Chapter One: The End Before the Beginning
Rain poured over the silent courtyard, washing away the blood that painted the stones crimson. The once-proud warrior Kael Ren lay broken, his breath shallow, his vision fading beneath the storm.
He could barely lift his eyes, but when he did, he saw her—the woman he had once sworn to protect. Lyra, his wife, stood before him in her crimson robes, her sword dripping with his blood. And beside her… his closest friend, Rion, the brother he never had.
"Why…?" Kael's voice was barely more than a whisper.
Lyra looked down at him with cold eyes that once held warmth. "You were too pure for this world, Kael. Too bound by your ideals. We couldn't rise while you still lived."
Rion smirked, the same grin that once comforted him during battle. "Don't take it personally, brother. The world moves on. Power doesn't wait for the weak."
Lightning split the sky as Lyra drove the blade into Kael's heart.
For a moment, there was no pain. Only. silence. Only regret.
He saw flashes of his past—his first duel, his first victory, her first smile—and then darkness swallowed all.
But death did not hold him.
When his eyes opened again, the sound of a classroom bell echoed in his ears.
Desks. Students. A city skyline outside the window.
He gasped, clutching his chest—no wound, no scar, just the faint pulse of something ancient stirring within him.
"Kael Ren?" a voice called.
He turned to see a teacher staring at him. "Are you alright? You've been daydreaming since class started."
Kael blinked, his mind spinning. He looked down at his hands—smaller, younger. The reflection in the window showed a high school student's face.
Reincarnation?
A whisper answered inside him—a deep voice resonating from his very soul.
> "The cycle of Yin and Yang turns once more. You have been given another chance… Warrior of Balance."
As the bell rang, Kael clenched his fists. The betrayal still burned in his veins like fire.
If fate had given him another life, he would not waste it.
This time, he would master the balance of Yin and Yang, uncover the secrets of his death, and rise again—stronger, wiser, and merciless.
For the woman he loved.
For the friend who killed him.
For vengeance reborn.