My name is Satoru Satoshi, I'm a 38 year old Heart surgeon who lives in Kyoto, Japan. My life was like everyone else's, I wake up, skip breakfast, Work, play games if I have the energy and freedom to, and then sleep for the bare minimum amount of time needed to keep functioning with the help of caffeine. Nothing interesting or out of the ordinary had ever occurred in my life and maybe that's why I grew complacent…. Maybe that's why I ended up where I am now.
***
Earlier that night.
After performing surgery and cleaning everything, I decided to take a break. This kind of work, whether it's successful or not, takes a toll. I'm sure every doctor regardless of what they do specifically.. feels the same way. Having someone's life in your hands, only a select few maniacs would enjoy that kind of thing.
' Yeah.. I'll go get coffee and play my game for a bit before I go back. '
However, contrary to my plans, the game I've become quite fond of, has a huge update, even after updating I won't be able to play right away, I'll have to wait a few hours before server maintenance is complete.
Sigh
"Great, what am I supposed to do now?"
I started the update and placed the phone in my pocket, with a disappointed sigh. That's when a hand grabbed my shoulder and nearly made my heart jump out of my chest.
" ! "
However, when I turned, my initial surprise went away immediately as a young man smiling brightly like an excited puppy came into view.
"Hey Satoru-senpai, after work today, how about having ramen with me and some of our coworkers? We're going to karaoke!"
' The young man speaking to me here is my junior colleague, Isagi Satō. About 187cm tall, Dark brown medium length hair and a handsome face with hazel eyes. Honestly, with his looks and energetic personality it's no surprise that he's super popular around the office, especially with our female colleagues. '
Looking at the man who grabbed my shoulder and walked beside me like a puppy made me feel strange. I didn't bother shaking him off, I knew it wouldn't work especially since the last time I tried doing that.. he grabbed my arm and held onto it like a koala hugging a tree. Seriously, he's that clingy sometimes.
Sigh
' I... On the other hand, well.. let's just say I'm not very popular with anyone. To be honest he's the only one who makes an effort to approach me at all. Since the day he first started working here he's been sticking to me like a leech. Though.. I don't particularly hate it. On days when I'm in a particularly bad mood, his presence seems to alleviate a huge portion of my stress. '
"Hm…"
' Usually, I would say no immediately. The only reason I didn't today was because the game I've been playing in my spare time is having a major update and it would take too long to update for me to just wait. I might as well use the spare time I will have doing something else. It's been a while since I've gone anywhere as well. '
"Fine, why not."
I nodded after a while and walked with my hands in my pockets.
"Please don't say no this time! I promise you'll— wait what?"
Isagi looked stunned, he stopped walking and stared at me with a blank expression and wide eyes. Honestly, the look on his face was quite funny.
"Wait, wait, wait- You'll come? Really?"
' See what I mean? He must've been a golden retriever in a past life.. '
Sigh
"Yeah, I'll come, but you're paying for the ramen."
At my words Isagi pouted for a moment before eventually nodding and shuffling to catch up to my side again.
"Fine, it's a deal. We're leaving right after work so don't forget! Not like I'd let that happen anyways but just in case."
Just as I was going to respond, I heard a voice calling out to me.
"Dr. SATOSHI WAIT!"
Turning around I saw a nurse rushing towards me looking frantic.
"What's the problem?"
"There's a VIP patient, they need a surgery right away and paid for you specifically to do it. "
The nurse spoke in a breathy voice, their long brown hair slipping out of the bun they had neatly pulled. As they spoke they slowly began fixing it while ushering me to follow them.
"A-ah...Satoru-senpai.. you can't forget about our Dat-"
Before he got to finish his sentence I flicked him on the head with the back of my hand and he covered his head protectively while pouting.
"Don't say things that will be misunderstood. I won't forget so just go. You have people waiting on you."
Following my gaze, Isagi looked behind him and saw a group, two women and one man standing at the entrance of the building staring at him and once they saw him look in their direction they gestured for him to come too. This made him turn around towards me and smile wryly while running his head for a moment.
"Then.. I'll see you later Satoru-senpai!"
Mmn
With a slight nod I turned around and we both walked our separate ways.
***
Shortly after the surgery
Sigh
Looking over the information again, I seriously felt shocked. Who would have thought that I'd meet one of my favourite— no.. That I'd meet my favourite voice actor in this way?
Name: Ray Yoichi
Age: 27
Sex: M
Height: 191 cm
D.O.B: September 6th
All of the important things were here as usual. It really was him. The VA for the main protagonist(if you choose the male one.)
