Chapter 5: 4 – Death and reincarnation

"Verich, tonight I'll kill you!"

John no longer cared about the security alarm, and directly kicked the door.

"Dammit!"

Verich rushed to get his gun, while his bodyguard came running through the back entrance.

The bodyguard took cover behind the wall that separated the kitchen and the living room while John took cover behind the wall that led to the living room.

John and the bodyguard traded shots, while Verich had just reached the stairs. From up there, he had a direct line of sight to where John was hiding.

"Michael, go through the window and circle around him. I'll cover you."

"Yes, Sir."

'Dammit!' John cursed inwardly.

He couldn't back down now, as the next time would be much tougher to kill Verich, but if he let the bodyguard circle past him it would mean death.

'I can't go back now, I can't! Even if I have to die here, he will die with me.' John made his decision and dashed towards another wall while shooting at the bodyguard.

*P-taff!* *Baang!* *P-taaaffff!* *Baaaannngg!*

*Bang!* *Baaang!*

For a few instants. During those brief instants, while John dashed towards the wall, he felt time slowing down. It was like he could see the bullets heading for the bodyguard, as well as the one coming towards himself.

The bodyguard fell and John managed to get to the other wall, and from his new vantage point, he was able to double tap the bodyguard to make sure he was dead.

Unfortunately, he had also been hit. The bullet went through the side of his abdomen. Though the wound wasn't fatal, it would hinder his movements.

'What the hell?' John wondered. He had been in other firefights, but it was the first time he felt time slowing down.

He didn't wonder for too long though, as he still had to take care of Verich.

"Verich, you son of a bitch! It's just you and me now!"

"You lunatic, do you have any idea what you're doing!? I'm a US Colonel! You and everyone you love will pay for this!"

"Everyone I love!? The only person I had left died because of you, while you received a fucking medal!" John bellowed back. "Verich, even if I die, you're coming with me!"

John couldn't let this go on, as every minute he would lose more blood.

With both pistols in hand, John dashed towards the stairs.

Verich was a commissioned officer, so he rarely saw combat, besides already being old. He wasn't able to aim as well as John, though he still managed to hit John once.

Unfortunately for him, John was also able to hit him twice.

"Argh!"

Verich wasn't able to remain on his feet and rolled down the stairs, while John fell to the floor.

Both were wounded. John didn't know about Verich, but he was sure that himself wouldn't be able to survive.

He no longer cared, as long as he could make sure Verich died.

He aimed the pistol towards Verich and fired.

*Clink!*

Empty. He tried the other one, but it was the same.

'No. No, No, NO!'

John had to make sure Verich would die. He still had the knife strapped to his ankle, though getting to Verich would be hard.

'Get up.'

'Get up!' John screamed inwardly. He had come too far.

"Haa... haa... Get up!"

Whatever it takes, he must finish what he started. John used all of his forces to get on his feet. With the knife in hands, he headed towards Verich.

The distance between the two was roughly 5 meters, though it felt like kilometers for John. It was like each leg weighed a hundred kilos.

He felt dizzy like he would fall down any second, but he didn't stop. John was using all his energy to end this.

When he finally walked the 5 meters, John's hands were shaking. His legs lasted long enough for him to kneel down by Verich's side.

From this distance, John could see that Verich was unconscious but still breathing.

John forced himself to raise the knife. He had never wanted to kill someone so much as this man.

All his previous missions were just that, missions. This would be the first person he killed because he really wanted.

Summoning all the strength he had left, John's hands became firm, and he stabbed down.

The knife hit Verich's rib, but as if cutting through butter, it kept going. It pierced his heart and still managed to reach the ribs at the back.

With that, Verich was dead.

Having no more strength left, John fell to the floor.

------

In a garden extremely far away, an old man with a long grey beard had his eyes closed in meditation. Next to him was a harvesting scythe.

'Huh?' The old man opened his eyes and looked into the distance, past the trees and mountains, outside the world he was in.

'A desolate region, but why do I feel someone going through an awakening there? And I can feel it is close to one of my amulets.'

