fading away

'bleurgh cough cough' coughing up the last mouthful of blood, James' movements begin to cease. He felt his body become cold as the warm blood slowly stopped circulating; his hands turned purple in front of his face before he lost the strength in his arms and they flopped onto the hard concrete floor.

Beating slowly, his heart slowly stopped beating. Finally, his heart pumped blood one last time, marking the start of his last few minutes of thought.

If anyone were there to witness his death, they would notice the rabid expression plaguing his old dirty face. Dirt was so worked into him that the lines on his face were like writing, his hard work told like a story across his forehead, now begun to smear away as blood seeped out of his head.

However, even the feelings of hatred and sorrow removed themselves from James' face as his soul slowly separated from his body. Now he was just a tooth, hanging on by a few threads of flesh; one twist would severe his connection with this hateful world. Amidst this thought, a faint smile appeared on the old mans wrinkled face. This was the first time he had smiled in over ten years- shown by the reluctance of his skin to stretch other than to fit a frowning face. If he could still feel anything, a pain rooted in his cheeks would have spread around his body as they shifted into an unnatural position.

'twang' the final thread binding him to this world was severed, freeing James from all restraints, this was the feeling he always craved for. On a wintery night when him and Liz snuck out of the sect and gazed upon the sun as it gently sunk behind the horizon; that's what he wanted to feel- the freedom of a star.

What followed could not be described as a feeling or by any time or space, it could have been a momentary feeling or an eternity of happiness. But it came to an end suddenly. The strings of life began to reattach to his soul and the complex human emotions began to infiltrate his tranquil mind, like a raid squad crashing into the room of a meditating monk.

Reluctant to strengthen his bond to life, James avoided moving his body, causing his drastic change of body structure to go unnoticed by him.

However, unable to maintain this state for long, James was pulled back into the small body causing him to gasp for air and open his eyes; soaking in everything around him.

The first thing he saw was the dark haired woman lying on the bed, her back propped up by a velvet cushion and her arms wrapped around his body.

Dark rings circling her crimson red eyes helped to mould the exhausted look on her face. Looking down, he noticed her slightly deflated (but still quite large) stomach, evidence of her recently giving birth. She gazed at him adoringly, with a soft motherly look in her sparkling eyes.

James felt a strange attachment to this woman, though he was sure they had never met prior to this moment. But as he became adapted to his new body, feeling the extent of his reach and the proportion of his body size, he soon realised the truth of the matter. He had been reborn.

The woman let out a deep sigh before signalling to a strange figure located in the corner of the room. James was yet to feel their presence as they crept up behind him and bowed, then swiftly reached out and grabbed his arm. Shocked by the sudden stimulus, James spun his head around, his eyes meeting with the man before him.

Shrouded in inky black garments, with an exception of his arms and face, his body belonged to the shadows. James felt his blistered palms as they grasped onto his arm and his unkept nails scratched against James' skin causing his hairs to stand on end and small bumps to form on the surface of his soft skin.

He shivered as the man slowly released his grip. He shook his head to the woman, muttering a few words under his breath "H-he's a rank F". The man then hastily retreated back into the dark corner of the room.

After hearing these words, James shifted his gaze back to his mother, wondering how she would react to his poor talent for cultivation. If it was the same as his past life and F rank was the bottom of the ladder in terms of potential, he would be looked down on for the rest of his life.

Unsurprisingly, when he turned around, the gentle, motherly figure that welcomed him into this world was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her lips snarled and her crimson eyes looked down on him with disgust, disdain and hatred.

Haphazardly, she deposited him at the foot of the bed as one might dispose of rubbish as they toss it into a nearby bin. Then she proceeded to leave the room negligently, followed by the cloaked man who took the opportunity to excuse himself.

After a few loud stomps down the corridor, her voice echoed, without a hint of love or affection "Get rid of the trash from my room!" she screeched at a timid maid who could only bow before replying "yes ma'am, of course". The stomps then continued for a short while until they eventually faded into the distance.

After the fierce presence had faded, a petite feminine face peered from around the corner and peered into the empty room.