Reborn in Chaos

My left hand rests upon a void of chaos, and my right hand finds nothing but empty.

“…”

So, where exactly have I arrived?

Upon opening my eyes, I am surrounded by a crimson hue. My bewildered gaze settles on the only anomaly in this bleak landscape: a dull, blood-smeared orb that seems to ooze an eerie radiance.

“…Is this…?”

I hear a voice, crisp and clear, unlike my usual monotonous tone, yet its origin remains a mystery. The sound seems to wrap around me, tugging at my consciousness like a rift in reality. A wave of heat washes over me, carrying with it the faint scent of blood.

“Is this really happening?”

“…”

They say that upon death, pure souls ascend to heaven while wicked souls descend into the abyss. These tales may not be true, but I believe that what lies before me is… divine.

“No… I refuse to accept this.”

My inner turmoil prevents me from yielding to this unfamiliar yet familiar presence. I must return. I flail my arms at the divine figure, though I cannot feel their existence.

“…”

Yet, the god remains unmoved.

“I must… approach.”

A buried urge within my soul propels me forward, my steps unyielding despite the confusion. As I draw closer, fragments of memory resurface, sharp and vivid. A searing sensation courses through my mind, and I realize that my memories are rearranging, reconstructing. My primal cries transform into a powerful invocation.

Memory is more precious than either soul or body. It is a treasure that must never be forgotten, even if it brings pain.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

“Ye Sakaki!”

“Yes, that is my name. But why am I here?”

“…Ye Sakaki… a wonderful name.”

It commands respect and reflects a life attuned to the divine. Yet, despite these fragments, my memories remain scattered. I recall no deep sorrow, only the frustration of my final moments. I remember my foolish imaginings:

“My family, all eighteen of them, slain by our enemies.”

“They took my wealth and destroyed my foundations.”

“Thirty years of humiliation, but now is my time.”

“You stole my love, and now you shall pay!”

These fantasies were just that—fantasies. I am no hero. Yet, why do I feel this way? There is no time for such thoughts. The powers before me no longer heed my will, and I feel myself expanding. I feel my body straining, as if it might shatter. The pain is intense, both within the orb and within myself.

“No…”

Before I can react, the world disappears with a scream.

… …

Dimly, I see threads of pink weaving through a dark void, but they do not repulse me. Instead, I feel a warmth I have never known. A gurgling sound echoes, both repulsive and comforting. I try to move, but my senses are disrupted, and even the slightest motion brings agony. Yet, this movement triggers a wave of rejection from the dark world.

Through this, I realize my predicament: I have been reborn.

I sense a presence beside me, familiar yet strange. It is another fetus, a memory from biology class. A sudden insight strikes me. I remember everything now, even the cause of my return. My ability went out of control, and in just three months, I left the embrace of Gaia, transformed into something unspeakable.

“A pool of something…”

I don’t know why I think of it that way, but something monumental must have happened. If I am given a fresh start, I will not die so ingloriously again. I had power, but I encountered something that nullified it: a creature born of Green’s magic.

So, let me begin my story. My life was extraordinary. At six, I started nine years of compulsory education, and at four, I began learning the piano. From elementary school, I experienced the supposed eight hours of education that stretched to ten, then twelve in middle school, and finally sixteen in high school. This immersion in knowledge brought a peculiar sense of fulfillment.

But my true story begins elsewhere.

“Once upon a time, deep in a forest, there lived seven happy little princesses.” Everyone knows this tale, and I need not recount it. “After much hardship, they lived happily with the brave dwarves.”

“Hey, this silly story has nothing to do with mine! It’s just a twisted fairy tale from some misbound children’s book!”

Many would think this, but the truth is often surprising. In my memory, my death was caused by these seven princesses, with their large, round faces and insatiable appetites. My attacks, usually precise, bounced back tenfold when they hit these doll-like figures. I lost control, and the most common ability in my system, water, turned me into water. I became a being worthy of the term “a pool.”

But what does this have to do with the princesses? Why did I, an ordinary person, encounter such extraordinary things? I can’t answer that easily. But if we set aside the pain caused by the princesses and return to my high school days, perhaps we can find the answer.

My story truly begins in my second year of high school, when I met a senior. With my charismatic charm, I naturally became important to her. Just as I thanked fate for this, she said, “Let’s mate!”

“…What?”

She was unusually open-minded. For a naive girl like me, this was a tempting offer. But no, I wasn’t fooled! I resisted the allure, shaking my head defiantly. Happiness for a girl isn’t found in words alone. So, the senior chased me around the school grounds three times. In a private high school as large as a university, this was no small feat. Even on a map with a scale of 1:1,800,000, it would be a significant distance!

During her pursuit, I managed to run her over with a school bus three times, chopped her with a fire axe twice, shattered her skull with a window breaker once, dropped heavy books on her twice, and even caused explosions with dry ice, gas, and chemical dust. I was a man of principle, how could I mate with such a person? I was truly virtuous! But in the end, I faced the crisis of losing my seventeen-year-old virginity.

Thinking back, the senior pinned me down with one hand, her slender finger shattering my new white shirt. She placed her soft hand on my chest.

“Ye Sakaki, aren’t we supposed to be each other’s angels? Why run away now?” She smiled innocently, her mouth stretching impossibly wide. “But you see, I ended up in your hands anyway. This must be fate. So, Ye Sakaki, as you wish, let’s mate!”

What did she mean by “as you wish?”

“Each other’s angels?” That means one of us will go to heaven first. But I don’t believe in the god of Suye, so I won’t go to heaven.

“Please, let me refuse! Senior, we can’t be angels, but we can be friends!” I smiled, trying to be charming.

“Oh, I see,” she said with a smile, but then she leaned in, her mouth wide enough to swallow a desk, and kissed me.

… …

I don’t remember what happened next. When I woke up, I was in a place like a surgery room. I vaguely heard voices.

“We need a blood transfusion; the patient is in a deep coma.”

“Pupils are dilated; apply the defibrillator.”

“The patient’s hands are twenty percent necrotic; proceeding with amputation.”

“Amputation successful.”

I was declared dead, but when I opened my eyes, everything seemed like a dream. My body was perfect, stronger than ever.

“Hey there,” a purple-haired girl said with a sweet smile. Behind her, I saw a “mature man” and a “slacking middle schooler.”

“We have a new member—welcome to the World Savior Division!”