{Gu Xing's point of view}
"Child." A voice called out to me. It was of a woman's, soft and motherly, yet it carried no weight behind it. "Such an unfortunate soul you've created for yourself."
Opening my eyes, I find myself in the middle of a swirl of light. It was nothing like how the heavens were depicted. It was almost an entirely different realm.
"Am I dead?"
"You are.'
"Then why am I still here?"
The voice surrounded me, unable to find its origin. It let out a sigh, a long bellowy sigh. "Because of the truth, my child. Allow me to show you… of a time hidden behind space."
"What truth? What are you talking about? Just send me off already…"
The voice scoffed at my empty threat, "Do you really want to die?"
"N- No… But just do something with me."
"Then let me ask you, what do you want?"
"Peace… Peace that will allow me to live happily with a family that loves me."
"And how does one control whether there is peace or not in this world?"
"With power… Power so overwhelming that everyone has no choice but to allow for peace."
"I see… How badly do you desire such power?"
"If it meant turning to the devil."
"Where does such resolve come from?"
"Weakness. My own inability to protect myself, and those around me."
"Why are you weak?"
"Because I was born into an unfair world. A world where hard work never beats talent, in a world where killing is normal, in a world where you could die at birth."
"Do you hate it?"
"No."
"Do you love it then?"
Before I could answer the voice, I thought to myself. How could I love a world that was so unjust, when I could not even love myself who was a victim to such unjustness.
"No…"
"Then why do you wish for peace? For love?"
"Because… It is what a hero would do."
"Do not lie to yourself, you know you are no hero, in a world as cruel and unjust as yours, why do you want peace and love?"
"Because…" I hesitated, looking down into my own hands as if the answer were written on them. "Because it is a reflection of my inner self. If I cannot fix myself, I want to fix the world around me."
"And if the truth of the world is much crueler than you thought?"
"Then I shall continue to strive forward despite it all."
The voice paused our exchange, taking its time to think before returning. "Then, may you shine brightly like the star you are, young hero."
With a sudden forceful tug, the swirl of light around me started to spiral, sending me backwards with a flying force I cannot control with my own will.
The pitch black darkness of space was replaced with the sight of the billions if not many more stars in the night sky as I myself spiraled down toward the blue planet we called home. Although with some resistance, the world allowed for me to reenter, crashing down safely though the heavenly demon's abode.
Upon opening my eyes, the first sight that stood before me was none other than a man that looked almost exactly like me, holding a blade to my throat.
"Speak if you do not wish to die. Why have you come through my roof? Rather, what is a well off person like you doing here during this time of war?"
The heavenly demon's abode… War… Did the voice return me to life? If so…
"Who are you?"
The man shoves the edge of his blade closer to my throat, slicing in just enough to draw blood.
"I asked first, so you answer first."
"Well… I happened to have fallen from the sky… As for the war, do you not mean the war between the three factions?"
"Three factions?" The man questioningly asked himself. "Are you perhaps behind the times? That war ended long ago, right now we are fighting for survival."
"Survival? Against what?"
"The gods beyond. Now tell me, will you fight, or will you simply cower in fear behind the twelve zodiacs?"
The twelve zodiacs… gods beyond…
"Does that mean the heavens have been claimed by others?"
The man before me nods as he lowers his guard by just a little. "Indeed. Gods of other worlds have come to our home and skies to claim it all. Humanity shall not falter, and it never will. So allow me to introduce myself. I am Cheon Ma, the Dragon of Nine Skies."
"I am Xing… A crippled warrior."
"Crippled or not, as long as you stand with us, we shall fall with you."
Lowering his sword, Cheon Ma reaches out a hand, helping me get up as he brings me to the front gate, swinging it open to show me the current world.
Camps and refugees have taken place, the three factions have united under the same sky as people live almost normal lives.
"A majority of the murim world has been taken over by a god we call X. it corrupts the world and everything its sludge touches. The last bastion we have is the Demonic Realm as the infighting between the Orthodox and Unorthodox have caused trouble."
"I see… So what's the plan?"
"Find the remaining Zodiacs and either kill them for their core or convince them to join. So far, we're only missing 5, "
"What… For?"
Cheon Ma grimaced, a scowl on his face as he turned to the side. "We plan on sacrificing ourselves in one desperate attempt. They beyonders have already taken over and beaten the gods in our heaven, so we can only do so much."
Upon his admission of desperation, a shiver ran down my spine. So it was this bad, huh? The monkey, the dragon, the ox and the pig cannot defeat them even? That's…
"Is that the only option?"
Cheon Ma nods. "The only other option is to wait for the almighty Buddha to escape from X's void. We'd rather bet on our own lives than risk it by waiting for the unknown."
"I see… Then I'll be alongside you till the end. All twelve of you."