Life After Death: The Strength Of Suffering

~General POV~

"Are you sure there's something here, Captain?" one of the crew members asked. The Captain merely rolled his eyes, scanning the icy cave as the beam of his headlamp illuminated the path ahead.

"A few months ago, a radar picked up a signal before it disappeared, only to reappear days later in the exact same spot. The scientists, who are currently sitting comfortably above us on land believe it's either some sort of radiation emitting a pulse or something entirely out of this world." he explained with a sigh, his voice heavy with impatience.

Their progress came to an abrupt halt as a dense wall of ice blocked their way. "Bring out the explosives!" he barked.

Within moments, small charges were carefully placed against the icy barricade. "Everyone clear?!" The Captain received nods from the miners and cave explorers hired for the expedition. He turned back to the wall, setting off the explosives.

The resulting detonation shook the cavern deep beneath the earth. Dust and debris swept over the group, forcing them to shield their eyes despite wearing protective gear.

"Fuck, that was bigger than it should've been!" the Captain growled, glancing upward to ensure the cave wasn't on the verge of collapse. Satisfied that the structure remained intact, he turned toward the now demolished ice wall.

"The wall's down! Let's hurry this up and get it over with!"

As the dust settled, he led the way forward. A younger cave explorer hurried to catch up, his nervous expression illuminated by his headlamp.

"U-uhm, sir?"

The Captain turned his head, his scowl barely hidden under the brim of his helmet. "What?"

"D-do you think we'll find anything… dangerous?" the younger man stammered.

The Captain scoffed, shaking his head as he trudged forward. "No. Anything down here would've been long dea—"

His sentence was cut short by a shout from one of the scientists, who had veered off with a smaller group down a branching path.

"There's a man in the ice!"

Frowning, the Captain turned and made his way toward the commotion. He found the group clustered together, their headlamps and flashlights all pointed toward the same spot. As the beam of his own light joined the others, his breath hitched.

Encased in the thick, glimmering ice was a naked old man.

'Old.' The thought came unbidden as the Captain studied the figure. He almost snorted at the absurdity of the situation. While the scientists and explorers whispered among themselves, debating the find, the Captain's gaze drifted downward before quickly flicking away to preserve the man's dignity.

"Well, we found something. Now what?" he called, stepping closer to the group.

"Shh!" one of the scientists hissed, shoving a radio into his hand before resuming their own discussion.

The Captain rubbed his eyes, muttering to himself as he called in the discovery to the team above. "I hate my job sometimes..."

~Scene Change~

"Truly remarkable!" The man's eyes lit up with excitement. 'To finally see this in person after all these months!'

He turned to the other top scientists of Japan, a question burning at the forefront of his mind. "Will you thaw the man out?"

The moment he had heard that a human had been discovered in an underwater cave, encased in ice deep beneath the surface, he had been desperate to know whether they planned to unfreeze him. 'The stories this man must have!'

Fortune seemed to smile upon him as one of the lead scientists nodded, offering a response. "We have no choice but to thaw him out. Slowly, of course."

He gestured toward a section of the thick ice. "A crack was found near the man's hand. It was decided that thawing him would be safer than attempting to preserve the ice in its current state."

The man nodded, even though much of the explanation flew over his head. Yet, the hunger for answers pushed him to ask another question.

"How old do you think he is?"

The scientist hummed in thought, pacing over to the glass panel separating them from the cold room where the frozen man rested. "We can't say for certain, but we estimate both the ice and the man to be more than five hundred years old."

'Five hundred?!' He fought to keep his composure as his mind raced.

The scientist scoffed at the number, waving a dismissive hand. "Though personally, I believe it to be closer to two hundred years at most."

"Why?" the man pressed, frowning.

The scientist turned, folding his arms. "While ice is known to preserve remarkably well as there's evidence of that from years ago, it's unlikely to do so perfectly with a human body for such a long period. For preservation of this degree, the human's internal organs would have to endure the toll of time and that's highly improbable."

The man mulled over the explanation, then shrugged and nodded. He glanced back at the ice-encased figure. 'Still… I wonder what kind of life he lived...'

~Scene Change~

Decades passed, and the world churned forward in an unending tide of change until the year 2004. A young man dressed in black sweatpants and a black hoodie sat in the corner of a laboratory, munching on salty pickles while flipping through the pages of a porno magazine.

Completely absorbed in his reading, he remained oblivious to the blinking red light behind him.

Crk.

A faint sound caught his attention. His frown deepened as he looked up, his mind struggling to place the noise. 'Glass?'

Turning away from the magazine, his face drained of colour as he finally noticed the blinking red light. Panic set in and he slammed his hand down on the nearest alarm button. Within moments, the room was swarming with scientists and armed guards, all of them demanding answers at once.

"I-I heard the sound of—"

Crk.

The sound interrupted him, louder this time. Heads snapped toward the hallway leading to the cold room that housed the frozen man.

Crrrk.

A guard at the front cautiously placed his hand on the grip of his gun, stepping forward.

Cr—

The sound cut off abruptly, replaced by an ominous silence.

Crrr-Boom!

An explosion ripped through the building, shaking the foundation. Dust and debris filled the air, and for a moment, no one moved. The alarms continued to wail as chaos erupted.

"W-what's going on?" someone stammered.

Before anyone could answer, the reinforced door to the ice room tore free, crashing into an unfortunate group of scientists. The remaining guards raised their weapons, training them on the darkened hallway beyond.

