(Souta Konue's Pov)
I suddenly opened my eyes with a gasp. In my vision was a starry night so beautiful it was like something out of a painting. A sky like this was impossible in an urban city like Tokyo. I was not religious but in such a situation, I could not believe my eyes. I clearly remember dying on the hospital bed, so the only natural conclusion I could come to was that I was in some sort of heaven. I was still delirious and could feel a dull pain in my head. When I slowly started to regain control over my senses, I quickly realized that my assumptions were wrong.
I could smell a very putrid odour coming from near me. I quickly got up to see where it was coming from and realized that I was near the sewage dump. The smell overpowered me and forced me to gag and vomit but nothing came out. I clutched my stomach in pain. I knew this feeling very well, this is the feeling of thirst and starvation.
"Why am I feeling this way? Wasn't I supposed to be dead? What the hell is going on!".
When I heard my voice, I staggered in surprise and covered my mouth. This voice wasn't mine, this was a voice of a child. I looked at my hands and felt my face, this was not me. I couldn't feel any of the scars I had on my body, my skin was fairer than it used to be and my body felt very small. My movements were very jerky and uncoordinated, it felt like my body was crammed into a smaller-sized box. My mind was unable to cope with all this new formation and I started feeling dizzy. I made my way to a stagnant puddle and looked at my reflection in the murky water.
It was a boy who was not older than 5 years of age. He had very shaggy dark black hair which covered his eyes. I pushed my hair over my head and was awestruck. His face had its childish cuteness, but it had a handsomeness an immature body shouldn't possess. It was something straight out of the cover illustrations of some of the novels that I had seen. The eyes were a striking yellow that lured you like a moth to a flame, but I still felt the same emptiness in them like I felt before I 'died'.
I was still trying to make sense of the situation I was in when I heard a woman shout.
"Lucan! Lucan! Where are you? Lucan, my baby... please be safe, please be safe" she was shouting with tears falling down her cheek.
As soon as she saw me crouching near the muddied puddle she ran with all her might and hugged me in her arms.
"Thank god you are safe! What were you thinking? You know that this place is dangerous. Did the other children bring you here? What did they do to you? Are you okay?" She was questioning.
When I saw her face, I felt a sudden pain in my head. I felt an influx of memories flood into my brain, but I was confused because none of these memories were mine. My mind suddenly collapsed under the stress and I was about to blackout.
"Lucan! Lucan!" I heard as my eyes were closing.
When I opened my eyes again I saw a ceiling I didn't recognize. When I was sleeping I saw some weird dreams, it was about the boy named Lucan. I gathered all the information I could from these memories and slowly came to understand what happened to me.
I am certain that I died. 'I' as in Souta Konue. My injuries were too severe to be healed and it was a Herculean task to save me from death. The 'me' now was a boy named Lucan, he was apparently an abandoned child and was picked up by Mariam, the woman who was searching for him, out of sympathy. She was a prostitute in the red-light district of the city but according to Lucan's memories she was very kind and caring even with her circumstances, she had taken care of Lucan like a mother would and would shield him from the debauchery and vileness of his surroundings to the best of her abilities. Lucan also cared for her dearly and it was his wish to leave the red-light district and live a normal life with her. His wishes wouldn't come true though, it seems he was also bullied for some reason, the kids in the slums would always call him a certain name, but I didn't know what it Is. These kids didn't have a sense of morality either, so they were very harsh and physical with the bullying. So much so that on this particular day they were beating him ruthlessly by the sewage dump. They were shouting the same thing again and again, but I couldn't understand what it meant. The leader of the pack had a clear look of disgust as he was beating Lucan up, it was as if he was looking at an ugly monster. He was ruthless in his hits and it seemed like he was consumed by disgust.
Lucan's mind was all over the place at this moment, all his memories flashed in front of me at that moment. It felt like I went through thousands of emotions in a single instant. Anger, fear and rage but at the same instant, I could feel gratitude, hope and most importantly love. He felt gratitude and love towards Miriam who cared for him like a mother and hoped to live a simple and serene life outside of the slums with her. The last thing I felt was was also one of the emotions I didn't have the ability to feel - regret.
It was at that moment I realized something, I had always heard that your life flashes before your life when you die, that you see your most important moments in life. I thought it was a lie because it was not the case for me but that was because I did not live a life worth living. Lucan had dreams and aspirations, he could feel emotions and make choices and now in the final moments of his life, he also feels regret. Regret about not talking to Miriam again, not being to tell her how grateful he was and not being able to fulfill his dreams of leaving the slums with her. It was an abrupt and anticlimactic death, but unlike mine which had no consequence to the world, his death had meaning, it was unfortunate but at least he made memories worth remembering.
As his legacy, he left his memories which normally no one would be able to see but I had the opportunity to do so since I was now in his body. Nobody will grieve his death because nobody will believe he died but as the inheritor of his legacy, it was my duty to do so.
"W-what happened? why is Lucan slumping," said one of the boys who was one of the people beating him.
"He is dead, I killed him!" said the leader.
"What! we were only supposed to scare him, why would you kill him".
"What do you mean why, you know he has the abilities just like the 'Heretic'. He was a monster, it was our duty to kill him. I saw it in my dreams" the leader replied.
"I know that but the others don't. If we don't get out of here we will be found out, we need to run away" the boy replied.
The kids hurriedly ran away leaving Lucan to his death. I didn't know what they meant by heretic and abilities but that was apparently the reason Lucan was killed. Maybe the abilities they were referring to was how I was brought here, They said Lucan was a monster but I couldn't see anything in his memories which indicated as such and the leader also said something about seeing a dream, something was very wrong here.
I don't know if it's my luck or misfortune and I don't know what this world is and how it works. I don't even know what awaits me in the future but I have been given a chance at a new life. One where I could become truly strong, one where I could dream and aspire, one where I could become normal, one where I can feel the emotions that everyone feels. Souta Konue was a miserable person with nothing but misfortune in his destiny, but Lucan had the privilege to dream and to fight his destiny. He could not achieve his goals but maybe that was the reason I was sent here. If I could not have my own dreams then I could at least help others have theirs, and through it, I might be able to find my purpose and become my own person.
Souta Konue is dead but 'I' am still alive. Lucan is dead but 'I' am still alive.
For both of these people, I will live. I will not be bound by my misfortunes. I will forge my destiny and understand my purpose. I am neither Lucan nor Souta anymore, I will live for the sake of these people. One who couldn't dream and the other who couldn't achieve them. Unlike them, I won't be bound by my circumstances. I will destroy the path my circumstances have set for me and make my own path, no matter how long it takes.
I will live for Souta, I will live for Lucan and I will live for her...