Chapter 3: The Void and the Scent of Barbecue

Chapter 3: The Void and the Scent of Barbecue The Void and the Scent of Barbecue

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Swept into the black vortex, within the void... there was nothing.

An endlessly, perpetually extending pitch-black space.

Everything painted in pitch-black, nothing to see, nothing to hear.

Neither cold nor warm.

In such a void, only my darkly tainted soul floated aimlessly.

...Well, actually, there might not even be a pitch-black space? Because it’s the void.

It gets confusing when you think about it.

...Sigh...

What kind of development is this?

You’d want to sigh, wouldn’t you?

Looking back on my life, I don’t think it was filled with joy.

My father was a criminal and never got out of prison.

My mother fell ill and died before I was fully aware.

The relatives who took me in... “family” treated me as a nuisance, and I was shuffled from one place to another from a young age.

Never making any friends.

Bullied because of my father, abused by “family.”

...But still.

Still, you know!!

I tried my best to live straight.

That’s how I want to live.

But, thrown into the void, do I even have a next life?

Like the cycle of rebirth?

Can I still hop on that flow from here?

The cycle... the cycle, huh...

The endlessly turning wheel of rebirth...

I wanted to try those spiral-wrapped sausages...

While I was aimlessly pondering such things...

...suddenly, I caught a scent.

And, how am I seeing, hearing, and smelling in a soul state? You’d wonder, but let’s put that aside for now.

This scent...

There’s no mistaking it.

The smell of meat being grilled.

Sweet and savory... with the aroma of sauce mixed in.

It’s barbecue.

The smell of barbecue.

Is someone nearby... grilling barbecue...?

I was gently drawn towards the direction of that smell...

With a “pop!” sound.

Once again, I was sucked into somewhere.