Joshua woke to the faint scratch of coarse bedding and the scent of damp pine.
His eyes opened slowly.
An unfamiliar wooden ceiling greeted him, its old beams darkened by years of rain and smoke. Pale morning light slipped through the cracks in the paper windows, casting long shadows across the tiny room.
It wasn't his room.
The realisation came naturally.
Not through memory.
Through instinct.
Joshua sat up.
His head ached faintly.
He searched his memories.
Nothing.
No childhood.
No family.
No past.
No face.
Only one thing remained.
His name.
Joshua.
Silence filled the room.
He looked down at his hands.
Slender.
Pale.
Calloused from years of sword practice that he couldn't remember.
"..."
Before he could think further—
A soft chime echoed beside him.
[Ding.]
A translucent blue screen slowly unfolded before his eyes.
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System 001 Activated
Welcome, Host Joshua.
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Joshua watched the floating screen quietly.
He showed no panic.
No surprise.
Only curiosity.
"...Who are you?"
The screen shimmered.
[System 001.
Your guide throughout this journey.]
Joshua remained silent for a moment.
"...Journey?"
[Correct.]
New words appeared.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Current World: Ancient Cultivation World
Current Identity: Mo Xuanyu
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Joshua read them once.
"...Mo Xuanyu."
[The owner of this body.]
Joshua lowered his eyes.
"So this isn't my body."
[Correct.]
"...Where is he?"
The System remained silent for several seconds.
Then—
[He entrusted this life to you.]
Joshua looked at the words for a long time.
"...Entrusted."
[His final wish remained unfinished.
You will complete it.]
Joshua didn't immediately ask what that wish was.
Instead—
"...Who am I?"
The blue screen remained still.
After a long pause, only two words appeared.
[Joshua.]
He waited.
Nothing else came.
"...That's all?"
[For now.]
Joshua frowned slightly.
The first crack in his calm expression.
"...My memories."
[Locked.]
"...Why?"
[Because some answers cannot be given.]
Joshua asked again.
"...Can they be recovered?"
[Yes.]
"...How?"
[Walk forward.]
Joshua stared at the screen.
"...You're avoiding my questions."
[Correct.]
There wasn't even the slightest attempt to deny it.
Joshua almost found that amusing.
Almost.
Instead, he asked another question.
"...Why me?"
The System answered immediately this time.
[Because only you can complete this journey.]
Joshua looked out the window.
Morning mist drifted between towering pine trees.
A distant bell echoed somewhere beyond the mountains.
"...Where does this journey end?"
Silence.
Long enough that Joshua thought the System had disappeared.
Finally—
[When you recover what was lost.]
Joshua's fingers tightened unconsciously against the blanket.
"...What did I lose?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
Something stirred faintly inside his chest.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Just...
an emptiness that shouldn't have existed.
Joshua instinctively pressed a hand against his heart.
"..."
The strange feeling disappeared almost immediately.
The System continued.
Current Vessel
Name: Mo Xuanyu
Age: 17
Affiliation: Cloud Peak Sect (Outer Disciple)
More lines appeared beneath it.
Born with poor spiritual talent.
Ridiculed by fellow disciples.
Never acknowledged.
His final wish remains incomplete.
Joshua quietly read each line.
"...Show me."
The screen flickered.
Memories flooded into his mind.
Not his own.
A young boy training alone long after everyone else had left.
Cold meals.
Mocking laughter.
Wooden swords thrown into the dirt.
Sleepless nights.
The desperate hope that tomorrow might finally be different.
The memories ended as quickly as they had begun.
Joshua slowly opened his eyes again.
His expression remained calm.
Yet something about the room felt heavier now.
"...I understand."
The System spoke once more.
[Would you like to know his final wish?]
Joshua nodded.
"...Yes."
A single sentence appeared.
["Before I die... I want at least one person to remember my name with respect."]
Silence settled over the room.
Joshua lowered his gaze.
"...A simple wish."
[Will you accept it?]
He stood slowly.
His borrowed body felt light.
Fragile.
Unfamiliar.
Yet steady beneath his control.
Joshua looked once more at the fading blue screen.
"...I will."
The System disappeared.
Outside, voices echoed from the training grounds.
Laughter.
Mockery.
Someone shouted a familiar name.
"Mo Xuanyu!"
Another voice laughed.
"Don't tell me he overslept again!"
Joshua walked to the old wooden door.
His hand rested on the handle for a brief moment.
Then—
He opened it.
Cold morning air greeted him.
Along with dozens of eyes.
The courtyard fell silent.
One disciple laughed first.
"Look who's finally awake."
Another folded his arms.
"The sect's greatest embarrassment."
A third snorted.
"Careful."
"He might faint if someone looks at him too hard."
Laughter spread through the courtyard.
The Mo Xuanyu they remembered would have lowered his head.
Apologized.
Run away.
Instead...
Joshua simply looked at them.
His calm gaze swept across the crowd once.
No anger.
No fear.
No humiliation.
Only quiet indifference.
The laughter slowly died.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the courtyard.
Joshua tilted his head ever so slightly.
"...You're loud."
Without waiting for a response—
He walked past them.
Not once looking back.
━━━━Status Window━━━━
System 001
Host: Joshua
World: Ancient Cultivation World
Vessel: Mo Xuanyu
Mission: Fulfil the vessel's final wish.
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