On his final night at Valhalla, Hajime climbed to the very top of the academy building.
Though the past week of training had restored fragments of his long-lost athleticism, this climb alone pushed him to his limit. Still, when he finally reached the summit, the sight before him made every aching muscle worth it.
The wind moved like a gentle blessing, cool and strangely comforting. Above, the stars formed patterns that seemed to dance to a melody only the universe could hear. His mind wandered freely, drifting from thought to thought, never settling — until glowing sky lanterns began to float into the night as the residents celebrated Toro Nagashi.
As he watched them rise, his worries melted away. Only one thought remained.
Perhaps those I've isekai'ed with my truck are also among them… Farewell to you, in your new life.
And just like that, the thought faded.
Or perhaps he faded.
Because the next moment, Hajime found himself somewhere else entirely.
A dream.Or a vision.He wasn't sure.
It felt real… yet unreal.He was in a body that wasn't his, yet it carried an ache of familiarity — like returning to a home forgotten long ago.
He was running. Through a dark forest, shrouded in shadow. His body was clad in battered but high-quality linen robes, the kind he had only ever seen in old martial arts dramas from a world called Murim.
And then, understanding came.
He was being hunted.
Elite forces of one of the Great Families of the Central Plains — masters of assassination, poison, and medicine.
The Hidden Tang Family.
Memories surged into him.He — or rather, the man he now was — had been tasked with safeguarding a forbidden manuscript:The Rejuvenation Scripture of the great being Emanyueru, entrusted to the Meshiya Commission, a rising organization said to be built on loyalty and honor.
That had been a lie.
A mole had betrayed them to the Murim Alliance.
Months of running followed. Countless battles. Near-death encounters. Blood-soaked roads and broken comrades. Still, he pushed forward — until the day he arrived at the Mountain Monk Temple, praying for sanctuary.
Instead, he found war waiting.
The elders. The masters. Armed disciples. All prepared.
Realization dawned like frostbite.They too had betrayed him.
"Is this how a righteous sect behaves?!" he screamed, though he knew it meant nothing.
"Amitabha," the head monk intoned softly. "May Buddha grant you peace."
They meant to erase him. To claim the scripture. To seize immortality.
They charged.
He fought like a cornered beast, cutting down first-rate disciples with ease, but exhaustion consumed him. His life force destabilized. His breaths grew shallow. Knowing the end had come, he knelt, gripping the indestructible scripture — parchment that could not burn, nor tear.
As the monks approached, he whispered that he had one final request.
They paused.
"May this world be freed from evils like you."
And then he erupted his life force.
Light consumed everything.
The mountain range shattered.The world burned white.
Hajime gasped awake.
Stars.
Wind.
Valhalla.
His heart pounded violently in his chest. What… was that? A dream? A memory? A life that never belonged to him — yet felt carved into his soul?
Instinctively, he knelt.
Dimensional Energy surged within him, and as naturally as breathing, he began to circulate it through his body — meditating, stabilising, controlling.
It worked.
"…Woah."
Before he could process more, a familiar voice called up.
"Hajime! Get down from there! Let's hit the road — big day ahead!"
He looked over the edge to see Haruka waiting below.
Dropping down, he landed with a smooth, nimble grace that startled even himself.
"Since when did you know martial arts?" Haruka raised a brow.
"U-Um… from watching you train?" he replied quickly.
"Ohhh? So you have been watching me?" she teased.
"I-I mean! I've been analyzing your training! For, uh… educational purposes!"
"Mhm. Sure," she said, lightly punching his shoulder. "If you say so. Let's go."
He grabbed his duffel bag, climbed into Freya, and took one last look at the shining Valhalla Academy — its towering halls, floating architecture, and magical serenity.
Not goodbye to its people. Just to the place itself.
The engine roared to life.
"Destination?" Haruka asked.
Hajime steadied his breath, unaware that echoes of another life still lingered deep within his soul.
"…ITA Headquarters."
And with that, Freya rolled forward — leaving Valhalla behind, as the quiet storm of fate began to gather on the horizon.