Chapter 6 — The Sword
Fifteen years old.
Nine years in this world, and honestly? Nothing much has happened. Same as always — hunting in the morning, back by evening. Today was no different. I went with Mendriya.
In these past years, I've figured something out. My wounds heal on their own. Fast. Too fast for it to be normal. Maybe I have some kind of healing magic.
Fifteen years here. I wonder how Mom is doing.
Jhed sat on a flat rock in the middle of the jungle, turning the thought over slowly the way he turned everything over — without urgency, without much feeling. Just observing.
His hair had grown long. White in most places, black in patches, like the two lives had left marks on him that couldn't be hidden. His eyes had darkened to black. And somewhere behind them — a quietness that looked like sadness from the outside.
Time had moved fast. It always did when nothing changed.
"Jhed!" Mendriya's voice cut through the trees from somewhere ahead. "That's enough for today. Let's go!"
"Coming." He stood, hoisted the rabbit over his shoulder, and started walking.
"You've gotten tall," Mendriya said when he caught up, eyeing him sideways. She had a bundle of firewood balanced across her shoulders.
"Have I?"
In my last life I was five foot four. Now I'm five eight. Still growing. Probably hit six feet eventually.
Jhed looked down at his own legs like they belonged to someone else.
"Yeah," he said. "Apparently."
The sun was sinking behind the treeline by the time they reached the tent village. The smell of cooking drifted between the canvas walls.
"Oh good, you're both back—" Linea stepped out of their tent and stopped. "Look who's here."
Jhed turned.
Loane.
He stood just outside the tent, travel-worn and quiet, a large pack slung over one shoulder. Nine years had added lines to his face and more grey to his hair, but his posture was the same — straight, careful, like a man who'd spent a long time in places where being caught off guard meant dying.
"Dad—" Mendriya dropped her firewood on the spot and ran.
"Mendriya." Loane caught her and held her, and for a moment something in his face went soft. "How are you? Let me look at you."
Jhed stood where he was.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do right now. And honestly — until my memories from this life fully take root, until this family feels like mine and not borrowed — I can't make myself act like it does.
"Look, Loane," Linea said. "Look how much your son has grown."
Loane turned.
He looked at Jhed for a long moment. Jhed looked back, expression unreadable, arms at his sides.
"Jhed." Loane's voice came out quieter than expected.
He crossed the distance between them and pulled Jhed into a hug before Jhed could decide whether to step back.
"You're alive," Loane said. Low. Almost to himself. "You're alive."
What does that mean, Jhed thought, standing stiffly in the embrace. Why say it like that? Like he wasn't sure I would be.
Loane released him and reached into his pack.
"I brought something for both of you."
He pulled out two things: a slender carved staff with a faint shimmer running along its length, and a sword in a plain leather sheath.
"Mendriya — this staff is for you. It will amplify your magical ability. Significantly."
Mendriya took it with both hands, turning it carefully in the fading light. "It's beautiful, Dad. Thank you."
"You like it?"
"I love it."
"Good. I'll start teaching you how to use it tomorrow."
Loane turned to Jhed. Held out the sword.
Jhed took it.
He drew it slowly from the sheath. An ordinary blade — no shimmer, no magic running through it. But the edge was sharp, and it had weight, and something about holding it felt oddly right.
This is the first time I've ever held a sword.
Is it? Or does it just feel that way?
"Thank you," Jhed said.
Loane nodded.
Is this what having a father feels like? The Sin inside Jhed turned the question over, almost curious. I used to imagine it. In my first life. What it would be like if someone showed up and just — gave me something. Not because I begged. Not because I fought for it. Just because.
He put the sword back in its sheath.
"Dinner's ready," Linea called from inside.
That night, Jhed lay in bed with the sword beside him.
He kept looking at it.
Tomorrow I start training. Sword fighting. Like the warriors in those shows — is that what this turns into? Is that who I become?
A small thought, almost amused.
Loane was watching him from across the tent, expression unreadable.
Jhed was about to close his eyes—
The ground lit up.
A massive magic circle bloomed beneath the entire village, spreading under every tent simultaneously, lines of light tracing patterns too complex to follow. The glow rose through the dirt, through the fabric floors, casting everything in pale gold.
Every tent. All at once.
Jhed sat up.