Cultivator of the End: I Refine My Own Death-Chapter 87 – Beyond the Void

Rin's feet touched the ground, though no ground existed beneath him. He stood in a place that was no place at all. The Abyss Beyond Creation, a realm where reality itself had been unmade, stretched out before him like a vast, endless expanse of darkness. But it was not an emptiness. No, this was something far more terrifying. It was a space where time and space were mere suggestions, where everything that could be, and everything that might never be, coexisted in chaotic harmony.

There were no stars, no constellations, no heavens or hells. The void before him was not black, but an impossibility of shifting colors and fractal patterns, ever-changing and yet timeless. The very concept of light seemed to bend and break in this place, as though existence itself could no longer grasp hold of form. At the edges of his perception, tendrils of light and shadow stretched out, converging and diverging, an eternal dance that was both beautiful and grotesque.

In this place, Rin felt himself dissolve and reform with each passing thought. He was here, and yet he was not. The very fabric of his being seemed to flicker in and out of existence, like a dream struggling to maintain coherence. But he was aware. More aware than he had ever been. Every sensation, every feeling, every possibility lay before him like an open door, waiting for him to step through.

The Abyss was not a realm of emptiness but of infinite potential. It was here that the deepest truths of existence resided—truths too vast for the mind to fully comprehend, but truths that Rin could no longer avoid. It was in this void, suspended between creation and destruction, that Rin would come to understand the finality of his existence and the infinite possibilities that awaited him.

Before him, a figure materialized—an entity composed of light and shadow, its form constantly shifting, as though it were never meant to be seen clearly. It had no face, no distinct features, only the vague outline of something that was not quite human. Yet, Rin could feel its presence deep in his soul. It was both part of him and beyond him.

"Rin Xie," the entity spoke, its voice a blend of thousands of whispers, each word carrying the weight of infinity. "You stand at the precipice of all things. The Abyss Beyond Creation is where all truths converge and unravel. Here, the fabric of reality no longer binds you. Here, you are free from time, from space, from all that has shaped you."

Rin stared at the shifting form, his heart racing, the weight of his journey pressing upon him. "I have come to this point because I believed I could break the cycle," Rin said, his voice hoarse with the burden of his own thoughts. "I thought I could end this endless loop of creation and destruction, of life and death."

The figure gave no reply, only the faintest ripple of motion across its form. But Rin could feel its answer in the air itself, in the very space that surrounded him.

"You believe you can break the cycle," the entity said, "but you have been wrong all along, just as every being who has come before you was wrong. The cycle of creation and destruction, of life and death, is not something to be broken. It is something to be understood. The universe does not exist to be created or destroyed. It exists because it is. And so do you."

Rin's mind reeled. The very foundation of everything he had believed in was crumbling before him. The cycle, the endless dance of life and death that he had fought so hard to escape, was not a flaw, not a mistake. It was the way of things. It was not something that could be shattered, but something that could only be embraced.

"But... if it is not to be broken, what then?" Rin asked, his voice small in the face of such a vast revelation. "What is the point of all of this? If I am bound to the cycle, if all things are, then what freedom is there?"

The entity's form rippled again, its presence growing stronger. "The point is not in breaking the cycle, but in understanding it. The cycle is not an enemy. It is the very fabric of existence. You are a part of it, and it is a part of you. It has always been this way, and it will always be. But the question is not whether you can break free from it. The question is whether you can accept it as it is."

The words were like a blow to Rin's chest, a truth that sank deep into his soul. He had fought, struggled, and sacrificed everything to escape the cycle. He had believed that by breaking the chains of life and death, he would find peace. But now, standing in the Abyss, he realized the truth he had denied for so long: the peace he sought was not in escape, but in acceptance.

"You have traveled far," the entity continued, "and you have sought power beyond the reach of mortals. You have torn apart the fabric of reality itself in your quest for freedom. But in doing so, you have come to realize that the greatest freedom is not in rejecting the cycle, but in embracing it. To dissolve the cycle would be to dissolve existence itself. To break it would be to tear apart the very essence of being. You cannot escape it, Rin Xie. You can only accept it and become one with it." freewēbnoveℓ.com

Rin's heart twisted in his chest. He had spent his entire life resisting the cycle, seeking to escape it, to transcend it. And now, standing at the edge of nothingness, he was confronted with the undeniable truth: the cycle was not something to be overcome. It was something to be understood. Something to be embraced. It was not his enemy. It was his nature.

"But what of my choices?" Rin whispered, the weight of everything he had done pressing upon him. "What of the destruction, the suffering I have caused?"

The entity's form shifted once more, and Rin felt a great calm wash over him. "Every choice, every action, has led you here. Every step you have taken has been part of the path. There is no mistake in your journey, no misstep. You are here because you are meant to be. All that you have done, all that you have become, is part of the cycle. And in embracing it, you will find peace. Not the peace of escaping the cycle, but the peace of understanding it."

Rin closed his eyes, letting the words sink deep into his soul. In the silence of the Abyss, he felt himself shift, his very being unmade and remade in the image of this new truth. The cycle was not something to break. It was something to be lived. It was a part of him, and he was a part of it.

He had been wrong all along. His quest for freedom, his desire to escape, had been a denial of existence itself. Freedom was not in the absence of the cycle, but in its acceptance. The truth had been here all along, in the very fabric of his being.

And now, as he stood in the Abyss, Rin faced his final trial. He was no longer the man he had once been, and yet, he was still himself. The choice before him was not to escape, but to become. To dissolve himself into the void and become one with the universe, or to preserve his sense of self and continue his endless journey of transformation.

The answer was clear, though it was not the answer Rin had expected.

He stepped forward, into the Abyss Beyond Creation, embracing the cycle, embracing himself, and embracing the infinite.

To be continued...