God Of Body

"Death Is Absolute— Afterlife Doesn't Exist."

Kian had heard this many times, but now this belief was on the verge of shattering.

As absolute darkness closed in around him, Kian felt an unexpected sense of freedom and comfort that he lost ever sense he fell ill.

He floated in the darkness, unable to feel anything else. He didn't know whether he was alive or not; even his own existence seemed to lose meaning here.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The chimes of a heavenly melody, like the sound of a bell resonating, suddenly reached him.

Whoosh...

When his vision finally returned with a blinding flash of light, he saw something grand.

"Is this the afterlife?" he asked himself, looking at his hand to check.

Upon closer inspection, he looked the same as when he was a healthy young man.

He had midnight-black hair, vibrant green eyes that seemed to hold a hidden spark, and a frail physique, same as before he fell ill.

But what was astonishing was that his body had no substance, like a illusory being.

He looked around in confusion; he stood on top of a white, shiny platform that spanned endlessly. Ahead of him was a massive golden palace, its size unimaginable.

He had to tilt his head upward but still couldn't see the end of the golden structure. It pierced through the clouds, appearing more like a tower than a palace.

"Am I truly dead?"

"Haha..Yes, indeed you are, dude!"

As Kian tried to comprehend the reality of the situation, a chubby face appeared before him.

Kian looked up to see a chubby boy, around the same age, smiling radiantly as if illuminated by sunlight.

Kian forced himself to stay calm.

"I see… And who are you?" he asked cautiously.

His 18 years of experience in a chaotic world had taught him to never trust a stranger, especially one with a smiling face.

Or perhaps, he was just being overly cautious.

"Haha…" The chubby boy laughed. "No need to be so cautious, bro. My name's Benjamin Wilson. You can call me Ben."

Kian's brows furrowed slightly.

"Huh, that's definitely a strange name. And what's the meaning of 'bro' or 'dude'? I've never heard those words of address before. Where are you from?"

There were so many mysteries surrounding this place that Kian felt increasingly confused.

"What? You don't know the brotherhood codes? Are you from a different world, like the others? Oh sh*t, I thought I'd finally found someone from Earth after noticing your black hair!" Ben exclaimed, clutching his head in frustration.

"So, Earth is the name of your world? That's incredible; I thought we were the only humans, in our world, Elysium," Kian said, his voice tinged with astonishment.

Ben's interest piqued at Kian's reply.

"Don't tell me—you have magic in your world? Just tell me no, please!" Ben looked as if he'd been betrayed.

Kian looked at him oddly. "Of course we do. They're called Mages…"

"Ah...." Ben looked as if he'd missed out on something precious his whole life.

Recovering quickly, he asked, "Anyway, you haven't told me your name yet, bro."

Kian seemed slightly apologetic. "Ah, sorry about that, Ben. My name is Kian."

Ben looked thoughtful.

"Kian? That sounds like a name from a fantasy novel." He mumbled this in a barely audible voice.

Kian, confused by the term, asked, "What was that?"

Ben shook his head. "Nothing, bro. Just talking nonsense. But tell me, do you have beautiful women in your world? Is their beauty comparable to a goddess's?"

Kian scratched his head out of habit. "I don't know about goddesses, but some are beautiful…"

His thoughts drifted to Reva. Like an Ice Empress, she was always the true beauty, in both mind and body.

Ben's eyes flashed at the mention of beautiful women. The yearning for the beauties in his eyes was obvious.

Ignoring his lustful body language, Kian focused on the present situation.

"By the way, do you know where this place is?" Kian asked, focusing on the golden structure ahead.

Only now did he notice several more individuals scattered across the white platform, looking like ants from this distance.

"Nah, I don't know. I'm the same as you—a ghost. But I did ask around," Ben replied in a low voice, as if sharing a secret. "The others here are all from different worlds, different backgrounds, even different races. Yet we can somehow understand each other's languages. And some of them… they're really bad, vicious even."

Kian looked alarmed after hearing Ben's warning.

"What's going to happen to us… only the ones who brought us here probably know," Ben guessed.

"Someone brought us here? Someone capable of Summoning the souls of the dead? Are we trapped?" Ben's continuous questions echoed Kian's own worries.

But remembering his last moments, Kian reminded himself he had nothing left to lose. He was dead, after all. Perhaps they'd end up slaves or something worse—it didn't matter to him. Not anymore.

He'd lost his only family, Reva, and felt no lingering attachment to his birth parents, who had hurt him deeply. His life had lost its meaning without Reva by his side.

Sensing Kian's sudden sorrow, Ben sat down beside him, giving him space to grieve and let go of whatever he'd left behind.

Ben himself had a tragic story, and he knew better than to pry into another's painful past.

It was clear that they were here for a reason—and they would likely find out soon enough.

They didn't see the way to escape either.

As more and more people gathered on the platform, Ben and Kian stood up, realizing the crowd was growing as far as the eye could see.

If they stayed seated still, they'd likely be trampled by the masses.

Ben was awestruck by the sight of various kinds of individuals from different races and sizes: elves, dwarves, giants, and more demi-humans.

But humans were the most numerous, which was at least a small comfort.

Originating from a technological world, Ben seemed fascinated by everything happening around him, clearly enjoying the scene.

Kian, however, looked indifferent, as he had seen some of these races before in his own world.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Suddenly, heavenly bells chimed, and the massive gates of the Golden Palace opened.

"Come here!"

A domineering command followed, pulling hundreds of thousands of souls into the Golden Palace in an instant.