Naoki jumped from the bridge.
Cold air rushed past him.
Splash!
The police van floated in the river, half-submerged. Water gushed through its broken windshield as the back end sank lower.
Naoki swam toward it. But just before he reached it, the van tilted…and sank faster.
Slow at first. Then it dropped like a stone.
Naoki dove after it.
Deeper and Deeper, Until everything blurred.
The water turned darker, colder. The river pulled at him, making it hard to move. His body felt heavy.
His chest screamed for air. His vision turned strange. The van was just ahead, slipping into the deep.
And then boom!
The police van, which had been sinking deeper into the water, suddenly burst open.
Its door swung wide, and a person stepped out from inside.
That person started swimming upward, heading straight toward Naoki.
Naoki's eyes widened in shock.
'Brother...'
It was Haruto. His older brother.
A mix of disbelief and relief paralyzed him as Haruto reached out.
Now, they were face to face. Without thinking, Naoki hugged his brother tightly. He was desperate, scared, and overwhelmed.
Both of them were underwater . There was no way up, no air, no escape.
In that moment, Naoki believed the only thing they could do was die together.
He closed his eyes, accepting the end.
But just then, a voice echoed in his mind.
Calm and clear
-How are you, my lovable younger brother?
It was his big brother's voice but Naoki was shocked as hell
'how can i hear him when his mouth isn't moving ' Naoki thought maybe he was imagining things. Maybe it was because he was close to death. But then
- This is sound transmission. I learned it from a friend.
'....friend!!?' Naoki blinked.
His thoughts swirled in confusion.
Then his brother spoke again, gently
- I came from the future to guide you toward the destiny you're meant to fulfill. I was supposed to arrive before the accident...before you ever jumped from that bridge. But…Something went wrong. A miscalculation… and I ended up arriving too late...right when the van was already falling into the river.
Haruto's gaze dropped slightly, a flicker of regret in his eyes.
Naoki's thoughts raced. 'What does that even mean? Future? My fate? Is this really my brother... or something pretending to be him?'
Haruto didn't hear Naoki's voice but somehow, he understood everything Naoki was thinking.
Then, Haruto raised a hand and with a snap of his fingers, the world shattered like glass.
Crack
The water, the police van, the darkness, it all disappeared.
They now stood in a strange space. Above them was a vast, starry sky. and beneath their feet was a smooth, mirror-like layer of water.
It was as if they were floating between the heavens and the void itself.
Haruto stood in front of him, steady and calm. This time, Naoki's voice came out clearly.
"Brother… what is happening?"
Haruto looked at him gently.
"This is a space I created to speak with you. Right now, your body is still underwater. You're not breathing. You're on the edge of death. And once you cross that line, you'll be sent to another world."
"Another… world? What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Naoki's mouth went dry as Haruto continued
"I know it sounds crazy. But this is the second time I've gone through this exact accident. The first time…it killed me. And death became a doorway to another world."
Naoki trembled. His brother's voice felt real, but the words sounded like something out of a dream.
Haruto looked away for a moment, as if remembering something far, far away.
"The world I went to… it's cruel.A dark, fantasy world. Full of monsters, gods, and despair. A place where strength decides whether you live or die. Where betrayal is normal, and hope is rare."
* * *
Long Ago…
There was only one being, an all-powerful existence known as the 'Primordial God'.
He sat alone on the throne of eternity. Cloaked in white, crowned with celestial thorns, armored in divine judgment. His eyes pierced reality and Time bowed before him.
He existed in a silent void where time itself didn't flow. But even perfection was lonely. And from that loneliness… came the desire to create.
First came the stars, then the planets, and gradually, he sculpted what would become known as the solar System. Among these Celestial creations, he formed a small, blue world ( Earth ).
Eons passed in quiet observation, until one day, he noticed a flicker of motion, a primitive form of life. It stirred something within him. Joy.
50,000 years later,a new being emerged. It walked upright, bearing a shape reminiscent of the creator himself. Humanoid !
Another hundred thousand years passed, and from the lineage of these beings, a new race arose....humans.
After 150,000 years, Earth thrived with diverse beings such as : elves, demons, angels, dwarves, dragons, beastmen. All moving to the unseen rhythm of the Absolute Being's will.
They all lived in peace across a single massive continent.
Then the 'Primordial God' bestowed half of his divine power upon all the inhabitants of Earth, allowing magic to awaken within them a sacred gift shared with every living being.
However, by sharing his Divinity with mortal he broke the Heavenly principle (law of nature), his act triggered a powerful backlash.
To restore balance, the Primordial God used the remaining half of his divine power to seal off the original continent. In its place, seven new continents emerged now known as Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Atlantica.
The original continent, larger than all the others combined, vanished. Hidden from history.
* * *
Haruto looked back at Naoki.
"I was taken to that ancient continent by a Celestial Being through a dimensional rift, after deceiving the Heavenly Principle. And after hundreds of attempts, I moved that continent to another world. A planet now known as Eloria."
"So… are you saying you became a god?" Naoki asked, dumbfounded.
In response Haruto shook his head.
"There is only one god the 'Primordial God'. I'm merely a Celestial Being. You can think of it as a Demi-God. Even you must ascend to godhood to fulfill your destiny. I have left behind 11 relics that will help you ascend to Godhood"
"Godhood...But wait..You said you completed your task and moved the continent. Then why am I being sent there?"
"Moving the Primordial Continent was only the beginning," Naoki's big brother said. "And I haven't done it alone, other Celestial Beings helped me."
Naoki fell silent, the weight of it all sinking in.
" i regressed 769 times in total, But no matter what I tried, I failed to accomplish what truly mattered. Then, after my 590th regression, I was given a prophecy. From that point on, I devoted everything to preparing the path for you, the one named in the prophecy."
"Brother... I'm still confused," Naoki admitted.
Haruto's voice grew quieter, yet more resolute
"There's not much time left. Once you're there, you'll understand everything. Find the things I left behind, they're meant for you."
"Brother... will you be with me?" Naoki asked quietly.
"No. As i broke the cycle of regression by coming to this place."
"Then.."
" I regressed 769 times. Every time I died in that world, I was thrown back to the moment I first arrived there. At first, I thought it was a blessing . another chance to make things right. But as the years passed, I realized it was a prison. No matter how hard I tried, no matter what I changed, the ending was always the same. Failure. Death. Despair. And then… rewind."
"Then… won't everything you did be rewound now that you came here?" Naoki asked, confusion heavy in his voice.
"That's what regression normally does. It rewinds time. You go back to a fixed point. Everything resets. your friends, your enemies, even fate itself. You remember everything. But no one else does. You start over, again and again."
Haruto looked Naoki in the eye and spoke with pride
"But I didn't come back to Earth by regressing. If I had, time would've reset again. Everything I built would've vanished. All my lifetimes erased. But I broke the cycle. I used a forbidden item, one that let me return here without triggering the regression. This isn't the past for me. This is the endpoint. The last chapter."
One brother's story ends...
So another's may begin.
The future no longer belonged to Haruto ...
It belonged to Naoki.
.
.
.
.
To be continued….