Chapter 500: Threefold Time World

"Reincarnating as an animal?"

It didn't quite process the words, but quickly drank the bowl of soup. Gradually, it grew hazy and confused, as if forgetting certain things, becoming like a walking corpse. Instinctively, it drew closer to a mysterious, dark, circular void and entered it.

Another voice echoed in its ears."Enter the cycle of reincarnation, and be reborn into the animal realm. What you become in your next life depends on your destiny." The mysterious entity sat leisurely in a chair, slowly turning the pages of the Book of Life and Death."Go!"

With a gentle leap, it seemed to fall into an endless abyss.

Who am I?Amidst a profound daze, an awareness gazed blankly at the surrounding darkness, as light gradually brightened to a snowy brilliance.

It chirped and cried, having become a bird. In a nest on a cliff face, a gentle mother bird continuously fed it. After more than a month, it gradually began to try soaring.

Whoosh!The surroundings were lush and verdant, a dense forest.

It began to fly continuously and discovered it possessed a unique trait: its body could emit flames, a special ability.

Do I also have special abilities, just like that bird?Wait, 'I also'?

It couldn't understand why this thought had suddenly popped into its mind.

Days passed, and it continued to grow, transform, and evolve, eventually even gaining the ability to speak. According to the normal course of life, it should have sought a female bird and begun a glorious bird existence. However, it always harbored a strange, peculiar feeling within its heart, constantly flying alone until one day, it saw a fish in a river and felt a mysterious, strong sense of closeness.

It felt as if its entire life had been a search for this very fish.

"You seem very familiar," the fish also said. "I always feel like I've seen you before."

Days passed. Each time it hunted, it would pass by the fish and speak with it, feeling very happy. The fish also possessed a special ability to emit light from water, just like the previous bird. Wait…Why again?Strange images began to appear in its mind once more.

Days continued to pass, and their peaceful life was very happy. One day, the beautiful fish with its colorful scales suddenly spoke, playfully leaping out of the water. "The water is a prison," it declared. "I want to see the world of the sky, the free and vast sky! Even a fish has the determination to yearn for the heavens!"

"Okay!" The bird gently took the fish in its mouth and flew into the sky.

"Ah!" the fish exclaimed loudly, its eyes revealing pure rapture, unable to tear itself away. "It's so beautiful! I always feel like I've been to the sky before, how should I put it? A peculiar sense of déjà vu. I feel the same way about you; it's as if we've lived through three lifetimes just to truly see this – ten miles of peach blossoms!"

Suddenly, they flew over a peach grove, which was breathtakingly beautiful.

The fish was utterly amazed, swaying its beautiful, multicolored tail, which shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight. "Ah! This world is simply magical! I could say that under the sun, above the peach grove, a pair is flying…"

Suddenly, a sharp arrow struck, piercing both the bird and the fish, sending them plummeting rapidly to the ground where they crashed into a tree.

A group of bizarre creatures emerged.

"Haha! Two birds with one stone! Who else could do this?""Huh, it even brought a fish along? And it's crying? Are even fish and birds showing affection now?""Light a fire, burn them! Add some cumin to make them release that sweet aroma of a lonely bachelor!"

Its consciousness gradually blurred.

When it awoke, it found itself back on this land. What was once a solitary and barren dark expanse was now covered in flowers. A mysterious entity, shrouded in black mist, was leisurely watering them with a sprinkling can.

Wait, 'again'?Had it been here before?

Its mind became confused once more, wondering why various inexplicable fragments kept flashing through it.

"19476?" The mysterious entity spoke lazily. "Per your suggestion, I've set up a Three-Lives Stone in the distance. The Three-Lives Stone records everyone's past and present lives. You can go take a look, understand clearly after death, and then drink the soup."

In the distance, there was a mysterious bluestone inscribed with the words "Three-Lives Stone." The characters on the stone were blood-red, and at the very top, four large characters read: "Reach the Other Shore Soon."

"Oh, by the way, it's no use telling you any of this; you don't remember ever seeing me," the mysterious entity chuckled. Then its expression subtly changed, as if sensing something. "You actually remember fragments of your past lives? You've vaguely dreamt of these scenes? How is that possible?"

"Unbelievable, simply unbelievable…"

The mysterious entity put down the watering can and took out the Book of Life and Death, examining the records and information within, seemingly studying some unique anomaly. "So that's how it is? In your first life, you were a blade of grass and she was a flower. In your second life, you were a tree and she was a bird. In your third life, you were a bird and she was a fish…"

The mysterious entity stared intently at it for a while.

"So, the obsession began in your very first life? This obsession is your unique trait; it allowed you to resist the cleansing of memory and retain fragments of your previous lives, enabling you to find the other's characteristics. It truly is peculiar and extraordinary."

"Yes, I remember everything now!"

It had remained silent, gazing at the Three-Lives Stone. Only then did it fully recall the scenes from its previous lives, understanding its past and present.

This was a love story spanning three lifetimes. It seemed an invisible force had guided them across the most distant bonds of life and death and reincarnation, allowing them to find each other with every rebirth.

"Do only I remember some of it?" it asked after a pause.

"Yes, only you remember," the mysterious entity replied, a faint, intrigued smile playing on its lips.

"No, she remembers too!" it couldn't help but exclaim loudly.

"No, she doesn't remember," the mysterious entity chuckled. "She simply has an instinctive fondness for you, likely influenced by your unique trait, vaguely sensing some of your innate affection. However, because of this trait, you might be the only being in this entire world who is aware of this time-space and the existence of 'reincarnation.' Everyone else has forgotten after drinking the soup; at least, no one else has developed a similar trait so far."

"I'm the only one who remembers you!?!?" It trembled.

"Quite interesting, isn't it?" The mysterious entity offered a bowl of soup. "Let's start anew. Destiny is a cycle. Since you are so special, in your next life, you shall be human, reborn into the human realm."

"What is a human?"

"Being human offers more convenience," the entity merely chuckled, picking up the watering can again. "Other beings cultivate for at least ten lifetimes, some even forty, just to earn one chance to be reborn as a human. You've only cultivated three good deeds to gain one human life. You must learn to work hard and cherish it."

"How could others have cultivated so many more lifetimes than me?" it couldn't help but exclaim loudly.

"This world is divided into three layers, and the flow of time differs in each," the voice slowly explained. "You live in different temporal dimensions, experiencing the destiny of reincarnation."

What!?!

In its eyes, the curtain on a terrifying, true world was finally drawn back.

Who am I?Amidst a profound daze, an awareness gazed blankly at the surrounding darkness, as light gradually brightened to a snowy brilliance.

Waaah!Accompanied by the sight of its mother's sweat-drenched figure, the cries of an infant suddenly filled the simple tribal wooden hut.

"Waaah!"

"It's a boy," a chorus of joyful exclamations came from afar. In this savage, primitive tribe, a male child was considered the best outcome.

"I wonder what his innate talent will be?" a tall, powerfully built man slowly inquired.