The sky was gloomily overcast. The smoke from the wrecked tanks was mixed with the chilly breeze that blew across the snow-covered battlefield of the Ardennes. One soldier in particular hasn't yet died, while the rest are being left to rot in the snow. It was an unidentified soldier who, after losing a leg, was left with nothing but despeir.

"What have I become?" a chilling breath coming out of his mouth.

It was an American soldier who is barely alive. Despite having dead gray eyes, he was still breathing. A doctor would be left wondering if there is anything worse than the wounds he had on him. He was discovered in a ditch that was surrounded by wrecked tanks, as if there had been a large battle between two armies. Later, reinforcements located him, saved him, and brought him up on a stretcher.

"It's alright, pal, we'll bring you home!" one of the combat medics yelled.

The injured soldier was then carried up before he was checked. It was at that moment that he was able to see that memorable sky one last time.

Battle Of The Bulge also known as the Ardennes Counter-offensive, 1944.

He was stationed in a platoon somewhere in the snowy Ardennes near Monschau to defend against any enemy attack, but neither he nor anyone else in the platoon could see any sign of any major attack of the enemy troops to fight off in the area. The main battle was located in the south. It brought the entire infantry division to Elsenborn Ridge from Monschau to the point where the German drive came to an halt, except for the platoon that was commanded to stand by.

However, there was a misconception that there was actually a whole panzer division that was marching towards the platoon with a surprise attack so they could flank around to the main force, making the platoon outnumbered, but miraculously and mysteriously it was still able to stop and annihilate the flanking panzer division even though it was a one-sided battle, but they were wiped out too. For the soldiers, it became a myth, yet if not for them, that flank could have wiped out the main army.

Many years have passed, and that soldier has grown into an old man who barely speaks. Had the rank of second lieutenant, and was awarded the Purple Heart. He has an expressionless face and is wearing a prosthetic leg. He lives in a nursing home in New Jersey with a young nurse who's taking care of him for almost 3 years.

He has no children nor any close family members to look for him. Some felt sorry for him and offered to help, so one young nurse, Claudia who was a sweet and compassionate enough to volunteer to care for him. Sadly, the veteran doesn't show any signs of gratitude for what she did for him.

What could he possibly be thinking? Is he disrespectful? shy? nervous? That what the nurse initially thought was false; the truth lies behind his mind. A truth that is far worse than the innocent minds.

Because to the war and the combat he was in, which had cost him many, he has been battling trauma and sadness. Due to his intense anguish, guilt, and sorrow, the soldier has been quiet for many years. As a result, he feels nothing and lacks the desire to live until he is elderly. Nobody was aware of what transpired during the intense struggle he endured, and he was the only veteran to have survived it.

That young self of his is dead; that battle he went through, even the analysis said that it was nearly possible to just survive.

His mailbox is flooded with letters from people who want to speak to him, historians and interviewers who want to learn his story since that battle hasn't recognize and been recorded on what exactly happened back there, but he consistently declines. His niece is one of his relatives that wants to get in touch with him, but the veteran chose to remain hidden.

Even if he were a war hero, which he believes he is not, he does not want to be thanked and doesn't deserve it. He believes that everyone who has honored him and given to him in appreciation of his service has only shown sympathy, just like his girlfriend which he had fallen in love, with whom she had an affair with another man because of his long absence. She was the only hope he had when he returned home after years of fighting and recuperating in Europe before returning to America just to find himself heartbroken.

Now he gotten old with a sad and broken heart and waiting until his end. He does not want to remember his past but cannot get over it because of the nightmares he get. Having a face of neverlasting sorrow, grief and regret he felt, pain.

He thought that his naive bravery was a mistake that cost him his friends and his life, which made him regret that decision.

"Sir, Let's go take a little stroll in the park, shall we?" Claudia the caretaker, said.

He nods silently.

The caregiver assisted him in putting on his prosthetic limb, and he stood on his feet with a walking cane, as usual, assisted by his caretaker. Every day, they would go for a walk around the park to keep him active and healthy. The park is quiet and serene, with autumn leaves falling from the trees and a lake in the midst.

It's the most cozy time of the year. The old veteran and the caregiver were walking slowly, keeping only the same speed as the old veteran, till the caregiver paused and told the veteran. The caregiver said in a polite manner,

"Sorry sir, but I have to go to the bathroom. Mind if you wait on that bench,"

She smiled and pointed out the bench just right next to them. The veteran silently nodded as usual and sat there while seeing her running to the nearby park's public restroom and waiting for her.

