Returned to the Past, the Hero is Protected by the Villain?

Chapter 1: Aftermath and Restart

Ah...

Who... am I?

The first thing I remember is seeing a man walk away from me.

He's holding what looks like a sword.

I go to get up but... ah I see... I don't have a body... this feels strange...

I look behind me and I see another man with a sword lodged in his chest.

Is that me?

It feels familiar yet also unfamiliar.

I don't know where to go so I end up following the first man from before.

I still don't remember what happened or who I am. Why did this man kill me? Who is he? Why were we there?

Although lost at first, as the months went by, I slowly started recollecting my memories. I'm not sure if I was supposed to, but I begin to remember the more I follow this person.

"Seraphim"

That's what I remember to be his name.

He seems like an idiot in my opinion.

As he remembered more and more of his life, he went through many phases.

He started off with simple curiosity, filling in the gaps, slowly it turned to anger towards his killer, but soon he accepted that he was just too weak.

Still feeling that his way of thinking is correct, he stayed by Hiiro's side, seeing how he progressed and how he'll inevitably fail.

However, the latter never happened.

Hiiro continued to progress further and become stronger over time.

He was able to set out what he promised, even if there were some small bumps in the road. He overpowered every obstacle in his path while staying true to his ideals and morals.

Slowly, the spirit had to realize and admit his defeat once again.

However, his pride refused to let him accept it.

What he's thought throughout his life, what did he do everything for? Was his life just a waste of time? Was his legacy truly foolish?

Just like any wound, it healed with time, and he finally came to accept the fact that the hero was correct. He was able to actually save the people and become the actual new messiah that replaced him.

He finally accepted it when he saw the happy faces of the people.

These people were the people he truly wanted to save.

Someone who only thought about the end goal, a pragmatist, this reality felt like a blow in his stomach if he still had one.

Rather than leaving the mortal world and going back into the cycle of reincarnation like any other spirit, he continued roaming the ruins of the world.

Maybe he felt this was his punishment.

To never feel anything again and roam the ruins, that he had a hand in making, aimlessly.

However, soon, each ruined city was slowly built back up by the man that had given him slap to reality.

As the years went by, he stayed near that man, watched him grow up, help the people, get married, have children, grow old, and ultimately die.

At a small country side, the hero known to the world slowly laid in his bed and took his last breath as he closed his eyes.

The cicadas chirping in the backyard filled the empty white noise.

His death was fast and there was no one there to notice him as he died in his sleep.

Thus the end of the story for the hero.

The only person that witnessed his death and every other moments of his life, was his life-long rival, who he killed with his own two hands.

He watched as he breathed his last breath and stayed beside him.

He looked around the room.

It was modest, something unexpected for the hero that saved and brought order to the world, but it definitely suited someone like him.

The only thing that was out of place was a sword that was displayed on the wall. It held a certain elegance to it, and despite being old, it was treated with care and preserved well.

As the time passed, the spirit looked over the body, and soon saw a white light coming out of it.

It formed into a form similar to its own.

It was the spirit of the hero.

As people took his body away, the hero's spirit started to move, and, like clockwork, the villain's spirit followed behind him, much like the years before.

As they reached higher into the sky, there was a large gate in a massive white void.

The border between nothing and everything.

Soon, the hero walked past the gate, without looking back.

His follower, still hesitant, stopped for a second, before entering himself.

A bright white light that even outshone his spirit form enveloped his body.

Soon, the feeling of a body returned to him, slowly rebuilding itself from his head to his toes.

The white turned into a black void where he continuously fell down as he was being reconstructed.

There seemed to be no end in site, and soon the feeling of falling numbed his senses.

As he finally reached the end of the void, he was jolted awake.

In his bed that is.

What...

He sat up from his bed, sweating bullets. He let out a huge sigh to calm himself down while pushing some of his hair back. Despite being in disarray, he still looked like he came right out of a painting.

He got up from the massive bed.

This room...

He looked around at a familiar room that he should have no business being in.

Going closer to the mirror in the room, he was able to see his face

This is...

Seeing his face up close, he could confirm this was truly him.

However, he looked younger and he shouldn't be alive.

Under his breath, he let out a small laugh, seeming to already figured out his situation. He had a calm and arrogant smirk that would still make anybody swoon while also annoy others.

"It seems like I've returned to the past."

Hmm...

I guess this will be giving me a second chance in life.

However, I had already thought of what I would do if this situation indeed happened.

I will find Hiiro Seraphim and I will do my utmost to support him and the future he wishes to accomplish.