A World Worth Protecting

1

The vast cosmos was filled with dazzling stars, swirling galaxies, and the infrequent meteors and adrift dust. They all pointed to how real everything was.

Sudden confusion and bewilderment overwhelmed the recently awakened Wang Baole and shone in his eyes. Before he could speak, the elder standing in front of him turned around. His kind gaze met Wang Baole’s eyes, causing Wang Baole to freeze. The elder’s voice was like a slight breeze that brushed past Wang Baole’s body and sank into his soul. It made Wang Baole shudder suddenly…

Then… a flood of memories surged in his mind. It swept away his bewilderment and the remnants of his dreamscape. He seemed to have truly awakened then. He remembered his name in those dreams. He was called… Wang Baole!

He had come from the planet Sang Lun and had entered the Dark Sect when he was seven years old, becoming a disciple of the Dark Sect’s inner sect. The elder before him was his master, one of the nine Grand Elders of the current generation of the Dark Sect!

He was called… Ming Kunzi!

He was his master’s youngest disciple. His master had brought him away from the Dark Planet to a planet that was about to pass. They were headed there to ferry the dead souls on behalf of the Heavenly Dao. They were to bring balance to life and death.

To guide souls to their rebirth, that was the Dark Sect’s mission. The Dark Sect wielded the power of death in the universe, which was why the disciples of every generation needed to learn the ways to ferry the dead. That was why his master had brought him along, so that he might witness the entire process with his own eyes and gain greater knowledge of the Dark Art.

All his memories surged to his mind at that moment, and Wang Baole took a deep breath. He was no longer lost but fully awake. However, he still couldn’t forget what he had dreamt. As his master looked at him with kind eyes and spoke to him in a kind voice, Wang Baole got to his feet hastily and bowed.

“Master… I had a dream just now. When I woke up, I was slightly lost, and I couldn’t tell if everything that had happened in the dream was true or merely an illusion,” Wang Baole said. He felt uneasy since he had fallen asleep in front of his master. He might get a scolding from the latter for that.

The elder gazed meaningfully at Wang Baole, then shook his head and smiled.

“What dream?”

“Ah?” Wang Baole released a sigh of relief when he realized his master didn’t intend to reprimand him. After some thought, Wang Baole began to recall everything that had happened in his dream. The look in his eyes gradually grew distant. He seemed to be remembering. After a long while, he spoke softly.

“Master, it was a strange dream. In the dream… I was also called Wang Baole, but I wasn’t in the Dark Sect. I don’t know how many years had passed, but I was on a planet called Earth…”

“The greatest sect there was something called the Federation… I remember that in my dream, I had an ambition, I wanted to become the Federation President… Right, the Federation President was something like the sect lord of that sect.” After saying that, Wang Baole seemed slightly embarrassed. He felt his ambition in his dreams was quite a load of rubbish.

“Don’t misunderstand, master. This isn’t a case of my thoughts in the day appearing in my dreams at night. My dream is to become the sect lord of the Dark Sect, this will never change. Who cares about the Federation President? It’s just a whole load of dog sh*t!” Wang Baole hurriedly thudded his chest and proclaimed loudly.

The elder stared at Wang Baole, with what was seemingly a smile on his face. He didn’t say anything.

Wang Baole seemed slightly sheepish when he saw the smile on his master’s face. He thought about changing the subject and hurriedly said, “Master, don’t you find it strange? I, Wang Baole, am the most good looking in the entire Dark Sect. In my dream, I was also the most good looking in the entire Federation. In my dream, countless beautiful women went head over heels for me. They adored me and wanted to have my children… what a chore!” Wang Baole sighed.

“Master, I’m already living like this in the Dark Sect, I’ve had enough of it. Who knew that it would be the same in my dreams. What do you think I should do? I’m so troubled.” Wang Baole had intended to change the topic, but as he went on, he became distracted by his own words. The expression on the elder beside him grew strange. In the end, he could listen to Wang Baole no more, so he coughed.

The sound of the cough echoed in Wang Baole’s mind and interrupted what he was saying.

