Harbinger of Calamity
a Neet who has worked hard his entire life, who has experienced the vicissitudes of life, living much of his life in poverty, depression and drug addiction, at the end of his difficult road, dies of cancer at the age of 26. Having suffered his entire life trying to face the cruel reality of the world, always chasing higher pursuits and exploring ideas but his pursuit of truth only leads to his own collapse. In his last days instead of weeping, he laughs, he laughs at the absurdity of it all. It seemed as if fate had played the biggest joke on him, he had taken too seriously what had no value. What is life? a blink of an eye! as unreal as a dream, what a mysterious world, we are just born out of nowhere only to vanish later on. A profound sigh was uttered "If only I wasn't dealt such bad cards! I was made for the heights yet here I am crashed in the abyss of life." Looking at the world he was soon to leave, he sighed "Humanity truly has fallen in this era, it has crashed from the heights of embodying divinity to succumbing to their animalistic selves becoming creatures of decadence, slaves to pleasure, lust and the lowly desires of the body. Truly my heart weeps for the tragedy of humanity, the industrial revolution, a slave society disguised as 'modern society', poisonous foods filled with chemicals, an entire network engineered to enslave minds called the internet, an absolute infestation of decadence and mediocrity in the very Human spirit that used to overpower all. All humanity is enslaved, what can't parents even teach? they are slaves themselves. Atleast in this life, I refused to be a slave, I was a free being, atleast in the later half of my life, I followed my own passions and lived my own life but in the end, sigh I failed! But oh well, who ever lived a perfect life in this world? as the darkness of death engulfs him, he fully accepts it and is gone. A pair of eye opened and an absolutely stunning sight appeared, he was transmigrated. For the first time in so long, he could see clearly without glasses or contacts, he could feel physically powerful instead of a sickly body and a destroyed pleasure system. He resolves that this time, this life, He would pursue his own freedom! He would never give up on himself and he will walk his own path to the very end. "That's right, I was wrong depending on sympathy. Cold, heartless, I won't forgive them, they can't be forgiven! That's right, it wasn't me who was wrong, it was the world that was wrong!" A descent towards Madness. A cruel world where no refuge can be found, countless obstacles obstructing one's path, mountains of corpses, an abyss of blood, a heart of darkness, a cruel fate to all living beings. No heart or soul, only an abyss of despair and a heart to ascend beyond. ... Support me directly : patreon.com/aloneinthisworld (only if you don't pay for chapters) Discord : https://discord.gg/aGumZnuF3u
Tree of eternal life
The woman looked directly at his eyes, she stared at him before her whole aura changed :
"You are right."
Nameless's face turned cold.
"But it's not the way you think. I can only heighten and amplify pre-existing emotions and supress other ones."
She continued : "The process of emotion and reasoning in human beings is very complex yet also simple, even though you might supress and pretend to remove all the positive emotions in your heart such as love, it will nonetheless remain existing as long as you are human. The only reason you wouldn't be aware of it is because the opposite emotions are more powerful and deeply rooted."
"By supressing those negative emotions and heightning the remaining positive ones, completely different emotional reactions manifest."
"However, It is necessary for me to clarify that all those emotions and experiences were yours, although amplified to reach a specific result, they are nonetheless your authentic emotions."
Nameless however didn't believe it!
He felt he was manipulated every step of the way, in his first meetings with Eve as well as his relationship with his mom and people, he felt it every step of the way, he was being emotionally manipulated, building positive experiences before crushing them with the intent to destroy his will and individuality.
Nameless thought before he came to a realisation!
He lifted his head and looked at the tree before he returned his sight to the woman.
"You can feed on human consciousness?"
The woman was slightly suprised before she uttered a small laugh.
"That is true but not the whole truth."
She turned her face and gazed at the ancient, magical, purple ethereal willow.
Purple ethereal fragment would manifest every time the willows swayed making the scene look spectacular almost out of a dream.
"What do you think this Tree's name is?"
Nameless didn't understand the question but he nonetheless turned and gazed at the giant willow tree that extended before him.
Being near it only revealed more of its beauty, it looked mystifying and transcendental.
Looking at it, he came up with a name : "Is it the tree of consciousness?"
