Deals Go a Long Way

Mmm… My head… It hurts.

“His eyes are starting to open!”

Who’s yelling so loud?

Hands grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted me up.

Who could it be?

As my vision slowly came into focus, I saw my father holding me up. “F-father?” I mumbled.

“He’s alive!” my father raised me further into the air.

Did they think I was dead or something? Whatever, I feel exhausted. I’m going back to sleep.

“Yakusei? Yakusei?” he shouted.

Suddenly, I was bouncing. Up and down. And up. And down. Faster and faster until I was forced to open my eyes again. My father was shaking me like a damn maraca.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!” my mother yelled. She smacked the back of his head, and he dropped me. Everything slowed down as I fell. What my mother was saying, the rate at which I was falling, everything just felt slower. This feeling was somehow familiar.

Oh yeah, just like when I first met that girl on the bridge.

THUMP

I hit the ground hard, head first. If using my life force didn’t kill me, this definitely would.

“Oh my goodness, what have I done?” my mother gasped. Everything got blurry all over again and faded to black.

…

I-it’s bright. Where am I?

“Hey! Welcome back!”

That voice... no, not again.

“Where am I?” I blurted out. I knew exactly where I was. Well, who could forget such a place. Bright white light that seems like it would go on forever. Still… I had to ask. Just to be sure.

“Don’t you recognize it?”

The moment he said that, my face dropped. I was right, I'd been here before. That slow-motion feeling, I've felt that before. But when I felt that last time, I was just about to die.  “A-am I dead?” I asked.

“Sadly…” He looked down. “You are.”

What? No way, this can’t be true. I just started on my second life, I can’t die now.

He lifted his head, leaned in close, and said, “Kidding.”

“Huh…” I stared at him, deadpan.

“I said I was kidding… Meaning you’re still alive.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I snapped. “This isn’t something you should joke about!”

“It was just a prank. Lighten up.” His voice sounded way too casual. As if he had done something like this before.

“A prank?!” I let out a sigh, “You’ve got a twisted sense of humor.”

“Anyway, how’s life been treating you? You know, apart from what just happened with you passing out and all.”

“Good… I guess.”

“Good, good. So like… you like it?”

“Yeah?”

“Nice.”

…

“Are you trying to piss me off?! What is this?!”

“Relax. I’m just checking in.”

“This doesn't seem like a check in. And why would you even do such a thing? Aren't you just supposed to reincarnated me and go on about your day?”

“I can’t just check up on a buddy of mine?”

“Buddy?”

“What? You don’t think we’re friends?”

“I don’t know. Thought you were like a God or something.”

“So that means we can’t be friends?”

“I mean sure… But don’t you should speak a little more formally, since you’re like a God.” 

“I did. At first. But I don’t usually go back to check up on you guys. You should be grateful, I don’t usually get this casual with reincarnates.”

As we talked, it felt like I was speaking to a completely different person. The first time, he came off like some all-powerful, wise god. Now, it’s more like a guy in his early twenties playing a prank. Then again, I didn’t know him well enough to say for sure. He did mention he’s not usually this casual with reincarnates, after all.

“Wait, reincarnates?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, there’s more people reborn into this world?”

“Oops. Might’ve slipped.”

“So are there more people like me?”

He sighed. “Yeah, you got me.”

“So... everything you told me when I died, was that just a script you reused? Nothing you said had any weight to it—did it?”

“Let’s see…” He pretended to think, hand to chin. I could tell he already had the answer. I just anxiously stared at him. I could tell he was getting a kick out of me.

To be honest, I already knew what his answer would be. It’s hard to believe someone like me got reincarnated for something noble. I don’t even know why I bought into it so easily. Maybe I was just so desperate for a second chance that I went along with whatever he said. But now, looking at what I am and who I was... maybe I should’ve just stayed dead.

He finally said, “What I told you was the truth.”

I blinked. “…Seriously?”

“Yeah. Why would I lie?”

