Knowing how something ends isn't always a good thing. Sometimes, you only realized how much of something you've missed until you've heard the ending. Naturally, there are exceptions to this rule. Like, for example, if you were told how you died.

Let's say that you believed the person who told you your fate. Let's say, his name was John, and you met him on the street. Now, another variable. What if he told you, "You will become immortal, and rule over the world," would you believe him?

No? Well, I didn't either. And now, as I sit upon my ass in a mystical void, I can't help but curse John in my heart. He had definitely jinxed me! I sighed in contempt, absolute annoyance filling my entire being. Was I just supposed to sit here, and think about my life forever?

..That can't be it, right? Definitely not. No deity out there could possibly have such disrespect for their creations, right? Right, guys... Yeah. I'm right. Yep. I'm definitely not conversing with myself, nor am I on the brink of madness. I've only been here for, what, a month now?

Seriously, this is definitely not funny! I'm actually getting scared now, there's no way this is all the afterlife is! Maybe, just maybe, I'm in the womb. Yeah, that has to be it! I'm being reincarnated! I must have a cheat system, or some ability, right? I wonder how I should get access to it...

"Stats!"

...

"System!"

...

"Menu?"

...

Okay, so maybe no system. I guess, then, by process of elimination I must have a cheat ability!

"Thundercross Split Attack!"

...

Well, okay. I guess just reincarnating is perfectly okay. After all, I must be reincarnated into some overpowered Wuxia, or Xianxia right? Maybe even Marvel, or DC! Yeah, I'm gonna be super overpowered! I bet I'll have at least one hundred women in my harem!

..If I ever find a way out of this hellhole, that is. Seriously, does birth usually take this long? Maybe I'm not getting rebirthed. Perhaps this is a coma, or something like that. Maybe an inheritance test, to test my patience and after it I'll be a billionaire or something. Who knows, either way, I... really need to find a way out!

"Damn you, wretched place! Let me out, or I'll bash your skull into the floor with the force of 10,000 Gods!"

Okay, maybe I was losing it just a little. But, It can't be that bad. Perhaps, I just have to wait a little longer. Yeah, just... just a little longer! I'll be free in no time, no time at all!

...

...

All right then, there goes that idea. Is this really all the afterlife is? Waiting, in some pitch black, endless void? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. I'm still not sure... When does the part where I look back on all of my life choices start? I've heard some people do that in the face of overwhelming loss...

No! I'm not lost. I know exactly where I am; death! Yes, death is a place(and it must be here, right?), and I abhor it wholeheartedly! Maybe, I just have to beat up some God, or figure out how to manipulate this place to my will! Naturally after staying here for so long, I should definitely figure it out.

Perhaps, eventually, I'll figure it out on my own. With no aid, no people, and no... no food. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll break out of this goddamn void, whether it likes it or not! But, would my strength even increase while I was in here? It might not, but it wouldn't hurt to try...

I rolled over into a push up position, and started doing push-ups... Until I realized why I never excessively exercised before. I hadn't even gone through a whole set of ten before I was huffing and puffing... but maybe this was my chance to increase my strength. I wasn't tired, nor was I feeling muscle strain, but I was feeling stronger.

So, the way I was to get out... was to train like hell, and then smash my way out of here? Interesting. This would take forever, and it would be annoying, but... I can do it. I could definitely do it! But, it all had to start somewhere. I got back into position... and did a push up. And then, a sit up. After that, what followed were... numerous attempts at other exercises, which gradually evolved into something beneficial over the course of several hours.

I felt the sweat begin to trickle down my forehead as I pushed forward, push up after push up, squat after squat, and I swore loudly. I had gotten rid of my Membership at the Gym for a reason, but... I could definitely feel my body improving at a rapid pace. I began to get faster in my movements, and I began to feel less of a burn in the more extreme exercises. Perhaps, this really would be possible! To break out, to destroy this forsaken after life!

It was then, after a while, that the darkness began to lift. Only a slight change, but to I who has been in this realm for what seemed to be months, it was cataclysmic. The previous pitch black void, now a murky gray, stood stark in contrast to it's previous grandeur. I swept my gaze around, my newfound muscles bulging slightly(hardly noticeable under the clothes I had been wearing since I got here) as I fixated on a rectangular blotch of increasingly bright light.

