Chapter 3 – Immortal Flame
A gentle warmth rested around, swirling in undetermined paths, its gentle touch caressing a small indistinct creature.
Protected from the outside world the creature rested, slowly maturing. Outlines of limbs and features beginning to show themselves alongside the languid passage of time.
In addition to its physical development, the mind of the being altered, each idle strand and thought coalescing to eventually form consciousness.
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Darkness receding from my mind, as the fog clouding me scattered to the depths of subconsciousness. Awakening from my stasis, my mind methodically took a moment to orient itself before examining the state of existence I found myself in. Having lived through such a process thousands of times before, I felt neither fear nor unrest, just a hollow acceptance as I set myself to the tasks ahead.
With eyes not developed enough to see, I was forced to rely on the power of my soul to sense the internals of my own being. Whilst much more potent after adjustment to my new host, I was still proficient enough in wielding my power to sense my personal being.
Vast streams of information flowed into me, outlining my form. Everything from my bones right down to the individual cells of the skin, nothing escaped my vision.
Working in robotic fashion, I proceeded through an endless list of tasks and checks identified after countless repetitions. Throughout this process, I noticed a major difference from my usual routine.
Whilst each rebirth is different, all of them hold one thing in common. I would usually awake a few weeks prior to my birth.
However, this time it appeared as though my mind had woken months before. Something which should not be possible, as the state of my brains development wasn't capable of processing the vast array of knowledge contained within my soul.
Whilst souls are wonderful things, capable of containing an infinite amount of knowledge, children are too weak to have such information imparted to them. Resulting in my mind floating in an abyss until my body and mind are strong enough to beckon me.
Pondering the implications of this development, I continued my observations. The longer I looked the more anomalies presented themselves.
Delving deeper into myself I was amazed at how my body was developing. Every fiber of my cells felt dense, filled to the brim with energy. Gazing into the energy, I watched as a constant stream of mana was sucked into my body, warping and evolving the cells with its excess nutrients.
Following the stream of mana, I reached out my senses trying to find the source of this power. Pushing my soul to the limits as it tried to free itself from the constraints of its new imprisoner.
Through will alone, I was barely able to touch upon the object encasing me. It appeared that it was the stomach of a young woman, sadly I was unable to push my soul any further and would have to wait until my birth to lay my eyes upon her face.
That being said, I was able to identify the source of the Mana. Upon in the epicenter of whom I can only assume is my new mother, lay a golden sigil, its shape distinctly bird-like.
Stolen story; please report.
Invisible to the eye, I could feel the vortex of rune formations revolving around the sigil, each formation layered atop each other in a display of breathtaking complexity. The raw power the sigil gathered formed an endless ocean of mana which saturated my new body. As any remaining excess was directly fed to my soul healing the transparent fractures caused by its long existence.
As time passed I could feel myself growing, the individual aspects of my body reaching new limits before exceeding them.
With not much else to do but wait, I remained unmoving, sinking myself into my mind. Thoughts and feelings from my previous life encompassing me, I lay floating in space countless instances of regret and loss pressed against my mind, each demanding to be examined and dissected into their core issues, before being stored away for future contemplation.
Scenes of his past life unraveling before me.
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Previous life:
The song of blades rang out in the courtyard, amidst the orchestra the figures of two people danced in sync with its tune. Their shirtless bodies covered in a thick sheen of sweat as they pushed their bodies to the limit, each trying to reach the extra bit further necessary to defeat the other.
Hidden in the corner a small servant girl watched the two battle enraptured by the boy with the golden eyes.
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A sad smile plastered upon the face of a girl as she longingly gazed towards the retreating figure of a boy. Watching him walk free of the gates, countless similarly dressed men around him, lined in formation. A tear slipped from her eyes as she wondering if it was the last time she would ever see him.
*****
The cry of a new-born infant broke the lull of sound as a man in his mid-twenties stood over the women and a child. Bright green eyes reflecting into his own golden flecked ones as a rarely seen smile blossomed upon his face.
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A man dressed in dark rugged leathers, knelt over the body of a young child, a crimson puddle of blood slowly spreading out from a wound in her chest.
A few meters away the agonizing wail of a women tore free of her as she watched the sight before her. A man dressed in an azure coloured outfit held the women captive as men dressed in matching uniform surrounding him, laughing at the actions of their prince.
A cold smile played upon his face as he slowly unsheathed his blade and plunged it deep into the women he held captive.
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"Please my king, we must stop them! They act without consequence! How long will you halt your hand as the Saranian empire kill your people and burn our homes?!"
A figure bowed deeply as he pleaded towards the only person he knew who could enact his revenge.
"I understand your loss my friend but I need to think of more than what they did to you. I have a kingdom whom I am responsible for."
"Then protect your kingdom! The people suffer in the absence of your help! If you do not fight back the people will no longer follow you!"
"ENOUGH! You are in no place to question my decision. Now leave!"
With brooding eyes, the figure departed the hall, plans of retribution and rebellion sprouting in his mind.
*****
Burning flames ripped through the hall as a figure walked through the scorching heat unheeded.
A man wearing a crown was the only other occupant within the burning hall, sitting upon his throne he released a deep sigh as he looked at the man approaching. Reminiscing of the time he called him a friend, not a speck of resemblance remained upon the scarred worn figure before him, his amber eyes, dim with the abyss which resided within the man’s heart.
*****
Thousands of men lined up opposing each other, their contrasting colours of red and blue highlighting their origins.
A king resided on either side, dressed in overbearing armour.
“You killed my son! It's time we finally put an end to this. Too long have our kingdoms fought!" The leader of the blue side echoed over the battlefield.
The opposing man paused for a second, looking across the field and directly into the eyes of his most hated enemy.
“He took everything from me...and now I will take everything from him.” His voice was forlorn, no seed of happiness remaining, just a cold anger which fuelled his immortal flame.