WakeupMy name is Garve.
In my past life, I was a boy with a single goal—the end. I wanted to see the life beyond life, the world that comes after death. For as long as I can remember, I had no real interest in living. I was always the type of person who was perfect in everything, yet nothing ever felt meaningful. So one day, I ended my own life.
But death wasn't the end.
I was reborn into an immortal world, a place where everyone's age froze once they reached twenty-five, and then, after death, they were reborn again and again. But even in that world, I died. I was killed by King Fridz.
Yet when I was dying, I felt something strange—a connection. A link between two worlds: the Sun World and the Sunless World.
The story begins in the Sunless World.
Raven soldiers were escorting BloomX6000, a woman chosen to give birth to a new child in this immortal realm, to the king's castle. The king of this world, despite holding such a terrifying title, was only seven years old. A boy in appearance—playful and mischievous—but inside, he was cruel and dangerous.
When he learned that BloomX6000 had given birth to a child not fully of this world, but one connected to another world, his cruelty surfaced. The king laughed first, but his laughter soon turned sharp and merciless. He ordered that all three of us—the child, BloomX6000, and me—be killed.
My first thought was: If everyone here is immortal, then how can anyone die?
But King Fridz had a plan. He commanded one of his soldiers to bring him a golden sword, a weapon not of this world. He added in a chilling tone, "Bring me that weapon from the Sun World."
My heart froze. The Sun World? Could that be the world I came from? Are the Sun World and the Sunless World connected? Are they opposites?
Memories of the Sun World came rushing back. I remembered sitting with my parents, watching the government news broadcast. They had announced that production of ageless materials had increased massively—gold, eternium, vertical glass, graphene.
Could it be… was the government of my world connected to this world somehow?
Before I could think further, the king thrust the golden sword toward us. When the blade cut through flesh, and I saw blood pouring out, realization struck me: this place was no heaven.
As I died again, I didn't fall into the same darkness as before. Instead, I saw light. The light pulled me forward, brighter and brighter, until suddenly—
My eyes opened.
I was back. In my bed. In my home in Japan, in the Sun World.
My first thought was simple: Was it all just a dream?
But as questions began flooding my mind, I knew it wasn't. Everything that had happened—every memory, every clue—was connected, not just to now, but all the way back to my childhood.
Confused and restless, I leapt from my bed and ran outside.
"Garve, where are you going? It's five in the morning!" my parents called after me.
"I'll be back soon!" I shouted, running without stopping.
I didn't slow until I reached the Tokyo Skytree. The place where I had once jumped, the place where I had once ended it all.
But when I reached the same spot, I froze. The glass barrier… it was unbroken. Untouched. Perfect.
If I really jumped from here… then how is the glass still intact?
Questions whirled inside my head like a storm. My only goal in life had always been death, but now… I couldn't even reach it.
I thought back to the mysterious letter I once read: Who is the true enemy—the creator, or the creation of the creator?
Could it mean the creation of God? Or the creation of humans?
I clenched my fists. If I wanted answers, I needed to return to the Sunless World. I had to know what it really was.
I decided to repeat everything I had done before—just as when I had committed suicide and been reborn.
Standing once more at the edge of the tower, I closed my eyes, ready to leap. My heart pounded. My mind repeated the steps. One… two… three—
But before I could fall, a hand grabbed the back of my shirt.
"Child," a deep voice said. "What are you doing here?"
I turned in shock. An older man stood behind me, holding me firmly. His face was calm but his eyes were sharp.
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
The man sighed and asked for my parents' address. Before I realized it, the scene shifted—
And he was sitting in my living room. My parents sat across from him, faces pale, as he explained gently about the value of life.
My parents bowed their heads, apologizing. "Thank you, sir. We're sorry for the trouble. We'll take better care of him."
The man smiled faintly. "It's alright. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."
He left soon after, the door closing softly behind him.
But the moment he was gone, my parents' façade broke. Their sorrow filled the room. My father's shoulders shook as tears rolled down his face.
"Where did we go wrong?" he cried. "We may not be your real parents, but we never let you feel any less loved. Then why… why are you doing this?"
Seeing them like that, tears welled in my own eyes. My mind flickered back to the Sunless World, to the image of my mother there, holding me as a child, crying desperately to protect me.
"Maa… Baba," I whispered. "I love you both. But there are questions I need answers to. And I can only find them after death. I want to see the end of human life."
My father slammed his fist against the table. "Garve, have you lost your mind? Human life has no end. Even after death, your will is carried by another. It's an endless cycle. Life is love. Love is life. You need to grow up and understand this."
"But, Baba," I argued, my voice shaking. "If death is inevitable, then why live at all? Why not end it early? Wouldn't immortality give life more meaning?"
"No." His voice was firm. "Immortality would strip away the value of life. Without death, humans would become nothing more than walking corpses. The one who created us… thought deeply about this. Everything was made for a reason."
His words—the value of life would diminish—echoed in my mind. A flashback struck me. I remembered flying on a raven in the Sunless World, looking down at the lifeless expressions of people below. They looked like empty zombies, hollow and joyless.
But even after that memory, one thought rose above everything else in my mind: Who is God?
I looked at my parents and bowed my head. "I'm sorry. Forgive me. I couldn't even join you today at the shrine for the National Prayer Day. I'll definitely go with you next year."
My father frowned. "Garve, what are you saying? Today is Wednesday. The International Prayer Day is always on the first Thursday of May."
My heart skipped a beat.
Because the day I died before… was on Prayer Day. I remembered my parents leaving for the shrine while I stayed behind. But if today was only the 7th of May, and the Prayer Day was on the 8th…
I rushed to check the calendar.
It was true. The Prayer Day was tomorrow.
Which meant… I had traveled back in time. By one whole day.
My hands trembled. My breath caught in my throat.
Everything I had seen until now… it wasn't a dream.
It was real.
To be continued…
Next Chapter: True Face