BLEEDING UNIVERSE (The warrior in two worlds)

Chapter 2

A scream of pure, raw agony ripped from Baron’s chest. The sound was so loud, so heavy with heartbreak, that the dark concrete basement started to shake.

Crack.

A thin line split the air. Then another. The dark basement walls began to peel away like old paper. The cruel smirk on Matt Windgate’s face froze, and in the next second, both Matt and his bodyguards crumbled into gray dust, blown away by a wind that wasn't there.

The nightmare was over, but the real disaster was just beginning.

Baron’s mind snapped back into his true celestial body. He was back at the very top of the universe, standing on the edge of the glittering star-sea.

But his soul was completely broken. Inside his body, his energy didn't flow smoothly anymore. A thick, pitch-black smoke exploded through his veins, twisting and tearing his power to pieces.

He had lost total control. He had let the illusion trick him into believing his love was dead all over again. He had fallen into a deadly demonic deviation.

High above, the massive purple whirlpool in the sky let out a loud roar, almost like it was laughing at him.

The trial knew he was weak now. The storm didn't just fire one bolt of lightning. Instead, it dropped a massive, solid log of violet fire—over a hundred divine lightning bolts mashed together into one giant pillar. It came crashing straight down onto Baron’s head.

The entire universe turned a blinding, burning white.

As the cosmic lightning melted his immortal skin and ripped his soul out of existence, Baron didn't feel afraid.

He didn't care about the pain. He only felt a deep, burning regret that a hundred years of being a god could never erase.

‘If I could just do it again…’ his very last thought floated away into the empty dark. ‘If I could only go back… I would kill every single one of them.’

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into Tuntadel City Airport. Please ensure your seatbelts are securely fastened and your tray tables are in their upright positions..."

Gasp!

Baron Crown shot forward in his seat, his mouth wide open as he sucked in a huge, desperate breath of air.

His heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Cold sweat was pouring down his neck, making his cheap, thin t-shirt stick uncomfortably to his skin.

His hands flew straight to his chest, his fingers scrambling around his shirt, searching for the giant, smoking hole where the purple lightning had just blasted through him.

There was no hole. There was no lightning. There was no blood.

Instead, all he could hear was the low, steady hum of a plane engine. Around him, regular people were chatting quietly, adjusting their bags, and looking out the windows.

Baron froze, his eyes wide and completely lost. He looked around the cabin, his brain spinning in circles.

It felt like he had been dropped here by magic, totally out of nowhere. One second he was being vaporized by the gods, and the next, he was sitting in a tight, cramped chair.

"Am I... am I dreaming?" he whispered, his voice shaky.

He blinked hard, forcing his sharp senses to look closer at his surroundings. He was definitely in the economy section of a cheap commercial plane.

He raised his hands and stared at them. They were small. The skin was smooth and soft. The thick, tough scars and calluses he had gotten from holding heavy magic swords for a hundred years were totally gone.

These were the hands of a kid.

Slowly, his hand drifted down into his pocket. He felt a small, hard object and pulled it out. It was an old, cheap smartphone with a badly scratched screen. He tapped the button, and the lock screen lit up with the date and time:

May 19, 2018.

Baron’s breath hitched. His mind went completely numb. May 19, 2018? The flight from oakwood Town to Tuntadel City?

He knew this day. He could never forget this day. This was the exact morning he had packed his single bag and left his quiet little hometown to go to the big university in the capital.

This date was the literal starting line for every single horrible thing that would happen to his family over the next ten years.

A massive wave of shock hit his soul, but right behind it came a cold feeling of doubt.

Wait. Is this just another trick? Baron thought, his eyes narrowing. ‘Is this just the second level of that damn Soulbreak Illusion? Am I still trapped inside the lightning storm?’

Baron squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. He turned his focus inward, trying to find the massive ocean of Qi energy he usually kept inside his stomach.

He searched and searched, but found absolutely nothing.

He looked for his glowing Soul Core—it was gone.

He looked for his magical spells—extinguished.

He looked for his legendary weapons and armor—completely missing.

He didn't have a single drop of magic in him. Right now, he was totally, completely ordinary. Just a regular human teenager.

But when he opened his eyes again, a strange, deep realization started to settle in his gut.

No. This isn't a trick, he thought.

If this were still the nightmare illusion, the trap would have used his fears against him. It would have put him right back on that bloody concrete floor in front of Matt Windgate.

It would have forced him to watch Juliana die again, or made him listen to his sister Malica scream. The illusion wanted to break his mind with pain.

But this place wasn't painful. This was quiet. It was peaceful. The illusion wasn't smart enough or strong enough to build a whole, living world that was this calm and completely free of his immediate trauma.

I didn't just survive that lightning strike, Baron thought.

A sudden spark of wild, heavy excitement started to bubble up in his chest. His heart beat faster, not because he was scared, but because he felt a massive, crazy rush of joy.

I was actually reborn. I really did travel a hundred years back in time!

He let out a short, breathless laugh and leaned his head back against the cheap plastic headrest.

He turned his head to look out the tiny, scratched airplane window. Down below, the massive, shining skyline of the city was peeking through the white clouds.

In his past life, he had failed his big ascension because his foundations were completely rotten.

He had rushed through his training, moving way too fast because he was desperate to run away from his painful past.

He had tried to bury his regrets and his hatred deep down inside his soul, leaving them to rot until they finally blew up in his face during the final trial.

This time, I'm doing things right, Baron thought, a sharp, icy calm taking over his mind.