Prologue

The streets of Tokyo pulsed with life, neon lights flickering like stars against the midnight sky. Laughter and chatter blended with the distant hum of traffic, painting the city as restless as ever.

Amid the vibrant energy, a lone figure walked down the road, hands tucked into his pockets. Murata Tadashi. A nobody. Just another face in the crowd.

“Life is so dull…” he mused, eyes trailing a couple ahead of him.

They laughed, completely absorbed in their own world, their happiness effortless.

“I wish I was more like them…”

A pang of envy tightened in his chest. He wanted to be special—to matter. Then, a sudden outcry shattered the city’s rhythm.

“HELP! SOMEONE… CATCH THAT BOY!”

Tadashi barely had time to react before chaos unfolded. A masked man in a sleek black suit barreled toward him, a pistol glinting in his grip.

“MOVE!” the man barked.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Gunfire erupted, cutting through the night like thunder. Screams rang out. The world blurred as Tadashi stumbled back, warmth spreading across his chest. His breath hitched. Pain bloomed. The city lights dimmed. The sounds faded.

And then… nothing.

A void. Endless and infinite.

Tadashi’s eyes flickered open, his body weightless, floating in an abyss of swirling shadows. Confusion clawed at him. Wasn’t I… just on the street?

Then, a voice—deep, ancient, and absolute—shook the void itself.

“STATE YOUR NAME, MORTAL!”

A crushing pressure bore down on him. He trembled, struggling to find his voice.

“Ahhh… It’s T–Tadashi… M-Murata Tadashi,” he stammered.

The presence loomed closer.

“MURATA TADASHI… I WILL SPARE YOU THE DETAILS, BUT THE GODS HAVE CHOSEN TO GRANT YOU A SECOND CHANCE.”

Tadashi’s breath hitched. His hands shot to his chest, his face—solid, real. But he had just died. He knew he had.

A second chance?

“Wait… I’m dead? No way…” His voice quivered. Panic twisted into disbelief, then frustration. So that’s it? I lived a pointless life and died like some side character in a crime scene?

The voice rumbled once more.

“YOUR DEATH WAS PITIFUL, YES. BUT IN RETURN, YOU SHALL BE REBORN INTO ANOTHER WORLD, GIFTED WITH SPECIAL ABILITIES. SURVIVE FOR SEVEN DAYS, AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE YOUR REWARD.”

Tadashi’s mind reeled. A new world? Abilities? A reward?

His heart pounded. He had wished for something—anything to make his life meaningful. And now, fate had delivered him an opportunity wrapped in the unknown.

“I get to live again?”

A fire ignited in his eyes. A new life. A fresh start.

The abyss quivered as a figure emerged—a silhouette wreathed in cosmic energy. It smirked.

“SO, MORTAL… DO YOU ACCEPT?”

Tadashi clenched his fists. This was it. His chance to be something more. His moment to rise.

He exhaled, stepping forward. A brilliant light engulfed him, illuminating the path ahead.

“Challenge accepted.”

And with that, he plummeted toward the world below.