Inside the temple of the Eternal Paradise Cult.
A child sat cross-legged on a cushion upon the main hall's altar. He held a bowl of clear water in both hands, his eyes lowered to gaze at his own reflection.
Dazzling, rainbow-colored irises, hair the pure color of white oak, and a face so flawless and exquisite it seemed to have been meticulously carved by the gods—if a "Child of God" truly existed in this world, this is surely what he would look like.
"Doma..."
"Oh my, this is quite the headache."
The child pouted slightly, tossing the bowl aside. He propped his chin on one hand, watching the sunlight stream in through the window. In the light, his rainbow irises shimmered like translucent, lucid gems.
"So, transmigration is actually real? It's been seven days, but it still feels so strange."
In his previous life, he had died on a certain day at the age of eighteen. As for which day exactly, he didn't really care. He had been bedridden since he was ten, and the following years were spent in a daze, battling his illness. With a body like that, it wouldn't have been surprising to die at any moment.
During his rare moments of clarity, he had managed to finish reading the Demon Slayer manga, so he was surprisingly calm and accepting of his current situation.
He vaguely remembered drifting in darkness for a long time, until the child with rainbow eyes appeared before him. With a compassionate smile, the child opened his arms and readily accepted his existence.
And so, the two merged. No, rather, they were reborn together.
"That original child... he really had no emotions at all," Doma said, his eyes lowering sadly. "He didn't have the joy, anger, or sorrow of a normal person, yet he found it difficult to forget things, like a machine."
"Hmm, but maybe this is for the best. For both of us."
Thinking this, he revealed a pure and beautiful smile.
"Lord Founder," a respectful female voice called out as a side door slid open, interrupting his thoughts. "The believers have arrived."
"I understand. Please let them in."
Doma picked up the black and gold lotus-shaped hat beside him and placed it on his head, instinctively putting on a perfect, flawless smile.
Although he agreed that a group of adults complaining to a child was utterly foolish, as the Lord Founder of the Eternal Paradise Cult, he had a job to do.
Several believers entered through the door and knelt before him. They recounted and lamented the hardships of their lives, begging the "Child of God" on the high seat to guide them to the world of paradise.
Doma maintained a look of profound compassion, though his mind was wandering from boredom. At the appropriate moments, tears of pity streamed down his face as he offered empty words of comfort to the weeping believers.
Tsk, how annoying.
It wasn't until the last rays of the setting sun had faded that the believers finally departed, weeping with gratitude.
Doma returned to his room, where a maid served him a meal that was considered lavish for the era. He poked at the grilled fish and stewed vegetables with his chopsticks, took a bite of a rice ball, then frowned slightly as he sipped the miso soup...
Well, he didn't really like it, but thankfully, he had never been picky about food.
"Mmm~ I suppose I'll have to keep being the Founder."
"Even though I really don't want to stay here and listen to those ignorant people complain, the world outside is so harsh. A beautiful boy like me would have a hard time surviving."
"Ah, right, there are also demons in this world... Just thinking about it is so dangerous~"
"As for becoming a demon myself... hmm, I'd rather not."
He had thought about immortality and had wanted to see what would happen two or three hundred years in the future... But Kibutsuji Muzan was a terrible boss, and eating people seemed rather impolite. Besides, hell really did exist in this world.
"But, what if the Demon King comes looking for me anyway?"
"Should I try to contact the Demon Slayer Corps before that happens? Oh my, that sounds even more dangerous~"
Doma yawned, stirring his miso soup with his chopsticks out of sheer boredom. He had no interest in slaying demons, and the thought of training was enough to kill him. Perhaps because he had already died once, he didn't feel any fear of death at all.
"Hmm, is that a bit strange?"
Doma tilted his head, blinking his rainbow eyes innocently.
"Oh well, I'll let my future self worry about these things," he thought, completely at ease.
He watched the maid clear away the meal, then sat alone in the darkening room.
"Huh? That's odd. Why hasn't Mother come to see me tonight?"
An unknown amount of time passed. Yawning, Doma slid open the wooden door and walked down the corridor toward his parents' room. Moonlight shone through the windows, casting a cold, silver veil over the floor.
Standing before his parents' room, Doma slid the door open. The thick stench of blood assaulted his nostrils.
He paused for a moment, feeling no fear, and walked in with light steps.
His father lay in a pool of blood, his expression contorted in a grimace, devoid of all life. His mother lay beside him, her face twisted in agony, her lips a purplish-black from poison—not at all her usual gentle self.
"Eh? Was it today?"
Doma stood quietly in the darkness, watching his father's blood slowly spread towards him, his heart completely unmoved.
He knew. His father who played around with female believers, and his mother who, unable to bear it any longer, chose to kill her husband before taking her own life... All of this was supposed to happen, and so it did, right before his eyes.
"It feels... a little tragic," Doma thought, yet he felt no sadness.
An expression of pity appeared on his face instinctively, and crystalline tears flowed from his rainbow eyes. After two streams of tears traced down his cheeks, his expression instantly returned to a calm void. He then wrinkled his nose slightly.
"It stinks. I need to get someone to clean this up."
He turned to leave, but just as he was about to step out the door, he froze.
"Eh?"
"Is this how a normal person should react?"
Although he had no feelings for these parents, and the original Doma had even less... was this how a normal person was supposed to be?
Doma turned his head to look at the two bodies in the pool of blood, tilting his head in confusion.
"Something's wrong."
He looked down at his own small hands.
"I shouldn't be like this."
"My emotions..."
"...are they leaking away?"
Doma blinked, a flicker of emotion finally stirring within him. A faint trace of sorrow crossed his usually clear and empty, splendid eyes.
"That truly is... very sad."
"Lord Founder! What is— Aaaahhh!"
A maid's piercing scream shattered the long night's silence from behind him.
After that night, there was a major shift in the leadership of the Eternal Paradise Cult. The only thing that remained unchanged was the Child of God.
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