As the swirling vortex of the multiverse settled, Kai found himself standing at the crossroads of destiny.
Memories of his past life flooded his mind, fragments of experiences and emotions merging with his present consciousness. The weight of two worlds knowledge and wisdom now rested on his shoulders.
"Ah, what the hell is wrong with this head of mine?" A boy who looked like he was 12 opened his eyes and found himself in the dense forest, in the middle of nowhere.
"In this new realm, where echoes of familiar universes intertwine, Kai, your awakening has marked a profound convergence of parallel dimensions. The boundaries between these realms had blurred, creating a tapestry of limitless possibilities for you."
"Who are you?" Given that Kai did remember being dead in that manner and that he appeared shaken when he opened his eyes, it was unclear how he had survived to be in this world.
"Wait, on the other hand, I am a human in this world, and I can definitely feel the power of nine different essences running within me."
A human can only have five elements and essences, but Kai from Eden had an additional four. His physical and spiritual bodies existed in this world as separate entities.
Within Kai's awakened consciousness, a presence stirred—a system that had slumbered deep within his soul. As if responding to his reawakening, the system materialized as an ethereal entity—an old man whose ancient wisdom seemed to emanate from every pore.
Beside him stood Irina, her spirit intermingling with the system, her loyalty and devotion guiding Kai's path.
"Welcome, young one." The old man's voice resonated with both warmth and authority. "I am the embodiment of the System of the Converged Realms, a guide to help you navigate this intertwined reality."
Kai's eyes widened in both surprise and curiosity.
The convergence of realms had granted him a unique power—one that would shape his destiny and allow him to traverse the boundaries of different dimensions.
He could feel the energy coursing through his veins—the limitless potential waiting to be tapped.
"This power within you, Kai, is a manifestation of the combined energies of multiple worlds," Irina explained, her voice infused with an otherworldly echo.
"As you explore this new reality, you will encounter diverse faces and challenges from the realms that intertwine here, and your actions will shape the fate of all who reside within."
The impact of their words was taken in by Kai, but as he tried to reach out and touch Irina's face while staring at her expressionless face, tears began to well up in his eyes.
However, it appeared as though an illusion had just passed through her body, and Kai's body erupted in raging rage as he vowed to return and exterminate the other him no matter what.
"Don't be like this master, but you should find a way to help me back; we still have that connection, you know."
As if a thread of her consciousness were still inside of him, it spoke to him and comforted him like a young boy before disappearing once more.
However, Kai was unable to respond to her final consciousness as she left this world because he was experiencing memories of this new body and was losing consciousness.
"Hmm! I will find a way to help you out of this world for sure." As he lost consciousness, his last words resounded in the deserted forest. "Master is here, Kai, Master Kai!"
"Bring him back; he is badly injured." The young boy's body was found next to a butler who held it tightly as he remembered the scream of wrath that had come from this location.
He was unsure if the master they had saved was the same one from before or not.
After all, the previous master had never experienced the kind of wrath and blistering essence he did during these three days, which is what caused him to grieve so deeply.
They quickly arrived at a medical facility bearing the name of their family, the Arima, after hailing a helicopter from the forest.
They immediately made the highest order to contact all the experts in the area.
"How long will it take for all of them to arrive here? It's already been a minute, and they haven't assembled yet."
The butler who had saved Kai appeared extremely enraged; at the time, Kai was dreaming of becoming Arima Kai, a young boy and the grandson of the most powerful organization in the nation of Japan.
"This is me; what a beautiful family, but they died in an accident, and I was brought by my grandfather a few weeks ago, so many family members did not agree with me being the next line of succession and tried to kill me."
"Okay, Arima Kai, you gave me your body, and hence I was able to live again. I will take your tag from here, but I am not sure if our real parent in this world is dead yet. Given that, there was no body at this accident site, plus they also must have unique abilities in this world for sure, so I cannot accept their death yet."
Kai decided to assume the mantle from the old self because it seemed as though he had been doing it his entire life. He also noticed a qualitative shift in his spirituality.
"He has woken up..."
When Kai opened his eyes the next moment, the clamor and footsteps that echoed through the room gave him a sense of familiarity before a figure with a lean build but great momentum entered the ward.
"Kai!" When Kai heard the old man's voice, it made him feel nostalgic.
He tried to sit up in bed so he could see the old man's face because he was the only member of his family still living in this world, according to the law.
Even though the old man was already 60 years old, he was still kicking alive in front of him like a warrior. The old man appeared to be in his forties, and perhaps this was because of the high life expectancy on this planet.
"Good that you are still hanging in like this old man, young man. Also, Kai, let me apologize to you for putting you in such a situation, even in this city."
Even though Kai was surprised, he still shook his head and asked his grandfather to look up because even if he were not to be involved in this world at such a young age, it was still a shock to him.
Old man Cologarithm would have attempted to murder him at some point sooner or later as a threat to the person who wants to inherit the wealth left behind.
Like his mother and father, who were not family members but were nevertheless murdered to prevent them from assuming any leadership roles in this family business.
"Ji-san, I don't mind, but now that I'm sure the person responsible for my family's murder is still among them, I'll stop at nothing to exact revenge."
Kai responded similarly because of his memories of a previous host who had been trapped inside and had gotten revenge, which made the old man smile.
"I know your reason to join my family, kid, but I was also hoping that someday you would turn to look at this old man too."
The old man patted Kai's shoulder and smiled as he did so. Kai turned to face his new family and nodded in response.
"Of course, I will take precaution and put my life first, given that it would really be sad to let an old man like you live a lonesome life like this." Old Arima was surprised, given that it was the first time that kid had spoken in such a calm manner and in such a tone.
That made his heart feel reassured as he looked at Kai with newly found adoration for him while thinking. "He is finally starting to change for good, Minami-san."
"Eh, a body of something dead has been found in the vicinity where the young master was. But the whole body was smashed into weird liquid and enormous energy."
"So, we are still trying to figure out what it i... it... is... eh!!! Creach..." "Argh!"
"Beep..." "Beep.." "Beep."
"Haha, kid did you really survived all that, what an interesting change."
To Be Continued...