"Crack… crack!"
Inside the dim cave, a campfire burned brightly, occasionally popping with soft sounds. The flickering flames illuminated the cavern with a warm glow.
In one corner of the cave, a boy of about twelve or thirteen curled up beside the fire. Wrapped tightly around him was a massive black animal hide. In the firelight, bits of uncleaned animal fat could still be seen clinging to the inside of the pelt.
It was a crude hide blanket, roughly made and carrying a faint, fishy odor.
The boy's skin was smooth like jade, his features delicate and handsome. His long red hair fell loosely and softly around his shoulders. Yet on the left side of his forehead was a large flame-shaped birthmark that stretched down to the corner of his eye and across his cheek, lending his appearance an air of mystery.
At this moment, his eyes were tightly shut, his body curled inward and trembling slightly, as if enduring intense pain.
After a long while, the boy slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. A fleeting shadow passed through his bright gaze, replaced by astonishment, bewilderment, and… disbelief.
"This… how is this possible?!"
The low murmur broke the silence of the cave, his voice trembling with shock. He seemed unable to believe what he was seeing. Stretching his hands out from the hide, he rubbed his eyes.
He closed them again, opened them again, rubbed hard, then slapped his own cheek. Feeling the sting, the boy finally seemed to accept the reality of his surroundings.
Before long, the shock in his eyes faded, replaced by deep curiosity. Another quiet murmur echoed through the cave:
"I've probably… transmigrated again."
…
"My name is Taiichi."
"This name was given to me by a blind fortune teller in my village. He said my fate was noble and I needed a name worthy of it. As a delusional kid, I believed him completely!"
"When I was young, I thought I was a child chosen by destiny — that one day, Digimon from another world would need my help."
"But as I grew older, I realized I was just someone toyed with by fate."
"At only twenty-four, my life came to an end. I had just passed the civil service exam!"
"I sometimes think… maybe my name cursed me."
"I thought my life was a tragedy."
"Until… I lived a second life."
"My second name was… Yoriichi Tsugikuni."
"That was a world where humans and demons coexisted. From the moment I was born, I knew my mission."
"In just over twenty years, I fought my way from one end of the coast to the other."
"After fulfilling my mission, I withdrew into the mountains and finally lived the peaceful life I had always dreamed of."
"Years later, as an old man, I closed my eyes… but when I opened them again, I found myself alive once more!"
"I feel like… I really am chosen by fate! Though I still don't have any Digimon…"
…
In the dim cave, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, draped in the thick animal hide, slowly stood and carefully examined his surroundings.
He had always been alone, and with no regrets in his old age, he quickly accepted the situation.
Clearly, the most important thing now was to figure out where he was.
The cave was about seven square meters in size. Judging by the chill, it was likely winter. Even with the blazing campfire before him and the thick hide wrapped around his body, the cold still seeped through, making him shiver.
"This… is this some kind of primitive society?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni scanned the cave and found no modern tools. Beside the fire lay a crudely carved wooden knife and fork, clearly handmade. Next to them sat a cheap wooden bowl containing more than half a bowl of yellowish paste.
"It should be food… curry, maybe?"
He thought to himself before shifting his gaze elsewhere.
In one corner of the cave was a stack of firewood about two meters long and half a meter high. Aside from the strong smell of burning wood, there was also a faint scent of the sea in the air.
"This smell… the ocean?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni sniffed lightly. Soon his attention was drawn to a long black sword lying near his feet.
"A sword?!"
He quickly crouched down, picked it up, and examined it carefully. It was a two-meter-long two-handed blade — a straight sword by its design. The black scabbard was engraved with elegant wave patterns, and the hilt was about forty centimeters long; even gripping it, he couldn't fully wrap his hand around it.
When he drew the blade, there was no flash of cold steel — only pure black.
"A black blade? Even the edge is black… matte?"
Pulling it out slightly, he realized that not only the scabbard and hilt were black, but the blade and edge as well, giving off an inexplicable sense of solemnity.
The blade was about five centimeters wide and over a centimeter thick. Normally, such dimensions should make it extremely heavy, yet when Yoriichi Tsugikuni held it, it felt astonishingly light — as if it had no weight at all.
Near the base of the blade was engraved a single word: Annihilation. From its style, it resembled a weapon forged in the swordsmith village of his previous life.
Holding the hilt with one hand, Yoriichi Tsugikuni drew the blade completely. For some reason, he instinctively gripped it with both hands and made a gentle downward slash.
The tip silently cut across the cave ceiling, leaving a deep groove.
Pebbles rained down with a clatter, shattering on the ground.
"Hm?"
He instinctively shielded his eyes. After a while, when the stones stopped falling, he looked up to see a long cut etched across the ceiling.
"A fine sword."
"With craftsmanship like this… the world that made it must be fairly advanced. Or maybe… this sword came with me?"
"And my strength…"
He lowered his gaze, studying the blade in his hands and running his fingers across it. After sitting quietly for a long time, he carried the sword to the cave entrance and looked outside.
All he saw was pitch-black darkness. A biting wind howled past, forcing him back inside.
"It's too cold. I should rest tonight. I'll explore tomorrow."
Returning to the fire, Yoriichi Tsugikuni added more wood and curled up for warmth. After some time, overwhelming fatigue washed over him, and he drifted into a deep sleep.
…
That night, he dreamed.
The sea. Sunshine. A beach. A small seaside town.
The townspeople were simple and kind, living self-sufficient, peaceful lives. They weren't wealthy, but they were content.
In the dream, Yoriichi Tsugikuni became one of them, living in quiet tranquility.
That world… was paradise.
…
As dawn painted the sky pale and morning light spread across the land, Yoriichi Tsugikuni awoke.
"So it's real… I really did transmigrate again."
He slowly sat up on the stone bed, staring blankly at the fading embers of the fire as thin wisps of smoke rose into the air. He remained lost in thought for a long time.