Boundless darkness enveloped my consciousness, and my body seemed to be falling endlessly.
Is this death?
He couldn't help but think of it.
If this is what everyone experiences after death, that would be truly terrifying.
After all, it was incredibly boring—endless darkness and an endless fall. How long would the dead remain in this state?
Decades? Hundreds of years? Or thousands of years?
The mere seconds of falling had already made him feel bored and listless, but at the same time, he had also gained an insight—
No wonder everyone is afraid of death; this is what the afterlife is like.
There was no sound, no light, only darkness and falling.
However, it's not without its advantages; for example, once he enters this state, he can no longer feel any physical pain.
Just as he was thinking about how to get through the long fall, he suddenly felt himself fall into an invisible warm current.
The feeling was like a warm coat in the dead of winter, wrapped around my body, and getting tighter and tighter...
He instinctively tried to break free, but it was completely useless. When he was completely bound by that warm current, he suddenly felt the existence of his body again.
He opened his eyes with all his might and regained his vision.
A young man with pure white hair was standing not far in front of him. As if sensing something, the young man turned around and looked at him.
He then realized that the boy in front of him only had one right eye, and in the socket of his left eye was a sapling that grew in a winding manner and resembled a bonsai.
The young man looked at him and said with a smile:
"Welcome to this World of Disorder, true ' Soul Returner '."
Um?
Inevitably, doubt arose in the man's mind.
What language is he speaking?
Why am I able to understand what I'm saying?
Where is this World of Disorder?
What is Soul Returner "?
Seeing his puzzled look, the young man seemed to guess his confusion and patiently gave his answer:
"Homeless wanderers, this is World of Disorder, your new home."
"Your soul should have simply vanished, but someone didn't want that to happen, so they specifically asked me to help you."
The man hanging in mid-air pondered for a moment and then said:
"So this is the treatment? Is this a virtual world?"
Ed's lips twitched as he listened. This person in front of him was too straightforward; he didn't know that some things couldn't be said directly.
This is like talking to a virtual streamer about their real-life identity behind the avatar—it's a taboo subject.
Ed looked at him and said patiently:
"This can indeed be considered a form of therapy, whether it's real or virtual... you can experience it for yourself."
Ed was about to say something more when he suddenly said "Oh" and glanced in the direction of the castle's main hall.
"It seems your friends have come to pick you up. They'll explain the details to you, so I won't disturb your reunion any longer."
As Ed spoke, he manipulated the vines to lower the man down:
"You can take a break for a while, and come find me when you've basically adapted to this world. There's a suitable job waiting for you."
"Of course, if you are confident in your abilities, you can do what you want to do."
Ed's emerald green eyes darted around in their sockets, giving off an unpredictable air, before he finally said, with a pointed remark:
Please remember, life is only once, so cherish it.
The man landed on the stone floor of the castle, staggered for a moment, but quickly regained his balance.
To his surprise, his body was almost exactly the same as before he was injured. He quickly adapted to the feeling and, led by Ed, arrived at the castle's main hall.
In the deep darkness of the night, two anxious figures stood in the hall, each with a semi-transparent text box above their heads. One read, "[ Dawn Ah! ]", and the other, "[ Early to Bed and Early to Rise ]".
Ed led the man out and turned back to his study, whereupon the two men, seeing a new face appear, immediately came to greet him.
To the man's surprise, the composed man with the motto " Early to Bed and Early to Rise " written on his forehead called out his real name.
"Yes, it's me. You are..."
[ Early to Bed and Early to Rise ] (pointing to himself)
We've only just met.
Although their appearances were completely different, the man still sensed a sense of familiarity from the tone and demeanor of " Early to Bed and Early to Rise."
"Attending physician?"
"It's me."
The man nodded and looked at [ Dawn Ah ] again.
"So you're my associate attending physician?"
The young man scratched his head and said embarrassedly:
"No, I'm just an intern at best."
[ Early to Bed and Early to Rise ] pointed to the young man beside him and introduced:
"He helped you get... the qualification to undergo this treatment."
Upon hearing this, the man looked at the young [ Dawn Ah ] and said seriously:
"Thank you so much."
The young man quickly waved his hand:
"No need, no need."
Regarding " Early to Bed and Early to Rise," it says:
"The process is a bit complicated. I know there's a pub nearby; we can go there to talk."
The three of them quickly sat down in a small booth in an 18th-century style Western tavern, with a low-alcohol, blood-red liquor made from Scarlet Millet in front of them.
Putting down his cup, the man thought for a moment and said:
"I think I understand now. In other words, the radical treatment method is essentially to send my mind into a virtual world developed by aliens, and then live there?"
[ Early to Bed and Early to Rise ] nodded:
"Yes, unlike us 'players,' you're now similar to an NPC in this world—you only have one life and can't be resurrected."
"Wait, wait."
The man quickly gestured for him to Early to Bed and Early to Rise talking so soon, and asked in confusion:
There's a question I need to ask.
"Please speak."
Is this the real world or a virtual world?
[ Early to Bed and Early to Rise and early to rise] and [ Dawn Ah ] exchanged a glance and remained silent.
After a long silence, the attending physician said regretfully:
"I'm sorry, this is actually something we've been investigating."
"In many ways, the world appears too real, yet in some places it differs from our basic understanding."
Could you give me an example?
The man asked.
"Can."
The attending physician raised his wine glass:
Do you know the basic principles of winemaking?
The man thought for a moment and said:
"I have a general understanding of the microbial fermentation stage, but I'm not very clear on the specifics."
That's enough.
The attending physician nodded, swirling the blood-red liquid:
"This is our understanding, but it doesn't work in this world."
He pointed to [ Dawn Ah ] beside him and said:
"His teacher recently acquired a working microscope and discovered many problems during observation, such as..."
There are no microorganisms in this world.