Chapter 1: Rebirth
What's going on? My head hurts so much.
Waves of dull pain tore through the haze clouding his consciousness. Amon struggled to open his eyes, greeted by the familiar sight of a ceiling.
A hospital room? What kind of place is this? Didn't I die?
Amon blankly shifted his gaze, taking in his surroundings.
A spacious hospital room with white walls on all sides. The ECG monitor beside the bed emitted rhythmic beeps, while an IV bag hung overhead, delivering medication into his veins. A nurse holding a clipboard stared at him in disbelief.
"You're awake! Mr. Amamiya!"
The nurse hurried to his bedside, her voice filled with concern and astonishment.
"How are you feeling? Is there anywhere particularly uncomfortable? You've been in a coma for almost half a month!"
That's Japanese!?
Amon's pupils slightly dilated.
While he could distinguish it was Japanese, that was about the extent of his ability.
Yet now, he could actually understand what the nurse was saying in Japanese?!
Wait... could this be... transmigration?
This situation seemed explainable only by transmigration.
But what about memories? Where were this body's memories?
Amon tried to recall, but the memories belonging to this body were like shattered glass, scattered everywhere and difficult to piece together.
Only vague fragments remained—blinding headlights, the sound of a violent impact, and endless darkness.
And one name—Amamiya Ren!
Was this his name in this life? Though his name had changed, the tone remained the same.
"Amamiya-kun, this is wonderful! You've really woken up!"
Just then, the hospital room door opened from outside, and a middle-aged male doctor wearing gold-rimmed glasses entered. The name tag on his white coat read "Kuroda Kenichiro."
He quickly approached the bed, staring intently at Amamiya Ren, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as if suppressing unsettled emotions.
"A miracle? No, not a miracle—my treatment plan succeeded! Wonderful, truly wonderful!"
Doctor Kuroda muttered to himself, somewhat emotionally stirred. He adjusted his glasses before calming down slightly, then urgently asked Amamiya Ren: "I'm your attending physician, Kuroda. Amamiya-kun, how are you feeling now? Any severe headaches, nausea, or dizziness?"
Ren moved his lips slightly, his voice coming out hoarse: "Head... hurts badly... like it's splitting... body... feels heavy... can't move..."
"That's normal. You've been unconscious for too long; your bodily functions need time to recover."
Doctor Kuroda nodded, taking out a small flashlight to check his pupillary light reflex.
"Cognitive functions don't appear severely impaired... Do you remember what happened? Or your own name?"
"Name... Amamiya Ren? Beyond that, I can't remember anything else. Probably amnesia."
Ren hesitated for a moment, deciding to use the amnesia excuse to brush it off—after all, he had no complete memories of this body.
"Amnesia? Not amnesia, likely just a side effect. You've slept for so long that you forgot what happened before becoming vegetative. You'll gradually remember over time."
A strange glint flashed in Doctor Kuroda's eyes as he stated this with conviction.
"So... certain?"
Though he found this doctor overly confident, Ren didn't press the matter, instead asking about the reason for his presence here.
Doctor Kuroda replied, "This is Morita Hospital. You were brought here due to a traffic accident. Two cars collided at an intersection, and you were caught in it. The two drivers sustained minor injuries, but you were the unluckiest—you were knocked into a vegetative state."
"No..."
Ren slowly shook his head.
"I think... I'm fortunate."
He remembered that in his previous life, he had died of an incurable disease in a hospital bed.
For someone who had truly died once to be granted a second life—and to become younger at that—how could this not be considered fortunate?
"Indeed, from a medical perspective, the probability of a vegetative person waking up is very low. Your awakening itself is a stroke of luck."
Hearing this, Doctor Kuroda smiled reassuringly.
"It's good that you think this way. Maintaining an optimistic mindset is key. Right now, your top priorities are rest and recovery—don't overthink other matters. The party at fault for the accident has already covered all medical expenses up to this point."
After offering a few more words of advice, Doctor Kuroda arranged for a nurse to bring a wheelchair, assist Ren into it, and take him for further examinations.
As they moved down the hallway, hurried footsteps and the rapid roll of wheels suddenly echoed from behind.
"Make way! Emergency patient! Quickly!"
Several doctors and nurses, their expressions grave, rushed past with an emergency gurney. Ren's nurse quickly maneuvered his wheelchair closer to the wall to clear a path.
In the brief moment they passed by, Ren caught a glimpse of the person on the gurney.
It was a young-looking girl with short hair. Her face was as pale as paper, dotted with fine beads of cold sweat on her forehead, and her brows were tightly furrowed in pain.
What stood out most was her abdomen.
Beneath the hospital gown, her stomach was unnaturally distended, bulging as if she were ten months pregnant. The stark contrast with her frail frame made it appear particularly abnormal.
After that fleeting glance, the gurney was swiftly pushed away, heading toward the emergency operating room at the end of the corridor.
"Who was that?"
Ren asked instinctively.
The nurse pushing his wheelchair sighed, her tone tinged with sympathy.
"That's Miss Mio Yukiko. Her room is right across from yours. She's such a pitiful child—she's been suffering from a severe illness for a long time. Not long ago, she underwent a kidney transplant, but now she's developed such serious postoperative complications... Ah."
A kidney transplant? Complications? Could they cause such extreme abdominal swelling?
A faint, indescribable sense of incongruity flickered through Ren's mind, but he couldn't dwell on it—he was just a patient, after all.
His examination room was just ahead.
At the end of the corridor, the operating room doors slammed shut with a "bang." The red "In Surgery" light above lit up, separating the inside from the outside as two distinct worlds.
His examination began.
CT scans, MRIs, various neurological response tests... The lengthy process left Ren even more exhausted.
About an hour later, most of the examinations were completed, and the nurse wheeled Ren back to his room.
However, as they passed through the corridor again, Ren sensed something amiss.
The once orderly hospital hallway was now filled with an indescribable restlessness and panic.
The nurses gathered in small groups, whispering urgently among themselves, their faces etched with lingering fear.
Occasionally, a doctor hurried past, their expressions unusually grave, carrying a hint of barely concealed panic.
"...the surgery on Ms. Yukiko just now..."
"Is it true? Inside her belly was actually..."
"Shh—! Don't say it, it's too terrifying... How could something like this happen..."
"I heard the thing they took out... was still talking..."
"...It's really eerie..."
Fragmented words drifted into her ears, combined with the scene she had witnessed earlier, sending a shiver down Ren's spine.