While waiting, he gulps the fresh air and observes his surroundings, looking at the light-reflecting waters of the lake with leaves floating on it and the waving trees shadowing the blue sky. While looking around the beautiful scenery of the park, he started to notice something that piqued his curiosity.

There was a bright, shining light behind the bushes just right in front of him. Out of curiosity, he stood up and checked on it. His hands were too frail to shove the bushes away, so he had to go around the bushes and look for something in the leaf-covered ground.

He picked it up, and it was a lovely red gem or ruby of some kind. He examined it from every aspect, and it was mesmerizingly warm, unlike his chilly hands. He believes it is a piece of jewelry that fell off of an expensive necklace or a piece of jewelry from someone. He has no interest to steal and make fortune out of it, so he started looking about for the owner until he noticed several people who appeared to be seeking for something.

He assumed they were looking for the item he was carrying, so he slowly waved at them while holding the gem or ruby. Because of how dazzling it was, they all spotted it and were startled that not only did they find it, but that they instantly began to run at him and yell.

"No! Drop it!" they yelled.

He was startled and pondered why until he realized that the ruby had become so bright that the flash had rendered him blind and turned everything white.

(Flash)

The veteran was bewildered when he finally regained consciousness to wake up in a different and strange place. He was laying down in shallow water and slowly stood up to see that he was in a place that he hadn't been before and looked around. The place was in the middle of nowhere where all you could see was an infinite still, calm, shallow water, to be disrupted by his movement with a clear blue sky.

Most of us would be bewildered or even panicked in this situation, but the veteran remained calm since he comprehended and understood that he had died and accepted his fate as if he was already in heaven due to how strangely beautiful the place was, but his thoughts hadn't altered a bit.

He began roaming about, enjoying the serenity and fresh air, until he found something unexpected. There was a peculiar tree in the distance. He walks to the tree to examine it out of curiosity. He saw the tree as soon as he arrived. The tree appears black and devoid of leaves, as if it has been burnt. He was perplexed as to how it arrived and why it had been burnt, but then he felt a strong impulse and a scary sense in his body, as if someone was watching him.

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When he looked back, he noticed an unusual man sat menacingly on a slab of stone. It wasn't there before, but the veteran didn't mind. He appeared to be a guy with blonde hair, clad in a white toga with wings emerging from his back; he appeared to be an angel, and his beauty could be seen up close. He looked like a living Roman statue, but his crimson eyes were unsettling.

They locked gazes till one of them blinks or speaks, and surprisingly, it was the angel who first lost contact with the veteran's eyes and then giggled.

"You got a very intimidating and cold stare, old geezer, very cold" the angel said. The veteran replied with silence, making it awkward for the angel.

The angel rose up, as though he had gotten the veteran's attention after being intimidated from his intense stare.

"Don't fret, old timer. I'm an angel who has descended to see you as part of my mission from God, our creator of heaven and earth" the angel said after he stood up.

The old veteran merely remained silent, allowing him to hear only the waves and breeze while staring at him. This resulted in an uneasy silence and the angel's inability to decide what to say next, yet he continued chatting while walking in circles around him.

"You see, I used to be a soldier just like you, so we have a lot in common. It's a privilege to take on this task As a holy command, I'm here to speak to you and give you an important request"

The old veteran still remains quiet.

"You are one of the handpicked mortals who will be reborn to another world and given a second opportunity at life to do what you were unable to complete in your previous life, but there is a catch! Every three years, you must obey my directions because they are critical. I have the capacity to predict your destiny, and it is my responsibility to inform you what you must do, no matter how dire the situation"

The veteran paused for a second and said something so thrilling that it finally made the veteran finally lost his stare that led him to ponder.

"If you don't, not thousands, but billions will die" the angel said in a thrilling quote.

The veteran averted his gaze and thought for a while. The angel, amazed that he could finally extract anything from the veteran other than his emotionless visage, replied,

"But it all depends on your decision. You can decline if you want. We can find and choose another one if you reject this one. Take your time to decide."

He turns away from the veteran and starts approaching the stone block to sit down to wait for the veteran's reply. As soon as he walked to the block, he heard the veteran exhale deeply, which made him halt.

"Do you have a cigarette?" the veteran said.

The angel was shocked after he finally heard his deep and yet quiet voice and his unexpected request. He quietly laughed at the request but felt intense at the same time.

"Speak of the devil, I thought you wouldn't speak up." The angel said

To satisfy his request, he took a single cigarette from his hands and brought it close to the veteran, then handed it to him, and it was lighted as well as he placed the cigarette in his mouth as he had requested.

