Sea of the Dead

Sui Ming felt his consciousness plunge into an endless ocean.

Icy waters devoured everything around him, and his body slowly sank into the freezing depths, vanishing into nothingness.

Fragments of the past echoed in his mind—

Bloodshed.

Scars.

Countless souls torn from the jaws of death.

As if they were now dragging him back down—back into hell’s embrace.

Maybe this was the fate he deserved as a soul steeped in sin.

I’ve never been a good person.

Suddenly, a strange force seized his sinking body.

With a casual tug, it pulled him out of the sea of suffering—

As if saving him was no more troublesome than swatting a fly.

“Hello there, Sui Ming.”

A cheerful girl’s voice rang out, clear as a lark’s song.

Sui Ming looked around.

Gentle tides lapped at his ankles.

The air carried a faint, refreshing scent.

Several pale violet butterflies flitted around him, as if inspecting the unexpected guest.

“Is this… a second reincarnation?”

“Nope~ To be precise, you’re actually dead right now!”

The girl’s voice was bright and bubbly.

“Exciting, right? Happy?”

…This tone is way too off!

“So? Wait—hey! Quit messing with my hair!”

He slapped away the small hand that had somehow started patting the top of his head.

Then he finally looked her straight in the face.

Her pitch-black hair flowed down to her waist, dark as a moonless night.

Her eyes glowed crimson—like twin blood-red crescents hanging in the void.

She wore a long, lavender dress that seemed made for her.

The lace at the sleeves exuded a strange, mysterious charm.

Why does she feel… exactly like that damn crow?!

But Sui Ming quickly shook off the thought.

If that foul-mouthed crow had actually been a cute girl in disguise, it would’ve revealed its true form long ago just to mess with him.

No way it would’ve waited this long.

The girl looked at him with obvious amusement, like watching a monkey do tricks.

Then she said,

“Wanna leave? I can help you.”

Sui Ming was about to express his gratitude when she grinned slyly and added:

“Beg me~”

???

“Miss, perhaps you’re unaware, but there’s an old Chinese saying—

A man kneels only to the heavens and his parents.”

“How am I supposed to do that?!”

“So?”

The girl rested her chin in one hand.

“Do you want to leave, or not?”

“Of course I—”

“Please, oh great hero!

Spare me your divine wrath!

I’m begging you, okay?!”

“…What the—?”

Even the girl didn’t expect Sui Ming’s shamelessness to reach such astronomical heights.

“…Fine, fine.

I’ll be merciful, just this once.”

She casually swiped her finger through the air.

A faint purple rift tore open in space.

“Bye-bye now~ And by the way—”

Sui Ming paused mid-step, glanced at her seven-centimeter heels, and nearly laughed out loud.

“Tiny.”

As his figure vanished into the rift, the girl—Ming Sheng—let out a soft, chilling chuckle.

“Good… very good… excellent.”

“Looks like life’s about to get really fun… Sui Ming.”

Even the entire Sea of the Dead seemed to tremble at her eerie laugh.

The purple butterflies scattered in panic, terrified that their mistress might suddenly turn on them.

Eyes wide open.

The world was still beautifully vibrant.

Life surged through the land.

A breeze brushed his face.

Fresh air filled his lungs.

So this is what it means to be alive?

Right in front of him, a crow was staring at him with an unsettling expression.

“GAH! GHOST!”

Sui Ming sprang up from his chair.

The crow said nothing.

Its blood-red eyes stared silently into his soul.

The atmosphere shifted—unsettling, heavy.

“You… what’s with that look?”

Sui Ming narrowed his eyes.

“You act like I committed some unforgivable crime.

I’m just a law-abiding transmigrator, alright?”

“It’s nothing…”

The crow smiled faintly.

“Just remembered something… amusing. Not worth mentioning.”

Sui Ming didn’t believe a single damn word that came out of this thing’s beak.

“So? What’s my current status?

You know, after you scammed me.”

“Scammed?

Excuse you—

That was my sincere, wholehearted assistance.”

“Yes, yes, of course.

You’re the queen of eloquence, sure—”

“Ahem. First of all, congratulations!

You’re now the one and only in all of Tanggrelia—”

“A powerhouse?

A hero?

A god among men?

Main character energy?

Battle jet in the world of protagonists?”

“…A traitor.”

……

“Sorry, wind was too loud. Didn’t quite catch that.”

“Yep. That’s right.

Basically, everyone wants to beat you up.

Dragons want to eat you.

The world wants to rip you apart.

That level.”

Thud—

Sui Ming collapsed to his knees, utterly defeated.

Then he looked up at the crow with the dead eyes of a man who had just lost everything.

“What the hell did you DO?!

One hundred million bounty was already bad enough—

Now I’m public enemy number one?!”

“What could I do?

The awakening of a [Soul Invoker] isn’t something I can control, you know.

This was beyond me.”

“Let’s just say… you were too ‘lucky.’

Even that unknown entity chose to glance your way.

In a sense… this is a kind of miracle.”

“Think about it—

You’re the only one in the world right now who has a shot at controlling [Abyss] power.

All the others went mad or lost their minds.

Only you can bear it.

Excited? Grateful?”

“R-Really?”

Sui Ming lifted his head weakly, staring at the boasting crow.

“Of course!

I swear—your constitution is one-in-a-billion in Tanggrelia!”

“…Just, uh, the moment you reveal it,

the whole world will come after you.”

“You know what?

Maybe just stop talking.”

Sui Ming didn’t even have the energy to throw the crow out the window.

…Wait. Window?

He turned his head—

The scenery outside was rushing past them.

A blur of moving trees and sky.

“Oh, right, forgot to mention.”

The crow casually added:

“We’re on our way to the capital now.”

“I want to go back!

I want to return to being a lazy, useless young master!

I don’t want to be a global fugitive!

I wanna go home!”

“Aww, don’t be like that~

Traveling with a sweet, thoughtful big sister like me is the blessing of eight lifetimes, you know?”

“I’d say it’s a curse.”