Twice Reborn Transmigrator

My father's office looked much the same as before. Not that surprising, since it hadn't been long since I was last here. The scent of sandalwood still lingered in the air. I made a mental note to find the source. Otherwise, my curiosity would drive me up the wall. Curtains covered the windows behind my father's desk. The now-lit glowstone lamps filled the office with warm yellow light.

When Caitlyn and I arrived, we found three people waiting for us. They occupied the small sitting area located at the corner of the office. My parents sat on one side of the small coffee table, while a man sat on the other side.

I knew this man. There was no need for introductions. His name was Darius Ward. He looked middle-aged, though I knew he was older, with short salt-and-pepper, a trimmed beard, and eyes the color of amber. His tanned skin was even darker than Leroy and Caitlyn's, suggesting he came from the southern end of the continent. Despite his age, he looked hale and hearty.

He was also a Grand Priest of the Church of the Sun. It was a high rank, just below the Voice of the Sun, the head of the church as a whole. In terms of status, he was my father's equal.

The Church of the Sun, and its counterpart in the Lunarian Kingdom, occupied a strange position on Luminian society. They weren't House scions or minor nobles, yet they weren't considered commoners. This was because they were the emissaries of the gods and wielded Holy magic. Technically, it wasn't magic at all. It was a divine power granted by the gods. However, since it worked in a similar manner to magic, people just lumped them in together.

Unlike wizardry or martial arts, which required being an Awakened, anyone could join the Church of the Sun and gain Holy magic. It came from an outside source rather than something a person was born with. Well, okay. Not just anyone could join the Church of the Sun. They had standards.

Grand Priest Darius had been an ally of House Sturm for generations, and I had known him my entire life. Well, not counting the years I lived on Earth. Regardless, seeing Grand Priest Darius again filled me with joy. He was the closest thing I had to a grandfather. My paternal grandparents died before I was born, and my maternal grandparents cut ties with my mother a long time ago.

After Caitlyn and I entered the office, my parents turned to look at me. My father wore his usual stern expression, while my mother regarded me with an icy look in her eyes. I greeted them with a nod each, before turning my attention to Grand Priest Darius. I gave him a slight bow.

"Greetings, Grand Priest Darius. It is good to see you again."

He chuckled.

"No need for formalities, Lord Gabriel. Not between us."

He gave me a gentle smile. I gave him one in return.

"Now then, I assume you know why I'm here?" Grand Priest Darius asked.

I nodded, before glancing at my parents.

"Yes, I'm glad you're here. The sooner we clear the air, the better."

My father's expression remained the same, while my mother narrowed her eyes at me. If the tension in the air bothered Grand Priest Darius, he didn't let it show.

"In that case," he said, "Come sit next to me."

I walked over and sat in the chair beside his. Caitlyn took position behind my mother. I looked around and frowned. There were two people missing.

"Where is Trent?" I asked.

My father's bodyguard wasn't in the office. At first I thought he was in some corner, staying out of sight. However, I saw no sign of him at all, which I found odd. The man was like my father's shadow. I almost never saw the two apart.

"Considering the circumstances," my father said. "I decided it was best if Trent wasn't here."

I nodded. It was clear that whatever was going on with my mother, Trent wasn't clued in on it.

"And what about Kaya?" I asked Grand Priest Darius. "Why isn't she here?"

Kaya Deadman was Grand Priest Darius' aide. The specific details of her role depended on the situation. Sometimes she protected him as his bodyguard, sometimes she assisted him in his work, and sometimes she kept him out of trouble as his babysitter. I had known her for as long as I had known Grand Priest Darius. The two of us met whenever he visited Sturm Manor.

"Kaya doesn't know I'm here." Grand Priest Darius said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "When I received your father's message and realized the urgency of the matter, I snuck out and rushed over here."

I gave him a pained look.

"Kaya isn't going to be happy when she finds out."

Grand Priest Darius shrugged, before grinning at me.

"If she finds out. That is a risk I am willing to take."

"Enough stalling." My mother snapped. "Let's get this over with."

