Raiden found himself in a dark tunnel with no control over his body. After a few seconds, he appeared abruptly in outer space and found himself trapped in a bubble-like substance. He looked down and saw a blue planet. That had to be Earth. A voice sounded beside his ears, “Hi again. I am Aldrich Sagar, nice to meet you. I think you can see me now.”

Raiden turned around and saw a middle-aged man looking at him with a slight smile on his lips. He was wearing a medieval Chinese dress, which gave him a cultivator-like aura.

“Yup, and I know that you didn’t tell the complete truth. I insulted you but you didn’t do anything. There are too many plot-holes. Spill it, I can’t harm you anyway,” Raiden said.

“It is truly pleasant to talk with a smart person. Despite your rudeness, you have got a good brain there. You were right. First of all, I was here all along, in space. I am the supervisor of this abandoned galaxy, which you people call the Milky Way. But even then, I don’t have the authority to enter your world because of restrictions laid by the Heavenly Laws. Don’t worry, you can enter again since you were an original inhabitant of this place. There are other options too, which you would know when you get stronger. You were talking to my soul projection earlier and I could only bring you here because you permitted me to do so. As for why I am doing this, that is because it is my duty to report these kinds of situations, and I would be rewarded if I do so. And well, the reward I would get is almost as good as the one stuck with you now. So, why not work a little? Kinda like the referral codes back on Earth. And secondly, as long as you don’t die young and cultivate diligently, anyone with a Heavenly Treasure is bound to be at least a True God. So, I thought of befriending you by helping you now. That’s it. Let’s go to the Rebirth Palace now.”

Raiden thought it over and asked, “Well, I understood most of the things. But, you said this galaxy is abandoned. Why is that? There are humans living on Earth. And why do we need to go to this Rebirth Palace or whatever. I am not reincarnating, just moving to a higher world.”

“As for your first question, this galaxy wasn’t like this a few thousand years ago. Due to some reasons, every living being on this galaxy died except on Earth. As you know, there is no life in any of the other planets. The spiritual energy gradually vanished and Earth became an exiled world where cultivation is impossible. Although Science has improved by leaps and bounds, unless humans get a lucky encounter such as yours, your people have lost the ability to cultivate. No outsiders would want to come to such an inferior world without resources. And for your second question, although you can cultivate now, the golden age for laying your foundations is the teenage period. As you have passed that age, we will do a little tweaking to alter your body. You shall retain all your memories and for your benefit, we would also add a beginner’s package. If your foundations aren’t solid, you may face difficulty in your tribulations later.”

“Sighh…Well, I don’t have a choice, do I? Nice try in changing the subject, but I am guessing you wouldn’t tell the reason this galaxy was reduced to this condition?” Raiden asked with a smile.

“Yes, you are right. And you ask too many questions. If it were some other old foggy, he would have already smacked you several times by now.” 

While they were talking in the dark tunnel, they had already reached a place where a giant portal was standing tall.

“This is the portal to go in or out of the Milky Way. And in case you are wondering why scientists haven’t discovered it yet, the reason is that they have no device to sense spiritual energy. And even if some spaceship reached this place by chance, they would have been shredded to pieces by the pressure in that tunnel.”

Raiden thought, ‘You say I am a chatterbox but you are the one who is explaining on your own.’  But he didn’t say anything either. No need to antagonise a God for such a reason. Then Aldrich took out a spaceship-like object from his ring.

'Ah! So that’s the legendary space ring. Wait! I have one too, a better one at that.  The things happening today must have made me muddle-headed,' Raiden thought.

The spaceship was unlike the rockets made on Earth. It looked like a bigger version of a yacht and looked quite pleasant to the eye.

“Because it’s your first time leaving your world, I kindly gave you a tour. But I don’t want to waste any more time. Hop on, we will reach our destination in a jiffy.”

Raiden didn’t have a say, so he could only do as he said. The interior looked like the deluxe yachts that billionaires used, only far better. These things were out of his reach for now, so he patiently waited and struck a conversation. “Say, Mr. Aldrich, it is your first time meeting me. Don’t you have a gift for your adorable junior?”

Aldrich was frustrated with this shameless guy but if he rebuked him, he was the one who would seem petty. After all, he was a God and it was indeed his first time meeting this person.

“Alright, I shall put in a good word in the Rebirth Palace and have them give you an innate talent. You can’t carry any physical gifts I give you after all. You can praise me for my kind heart.”

“Eh? That’s not true. Saying a few good words for me wouldn’t matter to a mighty God like you. And did you forget what treasure I have? Although I can't use spiritual energy myself, I am pretty sure that if I give you permission,  you can put things in my space ring,” saying this, Raiden showed him the Chaos ring on his finger.

Aldrich almost spurted blood on seeing this shameless person but the words were correct after all. So he could only play along and get rid of this person as soon as possible. If he were to get angry, his image would be tainted. He took out a seven-coloured fruit from his ring and handed it over, while saying “Take it. Anything else would be useless to you at your stage. After you start cultivation, eat this. It can help you in building a firm foundation in the first stage of Body-tempering. And don’t bother scheming. I won’t give anything else to a shameless person like you.”

“Tch! So stingy. Well, at least I got something.”

“Did you say something, brat?”

The two didn’t look like someone who had just met. After bickering for some time, they reached the Rebirth Palace.

“I had forcibly paused your body transformation during this time, so you could come safely. You should be grateful to me for still having a complete body. Wait for me to complete the official work and stay put,” saying this, Aldrich disappeared and came 5 minutes later. 'The staff here must be truly efficient', Raiden thought. Aldrich took him to a desk where an old white-haired foggy was sitting. 

“Here is the boy, Senior.”

The foggy didn’t even look and casually pointed a finger at Raiden. A light shot out from his finger to Raiden’s head and he said in a bored voice, “You have been given the Beginner’s package along with a random innate talent at the request of Aldrich. In case of any accidents, Aldrich shall be held accountable. Your body transformation shall end in 30 minutes and by then, you will have the body of a 12 year old. Aldrich can collect your reward from the Administrative building later. Move along. Tell the next one to come in.”

Aldrich bowed to the person, and left the place along with Raiden. Soon, they were in front of another portal and Aldrich said, “I can finally get rid of you, brat. Go on, you are on your own from now. Enter that portal, of course you would be randomly teleported. If you wanna stay alive, find an empty place and don’t let others see your transformation.”

Raiden didn’t give any more shameless remarks and said with a bow, “Although the time we spent is less than a day and I have been shameless to you, I am glad for your help. I just have a selfish request, please ensure that my family is safe in my absence. I know that you have no reason to help me but I have to try nonetheless. I will try to make it up to you when I get stronger. Goodbye, Mr. Aldrich. Until next time.” Then, without waiting for a reply, he entered the portal.