After my entire body went cold and my heartbeat stopped, I could barely feel anything anymore.
In that state, I truly felt what death was—my body couldn't move, and my vision blurred.
In my mind, this was the biggest regret of my life.
I had left my younger sister behind, following our parents into the afterlife.
In this state, it felt as if I was sinking into a deep, dark, and very cold ocean.
The light from the horizon slowly faded, replaced by the ocean's darkness.
In my heart, I wished the accident hadn't happened. I might have still been with my sister. I might have seen her grow up and become successful. I truly wanted to witness that moment.
But that was a promise that would never come to pass.
Now, there was only regret. A deep regret before I sank into the ocean of darkness.
I never thought about what the afterlife would be like. Would it be like hell or heaven? I couldn't even contemplate it.
All I felt was the coldness of the dark ocean, pulling me deeper and deeper...
" ...….!!!! "
While in the cold darkness, I slowly started to hear something?
"Mi....Mik....Mika….Mikan"
The voice was slowly becoming clearer. It was a voice calling someone's name.
I didn't recognize that voice at all. Or the name I was hearing?
But "Mikan!?" Who was that? The name sounded so foreign to me.
I didn't know anyone with that name, or have a friend called that.
"Mikan.....Mikan.....Mikan"
But one thing I heard for sure was that the name kept ringing in my ears.
The voice slowly became clearer as someone called out the name very loudly.
This voice? It sounded like a little girl's voice. It was quite unfamiliar, but how could it reach my ears?!
" ...…"
Slowly, from the darkness of the ocean, a light appeared and began pulling me up to the surface!
I wasn't sure what was happening, but I was convinced this was a call to the afterlife.
For someone who had just died in an accident, in certain beliefs, their soul wouldn't go through a bad phase where it would be judged in the afterlife.
This might be compensation given to a poor soul, where they would go straight to the afterlife without having to go through a trial for their sins.
" .... "
As the light began to illuminate my entire face, I slowly started to see a sight I had never experienced before.
My vision was still quite blurry, and I couldn't yet confirm what I was seeing.
But even though it was hazy, everything was slowly becoming clearer.
"Mikan, Mikan...wake up, Mikan!" a little girl shouted at me.
I didn't know why this name sounded familiar, but the girl's voice!? It was a little disturbing to me...
My vision slowly cleared until I could see everything clearly.
But what was this situation? How could this be happening!?
"I, why?" I said after seeing what was going on.
"Mikan....please, answer me," a girl shouted from a distance.
I found myself lying in the shallow part of a lake somewhere.
I saw a girl with red hair standing on the edge of the lake. The girl was looking at me with a worried expression, as if something unwanted had happened.
Feeling confused, I slowly got up and stood.
I then looked up at the bright blue sky, which was accompanied by a few clouds.
For some reason, it was colder here than the last place I remembered.
I thought this might be the afterlife, the final resting place for souls.
Looking at the scenery around me, I saw many beautiful sights.
But this place was surrounded by many mountains and looked like a painting of a place in the Northern Hemisphere.
"Mikan.....Thank goodness, you're okay..... I'm so sorry. If it weren't for me...those kids wouldn't have bothered you..... sniffle, sniffle ...Please forgive me."
In a hurry, the red-haired girl ran into the lake and approached me.
The crying girl bent down and apologized? She also said that if it wasn't for her, those kids wouldn't have bothered me.
Feeling confused, I sighed and looked at the girl.
"Hey, um.....if you don't mind, can I ask you something!?" I said to the girl.
"Yes!?" she replied.
With a slightly confused expression, the girl said 'yes' to me.
"Does the afterlife have scenery like this!? And also.....who is Mikan?" I asked the girl.
"Huh!?....The afterlife!?....It seems like you've really suffered a severe brain injury... You're even asking about yourself....
Mikan is your name," the little girl said.
The little girl was quite surprised by the question coming from my mouth.
She guessed that I had a severe brain injury that made me forget my name?
But Mikan? Was that my name?....
"But wait....you said Mikan is my name!? And who are you!?" I asked the little girl.
"You don't even remember me!?....It's me, Rosse. I'm your friend," the girl said to me.
The girl clearly stated her name to me.
She was Rosse. She said she was my friend!? But wait.....
But I don't remember having a friend with that name at all. Especially not a little red-haired girl?
"So I'm Mikan? And you're Rosse?... And we're friends!?"
I slowly began to observe what was happening.
My name was Mikan, and this girl named Rosse was my friend.
"Is the injury really bad!? I'll tell Aunt Elena later.... You need to be treated right away, Mikan," the girl said with great concern.
Feeling a little dazed and confused, I tried to remember the two names in my memory.
I then looked at the lake water, which showed a glimpse of my face.
I saw the face of a boy with black hair and red eyes.
I felt completely unfamiliar with this face! I didn't recognize it at all.
But right on the side of my head, there was a wound that looked like it was from a blunt object.
And the blood that kept flowing from the wound on my head really started to make me feel pain.
"Uhhh....Ouch, ouch!!!!"
I slowly began to feel a pressure in my head. The pressure was so painful it made me feel like my head was going to explode.
"Mikan, Mikan..."
When I started to feel the pressure from the pain in my head, the girl became worried.
She started to scream hysterically while calling out the name Mikan. A name that was slowly becoming familiar.
"...!!!!! "
A huge amount of information slowly poured into my head like a waterfall.
This pressure was so strong that I couldn't handle it anymore.
"Ugh!!!!" I fell. When I really couldn't stand the intense pressure of the headache, I fell and fainted again.
My vision slowly became blurry and hazy again.
But after all this, I started to feel something quite familiar.
Right now, I am Mikan, and my real name is Michael. A beautiful name, similar to the name of an Angel who brings happiness to everyone.
"Mikaaannnn!!!!"
The girl started screaming hysterically. She was really worried about me, and seeing the situation, I finally realized something.
'I'm living a life like this again.'
I didn't actually want to keep living like this—a life that was almost identical to my previous one.
Living as a poor child in another world. A life that was nothing more than hell.
But what made it truly hellish was after I got the memories of this body.
The owner of this body would end tragically, as he would become the cause of a future event.
— To Be Continued —