He stood on the final step.
The stars above him bowed.
The skies below trembled.
The cosmic platform beneath his feet shimmered with the runes of godhood.
He had done it.
After years of blood and bone, after wars and betrayals, after surviving trials that shattered realms—
He had climbed from nothing to everything.
His body radiated divine pressure.
His qi coiled like a serpent of fate.
He stood at the threshold of immortality.
One more step.
He raised his foot, ready to claim his final reward.
But the moment his foot touched the last seal—
Everything turned white.
---
He opened his eyes.
No stars.
No realm.
No platform.
Only blank space.
White. Endless. Empty.
> "Welcome, Test Subject #928363353839265."
The voice was cold. Unfeeling.
Mechanical.
His divine aura pulsed in confusion.
> "Ascension threshold detected.
Initiating Final Regression Protocol."
"What is this?" he demanded. "Who are you?!"
Then another voice answered.
Hoarse. Ancient. Dry like rotting paper.
> "You thought you were chosen. That you conquered fate. That you won."
> "But you're just a number."
> "Nine hundred twenty-eight trillion, three hundred sixty-three billion, three hundred fifty-eight million, three hundred ninety-two thousand, six hundred sixty-five."
> "All climbed. All failed. You're not the first. Not the last."
His divine qi flared in resistance.
He roared. Flames surged from his hands.
Time bent under his will.
But the white room didn't care.
> "We're not looking for gods," the voice whispered.
> "We're looking for what comes after gods fail."
---
⚠️ THE STRIPDOWN
> "Regression sequence: begin."
His chest cracked.
His veins turned black.
His soul trembled.
Then the voice began listing—
> "Godhood: Stripped."
"Heavenly Core: Crushed."
"Laws of Reality: Revoked."
"Bloodline: Erased."
"Divine Flame: Extinguished."
"Qi Channels: Sealed."
"Meridians: Disconnected."
"Spiritual Sea: Drained."
"Strength: Removed."
"Sight: Dimmed."
"Voice: Suppressed."
"Name: Deleted."
"Language: Erased."
"Memories: Scrubbed."
"Personality: Broken."
"Soul Tag: Purged."
"Fate Link: Cut."
"Identity: Erased."
"Awareness: Locked."
He fell.
His body shrank.
His cultivation scattered into light.
His bones reformed.
His aura collapsed.
> "Status: Regression complete.
Subject has failed.
Preparing next candidate."
He lay motionless.
No light in his eyes.
No sound in his soul.
A god, reduced to nothing.
Not even a man.
Just meat.
---
THE AWAKENING
Rain fell.
Heavy. Cold. Real.
A body lay beneath black clouds, deep in the dirt of an unfamiliar world.
Fifteen years old by appearance.
But there was no age in his eyes.
He was awake.
But not aware.
No thoughts.
No memories.
No questions.
No fear.
No reaction.
---
What He Had Lost
No name.
No language.
No voice.
No memories.
No instincts.
No emotions.
No thoughts.
No beliefs.
No cultivation.
No qi.
No core.
No bloodline.
No meridians.
No techniques.
No system.
No identity.
No past.
No purpose.
Not even pain.
Just a warm, still body beneath the rain.
---
The drops hit his face.
One after another.
He didn't blink.
He didn't flinch.
He didn't move.
No breath.
No tension.
No resistance.
Just stillness.
A body without meaning.
A being without shape.
A flame with no heat.
Something once great—
now erased.
---
But then—
In the silence—
Something flickered.