The moment I died, I regretted everything.
The blade was cold. The pain was sharp and short. I remember the crowd shouting. I remember my knees hitting the ground.
I remember thinking that I had lived like a coward and died like one too.
Then there was nothing.
No light. No sound. No mercy.
And then I woke up screaming.
My throat burned. My lungs dragged in air like they had forgotten how. My eyes flew open, and the first thing I saw was stone. A low ceiling.
Cracks filled with black mold. Chains rattled when I moved.
I tried to sit up. Pain exploded through my skull.
I groaned and fell back.
"This is hell," I whispered.
My voice sounded wrong. Deeper. Rough. Not mine.
A smell of iron filled the air. Blood. Old blood. My blood.
Memories crashed into me without warning.
A young man kneeling in a public square. Hands bound. People throwing stones. Spitting. Calling him a monster. A traitor. A demon in human skin.
My stomach twisted.
That man was me.
No. Not me.
But this body.
I clutched my head as images stabbed into my mind. A noble house fallen to ruin. A forbidden ritual Screams in the night.
A child left to die Lies stacked on lies until
even truth was forgotten
My breath turned ragged.
"I'm… I'm him," I muttered.
The villain The one everyone hated.
The name surfaced like poison.
Kael Arvane
The cursed son The one blamed for the massacre at Black Hollow. The man who would be executed for crimes so vile that no one cared if they were true.
I laughed. A dry, broken sound Out of all the lives Out of all the worlds I had reincarnated as him. The chains around my wrists dug into my skin as I moved Cold iron Heavy. Designed to hurt. Designed to remind me of my place.
Footsteps echoed outside the cell.
My heart jumped Keys jingled A slot in the door slid open, and a pair of eyes stared in. Full of hate.
"So the demon wakes," a guard said.
I tried to speak. My mouth felt dry. "Water."
He spat through the slot.
"Seven days," he said. "That's all you have left. Enjoy breathing while you can."
The slot slammed shut Seven days.
The words echoed in my skull
More memories surfaced Not mine His.
Execution Day.
The seventh sunrise. The gallows raised in the capital square. A royal decree No appeals.
No mercy.
My hands started shaking.
"This isn't real," I whispered. "This can't be real." But the pain was real. The chains were real. The fear clawing at my chest was real.
I pressed my back against the cold wall and forced myself to breathe.
In my past life, I had been nothing special. A tired man. A failed one. I worked, slept, and waited for tomorrow. I had dreams once, but they died quietly.
I did not deserve a second life.
And yet here I was.
As a villain marked for death.
As someone the world wanted gone.
A scream echoed from another cell. Then silence My jaw tightened.
"No," I said. "I won't die like this. Not again."
I searched the memories harder Not the crimes Not the lies I dug deeper, into the parts Kael had buried even from himself.
And I found it A locked door inside the mind.
Black Heavy Pulsing.
The moment I touched it, my vision blurred.
A whisper slid across my thoughts.
Too early I gasped and pulled back.
My heart pounded like it wanted to escape my chest.
"What was that?" I whispered.
The memories fought me Fear surged Kael had known about it He had hidden it He had been terrified of it A power
Something forbidden.
Something that did not belong to this world.
Before I could think more, the door to my cell creaked open.
Two guards stepped in, armor dull and scratched Between them walked a man in white robes trimmed with gold. His eyes were calm Too calm A priest I felt Kael's fear spike.
The priest smiled faintly. "Kael Arvane You look better than expected."
I glared at him "Come to pray over a dead man?"
He tilted his head "I came to see if you would beg " I said nothing His smile faded.
"Good," he said "I hate it when you screamers cry."
One of the guards grabbed my hair and yanked my head back Pain flared.
The priest stepped closer "Seven days," he said softly "The world will finally breathe easier."
I spat blood at his feet The guard hit me Hard.
Stars exploded in my vision.
"Careful," the priest said. "We need him alive. The people want to watch."
They left me crumpled on the floor The door slammed shut.
I lay there, shaking Anger burned through the fear They thought I was already dead
They were wrong.
I clenched my fists The chains rattled.
"I don't know what you are," I whispered into the dark, thinking of that locked door, "but if you're the only thing that can save me… then wake up."
Nothing happened I laughed bitterly Of course Hours passedOr maybe minutes Time felt broken Then the air changed A chill crawled over my skin The torches outside flickered.
Footsteps Soft this time Too soft My instincts screamed The door opened without a sound.
A shadow slipped inside Not a guard
A blade flashed I rolled aside just as steel cut through the air where my throat had been.
The chains slowed me. The assassin moved like smoke
"Stay still," a voice whispered Female Calm. "It will be quick."
I scrambled back, heart hammering. "Who sent you?"
She did not answer. She lunged again.
I blocked with my chained arms. Pain tore through me I screamed Blood dripped onto the stone She raised the blade for the final strike.
Panic crushed my chest Not again.
I refused Something inside me snapped The locked door shattered.
Darkness poured out, hot and alive, wrapping around my heart as the chains began to glow and the assassin froze mid-strike while the whisper returned, no longer distant, no longer quiet, but screaming my name as the power finally awakened.