" Haruo! You're too reckless! What if you had gotten hit? "
" But...I had to— "
" You just never think! "
But I...
" Can you tone it down, Haruo? You're too loud. "
" Oh! Sorry about that! "
" Don't be sorry—just stop. "
I never mean to be annoying. I just...want everyone to have a smile on their face. I don't want anyone to be sad...
" Haruo...Thank you. "
Huh...?
" If it weren't for you...I'd be all alone. So...thank you. "
My words get stuck in my throat, words I can't vocalize for a moment. Words I have to say.
" Haruo, you're real fun to be around y'know that?! "
A hand comes down on my head and ruffles my hair, it's refreshing...
" You're a good person, Haruo. You always look out for everyone. "
All around me are precious people to me. I wouldn't be me today without these guys. And their presence alone makes me feel confident. I close my eyes shut tight, tears forming. You guys...You're all my...
" My friends... "
" What's this about friends? "
When I open my eyes again, I'm no longer in front of my friends. Instead, I'm looking at an empty white room—a void. On my back, I can feel the cold hard ground or whatever I had been lying on.
Lifting, I looked around. Who said that?
" What...? "
" You were mumbling something about friends. In your sleep. What were you talking about? "
After my eyes had fully adjusted to the blinding white void that had surrounded me, I could finally see whose voice I had been listening to. The person's shape that spoke out to me was undefined as if it were a cloudy mass of a person.
Pushing up from the ground, my body felt floaty, as if it were so light I'd fly right away.
" W-what's going on...? Where am I? I wanna go home—bring me home! "
I couldn't hold back the panic set in when I realized I had been completely lucid.
" Sorry, but you can't go home. Your body is dead. "
Dead?
" Well, 'dead'. Your existence has been completely erased from Earth—as if you had never been born at all. "
" ...What are you talking about...? No...I... "
My hands clasped the sides of my head, my eyes shut tight. I didn't want to hear any of what this person had been saying. They were saying absolute nonsense, there's no way I could have been erased.
" How?! Those kinds of things only happen in fiction! "
" Who are you to determine what is impossible? Your small worldview will only wear out your mental state. "
Swirling around me, the mass came behind me and whispered into my ear.
" Just accept what your new reality is. You're going to be erased from this space too. That's why you feel so light. "
Trembling. I couldn't stop the tremor my body had been suffering from. All of this was so sudden...I mean, sudden was an understatement—I would have never been able to imagine something like this happening to me.
" No...I want to see my friends...Take me back to my friends! "
I turned around sharply, reaching out to grab at the mass. My hand sunk into it and grabbed onto something, my grip tightening. Tears started to form in my eyes and I could feel anger—an emotion I rarely felt.
" Oh? Do you want to see your friends? "
* NOD *
" Then let's make a deal. "
Being forced to accept all this new information all at once was inconceivable. But I was no idiot—even if people always called me an airhead. If I'm able to touch, see, smell, and even taste the tears that fell into my mouth...I had to be completely awake.
And I had to accept this.
" ...O-Okay... "
" I am what's known as a Celestial. I reside in a realm between others. This space is a small compartment I created solely to intercept your soul's destruction. "
" Celestial...? Like a god...? "
" Many believe us to be such divine figures. However, we're nothing more than another species that lives among the vast realms. "
Vast realms? Is Earth a part of—
" Yes. Earth is a part of a realm as well. That should be a given. Earth's universe is a part of the— "
As soon as the Celestial had attempted to speak about where the Universe I originated had been—a sudden sound covered up the words it spoke. Nothing I could understand left its mouth.
" I see. They don't want me to tell you. But if you take my deal, you'll know soon enough. "
" What is this deal? "
" Let me see your Human resolve. Show me just how badly you want to get back to your friends. Survive in the realm known as the 'Surface Realm'. Also commonly referred to as 'Theatera' by its inhabitants. "
" Theatera? "
" It's the youngest of the 'Sister Realms'. The Sister Realms are the only known pair of Realms that are deeply connected. Theatera hosts all sorts of races. Including Humans. "
Humans? Then I won't stand out of place. I wiped my tears and slowly started to stand. The Celestial mass adjusted as well, meeting my eyes.
" However, I have a singular condition. No matter what happens to you—you are forbidden from ever going back on any promise you ever make. If you do so even once...I'll erase you for good. "
I was shocked. A being that seemed so knowledgeable about things I couldn't even begin to grasp wanted me to...keep a promise to keep promises...? An interesting thing to say the least but—
" I've never broken a promise a single time in my life! "
I patted my chest in confidence, glad I could boast about that.
" Good. I'm going to embed myself into your soul. This is the only way for me to prevent your complete erasure. Once I do, you will be incapacitated. Don't worry though, you'll wake up soon enough. Remember—Theatera is not like Earth. "
* GULP *
" Are you ready? "
" Y-yes... "
And with a flash of light, I had been blinded. Once I could see again, the Celestial being had been gone. My consciousness started to slip and before long I was completely out.
Sora...Ryota...Takumi...I want to see you so bad...
. . .
Something wet was touching me and irritated my skin. In an attempt in my sleepy haze, I tried to wipe it off. But it stuck and clung to my hand, just spreading.
