The wind howled across the barren plains, and the remnants of a great battle were scattered across the earth. Broken weapons and shattered shields littered the ground, the aftermath of a struggle that had consumed everything. Amidst the wreckage, I lay dying, blood pooling around me. My breaths were shallow, my body growing weaker with each passing moment.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice raspy, barely able to push the words through the pain. The agony in my chest felt endless, but it wasn't the physical pain that gnawed at me—it was the weight of regret, the crushing realization of everything I had lost.
I turned my eyes toward the figure standing above me—my best friend, the one person who had trusted me, fought beside me, and shared countless moments of triumph. Now, he stood over me, a pained look on his face, sword in hand, looking down at the man I had once called brother.
"I didn't want this... I never wanted to hurt you," he said quietly, his voice thick with sorrow. His eyes were filled with pain, but there was no anger in them—only sorrow for what had come to pass.
My lips parted, but no words came out at first. I struggled to speak, each breath more difficult than the last. When I finally found my voice, it was soft, almost pleading. "I... I never meant for it to be like this. I never wanted to... be the one to... turn against you."
He dropped to his knees beside me, his face filled with anguish. "You didn't have to, though. I... I thought we were friends. I thought we could face this world together, side by side."
"I thought so too," I whispered, meeting his eyes one last time. "But... I let jealousy blind me, and cloud my decisions. I saw the way she looked at you, the way she admired you, and I... I." My voice trailed on. "I thought I just had to be better, but... all... I'm sorry."
His eyes softened. "I never wanted to take anything from you. She... she chose me, but that didn't mean I didn't care about you. You've always been important to me."
Tears welled in my eyes—not from the pain of the wound, but from the anguish of my own actions. "I... I was blind. I was so afraid of losing to you that I let myself destroy everything. And now... It's too late."
He gently placed a hand on my shoulder, his voice barely more than a whisper. "It's not too late for you, not yet. I—I never wanted this... but you were my friend. I never wanted to lose you."
They say that when you're on your deathbed, your life begins to flash before your eyes. I used to think that was just a poetic metaphor, but it seems they were right. It wasn't just my life on earth that flash before me but my life on Gaia too.
A final, soft sigh escaped my lips as my vision blurred, and the world around me began to fade. I reached a trembling hand up, as if trying to touch him one last time. "I'm... sorry..."
With that, the darkness took me. The pain, the regret, and the anger all faded as my consciousness slipped away.
When I opened my eyes again, what greeted me was not the scent of blood, nor the after life, but the cold hard street floor as I stood in the quiet town where it all began. The warmth of sunlight hit my skin. My heart raced, but not from fear—this time, it was something else. A realization.
I was alive again.
The path that led me here had reset, and I could feel it in my bones. The memories of my downfall, my betrayal, and the regret were all still with me, but now they felt distant—like something that had happened in another life.
I looked down at my hand, and clasped a fist. "This time," I murmured to myself, my voice soft but filled with resolve, "I'm going to make things right."
For the first time in what felt like forever, I smiled—not a bitter smile, but one full of hope. The path ahead wasn't going to be easy, but now, I knew what I had to do. I would not let jealousy control me again. I would no longer let fear or pride make my choices for me.
"This time," I whispered again, to no one but myself, "I will live for myself."
And as I walked forward, the quiet promise hung in the air—a new beginning, where regret would be a lesson, not a chain that held me back.
This time, I would find my own way. And no one—least of all Lorian Duskavale, my former best friend—would be the one to decide my fate.
The cycle had begun again, but this time, I would choose a different path. A path of redemption. I may not be the protagonist, but I refuse to die a dogs death.