I sat on the floor, steadying my breath.
Legs crossed, back straight. The room stank of rot, but I paid it no mind.
There was no time to waste.
This body is a wreck. Weak limbs, shaky breath, muscles that haven't seen a day of work.
But all that will change.
Two active veins. Twenty dormant.
A dry laugh escaped me.
"Most would cry for having so few veins awakened. But twenty dormant… that's twenty doors waiting to be kicked open."
Opening a vein isn't easy. It's torture.
You have to force energy through a channel that doesn't want to be touched.
It burns. It resists. But if you keep pushing, drop by drop, breath by breath, It opens.
Every time you open a vein, the next one requires an exponential increase in effort.
And once it does, the real work begins.
I remember how I did it the first time. Every bruise. Every broken bone.
My body didn't grow stronger by talent alone.
I forged it in agony. Day by day.
This body?
It'll scream. It'll bleed. It'll beg for rest.
But I'm not listening.
I pushed myself up from the floor. My knees nearly gave out.
Good.
I made it to the backyard, barely.
The air was heavy. Sunlight burned against my skin. My breath came in short gasps.
No time for warmups. No excuses.
Push-ups until my arms trembled.
Squats until my knees locked.
I ran circles around the house barefoot until my feet bled.
Every fiber of this body screamed at me to stop. I didn't.
I couldn't.
"Weakness is the first thing to die."
I noticed that my sister was watching me, most likely confused, as I had never so much as stepped out of the door previously.
Sweat poured from me.
My limbs felt like they'd shatter with the next step.
But I wasn't done.
I grabbed a filthy rag and a bucket, then started scrubbing the floor.
Mold peeled off in chunks. Bugs scurried from beneath broken boards.
I tossed out rotting food, snapped the broken chair apart, and patched what I could.
"If I sleep in filth, I'll think in filth. No more."
"This is my home now."
The original Aziel didn't care. He rotted in this room with his shame.
But I'm not him.
Not anymore.
I stepped out of the room and went towards Sena's.
I haven't seen Mom and Dad. I wonder where they went.
KnockKnockKnock
"Hey Sena, do you know where Mom and Dad are?"
"Um... they went on a business trip that Dad had. Remember?"
Ah. Of course I don't remember this bastard never paid attention whenever they told him anything.
"Oh right. I forgot. Thanks."
Before I could exit the awkward conversation
"Brother!" Her voice came out a bit hurried, and her arm was outstretched.
I could see her flinch and slowly drop her hand.
"Yes?"
"Will you eat with me again tomorrow?"
Her voice was soft. Cautious. As if afraid I'd snap at her for asking.
I paused.
My throat tightened, and for a moment, I didn't know what to say.
"Yeah," I answered. "Of course."
That flicker of surprise in her eyes again.
Like she was waiting for something awful, but got something kind instead.
She nodded quickly, then turned back into her room.
I stood there for a while, staring at the closed door.
What did she go through, living with the original me?
No... what did I put her through?
I turned away.
My legs ached. My back was screaming.
But the pain was good. It reminded me that this body was mine now.
And I was going to make it better.
Back in my room, I sank into the stiff mattress.
The scent of mold still clung to the air, but it was cleaner now.
The walls looked a little less pitiful.
I had scrubbed them with hands that could barely stop shaking.
And I wasn't done.
Tomorrow I'd wake up earlier.
Train harder.
Eat better.
Clean more.
There were no shortcuts to strength. Not in this world.
Tempering the body was just the first step.
Next, I'd start flooding my dormant veins. Drop by drop.
I'd meditate. Build endurance. Break myself down and rebuild again.
A part of me wanted to rush.
To claw my way back to the top, back to the heights I once ruled over.
But I can't afford to be careless. Not anymore.
This world... it's ruthless. Full of monsters in both form and face.
And somewhere out there, the people who killed me are still smiling. Still breathing.
Kael. Varn. Seris.
I repeated their names like a curse.
They think I'm dead.
And I'll let them keep thinking that.
For now, I'll bide my time.
Grow in silence.
And when I return...
I'll be stronger than ever.
I'll make them pay.
Wait. Thorne!
He wasn't there when I was killed!
And I doubt he was in on it...
Thorne was the Shield God.
He was extremely loyal. I know for a fact that he would not have betrayed me.
That's why he wasn't there.
They left him out on purpose.
They knew he wouldn't have complied.
But how do I find him?
And even if I find him, how do I get close enough to tell him who I am?
Will he even believe me?