Grand Priest Darius and I glanced at her, before looking at one another again. His expression turned serious.

"Very well. Let us begin. May I see your hand, Lord Gabriel?"

I nodded, before holding my hand out to him. He grabbed it with both of his hands. They felt rough, but warm. The sensation filled me with nostalgia. When I was a child, I used to fall asleep while Grand Priest Darius held me, his hand caressing my head. It saddened me that we reunited with one another under these circumstances.

A moment later, I felt Grand Priest Darius' Holy magic enter my body. It also felt warm. The Holy magic filled my entire body, before touching upon my soul. It was an uncomfortable sensation, though not an unfamiliar one. Back on Earth, in my attempts to locate Lumina, I met with a priest of a god of travel. I let that priest examine my soul, hoping it could provide clues. Unfortunately, this didn't pan out.

Grand Priest Darius spent the next half hour examining my soul. When he finished, he withdrew his Holy magic and regarded me with a frown on his face. I sneaked a glance at my parents. They held each other's' hand, clenching so hard that their knuckles turned white.

"He is not possessed," Grand Priest Darius said, "Nor is he a stranger who transmigrated into your son's body. He is your son, Gabriel Sturm."

My parents stared at him in shock, their eyes wide. A moment later, my father let out a relieved sigh. My mother, on the other hand, stared at Grand Priest Darius in disbelief.

"That can't be!" She said. "He acts nothing like Gabriel!"

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You mean a miserable wretch filled with anger and resentment?"

My mother shot a glare at me, before focusing her attention on Grand Priest Darius.

"Are you sure? What if you made a mistake?"

Grand Priest Darius nodded, a solemn expression on his face.

"I am sure." He said. "I recognize his soul. Remember, I examined him right after he was born."

Grand Priest Darius examined my soul after I was born? Why? To see if I was a transmigrator or not? That seemed plausible. If so, that implied that the people of Lumina knew more about transmigration than I realized. Or at least my parents and Grand Priest Darius did.

"This is your son." My mother opened her mouth to say something, but Grand Priest Darius raised a hand to forestall her. "However, according to the records I consulted, his soul shows signs of transmigration."

My mother's jaw dropped.

"But you said there weren't any!"

Grand Priest Darius nodded.

"When I examined Lord Gabriel right after his birth, yes." He glanced at me. "However, it appears that has changed. If we want answers, I suggest we ask the young man himself."

Everyone looked at me. I crossed my arms and frowned at them.

"Only if you tell me how you know about transmigration." I gestured to my mother. "And about how you know martial arts. Conversation goes both ways."

My mother didn't deny the fact that she knew martial arts. Instead, she looked at me with a complicated expression on her face, as if she couldn't decide between strangling me and hugging me. Well, this was better than the iciness and killing intent from before.

"Claire," my father said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it, "You heard Grand Priest Darius. He is our son. While he may not be the same, he is still Gabriel. He deserves to know the truth."

My mother sighed, before she rubbed her face with her free hand.

"Fine." She said, sounding tired. "I still don't fully believe it, but fine. At this point, those old farts from the alliance council have no room to complain."

"If they try, tell them to speak with me." Grand Priest Darius said, grinning. "I'll set them straight."

My mother gave him a grateful smile. I looked between the two of them. What were they talking about? What alliance council? As much as I wanted to ask, I reigned in my curiosity for now. First, I needed to tell my parents the truth. Well, there was also Grand Priest Darius and Caitlyn, but mostly my parents.

It proved more difficult than I anticipated, at least at first. Telling my parents that I died and reincarnated on another world, before dying and coming back, sounded like insanity. From the expressions on their faces, they thought so as well. However, once I got started, it became easier.

I told my story in broad brush strokes, saving the finer details for a later time. When I finished, everyone stared at me with varying expressions on their faces. My mother looked like she didn't believe me. Sorrow filled my father's eyes. Grand Priest Darius stroked his beard, a thoughtful expression on his face. Caitlyn imitated a stone statue. I couldn't get a read on her at all.

