POV: Kael Lanpar
A cold sweat ran down my body. My consciousness, still trapped in the darkness of pain, warned me that I had awakened.
My chest heaved violently, each breath bringing back the memory of what had happened—image by image, color by color, emotion by emotion.
Everything returned all at once. I shut my eyes tightly, afraid of what might have happened while I was gone.
As I pressed my hands against the ground, I felt the coolness of the grass. My nails dug into the damp earth as I clumsily pushed myself upright.
Moisture coated my palms while my eyes, still blurred, searched the place around me.
I was in a dark, lonely space. The wooden walls surrounding me were uneven, and the echo of my thoughts bounced against them, as if the tree itself were whispering my fears back to me.
It took me a moment to understand where I was—until I saw, through a small hole, a pale light seeping in from outside.
I was inside the hollow trunk of a tree.
I clenched my fists. My blood pounded in my veins at the mere thought that something might have happened to Airis because of my recklessness.
Lost in my thoughts, I barely noticed the distant sound of rain outside—until it was broken by a faint splash. A step in a puddle.
Slowly, I turned my head. Through the curtain of rain, I saw Airis's face. Her eyes were glassy.
"Kal… you're awake," she sobbed, walking toward me.
Much of her soaked hair clung to her face, hiding her gaze. I couldn't tell whether what ran down her cheeks was rain—or tears.
When she reached me, her trembling body clung to mine.
Her embrace was as warm as it was painful. I could feel her despair shaking in my arms.
"I thought I'd lost you," she whispered, holding me tighter. "Why… why did you save me?"
I didn't know how to respond. I barely had the strength to speak.
"You're my friend," I murmured, resting my head on her shoulder. "When someone matters to you… you do whatever it takes to help them."
My words didn't calm her. Her sobs still echoed inside the hollow tree, as if each one struck the walls of my mind. It broke my heart.
Gently, I pulled her away. I wiped the tears from her face with my sleeve and swallowed hard, unsure if I should even ask. My hands, still resting on her shoulders, trembled.
"Airis…" I finally said, trying to keep my voice steady, "tell me what happened. Where's the bounty hunter?"
Her expression changed. The horror in her eyes was enough to give me the answer.
I lowered my gaze. My hands were stained with dried red. Blurred flashes—half memories, half nightmares—flickered in my mind. A hollow cold spread through my chest.
I remembered it. The pressure in my hand. The neck giving way beneath my grip. Then the explosion. His body disintegrating. The blood painting my face.
The touch of Airis's hand on my cheek pulled me back. I recoiled instinctively, dragging myself backward, my feet sinking into the damp earth.
"Stay away from me," I said, my voice breaking. "I don't want to hurt you."
"It wasn't your fault," she whispered, her voice barely audible beneath the rain. "That wasn't you in that moment. The Corrupted Awakening took control of your body."
Her words spread through the hollow trunk, echoed back again and again—as if the forest itself were trying to convince me.
"If it wasn't my fault…" I murmured, trembling, "then why were you hurt?"
The sound of a slap cut through the air. My cheek burned.
Dazed, I looked at her, confused. But her eyes held no anger—only pain.
"Kael… we're just kids!" she shouted, gripping the collar of my shirt. "It's not our fault this damn world is so corrupted!"
Her hands shook. Her voice cracked. Yet she kept going.
"We don't control anything in this life…" she said, tears streaming down her face. "Not even adults can control themselves."
For a moment, a dry sound filled the air. I stared at Airis's face, still red from crying.
I watched as our breaths, frozen in the cold, vanished between the gusts of wind sneaking through the entrance of the tree.
The chill of that day cloaked us completely, like an invisible shadow.
Without saying a word, I took off the sweater I was wearing. My eyes lingered on Airis's red nose, trembling just like her body.
"Here," I said, extending the garment to her. "It's freezing out there. Where's Luis supposed to be?"
Leaning an arm on my knee, I stood up with some effort and moved toward the tree's opening.
Through the wet branches, I caught sight of a figure moving swiftly. I narrowed my eyes until I recognized him—it was my grandfather.
Hidden among the leaves, he watched me with a mix of weariness and calm. I heard a dull thud as he jumped down from the branch and walked toward us with steady steps.
"We need to keep moving," he said, ruffling my hair with one hand. "I assume Airis already told you what you did."
The reflection of my tears in his eyes made me realize I was crying. I wiped my face, nodded silently, and bent down to pick up my things from the ground. As I grabbed the backpack, a sigh escaped my lips—I had forgotten something important.
