Darkness.
And then—falling.
Windless, soundless, endless. The same void I've fallen through three times before. A spiral of shifting colors stretches across the horizon, warping into an ocean of portals. Some shimmer with the steel-gray glow of modern cities, others burn with the red heat of ancient battlefields, and a few whisper the silence of graveyards where no one remembers your name.
I cross my arms as I tumble weightlessly, not screaming, not panicking. What's the point? I know where this ends.
"The fourth time, huh?" I mutter to myself, voice calm, laced with the same bitter humor that's kept me sane. "You'd think death would get bored of me by now. Guess we're in a long-term relationship."
A portal flares ahead, brighter than the rest. My descent slows, like invisible hands are guiding me toward it. Unlike the others, this one doesn't show fire, steel, or machines. Instead, a boy flickers into view. Brown hair, ordinary face, wide eyes filled with dreams too fragile to last. His life plays out before me like an old film reel:
He laughs with his parents in a small home. He runs barefoot through cobblestone streets. He hides from rain under a wooden awning, clutching a book. His life is quiet. Gentle. Normal.
For the first time in three reincarnations, I don't see chains. I don't see war. I don't see the endless grind of survival.
I see peace.
And, damn, it almost makes me smile.
"So… this is the one," I whisper. Relief seeps into my bones, and a strange warmth spreads in my chest. After the chaos of the past, this boy's simple existence feels like a gift. A reset button on the nightmare.
I hover there, suspended between void and portal, watching his life unfold. For the first time, the fall doesn't feel like a curse. It feels… lighter.
But the void never gives without taking. I know that too well.
The portal's light expands, swallowing the boy's world, swallowing me. I don't resist.
"Alright," I sigh, half-laughing to myself. "Let's see what kind of mess you've got waiting for me this time."
The darkness folds. The fall ends. And my fourth life begins.