As soon as I finished speaking, my mother turned towards Grand Priest Darius.

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"Are you sure he is my son?"

Grand Priest Darius let out an exasperated sigh.

"For the last time, yes."

"His story does explain everything," my father said. "While Gabriel is different from before, he still acts like, well, Gabriel."

My mother opened and closed her mouth several times, before she managed to say something.

"But it's ludicrous!"

"On that we agree." I said. "I still don't understand what happened, and I experienced it."

My mother looked at me with a desperate expression on her face.

"It can't be true," she said. "If it was, then that means…"

She trailed off and closed her eyes. My father embraced her from the side.

"He is alive." He said. "That is all that matters."

Oh. I understood now. My mother didn't want to believe my story. If she did, she would have to accept the fact that I died. Twice.

I stood up and walked over, before crouching in front of my mother. Caitlyn twitched when she saw this, but otherwise didn't react. My mother opened her eyes and looked at me. Uncertainty filled her gaze. I took her free hand and pressed it against my cheek.

"Regardless of what happened, I am here now, Mother," I said. "I am back. I am home."

My mother's lips trembled and she pressed her forehead against mine. She was short enough that this wasn't difficult for her.

"Gabriel." She whispered. "My baby."

We stayed like that for a long while.

Afterwards, I found myself sitting in between my parents, with both of them holding each of my hands. At first I was just going to sit next to my mother, but my father looked discontented by this, so my mother and I switched seats. Once we settled down, Grand Priest Darius took it upon himself to begin explaining things to me. I held up my end of the bargain. It was now everyone else's turn.

"As you might have already guessed, Lord Gabriel," Grand Priest Darius said, "You are not the first to transmigrate here to Lumina." He paused. "Your case is unique, but others have transmigrated here from other realms. Most of them experienced what we call soul transmigration and reincarnated here. However, a few transmigrated here physically."

I frowned at him.

"If that's the case, why isn't the phenomenon more well known?" I asked. "I don't remember hearing about it or reading about it during my first life."

When I mentioned my first life, my mother gave my hand a brief squeeze.

"There are two main reasons." Grand Priest Darius said, frowning. "The first is that transmigration is rare. At most, it happens once a century, though that is a rough estimate. Perhaps it happens more often and we simply don't know about it. It isn't as if we check the souls of everyone who is born in this realm." He nodded to me. "The only reason why I checked your soul when you were born was because your parents asked me to."

I glanced at my parents. They both nodded.

"This leads into the second reason why transmigration isn't more well-known," Grand Priest Darius continued. "It's a little complicated, so I need to provide some context. All those who transmigrate to Lumina come from the same realm: First Murim."

That caught me off guard.

"Really?" I asked. "First Murim?"

Everyone looked at me with surprise.

"You know of this realm, Lord Gabriel?" Grand Priest Darius asked.

I nodded.

"Yes. In my second life, I met several people from First Murim, including Teacher. She was the one who helped me form a mana core and taught me martial arts."

My mother seemed displeased by this for some reason.

"Well then," Grand Priest Darius said. "This makes things a little easier to explain. We don't know when it started, but at some point in Lumina's history, martial artists from First Murim started transmigrating to our realm. They used the knowledge from their previous lives to form mana cores and begin practicing martial arts. However, they kept themselves hidden to avoid persecution and exploitation."

I nodded. That made sense. In their shoes, I would have done the same thing. Hell, I tried to, except I got caught by my parents.

"These martial artists built up their strength in secret," Grand Priest Darius continued. "Many of them passed down their knowledge to their descendants and disciples, which resulted in the creation of the martial arts Clans. However, they were eventually discovered. This led to a brief, but brutal, conflict between several Houses and the Clans."

I listened to him, fascinated by the idea that Lumina had a secret history that I had known nothing about until now.

"Before it grew out of hand, the Church of the Sun intervened to put an end to the conflict. Afterwards, the Houses and the Clans held a meeting, with the Church of the Sun acting as a mediator. They wanted to come to an agreement of some kind, in order to avoid further bloodshed." Grand Priest Darius paused. "Well, most of them. There were many within the Houses and the Church of the Sun who wanted to exterminate the Clans altogether. They considered them to be invaders and interlopers."