“Baole, we’ve arrived.” As he said that, the elder raised his right hand towards the skies before them and waved. A loud deafening boom thundered in what had been a peaceful starlit sky. It seemed unable to withstand the elder’s power. It was as if a pair of invisible hands had ripped the skies apart, and an enormous tear appeared in the heavens before the elder!

It was as long as a planet and split open like a wide chasm. One could hardly see where it ended if one stood too near it. From afar, it looked like a scar inflicted on the universe!

The sight sent Wang Baole reeling in shock. His breathing quickened. He couldn’t imagine the extent of power required to create such an awesome sight. Not to mention, the elder had only waved his hand.

The tear that he created was enough to destroy an entire planet!

That wasn’t the end of it. Through the tear, Wang Baole could distinctly see another world lying beyond. Perhaps it might be more accurate to say that this tear was like a form of teleportation—the world within lay an immense distance away from where they were.

The universe within the tear contained a single planet, one that was red in color and exuded an extreme heat. One could vaguely see a civilization present on the planet. There were countless lives on it. However, this civilization was about to experience mass sorrow and despair…

This was because a huge meteor had just crashed into the planet. The planet shuddered. It didn’t collapse or disintegrate, but calamity descended. It swept across the entire planet and countless people perished!

As these lives faded, their souls littered the heavens, some even drifting further into the stars. The living couldn’t see them, but they were clear to the eyes of one from the Dark Sect. The countless souls of the dead wandered beyond the planet, amongst the stars. They wept and clustered together. There were countless of them…

The planet faded from its deep red into a gray color. It seemed like the planet… was also marching towards death!

The sight stirred Wang Baole’s heart once again. He felt that this was a familiar sight. It seemed that he had seen something like this in his dreams, on a wall painting. There was a striking similarity with what he was seeing now.

“Baole, you must remember, the Dark Sect’s responsibility is to serve on behalf of the Heavenly Dao and ferry the dead souls. We have to guide them to where they are supposed to go, instead of allowing them to wander the universe…”

“Watch carefully…” the elder said. He raised the lantern oar in his hand and shook it lightly. Wang Baole couldn’t tell what spell he cast, but as the lantern oar shook, the dead souls on the planet and in the universe within the tear trembled in unison. They no longer howled. They were like a drowning man who had just grabbed hold of stray straws. They seemed to have seen a lighthouse in the midst of overwhelming darkness. The dead souls turned their eyes towards the elder instantly. In the next instant, they fled towards him!

Countless souls passed through the tear, traveling from one end of the universe to the boat where Wang Baole and the elder stood. They gathered and formed a river of dead souls!

It was a vast river without an end in sight. This river of souls carried the lone boat as it drifted into the distance…

The tear slowly shut. As it disappeared, Wang Baole caught a glance of the planet inside the tear. It had turned completely gray.

Shocked, Wang Baole stared at the river of souls around him before he turned and looked at his master. It was then that his master’s quiet and calm voice echoed in his ear.

“This is the Dark Sect’s mission. We ferry all dead souls in the entire universe… Baole, why are you in a daze? Start singing the Soul Song!”

Wang Baole shuddered. He opened his mouth instinctively, and a strange melody, like a form of chanting, rang out and echoed in the heavens. It drifted alongside the river of dead souls…

“When the heavens and earth separate, the cycle of fate stops…”

“Knowing what happened in the past, the one who suffers now is…”

“Knowing what’s to come in the future, the one who is working hard now is…”

As the song drifted into the distance, countless faces appeared within the river of dead souls. There were faces of the young and the old, of men and women. Some of them appeared to be human, others monsters. They had a look of peace on their faces. They seemed to be filled with joy. There was no pain. They gathered around the boat and moved with the Soul Song.

They traveled into the distance… towards the Dark Sect!

Eons ago, what had been the pinnacle and most glorious era of… the Dark Sect!

From afar, the river of souls seemed vast and endless. A lone boat drifted on the river. On it should have been two figures, one old and one young. However, at that moment, the silhouette of the elder seemed faint and slightly blurry. Only Wang Baole’s form grew ever clearer.