Unknown POV
If there's one thing I've learned in all twenty-five years of existence it's that life is never fair.
That thought clung to me like a parasite as I slumped against the cold brick of some back-alley wall in downtown Toronto.
My vision flickered in and out of focus.
Blood gushed down from my chest and back in pulsing waves, soaking through my shirt, staining my jeans, and painting the pavement floor beneath me into a grotesque mural of crimson.
Red.
That was all I could see now.
Red dripping, red pooling, and red swallowing everything in my line of sight.
My hands trembled uselessly as I tried to press them against the wounds but it was like trying to plug a dam with duct tape.
Pointless my body was shutting down the warmth leaving me faster than I could hold onto it.
Cold.
God, I was so cold.
My breath rattled, shallow and uneven each inhale clawing against the pain, each exhale dragging me closer to the void of death.
I guess this is how it ends, huh?
Pathetic.
My life was never mine to begin with.
I was born into a house that masqueraded as a family but in reality was really just a prison.
My father was the warden, my mother the cold administrator, and my two siblings the guards that kept me in line.
"Stand tall."
"Don't talk back."
"You'll be a Businessman, just like your uncle."
"Stop embarrassing us."
"Focus on your studies, your friends only distract to you!"
Every word was a command and every look they gave was one of constant judgment.
My mother never once hugged me.
Never kissed my forehead.
Never once told me she loved me.
Her eyes were ice and her mouth was like a blade that cut me down to size with each time we talked with one another
My father…oh he was worse.
He demanded perfection.
Top grades, top performances, top everything.
Anything less and I was useless in his eyes.
To him I wasn't a son I was an investment that refused to pay dividends.
My elder brother and sister? They played their parts well.
Smiles, obedience, and parroting back every expectation.
They were the golden children and I was the black sheep in the family who wouldn't submit to the insanity that was our family.
I gave all I had to make us a normal family but no matter what I did it only ever resulted in disappointment.
The day I finally turned eighteen I stuffed what little cash I had into a bag and booked a flight to Canada far away from Japan.
I didn't bother to leave a note, a goodbye, or anything.
Canada was supposed to be my fresh start.
It wasn't glamorous and definitely wasn't easy.
I spent nights in shelters, mornings begging for work, and afternoons swallowing my pride just to survive.
But at least it was my choice not anyone else's.
Eventually though things did turn around for me I managed to get a steady earning job as a video game script writer.
Two things that I actually enjoyed doing compared to the stuff my parents would make me do.
However not all things are meant to be.
All it took was one wrong place and time.
One second I was walking back to my apartment from a late-night snack pick up at a convenince store.
The next some desperate hobo cornered me in the alley with a knife out. His eyes were unfocused eyes and words slurred no doubt the guy was either high or drunk.
"Gimme your wallet now punk," the hobo growled out.
Gave up I did.
I gave it all up but the fucker still stabbed me anyway.
Again, again, and again.
Now here I am bleeding out in a forgotten corner of the city, nothing more than tomorrow's headline that no one will read.
Memories flashed before my eyes.
Jagged reels of wasted years.
My childhood filled with only lectures, expectations, and the constant feeling of being unloved only just a tool to be used.
My teenage years were filled with fists, failures, rebellion and fury.
Lastly my five years of adulthood which was filled with loneliness wrapped in mediocrity.
Not a single goddamn moment of joy to be found anywhere in my memories.
When the reel came to an end, only one thing remained in my mind.
Fear.
Fear of the unknown.
Fear of the black void waiting for me on the other side once my eyes close.
I wasn't ready not like this.
Not when I had just begun to claw my way out.
I wanted to live! I wanted another chance! Another chance to fight! Another chance to make it all mean something damn it!
As my vision finally faded into the suffocating dark a single thought echoed in my mind like a dying ember refusing to burn out.
Please someone...anyone give me one more chance.
Darkness claimed me after that.
.
.
.
"Awaken."
I open my eyes with a gasp and immediately I grabbed my chest to see if it was actually beating.
There was no pulse...yet I felt calm almost to calm.
A red glow catches my attention.
I glance down in wonder when I saw a red stained-glass surface that showed a fractured picture of my teenaged self peacefully laying asleep.
"Your end was to soon...a choice lies before you."
That strange voice calls out "w-whose there?!" I stuttered out but received no response back instead a golden light appeared across from me.
When the light cleared ten unknown figures stood before me. They were all dressed like knights from medieval times. Each one of them seemed to have carried their own presence, heavy with something that made me want to kneel and run all at once.
Though I didn't know their names, their titles, or their legends my instincts screamed that I was not standing in front of any ordinary group of knights.
The voice from before rumbled across the abyss.
"Before you stand those who embody ideals of knighthood. Each one a symbol, each one a path. You may choose only one to walk beside you."
The knights moved in unison stepping forward into the faint glow so I could see them clearly.
The voice continued.
"The King."
A golden-haired woman in armor radiating calm authority. From her green eyes alone I could see the resolve and burdens of the kingship.
"The Rebel."
A knight in jagged crimson armor, eyes blazing with defiance. From this one I could only see freedom, arrogance and raw power.
