The Void
Silence.
Not peaceful, but heavy the kind that presses against eardrums and lingers in the chest like a weight. Kuroda Ren existed in that silence, untethered, his consciousness sharp with the memory of betrayal, the phantom ache of steel between his ribs still fresh.
Then, light.
Not warm. Not divine. Just light, cold and unfeeling, like the glow of a monitor in an empty office.
A sigh echoed through the void.
"Finally. I was starting to think you'd never wake up."
The voice was smooth, amused, the kind that curled around words like smoke. A woman materialized before him, draped in shadows that clung to her like a second skin. Her crimson hair spilled over her shoulders, framing a face that was beautiful in the way a honed blade is beautiful sharp, dangerous, and utterly without mercy.
Seira.
Ren didn't need to be told her name. It settled in his mind like a brand.
Before he could speak, another figure appeared taller, calmer, his presence like the hush before a storm. A man, his features neither young nor old, his silver-tinged robes shifting as if stirred by an unfelt wind.
Kai.
"Don't mind her," Kai said, his voice low and measured. "She enjoys theatrics."
Seira smirked. "And you enjoy being dull. What's your point?"
Kai ignored her, his gaze resting on Ren. "You were taken too soon. Your story was unfinished."
Ren's lips curled. "So you're giving me a second chance? How generous."
"Not a chance," Seira corrected, her golden eyes glinting. "A game."
Kai stepped forward. "You will be reborn into a world unlike your own. A world of magic, of elves and demons, of war and prophecy."
"And you," Seira added, "will be its newest pawn."
Ren's eyes narrowed. "What's the catch?"
Kai's expression didn't change. "Your memories will be sealed until your thirteenth year. You will live as a child of that world, unknowing. And when the time comes, you will awaken to your purpose."
"Purpose?"
"To stand against the Demon Lord," Kai said. "To fight in a war that was foretold long before your birth."
Seira's grin was all teeth. "And, if you're very lucky, you might even survive it."
Ren studied them both. "And if I refuse?"
Seira laughed a sound like shattering glass. "Oh, darling. You already died once. Do you really think you get a say?"
Kai's voice cut through her amusement. "You will be born to an elven noblewoman and a human warrior. A child of two worlds, yet accepted by neither. Your path will not be easy."
"But," Seira interjected, "it will be interesting."
Ren exhaled. "Fine. Let's play."
Seira's fingers snapped.
The void shattered.
Rebirth
Pain.
Not the sharp, clean agony of a knife, but the slow, crushing pressure of bones forming, lungs expanding for the first time, a heart stuttering to life.
Ren screamed, but the sound was muffled, lost in the thick fluid of the womb.
Then, light.
Harsh. Blinding.
Hands caught him, pulling him free.
"A boy..."
The voice was melodic, soft a whisper of relief and sorrow intertwined.
His vision cleared in time to see his new mother an elf, her silver hair damp with sweat, her jade green eyes brimming with tears. Exhaustion lined her face, but there was something else there, too. Something warm.
Behind her, a man human, his broad shoulders tense, his scarred hands trembling reached out, his calloused fingers brushing against Ren's tiny cheek.
"He's perfect," the man murmured, his voice rough with emotion.
The elf woman laughed weakly. "He's ours."
The man his father smiled, though his eyes were shadowed. "It's not going to be easy."
"Since when has anything ever been easy for us?" she countered, pressing a kiss to Ren's forehead.
The man exhaled, then nodded. "Then we'll face it together." He looked down at Ren, his gaze steady. "His name..."
The elf woman smiled. "Kael."
"Kael," the man repeated, testing the weight of it. Then, softer: "Welcome to the world, my son."
Now Kael closed his eyes.
For the first time since his death, he felt something unfamiliar.
Safe.