Alternative Reincarnation

Chapter 5 — Another Beginning After An Ends

The long-awaited journey had begun. Tall trees stood along the road, and the surrounding jungle was strangely calm. The breeze carried a sense of safety that Victor found almost unsettling. The road itself was so smooth that it felt more like a paved road than something running through a wilderness. Victor wondered if his father was simply so wealthy that even nature couldn't deny him safety. Inside the carriage, Victor and Richard sat opposite each other. Richard couldn't take his eyes off Victor. Something was wrong with him this time. Victor was calm as usual, but now there was something else in his eyes. He looked genuinely curious. He seemed interested in the world around him.

That wasn't the Victor Richard knew. Still, Richard reminded himself that Victor was changing. And that thought brought him back to three years ago. Victor and his father had arrived with the other siblings. The children of Verdaschi's house treated Victor as though he wasn't truly their sibling. Victor was the only one from the main house, while none of the brothers or sisters who shared his mother's blood were there. To them, he seemed like an illegitimate son. Wanting to impress the people around them, Richard's house and Victor's house decided to arrange several duel and demonstrate how close the two families were. The children from Victor's house were strong. They won again and again. Then Richard saw Victor. Victor was sitting alone. Nobody wanted to give him any attention, and he looked like someone who wasn't loved.

For the first time, Richard wanted to like him. He wanted to sympathize with him. But after getting closer to Victor, something inside Richard changed. He felt disgust. Then fear. And finally, he wanted to crush him. Richard became kind to Victor. Or at least, he made himself appear kind. He manipulated him into agreeing to a duel, telling Victor that they could fight and spar and that it would only be friendly sparring between people their age.

Richard still regretted that day. He had confronted something he should never have confronted. What felt like a few hours to Victor felt like years to Richard. He couldn't stand being around him for another hour. Then they entered the ring. Richard exploded with anger. Even now, he couldn't understand how he had become such a person. He hated remembering it. He couldn't even remember exactly what Victor had done to offend him, or whether Victor had truly said anything terrible to him. It didn't matter. Richard wanted to crush him. He wanted to defeat him. He wanted to kill him. He began throwing insults at Victor, accusing him of countless things and humiliating him in front of everyone. Victor didn't react. He remained calm and composed, holding the wooden sword in his hands. Then he pointed it at Richard.

"Richard, today I was going to forgive you and let you win. But I'll show you why people call me a demon, even though none of them seems to understand. I'll make you an example. I'll show you that no one is above me."

Victor prepared himself. Richard felt fear. But despite that fear, he still wanted to fight. He raised his sword. The moment Richard lunged, Victor's ring and bracelet fell from his body. Everything changed. The arena suddenly felt empty. Richard couldn't sense anything. His powers were gone. It was as if everything inside him had been neutralized. He couldn't move. His body refused to respond. Tears began running down his face. What was happening? He wanted to run. Then he saw Victor standing in front of him. Richard fell to the ground, his heart pounding so violently that he could barely breathe. Victor looked down at him.

"Don't you want to fight me? Don't you want to kill me? Don't you want to crush me?"

He stepped closer.

"Get up."

Richard couldn't move.

"Get up."

Victor picked up a knife and placed it in Richard's hands. By then, Richard already knew he had been defeated. Not by strength. By fear. But what Victor did next was the part Richard could never forget. Victor took the knife, pointed it toward his own chest, then firmly held both of Richard's hands.

"Do you want me to help you kill me?"

His voice remained calm.

"Do you want me to help you?"

Nobody in the arena moved. Richard's family, Victor's father, the guests—everyone stood frozen. Children began fainting. People felt an unbearable pressure coming from Victor, something none of them had ever experienced before. Even some of the assassins belonging to the house fled the scene, leaping from tree to tree. People watching from nearby buildings stared in horror. What was that thing? Richard's nose began bleeding. He could barely breathe. Victor continued.

"Kill me."

Richard couldn't answer.

"Don't you want to kill me?"

Victor turned toward Richard's parents.

"Is this your son? How can he be such a coward?"

Victor's father tried to speak.

"Victor, stop."

Victor looked at him.

"Eh?"

That single word was enough. Everyone froze again. The step-siblings stood like statues, staring at the monster they had been living with. Even Victor's father wanted to stop his son. He couldn't move a muscle. Victor stood over Richard.

"You are pathetic. I gave you my knife. I gave you everything, and you couldn't even finish the job."

His voice remained emotionless.

"I thought you were finally going to kill me. I guess I was wrong."

He looked down at Richard.

"You're not even worthy of being called someone from the second family of your house. You should be made a servant. A lowly servant."

