(A/N : This section is a one way telepathy of existing Post-Human to the MC)

Out of twenty billion humans living in our world…. you were chosen.

Out of twenty billion thoughts…. you were enlightened.

No longer chained by flesh! No longer locked by desires!

No longer limited by lifespan! No longer restrained by death!

Your decree…. will move the tenth earth.

Your will…. shall shake the ninth heavens.

Exploring pristine worlds…with a single thought.

Shaping new worlds… with a single whim.

You are… our ambassador to the stars.

You are… our representative to myriad of worlds.

Prove yourself…befitting of a Post Human.

Exceed all of those before…and those after you.

Let the mortals and the universe know.

Make them sing praises and tremble in awe!

You are…beyond Humanity.

You are… Post Human.

Streaks of thunder broiled the clouds above. Lightning interweaved between the dark heavens. Rain pelted the darkened earth and turbulent winds were howling about.

Kacha!

Thunder continued to detonate in the skies, connecting the tenth earth and ninth heaven. An oppressive force unlike any other loomed above. Most of the desert creatures here whimpered away and scampered into hiding.

Shew, shew, shew!

Pillars of light spilled from the heavens and tore through the dark clouds! Auspicious tones of ascension started to flutter, like an immortal descending to bless these badlands! The curtain of light grew bigger and dwarfed the thunder domain.

An object seemingly made out of Immortal Gold descended in the center. It scattered the gloomy clouds and dispersed heavenly might of lightning. Then the Sun became clearer, gracing these scorched badlands again.

The shiny object eventually lost its brilliant luster and became dull. It was indistinct and turned no different than random rocks in these sandy wilderness.

Crack….crack, crack, crack!

What was this spherical object? It descended like an immortal but now rapidly splitting into two. The sound of the sphere breaking up attracted some of previously hidden creature to come and investigate.

Most of them were pint and feeble. But such was life in these badlands, no natural luck to be found. Great desolate plains stretched as far as eyes can see. It was a world of full golden sands and random pieces of weathered sandstones.

The first critter to arrive near the sphere was a desert rat. It was sickly and coated with sand. It chittered loudly to warn any potential competitors. The furry rat saw all prior events and felt the broken sphere calling to it.

The object was summoning the rat over, trumping the rat’s own desires. It decided to abandon all caution and sped along, feeling some might try to grab the sphere first. Could this be finally a natural luck for the rat, allowing it to leave its wretched life?

“Shaarrrrr!”

A desert viper arose from the sands. It bared its yellowish fangs, to deter the rat from moving forward. Like the rat, the viper was mysteriously attracted to the sphere as well. The sand coloured viper was no different than the rat, about to shrivel up and die.

“Kikiki, kiki!”

The desert rat stood its ground and found sudden bravery. Adrenaline pumped through the rat’s body. Something was telling it to fight! Kill this desert snake, tear it apart! Kill this serpent, drink its blood!

The rat jumped and dodged the vicious viper attacks. Sudden burst of power also exploded from the viper. Mere prey wants to disturb the natural order! The desert snake got furious since the rat dared to fight back, to snatch the sphere away!

The desert rat thrashed the serpent’s tail, the viper stripped bits of flesh from the rat’s legs. Their duel of death kicked up column of dust and relayed much shrieks and hissings.

Peng!

Unfortunately, as the mantis stalk the cicada, it was unaware of the oriole behind it! A blood-encrusted spike chopped the viper into half and a bone stubble smashed the rat’s head into bloody paste.

“Cough….cough...”

A badly mangled mortal killed both critters. Bits of dried blood fell from the mortal’s skin as dusty winds howled past. The mortal felt the call of the sphere but hunger placed first. What natural luck to be had if one was mere inches from the grave?

It was not clear where did this mortal came from; their clothes tattered beyond recognition. No left hand can be seen on the mortal, just a mere bone stubble on top of the dead rat. Previous storm had threw some light rain, preventing this ailing mortal from sleeping for good.

The mortal suffered terrible injuries with some old and others recent. This being was shorter than half of a zhang. Food was hard to come by in these barren lands as only sand and rocks were plentiful. The fight between the rat and viper provided the mortal with a chance to eat them both.

The short human collapsed next to the broken sphere, no energy truly left. Fresh blood started to flow from the rat, viper and then the mortal. The mortal gasped for air, unwilling to resign to fate. Just before the mortal closed their eyes, the broken sphere lifted off the ground.

Hummm…..

Two halves of the sphere were humming as silvers of light snaked out from them. They struck the mortal but the mortal had long left the world of living at this point. Wriggling silvery light continued to burrow deep inside this husk, not allowing the body to drop.

