Am I really going to kill my best friend?

Ember looked down at her arm. It protruded from Viera's stomach, a testament that she had already gone too far. Her fingers clutched the golden core inside the other woman. It burned in her hand.

"I'm sorry," Ember said softly.

Viera laughed, the sound wet and bitter. "No, you're not."

Ember didn't say anything. What could she say? There was no use trying to make excuses with her hand in Viera's gut. There were so many emotions going through her - anger, sadness, regret. The strongest was resignation.

She peered down at her best friend. Viera's long red hair was splayed around her. Her pale skin was painted with blood. She was a person Ember had trusted. And Viera had betrayed her. Ember searched the woman's eyes, looking for something. Viera's gold eyes met Ember's brown ones.

"You really mean it?" Viera's voice was weak but there was a hint of disbelief.

Ember nodded.

Time hung between them as Viera's face twisted in a mix of pain and confusion. Ember waited though she didn't know what she waited for. Or maybe she didn't want to admit what she was hoping for. The drip of Viera's blood hitting the wooden floors filled Ember's ear. It was so loud.

Viera let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter."

Ember ached at hearing those words but she didn't deny them. It didn't matter. It was already too late.

She ripped the core from Viera's body. The woman screamed. The scream echoed in the room, continuing even after Viera's eyes faded from gold back to their natural blue, even after her body began to grow cold.

Ember sat, listening to that scream for a very long time.

How much time had passed? She wasn't sure. Eventually, she looked down at the golden core in her hand. It pulsed. She clenched her fist, shattering it into pieces. Ember stood up.

It was time to take care of the others. Tonight, would be a long and bloody night.

----

When Ember opened her eyes, she wasn't too surprised to find herself lying on a straw mat in the drab room she shared with her younger brother. Raising one hand showed that her arm was small and skinny, a contrast to the tone and healthy arm she had before.

"I must have died," she mumbled to herself. She frowned at the sound of her voice. It was the sound of a twelve-year-old girl. A girl whose life would soon be taking a turn for the worse unless she tried to change it...again.

It was her third life. Technically her fourth if she counted the modern life in the US she had before she was reborn into a fantasy world. But this was the third life involving her regression. Though she could remember her previous lives, she didn't remember how she died in any of them, besides the modern one. It was always the same. She never remembered the days leading up to her death or the actual death, but there was one thing she knew with certainty.

Before she died, she had destroyed the world.

She rubbed her forehead. Did that mean she was destined to destroy the world and repeat this life over and over again? Ember groaned and curled up into a ball. She didn't even want to think about it. Maybe, at least for right now, she should sleep. After all she had just died, she deserved some time to just pretend the world didn't exist.

Her eyes drifted closed only for them to snap open at the sound of running feet.

"Wait!"

But it was too late. A scrawny body was piercing through the air and she watched in horror as the boy body-slammed right into her stomach. The wind was knocked out of her and tears sprung to her eyes involuntarily at the pain. Ember dearly missed the strong and toned body of her previous life.

"Wake up! Mom wants you to help with breakfast," her brother shouted with glee.

In response, Ember twisted around and slammed her arm down, pinning her little brother against the straw bed. Her eyes never opened. "Sleeeep."

Her brother pushed against her arm but it didn't budge. "How are you so strong?"

"Why are you jumping on a sick person?"

"Shut up," her brother said. "The healer said you're better now."

Better? She wasn't sure if that was true. She was back to being a poor commoner girl struggling for any way to change her fate. Though perhaps that was better than the murderous tyrant she had become in her previous life.

A new start might not be too bad.

"You're better, right?" Rowan asked.

Ember opened her eyes to see her brother staring at her. His large brown eyes couldn't hide his worry. His expression changed to one of surprise but before he could say anything, Ember grabbed him and gave him a big hug, kissing his cheek.

"Ew, gross! Let me go!" Her brother wailed.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Ember ignored his wailing. "Aww, was my brother worried about me?"

"Ember! Rowan! What are you two doing?" Her mother asked as she walked into the room.

At the sight of her mother, Ember loosened her grip on her brother. Her chest tightened. Her eyes felt wet and she struggled to hold back the urge to scream out her mother's name and climb into her arms like a child.

The feeling was startling. She had lived three lives before this and had a good grasp on controlling her emotions. She stubbornly ignored the voice in the back of her mind reminding her how in her past life she was renowned for her temper. In any case, she shouldn't be struggling not to cry. Did regressing to her twelve-year-old self also affect her emotional maturity?

She didn't get to dwell on that further because the next moment her mother was rushing towards her. She grabbed her face and looked at her.

"What happened to you? Did that damn healer do this to you? I never should have trusted him."

"What?" Ember asked, completely confused with what was going on. This was different from what happened in her previous lives.

"Yeah, I was about to tell her that her eye was weird but then she kissed me." Rowan rubbed at his cheek as if he was trying to scrub away any traces of his sister's affection.

"What's wrong with my eye?" Ember asked. She looked around but her vision was normal. Honestly, it was almost as good as it had been in her tyrant life. That realization sent a thump of excitement through her chest and she started to call upon her ability when she caught the look on her mother's face.

