Soft footsteps. Fast. Tearing through the night's silence.

  I couldn't tell if the sound came from me... or if the earth itself was running with me.

  Am I bleeding?

  Stupid question.

  The warmth flooding my body was nothing but blood, flowing slow, weighing down my breath, snuffing out my strength.

  I leaned on my sword, sheath closed, as if begging it to carry me one last time.

  No.

  I can't die here.

  Not yet.

  I haven't finished yet.

  Haven't killed them all.

  Damn humanity.

  Damn the world.

  Damn my father… damn my mother.

  My body stumbled and I hit the ground.

  The moment I touched the dirt, the sound came—unmistakable.

  Horses.

  Not one horse… not ten…

  A sea of hooves.

  Shaking the earth like it was celebrating my end.

  They surrounded me.

  I tried to stand.

  Pushed myself up with my sword. Stood.

  My head spun, my vision cracked, but I stood.

  One step… then another…

  They laughed.

  Bound me.

  Cold chains. Heavy. They didn't just bind my body—they mocked my last attempt.

  The commander stepped forward.

  This time, he placed his boot on my chest. Not my head.

  He wanted me to look at him.

  "Even if everyone on this earth gathered," he said, voice calm, "I will not let you live."

  I didn't answer.

  I had nothing left to say.

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  They stood around me and read my sentence like a prayer.

  Extermination.

  Plunder.

  Rebellion.

  Sentenced to death… by hanging.

  They led me to a wooden platform. The gallows.

  A rope dangled from above, swaying in the wind.

  I climbed the steps slowly. Each one heavier than the last.

  I stood on the platform and looked at the crowd.

  Thousands of faces. All waiting for me to die.

  They pulled the rope.

  I didn't resist.

  I only raised my head and looked at the sky one last time.

  Then—

  Everything cut out.

  Warmth.

  That was the first thing I felt.

  Muffled sounds, overlapping, distant… but familiar.

  Warm hands holding me.

  I tried to open my eyes, but the world was white fog.

  I tried to scream—only weak crying came out.

  I heard voices I didn't understand.

  An unfamiliar language, slipping into my mind then fading.

  An hour passed…

  Two hours…

  Maybe more. I don't know.

  My vision started returning slowly, blurred, unable to hold a clear image.

  A shadow in front of me…

  Looked like a girl. Long hair. Tired features. Eyes full of something I couldn't understand.

  I wondered:

  What's happening?

  But thinking was heavier than I could bear.

  My body exhausted, my consciousness slipping.

  The only thought that stuck in my mind…

  Did I get a second chance?

  I remembered my death.

  I hated it.

  It humiliated me.

  The way I ended… my weakness… the chains… the rope.

  I recalled broken flashes of a past that no longer belonged to me.

  Incomplete images. Distant voices.

  Then I drowned in thought… and slept.

  Days passed.

  Then a year.

  I started to understand, slowly, the nature of this world.

  A world that resembled my old one…

  But more.

  Stranger, quieter, more deceptive.

  The weather was warm.

  Warm in a way I'd never known.

  My father…

  I only saw him two or three times a month.

  His presence faint, but real.

  The house was beautiful.

  Simple, but warm.

  I'd never lived in a house like this.

  My mother was making breakfast.

  An ordinary scene… but strange to me.

  I could barely move, barely chew—a child's body that wouldn't obey a mind that had lived a full life.

  I still didn't understand where I was.

  Or what brought me here.

  But I started…

  Accepting the idea of my death.

  My mother went outside after someone called her.

  I still didn't understand their language…

  Their words were strange, unlike any language I'd known.

  The door burst open.

  I froze.

  What is that…?

  Is that… a sheep?

  I didn't expect to see one here too.

  Did I reincarnate in the same world?

  I felt sudden fear.

  That feeling…

  Reminded me of my death.

  But my shock covered my fear.

  It was my mother…

  Dragging a whole sheep with one hand.

  It struggled, thrashed, tried to escape…

  And she pulled it effortlessly.

  This…

  This isn't normal.

  I'd never seen a blonde, brown-eyed woman with this kind of strength.

  Her body was slim, calm, gave nothing away.

  Even I, in my past life,

  Couldn't have done that except after years of fighting.

  Then… something happened I couldn't believe.

  Her eye glowed with something mysterious…

  With a light touch, she formed a stone axe from nothing—from thin air, just the force of her will.

  And with one strike…

  Cut the sheep's neck.

  My mind froze.

  I didn't scream.

  I didn't cry.

  But fear crept into me slowly.

  My mother noticed me.

  Saw my expression…

  Then laughed.

  A warm laugh, natural…

  As if what she'd done was ordinary.

  She approached, took my small hand.

  I felt something around it…

  Light?

  Warmth?

  I didn't see it.

  But I felt it clearly.

  A gentle heat, calm, different from anything I'd ever known.

  What is this…?

  I didn't understand.

  From the writer:

  Welcome to my first novel!

  I’m thrilled to share with you a complex world full of events, political struggles, and power conflicts.

  This story is entirely my own creation, and everything in it is original.

  Right now, the story is non-commercial—I’m not seeking financial support at this stage. I’m simply hoping to build a community of readers who enjoy following Ozrin’s journey and share their thoughts and impressions on the current and upcoming chapters.

  Your support through reading, feedback, and engagement means more to me than anything else. Thank you for giving Ozrin and his story a chance to live in your imagination.