My memories, blurry or fragmented, tied me to an identity that wasn't entirely mine. I had been reborn, and yet… I kept forgetting that I was still just a child.
I activated my astral magic. I felt the rain soak me, the wind swirling under my feet, lifting droplets of water around me.
With a jump powered by the air itself, I leapt through the forest branches. From there, I began to run, using the natural platforms the trees provided.
Every step kept me aware of Airis. Remembering the battle, seeing how she had protected me, brought a genuine smile to my lips—one that stung before it even formed. It was strange… but beautiful.
I took a deep breath as I heard the song of birds hidden in the canopy. For a fleeting moment, I felt peace.
"We've just arrived," my grandfather said firmly. "From this point on, I want you to follow my instructions to the letter. This land is a killer… it punishes intruders."
His words sent a chill down my spine.
I had read about the complete annihilation of the Acrona race. Their history had been falsified—turned into legend.
After what Airis told me during our walk, I couldn't stop wondering what truly happened.
This place had been renamed sacred land: a hypocritical name, a twisted tribute to those who were mercilessly slaughtered.
The cruelest part was that even though their bodies had died, the earth that absorbed their blood remained alive.
And it cried for vengeance—calling its killers back to rest upon the same pile of graves.
"Kael, I need you to suppress your mana as much as possible," my grandfather ordered. "Airis, welcome home."
The mana surrounding me slowly began to fade, floating in the air like tiny motes of light.I turned to look at Airis. I watched her descend from above and land in front of a great stone arch covered in strange carvings.
She didn't need to say anything. Her trembling, her hesitation before taking a step—those spoke louder than words. She was on the verge of tears.
I dropped down from the branch. The moment my feet touched the ground, I felt it—dead earth.
A wind heavy with ashes and death wrapped around me, as if it recognized me, as if it welcomed me… to oblivion.
"Don't worry," I said, taking her hand. "I'll go in with you. I don't care if the souls of your ancestors want me dead."
"That's not funny, Kael," she muttered, gripping my hand tightly. "But… thank you for coming with me."
We walked forward together. As we crossed the threshold, a white layer surrounded us. It wasn't a magical barrier—but something else. An illusion. A veil between worlds.
The moment we stepped inside, I felt it—a presence.Every fiber of my being was watched, analyzed, stripped bare. And the worst part was… that thing had found what it was looking for.
I blinked several times, blinded by a suffocating light. When my eyes finally adjusted, all I saw was… death.
A ruined kingdom stretched before me, covered in fire and dried blood. The houses had been reduced to rubble.
The ground was charred. Shards of broken glass littered the streets, reflecting the gray light like a macabre decoration.
With every step, graves multiplied; hundreds marked the boundaries of what had once been a city. Now, all that remained was a cemetery.
The air still carried the stench of corpses, a rancid, almost tangible odor that refused to leave. It was an open wound in history.
"Airis… s-sorry," I stammered, meeting her eyes. "I didn't know this…"
"It doesn't matter," she interrupted sharply. "No matter how much it hurts… they won't come back, Kael. Tears won't change anything. And neither will your apologies."
Shortly after crossing the threshold, my grandfather appeared behind us, emerging from the dimensional gate.
His expression was a mix of disgust and annoyance, likely from the same suffocating sensation that had hit me upon entering.
"Damn it, this goes against my rights," he muttered, hugging himself dramatically, as if that gesture could protect him from the poisoned air.
He quickly regained his composure, as if nothing had happened.
"All right, children, it's time to move forward," he said, pulling from his interdimensional ring the map the Alkaster soldier had given him.
We began walking toward the center of the kingdom. With each step, the landscape grew darker… more dead… more bloody. As if the land itself were begging us to leave.
And yet, we couldn't.
Something was watching us. A chilling presence ran down my spine, whispering with the breath of the dead.
It was as if thousands of ghosts marched behind me, carrying an ancestral hatred. The kind of hatred that only grows when justice never comes. A hatred that seeks revenge… against those who carry the lineage of the guilty.
"I need your help, Airis," my grandfather said, his voice suddenly serious. "There are things here that only respond to the blood of their former inhabitants."
"I understand," she replied with determination, drawing the dagger that hung at my waist. "Only Acrona blood can reveal the secrets of a lost life."
Before us, a humanoid figure stood in the middle of the plaza. It was a statue—or at least it had been. In its hands, it held a petrified heart, so ancient that plants sprouted from its craters.
