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Hao Yun stepped into the black-violet portal. Nothing changed, though. he returned to Earth. In the same place at Sinseol-dong station, where he left, as if he had never entered the portal.
Or so it looked like.
Hao Yun could clearly notice, feel, and see that this place looked exactly like someone had copied Earth and pasted its layout here, but there were no humans.
There were many types of creatures, all completely different from what we find on Earth. They had no particular shape, or more like, they could maintain a shape.
"Urgh... what's with these creatures? How come there is not a single human? Is this still Earth? Am I misteleported to some alien planet?" he thought.
He couldn't have believed that he was on a parallel Earth if not for those creatures. One of the roaming creatures noticed Hao Yun. He called him out and asked how he came here.
In an instant, the creature noticed Hao Yun had a physical body. It was a big shock for him. He asked Hao Yun if he came from the first dimension."
Hao-Yun thought for a while.
"If this strange place is called the Earth of the second dimension, then the original Earth must be the first dimension."
He replied, "Yeah, I came from the first dimension. But what of it!"
From this brief moment of conversation, Hao Yun knew this creature didn't seem to hold any malice towards him, but he could never be too careful.
He asked the creature who he was, and why there were so many strange creatures on this planet, even their shapes were so weird.
The creature didn't like Hao Yun calling him and other people strange. But he also didn't take it seriously. He casually introduced himself as one of the peacemakers of that particular area, and his name was Bleu.
According to Bleu, their planet was called Ethereal Earth, and around 5 percent of living beings who died on Earth reincarnated there. All the people there were in their Ethereal form. A form that wasn't static like the physical body, but more like a cloudy and wobbly semi-transparent body whose shape couldn't be determined.
Bleu continued, "The ones whom you can partially see through are weaker individuals, the ones who are opaque are stronger ones."
"So, what you mean to say is all people here are souls, and some of them are people who died on Earth."
"Yeah, you can say that."
Bleu warned Hao Yun that the Ethereal Earth was too dangerous for a flesh body holder like him; if he stayed for too long, the dimension itself would notice his presence and exterminate his soul directly.
Hao Yun was stunned; he couldn't believe this new twist. He asked Bleu if he was serious.
Bleu in reply said one sentence, "What possibly could I gain by lying to a weakling like you?"
Hao Yun didn't like the way Bleu put things up, but still, he realized that he was in deep trouble."
"If he stays for too long, the dimension will exterminate him like a bug, if he leaves now, that shitty system would hand him over to the demons..."
"No-No-No, I can't die like this. Not before getting avenging mother and Joo na. Something... There must be some way."
"Think Hao-Yun, think! You don't have enough time."
█▓▒░ TASK UPDATED ░▒▓█
[Detected Host has successfully reached the second dimension.]
[Reach the Floating Cave of Mytora.]
A system task had been updated. Hao Yun had received a new objective, an objective that required him to reach a place called the Floating Cave of Mytora. But, where would he find such a place in this unknown world?
He had no lead. He also tried asking the system, but...
SILENCE...
No response came.
Having no choice, Hao Yun took a risk and tried asking Bleu if he knew about the cave.
"Mr. Bleu, do you know about a place called the Floating Cave of Mytora? You don't know, right?"
"I do."
"Yeah, I knew it! How could it be this simple to just ask someone for directions... Wait, you do!"
Hao Yun was surprised. That was really fast, but now the problem was... will Bleu share the location with him?
Bleu said, "Who doesn't know about Famous Caves of Mytora in the Ethereal Earth?"
"S-So, can you possibly tell me the directions?"
"Of course! You are also after the Ethereal Cores, right?"
"W-What? H-How do you know?"
Hao Yun was surprised once again. How did Bleu know he was after the Ethereal Cores? But to his relief, Bleu said that a lot of people tried to obtain the Ethereal Cores; however, none returned.
The reason?
There was a guardian spirit.
