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!"

allowing a person to for a short moment of time interact with the initiator of the technique. To

inheriting the memories of

managed to put the two and two together and

"Cough...Sorry about that"

no worries no worries, I had expected this kind of reaction to happen once someone

"Ren"

"Scuse me?"

his eyebrow and looked at me who was reaching

name is

How rude of me, I still had not asked for your name...a

my hand, we both looked at each other and shook

"Please sit down"

Keiki took the porcelain teapot and dumped the contents

"Green or black?"

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

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

watching the water slowly darkening, Grandmaster Keiki let out a sad sigh and a nostalgic looked appeared on his

It was one of the most beautiful places in the world. It had tall and beautiful

Grandmaster Keiki reminisce about his past, I immediately sat up

knew, I paid my full-hearted attention to him because

may have been a fictional character that I had created, that was then

longer 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

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

then I worked as a Kendo instructor and although I did not

once knew started to crumble. Fortunately at the time when this was happening my wife and daughter were traveling on a plane with me outside of Japan,

was holding tightly, as

second calamity

a huge breath he tried to

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

hands trembling, Grandmaster Keiki looked

see the sadness and anguish hidden deep within his eyes, as crystalline tears flowed

as they

his expression which was

t-ook my wife and

Toshimoto Keiki both a father and husband let the tears stream down

in front of me, I chose to remain silent and patiently waited for him to calm down. A slight

his eyes, Grandmaster Keiki stood up and

you had to

"No, I understand"

my head and

a couple of seconds, grandmaster

that my

style door) and walked outside the room as he gestured me to follow

"Follow me."

soon as I left the room I was left flabbergasted. An inexplicably beautiful garden stood before me.

-Tak! -Tak! -Tak!

large transparent pond where koi fish of multiple different sizes freely swam in it. Birds freely roamed and chirped around the

garden the more

white slightly peeking the surface of the

pond stood a small island connected by a small

across the bridge, once again my breath was

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

"A zen garden."

"It's nice isn't it?"

his hand urging me to sit down

I

the zen garden before us. It was strange but yet relaxing

surprised when I

disrupt the silence was grandmaster Keiki, who with a smile plastered on his face continued to look

as I made sure to

made sure they

on his face Grandmaster Keiki glanced at me, which

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

"Yes I remember"

so easy to