The Drowning and the Dawn

A wave crashed over him, the icy water stealing his breath. It wasn't supposed to end this way, not in an anonymous act of forgotten sacrifice. As darkness closed in, the young man thought of the little girl he'd pulled from the churning sea, now safe on the shore. A flicker of warmth pierced the gloom.

"A selfless choice," a voice boomed, though no form was visible. "For that, I offer a second chance, mortal. Two wishes – speak them."

Stunned, the young man coughed out his first wish almost without thought, "I want to live again... a life unbound by time."

"Immortality. A dangerous gift, but so be it. Your second wish?" the voice rumbled.

He thought of the world, its endless wars, its cruelties. "Power," he rasped, "Power to defy the darkness, power forbidden if it must be."

The warmth flared brighter. "Interesting. You shall have your system of knowledge, though walk that path with caution. Your vessel awaits in a realm of swords and magic. Farewell."

With a dizzying lurch, he landed in the body of a prince – soft linens, polished wood, a mirror reflecting a face both new and strangely familiar. He touched the mirror, the reflection of a silver-haired youth with eyes that shimmered like moonlight.

Prince of the Silverlight Empire. He held the title like a fragile thing, but beneath it...a system pulsed in his mind, a vast library of shadowed knowledge. His second life had begun, etched with the promise of eternity and the dark allure of forbidden power.