Author's Note: Hello to everyone reading this fic, this is the first fanfic I've written btw so criticism and suggestions will be appreciated.
Naruto's vision swam in and out of focus, a kaleidoscope of crimson and white fading into an all consuming darkness threatening to swallow him whole. He was dying. He knew it.
The final battle had been a symphony of clashing wills and chakra. He had given everything he had to stop the Infinite Tsukuyomi and save his friend from the darkness. Naruto closed his eyes, accepting his death. Then suddenly he heard a familiar voice shout in his mind.
"Brat!"
"Kurama…is that you?" Naruto asked, barely audible.
"Naruto, snap out of it! You're not dead yet, not by a long shot! I feel something is pulling at your soul, some strange force trying to yank you towards the other side. Don't let it take you, brat! Fight it! Cling to this world, to Konoha, to your stupid ramen dreams! Don't give in, you idiot! There's too much living left to do! You're not finished here, not yet!"
Kurama's words washed over him, a familiar tide of gruff encouragement. But for the first time, Naruto couldn't find the spark to rise against the current. His body was a tattered rag, his chakra a flickering ember. He felt the pull, too, an insistent tug towards the unknown.
"Kurama," he rasped, his voice a whisper lost in the wind, "I'm tired. So tired… maybe just this once, it's okay to let go."
A heavy silence followed. Then, a rumble deep within Naruto, a tremor of raw emotion unlike any he'd felt from the fox.
"Tired, huh?" Kurama's voice was low, laced with a quiet sorrow. "You barely scratched the surface, brat. So much left to experience, so many battles to win, so many loud, dumb dreams to chase."
Naruto chuckled, a weak sound that echoed the emptiness within. "Maybe in another life, then. This one… it's run its course."
The pull intensified, a gentle warmth spreading through him. It wasn't fear, nor pain, but a quiet acceptance. He'd fought, loved, lived his truth. It was enough.
"Naruto…" Kurama's voice cracked, a raw vulnerability laid bare.
Naruto closed his eyes, a bittersweet smile playing on his lips. He understood the unspoken question, the shared ache. He focused on the warmth, the gentle pull, a comfort in the face of the inevitable.
Kurama's voice, rough but laced with a strange vulnerability, broke the silence, "We won't walk the same path, brat. But… maybe you'll find solace in the Pure Lands. And maybe… maybe in another life, we'll meet again, and when that time comes, we'll walk side-by-side, not bound, but free."
Naruto felt the warmth engulf him, pulling him gently towards the light. He turned his head, a final flicker of defiance in his eyes.
"Goodbye, Kurama," he whispered, his voice fading. "See you… on the other side"
Naruto felt a tear roll down his cheek. He was glad he had made peace with Kurama before he died. He wondered what would happen to him now. Would he go to the afterlife? Would he see his parents, Jiraiya, and the others who had sacrificed themselves for him?
He felt himself drifting away, his consciousness fading.
He felt nothing.
Then, he felt something.
Consciousness trickled back, sluggish and unfamiliar. A strange warmth swaddled him, the rhythmic thump of a beating heart a grounding presence. He tried to speak, but his voice was a pathetic mewling sound, it was a far cry from the loud, energetic voice he was used to. Panic clawed at him, his mind struggling to grasp the impossible. He wasn't dead. He was… reborn?
He cracked open his eyes, adjusting to the dim light. A woman, her face was unfamiliar to him yet felt strangely comforting, she beamed down at him. Her raven hair, thick and lustrous, tumbled down her shoulders in shimmering waves. Her eyes, her eyes, warm like melted gold, held a gaze so intense it sent a tremor through him. He could almost feel the unspoken affection radiating from her, a silent promise that warmed him like the flames crackling nearby.
He tried to reach out, his tiny fist barely grazing her cheek. She chuckled, a melody that soothed his burgeoning fear. "Ah, my little dragon wakes," she whispered, her voice like wind chimes tinkling in the desert breeze.
Dragon? The word resonated in his mind, triggering not even a spark of recognition.
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he drifted back to sleep. His dreams swirled with strange visions: a sprawling castle bathed in fire, a fire breathing white beast, eyes like burning jewels, whispers of a war brewing, a prophecy cloaked in shadows.
He woke up again, this time in a mindscape unlike any he'd known. Gone was the desolate wasteland echoing with the roar of a raging waterfall. Instead, a vast golden desert stretched before him, the sun a fiery orb suspended in the endless blue.
"Kurama?" he called out, his voice echoing in the emptiness.
A rumble shook the ground, and Kurama walked out of the darkness towards him.
"Brat," Kurama rumbled, its voice a soothing bass, "you're back. Though not quite how we expected."
Naruto scrambled onto his feet, facing the fox. "What happened? Where am I? Do you know how we're alive again?"
Kurama chuckled, a sound like wind whistling through canyons. "You're in your mindscape, brat, but it's different now. Reflects the world you've been reborn into. As for how you're here… I think whatever entity or god was trying to pull you to your death brought you here. And somehow you brought me with you, attached to your soul."
Naruto was glad that Kurama was able to come with him even if it was by chance. The fact that he was reincarnated by some random god in an unfamiliar world, to be born to two unknown people who were now his parents made his mind reel, only due to the Kurama being there with him was he able to keep his calm.
