Chapter One: The God Who Fell
"YOU BASTARDS!"
My voice came out hoarse, muffled by blood.
I couldn't feel my legs. My fingers twitched, reaching for the sword that was no longer there.
"It's your fault," Kael sneered, blood dripping from the blade he'd driven through my gut.
"If only you didn't hog all the glory."
Their voices were cold. Mocking. Seris, my Seris stood wrapped in Varn's arms.
Her smile was sharp enough to cut.
"MARK MY WORDS." I gritted my teeth. Anger consuming me.
"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" My aura spiked, dense enough to crack the place I stood on.
Everyone instinctively took a step back, a bit of panic etched onto their face.
Then I collapsed.
The last thing I saw was the sun setting behind them, my party, my family watching me die.
And then
Darkness.
*Gasp*
I shot upright in a filthy, creaking bed. Sweat drenched my skin. Blood pounded in my ears. My chest heaved, and pain burned through unfamiliar limbs.
Where am I?
A cracked mirror across the room showed me a pale, thin boy with hollow eyes. Not me. Not the Martial God.
And yet
I remember everything.
My death.
The betrayal.
And… her.
A little girl's voice called faintly from another room.
Weak. Tired.
I rose from the bed, my legs shaking
The room spun.
Whoever this boy was...
His body was *barely* hanging on.
The floorboards creaked under my weight, frail, untrained limbs straining to hold me up.
The room smelled of mold and stale sweat. Rotten food in a corner, a broken chair, cracked walls.
A place abandoned by dignity.
I caught my reflection again.
Same hollow eyes. Same sunken cheeks.
A body left to rot from the inside out.
And then
A pain surged through my skull like a spike being driven into my brain.
I staggered.
Memories.
Not mine.
And yet… they poured into me like a flood.
Bitter laughter in gambling dens. Screaming matches with his—my. Mother.
Wasted coins. Cheap liquor. Women bought like meat.
Fists pounding on doors while he cowered inside.
A father's voice cracking with disappointment.
A sister. *Sena.*
Thin arms tugging on his sleeve, begging him to eat dinner with her.
Tears in her voice as he pushed her away.
I clutched my head, bile rising in my throat.
This wasn't just a weakling.
He was filth. A leech. A coward.
He had a family
And he spat in their faces.
He.
No—not he.
I.
I am Aziel Raenhart now.
And I remember everything.
As I stumbled out of my room, I nearly collided with her.
She stood there.
Thin. Pale. Eyes sunken, yet still quietly alive.
Sena.
She had just stepped out of her room, one trembling hand gripping the doorway, the other bracing her weight against the wall. Her legs shook beneath her nightgown, her breathing strained.
We turned to face each other.
She froze.
I did too.
And for the briefest moment, her expression lit up.
That flicker of hope. The kind only a little sister could hold onto.
But it died just as quickly.
She looked away.
Eyes down. Guarded.
Probably from all the times I'd ignored her.
Pushed her away.
Screamed. Thrown things. Left her to suffer.
All she ever wanted was a brother.
And I gave her a monster.
How am I supposed to fix this?
What do I even say?
"He-y… S-ena." My voice broke multiple times. Whether it was from my previous life's memories and emotions piling up, or my weak body struggling against words I did not know.
All I knew is that I needed to right my wrongs with my family.
She looked up at me, a tinge of fear etched into her gaze.
"Yes, brother?"
The way she said it..
Soft. Careful. Like a child asking a question, she already expected to be punished.
I clenched my fists.
Even now, she still calls me brother.
I wanted to say everything at once.
That I was sorry. That I wasn't him.
But the words didn't come out.
Instead.
"…Are you hungry?"
I winced internally.
That's what I chose to say?
Of all the things I could have thought of?
*Sigh*
Her lips parted slightly, surprised.
Then she hesitated. "…A little."
"I-I'll cook," I said too quickly, stumbling over my feet.
I turned away, half out of shame, half out of urgency.
[Later That Night]
The room was silent.
The flickering lantern on the table cast warped shadows across the cracked walls.
She had eaten in small bites.
Politely. Quietly.
She even said thank you.
And when she went back to her room…
She smiled at me.
Just a little.
I sat alone now, staring into the cold bowl of stew I didn't touch.
No appetite.
Only questions.
Why am I here?
How am I here?
I should be dead.
I was dead.
I remember it clearly. Kael's blade, Seris's eyes, Varn's smirk.
My own blood soaking the earth.
And now…
I wake in the body of a boy I've never met.
A coward. A degenerate.
He wasted everything, his time, his gifts, his family.
But even that isn't the strangest part.
It's these feelings.
These emotions that keep crashing into me.
Guilt. Warmth. Regret.
I know they're not all mine.
Some of them… they belong to him.
The original Aziel Raenhart.
His memories, his pain, his shame, they bleed into mine.
And somehow, I feel it all.
Like his heart was never fully gone.
From my memories this is the same world.
A land where strength reigns.
Where power flows through the body using veins.
A continent fractured by greed, monsters, and ambition.
Here, children are born with veins, some dormant, others active.
They determine your potential. Your limit.
Or so they say.
In this body?
Two active veins. Twenty dormant.
A freak.
An anomaly.
He saw himself as a failure.
The average active veins being 5
However the highest dormant veins was 9
Potential.
Because I remember who I was.
The Martial God.
The man who rose from nothing, honed his body into a weapon, and stood above every human alive.
No one could match my hands.
No one could match my will.
Until they drove a dagger through my heart.
Kael the Spear God.
Varn the Shadow.
Seris the Witch of Stars.
My companions. My friends.
My family.
They killed me.
But I'm back. In a weaker body. With no power. No allies. No fame. No safety.
Just…
this girl who calls me brother. And my parents
And a promise carved into my soul.
"Mark my words."
I will rise again.
I will tear through the heavens.
And I will make every one of them pay.