How long has it been?
How long have I been wandering through this white abyss?
The first time I arrived here, my mind was overflowing with questions. Where was I? How did I end up here? Didn't I die?
Thoughts like those constantly ran through my head. However, after spending what felt like centuries upon centuries here, those questions slowly began to fade—like the little hope I had left of escaping.
Did I really deserve to be trapped in an endless white room?
No! I deserved to be rewarded! I gave up my life for someone! My one and only precious life! Damn it!
But getting angry wouldn't change anything.
In my previous life, I was called Yuki Sato… I think. I was a thirty-four-year-old shut-in. I shouldn't have gone outside in the first place. The outside world was always terrifying. People always staring at you, always trying to talk to you… just thinking about it made me want to vomit, or maybe not.
After spending so much time alone, I had plenty of time to reflect. That's when I realized something:
Why worry about what other people think? They'll think whatever they want, even if I try to act differently.
How stupid I was as a child to believe otherwise.
Anyway, I managed to save a girl from an oncoming drunk truck driver. But due to my poor stamina and sluggish movements, all I could do was push her out of the way before getting crushed like a tomato under someone's boot.
It happened in an instant. I died before my life could even flash before my eyes.
And that was when I arrived in this white void.
Sometimes, items would fall from the blank sky. Mostly books, but occasionally, weapons would fall as well. Oh! And the most prominent thing that ever fell was probably a seed.
The moment it landed, a tree began to sprout. It was massive, with bright green leaves and a dark green—almost black—trunk. The tree had grown in only a few seconds.
I was currently staring at that behemoth with a confused expression.
"How could a tree grow without water or sunlight? This can't be normal, right?"
It really was strange. A tree shouldn't be able to grow without the influence of Mother Nature… or could it?
Why am I even wasting time asking logical questions? I thought, circling around and inspecting the tree.
And I was right to think that way. If I hadn't, I would've gone insane long ago. I mean, I was in a place that looked like a blank page, where items fell from the sky like raindrops. If I ever claimed something like this in the real world, I'd definitely be sent to a psychiatrist.
But this was my reality now—whether it was the afterlife, a dream, or an illusion my mind had conjured.
I let out a deep sigh. If only I had some kind of computer that could answer all my questions. That had been my only wish for as long as I could remember.
Not like it would ever be granted…
[ …preparing gift… ]
"Huh?"
[ …bestowing [«World Tree Fragment»] as a gift… ]
The moment those words appeared in my mind, the tree before me began to crumble, turning into dust from the trunk upward. A white fragment started to take shape, the swirling dust giving it a physical form.
"What's happening?!" I exclaimed, stepping back as the fragment flashed with white light.
The situation was far too strange. And the words appearing in my head, as if someone were writing directly into my consciousness with an ink-dipped pen, made it feel like I was hallucinating.
Had I finally gone crazy?
While questioning my sanity, the shard turned its sharp edge toward me, almost like a blade aiming to strike someone down. It began to wiggle violently in place before—with a sudden burst of speed—it shot past my right cheek, grazing it.
I wiped at the wound as a wet sensation trickled down my cheek. When I looked at my hand, I saw red. A color so vivid that the endless white space seemed dull in comparison.
My hand began to tremble. Even though I had been trapped in this white void, I'd never had to worry about dying. I never grew hungry. I never aged. My existence was secure. Nothing could harm me.
Yet now… what was I looking at?
My own blood?
The pain in my cheek—though dull—reminded me. No, it told me that I was alive.
My heart began to pound. I immediately turned around. The shard was moving again. That thing was dangerous.
Every instinct in my body screamed at me to run.
But…
How the hell do you outrun something faster than a speeding bullet?!
I didn't have time to figure it out. But for some reason, the shard looked smaller than before, or maybe fear was clouding my judgment—
"Cough…!"
A wet cough escaped my lips as something sharp pierced my back, sending a scorching pain through my body.
Blood spilled from my mouth as my vision blurred.
The reason the shard looked smaller was simple, it had split into two. While I was focused on the first, the second had appeared behind me and plunged straight through my back.
I collapsed flat onto the ground.
Was I really going to die?
My eyelids felt unbearably heavy.
'I don't want to die.'
I wished someone, anyone, would save me. But no one came. The only thing that approached was the shard, now recombined once more.
It was definitely coming for the killing blow. There was no way I could dodge it. And yet… I still hoped.
'Move…! Move, stupid body!'
My finger twitched.
That was all I could manage.
'Damn it!!!'
I guess this really was the end. I shouldn't have been given a second chance in the first place. Maybe it was time to let the darkness consume me after spending so long in the light.
If there's a next time… I wish I had a longer life…
Was I being too greedy? Maybe.
But wishing for something so small should be okay… right?
My eyes slowly closed, and just before I lost consciousness, a single message echoed through my mind.
[The Third World Tree Fragment has successfully merged with the host.]