SECOND DAWN

Raphael Restran sat in the dim light of his room, the world outside no longer a place of comfort. He stared at the ceiling, replaying every moment in his mind, trying to find the exact point where everything went wrong. How could he have missed it? He could always predict what would happen next in his life, but the sudden suicide of his only friend blindsided him in a way nothing else had.

The days passed, locked in the same four walls, refusing to interact with the outside world. Food wasn't a problem—he had saved enough from his lunch money. He didn't eat much during school hours anyway, preferring to use that time to think, to predict. Yet this time, his mind failed him. What pushed his friend to the edge? And why couldn't he see it?

Nothing. The answer was always nothing.

Raphael finally allowed himself to sleep after day long thinking. He had exhausted his mind enough.

When he awoke, it was early—4:45 AM. The house was silent, everyone still in their beds. He moved through the halls like a shadow, out the door without a sound. There was something about this time of day, this in-between moment before the world fully woke up, that always brought him some clarity.

Raphael's feet took him to the park, a small escape in a city swallowed by skyscrapers. Here, the horizon was clear, the sun just beginning to peek above it. He sat on a bench, thinking, or trying not to think. What would the others at school say? They probably wouldn't care for long, the cruelty of time would eventually dull the news.

A presence approached.

Raphael glanced quickly, noting the stranger's empty hands and unthreatening posture. No visible weapons. Yet something was off. His instincts failed him again.

Before he could react, sharp pain erupted from behind. He had let his guard down. A mistake. Blood poured from the wound, staining the ground. He gasped, turning his head to see the assailant, but only caught a glimpse of a hooded figure, masked and hidden behind dark glasses. They didn't speak, didn't need to.

The stranger, and the accomplice who had stabbed him from behind, walked away without a word, leaving him to bleed out on the bench. He cursed his own foolishness as his vision blurred. He wasn't going to survive this. Not here, not now.

His thoughts drifted, oddly enough, to reincarnation. Perhaps he'd meet his friend again in another life, another world. He didn't believe in miracles, but hope was a strange thing, especially in the final moments of life.

The sunrise was beautiful.

Then, nothing.

Raphael woke to an unfamiliar scene. A white room, sterile, featureless, with a single table and two chairs facing each other. He sat down, puzzled, and in an instant, the other chair was filled.

"Raphael," said the figure in front of him, a man with an unsettlingly kind smile, "I'm sure you know what's happening."

Raphael nodded. "You're...a god, aren't you?"

The man chuckled softly. "Indeed. You're going to be reincarnated into another world, one where you'll meet your friend once more. But…" His eyes glinted with something mischievous, "that world will be far harsher to you."

Raphael raised an eyebrow. "Why? What did I do?"

"Nothing, of course." The god leaned forward. "But your friend, he's destined for a happy life—at least, at first. He will rise to great power. Unfortunately, he will eventually bring that world to the brink of destruction."

"And you want me to stop him," Raphael stated, piecing it together.

"Exactly. You're free to use any method to stop him, but you mustn't destroy the world yourself. Only after you prevent him from doing so can you be free."

Raphael pondered this for a moment. "And you're going to give me power, I assume?"

The god grinned. "Correct. Ask for what you desire, but no overpowered abilities."

Raphael smirked. "You know me well, then. I'll take the same power I'm thinking of, but with some adjustments."

"As you wish."

The god's smile widened, the room beginning to fade. As Raphael's vision blurred, the last thing he heard was the god's voice, laced with something sinister: "Good luck, Fallen Angel."

Raphael opened his eyes to darkness. The cold air nipped at his tiny body, but he was swaddled in warm blankets. His small hands flexed instinctively, and that's when it hit him—he was a baby. The sensation was strange, but familiar.

Looking up, he saw the face of a beautiful woman gazing lovingly down at him. She must be his mother in this world, he realized. Her attention, however, was drawn to the sky. He followed her gaze.

A massive, blood-red sun was rising over the horizon, at least 1.5 times larger than any sun he had ever known.

His heart swelled, and despite everything, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

It was the second dawn.