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The only sounds were Victor's voice and the wind. Fear and horror filled every face. Victor spat on Richard. Then again. Richard couldn't withstand it. He fainted from sheer terror. After that day, Richard's life fell apart. His entire house sank into depression for more than a month. They believed the illegitimate son of the house had brought them bad luck, and they wanted revenge. Richard knew he was innocent. At the same time, he couldn't completely convince himself that he was. His name changed from Richard zur Marchiovani to Richard Kess Marchiovani. The blame fell on him. Everyone hated him. He was demoted to the third family, pushed into a branch family when he had once at least possessed a chance to compete for the heirship of his house.

Even though Richard knew he had never truly had that chance, the demotion was still an unbearable insult. And even within the third family, they hated him. To them, he was an omen. Something that had brought bad luck into their lives. Richard's greatest mistake, he believed, was confronting Victor. If he had never done it, perhaps his life would have remained good. Perhaps he would never have fallen this far. But something else had happened that day. Victor had shown him what true life was. He had shown him true fear. He had shown him the meaning of death. And after experiencing it, Richard found that death no longer frightened him in the same way. At some point, he realized that he had become something like a second version of Victor.

Not exactly. Richard still had morals. He still had his own code. But he had become more cunning. More manipulative. More obsessed with control. He even began to understand Victor's actions. In some twisted way, Richard praised Victor for what he had done because Victor had awakened something inside him. He had forced Richard to see the ugliness of human nature. It was as if his eyes had finally opened. But knowing that didn't make him stop hating Victor. He wanted to kill him. Again. And again. It became a purpose he carried with him every day. He couldn't remember a single day when Victor hadn't entered his thoughts. Victor had become this god in his mind. An image he could never escape. Richard wondered whether it was obsession.

Whether it was love. Whether it was hatred. He wondered why he was now comfortable thinking about Victor when, during that battle, he had been terrified. Did he want to become like him? Did he want to catch up to him? Or did he simply want to kill him and prove his own worth? He didn't know. Even though he had risen above his family and could crush them whenever he wanted, a part of him was still trapped in that moment. The moment Victor had stood over him. The moment Victor hadn't even cared about him. Back in the carriage, Richard was still lost in those memories. Victor remained opposite him. Then King suddenly spoke.

"There is a presence."

Victor looked up.

"What do you mean, a presence?"

King's tone changed.

"I don't sense it anymore. But we're in danger."

Victor remained calm.

"Mortal danger?"

"Yes."

Victor brushed it aside.

"I'm ready for death anyway."

King immediately challenged him.

"Are you really ready for death? Do you remember when you first came into this world? You were buried. Why didn't you stay in that coffin? Why did you fight your way out?"

Victor fell silent. He hadn't thought about it deeply before.

"I was buried."

He looked down.

"Now that you mention it, I can't even remember why I felt so confident after coming out of that coffin."

Something about it bothered him.

"It felt like I had been reborn."

He paused.

"But it was different. I felt courage. Power. Like I could do anything."

Then reality returned.

"But I'm going to die soon."

For the first time, Victor admitted something he hadn't wanted to admit.

"I don't like that."

He continued thinking. Who had killed the original Victor? Who had killed him? What secrets were hidden from him? Why couldn't he see Victor's complete memories? Why were those memories buried from him? He had no answers. Richard suddenly drew his sword. Victor noticed. King immediately warned him.

"I was right. There's a presence nearby."

Victor's eyes sharpened.

"How many?"

"Not one."

King hesitated.

"There are many."

Victor breathed out.

"Oh."

Then, strangely, he felt relieved.

"I'm dying."

He looked at Richard.

"If Richard doesn't protect me right now, I'm dead."

Victor watched Richard grip his sword.

"Yeah. I knew you were going to protect me."

Richard didn't even look at him.

"I'm not protecting you."

Victor blinked.

"There are too many. I can sense more than one. More than ten."

Richard's expression became serious.

"They're powerful."

He tightened his grip.

"Yeah. I think we're going to die.

Victor immediately stepped out of the carriage and jumped onto its roof. He looked toward the other carriages.

"Speed up!"

The drivers pushed the horses forward. It was useless. The horses were attacked. The knights tried to resist, but they were overwhelmed. Victor couldn't see what was happening around him. Fear finally reached him. He was going to die. Again. And for the first time, he questioned whether he actually wanted to. Was life really meaningful to him? Could he truly accept dying after already accepting his fate? As a scientist, Victor believed facts were things that couldn't be ignored. Facts won arguments. And the fact was that he had died once already. Then he had died again. So why was he afraid now? Why did he want to live? He had already been buried beneath a collapsed building in his former life. He had already awakened buried beneath the earth in this one. Twice, death had been waiting for him.

Yet he still wanted to live. Victor searched within himself for a reason. He found nothing. No purpose. No goal. Nothing he could hold onto. Even his own will felt as though it were being controlled. Perhaps it was finally time to accept his fate. Victor closed his eyes. King's voice suddenly became urgent.

"Victor, be careful!"

An arrow was coming straight toward him. Victor's eyes opened. And in that final instant, one question remained in his mind. Was life really this precious? Was life worth living when you had already given up on it? Did he even have a reason to live? The arrow flew toward him.