Martial Transcendence

Chapter 3 - Undying Physique

Du Chan woke up early the next day. Feeling refreshed, he went over to the meager mirror in his room for a self-checkup. When he saw his reflection in it, he noticed there were some changes in his body shape. He was very skinny and lifeless.

Du Chan was not that handsome. He had sharp dark eyes and silky medium black hair that made him somewhat above average in terms of beauty.

Now, he could see that his body was changing. Even if it was only so slightly but it did change so Du Chan thought he had hope in surviving the disease that had been haunting him since birth.

After his self-checkup, Du Chan made his way into the orphanage's hall as it was almost time for breakfast already and the kids had begun swarming the room. It was the first time that Du Chan had come to the hall earlier than some of his other peers.

When the kids saw him sitting already, they were shocked and murmurs began circling around quickly. Du Chan didn't really care what others thought or said about him and turned a deaf ear.

He was beyond hungry, when Gu auntie brought the food, he wolfed down his plate and even asked for seconds. Gu auntie was flabbergasted, to say the least. But, caring as she was, she smiled and gave him another portion happily.

Even after eating two whole bowls of plain rice, his stomach was not yet satisfied and he was thinking of asking for more. But with the orphanage's means, food was barely sufficient for all, so he came up with an idea. He would go afterward into the mountains and search for some edible fruits.

After telling Gu auntie of his leave, he went to the mountains hurryingly and through some fortunate luck, found a little number of fruits and ate them greedily.

Feeling somewhat satiated, he slept on an upturned root of a big tree that was nearest to him.

[Du Chan likes sleeping more than anything because he is a kid duh. Kids love sleeping!]

Du Chan woke up sometime later. It was yet early to return and thus he decided to walk towards the middle of the mountains…where the giant door was.

When he reached that spot, he was so distraught and scared to see that the door had become bigger and scarier in the span of a single day.

The blood-like liquid between the skulls and bones had disappeared entirely after a close inspection too.

The door was now almost 50 feet high that Du Chan wondered how no one, he included, could see it from far away. Black smoke broadened around it and enveloped its shape, making it even more frightening.

Du Chan, even though he was a 27-year-old adult before, was never reduced to the shivery state he was currently in.

He had a sudden need to run away from it but after experiencing the changes in his body he thought.

"No need to be scared…I have to see what's beyond that door"

Conviction fortified, he approached the door and touched it with his small child's hands. After they landed on its surface, the same freshness as the day before groped him. Without noticing and with no control over his senses, he closed his eyes shut...… when he opened them once again, he could see that his hands were on the door and his blood was being sucked into it.

However hard he tried, his hands did not budge and he could not control his own limbs as the blood was still suctioned. Entering the door's frame, the liquid moved in a strange pattern, same as before yet unbeknownst to Du Chan.

"What the f#ck is happening" he cursed inwardly.

(after all, he was still an adult from his old world)

After losing so much blood, he felt very exhausted and dazed. Fortunately, after some minutes, his hands got off from the door's surface.

Du Chan forced himself conscious and widened his eyes. He saw that his blood was moving between the skulls and the bones on the door similar to the first day he saw it.

Du Chan tried to move his feet but they felt so weak. Even so, he did his best and dragged himself to a tree near him, taking support while observing the door intently.

The blood was moving to every corner and in the space between the skulls and bones. It already covered 70% of the door.

Du Chan watched all this in a silent whimper.

After the blood had covered the whole, it began glowing crimson red. It was so bright that Du Chan hid his eyes from the glow. Thinking it was safe to spare a glance, he directed his gaze once more to it and saw something unbelievable.

The door disappeared!

He got up nervously, searched everywhere, every nook and cranny of the area, but it was like the door never existed in the first place. Thinking about what was had elapsed just now, Du Chan was met with a slight ache in his chest, he removed his shabby beige blouse and there was an inscription on his chest!

Like a tattoo, it greatly resembled a door…the door in fact.

He thought about it a little and could put up a far-fetched hypothesis. Perhaps, did the door not disappear but instead…had merged within his body?

When Du Chan thought about the door and looked back at the tattoo, his consciousness was pulled into it slowly.

When he came to, he noticed the red color of the sky above him and…he was sleeping on a water's surface. He could walk on it, run and even jump without sinking in. It was like he stood in the middle of a vast ocean. Only water could be perceived when faced in every direction.

When he looked around carefully, he saw a black line on one side of the surface that led to some direction.

Du Chan walked in that direction which the line had shown. At the end of it, he saw a very long staircase which was dark red in color and a throne at its top.

There were a total of 100 steps leading towards the top. The throne itself was made of a brighter shade of red and was held together by a black assortment of frames. It was imposing and luxuriously majestic at the same time.

Placed on its seat, was a meticulously woven crown. It had a golden color, but to Du Chan's eyes, it appeared to be made of something else, something much more precious.

Walking still, on the tip of his toes and feeling all nervous, Du Chan came upon yet another item. At the bottom of the first step, a golden paper floated slowly, just a few inches above the water's surface.

Du Chan approached carefully, making sure of his surroundings in the rarest off chance of there being any traps.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs and stared at the golden paper, he saw a set of calligraphic letters that he did not recognize even from his previous world.

After some time of standing idly, Du Chan grabbed the paper with both hands hesitantly. When he came into contact with the paper, it glowed in a golden hue and shot straight into his forehead.

An equally golden mark carved itself in that instance upon it. Coming back from this confusion, he worked up his mind further in regards to the strange language and thought about it plainly even though he didn't recognize them. Two words popped up at the back of his own thoughts…

"Undying...physique…..."