"&^&%@&%!" … A voice. It was screaming something unintelligible."***&*^!!" Right. What am I even doing…? The thought pervaded my mind. Muffled noises touched deaf ears. I've been robbed of sight. Why?
… Ah, right. In this moment… a battle. That's it. A feeling of numbness receded from my body. Get up.
Eyelids flickered, then lifted; the sight before me was naught but bloodshed. As far as I could see, or hear— the cries of men, women, and children. The sobs of pain, fear, and guilt. Ah. Quite amazing.
Familiar pain shot through my knee. A stinging sensation broke out in both my nose and throat. Home… — never wished to come to this world.
The warm embrace of nature coiled around me tightly. The dirt was soft, and protective. Safe.
Yet, my body still acted. It rose on its own. My hands, calloused, and rough, bare and stripped of skin, pushed off the ground with great force. My spine, once broken, corrected itself.
Right. I know why. Can't afford to die… not any longer— no more chances. Dying now means it'll all be lost. I glanced to my left; a sword laid still, plunged deep into the soil. I picked it up and firmly grasped it. Grime coated the blade. Still, not bad.
I trudged forward, through corpse and maggot, through blade and rifle… through foe and friend. Each breath that escaped from my mouth was sharp, painful, and ragged. Despite the cold biting air, and the screams of war and bloody murder, today should've been a quiet day in November. Perhaps I would've been surrounded by family, by friends.
Forget that.
I saw a man struggling against a woman in a green coat. Her blade pressed down on his in a clash. It was clear he was losing. As he grunted weakly, his arms trembled and his grip threatened to slip. At the sight I got to work quickly; I planted my feet, wound my arm back, and then swung.
Pressure. Resistance. And then the sweet sonorous melody of skin against metal touched my ears and resonated through my arms. From the base of her neck up, all that existed was a bloody stump. Decapitation.
Such are the horrors of war. I didn't spare the man a second glance as I continued forward.
Thirty years. Thirty hellish, hollow, numb years. That's how the amount of time I've spent in this world. Not my world.
I turned my head and scouted the area. The dark smog wafted in the atmosphere, entering and poisoning the lungs of many. Something prickled the back of my throat. It bit time and time again until I eventually gave in.
I coughed, and then wiped the spit from my lips. I mustn't get distracted.
But my knees buckled. I fell to the ground on one knee silently as strength left my body.
… Is this where it ends? I shook my head. I pushed off of the ground with my palm, but I didn't rise. A pause. No…
I tried, again and again to raise my frail corpse once more, but no matter how much I chose to struggle it failed repeatedly. At last, on my final push, I felt my body rising. Excitement surged through me as I stood once more momentarily.
Posture straightened, then crumpled completely at last. I hit the ground hard. A soft thud was heard however, as the grass caressed my skin lightly. Something was screaming for me to get up in the back of my mind.
… Don't wanna.
My eyelids fell heavy, and shut gently. For a moment, my breaths became calm, more manageable. Only moments later they became quieter, more shallow.
Thirty years. If… if I could go back then—
—Ghsk!
My thoughts cut off as a cold sharpness penetrated my spine. My fingers twitched, but the rest of my body remained in a stasis. The sharpness slowly tore through my spinal tendons, and pushed apart my spinal discs as it twisted.
The pain wasn't hot, nor did it sting. I could only feel a hollow ringing pervade through my being, as my life drew close to its end.
Finally one thought unfurled like a blooming flower— a dying wish.
If I could go back… I'd do it better!
Then, the unwavering darkness at the end of the road severed the light of my life. Dark tendrils deeper than black enveloped my vision. I was no longer staring at the inside of my eyelids— I was no longer staring at all. Creeping numbness devoured my body.
Ah. This is death.
"…ey!" … A voice. It carried a familiar tone. What were they saying? I hadn't the time to wonder before I was shaken awake as the voice called out to me once more.
"Hey, kid!" My eyes shot open. Before me a beautiful scene presented itself. The sun loomed in the sky like a proud Tyrant, rings of clouds orbited it. The sky was baby blue, and the sounds of rushing waves crashing onto shore could be heard.
