In the pitch-black void, there was a beam of light the size of a grain of flour. This was it.
It was struggling endlessly in the void, trying to keep its mind clear by forming sentences with symbols resembling hieroglyphs.
"How many times is this?" It had come here countless times, hundreds, maybe even thousands. It had become its home. Being here was driving it insane.
"Enough… enough already!" It had lived since the beginning of the world, seen everything, knew as well as its own name what was real and what was fake.
Each time it died, it would come to this void and eventually resurrect. This had turned it into a soulless monster.
"That took a bit longer?" Normally, it would revive in a few seconds, but this time, it took longer than usual.
Even not being able to move its body was frustrating.
"714? No, no, that was back in ancient Egypt, right?" It continued to think about how many times it had died, never counting past 57. Its first death had been when it was eaten by a dinosaur.
It had no family, no other attachments, but then it slightly opened its eyes. At first, its vision was blurry, but after a few seconds, it cleared up. The wind blowing against its body relaxed it, but… something was touching its head.
It had even seen Jesus and Moses, nothing surprised it anymore—or so it thought.
It was in a forest now, and in front of it stood a headless thoroughbred horse.
"What—What the hell is this?!" It quickly threw a punch at the horse, which staggered and backed away, frightened.
"Where am I?" There was nothing but the forest around it.
Its dark purple haori was a little dirty; the further it approached the hem, the color faded, softening into a pale white as if it had been washed out under light.
On the back of the haori, there was a flower-like design.
Its white kimono was marked with dirt stains, but the black hakama was clean.
Ruffling its messy white hair, it got up. "Ugh! My back!"
Its silver eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
But something was missing. Its earring.
"Huh? W-Where's my earring?!" It frantically searched, but there was no need to worry too much—it was right by its feet.
The earring was long and black, and the jika-tabi boot was slightly torn. It quickly picked up the earring and sighed deeply.
"Oh, nothing's wrong," it said, putting the earring back on and starting to wander around.
"Why… Why is this place so beautiful?!" The lush green forest enchanted it. It had been through so much, but nothing had ever been like this.
And yes, it was the first dinosaur hunter. Cool, right? But killing dinosaurs had cost it its life many times, and that wasn't so cool.
"Man, I liked these clothes…" it sighed, but there was nothing it could do about it.
The birds chirping, the sounds of animals, nature was truly a wonder, wasn't it?
It walked for about three hours. During all the time it had lived, it had gone for months without food, surviving on pure will. In short, it could walk for four days without eating or drinking. But that didn't mean it wouldn't feel hungry or thirsty.
It got stuck in the mud several times, and the scent of the grass was truly amazing. With every step, the sound of the leaves underfoot reminded it of its loneliness.
"Aside from a few things, this place is amazing!" Then, it stumbled upon a village. It looked no different from regular villages.
Descending the hill, it walked toward the village. All the houses in the village were wooden with straw roofs.
Rice and vegetable fields were visible from afar.
"Wow!" Its eyes sparkled with excitement. The roads were made of muddy earth, and as it walked toward the village, it noticed the entire place was surrounded by a wooden fence.
And I have to mention this—little water channels were truly beautiful. It took its first step into the village.
Actually, it couldn't be called a village; it was more like a town, but it resembled a village.
"Food, food, food, food!" Its mouth watered already.
The people around were wearing kimonos, hakamas, and waraji sandals—these were for the men. For women, they wore kimonos, and some even had headscarves to protect from the sun.
The children wore simpler, shorter kimonos. Almost all of them wore zori sandals.
The people around were looking at it with both strange and disgusted gazes.
Running a hand through its messy hair, it muttered, "Ah, right… my clothes are ruined, huh?"
Wait, there's an important detail I need to share for the continuation:
How did it die last time?
The last time, it was with a friend—or, well, not exactly a friend. More like a mutual benefit relationship I mean, yeah, that explains it better, right?
It was with this mutual interest friend—imagine them as a black silhouette—and they were on a challenging mountain climb.
Its foot slipped, and it died. Short and simple, right?
Now, continuing:
It saw a familiar face ahead. Raika. And yes, this was the mutual benefit relationship
Despite her dark red hair, her blue eyes formed a complete contrast. Her simple green kimono didn't do justice to her beauty, and she was barefoot.
It approached.
"Hey! The one with the mismatched preferences, Black Fatma!"
What's black Fatma, you ask? Let me explain. It's used for strong, brave, and fighting women.
The moment Raika turned around, her pupils shrank, and it was clear she was shivering, her body trembling.
The air around the man was filled with screams of agony, as if he was challenging death itself.
It took a step back. "H-Haunt!"
It quickly started running. I mean, admit it. You're friends with an immortal, and then they die and come back to find you again.
Raika kept running without looking back, while the people around her watched in astonishment.
"H-How?! I-I thought it was dead!"
She quickly left the village and headed toward the forest, hiding there until evening.
"Calm down, calm down," she kept taking deep breaths, and she found shelter in a cave. It wasn't very spacious, but it was enough for her.
"Heya."