Nathan never imagined that death would be this… quiet.
He wasn't falling, floating, or standing. He wasn't even sure if he existed in a physical sense anymore. There was only darkness—endless, cold, and impossibly silent. Time didn't flow here. Minutes, hours, days—everything blended together in a formless mass of nothing.
If this was the afterlife, someone seriously needed to file a complaint.
Nathan's thoughts spiraled through the void.
He didn't want to die.
Not yet.
Not like this.
He wanted a life—an actual life. One where he could travel the world, see different countries, drive luxury cars, live in a huge mansion, and maybe—just maybe—find out who his parents were.
But all of that had shattered the moment those thugs threw him in front of a truck.
Dead.
He was actually dead.
The realization settled heavily in the emptiness around him.
His soul drifted without direction, without a body, without senses. He couldn't feel tears even though he desperately wanted to cry. All he had was a single, tormenting thought repeating in his mind:
Why me? Why did I die just like that? I still had dreams… I still wanted to live…
He didn't know how long he remained like that—minutes? Hours? Years? No idea. Time didn't exist here. Everything was numb, empty, and endless.
Is this forever? Is this what happens after death? Do I just wander in this void until I lose my mind?
Nathan's consciousness was drifting, slipping deeper into confusion and fear when—
DING.
A sharp mechanical chime rang out, slicing through the silence like a knife.
Nathan flinched—even though he wasn't sure he had nerves to flinch with.
A robotic voice echoed through the void:
> [Host has been chosen for the SUPREME SECT SYSTEM. System is now fusing with host's soul.]
Nathan froze.
"A voice…? Did I just hear a voice? Am I hallucinating?" he muttered in confusion, spinning mentally (if not physically) to search for the source.
There was nothing. Only the void.
Then—
DING.
> [SYSTEM IS FUSING WITH HOST'S SOUL]
"What—what was that?" Nathan whispered, his nonexistent heart pounding.
Another DING followed.
> [Fusion beginning. 1%… 3%...]
Suddenly, a scorching, indescribable pain tore through him.
If he still had a body, Nathan imagined it would've felt like every bone shattering simultaneously, every nerve being ripped apart. But this was deeper—this agony was carved directly into his soul.
It felt like his very existence was being peeled apart.
> [7%… 14%… 35%...]
Nathan screamed.
"STOP! STOP!! PLEASE!" His voice trembled with agony.
But the pain didn't stop. It only intensified.
> [55%… 70%… 85%...]
"I'M GONNA DIE—AGAIN!" Nathan shouted. "SYSTEM, WHOEVER YOU ARE—STOP!!"
Nothing listened.
Nothing cared.
> [93%… 100%]
DING.
> [FUSION COMPLETED.]
The pain vanished instantly, leaving Nathan breathless—well, soul-breathless.
He would've collapsed if he had legs.
"Phew…" he exhaled shakily. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."
The memory of the pain alone was enough to make him tremble.
But then something clicked in his mind.
He had read novels—light novels, web novels, system stories. In those, the main character would die and get reincarnated with some kind of powerful system.
"Wait… wait… don't tell me…" Nathan murmured. "Am I really… getting reincarnated with a system?"
As if answering him—
DING.
> [Congratulations, host. Fusion with soul complete.]
Nathan's eyes widened—not that he had physical ones.
"Am I… the main character now?" he whispered excitedly. "System! System! Where are you? Can you hear me?"
Another chime echoed.
> [Yes, host. I am your system—THE SUPREME SECT SYSTEM.]
A thrill ran through him.
"Supreme Sect System?" Nathan repeated. "Who created you?"
> [Host's authority is too low to access this information. Please increase authority.]
"Oh…" Nathan mumbled. "So I need to level up for lore. Cool. Cool."
He took a breath—out of habit—and asked, "Alright then, System… what exactly do you do?"
> [I will assist host in becoming stronger and in establishing the greatest sect in existence.]
Nathan blinked in disbelief.
"Wait—sect? As in those legendary cultivation sects? Do those even exist in the world I came from? I've never seen one!"
> [Host's original world does not contain cultivation or sects. The sect you will build shall be in the cultivation world.]
Nathan froze.
Then excitement surged through him like a bolt of lightning.
All his fear, pain, and confusion evaporated in an instant.
A new world?
Cultivation?
A system?
A chance to start over?
This was better than anything he could have imagined in his old life—where he had no friends, no family, no future, nothing.
But now?
Now he had a chance to become someone. Someone powerful. Someone respected. Someone impossible to ignore.
A new life.
A new beginning.
A spark lit inside him.
"Alright," Nathan said eagerly. "Let's do this. I'm ready."
DING.
> [Host, please create your appearance.]
The moment the words rang out, a transparent blue screen materialized before him. Lines of text hovered neatly across it:
NAME:
AGE:
SEX:
APPEARANCE:
Nathan jumped slightly—this was the first visual thing he had seen since he died.
"What is this screen?" he asked.
> [Only host can see system screens. They will not obstruct host's vision.]
"Ohhh… so it's like a hologram," Nathan said, nodding. "Got it."
He filled the fields one by one.
NAME:
"Nathan Black," he said. "I may be dead, but my name stays."
AGE:
"Still eighteen," he decided. "I got robbed of that birthday party; I'm keeping the age."
SEX:
He hesitated.
"What would being female be like?" he wondered.
Then he shook his head.
"Nope, too much confusion for a first life reboot. Male it is."
APPEARANCE:
Nathan grinned as he adjusted the visualization.
Short black hair.
Sharp jawline.
And deep blue eyes that looked like a calm ocean hiding storms beneath.
When he finished, the system spoke:
DING.
> [Host, prepare for transmigration.
East Continent of the Cultivation World has been chosen randomly.
Transfer beginning.]
Before Nathan could ask what "East Continent" meant, the void around him began to ripple.
A brilliant white light appeared—glowing like a miniature sun.
The light pulsed, expanding and contracting as if breathing.
Then, like a vacuum, it began pulling him in.
"Whoa—wait—WAIT—!" Nathan yelped as his soul was sucked toward it.
The void vanished.
The light swallowed him whole.
A new life was about to begin.