A man walked by the pavement as he was engaged with his smart-phone. The night was pretty lax as there were not many cars around in the middle of Tokyo. It was Labor Thanksgiving day and most inhabitants of Tokyo were out from the city.

The traffic light turned red and the man walked through the road and out of sudden.

A speeding bull cart came out nowhere and slammed him.

The man was thrown in the air like a lifeless puppet. He crashed and rolled a few times before he halted.

What just happen?

The man noticed a bit too late as he laid motionless on the road as a pool of blood formed underneath his body.

The man was still confused. What just hit him?

His eyes were still livid as he glanced and saw a huge crimson bull strapped by a cart behind it.

What the hell is that?

Yet the man could not find the answer as his life was diminishing like a flickering light in the middle of winter. A slight blow of the wind and the fire extinguished.

The light in the man’s eyes faded as what left of him was only a body without a soul.

The crimson bull bellowed as a gust of mist stemmed out of its nostril. It engulfed the whole crimson bull. The mist dispersed slowly with what left was mere air.

“Whoa, what just happen?” a kid by the sidewalk witnessed the scene as he was thrown in confusion and amazement.

--

Where am I? Am I in space?

A lingering soul floating in the midst of the vast outer space. It was confused by the unforeseen event. Then it remembered.

I’m supposed to be dead. Then do the dead go to outer space? That doesn’t make sense at all.

A slow gravitational force sucked in the soul which brought it to be filled with worry.

A minuscule black hole that hides within the starry dark space pulled the soul slowly until it then lost within the deep abyss of the unknown.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

On second thought should I be worry? I’m already dead to begin with. There’s no need to worry am I right.

The soul appeared in front of a door. Rather than a door, it would be suitable to be called as a gate. Two statues stood at each side of the gate. A depiction of an angry being. Three eyes with one of the eyes located at the center of the forehead.

Both of the statues wielded a different kind of weapon. A cudgel and a halberd.

The gate suddenly opens letting out a creak.

“Come lost one…”

The soul entered the gate and witnessed a change of scene from the dark abyss to the melodious early spring of a beautiful garden. Not far was a pavilion.

This is clearly different from what I imagine. This garden is exceptionally beautiful, the landscaping art of the creator must be at the level of a grandmaster.

“To think you would be someone who cherishes the beauty of the landscape. This is a first.” within the pavilion a serene gentle man was pouring tea in a small teacup.

What?! He can read my thought!  

“Of course I can, come lost one let’s have tea shall we?”

The soul entered the pavilion and immediately something happened. The soul transforms itself into a shape of a man. A man who once called Bando Ren.

“I have fingers again…” Ren looked down and saw he was naked with not a thread on him.

He turned flustered since he still had that shame from being a human.

The man in front of him flicked his finger and two pairs of birds carried a piece of cloth as it gently covered Ren’s whole body.

In an instant, the cloth fitted Ren turning into a robe that was similar to the man in front of him.

He was astounded.

“No need to be astonished, it’s just simple parlor trick. Come lost one, tea is good when it’s still warm.”

He sat opposite of the man who looks like a character that came out from an ancient Chinese movie. His appearance was similar to a scholar with a paper fan on his hand.

“I do seem familiar with that man you are thinking about although I’m a lot more noble handsome than he is.”

Bando Ren was confused on what he meant by noble handsome. Does it imply he was more handsome than usual? In the mind of Bando Ren, it doesn’t make sense at all. He tried his best not let that thought leak but to no avail it was useless.

“Noble handsome is only a trait that a man like me could have. You must be curious aren’t you lost one.”

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m that curious.

“Let’s forget about the trivial things. What needed to be discussed right now is who to handle your current situation.”

“What do you mean? I’m dead right”

“You are not wrong there. To be frank, you’re a first. Not that it matters, so how about it. Let’s toast for this first and last encounter and…”

“You made a mistake and now you want to let it all be bygone, isn’t it?”

Beads of sweat covered the face of the man who still feigned ignorance with a smile. Ren, on the other hand, could clearly see who was the one at fault.

“I could keep my mouth shut or…” Ren paused for a bit as he sneered at the man in front of him. “Or I could complain to whoever is up there.”

“Fine!” the demeanor of the man change as he couldn’t continue his flawless cringing acting. “Never thought I would be this helpless against a lost one.”

He flicked his wrist as an orb of light emerged out from his sleeve. The orb of light swiftly entered the body of Ren as the owner of the body was stunned by the sudden turn of event.    

“What did you do?”

“A compensation for the slight mishap. Come on drink some tea. As soon as you drink it, you will be reborn.”

“What?…” before he could utter another word, the scholar like man was nowhere to be seen as he unleashed his sneakiness as he poured the tea down the throat of Ren in a forceful manner.

Ren wanted to retort but then his vision dimmed and soon his conscious faded.

“Ugh… My head hurts. That guy is really different from how he looks.”

He opened his eyes and he was greeted with something that blew his mind away.

Welcome to Bumi

“Woah, isn’t this like a game like window. This is neat. Seem like I’m playing a game.”

He treated the game like window in a carefree manner as he felt elated by the discovery. Then he saw something after the window disappear.

“That’s a big dog! No, wait. Doesn’t it look like a puppy? Do the animals in this world really came out this big after birth. I bet it’s the same size of an adult man.”

“Since the dog doesn’t seem threatening I guess it’s fine then. Didn’t think my household have a pet this big. The monthly pet feed is probably astonishing. Let’s get up first, hmm… Eh?”

As soon as he tried to stand up, he was baffled. He could felt his hands were on the ground as if they were legs but then his sight glanced down and the wriggling toes of a paw made him shuddered.

“I’m a dog!”