"I feel… different," he admitted, his voice laced with uncertainty. "Weaker not just in body but spirit too somehow."
Kurama nudged him with his snout. "Your body is a newborn's, Naruto. It takes time for the vessel to catch up to the spirit. But fear not, your powers are there, dormant but waiting."
The fox's words brought a flicker of determination to Naruto's eyes. He wouldn't let this new beginning hold him back. No, instead he would make sure to live this life to his fullest.
Suddenly, a flicker of light pierced the mindscape and a raspy and urgent voice that spoke in a language unknown to Naruto filled the air. "Elia, I've heard that the King…, he wants to see Aegon."
Even though Naruto couldn't understand what exactly the voice said, he figured that Elia was the name of his mother in this life and that Aegon was his new name, it was unfamiliar to him but he didn't dislike it after all, the name was given to him by his new parents.
Just then Naruto's heart clenched when he felt the dread that erupted in his mother upon hearing what the voice said.
'What had been said that had made her feel that afraid?', Naruto wondered.
Elia held him closer as if she was afraid of something and shortly after, Naruto felt himself getting drowsier and started feeling the need to sleep. He then closed his eyes, preparing himself for whatever awaited him beyond the mindscape. The last words he heard before falling asleep were spoken by Kurama.
'It seems that your second life might just be as troublesome as your first, Naruto.' thought Kurama as he held back a yawn, 'Being forced to travel through space and time can be tiring, it seems.", Kurama thought as he laid down to rest too.
(Meanwhile outside Naruto's mindscape)
The chill of dread clung to Elia Martell like a Dornish viper, cold and persistent. Even with the babe, sweet Aegon, nestled against her chest, his soft breaths a whisper against her skin, she couldn't shake the tremor in her limbs. She clutched the babe tighter in a protective embrace trying to shake off the images of unseen hands snatching him away present in her mind
Rhaegar's words were laced with a quiet desperation that sent shivers down her spine, echoed in the cavernous silence of the nursery. The Mad King. The mere thought of that name, whispered in hushed tones throughout the Red Keep, sent a tremor through her soul.
"Elia," Rhaegar's voice, usually filled with a melodic cadence, was laced with apprehension. "Have you heard the rumours? The whispers from King's Landing?"
"Rhaegar," Elia's voice, though trembling, held a steely resolve. "I know the rumours. The whispers of the King's growing paranoia. But surely they are just that, whispers? What harm can come from mere words?"
"The King's paranoia," Rhaegar replied, his voice heavy with concern. "It has become a wildfire, consuming his every thought. He sees enemies everywhere, even in his own family."
"We must be cautious, Elia," Rhaegar continued. "For Aegon's sake, for Rhaenys', for ours. We must walk carefully in this court of whispers and shadows."
The hushed whispers in the dimly lit chamber were ripped asunder, like a silken banner caught in a sudden gale. A voice, echoing from the depths of their castle, boomed aloud. "Prince Rhaegar! A raven has arrived from King's Landing!"
The air crackled with tension. Elia, her heart already heavy with the weight of whispered anxieties, felt it plummet further. What news did the raven carry, its black wings slicing through the fragile peace they'd clung to? Rhaegar, his brow furrowed in concern, rose from his seat, the echo of his footsteps fading as he hastened towards the source of the summons.
Elia clutched Aegon closer, the warmth of his tiny form a grounding presence amidst the sudden storm. The babe, though asleep, seemed to have sensed the shift in his mother's emotions, a tremor of fear resonating through the bond they shared. He gurgled softly, a sound both innocent and poignant in the face of the unknown.
The minutes that followed stretched into an eternity. Elia paced the chamber, her whispered prayers weaving a tapestry of hope against the looming shadows. The faint glow of the brazier cast flickering figures on the walls, dancing like phantoms fueled by her anxieties.
Finally, the heavy oak doors creaked open, and Rhaegar reappeared. His face, usually alight with a gentle warmth, was etched with a worry that mirrored the turmoil within Elia. He knelt before her, his eyes reflecting the depths of his concern.
"Elia," he began, his voice low and heavy. "The King... he requests our presence in King's Landing. Immediately."
Elia's breath caught in her throat. The King's summons, especially in these volatile times, rarely boded well. What did he want? What news did the raven bring that necessitated such urgency? Fear, cold and sharp, snaked its way through her veins.
Yet, amidst the trepidation, a flicker of defiance sparked in her eyes. She was Elia Martell, Princess of Dorne, and she would not cower before fear. For Aegon, for Rhaegar, for her own dignity, she would face whatever awaited them in the lion's den that was King's Landing.
Taking a deep breath, she met Rhaegar's gaze, her voice steady despite the tremor in her heart. "Then let us go, my prince. Together, we will face whatever storm the King's summons brings."
As the first rays of dawn painted the sky a pale gold, a small party emerged from the Red Keep, their faces set with a mix of apprehension and resolve. The journey ahead was shrouded in uncertainty, but they would face it, hand in hand, a family bound by love and the courage to confront the unknown.
It is kinda sad how Elia believes that Rhaegar will be with her through thick and thin, yet he goes on and abandons her at the Mad Kings' doorsteps for a teenage girl.
Also, Thank you guys for reading this chapter. Let me know what you think in the reviews.