Asron stood tall, his eyes burning with newfound power. Energy coiled within him like a storm ready to break. Muscles tightened, senses sharpened—he was no longer just a man, but a forged weapon.
"Alright," he said, voice like iron. "I'm ready for whatever comes next."
The Goddess chuckled, her voice melodic yet edged with something cold. The stars in the void pulsed with her laughter.
"Then let's not delay," she said, eyes glinting. "Go now... and meet your reincarnation."
But her smile darkened as she added, "Just remember, Asron... this new life will not be merciful. You will suffer. You will be broken. You will bleed in ways your old self never imagined. Only through pain will you become strong enough to face him."
Asron narrowed his eyes. "Throw everything you have at me. I'll still rise."
"Oh, I believe you," the Goddess whispered, stepping closer. "But you've overlooked one... fatal flaw." Her voice dipped into a silken whisper. "You're still vulnerable to magic."
Asron's breath caught—but before he could react, the fabric of reality around him cracked. His vision exploded into shards of light and shadow. Then came the fall—into a void colder than death, where his essence was torn apart and scattered across time and space.
Then—
Drip.
A drop of icy water struck his cheek.
Asron's eyes snapped open, dazed and unfocused. The world was strange. Too big. Too loud. Too terrifying. He tried to move—but nothing responded. His limbs were tiny, uncoordinated, fragile.
Panic seized him. No... no no no...
A woman's face hovered above him, wild with terror. Her dark hair clung to her wet cheeks, and her breath came in broken gasps. She clutched him tight to her chest as she ran—branches whipped past, roots threatened to trip her, but she didn't stop.
Behind them, dark figures surged through the forest, their weapons gleaming, their cries like wolves in the dark.
"I'm sorry..." the woman whispered, tears streaming down her face and splashing onto his. "I'm so sorry... You weren't supposed to be born like this... My child... my beautiful child..."
Asron wanted to scream. To fight. To protect her.
But he was helpless.
Damn you, Goddess... Rage burned within him. This is what you meant by 'hard'? You threw me into death's hands while I was still in the cradle?
He couldn't even cry. All he could do was feel—the terror, the fury, the crushing weight of powerlessness.
---
Far above, in the divine realm, the Goddess stood before a glowing crystal.
She watched the chase unfold—her expression unreadable, fingers lightly brushing the crystal's surface. She watched the woman run, watched the newborn god scream in silence.
Then she smiled.
A cold, cruel, satisfied smile.
"You truly are cursed, Asron... But that's what makes you perfect."
With a flick of her wrist, the image shifted—now revealing a radiant kingdom of towers and magic, a city untouched by suffering.
Inside a grand, dimly lit chamber, a young boy stood alone, surrounded by the lingering scent of scorched stone. Sparks crackled in the air as raw magic danced around him, wild and barely controlled. The floor beneath his feet was burned black, carved with the scars of countless failed spells.
His expression was carved from ice—emotionless, unreadable. Yet behind his cold eyes burned something far more dangerous than rage: purpose.
The Goddess observed from afar, her presence cloaked in divine shadow. Her gaze fixed on the boy, her lips curling into a slow, sinister smile.
"Project 30..." she whispered, her voice wrapping around the stars themselves. "The Hero destined to destroy the world. Such beauty in chaos. Such devastating potential…"
Her eyes gleamed with dark amusement.
"Will you bring salvation… or ruin?"
---
Meanwhile, deep in the mortal world, Asron's mother crashed into a crumbling, long-abandoned cottage nestled in the heart of the forest. The door creaked and slammed behind her, nearly falling off its hinges. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she collapsed to her knees, clutching her newborn son to her chest like a final prayer.
She trembled. Not from the cold—but from fear.
Tears spilled freely down her cheeks, soaking into the child's blanket. She held Asron close, shielding him with every ounce of strength she had left.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of her heartbeat. "I never wanted this for you. I never wanted you to be hunted... to be cursed..."
Her voice broke as she pressed her lips to his forehead. "This is all my fault… my beautiful child… please forgive me."
Asron couldn't move. Couldn't speak. But his mind—his mind was awake. A soul forged in war now trapped in the helpless form of a child. He could feel her warmth, her pain, her trembling despair.
And behind it all, the presence of the Goddess still lingered like poison in his veins.
So this is your game... he thought, his infant eyes narrowing. You dropped me into this hell as prey. But I'll survive. And when I rise... I'll rip your throne from the heavens.
---
Outside, the shadows grew bolder.
The forest echoed with footfalls and clinking steel. The hunters were close—figures cloaked in darkness, driven by bloodlust and orders.
From the Divine Realm, the Goddess leaned closer to her scrying crystal, her gaze fixed on the mother and child. Her smile twisted, cruel and fascinated.
