Athena's General Reincarnated in Another World

Nathan Evenhart:

We were riding in a carriage, nearing our destination. Chloe was asleep with her head resting gently on my shoulder. The night air was crisp, and we kept each other warm throughout the ride. It was late—much later than we'd planned. We'd lingered a little longer at the inn, and she'd grown anxious when she noticed the bed linens stained faintly with blood. In the end, we took the sheets, and Chloe stored them in her storage bracelet. The rest—towels and bedding—were part of the room service, so we left nothing behind.

We had considered stopping by the academy to pick up Kinue, but ultimately decided against it. Chloe told me they had talked about tonight, and that Kinue had accepted it. Even so, it didn't feel right to see her immediately after what we'd just shared. We were still figuring out how to navigate this new step in our relationship. Either way, Hugo would be picking her up soon. Kinue had chosen to spend the day with Professor Adrihna.

I had to gently wake Chloe, who was breathing deeply, completely surrendered to sleep. I whispered her name twice before she stirred with a soft groan, shifting slightly against my shoulder. The exhaustion on her face was obvious. She sat up slowly and let out a long yawn, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. When she stepped out of the carriage, she pulled my coat tighter around herself and leaned into me as a cold gust swept through the empty streets.

The coachman stood nearby, upright and alert despite the late hour. His calloused hands gripped the reins firmly, seemingly unfazed by the chill.

"Thank you for your service," I said, pulling a coin from the inside of my coat and handing it to him.

"My pleasure, sir," he replied with a respectful nod, taking the coin with a faint smile.

His horse let out a low whinny, eager to move.

I watched as the carriage rolled away, disappearing into the rhythm of the street traffic. Despite the hour, nobles were still making their way home—pale faces flickering under torchlight, fine garments fluttering in the breeze.

"I'm cold…" Chloe murmured, clutching my arm and leaning back into my shoulder.

"That was our last night in this city," I said quietly. "If everything goes according to plan, we'll be on the road in just a few hours."

As we neared the house, I spotted someone standing ahead of us, watching.

His face carried a haunting mix of sorrow, guilt, and emptiness.

But above all else…

There was pain.

"B-Beloved?" Cylla's voice trembled as she called out to me in her panther cub form, small and vulnerable in the dark.

"Cylla? What are you doing out here? You should be resting inside," I said, startled by her presence.

She didn't answer right away—her wide, feline eyes glistened with unshed tears as she looked at Chloe.

"You're feeling better?" Chloe asked gently, her voice low, uncertain.

Cylla turned her gaze back to me.

"W-what did you do, beloved?" she asked, and her voice shattered like glass in the air, cutting through the silence with painful clarity.

Her eyes—so bright and full of sorrow—pleaded silently for an answer that wouldn't hurt.

"Y-you… you did that… with her…"

The words came out broken, trembling, but the weight behind them hit me like a blade through the chest.

And then the emotions followed—pouring into my mind like a flood I couldn't stop. Pain. Jealousy. Betrayal. Grief. Her small body was trembling, tail flicking erratically, her whole form curling in on itself like she was bracing against a storm that had already hit.

Beside me, Chloe said nothing. I felt her hand slip away from mine—softly, instinctively. She knew this wasn't her moment.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Cylla…" I whispered, but my voice was hollow. Weak. Useless against the pain in her expression.

She looked at me as if I were a stranger.

No—worse.

As if I were her enemy.

"Let's just talk, please," I said carefully, stepping toward her.

"Nathan… you betrayed me."

Her words were quiet, but they pierced deeper than any scream.

"You threw me away." Her voice cracked, and tears spilled over her cheeks.

"No, Cylla. It's not like that. I can explain. I thought… I thought we were all in this together. That… I could move forward…"

She recoiled at that, as if I'd struck her.

"And what about my feelings?" she asked, sobbing. "You didn't even talk to me. I didn't know how to prepare for this. You… you hurt me, Nathan."

Then she turned.

And ran.

"Wait!" I called, chasing after her. "Cylla, please!"

"I'm hurt, Nathan!" she shouted back, voice breaking. "You discarded me. You abandoned me. You were supposed to talk to me… to wait. You're my beloved! I can't handle this right now—don't follow me!"

