The bell above Aoi Bookstore jingled as Shinya Kurogane stepped out, holding a crisp paper bag to his chest like it was a sacred relic.
Inside: the newest volume of his favorite manga, Eternal Horizon.
He grinned to himself, walking down the busy street.
"Finally… it's here. I've been waiting months for this one," he whispered, patting the bag affectionately.
That's when it happened.
HOOOOONK!
Shinya's head snapped up just in time to see a truck barreling toward the crosswalk.
"Wha—?!"
He leapt back onto the curb, his back slamming against a lamp post as the truck roared past, missing him by inches.
The driver shouted something rude and sped off.
Shinya stood frozen, his heart hammering.
"…That… was close," he muttered, forcing a nervous chuckle. "Well… still alive."
But the world wasn't done yet.
Just a block later, a steel beam fell from a construction site above, crashing into the sidewalk where he'd been standing seconds ago.
"…Two?" he whispered, staring at the crater.
Minutes later, he ducked behind a vending machine as two masked men and a police officer exchanged gunfire in the street.
"…Three…"
On the bus home, a truck nearly sideswiped them in traffic, sending everyone screaming.
"…Four. Or was that five?" Shinya laughed weakly to himself. "What the hell is going on today? Is the world trying to kill me… or is my luck just that good?"
When he finally reached his apartment, Shinya slumped against the door, sighing with relief.
"…Home sweet home," he murmured, dropping his bag and collapsing onto the couch.
"…I made it through the day alive. Ha ha… guess you can't kill me that easy, world…"
But then he sneezed.
"Achoo—!"
Dizziness slammed into him.
His vision blurred.
"…Huh? What—"
He collapsed onto the floor, the world fading to black.
That… should have been the end.
He found him self floating in a dark void with nothing. the feeling of emptiness should have caused him to feel fear but yet… he felt nothing. In fact, he felt at ease .
He no longer had to deal with the annoying landlady who was hounding him for rent this month.
"Ha…haha…so this how I die. how pathetic. I didn't even read the first chapter of the manga adaptation eternal horizon."
He thought to himself as his consciousness was being erased by the darkness.
But just was his soul was completely obliterated, a mysterious man in a suit of white armor and faceless plain white mask and long white hair.
"I've finally found you." He said. "Be honored for you are the first being I've who is the fragment of my original self. For now, focus on getting stronger until I come and get you. Right now you're of no use to me." He said as he tapped shinya on the forhead and shinya's soul was rebuilt and the memories of him encountering the mysterious being were sealed by an unknown power. His soul was strengthened to withstand the barrier between dimensions and He was given power and his soul was teleported away to a place which was closer to a light . The being in white armor stood silent for a while before speaking.
"So all there souls are returned to me if they all die huh. In that case I'll be able to create an army consisting of the first me's personality and I can cultivate them however I want and I can finally perfect my power by observing and studying them. I look forward to working with you all." He said as he disappeared and the whole space turned white as a canvas.