In an apartment of about twenty odd square meters, with only enough space for six tatami mats, a boy with medium short hair and a handsome face sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, fast asleep.
Suddenly, the boy's brow furrowed, and a look of pain crossed his face.
"Hiss... my head hurts." Revan, whose head was splitting, instinctively reached out to press his forehead, but the soft touch that met his hand made him freeze.
"What is this?" He struggled to open his hazy eyes, and what came into view was a white cat's rear end.
"Meow..." The white cat, which had been lying on his forehead, was awakened and looked back at him, letting out a dissatisfied sound.
Instantly, a habitual doting smile appeared on Revan's face as he said, "Sorry, did I wake you up, Hikari...?"
"Hikari? What is that? How would I know... uh..."
Just then, a massive flood of information surged into Revan's mind. His already muddled brain felt like it was being turned upside down, a complete mess.
After a long while, the light in Revan's eyes finally cleared, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
He reached out and scooped the white cat into his arms, leaned against the edge of the bed, and turned his head to look at the sunset outside the window, which had dyed the world in warm red hues. The setting sun exuded a peaceful, serene atmosphere, making him take a deep breath involuntarily.
"The air of freedom... how nostalgic."
But I did not die in that battle. Should I be grateful?
Greedily breathing in the fresh air flowing through the window, Revan felt relaxed all over, too lazy to move even a finger.
For Revan, who had spent decades trapped in the Nightmare Space, constantly traversing increasingly terrifying and dangerous worlds to complete missions, struggling on the edge of life and death, such a pressure free moment had almost become a dream.
His life had been filled only with fighting, killing, darkness, and death. He had climbed from an ordinary man to the pinnacle of gods and demons, stepping over mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
However, just when he thought his life would continue like that forever, several terrifying beings at the Primordial God level had joined forces with dozens of Ancient God level existences to besiege the Nightmare Space.
The fierceness of that battle shattered the Nightmare Space that had terrified countless worlds, distorting time and space itself. Even the Nightmare Master behind the Nightmare Space had fallen.
And to survive, Revan had revealed a shocking hidden strength in that battle.
With his hands behind his head, Revan lazily thought, "I did not expect detonating my true form would be so powerful... almost shattered even my escaping true spirit."
His current situation was not transmigration or possession, but rather his true spirit descending into this world for a new life. He had simply awakened and recovered his past memories.
However, after sorting out more than ten years' worth of memories from this new life, a strange look appeared in his eyes.
In this world, his name was Kanda Sorata, sixteen years old, living in a prefecture below Kyoto in Japan, studying at the attached high school of Suimei University of the Arts. He was in the general studies course and about to enter his second year of high school.
Because he adopted a white cat last summer, the very Hikari who was now lazily lying on him, he had moved into a special school dormitory called Sakurasou.
This information perfectly matched an anime Revan had once read among the countless pieces of information he exchanged for inside the Nightmare Space, "Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo," or The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.
If it were just this, it would not have caught Revan's attention. He had seen countless parallel worlds that mirrored familiar movies and novels.
What truly interested him was that the history of this world had diverged greatly from the Earth he once knew.
According to the history that Kanda Sorata had learned since childhood, World War II had never happened.
Some said that a mysterious figure and his organization had secretly intervened, preventing the outbreak of global conflict. Following their influence, nations that would have once been enemies instead chose negotiation, leading to the formation of major regional alliances.
The world had entered a golden age of rapid advancement in science, culture, and cooperation. Although countries still had their differences, large scale wars had not erupted for nearly a century.
Even more fascinating, many rumors suggested that supernatural forces and extraordinary beings had played a hand in shaping this peaceful era, hidden away from the public eye but subtly influencing history.
"But those things have nothing to do with me..."
After surviving the Nightmare Space for so long, Revan's mind had been constantly tense, never truly relaxed. Now that he understood his situation, he could finally allow himself to let go.
He had no desire to interfere with anything. All he wanted now was to lie down and enjoy the tranquility...
"Meow..."
