Reborn Beneath The Mountain

The first thing Kael felt was pain.

Not the kind of pain that came from a cut or a broken bone. It was everywhere.

His head hurt. His chest felt tight. Even breathing seemed like hard work.

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt too heavy.

Where am I?

He couldn't remember.

The last thing he remembered was rain.

He remembered standing beside the road, staring at the headlights of a car coming toward him. He remembered someone shouting.

Then-

Nothing.

Kael tried to move his hand.

His fingers trembled.

That was when he heard a voice.

"He's awake!"

The voice sounded young. A girl's voice.

Kael forced his eyes open.

The ceiling above him was made of rough wooden planks.

He stared at it for several seconds.

This wasn't his room.

He slowly turned his head.

A girl was standing beside a small wooden table, staring at him with wide eyes. She looked about twelve or thirteen. Her clothes were strange too-a simple, faded dress that looked like something from another century.

When she noticed that Kael was looking at her, she froze.

"Mother!"

She ran out of the room.

Kael frowned.

"Mother?"

His voice sounded strange.

Too young.

He tried to sit up.

Pain shot through his body.

"Ah!"

He fell back onto the thin mattress.

Footsteps rushed toward the room.

An older woman entered, followed by the girl.

The woman looked tired. Her hair was tied behind her head, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.

She hurried toward Kael and placed a hand on his forehead.

"Thank goodness."

Her voice shook.

"Kael, can you hear me?"

Kael stared at her.

She knew his name.

But he had never seen her before.

"Who are you?"

The woman's expression changed.

The girl behind her covered her mouth.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then the woman slowly sat beside him.

"I'm your mother."

Kael's stomach dropped.

"My... what?"

The woman looked as if she was about to cry.

"Your mother, Kael."

He stared at her.

No.

That wasn't possible.

He looked around the small room again.

The wooden walls.

The clay pot in the corner.

The old blanket covering his body.

None of it made sense.

"Where am I?"

His mother exchanged a worried glance with the girl.

"You've been sick for three days."

"Three days?"

"Yes."

Kael swallowed.

"What place is this?"

The woman hesitated.

Then she answered.

"Ravenhill Village."

The name meant nothing to him.

He closed his eyes.

Maybe he was dreaming.

Maybe the accident had left him unconscious, and this was some strange hallucination.

He waited.

Nothing changed.

He opened his eyes again.

The same wooden ceiling.

The same woman.

The same frightened girl.

His heart began beating faster.

"Can I have a mirror?"

His mother frowned.

"A mirror?"

"Yes."

She didn't understand, but the girl quickly brought him a small metal plate from the table.

Kael looked into its dull surface.

His blood went cold.

The face staring back at him wasn't his.

It belonged to a boy.

A very young boy, perhaps fourteen years old.

His face was thinner than he remembered. His black hair was messy, and there was a faint scar above his left eyebrow.

Kael touched his face.

The boy in the reflection did the same.

He dropped the metal plate.

It hit the floor with a loud clang.

His mother jumped.

"Kael?"

He didn't answer.

His breathing became faster.

"No..."

He looked at his hands.

Small hands.

Young hands.

He pulled the blanket away and looked down at his body.

He was definitely not himself.

He had died.

And somehow...

He had been given another body.

Another life.

The girl stepped closer.

"Brother?"

Kael looked at her.

"Brother?"

She nodded slowly.

"I'm Lila."

He stared at her.

He didn't know this girl.

He didn't know this woman.

He didn't know this village.

Yet somehow, their faces carried a strange familiarity.

As if memories belonged to someone else were buried somewhere inside his head.

Then suddenly-

A sharp pain struck his skull.

Kael grabbed his head.

Images flashed through his mind.

A boy running through the forest.

A woman shouting.

A group of older children laughing.

A small house.

A mountain covered in mist.

Then everything disappeared.

Kael gasped.

His mother grabbed his shoulders.

"What's wrong?"

He couldn't answer.

He knew now.

The body belonged to a boy named Kael.

A boy who had lived here for fourteen years.

A boy who had been considered weak since childhood.

A boy whose father had disappeared while hunting in the mountains five years earlier.

A boy who had never been good at hunting.

A boy the villagers often called useless.

Kael slowly lowered his hands.

He didn't know whether to laugh or scream.

He had been given a second life.

But apparently, someone had already lived it badly.

