Natsuki Subaru sat dumbfounded on the massive stone coffin, staring blankly at the lead-gray sky.

The clouds were dull and lifeless, drifting with the wind, as if they were about to die, much like the world that was gradually heading toward its decay.

But Natsuki Subaru didn't care. He wasn't concerned with whether this strange world would disappear or not.

He only wanted to go home.

Even if it was just to once again experience the comfortable feeling of sitting on the toilet and relieving himself, he wanted to return.

At the very least, he could make do with the world he had crossed into before.

No toilet? Fine, but at least he could relive the familiar sensation of relief.

No, no, no. Maybe, in fact, the feeling of eating should be what he misses more, right?

Although he could drink the strange yellow liquid in the Elemental Bottle, which looked a bit like orange juice, it was only used to heal wounds and recover stamina. It didn't have any taste. Compared to that, even plain water seemed exceptionally sweet.

So, he really wanted to switch to another world. Even if it was just for an apple... Wait, something seems off?

The reason he wanted to return to the previous world should have been to save someone, right?

Yes, yes, he had been so desperate to save her.

She was supposed to be a very beautiful girl.

Her name was... what?

Natsuki Subaru slapped his face with all his strength, fear spreading in his heart.

"Why... Why am I here? What happened in the previous world? Who was I supposed to save...?"

He realized.

His memories were slowly fading away.

Was it because of his earlier deaths?

Natsuki Subaru's gaze wandered past the winding road ahead and the twisted, dead tree branches on the roadside, looking into the distance.

—Towards the direction of the square.

Half an hour ago, he had died for the thirteenth time in that square.

Yes, that's right. He had, indeed, died thirteen times.

..................

Natsuki Subaru, male, a typical high school student born on the third planet from the sun—Earth, with an extremely ordinary family.

To roughly describe his seventeen years of life, one sentence would probably suffice: "A high school dropout in his senior year."

When faced with decisions like whether to continue studying or enter the workforce, people must make choices, and everyone refers to these sudden demands as "life." But what he was a little better at than others was escaping things he hated. As a result, he began skipping more and more classes, and by the time he realized it, he had become the type of student who made his parents weep—someone with "school phobia."

But none of that mattered now, did it?

After crossing into this world, he could never see his parents again, could he?

It was probably a day ago... or maybe two or three days ago, or even a week—it's impossible to tell time in this world, as there's no sunrise or sunset. All he knew was that he had bought some snacks at a convenience store, and then he crossed over.

Yes, that's right. It was that casual. No lightning strike, no car accident—he simply bought snacks at a convenience store and then crossed over.

If he remembered correctly, after the crossover, he appeared in a bustling marketplace in another world, and it was there that he met someone he wanted to help—someone he swore to save.

And then he died.

What happened in between? How did he die? What happened to that person?

He didn't know.

All the memories related to that had vanished, with no way to trace them.

If he remembered correctly, his memories should have been intact when he first arrived in this second world.

But after repeated deaths, his memories of the past began to fade, and by the seventh time... perhaps, including the death in the previous world, after the eighth death, he had forgotten the girl's face. And finally, after his thirteenth death, even her name was forgotten.

The only thing he couldn't forget was the pain he felt each time he died.

Natsuki Subaru remembered that in the first world, when he was nearly cleaved in half at the waist, lying on the cold floor, desperately reaching out to grab the girl's hand, when he thought he had died—

When he opened his eyes again, he was staring at that lead-gray sky.

Unlike the last time, when he appeared directly on the street, this time, he woke up inside a stone coffin, and naturally, he was in a graveyard.

Though no one told him, it was clear that no place other than a graveyard would have so many tombstones scattered across the land.

With no knowledge of his surroundings, he followed the only path ahead, and after a few steps, he encountered the first human being since his second crossing.

No, perhaps that couldn't be called a human.

When Natsuki Subaru asked where he was, the "person" turned around, revealing a face as pale as a desiccated corpse. Where the eyes should have been, there were only two deep sockets, with the features nearly unrecognizable, leaving only a layer of shriveled skin.

That was certainly not a human being, not even a living creature—it was merely a soulless corpse that refused to fall.

Startled by such a horrifying face, Natsuki Subaru immediately tried to flee.

But he lost all his strength.

Along with the terrifying face, a rusted long sword appeared, and despite its age, it was enough to kill him.

All the strength drained from his body as blood spurted from his wounds.

Naturally, Natsuki Subaru met his death once again.

So simple.

So sudden.

And so absurd.

Life was that fragile.

Just when he thought he had wasted his second chance at reincarnation and would never wake up again, he opened his eyes, and once again, the familiar lead-gray sky greeted him.

That lifeless sky.

After being resurrected again, terrified of dying again, he couldn't take another step. He chose to stand still.

But he couldn't find another way out; aside from the narrow path, every other direction was a sheer cliff.

Helpless, even if the path ahead led to hell, this was the only road he had.

He could only move forward.

Before proceeding, however, he carefully searched the stone coffin where he had woken up and found a peculiar bottle filled with suspicious yellow liquid in an inconspicuous corner.

Staring at the strange bottle, a phrase suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"The dark green bottle, a treasure for the immortals."

"By accumulating elemental power around the campfire, drinking it will restore health."

"Since ancient times, immortals have wandered between campfires, and the elemental bottles have traveled with them."

Dark green? Natsuki Subaru rubbed his eyes and looked again at the bottle, confirming that it was indeed orange-yellow.

Could this be the legendary life potion?

He carefully put the elemental bottle away.

Then, he found a set of knight's full armor, a long sword, and a metal shield in the stone coffin.

Gripping the long sword, Natsuki Subaru looked up at the surrounding cliffs, and a sudden realization struck him.

If he wanted to find a way out, he would likely have to carve one with the sword in his hand.

Become stronger, fight his way out, or stay weak and die here.

Sounds just like one of those crossover stories, doesn't it?

Recalling the experiences of protagonists in the comics he once read, Natsuki Subaru's palms grew sweaty as he gripped the sword. A sense of excitement filled him, and for a moment, he even forgot the excruciating pain and bone-deep fear he had felt in his previous deaths.

Yeah, this was Natsuki Subaru—a delusional, somewhat childish dreamer, who always imagined himself to be the protagonist.

As a protagonist, it was inevitable to face some hardships, right? Surely, he could overcome them.

With that thought in mind, Natsuki Subaru gripped the sword and walked down the winding path.

Even though, very soon, he would realize just how naive and childish he truly was.

Ahead, there was only death.

And only death.