He Was A Threat To All Of Us

As he stepped through the portal, a blinding light engulfed him. When he opened his eyes, everything around him was a blur of motion and sound. Wind whipped past him, and his stomach churned.

'Hmm? What's going on?' he thought, disoriented.

The air was filled with loud, sharp cracks. He recognized them instantly—gunshots. Before he could process the danger, a loud cry escaped his mouth, but it wasn't his voice.

"CAWWWW!"

Startled, he froze mid-air or tried to. His body didn't respond the way it should have. His head jerked to the left, and what he saw stunned him.

A wing.

'Wait… is that… my wing?'

Panic surged through him as he realized he was no longer human. His heart raced, though it now felt strangely different, smaller, faster. He flapped his wings instinctively, the realization dawning upon him with horrifying clarity.

'Did I just get reincarnated as a bird? What sort of silly joke is this?'

The scenery below was chaotic. Hunters were scattered across an open field, their rifles aimed skyward. The echo of their shouts mixed with the barks of dogs and the crack of gunfire. He wove through the air, struggling to maintain control over his newfound body.

'This has to be a mistake! How do I—'

Before he could finish the thought, a deafening bang rang out. Pain exploded in his chest, and his wings faltered. The world tilted and blurred as he plummeted toward the ground.

'What the hell just happened?'

His vision darkened as he hit the earth with a thud, his final thought a mix of confusion and despair.

As he opened his eyes again, chaos erupted around him. Voices shouted from every direction, their tones filled with urgency and fear.

"Kill it!"

 "Don't let it escape!"

 "Over there! It's slithering into the brush!"

His heart or whatever was in his chest now raced. He twisted instinctively, his body low to the ground and moving with a strange, serpentine fluidity.

'What the….?!'

Glancing down, he saw scales gleaming in the sunlight, rippling with every movement. His long, slender body weaved through the grass, evading strikes and stomps from boots.

'I'm a snake?! This must be a joke. Who's doing this to me?'

Panic gripped him as he slithered faster, his movements alien yet oddly natural. He tried to make sense of the situation, but the shouting grew louder, and the hunters closed in. One wielded a machete, another a sharpened spear.

"There it is! Don't let it get away!"

He tried to escape into the underbrush, but a sharp, searing pain shot through his body. A blade pierced his side, pinning him momentarily to the ground.

He writhed in agony, his hiss escaping into the air. Another strike followed, then another, until his strength ebbed away. The world dimmed as he lay motionless, his body broken.

Before he succumbed to the darkness, a single thought echoed in his fading consciousness.

'If this is how it is to be reincarnated… I don't want to be reincarnated again.'

And then, silence.

Suddenly a bright light covered him and the world around him spun into focus. He was face-to-face with a man whose eyes burned with resolve, holding a dagger that pulsed with an otherworldly energy. The blade's glowing edge seemed alive, vibrating with destructive intent.

'Not again…' Eryndor thought, his heart sinking as he surveyed the scene.

The man's voice rang out, cold and absolute. "This boy must die. It is the only way."

Eryndor sighed heavily. 'I guess it's the will of the Creator for me to die over and over, because I just don't get this.'

His eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings. A man and a woman knelt nearby, clutching each other in terror. The woman sobbed uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking as tears streamed down her face.

"My boy," the woman cried out, her voice breaking. "Please, don't hurt him!"

Eryndor's chest tightened. 'That must be my mother,' he thought, the realization bringing an unfamiliar pang of longing.

The man with the dagger snapped, his voice a thunderous roar. "Silence, woman! This boy is possessed by a demon! If he isn't killed now, he will destroy us all!"

Eryndor turned his head and spotted a boy about his age kneeling to the side. The boy's expression was cold, his gaze steady.

"Yes, Mom," the boy said, his voice eerily calm. "Kairos is possessed. He's been acting strangely for weeks now."

The mother's voice cracked with anger and heartbreak as she turned to the boy. "How can you say that about your own brother? We all know he's not possessed, he's just special. He's gifted!"

The man holding the dagger scoffed, a cruel smile twisting his lips. He stepped forward, ignoring the mother's pleas and protests.

With no hesitation, the man plunged the dagger into Eryndor's chest.

Pain exploded through him as a blinding light erupted from the wound, illuminating the entire room. The energy surged outward, sending tremors through the ground. Eryndor's vision blurred, and his body grew heavy.

As he fell limp to the floor, his gaze locked on his brother.

The boy's lips curled into a satisfied smile, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph.

Eryndor's thoughts grew hazy, the edges of his consciousness darkening.

"So, this is how it ends again…"

And then, darkness swallowed him whole.

As soon as Eryndor's body hit the floor, his mother, Lyra, let out a heart-wrenching scream that echoed through the small home. She scrambled toward him, her trembling hands cradling his lifeless form as tears poured down her face.

