My name is Kuse Hikaru. I was born into a poor family living in the slums of Tokyo. My father was an alcoholic who often resorted to violence against my mother and me. My mother, on the other hand, was a weak woman who resigned herself to her fate.

Every day, food was barely enough to sustain us. I often had to go without meals so my mother could have something to eat and survive another day. Despite her hardships and exhaustion, my mother worked tirelessly to send me to a rural school near our home. She achieved this even at the cost of sleeping with men every night to earn money or selling off many of her personal belongings.

At school, however, I was continuously bullied. My tattered clothes and the smell emanating from my unwashed body due to the lack of clean water made me a target for ridicule. Both students and teachers looked at me with disdain. The only thing that brought me happiness during my childhood was reading books. I would collect them from garbage bins or steal them from convenience stores because we rarely had any money. These books transported me to a world where I didn't have to suffer, even if only temporarily.

When I was fourteen years old, my mother passed away from a chronic illness that went untreated because our family couldn't afford medical care. My father sank even deeper into a cycle of violence and alcoholism. At that time, I had to take on multiple part-time jobs, from washing dishes to working in construction, to pay the rent, even though I was only fourteen.

No matter how hard I worked, I was often cheated out of my wages and faced the cruelty of employers who took advantage of a desperate teenager. Every night, I slept in a house filled with my father's angry ranting and, at times, had to run from his violent outbursts.

When I turned twenty, I finally moved out of the small rural home where I had spent the last twenty years of my life after my father passed away from liver cirrhosis. Although I escaped the cycle of violence, hardship continued to haunt me. Throughout my life, I tried to help others whenever I could because I believed that bringing happiness to others might be the only way for me to gain the acceptance I longed for.

At that point, I started volunteering in the community, helping underprivileged children and the poor. Yet, I remained invisible to the world. No matter how many good deeds I did, no one seemed to value what I contributed. Every sacrifice I made only served to reinforce how utterly meaningless my life seemed to be.

One night, as I was walking home, I saw a young girl about to be hit by a car. Without a moment's hesitation, I rushed to push her out of the car's path. The girl survived, but I was struck and killed.

In the final moments of my life, no one even remembered my name.

There wasn't even a word of thanks for what I had done.

My life ended in silence, leaving behind only loneliness and the lingering feeling that everything I had ever done was meaningless.

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"Do you wish to live?"

Amidst a world so dark that Hikaru couldn't even be sure whether his eyes were closed, a voice suddenly spoke.

The voice felt strangely familiar, radiating a warmth he had never experienced since the passing of his mother.

"Who wouldn't want to live?"

Hikaru replied, his voice tinged with weariness and an array of emotions—sorrow, resignation, despair, hope, anticipation, faith, and an unyielding struggle.

In this moment, he could only hope deep down that the voice wasn't merely a figment of his dying imagination… he yearned for a miracle.

"Heh, fitting, I suppose."

The voice spoke again, followed by a faint chuckle, as if amused by something.

"Then go. Go to a world where you can begin anew."

The moment those words were spoken, Hikaru felt an overwhelming force pulling and yanking his body backward.

Just before he lost consciousness, his eyes caught a glimpse of a faint, bluish-purple figure standing at the very edge of this endless darkness.

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On a cold winter night, Akagi Daisen, an elderly monk residing in an abandoned temple, heard the faint cries of an infant echoing through the valley.

Daisen followed the sound until he found a baby wrapped in thin cloth, placed at the temple's entrance.

Setting his lantern gently beside him, he knelt and lifted the small, fragile body into his arms, cradling it to provide warmth to the newborn life.

"This child… why have they been abandoned on such a cruel night?"

He gazed into the baby's crimson eyes before reaching out to gently touch its tiny head.

"These eyes… they are like an unlit flame, burning quietly in the darkness. How intriguing."

The infant stared back into the monk's dull gray eyes.

This newborn was none other than Hikaru, reincarnated into the body of a baby boy with jet-black hair and ruby-red eyes.

His skin was pale as the winter snow, and though his body was frail, it radiated a mysterious energy that the aged monk instinctively recognized as extraordinary.

Daisen gently caressed the baby's head with tenderness.

The monk's warm smile brought a sense of calm to Hikaru, whose consciousness had just descended into this infant body.

"Though your eyes resemble a blazing flame, I sense a serene stillness hidden within them… You are like a light shining in the darkness."

He lifted his gaze to the star-filled sky.

"Your name shall be… Hikaru (光)—the light that will bring hope to this world."

The monk's smile became etched into Hikaru's memory before he drifted into slumber.

Daisen wrapped his own cloak more tightly around the infant, ensuring its warmth. He walked back to the temple with deliberate care, speaking softly as he went.

"I will raise you myself… Whatever fate has brought you here, I shall see it through."

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Four years passed.

"Hikaru, it's time to eat," Daisen's voice echoed gently within the abandoned temple, now partially restored. Though it looked more like a shrine atop the mountain, it had regained some of its former charm under his care.

Inside the temple, bathed in the warm morning sunlight streaming through newly repaired wooden windows, Daisen was setting a simple meal on a low wooden table he had crafted himself. The aroma of freshly steamed rice and miso soup wafted through the air, filling the space with a comforting warmth.

