The world was burning.
Lin Yuan's last memory on Earth was the blinding flash of an explosion—a laboratory cloaked in secrecy, a humming orb of unknown origin suspended in stasis, and then, chaos.
And now... silence.
When his consciousness returned, it was not to the cold sterility of steel and machines, but to the stench of blood and damp earth. His body screamed with pain, every muscle shredded, bones cracked. Groaning, he opened his eyes.
Above him loomed a blood-red moon, its sickly glow casting long shadows over a forest of twisted black trees. The wind carried the scent of rust and decay, and distant beast howls echoed through the night. A sky not of Earth.
I'm alive? No...
His mind raced. This wasn't Earth. This wasn't the lab. And this definitely wasn't his body.
He sat up—or tried to. Agony lanced through him. Looking down, he saw tattered robes soaked in blood, a chest marred by a deep gash, and fingers trembling with exhaustion. Beneath the pain, however, was something stranger: a pulse. Not of the heart, but deep within his soul.
A glowing sphere floated in the void of his consciousness, nestled where his spiritual core should be. It shimmered with a strange light, constantly shifting—metallic, fluid, and alive.
The orb… from the lab?
He focused on it, and instinctively, knowledge surged into him.
—Origin Devouring Orb—
Function: Absorb the Origin essence of matter, energy, and law.
State: Awakened (Bound to soul core)
Note: Host synchronization—100% complete.
As if to prove its power, he saw a dim blue wisp floating nearby in the void. A shard of Origin—raw essence. Without thinking, the orb extended a tendril and devoured it.
Warmth flooded his body. The pain dulled. His fractured bones began to knit. His skin slowly closed over the gash. He gasped.
It can heal... It can cultivate...
His mind snapped back to reality when he heard voices—harsh, sneering, getting closer.
"...Useless trash. Should've died when we pushed him off the cliff."
"He still breathes, let's finish it this time."
Two figures stepped into view, outer disciples clad in the same torn robes. Lin Yuan's new body trembled—memories not his own surged forth. Humiliation. Betrayal. Pain. These two had ambushed the previous owner of this body—a weak disciple of the Broken Sky Sect—for a cultivation pill.
But now… Lin Yuan was no longer him.
The orb pulsed again. He felt it hunger.
Then feed.
He reached for a broken sword nearby and staggered to his feet. The two disciples laughed—until the air around Lin Yuan shifted. His eyes glowed faintly with a light they couldn't comprehend.
And as they charged, Lin Yuan whispered:
"Come, then. Let me devour your fate."