'. The Immortal Inheritance

Alex, emerging from the arms of Morpheus, jerked awake upon hearing the voice of the system. His first thought was that he had either slipped into madness or was still dreaming. Seeing that the voice did not return, Alex sat up and surveyed his surroundings. The room was unchanged from when he had last seen it, filled with machines and devoid of humans.

As he prepared to get out of bed, he suddenly remembered he was supposed to awaken his soul land. He quickly searched for any changes or sensations. Finally, he felt a strange sensation throughout his entire body. Focusing on it, he deduced it must be his soul. It seemed closely connected to his body, especially his brain. Delving deeper, he sensed a call coming from his soul, where most of his soul power seemed concentrated.

As he concentrated on this, a strange warmth spread rapidly through his body. Suddenly, his vision briefly darkened before returning to normal. However, when he opened his eyes, the landscape around him had completely changed.

He found himself atop a towering mountain surrounded by others. Though not large, they nearly filled the expanse of his soul land. A great waterfall flowed from the southern peak, turning into a river that wound down to a lake in the plain below the mountain.

He realized that besides the mountain he stood upon, there were four other mountains, each at one of the cardinal points: north, south, east, and west.

Alex, awestruck by the beauty of the landscape, was brought out of his reverie by the same voice he had heard upon awakening.

"Welcome to your soul land, host. Congratulations on awakening the immortal inheritance. The installation of your immortal territory is about to commence."

The entity calling itself the system had barely finished speaking when the world around Alex trembled. Cracks appeared in the sky, and an immense palace descended from above. Beside it stood three other structures. The first was a vast, ancient-looking Eastern pagoda of immense size, adorned with owl sculptures at each level, giving the impression that a divine building had descended from the heavens.

The second building, a large glass structure, was filled with rainbow-colored water. The reflected light produced a magnificent spectacle, its beauty almost indescribable. Alex had never seen anything so beautiful. As he gazed in wonder at the pool, he suddenly noticed at its bottom around twenty honeycomb-like structures resembling incubation tanks. Adult bodies floated in the rainbow liquid inside each tank, each connected by what seemed to be an umbilical cord to its own incubation tank.

After a moment contemplating this as magnificent as it was intriguing, Alex turned his gaze to the last building. It was an immense platform of dark blue metal upon which stood an immense rectangle, resembling a standing door, made of a dark metal alloy that resembled emptiness itself.

The four structures separated into three groups. The structure with the rectangle moved towards a flat surface on the southern mountain. It slowed as it approached the contact point before gently sinking into the mountain's soil, stopping only when the entire blue platform was buried, leaving only the door-like structure protruding. The pagoda, on the other hand, veered off course to settle on the northern mountain.

The last two buildings, the palace and the pool, landed on the mountain where Alex stood. The pool, like the first structure, sank into the ground. Once submerged, it resembled any natural body of water, albeit with its rainbow-colored hue. The palace, however, settled on the highest surface of the mountain, overlooking Alex's entire soul world.

After the buildings were installed, the system began to speak again.

"The immortal inheritance of your soul world is complete. You have obtained the following elements:

- The Immortal Library: This building contains all the knowledge and wisdom of the inhabitants of the immortal world. Knowing they didn't have enough time to develop to prevent the destruction of their worlds, the immortals created this library. It holds their legacy and its sole purpose is to prevent their history and knowledge from fading away. It was entrusted to the system to find an heir to whom it would be passed on.

- The Reincarnation Pool: To assist the next heir and perpetuate the immortals' legacy, the system collaborated with the immortals to create a basin capable of generating bodies suited to the culture and attracting the souls of deceased loved ones to inhabit them. Each vat can produce an adult body with a soul in 24 hours.

- The Portal: Created by the system, it allows for the creation of a gateway between the host's original world and their soul world.

- The Immortal Palace: This was the palace of the last sovereign of the immortals. It can enhance growth speed and is equipped with numerous formations that transform it into an impregnable fortress and a residence containing many secrets.

The immortals have entrusted you with their last hopes of perpetuating their legacy. Do not disappoint them! In 365 days, a portal connecting your territory to another world will open in a random world that can accommodate your soul force. Please prepare and strengthen your forces, as you will need to resist hostile forces for 7 days before launching an invasion.

Alex, who had remained silent until now, too stunned by the sequence of events that exceeded all his expectations, tried to address the system to answer the numerous questions flooding his mind.

"System, what are you? Why have I inherited all this? And what do you mean by invasion, will I have to wage war on another world?" Alex quickly launched.

After waiting for a moment without receiving any response from the system, he tried to ask another question, but to no avail. The system, or whatever it defined itself as, refused to answer him, leaving him alone to find answers to all the questions tormenting his mind.

Resigned that he wouldn't get an answer, Alex headed towards the Reincarnation Pool. It was the closest building to him, and he had a feeling that something was about to happen nearby.

It took him about ten minutes to reach the edge of the pool. The mountainous path made it somewhat difficult to move quickly. As he gazed at the unreal sight of the rainbow-colored water pool, he began to ponder his future.

He wondered if he was an exception or if everyone had received an inheritance like his. If so, what would theirs look like? Would some ill-intentioned individuals use their newly acquired powers to try foolish things like attempting to seize power in the real world?

After an hour of sitting against a tree, pondering what would happen now that things had taken such a turn, a sudden movement from the pool caught his attention.

