Already Dead

Chapter 1: Rebirth in Death

The young man climbed the hill, despite everyone telling him not to. They told him that, if he got what he sought after, he would die young. That no one wished for someone like himself to fall at such an age.

Sadly... he wanted to die young. In fact, dying at this very moment would be far preferable to living.

Ren Yuuki was not a happy young man. His parents had both died when he was relatively young, leaving him with no one but his sister, Aoi. He loved his sister more than anyone else, and in return, she also loved him. The knowledge that his love towards her was mutual warmed his heart like nothing else ever could. She was the light of his life. His sunshine.

And then, somewhat recently, that sunshine... that light... simply vanished into thin air.

Upon losing Aoi, Ren's heart had grown cold. He stopped reacting to the world around him, the speech of the others around him became muffled, his favorite foods felt tasteless, and it would all only get worse every single time he thought of Aoi. And he could never stop thinking about her, no matter how hard he tried. It came to the point where he wished his heart grew even colder. So cold, it would freeze still, and take the rest of his body with it. Being a lifeless statue of ice would be preferrable to having to live in this world, where no light remained to warm his freezing heart.

Eventually, he heard legends of a fruit. Supposedly, it held a taste that is incomparable to any other meal. The delight from consuming its flesh was such that any other food would feel lesser in comparison. However, this delight came at the cost of one's own life. With every single bite of the fruit, part of the eater's life would be shaved off.

They called this fruit "the Divine Dragonfruit", and Ren immediately began seeking it out. Despite his desire for death, he still did not like pain. He wished for a quiet, painless death, something that he thought the Divine Dragonfruit would be able to grant. And even if it was painful, perhaps the supposedly sublime taste would be able to numb that pain. Not to mention, finally tasting something again is a great note to end on for him.

Eventually, he got to the top of the hill, where he found a tree. Upon the branches of the tree laid a dragonfruit, its thick skin being red and ending in black points. This must be the Divine Dragonfruit. Peeling off the skin, the actual edible flesh of the fruit was that same vibrant shade of red, with black veins scattered throughout. It truly felt odd, looking at this thing. It definitely seemed like a dragonfruit, but something was distinctly off about it, even besides the appearance...

But who cares. He took a small bite, and was immediately overtaken by the flavor. There was something indescribable about it. It was as if every detail of flavor he enjoyed was mixed together, and taken to the upmost extreme possible without rolling back over into something revolting. It truly was an impossible taste, one that stimulated his taste buds like nothing else ever could before.

He then proceeded to eat the rest, the taste letting it go down extremely easily. This genuinely felt unreal. How could something this delicious exist!? But, of course, this did not change something he had fully accepted: eating the entire fruit meant he was probably going to die soon.

And, of course, after a few moments, Ren began feeling woozy. This was it. He ate too much of it, and was going to die. He just ate away every little bit of life-force in his body. With that knowledge, he laid down, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness slip away...

...

...

...He groggily opened his eyes, seeing the exact same locale as when they were closed.

"...the hell?" Ren asked himself, and not for no good reason. The more of the Divine Dragonfruit you consume, the more of your life-force is taken from you. So, of course, eating the whole thing means you die, right!?