Slap. Slap.

The sound of bare feet on cold floors echoed from the corridor.

"Fuck…" A deep calm voice sounded from the hallway.

A figure stepped into view, tall and imposing. It was a naked old man, his body sculpted with muscle that defied his apparent age.

The man stopped, his deep purple eyes scanning the room with a detached calmness. He rubbed the back of his neck, unfazed by the weapons trained on him. A cold sweat ran down the necks of everyone present as his gaze lingered on each of them.

Minutes stretched in heavy silence before one of the braver guards managed to stammer. "W-Who are you?"

The old man tilted his head upward, his expression thoughtful as if considering the question. After a moment, he lowered his gaze.

"How many know about me?"

The guards and scientists exchanged confused glances, their fear rendering them speechless.

The old man sighed, his shoulders rising and falling in exasperation. In a flash, he vanished from sight.

~Ryou POV~

'Fuck, my joints are sore.'

Waking up encased in a dense mass of ice was no fun and not being able to use Cursed Energy to break free made it even worse. I had to rely on sheer brute strength to chip away at the ice, a task that from the look of things, took years.

'I need clothes.'

I dropped the severed head of one of the guards to the ground, then scanned the area. My eyes landed on a young man roughly my build and a small grin tugged at the corner of my lips. 'Found clothes.'

I moved toward him and grabbed him by the neck, I leaned in close and asked. "How many know about me?"

The young man's eyes went wide in panic, but no words came out. I released my grip just enough for him to catch his breath before he stammered while falling to the ground. "This is a private research!"

I hummed thoughtfully, crouching down to meet his terrified gaze. "Government involved?"

He shook his head vigorously.

I smiled and raised a hand flicking my fingers toward his head. His skull burst like a melon and I watched as his lifeless body crumpled to the floor.

Looking down at the blood soaking my clothes, I frowned. But as I reached down, something caught my eye, a set of keys spilling from his pocket. I grabbed them.

"Locker room keys? There's got to be something useful."

I moved through the halls, the unease gnawing at me. 'How long was I sealed away for Japan to have come this far?'

Sighing, I rolled my shoulders, a loud crack filling the air. I grimaced. 'Thought being sealed meant I wouldn't age.'

My gaze fell on a door with a locker, and I approached it. 'Hana-kozō and that woman should be long dead, but it doesn't mean their descendants don't know about me… They'll probably try to do something.'

I inserted the keys and opened a locker with the matching number, revealing a simple outfit of black sweatpants and a black hoodie.

{Image}

~Scene Change~

'Guess that brat was right.'

I wiped the blood from my hands onto the clothing of the man in charge, the one who had ordered my release. After questioning him about why they dug me out, I scoffed. "Trying to find a way to live longer?"

I turned away from him, pulling out a phone I'd taken from one of the bodies while making my way through the building. 'How do I use this thing again?'

Scratching my long grey beard, I finally managed to open the contacts app, flipping through them in hopes of finding a taxi number. But there was nothing. I palmed my forehead, realizing what year it was. 'Right, technology isn't as advanced as later years.'

I shut the phone off, flipped it closed and slipped it into my pocket. Then, I walked out the front entrance.

'I destroyed the server room, so the footage should be gone.'

The sunlight hit my face, and I raised my hand to shield my eyes as they adjusted. The sound of the ocean reached my ears. 'Is this near a beach?'

I turned and saw a boat dock with black speedboats lined up. A row of small buildings, likely barracks, stood nearby. I shrugged, then made my way to one of the speedboats. 'Shouldn't be too hard to drive.'

I raised a foot to step aboard, but then hesitated. 'Maybe I shouldn't do that…'

I tilted my head, thought it over a little more and ultimately decided against it. Instead, I hopped onto one of the boats. 'Time to get off this island, figure out where the hell I am, and see what's happened while I've been sealed.'

~Scene Change~

"Thank you for purchasing our paper, sir!"

I waved off the young boy selling today's news while flipping through the pages. 'Nothing on Sorcerers or Cursed Spirits...'

I sighed, flipping through a few more pages before rolling the paper up and tucking it into my hoodie. 'I need more money and a place to stay.'

Yawning, I walked along the pavement, eyeing the places I passed. Just as my stomach growled, I spotted a diner. 'Hope I have enough money.'

Shrugging, I walked over to the diner's doors and entered. The quiet atmosphere filled my senses as I took in my surroundings. I made my way to the counter, where a young woman looked up at me with a forced smile.

"H-Hello, sir. How can we help you today?"

I hummed as I eyed the menu, then ordered everything I could with the money I had "borrowed."

After receiving my order and paying, the woman told me to take a seat and that she'd bring it to me. I nodded, walked to a seat by the window, and stared down at my wrinkled hands.

'The world has changed.'

It was becoming clearer to me. Compared to the era I'd come from, this one seemed to be at peace.

'But it feels... unbalanced.'

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it felt like the scale between Sorcerers and Cursed Spirits was off and heavily tilted, though it seemed to be slowly finding its balance again.

'Guess that means Sorcerers still exist.'

Sighing, I leaned back in my seat as my food arrived. I dug right in, trying to ignore the thoughts running through my head.

'Should I look for a Clan that knows of me?'

Doubt crept in as I remembered what Hana-kozō had told me before I was sealed. If I had really been forgotten my connections would be gone as well.

'Though who would believe I'm the Eastern Bandit Leader?'

I sighed, finishing one plate before moving on to the next.