Xiong Ying opened his eyes to find that he could see no color other than black.
He knew he wasn't blind; rather, he was in a dream.
"The last time I came here, this place was pure white, the only darkness being that twisted thing. Now that it has turned into this... I must indeed be dead."
He sat up from the ground, feeling not particularly saddened. His final stand, impulsive as it was, left him with no regrets, though he did worry about his parents.
"So this is what the world after death is like, huh? A bit too dull for my taste."
"This is not the afterlife," came a voice as resonant as a great bell, its clear echoes making Xiong Ying feel as if the air itself trembled.
Xiong Ying turned his head and saw a beam of light amidst the darkness, in the center of which sat an old man with white hair and a white robe, smiling benevolently at him.
As a boy, he often fantasized about such a grandfather bestowing upon him superpowers to uphold justice.