Reiji Moriyama was your typical high schooler. He had just returned from another dull day at school. The stale air of the crowded classroom still lingered on his uniform. As he stepped into the silent empty apartment, a cold eerie stillness brushed against his face. Without a word, he sighed and entered. Tossing his bag onto the bed, Reiji made his way to the kitchen. Each clatter of cutlery echoed through the quiet space of his apartment.
He prepared a simple meal, instant noodles, just as usual and sat down at the small dining table. "Thanks for the food," he muttered, picking up his chopsticks and digging in.
As he ate, his thoughts drifted back to the morning that changed everything.
It was a beautiful day. Just your usual morning. Upstairs, Reiji was looking at himself in the mirror when he heard his mom call out;
"Reiji, you'll be late if you don't hurry up!"
Hearing this, he hurriedly grabbed his bag and rushed downstairs. His father was seated in the living room, watching the morning news.
"Good morning, Dad," Reiji said as he passed by.
His father responded with a soft grunt as his eyes were still glued to the TV.
In the kitchen, his mother was almost done cooking.
"Good morning, Mom." He said
"Did you sleep well, dear?" she asked, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek.
"Yeah, I did," Reiji said as he took a seat at the dining table.
She poured coffee for his father and handed him the cup. He sipped in silence as his eyes were still fixed on the television. That was just how things were at home. Shoveling breakfast into his mouth, he kept glancing at the clock. He was always in a race against time.
Then all of a sudden, the news anchor's voice cut through the room.
"A high school student was found dead in a locker this morning. Authorities are investigating what appears to be a case of extreme bullying that ended in tragedy..."
The room fell dead silent after hearing that.
"How horrible..." his mother whispered, her hand rising to cover her mouth.
His father remained calm but a shadow passed across his face.
"Hmmm..." he murmured as his eyes were still glued to the TV.
Reiji felt his appetite fade as it was replaced by disgust. He could no longer feel the urge to eat.
Reiji stood up and prepared to leave for school. But then he felt his mother's trembling hand holding the end of his sleeve. Her fingers clutching the fabric of his clothes tightly.
He looked toward his mother, her face was pale and her eyes were glassy as if she could cry at any moment.
'Please Mom… don't look at me like that. It's not like I'm going to die or something' Reiji thought to himself.
"Reiji..." she said in a softly shaking tone. "...I know you're not being bullied at school…but if you ever feel threatened or in trouble with those bad boys in school, please… promise me you'll run and not look bac—"
Just as she was about to finish what she was saying, a sharp voice cut her off.
"What are you teaching our boy? huh?...how to be a coward?"
His mother hesitated, then turned to face his father.
"A coward?… did you not hear the news? I'd rather have Reiji alive and afraid than brave and dead, i know you feel the same way so don't act like what I'm saying is wrong."
'My mom was right, i get bullied a lot in school. I never thought she knew and i never told my parents because I didn't want to trouble them. They were already dealing with enough and I didn't want to add to it.' Reiji thought to himself.
His father exhaled heavily, breaking Reiji's inner dialogue. He walked toward Reiji and knelt on one knee in front of him, he looked very serious about what he was about to say.
"Reiji.." his father said. "It's okay to run, running isn't something you should be ashamed off…" he said. "If it's the only way to survive then the only thing you can do at that moment is run... but i want you to remember one thing, there'll probably come a time when running seems like the smartest option but yet, refusing to yield will mean everything" he looked at reiji straight in the eye before continuing "What I'm basically saying is, there are moments when what you're fighting for matters more than the reason you have to run away, Reiji. Sometimes, the things worth protecting are worth facing your fears for even when running would be the easier choice".
'I get they are worried but isn't saying all this too much just because I'm getting bullied at school?' Reiji, confused by his father's words, tried to grasp what he meant.
"You'll probably understand that one day." his father said, probably knowing Reiji was struggling to piece his meaning together.
Reiji nodded, still trying to grasp his father's words. His mother looked calmer now, relief washed over reiji as he saw this. His mother's worry had slightly faded and that was enough.
He picked up his bag and walked out the door, on his way to school.
The scene abruptly cuts to Reiji returning from school:
Reiji stood frozen, staring at the horror before him.
"M-my house…? It's.. on fire? What… happened?"
He said in a trembling voice. Smoke billowed upwards, darkening the sky. The flames danced like twisted spirits devouring what little remains of his home.
