2 Resolve

Everyone immediately spotted an old man coming out from behind the black door, all the way gently caressing his long white beard with his right hand as he spoke, imitating a sage-like aura.

The guards didn't even waste a second; they placed Dean down with his wheelchair next to his granddaughter and stood in front of the duo, their top-notch guns already in their hands, ready to fire at any moment's notice.

" Back away; he is an acquaintance of mine," Kitty ordered the guards and piloted her grandpa's wheelchair, placing him a few meters in front of the old man.

Being ordered by their master, the guards didn't disobey and stood behind, but their hands still grappling the guns placed on their waist in case anything happened.

Dean's grandaughter, nicknamed Kitty, quickly bowed to the old man and said," It's me, sir; you have told me you have a way to extend someone's lifespan depending on their qualifications, so I brought my grandpa to you. I beg you, sir, please help him; he is the only one in my life that cares about me and deeply loves me; I can't lose him; please help h... please help him."

Her words were strong and organized at first, but she quickly got emotional and started begging, tears uncontrollably flowing out of her eyes like a miniature fountain, trailing all the way down her cheeks to the bottom of her chin, slowly drifting off the edge and dropping to the ground with a plump.

The old man looked unfazed by the pleading sight of the crying girl in front of him, that is clearly feeling deep pain inside her and only gazed at the old man sitting in the wheelchair in front of him, all the time still caressing his long white beard, seemingly thinking about something.

Kitty, even though she was so emotional, was still the princess of the worldwide empire her grandpa founded. Therefore she was more or less able to hold herself from speaking any more words and waited for the old man to answer her, her heart clenching tightly; every second felt like an eternity for her as even her hands were shaking from how stressful this situation was.

Only after a few minutes of staring at Dean did the old man speak; his tone changed to that of a gentle breeze, exhibiting peace and love to everyone who heard him, making them inwardly relax.

" Hmm, I can indeed extend his lifespan by a few thousand years, but it will all depend on his resolve."

Finishing his words, he took out a thick book from under his long wide sleeve and added," Tell me, Dean, do you wish to die?"

' Is this scammer playing games with me? Well, I have no choice but to play along for my granddaughter's sake anyway.' Dean inwardly rolled his eyes, but he answered truthfully, his voice sounding strong and full of energy like his young days.

"Absolutely Not."

The white-haired old man wearing a long white robe didn't react and only opened the first page of the book real quick before closing it again and continuing.

" How strong is that no? Are you willing to sacrifice everything to live a decade longer? Maybe a century or even a millennia?"

" Yes, I'm willing to sacrifice everything just to live a year longer, much less a century or more."

Dean was answering absent-mindedly, thinking that is just another scam, still ignorant and in the dark about the fact that everything around him began turning blurry and a new scene was taking place.

But even though he was absent-minded, his words came from the heart, and he will indeed sacrifice everything he had to keep living and never experience death.

He didn't want to be forgotten; he didn't want to perish just like that.

At this moment, while he was uttering these words, he finally realized how none of the material things he ever laid his hands on, like money, resources, and pleasure held a candle in front a day longer in the world of the living.

" Good, very good, that's what I like to hear. Your words seem to be coming from the very depths of your soul as well, you indeed have what it takes, but if you manage to survive or not, that will still depend on your resolve and mental strength."

Dean was about to ask something after he finally noticed that only he and the old man were around, but he was abruptly cut off by a strange scene that occurred in front of him.

The old man's figure turned blurry before it slowly vanished out of his sight, replaced by multiple cards hovering in front of him, each one radiating a faint greyish light, but none could differ from the other; they were literal identical copies of each other.

The warm rays of the sun quickly turned into nothingness, replaced by a dark space devoid of any illumination except for the grey light radiating out of the three two meters long sized cards in front of him.

The change didn't stop at that point since the voice of the old man could be easily heard by Dean, finishing the final touches of the changes that occurred.

" Here we go, your journey starts here, but again, your survival will totally depend on you, Dean, choose wisely and think properly."

Dean was still confused by the fact that his voice was as clear as when he was in his teenage days; his hearing that could barely discern the voices a few meters far from him nowadays, was now working all fine.

In his shock, he looked at his hands and body, only to see that everything was the same only the wheelchair was missing.

" Hm? Where is my wheelchair?"

" Wait! Where is my wheelchair? How am I able to stand on my feet without the support of anything?"

" Stand on my feet?"

He bitterly smiled when he said these words, looking at the floor under his feet that didn't exist, instead replaced by darkness that knew no boundaries.

Given his long years of experience, it didn't take longer than a few minutes for him to calm down and think about this properly.

" Is this...?"

Yet, before he could even finish his own words, the old man's voice quickly entered his ears, and a figure of a snake materialized a few meters on top of the grey cards.

" Oh, you actually didn't take long to figure your situation out; I'm greatly surprised but also glad that you aren't dumb."

The small snake, a meter long, was black in color, and her eyes were pitch red, and without waiting for Dean to comment on anything, it explained.

" This is indeed reincarnation."

" Congratulations Dean Kani for being chosen by the book of Immortality to become the first and only human that was ever selected by it to try and pass this nigh-impossible test. Without further ado, I'll quickly explain what you are currently seeing in front of you and this whole space, so refrain from masking any questions; you will get all your answers after the book of Immortality deems you worthy of said information."

The black snake, out of nowhere, grabbed her tail with her jaws and made a few rolls in the void on top of the cards, only to stop after a few seconds and continue speaking.

" First, choose a random card from the three you see under me."