Waking up, I stood up from my small, bland bed, and directed myself to an even blander bathroom.

Brushing my teeth, I looked out the window, oh... but I didn't have one...

I looked at the boring wall, and that was it...

Going out, I enjoyed my little walk under my favorite grey, cloudy sky. I always loved it, the color suitable for every other. The bright yet gloomy Heavens a contrasting gift to the colors below, accentuating them.

Leaving my small apartment, my feet invaded the sidewalk's territory. And from this spot, something caught my attention from a distance.

"The Human's rights have once again changed, what are citizens supposed to do facing this oppression?! I demand for it to be modified, I refuse to believe this year to be 2036, where humans are no better than cattle!!"

An outdoor television... Probably a store... But what that politician said was only half correct.

Changing it? Does it matter? The day we received these damn 'rights' was the day we lost them. Who are they to decide what humans do? If I want to give someone a gift, is it different than wanting someone dead? Maybe on the surface, but beyond that, these actions and thoughts are the same, they are things we humans can do.

So why hate and banish such thoughts and actions? Because they are scared, they are terrified to be their victim. It is understandable, but also a shame. How can people grow when such a huge chunk of their potential is being sapped dry like this? Living longer to what? Suffer? Living a shorter life but fulfilled is better than a long one where despair is the only source of light.

Done with my rambling thoughts, I looked to the side, where a giant glass panel gave view inside a relatively spacious room.

A classroom... I won't even ask why these idiots let a classroom be viewed from the outside, a little window, sure... but this...

It is with expectation that I peeked at a few faces, but ended up shaking my head soon after.

As I already expected, the students' faces were beyond empty.

Hollow eyes, appearance of a corpse, their minds probably rotting already...

School, the best robot maker in the world, I must admire their genius... They bait you in with proper and useful education for the first decade or even more of your life inside, and then, once you are deep within, bam! They hit you with brainwashing...

Citizens, humans, turning into mindless slaves, offended by every little thing.

Spitting on the strong, revering the weak... Pathetic is too kind for them...

Where are those days... where we humans had drive, ambition..? When we looked at the sky filled with burning desire, wanting to soar higher and higher, covering the sky with our hand.

The world became boring... No more were the beautiful days of contrasting sceneries, rivers of clear water meeting ones of blood, flooding the land. Mountains of corpses proof of one's superiority... Where we weren't scared of everything... But what can people do now? You complain, you are locked inside a little prison cell for the rest of your life. You say something controversial, you are beaten to death. It's impossible to even defend ourselves, when a sea of angry slaves try to end you...

Since when was it a sin to be unique? Nowadays, the true humans are scarce and in danger of extinction.

Murderers are evil? Some probably, when they go and regret it, sure... I would call them evil. But is it not the same for the plumber who heavily regretted something from his distant past? Regret is part of human nature, but also what define the evilness.

Now if a murderer went, and killed people in a heart wrenching fashion, but did not regret it... what can you call evil?

He was free to do what he wanted, free of regulations, free of guilt, free of slavery. Can you call this person a demon?

Why?

Because you are angry, sad and scared?

Because he is a threat to you? Until I see with my own two eyes a murderer be struck by lightning for killing another human, then I will not believe all of them to be evil, no, I will believe them to be saints.

Life is fair, if you wish to survive a murderer, then kill them first!

Gods ad Goddesses won't care for you either, powerful beings are by nature thriving for the title of strongest. Not because of aspiration, but because of necessity. Being the strongest means being the winner, the winner deep inside. Not only a necessity, but a way of life and a reason for existence.

Because being weaker means to be doomed to perish in agony.

Still walking, I noticed a few people praying at a beautifully carved statue.

Again with the same bullshit... No, praying won't give you anything but contempt from superior beings if they do exist. The only way a kind deity could exist is by design. Only if a single deity is present since the beginning of time can it happen. Otherwise, the strongest, most ruthless one, will eat the other.

An asteroid colliding with another is a good example. They are both inanimate objects, but they can still be stronger than the other, with only three outcomes possible. Being weaker, equal or stronger. The way to know how such deities think this way is because of this example.

Even inanimate objects fight to be the strongest, everything does, even if they are equal. Even if they do not move, do not live, do not exist, they still do.

But what can I say? It doesn't matter anyway, I am a random weak, pathetic human hoping to escape slavery, this horrible year of 2036 a real pain to deal with. The older I get, the worst it gets. I feel stuck, chained down by other people's ideals, no, brainwashed ideals.