She bolted into the trees.

"Cylla, please—just wait. Let's talk."

"You should've done it before!" she screamed, her voice slicing through the night like a razor-sharp blade of emotion. "You should've acted before you shattered me inside."

Her breathing was uneven, her chest rising and falling rapidly, like every word was an open wound being torn further apart.

"I did everything for you, Nathan! Everything. Every choice, every moment… I put you above myself. You were my beloved. My entire world."

Her voice cracked. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with the dirt on her paws and splattering across the cold stones at her feet.

"But you…" She swallowed hard and stepped back, trembling.

"You chose to do that with someone else first… without even looking me in the eyes. Without even asking me how I felt. I thought… I truly believed you'd wait for me..."

Then, she turned.

Her paws sank into the damp earth as she bolted, vanishing into the forest. Leaves rustled under her steps, and the sound of her crashing through the underbrush felt like more than just noise—it was the sound of something breaking. Of something final.

My heart pounded as I chased after her. But the forest was a maze of shadows and silence, unfamiliar and unkind. Every step I took cracked twigs and dried leaves beneath my feet, but no other sound reached me.

I stopped. Spun in every direction. My chest heaved, my breath uneven.

The moon barely filtered through the canopy, and the trees stood still—watching, silent witnesses to my failure.

I had no idea where she had gone.

And worse—
I could feel her closing off her heart.
The emotional bond between us… was fading. Like a candle snuffed out.

Footsteps approached behind me. Chloe's voice came, breathless.

"What happened, Nathan? What was that? What got into Cylla?"

I didn't turn to face her. I just stared into the dark where Cylla had vanished.

The warmth I used to feel from her was gone.

"I… Cylla loves me," I said quietly. "She has deep feelings for me… and now she knows what we did."

***

I spent a long time searching for Cylla, to no avail.

She had vanished into the woods near the estate, and with the speed she possessed, she could've been miles away by now.

The entire time, I remained silent, walking beside Chloe. The guilt gnawed at me, eating away at every thought.

I didn't know how to handle relationships. I hadn't even expected to fall for anyone in this world. Everything felt too new, too fragile. But even amidst that confusion, I should've stopped. Thought. Talked to her.

Instead, I followed the flow with Chloe—without thinking of the consequences.

Cylla was different. She wasn't just a companion. She was tied to me in a way no one else was.
Our souls were bound.
What I'd done with Chloe… it carried a weight far greater for her than I could have imagined.

"I... I'm garbage," I muttered suddenly, my voice raw, nearly swallowed by the silence that had fallen between us as we walked along the dirt path.

Chloe walked beside me, her steps quiet and careful.

"I should've talked to her. I thought it was all understood. I didn't think… about how she'd feel."

I turned toward Chloe, afraid that my words might be misunderstood.

"But I'm not saying what happened between us shouldn't have happened. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. I just… I failed her. I didn't talk to her. I didn't think."

Chloe looked at me with gentle eyes. But behind them, there was something else—worry, maybe even a flicker of guilt.

"Nate… it's okay," she said softly, slipping her hand into mine. "I… I knew she had feelings for you. Kinue and I, we both knew. But I thought… I thought it was resolved. I thought the bond between you two was... different."

The consequences of my actions were finally crashing down on me.

No one knew that Cylla might one day take human form. I had never told them—afraid of what that explanation might lead to. And now… now I didn't even know where to begin.

"I was going to wait until we got back to the duchy," I said, staring at the road ahead. "But I think… I'll have to say it today."

"Say what?" Chloe asked gently, but before I could answer, a group of maids came rushing toward us from the estate.

Leading them were Natty and Catty, breathless as they ran to meet us. Their usual cheerful faces were gone—replaced by tension, worry, fear.

"Master Nathan! Lady Chloe!" they called out.

The others caught up behind them, and I could already tell from their faces—this wasn't routine.

"What happened?" I asked, the weight in my chest growing heavier by the second.

One of the maids spoke, voice tight with urgency.

"Something's happened to Lady Katherine."

And in that moment—

I felt something snap in my chest.

A sharp, twisting pain pierced straight through my heart.