Chapter 4:
Reincarnation Royale
Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. I spent my whole life preparing for this moment, yet now that it’s so close I began to feel nervous. Everyday I lived with the fact that I could potentially die at any moment. If I died now, what would all of this be for? Then an ever so familiar quote popped into my head.
“A real man does what he can and tries his best.”
But lately, the statement has posed the response: “What if my best isn’t good enough?” I didn’t have time to dawdle on this. Today, I needed to help my father. The village needed someone to run the slaughterhouse when my father grew too old to work, and since I was his son. Or adopted son anyways. That responsibility fell onto me.
Today, my hand felt shaky as I made my first kill of the day, a rooster that was deemed too aggressive, and had hurt not only the hens, but was attacking humans as well. My father watched me on days like this. Observing, making sure I did my job well. I needed to make the kill as humane as possible to spare the animals suffering. However I think he could sense my hesitation.
“Son, you shake when you kill. Remember, you cannot hesitate. You must get over yourself.” Then the quote once again taunted me in my head.
“A real man does what he can and tries his best.”
He was right, I couldn’t hesitate, but I felt like I regretted my choices more and more. Joining only to return to my life, to get a second chance. I had some regrets. I could have stopped Tetsuo but didn’t think this would happen. I didn’t get to tell Miko how I felt.
How I was sorry.
“Cheer up, tomorrow is a new day. A new era of your life.” My father said as he patted me on the back. Hard and firm, but kind as well. “It certainly isn’t fun to grow up, with all the added responsibility. But…what’s done is done. All you can do is make the best of what you got.”
“Make the best of what you got.”
Now that made its way into my mind, I felt a sense of realization. I already made my choices, I had to follow through. Living a life of regrets for my own choices is what got me into this mess in the first place.
“Thanks, dad…” I still felt awful, but I was able to hang in there until I finished. I had some time before sword training, so I decided to read some books on magic. I could never use magic, but maybe I could at least know the kinds of tricks my enemies could use, and maybe I might find something else about myself. At least that was the justification I used, though I hardly ever did learn anything valuable.
After sword training had come and gone. Argas strided up to me. “Boy, I have taught you everything I know. All it takes now is practice. Why don’t you join the Heroes Guild instead when you grow up? It’s a waste to see pure talent wasted on slaughtering animals.” I didn’t say anything at the offer, I simply hesitated. “Then how about you think over it.” He took out a small slip and wrote something down on it before handing it over to me. “A recommendation, slip it into your pocket like this. If you ever change your mind, head to the capital city of Astora.” With that, Argas left. I suppose I would have to sleep on it.
Night came, and I decided to walk up to the hill. It turns out Grace was already waiting there for me. “Tomorrow is the day, Grace…tomorrow I will leave this village. Start my journey, all that stuff.”
Grace already had that worried look again. “I still say I should join you.”
“I can’t, and you know that. This isn’t your fight.”
Grace didn’t respond, we both knew the conversation was just going to go in circles like it usually did when the topic came up. “Look, how about I visit every now and again then. Is that fine enough?” I figured it was an alright compromise, and she seemed at least somewhat satisfied. “Fine.” Even with that explicit approval, she clearly wasn’t entirely satisfied.
We simply lay there against the hill. The night sky shone down on us as the full moon soared above the sky. The stars pin pointed in a far different pattern than I was familiar with back home, yet it was this night sky I remembered more. I was getting used to this place, I hardly felt homesick anymore. This was interrupted as the moon finally reached its place at the very top. The next day had come without any of us realizing it, and a voice howled down at every living being.
“Attention, Heroes of the World. Those who have ventured between the boundaries of life and death, having risen unscathed. The eighteen year grace period is now over, and the competition has now begun!” The voice was familiar, that ever so cold tone, and hiss reminded me of the Goddess.
“Her!” I looked up at the sky, I could see her. The goddess, she looked over the world as if it was hers. As if the people living beneath it were her playthings, to be talked down to as if she were the queen of a castle.
“The first rule. There are a hundred of you total, in order to win. You must eliminate all other contestants.” She began.
“The second rule, in order to achieve victory, you may use whatever means necessary. The only limits are what is set to your imagination.” Before finally.
“The third and final rule. You are allowed to team up with fellow competitors. If you are able to establish some degree of trust. Oh and one more thing.” The goddess simply cleared her throat.
“In order to establish who is a competitor and who isn’t…” she held out her hand, and I felt a searing pain on my cheek as the number ‘1’ was branded right onto me. Undeniable proof of who I was. “...if another competitor is nearby, you will know.” With that grim warning, she vanished with a large explosion in the sky. A considerably flashy way of stating the game had begun.
Before I could even react, I saw a light. Did someone in the village turn the lights on? No…it was too bright, almost like…”
“A fire! The village is on fire!” Grace shouted, pointing at the now engulfed village. “Stay here Grace, I’ll go help everybody. I need you here to tend to the wounded.” With that, I immediately got up and made a mad dash towards the village. I didn’t think of the possibility that this could be a trap, or that I could even get hurt. I had to help as many people as I could.
As I got closer, I saw a number of men, women and children rush past me. The first thing I noticed was the smell, the foul stench of flesh burning. The heat, now up close and personal, made my skin crawl.
The streets lay ridden with corpses as fires and sparks leaped from window to window. Amidst the center of it all were two people, both locked in combat.
The first was Argas. It would have been a joy to see him in action if the circumstances had been better. His cape looked singed, his boots caked with a mixture of dirt and blood.
Opposite of him, was another man, clad in black and gold armor. His armor had been splattered with blood, and judging by the wounds of those around me.
I didn’t have to hesitate, I had to help Argas. “Sword!” I switched to my sword, and charged forward. When I got halfway there, Argas was pushed back before being impaled by the long slender katana sword of the black armored Knight. I felt a sting on the brand on my cheek. There was no other possibility to who he was.
“Argas!” I shouted as I slowed down my charge, in shock as my mentor slumped to his knees on the ground, before plummeting in death. I charged and clashed with his sword, the Knight simply blocked my strike with only one hand on his blade.
As every clash dragged the fight longer and longer I found myself taking the occasional cut or scrape. He was faster, stronger, and I couldn’t seem to get a hit in on him.
“Time to finish this.” The Knight declared, before swooping in for the kill. I couldn’t even react fast enough before his sword too, found roost in my stomach.
“Hngk!” I choked, I didn’t realize what had happened at first, all I felt was the dizziness and the ringing in my ears before I looked downwards. I dropped my magic sword, partly in shock, but in defeat as well. Before collapsing to the ground, I wasn’t dead yet, but I knew I would be soon. The man stamped his foot on my chest as he pulled out his blade.
“Tch…a weakling, just like the rest, and what a shame too. She spoke so much about you as well.” She? Who was he talking about?
“Mother…father…” I choked out, however this prompted the man to take his foot off of me and walk away.
“C-come back here! C-come back! I’m not finished with you, yet!” I slumped forward and dragged myself through the mud. However he ignored me, with tears in my eyes I shouted even more.
“Come back! Stop! Come back! We’re not finished yet!”
However the man stopped, turned and said. “Yes, we are.”
That was the last thing I saw before my vision blurred. As I was about to pass out, I saw a figure stand tall above me. I couldn’t make them out, but they dragged me away from the flames. I didn’t feel a sting, or perhaps I was too tired and weakened to feel any pain.
“Some hero I am…” was all I said before passing out. Simply waiting to die.
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