Reborn

As I opened my eyes, I found myself staring at a blue sky full of clouds. Around me I could hear the sound of children laughing and playing, along with what I assumed was training swords clashing. As I lay there, entranced, I felt at peace.

Is this Heaven? Am I finally free?

I felt a small smile form on my lips, and I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. As the darkness enveloped me, I was thrown into a different scene.

Blood runs down my eyes. Children scream for their mothers, and limbs poke out of the rubble of several collapsed homes. A blazing fire roars next to my left arm which has long since gone numb. The sword in my hand is cracked and chipped, but my fingers are stuck to it like glue because of the mixture of dried blood and sweat. Staring me down is a snake the color of rubies, a young woman’s torso poking out of its maw. She stares at me, aghast, and tries to scream. All that comes out is blood. As she slides down the throat of the scarlet viper, my mind goes blank. I lift the sword and croak out a battle cry, rushing forward and igniting the flame enchantment I placed on the blade. As the snake rears back to attack me, I realize that this will more than likely be my end. I-

“STUDENT RENMUR, NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR REST!”

I sat up abruptly, my eyes flying open as I came back from that nightmarish hellscape.

This is all wrong. If this was Heaven, I wouldn’t be seeing that. For that matter, I haven’t been a student since I was in the Divine Palace Sect.

I looked around this time, trying to see what was around me. I found myself staring at something that shouldn’t have been in front of me.

My sect’s training grounds?

Around me was the scene I’d heard playing out before I’d closed my eyes, with kids, or I guess teenagers training. Once upon a time, this had been familiar to me, but now it was almost as alien as the bottom of the ocean.

“Jeez, how hard did you knock him down Cato?”

“Not very!”

Cato?

I located the voice that had replied and saw him. Before Bastion had fallen, Cato and I had been inseparable friends. Now, as I stared at him in wonder, the scene of his death played in my eyes. He had run forward, charging towards a horde of demon beasts. As they started to rip into his body, he burst into flame, a supernova of his soul essence turning everything white and reducing half of the horde into ash.

“Cato… Is that you?”

“Yeah Renmur, it’s me. You remember everything alright?”

He was staring at me, his brow furrowing in concern.

“Uhh, Instructor, I think Renmur has a concussion.”

“No. Cato. I’m uhh… I’m fine. Sorry.”

I stood up, brushing off the dust that had collected on my uniform after I’d hit the ground. Cato had come over to me and was resting a hand on my shoulder, peering into my eyes.

“Dude, you should still get checked-.”

“I said I’m fine.”

I shrugged off his hand, brushing my way past him.

“Instructor, can I just head back to my room for a bit? I need to check something?”

“Very well. Go.”

I nodded my head at the instructor and started heading towards the courtyard that had once been my home. I passed by the blossom tree, ignoring someone who called out my name. My head was spinning, flashes of memories from both my days as a student and the day I lost everything blending together. I picked up my pace, trying to outrun my own thoughts. Finally, I found myself leaning against a wall, dizzy and nauseous from all the swirling images in my head. I was breathing hard and fast, my chest heaving. Suddenly, I was spun around and slammed into the wall.

“Hey Renmur, we were just looking for you.”

I stared into the eyes of someone I hadn’t seen for almost a decade. Ye Jin, my old patrol partner and before that, bully, was currently pressing his hand to my chest, his eyes lit with glee.

If I remember correctly, this is how he used to try and shake me down for money..

As I observed my surroundings, I realized that he wasn’t alone, and for that matter, that today had been an especially traumatizing day in my past. Today was the day that he had tried to cave my head in, along with his best friend Lei Yun.

“So, Renmur, mind telling me why you ignored me earlier? Because I could swear I told you that we’d come find you during your class, but we went there and they said that you were headed back to your room, and when we called out to you just now, you just kept on walking. So, were you trying to run away?”

I still felt sick, and I could barely hear what he was saying over the ringing in my ears.

“Listen, Ye Jin now is really not the time. I’m-.”

I felt my skull crash into the wall before I could even process the sight of his fist slamming into my face. I slid down the wall, falling on my ***. The dizziness and ringing in my head intensified, but with it came a rising sense of rage.

“Did I say you could speak? Lei Yun, did I say he could speak?”

“Nope.”

The two were grinning ear to ear, chuckling to themselves. They thought that they could get away with anything. They knew that I wouldn’t stand up to them, and even if I did, that they could beat me to a bloody pulp anyway.

“Anyway, Renmur, were you trying to run?”

Ye Jin leaned down and grabbed me by the hair, pulling my face closer to his.

“I asked you a question. Now answer.”

“No.”

“Then why weren’t you in class?”

“I felt sick.”

“Bullshit.”

I was slammed back into the wall, jarring my teeth. I felt the skin break and blood start to pour down my neck.

“Lie to me one more time, and I’ll kill you.”

“I’m… I’m not lying.”

Ye Jin peered into my eyes, trying to see a hint that I was lying, but I could tell he already knew I had been telling the truth. He just wanted an excuse for what he was about to do to me.

“Okay. I believe you. Unfortunately, I don’t care.”

Shit.

Ye Jin raised his fist and punched me in the face. I took the hit full-on, not bothering to try and defend myself. I knew it was useless. He dropped me to the ground and started to kick me in the stomach, Lei Yun’s foot following quickly behind. The building rage in my chest was starting to overflow, and before I could stop myself, I kicked out, blocking Lei Yun’s next kick with my own. His shin snapped back, his leg bending at a strange angle. He fell backward as he started screaming, grabbing onto Ye Jin’s shirt to catch his balance. I took this chance to stand up, my head lolling back while I struggled to gain footing. I was leaning back and forth, too dizzy and in pain to stand straight. I had bitten my tongue when Ye Jin had punched me, and now I spat it out at their feet. A strange sense of calm had fallen over me. I could still feel my anger, but it was more like a nagging sensation in the back of my mind.

“I just fucking told you that this really wasn’t the time, but still, you two idiots decided that you wanted to start a fight. Now, I know that you’re gonna kick the shit out of me and that I stand no chance. So let’s just fucking get on with it.”

I hadn’t really noticed it before, but Ye Jin and Lei Yun were now frozen in place. Lei Yun had stopped screaming while clutching his leg. And it wasn’t just them. The back courtyard had gone silent. Standing stock-still on the other end of the alley was some trainee I didn’t know. He was looking at me with a mixture of horror and terror, his mouth hanging open. I cocked my head to the side for a second, trying to figure out what was wrong. It was then that Lei Yun and Ye Jin finally got a hold of themselves. I saw Ye Jin’s fist become encased in yellow light, and then everything went dark.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***