Just as Uchiha Cheng thought he was about to die again, he opened his eyes once more.
He found himself in a strange space, standing on a surface of water that resembled a lake. There was no light source nearby, yet the darkness glowed yellow, allowing him to make out his surroundings.
He stood up. His body no longer felt weak.
What was going on? He'd been fighting desperately to protect his mother just moments ago. How had he suddenly ended up here? Infinite Tsukuyomi? A brain in a vat?
He glanced around. Not far away, an old man with two horns on his head sat cross-legged on the water, floating above its surface. Nine black orbs circled him, and a dark staff hovered behind his back. Purple rings appeared in his eyes.
The Sage of Six Paths!
Uchiha Cheng immediately recognized the man before him and understood his own predicament.
It seemed he really was close to death. Otherwise, the Sage of Six Paths wouldn't have appeared before him from the underworld.
But why had the Sage of Six Paths appeared before him? Could it be because he was a Transmigrator, and the Sage of Six Paths had come to erase him? He looked at his body. In his previous life, he'd been an adult, so his soul should have been an adult too. Yet now his body was that of a child.
Uchiha Cheng made up his mind. Whatever happened, he'd play it cool first.
"Are you the god who's taking me to the underworld?" Uchiha Cheng asked tentatively.
"I am Hagoromo, the creator who established order and stability," the old man replied calmly.
I know you're the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki. I was just testing you.
"Then you're not the god taking me to the underworld. So, old man, why have you appeared before me? Could it be that you're dead too? Are you going to the underworld with me?"
He pretended not to know the old man's identity and kept asking questions.
"On what basis dost thou determine that thou art dead? Thy understanding of death differs from that which I held in life. To treat life and death so lightly, though thou art young, thou art truly a man of great courage," the old man said.
I can't. I could understand the first sentence, but the rest sounded so awkward.
"Old man, could you say that more simply? More plainly? I can't understand what you're saying!" Uchiha Cheng said helplessly.
"Is that so?" The old man thought for a moment, then changed his manner of speaking.
"There's a gap between our eras. As time has passed, cultural traditions and ways of thinking have changed greatly. Whenever I speak with someone from the present across such a gap, I'm struck by just how different we are."
"That's much better. So, old man, who are you, really?"
"I am the Sage of Six Paths."
"The Sage of Six Paths? So you're a god, then? The stories say you're the god who created the world."
"I'm not that great. I only created Ninshu."
Uchiha Cheng gradually relaxed. Whatever the case, the Sage of Six Paths hadn't exposed him. Whether or not he knew Uchiha Cheng was a Transmigrator, he didn't seem to have any ill will toward him. Besides, there was nothing Uchiha Cheng could do to resist him anyway.
"Old man, since you're the Sage of Six Paths, could you show me how my mother's doing? I'm worried about her."
"There's no need. Your mother is unharmed, and the man who assaulted her has already left." The Sage of Six Paths touched the water with his staff, and an image of Uchiha Cheng's mother appeared on its surface. She was shaking his cold body and weeping hysterically.
The scumbag was no longer beside his mother, which relieved Uchiha Cheng.