Khan was a normal boy. Or at least, that's what he thought. A seventeen-year-old average student.
While others went to parties or obsessed over likes on social media, he preferred getting lost in digital worlds of video games, where he could escape the dullness of reality.
That night, like many others, was dedicated to his favorite pastime: replaying classic games. He was about to finish Diablo II once more, just for the fun of it.
The bluish light from the monitor flickered softly in the dark room. Khan stretched his arms and yawned in satisfaction. After an intense battle against Baal, he had completed yet another run of Diablo II.
It was one of those nights where the outside world seemed distant and irrelevant. There was only him, his computer, and the nostalgia of a classic game.
But instead of the final credits, the screen went completely black.
Khan frowned.
"Bug?" he muttered, tapping the keyboard a few times.
The screen flickered, and a new interface appeared. In the center, a faceless humanoid avatar slowly rotated. A sidebar displayed customization options: height, build, eye color, hairstyle, scars, tattoos. All like in an RPG… but with a level of detail impossible for any game he knew.
Khan blinked.
"Was this in a patch?" He mentally reviewed the last changelog. Nothing like this came to mind. But instead of closing the game, curiosity got the better of him. He loved character editors. He was one of those who spent more time customizing than playing.
With a mix of awe and excitement, he began sculpting the character. He wanted to create an idealized version of himself: tall, intense gaze, long hair tied in a braid, a light scar over his left eyebrow.
When he finished, a new message appeared:
[SELECT YOUR PREFERRED WORLD TYPE]
Three options floated before him, each with an impressive animation:
1. Cyberpunk – Neon-lit megacities, artificial intelligence, urban chaos.
2. Medieval Fantasy – Magical realms, knights, wizards, and monsters.
3. Immortal Cultivation – Ancient sects, martial arts techniques, and the search for the Dao to transcend mortality.
Khan didn't hesitate.
"Easy. Immortal Cultivation," he whispered, clicking the option with a grin. He had always been fascinated by those worlds where the soul could become as powerful as a god.
The interface flickered. For a moment, the screen distorted.
Then a final message appeared:
[Good luck in your new life, Khan.]
Khan's smile faded.
"What...?"
He had no time to say more. A burst of electricity shook the computer tower. The fan spun at an impossible speed, lights flickered. Then a dull explosion.
Everything turned white.
Khan's body fell backward, lifeless. A thin wisp of smoke rose from the ruined monitor.
In front of the corpse, the air tore with a dry crack. A floating rift, black and bottomless, opened in the middle of the room. From the chest of the lifeless body, a golden sphere of light gently detached. It pulsed with warm energy.
The sphere floated for a moment, then dove into the rift, which swallowed it without resistance.
A second later, the opening closed.
The room returned to silence.
In the heart of the void, where the concept of up or down didn't exist, floated an impossible castle.
Forged in pure gold, its towers stretched like spears toward eternity. Its columns were adorned with ancient inscriptions glowing from within, and a solemn atmosphere permeated every corner.
Deep within the castle, in a silent, eternal chamber, a man meditated on a crimson jade throne.
His eyes were closed as if asleep. The air around him was frozen, as if time itself had surrendered to his presence.
Then, without warning, he opened his eyes.
They were deep like abysses, but a flicker of recognition glowed in their center.
A barely visible smile curved his lips.
"Khan… my old friend. You finally show up."
But it wasn't a welcoming smile.
Behind the calm appearance, his eyes reflected a murderous intent sharp enough to cleave mountains. It was as if he had waited centuries for this moment, feeding an immeasurable grudge.
The room's temperature dropped until the air froze. Around him, the castle's golden inscriptions began to tremble slightly, as if sensing something terrifying awakening.
Without another word, the man extended his hand.
The space before him tore like paper.
Without looking back, he rose from his throne and stepped through the portal.
The rift closed behind him, leaving the castle in absolute silence once again.
In the depths of the primordial void, a golden sphere sped through the darkness at an inconceivable velocity. Its shining trail briefly lit the nothingness.
As it passed, void beasts—grotesque, nameless forms born of chaos between universes—could barely raise their gaze before being annihilated by its glow.
At the heart of that sphere floated a sleeping soul.
Its ethereal edges slowly fused with the golden core, in a process as natural as it was inevitable.
It was Khan's soul.
In the distance rose a universe. One whose magnificence surpassed any mortal realm. Even compared to the vast shinobi universe where Noah resided, this one was more colossal, more complex… and ancient.
Before it, like a living membrane, shimmered the Cosmic Shield, a wall of unbreakable laws protecting its interior from the outer chaos.
The golden sphere seemed to recognize its destination and accelerated at full power.
It was about to collide with the wall when… suddenly, a hand emerged from the void.
With a single gesture, an invisible shield formed before the cosmic wall, effortlessly absorbing the overwhelming energy of the incoming impact.
Behind the shield, floating like an emperor between worlds, was the man from the golden castle.
He observed the golden sphere with a mix of interest and disdain. His eyes scanned its interior until he found the sleeping soul within. For a moment, his lips curled.
"Khan… the invincible Empyrean Horadrim, reduced to a mere rank 0 creature. This is truly… degrading."
The man slowly raised his hand. In his palm, a black light began to spin, collapsing the space around it like a dying star.