The man who had wielded the dagger stood over them for a moment, his gaze cold and unfeeling. With a dismissive glance, he yanked the glowing blade from Eryndor's chest.

Turning on his heel, he strode toward the door. Without looking back, he said in a flat tone, "Be grateful that the threat has been dealt with. You'll all sleep easier tonight."

Lyra's sobs grew louder as she clung to her son's body, her tears soaking into his blood-stained tunic.

Damien, Eryndor's father, sat frozen on the floor, his face pale and his eyes wide with disbelief. His hands rested limply on his knees, his mind struggling to process the horror that had just unfolded before him.

Reo, still kneeling, rose slowly and looked at his parents. His voice was calm but carried an edge of justification. "Mother, Father, I know he was my younger brother, but he was a threat to all of us. You know this had to be done."

Lyra's head snapped up, her tear-streaked face contorted with fury. She stood abruptly, her hand flying out to strike Reo across the face. The sharp crack of the slap silenced the room.

"Keep quiet!" she spat, her voice trembling with anger and grief. "Your brother is dead, Reo! Dead! Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted?"

Reo staggered back, his hand rising to touch the red mark blooming on his cheek. His fists clenched at his sides, but he didn't retaliate.

"This was necessary," he muttered through gritted teeth. Without waiting for a response, he turned and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

Lyra dropped back to the floor, her body shaking with uncontrollable sobs as she rocked Eryndor's limp form.

Damien finally stirred, crawling over to his wife and son. He wrapped his arms around Lyra, holding her tightly as she wept. His own tears began to fall, his chest heaving as the weight of what had happened crushed him.

Together, they mourned the loss of their son, the air thick with sorrow and despair.

**********

As Reo stormed out of the house, his lips curled into a twisted smile. A low chuckle escaped him, growing louder until it became a full-blown laugh that echoed in the stillness of the night.

"Now you're gone, Kairos," he thought, his eyes gleaming with malice. "You'll no longer stand in my way. This world will finally see me, not you."

But memories of their bond crept into his mind, unbidden. Once upon a time, Reo and Kairos had been inseparable. Reo doted on his younger brother, his affection for him unmatched. They were the perfect duo of siblings, their relationship the envy of everyone in the town.

He remembered a summer evening when they sat by the creek behind their house. Kairos, just seven at the time, had caught a small fish and was jumping with excitement.

"Reo! Look! I caught it!" Kairos' face was lit with joy, his small hands holding the flapping fish carefully.

Reo laughed, ruffling Kairos' hair. "That's amazing, Kai! You're going to be the best fisherman in the whole town someday!"

Kairos grinned up at him. "I don't want to be a fisherman, Reo. I want to be a hero, I want to save people, like the ones in your stories!"

Reo chuckled. "Then you'll be the best hero there ever was, and I'll be your sidekick."

Kairos' eyes sparkled. "Promise?"

Reo nodded, holding out his pinky finger. "Promise."

That memory faded, replaced by the day that everything changed.

Kairos had developed a sudden fever. Their parents were away, and Reo had panicked. He carried his younger brother in his arms, running to the local hospital.

"Somebody help! Please!" Reo screamed, tears streaming down his face. "Do something! My brother, he's burning up!"

The nurses rushed to assist, and Reo hovered anxiously, pacing as they tended to Kairos.

When the doctor finally emerged, Reo rushed to him. "Doctor, please tell me he's okay. Don't let anything happen to him."

The doctor smiled, a calmness in his demeanor. "Relax, boy. Your brother is fine. There's nothing to worry about."

Reo stared at him in disbelief. "What do you mean? He was burning up! Check again!"

The doctor chuckled. "It's not an illness, son. Your brother has awakened his energy core."

The words hit Reo like a thunderbolt. "What? Energy core? That's impossible! Check again, there must be a mistake!"

The doctor shook his head. "There's no mistake. Your brother is special. It's a rare and remarkable thing, especially in this part of Orinthia."

Reo stood frozen, the doctor's words echoing in his mind. In their forsaken town, where everyone lived ordinary lives, no one had ever awakened an energy core. Their community was a forgotten fragment of the world, dismissed by the prosperous cities of Orinthia.

But Kairos' awakening changed everything. It meant opportunities, wealth, and a future brighter than anyone here could imagine. He would be taken to the city, trained, and hailed as a prodigy. Kairos would become the pride of the town, revered by all.

Reo stared at his unconscious brother, lying peacefully on the hospital bed. The tenderness he once felt for Kairos dissolved, replaced by something darker—anger, envy, and hatred.

'No,' Reo thought, his fists clenching. 'I won't let this happen. I've spent my life in the shadows. I'm done being invisible. I'll rewrite my path, no matter what it takes.'

From that moment, Reo's love for his brother curdled into resentment. The boy he had once promised to stand beside was now his rival, a threat to everything Reo desired.