Daniel Hernández always said his life was like any other.
Born and raised in the streets of Nezahualcóyotl, in the State of Mexico, he knew what it meant to earn every penny, to look after his family, and to stay out of trouble. His mother worked double shifts and his father... well, he left when Daniel was just seven years old. Since then, he had become the "man of the house."
At seventeen, he was already working part-time at a stationery store downtown and attending high school in the afternoons. He always pushed himself, not for him, but for her.
Andrea, his little sister.
Ten years younger, with a smile capable of brightening the greyest days. Daniel lived to see her happy, to secure a better future for her, so she wouldn't have to deal with the same things he did.
He was a smart kid, somewhat sarcastic, with an almost obsessive fondness for video games and anime. In his small room, surrounded by posters of Dragon Ball and Evangelion, he escaped the real world whenever he could. He dreamed of living an adventure, being a hero, or at least having a bit more excitement than just studying, working, and repeating.
And as if fate had heard him, the excitement came. But not in the way he expected.
It was a Friday afternoon, right after picking Andrea up from elementary school. They were walking together down a narrow street, a few blocks from home. They were talking about what they'd watch that night: whether he could convince her to watch One Piece or if she'd insist on princess movies.
They laughed. They joked. Until the footsteps behind them grew faster.
A hooded man, nervous, with a gun trembling in his hand.
—"Give me your stuff, asshole!" yelled the robber, pointing at them.
Daniel raised his hands, trying to calm him. He tried to reason, to keep Andrea from getting scared, to stay calm. But when the robber saw her... when he lowered the gun towards her...
The world stopped.
Daniel didn't think. He acted.
He jumped in front of his sister without hesitation. The gunshot echoed through the street, dry, violent. The pain was immediate, but the worst part wasn't his body burning from the wound: it was hearing Andrea's scream as he fell to the ground.
The blood stained his clothes. The world grew blurry. The sirens were far away, too far.
But as he faded, he managed to see his sister's face. Crying. Safe.
He smiled.
"I did it..."
And then, only darkness.
There was no pain.
No body either.
Just a sensation... like floating in a sea without waves, without cold, without heat. An absolute nothingness that seemed to envelop everything.
Daniel didn't know how long he'd been there.
Maybe minutes. Maybe years.
He tried to move, but he had no legs. He tried to scream, but he had no voice. He only thought. And that thought was his only anchor to what he had been:
"Am I dead?"
There was no answer. No voices. No angels, no demons, no judgment.
Only him.
Only emptiness.
At first, he panicked. Every second stretched as if time were mocking his sanity. He wanted to cry. Scream.
But he couldn't.
And with time—if that was what was passing—he stopped trying.
Sometimes he dreamed. He relived the street, the gunshot, Andrea's gaze. He clung to that last instant as if it were the only thing keeping him someone.
"At least she lived... at least she lived."
That was enough.
Wasn't it?
Then... something changed.
A spark. A distant point in the darkness.
A light.
Small at first, like a dying star. But it grew, pulsating, warm, alive. Daniel didn't know why, but something inside him—if he still had one—shuddered. He didn't think, he just walked.
Or floated.
Or simply existed toward it.
The light grew more intense, enveloping him with every step he didn't take. It covered him like an embrace, like a whisper that needed no words.
And then...
He woke up.
The air smelled of freshly baked bread.
A curtain fluttered softly at the open window.
A warm room, with posters, books, an unmade bed... and the sound of a woman calling him from the kitchen.
—"Daniel! Breakfast is ready!"
His eyes opened slowly. His body—yes, he had one—responded as if he had never died. He sat up, confused, touching his chest, searching for the wound he knew should be there.
Nothing.
No scar.
No blood.
No pain.
He jumped out of bed and went to the mirror.
It was him. A bit younger, perhaps. A cleaner haircut, a healthier complexion. He looked... better.
And when he left his room, he found them.
A smiling mother. A joking father. A modest house, but full of life. There was no Andrea. Not in this life. But it seemed here... she wasn't needed.
Daniel Hernández had been reborn.
