The Beginning

I was falling upside down, in a white void. As far as I could see, there was nothing except me here. If memory serves, I was speaking to my subordinate in the throne hall. And when I blinked, I was here—but it was my conjecture, perhaps. I chose to come here. In a singularity realm that had no boundaries.

Suddenly, a high-pitched voice and an unpleasant voice came through.

Yusaka Kurose.

What will you do?

Eternal slumber, or—

Fall into a deep slumber for an eternity, or—

“You don’t have to say it.”

There was only one reason I could think of.

“Reincarnation.”

I snapped my fingers, and countless shimmering, lustrous white embers emerged from nothing. As they surrounded me, I could feel the presence of everything. What will happen, and what has passed, and what was happening right now. I wasn’t astounded, though. Even after a while, nothing had changed.

I exhaled deeply, and snapped my fingers once again. This time, the embers grew distant with each other hastily and began obliterating themselves. I could observe them with my silver-gray pupils, destroying themselves as if they were nothing, until only an ember remained. Which was in front of me.

I tried to reach it, and as I brought my hand up to it—a rift penetrated into the realm below me. Before I realized, it was sucking me inside it. I entered the rift as I glanced upon the dark green forest below me. Falling like a glimmering shooting star, I passed through fluffy clouds and jet streams—the radiated sun’s light streamed onto my face, and sunrays reflected into my eye pupils. Beautiful was all I could think. As I gazed up, the rift connecting through the realm was still present, until it flickered, and promptly extended straight downward, obliterating the trees below me. In a moment, the realm wavered, and scattered into particles that shimmered with the sun rays until they dissipated, as well.

I could feel the wind and hear the whooshes as it pushed against me. I was far up from the ground, at least to see the deep-navy blue horizon, and a faint, subtle curve of the earth. I sighed and crossed my arms. What can I do now? I thought, staring at the jet streams, until the sharp, raucous voice came through again.

Hero: Yusaka Kurose.

Suddenly, the voice began to distort. I couldn’t think of anything in the cacophony of it. I covered my ears, until it became monotone, and this time, it was a pleasant voice to my ears. The voice had become more stabilized than it was.

Recovery completed. I was still wondering what does it mean by completion of recovery, but without any moment, it spoke again.

Reincarnation will grant relief from the caster’s life. Providing one the virtue and wisdom gods. The powers to destroy a world, or either save it. As the tranquility shall arise, peril may rise. Hero: Yusaka Kurose. Shall I proceed?

As I proceeded, she began to inform me about the things I'd have to lose to reincarnate. What she told me left me completely bewildered.

The individual may lose their memories entirely. I was ready for it. I knew I'd lose my memories, and that was what I intended to do in the first place. Secondly, the individual’s Authority will begin to pulverize after their reincarnation. The Authority referred to the caster’s power, and of the world, at least of the world I resided in. At last, the individual’s soul could potentially begin from the genesis, or from a point of someone’s life. As soon as I heard it, I was shocked. I didn’t want to take someone’s life, but I remained composed because it was just a possibility. The voice surely meant nothing from it, that’s what I thought.

“No, no, no.” I murmured amidst falling down. The distance was shortening, I was going to crash like a meteorite. I let out the white breath into the cold air, and snapped my fingers. I was teleported back into the realm, but that was my imagination. In the realm, cracks formed, then they turned into massive fractures, and as they broke and struck downwards, the sunlight reflected into my eyes.

The gap had shortened between me and the forest. One after another, I passed through and scattered the puffy clouds apart. I was panicking, fluttering around like bird-of-prey wings. How did the realm shattered when it was boundless? As I tried everything I could, the voice spoke once again.

Hero: Yusaka Kurose. Your Authority will diversify, therefore will be divided.

Huh? What did she mean by diversify? Why will my authority increase? And why is it divided? Even if I asked, it remained silent. I realized the voice had become shrill again, back to the high-pitched voice it was. My legs had disappeared into particles already. My waist was the next. The pace had increased, my sword had blended into the wind long ago. I was really close to the forest, ample to destroy the area I was going to strike in at my speed. If I think about it, even back when I was in the realm, choosing the fate to reincarnate—I’d resigned myself to it, and to myself. There was nothing particularly to do here, my incantations and powers weren’t responding to me. I was prepared to be in tranquility, and the voice spoke again. For the last time.

Hero: Yusaka Kurose. At last, you may now reincarnate into a world where everything is set by nature. Or—

I felt the one second before crashing on the ground, the time had relatively slowed down, or perhaps it was just a dying person’s perception. I could hear everything distinctively that surrounded me. The soft rustle of the leaves, the chirping of birds, the sharp voices of squirrels, an injured deer wailing, and the sound of animals, slowly exhaling their last breath. I opened my eyes, and they widened—at last, I glanced upon a field of blue flowers, shimmering beneath the sunlight with a lustrous glow light. And a faint smile curled onto my lips, then the voice spoke.

Created by you.

“...Huh?” I muttered.

That was the last time I heard my own voice.

My vision was encompassed by darkness, then it turned distinct, which grew into blurry, then it became vividly clear. The faint silent ringing sound in my ears was drowned out by someone’s voice. In front of me, a woman was rummaging through the closet, throwing things around onto the floor. She seemed to be searching for something in the closet. Inadvertently, a soft, gentle voice came out of my throat. “...Mother.” Suddenly, I began suffocating, coughing saliva out my mouth and gasping for air. My fingertips, which were quivering, were on my throat. What is… happening— The door slammed open all of a sudden, and a man shouted as he stepped in.

“What happened?!”

Before I could comprehend my situation, I had to save myself. I hesitantly raised my arm to emanate a short, yet sharp snap with my fingers, but before I succeeded.

Time stopped.