Alternative Reincarnation

Chapter 9 — Where Nothing Returns.

Victor kept falling. It felt like an endless journey through boulders, stones, and trees. His body struck everything in his path, each impact tearing at him until he could barely recognize what remained of his body. Then he hit the water. He crashed beneath the surface and kept sinking. His life seemed to be coming apart with every passing second. He tried to call out. "King." Nothing. "King!" There was no answer. For the first time since his rebirth, Victor felt completely alone. There was no voice in his mind.

No guidance. Nothing. Only the endless darkness surrounding him. More than twelve hours had passed above the cliff. Richard was still there, kneeling near the edge. The rain had never stopped. New horses had arrived, carrying more people into the area. Assassins stood along the cliff, while magical lamps illuminated the surrounding forest. What had once been a quiet stretch of wilderness had become an organized expedition. Vezo stood among them, watching everything unfold. He couldn't help but wonder.

Was Victor really that important? Important enough for a princess to come here herself? Then the princess arrived. She was protected by people who made sure not even a drop of rain touched her. The maid approached and explained what had happened. Victor had fallen. He had been struck by a spear. And he had fallen into the waters below. For a moment, the princess felt as though something had been taken from her. Her possession was slipping away. She wanted to go down there herself. But the people around her stopped her.

The place below was far more dangerous than the cliff itself. Below them lay an area almost no one dared to explore. The White Mountains had a strange connection to the waters beneath them. Monsters sometimes descended from the mountains and disappeared into the region below, while strange phenomena involving teleportation had been observed around the area. But the greatest danger was the water. It wasn't an ordinary river. It was known as the Never-Ending Waters. No one who had fallen into it had ever truly returned.

The few who survived were powerful enough to resist its depths, but even they eventually died from mysterious illnesses caused by the waters. Artifacts didn't return from the depths either. The water itself was divided into layers, each possessing different properties. Some areas were believed to contain substances similar to acid. Others contained unknown minerals and materials that had never been properly identified. The deeper one went, the less anyone understood what waited below. The maid finished explaining the situation.

"If he fell while unconscious, with a spear still inside his chest, there would have been no way for him to avoid the obstacles on the way down. His body would have been badly damaged before he even reached the water." She paused. "And once he entered the Never-Ending Waters, the conditions would only become worse. The different layers could burn him, infect him, or destroy his body." The princess remained silent. Then she made a decision. "Five million." Everyone looked at her. "Five million for anyone who brings Victor back alive."

The bounty spread through the camp almost immediately. Five million was an absurd amount of money. Even noble houses struggled to accumulate such wealth. Now assassins, hunters, mercenaries, and nobles all had a reason to descend into a place where almost nobody returned alive. Morning eventually came. The sun rose over the forest. A messenger arrived at the House of Verdaschi. The news was simple. The young master had fallen into the Never-Ending Waters. His chances of survival were considered nonexistent.

Vothiel von Verdaschi listened without reacting. For a moment, his face remained completely still. Yet somewhere inside him, he felt a strange weight disappear. Perhaps it was relief. Perhaps it was guilt. He no longer had to decide what to do with his son. He no longer had to choose between helping him and watching him die. The decision had been made for him. Miloth heard the news. He immediately put on a heavy cape and coat and mounted a horse. He ordered everyone not to follow him. He had somewhere else to go.

After riding for some time, he arrived at a magical shop filled with expensive artifacts. The shopkeeper looked at him with interest. "What brings a noble here for such an expensive item?" Miloth didn't hesitate. "I don't care how much it costs." An artifact was brought out. It could transmit information across great distances, and under the right conditions, it could even transport a person before breaking apart and disappearing. Miloth looked at it. "Prepare the payment." He used the artifact immediately.

A message was sent to his sister. *Victor is in danger.* *He's dying.* The shopkeeper's expression changed the moment he heard the name. "Victor?" He stared at Miloth. Then his face became pale. "If this is about Victor, you don't need to pay." Miloth looked at him. The shopkeeper shook his head. "I don't want that kind of money." He knew Victor had enemies. Too many enemies. And if Victor died because the shopkeeper had refused to help, those enemies might eventually come looking for him. The shopkeeper could only think of one old saying.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The message reached Miloth's sister. She was in a chamber surrounded by books, with a sword resting nearby. The message appeared to her almost instantly. Her expression changed. "Why?" Miloth's voice came through. "Our brother is dying." She stood. "Are you certain?" "Yes." She picked up her sword. "Take the artifact to where he fell." Miloth nodded. "I'll go." "And I'll meet you there." Miloth left immediately. He rode for hours, taking dangerous shortcuts through difficult terrain until he finally reached the area around the cliff.

