The fluorescent lights hummed faintly above as Saito Tendo leaned back in his chair, staring at the computer screen long after his work was finished. Rows of data blurred together into meaningless patterns, numbers and reports repeating endlessly without purpose. His eyes were open, but his thoughts were far away, drifting somewhere beyond the office and its suffocating routine. Another day had passed just like the others—unchanging, empty, and mechanical. "Hey, Saito," a voice suddenly called out, pulling him back. His coworker stretched lazily and glanced over. "Finished? Let's get ramen." Saito blinked slowly, then gave a small nod. "…Yeah." There was no real reason to go, but there was no reason to refuse either. He simply followed.
Outside, the night air was cool, carrying the restless energy of the city. Neon lights flickered across the streets as people moved around them, talking and laughing, living lives that felt distant from his own. "Man, I'm starving," his coworker said with a grin. "You look dead already." Saito let out a faint breath and replied quietly, "…Maybe I am." The words were half a joke, yet they carried a weight he didn't fully understand. As they walked, a sudden movement caught his eye. A dog ran into the road. In the next instant, headlights flared and a truck rushed forward. "Hey—watch out!" his coworker shouted, but it was already too late. Saito didn't think—his body moved on its own. He ran forward and pushed the dog aside. For a brief moment, everything went silent. Then came the crash.
The impact threw him to the ground as pain exploded through his body. The world spun violently, sounds becoming distant and distorted. "Saito! Saito!!" his coworker's voice echoed desperately. "Someone call an ambulance! Hurry!" Footsteps gathered, but no one acted fast enough. Saito could feel the warmth leaving his body, replaced by a creeping cold that spread deeper with every passing second. His vision began to fade, and his thoughts slowed. So this was how it ended. A meaningless life, ending just like that. His lips moved weakly as he forced out his final words. "…If I die… please… delete the data on my computer…" His coworker leaned closer, panic in his voice. "What? What data? Saito, stay with me!" But Saito couldn't answer. Whatever meaning those words carried, they were lost as darkness consumed him.
Cold. Endless, suffocating cold surrounded him. There was no pain anymore, no sound, no sense of time. It felt like sinking into an endless void where nothing existed. "…So this is the afterlife…" he thought faintly. But then, something changed. He felt it—a presence. Something was there, watching him. It had no form, no voice, yet it was undeniably real. The moment he became aware of it, a deep instinctive fear rose within him. "…What… is that…?" he tried to think, but his thoughts felt distant, like they weren't fully his anymore. The presence didn't respond, didn't move, but it didn't leave either. It simply watched. And just as the fear reached its peak, the darkness suddenly cracked apart.
Light flooded in, blinding and overwhelming, followed by warmth that rushed through his body. Air filled his lungs and a cry escaped his throat before he could stop it. "Waaah—!" Saito froze. That voice… wasn't his. His body felt small, weak, and unfamiliar. When his vision cleared, he saw a wooden ceiling above him and heard voices speaking rapidly around him. "Masidi Nupane," an old woman said softly as she lifted him into her arms. "Yubi Leima, houjik nang cheche oire." Another voice replied weakly, "Yengge porak o asida…" Saito tried to understand, but the language made no sense to him. Panic grew as he attempted to move, only to realize his limbs were tiny. He looked at his hands and felt his thoughts shake. "wait it this…" he realized. "…I've been reborn…?"
Before he could process it, something even more shocking appeared. A figure stood nearby tall and cold presence. His mind couldn't comprehend it. Fear surged instantly. "Waaah!" he cried again. The being quickly approached and gently held him, patting him softly. "Shh… shh… kapkanu Echa keidoure," it said in a calm voice, though Saito couldn't understand the words. The tone, however, was soothing. Soon after, another man entered the room, his presence calm yet commanding. "Angangdu keidoure nupara nupira?" he asked. "Khullakpak Nupa machani" the old woman replied. The man stepped closer and looked at Saito with a faint smile. "Isss hei Nupane hei yamna nungaire Echa ubada, Pabung kouwo, Papung…" the word slipped through, and somehow Saito understood—father. The man carefully took him and carried him toward the woman lying nearby. She looked weak, but her eyes softened as she saw him. "Phirak o yengge…" she whispered. Saito didn't understand the words, but he understood the feeling. The man then spoke clearly, his voice firm yet warm. "Chingkhei Ukongbam nanggi mammi… Chingkhei Ukongbam." The name echoed in Saito's mind. Chingkhei Ukongbam. That was his name now. As he lay there, surrounded by people he didn't know yet somehow belonged to, his thoughts slowly settled. This world was not what he expected. It didn't feel like any isekai he had imagined. But as his eyes slowly closed, one quiet thought remained—this was the beginning of a new life, whether he understood it or not.