Tanjiro Kamado died. He was fighting against Akaza when it all happened. Just as he prepared his sword to slash through Akaza's neck, something unimaginable happened.
He missed by 5cm.
He was going beyond his own capacities, and Akaza took that momentary lapse and utilized it fully. Even before a second had passed, Tanjiro's body got riddled with holes.
The sword slipped from his hand as he started to succumb to his own mortality. He saw Giyu-san shout, and yet he could not hear anything.
The sign of life started going away from his body as he embraced his death. Thousands of thoughts went through his head as he struggled to make sense of anything at all.
Nezuko. Zenitsu. Inouske. Giyu-san. The Demon Corps. And of course, Muzan Kibutsuji.
Emotions that he did not know were there went through his heart as, in his last breath, he saw Akaza being decapitated by Giyu-san. Tanjiro did not know whether or not Akaza was dead yet, and yet he felt some semblance of peace that he did not think he needed.
Tanjiro woke up with a start. On his back was a cracked pavement, and before his eyes was the blue sky. And despite the warm breeze in the air, not a single part of him was relaxed. His pupils were dilated, his breathing was erratic, and a sense of panic was already set in.
As the sudden sense of self came to him, his hands instantly went to his body. Akaza had utterly destroyed many parts of his body, and yet as he struggled to make sense of everything, he found not a single injury in his torso.
What's happening right now? I'm sure that Akaza killed me. Was it an illusion or some sort of blood demon art?
No, that can't be it. My body felt too real at that moment for it to be an illusion.
His clothes were all there with him, and so was his Nichirin Blade. Quickly unsheathing his blade, he checked its condition. Just like his torso and his clothes, his sword was also in its pristine condition.
There was not a single scratch on his sword, nor were there any signs of the life and death battle he faced.
That didn't make any sense. Nothing actually made sense to Tanjiro. He contemplated whether he was in the afterlife or not. But a quick breath through his lungs told him that he was indeed alive and his heart was still beating as strong as ever.
Without wasting any time, Tanjiro stood up. He had enough experience not to keep panicking. This was not the first time he had found himself in an unfavorable situation. His senses were also telling him that he was not in any immediate danger.
So, he quickly decided to inspect his surroundings. He was in an alleyway. Even though he could see the blue sky above him, the alley was darker than he expected. And the reason was the two high walls on both sides.
On the horizon, he could see signs of sunlight. He took off and started walking towards the light. As he neared the light, he could hear the sound of human voices around him. There were other sounds too, sounds similar to the whistles of a train.
Even before he reached the light, he knew that this was a human settlement. He could smell the lively atmosphere present. There were no scents of demons, just humans.
As he came to the open end of the alley, the blinding light distracted him only for a second. But just as soon as he recovered, he was presented with a scenery that he could never imagine.
Towering structures of steel and glass reached higher than he could ever imagine. Their surfaces gleamed under strange lights that flickered like torches. Strange vehicles that looked like carriages but did not have any horses tied to them. They moved fast, faster than he could imagine carriages moving.
The crowd surged along the glittering, clean streets. Each person dressed in colors, textures, and fabrics that he'd never seen. He smelled of something akin to coal—but not quite.
Other than that, he took in the smell of things he had never before, spices he had never tasted, perfumes he had never smelled. He smelled of oil, metal, and all the things that he could never have imagined.
After all, in a way, he was now in the future.
The noise, the lights, the people, the machines, the skyscrapers—everything started to overwhelm his senses like never before.
This was a brand-new world, and Tanjiro Kamada's journey here had just started. Also, a world where he was totally out of place.
"Mom, mom! Look! A samurai cosplayer!"