Caressing my face, I realize the need to shave in a few days. Random thoughts of empty goals thrive again, submerging my hazy mind.

Saving me from the mundane world of everyone should be happy and safe is another store with outdoors televisions.

"...we can..."

"...reach closer to a new world using our latest technology, the MK-Y13 spaceship! This is..."

"...revolutionary..."

"..."

Passing by, I hear the gist of it, another stupid rocket. Yeah... cool. Go and crash it in orbit once again, it's not like we're nearing the point of no return by now...

Apparently in a few years, the sun will be dimmed by the amount of space junk and debris present in orbit...

I mean sure, go ahead, slave of your predecessors, go and continue their dreams of reaching space when you yourself do not care about it...

Is it important? To go from a big rock to another? To focus on science when it has already reached its peak?

The soul, why not focus on that instead? Science has already proven its existence in the last decade, but because it's hard, they don't try. Well, at least I do, but am I being hypocritical? Sure I myself am interested in this topic, but not because of pure interest or curiosity, because of potential!

The body, and even emotions are related to the fleshly vessel, which is bound by space. Time is not a problem for now, but space is. This is what is holding everything back.

The Universe is vast, a vast prison that is. Nothing to do, nothing to gain, just live life so bland you need to dream to escape it. Well, I guess that's only valid now, the past looked interesting, even with diseases, lacking comfort and short lives. At least being born at this period would make you somewhat immune to their negative influence. And it looked more fun since, while rules still existed, not only were there more free spaces to live a life of choice, but also less rules when were present.

I'm probably just bitter... But I don't believe it makes it less valid.

Scientists going so far not realizing that to break the Universe's limitations, something beyond it was necessary.

So, I chose the soul, the only thing I could think of that somehow was not restrained by anything but the body itself, theoretically.

Walking back home, I sat on my bed, cross-legged.

I still can't feel anything...

This is boring...

My dear hopes of escaping this boring, sad Universe are getting out of hand. Meditating for hours each day... I'm getting desperate...

A few hours later, as I was about to give up, again, I felt something pulling me.

Opening my eyes, I quickly realized that I actually did not open them. Because I did not need to.

Floating above my collapsed mortal vessel was my blue, translucent soul.

Laughing in my mind, that I somehow could still use, I thought of many things. But the first that came to mind was a joke, thinking how I went against the Heavens. Maybe I did so as a defense mechanism my character had grown when facing strange, mind numbing happenings.

However, I could not stop myself from feeling pure freedom, I felt light, a given, and... stared at?

Sweating if I could, shaking if possible, I would run, once again, if available. But no, I could not move, my soul frozen in place, as I sensed a being staring daggers at me.

So that's what it is, the Universe is mad... yeah, great way to die!

Cursing again and again, I felt the fear of death, when...

Wait... hold on!

A blue portal formed to my side, and next thing I know, the Universe is forcing me inside...

Then... I technically ascended...

My soul sucked inside a bondless, beautiful place, the scenery of colorful space was all around.

But why is the dominant color yellow, no... yellow and green... well never mind.

My soul felt the thrill that the place I was in experienced, as if letting me know how welcomed I was.

A great sensation I must say. But the thrill was suddenly dampened by my own fright.

My soul sucked by a nearby planet, at a random spot on its surface, a young body formed out of nowhere, as if created by God.

As if drawn to it, my soul entered the empty vessel, the Heavens gifting me a new body.

-----

Fifteen years later, I was a cultivator! I had decided to name myself Alexander. The world I was in was peaceful, people were somehow kind, maybe because it was a remote location... I stood there, on the lonely and peaceful whiteish dirt road, surrounded by bright green plains, themselves hugged by tall white-grey mountains under the clear blue sky...

Here I stood contemplating my cultivation, Qi Refining Realm fourth layer... I was happy, relaxed...

But, I wanted more... I felt my instincts scream at me, to go higher, always higher...

And so I did... I had my fair share of pain, sorrow, happiness, fun, greed and many others...

And here I stood...

Sixteen millions years later...

I sat there, on a throne, inside a gigantic hall illuminated by mysterious-looking arrays, filled with beautiful pillars and statues...

Here I sat, my long silver hair similar to my silver eyes, contemplating my cultivation.

Ascension Realm ninth layer... I still wanted more... I was close to the absolute summit of this Universe...

Then...

*Groan*

...I woke up.