“I don’t know. To like mess with me or something.”

“You think I’m that cruel?”

“Well, yeah.”

"Ouch." He folded his arms. “Out of everyone I’ve reincarnated, I think you might be the most capable.”

“You think?”

“It’s hard to say. What’s coming is more than most can handle. Everyone gets the strength to face it… but the will? That’s another story. Power can be granted, will can’t.”

Will? There’s gotta be some hell-spawn out there that this guy wants me to face.

“Tell me, is the threat of this world that terrible?”

“Yes.”

“Then why send me? What makes you think I’ll make it? I could barely accomplish anything in my first life.” He didn’t answer right away, probably savoring the silence just to mess with me. Honestly, if I were him, I wouldn’t have picked me either. I stared at him, waiting. Hoping for some kind of answer, something to make me believe this wasn’t a mistake.

“Just a hunch.”

“Are you serious?” I stared at him, blank faced. “You’re sending me to save an unknown world all because of a hunch!”

"It sounds a little worse when you put it like that."

"Are you insane?" I yelled out.

“Relax. My hunches are usually spot-on.”

…

“Are you serious? That's what you choose to say?”

“Completely.”

I’m so dead.

“But remember,” he said, tone heavy now. “You must be strong. Keep training. Stay sharp, in body and mind.”

“Yeah, yeah. That was the plan anyway.”

“Good. And don’t forget our deal. You can’t give up alright? No matter what, I want you to keep fighting.” Even though I couldn’t see his face I knew that something was going on. I just couldn’t tell if he was worried or scared. All I knew was what he meant every word.

"Woah, getting all serious now huh?' I joked. He didn't say anything back, just stared. Guess he wasn’t in the mood for jokes anymore. “Yeah. I remember.”

“Good.” His tone goes back to his usual energetic one. “See you soon then… hopefully.”

“Hopefully?”

Suddenly, my head spun. Everything blurred. Light, sound, and thoughts began to fade. I passed out.

“Good luck out there.”

Damn, I wanted to ask more about the other people who were reborn into this world.

Everything went black.

“His eyes are starting to open!”

Not this again.

“Don’t lift him up this time!” my mother snapped.

“Don’t hit me if I do,” my father mumbled.

When I was able to fully open my eyes, I noticed that both my parents were looming over me. They were close, I could see every detail on their faces. Their eyes were red and puffy. They must’ve been crying over me.

They really did think I was dead, huh.

I sat up, rubbing my face like I’d just woken from a nap.

“Are you okay?” my mother asked gently. Her voice was soft now, delicate. Like she was afraid I’d break.

My father added, louder and more anxious. “Yeah, are you alright?” He leaned even closer into my face when he said this. It looked like he was trying to examine me, to see what’s wrong. But I could tell that he didn’t pick up on anything. More like he had no clue what was going on.

My mother pushed his face away, “Give him some space.” That was her usual tone, a lot more aggressive compared to her gentle voice earlier. It was kind of funny watching them interact like this, especially after their child almost died. Mother turned her attention back to me to see how I was doing. “So, are you doing okay?”

“Y-yeah. I just feel a little sore.”

“Is that it?”

I nodded. Suddenly, she pulled me into a hug, tears falling freely. “I told you using life force was dangerous. Why didn’t you listen?” Her hug got tighter. “I told you not to use your life force,” she whispered, trembling. “If you had died then I wouldn’t have known what to do.”

Back in my old life, I used to hate being scolded. Every word out of my parents’ mouths felt like a jab—cold, condescending, and soaked in disappointment. Even when I got hurt and it wasn’t my fault, my father would say that it could’ve been avoided if I wasn’t so stupid. Like I’d brought it on myself. Like I was asking to be bullied. My mother wouldn’t even step in. She’d just look at me like I was some burden she was stuck with. Like I’d ruined her life just by existing. But now, with these parents? I didn’t mind the scolding. It wasn’t coming from a place of anger or shame—just love.