His mother looked at him carefully.

"Do you remember anything?"

Kael looked into her tired eyes.

He could have told her the truth.

I'm not your son.

But what good would that do?

She would think he was crazy.

So he shook his head.

"Not much."

She sighed with relief.

"That's okay. You can rest."

She stood.

Before leaving, she turned back.

"Your brother will bring some food later."

Kael nodded.

She walked out with Lila.

The room became quiet again.

Kael stared at the wooden ceiling.

He was alive.

That was the only thing he could understand.

Everything else was a mess.

He slowly sat up.

Outside, he heard voices.

People talking.

A dog barking.

Someone chopping wood.

Life continued as if nothing had happened.

Kael walked toward the small window.

When he looked outside, he stopped.

Beyond the village were mountains.

Huge mountains.

Their peaks disappeared into thick clouds.

For some reason, the sight made his chest tighten.

He couldn't explain it.

He felt like he had seen those mountains before.

But he hadn't.

At least, not in this life.

Then something strange happened.

A faint sound reached his ears.

Not a voice.

More like a whisper carried by the wind.

Come.

Kael froze.

He looked toward the mountains.

The whisper came again.

Come to me.

His skin prickled.

"What the hell..."

He stepped away from the window.

The sound stopped.

For several seconds, he stood there without moving.

Then he laughed nervously.

"Great."

He rubbed his face.

"Second life, strange family, strange village..."

His eyes returned to the mountains.

"And apparently I'm hearing voices now."

He turned away.

He didn't see the faint black mark that had appeared on the palm of his right hand.

A mark shaped like a mountain.

And far beyond the village, deep inside the mist-covered mountains, something ancient opened its eyes.

For the first time in hundreds of years.

It had finally found him.

Kael didn't sleep that night.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the mountains.

And every time he saw the mountains, that strange voice returned.

Come.

By morning, he was exhausted.

Lila entered the room carrying a wooden bowl.

"You didn't sleep?"

Kael looked at her.

"Not really."

She placed the bowl beside him.

"Mother said you should eat everything."

Kael looked inside.

It was some kind of thick porridge with a few pieces of dried meat.

He picked up the wooden spoon.

"Where's everyone?"

"Father is working in the fields."

Kael paused.

"Father?"

Lila nodded.

"Yes. You remember Father, don't you?"

Kael stared at the bowl.

Another memory surfaced.

A tall man carrying a bundle of firewood.

A rough laugh.

A hand resting on a little boy's head.

Then the memory disappeared.

"I... think so."

Lila smiled.

"Your memory really is bad."

She left.

Kael waited until the door closed.

Then he leaned back against the wall.

His mind returned to his old life.

This time, the memories came clearly.

His name had been Kael there too.

He had been twenty-seven years old.

He had grown up in a crowded part of the city with his mother and younger sister.

His father had left when he was eight.

His mother never remarried.

She worked at a small roadside restaurant, leaving home before sunrise and returning late at night.

Kael had learned early that money didn't come easily.

He had worked after school.

At sixteen, he delivered food on an old motorcycle.

At nineteen, he worked in a warehouse.

Eventually, he found a better job repairing computers and phones.

It wasn't glamorous, but it paid enough to help his mother.

He had one person he cared about more than anyone.

His younger sister, Mira.

She was five years younger than him.

She was loud.

Stubborn.

Always asking him for money.

And somehow, always managing to make him laugh.

Kael smiled faintly.

He remembered one evening when she had called him.

"Brother, I need money."

"For what?"

"My school project."

"What project?"

"A very important one."

"What kind?"

There had been a long silence.

"Don't worry about it."

Kael had laughed.

"You've already spent the money, haven't you?"

"No."

"You sound guilty."

"I'm not guilty."

"You definitely are."

She had laughed.

"Please, Brother."

He had sent her the money.

That was the kind of life he had.

Nothing extraordinary.

No magic.

No monsters.

Just work, bills, family, and the hope that tomorrow would be slightly better than today.

Then came the night everything ended.

It had been raining heavily.

Kael had stayed late at work because a customer needed a laptop repaired urgently.

By the time he left, the streets were almost empty.

He remembered putting on his jacket.

He remembered calling his mother.

"Don't wait for me. I'll be home soon."

Her voice came through the phone.

"Be careful. The roads are slippery."

"I know."

