ‘profound cultivation’. Cultivators, as they call them, can take in the energy of the universe and turn it into their own strength. This profound strength allows them to do many things such as controlling elements and flying; the truly strong are even capable of destroying planets and creating matter. Cultivation also greatly improves lifespan, allowing stronger cultivators to live hundreds of times longer than a normal human.”

“Alright, I’ll do it. I’ve got nothing to lose anyway.” Andre paused for a moment then spoke again, “How will this reincarnation thing work? Will I keep my memories?”

“There’s no problem with you keeping your memories; however when you are reborn, you will be literally born again. Your memories and experience will turn you into a very unusual child so you must beware. A child with the wisdom of an adult will cause trouble if you aren’t careful.” 

“Will I be any different from other people, my memories aside?”

“You’re already a very unusual soul, the fact that you’re here proves such. In your next life your talent will be affected by the strength of your soul and your willpower. I must also warn you one more thing. In this world profound strength is everything. If you aren’t strong, you won’t have respect; conversely, if you gain strength then everyone will bow before you. This is the chance to restart that you wanted. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, let’s g--”, Andre paused, “wait, who are you?”

“You may find out if you become strong enough. Now prepare yourself, don’t forget that you will no longer be an adult.”

Andre opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get any sound out, the world changed around him. He tried to open his eyes but they seemed to be glued shut. He also couldn’t move his body at all. He felt heat and pressure all around him squeezing him very tightly. Then his body moved very suddenly and his head felt like it was being pushed through a very hot and tight hole. After some resistance his head pushed out of the hole and he felt cool air on his face. He got pushed forward again and more of his body felt the cool air. It was as if something unlocked in his body. As if on impulse he opened his mouth and started screaming. At the same time the sound of hurried adult voices and the cries of a newborn baby assaulted his ears. After a couple of minutes of crying his weak body ran out of energy and he started to fall asleep. Just before he completely lost consciousness he heard a pained woman’s voice.

“His name will be Mu Xinya.”