Chapter 6: Eternal Heaven

[Welcome, Leon Wes.]

[Your second life begins now.]

The moment the final system message disappeared, Leon’s consciousness was violently pulled through darkness. His stomach twisted, his senses blurred, and for a brief moment, he couldn’t tell whether he was awake or dreaming.

Then his feet touched solid ground, and Leon staggered forward, instinctively catching himself against the edge of a nearby table. He stood there for several seconds, breathing heavily, waiting for the dizziness to subside. The familiar weakness that had once plagued his body was nowhere to be found, and when he finally straightened himself, he immediately noticed something strange.

He could breathe. Not the shallow, painful breaths he had struggled through during his final days on Earth, but deep, effortless breaths that filled his lungs completely. Leon inhaled again, slowly and deliberately, and felt his chest rise without pain. His fingers curled into fists, and for the first time in months, he could feel genuine strength in them.

He looked around and found that he was standing inside a modest bedroom.

The room wasn’t particularly large, but it was clean and reasonably furnished. A simple bed stood against one wall, while a wooden desk occupied the opposite side. A few books were stacked neatly on top of it, and a small digital device rested beside them. The walls were plain, painted in a light shade that reminded Leon of the hospital room he had just left.

His gaze eventually settled on the mirror, and Leon hesitated before approaching it. He knew what he was supposed to see, but still, knowing something and actually seeing it were two different things.

He stopped directly in front of the mirror. A young man stared back at him, and Leon froze.

The reflection had his face, his eyes, his black hair, and even the small scar near his eyebrow that he remembered getting when he was twelve.

But the man in the mirror wasn’t twenty-four; he looked eighteen.

His face was sharper and healthier, his skin carried no trace of the illness that had ravaged his previous body, and his dark eyes were bright with life. His shoulders were broader than Leon remembered, his posture straight, and there wasn’t even the slightest hint of exhaustion in his features.

Leon slowly raised a hand, and the reflection did the same. He touched his cheek, and it was warm. He moved his fingers across his jaw and then down his neck, feeling his pulse beneath his fingertips: strong, steady, alive.

For several seconds, Leon simply stared. Then he whispered, almost afraid that speaking too loudly would break the illusion, "I’m really eighteen again."

His voice trembled, not because he was frightened, but because he couldn’t believe it.

Leon had spent six months watching his body deteriorate. He had forgotten what it felt like to wake without pain, what it felt like to breathe without thinking about breathing, and what it felt like to look into a mirror without seeing death slowly approaching.

Now, the person staring back at him looked like someone who had decades ahead of him. Leon lowered his hand, and a quiet smile appeared on his face. "So this is what it feels like to have a future."

He remained in front of the mirror for another moment before turning toward the window. The curtains were partially open, and Leon walked over and pulled them aside. His breath caught as a massive city stretched beyond the window.

Towering buildings rose into the sky, some so enormous that their upper sections disappeared behind clouds. Transparent transportation lanes floated between skyscrapers, carrying sleek vehicles that moved silently through the air. Giant holographic advertisements appeared across the sides of buildings, while artificial intelligence systems controlled traffic and countless automated machines moved through the streets below.

It was unmistakably futuristic, yet Leon recognized it immediately.

Nexus, the same world he had seen in the void, the same planet that had looked so prosperous before Eternal Heaven descended upon it.

Leon stared at the city for a long time. People were walking through the streets, children were going to school, workers were heading toward their jobs, cars were moving, and stores were opening.

Nobody outside his window seemed to realize that their world had already been chosen for destruction. Leon slowly clenched his hands.

He remembered what the God of Transmigration had shown him: one hundred million people would be chosen, everyone else would die, and he was one of those chosen.

The thought had barely settled in his mind when something changed, and Leon felt it before he heard it.

A strange pressure descended upon the entire world. The city outside suddenly became unnaturally quiet: every vehicle stopped, every holographic advertisement froze, and people in the streets looked upward at the same time, their faces filled with confusion, and then an ethereal voice echoed deep within Leon’s mind.

[Attention, inhabitants of Nexus.]

Leon stood perfectly still. The voice carried no anger, no excitement, no sympathy.

It was calm, emotionless, and impossibly vast, as though an entire universe had decided to speak through a single voice.

[The selection process has concluded.]

Leon felt his heartbeat accelerate as, outside the window, millions of people began looking around in confusion. The voice continued.

[One hundred million individuals have been selected for entry into Eternal Heaven.]

Leon swallowed. So it had begun.

[Those selected shall be granted access to Eternal Heaven, where they will be given the opportunity to acquire strength beyond the limits of ordinary humanity.]

[Levels, roles, abilities, equipment, resources, territories, trials, and countless other paths to power await those who survive.]

Leon listened without moving.

[Eternal Heaven offers only one ultimate reward.]

There was a brief pause. Then the voice spoke two words.

[Eternal Life.]

A wave of murmurs rose from the city below. Some people were cheering, others were screaming, and most simply stood frozen.

Leon didn’t react. He already knew what came next.

[However, the selection is exclusive.]

The atmosphere changed instantly.

[Only one hundred million humans have been chosen.]

[All remaining inhabitants of Nexus are deemed incompatible with Eternal Heaven.]

Leon closed his eyes. Even knowing it was coming didn’t make the words easier to hear.

[At the beginning of Eternal Heaven, those who have not been selected will be eliminated.]

Silence. Then chaos.

Leon opened his eyes. The city outside erupted.

People ran through the streets, desperately searching for answers. Some dropped to their knees. Others shouted toward the sky. Phones appeared in thousands of hands as people attempted to contact their families, friends, governments, anyone who might be able to explain what was happening.

But Leon knew there was no explanation that could save them. The voice had already made its decision, and a translucent screen appeared before him.

[Selection confirmed.]

[Candidate: Leon Wes.]

[Status: Selected.]

[Eternal Heaven entry authorization: Granted.]

Leon stared at the message. His chest tightened, not from fear, but from realization.

He had been selected as expected. Leon looked down at his hands.

His ten SSS-Rank talents were somewhere inside him, waiting to be used.

Infinite Growth.

Supreme Comprehension.

Eternal Mana.

Absolute Adaptation.

Skill Evolution.

Talent Devourer.

Perfect Body.

Lucky Fate.

Monarch’s Will.

Origin Eyes.

Ten SSS Rank talents.

Leon slowly exhaled. "This is it."

His eyes sharpened.

"No more hospital beds. No more doctors telling me I have days left. No more watching my body become weaker while I pretend everything is fine."

He looked through the window again, as the city was descending into madness. "This time, I’m going to live."