"The Seneschal."
A tall knight with a wry grin his presence steady. I sensed guidance, practicality, and the strength to endure from him.
"The Loyal One."
A steadfast knight carrying a spear his expression calm. Devotion and Faith were the emotions I picked up from him.
"The Mad One."
Black armor, wild aura, and his blade dripping with darkness. I sensed overwhelming strength, fury, betrayal…and yet unshakable loyalty from this knight.
"The Sun."
A golden knight, that was warm as the dawn, smiling with pride. The perfect representation of hope, honor, and chivalry at its brightest.
"The Melancholy."
A knight with a lute across his back his gaze distant. He only seemed to radiate elegance and sorrow.
"The Faithful."
One arm missing yet standing tall with a resolute stance.
Sacrifice, loyalty, and the last of all knights to falter no doubt a better knight in spirit then he was in skill.
"The Gentle."
A kind-looking knight with pale violet hair.
He was dressed in purple and black armor that seemed almost identical to The Mad One, and lastly in his grip was a shield many times his size.
In him I sensed compassion, innocence, and courage.
"The Pure."
A young female knight possessing only a shield and lance.
Kindness, mercy and forgiveness were what I saw from her.
"The Stern."
The last knight possessed dark eyes and lips set in grim determination. It felt like staring at my own father again absolute discipline, obedience, and ready to do anything for the greater good.
My throat felt dry.
"Step forward young soul. The path you choose will shape the soul you carry into your next life."
I looked at them all.
Every fiber of me wanted to step toward the radiant king or the golden knight of the sun they felt safer than any other.
Yet my feet wouldn't move toward them.
Instead my chest throbbed with something else anger, rejection, rage at the world, and its unfairness for the way I lived and died.
My gaze fell on the black-armored knight.
His aura was suffocating, raw and untamed yet it resonated with the storm that had always burned in my chest.
The Mad One.
Before I knew it my legs carried me forward.
The knight raised his helm slightly and though I couldn't see his face I felt his gaze lock onto mine.
There was no judgment there only the feelings of acknowledgment and understanding.
I reached out and as my hand brushed against his gauntlet his form shattered into a cascade of black and purple motes that surged into me sinking deep into my chest like fire in my veins.
I gasped stumbling, my body shaking violently as if the being of that knight was being branded into my very soul.
When the light faded the circle was empty save for three who remained behind.
The King.
The Gentle.
The Pure.
The three of them stepped forward their gazes focused on me.
"What is most important to you?" the King asked.
"My freedom," was the quick response.
The King only tilted her head her green eyes piercing through me as if weighing the worth of my words.
"Freedom…but freedom without purpose is just aimless wandering," she said softly "will you uphold it even if it costs you everything? Even if the world labels you a monster?"
I swallowed hard.
My voice shook but the answer was already carved into me.
"I don't care what the world thinks I just…I just want to live my life on my terms not as someone's puppet nor as their investment. My life belongs to me."
The King closed her eyes at that as though disappointed or maybe resigned "I see," she muttered.
Then she vanished in golden light.
The Gentle came next, this one provoked a deep sense of regret from me how weird.
"What is it that you want out of life?" he questioned.
My fists clenched "I want…a place."
The Gentle tilted his head "a place?"
"Somewhere I belong," I admitted the words spilling out before I could stop them.
"Somewhere I'm not just a tool or a pawn. What I most want is a home that's mine, a family that actually…wants me."
The Gentle's lips curved into the faintest smile "then you are not as lost as you think. Hold onto that wish young man for it may yet save you."
And with that he faded into violet motes leaving only the last knight.
The Pure.
Instead of regret though I felt an overwhelming amount of self-hatred.
"What are you most afraid of?" the knight inquired.
My throat tightened at his question.
What was I most afraid of?
The answer didn't come right away.
It clawed at the edges of my chest buried deep, something I'd avoided facing my entire life. My fists trembled as I searched for words but before I could force them out the stained-glass platform beneath me shimmered.
Images flickered across its surface.
My mother's cold stare lips pressed in disapproval.
My father's back turned to me as if I wasn't worth his time.
My siblings laughing together their warmth reserved for everyone but me.
Myself standing alone watching from the shadows uninvited and so utterly alone.
"I…" my voice cracked "I'm afraid of being alone and forgotten."
The knight's brown eyes softened just a bit "I see...but is being alone really so scary?" she said vanishing into brown particles of light.
"Your freedom is most important to you."
"A place to belong is what you most desire from life."
"Being alone and forgotten is what your most afraid of."
The voice repeated "your new life will soon begin. Keep a steady pace and you'll come through just fine young one. Until next time."
A blinding light of blue engulfs my vision and the next thing I know I was surrounded by a bunch of giants that were looking down on me.
Naturally I do what any normal person would do I screamed "AHHHHHHAHHHHHHH!!"
-end of prologue-
I decided to try making this reincarnation scenario a bit similar to Kingdom Hearts with the dive to the heart.
Instead of using something basic like R.O.B
You could say that this fic was a bit inspired by a certain King Arthur fic on here.