The Outcast's Rebirth

CHAPTER 33: In Search Of Answers

That evening...

Kyzzu lay in the growing darkness of the room, his eyes tracing the wooden beams of the ceiling. He had slept but awoke not long after, his dreams plagued by memories. The room around him was quiet, only the faint crackle of the fire and the soft rustling of Amani moving about in the next room could be heard. The simple warmth of the small cottage should have been comforting, but it only heightened his sense of unease.

He shifted in bed, his mind dragging him back to the village-the place that had shaped him, the people he could never forget. The village had been his sanctuary once, nestled deep in the heart of the forest, hidden away from the world's chaos.

As a boy, he would waste away hours at the sacred lake, letting his thoughts drift with the wind that danced across the water's surface. How peaceful it had all seemed back then. But now, when he thought of the lake, it was no longer a place of serenity. The image of Renzi haunted him.

Renzi, his younger brother, had been full of life, tall and strong, with skin as dark as the night sky and a laugh that could fill the village. They had been close, inseparable, but that bond had been shattered the day they had the quarrel.

It was by that very lake where Renzi's life had slipped away, and no matter how many times Kyzzu replayed the scene in his mind, he couldn't shake the feeling of failure. His powers had been useless. He had called on the spirits with everything he had, begged them to intervene, but nothing happened. Renzi had died in his arms, and with him, a part of Kyzzu had died too.

He closed his eyes, but the weight of those memories lingered. Renzi's dark eyes stared back at him in his mind, full of trust and hope, and Kyzzu's heart twisted with guilt. How could he have failed him like that?

And then there was Asha, his little sister. Wise beyond her years, Asha had always been the one to ground him. She had a quiet strength about her, a kind heart that never wavered, even in the darkest moments.

Asha had been the light in his life, the one who had kept him going when all he wanted was to disappear into the forest and never return.

His thoughts drifted to his mother-the chief's wife, a woman of great strength and grace. She had loved him fiercely, cherished him even before he was born.

Kyzzu could still remember the day he had told her everything, confessed the truth that had weighed so heavily on his heart. He had expected hatred, maybe even abandonment. But instead, she had Wept. That moment had broken him in ways he hadn't expected.

And then there was his father. Chief Khassuo, a man of few words but a powerful presence. He had been the strictest man Kyzzu had ever known, and yet there had been a deep, unspoken love between them. His father had never shown his emotions openly, but Kyzzu had seen the way his face softened when he had been a baby, cooing and giggling in his arms.

His father had cherished him, but he had made the decision not to pass the title of chief to Kyzzu. Instead, he had chosen Renzi. Kyzzu had never asked why, but he had accepted it. Perhaps his father had seen something in him-a vulnerability, a softness-that didn't belong in a leader.

Now, here he was, far from the village, far from the family that had shaped him, and yet, those memories were as vivid as ever. In this life, he had been blessed with a family that loved him-a mother, a father, siblings who cared for him deeply. And yet, despite everything, there was a longing in his heart that he couldn't shake. A longing for something he knew he shouldn't want.

Winston.

The thought of him made Kyzzu's chest tighten. Winston. The man who had come into his life like a storm, disrupting everything. His resemblance to Ethan, Kyzzu's best friend from his past life, had been startling.