The dead direwolf lay at my feet, blood pooling beneath its massive form. My heart still pounded in my chest, my arms aching from the last strike. The battle had ended, but the weight of what I had done settled heavily on my shoulders.
I had killed before—both in this life and the last. But this felt different.
This wasn't war. This wasn't conquest.
This was survival.
I took a shaky breath, gripping my wooden dagger tightly. The mana I had funneled into it had nearly drained me, and exhaustion crept through my limbs like lead. But I had won. I had fought against a creature far stronger than me—and I had survived.
"You learn fast," my father said, his voice filled with quiet approval.
I turned to face him, still catching my breath. "You threw me against a direwolf," I muttered. "Are you sure you're not trying to kill me?"
His lips curled into a smirk. "If I was trying to kill you, you'd be dead."
A dry laugh escaped me. "That's… reassuring."
He stepped forward, crouching beside the fallen wolf. His expression shifted, growing more serious as he examined the beast's corpse. His fingers brushed against the wounds I had inflicted, then pressed against its jaw, prying it open slightly.
I frowned. "What are you looking for?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out his hunting knife and cut open the wolf's belly with a practiced motion. The scent of blood and raw meat filled the air, but that wasn't what caught my attention.
It was the blackened veins running through the wolf's insides.
I stiffened. "That's not normal."
My father nodded grimly. "No. It's not."
The Corruption in the Wilds
I crouched beside him, studying the dark veins running through the beast's flesh. They pulsed faintly, as if something unnatural still lingered inside.
"This isn't just a normal direwolf, is it?" I asked.
"No." My father wiped the blood from his knife. "I suspected something was wrong with the wildlife lately. The animals have been acting strange—more aggressive, more desperate."
I frowned, recalling the Aberration I had fought in the woods just days ago. Was this connected?
"Have you seen this before?" I asked.
His silence was all the answer I needed.
I narrowed my eyes. "You have."
He sighed, standing up and sheathing his knife. "A long time ago."
His words were careful, calculated. It was the same way I used to speak when I was withholding information I wasn't ready to share.
Which meant he was hiding something from me.
The Past That Haunts Him
For a long moment, he simply stared down at the wolf's corpse. His expression was unreadable, but his knuckles were white against the handle of his knife.
Finally, he spoke.
"Before I settled in this village, I was… different," he admitted.
I said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
He exhaled slowly. "I was a hunter. But not like the other men in this village. I didn't hunt animals. I hunted monsters."
A sharp chill ran through me.
I had suspected my father wasn't an ordinary hunter, but hearing it confirmed was something else entirely.
"What kind of monsters?" I asked.
His gaze met mine, dark and serious. "The kind that should not exist."
The words should not exist echoed in my mind, reminding me of the Aberration I had fought.
The same phrasing.
I clenched my fists. "You're talking about them, aren't you? The Aberrations."
He nodded.
My heartbeat quickened. "Then you know what they are?"
But instead of answering, he shook his head. "No one knows what they truly are. Not even the scholars in the great cities. Some say they're remnants of an old war. Others believe they come from beyond our world."
I frowned. "And what do you think?"
A shadow flickered across his face.
"I think they're a warning," he said. "A sign that something far worse is coming."
Secrets Unveiled
His words unsettled me. A warning? A sign of something worse?
My father wasn't the type to speak in riddles. If he was saying this, it meant he believed it.
And if he believed it, then it meant that whatever was coming… it wasn't just speculation.
"What happened?" I asked. "Why did you stop hunting them?"
For the first time since I had been reborn, I saw something unusual in my father's expression.
Regret.
He turned away, his hands tightening at his sides. "Because I lost."
I inhaled sharply.
"I thought I was strong," he continued. "I thought I understood the creatures I was fighting. But one day, I encountered something… different. Something I couldn't kill. It tore through my comrades like they were nothing. I barely escaped with my life."
I swallowed. "So you ran."
He nodded. "I ran. And I never looked back."
A long silence stretched between us.
I had never seen my father as anything but capable, but now… now I saw him as something else.
A man who had survived.
A man who knew his limits.
And now, a man who feared what was coming.
A New Resolve
I let his words sink in. My father was strong. Stronger than anyone in this village. But even he had been forced to run from something beyond his understanding.
What did that mean for me?
I wasn't a hunter. I wasn't a warrior. Not yet.
But I had something my father didn't.
Knowledge.
Not of this world, but of another life—a life where I had ruled, where I had fought and conquered. A life where I had once stood at the peak of power.
If I could combine my past experiences with the power of mana, then maybe…
Maybe I wouldn't have to run.
"I want to keep training," I said suddenly.
My father turned to me, studying my expression. He wasn't surprised. He had expected this.
"You're serious about this?" he asked.
I nodded. "I need to be stronger."
A small smile played on his lips.
"Then we better get started."
The Coming Storm
For the next several weeks, my training intensified.
I wasn't just learning to fight. I was learning to survive.
Mana control became second nature. My movements grew smoother, my strikes faster.Weapon training expanded beyond daggers. My father introduced me to short swords, spears, and even bows.I learned how to track, to read the land, to notice the smallest details that could mean life or death.
I had never trained like this before. In my past life, I had relied on strategy and command. I had others fight my battles.
But in this world, I would fight for myself.
And as I grew stronger, I could feel it.
A shift in the air. A tension beneath the surface of everyday life.
Something was coming.
And when it did…
I would be ready.