Chapter 11 - Between Two lifes
The words settled over Jason like a sentence.
Either Jason Anthony Ravencrest survives...
Or King Aether Ravencrest returns.
The frozen world around him seemed to crack a little more.
Thin lines of silver light spread through the darkness like fractures in glass.Jason stared at the ancient being.
His thoughts refused to settle.Nothing made sense anymore.
Hours ago, he had been standing before the Moon Altar, enduring the same ridicule he had faced his entire life.
Now warriors were trying to kill him.
Ancient enemies knew his name.
A forgotten empire was somehow connected to his bloodline.
And a dead king apparently lived somewhere inside him.No.Jason clenched his fists.
There had to be another explanation.There had to be.What exactly does that mean?
The question left him before he could stop it.
The ancient being looked tired.Not physically.Spiritually.
Like someone carrying centuries of regret.
When powerful souls die, they normally pass on.
His voice echoed through the frozen battlefield.
But some leave fragments behind.
Memories.Instincts.Pieces of themselves.
Jason listened carefully.The being continued.
Aether Ravencrest didn't leave fragments.
He left everything.
The answer sent a chill through Jason.
Everything?
The ancient being nodded.
His enemies feared his return so much that they shattered his soul and scattered it across generations.
They believed that would end his story forever.
For a moment, sorrow crossed his face.
They were wrong.
The heartbeat thundered again.
Boom.The cracks around them widened.
Pieces of the frozen world drifted apart like broken mirrors.Jason looked at his hands.
Silver light flickered beneath his skin.
The sight made his stomach tighten.
Then why don't I remember any of it?
Because you were never meant to.
The answer came immediately.
The seal wasn't designed to protect the world from Aether.
It was designed to protect Aether from his enemies.
Jason frowned.
The explanation sounded backwards.
The ancient being pointed toward the battlefield surrounding them.Look carefully Jason turned.
The frozen soldiers remained motionless.
The masked warriors.The Council Enforcers.
Elena.
All trapped within suspended time.
His gaze eventually settled on his mother.
A lump formed in his throat.
Even frozen in place, she looked exhausted.
The woman had spent eighteen years fighting battles he never knew existed.
The ancient being followed his gaze.
She sacrificed everything to keep you hidden.
Jason remained silent.She buried her past.
Abandoned her life.Accepted humiliation Accepted poverty.Accepted loneliness.
All to buy you eighteen years.
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Because Jason knew they were true.
His mother had never complained.Not once.
Not when villagers mocked them.
Not when people treated them like outcasts.
Not when life became difficult.
She simply endured.For him.The realization hurt.
Jason lowered his eyes.I didn't know.You weren't supposed to.
The ancient being stepped closer.
Your enemies have searched for you since the day you were born.
Every year they failed to find you was a victory.
Every year you lived was stolen from them.
Jason swallowed hard.
The heartbeat echoed once more.
Boom.
The cracks surrounding reality widened dramatically.
The frozen battlefield trembled.
Time was beginning to move again.
The ancient being noticed it too.We're running out of time.Jason's head snapped upward.
Then tell me the truth.All of it.
The being smiled sadly.
If I told you everything tonight, it would destroy you.
The answer irritated Jason.Everyone keeps saying that.Because it's true.For a moment, neither spoke.
Then the ancient being pointed toward the masked leader standing frozen across the battlefield.
Do you know who that man is?
Jason looked.The warrior remained motionless.
His expression locked in place.
No.The ancient being's eyes darkened.
He's one of the people responsible for the fall of your empire.
Jason felt his pulse quicken.That's impossible.He looks thirty.
The being laughed bitterly.He should be dead.
All of them should be dead.
Jason frowned. Then why aren't they?
The answer came quietly.
Because they found something,Something forbidden.
The ancient being's expression hardened.
Something powerful enough to cheat death itself.
The implication struck Jason immediately.
The enemies who destroyed the Ravencrest Empire were still alive.
Still hiding.
Still waiting.
The scale of it all suddenly felt overwhelming.
This wasn't a conflict between packs.
This wasn't political.
This wasn't even personal anymore.
It was a war that had lasted centuries.
And somehow he stood at its center.
The heartbeat exploded again.
BOOM.
The frozen world shuddered violently.
Chunks of darkness broke apart.
The ancient being cursed.
Time is returning.Jason felt panic rising.
Wait.I still don't know who you are.
The question finally emerged.
The one he had wanted answered since the beginning.
The ancient being became silent.
For several moments, he simply stared at Jason.
Then he smiled.
A genuine smile.
The first one Jason had seen Long ago.
His voice softened.I swore an oath to a young king.
Jason felt something stir inside him.Not a memory, a feeling,Warmth,Trust.
The ancient being continued.I failed him.
The sadness in those words felt ancient.
Heavy.i wasn't strong enough.
The battlefield around them continued cracking apart.
Time was seconds from restarting.
The being stepped forward.
For a brief moment, he placed a hand on Jason's shoulder.
The touch felt strangely familiar.
Almost comforting.When the memories come
His voice lowered.Don't trust all of them.
Jason blinked.What?
Not every memory belongs to Aether.
Confusion flashed across Jason's face.
Before he could ask what that meant, the ancient being delivered one final warning.
Someone else was buried inside the seal.
Jason's blood ran cold. The heartbeat roared.
BOOM, Reality shattered.Time restarted.
Sound exploded back into existence.
Steel clashed, Warriors shouted.
Arrows tore through the air.
Jason stumbled backward as the battlefield snapped back into motion.
The masked swordsman standing before him completed his attack.
The blade rushed toward Jason's throat.
Instinct took over.
He moved, thought, ot training.
Instinct.
His body twisted with impossible precision.
The sword missed.
The warrior's eyes widened.Jason reacted again.
A movement he had never learned.
A strike he had never practiced.His hand shot forward.
Two fingers struck the man's wrist.A sharp crack echoed.The warrior screamed ,The sword fell Jason froze.
Shock rippled through him.
He had no idea how he had done that.
None.
The movement felt natural,Effortless.
Like muscle memory from another lifetime.
Around the battlefield, everyone noticed.
Including the masked leader.
The man's smile vanished instantly.
For the first time since arriving , He looked worried.Jason's breathing became uneven.
The same realization hit them both simultaneously.
The memories weren't merely awakening.
They were teaching him.
And somewhere deep inside the broken seal
Something had just opened its eyes.