"Let the game begin," she murmured. "Let's see how long you last, Asron. Will you defy fate... or be devoured by it?"
---
Inside the cottage, Asron's mother gathered what little strength she had left. She pressed her body protectively around her son, shielding him with trembling arms. Her breath hitched as the sound of voices carried through the broken walls.
---
"Target's unlikely to survive," a soldier's voice echoed beyond the trees. "This is an A-class monster zone. No one makes it out alive—especially not some terrified woman and a newborn."
Another voice laughed. "Shame. Would've been a fun chase. Let's head back."
---
Asron's vision was blurred, but his mind remained sharp.
I've been reborn with all my memories... he realized, focusing through the fog of infancy. My power's still within me—sealed, maybe—but it's there.
But the question burned: Why would the Goddess do this? What does she gain?
There was something more at play. A deeper plan. A hidden truth lurking behind her laughter.
And as the danger faded for now, Asron swore silently in the cradle of his mother's arms:
I will uncover it all. I will make her pay. And I will never be weak again.
Outside, another soldier scoffed. "No one's dumb enough to hide in this cursed forest."
Their laughter echoed briefly, cold and careless, before fading into the thick silence of the woods. The shadows stretched deeper, swallowing their footsteps until only the rustling leaves remained.
Inside the crumbling house, Asron's mother collapsed against the rotting wall, her limbs trembling from exhaustion. Her breaths came in short, shaky gasps as if her lungs barely remembered how to breathe. She clutched her child tighter, her fingers digging into the worn fabric of the blanket wrapped around him.
Her voice was barely a whisper, brittle as glass. "We're safe... for now..."
Her shoulders quaked, and a sob slipped past her lips. "They're gone... We're okay..." she repeated, as though saying it would make it true.
Tears spilled freely down her cheeks, falling onto Asron's soft face. She ran trembling fingers through his hair, her touch desperate and tender all at once.
"Don't be scared, my love... They won't hurt you. Not while I'm breathing. We're together—and that's all that matters."
Asron lay still in her arms, feeling her warmth, her trembling heartbeat, her fierce love. She was his shield, his entire world in this fragile moment.
But guilt gnawed at the edges of his heart like rust on steel.
She doesn't know "who I really am. What I was. Or the destruction that follows me."
Her voice cracked as she pressed her forehead gently to his. "I'm sorry... I never wanted this for you. You're just a child... my child..."
Her grief was raw, unfiltered. "We're the same, you and I. Cursed. Hunted. Running from a fate we never chose."
"Cursed... hunted..."
The words echoed in Asron's mind, weaving themselves into the puzzle of his new life. Her pain... her fear... it wasn't just about surviving.
She's being hunted... because of me.
A chill settled into his bones—not from the cold, but from the realization that clawed at his thoughts.
This isn't just a second chance. The Goddess did this on purpose.
She knew this would happen. She wanted it.
His tiny fists clenched, fury simmering beneath the surface.
So this is your idea of rebirth? Not a life, but a curse. You made me a burden. You made her suffer... because of me.
Yet, despite her fear, his mother stroked his cheek with trembling fingers, her eyes full of love, fierce and unconditional.
"You're all I have left... my precious boy. I won't let them take you. No matter what."
There was steel in her voice now. Even with the weight of the world on her shoulders, she held him like a promise—unbreakable.
"We'll survive this. You and me. Together."
Asron felt something stir in him—something deeper than rage or regret.
She's willing to die for me... without knowing the monster I once was.
He swallowed hard, eyes flickering with newborn tears and old memories.
I swear... I'll protect you. I won't let you suffer because of me. No matter what the Goddess throws my way... I'll endure it all.
Beyond the crumbling walls, the forest grew darker, thick with unseen danger. The wind whispered secrets, the trees bent under unseen weight, and shadows watched from the edge of the void.
Far away—beyond sight or reach—the Goddess observed from her divine realm. Her eyes glimmered like ice under moonlight, fixated on the boy and his mother. A cruel smile curled on her lips as she traced a glowing crystal with her slender finger.
"Well played, Asron," she murmured. "Even in that fragile shell, your fire hasn't dimmed."
Her voice dropped, laced with venom and delight.
"But how long can you resist? How long before you beg for mercy? Or... break completely?"
Her laughter echoed through the void—low, cold, and haunting.
"This is just the beginning of your suffering."
Back in the quiet ruin, Asron's eyes fluttered open slightly, his tiny body helpless, but his mind sharper than any blade.
You want me to break?
Then I'll survive just to spite you. And one day...
I'll make you regret everything.
He closed his eyes, resting against the warmth of the only person who had ever truly held him.
His mother's sobs softened, her arms wrapped protectively around him as sleep took her.
Outside, the darkness lingered.
And the hunt... was far from over.