Eternal Rebirth: I Ascend with Every Death

The Crimson Creek — A River of Forgotten Souls

The world around Li Tian had changed.

The trees whispered. The wind moaned, carrying the scent of decay. And before him, the Crimson Creek churned like a living vein beneath the skin of the world, thick, bubbling, and red as fresh-spilled blood.

The surface did not flow. It pulsed, a slow, sickening heartbeat, as if something monstrous slumbered beneath, its breath disturbing the cursed water. Wisps of fog curled above it, twisting unnaturally, moving against the wind.

Li Tian felt the weight of unseen eyes pressing upon him, as though the very land had awakened to his presence. A warning. A test. Or an invitation.

Slowly, he stepped forward, his boots sinking into the damp, blackened earth. His breath was steady, but his heart was hammering. The system, usually buzzing in his mind, was silent.

That was never a good sign.

---

A Presence on the Bridge — The Arrival of Elder Mo

Then, the whispers stopped.

The very air froze, thick with unnatural silence. A chill crawled up Li Tian's spine as something shifted in the mist.

A figure emerged atop the rotting wooden bridge spanning the Crimson Creek. Tall. Cloaked in black. Deathly still.

Elder Mo.

His robes billowed in the wind, adorned with symbols long erased by time, the fabric tattered but clinging to his skeletal frame as if it had grown from his very flesh. His skin, pale and stretched thin, barely contained the sharp bones beneath. His eyes, hollow yet burning a deep crimson, locked onto Li Tian with unshakable certainty.

A voice, dry and rasping, spilled from his lips.

"You reek of the Abyss."

Li Tian tensed. His hands curled into fists, the recent wounds from his battle with the Soul-Devouring Wolf throbbing, but his stance remained steady. Something was wrong.

He could feel it—a force surrounding Elder Mo, something twisted, something alive.

"Who are you?" Li Tian demanded, his golden eyes narrowing.

A slow, rattling breath escaped Elder Mo's throat.

"A man who tried to defy fate... and paid the price."

Then he moved.

---

The Attack — A Battle Against the Unknown

There was no warning.

A blur of motion— a blade slicing through air— the shriek of wind parting for the strike—

Li Tian barely dodged.

A dagger too long, too thin, its obsidian surface pulsing like a living vein, slashed past his throat. The force behind it split the mist itself, sending a shockwave through the night.

Elder Mo moved like a phantom, his feet barely touching the ground, his form bending unnaturally, his robes shifting as if they belonged to a shadow, not a man.

Li Tian countered, twisting mid-dodge and driving his fist toward Mo's ribs. A solid hit. A loud crack.

But Mo did not stagger.

Instead, he laughed. A hollow, gurgling sound. His lips parted slightly, and a trickle of dark blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

"Yes... you're already changing."

Then the blood moved.

Dark tendrils rose from the dirt, twisting and writhing, lashing toward Li Tian with impossible speed.

He barely had time to react.

One of the whips of living blood slashed across his arm, a searing pain burning through his skin like fire.

The system finally spoke.

[WARNING: Unstable Corruption detected.]

[Host is at risk of exceeding limit. System intervention is required.]

Li Tian gritted his teeth, the pain a distant thing compared to the rage boiling in his chest.

Now you speak?

---

A Death That Reveals a Truth

Elder Mo moved again. Too fast.

The dagger buried itself deep into Li Tian's chest.

No pain. Only cold.

The world blurred. His strength faded. The shadows around Elder Mo deepened, and the last thing Li Tian saw was the man kneeling before him.

A sharp pressure on his arm. Something carving. Etching. Branding.

A voice, low and tired.

"Listen, boy."

Li Tian's vision darkened. The system buzzed in his head.

"The system isn't your salvation."

His mind slipped into oblivion.

The last thing he felt was the carving blade digging into his flesh, marking his body with a message written in his own blood.

---

Rebirth, But With Doubt

Li Tian gasped awake, his body jerking violently.

His chest—whole, unscarred. He was alive. Again.

His fingers dug into the dirt beneath him, his breaths ragged, his body trembling.

Then his eyes fell on his forearm.

A scar, fresh and dark, carved deep into his flesh.

"The System Lies."

The system spoke again. But something was wrong.

[Unauthorized markings detected. Initiating purge—]

A faint glow spread over his wound, attempting to erase it.

Li Tian grabbed his arm, gripping it tightly. Nails dug into flesh, forcing the words to remain.

"No."

The system hesitated.

For the first time. It hesitated.

And deep in the trees, just beyond the mist, the shadowy figure from before remained.

Watching.

Then, it disappeared, leaving behind a single, chilling certainty in Li Tian's heart.

He was not alone in this.

And worse—he could no longer trust the system.