He began working to pinpoint the exact location until he found a small blue planet with life in it.

The old man saw John who was about to stab Verich.

'That boy has no strength left... what!?'

The old man got up as if he couldn't believe what he just saw. At that moment, John strength increased exponentially.

John wasn't able to see it, but this old man could. John's stab didn't just hit the second rib but managed to pierce it too, damaging the floor beneath it.

'A body awakening! I have to know more about this boy.'

In an instant, the old man was able to look through the past and find out everything about John.

'So his name is John. Parents died when he was a kid and now he went to avenge his brother. He awakened to the cultivation path and was able to have his vengeance, but unfortunately, he is about to die.'

'Hmm.' the man spent a few minutes though not even a second passed by at Earth.

'Such a rare genius and he even has one of my amulets. I must try helping him.' With that, the old man teleported to John's world. It was quite easy as it was just a desolate world with barely any energy in it.

------

John was bleeding on the floor. He could hear the police sirens far away.

'So this is how I die.' John thought. 'At least I could avenge you, Lucas.'

John looked at Verich's body at the side. Of all the people John killed, he was the only one because of emotion.

"Guess I'll be seeing you in hell."

That's when John noticed. The sirens had stopped. At that moment an old man simply materialized in front of him.

The old man transmitted a feeling of infinite wisdom as if with a single look he could see through everything.

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"Hello, child."

"Go-God?"

"Haha, I suppose that for you I would be some kind of God."

After saying that, the old man snapped his fingers and John immediately felt his mind getting clear again and the pain of his wounds disappearing.

John couldn't help asking.

"Who are you?"

The old man smiled. "You may call me Chronos, and you're John am I right?"

That's when John took a better look at the old man. He was dressed in a long, white robe, and in his hand, he had a big harvesting scythe.

He had grey hair and a long grey beard. Looking at his eyes, John felt like this man knew everything about him.

"Chronos? As in the God of time?"

"That's right. I know it must seem shocking to you considering your life. When your parents died, you began to doubt how God could allow something like this to happen isn't that right?"

"Ye-yeah." It was an uncomfortable feeling to have someone know everything about you.

"So, Sir Go- Chronos. Why did you save me?"

"Well, I actually didn't. After I leave, you will still have two bullet wounds, and you'll die before the police arrive. If I will really save you will depend on your choice as well as your own luck, but I'm getting ahead of myself."

"The reason that I'm here, is because fate brought us together."

"Fate?"

"That's right. Now pay attention, for I will explain a few things you probably don't know." Chronos said with a smile and once again snapped his fingers. In his hand appeared an antique watch. The watch John had won at the auction

"This watch that you obtained a few hours ago. You could have chosen any other item, but you chose this one." Chronos showed the back of the watch. "See this Zodiac Wheel? That's my amulet."

"When you dashed to shoot the bodyguard, for a brief moment you felt time slow down. That's what we call an awakening. A mind awakening to be exact. Not only that, you were able to push beyond your body capabilities to deliver the final blow. That was a body awakening."

"Awakenings happen when a person first interacts with the energies of the world. Therefore this depends on how much energy the world has as well as the person's talent."

"Some people are able to awaken when still at the mother's womb, while others may spend their whole lives never experiencing it."

"But, your world is what is called a desolate world. The energies here are quite weak, making it almost impossible to have an awakening, and you're probably the first one at your world to experience one."

"Such a rare happening and you also happened to be carrying one of my amulets, I can only see this as fate."

"..." John was stunned. Awakening, energies of the world, fate. If John hadn't seen the things this Chronos could do, he would think him to be crazy.

"Haha, it must be quite hard to digest all this information. But this isn't what is important."

"Before, you said you would see this man in hell. Let me show you what really happens when a person dies." With that, Chronos snapped his fingers again, and John couldn't believe what he saw. It was Verich. More specifically a second, ghostlike Verich, floating over the body on the floor.

Though he was floating there, at every second he was getting more and more transparent.

"See that? It's his spirit, and it is dissipating. That's because his body died, and it is the same thing that would happen to you had I not come. No eternal suffering In hell or salvation in heaven, simply nothing."

