The road wound through the forest like a scar, half-buried under fallen leaves and broken branches. Kael followed a step behind Serenya, his body still aching though his wounds had long sealed. The Rebirth System had knitted his flesh whole, but pain lingered—a phantom reminder that dying was never without cost.
Serenya moved with the silence of a shadow, bow taut, eyes sharp. She barely looked back at him. To her, he was still a burden, something she tolerated rather than trusted. Kael felt it in the way her shoulders stiffened when his boots snapped a twig.
Hours later, the smell of smoke reached them. Not campfire smoke—thicker, harsher. Kael's chest tightened. Serenya froze, ears twitching, then broke into a run. Kael stumbled after her, lungs burning, until the forest opened into a clearing.
A village. Or what was left of one.
The houses were charred husks, their wooden beams collapsed into ash. Smoke curled upward in thin black threads, stinging Kael's nose and eyes. Bodies lay scattered across the dirt road—men, women, even children—cut down with cruel precision. Blood still wet.
Kael swallowed hard, bile rising in his throat. He wanted to turn away, but Serenya was already kneeling by a fallen woman, checking for signs of life. Her face was a mask, but Kael caught the flicker of sorrow in her eyes before she hid it.
"They didn't die long ago," Serenya murmured. "Whoever did this may still be near."
A cough broke the silence. Kael rushed toward the sound and found a boy, no older than ten, half-buried under collapsed timber. His chest rose and fell shallowly, eyes wide with terror.
"Help me!" Kael shouted. He dug his hands into the debris, ignoring splinters biting into his skin. Serenya joined him reluctantly, and together they freed the child.
The boy clung to Kael like a drowning man. "Monsters," he whispered, voice cracked. "They came from the forest. Red eyes… teeth… they killed everyone."
Kael's stomach sank. This wasn't just bandits.
From the shadows of the ruined houses, a low growl answered the boy's words.
Serenya rose in one fluid motion, bow drawn. "They're still here."
Figures slinked from the smoke—hulking shapes, twisted forms with claws glistening. Their eyes burned red in the dim light. Goblins, but not the kind Kael had seen in Serenya's stories. Larger, stronger, their bodies scarred with ritual marks.
The boy screamed. The monsters answered with snarls.
Kael's hands trembled. He knew what was coming. He would die again. And again. The thought both terrified and steadied him. Death was no longer the end—it was the fire that forged him.
He set the boy down gently. "Stay behind me."
Serenya gave him a sharp look. "Don't be reckless—"
But Kael was already stepping forward, fists clenched, eyes burning with something between fear and defiance.
The first goblin lunged. Claws slashed across Kael's chest, tearing flesh, spilling blood. Pain exploded—then blackness swallowed him whole.
…And then, breath filled his lungs once more.
Kael rose from the dirt, wounds gone, eyes sharper. The goblins hesitated, snarling in confusion. Serenya's gaze flicked to him, horror and awe battling in her expression.
Kael wiped blood from his lips and smiled grimly.
"Let's see," he muttered, "how many times I have to die… to burn you all to ash."
The goblins charged.
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