One More Time

His consciousness gradually blurred. Darkness consumed the world; all things fell silent, all things came to an end...

Was death the end? It seemed not, now.

The imagined deathly silence did not last. It was immediately followed by a dizzying whirl, as though ten thousand years had passed, as though he had journeyed from the beginning of the universe to the extinction of all things.

His soul seemed to find a place to settle, and the world lit up.

No sacred heavenly palace appeared. Instead, a sickly green streak tore through the darkness!

Screams, roars, and the oppression of death swept over him once more!

A warm current descended like a divine weapon from heaven, swiftly yet gently driving away his fear.

His soul was soothed.

Another dizzying whirl followed. His whole body felt as though it were being stretched and kneaded, and when the world finally steadied, coldness slowly seeped in from all around him.

"Why can I still feel cold after dying?"

He tried to slowly open his eyes, wanting to get a good look at this world.

His eyes seemed rather immature, and he could not see clearly beyond a short distance. But from the darkness, he could tell it was nighttime.

"Could this be the Underworld? Am I not worthy of heaven?"

His body seemed to be lying on the ground. Stones dug painfully into him, so he struggled to stand up first.

He tried to prop up his upper body with both hands, but failed. Either his body was too heavy or his arms were too weak; his entire body only swayed slightly.

As for getting up? Sorry, that was probably impossible.

Unable to perform even the simple act of getting up, panic suddenly welled up inside him.

He instinctively raised a hand before his eyes, but the sight before him struck his heart like thunder.

"I've been reborn!"

Looking at his tiny little hand, he did not know what to feel for a moment.

Should he first be excited about being reborn, or regret that his attempt to end his own life had failed?

Honestly, ever since he had completely closed his eyes, he had not been ready to be human again!

"The Underworld is pretty efficient at reincarnation. That seamless transition was impressive."

But no matter what, this life had already begun. It might have been a little abrupt, but he would take it one step at a time!

At least he currently had one tremendous advantage: he retained all the memories and consciousness from his previous life!

In other words, he was now using a nearly twenty-year-old soul to control this immature body.

What was that? That was a child prodigy!

He could easily imagine how he would crush children his physical age with intelligence far beyond his years, and he could not help observing a moment of silence for his future little companions.

He was destined to be the legendary child of someone else's family!

Thinking of that made him laugh aloud, producing an adorably soft babyish sound.

After calming down a little, he looked around again to see what sort of family he had been born into this time.

His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and vague shapes began to emerge.

But with just one glance, his heart sank sharply.

Bare branches and cold moonlight all showed that he was currently out in the wilderness!

Where was the house? Where was his family?

The cold surrounding him continued to invade his frail body, and shivering spread through him.

What did it mean for a baby under one year old to be abandoned in the wild?

Freezing to death, starving to death, being bitten to death by some animal that came scurrying out—any of those could happen to him.

What could intelligence do for him now? In other words, in this body, he could do nothing.

He could only wait and see which death arrived first.

"Is this heaven's punishment for throwing my life away?"

His blood seemed to be turning cold. His lifeless eyes stared up at the sky, at the moon reflected in his clear green pupils.

Suddenly, an intense stabbing pain erupted in his brain, as though some foreign object had been forced into his head.

The agonizing pain nearly made him lose consciousness. He wanted to scream, but after straining too hard, he could only open his mouth while the sound caught in his throat.

The pain continued. He felt as though a rabid dog were tearing at his soul; with every bite, his consciousness weakened while the pain intensified.

He wanted to fight back. His wildly kicking legs seemed to be trying to drive away the rabid dog gnawing on his soul.

His resistance seemed to have some effect, and the pain lessened slightly.

As though clutching at a lifeline, he began resisting madly, like someone being beaten from all sides and only trying to protect his vital spots.

But blindly defending was not a solution. His soul grew weaker and weaker, and his consciousness gradually lost control over his body. His limbs twitched ever more feebly.

It seemed to be the final moment. If my soul is destroyed, it should truly be over...

They said that before death, the memories of one's life would flash before one's eyes like a lantern carousel. He was experiencing that now.

