Akira Yuzuki's fingers moved rapidly over the keyboard, but his eyes were not on the game. They were caught in the reflection of the black screen for a moment... That reflection which brought back his mother's face for the thousandth time. Her pale face. Her dry lips. Her weak voice calling his name for the last time. "A...ki...ra..." He clenched his jaw tightly and quickly averted his gaze back to the screen, as if escaping into a silly game could stop him from hearing her voice again. But it didn't work. Just hours ago, his mother was still breathing. And just hours ago, this house was still... a home. But now, nothing remained in it but silence. A heavy silence, suffocating, filling the walls, making even the sound of the old fan seem like a distant moan. Akira pressed the keys frantically, and the character on the screen dashed into the middle of a loud battle. Swords. Spells. Flashes of light. Everything there was alive, loud, and moving. As for here... everything was dead. He let out a sharp exhale, then ran his hand over his face in exhaustion. — "Damn it..." The word came out hollow, as if it had fallen from someone who no longer felt anything. The room was cold. Colder than usual. Or maybe that wasn't because of the weather. On the adjacent table, the cup of tea his mother had made for him that morning was still there... half full, and long since gone cold. He hadn't touched it. He couldn't. He lowered his head slightly, and tightened his grip on the mouse. Then... The screen went black. Akira blinked slowly. — "Huh?" The room plunged into near-total darkness, leaving only a faint light seeping in from the street behind the curtains. He reached his hand toward the computer's power button, but before he could touch it— the air in front of him cracked. He froze in place. Right in the middle of the room, a thin line of blue light appeared, as if someone had sliced through the void with an invisible knife. It wasn't a normal glow. It was something... wrong. Something that shouldn't exist. The rift slowly widened, then began to pulse. A pulse. Then a second. Then— It exploded. A wave of light rushed toward him with such force that he instinctively raised his arm to shield his face. — "What the—?!" He didn't finish. In a single moment, everything disappeared. The room. The computer. The house. The city. And the night. Even the sound of his breathing was swallowed by the darkness. The first thing that came back to him... was the feeling of the ground. Cold. Damp. Strangely soft. Then he heard a voice. A clear voice, calm, but it didn't come from his surroundings. It came directly from inside his head.
[Consciousness recognized.] [Establishing link.] [Welcome, new host.]
Akira's eyes snapped open. He stood up quickly, then stopped in his tracks as if someone had struck him in the chest. He wasn't in his room. Beneath his feet stretched damp, green grass. Above him was a vast, pale blue sky, where calm clouds he had never seen the like of before drifted. And the air... The air was different. Cleaner than it should be. Cold. Alive. His eyes widened slowly. — "...Where am I?" He spun around quickly. No buildings. No roads. No power poles. Only green hills, distant trees, and a terrifyingly natural silence. The voice returned, clearer this time, and more firmly rooted within his consciousness.
[Mental connection successfully established.] [Confirmed Name: Akira Yuzuki.] [Age: 23 years.] [Status: Successfully transferred to a new world.]
Akira held his breath. — "...What?"
[Current World: The World of the Immortal Legend, Rimuru Tempest.]
His entire body trembled. — "Impossible..."
[In your original world, this world was classified as a work of fiction.] [However, current data confirms: This world is real.]
He took a half-step back, his mind beginning to reject what he was hearing before even trying to understand it. — "No... no, wait—" But the voice continued without stopping:
[Current Timeline: 500 years after the sudden disappearance of Rimuru Tempest without any documented trace.]
Akira stopped moving. He blinked once. Then a second time. — "...Rimuru... disappeared?"
[Affirmative.]
He felt a chill run down his spine.
[Over the past five centuries, Tempest is no longer just a village.] [Rather, it has transformed into a major nation with vast political, military, and cultural influence.]
He fell silent for a few seconds, then said in a strained voice: — "Who are you?" The response came immediately:
[I am the Companion System.] [Designation: The Empty Heart System.] [You have been linked to me to ensure higher probabilities of survival.]
He furrowed his brows. — "The... Empty Heart System?"
[Affirmative.]
The name alone was enough to make him feel uneasy. As if this thing... knew more about him than it should. Then a transparent panel of light appeared before him, and words formed upon it, one after the other.
[Initiating primary host configuration] [Basic abilities granted]
1) Memory of Pain Every true pain the host experiences—physical, psychological, or emotional—does not disappear, rather, it transforms into latent power. The more you hurt... the harder you are to break.
2) Soul Fragments Allows the host to release invisible soul fragments that can: Sense danger Track energy Touch magical imprints And leave spiritual marks on targets Every fragment carries a piece of your consciousness.
3) Survival Pulse Upon facing real danger or approaching death, the body and mind enter a temporary state of maximum alert. Speed, perception, and reflexes increase automatically.
4) The Sealed Ability Throne of Hollow Status: Sealed Description: Unavailable Unlock Conditions: Unknown
Akira's breath hitched as he stared at the words. Something about these abilities... made him feel that they weren't "random." But rather as if they had emerged from within himself. — "These..." He raised his hand slowly, then clenched it slightly. He felt a faint pulse inside his chest. Not his heartbeat. But something else. Something cold... And deep.
[Abilities synchronized with the host's psychological and spiritual state.]
His body stiffened. — "Psychological state?"
[The most suitable abilities were selected for your current constitution.]
— "My current constitution...?" But before he could get an answer, the transparent panel vanished all at once. Then the system said in a steady voice:
[Configuration complete.] [Primary Recommendation: Survive.]
— "Wait! Don't disappear now! How did I get here? And why me?!" A brief silence prevailed. Then came its final response:
[Current information is insufficient.] [Support will resume when needed.]
And the voice vanished. All at once. Completely. Akira remained standing in the middle of the field, with the cold air blowing around him, and his heart beating with an irregular force. Everything had happened impossibly fast. Just minutes ago, he was in his room. Just hours ago, his mother was alive. And now... He is in another world. A world he used to see only on a screen. A world... supposedly fictional. He raised his hand to his head and gripped his hair violently. — "This is madness..." But he wasn't dreaming. He knew that. The wind was real. The grass was real. The dirt beneath his feet was real. And that silence... was too real. He took a deep breath, then finally raised his head toward the horizon. And here... He stopped. Far away, behind the hills and the light mist, a nation appeared. But no... It wasn't just a nation. It was something closer to a living empire. Towering walls rising as if to separate two worlds. Massive towers gleaming under the distant light. Wide roads and colossal structures blending magic and civilization. Even from this distance, it looked too vast to be mere "Tempest." Too big to be the legacy of a village built by one person. Too big to be natural. Akira felt something pressing on his chest. Awe? Or fear? Or that kind of feeling that tells you... that something there isn't right? He whispered unconsciously: — "...Is this Tempest?" And in that exact moment... A deep bell tolled from afar. A heavy, metallic sound, just one. But it was enough to make his body go rigid. Then, for the first time since his arrival... he felt something strange in his head. Like a faint heat passing through his mind. Then, faint lines of light appeared before his right eye.
[WARNING] [Soul Fragments responded automatically] Something has been detected watching you.
Akira's eyes widened. Slowly... he raised his head toward the top of a nearby hill. And there... amidst the swaying grass and the light mist... there was a figure. Standing. Still. Watching him. No clear features. No movement. Just a silent presence... and terrifying enough to make Akira's skin crawl. He took a step backward unconsciously. — "...Who's there?" But that figure... disappeared. As if they had never been there in the first place. Akira remained staring at the spot, his heart pounding violently, and his mind screaming just one question: Who had been watching him... from the moment he arrived?