Chapter 26: The Wheel of Rebirth
Asher looked at the holograms in front of him and a powerful silence descended in the room.
His own face, replicated across different eras, centuries, even civilizations.
He let out a long exhale, willing himself to think his way through what he was seeing.
"I can't be seeing this, it has to be some sort of trick," he muttered.
Seraphine, rigid beside him, wasn't so certain. "No. This is… something else."
Dr. Evelyn Rhyse kept it cool as she watched their reactions.
"This is the truth, Asher," she went on. "And this is just the beginning."
He tightened his fists, staring down the oldest hologram.
A man's stone likeness — one that he thought looked exactly like him — carved into a centuries-old temple wall."
"How is this possible?" he asked, a little less vigorously than before.
Dr. Rhyse folded her arms. The world into which you are reborn holds many secrets." The Rifts are not merely portals to another world — they are the remains of something much older than this civilization. That's been interrupting human evolution for thousands of years."
She gestured at the images.
"You're not the first one to have this mark, Asher. But unlike them, you have the opportunity to break the cycle."
He forced himself away from the holo-image to look at her.
"What cycle?"
She paused for a moment, then pressed another button on her console.
A new projection sprang to life — this one displaying a timeline.
It was a repeating pattern, one that spanned hundreds of years — and every century, a singular character emerged.
Different names. Different lives.
But the same face.
The same mark.
Seraphine stepped closer. "You're saying he's been… reincarnating?"
Dr. Rhyse nodded. "The truth is, something has been pushing him to."
Asher's heart sounded in his chest.
He had always known he was different. Ever since he had respawned into this world, things had just felt… wrong.
But this?
This was too much.
"So I've been living the same life over and over?" he asked, straining to keep his voice steady.
Dr. Rhyse shook her head. "Not exactly the same. Each birth has been a little different, colored by the time, the civilization, the happenings of the age. But one thing has been consistent — "
She looked him in the eyes.
"You have always been connected to the Rifts.
Asher swallowed hard.
He had always supposed the Rifts were chaotic. A phenomenon that nobody could explain.
But if what she was saying was true …
They'd been in the fabric of his life since the dawn of his.
Seraphine rubbed a hand through her hair, annoyance leaking into her voice.
"So let me get this straight. Some unknown force has kept pulling Asher back into existence every time he dies?"
Dr. Rhyse nodded. "Yes."
Asher exhaled sharply. "And you don't know who or what's behind it?"
She hesitated. "…No. But I have theories."
He folded his arms. "Let's hear them."
Dr. Rhyse turned back to the console and called up a new series of documents, ancient scriptures and forgotten texts, Guild-classified files.
She gestured at a passage written in an ancient dialect.
"This text talks about something called 'The Architect.' "
Asher's brow furrowed. "The Architect?"
"It shows up in the histories of several civilizations. Different names, different shapes — but always the same goal."
She tapped the screen.
"To have a hand in how the world will unfold."
Seraphine tensed. "Are you implying that the Rifts are part of a larger plan?"
Dr. Rhyse nodded.
Asher clenched his jaw.
Believing that the Rifts were just anomalies of nature was one thing.
It was one thing to know those mistakes were accidental.
"Why?" he asked, voice sharp.
Dr. Rhyse sighed. "We don't know. It long assumes the Architect, if it even exists, is long dead. But the patterns don't lie. Someone — or something — has been resetting the board for centuries."
She turned to Asher again.
"And now, one of the pieces remembers, for the first time."
A shiver ran up his spine.
Asher breathed slowly and steadily, focused on the data before him.
If this was true…
Then, it wasn't a coincidence, that his entire life—his reincarnation.
Something had decided he was needed back.
And worse?
He had no idea why.
The silence was broken by the voice of Seraphine.
"So what do we do now?"
Dr. Rhyse eyed Asher closely.
"That is entirely up to him," she said.
Seraphine frowned. "What do you mean?"
Dr. Rhyse took a step closer. "Asher has two choices."
She held up one finger. "He can ignore all of this. True, pretend he never learned the truth, live his life however he sees fit, wait for the next reset.'
Then she raised a second finger.
"Or—he can fight back."
Seraphine's eyes opened a little wider. "You're saying he can be a break in the cycle?"
Dr. Rhyse nodded. "Possibly. If he's strong enough."
Asher let out a harsh laugh.
"That's a hell of an 'if.'"
Dr. Rhyse smirked. "It is. But from what I've seen? You don't seem the type to just fall to fate."
Asher narrowed his eyes.
She wasn't wrong.
If something had been manipulating his whole life—if some Architect had been god-playing with his own storyline—
Then he wasn't just going to let it carry on.
He took a long, slow breath, holding Dr. Rhyse's look.
"…Tell me how to fight back."
Dr. Rhyse smiled.
"I was hoping you would say that."
She pressed her console, bringing up a new projection.
It revealed an enormous estate — deep underground, locked behind layers of security and technology.
"This," she said, "is the Vault of Origins."
Seraphine frowned. "The hell is that?"
Dr. Rhyse's eyes glinted.
"It's where the Guild stores its most sensitive information. And inside—"
She turned back to Asher.
"Is everything they understand about the Architect."
Asher's pulse quickened.
A secret archive full of information about the forces that had been pulling the strings on his life?
He smirked.
"Well," he muttered. "I guess we're going to raid the Guild."
Seraphine groaned. "You have the worst ideas."
Dr. Rhyse simply grinned. "Welcome to the rebellion, Asher."
Asher's fists curled into tight balls, silver eyes carved with new found determination.
For the first time since waking up] in this world, he knew who his true enemy was.
And he was not going to let them win.
No more resets.
No more control.
If the Architect had wanted a game—
Then it was Asher's turn to break the board.