Smoke filled the sky.
Black. Thick. Endless.
The sound of helicopters roared like monsters overhead. Explosions echoed across the horizon like gods throwing tantrums.
Cities crumbled in the distance.
Sirens wailed, then cut off mid-howl.
And across the battlefield, gunfire never stopped - like it didn't know how to die.
This was war.
The third global one.
And we were neck-deep in it.
I adjusted the scope on my rifle with trembling fingers. My gloves were soaked - not from rain.
"Captain, new movement northwest!"
My comm crackled with static and panic. I didn't flinch.
I was used to this.
Too used to it.
---
My name is Miyasaki Iwanaga - Captain of Unit 12, Japanese Special Operations.
We had one mission: reclaim the Senkaku Islands.
Three weeks in, and our bodies were held together by caffeine, grit, and sheer willpower.
But now...
Finally...
We were winning.
Our flags rose again over battered steel.
One of my men cheered. Another cried silently.
I didn't say anything.
I just stared at the sunrise, barely visible through the smoke.
> "We might live through this..."
That thought slipped through my brain for one second.
Then came the tunnel.
---
It looked abandoned.
Half-collapsed, lined with dust and death.
The smell of old blood stuck to our boots.
Inside, enemy corpses.
Dozens. Maybe more.
Bullet holes. No movement.
"Clear," one of my men whispered.
I nodded, stepping forward.
> Click.
My eyes snapped wide.
Too late.
The soldier I passed - eyes open. Smiling.
"AMBUSH!"
They rose like ghosts. Bullets screamed.
My body jerked as something hot tore through my shoulder. Then my chest. Then again.
I dropped to one knee.
"Cap! CAPTAIN!!"
My men shouted. Returned fire. The tunnel became a slaughterhouse.
I couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
I stared at the ceiling. At nothing.
> So this is how it ends.
---
I wasn't afraid.
Just... frustrated.
I wasn't done yet.
There was still more I wanted.
Not medals. Not honor.
I wanted to be strong.
Like the heroes in manga.
Like the characters who stood between chaos and peace.
Who clenched their fists and changed fate itself.
Not a pawn. Not a soldier.
A force.
And as blood pooled around me and my sight dimmed, one final thought echoed:
> If there's another world...
Let it be a world where power comes from the soul.
Where I can protect.
Where I can win.
---
And then... silence.
No gunfire. No pain.
Only...
Wind.
Grass.
Blue sky.
> ...Where am I?
---
I opened my eyes.
The war was gone.
My scars were gone.
My body was small.
My hands - delicate.
A baby's cry escaped my throat.
And in that moment, I understood:
> I had died as a soldier.
And now, I've been reborn... in a new world.
---