The flood of memories washed through Alex like a silent storm. Scenes, messages, and fragments of information he had received during reincarnation resurfaced with perfect clarity. Yet as he sorted through them, he quickly realized none of them were immediately useful. They were nothing more than background details, so he pushed them aside.
But as the final fragment dissolved into the void, a sudden thought stabbed into his mind like ice.
'Is there even life on this planet!?'
A cold shiver ran through the core of his consciousness.
The idea of drifting here alone, in an alien world, with no voices, no faces, no future — that was a fear far worse than death.
He called out to the system.
Alex was stunned after hearing the system's answer.
The population is huge.
If he remembered correctly, Earth's population was approximately 8 billion. Compared to this planet, that number felt small.
This made Predora's population terrifyingly high.
As time passed, there was nothing left to talk about and nothing left to ask. So, he simply waited for energy to gather.
He waited.
And waited.
Until his patience slowly began to fade. Irritation crept into his thoughts.
'Why the hell is nothing happening!!?'
It has been already far too long like months but there nothing happening?
Just as he was cursing the system in his mind a notification came into his mind.
Ding!
<+1 Energy.>
Finally.
It had felt like days before he absorbed even one unit of energy.
He checked his status.
The familiar screen appeared before him. Only one line had changed.
[Qi Energy: 2]
He stared at it for a long moment, then let out a silent sigh.
At this rate, he felt he would go insane from boredom long before the energy finished gathering.
Every second stretched endlessly, each one dragging on like an entire year.
If waiting for a single unit of energy took this long, what would happen when he had to wait for the rest?
It would drive him completely mad.
'System… is there anything, anything at all, to increase the energy gathering speed?'
He asked.
The answer was immediate.
'Yes!'
He did not hesitate. His voice carried clear desperation.
Alex felt a jolt run through him.
'What? That's possible? Why didn't you tell me earlier?'
Of course.
He mentally groaned.
But after carefully considering the suggestion, he immediately realized a dangerous possibility.
What would happen if he somehow failed to absorb enough energy and could not awaken?
That would be disastrous.
He asked the system.
Alex let out a sigh of relief.
So, he would not be trapped forever.
'If I somehow stop absorbing energy, will you wake me up?'
After hearing the system's answer, he made his decision.
'Alright… then do it. Put me to sleep. But wake me up if I stop gathering energy for more than a month.'
He chose a month carefully. Based on his current rate, it seemed reasonable. If he chose only four or five days, the system might wake him before he could gather even a single unit of energy.
The void softened around him.
His awareness began to sink, as if he were dropping into warm, still water.
His mind grew quiet. Peaceful.
And then—
It ended.
Alex blinked, or at least, it felt like he did, as sudden awareness returned.
'Huh…? System, why did you wake me up? It's only been a moment…'
The reply came immediately.
Alex froze in disbelief.
'That much time… gone in an instant?!'
Before he could fully process it, another ding sound rang in his mind.
Ding!
A crisp chime echoed through his consciousness, followed by a rapid stream of messages.
<+1 Energy.>
Another chime rang out.
Ding!
And then—
Ding!
Before Alex could react, his awareness was violently pulled from the void, dragged through a blinding tunnel of light. Pressure crushed him, heat wrapped around him, and weight settled onto him. sensations he had not felt since the moment of his death.
Every nerve felt as if it were being re-ignited one by one, his soul stitching itself into flesh in a way that was overwhelming and indescribably real.
Then—
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
A heartbeat.
His heartbeat.
Alex tried to open his eyes, but after existing in nothing but darkness for so long, even the faintest light felt like knives. He sucked in a sharp breath as air rushed into lungs that had only just been formed, his chest rising with unfamiliar weight.
His fingers twitched. His toes curled.
The sunlight pressing against his eyelids burned. Instinctively, his hands rose to shield his eyes as he slowly, carefully pried them open.
The darkness he had lived in for months resisted letting go, but gradually, his vision adjusted.
And when his eyes finally adapted
He opened them.
And the world exploded into colour.