Death... and me

Once inside their house, Hamarlia passed Rana to Rean as she asked. "Here, you said she is fine, so do something."

Rean shook his head and gave Rana back to Hamarlia. "This is not Rana. No, to be more specific, it is her body, but Rana is not in here anymore."

*Knock, knock!*

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, catching Rean's attention. Turen went there to check, just to see Juri Varen, the tribe leader, waiting outside. "Senior Juri..."

"Someone told me they saw Rean in the village. Is he really back?" Juri quickly asked.

Rean's voice then came from inside the house. "Elder Juri, long time no see. Please, enter as well."

Turen was still confused by Rean's words, but he allowed Juri to come in before closing the door once again.

Juri then looked at Rean and was just about to ask something when he noticed something different. "You... Are you really Rean?"

Turen and Hamarlia were taken aback. Yet, they had to admit they felt that Rean was somewhat different from the last time they saw him, which wasn't that long ago. Well, not long ago, according to their memories, that is.

Rean smiled and nodded. "I'm still me. It's just that I got a lot older, so even though I'm a cultivator, you probably can see the few minor differences between my body now and my body back then."

"Back then?" Turen was puzzled. "It hasn't been more than a few weeks since we saw you last time."

Rean shook his head. "I don't know how long it has been exactly as my journey between here and the Realm of Gods caused a time displacement. Yet, I can guarantee it has been more than a thousand years, no doubt."

Seeing their confused expression, Rean continued. "Do you remember something strange happening just a few minutes ago?"

Juri, Turen, and Hamarlia nodded. "There was a sudden bright light, and then everything went dark. It only lasted a moment, though."

Rean shook his head. "It last way more than a moment. This planet was destroyed, and you died with it. Only a few moments ago was this planet restored."

"We died?" Juri couldn't believe it.

Turen was also puzzled. "Planet? What is a planet?"

"What about Rana?" Hamarlia insisted, still worried.

Rean pondered a bit and decided it was easier to show it directly. He quickly wrapped everyone with his Spatial Powers before the four of them disappeared from sight. The next time Turen, Hamarlia, and Juri saw something, they were already outside the planet, floating in the middle of the void of space.

"Ahhhh!" Sure enough, they all panicked. "What is happening?!"

Rean smiled in response. "Don't worry, I'm keeping you all safe. We are in the middle of space. Can you see the gigantic ball over there?"

Hamarlia and the others looked over. There, they could see Sunkan Planet, although they didn't know that.

"That's our Planet, Sunkan Planet. That's its name. You guys live there. It's just that we are so far away that it looks just like a gigantic sphere," Rean explained. "That's what a planet is. Simply put, it is the world you live in."

"This..." Juri couldn't help but ask. "Rean... just how far have you gone in your cultivation? For you to bring us this far in a split of a second. That's something I've never heard about."

Rean waved his hand once again, and they disappeared. A moment later, they were all back inside Turen and Hamarlia's house. "I can talk about my cultivation later. What matters at the moment is that the planet you have just seen was destroyed over a thousand years ago. Naturally, you all died. Roan and I managed to escape at the last moment, but we couldn't help most of the people here."

"Roan..." Turen obviously noticed he wasn't there. "Where is your brother?"

"He is investigating some weird things related to this planet. He will stop by later, Father, don't worry," Rean answered.

"Can we stop caring about such things for now? I want to know what is happening to Rana!" Hamarlia still couldn't take her mind away from her daughter. Since she now knew her sons, Rean and Roan, were fine, Rana obviously took priority.

Rean nodded. "That's why I'm talking about it. The planet exploded, and everyone here died. Rana was no exception. However, due to a certain power, your souls did not go to reincarnation. Instead, your souls were trapped together with the souls of almost all inhabitants of Sunkan Planet."

He continued. "A while ago, that power was used to rebuild the planet and everyone's bodies. Naturally, your souls returned to your bodies. There were exceptions, though. A few of the souls escaped and reincarnated. Rana's soul was one of them."

"Then..." Hamarlia looked at the body of her daughter. Although it was still breathing, she understood her daughter wasn't there anymore. "Then she died completely...?"

Rean nodded. "She did. However, her memories were carried over when she reincarnated. Roan and I meet her. She now lives in the Realm of Gods, just like Roan and I. That's why I said she was fine. She still remembers all of us, and she has become someone quite important at that."

Rean then patted Hamarlia's shoulder. "Of course, a body can't exist without a soul. Although this body you are holding now is breathing, it won't last for long. This body's functions should stop completely in the next few hours. Fortunately, it is, as I said. Rana is not dead. Her soul is just not inside this body anymore. If you want, I can bring you to meet her later, Mom."

Hamarlia still felt strange looking at her daughter and knowing she wasn't really there. "Are you absolutely certain? It is just... too hard to believe, Rean."

"I'm certain!" Rean nodded vigorously. "I can guarantee that Rana is just fine. It's just that she isn't a human anymore."

"Not... a human?" Everyone asked at the same time.

Rean then used his Divine Energy to conjure an image of Rana in front of everyone. "This is her now. She reincarnated as a fairy."