A Void Between Death and Rebirth
Darkness.
A vast, endless abyss stretched in every direction, swallowing sound and light alike. There was no sky, no earth—only an oppressive void, an eternal nothingness.
Luo Fan's consciousness drifted, barely tethered to existence. He could feel himself disintegrating, pieces of his soul dissolving into the endless black.
Whispers echoed in the emptiness.
> "…m…failure…"
> "…connection…lost…"
> "…return…possible…?"
A dull throb pulsed through him, distant and weak, but enough to remind him—
He wasn't dead. Not yet.
Pain surged through his body, like countless needles piercing every nerve at once. Luo Fan's eyes snapped open, and he gasped, choking on his first breath.
He was alive.
But something was wrong.
His hands trembled as he pushed himself up, his fingers digging into cracked stone and loose debris. His vision blurred, his body shivering from weakness. He felt… fragile. Mortal.
Where was his power?
His breath hitched as he reached inward, searching for his cultivation. The vast ocean of spiritual energy he once commanded—gone. Not even a trace of his former strength remained.
Luo Fan exhaled sharply. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, steady but weak. He had been here before.
And once again—he had lost everything.
A World Left in Ruins
As his blurred vision cleared, the sight before him sent a chill down his spine.
The landscape was unrecognizable.
Mountains once teeming with immortal palaces lay in shattered ruins. Rivers of spiritual energy, which once flowed like liquid starlight, had turned into dry, cracked ravines.
The sky above was a fractured nightmare. Shattered pieces of celestial realms floated in the void like broken glass, distorting the heavens into an unnatural mosaic.
No wind stirred. No birds sang. No trace of life remained.
His fingers tightened into fists.
This was the result of his choice.
Luo Fan had refused the Reset, rejected Shen Li's offer, and had taken the Devourer's power into himself. He had overwritten the System, rewriting the multiverse's fate—but at what cost?
Had he truly saved anything?
Or was this the final consequence of his defiance?
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand, his knees weak, his body feeling like a brittle shell.
But standing meant one thing—
He still had a chance.
And he wasn't going to waste it.
The Return of EchoStar
A faint pulse echoed through the ruins.
Luo Fan's gaze snapped toward the source—a shattered mirror, half-buried in rubble.
His heart clenched.
Celestial Mirror V2.
His system. His connection to the multiverse.
He staggered forward, barely managing to keep his footing. This was his lifeline. Even if it was damaged, even if it was barely functional, as long as it still existed—he wasn't alone.
His fingers trembled as he reached out—
BZZT!
A surge of static electricity crackled through his body. His mind reeled as foreign data flooded his thoughts, a jumble of distorted voices, error codes, and fragmented whispers.
Then—
A flicker of light cut through the void, a fractured mirror shard spinning in the emptiness. A familiar voice rang in his mind—one he hadn't heard in a long time.
"Wow. You really did it this time, Boss."
A second shard appeared. Then another. And another. Pieces of a broken screen swirled around him, each displaying distorted flashes of his past battles. His first cultivation attempt. His first live stream. His first defiance against fate.
"Hello? Yoohoo? Are you listening, or has your soul been deleted along with your last brain cell?"
Luo Fan let out a low groan. "EchoStar…?"
"Ding ding ding! He lives! Congratulations, host! You survived the Reset and didn't get deleted! Well, mostly. Just ignore the part where your body is half-broken, your meridians are fried, and your viewers are gone. Details, details."
The shards suddenly fused, forming a floating, translucent mirror before him. Luo Fan could see his reflection—his robes tattered, his aura flickering like a dying flame. The multiverse had been rewritten, and he was barely holding on.
"What happened?" Luo Fan asked, shaking off the dizziness. "Did I fail?"
"Define 'fail.' If you mean 'Did I let Shen Li rewrite reality?' then, no! If you mean 'Did I get nerfed harder than a trash-tier cultivation protagonist?' then, yes! 10 out of 10, beautifully executed self-sabotage."
Luo Fan exhaled sharply. "So… what's left?"
"Me." EchoStar hummed, its surface flickering. "And you. Though I'd say between the two of us, I'm looking much better. See? Still shiny."
Luo Fan almost laughed. Almost. "What about the livestream?"
"Ah. Funny thing about that." EchoStar's tone turned sheepish. "It's, uh, mostly broken. No chat. No donations. No audience."
Luo Fan felt something tighten in his chest. The one thing that had made him unique, the very foundation of his power, was gone.
"...Is there a way to fix it?"
"Of course! But, uh, it's a bit of a scavenger hunt." EchoStar flickered, displaying a fragmented system screen. "Features have been locked, scattered, and buried in weird corners of the new multiverse. And let me tell you, these update patches are a mess. Who coded this?"
Luo Fan ran a hand through his hair. "So I have to rebuild from scratch?"
"Yup! Just like a classic 'weak to strong' protagonist! Isn't that exciting? Back to the basics, working your way up! Oh, the nostalgia!"
Luo Fan closed his eyes. He wasn't just back to square one. He was starting at square negative ten.
Luo Fan exhaled slowly. Despite everything, the system's sarcasm was still intact.
That alone reassured him.
"Status report," he said, steadying his breath.
> "Oh, where to start? You have zero cultivation, no spirit energy, and no audience. The multiverse? Broken beyond belief. Also, you're basically one bad fall away from death. But hey—at least I'M still here."
"…Lucky me."
> "Damn right."
The mirror flickered, runes glitching as it processed.
A translucent holographic screen appeared before Luo Fan, displaying his current status:
[User: Luo Fan]
Cultivation: None. (Spiritual Veins: Severed)
Physical Condition: Weak. Severe meridian damage.
Livestream Status: DISCONNECTED. (No Audience Detected)
System Integrity: 23%. Limited Features Available.
Luo Fan clenched his fists. No cultivation. No audience. No power.
But one thing remained—EchoStar.
Even if it was damaged, even if the connection was lost—he still had a chance to recover.
And he wasn't about to waste it.
The First Step Forward
"EchoStar," Luo Fan said, his voice steady despite his exhaustion. "What are my options?"
The system hummed.
> "Well, considering we're stranded in what might be the corpse of the multiverse, we have three options."
1. Wander aimlessly until something kills you.
2. Hope some remnant of fate takes pity on you.
3. Start over. Rebuild. Find a way to reconnect with the audience."
Luo Fan smirked. "We both know I'm choosing option three."
> "…I was afraid you'd say that."
His muscles ached as he straightened, his body still battered, but his spirit burning stronger than ever.
Weak? Forgotten? Mortal again?
None of that mattered.
He had been here before.
And last time, he conquered everything.
A Faint Signal
Just as he was about to move, EchoStar flickered.
> "…Wait. Detecting… something."
Luo Fan tensed. "What is it?"
> "…Weak… but there's a residual energy signature. Something from before the Reset. Approximate distance… two days on foot.**"
A direction. A lead.
He took a deep breath, calming his thoughts. This would be his first trial.
No spiritual energy. No flying. No audience to help him.
Just his own will.
"…Then let's go," he muttered, stepping forward.
> "Oh fantastic, you're already making dumb decisions again. I feel at home."
Luo Fan ignored the sarcasm, focusing on the ruins ahead.
The multiverse had collapsed.
He had lost everything.
But he wasn't done yet.
Somewhere, out there—the audience was waiting.
And he would find a way back.
Even if he had to start from nothing.
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[Chapter End.]
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