Clank.

The sword dropped to the ground as one of the guards threw it toward me. I saw it clearly, but something about it felt familiar.

It was silver, sharp. I grabbed it with one hand, my other hand still pressed against my wound. Blood continued to drip, but I managed to stand, my hands shaking from the pain. This is how scary it felt. Just holding the weapon, standing against an opponent, was suffocating. Yet, I couldn’t understand why I felt the urge to fight.

Huff.

He smiled. "Come on," he said, motioning for me to approach.

His sword dripped with my blood. It wasn’t a lot, but it made me shiver slightly as I gripped my sword tightly.

"Come on, swing," he said, casually dropping his sword beside him, still smiling.

"Haa!" I charged and swung the sword.

But it didn’t even reach him. He dodged effortlessly, just taking a step back, avoiding the blow without even drawing his own sword.

He laughed, and the two guards outside joined in. "Come on, swing again," he taunted.

Swishhhh!

I kept swinging the sword.

Swishhh!

Swoshhh!

What was happening? I looked at my hand, the sword coming to a stop. But somehow, I had drawn his attention.

This familiar feeling... I couldn’t stop swinging. No, I didn’t need to.

I... my mind... my body... seemed to enjoy it without me even realizing.

Swishhhhh!

"Haaa!" I swung again.

Huff. Huff.

He stepped back, grabbing his sword. "You’re... weak," he said, then lunged toward me.

The blood, my blood, from his sword began to fall as he swung it quickly. I could see every drop, every crimson stain hitting the ground. I didn’t think about how to dodge this attack; instead, I focused on how much blood I was going to lose in this fight. I was clearly at a disadvantage, but something inside me kept telling me I had the power to turn this disadvantage into an advantage. But... I couldn’t move anymore.

Tu-tump.

I could feel it — my skin, the warm air, the sweat, the blood flowing from my wound, the pain. I could see it too, the surroundings, full of sword slashes, but my mind couldn’t stop thinking... why am I so weak?

Why couldn’t I be reborn with a stronger body? With a more powerful, respected person? Why was I another weakling? I thought I could erase the memories of my past life, but every time this body failed to keep up, I remembered how weak I was and how pathetic it felt to be weak in a world full of strong people. He lunged toward me with his sword, and I could tell this was his last shot. With this, I’d be killed.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"Huff..." I exhaled sharply, watching him lunge as my body refused to move, and the sword dropped from my hand.

Then, as I was about to close my eyes, a voice spoke in my mind.

A familiar voice.

Nix?

"I just woke up." She said. "Need help?" she asked.

I didn’t know how to respond, but I forced a smile and closed my eyes completely.

The last thing I thought I would see was the sword swinging at me.

Swoshhhhh!

But then... it was something I didn’t expect.

A head flying?

Thud.

The sound of the interrogator’s head hitting the floor was deafening in the silence. I stared at it, the crimson pool spreading beneath it, and felt... empty. There wasn’t relief. There wasn’t satisfaction. Just emptiness. I should have felt victorious, but all I could think about was how close I’d come to dying.

The black shadowy sword hovered above me like a phantom. Its sharp edges seemed alive, pulsing with an unnatural energy. And then, Nix appeared, her small form glowing faintly as she walked toward me. Her voice, calm and steady, broke the silence.

"We have to escape now," she said firmly.

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure I even had the strength to move. She raised her hand, and a bright light emerged, flowing directly into me. The moment it entered, I felt a surge of energy ripple through my body. My limbs, moments ago heavy and useless, now felt alive.

"Hurry," she urged, already running toward the exit. My legs wobbled, but I forced myself to follow. Each step was shaky, but I kept moving. "Whe...where?" I managed to ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

She glanced back, her pace never slowing. When we reached the outer barrier, shimmering with faint magic, I knew brute force wouldn’t get us through. She didn’t hesitate. Raising her hand, she spat out a black, pearl-like object and hurled it toward the barrier. The pearl exploded mid-air, forming a swirling, dark portal that loomed before me like an abyss.

She turned to me, her exhaustion clear in her small frame. "I’ll be resting for a long time after this," she said. Her voice was softer now. "Go inside. It will take you far from here."

I stood frozen, watching as she disappeared back into my body. She had given everything, too much, and I knew it was because I wasn’t strong enough to handle any of this on my own.

I clenched my fists, staring at the portal as guilt clawed at me.

This was my fault.

I thought I’d planned well. I thought I could handle it. But every step of the way, I’d been nothing more than a burden. My so-called plan was useless. I’d let my weakness dictate everything, and it nearly cost me—and Nix—our lives.

Why was I so weak? Why did I have to carry the weight of this person’s failures on top of my own?

But it was immature.

I gritted my teeth. That thinking, that weakness, was the same thing that haunted me in my past life. Back then, I let life crush me because I believed I couldn’t fight back. And now, here I was again—repeating the same pathetic cycle.

But I couldn’t afford to stay like this. Not anymore. Nix had put her faith in me, even when I hadn’t earned it. She was paying the price for my failures.

I looked at the swirling darkness of the portal and took a shaky breath. This was it. I couldn’t stay weak. Not if I wanted to survive. Not if I wanted to protect her—or myself.

I stepped forward, into the unknown, promising myself that this would be the last time I let weakness define me.

When I stepped inside the portal, everything changed.

At first, there was nothing but darkness. Not the kind you see when you close your eyes, but something heavier—like it pressed down on you, wrapped around you, and refused to let go. I couldn’t tell if I was standing or falling. Time didn’t seem to exist here. Seconds stretched into minutes, minutes into hours—or maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

My breathing echoed around me.

It was the only sound in this suffocating void. I tried to move forward, but every step felt like I was dragging my feet through thick mud. There was no sense of direction, no path, no light—just an endless black.

And then, all at once, it ended.

The air shifted, cool and sharp, carrying the faint scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. I stumbled forward, catching myself against a tree. When I looked up, I realized I wasn’t alone anymore.

A dark forest stretched out in front of me. Towering trees with twisted branches clawed at the sky, blocking out whatever light might have been above. The air felt heavier here, like the forest itself was alive and watching me. Shadows moved—not from the wind, but from something deeper, something that felt unnatural.

The ground beneath my boots was soft, littered with fallen leaves and moss that seemed to glow faintly in the dim light. It wasn’t comforting. If anything, it made everything more unsettling.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but my hands were still shaking. This place was wrong. Everything about it screamed danger. My body felt like it had been through hell. The wound on my side throbbed, a painful reminder of the fight I’d barely survived. I pressed a hand to it, wincing as fresh blood soaked through my shirt.

"Nix," I whispered, hoping for some kind of reassurance. But there was no response. She was still resting, silent and hidden within me. I was on my own now.

The thought sent a chill through me. I couldn’t rely on her to save me again. I had to figure this out myself.

A branch snapped somewhere behind me.

I froze. My heart pounded in my chest as I turned toward the sound, gripping the hilt of the sword still in my hand. My eyes darted between the trees, searching for movement. There was nothing—just the stillness of the forest and the faint rustle of leaves.

"Calm down," I whispered to myself. "Think."

But thinking wasn’t easy when everything in me screamed to run.

I forced myself to take a step forward, then another. My muscles were tense, every movement deliberate, every breath measured. I didn’t know where I was going, but staying in one spot felt like an invitation for something to find me.

I clenched my jaw, pushing the fear aside as best I could. It didn’t matter why or how. Right now, the only thing that mattered was making it through the night.

If I could do that, maybe I’d figure out the rest.

For now, I just had to keep moving.