But just before he could unleash his attack…
"Ding!"
A mechanical voice echoed in the void, clear and monotone.
> "The Horadric System has detected a Rank 12 threat.
Condition: Enter one of the two predetermined superior universes… not met.
Condition: Enter one of the predetermined worlds… not met.
Condition: Find a compatible embryo for reincarnation… not met.
One of the two predetermined universes is detected within 100 light-years.
Obstruction by a Rank Empyrean existence has been detected.
Activating contingency plan 1432.38."
The golden sphere ignited with an indescribable glow. The void itself screamed, violently distorting around its core.
"Oh?" murmured the man, still unconcerned.
But then—
ZzzzCHAK!
A stone talisman appeared above the golden sphere. Etched with runes defying logic and glowing with a spectral gray light, the talisman unfolded like a cosmic lotus. Instantly, it pulled the sphere toward the nearby universe at a speed even the man could not follow.
WOOOM!
The sphere pierced the Cosmic Wall like mist, completely ignoring the universe's laws and the Empyrean's presence. Upon entering, it descended in a straight line toward the universe's core: a sacred plane of immortals known as the Kunlun World.
Thousands of immortals in Kunlun barely had time to look up before a crushing aura overwhelmed them like insects. Nothing could stop the artifact's will.
The golden sphere penetrated the heart of the plane.
And then, the unthinkable happened.
WHUUUM!
The universe's core trembled. In the blink of an eye, the universe's will was completely replaced. The Horadric System had seized total control.
> "Beep. Proceeding with the plan.
Activating spacetime barrier."
From the talisman, a barrier bloomed like an infinite flower, enveloping the entire Kunlun World. Energy, essence, and the very fabric of the universe were absorbed at unimaginable speeds by the talisman.
The man in the void observed with a mocking smile.
"A level 12 talisman… interesting, but useless."
A sword materialized in his hand.
"Die."
With a single word, he slashed.
A sword light as vast as the universe itself descended with unimaginable power.
CLAAAAAANG!
The universe exploded.
And at that critical instant…
FWWSSHH!
The talisman revealed its true nature as a pseudo-rank 13 artifact and fully activated. A vortex of spatial distortion engulfed everything.
Beep! Error! Error!
The Horadric System is collapsing.
Database destroyed by 89%.
Storage... lost.
Shop access... lost.
Class system access... lost.
Level-up system access... lost.
Memories of the host's first and second life... lost.
The Horadric Cube and the Nephalem lineage have been safeguarded in the Host's Soul Dimension.
Memories of the third life have been retained in the Host's soul.
Cracks opened in the golden barrier that protected Khan's soul. The attack had reached the system's core.
Everything was about to collapse.
But the talisman teleported the entire Kunlun World just in the last second. The universe collapsed behind it.
Outside, the man stopped smiling.
—Pseudo-rank 13...? So you still had a few trump cards left.
His gaze darkened. The space around him began to crack under his fury.
—Khan… no matter how many times you run, I've already done it once.
His eyes burned like suns.
—And I will find you again.
The talisman, wrapped in its final glow, soared through the infinite void, searching for a universe to settle in.
It was flung to the edge of a random universe, chosen at random among infinite possibilities.
The talisman pierced the cosmic wall and was sucked into a chaotic timeline, whose space-time was in disarray, caused by the reckless acts of a certain individual.
BOOM!
The Kunlun World appeared within that timeline and floated in the middle of space.
Kunlun was no longer in its native universe. And the laws that sustained it began to withdraw, one after another.
The spiritual pillars that maintained its size and stability vibrated like broken strings. The realm began to shrink.
Its vast expanse slowly compressed, its sacred skies withered, and its spiritual seas began to dry up.
The worst came next.
KRRAAAAAAK-BOOM!
A cloud of lightning formed above the Kunlun Realm. It wasn't an ordinary celestial tribulation.
It was the very will of the new universe, rejecting the presence of foreign superior entities.
A brutal judgment descended.
One by one, the ancient immortals, demigods, and cultivators of the Celestial Realm were annihilated without even having time to resist.
Their bodies burst like cosmic dust, their souls dissipated.
The Kunlun Realm trembled.
The new universal will, after completing its purge, paused for a moment. Then it made a decision.
An invisible current, like a hand of primordial laws, extended from the heart of the universe and wrapped around the Kunlun Realm.
The assimilation process began, and it would take thousands of years for Kunlun to regain its former vitality.
Within the realm, deep in the spiritual sea of what remained of the Celestial Realm, the golden sphere containing Khan's soul floated weakly.
The Horadric System, severely damaged, emitted broken beeps.
"Critical energy...
Nephalem lineage... preserved.
Soul dimension... stable.
Host... unconscious.
Activating final protocol: EMERGENCY REINCARNATION."
A faint thread of light extended from the sphere and passed through the layers of Kunlun Realm, searching for a viable matrix.
And then it found one.
A pregnant human woman. The soul forming in her womb was not yet fully defined.
"Compatible fetus.
Initiating transfer."
The system, having fulfilled its final command, shut down, and with it, the AI that operated it faded, leaving the system practically useless.
And so, in the forgotten corner of this universe, the second life of Khan began.