They say even when you die you still live on in memories of those around you. But the truth? You're forgotten. Not with hate, not with cruelty just... forgotten."
Even when I die the world will keep spinning and eventually the rivers of time wash away any memory of me off the face of existence.
No matter how special you feel, there's a harsh truth: you will always be forgotten.
There is only one special type of being that can resist the totality of time.
An immortal cultivator
What was it truly like to be a cultivator?
This is a question that kept popping into my head as I finished reading the last pages of one of my favorite cultivation novels.
Cultivation novels were always my favorite genre. You could even say I was obsessed with the idea of becoming a cultivator.
Slowly turning off my phone I shifted my eyes to the setting sun in the distance.
Ever since I was a kid I always dreamed of what it was like to be an immortal cultivator, what it was like to fly high in the sky on a sword as the world trembled in your wake
lowering my hands to touch the bench I was sitting on I felt the wood warm from the sun and rough groves carved into the wood on my palms.
What was it like to live for eternity? What was it like to be free from everything, even death.
As I turned my head up I could see the branches of the tree right next to me stretch above me, casting shadows over my face.
All I ever wanted was to be free from life and the eventual decay of death.
Thinking back to the last couple months of my life I couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh
Recently I had learned that my body had been failing me even though I was still young and I knew it was true. I could feel it, my lifespan running out
My only wish for when I died was for my next life to let me finally accomplish my dream I always pursued.
"I don't want my story to die here. Please… … …"
Before I knew it I started to feel something wet forming in my eyes.
Pathetic.
No. Why am I begging?
A wish means nothing if I just sit and cry. I don't want mercy—I want another chance. Even if I have to reincarnate endlessly, even if I have to crawl through lifetimes, I will carve out a path to immortality.
I will become a cultivator.
Feeling the teardrops slowly roll down my cheek, I could feel the last bits of light from the afternoon sun kiss my face. I instinct fully knew it was my time.
As the wind gently blew behind me, I reached my arm up and grabbed a leaf from one of the lowest hanging branches of the tree and plucked it from its branch.
Running my fingers along the groves of the leaf, I slowly brought the shaking leaf up to my face and started blowing into it. As I blew into the leaf, it gave a low, trembling melody, one of endless melancholy for what was about to happen next.
Slowly but surely, the darkness crept in and everything turned black.
…
Deep in an uncharted forest full of massive towering trees, a city built on the branches of massive trees was stealthily hidden from the rest of the world.
On each of the massive trees there were giant wooden platforms attached and resting on the branches of the trees. In the center of each of the platforms were houses carved out of the tree itself
Connecting the tree platforms were long bridges made of wood and massive vines swaying in the wind
Inside one of the carved out houses a boy with long black hair and bright green eyes was slowly waking up
Laying on a silk mattress packed with leaves, a boy with long black hair was deep in sleep.
If someone was looking from above they could see his eyelids twitching and his breathing becoming rapid.
As the foggy, dreamlike world finally collapsed, the boy suddenly gasped awake.
Clutching his clothes in shock Silas took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself
"What exactly was that?
He pressed his hand against his chest and felt his heart rate
'What kind of dream was that?' Silas thought 'they felt more like memories'
As Silas tried to sit up his body was immediately hit with an overwhelming sense of pain and soreness
Falling back down to his bed Silas started to panic again.
As he panicked his head started shooting with pain, it felt as if his brain was splitting in two as if two different people were occupying his body
"What's happening, why is my body like this and whose memories are these!?"
Seeing himself in this state Silas slowly took a deep breath in and tried to calm himself down
'It's just like dad always said nothing good will come when panicking' Silas thought to himself
After a couple minutes of deep breathing he finally claimed himself down enough to gather his thoughts
"Okay, okay let's try to figure this out" Silas murmured to himself "My name is Silas Everwood and I think these are my memories from my past life"
Reflecting on what he just said, Silas couldn't help but feel it was a little bit silly but something inside him told him he was right.
'Well the elders did say that when a person dies they can get reincarnated' Silas thought
'But if that's the case then why do I remember my past life?'
Thinking back on everything a strange thought wiggled into his head
"Maybe in this life I can become a cultivator!" Silas shouted
Thinking about the possibilities he immediately became excited
"Yeah in this life I will achieve my dream and become immortal!"
Feeling his heart race with anticipation he felt confused again
"Wait, what is a cultivator?" Silas murmured to himself
"I think it's a concept from my past life" he continued
Feeling confused and frankly a little worried about his current condition Silas tried to move on and remember what happened
Thinking back on what he was doing something dawned on him
Reaching up he pressing two fingers to the center of his forehead desperately trying to find something. His skin was smooth and flawless like normal
Nothing
His heart skipped a beat.
"No…" His breath quickened. "No, no, no, no, no"
He threw his blanket off and swung his legs to the side of the bed as he tried to get up. His knees buckled as soon as his feet touched the floor, sending him crashing down with a choked grunt.
A wave of nausea hit him. He coughed, then forced himself onto his hands and knees, dragging in unsteady breaths.
'There's no way I could have missed it!'
His arms shook as he pushed himself upright again. He grabbed onto the edge of a low table to steady himself and rose slowly, bit by bit. His legs wobbled beneath him, but they held—barely.
It took all his effort to stumble to the doorway, shoving aside the vine curtain, he took his first step outside.
Blinding light met him, and he squinted instinctively. It was mid-morning, the sun filtered through layers of thick green leaves above.
Taking his first steps outside he was immediately meet with the sight of the dazzling tree city
Walking step by step out onto the platform he could Feel the heavyness in his legs but he refused to collapse on the ground
As the more he walked outside the more people stared. noticing his bruised and battered body people started talking
"Hey is he that kid that fell" someone in the crowd murmured
"Yeah I heard somehow failed his spirit bonding ceremony" someone else said
"That's insane how can someone fail the spirit bonding ceremony" another one said
"Yeah I heard it was so bad that he somehow fell off the platform"
The spirit bonding ceremony was the most important tradition amoung the spirit race.
It was were the children would officially become members of the spirit race by bonding with a spirit companion which will be with them for the rest of their lives
All members of the spirit race are easily able to bond with spirits so the fact that one of them couldn't was absurd
At this point no one was whispering anymore and Silas could hear it all.
'There's no way I failed. I couldn't have' Silas thought in disbelief
Realizing he failed the bonding ceremony his legs finished bucked under the pressure to stand up.
Falling to the ground he felt his head start to get light and he slowly started to fall unconscious again
"Silas!"
Seeing everything turn dark he could hear a woman shout his name in the background
'This can't be real it had to be a dream'
That was the last though before everything turned dark