Aedric Nocthar POV
"Ok, next!!"
Looking at the platform, many emotions and memories ran through my head.
I started walking towards it with steady steps.
'It was a long way.' Standing in front of the awakening pillar, I thought about my life... this one and the previous one.
Right, he was a reincarnator.
But his story of how he reincarnated is very interesting—or… tragic, maybe?
In his previous life, he was a 19-year-old deliveryman. He lived in poverty with his parents.
But I never resented it; rather, I felt that I was living a good life.
I had a caring and kind mother who never failed to wake up before him to make his breakfast and lunch. She never slept before him.
I had a strict father, but he never failed to fill his stomach three times a day.
I had an annoying little sister who never failed to make him laugh.
I had an understanding and loving girlfriend who never failed to give him a shoulder at his worst.
With so many good things in life, I never thought being reborn would be fun.
At this moment, standing in front of the awakening pillar, I couldn't even feel nervousness or excitement.
He wasn't the protagonist of this story—if anything, he was just the fish that escaped the net.
He didn't know if he would awaken a talent or not, and he didn't care. But he knew one thing: he would destroy that beginning which separated him from his loved ones.
That guy in Hell will pa—
"Press the pillar, I don't have all day, kiddo," Jack spoke with a frown.
'Focus,' I thought as I pressed the pillar.
The moment I touched it, a vision flashed before my eyes… a vision I would never forget.
Countless dead bodies piled on top of each other, forming mountains.
I saw myself standing on one, looking down. Blood seemed to have formed a sea.
But the most disturbing part I saw… was my family among them.
Snapping my eyes open, I stepped back a bit.
A blue panel manifested in front of me.
[ Name: Aedric Nocthar
Title: Sepulchral Trickster
Level: 0
Class: N/A
Talent: Epitaph Resonance
Str: 9, Con: 8, Agi: 11, MP: 15
Skill: N/A ]
Seeing the system panel, the first thing he did was summon the title description.
[Title: Sepulchral Trickster
He died once, but the grave could not chain him. He returned not as a man, but as a jester of death — mocking the silence, bending the veil, and turning mortality into his cruelest trick. To face him is to laugh at your own doom, until the laughter is no longer yours.
Passive — Grave's MockeryEnemies feel unseen whispers and distorted laughter. Their strikes falter as dread gnaws at their focus.
Active — Death's GambitUnleashes illusions of death itself. Foes glimpse their own end, stumble into shadows, or attack phantoms — while the Trickster grins in the dark.]
'This.....I must have got this because of that incident.' Remembering the events that led to this life Aedric became more resolved.
"Ok, next!!"
Leaving the platform, he noticed that Kael hadn't come yet.
'Where is he? I didn't see him even in the morning.' Frowning, I decided to check the school.
His awakening was done, so even if he wasn't there, no one would care.
'I just have to be careful not to get in any teacher's line of sight.'
Funny how much of a rule breaker he had become. If his girlfriend and sister knew this, they would tease him about it daily.
After all, I was a serious guy.
---
15 minutes later
'Where the heck is he?' He could perfectly hear Kael's name being called.
Hufff~
Sighing in relief after some time when the teacher stopped shouting.
Because it didn't take a genius to know that Kael must have arrived.
'Hmm… now what should I do? Well, I do need to pee.'
---
30 minutes later
Walking in the corridor, I tried to use my talent, but I couldn't seem to do anything.
Hmm… Epitaph means something by which a person, time, or event will be remembered, and resonance is simple enough to understand. But when these two combine…
I can tell it's related to death, but how do I use it?
The usage and limit of a talent are all related to the user's understanding.
But then, suddenly, my steps halted. My eyes widened a bit as I saw a monster breaking out of the canteen floor and a man frozen in fear.
Then the vision vanished.
Taking deep breaths and looking in the canteen's direction, it was far from him.
Lowering my eyes a bit, I could see and feel the faint trembling.
All right… I should run.
Turning in the opposite direction, I ran with all my strength. If I wasn't wrong, my talent had just shown me that man's death—or maybe something else. I didn't know yet, and now I would have to research more on this.
And for that man, I could only silently pray, because there was no way in hell I was putting myself in danger.
And it was then the monster breaked out the sound was loud that for some seconds I could hear anything.
---
1 minute later
'This should be enough.' Looking around, he saw students staring at the school in amazement, as if a movie shoot was going on.
'Foo—'
Suddenly, I felt a very bad omen.
My body went cold. I couldn't tell what was happening, but my instinct screamed at me to run toward that monster.
'What's going on?' This feeling was very strange, but I had felt it before.
Calming my raging breath,
I grit my teeth and looked at the place where the explosion had happened. My green eyes shone as the surroundings started to fade.
And then I saw what made me feel so desperate.
A soul reaper with a wide grin was staring at Kael, raising his weapon as if ready to strike at any moment.
'BASSSSTEERRR!!!!' I shouted and tried to run toward it, but nothing happened—I was stuck.
The soul reaper seemed to notice my desperate attempt. It looked a bit confused at first, but then it grinned even wider.
And it was at that moment the world returned to normal, and I ran, not allowing myself to reason.
Because the moment I stopped and thought, my steps would halt—not because I had reasoned or thought rationally, but because I feared… I cowered before death.
---
A/N:
Never wrote first POV so let me know how it was.