Athena's General Reincarnated in Another World

Katherine Evenhart:

"When the private ceremony concludes, Nathan will be officially granted dual citizenship," said Queen Haiten, visibly excited. "But his elven citizenship will be the dominant one. He will not be bound by any human laws. You and he will be recognized as part of the royal family—and when you join us in the Elven Kingdom, we will hold a great celebration in your honor!"

She had spent the entire journey speaking about it—the long-awaited revelation, the homecoming we were destined for.

And yet…

Something inside me felt off.

Natty and Catty were riding in the carriage behind us, giving me space to speak privately with the queen and the Saint.

"You'll be coming with us, right?" asked Saint Tiffania, beaming. "To your home in Alfheim? I would be honored to serve as your personal guide. I'll be by your side the entire time. Your rooms at the palace have been reserved for over ten years."

They both looked at me with glowing anticipation.

"I… I'm not sure," I said, trying to keep my tone neutral. "I don't know if we'll be going with you."

Their smiles faltered.

"What do you mean?" the queen asked gently. "We've waited for this ever since Nathan was five years old. You, him, and Kinue. Alfheim is your home—where you all come from."

"You don't have to move there right away," she added. "Just come for a few weeks. Be with us. We are your family."

As she spoke, listing names of cities, sacred trees, and stories of the Great Mother, a sharp pain pulsed behind my eyes. My head throbbed, and with every mention of Alfheim, the pressure grew.

"I… I'm not the one who decides that," I said carefully. "That would be up to Nathan and Margaery. Legally, I have no say. I'm just… a commoner. A plebeian woman who happened to give birth to a noble."

My voice dropped.

"I'm lucky they treat me as an equal. Most families wouldn't. In some houses, a mother like me isn't even allowed to speak to the child she bore."

"Nonsense," said the queen firmly. "You're a princess. You shouldn't feel that way."

"Lady Katherine," Tiffania said gently, "please try to convince the duchess when the time comes. I know your responsibilities in the duchy are heavy, but just this once—come with us. We have so many sacred ceremonies to complete. You must visit the fountain where the Great Mother once walked, the gardens she planted, her sanctuary filled with ancient seeds. It's tradition. Every royal child must undergo the Guidance at age twelve. You three were meant for it."

She smiled again.

"And I would be so honored to be the one to guide you through it."

But her words only made the pain in my head worse.

A pulsing throb now, like something behind my thoughts trying to claw its way out.

The queen noticed.

"Are you alright, Katherine? You look… off."

"I'm fine," I said, forcing a smile. "But… I haven't told Nathan the truth. About our family."

There was a flicker in Tiffania's eyes—recognition.

"Why didn't you?" she asked softly. "Why keep it from him all these years? Forgive me for asking, but… why hide the truth?"

"It even kept us from explaining things to Kinue when she grew older," added Queen Haiten.

I opened my mouth to answer.

"It was… because…"

I stopped.

It was me. I was the one who decided.

But why?

Why did I decide that?

A chill ran down my spine.

"I think it was because Nathan was so young then and…" I tried to explain, but even as the words left my mouth, they felt wrong.

The more I tried to remember my reasons, the less sense they made.

And yet—

At the same time—

It still felt like the right decision.

No logic.

Just instinct.

A deep, undeniable feeling that I had to keep him away. That I had to keep us away.

The more they spoke of the Elven Kingdom, the clearer it became.

I didn't understand the reasons.

But something in me did.

And whatever it was…

It didn't want us to go back.

Why have I spent all these years trying to keep Nathan away from that place?

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The question echoed in my mind—one anyone could ask, and yet somehow, I couldn't fully process it. Lately, though, it felt like the veil clouding my thoughts was beginning to lift.

A trauma?

That word kept surfacing.

Looking back—fleeing Nathan's family to live quietly in a remote village, pushing him away from elven culture after Adrihna found us—it was always the same feeling. A need to protect him. From the world. From them. From everything. To build a life just for the two of us, where nothing could ever reach him.

But why?

"Katherine," Queen Siofna said softly.

Her tone wasn't just gentle—it carried a quiet gravity. Even her usual warm smile had vanished, replaced by something solemn… almost mournful.

"I need to speak to you," she continued. "As a mother."

She paused.

"It's a delicate subject. But I have to ask…"

She looked me directly in the eyes.

"How long do you think Nathan will live?"

I blinked. "What?"

"He's half High Elf, Katherine," she said. "And his hair—those silver-white strands? That's a sign of purity in his bloodline." Her voice dropped. "He likely inherited our longevity."

A stillness settled in my chest.

"Humans, at best, live into their nineties," she said. "I may reach 150, with my elven blood. But High Elves…" She paused. "They can live up to 300 years."

I looked down at my hands. Trembling. Cold. As if the truth had soaked into my bones.

"If Nathan stays among humans," Siofna said quietly, "he'll watch his child be born… and then die. He'll see his grandchild grow up… and die. He'll live long enough to witness the birth of his great-grandchild."

Her voice dipped into something raw.

"And eventually, he'll look around and realize… there's no one left who remembers him. No one left who's his."

She met my gaze with calm certainty.

"Inviting you to return to Alfheim isn't just tradition. It's not about faith or pride. It's because we understand the cost of longevity—what it means to remain after everyone else is gone."

"You think High Elves only marry their own kind out of arrogance?" she asked. "No. It's because they need someone who walks the same length of time. Who breathes the same decades. Who understands the silence of centuries."

There was no judgment in her voice. Only truth.

