New body, who dis?

At this very moment Lin Fan was basking in a serene happiness he had never felt before. He didn't feel like this when he conquered the almost countless versions of himself. Nor when he came to the realisation that he was about to take his first step into godlihood. Hell, he probably didn't feel this way when he finally lost his virginity after a thousand years.

Joy washed over his skin and permeated every fibre of his being, his every cell radiated pure blissful ecstasy. The sensation of his muscles contracting when he tightened them was slowly becoming an addiction, as he lay face down on the ground. The accompanying pain, an intoxicating reminder of his new found life. He could not help but let out a few gleeful chuckles as his 'body' continued to twist and convulse.

'I have a body again!' He thought in excitement.

'I can feel again!!'

'I can fight!'

'It might take a while but I can regain my former power!'

'I will rise again!!' He declared passionately in his mind.

"H-Hello?" A soft and uncertain voice cut through Lin Fan's reverie.

He whipped his figurative head around and saw another consciousness in his mindscape.

It was a young boy, no older than five. He had chubby cheeks, framed by long curly locks of dull silver hair. His large, shimmering purple eyes created a heavy contrast with his smooth and blacker than black skin.

If Lin Fan didn't know better, he would assume the kid was a mind demon and eviscerate him where he stood. Fortunately he did know better and understood that no mind demon could have a form this complete.

Even the most powerful ones would have some dream-like quality to them, and despite the odd combination of features, the boy had no such qualities.

"W-who are you?"

The boy was clearly terrified but his eyes remained firm and unwavering. 'What a good seed' Lin Fan thought with a smile.

However before he could reply, he felt his 'mouth' open, and a cold, mechanical voice uttered

[Welcome host]- "mother f-" [Congratulations for being chosen as the next wielder of the 'One and only' system]

[The system wishes you great luck on your journey to true oneness] - "The absolute gall of this motherfucker…do you believe that I won't kill you?" An incensed Lin Fan cursed while looking around the mindscape.

**********************************************

Patrice was finally able to open his eyes after what felt like an eternity. Relieved that he no longer felt any pain, he did not immediately take in his surroundings and instead closed his eyes again to fully appreciate the lack of that torturous agony.

This semblance of peace was unfortunately interrupted by a faint maniacal giggle that got progressively louder.

Patrice forced himself to open his eyes again and sat up. He then finally took in his surroundings. It was then that he realised that he had been lying in the middle of what appeared to be a field. A field of purple grass that shimmered with golden light as it swayed in a gentle warm breeze. A field that seemed to stretch on forever and the warm breeze caressed his face as he looked up at the sky. His eyes were met with a shimmering expanse of multicoloured grains, each one giving off an almost blinding light.

It was as though he was looking at the night sky during the day. A night sky comparable to what is seen in a place with no air pollution. It was simply stunning.

As he stated at the 'sky', he began to feel a strange but comforting pull towards the mesmerising lights. They danced and twisted as if to entrance him further. They grouped up into perfect globes of piercing brightness and then messy clusters of rotating lights. The faster they spun, the more Patrice felt drawn to them. The closer he felt, the faster they spun.

Slowly the comforting feeling started to give way to the nauseating feeling of anxiety. Despite knowing very well that it was nothing but baseless paranoia, Patrice couldn't suppress the faint nagging feeling that it would not be a good thing to 'touch' the sky yet. It was the uncomfortable feeling of knowing what was happening was premature, and if it was to continue, he would pay dearly for it.

Unfortunately the sky did not receive this memo and continued to spin faster and faster.

Patrice forcefully tore his eyes from the 'sky'. But as he looked down, he noticed that the purple grass had taken on an almost golden hue and was beginning to reflect the light in the 'sky'. In a matter of seconds, the entire field, for as far as he could see, perfectly reflected the 'sky', and for a moment everything slowed down. Patrice felt like he was sitting in the middle of the universe. The feeling was overwhelming. He felt like an all powerful cosmic entity. He was experiencing something he had only seen in 'what if?' documentaries and his favourite fictional stories.

However, before he could enjoy the sensation any further, the 'universe' began to spin.

Clockwise, counter-clockwise, vertically, horizontally, diagonally. It seemed to to spin in every direction at once.

Patrice felt his vision blur and his stomach turn as the 'universe' spun faster and faster. He instinctively reached for the 'ground' to brace himself but then his heart sunk when his palms grasped at nothing.

He felt the sense of nausea intensify as he thought to himself

'how am I sitting then?'

This led to the realisation that he couldn't actually feel anything bellow him and that he was simply floating in place.

As the universe spun even faster, Patrice saw the grains of light clash violently into each other. After a few clashes, there would be small explosions which would in turn release fierce amounts of energy, which quickly spread to the neighbouring lights and caused the 'universe' to spin even faster.

Then as suddenly as it began.

It stopped.

It did not slow down.

It simply froze as though it were a picture, and unfortunately Patrice was not spared from this fate.

His breathing quickened in shock as he felt his body slowly petrify until he could no longer move a muscle. Even breathing became a struggle.

He felt his throat tighten as he sensed the space constricting towards him. He began to pay closer attention to it and lo and behold, the lights were slowly but certainly moving towards him, and the closer they got, the harder it was for him to breath. This continued until he was only able to take about 2-3 short breaths every minute.

Patrice felt the veins in his neck and on his face involuntarily bulge as he struggled. An endless stream of tears flowed freely from his determined eyes. Unfortunately this was a pointless struggle. He was now barely able to take a single breath in 2 minutes.

However just when he felt his consciousness fade. He heard the maniacal giggling again. It pierced through the frozen space like a hot knife through butter. Each octave higher or lower was like a master swordsman taking a finely crafted sword and swinging it skilfully at a dried stalk of bamboo.

Patrice welcomed the giggle, as with each 'slash' he felt his body loosen and his breathing become easier.

Over time cracks began to appear in the frozen space and a distorted voice was heard saying.

[H*$+ D€te<+£d - !n!+!@+!ng \/\/£|_C0|\/|€ ]

Before Patrice could decipher what he'd heard, the space shattered and gave way to a humongous throne room.

It was decorated with emerald-like jade flooring and walls, which had a multitude of golden symbols littered all over. On the walls hung massive silver and gold embroidered tapestry. These shimmered with an enchanting golden brilliance as they gently swayed in a non-existent wind. Dangling from the ceiling like a coquettish dancer in a seductive ballroom gown, was a beautiful chandelier. It glittered with enchanting opaque and emerald crystals, which rested and hung proudly on its silver and gold frame.

Leading up to the throne was the same jade coloured marble flooring. Except it looked like it had been folded in on itself continuously to create a stunning staircase lined with gold and diamond encrusted edges.

When his eyes followed the stairs all the way up to the throne, Patrice could not help but recoil in shock, as he looked upon the jarring image of a giant plastic chair…that's right, a white giant plastic lawn chair was propped majestically at the end of the stairway.

Patrice did not have the luxury to ponder this incongruency further, as his eyes finally fell upon the laughing man laying face down beneath the giant chair.

"H-Hello?" He uttered tentatively, already unnerved by the man who laughed as his body convulsed.

All of a sudden, the convulsions stopped and the man whipped his head towards Patrice at break-neck speeds.

The sight that met him chilled him to the bone and he felt the skin behind his ears and neck, raise and tighten.

What stared back at him were a pair of hollow, empty sockets. They struck him with a feeling of dread and foreboding.

Patrice mustered up all his courage again and asked,

"W-who are you?"

A golden spark flashed within both empty sockets as the man's lips stretched into a smile.

[Welcome Host]