"And Kael?"

"Yes?"

"Buy bread on your way home."

He laughed.

"That's what you're worried about?"

"Your sister ate the last one."

"Of course she did."

His mother laughed.

"Come home safely."

Those were the last words she ever said to him.

Kael opened his eyes.

He was back in the wooden room.

For a moment, he couldn't breathe.

His mother.

Mira.

His old home.

Everything was gone.

He pressed his palms against his eyes.

He didn't cry.

At least, not at first.

But then a tear slipped down his cheek.

He quickly wiped it away.

"I didn't even say goodbye."

The words came out quietly.

Outside, someone shouted.

Kael ignored it.

He wasn't ready to let go.

He remembered the road.

The rain.

The headlights.

The sudden sound of a horn.

He had been crossing the road when he saw the car lose control.

He had pushed a little boy out of the way.

Then the car hit him.

That was it.

Twenty-seven years.

Gone in seconds.

Kael lowered his hands.

"So I saved him..."

He looked at the unfamiliar ceiling.

"And died instead."

There was something strangely peaceful about knowing how it happened.

He had no regrets about saving the boy.

But he regretted leaving his mother.

He regretted leaving Mira.

He wondered whether they had cried.

Whether his mother had waited for him that night.

Whether Mira still kept the old photograph of them together.

His chest tightened.

Then another thought came.

Am I really dead?

If he was, why was he here?

And why did this world feel so real?

Kael stood and walked toward the window.

The mountains were still there.

The highest peak was hidden behind clouds.

He stared at it.

Something inside him stirred.

The black mark on his palm became warm.

Kael looked down.

The mountain-shaped mark was still there.

He touched it.

A strange sensation moved through his arm.

Then-

A voice whispered inside his head.

You have returned.

Kael's eyes widened.

"Returned?"

The voice disappeared.

He stared at his palm.

"What does that mean?"

No answer came.

A knock sounded at the door.

Kael quickly covered his hand.

A young man entered carrying a bundle of firewood.

He was perhaps nineteen or twenty.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

There was a bow hanging across his back.

He looked at Kael for a moment before dropping the firewood beside the wall.

"So you're finally awake."

Kael studied him.

Something in his memories clicked.

"Daniel."

The young man's expression changed slightly.

"You remember me?"

Kael nodded.

"You're my brother."

Daniel smiled.

"Good."

He picked up the bow.

"I'm going hunting."

Kael looked at the weapon.

"Can I come?"

Daniel laughed.

"You?"

Kael frowned.

"What's wrong with me?"

Daniel looked him up and down.

"You nearly died from a fever three days ago."

"I feel better now."

"You've never even caught a rabbit."

"I can learn."

Daniel shook his head.

"Stay here."

He walked toward the door.

Kael followed him.

"Daniel."

His brother turned.

Kael hesitated.

"What's beyond those mountains?"

Daniel's smile disappeared.

"The dead don't come back from there."

He left.

Kael remained by the door.

For some reason, those words stayed with him.

The dead don't come back.

He looked toward the distant mountains.

A strange smile slowly appeared on his face.

Maybe Daniel was right.

Maybe the dead weren't supposed to come back.

But Kael had.

And whatever had brought him here...

was waiting for him.

Kael spent most of the afternoon alone.

Daniel had gone hunting.

His mother was outside washing clothes, while Lila was helping her.

For once, nobody was watching him.

Kael sat beside the window and stared at his hands.

They were still strange to him.

Fourteen years old.

He was twenty-seven when he died.

That thought still bothered him.

He had lost thirteen years.

Or perhaps he had gained thirteen.

He didn't know which way to look at it.

Kael closed his eyes.

And remembered home.

Not this home.

His real home.

---

He was eight years old when he first understood that his family was poor.

Before then, he hadn't cared.

Children didn't think about money.

If his mother said they couldn't afford something, he simply accepted it.

But one afternoon, he came home from school and found his mother sitting at the kitchen table.

She had an envelope in front of her.

She was crying.

Kael stood at the doorway.

"Mom?"

She quickly wiped her face.

"I'm fine."

"You are crying."

"I said I'm fine."

He walked closer.

"What happened?"

She looked at him for a long time.

Then she smiled.

"Your school fees."

Kael looked at the envelope.

"We don't have money?"

"We'll find it."

"But when?"

She didn't answer.