At the sight, my brows scrunched in errant confusion. Why, what possible reason, could there be such a bright damn light that it could brighten the void like this? Just when I was starting to be productive, had the Heavens come to take me!? Hopefully... I was already missing Hamburgers!

I refused to even look at him, John that is, and just turned around(after I said a few choice words), and continued my training. The stupefied look on his face, and his utter confusion... was absolutely amazing! It gave me such a thrill knowing I was torturing the man who put me... here...

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Wait, if he put me here, couldn't he get me out too? I paused mid-sit up, and twisted slowly. I didn't know I could move as fast as I certainly did right then, and I very much so doubt it was possible for me to arrive here any sooner... But alas, my forehead was resting nicely on his boots, or whatever the heck John was wearing on his feet as I repeatedly begged him to let me out.

John, what a wonderful deity he was, looked completely confused. I understood why, I really did, my sudden change in heart had to have been quite shocking. I did have to give him credit, though, because after his initial confusion he took it in stride. He stared me in the eyes, smiling with what I had to admit was quite a calming smile, and asked me a simple question.

"I apologize for leaving for a couple hours, I had to get some... what, why are you looking at me like that?"

I just stared at him, slack jawed. There was absolutely no way I had only been here for hours! That was nonsense, absolute dog-manure... I had been training for hours, let alone the months I spent in isolation! As these thoughts flashed across my mind, a certain few emotions and faces flashed across Johns.

He seemed to have gained enlightenment on his issues, however, as he just exclaimed quite suddenly.

"Oh! I forgot to turn off Time Dilation... whoops."

He... had made me wait for months on end, although it was beneficial because he presumably forgot to flip... some sort of switch, or something? What... What a forgetful old bastard! This was unforgivable, and I'll... I'll hate him with my entire being, until my death!

"Maybe," he started, "I should give you some sort of bonus or something. You did, after all, nearly die from being in here so long..." He finished with a thoughtful expression, though the more I heard from him, the more my face turned aghast.

Just from being in here, I had almost died!? I began my pleading to be let out ten-fold! No one could underestimate the power of my begging, not even this damnable Deity himself! I began to spew out words so quickly, and so sharp, that John(or whoever he really is,) started stumbling back out of his sheer confusion towards this situation.

Eventually, his face was filled with annoyance. I held my breath as the land beneath me was suddenly scooped up, and I fell out of the sky, the hole above me quickly vaporizing. My eyes twitched, before I looked down.

"Ah... That's... That's... a mountain. Why am I falling towards a mountain?"

Truly in a million years, I Zhongji Huanxiang, did not think I would be falling into the face of a mountain! This situation is utterly unbelievable. Maybe, I am seeing illusions... Yes, that must be it! I am seeing illusions. I just have to hit the ground and... Oh fuck, why is it getting so close!?

"I will call whoever saves me Grand-father!" I yelled, slightly before I hit the ground, and observed the stone millimeters in front of my face as I panted heavily. Whoever saved me... clearly thought of me as a joke! I will definitely become strong, and repay this moment a hundred fold. But first, I have to learn about my surroundings. I can't just become strong by brute forcing it, if there's magic... I must learn magic! If there's guns, I must learn marksmanship! If there's cultivation... I must become an Immortal!

Suddenly, I plopped onto my face. However, I didn't die at least... so I was saved! But, I would definitely not fulfill my promise about calling whoever saved me, my Grand-father, that would... just be too shameful.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I stood up, the world fading to black from my sudden stand. I wobbled on my feet, cursing wildly, as I looked around - the world had already returned to colour. I just looked, mesmerised and confused, at the black-sand wasteland around me. On either side of the mountain range I was on was a terrible place. No trees, no people, no water. My knowledge of watersheds said that this shouldn’t be possible, yet here I stood. I murmured a few more profanities, before I began my descent down the mountain. Maybe… Just maybe I could find some people after traveling for a while.

As I continued, on my way quickly, I tripped on a lump of gray stone. I continued tumbling downward, my speed snowballing, as I realized something. This... this wasn't a mountain at all! It was the same as the sand, but it was harder! My eyes widened a bit, although it wasn't shocking, I was at the very least thankful it didn't hurt as I continued on my rapid descent.

