As soon as Michael agreed to the trade with the ancient being, he felt his perception blurring. At the same time, the immortal energy in his soul started vanishing slowly. It was as if a leak had opened at the bottom of a filled tank. He felt his immortality fading as his soul was gradually turning back to a mortal's. But, he had already prepared himself for this. When all his immortal energy had been siphoned off, he found himself separated from his soul. It was the weirdest and most scary experience he had ever had. He could see his soul cracking up under the hellish torture but did not feel any pain. The situation truly flabbergasted him.

I can only send your memories and personality back in time. What you are offering is not enough for your soul to travel back. Hence, when you go back, you will obtain a random soul according to the laws of your plane.

Michael had already anticipated it to be something like this. Even after losing his immortal energy, his soul would be considered extremely powerful compared to a mortal's. But, he did not mind losing all his powers. He had already made his resolve to cultivate and surpass his previous level of power. The thirst for power that had ingrained itself in his persona. He would become stronger, more powerful than his past, more powerful than the greatest beings that existed in his plane, more powerful than the devils and if needed, more powerful than fate itself. A terrifying will manifested itself in his core. This was his will, unyielding in the face of fate. It was the will of someone who had lived through a state worse than death, someone who had come to terms with the level of pain shattering one's soul and had the pride of a child of destiny.

After the ancient being spoke, a terrifying power of laws surrounded his persona and led Michael back through the river of time. Michael did not know how long he traveled. After all, there was no concept of time in the river of time. After what could have been eons, he found himself in complete darkness. As Michael was wondering where he was, motes of light emerged from the darkness as if the darkness itself had birthed the light. The light motes gathered around his persona and solidified to form a ball of light. This was Michael's new soul. Before he could react to his new soul, he felt a strong force of rejection from the darkness and found himself in a weird state the very next moment. While it was still dark around him, it was different than before. The darkness he was perceiving right now was something he was feeling through his body. As realization struck him, he inspected his new body with his soul sense and was left utterly speechless. He was in the body of a premature baby. He was still in his mother's womb and even his eyes had not developed yet. As Michael came to terms with his new situation, he found that he had strained his soul while using his soul sense. Thus, he decided to rest first and then plan for the future.

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Duke Collins Rageberg was in the balcony of his castle. He was already more than sixty years old but as he had decent cultivation, he still looked like he was in his thirties. His wife, Sitara, was also an expert and thus they had much longer lifespans than normal people. Both of them had ignited their vital force and thus, could easily live for two centuries. Thus, he could be considered as someone in the prime of his age. As both the Duke and Madam were youthful, they naturally enjoyed physical pleasures even when they had two children, both of whom could already be considered adults. The plane they lived in was called as Aterna. In Aterna, getting pregnant was not entirely in the hands of the couple. While couples could do the deed, it was up to the laws of the plane to actually bestow a newly formed soul and create life. Thus, it was not easy for couples to get pregnant. It was thanks to cultivation that people remained youthful for long and thus, the population was stable. Or else, if the original lifespan of the people which was around 80 years was to be taken to be fixed, the plane might die out in a few generations. Also, finding out if a female was pregnant required feeling the sensation of a new soul and required priests to use their soul sense to determine. While the Duke had reached a decent level in body cultivation, he was not experienced in the ways of the soul. When Madam Rageberg felt the first signs, she informed the Duke who asked a nearby priest to visit and confirm. Right now, the priest was in the middle of examining the Madam and the Duke found himself getting anxious. Just then a maid came to ask for the Duke. The Duke returned to find his wife giving him a wide smile full of bliss and the priest by the congratulating him.

Priest : Congratulations your excellency! I could feel a new soul growing inside the Madam. You would be getting a new heir. May you have the blessings of the plane.

Collins : Well thank you, Priest Jacob. Thank you for visiting and confirming this wonderful news. George, please bring Priest Jacob out and provide him a hundred gold for delivering this good news.

Jacob : Thank You, your excellency! I shall be grateful. Call me anytime you need this lowly one's services.

George, who was the head butler of the castle led the priest out. The Duke held his wife in his embrace feeling deep love for her and excitement for their upcoming child. The household could be said to be lucky as having three children by the Duke's age was generally not seen. As the couple celebrated the coming of new life in the household by announcing bonuses for their knights, servant, and officials, they were unaware that many years in future, the day would be recalled as the start of a legend that erupted like a ferocious storm and spread across all Aterna and the entire cosmos.