Scenes from the past drifted by before his eyes, one after another.

He saw himself playing in a stream with childhood friends, and saw himself nodding off while studying.

"Ye Jun, you're my best friend..."

"The cutoff score is... You're still a little short..."

"Ye Jun, you're useless..."

"I'm very disappointed..."

"Ye Jun..." "Ye Jun..."

"Jun, you're about to take the high school entrance exam. Mom won't work anymore; I'll come back and stay with you."

"It's okay. You only missed it by a little, right? As long as you study hard, it's the same anywhere."

"Jun, why did you bring your keys today? What Mom liked most was hearing you call for her downstairs after school every day, asking her to open the door."

"Jun, it's okay if you didn't get in. We can still attend a second-tier university. As long as you're willing, even if Mom has to sell everything, I'll support you through school!"

"...As long as you're healthy, start a family, and build a career, Mom will be happy!"

A clear tear slid down his face. The past had finally become smoke and clouds.

In a daze, his consciousness seemed to enter a peculiar space.

It was like a station.

Everything was pure white. No origin could be seen, nor any destination.

He looked around in confusion, only to see a baby lying nearby.

He slowly picked up the baby. Tiny points of light radiated from the child's entire body, as though it were fading away.

The baby merely gazed quietly at him. Its clear, waterlike green pupils seemed to reflect his black hair and yellow skin.

"You must be the original owner of this body."

He looked at the baby apologetically. "It's all because I'm useless. I took your body, but I can't protect it."

He gently stroked the baby's cheek with his finger.

Feeling the touch, the baby giggled. Its tiny hand lightly rested atop the large hand stroking its face.

The baby suddenly transformed into golden light that filled the sky, and he stood there in panicked bewilderment.

The golden light consciously streamed into his body, and he immediately felt his faint soul become full again!

In another daze, his consciousness entered a different space, but there was only emptiness.

The baby had long since disappeared—or rather, merged with him. The child's voice seemed to echo in his mind again. As he listened carefully, he understood its meaning.

Live!

He looked at his restored soul, felt the abundant strength within him, and clenched his fists. "Live... Then let me take you with me and live in this world together!"

Whether out of hope or guilt.

He turned to look around, and something beside him scared the life out of him.

Humanoid, hunched over, with not an inch of skin on its body, it stood there dripping with blood. Its entire head looked like a bald ball, and where its nose should have been, there were only two narrow slits.

A monster!

The monster's scarlet eyes, devoid of even a trace of humanity, made him instantly understand that this was the creature that had been gnawing at him!

Before he could react, the monster impatiently opened its bloodied maw and lunged at him.

Unable to dodge in time, he was bitten on the shoulder, and the familiar pain returned.

"Ah!"

He screamed, but the pain ignited his ferocity.

Without any fancy moves, he opened his mouth and lunged at the monster, tearing into it.

The monster seemed startled by his somewhat familiar fighting style, but was immediately jolted awake by the pain spreading through its body.

Man and monster tangled together. One bit, the other tore away a chunk; both their souls suffered damage.

Just as the two were about to perish together, a light flashed.

The familiar warmth filled his entire body once again.

The monster took a step back in fright at the light, but its bloodlust gained the upper hand, and it lunged again.

Ye Jun hurriedly raised a defense, but the pain did not return. The monster instead began to wither and shatter the instant it touched him!

Within moments, the monster turned to ash, but vast amounts of gray light emerged from its remains.

Like the baby's golden light, the gray light all entered his soul.

He felt his soul being rapidly strengthened, and the speed of that strengthening grew ever faster!

The two souls fused, but it was not as simple as one plus one equaling two. Powerful soul energy filled the entire space.

At the same time, an enormous flood of memories poured unreasonably into Ye Jun's mind.

And so, he fainted.

In the outside world, Ye Jun's small body gradually filled with an unusual power, driving away all the cold.

Night continued to shroud the earth as he fell asleep.

When he woke, Ye Jun would be a thing of the past. He would continue living—as Eli Hall!