"Oh, that's a close call but it's wrong."
She spread her arms as if to embrace the tree before she spoke : "This is the Tree of eternal life!"
'the Tree of eternal life?!' Nameless was stunned.
What was eternal life? a mirage that people chased only to realise it was mere fantasy yet this tree before him held such a title?!
"It is true that the Tree of eternal life can feed on people's consciousness but only those who succumb to it."
The wind moved sending purple light fragment scattered all around the air as she spoke :
"But those that can survive can attain eternal life!"
Purpleish ethereal light fragment moved in the air as she spoke making the view look like a magical sea of purpleish light.
'What?!'
Nameless was taken aback.
The purpleish ethereal fragments danced in the air, the scene looked magical.
Enveloped by the purple lights she turned towards Nameless stretching her hand towards him :
"Join us and you can have eternal life! a life of pure freedom and bliss! everything you have ever desired, you can have it!"
"a Life free of pain and suffering! free of losing loved ones! you can express your love, achieve your dreams and live the way you want to! isn't this what you always wanted?"
"Whatever life you desire to live, you can have it!"
"Grab my hand and you will have that which you have always desired, you can live however many lives you desire, whatever form you desire to embody, you can have a paradise beyond measure."
Nameless was dumbfounded.
He didn't feel good about how the conversation was going. He feared what would happen if he refused but he was also curious about what she was talking about.
Eternal life? a life full of bliss and freedom? a world free of impermanence?
Weren't they all just fantasies and delusions?
Nameless spoke : "How can I trust you after what you did to me?"
He wasn't genuine, he only wanted to make himself look as if he was the victim, refusing an offer from such a powerful existence was dangerous.
The woman spoke : "Although, we can be blamed for your suffering, I also saved your life. If not for me, you would have died back there eaten by the beast. isn't that the case?"
Nameless couldn't deny it : "True."
She had already picked up on his uncertainty, she smiled explaining : "Even if you refuse, we wouldn't attack nor be resentful about it, it is your own choice after all but let me explain first."
"The Tree of eternal life is a mystical secluded domain of Heaven and earth."
"Long long ago, it was said that Heaven and earth after arranging the laws of the world discerned that there was an unfairness for beings to have no choice but be mortal thus this secluded domain was brought into being."
"Any being as long as they overcame the illusory world and retained their individuality after being in contact with the Tree of eternal life's consciousness could merge their consciousness with it without losing their individuality and could live as a part of it forever."
"Not only that, one could live in bliss and even create their own dream realms! You can have your own world, the way you want it! if you want everyone to be eternal, they can be!"
"The only restriction is that the Tree has to stay alive but do not worry, this Tree is one of the strongest existences in the world and we Guardians are as strong as a Kingdom!"
"This Tree has already survived for millions of years!"
As soon as he said that, a change happened and Nameless felt as if he had returned to that previous purple world.
In front of him, forms of purpleish light appeared before taking form and before him, entire people made of purple light appeared, they were young as well old, ranging from the tall to the short, from the big to the small, all with their unique expressions and faces, there even appeared to be humanoid beings within them.
Thousands, no, tens of thousands appeared before him behind the purple woman, their aura was powerful and they seemed to share part of their essence with the Tree as if they were all a part of it.
This change only lasted for a few moments before Nameless was back to reality.
The woman stretched her arm again : "Join us."
Nameless thought for a few minutes before he made his mind and spoke :
"I refuse."
"What?! Why? You do know that the outside world is absolutely ruthless, do you?! you were nearly eaten not even a day after being born, I guarentee you if you refuse this opportunity, you will not last even a few days in the outside world!"
She continued : "Even if you do, the world is spoiled and rotten, being backstabbed is the least of your worries, if you don't have a backing, you will simply be labeled as a demonic cultivator before being killled."
"Do you know that even powerful righteous cultivators work their entire life with the goal of joining the Tree of eternal life? yet the majority still fail, only the selected few can even dream to have a chance like this!"
"I still refuse." He spoke.
"You?! Preposterous! You're not even a rank 2 cultivator yet you dare! maybe if you were a rank 5 or rank 6 cultivator but you, a mere ant, I could kill you with a fart!"
"Then kill me."
"You?!"