Volume 1 - Prologue: Hollow Soul, Supreme Vessel

The end comes unexpectedly early.

Yes, I am now facing death.

I don't remember clearly how I died.

I couldn't perceive it. It was too monotonous and sudden.

I don't possess any outstanding abilities or remarkable personality.

Perhaps I was deemed as an insignificant being, one among the countless "ordinary people."

Or maybe...

Has the soul, so unremarkable and ordinary, rusted away in a mundane life?

I feel a sense of detachment, as if it's someone else's concern.

Is "worthless" a word intended for oneself?

Ah, why do I feel regret?

I don't want to live? No, such attachments are already gone.

Having no family, I just lived adrift. There was no one to mourn my existence.

Why do I feel frustration?

I had no goals. There was nothing to aspire to, and I lived vaguely. Emptiness and nothingness filled my heart, and that's why.

Yes, let's close my eyes. It's fine, just like that.

Closing my eyes... because it will be the end.

In the moment of peaceful slumber, something pulses.

Simultaneously, a sensation akin to pain surges through my chest, swept by a cold wind.

Why does remorse fill me?

Remorse? It's contradictory, utterly contradictory.

I did nothing. With no accomplishments, how can I define remorse?

While enveloped in the tranquility of death, I ponder faintly remaining thoughts.

What is there to regret? I haven't achieved anything.

I did nothing. I had no hobbies or passions to pursue.

Soon, like a revelation or enlightenment, it comes to me.

Not being able to do anything. That's what causes remorse.

Living and unable to accumulate anything.

Leaving nothing behind, nothing that the world can proudly call a "trace"... I had nothing.

I will disappear.

As a mere entity, my existence will vanish.

This fact is unbearably frustrating.

Oh, what a situation.

After giving up my life, how foolish I was to establish my meaning.

I can't die.

I don't want to die yet.

It's an absurd notion. Only after giving up a single life do I become aware of my desires.

Yes. I still can't die.

I don't want to die, not like this.

This body has achieved nothing.

This soul has burned nothing.

A spark ignites in the smoldering core.

Yes, I can't die yet.

At the very least, before vanishing... at the very least...

I must accomplish something; otherwise, my life would have been in vain!

***

"Such a ridiculous lack of self-awareness. To establish oneself only after death."

――!?

Opening my eyes wide, I can't see anyone. The voice resonates from somewhere, just the voice, and nothing more.

"To think that if you had just decayed away, you wouldn't need to bear futile suffering. Humans are such a troublesome species, never going as one wishes."

An arrogant remark, as if looking down from a great height, overseeing everything.

"――Who are you?"

"Hm? Ah... nobody, really."

Nobody? The owner of this voice, which exudes such an overwhelming presence?

Is it humility or self-deprecation? The voice continues.

"I am... how should I put it? An insolent being that toys with souls like yours."

"...What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it says. I am basically a being starved for entertainment, an annoying existence, that's all."

The words are devoid of passion. Though it sounds arrogant, it lacks any inflection, like a robotic announcement.

"Well, never mind me. The problem is you. Your dying despair drew me here, you see."

"I did?"

"Yes, your regret and despair woke me up from my bored slumber. It's quite bothersome, you know."

...I feel somewhat embarrassed. To think that I, who called out with such dark emotions, would apologize to this faceless someone.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Everyone has their own worries except for one person. It seems I arrived a bit too late, though."

"I apologize."

"It's fine. ...Now, let's get to the point. You have reached the end of your life, your body and mind have perished, and your soul will eventually disappear."

"There is no real reason or obligation to stop it, but... a pure soul like yours, awakening to self-awareness at the brink of death, is an incredibly rare occurrence that I find too valuable to let go to waste."

Pure? Is it pure? Or is it more like a worn-out phonograph, endlessly uttering despair and lamentations?

"So here's the thing. Based on this interaction, I've decided to send you to an 'isekai' as my unfortunate little reincarnation toy."

...What?

"It's what they call it when someone is reincarnated as someone else and begins a new life in another world."

What do you mean? It's too arbitrary and casual.

From the start, what is this voice? It's so lethargic, carefree, and suspicious!

"That's what's popular out there. Even my acquaintances are obsessed with it. Stuff like 'The person I sent turned into a peerless hero' or 'The strongest handsome man I came up with became a prince of a country,' it's a huge trend, you know?"

What in the world!? What is this voice saying!?

"The thrill lies in watching people with powers beyond their stature struggle in another world. It's kind of tasteless, or whatever. I can't distinguish it from illegal dumping."

This manner of speaking is not that of a party involved. It's more like the words of an overlord, playing with everything in the world.

Also, an acquaintance? Could this voice be...?

"Well, don't just decide without understanding it. You won't know unless you try and challenge it."

"In that case, let's get to the main point. Based on the connection we've made through this conversation, I've decided to subject you to an 'isekai' experience."

...What?

"So, you will be reincarnated as a hero, one of the heroes. You will save the world."

Can I do that? Can something like that happen? Is that possible? Is such a thing, such an achievement, possible?

"Sending you with half-baked power wouldn't make sense. If I don't give you extraordinary privileges, you'll end up as a 'useless' outsider. Such a thing would be nothing more than trash."

"So, I'll make you not just any hero, but the Hero King―― a hero called the King of Heroes. It's the perfect vessel to hone your soul. Because of the 'cause and effect' that 'God created,' giving you the form of a Servant is easy. ...My friend has it much easier, but the problem is they have no potential at all."

"Wait―― This can't be――!"

"You will discard everything except for your own identity."

My consciousness starts to fade.

"What you become and what the world becomes is up to your efforts."

The voice becomes distant.

"Do your best. ■■■■■■. No, never mind."

Gradually, my consciousness sinks...

"King of Heroes, Gilgamesh..."

***

The space is filled with blue, and I close my eyes to the brilliant white flash.

Eventually, the light subsides, revealing a solitary man standing there.

Wrapped in golden full plate armor, hair of inverted gold, and crimson eyes that coldly look down upon everything.

"Ah, you are..."

His overwhelming presence and pressure leave me speechless.

But I gather all my strength to squeeze out a trembling voice.

He is the incomparable blade that will aid the journey to save human history.

A representative of combat, becoming both sword and shield.

An existence engraved in human history. An incarnation of a Heroic Spirit.

His name is...

"I... want to know."