For the first time since arriving in this world, Shree experienced true rest.
The exhaustion that had weighed on his mind and body since transmigrating finally loosened its grip. As he lay on a flat, smooth rock near the waterfall, his body felt unusually light, as if the tension had drained away with the flowing water. The crisp mountain air carried the faint fragrance of plum blossoms, mixing with the cool mist that brushed against his skin.
It was… peaceful.
No worries, no urgent survival needs—just the simple pleasure of existing in the moment.
"I haven't felt this relaxed in forever," Shree muttered, stretching his arms behind his head.
"You do seem uncharacteristically at ease," Chat noted, his voice as neutral as ever.
Shree smirked. "Let me have this moment. After all the craziness I've been through, I deserve a little peace."
Chat didn't argue.
The two sat in silence, letting the sound of cascading water and rustling leaves fill the air.
Then—Shree suddenly felt a strange tug in his consciousness.
His relaxed state instantly faded, replaced by a subtle yet undeniable pulling sensation deep within his mind.
Shree frowned. "Chat… do you feel that?"
Chat was silent for a moment. Then, with a rare hint of curiosity, he responded, "Yes. Something in your consciousness is… resonating."
The tugging grew stronger.
Instinctively, Shree focused inward, letting his awareness sink into his own mental space—the mysterious white void where Chat resided.
There, floating in the boundless emptiness, was a disc.
But—this was not the same disc he had seen on Earth.
Shree's breath hitched.
This disc was ancient, radiating a divine yet unfathomable aura, unlike anything he had ever encountered. It slowly rotated, emitting a soft but overwhelming golden-white glow, its surface engraved with incomprehensible patterns that seemed to shift endlessly, forming shapes beyond mortal understanding.
And then—it moved.
As if sensing his presence, the artifact suddenly released a wave of energy, reaching out to him.
Shree felt rather than heard a voice. No words—just an overwhelming flood of information crashing into his mind.
His vision blurred. His entire consciousness shook.
He was seeing something—but the images were vague, fragmented, too much for his mind to comprehend.
A war.
Blurry figures clashed across the heavens, shaking the very fabric of reality itself. The sky burned, stars collapsed into darkness, and unfathomable beings fought for ownership of something—this very artifact.
The intensity was suffocating. Even though the details were unclear, Shree felt an overwhelming sense of destruction, rage, and desperation.
It was a battle that should never have existed.
A battle that defied fate, heavens, and worlds themselves.
Just trying to grasp its scale made his soul tremble.
A sharp pain lanced through his mind.
"Guh—!"
Shree staggered, his consciousness violently rejecting the flood of information.
The disc seemed to hesitate before pulling back, cutting off the transmission before he could be completely overwhelmed.
Shree gasped, his mental body trembling in the white space. His head throbbed like it had been split open, sweat dripping down his face even though this was just his consciousness.
"What… the hell was that…?" he managed to whisper.
Chat, too, sounded unusually affected. "I… do not know. But…"
Shree turned his attention to Chat—only to notice that the AI's normally steady voice had fluctuated slightly, as if he was experiencing interference.
"Chat?"
"I—" Chat paused, his usual composed tone faltering. "For a moment, I felt a connection to that artifact. However, it was weak, fleeting. I do not understand why."
Shree took a deep breath, calming his racing thoughts. His mind still buzzed with fragments of what he had seen—a war unlike any other, fought across the heavens and beyond reality itself.
And at the center of it all—this disc.
He focused on it again. This time, words slowly formed in his mind.
—An artifact of life… the ultimate existence… beyond all heavens… beyond all worlds…
Even this vague description sent shivers down his spine.
His golden finger wasn't just Chat.
It wasn't just his advanced consciousness.
It was this.
An artifact so powerful it once threw the entire universe into chaos.
Shree exhaled sharply, trying to ground himself. The weight of what he had just learned—or rather, what little he had grasped—was too much to process all at once.
Chat, still regaining his stability, spoke again. "Shree… we must be careful. Whatever this artifact is, it is far beyond our understanding. And…"
He hesitated.
"And?" Shree prompted.
"If others knew you possessed it… I do not believe there is a force in existence that would not try to claim it."
Shree let that thought settle.
He looked back at the disc, still hovering in the void, still incomprehensibly vast in its presence.
For now, it was silent.
Dormant.
But even in its weakened state, it had somehow merged with him. It had chosen to reveal itself, even slightly.
And that meant…
It wasn't entirely asleep anymore.
Shree let out a breath and forced himself to step away. He would not push further—not yet.
His mind was already exhausted, and his body still felt the lingering effects of mental strain.
For now, he needed rest.
His consciousness faded from the white space, returning to reality.
Shree found himself lying once again beneath the moonlit sky, the cool night air soothing his overheated mind. The waterfall's rhythmic crash against the rocks, the gentle rustling of plum blossoms in the breeze—it all felt strangely grounding after what he had just witnessed.
"Well," he muttered, "that was… a lot."
Chat hummed in agreement, his voice finally stabilizing. "Indeed."
Shree closed his eyes for a moment, then smirked.
"You know, I was just trying to relax."
"…That was clearly an unrealistic expectation."
Shree chuckled despite himself. "Yeah, no kidding."
A comfortable silence settled between them.
He knew this was only the beginning—that the existence of this artifact would change everything.
But for tonight…
He would simply enjoy the stars.