" Ugh... "
As groggy as I had been, it was a miracle I was able to lift myself from the cold and wet ground I had been lying on. My eyes started to open and I was greeted with quite a gruesome scene.
" AGHH!! "
Almost falling back, I caught myself with my hands, steeping them deep in a crimson liquid. Sitting in front of me was some sort of bear-like monster, a sword stuck in its throat. The bear creature was huge, so big that I couldn't imagine any person could survive meeting it in any capacity. The sword's blade was jammed into it at an awkward angle as if it wasn't swiftly inserted. I had never seen so much blood before and it certainly woke me up.
And...judging from the amount of blood I had been sitting in...I ventured to guess...it wasn't the bear's. But...what happened to me?
My clothes had rips and tears, chunks of them exposing my bare skin. What I could only assume were my belongings—satchel bags and money—were strewn across the ground as if dropped in one big panic.
" How does it feel to be revived? "
My head shot up from the ground, looking around. That voice was familiar but—
" Looking around won't do you any good. Go ahead, look at the river beside you. You'll find me. "
Off to the side had been a streaming river. It was untainted and clear, something you'd see right out of a fantasy forest. Though, I had been surrounded by trees so...
I crawled over to the water in a hurry to see who had been speaking to me and looked into it. I had been expecting to find some sort of creature inside the river looking back at me. However, all I was met with was a strange boy.
But it was weird...
" T-This isn't my face...? "
The appearance of the person looking back at me had been completely odd. Golden fluffy hair and a swooping blue ahoge with blue bangs framed a delicate yet masculine face. The eyes were big and blue, shining and full of life.
Though, even the eyes were weird. One had been a set blue, rather normal despite how piercing it was. Something you'd only see in an unnatural setting. But the other eye was completely out there. The blue still resided behind it, however, at the forefront was a shining star. The luminescence of the ocular feature even spilled out onto a bit of the face, obvious it was an actual feature in the eye.
" Well don't stare too much. After all, this is your face. "
" My...face...? "
How could this be? Where had I been?
" Don't tell me you forgot already. You 'died', Haruo. And I revived you. "
And as if a sudden flash of memories came, I remembered everything. That's right. I had been given a second chance at life by a Celestial mass that made me promise to never break promises.
" So this is what you meant by embedding yourself in my soul—going inside my eye? "
" I have to make sure you uphold our deal somehow. "
Looking up, I surveyed the area again.
" Where am I...? "
" Well, you'd be interested to know that you're in the 'Human Territory'. More specifically, right on the outside of the settlement 'Onnohart.' "
" 'Human Territory'? I guess only Humans live here then... "
" Actually, no. It's home to a myriad of other humanoid races. "
" Like...Elves? "
" Indeed. Oh—right! I should mention. The name of the body you are in is 'Juri Zo'. He succumbed to the wounds he sustained from fighting the monster-beast known as the 'Killer Bear'. "
" Right...Juri Zo...Succumbed to the wounds...Killer Bear... "
Wait...
" I took someone else's body?! "
It seems I had been isekai'd. This Juri Zo person died and now I'm in their place. Just hearing that made me extremely sad.
" Think of it this way, Haruo. Whether you entered his body or not—he'd still be dead. I'll sort through his memories and feed you any knowledge you may need about his life. Take this as your first task in this world—integrating into this life. "
This is all so insane. First I learned my existence was erased from Earth...And now I have to take over someone's body and live their life? How could I do this all on my own...?
" I...I need to get the blood off me... "
I began to remove the clothes that clad this new body. Sorry, Juri...Stepping into the water, I started to remove the blood, scratching off any bits that remained. And after I had managed to completely clean up in the River, I redressed myself.
" I'm...gonna need that sword... "
Laying on the ground where I had originally been was a sheath, one that seemed to go on my back. Despite having a ripped hooded jacket on and tattered pants, the sheath seemed to survive as well as the satchels thrown around.
I would have to use Juri's belongings to survive.
My hands gripped the handle of the shortsword that was jammed in the Killer Bear, yanking as hard as I could. Though, it came out easier than I'd expected.
After gathering all the belongings on the ground and situating the sheath on my back, I awkwardly slipped the sword into its home, beginning to walk toward the visible clearing.
While walking, the Celestial mass began feeding me information about Onnohart—enough to get a general idea of what the place was like.
" Hey! What's your name? "
I spoke out loud when talking to the Celestial and it spoke directly inside my mind.
" We Celestial beings don't have names. "
" Then I'll give you one! Let me think... "
There were so many possible names...However...considering my position I thought of a perfect idea.
" I took over Juri's body...And you embedded yourself in my soul. So...I'll become Juri Zo...and you'll be Haruo! "
" Haruo? Your name? "
" Yeah! This way we'll always be connected in that way. "
" ... "
It was silent for a moment. Eventually, the silence was broken.
" Haruo...Fine...I'll be Haruo from now on, Juri. "
" It's nice to meet you, Haruo! And I guess...It'll be nice to live on as Juri! I'll be in your care! "
" You know...This might just be fun. "
CHAPTER 11 END