Kael drifted endlessly within the sea of souls.
There was no sun.
No moon.
Only the endless current carrying countless dead toward an unknown destination.
At first, Kael tried estimating time through thought alone, but he quickly realized something dangerous.
Without a proper sense of time, his mind could slowly collapse into confusion.
And confusion, in this place, could mean the loss of self.
So Kael created a method.
Counting.
"1… 2… 3… 4…"
He continuously counted numbers inside his mind while drifting through the river of souls. The repetitive process allowed him to maintain focus and preserve his awareness.
It became his anchor against the endless silence.
Based on his counting speed and mental rhythm, Kael estimated that nearly one full day had already passed since his death.
In the Real World
Inside the laboratory hidden beneath his house, the automated systems were still functioning. Nutrient injections, oxygen circulation, neural stimulation, and organ preservation systems continued sustaining his physical brain.
Kael had designed everything carefully.
Even if he remained clinically dead, his body could theoretically survive for an entire year before the nutrient reserves completely emptied.
That meant he had one year.
One year before his brain finally shut down.
One year before his consciousness disappeared forever.
One year to escape death itself.
If he failed within that time limit…
He would become one of the hollow souls drifting beside him.
After sacrificing his entire life searching for the truth of death, he refused to disappear like this.
Without allowing distractions to consume him, Kael continued counting endlessly. His almost psychopathic level of mental focus became the only thing preserving his sanity within the infinite sea of souls.
Time passed.
Slowly, Kael adapted to the current.
At first, controlling his movement had been difficult. Even while being careful, he still collided with ten or twenty souls every single day. The endless river was chaotic, and the souls flowed with overwhelming momentum.
But gradually, his skill improved.
Day after day, Kael learned how to read the flow of the soul current instinctively. He adjusted his movements with precision, weaving through the endless river with increasing efficiency.
The collisions became fewer.
Then rare.
And after an entire month…
Kael's control over drifting through the sea of souls had reached an almost unnatural level.
His speed increased to its limit.
He moved through the massive current effortlessly, avoiding souls with perfect timing. Unless his thoughts wandered elsewhere, it was nearly impossible for him to collide with another soul now.
It was as though he had been born within the sea of souls itself.
And during this endless drifting, Kael witnessed sights beyond human imagination.
Souls larger than mountains drifted silently through the current.
Titan-like beings with bodies stretching for kilometers floated among the endless dead. Some possessed countless arms, others had forms resembling living continents. One creature's skull alone was larger than a city.
Yet despite their terrifying appearances…
All of them drifted aimlessly like the rest.
Mindless.
Empty.
Dead.
Kael silently observed one colossal soul passing nearby.
If such a being appeared on Earth while alive…
Its mere footsteps could probably destroy entire cities.
-----
As Kael continued drifting through the endless sea of souls.
Days became months.
Months became silence.
Although his drifting speed had increased tremendously, there was still no end in sight to the endless current of the dead.
Nine months had already passed according to Kael's calculations.
Nine months since his death.
Nine months since he entered this underworld.
And still, the river continued endlessly forward.
During this time, Kael developed countless theories.
Perhaps this sea of souls was circular, endlessly looping through the underworld forever. Perhaps souls were recycled continuously without ever reaching a true destination.
But even if his theory was correct, there was no way for him to confirm it.
He had no landmarks.
No stars.
No reference points.
Only an infinite current stretching endlessly in every direction.
Even Kael's abnormal mental endurance was beginning to wear down under the crushing monotony of eternity.
Then—
For the first time in nine months…
Kael saw something impossible.
A soul that could think.
Far ahead within the river, one soul moved differently from the others.
It was observing its surroundings.
Watching nearby souls with visible curiosity.
Unlike the hollow expressions surrounding it, this soul's eyes contained awareness.
Intelligence.
Consciousness.
And most importantly—
It appeared human.
Kael's mind shook slightly.
Another conscious soul?
Before he could react further, the strange man suddenly looked around excitedly like a child discovering a new playground.
Then his gaze landed on one of the massive titan-like souls drifting nearby.
The man froze.
A massive grin slowly spread across his face.
And then—
He laughed.
A loud, distorted laugh echoed through the sea of souls.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Kael's expression changed instantly.
The man opened his mouth unnaturally wide.
Too wide.
His translucent stomach inflated grotesquely as if something inside him had awakened.
Then the surrounding souls began moving.
Toward him.
No—
They were being pulled.
Like dust caught in a vacuum, countless nearby souls suddenly lost control and were dragged violently toward the grinning man.
The man inhaled deeply.
WHOOSH!
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Thousands of souls rushed into his open mouth.
And then—
Crunch.
Kael's eyes narrowed sharply.
The souls entering the man's mouth were being chewed apart like snacks.
The sound echoed horribly through the endless current.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The hollow souls offered no resistance as they were devoured one after another.
And as the man consumed them…
His soul's body slowly became more solid.
-----------
As the man devoured souls like snacks, Kael froze in terror.
His mind struggled to comprehend what he was witnessing.
Who was that man?
What exactly was happening here?
Was this even allowed in the underworld?
But before Kael could think further, he noticed something even stranger.
The sky.
Until now, the endless sea of souls had existed beneath a blank, empty darkness.
But suddenly—
Countless black clouds appeared from nowhere.
They spread rapidly across the endless void above the soul river, swallowing the darkness itself. Purple lightning roared within the clouds like furious dragons awakening from slumber.
BOOOOM!
The entire sea of souls trembled.
The devouring man noticed it too.
For the first time since Kael saw him, hesitation appeared in the man's eyes.
But only briefly.
That hesitation was soon replaced by ruthless determination.
The man turned toward the titan-like soul drifting nearby.
Without the slightest pause—
He shot forward.
Then began devouring the giant soul itself.
The sight was horrifying.
The colossal titan soul, large enough to crush cities in life, was slowly dragged into the man's mouth piece by piece like flesh being consumed by an invisible beast.
And all the while…
The purple lightning in the sky continued gathering strength.
1 second.
2 seconds.
3 seconds.
The pressure in the air intensified.
5 seconds.
6 seconds.
The clouds twisted violently.
8 seconds.
9 seconds.
The giant titan soul had nearly vanished completely.
10 seconds.
BOOOOM!
The purple lightning in the sky finally took shape.
It no longer resembled ordinary lightning.
It looked alive.
Like a divine punishment preparing to descend.
At the same moment, the man finally finished devouring the titan soul entirely.
And for the first time—
Terror appeared on his face.
Without hesitation, the man stretched his hand forward.
Space itself tore apart.
A massive crack opened in reality, forming something resembling a dimensional rift.
Kael's eyes widened.
Escape.
The man was trying to escape this place.
From Kael's perspective, everything had happened far too quickly.
Moments ago, he had merely spotted another conscious soul for the first time in nine months. Before he could even process the situation, the man had started devouring countless souls like a monster.
Terrified, Kael immediately hid himself behind the giant titan soul flowing nearby.
But then—
The man suddenly appeared beside the titan and began devouring it too.
Within seconds, even that colossal soul disappeared completely.
And now…
The man was escaping.
Kael instinctively reached out.
"Hey!"
He wanted help.
He wanted answers.
He wanted to escape this nightmare.
The man instinctively turned his head toward Kael after hearing the voice.
That single second of distraction—
Was enough.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The purple lightning descended from the sky like divine wrath itself.
It struck the man directly before he could enter the rift.
For an instant, the entire underworld turned white.