Placing a small bowl of rice on the table, he glanced out to the temple courtyard, where Hikaru sat crouched, watching two squirrels play near the fledgling garden Daisen had recently planted.

"Hikaru, come eat!"

This time, Daisen's voice carried a touch more firmness—still kind but with an undertone of seriousness.

Hikaru, now about four years old, immediately looked up at the sound of his name. He replied in a calm but clear voice, "Yes, Uncle Daisen. I'm coming."

The boy stood, brushing the dust off his pants before making his way toward the temple at an unhurried pace.

Inside the quiet sanctuary, Hikaru and Daisen sat across from each other at the low wooden table. On the table were two bowls of rice, steaming miso soup, and a small dish of pickled vegetables arranged with simple care. Daisen picked up his chopsticks and began eating with calm deliberation. Across from him, Hikaru stared intently at the soup in his bowl, as if lost in thought.

Daisen looked up from his rice, noticing that Hikaru had yet to take a bite.

"Are you just going to keep staring at your soup, or are you going to eat? The rice will get cold," he said, gesturing toward the boy with his chopsticks and flashing a faint smile.

Startled, Hikaru quickly picked up his chopsticks.

"Yes, I'm eating now," he replied, taking a large bite of rice and chewing slowly. But his gaze kept drifting back to the soup, his mind seemingly preoccupied.

Daisen watched him for a moment before deciding to address the question that had lingered in his mind for some time.

Placing his chopsticks on the rim of his bowl, he leaned back slightly, his eyes fixed on the boy he had raised as his own.

"Hikaru... may I ask you something? Have you ever felt or seen anything unusual?"

Hikaru stopped chewing and looked up at Daisen, his crimson eyes filled with curiosity.

"Unusual? What do you mean, Uncle?"

Stroking his white beard thoughtfully, Daisen continued, his tone more serious now.

"Something others might not see… strange shadows, or the feeling that something is watching you."

Hikaru fell silent, his small brows furrowing in deep thought. After a moment, he replied hesitantly.

"Sometimes... I feel like there's something nearby, but I can't see it clearly. It's like a dark shadow, or sometimes the air feels colder around me."

He paused, his gaze dropping to the bowl of soup before him.

"But I don't know what it is… it's really strange."

Daisen nodded slowly, his expression not one of surprise but of quiet concern.

"I see... You must always stay cautious, Hikaru. What you see or feel may not come with friendly intentions."

His tone was steady, yet his eyes betrayed a seriousness he couldn't conceal.

Hikaru nodded lightly, still puzzled by Daisen's words but choosing not to press further.

"Yes, Uncle Daisen. I'll be careful."

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After finishing breakfast with Uncle Daisen, who was like a father to me in this world, I returned to my private quarters within the temple. This temple, which also served as a shrine for a small rural village in the Japanese countryside, had become my home.

My room was located in the quietest corner of the temple, offering a sense of privacy and tranquility perfect for resting and reflecting on the events of my life. As I sat on the tatami mat in my room, the soft morning sunlight streamed through the thin paper windows. The chirping of birds blended with the gentle rustling of the wind through the trees outside, creating a serene atmosphere that made me think about everything I had experienced so far.

"In this world, everything seems to move slowly, yet each step feels weighty. Uncle Daisen often says that living in the countryside allows one to truly feel the rhythm of time. But sometimes, I can't help but wonder... Is this truly what I want?"

My gaze drifted to a small wooden box in the corner of the room. Inside it were journals and small trinkets I had collected—reminders of my previous life and records of the four years I had spent in this new world.

"Waking up in this world without an answer to 'why' or 'for what purpose' feels like embarking on a journey without a destination. But Uncle Daisen always says that we don't need to know all the answers right away. Perhaps learning along the way is more important than finding the conclusion."

I let out a soft sigh before lying down on the tatami mat, my eyes fixed on the plain wooden ceiling above me. It was simple and unadorned, yet it gave the feeling that something deeper was hidden within.

"Maybe... this peace is the answer I've never known before..."

Amid the silence, as I lay on my back staring at the unembellished wooden ceiling, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, a translucent, glowing blue-black interface in the shape of a rectangle appeared before me, as if summoned from another dimension.

The screen was adorned with mysterious light patterns flowing intricately across it. Slowly, text began to materialize on the interface.

[Linking and Access System: Ready for Use]

I stared at the screen in bewilderment as more text began to scroll upward, revealing details that helped me grasp what was happening.

[Linking: This system allows the user to link themselves with characters from any anime world. Through linking, users can temporarily borrow powers, abilities, or special skills from those characters for a limited duration.]

[Power Points: Users can accumulate "Power Points" to extend the duration of borrowed powers. At the highest level, the system will permit users to permanently acquire those abilities.]

[Access: The system opens the gateway to the rules governing the worlds of linked characters. Users can summon these characters into their own world, where they will be entirely under the user's control.]

I remained frozen for a moment, whispering softly to myself,

"…What is this? What have I become?"

The glowing interface continued to hover in the air, its soft light casting faint shadows on the walls, while I began to feel an unfamiliar power awakening deep within me—a power I had never imagined I would possess in this new life.