Just then, several hungry meows awakened Revan from his thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the sound, seven cats of various colors and breeds: black, calico, and tabby.
These were all cats Kanda Sorata, or rather, he himself, had picked up over the past year.
"Today must be the last day of spring break, right?" This thought floated lazily through Revan's mind.
He reached for his phone and glanced at it. The time was already past four, almost five in the afternoon. No wonder the cats were meowing, he had stayed up all night gaming and completely forgotten to feed them.
But since they had already waited half a day, it would not hurt to wait a little longer. Revan thought this irresponsibly, unwilling to move from his comfortable spot.
Meow meow...
As if sensing that he was awake, the black cat Hope and the calico cat Mokuren approached him, meowing persistently.
Soon, the other kittens followed, their elegant steps carrying them closer as they softly meowed in chorus.
Faced with the overwhelming meowing, Revan could no longer pretend. He sighed helplessly, "Alright, alright, I will get up."
After all, he could not possibly argue with a group of cats.
Yawning, he slowly got up from the floor, his eyes bleary as if he had not slept for days.
He shuffled a few steps to the window and pulled open the curtains. Outside, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, their petals dancing lightly in the breeze. Pedestrians strolled leisurely beneath the trees, the whole world bathed in the gentle glow of spring.
Stretching lazily, Revan said in a voice only he could hear, "From today onward, I am Kanda Sorata."
Having merged with the memories of this life, Revan truly was Kanda Sorata, but Kanda Sorata was no longer just the boy he had been.
Compared to the powerful being who had once stood at the summit of countless worlds, the memories of an ordinary sixteen year old were like a drop in the ocean.
His consciousness now belonged to Sorata, yet he had no intention of changing anything for the time being. He would live as Kanda Sorata, adapting slowly to this world.
For Sorata, who had seen the vastness of endless worlds and touched the heights of immortality, ideals and ambitions held little meaning anymore. What he longed for now was simple, a life of freedom, free from burdens.
In other words, he simply wanted to drift along.
As for regaining his strength and conquering the world, he had no interest in such things, at least, not right now.
Of course, that might change in the future. When he regained enough power, who knew what he might decide?
"Still, I have a feeling that living here... peace and quiet will not last."
Turning his head, Sorata looked at the girl wrapped like a caterpillar in a blanket, sleeping soundly on the bed. He could not help but shake his head and smile.
The Sakurasou dormitory he lived in was a rundown two story wooden building. The boys lived downstairs, the girls upstairs.
The building had a shared kitchen and bathroom and was about a ten minute walk from school and the station. There was no dining hall, so residents had to fend for themselves.
Currently, five people lived there: three male students, one female student, and one female supervisor teacher. However, apart from himself, the other students were all famous problem children at Suiko Academy.
Recalling the rough outline of the Sakurasou anime, Sorata glanced at Mashiro Shiina, the girl sleeping on the bed, with a gaze far calmer than that of an ordinary high school boy.
In the anime, Kanda Sorata had struggled painfully among a group of geniuses. No matter how hard he worked, he had always felt left behind.
Repeated failure, disappointment, frustration, even moments of complete collapse, that had been Kanda Sorata's life.
But now...
"Ah ha..." Sorata yawned and muttered to himself, "That was Kanda Sorata's fate, not mine. As for geniuses..."
"Ugh... genius... are you talking about me, junior?" A sleepy voice interrupted him.
Kamiigusa Misaki, wrapped in her blanket like a cat, poked her head out, her hair messy and her eyes still half closed.
"Stop being narcissistic, senpai. You are not a genius, you are an alien."
Sorata said with a deadpan expression, "And get up already. You took the bed and left me sleeping on the floor. My back is killing me."
Ugh...
The girl stretched lazily like a cat, her slender waist visible as her shirt lifted, and her short skirt barely covering her thighs.
Combined with her plump figure and natural charm, she radiated a breathtaking cuteness.
She was the kind of girl who would make everyone turn their heads in the street, but her personality...
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