The place had transformed. Camps had been established. Expeditions were being prepared. Nobles had arrived. Assassins were everywhere. Everyone wanted to know the same thing. How important was Victor? What could a man possibly possess that would make so many people want him dead while others were willing to risk everything to save him? Miloth continued forward. The princess was seated inside a tent. She looked completely calm. Her maid stood nearby. "You came all the way here," the maid said. "Even though you know he's probably going to die."

The princess continued looking toward the forest. "You think Victor can be killed that easily?" The maid said nothing. The princess smiled faintly. "You people still don't understand what kind of creature he is." The maid lowered her eyes. She couldn't understand it either. Was Victor really worth this much to a princess? Was he truly important enough to risk coming to a place like this? Then Miloth arrived. He moved toward the camp. Some assassins attempted to stop him, believing he might interfere with the princess's plans.

But Miloth kept moving. Richard was still near the cliff. He hadn't moved much since Victor fell. His mind kept returning to the same question. *How did I fail to protect him?* He couldn't decide whether it had been his fault. Or Victor's. The question kept repeating until he could barely think. Then Miloth approached. He looked at Richard. Richard didn't even look back. His eyes were fixed on the abyss below. Something inside him had changed. He looked almost empty. Almost like Victor. Miloth pressed the magical artifact.

The device cracked. A surge of energy filled the area. Then someone appeared. His sister. Her presence alone changed the atmosphere. People stopped moving. The surrounding pressure became so intense that even experienced knights instinctively stepped back. She was a beautiful noblewoman with a sword at her side and a red coat flowing behind her. Her name was Elysia von Verdaschi. She looked toward Richard. She recognized him. Richard couldn't meet her eyes. Elysia walked toward him and knelt beside him.

"What happened?" Richard couldn't answer. He continued staring into the abyss. His eyes were restless, yet strangely empty. Elysia looked at him for a moment. Then she stood. She sensed another powerful presence behind her. Elysia turned toward it. Then she looked at Miloth. "Are you all right?" Miloth lowered his head. Elysia studied him. "Did you really care about him that much?" Miloth didn't answer. She understood enough. Without saying anything else, Elysia walked toward the princess's tent.

No knight attempted to stop her. They were afraid. Her aura alone made them understand the difference between themselves and her. Even Destro struggled to comprehend how someone so young could possess such overwhelming strength. Elysia entered the tent. The maid reacted immediately and reached for a knife. Elysia caught the blade between two fingers. She stared at the princess. The princess stood. Then she laughed. "You're still the same." The maid froze. They knew each other. The princess casually greeted her as though they were old friends.

"It's been a long time. Six months?" Elysia released the knife. "Yes. It's been a while." She looked around the tent. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes narrowed. "This is where my younger brother fell." The princess smiled. "Do you believe he's dead?" "No." Elysia's answer came immediately. "I don't." The princess watched her carefully. "Then why do you think I'm here?" Elysia looked directly at her. "Are you one of his enemies?" For the first time, the princess felt something close to fear. *How can two monsters come from the same family?*

She had already understood Victor. Now she was looking at another one. And she couldn't help wondering whether making enemies of both siblings could eventually cost her everything—including her position in the imperial succession. Far below them, Victor continued sinking. His clothes began to burn. He had no consciousness left to understand what was happening. His body entered one of the acidic layers. Pain spread through him. He couldn't move. Couldn't scream. Couldn't even lift a finger. All he could do was endure.

Yet something strange happened. His body resisted. The acid continued burning him, but it wasn't destroying him as quickly as it should have. The spear was finally forced from his chest as the metal corroded. Then the acid entered the wound. It began burning through his body from the inside. Victor couldn't react. He continued sinking. Deeper. Deeper. And deeper. Somewhere in the darkness, one thought remained. *Why?* *Why do I deserve this?* His mind struggled to understand the fate that had followed him.

He had already died once. Then he had been buried. Then he had been reborn. And now he was being dragged into a place where even the strongest people disappeared. *What did I do to deserve this?* Victor's thoughts became weaker. *Why?* *Why?*