This construct…is your sole connection to this world, my child.

Fortify your gains…solidify your connection.

You are a transcendent, you are a Post Human.

Claim this world and let the mortals shock in awe!

The tangling mess of light continued to pierce the mortal’s former body, weaving and changing. Some of the lights scattered, penetrating nearby corpse of the desert rat and viper. Pieces of glowing rectangles appeared as if rewinding time and removing injuries from now deceased human.

Nearby dust and rocks coaxed into wisps of brown, transformed by the strings of light into new clothes. This body was no longer like before and possessed an otherworldly aura. Bundles of brown hair grew from the head, mysterious powers expanding withered flesh.

If anyone saw this transformation, they would undoubtedly shock out of their minds. This was simply devilish, going against natural dao of the heavens! From a half living corpse to an exuberant youth. This newcomer had vacant eyes, tinted with golden colour of the sands.

Memories were extracted from the former owner of the body, replicating almost all of it perfectly. The youth had skin close to warm jade, largely hidden underneath a protective cloak. Clothes fluttering as if this youth was a sage undergoing rebirth against the cycle of Samsara.

A blunt dagger and a leather pouch strapped to the youth’s belt while a white turban adorned the flowing hair. This youth seemed neither a boy or a girl, as if it was a doll carved by the gods. Closer inspection will give an unsettling feeling, as if the abyss stares back to whom that gaze upon the abyss.

The broken sphere was no longer to be seen. The youth tried to move about, only to tumble a few times. Clearly whatever that had occupied the mortal’s husk was a bit unfamiliar with the controls of the restored body.

“Kushaaa!!!”

A sand cat pounced the youth from behind with saliva dripping from its mouth.This cat was about the same size as the youth. Its furs were the colour of the sand, making it almost invisible against the background. It viewed this youth like a newborn foal, a piece of meat served on a silver platter.

Keqiang!

Either by sheer luck or coincidence, the youth managed to swing a dull dagger and countered the cat’s claws. The sand cat was taken aback at first but continued its charge. How come a pathetic human can match its superior speed? The cat swiped left and right, wanting to decapitate this youth!

“Kahhh!!!”

The youth let out a scream on reflex, the cat leaving some lacerations! Same amount of viciousness arose from the youth’s vacant eyes, wishing to tear this cat apart! The youth finally rebounded with equal vigour to engage the cat in close combat.

“Grarrr!!!”

At cost of a bloody arm, the youth hacked the cat’s tail away. This made the cat growl in anger but at the same time it felt some dread. This human isn’t easy to deal with…. After split-second decision the cat rapidly backed away, unwilling to fight to the death. It was better to preserve own life, to fight in another day!

The sand cat was right in its judgement; after the brawl, injuries on the youth slowly recovered where splattered blood and chipped flesh flowed in reverse. The youth returned to initial muddleness, unsure what to do. In the hand of the mortal was the cat’s decapitated tail, sticky with blood.

The youth chomped on the fuzzy tail to investigate its texture. It was like chewing an old rubber, taste quite terrible. Other desert creatures that saw the fight immediately dispersed and unwilling to offend this youth. Was this still a human or a beast in shape of a human?

The youth then spit the tail away whilst picking some galloping sounds at the horizon. Who were heading toward the youth? The sounds grew closer and closer, from bestial howls to shouts of mortals. The youth recognized some of the noise where sneers and disdains were heard.

“What do we have here! A young boy? Or a girl? What are you doing out here, alone? Guehehehehe!”

There were five scaled beasts, ridden by same amount of men in tattered and dusty clothing. These obsidian-coloured mounts were bigger than the sand cat, possessing rows of sharp teeths and claws. Their riders gave the youth various expressions from murderous to lecherous.

This made the youth remember something; these beast riders were part of various desert marauders that pillaged and swept through human settlements in these forsaken lands. They were just as animal as their tamed beasts, raping and eating to their heart's content.

“What? Too scared to speak? No matter, us brothers will give you some good time! Gahahahaha!!!”

One of the riders brandished a rusting pike in attempt to push the youth down while others covered most paths of escape. Since the vacant-eyed youth was shorter than half of zhang in height, the pike missed its target. Nevertheless it ripped bits of the youth’s clothing.

“Wow, what a feisty beauty! You must be great in bed!”

The youth’s warm jade-like shoulders was briefly exposed, stoking the raiders’ lust. They decided to jump out of their mounts in order to close the distance. Their companion beasts followed as well, jaws gaping and growling galore.

“It is over for you…little girl! Come to papa!”

