Lin opened his eyes to the sensation of being watched.
It was not subtle. It was not the vague unease of knowing someone might be nearby. It was the certainty of attention, focused and unmoving, as if something had been standing over him for some time, waiting.
His breath caught.
Lin jerked upright with a sharp inhale, heart slamming painfully against his ribs. The thin blanket slid from his shoulders as he scrambled backward, heels striking stone, spine pressing into the wall.
The ceiling was gone.
Hovering above him was a man.
Lin shouted, the sound tearing out of his throat before he could stop it. His hands flew up uselessly, fingers spread wide, mind blanking under the sudden spike of terror.
The man did not react.
He hovered a short distance above the floor, weightless and still. His form was translucent, outlined in a pale, silvery glow that pulsed faintly, as if breathing. Long dark hair drifted around his shoulders without wind. His robes hung loosely, layered and old fashioned, etched with faint patterns that shifted when Lin tried to focus on them.
At the man's side rested a sword.
It was long and narrow, its form clean and restrained. Even without being fully solid, its edge seemed too sharp, too defined, as if it could cut through thought itself. Thin strands of lightning crawled lazily along the blade, appearing and vanishing without sound.
The man's expression was calm.
Mildly curious.
Almost amused.
"Oh," the man said. "You are awake."
Lin made a strangled noise and nearly slid sideways off the bed.
"What," he gasped. "W-w-what are you."
The man tilted his head slightly, studying him as if Lin were a puzzle rather than a threat.
"I am bored," he stated.
Lin stared at him incredulously.
"Just kidding… well I was bored but that was besides the point and probably not your question. To answer your question: it depends on how honest you want the answer to be," he replied. "And how much screaming you plan to do."
Lin's chest heaved. His vision swam, but the figure did not flicker or blur. He was painfully present.
"You are not real," Lin said hoarsely. "I am exhausted. I finally slept. This is a hallucination."
"You are not imaginative enough for that," the man replied calmly.
Lin swallowed.
The man glanced around the room, his gaze passing through the stained walls, the warped table, the narrow bed.
"You chose a depressing place," he observed. "Functional, though. I approve."
Lin stared at him.
"…you approve."
"Yes."
A sharp laugh tore out of Lin before he could stop it. It bordered on hysteria.
"I killed someone," he said. "I ran for days. I wake up in a slum and you are floating over me making comments about interior choices."
"You are doing remarkably well," the man said thoughtfully. "All things considered."
Lin dragged a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Go away," he muttered. "Please."
The man did not.
Lin opened his eyes again.
"Who are you," he asked quietly.
The man considered him for a moment. Then he shrugged, an oddly human gesture for someone not fully there.
"Once," he said, "I was called many things. Most of them were exaggerations. One of them stuck."
He drifted a little closer, never touching the floor.
"They called me the Sword God."
Lin's stomach dropped.
"No," he said immediately. "No, you are not."
The man smiled faintly. "That reaction is healthy."
Lin shook his head. "Sword gods do not hide in slums."
"Neither do sensible people," the man replied. "Yet here we are."
Lin pressed his back harder against the wall, trying to ground himself.
"Then what are you," he asked.
"A remnant," the Sword God replied. "A fragment of will, memory, and stubbornness that refused to fade when it should have. I hid inside your body because it was convenient."
Lin stiffened. "You chose me."
"Yes."
"Because I was weak?"
"Because you were available," the Sword God corrected. "The weakness was coincidental."
Lin's jaw tightened. "You used me."
The Sword God shrugged. "If you prefer to think of it that way."
Silence stretched between them, heavy and strained.
"You killed them," Lin said finally.
The Sword God nodded. "Yes."
"You killed two cultivators."
"Yes."
Lin swallowed hard. "And you talk about it like it was nothing."
The Sword God's gaze sharpened slightly.
"This is a kill or be killed world," he said. "You noticed that much already. You either accept it or let it grind you into something smaller until you disappear. I have killed many people, it does not affect me anymore."
Lin's hands trembled. "I did not choose this."
"Neither did most of the dead," the Sword God replied, not unkindly.
Lin let out a shaky breath.
"I keep seeing it," he whispered. "Her face. The sound."