Her mother looked scared.

Ember reached out and clasped her mother's hand. "Mom, whatever is wrong I'm sure I'm fine. I don't feel sick and I can see just fine."

Her mother seemed to recover at Ember's words. She reached out and hugged Ember tightly. "I'm glad you're alright."

Ember hugged her mother back and was filled with a warmth she desperately missed. In that moment, she realized that dying was worth it if she got to hug her mother again. She never wanted it to end.

Her mother pulled back and ruffled Ember's mussed hair. "Go ahead and get yourself presentable. We're going to see Priest Octorin."

"What? Why?"

Her mother put her hands on her hips. "Didn't I tell you to get ready, young lady? You too, Rowan."

"Yes, Ma'am," they both said in unison.

Her mother nodded and then turned on her heel and left the room.

As soon as she was gone, Ember turned to her brother. "What's wrong with my eye?"

Her brother frowned and then looked at her eye again. "It's strange. It has a weird symbol in it."

"A symbol? Can you write it for me?"

Rowan glared at her. "Are you messing with me?"

Ember was confused why Rowan looked upset but then it dawned on her that the Rowan of this life didn't know how to read or write. For a panicked moment, she wondered if she would still be able to read or write but she calmed down. She retained those skills in the beginning of her tyrant life so there was no reason she wouldn't retain them in this life.

"I mean, can you trace it in the air?" Ember asked and then added in an attempt to butter up her brother. "I'm sure that'll be easy for you since you're really good at art."

Rowan's hesitation disappeared though he didn't immediately jump to it. "What good would that do? It's not like you'll know what it means."

Ember shrugged. "It's in my eye. Maybe I'll figure it out."

Rowan scoffed but he raised his finger and began to trace the symbol in the air. Ember asked him to do it three more times to make sure she got it.

"One more time," Ember said after the third attempt.

Rowan crossed his arms. "No. Just admit it. You have no idea what it is."

Ember frowned but her brother was right. She had no clue what the symbol meant.

"Ember! Rowan! Are you two ready?"

Rowan shot out of the room before Ember could try to ask him to draw the symbol again. She groaned. She desperately wished for a mirror but that wasn't likely to happen unless she wanted to beg Lord Felis to borrow his. Just the thought of the vile man made her lip curl.

Pushing herself off the straw mat, Ember discarded her sweat soaked shift for the worn brown dress that made up her everyday attire. There was a bucket of cold water that she used to wash the sweat from her body and clean her face. On a shelf above the bucket was a small wooden comb, a cherished gift from her father. She picked it up, looking it over. Her hands tightened on it and then loosened. With shaky hands, she combed her short wavy brown hair, before carefully putting the comb away.

She stepped out of her room and into the kitchen where her mother and Rowan were waiting for her. Immediately, her mother hooked her arm with Ember's.

"Let's be off then."

Ember found herself practically dragged out the door. As they walked her mother chattered about the things that had happened around their small town while she was sick. Rowan lagged behind, wandering off at times until their mom called him back.

Ember figured this was a good opportunity to look over something she had been curious about.

Keeper

As soon as she thought the command, a shimmering book appeared in front of her. Luckily, she was the only one who could see it. The book floated in front of her, coasting through the air as they walked.

Open Abilities

The book's pages began to flip until they stopped. Ember quickly looked down, trying to read the words as she walked. A wide grin spread across her face as ability after ability spanned in front of her. That was until she saw that several of the abilities were faded.

Before she could contemplate it further, she stumbled. She tried to catch herself but instead of the elegant recovery she expected, her legs tangled underneath her like a gangly preteen still trying to master coordination, which admittedly she was.

Ember's mother yanked her back to her feet and she found herself saved from getting her face smashed into the dirt. Her mother gave her a worried look.

Ember smiled. "I'm okay, just a bit clumsy."

Her mother nodded and continued walking but her pace was even quicker.

Ember dismissed Keeper. It wouldn't do for her to fall all over herself while attempting to read and walk. Besides, what she really needed was privacy to look it over and enter Keeper's Hold.

Still, it was good news that the abilities she obtained in her tyrant life had remained. She had been unsure of that. While her personal ability had remained the first time she returned, obtaining abilities through her Keeper had only been something she could do in her most recent life so she never had the chance to find out if she kept them through her regression.

Did that mean the objects she had kept in Keeper's Hold also remained? She was excited to see but first she needed to find out about the symbol in her eye.

They had finally reached the small temple where Priest Octorin held his post. After her past life as a tyrant, she had learned many things about the Akashic Order and just how unusual it was to have a temple in such a small town. Likely it was there because of Lord Felis.

At that moment, the temple's door opened and the Priest himself stepped out. He looked surprised to see them but welcoming. "Sun's light to you, Matron Camila. As well as you Maiden-"

The priest froze as he stared at Ember then he abruptly took a step forward at a speed that shouldn't have been possible for a man his age.

He stared at her right eye. The next words out of his mouth made her shudder. "Who cursed you?"