Episode(11): Birth of the Sovereign
SOVEREIGN OF DEATH~(11)
It was dark, a darkness akin to a void.
The only source of light in this dark space were the occasionally flickering stars scattered like stars in the universe.
However, this was not space.
This was the space between life and death, the space where the souls of the dead rested before their fate was decided.
These souls floated aimlessly, not blocking the path of the other nor moving with a will of their own.
These souls had no consciousness to begin with.
Once a soul lost its physical form and entered this space they would be in a dormant state until they were either reincarnated or dispersed into the endless void.
Souls were a path of energy originally lacking any consciousness. Without a way to seal this energy, it would continue to disperse until nothing remained.
So when a physical body was lost and a soul ended up here, there was no will or intelligence.
Just a spark of light.
And these sparks of light, if unlucky and did not have a compatibility with any new vessel then they would stay here until their souls dispersed completely into the void unable to even reincarnate.
You could even say being reborn as a dog was better since it meant actually living.
Each soul here had a different story to tell, whether they were good or bad, whether they were religious or not and if they had repented for their sins before dying or if they died in their ways.
The more evil souls had a higher chance of dispersal but mainly they would become insects even if they gained a second life,
This is why you should live a good life young man!
At any rate, in this quiet and still repository for souls a new soul shining with a mix of golden light appeared suddenly.
This single soul lit up a portion of the void like the sun. But, this wasn't the only strange thing.
When all souls were in a dormant state to prevent leaking too much energy and dispersing, this soul was fully conscious!
What? Where in the world?
He thought back, the memory seemed jumbled but after a while the pieces collected themselves and he realized.
I'm, dead?
Who can accept this nonsense!
Transferred to another world and becoming a friendly ghost on the same day?
Give me the coordinates and I'll go haunt that pigeon winged woman myself!
But, seeing the space he was in he calmed down gradually.
He was dead and this was likely the place where souls would end up after dying.
Accepting one's own death was not easy. I wanted to scream and yell but I knew that would not help at all.
At least I'm not stuck in the dungeon unable to even reincarnate. It would be too much if I had to spend my life as a ghost in that unreasonable place.
At any rate-
Looking around Nagisa saw that he was the only one who was conscious.
Why?
He flew around trying to see if he could find even a single soul that was conscious, but it was futile.
Perception wasn't working, but after getting used to the energy leaking from himself Nagisa was able to perform a simple analysis.
The souls here seemed to be dormant.
But, it doesn't feel as if their dormant state will be removed even if they are reincarnated. Rather, it felt like a phone that shut itself off during the factory reset process.
So would all these souls forget their past lives when they were chosen to reincarnate?
Still, why am I the only one awake in this space?
Aside from training his human body to the peak he didn't seem to be that different from any other human.
Suddenly a thought came.
Could I be the protagonist!?
[Pff-]
The thought made Nagisa crack up in laughter.
Forget whether he even wanted such a braindead role, was this something a Deadman should say?
Especially with his rotten luck.
Impossible, impossible.
What Nagisa didn't know was that, souls were indeed dormant to help facilitate the resetting of the consciousness, however it was also to prevent wasting too much energy of the soul or this would affect what you could become human in your next life.
As it stated before, those with good karma usually had large amounts of soul energy and would definitely become a human.
Those with bad or evil karma would have less soul energy leading to a game of spin the wheel, whatever you ended up as just count yourself lucky you were alive.
What?
He finally realized his own energy was dispersing slowly and felt horrified.
How do I stop this?
Since he was awake, his energy seemed to vanish even faster and he was already on the verge of losing consciousness.
Not good!
His will was slipping and he was losing consciousness quickly.
If I don't counter this fast, then I'll really disappear!
***
6 years old-
Kanata Nagisa was abandoned by his father.
A boy just barely into elementary school had to face the fact that his father did not want him and was sent to live with his grandfather.
Every day was strict. Different from the fun days with his childhood friend, these days were hellish.
He had to learn the etiquette that was neglected, the studies that were neglected. Arts, crafts, it was as if they were training him to take over the country.
There were many days the young Nagisa wanted to curse the old guy and just run away in tears.
But, thanks to her he could manage.
Maya, Yanagi Maya.
She was half British and Japan. When one said the word beauty, Nagisa would immediately think about her.
In the family that mainly contained those with blue hair like his own, the golden haired beauty was a breath of fresh air.
