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!"

technique known as [Soul division]. Its main purpose was to split a soul and attach it to an object, allowing a person to for a short moment of time interact with the initiator of the technique. To better summarize

apart from inheriting the memories of the initiator, had no other

put the two and two

"Cough...Sorry about that"

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

"Ren"

"Scuse me?"

looked at

name is Ren.

had not asked for your

looked at each other

"Please sit down"

to the tea table, Grandmaster Keiki took the porcelain teapot and dumped the contents that

"Green or black?"

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

tea leaves to the brewing vessel and slowly poured hot water inside of the vessel to let the leaves soak and steep

out a sad sigh

once young 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

reminisce about his past, I immediately sat up straight and paid close

more about his past, which I already knew, I paid my full-hearted attention to him because of

character that I had created,

character, and this world was no longer a novel. This was real...and the man before me was Grandmaster Keiki, a legendary

was reminiscing his past, Grandmaster Keiki let out a

the disaster, I had a beautiful wife and daughter. Back then I worked as a Kendo instructor and although I did not earn much, I

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

Keiki clenched the teacup he was holding

the second calamity

breath he tried to calm himself

appeared all over the world. At first, they didn't do anything, they just stood in the air and

his hands trembling, Grandmaster

the sadness and

as they deemed us

shaking shook ever more fiercely and his expression which was previously still stoic completely crumbled as more tears

t-hey t-ook my wife and

and husband let the tears stream down his face as he

the frail-looking man break down in front of me, I chose to remain silent and patiently waited for him to calm down. A slight tinge of pain hit my chest, as

eyes, Grandmaster Keiki stood

had to see

"No, I understand"

head and got

for a couple of seconds, grandmaster Keiki suddenly smiled

that my luck isn't

he slid the shoji (Japanese style door) and walked outside the room as he

"Follow me."

I was left flabbergasted. An inexplicably beautiful garden stood before me. I felt a sudden loss of breath as I stood there

-Tak! -Tak! -Tak!

pond where koi fish of multiple different sizes freely swam in it.

more I walked around the garden the more I was left mesmerized by the

ranged from red and white slightly peeking the surface of the water almost as if

stood a small

again my breath was

was neatly composed and surrounded by gravel which was raked to resemble ripples

"A zen garden."

"It's nice isn't it?"

garden, grandmaster Keiki waved his hand

is..." I replied as I

the zen garden before us. It

really surprised when I

grandmaster Keiki, who with a smile

since my death, no one had ever been to this place, and rightfully so, as I made sure to hide this place from the prying eyes of

even if they did find this place out of pure luck, I made sure they

which made me recall

being haunted by the rope to this day!'

"Yes I remember"

you're so easy to