The first thing I felt… was warmth.
Not like the heat from a blanket or the sun. This was something deeper. Like the soft touch of being held by someone who loved me. I could hear faint voices in the background. Gentle whispers. Soft humming. The light around me was strange. Not too bright, not too dark. It glowed softly, like candlelight.
My eyes fluttered open.
At first, everything was blurry again, just like before. My vision was hazy, like I was underwater. But slowly, things started to come into focus. A ceiling I had never seen. Strange patterns on the walls. A wooden cradle. A face peering down at me. A woman. Her hair was soft white, with strands of pale orange glowing at the tips. Her eyes shimmered like firelight, a beautiful glowing orange.
She smiled down at me.
"There you are," she whispered.
Her voice was kind. Gentle. It sounded like music. I didn't understand her words, but my heart understood her warmth.
That was the first day I truly realized it.
This wasn't Earth. This wasn't my old world.
I had been born again. Reincarnated. Given another chance.
And the world I had been born into… was nothing like the one I left behind.
It took time to fully understand it. At first, I was just a baby, barely able to move or speak. But my mind—my soul—was still mine. I was still Gentaro Otamoto, the same man who had prayed for a miracle in a bar in Hakodate. I remembered everything. My past. My failures. My dreams.
But now, I had a new body. A new life. A second chance.
As I grew, I started noticing how different this world was. Not just the clothes or the buildings, but the world itself. The people. The powers. The land. Everything.
In my old world, Earth had seven continents. We all learned that in school. Asia, Africa, North and South America, Europe, Australia, Antarctica. Seven.
But here?
Only four.
They weren't even called continents. People here called them "Worlds."
Kaji. Kanji. Shizen. Kaze.
Each of them was like its own kingdom, or rather, its own universe. Different people. Different powers. Different ways of living.
Let me start with Kaji.
Kaji was known as the Fire Nation. I read about it in old scrolls and heard stories from travelers. It was a land of flame and passion. The people there had blood-red eyes that glowed when they used their powers. Their hair was all shades of red, from deep crimson to bright copper. They could create fire, manipulate it, and some could even fly or see in the dark. Can you imagine that? A whole country where people walked around burning with fire, and no one even blinked? It was ruled by a monarchy, with kings and queens that had controlled the throne for centuries.
Then came Kanji.
The Water Nation.
Kanji was peaceful but proud. Their land was covered in rivers, lakes, and endless stretches of sea. The people of Kanji were born with hair in all shades of blue, and their eyes glowed blue when they used their powers. They could control water, summon rain, shape ice, and—here's the weird part—they could breathe underwater. I still don't know how that works, but I saw it with my own eyes. They had a democratic system, where people voted for their leaders. Fishermen, merchants, warriors—they all lived in harmony with the sea.
Then there was Shizen.
My home. The Earth Nation.
The biggest continent of them all.
The people here were strong. Not just in muscles, but in heart. They worked with their hands. Built things. Grew things. Protected their land like it was sacred. Their eyes glowed green, and their hair looked like vines or moss, different shades of green that shimmered when sunlight hit them. They could control the earth—move stones, raise trees, split the ground. Some could even make plants grow with a single touch. Our land was rich, filled with forests, mountains, and endless fields. We had a constitutional monarchy here. A balance between tradition and law. Our kings ruled with wisdom, but not without limits.
And last but not least… Kaze.
The Wind Nation.
A quiet land. A place of peace and calm. The people there were known to be kind, thoughtful, and full of grace. They had white or orange hair, and their eyes glowed like flames, soft orange lights that danced in the dark. They could control air, fly across the skies, and whisper winds into existence. Some said they could even hear the voices of the world when the wind was still. They followed a communist system, where no one owned too much, and everyone shared. And that was where my mother was from.
Yes. My mother was from Kaze. Her name was Helga.
Even now, saying it feels strange. Helga, the wind woman with orange hair and glowing eyes. She used to sing to me at night in her strange, lilting language. She would stroke my hair and tell me stories of the skies. I didn't understand the words then, but I felt the love in her voice. Her smile was always calm, like she was never afraid of anything. Like the wind itself flowed through her soul.
Sometimes I still ask myself—was this all real? Was I truly reborn in a world with flying people and glowing eyes?
But deep inside… I know it's real.
This is the world I live in now.
A world plagued by demons and haunted by dark secrets. A world where powers exist, but so does pain. A world that looks magical from the outside, but when you're born here, you learn that even power has a price.
Each nation, no matter how powerful, fights its own war. Hidden wars. Wars of politics. Wars of bloodlines. Wars against the darkness that lives in the shadows—demonic control, occult forces, and ancient evil that people fear to name.
I was born into Shizen, the Earth Nation.
But with my mother from Kaze, the Wind Nation, I carry both in my blood. Two powers. Two paths. I don't fully understand what that means yet. But I know this much…
I'm not ordinary.
I was given a second chance. A new life. A new world.
But it came with a purpose.
This world may be beautiful, but it is also broken.
And maybe… just maybe… I was brought here to fix something.
Or to become something I couldn't be in my past life.
Someone stronger. Someone worth remembering.
As I lay in bed one night, staring at the stars through the open window, I felt that old fire in me again. That tiny spark that life had crushed before.
It was back.
I whispered into the night, just like I did back in Hakodate.
"I don't know what this world wants from me… but I'm not wasting this chance."
And for the first time in my two lives… I meant it.