As a member of a branch family belonging to the west, their customs weren't as rigid as the main branch and so Nagisa could relax whenever he was with Maya.
She didn't use flattery nor try to kiss up to him, she was just true to herself.
For Nagisa who never met his mother and only got a cold expression from his father, she was a ray of sunshine in his dark world.
I would marry her, even if the family were to be against it.
Yet, that da occurred.
The day my precious Maya was taken from me.
It was just supposed to be a normal day at an amusement park. Hang out, eat ice cream and head back home with a round stomach.
Why did he insist on heading to the supermarket?
If I never insisted, no to begin with if I never forced Maya to sneak out none of it would have happened.
*pang*
Even now, the dry sound of a gun going off resonated deep in his soul.
Maya who was protecting me from a robber was shot, blood splattering everywhere.
I was no sheltered flower.
Nagisa had seen movies uncensored, let's not forget that his family was mainly a martial arts one and even without killing the duels were pretty harsh so he had long seen this red liquid.
Blood?
No, perhaps it was just ketchup or Kool aid.
At least, at the time he prayed and hoped it was.
Yet, the body bleeding out in his arms, the arm that lost its strength and fell powerlessly, the pupils that were dilated without a sign of life.
How would you even describe this feeling?
Emptiness?
Sadness?
Was it rage?
I had no idea, I was too young to place it.
However, looking at the robber who only cared about the money and not the life he took Nagisa just knew that he wanted justice, cruel bloody justice.
I had just come to the Kanata family months ago. With all the other training going on, additionally with the fact that I had no interest in fighting I didn't know martial arts well.
But I had seen the duels between the other children and uncles.
With nothing but instinct, Nagisa noting the weight difference decided not to go with a head on approach.
He snuck behind the man with a slide tackle. But the robber of course, being agitated was fully aware of his surroundings and naturally noticed Nagisa.
Was the brat causing trouble now?
He pointed the gun without hesitation.
As for this being a kid, he didn't even hesitate to take the life of a young girl.
Pang!
The shot was fired, however it missed it's target.
With a belt in hand, I had used it like a whip and wrapped it around his hand tugging slightly to mess with his aim.
The robber was stunned by the series of events, also why was this kid not afraid of the loaded gun?
The floor that had been shot was still steaming!
Nagisa gave him no time to think it over.
With a jump and a twist, even though he was lighter than the man just using this bit of momentum and the belt still wrapped around his hand, Nagisa managed to flip the man to his back.
The next moment the man only saw when Nagisa drew something and stabbed down.
Pain shot through his side and the man hurriedly shot to his feet.
When he drew what had been stuck in his side, it was the sharp broken pieces of a plastic knife!
Damn brat! See if I don't-
He reached behind him for the gun, but the familiar feeling wasn't there. Wondering if he lost it somewhere, the man looked around only to see it.
Ahead of him, the brat that had stabbed him holding the gun pointed at himself.
The man wanted to beg for mercy, he wanted to plead and opened his mouth.
But-
[Die scum]
Pang!*
Was there a need to listen to the words of trash?
Afterwards, Nagisa was let off being a delinquent. However even if that wasn't the case, the Kanata family could have helped him get away scot free.
But, none of this mattered.
The law, neither the power of the Kanata family would not bring Maya back to life!
The strength he had now, he gained it not to die.
I gained this strength so that I would never feel helpless again!
If not to fight against a fate that wanted him dead then why did he gain this power?
To admire himself? No!
Suddenly, the flickering wisp of a soul that seemed fragile enough to vanish with the wind fiercely glowed as if gas had been added to a fire.
He would never die here, not such a pathetic death!
No matter who wanted him dead, as long as he didn't accept it himself who were they to judge his life or death?
I decide my own fate!
So get up!
The faint grasp of energy he had felt suddenly became hot like a ball of fire and his waning consciousness felt revived.
*thump*
At the same time, it felt as if he could feel the heart in his physical body thump powerfully.
Forcefully grasping the power welling up from his soul, he held on to the sensation.
*thump*
The thumping became even stronger.
*thump*
Live!
No matter if his luck was the worst, live through it and overcome all obstacles!
His eyes shot open in the real world almost simultaneously.
『*!^&!^:*@*&*(@,』
At the same time, a string of unreadable characters echoed in his mind.
What now?
Annoyance filled his mind, but the announcements that followed made him freeze in shock.
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The birth of the sovereign had arrived!