"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘰."
____ Starting... ____
Somewhere within the ever-expanding cosmos, a certain planet exists. The people that live on this planet call it, Earth.
*crackle!*
*BOOM!*
Unfortunately, as beautiful as it was, that world is currently on its way to destruction. Lands filled with greens are now being shattered. Volcanos and Mountains that used to be an attraction are now erupting at the same time. The sea that used to serve as the source of life is now dying. And skies that were once a jewel, are now filled with stains of darkness.
To say that Earth had become the very image of what one would think of hell is, is pretty undeniable at this point. Fortunately though, or unfortunately, depending on how one can see it, no one is left to witness and experience this hellish scene anymore. Meaning, that for a lot of reasons, the people or any living beings that used to occupy this world are not there anymore.
As of now, they are all... gone already.
Actually, except for one. Cause in a certain part of the planet where the nation called Japan used to exist, a certain guy can be seen. He is lying down on the ground while silently gazing at the darkened sky.
This guy is Yuki. The sole survivor, and the only one that was left to witness the world as it met its final moments.
But a survivor he might be, branding him alive is quite a stretch really, one might say. Cause currently, even though his expression doesn't make it obvious, his chest, has a gaping hole big enough to fit an entire hand in there. And to make his situation much worse, as if it wasn't already, his right arm and the entirety of his lower body are also missing.
A bloody mess, that's one way to explain his current situation.
To make the long story short, he was now as good as dead. And the only thing that was keeping him alive right now even though a lot of his blood was lost and his heart wasn't there anymore, was due to a strange energy he possessed called 'Aura'.
To explain what the Aura is, it's a complicated but strong source of energy that Yuki has full control over. He can use it in unique and various ways, enough to make him stand toe to toe with this world's strongest beings, making him one of the strongest in the process.
But alas, all this feat doesn't mean much when you are finally nearing death's door.
*sigh*
Yuki could only sigh as he noticed that his Aura reserves, is depleting at a rapid pace. This isn't really a surprise though because normally, using Aura as a substitute life source isn't the best idea. One of the reasons why that's the case is because it consumes so much Aura.
But of course, given Yuki's situation, it's not like he has much choice. At this point, he could do nothing anymore other than control his Aura as efficiently as he could to minimize the consumption of the technique he's currently using.
Allowing him to stay alive much longer.
"Roughly five minutes... I guess that's the best I could do." Yuki laughingly muttered to himself as, after making a quick calculation, he found out that he was just a couple of minutes away from seeing the other side.
Though, given the severity of the current situation, Yuki wasn't actually scared or angry. At least not so much, cause his frustrations alone... overpowered all those emotions combined. And he could only sigh as he started remembering the thing that frustrated him the most in the past.
"If only that guy didn't die, this world would not have ended like this."
Well, this world, even though it was filled with strong humans called heroes, Yuki being one of them... turns out it's still not enough to defend against much stronger beings that seek nothing but chaos. Originally, this world has someone who balances everything out. Someone who serves as the beacon of hope when all hope seems lost.
And that person is a hero who's destined to be named, Cape Baldy... or commonly known as Saitama, probably the strongest being in existence.
But due to Yuki's very presence, in addition to what everyone called a butterfly effect, an unfortunate accident happened and Saitama, died. It really isn't Yuki's fault or anything, but the fact that he existed in a place where he shouldn't be at a very crucial time, unexpected things like this are bound to happen in one way or another.
Obviously, Yuki didn't realize this immediately, but upon becoming aware of it, he was alarmed, shocked, and horrified, he felt all that at the same time. This is a pretty reasonable response given that Yuki knows what kind of world this is and the future it's leading to, and thinking all of that without Saitama is terrifying to imagine indeed.
His existence basically doomed this world. At least, that's what Yuki thought to himself.
That's why he wasted no time and immediately train his ass off for the next set of years in order to become strong enough to somewhat fill the gap that Saitama left in this world.
In hopes that he can be strong enough to be the new beacon of hope for the humanity of this world.
He gave his all to do just that, trying to fulfill the role, even though deep inside he wanted nothing but to live his life comfortably. Like setting up a small and humble restaurant in some city outskirts, being the man far from the spotlight.
