Death Reborn

Chapter 1: Allies?

*chirp chirp*

Birds. I hate birds. I slowly lift myself up as I inspect my surroundings. A forest. Why the hell am I in a forest? I thought. I saw a shimmer of silver and saw a scythe. A scythe? In a forest? I picked it up and my head ached. I saw my reflection and..I looked terrible. My eyes had bags under them, my eyes were bloodshot, and I had cuts everywhere. W-why..Am I like this? I looked at it once more, and the headache worsened.

Be careful, Xearn. You don't know what's out there.

My head spun, and I felt dizzy. I managed to catch myself before I saw a shadow whiz by. My instincts told me to pick up the scythe and fight, but I heard a soft, female voice.

"W-who are you..?"

She sounded afraid, but was trying to sound brave. "I'm not here to fight." I lowered my scythe and I saw a silver-haired girl come out with a bow in her hand.

"I am Xearn." I said casually. "I'm Silvia. The daughter of Nyx, the goddess of night." She really told me that? I just met her! "Nice to meet you?" I replied.

"W-why are you here?" Wow. Ms. Interrogator over here is asking me a question. "I… don't know. I just woke up here." She looked uncertain. As if she thought I was lying. "I'm not lying, by the way." I said with a slight glare. She jumped back, and what she asked surprised me the most. "Are you a mind-reader?" I swear I heard my brain cry out "kill me" right then. "Are YOU retarded? I just read your face." I almost yelled. She looked hurt. But, for some reason it made me happy. I shook it off and apologized. "I'm… sorry. I don't know what came over me, Silvia. I'll leave now." I turned around to leave but she grabbed my arm.

Wasn't she way over there?!

I turned around and she was really close to my face. I mean close as in you can feel her breath on your face. "Hmm. Your aura smells like death." Whoa. This girl's suddenly interesting. All I did was smirk. "How did you know?" she stepped back and smiled. "Fair guess?"

Remember, if you want to survive you need to rely on the honesty of strangers.

It's that fucking voice again! I looked around but it was only me and Silvia. Weird. "Are you alright?" She said worriedly. I shook my head. "Nothing you need to worry about." I turned and continued down the dirt road, and Silvia was following.

This girl…I need to trust her. I don't know why, but I trust her for some reason. My thoughts were interrupted by an arm to my stomach. "Oof!" I looked down and saw a giant pit. "You almost killed yourself!" I looked at Silvia and she did not look happy. I picked up a stone and dropped it.

1…2…3…4…5…6-

*tic*

Hm. 6 seconds deep. That means it's…Approximately 493 feet deep. I sighed and something told me to open my backpack. I wasn't even aware of its presence in the first place. Inside I found a notebook, a black pen, and a statue of "The Thinker". I took a peek a notebook and it was empty. I tried using the black pen, and it only disappeared. Then words formed on the page slowly.

"Hello, Xearn."

The writing was cursive, so I couldn't understand much. I tried asking for help, but all it responded was,

"To pass the pit, close your eyes and use your magic. Or else your fate will be tragic."

Magic? I have magic? I tried to concentrate, but all I end up doing is holding my breath. The notebook started to shake, and more words appeared but they looked unfamiliar.

"Shari, Zarma, Fakot."

What kind of language is that? I read them slowly, and when I said them all, a black smoke started emanating from my hand and slowly created a path over the pit. I touched it with my foot, and it felt solid. After that, we walked to the other side. Silvia broke the awkward silence. "So… Tell me about yourself!" she said cheerfully. "I can't really tell you much. I forgot about most of the things that happened to me." I said without looking at her.

How sad. Your memories are the least of your worries, Xearn.

I shook my head and continued on, to whatever trials face me.

~End of Chapter 1~