That evening, Kael heard his mother on the phone.

"Please, I will pay you next month."

A pause.

"I understand."

Another pause.

"Please."

She ended the call and sat quietly.

Kael was standing in the hallway.

He had heard everything.

The next morning, he stopped asking for things.

Not because anyone told him to.

He simply learned.

---

At sixteen, he started working.

His first job was delivering food for a small restaurant.

The motorcycle was old and often refused to start.

His boss would shout at him.

Customers would complain.

Sometimes he worked for ten hours and came home with barely enough money for transportation.

But he didn't complain.

Because every month, he gave part of his salary to his mother.

She always tried to refuse.

"You need this money."

"I'll earn more."

"You are still young."

"I'm not a child."

She would look at him and smile.

"You'll always be my child."

He hated hearing that.

Not because he disliked it.

Because he secretly loved it.

---

Then there was Mira.

His little sister.

She was the one person who could turn an exhausting day into something bearable.

When Kael came home tired, she would sit beside him and talk endlessly.

Sometimes about school.

Sometimes about boys.

Mostly about things he didn't understand.

One evening, she asked him a question.

"Brother, do you think I'm beautiful?"

Kael looked up from his phone.

"No."

She gasped.

"What?"

"You asked if I think you're beautiful."

"Yes!"

"I think you're annoying."

She threw a pillow at him.

"You're a terrible brother!"

He laughed.

She threw another.

"You'll regret this!"

"You can't catch me."

She chased him around the house while their mother shouted from the kitchen.

"Stop running inside!"

They both froze.

Then looked at each other.

And started laughing.

Kael remembered that moment now.

His smile slowly disappeared.

He wondered what Mira was doing.

Maybe she was studying.

Maybe she was sleeping.

Maybe she was sitting in his old room, waiting for him to come home.

He swallowed.

"Sorry, Mira."

His voice broke.

"I didn't mean to leave you."

---

There was another memory.

One he had tried not to think about.

His father.

Kael had spent years believing his father would return.

When he was ten, he still waited by the window.

At twelve, he stopped.

At fifteen, he stopped asking his mother about him.

But he never stopped wondering.

Why did he leave?

Was it because of them?

Was he ashamed of having a family?

Kael never found out.

His mother refused to speak badly about him.

"He had his reasons," she always said.

Kael hated that answer.

Some people didn't deserve excuses.

Yet a small part of him still wished his father would knock on the door one day.

He never did.

---

Kael opened his eyes.

The room was dark now.

He hadn't realized how long he had been sitting there.

Outside, the wind had become stronger.

He could hear tree branches moving.

Then something strange happened.

A memory that wasn't his entered his mind.

A little boy stood beside a mountain stream.

He was holding a wooden knife.

An older man stood behind him.

"Again."

The boy raised the knife.

His arms were shaking.

"I can't."

"Again."

The boy tried.

The man grabbed his wrist.

"If you want to survive in these mountains, weakness will kill you."

The memory suddenly changed.

The boy was older.

He was running.

Someone was chasing him.

He heard shouting.

Then-

Darkness.

Kael opened his eyes sharply.

His breathing was heavy.

"That wasn't my memory."

He looked around the room.

The house was silent.

He touched his temple.

For the first time, he understood something.

The memories of this body weren't gone.

They were still inside him.

And perhaps they were becoming clearer.

Kael stood.

He walked to the window.

The mountains were almost invisible beneath the evening mist.

That strange feeling returned.

The feeling that the mountains knew him.

He placed his palm against the wooden window frame.

The mark on his hand began glowing faintly.

Kael pulled his hand back.

"What are you?"

The mark remained silent.

Then he heard it.

Not a voice this time.

A heartbeat.

Slow.

Deep.

Coming from somewhere beyond the village.

Boom.

Kael froze.

Boom.

The sound came again.

It wasn't his heartbeat.

It was coming from the mountain.

He stared into the darkness.

Something was alive out there.

Something enormous.

And somehow...

it was calling him.

Kael clenched his fist.

His old life was gone.

His mother.

Mira.

His old home.

Everything.

He couldn't change what happened.

But he had been given another chance.

This time, he wouldn't spend his life simply surviving.

He would find out why he was here.

He would learn what happened to the original Kael.

And most importantly-

he would find out what was waiting for him inside those mountains.

Even if the answer killed him.