NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Redo
//THIRD PERSON POV//
The afternoon sun hung lazily in the sky, casting long, soft shadows across the park. A warm breeze carried the faint scent of freshly cut grass, mingling with the sounds of life, the chatter of children by the swings, the clank of a bicycle, and the rustling leaves overhead. It was a picture of tranquility.
On a bench beneath an old oak tree sat a man who seemed untouched by the liveliness around him. His brown hair was streaked with white, his face lined not by sorrow or joy but by the weight of years. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. His name was as unassuming as his presence, and yet, those who passed him felt compelled to glance twice, sensing something they couldn't quite put into words.
Kiyotaka held a small bag of birdseed, sprinkling it for the pigeons gathering at his feet. His movements were slow but precise, his gaze steady. By his side lay an old dog, its gray coat rising and falling with each sleepy breath.
A passerby might assume Kiyotaka was content, surrounded by nature and his loyal companion. But in truth, he wasn't thinking about the pigeons, the park, or even the dog at his feet. His mind was elsewhere, drifting, detached, as it often was.
The tranquility of the afternoon was disturbed by the crunch of gravel under polished shoes. Kiyotaka didn't look up. He had heard the steps long before they reached him. The intruder was deliberate, unhurried. When the footsteps stopped, the man in the suit sat beside him on the bench, his movements smooth and calculated.
Kiyotaka cast him a brief glance out of the corner of his eye. A tailored gray suit, a fedora tipped at just the right angle, and a newspaper tucked under one arm. The man radiated an air of confidence, the kind that came naturally to those used to getting what they wanted.
The stranger unfolded his newspaper and began to read, murmuring softly to himself as his eyes scanned the headlines. Kiyotaka returned to feeding the pigeons, though he could feel the man's occasional glances. They weren't the curious glances of a passerby but something else entirely, measured, and intentional.
Minutes passed like this, the silence between them growing heavier with each stolen glance from the Enigma that is the man in a suit, Finally, Kiyotaka spoke, his voice calm and even. "I'm sure there are better ways to pass the time than staring at an old man."
The man chuckled, low and amused. Folding his newspaper, he set it neatly on his lap. "Ayanokouji Kiyotaka," he said, his voice smooth and deliberate, "are you free?"
Kiyotaka's hand paused mid-motion, birdseed trickling from his fingers. His gaze remained on the pigeons. "Yes," he replied, resuming his task. "For the past 35 years, I've been experiencing the feeling of being free."
"Is that so?" The man leaned back, adjusting the brim of his hat. "You sit here, day after day, alone with your animals. Is that what freedom is to you?
Kiyotaka's hand paused mid-motion, birdseed trickling from his fingers. His gaze remained on the pigeons. "Yes" he replied, his tone bore nothing at all.
The man in the suit leaned back slightly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Actually-well, in a sense, yeah, you do have freedom, but in the process of acquiring it, you haven't gotten what you really wanted. What you truly yearn for... is connection."
The words hung in the air, but Kiyotaka didn't respond immediately. Instead, he scattered the last of the seeds and rested his hands on his knees. "What is connection?" he asked finally, his tone devoid of emotion. "I have companions. This dog, these pigeons, they're connection, aren't they?"
The man tilted his head, a faint smirk playing at his lips. "Companions, maybe. But connection? That's a different story." He gestured toward the pigeons pecking at the ground. "Can you talk to them? Can they understand you? Or are they just an excuse to avoid the connections you never made?"
Kiyotaka's hand stilled on the dog's head. The animal stirred slightly, sensing the tension in its owner. "And what do you know about connections I haven't made?" Kiyotaka asked, his voice as even as before.
The man didn't answer directly. Instead, he leaned forward, his tone growing softer, almost conspiratorial. "Tell me, Ayanokouji. Do you regret it? That you didn't care for them?" He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Or was it simply that you couldn't? That despite being hailed as a masterpiece, the perfect human...you were incapable of forming genuine connections, so you settled for something… simpler?"
Kiyotaka said nothing. He didn't move, didn't blink. The man's words cut through the quiet like a blade, but they left no mark on Kiyotaka's face.
"Tell you what," the man continued, undeterred. "Let me save you some trouble. You're dying."
It was said so plainly that it sounded almost absurd. And yet, Kiyotaka didn't flinch. He had felt it, the moments when his strength faltered, the sharp pangs in his chest, the way his body moved slower than it once had. He had known for a while now, though he had never given it much thought.
"You're not surprised," the man observed, nodding slightly. "Decades of pushing your body to its limit, of forcing it to perform like a machine-just to escape the grasp of your father. The strain catches up, doesn't it?"
Kiyotaka finally turned his head to face him. His expression was as unreadable as ever, but his eyes held a spark of something, curiosity, perhaps, or something deeper.
"If you had a second chance," the man said, his tone almost gentle now, "a chance to start over, to form the connections you never had, would you take it?"
Kiyotaka studied him in silence. The man's polished exterior seemed flawless, yet there was something off about him, something Kiyotaka couldn't quite place. "You haven't even introduced yourself," he said at last, his voice steady. "And now you're offering me… what.. A second chance?"
The man chuckled, tipping his hat back slightly. "Names aren't important. What matters is the choice before you."
Kiyotaka looked away, his gaze drifting to the horizon. The golden light of the sun casting across the park. He thought for a long moment before speaking. "If I were given a second chance…" He trailed off, his words hanging in the air. And as if he was hit by a wave of flashbacks...
He didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he turned back to the man, his expression unchanged, but his eyes said everything.
The man smiled, a knowing smile that carried a weight far beyond words. "Good answer," he said softly.
He snapped his fingers.
The world around Kiyotaka began to blur, the vibrant colors of the park fading into darkness. His vision swam, his body growing light as if he were being pulled from reality itself.
Before he lost consciousness, For a minute or so, the man in the suit's voice echoed in the fading light.
"You'll find yourself in a world unlike any you've known before, Danmachi. A place where your freedom, your choices, will be tested like never before. It is a thrilling world, filled with monsters, gods, and heroes. Will you remain the same, Ayanokouji? Or will this new world, change you, and give you the one thing you want—yearn for, Connection."
And with that, everything went black.
End of Chapter 1.