The veteran inhales and exhales while smoking. The smoke was flowing out of the veteran's mouth as he blew out deeply in delight at finally being permitted to smoke after years of prohibition. He glances up after smoking to see how lovely the endless sky is, and then notices his own reflection in the waves.

"Is this how peace feels?" asks the old veteran.

"Indeed, this is the only realm where you could ever feel that, but now it seems that I've given you what you wanted, would you finally offer your answer?" the angel said.

The veteran stared him in the eyes and then, instead of answering, he ignored the angel's statement and asked,

"You said you were a soldier, didn't you?... Now tell me, angel, what's your name?"

The angel looked to be baffled and told him it wasn't necessary, but he just gave him a baleful and dismal stare that led to a dead end unless he answers the veteran's question.

"My name is Atheed and I'm a former Fallen angel and your guardian to the new life"

The veteran was surprise from his respond and wasn't expect him to be a fallen angel who were expelled from heaven.

"A Former Fallen Angel ay? I thought you were siding with the devil than God"

After hearing everything he stated and denied, Atheed was dissatisfied. He stated that he needed to persuade him of the correct truth.

"You know, I understand your perspective, but you learned it through its mendacity to the point that you mortals transformed it into a belief, destroying our name as God's soldiers. Some of us fallen angels, even though we used to be on their side, we are still allies with God to combat evil."

The veteran almost lost his trust after he revealed that he was a fallen angel. But after saying on what he said, he understood and gave an affirmative nod to his response and pulled back his words. He was still suspicious and indescribable whether he was good or evil. After seconds of thinking, he then said,

"Okay, before I give an answer, I have a few questions which are you have to tell me about the world that I'm going to be into and tell me what I do be doing there"

"I'm still unsure of what your purpose is, but all I can tell you for now is that you'll be reincarnated in a world unfamiliar to you but quite similar to the previous world, with the only minor difference being that witchcraft and supernatural are highly widespread" Atheed replied.

The veteran puffed another smoke and asked once more, and shortly, it was the last.

"So what do you mean by 'billions will die'?"

The angel was caught off guard by the veteran's question but had to answer him, so he could finally get the answer off of him.

"In this world, mortals fought evil for centuries before the genesis, but a normal mortal army couldn't beat the brute force of evil even though they had powers of magic. So that's why we sent you to defeat them and bring peace among the mortal races. But not only that, we also send you for other reasons as well, like changing the world by speeding up technology, so you and the others will help civilizations grow, but for now, you'll be sent as God's messenger since you'll be the first hero that will be summoned. Your real task will be given in the next three years, and for now you can do whatever you want, as long as you prepare and study about the world" Atheed answers.

Before making his decision, the veteran observes his reflection in the water one more time.

"Do you finally make your decision?" the angel asked.

He gave Atheed one more glance before puffing his last cigarette and threw the cigarette bud into the water. He sighed, then delved into his pockets and replied,

"I agree to be reborn on this planet and assist you in my new existence"

Atheed was relieved to hear his response and eventually cast him to be reincarnated in another world, but before he was finally transported to his new life, the veteran said

"But on one condition."

Atheed was curious about his condition. He listened to him intently while trying to reincarnate him to another world, hoping to get the most information from him. The old veteran finished his sentence.

"If this world does not treat me the way I want to be treated, no matter what the repercussions, I will not hesitate to end my life there."

Atheed sneered and was skeptical about the old veteran's assertion, prompting him to remark,

"I admire your endeavor. It is a waste if you do it because you'll be reborn as a boy from a wealthy family and be guided through life by me. When you step foot in that world, you'll be given an ability, but it will require time to find it, and the rest will be your burden. "

As for the veteran's sarcastic response, "Yeah right," he turned around and was blinded by the white light once more, confirming that Atheed had successfully reborn him to the new world.

Atheed completed the rite of summoning, and the veteran was once more blinded by the white light. Prior to his vision becoming clear once more, he could still feel all of his senses but his vision was dim.

He seemed to be in a dense forest, and it was pouring heavily. He was very soaked and was somewhat coated in muck. The veteran was confused at first till he realized how short he was, and he looked down and was amazed that he had a very short body and was raising his child like hands, and was also shocked that he could finally feel his toes after years of being a handicap. He found a puddle that reflected his face, and he was surprised.

He appears to looks like a child with brown hair and yellow eyes. He wore like a victorian noble from the olden times.

Then he looked up, seemingly in disbelief and unable to comprehend that only a few moments ago, he had been a feeble old man with numerous scars from his past. Now, however, he was in a new world with a body that he had previously believed to be impossible to possess. He thought to himself as he was looking up, raindrops splashing across his cheeks,

[ A Great Journey Always Comes With a Beginning ]