Reiji sank to his knees, grief wrenching a scream from his chest. He let out a primal cry that tore through the night echoing the depths of his despair
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
His body convulsed as Reiji snaped back into reality as he was breathing heavily.
His head began to spin and his vision blurred. He gripped the edge of the table for balance, but his knees buckled beneath him.
"W-what's going on? I can't… move... Am I… dying?"
'No… I can't die like this… Why? Why is this happening to me?' Reiji thought to himself. He could not grasp why this was happening as it was all too sudden and abrupt.
'What was the point of everything…? Dammit…' Reiji's last thought as his mind went blank.
...Darkness.
It was complete darkness. It wasn't just darkness, it was nothing, an unending void of nothingness. The silence of nothingness was so deep that even the quietest room in existence paled in comparison.
Reiji's consciousness floated in the void weightless and disembodied. He had no limbs, so he couldn't walk, he had no nostrils, so he couldn't breathe, he had no eyes, so he couldn't see. only thought remained within the absolute nothingness.
"Where… am I? what happened? did I actually… die?"
He tried to move but there was nothing to move.
"So this is death, huh?... Makes sense I guess, I can't feel a thing."
He looked, or tried to, in every direction. Nothing. It was just 'Nothing', endless swallowing black.
"It's like I'm floating inside… nothing."
Then suddenly, a voice echoed across the void. To Reiji, it was a strange yet warmly familiar presence, like a voice he could vaguely remember from a previous dream. It resonated through the nothingness, enveloping him like a gentle aria.
"Welcome back master. I am so so super happy to see you again. You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment" the voice said with a happy tone.
"Wait, what? Who are you? and where am I? also what do you mean by 'welcome back'?" Reiji asked the beautiful voice.
The voice cut off for a moment before it began to talk again, softer and uncertain this time.
"Um, master?"
"I don't think I am anyone's "master"," Reiji responded sharply. "I don't know who you are, heck i can't even see you or anything for that matter," he added.
After he said this, a long silence followed, It was heavy and unsettling.
Then the voice spoke once more, almost trembling
"You don't remember me? Why? Can't you remember? how could you say something so cruel to me, huh?"
Reiji, still dazed, tried to make sense of the voice. 'What is she talking about? Wait…'
"... Can I at least see you?" he asked.
After hearing this, suddenly reiji could see again. It was as if the void itself became light. The light felt no different from the nothingness around him, it was still nothing, but a different "form" of nothing.
In front of him stood a girl, she had small delicate frame, hair was whiter than snow and her blue teary eyes seemed to hold all the beauty and melancholy of the world, reflecting a depth of emotion that left Reiji transfixed, his own feelings swirling in a tumultuous mix of awe and wonder. She was crying, yet there was something so beautiful about her tears that he couldn't help but feel drawn to her. Even though he couldn't physically reach her, he found himself wishing more than anything that he could be there to comfort her.
"...Oh yeah. I don't have a body," he muttered.
Still, he tried to offer comfort. "Hey… I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to upset you or anything, i just want to know what this place is and why am even here when I'm supposed to be dead" He asked in a calm and comforting tone.
The girl wiped her eyes with her fists.
"You're my master," she sniffled. "I don't know why but you said you wanted to experience the human world and see what it was like to be human, you to-" Just as she was about to finish her sentence, Reiji cut her off.
"Wait, I said that? But… I'm human. Why would I want to experience something I already—"
"You definitely are not human." She said, cutting Reiji off before he could finish.
"HUH!?" Reiji was confused, he couldn't understand what this girl was saying.
"M-me? are you sure you've got the right guy? I'm just a high school student."
As he said this, tears began to stream down the girl's face again as she sniffled.
"Okay, okay!" Reiji tried waving his arms instinctively, only to remember again that he had no body. "You're right. I'm your master, uhm i remember you too... uh… uh…"
He trailed off, searching for a name to call the unknown girl.
"I'm not a little girl, you know," the girl muttered. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better."
"Right, sorry about that..." Reiji said, letting out an awkward short chuckle. "Wait, you're not a little girl?" he added, judging by her petite stature.
She glared directly at reiji before grabbing him.
Reiji's entire being ignited as pain seared through him like his very soul was being burned to ashes.
"GAHHHH—how!? how are you even touching me?! I don't have a body!"
"It's rude to assume a lady's age!" she shouted. "And don't call me little!"
"Okay! I get it! I won't say that again! Just let me go, it freaking hurts!"
She released him with a huff.