John was astonished. " So... everyone who dies, simply disappear?"

"Not exactly. If a person is strong enough, their spirit will evolve into a soul. When the body dies, the soul is able to enter the cycle of rebirth and reincarnate on a new body, though they lose all of their memories. Unfortunately, none of the people of your world is strong enough to have a soul."

John didn't know what to say. That means that when this Chronos leaves, he would simply cease existing.

"Well, I guess it's better than eternal damnation. But then... why are you telling me all of this?"

"Hehe, remember I told you it would depend on your choice if I would be saving you? Though normally you wouldn't be able to reincarnate, it is possible with my help."

"With my help, you will be able to enter the cycle of rebirth and be born again in another world. Not only that, you would be able to keep your memories."

Chronos smiled at John and then finally made the question. The reason that he came to this world.

"John, do you wish to reincarnate?"

Reincarnate? John didn't know what to say. When he mentioned hell after killing Verich, it was a figure of speech. John wasn't really a man of much faith.

But now he truly had the chance for an afterlife, though it wasn't quite what he imagined.

'Calm down, I have to think this through.'

"..." Chronos waited patiently for John's answer. Though he seemed calm, he was actually quite anxious. He really wanted to help John reincarnate, though if the person didn't want to, there was nothing Chronos could do.

"Sir Chronos, I can't believe reincarnating can be that simple. What are you not telling me?"

"Hehe, guess I can't hide it from you. Though I made it look simple, I can only guarantee you will be able to enter the cycle of rebirth, and that you won't reincarnate on a desolate world like this one."

"After that, various things will happen. You will definitely recover your memories, but I simply can't know when. You may be born with them, or only get them back when you're an old man already. It will depend on your own talent."

"Not only that, you may be reborn as the son of an emperor, or a slave. No one really knows how the cycle of rebirth chooses."

"Finally, even if you recover your memories quite early, and manages to reincarnate as a prince, Life itself can be your own hell. It may sound strange now, but you will understand if you manage to live as long as I have."

"Now, you know everything there is to know. I can help you reincarnating, but what happens after that..." Chronos had an apologetic expression on his face. "I know all of this seems too surprising for you. Unfortunately, you must make a decision, as I can't keep the time stopped for much longer. Now, what will you choose?"

John's mind was racing. If Chronos had actually told him he would reincarnate back to his own body when he was a child, John would immediately accept. If that happened, John would be able to stop the accident that killed his parents. With their parents alive, Lucas wouldn't have died fighting in the war.

But that wasn't the choice he had. He had to choose between simply disappearing, or a new life in another world, with things like awakenings, and the energies of the world...

'My parents are dead. I was able to kill the one responsible for my brother's death. Working for so long, I never bothered to get a wife or kids. I have nothing that binds me to this world, and so much that I wish I could've done.'

He thought for a few moments but finally made his choice.

"Sir Chronos, I wish to reincarnate."

"Haha, good choice! Now, I will create a Pseudo-Soul for you. Just hold still and don't fight back."

John could feel something envelop him, though he didn't quite know what it was.

After a couple of minutes.

"Done! This pseudo-soul will last long enough for you to reincarnate. Now I have to leave so that your body may die. I hope we're able to meet again in the future."

After saying it, Chronos disappeared.

There once again was the sound of police sirens.

John was back at the floor and he could once again feel the pain of his wounds.

Five minutes later, the police came inside the house but were only able to find 3 dead bodies.

A couple of days after that a piece of news shocked the world.

-CIA secret agent goes rogue and murders US Colonel, along with two bodyguards.-

------

"Cough! Cough!"

Chronos was back in the garden, and he was coughing blood. The reason he left was that he hurt himself while creating the pseudo-soul for John.

Guiding a weak spirit towards the cycle of rebirth was hard enough, and Chronos even made sure that John would have his memories.

But it was worth it.

Someone who could awaken both body and mind on a desolate world was a rarely seen genius.

"I hope he manages to cultivate quickly. We'll need all the help we can get against the legion..."

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