But what can he do, given the abnormality of his existence, and his knowledge of the future, he doesn't have much choice, does he?
Fortunately, he succeeds in doing that. It took him quite some time but after all those years of hard work, he managed to become strong. Strong enough to be hailed as... the strongest HERO even.
A title that cannot be taken lightly given how ridiculous a person can be in this world.
But still, given such an impressive feat, looking at the current state of the world he's in, even though he already gave everything he had, the ultimate result is pretty obvious.
He still failed... miserably so.
His friends, his colleagues, his family... basically everyone he knows, died in front of him one by one as the war against beings that wish for their demise goes on. He simply could not do anything about it given all the strength he possess.
The war goes on and on, and the number of deaths keeps piling up. Sooner, due to someone's noble sacrifice, they managed to miraculously gain the upper hand and finally finish this never-ending war but, as one can see, no victor was left to celebrate... the aftermath of that entire battle was just, completely irreversible.
But, given all that had happened, right now, other than his great frustration, Yuki wasn't feeling any negative emotions anymore. He can't explain why but the moment he plunged his blade down into God's body, who is basically the source of this world's chaos, all his hatred disappeared and all that's left is... pure satisfaction, weirdly enough.
Satisfaction with the fact that, before he goes out, he manages to actually fulfill his duty as the Strongest Hero. The duty that was entrusted to him by everyone.
As twisted as it is, to say that Yuki started fighting just for the sake of that very duty and not to avenge his fallen allies or to save the world is kinda true in some sense actually. Given that he felt satisfaction by solely putting an end to this never-ending chaos despite the horrible outcome of it.
This just shows how the title of the strongest deeply shackled his entire personality.
Though, it's not like any of that matters. Not now anymore at least.
*cough!*
*cough!*
Now that everything is finally over, feeling nearing death, Yuki unconsciously started reminiscing all the things that happened to him throughout the years he lived here.
From the start of it all when he got reincarnated here after dying in his original world.
To the things that happened after that like training his ass off with no brakes to become stronger. Defeating his first group of Monsters. Being scouted by the Hero Association, and then later being ranked as the newest S-rank Hero. Befriending some of the Heroes and hanging out with them every once in a while. Fending off a bunch of assassins. Dealing with politics... Falling in love.
And so on.
"Hah... Those were the good days," Yuki muttered while wearing a satisfied smile as he finished reminiscing. Unironically giving the signal that he's finally ready.
Cause a moment after that, the inevitable finally happened.
*shaaa~*
His Aura Reserves were finally exhausted.
At that moment, Yuki could not even react as the light in his eyes, just flatly disappeared.
"..."
No more last moments, no nothing. The moment his Aura disappeared, which was the only thing that was keeping him alive, his body instantly shut down. He did not even manage to close his eyes.
His body was just left there, staring at the darkened sky, forced to watch the world as it met its end.
So, as abrupt as it is, at this moment, the last hero of humanity, after years of continuous pain and suffering, passed away and finally found his peace.
Now he can finally rest...
(Press F for our boi.)
Or so he thought.
Cause right after Yuki's last breath left his body, as confusing as it was, he suddenly found himself standing in a familiar white space. And in front of him, another weirdly familiar figure appeared.
And before he could even ask what was happening or where he was, that figure suddenly opened his arms wide and with a broad smile...
"Welcome back."
He gave him a hug.
"Huh."
He couldn't even react, it was all too sudden.
He was about to push the man away, rightfully so because it's weird to be hugged out of nowhere, especially after you just died. But at that moment, unexpectedly, waves of memory suddenly flooded his brain, leaving his body unable to move.
In fact, had it not been for the figure that was hugging him, he would have fallen straight to the ground.
It took him quite a while before he finally got ahold of himself, another while to fully comprehend what just happened to him, and another while for more things and another more after that BUT, after ALL of that, he can finally say with full confidence that he finally remember and understood everything that is happening.
Only just then, the now familiar figure released him from his bear-tight hug and looked at Yuki with a smiling face.
In response to that, Yuki could only say one thing.
"Umm... I'm back I guess."