A/N: Important things explaination chapter coming up in 2 chapters. Continue reading normally, and you will reach it, so don't worry if you don't understand certain terms or Names.
It was a white world, a dense snow falling from the sky, covering everything for as far as the eye could see.
There, in the forest, on the snow, lied a tall, man wearing a blue Hakama and Kataginu, seemingly dead, as logically, no being could survive the cold winter, in such clothes.
A comically large snow leopard stalks him, and pounces at him from the trees, its claws gleaming from the reflecting sun's rays, thinking that it was lucky, to find some food without having to put any effort. Just as it was about to land upon the man, ready to turn him into its next meal...
*Whoosh-BOOM*
*Slam*
... A wave of bluish-black energy and lightning exploded out of the dead man's body, slamming into the snow leopard, and sending it flying into a tree, knocking it unconscious instantly, the snow getting disturbed from the impact, and covering the beast, its life or death unknown.
The same wave of energy creates a large, circular area around the man with no snow, as if, the snow itself fled from the man...
*Sometime later... at dusk*
The man, seemingly dead, suddenly opened his eyes.
"Urgh... hmm? A full moon... it is magnificent. I wish I had some Sake!"
"...No matter... it seems that the being wasn't lying. I really have been re-incarnated... no. He said I was 'transmigrated'. Perhaps it means I wasn't born into a new life, but just entered it abruptly, and with my memories intact... how interesting! But does that mean that I've been cut off from the Cycle of Samsara? Maybe I should have been a monk in Senpou Temple, then I might've had the answers... who am I trying to fool, that doesn't suit me! Foolish monks, set on becoming immortal, straying from teachings of Buddha, only to become infested by insects, living a hollow life." muttered the man to himself.
But then, he noticed.
"Oh?! My sight! My body! The eye that I lost in the rebellion, against General Tamura... I've got it back! And my body no longer hurts from all the injuries from the war and age. My body has been reverted back to its prime!" Isshin exclaimed, as he sat up looking thorough even his now good eye, marveling at his now restored body.
"I even have the Second Mortal Blade, my gun and my spear! My restored eyesight and body, are all of these the gift that he mentioned?" he thought, looking at the weapons that accompanied him for most of his life as he clenched his hand, suddenly feeling a rope.
"Hm? What's this?... This is?! The Gourd of Rejuvenating Waters! With all 10 gourd seeds!" he exclaimed, looking at the Healing Gourd in wonder, as he notices a note attached to it.
*Note: Refills every 3 days or upon rest.*
Upon reading it, the notes turned into motes of light, disappearing into the sky.
"This must be the gift you mentioned. I am grateful. It truly is better than Dragonspring Sake!"
"Now, it is time. I need to find some food to eat, or I will starve before I even have a fight." he chuckled to himself, finding it ironic that a few days ago, he never had to worry about the lack of food with hundreds of cooks and servers, but now, he had to do everything himself.
*A little while later, a bonfire burns, roasting a large, delicious piece of meat on it.*
"It seems I was lucky to have found an unconscious snow leopard, just in time. For some reason though, it feels like an enemy... it matters no more now."
' Eating like this... it reminds me of the old days, all of our comrades sitting in front of the flame, sharing food and stories, fools trying to steal Sake...' he mused, as he bit into the now roasted meat, enjoying his meal.
...
"That was a good meal." He put out the flame with a wave of his sleeve, as he jumped onto the branch of a tree, lying down on it, as he sipped on the waters of the Healing Gourd, looking at the beautiful full moon that adorned the sky.
"I truly regret not having some Sake with me. The water's not bad, but it is no Sake. I wish I had atleast some Unrefined Sake... I should find human settlement soon, this can go no longer." Deciding that, he watched the moon.
'Little girl... I trust you are safe. I believe that Sekiro will protect you. However, I miss your constant nagging already... Emma, I hope you live a fulfilling life, now that you are no longer attached to a dying, old man.'
"I wonder, is Ashina safe? Or was it destroyed in the flames of war? More importantly, would Emma and Sekiro have a child? They are of the same age... how frustrating. I want to see that child now. Kuhahaha! I truly am an old man! But not anymore... it is time to leave the past in the past, and look into the future. Such is the way of life. To a New Life!" he exclaimed, lifting his bottle towards the moon, before finally falling asleep, the forest quiet, and white, white snow drizzling down from the sky.
A/N: So this will probably be the size of future chapters, it might be a little small, bit I don't want to drag out words, aiming to hit like 1000 or 2000 words, milestones like that. I tried to do those before in another novel, but I quickly lost interest due to that. So I'll be writing as much as I want.
But, if you guys feel the chapters are still too small, reply to this asking for longer chapters, and if enough people ask, I might, MIGHT, increase the word count.
Also, I am curious, how did a couple of people already find this novel? It's not even been a day since I started publishing this book, and there are already a couple of comments. How curious.
Finally, please donate powerstones, and write reviews and comments. It encourages me, tells me that there are real people reading this novel, not just bots. Thank you. Byeeeee