Chapter Text
The endless abyss from the famous Proud immortal Demon Way stallion novel by great bastard airplanes shooting towards the sky, a realm on the boundary between the Human and Demon Realm; A liminal space, full of peril and the unknown, this is where Luo Binghe was kicked down by Shen Qingqiu. While there, he found the Xin Mo sword and learned of his demonic heritage. He spent 5 years, training and learning otherworldly techniques before finally escaping.
'THIS CANT BE HAPPENING' shen yuan thought, in a daze, for what must have been the tenth time. He rubbed his eyes a little too aggressively, but when the spots finally faded from his vision, the source of his disbelief remained.
[WELCOME TO PROUD IMMORTAL DEMON WAY USER 00, UNFORTUNATELY DO TO SOME ERRORS USER HAS BEEN TRANSMIGRATED TO A BODY THE SYSTEM MADE AND UNFORTUNATELY IN THE ENDLESS ABYSS, SORRY 😞]
"... WHAT THE-"
After a couple of minutes of completely freaking out and finally managing to calm down, Shen Yuan recalls what just happened. He had just finished reading the last chapter of Proud Immortal Demon Way, and honestly? It was garbage. First off, Binghe his “best boi” was hinted to be killed by his hundreds of wives in the future, which is absolute bullshit. Second, the story was riddled with plot holes, half-baked backstories, and lazy writing that Airplane just tossed aside in favor of reason number three: the papapa scenes. Those were the only things keeping fans defending the novel’s trash plot. “Fucking sex deviants,” Shen Yuan muttered. And then, out of nowhere, he blacked out—only to wake up plummeting from the sky. Somehow, he survived the fall and now finds himself in this godforsaken place: the endless abyss.
Shen yuan sighs at himself and suddenly realized something "um, system! What happened to my body?! Back on earth" shen yuan asked waiting nervously
[USER DIED IN YOUR ORIGINAL WORLD BECAUSE OF YOUR RAGE OF THE PIDW NOVEL'S ENDING, YOUR ORIGINAL BODY IS DEAD USER]
"Ho-Ho-How do I get b-back!? I... I n-need to get b-back h-home!" His throat tightened. Shen yuan wanted to see his family again he didnt want to be stuck in PIDW, while he would have loved to see luo binghe in the flesh he knew very well his fate this world would either be a painful death or worse.
[UNFORTUNATELY SYSTEM CANNOT DO THAT AS USER'S ORIGINAL BODY IS DEAD AND THERES NOTHING THIS SYSTEM CAN DO]
...
[IS USER OK?]
The system's words echoed in Shen Yuan’s mind like a distant voice, distant and indifferent. His chest tightened with something heavier than just disbelief.
The cold, unforgiving weight of reality pressed down on him, suffocating in its truth. He had… died. He got so mad at the terrible ending of Proud Immortal Demon Way that it had taken his life. He had hated the book so much, hated how it ended so horribly, how it wasted the potential of his favorite character, Binghe, but now? Now he was here, in this liminal nightmare, with no way back.
A sudden shudder wracked his body. His breath hitched, ragged and sharp, as tears welled up. He couldn’t control them, couldn’t stop the sobs that started tearing through him. His mind tried to fight it, to maintain some semblance of composure, but it was useless. The moment the finality of the system’s message sank in.
"I... I want to go home," he muttered between stifled sobs, his voice barely audible over the overwhelming emptiness surrounding him. He dropped to his knees, the rough, jagged ground scraping his knees, he buried his face in his hands trying to hide from this cruel, unfathomable reality as he lays down on the ground.
He couldn't even be angry. Not now. What was there to be angry at? The system for sending him here, airplane for writing PIDW, or Himself for being so stupidly invested in the piece of trash writing, for having shitty health, for not taking care of himself even when his family told him to?
But the more he thought about it, the worse it became. He wanted to see his family again. To hear the sound of his parents's voice, to laugh with his big brothers. To feel the warmth of his little sister's hugs again.
He curled into himself, the deep, raw pain in his chest threatening to tear him apart. His whole body trembled with each quiet sob.
