The Author's POV

"Gasp...Gasp...Gasp"

With bloodshot eyes, I continued going down the rope.

I don't know how long I had been down here, but I presume at least two days had passed since I started going down.

My hands which were riddled with blisters started bleeding all over the rope leaving behind a red trail during my descent. My muscles spasmed every minute making me almost lose grip of the rope on a couple of occasions.

It felt as if I had gone back to the past where I would monotonously be typing on the keyboard with no sense of purpose.

I just kept going and going and going, until my sense of time and reason left my body. Even the pain slowly subsided making it seem as if I was a robot.

Sadly like any other powered object, robots tend to run out of batteries. And that's precisely what happened to me.

My vision grew blurry and my hands slowly lost grip of the rope.

...

It seems like I have died again huh?

Oddly enough it didn't feel the same as my first death, where I only felt endless coldness and loneliness.

This time a warm sensation enveloped my body making me feel extremely comfortable. It felt as if I was back in my mother's womb under the constant nourishment and protection of my mother. It didn't feel bad.....

-Dong! -Dong! -Dong!

Suddenly I heard the loud sound of a bell tolling, causing my mind to spin and my eyes to shoot wide open.

"What just happened!"

Abruptly sitting up straight, I found my body drenched in sweat. Touching my body in a daze I noticed I was on top of a small bed with the bedsheets damp from my sweat. Looking at my hands I couldn't see any trace of the previous gruesome scene from when I was climbing down the rope.

Glancing around, I finally took notice of my surroundings. I was inside a small room with what seemed to be a Japanese tatami-style floor. The room was rather empty, and aside from a small tea table and a large ancient clock that constantly tolled in the corner of the room, there was no other furniture.

"You up kid?"

"Huh?"

Snapping my head to the right, where the voice was coming from, a middle-aged man sat next to the tea table preparing some tea. His carefree movements and his calm demeanor when preparing the tea, blended with the tranquil surroundings.

The aroma coming from the tea filled the entire room prompting me to momentarily relax. But not for long as I immediately jumped out of the bed and warily look at the stranger before me.

Jet black hair, deep black eyes, and a stern but yet kind-looking face.

"Relax kid, I'm not gonna do anything to you"

"Who are you?"

I warily asked without letting my guard down.

If not for the fact that I was sure that he was not there when I was previously checking the room, I wouldn't have been as wary as I was now.

A master

He was definitely a master beyond my level.

Only someone who was leagues above my level could suddenly appear out of thin air without me noticing.

Smacking his fist in his hand, as if he was reminded of something the stern-looking middle-aged man looked at me and spoke "Ah! that's right! I haven't introduced myself yet have I?" Lightly smiling, he extended his right hand towards my direction "A pleasure to meet you kid my name is Toshimoto Keiki"

Instantly my pupils dilated, and my mouth went slack.

"Bu-t but b-ut how? Aren't you already dead!"

My speech stuttered and my body trembled as I looked at the man before me in shock.

"Hey, kid don't be like that."

Laughing bitterly at my reaction, Grandmaster Keiki calmly put down the teapot and blew on the teacup in his hand.

"fuuu...Yes technically I could be considered to be dead but...someone intruded my home waking up the remnant soul I left behind when I passed away"

"R-remnant soul!"

an object, allowing a person to for a short moment of time interact with the initiator of the technique. To better summarize the technique, it was basically a live

no attack power, and apart from inheriting the memories of

two and

"Cough...Sorry about that"

Grandmaster Keiki laughed out loud and said "Hahahaha no worries no worries, I had expected this kind of reaction to happen once someone

"Ren"

"Scuse me?"

and looked at me

name is Ren. Ren

of me, I still had not asked

we both looked at

"Please sit down"

me to sit down next to the tea table, Grandmaster Keiki took the porcelain teapot and

"Green or black?"

"ehmm...let's go with green"

Grandmaster Keiki added the tea leaves to the brewing vessel and slowly poured hot water inside of the vessel to let the leaves

he was watching the water slowly darkening, Grandmaster Keiki let out a sad sigh

and foolish like you...back in my time, I lived in a country known as Japan. It was one of the most beautiful places in the world. It had tall and beautiful mountains, pink-dyed springs which were due to the sakura blossoming, wonderful food, and

past, I immediately sat up straight and

I already knew,

he may have been a fictional character that I had

a fictional character, and this world was no longer a novel. This was real...and the man before me was Grandmaster Keiki, a legendary warrior that sacrificed his life

room's ceiling as he was reminiscing his past, Grandmaster Keiki let out a sad and

disaster, I had a beautiful wife and daughter. Back then I worked as a Kendo instructor and

out of nowhere. Massive earthquakes engulfed Japan creating tsunamis everywhere. It was total chaos as people were killed and homes were lost. The world that we once knew started to crumble. Fortunately at the time when this was happening my wife and daughter were traveling

holding tightly, as his face

second calamity

a huge breath he tried to calm himself down

with bat-like wings and sharp horns emerged from the mysterious gates that appeared all over the world. At first, they didn't do anything, they just stood in the air and calmly observed us like some kind of mice inside of a lab. To this day I still remember their arrogant eyes and creepy smiles that took pleasure

trembling, Grandmaster Keiki looked directly at

be a remnant consciousness I could still vividly see the sadness

soon as they deemed

ever more fiercely and his expression which was previously still stoic completely

wife and daughter

a father and husband let the tears stream down his face as

patiently waited for him to

eyes, Grandmaster Keiki stood up and calmly

you had to

"No, I understand"

my head and

couple

that my luck isn't

and walked

"Follow me."

was left flabbergasted. An inexplicably beautiful garden stood before me. I

-Tak! -Tak! -Tak!

garden and in the middle of it appeared a large transparent pond where koi fish of multiple different sizes freely swam in it. Birds freely roamed and chirped around the cloudless blue sky, and occasionally you would hear the

garden the

the pond, I could see different colored koi fish which ranged from red and white slightly peeking the surface of the water almost as if they were

stood a small island

bridge, once again my breath

through which rocks, water features, and moss was neatly composed and surrounded by gravel which was raked to resemble ripples in water, appeared in

"A zen garden."

"It's nice isn't it?"

his hand

is..." I replied as I sat down on

stared at the zen garden before

surprised when I first saw

Keiki, who with a smile plastered on his

this place, and rightfully so, as I made sure to hide this place

I made sure they wouldn't be able to enter. I'm sure you

on his face Grandmaster Keiki glanced at me, which made me recall the traumatizing experience I had gone through

I'm still being haunted by the rope to this day!' I cursed inwardly as I

"Yes I remember"

easy to