After the reincarnation, everything started out like a hazy dream. At first, we couldn't figure out what was happening—we only remembered that we had lived before… and now we had been born again.
The first thing we saw was two people. A man and a woman. They were probably our parents.
The man looked stern-faced. His eyes always seemed to be looking off into the distance, as if he wasn't really with us at all. He didn't stick around for long. One morning, he just left… without saying a word. I still remember the sound of the door closing—cold, harsh, final.
Mother stayed.
She raised us alone. Despite the poverty and hard life, she always tried to smile. She would work through the night, but she would still greet us with a warm smile in the morning.
But the happiness didn't last long.
We weren't even three years old when one day, she disappeared too.
There was no noise. No explanation. No goodbye.
She just… never came back.
From that day on, we were alone in the world.
The years passed slowly. We lived in a small cabin on the edge of the forest. Sometimes we found food, and sometimes we didn't. But no matter how hard things got, Lucas always managed to keep us from giving up.
One day, as the sun was beginning to set and the forest was lit up in gold, Lukas came running up from somewhere.
He was holding an old, dusty book in his hand.
There was a fire in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time.
"Zeus! Look what I found!"
"What is that...?" I asked, suspicious. The book looked very old, its cover almost falling apart.
"I think... it's about this world."
Those words struck me differently immediately.
Lucas carefully opened the book. The pages were yellowed, some of them torn. It looked as if it had spent centuries on some forgotten shelf.
He began to read aloud.
Lucas:
— "There are many strange things in this world. 95% of people use magic. The other 5%... can't..."
— So... there are people without magic, too? — I interrupted.
"Wait, let's listen to the end," Lucas smiled at me and continued reading.
"However, there are special people. They are born once in a million. No one can explain their power—it has no form, no limits. This power is completely unique to each individual."
My heart began to beat strangely.
— "If the one who possesses it is weak, the power becomes useless. But if they are strong… their abilities transcend all limits."
Lucas stopped his question and looked up at me.
— We… we could be like that, couldn't we?
I smiled.
"Hopefully, we'll be like that too… Enchanters."
Lucas suddenly waved his hand.
"Ugh, we don't know that yet! Let's listen to the whole thing!"
He leaned back into the text again.
— "Demons rule this world."
Silence fell in the hut.
The wind picked up outside, causing the window to rattle slightly.
"Never trust what you think is trustworthy. Even an ordinary flower can bite your head off."
"I don't like this..." I grumbled.
"The world is beautiful. Many amazing creatures live here. You choose your own role—you can be a warrior who protects the people… or a traveler who follows the endless roads."
Lucas's voice slowly filled with wonder.
"Outside the lands, there are no rules. It's complete freedom."
Lucas and I looked at each other.
Freedom…
That word meant everything to us.
Lucas waited until the last sentence.
His voice suddenly grew heavy.
— "But remember one rule."
The wind slammed against the cabin again.
— "Down… never go down."
Silence.
A silence so deep, it was as if the world held its breath.
— Down? — I whispered. — What do you mean, 'down'?
Lucas shook his head.
— It's not written…
I looked out the window. The forest was already dark. The shadows looked very deep. Deeper than ordinary darkness should be.
A strange feeling came over me.
It was as if… something was watching us from there.
"You know what?" Lucas said suddenly. "This world is awesome!"
"Yeah…" I smiled too. "It's also scary. But it's awesome."
"Let's find our way."
— Let's get stronger.
— Let's find out what this power is.
There was already a purpose in his eyes.
Not just survival.
Something bigger.
That night, for the first time, I felt that this life wasn't just a "second chance."
It was the beginning.
Of a story.
Our story.
And somewhere… very deep down…
Someone was already waiting for us to take the first step.