1 The Day I Died

It was a desperate situation for me as I found myself running through the dingy streets and back alleys of the Coldstone district, the poorest and most dangerous area of Nebula City. A group of thugs were chasing me relentlessly, as though I had committed the gravest of crimes against them - though, let me make it clear, I hadn't. Unfortunately, I seemed to have the worst luck imaginable.

But before I dive into the chaos of that moment, let me fill you in on my backstory. My name is Samsara Yu, and I'm 17 years old. I had to drop out of high school due to unfortunate circumstances. My parents, both drug addicts, passed away in my first year of high school due to an overdose.

My father had come to this city as an immigrant from the Aso continent with high hopes, but his illegal status and the lack of stable employment led him down the path of addiction and he became a less than ideal human being.

My mother, who was from a well-off family, rebelled and ended up with my father and drugs. Her parents disowned me after my parents' deaths, so I was left alone in the world without any support.

I started working at a coffee shop called the 'Sly Cat Coffee' in the middle-class part of the city two years ago. It didn't pay much, but it was enough to cover the rent for my apartment in the Coldstone district - a place full of unsavory characters, from drug lords to mafia bosses to pimps to petty thieves.

Anyway, I was returning home from work feeling down after being fired because of an entitled client. The client, the son of a billionaire businessman, was on a date with a girl named Mary, who happened to be an ex-classmate of mine. She started talking to me, but he didn't like it, and later came back with his goons to beat me up and get me fired from my job.

As I walked through the Coldstone district lost in thought, I ended up in a dangerous situation. I had wandered into a building under construction, where I usually went to think, and had inadvertently stumbled upon a group of thugs. I heard a gunshot and saw one of them dead on the ground, with the others apparently in the midst of a judgement. They spotted me, and I was soon running for my life as they pursued me like bloodhounds.

The chase went on for about 15 minutes across the whole block before I found myself at a dead end. I turned around slowly, my hands in the air as a sign of surrender, and spoke calmly, trying to reason with them.

"I didn't see anything, I wasn't even there," I said tentatively.

But my words fell on deaf ears, and the thugs just laughed at me. One of them came towards me, his tone mocking.

"You think we'll believe that, stupid kid? Didn't your parents ever warn you about wandering into shady places?" he sneered.

Realizing that they had no intention of letting me go, I let out a war cry and charged at them. But he simply hit me on the head with the butt of his gun, sending me crashing against a wall. Feeling dizzy, I tried to stand up, but the sound of a gunshot rang out, and everything went black.

When I came to, I felt something wet on my face. My eyelids fluttered open, and I saw a cat licking my face before running away.

As I sat up, I took a moment to observe my surroundings. I found myself in a dark alley, and confusion washed over me. How did I end up here? As the memory of my death flooded back to me, I wondered if this was the afterlife. But the surroundings were far from heavenly, resembling the very alley where thugs had taken my life.

To confirm whether I had truly passed on, I inspected my body for any wounds, but there were none. I was surprised to discover that my skin was smoother than that of a newborn. When I stood up, I was amazed to find that I was completely steady, without a hint of weakness. In fact, I felt better than ever before.

As I gazed at my reflection in a shattered window, I scrutinized every inch of my body. To my astonishment, my previously skinny and malnourished frame had transformed into one with slim but powerful muscles brimming with vitality. Furthermore, it appeared that I had grown a few centimeters taller, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I had also become more attractive.

After dusting myself off, I decided to head home. Although the changes I had undergone were peculiar, I knew it wasn't safe to stay in the alley any longer.