A few moments later, The system pinged again.
[USER, SYSTEM HAS SOME GOOD NEWS FOR YOU]
"Good news?" Shen Yuan choked out, barely able to lift his head. He sniffed, wiping at his face with the sleeve of his new, unfamiliar robe. "Is it something that will get me back to my original world" shen yuan said bitterly glaring at the glowing screen right at his face.
[WELL NO, AS SYSTEM SAID EARLIER SYSTEM CANNOT SEND USER'S SOUL BACK AS USER WILL JUST DIE AGAIN... BUT SYSTEM CAN OFFER YOU QUEST TO GAIN POINTS! 😊]
"Points? What can I do with points" looking at the system, he sits up looking at the screen.
[WELL USER CAN EXCHANGE THE POINTS FOR THINGS]
The system's screen flickered, then brightened, revealing a neatly arranged catalog of floating icons—books, tools, weapons, clothes. Beside each item was a small glowing label indicating their point cost.
[WHILE THIS SYSTEM CANNOT LET YOU DO MUCH AS IT MIGHT AFFECT THE PLOT, USER CAN EARN POINTS THROUGH QUESTS AND SURVIVAL. POINTS MAY BE EXCHANGED FOR USEFUL ITEMS TO INCREASE USER'S CHANCES OF NOT DYING A HORRIBLE DEATH (^_^;)]
Shen Yuan stared at the screen, still wiping his tear-streaked face with the scratchy sleeve of his robe. “So... let me get this straight,” he muttered hoarsely, eyes scanning the list. “You dump me into literal hell, after I died of raged so hard from reading a shitty novel... and now you want me to grind quests like I’m in some busted gacha game just to survive?”
[YES! (ง •̀_•́)ง SYSTEM BELIEVES IN USER'S POTENTIAL!]
…He let out a tired, broken laugh. “Ah, fuck it,” he muttered, voice low, almost defeated. “I don’t wanna die again.”
He let out a sigh and Shen Yuan forced himself to his feet. His legs wobbled at first, but then… held. He stood there for a long moment, surprised by his own stability. His chest rose and fell slow, deep, steady.
No coughing.
No tightness.
No stabbing ache under his ribs when he inhaled too deeply.
He lifted his hand and stared at it. His fingers were steady. Strong. The skin was clear, no sign of the sickly bluish-purple tint that used to cling to his fingertips.
“Huh,” he breathed softly.“…Huh.”
He lifted both arms now, rotating his shoulders slowly. No creaking joints, no dull muscle fatigue, no pain flaring down his spine. For the first time in his life, his body obeyed him fully. No pain. Just smooth, seamless motion. He dropped into a crouch, experimentally, and rose again in one swift, clean motion.
“…God,” he whispered. “Is this what it’s like to live without pain?”
He never realized how much he’d gotten used to hurting, used to being tired, to dragging himself out of bed, fighting for every breath. He remembered the endless doctor visits, the taste of iron after a coughing fit, the constant burning in his lungs. He remembered his brothers treating him like glass when his legs stopped working the way they used to and had to start using a cane from now on. He remembered his sister panicking when he collapsed one summer because his body couldn’t handle the heat. And he remembered his parents, holding him as he cried, trying to comfort him through the pain they couldn’t take away.
He remembered thinking this was it, that this was all his life would ever be.
But now?
He could breathe.
He could move.
He could run, if he wanted to.
God, he wished he’d had a body like this back home. He could’ve done so many things with his family, things he’d missed out on because of his health. But now, even though he finally had it, the people he loved would never get to see him like this.
...
[... IS USER ALRIGHT?]
"...Yeah," Shen Yuan said, voice thick, but steady as he glanced back at the floating screen. “I’m fine... ish.”
The system didn’t respond right away, as if sensing the weight behind his words.
He straightened a little, wiped at his eyes with his sleeve, and exhaled. “Alright, System. Let’s talk business. You said there were quests? What’s first on the list?”
The screen shifted with a soft ping.
[OPENING QUEST MENU]
[LOADING CURRENT OBJECTIVES…]
To be continued