My back was supported by a warm, blanket-like granular material. Sand. I cautiously rose up, and in the process spat out some sand particles stuck in my teeth. The sweet scent of cinnamon and the summer-like tingle of heat on your skin. I know this place.
I looked to my side, on my left was a woman. She was of average height and sported commonly seen blonde hair. She wore stylish round glasses and bore an inquisitive look reflected by her curious brown eyes.
For a second we locked eyes. Then, recognition flooded my unguarded mind; memories of the many years we spent together.
Leah. Leah Scott.
A stinging sensation struck my eyes. They felt dry. Moisture welled up and clumped together in response, and something streaked down my face. A single tear.
Leah's expression quickly changed from inquisitive to one of surprise. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry— I totally didn't mean to make you cry!" Cry? Crying… Is that what I'm doing? Is that what this is?
"Cry? What do you mea… I'm not crying!" I blurted out, but my voice betrayed that sentiment. It cracked up just at the sight of her. If Leah was back, then… Wait. Leah is back?
No that's not right. It can't be right. I ran my left hand through my hair; silky brown medium length curls. I touched my face with my right. The skin was soft and smooth, a clear contrast to the rough calloused face I sported before.
This isn't my body… No, this is my body! It's my body from the past! I've regressed, thirty years into the past— I'm back!
Throwing my head back I inhaled deeply. I flexed my fingers as I stared at the sky, completely ignoring the girl next to me. I wonder if I can reach the Tuner stage in this life. Right! What do I have?
I closed my eyes once more, and pried deep into my inner conciousness, attempting to thoroughly examine the entirety of my soul. A nauseous purple feeling rippled throughout my being as I probed deeper. Trivial.
Soon enough, I met a familiar coiling heat, with a low vibration. I smiled; there existed no changes in my Ardor reserves. Perfect! Disappointingly however, I found my physical progress had been reset. Well… It makes sense. I sighed, after all regressing to the body of a seventeen year old still had it's own downsides.
"Are you ignoring me?" Leah's voice returned to a calm, neutral tone. She did not seem particularly annoyed despite obviously being ignored nor did she seem to linger on the fact she had just made some random teen cry. You're definetly horrible with children then, Leah… and I don't mean to be critical. The words quickly implanted themselves into my thoughts as if they excused the overall meaning.
Focusing back on reality, I nodded gently, swallowing, and then asked her, "Are there others here?" This was asked knowingly however; excluding me, there were five others who had been brought to this world by some unknown existence or factor.
Either way, I've got to play it safe.
She answered without much thought, saying, "Yes, yes, and I'm sure there may be more on the way. But as of now, there are four others— excluding me and you of course."
With a thumbs up, I rose to my feet and took a good look at my surroundings. Most of us were standing around at the mouth of a cave, me included, but a few others like the dark haired Jacob or the stoic and ginormous Terrance— Terry— were actually taking a peek around the beach ahead of the cave.
I paused and thought: Should I try talking to Jacob. Nah… hate that dude. Maybe Terry? On the other hand that guy's way too sharp. I laughed to myself and Leah shot me a look. Right I must look insane. Doesn't matter. "Kid, what's your name? You seem to know something about this world we were brought to… and I'd like to know," I was caught off guard by Leah's question. Have I already been seen through?
No. I turned around to meet her gaze. "… The name's Paul, heh heh. I'll admit, I don't have a single clue what you're talking about but," I pointed towards my chest with my thumb, "If you want a hero to burst through this story you've definitely got me!" Leah paused, and blinked thrice, as if in disbelief. Then, she rolled her eyes in exasperation and murmured, "God… I wasn't sure if people ever actually acted liked this. What a lunatic." With those words she walked off, seemingly annoyed.
I let out a breath. Since when was I capable of putting on such an act? I thought silently, as my psyche recoiled at my disgusting act. Still, it worked like a charm. With that, there's no chance my plans can be seen through. Plans… I put my finger on my chin and tapped a few times.
