A man stood inside the burning house as the roof collapsed. The heat was intense, and red tongues of flame danced upon the walls and floor.
“I have...reincarnated,” muttered the man. His complexion was horrendously pale and his lips, parted listlessly, were practically purple.
“Success! There really was another world,” he cried, elated.
His arms and legs shuddered, then he curled up as if embracing himself.
A moment of silence.
He flung his arms wide, and burning walls blew away in all directions.
“This is my Skill! The power to start anew!” The man laughed raucously.
As the walls burst apart, his field of view expanded. A number of dark giants lumbered throughout the village at the crossroads—apes wearing iron masks and straitjackets. People sharing the man’s pale complexion rode upon the broad backs of these apes, dressed in pastel raincoats that deviated sharply from the scenery of the farming village around them.
Upon seeing this, the man appeared more than a little disappointed. After a moment, he let out a small noise of annoyance and started walking. He’d concluded his business in this area, so he was about to take his leave—but then he heard something that made him pause.
Turning back, he held his hand out toward a cupboard that had survived the fire; without a sound, a piece of furniture that would have taken two grown adults some effort to lift floated into the air. The man levitated the cupboard as if it was tied to his hand by a string, then hurled it into the distance.
This action revealed a small boy who had been hiding there, curled up with his hand clasped over his mouth. The boy’s blue eyes widened in despair.
“I guess I’ll stock up... It’s good to be prepared.” The man held his hand out again. The boy floated into the air, visibly suffering from pressure applied to his throat. “Fear not, barbarian. You will be enlightened.”
Writhing in midair, the boy struggled to move his lips in order to speak. His eyes flashed with anger and hatred even as he shed tears of frustration. The pale man then placed his other hand on the boy’s head and stroked it with mock affection.
“I’m going to give you an opportunity to have a civilized life—as my vessel.” The man let out a deep laugh.
And then, a blade suddenly burst from the man’s chest. Blue blood, a trait unique to Reincarnators, spurted from the wound.
The man looked over his shoulder with a shocked expression. He had been run through with a sword from behind, and a long-haired man in a coat woven from chains was glaring fiercely at him.
“The merciful father of orphans, Greigs, had a son, Dill Steel-Link...” the man in the coat announced. “Shut up. You don’t need to say a word. I don’t want to hear anything you Reincarnators have to say.” The long-haired man, Dill, held the pale man’s jaw shut, preventing him from speaking. “Listen well. If you reincarnate in the Imperial City, find the body of a young girl named Iris and bring it to me. My name is Dill, understand? I am seeking my daughter’s body. Until I reclaim her from you Reincarnators, I will never stop killing you.”
Having said this, he took the knife he had readied and, without hesitation, slashed the Reincarnator’s throat.
Still brandishing the knife, Dill looked over his shoulder. The ground was spattered with blood, the blue mixed with red since the Reincarnator had only assumed the body moments ago.
“I’m sure that was frightening, but it’s all right now.”
The boy was on the floor coughing. Furrowing his brow, Dill crouched to bring himself down to the boy’s level and offered the boy a hand.
“I’m a bandit who hunts Reincarnators. Although we met by chance, I am here to help you. Let’s go. I can’t save everyone.”
The temple in the center of the village was in the process of being destroyed, the sounds of its ruin clearly audible. Lines of pillars were felled. Dust filled the air. Accompanied by their modified beasts, Reincarnators wielded their strange powers. Even if Dill were to challenge them, he would have no chance of winning.
“You murderer!” the boy suddenly shouted in a raspy voice. Dill found his outstretched hand swept away.
With his fingers trembling, the boy pointed to the man lying in a pool of blue blood. Not only did the boy and the man share the same hair and eye color, their faces clearly indicated that they were close family.
“That man was my father!”
✦ ✦ ✦
The dead who had one day returned to life in Redguard called themselves Reincarnators. Having no bodies of their own, they first appeared on battlefields, eventually making their way to towns and massacring the inhabitants, which only added to their collection of vessels. In the five years since that day, the Reincarnators had only continued to rise in power.