Kosuke found himself suspended in an endless void, a space devoid of light, sound, or any tangible sensation. He floated in the nothingness, his body weightless as if he were adrift in a boundless sea of darkness. The emptiness stretched out infinitely in every direction, with no horizon, no up or down, no sense of time passing. The only thing Kosuke could feel was the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, the one reminder that he was still alive. His thoughts drifted aimlessly, the silence around him amplifying the noise in his mind. Every question, every doubt, every fear echoed through the void, bouncing off unseen walls and returning to him tenfold.
In this emptiness, Kosuke's sense of self began to blur. With nothing to anchor him, he started to lose track of who he was, where he came from, or what had led him to this place. Memories flickered in and out, like distant stars blinking in the night sky—too far away to grasp. He tried to call out, but his voice was swallowed by the void, leaving only the hollow sensation of words unspoken. The isolation was suffocating, pressing down on him despite the absence of any physical force. Yet, in the back of his mind, a faint spark of determination remained, a tiny light in the overwhelming darkness.
"This is really a drag... why couldn't I just die. Just fade away into nothingness."
Kosuke sat there, hoping that his life would just end.
Days stretched into months, and months into years. He felt like he had been stuck in this state for an eternity. He tried counting to past the time, making it to a trillion before he realized that it was insanely boring to count in a void. So instead he tried to talk to himself in his head. That made him feel like a crazy person, and nothing was worse than being crazy.
"I would kill to be back in the office.."
You would think he had been in there for over a century, but all of one day had passed. He tried to move his body, be
In that day, Kosuke's thoughts had cycled through every emotion imaginable—fear, anger, despair, acceptance, and finally, a numbness that settled over him like a shroud. He had long since stopped trying to understand where he was or how he had come to be there. Instead, he focused on surviving the mental strain of absolute isolation. The silence was deafening, the absence of stimuli maddening, and yet he remained, tethered to this place by something he couldn't quite comprehend. There were moments when he could barely remember his own name, the void having consumed so much of what made him who he was. But even in his darkest moments, a flicker of willpower kept him anchored, a tiny spark that refused to be extinguished despite the overwhelming emptiness that threatened to swallow him whole.
Light.
Kosuke felt like he had just been reborn, like he was a whole new person. But his time in the void was hard from over. The light he was seeing was coming from something far away from him, but it allowed him to see. He could see darkness in every other direction but the one in which the light was coming from. He could hear loud noises that sounded like they came from large boots coming from the direction the light was in.
"Huh, is someone coming to see me? But how?"
Kosuke's mind throbbed with pain. These unfamiliar concepts felt like bioweapons, assaulting the very fabric of his consciousness. They were potent—potent enough to obliterate a person's sanity. Kosuke, despite the surreal nature of his predicament, felt an instinctive urge to flee from the approaching light. He was still human, after all, and every fiber of his survival instincts screamed at him to escape whatever was advancing toward him, something that seemed utterly undeterred by the infinite void.
In an instant, the figure was before him. The man had long white hair, adorned with markings that traced patterns across his face. His black boots were so dark they blended seamlessly with the void, as if they had been forged from it. The man's expression was merciless, his gaze cutting through Kosuke like a blade, filled with disdain, as though he were nothing more than trash.
"You survived... It seems you weren't just relying on raw talent after all."
Kosuke tried to respond, but as he opened what might have been his mouth, it was forcibly clamped shut, a throbbing vein pulsing on the man's forehead, silencing him with a mere glance.
Kosuke struggled to gather his thoughts, the pressure of the void and the intensity of the man's presence making it hard to focus. His mind raced, questions bubbling up only to be suppressed by the overwhelming sense of danger emanating from the figure before him. The man's aura was oppressive, like a heavy fog that stifled Kosuke's breath and thoughts.
"I don't recall giving you permission to speak," the man said, his voice cold and sharp, slicing through the silence of the void. He took a step closer, his boots making no sound against the nonexistent ground, yet the weight of his presence grew heavier. "You should be grateful I even allowed you to exist this long."
Kosuke's eyes widened, a mix of fear and confusion swirling within him. Who was this man? And what did he mean by "allowed to exist"? The questions swirled in his mind, but he dared not voice them, not under the searing gaze of this stranger.
"You don't belong here," the man continued, his tone unwavering. "Tch, but that much potential.. even I have to admit that you are strong for someone born from a Lower World."
The man seemed deep in thought, and Kosuke had no choice but to sit there and listen to his every word. It would decide his fate. Although, somewhere deep inside, Kosuke wanted to ask to return back to his old life, to get back to the office. To go back to his routine. But he didn't want to feel that aura again, so he sat tight and watched as the man's mouth opened.
"Perhaps there is more to your existence than mere chance," the man continued, his tone now more measured, almost contemplative. "In this void, you have been tested, stripped of everything, yet you remain. That is not something to be ignored."
Kosuke watched him carefully, the fear that had gripped him slowly being replaced by a cautious curiosity. What was this man leading up to? What did he want from him?
"I have an offer for you," the man said, his eyes narrowing as he focused on Kosuke. "You do not belong in this void, and remaining here will only erode what little remains of your essence. But, I can give you a second chance—a new beginning."
Kosuke's heart skipped a beat. A new beginning? What could that mean?
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