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In a multiverse where time itself had been frozen, all existence lay suspended—stars paused mid-burn, planets frozen in orbit, and civilizations trapped in eternal stasis. Silence reigned across infinity.
And then, a light appeared.
It drifted aimlessly through the frozen cosmos, unaware of the worlds it passed. At first, it seemed fragile, ephemeral—but if one looked closer, they could see a pulsing vein, parasitic and entwined, crawling across it. This was no ordinary light; it was a soul, the soul of one who had lived before and would live again.
Millions of light-years away, a being stirred. A massive, otherworldly entity, its presence so vast it distorted the space around it, made one sudden, instinctive motion. Its twin heads turned toward the soul, sniffing the cosmic currents. One head salivated hungrily; the other watched with detached curiosity.
Then, without warning, the left head ripped itself free from its massive body and lunged toward the soul, moving so fast it appeared to teleport through the void. In a microsecond, it had arrived, jaws wide, ready to consume its target.
But a metallic shing interrupted it—the sharp, precise sound of a sword drawing from its scabbard. Before either head could react, the left head was severed, its form dissolving into nothingness.
The right head paused, stunned, a flicker of excitement in its gaze, tempered by caution. As it prepared to investigate the soul, it was whisked away by a force so fast even it could have tracked it… but it was far too lazy, and that would have ruined its amusement.
Time itself began to bend, reshaping as the entity transformed. Where a monstrous being once loomed, now stood a humanoid figure—breathtaking, terrifying. Red hair framed a sharp, confident face, and pitch-black irises glimmered with amusement. Muscular and imposing, he flexed, noticing one of his arms was missing. A smirk twisted his lips.
"Well… isn't this interesting? A stray soul, far from the Sanzu River," he whispered. Then, laughter erupted—wild, destructive, tearing through nearby planets, only for them to revert to their original state moments later.
His gaze returned to the soul drifting before him. "Guess it's time to resume… and get some entertainment. I've been asleep too long."
With those words, time resumed. Stars ignited, worlds spun once more, and the multiverse began to move again.
And somewhere, far across the cosmos, a soul began its journey toward rebirth.
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To be continued