Reincarnation

Pale snow slowly drifted around a small clearing in the woods, not sheltered by the towering trees that spanned for miles in each direction, exposed to the cold and lonesome ray of moonlight that gently fell upon this scene providing the little bit of light in this otherwise, pitch black scenery.

"Ughhhhh." A small boy let out suffocating, shallow breaths as his body leaked a hypnotising red pool, dying the argent ice and snow a deep rose-coloured carpet of blood that spooled out unevenly in multiple directions harnessing an ominous glow under the moonlight, a prodigious wolf hounding above his soon to be corpse.

"KANA!! KANA!!!!" A desperate shout emerged from another boy, slightly taller but also roughly the same age, bearing the same colour hair and possessing similar features. Kana's eyes slowly drifted in his direction as his brother enters his view, slowly growing dark and blurry, his mouthing opening yet his voice inaudible to the young Kana. Just the bleak sound of ringing remained in his ear, as blood splashed into his eye, deteriorating his vison even more. His body being ripped to shreds by the fierce strength of the seemingly metallic jaws of the wolf, his teeth stained in that same ruby, rose blood.

"I-Is, is this where I die?" He's probably thinking to himself. That's what he looks like anyway, I can only see into his present but not into his thoughts or feelings. How unfortunate, this would have been more interesting if I could. His consciousness drifts off. For the last time.

"You have an interesting brother, kid. He's doing so much for you out of love and the guilt of being unable to protect you, that he's decided to give you, his body. How generous." I whispered to the boy as a smirk appeared on my face. I sat comfortably at my glacier throne shining in brilliantly, illustrious glamour.

"Oh… Looks like he's regaining consciousness. Hopefully you'll use your brother's gift well. It cost him everything, after all. I will check up on you later, but for now, experience the shock you'll feel, and grow strong… For…Sake." My last words not gracing a single person's ear, but my eyes lit with a burning fire and my face twisting into a desperate, yet excited smile. "Come!"

Huh? I think to myself as my eyes slowly pry themselves open, blinding light hindering their stagnant process.

"This is… GUHHHHH!!" I shout as I jump to my feet, frantically patting myself down as I realised the half of my body that was ripped to shreds, had now been just as before… if not better. Slightly more muscle, visible on my stomach. "Phewwww."

I finally retracted my focus from my body to my surroundings, which looked foreign yet familiar. The land was not the same land that I had died at. There was no snow, rather the ground was scorched and illustrated with pigments of light reds and deep oranges.

"Did I… Did I die? What is this place?" My eyes wondered along with the traveling wind, scouting the near proximity of my current location, till my eyes slowly shifted across onto a rather large silhouette. It was a dead wolf. Much like the one who had ripped me to shreds… or so I think. Though this wolf, eerily also carried scorches all across it's burnt hide which reeked of smoke that intoxicated my nose. Scorched exactly like the ground. I decided to approach the dead animal, curled in a ball, which seemed to be laying on something. Something that gave of an even more repugnant smell than the burnt corpse of the wolf and it's burning hide that lost its renown grey colour. Whilst I casually paced towards the wolf, I decided to come from its side and around to its front. It came to me that the wolf may still be alive and might attack me, so I recalibrated my approach mid-way through to a more careful and reserved approach.

"WHAT THE-?" I exclaimed as I fell back, my eyes widening at an unprecedented sight. The scene I saw left me both bewildered and horror-stricken. The scene of a dead human corpse can already be traumatising for a child like me. The guts spilled out onto the ground, the lifeless eyes that deeply resembled an empty abyss, and the scorched blood and flesh that made the foul stench that I had previously identified. All these factors of trauma and horror increased it to a multitude of 10. After all, if you saw that scene, you wouldn't forget about it. Especially not when it's your own corpse laying on the ground, that is.

"T-t-t-that's my body!!!" I force out finally, as I get down now on all fours clenching my stomach, vomit hurling out and tears falling painfully down from my bloodshot eyes and onto the ground making a sizzling noise with each tear hitting the scorched landscape. "Guhhhh!! That's definitely my body!!"

"But h-h-how? This makes no sense." I decided to slowly turn the corpse over onto its front rather than it's side like it previously had been to confirm this corpse. And just like I had thought, it was certainly and unmistakably my body. I once more pat my body down making sure that I wasn't just hallucinating or having an out of body experience. "Is this some kind of clone of me. Did my mana naturally conjure some kind of resurrection, clone, or restoration magic? No, I'm sure my mana can't randomly actuate a magic that doesn't even exist let alone for the fact that I had never used my mana, or magic at all because of the promise I made to Krill. Is this even my body that I'm in, because now that I look at things, I seem to be taller than before and by quite a bit, actually. Wait! If this is the location that I died at, maybe Krill might be somewhere near here! After all I don't see his body sprawled out anywhere. I will also be able to ask him about my current appearance."

