"Hah! Feels like I had a really nice dream, but I can't remember any of it now."
Xin Yu climbed up from the ground, yawned, and stretched lazily before observing his surroundings.
He found himself currently in a dim alleyway, with a trash can nearby.
"I... didn't actually die?"
Xin Yu's expression was one of utter astonishment. He had thought the gray space he saw earlier was the final remnant of his consciousness, but unexpectedly, he really hadn't died.
He had clearly merged the Nihility force and Honkai energy within his body, even igniting them into an explosion. Under those circumstances, his body had completely disintegrated, and even his soul had thoroughly faded.
Death should have been certain in that situation; even the countdown had ended. Why wasn't he dead?
In truth, the reason Xin Yu hadn't died was because, at the moment of his death, the power of Nihility had completely eroded him. He died by being consumed by Nihility.
The power of Nihility triggered Xin Yu's innate space-time abilities, causing him to be directly teleported to that symbolic land of myriad nihility. Just as Xin Yu was about to be assimilated by that void, the powerful Nihility force once again triggered his space-time power, teleporting him out again. By that time, because Xin Yu's body and soul had already been dyed by Nihility...
When Xin Yu was teleported out, his body had already adapted to the erosion of the newly born power within him. Furthermore, during the space-time transit, the various forces within the gaps between dimensions had once again altered Xin Yu's physical body. As a result, although the current Xin Yu appeared human on the surface, his internal organs, blood, and other components had been completely transmuted.
Aside from still wearing human skin, Xin Yu now probably shared less genetic similarity with humans than a banana did.
"Uh... Isn't this countdown number a bit too large?"
Xin Yu stared dumbfounded at the countdown timer in his bottom right corner. The duration had jumped directly from three digits to eight.
"This... Have I already surpassed humanity? Unknowingly fulfilled the conditions for 'no longer being human'. Makes sense. Surviving that level of erosion, becoming some kind of異類 (yì lèi - different kind/species/aberration) is pretty normal."
Xin Yu stretched his body, discovering his physical strength far surpassed his previous self. If before he could shatter solid concrete with a punch, now he should be able to tear concrete blocks apart as easily as ripping paper.
As for his exact strength, without testing, he wasn't quite sure. He just felt like he could kill his past self with a single punch.
"Since I'm still alive, I have to keep living. Can't become decadent just because of loss and separation. Though I don't know where this is, since I already planned to start traveling, where I go doesn't matter. There's no place to go back to anyway. So, this is my wandering journey now!"
Xin Yu tidied his clothes. Strangely enough, after the battle with the Herrscher of Thunder, his clothes had been completely destroyed, yet now he was wearing a perfectly intact set. This outfit looked a bit odd, though – entirely white, somewhat resembling a military uniform, and he even had a hat on his head.
Xin Yu walked over to the trash can, opened the lid, glanced inside, then nonchalantly reached in and pulled out a broken glass bottle.
A peculiar energy surged in Xin Yu's hand. The glass bottle seemed to melt, casually reshaping itself under some unknown field into an ordinary mirror.
Xin Yu used the mirror to examine his current appearance. His previously pale complexion now looked like that of a normal person. Even the strange color of his pupils had vanished, leaving only pure, distinct black and white. His once stark white hair had also turned completely black, as if he had regained his youth.
However, looking at his clothes, Xin Yu inexplicably felt his hair should be red. He didn't know if this triggered another image from the corners of his memory, leading him to think this way.
Xin Yu released the mirror. As it fell, it slowly disintegrated, finally dissolving into points of faint light that landed on the ground and vanished.
Xin Yu walked out of the alley, finding himself in what appeared to be a small town. There weren't many tall buildings; mostly low houses lined the streets. There were no large crowds of pedestrians or heavy traffic. It looked like a peaceful, serene town.
Just as Xin Yu was looking around, planning to find someone nearby and ask where he was, he suddenly saw a girl with light green hair stumbling out from around a street corner. She seemed to have injuries on her face.
At the same time, Xin Yu noticed that when this girl appeared, the expressions of the few pedestrians on the street clearly changed.
They all quickened their pace as if seeing something ominous, no one showing any concern for why the girl was injured.
Xin Yu walked directly over.
"Need help?"
The girl stopped and looked up. She was a very pretty child. Even with the bruises on her face, her exceptional features were evident. Given time, if this girl grew up, she would undoubtedly become a stunning beauty.
"You're from out of town?"
"Yeah."
"No wonder you'd come over and ask me that."
"Seems you're quite famous in this town."
"The people in town think I'm a monster. They believe I caused my mother's death and think a child who could speak right after birth without crying is definitely something ominous."
"Speaking right after birth without crying... Sounds just like a reincarnated protagonist from those novels."
"Think whatever you want. I'm leaving."
"What about the injuries on your body?"
"I don't need to tell you that much, do I?"
"Just consider me bored and wanting to meddle in some idle business."
"...My father is sick. He has a very serious strange illness. From the past until now, he's only been able to rely on medicine to suppress the pain. Also, perhaps because my birth led to my mother's death, combined with my unusual behavior, my father has always hated me. Every time his illness acts up, he hits me and curses me to alleviate his physical suffering."
"Well, in that case, you really do need help. Seeing how mature you are, you must have some thoughts about it."
"Actually, I'm running away from home."
"Do you hate your father?"
"I'd rather cure his illness. I hope no one else gets sick like my father and turns into a demon because of it. And I also hope I can make humanity less fragile."
"That's quite a grand ideal. At least better than my own impractical dreams. But you're only nine years old. It must be hard to live after running away, right?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Due to certain circumstances, I'm currently in a wandering phase. So, if you don't mind, I'll walk this path with you until you find a new place to settle."
"...Do you have designs on my young body too?"
"Don't look at me so warily. Just think of me as a hopeless good person who can't stand seeing a child wandering around alone."
"...My name is Mobius."
"Xin Yu. Please take care of me."