1 Chapter 0-1: Prologue and 'Epilogue'

With trembling legs, I tentatively took a step forward, only to find my vision fluctuating in and out, my consciousness flickering like a wavering flame. The once-clear voices and sounds around me slowly faded into muffled echoes, receding into the distant background.

I raised my head to gaze at the night moon, its brilliance strangely intensified, as if it were a blazing sun in the midnight sky. My forehead pulsed with an unbearable ache, forcing me to avert my eyes. Despite my best efforts, the overpowering radiance seared through my eyelids.

A nervous chuckle escaped my lips, a feeble attempt to mask my disorientation. "What is this...?"

In that moment, my knees betrayed me, buckling beneath the weight of an inexplicable force. My body plummeted to the ground with a resounding thud.

"Hey, sir, are you okay? Sir—!"

The bystanders on the sidewalk reacted with frantic urgency, their voices overlapping as they observed my slumped figure sprawled on the pavement.

"Sir, Sir! Can you hear me? Hey, somebody, call an ambulance...!"

The voices around me continued to recede into the distance as my consciousness wavered, and my limbs remained unresponsive.

My mind became a chaotic whirlwind, inundated with a torrent of thoughts. Dark musings swirled, contemplating whether this was to be my final moment, a life plagued by regrets and unfulfilled dreams. It was a life seemingly devoid of meaningful accomplishments.

Yet, a small voice within me questioned whether I might be overreacting, dismissing my predicament as a mere stumble. "I just fell, that's all," I reasoned with myself. "I'm simply a bit fatigued... I should get up. There's still work demanding my attention, a looming deadline to meet, and a book yearning to be written."

Those were thoughts laced with a deceptive glimmer of hope, tainted by denial. Deep down, I was aware of the harsh reality, but I clung to a stubborn refusal to acknowledge it.

This wasn't an isolated incident; it was the culmination of an arduous week without respite, characterized by relentless work. Seven days sustained solely by hasty, unbalanced meals and the relentless accumulation of various stressors. In this context, the idea that I might not make it through this ordeal didn't seem entirely far-fetched.

As my thoughts began to fragment and disperse, I fought desperately to retain a grasp on them. However, my efforts only seemed to exacerbate the sensation that my consciousness was slipping into an abyss, akin to drowning in an unfathomable depth.

Gradually, the muffled cacophony of surrounding noises receded, vanishing into the void alongside my fragmenting thoughts. All that remained was the slow, rhythmic cadence of my own heartbeat.

A realization swept over me, a calm acceptance of my situation. "Ah, I see," I mused inwardly, "So, this is how it ends. I suppose I'm not too far from departing this world, am I?"

A sense of irony enveloped me as I reflected on the unexpected turn of events. "Who would have ever thought I'd meet my end like this? In all honesty, it was rather inevitable, wasn't it?" Self-deprecation filled my thoughts; I couldn't help but feel a profound sense of pathos.

As time passed, the world around me fell into an eerie silence. My vision dissipated entirely, plunging me into a realm of absolute darkness—an uncharted abyss beyond the realm of life itself.

Tstchu, tstchutstchu.

Out of nowhere, a peculiar sound, reminiscent of pages turning in a book, echoed through the void. Simultaneously, a brilliant light burst forth, accompanied by this enigmatic auditory phenomenon.

Before me, a barrage of diverse images flickered into existence, unfolding like the pages of some cosmic tome. At first, I wondered if this was the fabled "life flashing before your eyes" phenomenon. Yet, something felt awry about these images—these were not recollections from my own existence.

The rapid succession of scenes continued to flash before me, akin to the frames of a cinematic projector. Alongside these visual narratives, my mind became a battleground, besieged by a multitude of voices and emotions that surged and raged within me.

These images bore witness to an alternate world, revealing fleeting glimpses of kingdoms and nations reduced to smoldering ruins, consumed by flames that arose from the depths. Malevolent entities, born from the interstice of realities, took to the skies with tainted breath, unleashing destruction upon the surface of the Earth.

The voices carried a cacophony of wails, screams etched with anger, sorrow, despair, and haunting regrets. Among them, the heart-wrenching cries of mothers who bore witness to their children's agonizing fate at the jaws of demonic predators echoed relentlessly, sinking into the hearts of their children with malevolent glee.

"Keugh-!!"

Each image and sound inflicted searing agony, an unbearable torment to behold and endure.

Amidst this nightmarish tableau, I discerned the silhouette of a solitary man, kneeling in a desolate expanse, a wasteland consumed by relentless flames and decay. Cradled within his trembling grasp lay the lifeless form of a young girl, her stillness in stark contrast to the inferno that surrounded them. Rivulets of crimson flowed from his eyes.

"Aaaaarrrrgghhh-!!!!" His anguished howl reached the heavens, now tainted by a deep crimson hue. From root to tip, his hair paled to an eerie white, an outward manifestation of the profound, unspeakable torment that gripped his very soul.

The image shifted once more, revealing a chilling scene—a towering mound of lifeless bodies, a grotesque edifice ascending into the blood-red heavens. At its pinnacle, abyssal eyes with crimson crescent arcs gazed malevolently upon the earth below. Upon a throne constructed from an eerie lattice of bones, the devil himself reclined.

...and then, as abruptly as they had begun, the haunting images and glimpses ceased. Yet, amidst the silence, a final, ominous voice echoed.

"[Arise]"

A refreshing breeze gently caressed my face, carrying with it the scent of trees and a sprawling meadow. The sensation of a warm, comforting light bathed my entire visage—an unusual occurrence, given that I was meant to be lifeless.

I cautiously unfurled my eyelids, greeted by the panoramic expanse of a vast, cerulean sky. The sun, its brilliance partially veiled by drifting clouds, cast its radiant glow upon the world.

To my astonishment, I found myself not only alive but also breathing, immersed in the beauty of the living world.

A profound sense of relief coursed through my being, washing over me like a soothing tide. I wasn't dead; I was alive, an unexpected twist that nearly brought tears to my eyes, even as my heart continued its rapid cadence, echoing the events that had transpired.

I made a concerted effort to rise, determined to assess my surroundings. I had lost consciousness in the night, yet now, it was undeniably early afternoon. The puzzling aspect was my location—why was I outside? If I had collapsed on the road, one would assume I'd have been transported to a hospital.

However, when I attempted to move, I realized that my body remained immobile, bound by something. A plush, velvety texture enveloped me snugly.

Creeaak.

The unmistakable sound of a door opening pierced the air, followed by the swift emergence of a woman's figure and face looming above me. She regarded me with wide, trembling eyes and a tightly-clasped mouth.

Her visage and stature appeared larger than life, dwarfing my own frame. Slowly, the woman extended her massive arms toward me, effortlessly lifting me from my constrained position.

Utterly bewildered, I gazed in silence at the woman who had just rescued me. With a herculean effort, I finally managed to wriggle free from the bindings that had ensnared me, and one of my arms slipped out.

...

A sense of profound confusion washed over me. I stared at my own hand, or at least what was supposed to be my hand, and disbelief coursed through my veins.

"Huh?"

My breath caught as the realization struck me like a thunderbolt.

"My hand... it's a baby's!!"

I had been reborn.