In Hao Yun's point of view, things are getting more and more complicated since he teleported to this parallel Earth. First, there was no human creature. Second, he couldn't stay for too long. Third, he didn't have the directions or any lead to where his destination was. Then, when he got a small lead, a guardian spirit emerged out of nowhere.
There was just one thought in Hao Yun's mind: "Could anyone be more unlucky than me?"
Still, he must visit the cave and bring back the Ethereal Cores if he wants to live.
"If you are that determined, let me take you there." Bleu was ready to take Hao Yun to his destination. He expanded his semi-transparent Ethereal body and engulfed Hao-Yun in it.
The next moment, Hao Yun opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by white clouds; the sky was clear and bright blue, but he was able to see stars.
"How can there be such a beautiful place in the world?" he thought. His eyes enlarged, dazzling like the shine of the golden sun.
"Bleu, where did you bring me?"
"Where you say, it's the same place."
"Same place, are you kidding me?"
"No-no, it's really the same place, we are in the same place, just 10 thousand feet above the ground."
"What? You mean we are in the sky?"
"Yes, look! There is the cave you wanted to visit!"
Hao-Yun took a glance at where Bleu was pointing and noticed that there was really a huge rocky cave floating in the sky.
"How could this be so simple and easy? It's not even half a day since I got the new task, and I'm already in front of my destination."
Both of them walk towards the cave. Hao-Yun is too surprised by the fact that instead of falling, he is easily able to walk in the clouds.
For some reason, he also felt quite light, like his body was losing weight.
"Is there any hidden mechanism that's making me feel so light, or is it because of the purity of the air?"
"It's neither. Wait for a few more days, and you'll find yourself roaming in this world with a near-transparent body."
"What?"
"Didn't figure it out yet? It's because of this dimension's law, flesh bodies can't sustain here.''
"Look, we have reached your destination."
Hao-Yun got yet another reason to complete this task within three days and leave this place immediately.
"Looking from here, this cave is not that big. Still, how is it floating in the air?"
"Who knows? The folks here one day found this cave as it is, and because it was floating here right beneath the city of Mytora, they named it The Floating Caves of Mytora."
"Hmm... That's intriguing, but I didn't ask for a history lesson."
"Listen, kid, from here on, you are on your own. I can't go inside with you; no matter what you do, it's your responsibility. So, make decisions wisely."
"Thanks a lot, Bleu..."
"But, before you go, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Why did you help an alien person like me without any obligation?"
"T-That's a secret. You are not worthy enough to know it yet."
"Now, don't worry about unnecessary things and go do the thing for which you came here!"
"Okay! See you again, Bleu!"
Hao-Yun chose not to probe any further since Bleu wasn't willing to tell him anything. He also felt like some things should come out when the time is right.
With that in mind, Hao-Yun took his first step in the cave.
Unlike outside, the cave seemed bigger, as if it were connected to somewhere else.
Hao-Yun was confused about why he was not encountering any difficulties at all. From the moment he teleported into this place to entering the cave, he didn't face any challenge or problem. He is not a child of luck.
It didn't sit right in Hao-Yun's mind, yet he continued walking deeper into the cave.
At one point, Hao-Yun began doubting his own existence, the system's intention, and why he accepted the existence of the system and the death of those 1 billion people so easily.
The further he thought, the further he fell down, as if someone was making him carry a large boulder; the weight of the pressure was too much.
Tears begin flowing out of his eyes as Hao-Yun suddenly sees some memory flashes, the scene where he, Joo na, and his mother have bought a new home. There's an 85-inch display on which he and Joo na are competing in a fighting game. Their mother bakes some cookies for them, but just as he tries to pick one... it falls apart.
He couldn't understand what was happening. Everything he tries to touch falls apart. Darkness engulfs him, and he becomes unable to see anything.
All of this made him very sad; he felt the pain, like something was eating him alive. It made him forget everything and just wish he wasn't born on Earth.
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