Reincarnation

Iris woke up in a haze, feeling like his head was going to explode. He sat up and at his surroundings. A forest that went out as far as the eye could see stretched out in front of him. The tower still standing miles away. Rubbing his eyes Iris looked back at the Tower in disbelief.

Iris got up quickly and checked himself for wounds. He was in perfect health. Letting out a sigh Iris took in his surroundings in better detail. There was a pond a short way away. There were giant boulders near it as well. Gathering himself up, Iris started walking towards the pond.

As he neared the pond the forest went silent. The wind blowing through the leaves and bird chirps became nonexistent. Iris neared the shallow pool and knelt down to take a sip of the water. His dry throat receiving a refreshing blast of surprisingly cold water. A glint at the bottom of the pond caught his eye.

Iris got up and pushed his way through the water. The small glint at the bottom of the pond drawing closer as he sloshed through the water to get to it. The bottom of the pond started to deepen enough to where he could swim freely. Iris dove under the water and started his rapid descent to discover what was shining. However, the bottom never seemed to get closer. Looking up, Iris was shocked to see that the pond was much deeper than he had originally thought.

He swam his way back to the surface of the water and walked back to the shore. He was drenched at this point. Sitting down, Iris laid back on the grass and let his clothes dry. The light was slowly starting to fade. He thought about what had happened the night before. The way the tower fell, the screams of anguish, Luna's smile. Iris shook his head. He didn't know why he was suddenly fine, or how the tower was still erect in the distance. "Huh, I wonder if Luna is ok? Maybe she would know what has happened." Iris said, shaking his head slightly.

The last thing that Iris remembered was grabbing Luna's rapier. Recalling the feeling that Iris had felt, right before being blasted into oblivion, his hand started to burn. "Argh, what the hell!" Iris yelled in pain. Turning his hand over his hand had a crescent moon burnt into it. It glowed for a moment, the searing heat getting hotter. The glow subsided after about 10 seconds. Iris breathed a sigh of relief. He felt a sudden tug at the back of his mind, beckoning him toward the pool.

Iris' feet moved on their own and he lurched forward. His legs slowly submerged themselves in the water taking his torso with them. Soon, he was swimming to the bottom of the pond. The shining glint coming closer to him. He reached the bottom of the pool, his feet hitting the soft sand. This caused a giant sand cloud to puff up obstructing his vision. The sand gradually fell back to the bottom. However, the sand had cleared off part of a blade. Iris dug the blade out and grabbed the hilt. The burning from earlier returned.

He exploded out of the water screaming. The rapier disappeared into his hand elevating the pain. Iris fell to his knees, tears flowing out from his eyes. "Raaagh!" The blade finally finished sinking into his palm. He sat there for a moment collecting his scattered thoughts. "W-what was that?" He asked. Looking at his palm, the tattoo had elegant runes and swirls added to it. 'I need to get back to the tower,' Iris thought to himself, 'The Elders would definitely know about this.'

The Elders being the most powerful souls within the tower. They were destined to become powerful blades. The sole existence of the sword spirit race was to become a blade strong enough to slay a god. That, however, was a feat that even the greatest of the elders couldn't fathom. No singular spirit had the capacity to become a blade that strong. Iris was regarded as the weakest spirit. Not because of his fighting skills, or because of talent, his spirit was just too weak. He looked up to Luna because she was everything he wasn't. She had the power to become one of the most powerful blades of the century. Thinking of Luna, Iris felt depressed. 'Maybe Luna has appeared back at the tower." Iris assured himself.

Iris began his way back to the tower after his clothes finished drying. He looked for the main path that led to the tower. After 30 minutes he found it. He followed it for another 2 hours taking in the autumn scenery. The chirping and leaf ruffling had returned after his departure from the pond. After the first hour, the weather had begun to change. It started to lightly rain. Near the end of the second hour, the rain increased in volume. The sun had also set.

By the time Iris made it to the tower, he was soaked. He made his way to the gate. Its golden hue not dampened by the torrent of rain that hit it. He sighed in relief and went up to the guard. "Hey!" Iris said announcing his presence. The guard approached him. "Who are you?" The guard asked. His armor shined as his hand rested lightly on the hilt of a shortsword attached to his waist belt. "Er, Iris. You don't remember me? I gave you that raspberry bread loaf that one time." Iris said in response.

"Sir, I have never met you in my life. The tower is only for sword spirits. Now leave." The guard said with finality. "Please I have nowhere else to go," Iris said in defeat. "Is that my problem?" The guard said drawing his blade out of his scabbard. Iris gritted his teeth and asked, "Do you have the date at least?" The guard sighed, "It's the 27th of Gremor, 2130. Now please, leave the premises."

Iris turned around and went down the path he came from. 'How? I was transported 3 years into the past.' Iris racked his brain for answers. Coming up with nothing he decided to think about what happened this year. This was the year that he originally joined the Tower. Barely passing the tests he made it into the Tower. Luna had also joined this year. Depending on how you did on the tests you were given a ranking. That ranking determined the materials available for your use. The Tower was essentially the greatest sword academy on this side of the continent.

Iris smiled to himself. This time I'm going to ace the entrance exam.