As he stood up, he saw what appeared to be human bodies gently floating towards the surface. The lifeless bodies suddenly sprang to life upon breaching the surface. They began to breathe and cough exaggeratedly, trying to expel the liquid from their lungs.

Once the twenty individuals managed to regain normal control of their breathing, Alex walked calmly and confidently towards them, trying to appear authoritative.

Seeing him approach, the nearest man asked in perfect English, "Excuse me, who are you? Do you know who we are and why we're here?" The confusion on his face and these questions momentarily gave Alex pause.

He quickly adapted his speech based on what he had heard and addressed them. The tone of his voice exuded confidence and authority.

"Who am I? I am Alexander Ashborne, and you are on my lands. I have given you a body, you poor lost souls, so that you may come back to life and accompany me. Be aware of the privilege that has been bestowed upon you, for before you stands the man who will eventually dominate all lands in this universe."

Alex's heart pounded wildly after revealing his new ambitions to people he had just met, waiting for their response to see if the impression he had given was enough for these men to follow him.

The twenty reincarnated individuals, possessing only adult intelligence and stature, instantly believed Alex's words. With no memories of their past experiences, they were like open books into which Alex could write their future, values, and beliefs. Though they could still form other opinions as they lived longer, for the moment, they believed what Alex told them was the truth.

"We salute you, Lord Alex!" they said, kneeling before him.

"Can you tell us what to do, my lord? We have no idea," said the man who had spoken first to Alex.

"First of all, tell me your names," Alex asked, acting naturally as a lord.

"My name is Jayden, my lord," replied the same man.

"And I am Estelle, my lord," said the girl to his left.

"I am called Feuillien..."

"Very well, I am delighted to meet all of you. Now, follow me. We are going to my residence at the summit of this mountain."

Alex led them all towards the palace, and they briskly made their way there. Observing them along the path, he was surprised by their skill and endurance, which far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

While walking, Alex talked with the 20 reincarnates, teaching them various knowledge and trying to strengthen their trust and loyalty towards him. Some, although they acknowledged him as their lord, seemed not to fully believe his words.

Upon arriving at the palace, Jayden and the others briefly halted to admire the beauty of the building. The exterior walls stood around twenty meters tall, with doors over 10 meters high and 5 meters wide. The structure formed a rectangular shape measuring 300 meters by 300 meters, occupying the entire plateau of the mountain. The highest point reached up to 50 meters; it was the most impressive palace he had ever seen. Dragon statues flanked each door, seeming as if they could come to life at any moment.

Inside, there were reinforced training grounds equipped with a plethora of training equipment, cultivation rooms, greenhouses, and several dozen chambers, kitchens...

What Alex appreciated most about the palace was the presence of a private quarter that occupied more than a quarter of its space, allowing him to have his personal facilities without disturbance. Inside his quarters, he found a room that intrigued him. He entered and closed the door.

Once the door was shut, he felt a mysterious energy coursing through him, a sensation similar to when he had been transported to his soul land. The same thing as last time happened; his vision briefly darkened before returning.

Upon opening the door to the small room, which had some differences from before, he found himself in a vast library. Shelves of books over 10 meters tall filled the room, with a central desk surrounded by tables and benches. As he explored further into the library, he was surprised to find himself getting lost several times.

He wondered what magic was at play after realizing the interior was so vast that it couldn't possibly be the natural size of the library. A spell must have enabled it to have a much larger space than it normally occupied.

Returning to the center of the library, excited by the prospect of replicating such a feat, Alex pondered that if he could apply it in the real world, the housing problem due to overpopulation would be instantly solved.

After returning to the center, Alex approached the desk, curious about its purpose. As he ascended the platform where the desk stood, something addressed him.

"Greetings, heir. Welcome to the Immortal Library. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, I am here to assist you," said the desk in a speaking tone.

Though slightly surprised that a desk could speak, Alex didn't dwell on it. The number of events that had surpassed his expectations was such that whatever happened today, he would no longer be surprised.

"I also greet you. Can you tell me what you are and your purpose?" Alex responded to the desk in a neutral tone.

"I am the spirit of this tower, existing to help cultivators find the books they seek in this library. I am named Noctua, the guardian of knowledge," replied the desk.

"Thank you. And what kinds of knowledge are contained in this library?"

"This library crystallizes the entirety of knowledge accumulated by the immortals before their extinction. It includes books on cultivation, world history, the secrets of laws, mastery of formations, talismans, taming and breeding of beasts…"

"If you wish to access books containing this information, you may ask me, and I will guide you to their locations within the library," Noctua concluded.

After a period of varying reflection, Alex asked Noctua for introductory books on the general information of the different subjects she had mentioned. As soon as he received the books, Alex sat down on a bench and began reading, eager to learn more about the immortal civilization he had apparently inherited.

While Alex delved into the secrets of the immortal civilization, the outside world descended into complete chaos. Some of the first students who had ingested a Solaris seed returned to the real world…

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Thank you for reading! Please feel free to offer advice on how I could improve the book, the story, or my writing. Once I reach Chapter 10, I will review all chapters for improvements. Your feedback would greatly help me identify weaknesses in the work.

I'm going to scout camp, so I won't have many opportunities to work on the novel. I'll get back to working on one chapter every day or two when I return on the 1st.