"For your information, you're much older than I am. My name is Selphyne. You used to call me Sel, so just keep on calling me that."
"Alright, Sel. Nice to meet you…again, i'm Reiji—"
"No, you're not," Sel said.
"...Huh?" Reiji said, confused.
"You're not Reiji."
"No, my name is Reiji!"
"I said no it's not."
"Then what is it!?"
"I'm not telling you."
"Why not?... Are you sure I'm your master? Because I sure as hell don't feel like it."
"You are my master," Sel said firmly. "But something's wrong, it seems like you've lost your memories."
"Oh yeah? You think?"
"I don't think, I know" she said as she crossed her arms.
"But the thing is, something like that shouldn't even be possible for someone like you to experience. Well unless you did this to yourself."
Reiji was stunned, the possibility didn't occur to him hut that still didn't make any sense though.
"I chose to forget?" He asked.
"I mean it's the only other explanation, hmm but why would you willfully erase memories i wonder."
Sel said as she was slowly going deeper into thought. She was trying to find a reason as to why 'He' would do this.
"Um hello? I'm still here you know," Reiji cut in. "You're really really sure I'm your master?"
"Yes, I'm sure," she said. "Listen, it seems you've been in a constant state of regression and without your memories at that. My guess is you probably sealed them away somewhere."
"Wait. have I been reincarnating? Like legit reincarnation? I thought that was just something that only happened in novels or anime?"
"Well it's real and it's why we're stuck in this mess, human life isn't long enough to live through all that time with a single body."
Reiji paused as he was slowly trying to digest all this new information.
"Wait… isn't that kind of a big deal?"
"Yes," Sel said grimly. "If your memories had truly been destroyed, reality itself would cave in on itself and both me, you and the 'world' itself would've already been destroyed."
"WHAT!? Please tell me you're joking," Reiji said in a panicked voice.
"Calm down," Sel said. "Clearly, you're still "alive" and I'm still here, so is the rest of the 'world'. which means your memories weren't destroyed. They were probably just locked away."
"'Probably'? So… you don't know?"
"Keep panicking, and I'll burn you again," Sel said.
"Hey! I'm panicking for a good reason! This could be the end of everything!"
"If that were the case, we wouldn't be talking right now," Sel said. "So just calm down."
As soon as sel said this, reiji "exhaled".
"Okay, you've got a point."
Sel nodded.
"We need to find where your memories were sealed, there exists only one place it could be, The Archive."
"Nice. Let's go there now and fix this!" Reiji said, already trying to move into the void.
Sel held up a hand.
"We can't."
"Why not?"
"Do you even know where the Archive is?"
Reiji blinked.
"No, but i mean you do, right? you've probably been there."
"Yes. But knowing where it is doesn't mean we can go."
"Why not? Don't I practically "own" the place?"
Sel groaned.
"The Archive exists in an entirely separate realm than this one."
"Soooo, what's the problem exactly? Why can't we go there!" Reiji said, still not grasping what Sel was trying to say.
"It means you can't go in that realm, well not in your current state at least, and i also can't go there. you've lost all of your powers and right now, you don't even possess anything close to what you once had."
Just as Sel finished speaking, the void began to tremble, it was subtle at first but then it began to tremble violently. The endless void of nothing was shaking.
"No… this can't be happening," Sel muttered, her voice trembling.
"What's going on? Is this supposed to happen?" Reiji asked as his confusion was slowly twisting into dread.
Sel backed away as her eyes widened with terror.
"No, no, no. This is bad, really really bad… the void, no wait, the world is reacting to you, they're being drawn to you."
"Drawn to me? Why?!"
"The world only exists by feeding on your essence, when you initially left, you left a piece of yourself behind to sustain it everything but now "it" has sensed you again and they want more. If they get to you in this state, you'll definitely die and so will everything."
Reiji froze as panic began clawing at him, If he had a face it would have contorted into pure horror.
"We need to run, we need to run quickly, sel. I'm scared, we have to escape before it's too late."The intense trembling of the void was shattering what little stability he had left. His soul was beginning to fade, no, more like it was trying to balance between sanity and utter insanity. The void had started to take what was left of Reiji.
Sel, probably knowing what was going to happen, tried to reach him.
"There's no time, you need to reincarnate again or… reiji?"
Silence, reiji was gone.
"What… just happened? Where is he?" Sel couldn't understand what had just happened.
"No, this can't be happening. not again, I can't let this happen again.