"So… I died."
There was no pain. No fear. No regret.
Only darkness.
Zen tried to raise his hand, but he couldn't see it. He couldn't feel it. It was as if his body had never existed at all.
Strangely, he felt at peace.
After all, he had lived a full century. Five children. Dozens of grandchildren. A life filled with laughter, mistakes, love, and memories.
If this was death… then he welcomed it.
Suddenly --
A faint light flickered in the endless void.
Symbols formed in front of Zen, shifting like living things.
[Requirement Fulfilled.]
[Host has surpassed one century of life.]
[Eligibility for Reincarnation Confirmed.]
Zen did not panic.
Instead… he observed.
"…Interesting."
[Do you wish to reincarnate?]
"Who are you?" he asked calmly. "God?"
[I am the System.]
[Function: Evaluation. Allocation. Continuation.]
Zen fell silent.
System.
Just like the novels he used to secretly read late at night when he was younger —
stories of power, immortality, beings beyond limits.
Stories he never admitted he loved.
A slow smile formed on his face.
"So those fantasies… weren't entirely impossible after all."
The darkness remained silent.
Zen's thoughts, however, were not.
A second life…
A new beginning…
No aging body. No human limits.
For the first time since arriving in this void, his heart felt… excited.
He spoke without hesitation.
"I accept."
Then, after a pause, he added quietly:
"…What are my options?"
Light spread across the void like cracks in reality.
Words formed — vast, ancient, absolute.
[Racial Selection Available.]
[You may choose the form of your next existence.]
Zen's eyes narrowed.
So this is where it begins…
[Human Cultivator]
The first of mankind. Gather the qi of the universe and walk the path of ascension.
Zen frowned.
"And be alone at the beginning of creation?"
[Reproduction Methods Available:]
• Union with another human.
• Sacrifice of cultivated qi to create life.
Zen immediately understood.
Wasting centuries of power just to create a race… inefficient.
[Phoenix]
A being of eternal flame. Its fire burns without end. Its existence threatens all life.
Zen nodded slightly.
"Powerful… but destructive. Hard to build anything when everything burns."
[Titan]
Shapers of worlds. Bodies vast as continents. Bound to matter and form.
"Too slow."
[Voidborn]
Entities of nothingness. Untouchable. Unseen. Unable to create life.
Zen smiled faintly.
"What's the point of power… if nothing remembers you?"
Then—
The final option appeared.
The symbols were larger. Heavier. Older.
[Dragon]
A sovereign existence.
A body that endures even the end of worlds.
A roar that demands submission from all life.
Natural ruler. Natural progenitor.
Zen felt it.
This was different.
Not just strength.
Authority. Legacy. Dominion. Survival.
Then another entry appeared.
[Denglong]
The balance born after dragons.
A creature that does not hunt the body, but the power within.
Where it walks, dragonfire fades. Scales lose meaning. Authority collapses.
Dragons do not fear its strength — they fear its existence.
Zen's eyes sharpened.
So even dragons have predators…
Instead of fear—
He felt excitement.
A challenge.
A slow grin appeared on his face.
"If something can hunt dragons…"
"…then I'll simply become a dragon that cannot be hunted."
He did not hesitate.
"System."
A pause.
"I choose the Dragon."
[Warning: You will be the First of your kind.]