“Yeah,” my father added. I looked up and saw him trying, but failing, to hold back tears. He rested a hand on my head. “Please… don’t do anything that dangerous again.”

I froze. Their care felt… foreign. But warm. Real. I just sat there, stunned, watching them cry over me. For the first time, I truly understood how much they loved me. Seeing how much they cared made me want to protect them. I wanted to grow strong, strong enough to fight back against the cloaked man. Strong enough so that if he ever decided to come back, he’d regret it.

“M-Mom.” I pulled back a little. “I’m okay. I promise.” I didn’t want them to cry over me again. They didn’t deserve to worry this much, especially if it was something that I caused.

“Are you sure?” she asked, leaning in again.

“Yeah. Just sore. Nothing else.”

“Good,” Mother exhaled. “In that case—” Mother then immediately lunged at me and pinched both of my cheeks.

“Ow! What are you doing?” I screamed out in pain.

“This is what you get for ignoring me!” she snapped. “If you do it again, I’ll kill you myself.”

Crazy! She’s completely lost it!

She eventually stopped and sat back down onto the chair. As she sat down I panted, recovering from her attack.

“From now on, I forbid you from using your life force. If you want to train, it’ll strictly be with mana.”

“What?!”

“Don’t ‘what’ me. Do you not see the condition you’re in, I don’t want to risk anything else.”

And you still decide to attack me when I'm in this condition.

“But—”

“No buts.” She cut me off.

I clenched the blanket. Gritted my teeth. Not at her—but at myself. If I hadn’t pushed too far, I wouldn’t be in this state. If I was able to control my life force then this wouldn't have happened. Because I was so weak I'm no longer able to use my life force. Without my life force… I couldn’t get stronger.

If that cloaked bastard came back…

As memories of that night kept flashing through my mind, a rage started to build inside me. All I could think about was him and how I’d protect my family. In that moment, I forgot who I was talking to and almost unleashed all my pent-up emotions on my mother.

“I-”

“Yakusei!” My father’s voice cut like a blade. It was sharp, it was commanding, and for the first time, it was intimidating. I bit back my words. “Watch your tone.” He’d seen it coming. The outburst. But I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful; I just couldn’t stay weak.

I took a deep breath, “Mom. Please. Let me keep training with life force. I need to get stronger.”

“There’s no point in strength if you end up dead.” she argued. She was completely right but I just had to argue back. I thought about the cloaked man, if he were to ever come by again then we'd all be dead. Death was something that was guaranteed without the training. That's something I didn't want.

“The cloaked man…” I mumbled. Both of them froze. Their faces filled with horror, as if they had just witnessed a murder. “For some reason,” I continued, “I remember him when I was born. I saw how strong he was, it was terrifying. I just want to get stronger. Stronger so I could protect the both of you. So please, let me practice. Let me get stronger.”

They didn’t answer, just stared.

Did I make the right choice by telling them that?

Father spoke first. “Fine. We’ll allow it.”

“Viel! Do you want him to end up like this again?”

“Of course I don’t. As a father I wouldn’t want him to be in any pain.”

“Exactly so why–”

“But as a warrior, I can understand his need to get stronger. His need to protect his family.” He turned over to me. “I was like him when I was younger too, desperate to get stronger in order to protect the ones I love. My parents weren’t too keen on it either. So when the time eventually came to protect my family I was too weak.”

“Viel…”

“Zera, so please, allow him to do this. I don’t want him to end up as weak as me.”

My mother stared at me for a moment, like she was collecting her thoughts, then let out a tired sigh. “Can you promise me it’ll be safe?”

“I can’t.” He immediately replied. “But what I do know is that he’ll have a wonderful mage to teach him and he is a part of the celebrated generation.”

Celebrated generation?

“Okay, fine.” My mother finally accepted defeat. “But if he ends up getting hurt, then you’re dead.” She then turned over to me. “Both of you.”

“Deal.” Father smiled.