I laid on the ground, several hundred words a second spewing out of my mouth. That stupid, damnable rock I tripped on had come down with me and bashed into my ankle… It was basically a razor scooter, all over again! I felt like coughing blood. This was… this isn’t fair! I continued to curse, as I mended to my ankle with a sorrowful expression on my face.

I sniffled, sadly, as I turned again to look at the sky. My eyes watered, as I picked up the rock that had dared to make me feel such pain… only to realize how heavy it was. It felt like I was trying to grab a pickup truck with one pinky! I wrinkled my face in effort, before sighing as I realized it just wasn’t worth it. I just continued to sit in silence, looking at my bruised and battered ankle, and the rock next to it. I felt like crying. This… was totally unfair.

“Screw you, John… Screw you, stupid rock! When I get strong, I’ll… crush this rock with just my pinky finger!” I promised to myself, although I knew I probably would never be able to do it.

I closed my eyes, and began to realize how hungry I was… Perhaps, I should find a village or something. They would give me food, right? Probably… I opened my eyes. I stared blankly as I heard a sound in my head, monotonous and robotic. Although… it definitely had a feminine tone. Why… was I hearing a female robot exactly..?

“You have gained access to the ‘Countless Spear System.’ Your age has passed the primary cultivation range, would you like to reset your age?”

I don’t even know if it was possible, but my eyelids definitely broke through the sound barrier with the speeds at which they twitched. I had tried for days on end, trying to figure out the command prompt for a system I didn’t have… but now I had one? Are you kidding me!? Why could you… not have come earlier! I grunted in response to the message, before wondering… how on earth would I even accept? Did I have to say it, think it, or something?

“Yes. Reset my age.”

…

…

“I said… I agree to resetting my age.”

…

…

“Reset Age.”

It took a few seconds after I said the final sentence, before I was promptly shoved into a black void. Perhaps I was tricked… Why was I back here? I shouted in fury, before realizing. I had probably been knocked out, as to avoid the pain… I suddenly had a cold sweat, before thanking whatever deity created this system. I began to wander about my consciousness, before I stopped. The entire realm around me, the inky void that seemed to have no end, began to shift. Although I shouldn’t have been able to see it, the void around me began to gather in the shape of what looked to be… a stick? No, the shape was way too… phallic. Perhaps… my consciousness was making a dick joke. Could… could it even do that? My eyes blinked in realization.

It was a spear. It really shouldn’t have taken me that long to realize it, and by now the black was able to be seen being completely ripped from certain areas as a gray overtook the darkness slowly. Perhaps this was what they meant when they said that Patience is a virtue. I just had to wait…

“Waiting fucking sucks! Get me out of this place, you goddamn system! I’ll… I’ll delete you! I know where system32 is!”

There was absolutely no response from my threat. I tsked and breathed a sharp breath outwards. I would be in here for a while, might as well make use of it. The last time I was in a place like this, I was able to train. So, why couldn’t I do it again?

…

I very quickly began to regret my decision to train. I hadn’t realized it, but my body had already begun to shrink. So, the ‘quick train’ feature of this place… Hurt like hell! As my muscles grew and then were compressed, my strength rose wildly… but the pain was enormous! I ground my teeth, and continued. If this would boost even my miniscule chance of survival in whatever kind of world this was, I’d take it. If it turned out to be a regular world, with guns and stuff, no harm no foul. If it was cultivation, or magic, or something like the X-Men… I’d definitely be thankful. There was no way I was going to waste this. My eyes continued watering as I exercised. I almost couldn’t hold on when the pain began to lessen, and I realized my age had fully reset, and the Void-black Spear in the center of my consciousness had finished forming.

Well, that was a good thing at the very least. I laughed a little, only to feel a certain indescribable shock as I was ejected from the space. I had been standing previously, but now… I was floating? I quickly realized that… I was not supposed to be floating. And as Bob Ross once said, all things that go up, must come down. That… that was who said it right? Meh, not important, at least… It wasn’t as important as the floor quickly approaching me once again. Although it wouldn’t hurt… it definitely wouldn’t feel good!

I quickly began to screech, terror filling my lungs. Hey, I didn’t say I wasn’t a wimp when it came to this sort of thing… I thumped onto the ground, and I stopped screeching as I realized… that didn’t hurt at all! As soon as I touched the ground, the “Countless Spears System” spoke up once again. I still couldn’t decipher their voice, but as soon as I realized what was happening…

Suffice to say, I was shocked senseless.