What plan do I even have? What am I going for here? I chuckle bitterly at the realization that I was utterly at a loss for what to do. Well, anyhow, the other four have to have seen that little 'interaction' of mine. Good. This will conciously or subconciously make them take me less seriously. As for whether or not this will reduce their faith and trust and me later on, I'm not worried. I've always been an unneccesary asset to them.
Forget that though, I need to focus on creating my Prana! My vessel for channeling, controlling, and creating Ardor needs to be cultivated before I can even take the first step outside of this beach, otherwise there exists many chances where any Ardent can come up and threaten me! … Probably not the others though.
I recalled my memories from my past life: Everybody else seems to have odd unique abilities that exist outside of or at least have special exceptions in contrast to the system of power used in this world. On the same topic, I began mentally recite the basics: Ardor is an energy formed from passion— no, more accurately purpose. If one wishes to harness it they must posess a goal, or at the very least a strong will. Prana is a vessel that converts other energies into Ardor, creates Ardor, and allows those with Prana, Ardents, to channel and manipulate Ardor. This is the familiar vibe of many cultivation novels!
I had come to the same conclusion at the beginning of my last life and yet, I found out that this world was vastly different, and the strange powers held in it were in many ways dangerous. I lampooned at the thought of that. Those special abilities we transmigrators bear, I've finally decided on a name for them. Aberrations! They were concepts that operated outside of the norms, after all. It was only fitting.
Thus! My Aberration must be the underlying principle behind this regression! Yes, that is the only logical conclusion. I attempted to calm my heart but its incessant thumping only beat louder against my chest.
Considering for me there was no discovery of any insane talent, nor ability in my past life, then my regression is the only logical explanation for what my Aberration could be!
I'll call it Immortal Essence!
With that resolved, I quickly retreated into the cave, just far enough where the other transmigrators would not be able to see me completely. After glancing around for a bit, I found a comfortable spot to seat myself and closed my eyes. On my lap, my hands drew close together, almost in an open circle, and my finger tips just barely touched each other. This was meditation!
To cultivate a Prana, one must meditate and use any of the immediate Ardor reserves in their body to carefully form the vessel. But one must take caution, as without a Prana new Ardor cannot be generated. Meaning if you fail too many times, you won't have any remaining Ardor to use, and you will be left without a Prana!
I took in all the air from my surroundings as deep breaths filled my lungs. I have cultivated Prana in the past, and failed many times. I lack the pure raw talent, Jacob or Terry possess— but I am no fool! I possess something greater, an unbreakable will!
Deep vibrations ripple throughout the cavern as tendrils of energy erupted from my body. Heat surges into my heart and brain, and searing passion spills out into the environment. I clenched my jaw as the pain settled within me, and grinded my teeth as I reined it in.
Wrong, wrong, wrong! This shouldn't be happening! At this rate I wouldn't have been surprised if the others noticed something was off. After all, such energy bursting from a human body without a vessel is a telltale sign. Unexpectedly however, as I engaged in my struggle with forcing my energy into a spherical shape, no one came to approach me.
Yes… Yes! I took another deep breath, feeling the gales of life thrashing around and inducing the feelings of immense joy. It seems I have an aptitude for Gale. This was consistent with my past life, when Ardor aroused the Gale element and brought it to me.
Once more, pain exploded directly in the center of my being, however I resisted it through gritted teeth and iron will. My goal was just within my grasp. Just as I felt the formation of the Prana's spherical shape being completed, a deep and low pitched voice interrupted me— "You. What are you doing?"
In that moment, the shape broke, bursting into thousands of Ardor fragments that sliced and ruptured my soul greatly. In the real world, my body jolted awake and shot forward. Great pain carved itself into my being and I began to claw at my neck.
Before I could peel skin off however, a hand grabbed at both of mine and pinned me down. "Guys! I need some—," he groaned as I tried pushing him off. Manic strength overtook my body and tendons snapped. My own most likely, but that didn't stop me.
In this moment I felt a great fear, not of the man who pinned me down (most likely Terry), but of the pain and utter shock of failing to form a Prana sphere! I repeatedly bashed my head into the rocky floor of the cave, hoping to escape something.
What I was trying to escape… even I'm not sure.