1 Prologue

▪Prologue▪

▪Title: Death, New Experience▪

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    –??? POV–

"I'm dead...?"

I murmured, looking at the ground with eyes that flashed with anger, sadness, and regret.

"No, no, I can't die-!"

I shouted in denial, my brain having a hard time trying to process what should come after death driving me to the brink of lunacy. I still had many things to accomplish back on earth, not to mention, my parents would be very saddened at the notice of my death.

I've already been enough of a burden, I don't want them to be hindered by things such as my death— Wait... I don't have parents.

"...what's going on?"

I muttered trying to get my head straight, my memories are all jumbled together. It feels like an unsolved gradient puzzle scattered in a hundred thousands of pieces, "This... Some of these aren't mine." I state with surprise. 

Finally getting my head straight— I looked around and observed my surroundings. I wasn't in a place I was 'familiar' with, yet at the same time, it feels like I'd been here often before.

"Ahh-!" 

I clutched my head, "I see..." I have a vague idea of what's going on. It was a rather familiar troupe so it would be weird if I hadn't noticed, everything about my situation just screams 'Red Flag.'

Although this was 'clearly' what I had thought for it to be, I still held a sliver of hope that this was but a mere dream.

*Sigh~!*

"Pathetic." 

I was pathetic... Denying reality, it wasn't like me. I certainly don't act like that under normal circumstances, I'm clear-minded and think my actions through before going with them, I avoided a fair share of trouble using that way of thinking. "But this isn't normal."

It wasn't ideal to panic, yet my emotions still took control over me.

I stood up and sat down on the bed nearby. I brought my elbows over to my thighs and leaned forward rubbing my face with my hands, releasing another stressful sigh. I began to fix the puzzle, a.k.a. my jumbled, messy memories.

I began my concentration, peering into different parts of my mind trying to dot and arrange everything in order. It took about one to three hours when I looked at the clock. It was already past midnight. 

The good news is I'm now calm and back to my previous state. I can make some sense about things here and there but for now, I need a good night's rest.

*

    -Three Hours Before His Death, Third POV-

'I'm out of food.'

Staring at his fridge with a face of disappointment, a black-haired man in his late teens thought. He closed the small fridge and stood up.

He looked around to find his apartment keys but his flat was so messy that finding his keys turned into an hour-long quest. 'What the—' a look of surprise adorned his face when he suddenly saw the key at his desk.

He swore that it wasn't there before when he looked near that area. His apartment consisted of a small single bed, a small cabinet beside the bed with a lamp on top of it, a bathroom, a desk with his computer, and a bookshelf filled to the brim with Light Novels, Mangas, and Comics...and oh yeah, his floor was littered with all kind of clothes and trash. It wasn't too big, it was just the right size for someone like him.

'Meh, just ignore it.'

He took the keys and left his apartment. The young man checked his wallet and released a sigh of relief when he saw that he still had €500. He honestly didn't want to visit the bank to withdraw some money from his savings, he was frugal and wanted to save money.

He walked his way towards the nearest grocery store thinking of what he should get. Unbeknownst to him, a speeding truck was heading towards him amidst his thoughts.

*Honk-!*

*Honk-!*

"Huh...?"

He looked towards the source of the sound and saw two flashes of light getting closer and closer at very fast speeds. Before he could react he was already on the ground gazing at the stars, bathing in his pool of blood.

His left arm that made direct contact with the speeding truck was all mangled up. The truck was nowhere to be seen, it was like it never existed in the first place.

"Kyaa!" A womanly scream rang out. Not only that but murmurs ran around the growing crowd with some even recording the unfortunate accident instead of helping the teen.

All of this was unknown to him with the youth only having a single thought, 'Ah... I'm bleeding.' His sight was covered with red, streaming down from his head.

How he was still conscious was a miracle. Usually, when one suffers a great injury like his it would mean instant death, he was sure that he already lost a litre of blood. Adrenaline and shock was the only thing keeping him from feeling the pain until he finally fell asleep, never to wake up ever again in this particular world.

*

*Bzzt!*

"Ugh..." I groaned in irritation. I didn't like getting my sleep disturbed, it's probably one of the few things that could piss me off to no end.

I brought my hands to my pockets to figure out what caused the sudden vibration. "A smartphone?" I took it out of my pocket while still lying down. 

Smartphones... Something is wrong. I scanned Kobayashi Ichiro's — My predecessor's — memories and found out that flip phones were the best that could be sold at this time.

I opened the phone and swiped to unlock the screen. A notification suddenly appeared and I read.

[ Ding! -Idle System- Installation Successful! ]

[ Open | Close ]

"..." I was speechless looking at it.

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( A/N: That's all for the prologue, I guess. I certainly could extend it but... This is fine, it's still the prologue after all.)

( Ps. I tried to not change much but what do you think?)

~Peace~

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