In Mexico.
In his city.
In a world that seemed like his own.
But it wasn't.
And although he didn't know it yet, in this new world angels, demons, aliens, and beautiful girls who could fly, fight, or make an apple explode just by blushing awaited him.
But for now...
He was just an ordinary boy.
With a perfect life.
Too perfect.
The days passed like leaves carried by the wind. At first, Daniel immersed himself in the routine cautiously, as if afraid it was all a dream that would vanish with the slightest mistake. But as the weeks went by, he began to accept the impossible: this was his new life.
And he was doing well. Too well.
At school, he excelled effortlessly. Math, history, physics... Everything came naturally, as if he had studied it before. The teachers constantly praised him, and more than once he heard murmurs from his classmates:
"That guy's a genius,"
"He must be one of those who study all day,"
"He's crazy, he got a hundred without studying..."
But it wasn't just academics.
His body also responded unusually.
From his first week, he resumed the habit he had in his past life: exercising in the mornings. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats. Nothing out of this world.
But on the second day, he no longer felt the effort.
On the third, he doubled the repetitions.
On the fifth, he started lifting improvised weights with water jugs and backpacks full of books.
And even then, it wasn't enough.
His body strengthened at an unnatural rate. His muscles defined themselves without losing agility. His stamina increased every day, and his physical coordination, already good to begin with, became impeccable.
It was as if every cell in his body had adapted to demands it didn't yet know.
—"This isn't normal," he murmured one day, while doing one-handed push-ups, not even sweating.
But... it didn't feel bad either. On the contrary.
It was as if, for the first time, his body and mind were in perfect harmony.
As if this world... had been made for him.
And yet, something deep within couldn't relax.
That slight, but constant, feeling that something was about to change. That his perfect, tranquil life wasn't meant to stay this way.
Sometimes, he dreamed of lights in the darkness. Of fire. Of black wings. Of eyes glowing in the shadows.
And upon waking, he felt something whispering in his ear, something he couldn't quite grasp.
But Daniel had always been patient.
He knew that sooner or later, that something would come.
And when it did...
He would be ready.
Time marched on, and with it, Daniel's life.
Between studies, exercise, and quiet evenings with his parents, the days seemed too perfect to be real. But he didn't complain. For the first time, he had a family that loved him, a life without danger, and a future ahead.
And then, like a gift from fate, the news arrived.
A scholarship.
A full scholarship to study in Japan.
From high school through university, in any major he chose. With housing included, expenses covered, and only one condition:
Don't fail.
His parents nearly cried with joy. His mother hugged him so tight he thought she'd break his ribs, and his father bragged about it for weeks.
—"My son is going to Japan! Nothing less than Japan, dammit!"
Daniel couldn't believe it. He had always been fascinated by the language, the culture, the anime and everything related. But beyond that, he felt the world, somehow, was pushing him in that direction.
As if something awaited him there.
Or someone.
Over the following months, he focused on intensive Japanese classes, trained even harder, and began planning his life in a foreign country.
Despite the nervousness, he was excited.
It was a unique opportunity.
A new beginning within his new beginning.
A month before the trip, the house was already filled with suitcases, documents, and papers to sign. Every day felt more real.
And the night before leaving, he went out to the backyard, looked at the stars, and smiled.
—"Wherever this takes me... I'm ready."
The day of his departure arrived faster than expected. At the airport, his mother cried with a smile, his father patted his back with glassy eyes. Daniel hugged them tight, promising to call whenever he could, and to return for holidays and important dates.
—"We're going to miss you, son," said his mother, wiping her tears. "But we know you'll do great things."
—"And if you find a pretty Japanese girl, bring her for a visit!" added his father with a laugh.
Daniel laughed with them.
And as he turned to board his flight, he felt something. A strange breeze, as if something slid through the air, something beyond the normal. A shiver ran down his spine.
But he didn't stop.
With a backpack on his shoulder and his dreams worn on his skin, he took the first step toward a world that, although it seemed normal, was about to reveal itself as anything but.
And unknowingly, his story...
was only just beginning.