The leader, with his larger stature and bulkier muscles from the rest thrusted his sabre forward. Sadistic smile grew on his face, wanting to cripple, rape and, then feed this youth to his pet beast! He can imagine it now, the youth begging for mercy, moaning in pain and, screaming in terror!

The sabre connected but it was not what the leader had initially expected. For some unknown reason, his weapon missed the youth’s arm and instead struck the youth’s cloak. Is this wench some kind of hidden master? Must be a fluke! The leader then barked his orders to his minions.

The raiders had seen a fair share of such called ‘experts’, wishing to overturn the wastelands with mountains of arrogance. But for these damned lands, different rules apply. Only the wittiest and most vicious can survive! Young masters sheltered from brutality of these badlands were no different than birds in glass houses!

They coordinated their attacks to trap the youth from running away. Although somewhat chaotic, it was clear that these marauders had practiced together to gang on their victims. Their beasts on the other hand lashed their powerful spiked tails at the youth.

Swish! Keqiang! Thud!

This youth they encountered was surely something different. The youth, the marauders and the tamed beasts had exchanged ten of moves now with none gaining absolute advantage over the other. Most of the attacks were either parried or evaded in nick of time.

“Smelly brat! Stop dodging!”

The second in command of the raiders, a scrawny man with ragged beard jumped directly at the youth. This ‘young master’ was simply hateful! Is this some kind of joke?!! He intensified the pressure of attacks, gradually shrinking the space available to the youth.

Rip!!! Splash!

Another piece of clothing was torn away, this time dragging out the leather pouch. A thin line of red can be seen on the youth’s abdomen, the scrawny raider drawing first blood! This made his friends and pet beasts frenzied to another level.

“Gahahaha!!! Brat, you are nothing much!!!”

More attacks made physical contact, staggering the youth! Additional shreds of cloths flew in the winds, more beads of bloods streaming out! The marauders became even more emboldened, they were close to finishing this troublesome ‘young master’.

At some point of the battle, the dagger in the youth’s hands was flung away thanks to the third raider. Injuries started to pile on the youth, chunks of flesh hacked away. The marauders’ beasts howled to the skies after they tasted the youth’s flesh!

Chup, swish, pluff!

All five weapons of marauders are now embedded on the youth, stopping any movements. However, the youth’s eyes remained vacant. The leader of the raiders felt uneasy on the inside. Was it truly easy? What the hell is going on? He snorted, sending his minions and pet beasts back to make some space.

Shew, swish, shew!

Silvery lights erupted from the youth, stabbing toward all of the assailants! The leader was the first to be attacked but his response was fast, jumping backwards in time. Other parts of the raid team responded as well, evading or trying to block the lights.

“What…what devilish art!”

The leader was certain that this youth had majority of limbs paralyzed but there was this surprise! More snakes of light erupted. Some of them homed on the beasts, stitching them to the ground. Another bundle bored through rest of the marauders’ weapons and then penetrated the wielders with no suspense.

“Keuk!!! B-b-boss!! S-s-save me!!! AHHHH!”

The lights drilled into them, going into all of their seven apertures. Their beasts shuddered and convulsed as similar streaks of light burrowed through their bodies. Only the leader was able to escape unscathed, his vast experience and intuition foretold something was seriously wrong.

“Shit! What the hell was that thing?!!!”

The brawny raid leader opened his legs, swiftly departing from this place. He could hear screams and pleadings from his mates. It had never occurred to him today, karma is going after him and his group!

“Fuck, I kicked a steel board this time! Is that monster still chasing me?!!”

The only survivor of the ordeal panted heavily after exhausted from running for his dear life. He had never seen such kind of human before…or any beast like it. It was stupendous, it was strange, it was bizarre. Was it an enigmatic overlord that descended upon these badlands? Or some kind of eldritch horror that decided to snack on mortals?

“Uh…I-I am…s-s-sorry…I promise I will atone for my sins! Spare me!”

The raid leader was once full of confidence but now he was pissing in his pants. He didn’t catch any glimpse of his brothers. He saw the youth walking to him, strangely bereft of any injuries or torn clothes. A pair of eyes tinted with golden colour of sand greeted the remaining raider.

“Oh mighty Lord! This lowly one didn’t see Mount Tai! This slave begs for your forgiveness!”

The marauders’ leader got on all fours and lowered his head. He witnessed the same sinister lights that struck down the rest of his group. They slithered on the hot sands and crept up to him. Then upon his very eyes, he saw his own body disintegrating into the silvery lights!

It was done in all but in a flash; the leader didn’t even get to scream and vanished without a trace. In front of the marauders’ leader kneeling spot was the youth, staring at now empty space. No one knew what were the youth’s thoughts and what secrets laid deep in the youth’s vacant eyes.