"You're alive!" Drell gasped, stumbling backward in shock.
"He's a ghost! A walking dead!" Kelly screamed. His eyes wide in terror, he dropped his shovel and bolted into the woods without looking back
"Get me out of this pit! I command you!" Maji shouted, his voice echoing through the stone walls as he glared up at Dree.
Drell quickly threw a rope down. "Hold on tight. I'll pull you out!"
Maji clung to the rope, and with effort, Dree hoisted him up. The moment Maji's feet touched solid ground, he let out a loud, menacing, humorless laugh that sent a chill through the air.
"That brat thought he could get rid of me so easily?" he spat, eyes burning with fury. "I'll show him. I'll tear him apart."
Dree blinked, visibly taken aback. "What… brat?"
Ignoring him, Maji stormed toward the towering gates that marked the boundary of the imperial palace. He marched straight up to the two guards stationed there.
"Open these gates!" he barked.
The guards exchanged glances, startled. Then, as if some invisible signal passed between them, they both erupted into laughter.
"I said, open these gates!" Maji growled again, his tone sharper, darker.
One of the guards stepped forward, smirking. "Listen, kid. Turn around now and I might pretend this little outburst didn't happen. That way, I won't have to kill you."
He reached out and patted Maji's shoulder.
"Get your filthy hands off me!" Maji snarled, shoving the hand away.
The second guard, a hulking man with a thick beard covering most of his face, scowled. "Yo, kid, where the hell did you get the guts to talk to us like that? Who do you think you are?"
Maji squared his shoulders, meeting their gazes with a chilling calm. "I am the second prince of Solaris—Maji Leray. And unless you want your heads separated from your shoulders, you'll do as I say."
Silence.
Then—uproarious laughter.
"You've completely lost it," the bearded guard howled. "He thinks he's royalty!"
"He's probably drunk off his ass," the other said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Jack! Mark! Get this lunatic out of my sight before I lose my temper!" the bearded one barked.
Two more guards came jogging over and roughly grabbed Maji by the arms, dragging him toward the Depa work zone, where laborers were hauling bricks under the blazing sun.
"Let me go!" Maji grunted, twisting and struggling.
"Back to work, freak," Jack sneered, shoving him forward. Maji stumbled, catching himself before he hit the ground.
His breathing turned ragged, his fists clenched. Then—he laughed. A bitter, crazed laugh.
"You common guards think you'll get away with this? With treating me like *this*?" He raised his hand—and froze.
"What… what the hell is wrong with my skin?!"
He stared in horror at his hands. The skin shimmered faintly, etched with glowing silver markings. Horrified, he sprinted to a line of crystal slabs stacked vertically and caught sight of his reflection.
"No… no, no, NO!" he muttered in disbelief.
Two silver antlers curled from his head, elegant but weird. His skin had a peachy hue with silver lines dancing across it. His hair, once black, now glowed faintly—deep blue, shifting to purple at the ends. His eyes… vibrant violet.
"I'm… a Depa?" he whispered, knees buckling. He collapsed to the ground, trembling.
"How… how did this happen? My fame… my status… my net worth… my luxurious life… all gone."
"Maybe I still have my powers," he muttered, looking at his palms.
CRACK!
A whip lashed across his back. He gasped, spinning around to see a towering guard, a twisted grin on his face.
"You got time to daydream, freak?" the guard sneered, raising the whip again.
Maji didn't flinch. This time, he caught the whip mid-air, holding it with a steely grip.
Gasps rippled through the Depas nearby.
"Don't defy the guards!" a female Depa cried out in panic.
"I won't let you treat me like filth," Maji growled, locking eyes with the soldier.
Then, he turned to the crowd.
"Step back. All of you. I don't want anyone getting hurt for what I'm about to do."
Some actually obeyed, shuffling backward.
The guard yanked his whip free from Maji's grasp.
Maji raised his palm again. "Hell Flame Burst!" he shouted.
Nothing happened .
Not even a spark.
Silence.
Awkward glances with the guard.
Everyone around looked at him as if he had gone mad.
Even the guard seemed unsure for a second.
Then he laughed. "Let me show you what it *really* means to defy a royal guard when you're nothing but a slave." He reached for the gun at his side.
A woman rushed forward and threw herself in front of Maji, shielding him with her body. "Please!" she cried. "I'm so sorry for his behavior. Don't kill him—I'll handle this myself. I swear it won't happen again."
The guard's expression darkened. "Didn't I shoot him the last time? Looks like he didn't learn his lesson."
"He has to die."
"No! Please!" she sobbed, clutching Maji tighter.
The guard stared at her for a moment. Then he shoved the gun back into his holster.
"Fine. You want to keep him alive? Then you better make it worth my while. Give me some gold from the mines. Enough to keep me quiet."
The implication was clear—steal, or he dies.
"I'll do it," the woman whispered. "Whatever you want. Just don't hurt him."
"You've got until tonight," the guard called over his shoulder as he walked away.
"Kila, what's wrong with you?" she hissed, releasing him from the embrace. "You just came back from the dead, and now you're marching straight toward it again!"
Kila?
Maji blinked. That name—it was his now.
This woman… she must be his mother.
He had been reincarnated. Reincarnated into the body of a Depa. A slave.
Merida gave him a searching, fearful look.
"Maybe he needs rest," a gentle voice offered. Ham stepped forward and took Maji's hand.
"Come, Kila. Let's get you inside."
Maji followed him numbly. Inside the damp, narrow cave, Ham gestured toward a woven mat in the corner. He went to a cupboard, pulled out a glass, and discreetly poured powder from a sachet into the water.
He turned, masking his actions with a smile.
"Drink this," he said, handing over the glass.
Maji narrowed his eyes. "Is this poison?"
"It's just a tonic. For your nerves," Ham assured him.
Maji stared at the glass, then shrugged and downed it in one gulp.
The moment he set the glass down, his eyelids drooped. The world swayed. His limbs went slack.
His vision blurred, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.
--