Prologue: Shadow of Death

'Master Altair, please open your eyes.'

A familiar voice spoke as I wandered in my darkness. I couldn't quite figure out who was speaking, but I know it was a voice that I'd heard before. It sounded feminine and nonchalant. I stopped walking and looked behind me.

A girl stood there. Her facial expression was empty. She didn't express any emotions in anything. Not her eyes. Not her mouth. Not her words. Her hair was pure white and wavy, while her eyes were a deep crimson. I've never seen this girl in my life, but I somehow had an idea of who she was.

'Ai?'

I said. My voice was deeper than usual. It sounded like me before I died. I looked down and inspected my body. My limbs were longer and my body was far more muscular than in my child's body. This was the body of Tatsuya Kimihiko.

[Hello there, Tatsuya, it's been a hot minute.]

Another voice spoke. Not from the girl but from elsewhere. I couldn't exactly pinpoint the location of the voice. It echoed in this space of darkness. I knew this voice. I spoke to it in a space of darkness right after my death.

'Zyn. I never thought I'd meet you again. Or did I die? Plus, why am I in my original body?'

[Chillax... Don't worry, you're not dead. I only simply wanted to meet with you to check up on you. You're in your original body because that is the main soul that resides in you. If that makes sense.]

'No, I don't really think it does.'

I turned my head over to the girl once again.

'Who is she?'

[That girl? You know her. You speak to her daily and you're the only one who can hear her. She gives you advice and sounds like an AI sometimes. The name you gave her was...]

'It was Ai. So it seems like I wasn't mistaken.'

I said the latter part under my breath. It was weird seeing Ai. Maybe because of her indifferent face but also maybe because I've never pictured her in human form before. Hell, I never knew that she did have one.

'Anyways, I imagine that you didn't come to see me simply because you wanted to check up on me.'

I could hear the formless being laugh from wherever he is.

[You really are sharp.]

'Spill the beans.'

[Okay, okay. Simply, in two weeks' time from now, you will die.]

The word, "die," reverberated through my head. Die means death. Death means no more living. It means that I'll cease to exist. I didn't change my expression or anything.

[You're surprisingly calm. The last time I told this to someone, they started panicking.]

With just that, I could tell that there are others who were reincarnated too.

'I mean, I can't do anything to change it, can I?'

[No.]

'That's what I thought.'

[But, there is one way. That is if you listen to my hint.]

I didn't say anything, I looked far into the darkness, intently.

["Overcome white with black."]

'What's that supposed to mean?'

[No idea, it came to mind right now.]

Yeah, he's no help.

[Anyways, Tatsuya, I hope you enjoy your remaining two weeks. I hope that you escape your impending death too~!]

The world of darkness turned pure white. Then my surroundings started to mesh together.

'Altair?'

'Ah!'

I came back to my senses. I wasn't sleeping, but it seems that I blacked out temporarily. It would be strange if I did sleep because my body doesn't need sleep. What were we doing again? Ah, we just arrived in Riel and we were going to pay for the inn. The two siblings said they would pay for us.

I wonder... how that'll work.