"Hmmm. The air is still frosty cold and from the looks of it, snow is still falling in the distance. Unlike this place, which looks like it was ripped out of a dessert." I say as continue examining this barren waste, the stubs being left as the only remainder of the once thick oakwood trees that stood tall. They didn't even resemble a shadow of its former glory, as even the remaining stubs no longer bolstered their iced hazel colour which had now dawned black smog on itself. The ground cracked up garnering an amber, powdery complexion which received no flake of gentle snow on its damaged terrain.

"Guess I'll get going and start looking for Krill, but where to start?" I say to myself before my brothers' words appear in my mind almost on command. "We'll head over this way and hunt, whilst also passing into the neutral land and one of its small towns called Hargg." I smile to myself as that memory flashes through my mind. I bet he's going to be so surprised when I find him and show him that I'm not dead! I proceed to walk in the direction of west where the town was located at, slowly making my way alongst the burning ground.

"If I remember correctly, the walk to the neutral lands border should only take me roughly ten minutes and to the town from that point, another twenty." Before I strolled in that direction, I turned back to my old body, kneeling on the grand and humbly praying for peace to whatever was out there. "May you rest in peace, old body."

I continued on walking west, the wind getting increasingly colder the more I ventured forward, my footprints being erased by the dry sand that was carried by the wind in the area. Before long, I had soon arrived at the border of the Neutral land, where the Human Kingdom and the Neutral lands intertwined. The two sides showed a clear contrast. The forest at the border of the Human kingdom, lay a desolate, burnt, obliterated, dry and erased land. The other side, the start of the Neutral Forest and it's first pass over from Human territory, living and thriving, even whilst covered in snow which added a spice of glamour and gentleness to the scene at hand. It's air a lot moister and colder, rather than humid and suffocating air of the barren waste lands. I take the first step over the border, my foot feeling a cold and soothing sensation who felt the previous harshness of the land they had walked on. Now both feet submerged under snow, the soles of my shoes desperately gripping the cold and slippery surface of the iced grass held captive under the barrage of white flakes that infested the whole area. "Alright. Let's keep moving."

I made my way deeper into the forest located in the Neutral lands. The Neutral lands, to sum it up quickly, is land made especially for humans and elves who wish to live together in cohesion because they aren't allowed to in the Human Kingdom, nor the Elven Forests. The two races had disputes in the past and the majority from both sides refuse to co-operate till this day, leading to the foundation and establishment of the Neutral lands where the two races can co-operate.

I had finally come by a source of water after searching the nearby proximity. It had taken me a while, but it'll be worth it now. I hope Krill doesn't get too far away from me. A small, tranquil lake that was occupied by none, animals, or people alike. A thin layer of ice lightly coated the lake, but it was no problem to break the fragile glacier, as it slowly melted under the warmth of my touch, breaking into pieces on impact. My hands cupped in whilst I closed my eyes, getting ready too cool myself of with the water by delicately splashing it on my face.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" I let out an exasperated sigh, releasing all the tension I've been holding and finally relaxing. My eyes lethargically regain their sight, as I gazed upon the rippling water which was soothingly coming to a stop already giving me a clearer view at myself, and in the reflection a familiar face appeared. Krill's face. Even though the water was still slightly distorting the image I could still pick out his face. I immediately got up from my crouched position and turned around, arms spread wide open, only to grasp no one. My head twists around quickly scouting through the area for Krill, but nothing. I then desperately turn back to look into the water and the reflection that was shown. No doubt about it. It was Krill's face… but I only see one reflection, one face, one pair of crystal, ruby, red eyes glinting with sadness. My white hair the same, but different length and style to my previous body, longer and tidier than my old hair. My face slightly more mature and older and my looks fiercer, yet gentle at the same time. My features manly and sharp. Though my physique was still that of a pre-pubescent boy.

"K-k-krill. KRILL!!!!" My shouts echo through as my hands manoeuvres themselves around my face touching each detail, the reflection replaying the same motions as I. My face scrunched in agony and sadness, my eyes leaking out drops that fell on the waterbed, once again disturbing the image and making the water ripple in chaos once more. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry Krill… I don't know why this happened… but I'm sorry." I whisper under my breath, my body no longer attracting any heat, my face growing pale matching the snow. "I'M SORRY KRILLLLLLL!!!" My desperate scream empties out into the hollow land and powerful echoes each around the area; my vocal cords damaging themselves as I let out every bit of sound I could muster.

My body cradled in gentle snow, as tears fell continuously. No further progress was made from that lake, as this unquenched land took away all my tears… just like it had taken my brother away from me… No. I, killed my own brother. Took his body and his life. "I am so sorry. Krill." My grumbling stomach's noise was completely cancelled out by the stream of thoughts of my brother. "How could… How could this happen?"