Subaru Natsuki opened his eyes.
Once again, the sky was that dull, oppressive lead-gray.
The same sky as countless times before, after each of his many deaths.
Is this it? Am I dead again…?
If that's the case, then I must be back at that cursed graveyard… huh?
Subaru Natsuki sat up, staring blankly at the square in front of him. One side of the square was a cliff, and the other three sides were lined with dense rows of gravestones. In the center, a massive coffin with its lid slightly raised revealed half of its contents, with a towering tree growing from the top, its twisted roots crawling out of the ground and wrapping around the three walls of the square.
Beside the massive coffin, on the rock wall, there was a terrifying large pit and a pile of broken stones.
This scene… it was so familiar.
Or perhaps it was impossible not to be familiar. If he was the prisoner, and Guda was the executioner, then this place was where he had been executed countless times before.
This was the burial ground where his bones had been buried countless times. How could he not remember it so vividly?
But something felt off this time...
Subaru Natsuki rolled on the ground, quickly getting to his feet, drawing the long sword from his back, and cautiously scanning his surroundings.
Empty.
The same execution ground, yet the executioner was nowhere to be seen.
Only a campfire was quietly burning in the center of the square.
"I… didn't I fail?"
No… that's not right.
As he looked at the familiar yet strange scene, an unbelievable possibility slowly began to take shape in his mind.
He had won.
In that tug-of-war between life and death, he had won.
With his broken, exhausted body, he had defeated that god-like giant.
When his brain processed this conclusion, Subaru Natsuki's first reaction wasn't joy, but confusion.
How did I do it?
Even in his prime, facing Guda would have left him half-dead, barely even able to inflict serious damage. But now, somehow… he had won?
With his remaining left hand, holding the cracked sword, had he killed that monster?
Subaru Natsuki crouched down, holding his head.
He couldn't find that part of the memory.
The last thing he remembered was grabbing the broken sword and charging toward that god-like figure.
He had surrendered his body completely to the desire for slaughter within him.
But what happened after that?
As he pondered, his gaze fell on a broken short sword lying on the ground.
He reached out to pick it up. The blade was shattered beyond recognition, only a small piece remained, less than an inch long. The hilt was cracked in every direction, and when Subaru gripped the hilt, it crumbled to pieces.
The brutality of the battle could be seen in that weapon.
What had happened in that lost part of his memory?
Subaru Natsuki rested one hand on his forehead, trying to clear his thoughts.
At that moment, his peripheral vision caught a few sparks on his armor.
He instinctively jumped up, intending to brush the flames away, only to be stunned to find that there were tiny flames flickering on the back of his hand as well.
But there was no pain.
Subaru Natsuki flipped his hand over and saw the same tiny sparks rising from his palm.
What is this?
Subaru lightly touched the sparks. It felt warm, almost like he was touching some soft jade. As the flames flickered, there seemed to be an unknown power flowing within them.
That's right, power.
Subaru's gaze lingered on his right hand.
Slowly, he clenched his fist.
Step back, twist his waist, turn, lead with his shoulder, punch.
His fist tore through the air, letting out a sharp screech as it struck the rock wall.
With a muffled thud, a hole the size of a grinding disk appeared on the rock wall, the cracks spreading out in every direction, eventually connecting with the previous crack made by Guda's impact.
With a "crack," more stones detached from the already battered wall, falling to the ground, some landing dangerously close to Subaru's feet.
But Subaru paid no attention to them. He was staring at his hand in a daze.
This is… the power of fire?
It's truly beautiful.
Thinking that, Subaru turned his gaze toward the campfire nearby.
He could feel the same kind of power burning within him, emanating from the flames.
How powerful.
...
Subaru Natsuki rested his chin in his hand, sitting cross-legged before the campfire, staring at it blankly.
The power of the flames made his soul restless.
But he couldn't draw anything from it.
How strange. He had never thought of fire as something good.
Sure, the protagonists in those anime used fire to kill their enemies and it looked cool, but even so, Subaru never considered fire to be something positive.
Whether it was war, execution by fire, fire disasters, or cremation… fire always meant deprivation, destruction, death.
What normal human would long for fire?
No wonder, perhaps now he's not human anymore.
It makes sense. What kind of normal human could revive infinitely?
Recalling Guda's title, Subaru couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.
Now, it seemed, he was probably what they called "ash."
He sighed, feeling a bit lost.
How is it that a perfectly normal, scientifically-educated 21st-century young man suddenly becomes… not human?
Shaking his head, Subaru stopped those aimless thoughts.
Forget the fire's power hidden in the campfire. Subaru noticed something interesting.
He slowly stood up, reaching out toward the hilt of the spiral sword stuck in the center of the fire.
The moment his fingers brushed the hilt, the surrounding space became hazy, and yellow mists filled the area in just a few breaths before quickly dissipating.
And after that...
An arrow of fire flew past Subaru's face.
A wicked smile spread across Subaru's face. He grabbed the long sword by his side and charged at the skeletons attacking him from the doorway.
A few minutes later, Subaru returned, a long sword now hanging from his waist. He reached out again to touch the hilt of the spiral sword embedded in the fire.
How interesting. Just touching the hilt of the sword revived the undead he had killed, healed all his wounds, erased his fatigue from the battle, and even refilled his empty elemental flask with liquid.
But that wasn't all.
Every time he revived, the undead he had slain would return, fully restored, to where they had fallen, leading Subaru to believe that every time he died, time was reversed, like reloading a save in a game. But now, it seemed, that wasn't the case.
Because Guda had truly been killed by him, and he had not revived.
Subaru Natsuki found a rusty spiral sword next to the campfire—identical to the one lodged in the flames.
This world is so strange.
The rules of this world were bizarre, contradictory, and defied logic. Yet, there were some familiar patterns hidden within. It was unlike reality, but not quite like a dream either… it was just…
Forget it.
Subaru sighed.
No matter how strange the rules of this world were, what good would pondering them do for him right now?
Could it make him stronger? Could it make him immortal? Could it return him to his original world?
Clearly, no.
So, the task at hand was clear.
Subaru Natsuki turned his gaze toward the stone door in the distance, his left hand resting on the long sword at his waist.
Time to hit the road