With short light brown hair, and narrow slightly slanted catlike green eyes with a small but visible black beauty mark under the right one, a slightly broad back and toned muscles. He too was quite handsome in a playboyish way, honestly even most men who saw him would probably be envious. Not to mention that his voice is rich and smooth like honey, and he has quite a bit of money.
' Damn lucky. I should ask for an autograph after he wakes up. Would that be okay..? Maybe it'll be too much. '
While I stood near the table grumbling to myself about getting an autograph, I suddenly heard something that made my heart pound.
Beep beep beep
The sound of the monitor going off, it's never a good thing to hear, in fact it's probably in my top 3 most stressful things to hear.
I put down the files and rushed into the room accompanied by a few other nurses and after checking found out that after the surgery there was excessive bleeding that had occurred.
' What?? But why— No, if I panic then that will make everyone else panic too. Stay calm, stop the bleeding. '
"Everyone move Quickly, check his vitals!"
" 180/110mmHg! "
One of the nurses says after checking the vitals.
"Shit, not good."
"Prepare Labetalol IV push—small dose, we need to control this now!"
***
The operating room was silent except for the steady beeping of machines and the controlled voices of the surgical team.
Satoru's hands were steady, his mind sharp as he guided the procedure with practiced precision. The second surgery had begun the moment they identified the issue—Ray had been losing too much blood, and if they hadn't caught it in time, he wouldn't have survived the next hour. The aortic dissection was severe, but they had managed to repair it. Step by step, they worked, closing off the incision, ensuring that everything had been handled.
By the time the operation was completed, Ray's vitals had stabilized. The worst had passed.
Satoru exhaled deeply as he stepped away from the table, peeling off his gloves. His body ached, exhaustion seeping into his bones, but there was relief—he had done it. Ray was safe. Or so that's what they thought.
But Hours Later… The world crumbled in an instant.
It happened so fast. One moment, Ray was resting, his heart rate steady. The next, alarms blared. His vitals crashed. Nurses scrambled, doctors rushed in, Satoru leading the charge.
No matter what they did—chest compressions, medication, another attempt to stop the internal bleeding—it was useless. His body was shutting down. The damage had been too severe.
And in an instant, Ray was gone.
Satoru stood frozen, staring at the unmoving body on the hospital bed. His hands trembled. He had done everything right. Followed every procedure. Taken every precaution.
Yet Ray still died.
A long silence filled the room.
A nurse placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dr. Satoru…"
He barely heard her.
This wasn't just another patient. This was Ray. Someone he had admired since he began playing the game "Hero's Genesis". To many people it may seem silly to admire a VA from a game but Satoru didn't care, to him, the game was his place of peace, the only thing that helped him in his day to day mundane life. The voice actors(this one in particular) contributed greatly to his solace, the way that one could tell that the VA's enjoyed their job and put their all into it, that kind of emotion in their acting made the game worth playing and for Satoru, that was enough that's why this failure felt so tragic, not just because it was a death, but because he felt it was his fault, the death of the man he had begun to idolize, was brought by his own hands.. Someone he had saved, only to lose him again hours later.
His throat felt dry. The air in the room was suffocating.
"There's no pulse. No spontaneous breathing. No cardiac activity on the monitor."
A nurse said solemnly, writing down the information. After checking vitals for the last time and waiting for a moment longer, Satoru finally spoke, his voice dry and devoid of emotion.
"Time of death, 02:43 AM."
Satoru could no longer stand being in the room. He quickly removed his belongings and exited the room. Immediately flocking to a bathroom and vomiting. He rinsed his face with cold water and ran a hand through his hair while looking in the mirror. He looked broken. His abyss-like black eyes looked devoid of life, his short black hair was messy and now dropped with a mixture of sweat and water, his skin flushed a pinkish red hue from crying, not only did Satoru lose his idol and a patient today, he also just experienced his very first death. As a doctor, he did his best to prepare for death to occur during every surgery. However, with the help of his colleagues, and luck, he was able to become an amazing doctor, one that would often get called "one of the best". He had never experienced a death himself, though he had heard of deaths occurring rarely (about 2-15% of heart surgeries fail), this.. was the first for him. After a few minutes he took a deep breath and forced himself to leave the restroom.
' I can't sit around moping about this.. I need to inform the family.. '
***
Later that night, as Satoru entered the hospital garage, he decided to text Isagi an apology.
" The surgery took longer than anticipated, sorry for that. "
The message read. Without waiting for a response, Satoru closed the messaging app, without checking in his game he simply stuffed his phone in his pocket.
The cold air nipped at his skin as Satoru stepped into the dimly lit parking garage. The weight of the night pressed against his shoulders, dragging his feet heavier with every step.
