Death... and me

It was then that Rean had an idea, saying, 'Sister Orb, are you still there?' Before anyone had a chance to answer, Rean continued, 'Please, tell me you're not there. Because if you're not, it means I'm finally free from you and the system. Please, don't answer. Please, please, please!'

[Fuck you! I'm very much here, okay?] Sure enough, a certain orb got quite angry.

'Tch...' Rean pretended to click his tongue in response. 'So much for my hopes and dreams.'

[Who cares about your hopes?! First of all, did you forget that if the link between you and me was broken, you two would be dead? How can you even wish for that?]

'There's no harm in dreaming a little, right?' Rean answered without the least bit of guilt.

[Hmph! So be it. Don't come at me later complaining when you need my support.]

'Hahaha!' Rean couldn't help but laugh after that. 'Sorry, sorry. I was just trying to improve the mood a little. Sister Orb is great! You're the best orb ever!'

[That's more like it.]

After that, Rean decided to focus on the issue at the moment. 'So, Sister Orb, what's happening? I just woke up... well, to be honest, I feel like I've been partially awake for a long time already. It's just that my mind only clarified right now.'

[You're not wrong to think like that. I've been watching you and Roan for a long time already. The problem was that your brain, as well as your whole body, turned into a salt statue. Well, it isn't really salt, but you know what I mean. Anyways, because of that, your brain's ability to form thoughts ceased completely. However, since I was still connected to you and Roan, it meant that you two were still alive.]

Sister Orb continued after that. [It wasn't until a few months ago that the situation in your body began to change. You should be thankful that you're a cultivator and Divine Energy exists. Your body was returning to normal little by little. If you were still on Earth, your recovered parts would die in just a few days since they couldn't work without the rest of the organs. Divine Energy protected it while the rest continued to recover.]

[However, you're still far from being able to move anything. At least 70% of your body is still in that 'salt statue' state. Fortunately, your brain was one of the very first things to fully recover. When the transformation disappeared from your brain, you were able to think straight once again. And that's when you contacted me. On the other hand, you can give up moving a single muscle all over your body for the time being.]

Rean was truly surprised to hear all of that. 'So many things happened... wait, you said it took a few months until my body began to finally start recovering. Just how long has it been since I was transformed into a salt statue?'

[Lo and behold! Five years were completed just three weeks ago! You are now a proud old-aged man in his 70s. Congratulations! Well, you are 73 years old now, to be more specific.]

'Five years?! Holy shit!' Rean couldn't believe so much time had passed. 'What happened to Falangia, Rafatia, and Luan?'

[How the hell would I know? I have no connection with them whatsoever. Though, how come you haven't asked about Kentucky?]

'Because I can still feel my connection to him,' Rean said in response. 'He's just like Roan. He's just a few meters away from me. Well, you should be able to see everything anyway, so why do you even need to ask?'

Sister Orb disagreed with him on that. [That's not correct. I can see what you and Roan see. I use your sense to interact with the outside world. Now that you two are in this state, I'm just as blind as you two.]

Rean found it strange, asking, 'Wait, but you could come out of the Dimensional Realm if you wanted to, no? You did that in the past.'

[Come out? Do you think that with your bodies like this, the system wouldn't consider the situation dangerous? Other than being able to talk to you and Roan, I literally can't do anything else.]

Rean had to admit Sister Orb's words made sense. 'I see... then that means you also have no idea about where I am and what's happening around me, correct?'

[That's pretty much correct.]

Suddenly, Rean heard another voice through the connection with Sister Orb. [Is that Rean? Is he finally awake?]

Rean immediately recognized it. 'Oh, Celis! It's you! I didn't think I could talk to you through Sister Orb since the Dimensional Realm is locked.'

[Forget that! Can you tell me what's happening right now? Sister Orb told me how you two were defeated, and I thought you had died. However, she said you were alive even though she couldn't communicate with you anymore.]

Rean wanted to shake his head as he replied, 'Other than what you know, I'm also clueless. My last memory was when the white powder dragon used a dragon breath full of white powder. Our Nascent Souls were burnt out, and we were unable to defend. After that, our brains transformed into salt statues, and we lost our ability to think after that. The only thing safe was our soul, although it was useless since there wasn't a brain to generate thoughts. At the moment, I can see anything. All I can do is wait for more of my body parts to return to normal.'

Rean then thought about something else. 'By the way, Sister Orb. How come my body is turning back? Do you know why that's happening? Were you able to analyze our bodies and tell us just what that salt transformation was about?'

[Unfortunately, I have no clue. As I said, I interact with the outside world through you two when the system is closed. Since you were somewhat 'gone,' I wasn't able to check anything. I still don't know how this salt transformation works.]

*cla, cla, cla, cla...*

'Wait! I can hear step sounds. Someone... or something is coming again.'