*Splash*
He opened his eyes but all he could see was black water surrounding him from every side. A feeling of pure dread hit him as he tried to swim his way out but there was no way to tell which way was up. There was only darkness.
After a few minutes of struggling, he was at his limits and couldn't move anymore. So he finally gave up and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable end.
To shorten his suffering, he opened his mouth and took a deep breath to get it over with quick, only to once again open his eyes in complete shock. The black water didn't hinder his breathing and he could actually feel his lungs getting filled with fresh air with every breath.
"What is this…? Where am I?" he tried to speak but no voice came out. After waking up from his stupor he once again tried to swim and with just a couple of strokes he reached the surface and poked his head out.
He looked around but there was nothing. No star to guide him, no light to show him the way. For a full day he floated in the neverending black water, allowing his body to go with the current.
*Splash*
As he was staring at the void above in a daze, the water not far from him moved.
"Huh?" He turned around but could see nothing in the darkness.
*Splash*
Once again the water splashed but this time from behind him and he turned around just in time to see something dive back down into the water. Something…..big.
His heart starting beating faster and faster. He held his breath because it was too loud and he couldn't hear other noises clearly.
*Splash*
Once again the water splashed, this timeless than two meters behind him. He quickly turned around and saw a massive scaly tail disappear in the dark water. His heart almost stopped beating altogether.
"Is this hell?" was the first thought that came to his mind. This was his absolute worst nightmare. Being adrift in a large body of water with creatures of the unknown.
"Please, someone, save me," he tried to shout but no voice came out.
*Splash*
A few hundred meters the water splashed and something started moving towards him, getting faster and faster. A feeling of unadulterated horror hit him as he tried to swim away but whatever was in the water was coming straight for him, now just a dozen or so meters away.
Two huge white eyes could be seen right under the surface of the water, staring at him dead in the eyes.
"NOOO-" he finally mustered all his strength and shouted but before he could even let out the full word, a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him up, throwing him on a small wooden boat.
"You poor soul, how did you lose your way?" asked a raspy voice. But Hao Xuan was focused on the creature in the water that was coming for him, he turned around to check but there was nothing in there anymore.
Not a single ripple in sight. Just the dark water that seemed to flow directly from the deepest parts of hell itself.
With weak knees, he finally fell back on his bum as a feeling of relief finally hit him. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Finally remembering the hand that pulled him out, he turned around to see a middle-aged man sitting at the bow. He looked like a beggar and had untrimmed facial hair, not even enough to be called a beard.
"T-Thank you for saving me," Hao Xuan said with utmost gratitude.
"Worry not. We are both in the same boat, hahaha," the man laughed. He was not sure if that was meant to be a pun or not.
"You can call me brother Meng," the man said with a kind smile as if meeting a long-lost brother.
"Hao Xuan," he introduced himself with a forced smile.
"So, how did you end up here?" Meng asked once again.
"Here? Where is here?" Hao Xuan asked confusingly. The last thing he remembered was running towards Jiang Ling, and then he woke up here.
"You don't know? How long have you been here?" Meng asked, slightly surprised.
"I'm not sure, but around a day I think?" Hao Xuan tried to remember but in this place where there were no heavenly bodies, time might as well not exist.
"Ohh, so you still have some hope then," Meng replied with a resplendent smile.
"Hope? Hope for what? Where exactly is this?" he asked once again.
"Where? Where do you think? At the edge of creation itself of course, hahaha," with a loud laugh Meng moved away from the bow of the boat and from behind him suddenly came out a starry sky that instantly covered everything in sight. Even the dark water itself perfectly reflected the stars, like a mirror.
Hao Xuan's mouth fell open. A second ago there was nothing but darkness around them, but now he could see boundless heavens all around.
"Woah….." was the only reaction Hao Xuan could muster after more than 5 minutes of staring at the sky.
"Haha, I know. I was the same the first time as well," Meng took out an old gourd from somewhere and sat on one side of the boat and starting drinking.
"Where are we?" Hao Xuan mumbled looking around. He could see planets being torn apart, suns being born and destroyed, entire galaxies collapsing in an instant and others being born.
"Hmm, what's that?" he squinted his eyes upon seeing something moving in the darkness.
"Chaos. That is antediluvian chaos. It was there since before the creation of the universe and will be here after its demise, it is everywhere," Meng replied with a mouthful of what smelled like cheap liquor.
"I don't know what that means…" Hao Xuan knew the meaning of the words that came out of Meng's mouth but they made absolutely no sense to him.
"Haha, don't worry about it. You're not dead yet so it's normal that you cannot comprehend these things. These are universal truths. Without reaching a high enough realm, the heavens themselves won't allow you to know of them."
"Death? Am I dying?"
"Mhm."
"Hmm," Hao Xuan did not really have the reaction he was expecting. "I guess my attachment to that life was not much huh," he calmly mumbled to himself, as if talking about someone else.
"Don't get all serious on me now, here, have a drink and let's chat. Its been so long since I last talked to someone," he threw his gourd over to Hao Xuan.
Hao Xuan caught it and took a closer look. It looked like a normal gourd you would see in old martial arts films on earth, nothing special about it. He opened and drank a mouthful and instantly threw up.
Meng laughed looking at him and took the gourd back and drank once again.
*Cough*Cough*
Hao Xuan coughed until he felt like a piece of his lung came out and finally calmed down.
"Is this an illusion? Am I dreaming all this?" he asked after calming down.
But after another negligible moment of contemplation, he doubted his own words. Everything he was feeling was all too real.
Or perhaps it could be possible because he was on the verge of death. At least that way it would make more sense.
"Who says illusions can't be real?" Meng asked with a big grin.
"Then what is this place?"
"It is whatever you want it to be. It is your life and death. It is the beginning of the universe and the end. It is the absolute truth and a complete lie."
"That makes no sense…"
"…It's not supposed to," Meng mumbled under his breath and drank once again.
But then he looked up at the starry sky and murmured, "Nine worlds, Ten heavens. Eight desolaces, Nine Hells. Just the beginning of the journey."
"….."
"Do you want to listen to a story?" he turned towards Hao Xuan with a mischievous smile.
Hao Xuan looked at his face and for some reason felt like this unkempt middle-aged man looked like the loneliest being he had ever seen.