Reaching his car, he dug into his pocket for his keys. His mind replayed the events over and over—Ray's final moments, the way his heartbeat had slowed, the empty feeling in his chest when he had to write the cause of death.
He barely noticed the faint sound of footsteps approaching.
Until it was too late.
A sharp pain exploded in his chest.
His body jerked forward, a choked gasp escaping his lips.
He looked down. A gloved hand. A blade. Red soaking into his coat.
Another stab—deeper this time. His knees buckled. His breath caught in his throat.
And then a third.
The pain was unbearable, a searing heat spreading through his body. He staggered, his back hitting the car, his vision blurring as he finally saw the attacker's face.
Wild eyes. A twisted expression.
"You killed him," the man yelled, voice shaking with unhinged rage. "You let him die. Ray is dead because of you! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Satoru's lips parted, but no words came out. Blood bubbled up in his throat, staining his tongue with iron.
A scream echoed in the distance.
"Dr. Satoru!"
The sound of running footsteps.
His body was slipping, knees giving out as he collapsed against the pavement. His heartbeat—uneven, slowing.
Someone was holding him. Hands pressing against his chest.
Isagi's voice, frantic and desperate. "Stay with me! Please—Satoru!"
He tried to focus, to stay conscious, but the world around him was fading.
Somewhere in the background, he could hear security officers wrestling the attacker to the ground, the sound of distant yelling. But it all felt so far away.
His eyelids felt heavy.
The last thing he felt was a faint vibration in his pocket.
The game update was complete.
So was the server maintenance.
And then, there was nothing. Nothing but darkness.
***
'Ah.. how ironic.. I killed my idol.. and died by the hands of a distraught fan.. he stabbed me in the heart too.. heh heheh…'
Nothing was funny about the situation from beginning to end, even as Satoru died, his mind was filled with thoughts, self blame, and guilt.
' Because of me, Ray died. Because I wasn't good enough. '
Or
' How cruel, my poor junior.. I'm sorry for showing such a gruesome and horrible sight to you.. '
And so on.
" In my next life..if there is one.. I never want to feel this way again… the pain of losing someone.. '
[ Ding ]
Requirements met!
Creating skills…
' Kek … I'm losing it.. hallucinating at a time like this… '
[Resistance to mental attacks]
[Pain Nullification]
' Ugh… be quiet.. you're too loud. '
[Sound Manipulation]
' How long has it been..? A few seconds? Days? Years? Time is moving so slowly, no.. maybe it's moving quickly and I'm just too slow… To make matters worse.. I feel horrible.. this feeling of being dragged deeper and deeper down into this darkness… Like a helpless animal being devoured by a predator…I hate it. '
[Gravity Manipulation]
[Speed Up]
[Slow motion]
[ Notice: similar skills detected]
[Merging: Speed Up —-> Slow Motion]
[ Skill acquired]
[Time manipulation]
' Maybe this is my brains way of trying to fix this situation.. quickly thinking of a false reality like I'm in a game. It's not so bad. Better than this darkness at least. '
[Mind's eye]
[Reality bending]
[Fate]
' Hey.. Are you just copying everything I say and making it into skills? Nah.. If that is the case.. I want to be able to save everyone, no one should be beyond saving when I'm involved.. yeah. Also.. I don't want to die anymore, this death was painful and frightening.. and slow. In this false reality I want to live even if I'm killed. Kek '
[Self Healing]
[Resurrection]
[Notice: Similar skills detected]
[Skill merging: Self Healing —> Resurrection]
[Creating new skill…]
[Ultimate skill acquired: Immortality]
[Sub skill acquired!]
[Absolute Regeneration]
[ Eternal Death]
[Fear Resistance]
[Notice: Similar skills detected!]
[Merging Skills: Resistance to Mental attacks + Fear Resistance —> Impenetrable ]
[Creating new skill…]
[Ultimate skill acquired: Impenetrable Psyche]
[Developing base skills]
[Absorption]
[Elemental Resistance]
' Huh? What's this? What are base skills and why would I need them? '
[ Notice: Base skill: Skills or traits every creature is born with by nature. They are as important as life to any living creature.]
' Huh? I don't think I understand.. '
[ Notice: Creating New Bonus skills]
[ New Base skill Acquired: Omnipotence]
[New Base skill acquired: Omniscience]
' Wow, is there anything I can't do with these skills? '
[ New skill: Adaption]
[Hibernation]
[Notice: Skills complete]
' Ah? Skills complete.. now wha— '
Before Satoru could complete his thought, his consciousness slipped away and he fell into a deep slumber.