Airis placed the tip of her dagger on her pinky finger and made a small cut. Drops of blood fell, one by one, onto the stone.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. The silence was so deep that I thought it had all been in vain.
Then, a dry crack split the air.
The heart began to fracture. Pieces of stone fell away, revealing a real heart… one that was not dead, but asleep.
The ground trembled beneath our feet. From somewhere distant, bells rang. Slow, heavy, sepulchral tolls. Each echo seemed to awaken something that should never have opened its eyes.
The figure split in two, revealing an ancient staircase descending into the kingdom's depths.
"They look like veins…" I murmured, touching the conduits that glowed with a pulsing red light.
The candles scattered throughout the streets ignited in unison, burning with a crimson fire.
And as if the kingdom were trying to remember what it once was, the buildings began to regain their shape, their structure… but stained with tragedy.
"Kael," my grandfather said gravely, "let's continue. I know this hurts, but you must understand: it's not your fault. The decisions of your ancestors are not yours."
I nodded in silence, took a deep breath, and turned to follow them.
I began descending the spiral staircase. On either side, stone statues held torches that wept blood; dark drops ran down their faces, as if the very art itself suffered while guarding this cursed place.
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked cautiously.
"That's what I'd like to know," Airis murmured, biting her lower lip. "Why did we even come here in the first place?"
"I know this place doesn't bring good memories, Airis," my grandfather replied, his tone a mix of respect and firmness. "But if we want to help Kael… this is the only way."
We continued descending, though it felt as if time itself had warped. As if every second in this place weighed more than an hour.
After what seemed like an eternity, I finally glimpsed a door blocking our path. It was decorated with human skulls, arranged with ritual precision that could only inspire fear.
"It's time, Kael," my grandfather said firmly. "From here on, you'll have to go alone. Our astral magic could interfere with the reality you're about to witness."
He paused before continuing.
"This is personal. Once reality begins to distort… you'll know the moment has come to face the truth."
"I don't understand what I'm supposed to do," I said, my confusion evident. "You never explained anything."
"Trust yourself," Airis interjected, opening the door in front of us. "The Acrona were capable of entering themselves… even others."
Her words, instead of giving me reassurance, only sowed more doubt. I had lived too much already, both in this life and the previous one.
To know myself? Again?
I had been Matías Castleboard—I remembered that with absolute clarity. What remained blurry in my mind… were my memories.
With my heart pounding, I took a step forward. I crossed the threshold of the room, feeling a deep fear take hold of me.
It wasn't ordinary fear… it was ancestral. A raw, authentic emotion.
A terror no one should feel at five years old.
The sound of the door closing behind me was sharp, definitive. A chill ran through my body, and for a moment, I doubted if I really wanted to continue.
For some reason, this place scared me—truly scared me. Not because of what was there… but because of what it could awaken within me.
In a matter of seconds, my grandfather's words made sense.
The dark room, illuminated only by candles forming a strange symbol on the floor, began to shift.
The walls warped, as if reality itself were rewriting before my eyes… until everything vanished.
Before me stood Marcois, smiling. I recognized the moment: just when my past self swore loyalty to the empire and promised to follow the Prophet.
But something was different.
I couldn't move. I couldn't control my body.
I was seeing everything from Matías' perspective, but I wasn't him… just a spectator trapped within his consciousness.
"From this day forward, you are a child of the Empire," the Prophet said solemnly. "You will protect and serve our cause. Most importantly… you will preserve your innocence."
My past self nodded, still kneeling. Then he placed a hand on his knee and rose slowly.
When he opened the door to step out, what appeared before him was a white void, completely ethereal.
I turned my head. Everything was suspended in time. The Prophet's face remained still, and dust particles floated in the air, frozen.
The silence was absolute.
Then, an unfamiliar voice broke it all.
"In addition to being a Lanpar, you are a reincarnated one. You don't belong to this world… nor this place."
The voice was deep, foreign, and came from right behind me. Instinctively, I moved Matías' body, as if for a brief moment I had regained control.
I directed my gaze toward the source of that presence. It was a shadow.
"Who are you supposed to be?" I asked firmly. "How do you know about my reincarnation? And what are you doing inside my memories?"
"Unfortunately… I had the chance to meet you," the shadow replied coldly. "But since you're here at the request of someone of my blood, I'll try not to be aggressive."
It paused briefly. Its tone was neither threatening nor friendly.
"My name is Vastiar Iceheart."