As soon as he opened his eyes, L realized the fact that he was dead.

There was no pain.

That was the first strange thing.

The last thing he remembered was the sensation of the cold floor and his fading consciousness. And the face of Light Yagami looking down at him. Light was saying something, but L never got to hear that voice. Only that expression, smiling as he looked down at him in the final moment, remained vivid.

L blinked slowly.

His body felt excessively fine. There were no injuries, no feeling of suffocation. It was as if everything that happened just a moment ago was a lie.

He cautiously sat up.

An unfamiliar landscape unfolded before his eyes. There was no pure white sky, nor endless clouds. Instead, he saw a path where sunlight softly rested, low buildings, and people strolling leisurely in the distance.

It was a strangely peaceful place.

Laughter could be heard from somewhere, and the wind brushed through his hair without a sound.

L sat there for a while, observing his surroundings. He couldn't be sure of anything—where he was, how he got here.

Then, he suddenly noticed someone standing a short distance away.

That person was looking at him, as if they had been waiting for L to wake up.