Hiroshi felt a sudden brightness against his closed eyes. Instinctively, he raised his arm to block it. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and to his shock, he found himself in a bright, beautiful garden. Flowers bloomed in every corner, and he was sitting in a comfortable chair at a table filled with all kinds of desserts—cakes, pastries, fruits, and sweets.
"Where am I?" he muttered, confused and startled.
Suddenly, a voice echoed from nearby.
"Hiroshi Watanabe," the voice was clear and strong. Hiroshi froze for a moment, his heart skipping a beat.
He jumped out of the chair right away, alert and tense.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!" he shouted, his eyes scanning around. "Don't hide! Come out!"
But no one answered right away. Only the sound of the wind moving the leaves and the birds singing could be heard.
"Stop playing games!" Hiroshi shouted louder, his voice echoing. "Where am I? What do you want from me?!"
He took a few careful steps forward, turning his head in every direction, trying to find where the voice came from. But no one appeared.
As Hiroshi stood in the garden, still looking for the voice, the sky above him became even brighter. He raised his hand to block the light again. Then, a figure slowly came down from the sky. It wore a long white cloth over its body, and its presence felt calm but powerful.
Hiroshi's heart beat fast as the figure gently landed in front of him. It was glowing softly, its face peaceful but hard to read. The figure spoke in a calm voice.
"Hiroshi Watanabe, son of Dianna Valiant and Yuki Watanabe. Beings of planet Earth 54869, once the most peaceful world until nineteen years ago, when the apocalypse began and the world fell."
Hiroshi's eyes widened. "How do you know my name? How do you know my parents?"
The figure looked at him kindly. "I know everything. I am the God of planet Earth 54869."
Hiroshi stared in silence.
"You have gone through much pain and loss. You lost your parents when you were five years old, and since then, you have fought every day to survive in a broken world.
You trained, learned to fight, and helped others stay safe. But deep inside, you always wished for a peaceful life, far from war and fear."
Hiroshi's throat tightened as emotion rose inside him.
He stepped back, his mind full of questions. "What do you mean? Why am I here?" he asked.
The figure smiled. "Because your story is not over, Hiroshi. You have been given another chance."
Hiroshi frowned. "Another chance? For what? What are you saying?"
The figure said nothing more, still smiling calmly.
Hiroshi clenched his fists. "Answer me! Don't just stand there!"
Still no answer. Then, the light around Hiroshi grew brighter. He felt his body lift off the ground. He looked down, shocked. "Hey! Stop this! What's happening?!"
He floated higher, his body glowing. A strange energy flowed through him. He shouted, "What are you doing to me?! Talk to me!"
But the figure didn't move or speak. The light became even stronger and wrapped around him. He gritted his teeth. "I'm not going until you explain!"
The wind suddenly blew strong, forcing Hiroshi to close his eyes and cover his face with his arm. The wind roared, and it was hard to think. The world around him seemed to change.
When the wind stopped, everything went quiet. Hiroshi slowly lowered his arm and opened his eyes.
The garden was gone.
He had really been sent to another world.
In the heavenly realm, the figure from earlier sighed with relief. He sat slouched in a massive beanbag throne and biting into a strawberry cupcake.
"Well, that's done. He'll be chillin' in peace now. Good karma complete!"
A voice cleared behind him.
He turned to see a tall woman with long, golden hair glowing like sunlight, arms folded across her chest. "Please tell me you didn't just drop him into any world."
"Of course not, "
"Where is he? You sent him to New Earth, right?"
He nodded while eating, then suddenly paused. "Wait… what New Earth?"
The woman's face turned serious. "What do you mean?! Hiroshi was supposed to go back to the newly made Earth with the other survivors!"
The man stood up quickly, now panicking. "Wait! I'm checking! I think I sent him to Quantropolis888!" He snapped his fingers, trying to pull up the info.
"What?! Where exactly did you send him?!" she shouted.
"I told you, I'm looking!" he said, now typing in the air with worry. "Give me a second!"
The woman crossed her arms. "This is why I told you to pay attention. You didn't follow the rules, and now he's lost!"
"I didn't mean to!" he said, typing faster. "I just wanted him to be happy!"
She sighed. "You can't just send someone anywhere without following the proper protocols! Now we have to find him before it's too late!"
Finally, the man found where Hiroshi had gone. He stared at the screen in silence. The woman walked closer and slapped her forehead.
"You messed up! seriously?! In What continent?! Where is he?" she demanded.
The guy was still in shock, blinking at the screen. "Zephyros, Dark Continent" he finally said, his voice barely a whisper.
The woman exhaled slowly, fingers pinching her nose. "You have 48 hours to fix this before he dies. Again."
"I'll monitor him! I swear!" the Guardian cried. "I messed up! He should be relaxing, not surviving again! I'm sorry, Hiroshi!"
*****
Meanwhile, Hiroshi slowly opened his eyes. The light was soft but bright, coming from tall windows around him. He was inside a church—not old and broken, but clean and new. People sat quietly on wooden benches, their eyes on the front.
Hiroshi tried to speak, but his voice came out soft and high. He put his hand to his neck, confused. Something was wrong.
Looking down, his eyes grew wide in shock. His arms were smaller. His hands were tiny—he was no longer in his own body. He was inside a child's body.
"Where the fucking hell is this?" Hiroshi whispered, a cold fear growing inside him.
He realized what had happened. The moment he thought about it—he was isekai'd. Sent to another world. But why like this? Why a child?