"You will," the Sword God said. "For a while."
Lin looked up sharply. "That is it. That is your wisdom."
"What would you prefer," the Sword God asked. "Comfort."
"Yes," Lin snapped. "Actually."
The Sword God studied him in silence.
"No," he said at last. "You should not feel better about it. You should understand it."
Lin laughed bitterly. "You are terrible at this."
"I was never known for gentleness," the Sword God admitted. "I was known for efficiency."
Lin stared at him.
"And humor," the Sword God added. "Occasionally."
Lin exhaled slowly, exhaustion settling into his bones.
"However, you were going to be killed if you hadn't acted. So no biggie!" the Sword God commented nonchalantly.
"Will I kill someone again?," Lin asked, secretly knowing the answer himself.
"Almost certainly." the Sword God answered joyfully.
"Is that supposed to reassure me?"
"It should prepare you," the Sword God replied. "Hesitation is more lethal than ignorance."
Lin closed his eyes.
"Why are you helping me," he asked.
The Sword God did not answer immediately.
When he did, his voice was quieter.
"Because if you die," he said, "we both perish."
Lin opened his eyes.
"You are my anchor," the Sword God continued. "My hiding place. My only remaining chance at recovering a real body rather than fading into whatever passes for oblivion."
"So this is self interest," Lin said flatly.
"Entirely," the Sword God agreed. "I am not altruistic. I am practical."
Lin snorted despite himself.
"That makes two of us."
The Sword God's expression shifted then, curiosity sharpening.
"There is something else," he said. "Something that continues to bother me."
Lin frowned. "What."
"You," the Sword God replied.
Lin tensed.
"You appeared," the Sword God continued, "without warning. Without transition. One moment the body was alive. Then it died. Then suddenly you were there."
Lin's breath caught.
"I had theories," the Sword God said. "At first."
Lin did not speak.
"At first I thought you were a high level cultivator searching for me," the Sword God went on. "However, you did not act like a woman or a cultivator. So I crossed that possibility out."
Lin shook his head slowly.
"Then I thought perhaps possession," the Sword God said. "Some spirit slipping into an unattended dead vessel."
"That is not reassuring," Lin muttered.
"I ruled that out quickly," the Sword God said. "You were too coherent."
Lin swallowed.
"I even considered reincarnation," the Sword God added thoughtfully. "A soul displaced by time or circumstance."
He studied Lin closely.
"But you do not fit any of those neatly."
Lin's pulse hammered.
"So what do you think I am?"
The Sword God was silent for a long moment.
"I do not know," he said finally. "And that is rare for me."
Lin let out a shaky laugh.
"Great," he said. "Even the ancient sword spirit is confused."
"Yes," the Sword God replied. "That is unsettling."
Lin rubbed his face.
"So you were inside him," he said quietly. "Before."
"Yes."
"And you watched him?" Lin asked.
The Sword God nodded.
"Then you know," Lin said, voice tight. "You know why he did it."
"I do," the Sword God said. "The arithmetic was unfavorable."
Lin closed his eyes.
"And then I showed up," he whispered.
"Yes."
Lin slumped forward, forearms resting on his knees.
"I do not know how I got here," he said. "I do not know why I am here. I just woke up."
The Sword God watched him.
"For what it is worth," he said, "you handled it better than most."
Lin laughed weakly. "I killed someone and ran."
"Ehhh, stop stressing about it already. It's going to happen again," the Sword God replied with a grin.
Silence settled again, less strained now.
"What happens next," Lin asked.
The Sword God's gaze drifted to the narrow window, where faint light crept through the grime.
"Now," he said, "we see if you survive long enough for me to teach you how this world actually works."
Lin looked up.
"You will teach me?"
"Yes."
"Because you need me alive."
"Because you need to stop being helpless," the Sword God corrected.
Lightning flickered faintly along his blade.
"Take a minute," he added. "I am still recovering. And you are barely functional."
Lin hesitated.
"And after."
The Sword God smiled, thin and knowing.
"After," he said, "we begin sharpening you."
The room fell quiet.
Outside, Jade Reach continued to breathe.
And for the first time since waking in this world, Lin did not feel entirely alone.