"If we had found Nathan when he was born, we would've taken him," she said. "We would've raised him in our halls, given him a place among us. We might have even encouraged him to love someone like himself—someone who could stay."

I swallowed hard, throat tightening.

"But now, Katherine… you and I… we must think beyond ourselves."

"Because one day… neither of us will be here."

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"When Chloe is gone… and when you are gone… do you really believe Nathan will survive that castle?"

She leaned in, her words striking like frost.

"When he buries his own child… and then his grandchild… when the friends he once laughed with are long buried… when the neighbors have faded into memory… and all that remains is a man in a silent fortress—unchanging, unaging… alone…"

She sat back, posture composed, voice steady once again.

"So tell me, Katherine… do you truly want him to live among humans?"

There was a pause.

"Or among elves—those who will walk beside him for centuries, who will truly understand him?"

A deep ache bloomed in my chest.

I opened my mouth to answer… but nothing came out.

Only silence. Heavy. Suffocating. Like the air had thickened to stone around me.

And then—

Something in the world shifted. A sudden coldness. Not the kind that brushes the skin—but the kind that tightens the soul. Like the world had just held its breath.

"I'm sorry," Queen Siofna said gently. "I shouldn't have pushed this subject. I think it's best if we let you rest. You're still recovering from mana depletion. You're lucky your mind didn't sink deeper into the limbo. Days in a coma… for some, that's a nightmare they never leave."

"I-I'm alright," I said, trying to sound steady. "I'm with the best healers in the world."
I forced a smile.

But inside, the storm kept turning. My thoughts spun in circles, trying to piece together the choices I had made all these years.

Then the dream returned—the one I had during the collapse, when Martha had been the one to find me.

In it, I saw myself holding a baby, humming a lullaby. I looked peaceful. My hair was long, a dark chestnut with a hint of red. I recognized myself instantly.

But when that dream-version of me turned to face me… she was different.

Her ears—pointed.

Elven.

BAM!

The carriage lurched violently. We were thrown sideways.

"What happened?!" Tiffania snapped, knocking on the coachman's window. "We told you to drive carefully! There's a patient inside!"

"A crowd, milady," came the elven driver's nervous voice. "A large crowd's gathered near the main road. Too many carriages. Because of King Haiten and Queen Agnes—this is the first time the public's seen two monarchs together in person."

Tiffania groaned. "My idea of using a 'modest' carriage clearly backfired. We're completely blocked in."
She peeked outside, then closed the curtain again.

"We're close," Siofna said softly, trying to calm her.

"My queen," Tiffania muttered, "we need to get you and Lady Katherine into a proper royal carriage. This was a bad idea… They're not going to clear a path easily now…"

But as they spoke—

A sharp, splitting pain deep in my head. The world dulled.

Sound faded, like someone had pulled cotton over my ears. I could see their lips moving, but couldn't hear them anymore. I clenched my eyes shut as the ache turned blinding.

Then—

A voice.

"Mama… be careful…"

It echoed faintly, like from across a dream.

I knew that voice. I knew it.

But that made no sense.

The seed.
It was still far away—in the mansion. Sealed. Dormant.

"Daughter?" I whispered into the pain.

And then—

CRACK.

Like glass shattering.

Followed by a massive boom.

Tiffania and Siofna both screamed, turning toward the window.

I couldn't react. My head was still spinning, my balance gone.

Then I saw it—

A black shape.

Something dark.

And then—impact.

The carriage exploded into motion.

Wood cracked. Steel screamed. We were all thrown in different directions—slammed into walls, ceiling, floor. I collided with Tiffania. With Siofna. With the broken structure itself.

The world spun—

Then a burst of yellow light enveloped us.

A barrier.

A radiant golden sphere shimmered around us just as the carriage split apart, the halves collapsing like broken toys.

I lay on the floor, disoriented, unable to move. The world was a blur.

Inside the sphere, the air was still. Almost peaceful.

Tiffania's voice pierced through the haze.

"Lady Katherine? Are you alright? Please answer me! I've been trying to reach you—can you hear me now?"

Her hand was on my shoulder.

And suddenly—
Sound returned.

All at once.

The screaming.

The chaos.

The explosions.

The world had burst open.

"Tiffania?" I tried to rise, confused and disoriented—only for my legs to collapse beneath me.

Nothing responded. I was weak. So, so weak.

"Katherine!" Queen Siofna cried, rushing to my side. Her hands reached for my abdomen—then froze.

I followed her gaze.

There, jutting from my lower ribs, was a jagged shard of wood. Blood had already soaked through my clothes, pooling beneath me. I coughed—scarlet splattered from my lips.

The pain was distant, but the cold… the cold was spreading fast.

"It's bad," I whispered, dizzy. "It… pierced something. Organs, maybe…"

Screams echoed through the air, explosions roared like distant thunder—and then came the marching. Rhythmic, relentless footsteps shaking the ground beneath us.

I looked up.

High above, in the center of the street—

A rift.

A gaping tear in the sky, dark and unnatural. And from within it, monstrosities emerged. Their flesh rotted, twisted beyond recognition. Their eyes burned with unnatural hunger.

Undead.

And worse.

On the rooftop of a shattered building, three black knights sat atop grotesque horses. Their armor shimmered with void-like energy, every movement radiating silent command.

Then—one of them saw me.

And for a moment… he froze. A tremor ran through his mount.

Then—

"KILL HER!!" the knight roared, his blade rising, voice slicing the air like a curse. "KILL HER NOW!!"

His command echoed across the battlefield.

Dozens of undead snapped their heads in my direction.

And charged.