Sword God in a World of Magic

When confronted by death, many people would think about their life and reevaluate past decisions.

What were their regrets?

What would they have changed?

Maybe they shouldn't have been so strict with their children?

Maybe they shouldn't have broken up with their first love?

If they hadn't taken out that loan from those dangerous people, their children would have something to inherit today?

Naturally, Shang wasn't any different.

Should he have been more amongst people?

Should he have accepted the Sweeper's confession?

Should he have spared Jerald?

Shang thought about all of these things.

And he acknowledged something.

He would be happier if he had someone with him.

It would feel nice not to be alone right now.

Everything was so painful, exhausting, dark, and lonely.

Shang knew that he would feel better if he hadn't been so brutal and inflexible in his past.

However, did this mean that Shang would have changed his past actions if he could?

No.

If he hadn't killed Lash, the Grandmountain Kingdom might have killed him.

If he hadn't killed Jerald, he would have eventually caved in and told someone.

If he hadn't declined the Sweeper's advances, Shang wouldn't have had enough time to comprehend his form of Void Casting or the Concept of Twilight.

Yes, he felt lonely, and he wished that someone was at his side.

However, Shang knew that this luxury would come with a price he wouldn't want to pay.

And then came another thought.

So what?

Since everyone would die, it didn't matter what one accomplished in their life.

Might as well die happy and surrounded by loved ones, right?

However, that was only true when death was a certainty.

At this moment, Shang kept putting in effort.

Shang still had hope.

if there were loved ones

they feel horrible by

to give up and just go

would Shang

Probably.

it was. Any person that told him to just rest might tip him over

at his side would take

would transform his likely death

that this was the right

this was

right to fight for his

glad that there was no loved

He didn't want them.

He didn't need them!

would

he was

he would die

on his body, and he kept breathing

But he kept breathing.

He kept fighting.

One more year passed.

And another year passed.

someone at the Fifth Realm, and any other person would have

he wouldn't give

He would never stop!

take him, it

More years passed.

Shang became 1010

moved a single muscle in

and the Death Mana in his body

a corpse that was unwilling to

He couldn't do anything.

couldn't even feel his

But he wasn't dead.

agony, but he still

Was this living?

to most

couldn't be

this was still

consciousness still existed, he would be

as he could

interact with the living

entire perception was confined in his

alive, but in truth, he wasn't doing more than a stone lying at the side

Was it life?

No.

Was it death?

No.

something

was neither alive nor

It was limbo.

Or Purgatory.

This was Purgatory.

was what Shang

years in this state,

could only be understood by people that went through the same thing