Darkness. An all-consuming darkness that distorted his very perception of reality. Evan felt himself moving through it as if he were a fish swimming through water, rapidly approaching something unknown. Suddenly, a blinding light filled his vision, and his senses returned. The first thing he saw, however, was fire. The flames burned so intensely that merely looking at them stung his pupils and dried out his skin. The strange part was that the fire was not aimed at him but passed overhead toward something far in the distance.

  Panic surged through Evan as he turned to run, but his body refused to obey. A wave of nausea overtook him, and he collapsed onto the muddy ground. As his mind cleared and he registered his surroundings, his eyes widened in shock.

  Two massive armies surrounded him. One bore banners of blue and white, while the other displayed the colors gold and red. Thousands of bodies littered the battlefield, and projectiles of all kinds soared through the air. He saw the same flames he had witnessed earlier reduce soldiers to ash, leaving not even their bones behind. Horrified screams echoed as jets of pressurized water sliced through steel with ease. The wind howled violently around him, gathering above a lone figure clad in blue and white armor who stood at the forefront of one army.

  The phenomenon intensified as lightning began to strike the ground, drawn toward the figure. Now able to see more clearly, Evan realized the man wore robes matching the colors of his army. Unlike the others, he was distinguished by the sheer force of nature swirling around him. The lightning crackled and expanded until his entire form was obscured by a blinding white glow made of thousands of bolts. Then, for just a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath, as if time itself awaited the storm’s outcome.

  A deafening crack was the last sound Evan heard before the world went white.

  It felt like an eternity before his sight and hearing returned, and when they did, he was utterly stunned. The only word that came to mind was devastation. The opposing army had been nearly wiped out, yet the battle was not over. The surviving soldiers of the red and gold army, though few in number, remained determined to fight to the last man.

  What followed could only be described as a massacre. Evan watched as warriors clad in full plate armor moved faster than his eyes could track, sprinting toward the remaining enemy soldiers. Even so, the survivors fought back with everything they had. He saw a soldier wielding a sword engulfed in flames, the heat instantly cauterizing any wounds it inflicted. The man’s ornate armor glowed with intricate patterns, which briefly brightened as his movements became even faster. In a blur, he maneuvered behind his opponent and swung his massive sword downward. The other soldier barely moved in time, losing an arm instead of being cut in half.

  It was clear who would win the fight.

  Blows were exchanged at an incredible speed, with hundreds of strikes landing within mere seconds. The red and gold soldier was on the defensive, forced to parry attack after attack. Evan had expected the battle to end quickly due to the soldier’s severe injuries, yet he somehow held on for minutes, countering and defending with remarkable skill. Evan could hardly believe what he was witnessing. He struggled to understand how these people were capable of wielding the forces of nature to summon storms and destruction upon their enemies.

  A sudden shout from behind broke his trance.

  "Hey! Over here! I found a survivor! But he isn’t wearing the revolution’s colors!"

  Evan spun around to see a squad of six soldiers approaching. Their once-pristine white and blue robes and armor were drenched in blood.

  "Please don’t kill me! I’m not with the other army. I just appeared here!" Evan shouted, raising his hands in the air in an attempt to appear non-threatening. His heart pounded as the group hesitated for a moment.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "Jack, check his level. He might not be lying, strange as it sounds," said one of the two figures in robes.

  As Evan examined them more closely, he noticed that their uniforms bore a tornado insignia. Among the six, two were women.

  "Charlie, you are not kidding," the soldier named Jack said, surprised. "He is level one. I do not even know how he could have survived if he had been here since the battle started."

  Evan’s mind reeled. They were talking about levels, but he had no idea what they meant. More confusing was the fact that they seemed to be able to determine his level just by looking at him. His thoughts were interrupted when Jack spoke again.

  "Hey, you. What is your name, and why are you here?"

  Evan hesitated briefly, debating what to say. After a moment, he decided honesty was his best option.

  "I died. I found myself in the underworld, where I spoke with Xaros. He told me that if I accepted his blessing, he would reincarnate me into another world. I agreed, and then everything went black. When I woke up, I was here, in the middle of this battlefield. Also, what do you mean by level?"

  A pause followed as the group processed his words.

  "So, you are one of the reborn," one of the women said. She wore robes similar to Charlie’s.

  "Ana, what are you talking about? Have you heard of this happening before?" Jack asked, his expression puzzled.

  "Reborn are people granted a second chance at life by a deity," Ana explained. "The most common cases come from Grace, the goddess of life, or Renewal, the goddess of redemption. Most, however, are blessed by minor deities. To my knowledge, Xaros has only ever done this once before, and that person went on to create the Eternal Empire over ten thousand years ago. One thing is certain. Reborn individuals always bring tremendous change, whether through technological advancements, breakthroughs in magic, periods of great peace, war, or other historic events."

  The weight of her words sank in as the group considered the implications.

  After a brief silence, Jack spoke again. "To answer your last question, why are you confused about levels? Do you not know how to access the system interface? If not, it is simple. Just think ‘status,’ and it should appear."

  Curious, Evan did as instructed.

  The moment he mentally said the word, a screen materialized before his eyes. He jumped slightly, startled by how quickly it appeared.

  This was much very different than anything Evan could have ever expected. Looking at the bottom he saw his blessing for Xaros and wished he could better tell what it did. As soon as he thought that more information became available to him.

  Just as he finished reading it one of the people who hadn't spoken up yet asked "why are you covered in that strange tattoo?"