"CRASH!!!"
Before I knew it, I was lying on the cold pavement, unable to move a single muscle. My vision blurred, but I could still make out the silhouette of my childhood friend, Suzume, frantically shaking me, her voice trembling as she screamed into her phone for help.
I guess... this is it.
"I'm sorry, Suzume," I thought weakly, the words echoing in my mind. "I broke my promise... I said we'd make it to graduation together."
Her voice began to fade, drowned by the sound of approaching sirens and the darkness closing in. Then—silence.
When I opened my eyes again, everything was different.
I was no longer in pain. In fact, I wasn't even sure I had a body anymore. I found myself standing in a strange, endless space, glowing with soft, ethereal light. There was no sky, no ground—just a calm void.
As I tried to comprehend what had happened, a figure approached me.
She was a woman—beautiful, otherworldly, and cloaked in radiant light. Her presence felt warm and overwhelming, as if the very concept of time bowed in her presence.
"Ah, you're finally awake," she said with a serene smile. "Welcome... to the space between lives."
I suddenly stood up in shock—or at least, I thought I did. There were no footsteps, no heartbeat, no breath. It was like I moved on instinct, yet nothing about it felt real. My legs didn't ache. My chest didn't hurt. I felt… weightless.
"W-Where am I?" I asked, my voice echoing strangely into the infinite light around me.
The woman folded her hands in front of her. "You're in the Threshold. A resting point between your past life... and what comes next."
Past life.
The words hit me like another crash.
"You mean… I'm dead?"
She tilted her head with a gentle expression, as if I had asked whether the sky was blue.
"Technically, yes. Your earthly body can no longer sustain you. But your soul—your essence—is here, unbroken."
A hollow silence followed. I thought of Suzume—her trembling hands, her tear-filled eyes.
Would she be okay? Did she blame herself?
"Then… what now?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady. "Do I just vanish? Or is there something else?"
That's when she smiled again, this time with a glimmer of mischief. It was like the air around her shifted, playful yet divine.
"There is… an alternative. A second chance, if you will. But it comes with a condition."
My heart—or whatever was left of it—skipped.
"A condition?"
She stepped closer, golden strands of her hair floating like silk in the light.
"You died with regret, didn't you?" she asked, voice soft but knowing. "You never told that girl—Suzume—how you truly felt. You promised her something you couldn't keep. That regret is why you're here."
My throat tightened. I couldn't speak.
She continued, "So, I'll make you a deal. I will grant you another life—in a world far different from your own. And in that world, I will bring her with you."
My eyes widened. "You mean—Suzume too?"
She nodded. "But she won't remember anything. Not the accident. Not you. Not even her own name. It will be up to you to find her… and fulfill your promise anew."
The light swirled around us like wind, gently rising.
"But know this," she added. "This time, there's no guarantee of fate, no script to follow. If you want her heart, you'll have to earn it all over again."
She raised her hand. A door of pure light formed behind her, slowly creaking open.
"So... what will it be?"
Her voice echoed like a divine bell.
"A second life—with the chance to be by her side again… or oblivion?"
I looked at her with a serious face and said, "If a second life is what it takes to fulfill that promise, then a second life is not a bad choice."
The Goddess smiled, not with pity or superiority, but with something close to admiration.
"Spoken like someone who still believes in the strength of a bond... even beyond death," she said gently.
The radiant door behind her pulsed with light—warm and inviting. I could feel something on the other side calling to me. It wasn't just a new world. It was a second chance... a chance to be with her again, even if she no longer remembered me.
"Very well," the Goddess said, raising her hand in a graceful arc.
Light burst from beneath my feet, forming glowing runes in a circle. I felt my consciousness begin to slip again—not into darkness this time, but into a flood of warmth, wind, and sound.
"One last thing," her voice echoed as my vision faded. "Her name in this world will not be the same. Her face may differ slightly. You'll only know her by one thing—your heart."
Then, everything was silent.