I glanced at my father.

"Was our House a part of this?" I asked.

"Yes," my father said, "We were one of the Houses that advocated for peace. Regardless of their origins, we believed that the Clans were Luminian. Most of them, including the transmigrators, were born in this realm. This was their home now."

Grand Priest Darius nodded.

"That was the general consensus. In the end, the Houses and the Clans reached a compromise. As long as the Clans followed a set of laws, they would be left alone and allowed to remain here on Lumina. We call these laws the Accords."

"Let me guess," I said, "The Accords state that the Clans must keep their existence, the existence of transmigrators, and the existence of martial arts a secret."

"Indeed." Grand Priest Darius said.

I figured as much. The foundation of the Houses' power was their magic. It was why they stood at the top of Luminian society. Martial arts was a threat to that. The Houses would've taken measures to mitigate this threat.

"In time, the Clans formed their own society, which operates outside of mainstream Luminian society." Grand Priest Darius said. "To no one's surprise, they called it murim."

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. Of course.

"Few outside of murim know of its existence." Grand Priest Darius snorted. "Rather, that was the idea. However, if you take a closer look, you'll see that murim is more intertwined with Luminian society than anyone cares to admit. Plenty of Clans disguise themselves as collateral families of certain Houses. Many martial artists are also members of the Adventurers Guild. In fact, the Adventurers Guild was founded by several Clans who came together for mutual support and protection."

I stared at Grand Priest Darius for several seconds.

"Are you telling me that the Adventurers Guild is a front for murim?" I asked.

"A part of it, yes."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I heard that.

"Which brings us to my part of this story." My mother said. "As you might have already guessed, I am a martial artist myself. I come from one of the Clans. Not only that, but my grandmother was a transmigrator." She winced. "That is why I am more sensitive to transmigration, and why I know more about it than most. It's part of our heritage."

I didn't know how to respond to that.

"I see." I said after a while. "In that case, why didn't…Why didn't you tell me any of this? If you had… I wouldn't… The Incident…"

A maelstrom of emotion raged through me, and I found myself unable to voice my thoughts. If my parents had told me about the Clans and murim, I would have discovered my talents in martial arts sooner. I wouldn't have become obsessed with becoming a proper wizard. I wouldn't have wasted my time chasing after an impossible dream. I wouldn't have killed myself in the Incident. While it all worked out in the end, I went through a lot of suffering to get to this point.

"I wanted to." My mother said, pleading with her eyes. "Believe me, I wanted to. However, I couldn't."

"Why not?" I asked, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.

My father sighed.

"It's my fault."

My mother shook her head.

"No, it's mine."

I looked between the two of them.

"What do you mean?"

"I come from a prominent Clan." My mother said. "They wanted me to marry a man of their choosing. However, I fell in love with your father and wanted to marry him instead. Things turned ugly, and I ran away from home. As a result, my Clan disowned me."

My father smiled at her, though I saw the guilt in his eyes.

"While I am grateful you picked me," he said, "I wish you hadn't had to make that choice."

My mother snorted.

"I have never regretted my decision." she said. "Not once. If I had to make it again, knowing what I know now, I still would have picked you. I love you, Bryce."

"I love you too, Claire."

I felt very awkward sitting between my parents as they professed their love for each other. Grand Priest Darius smirked at me, enjoying my discomfort.

"Moving on," I said, "How does this lead to you being unable to tell me about murim and martial arts?"

My mother's expression grew dark.

"As I said, I come from a prominent Clan." She said. "Many of my kin hold high positions within the Martial Arts Alliance, the governing body of murim. They used their influence to declare me persona non grata and expel me from murim as a whole. They also forbade me from telling my children about murim and teaching them martial arts." She clenched her jaw. "When we realized that you had no talent for magic, I wanted you to learn martial arts. I couldn't teach you myself, since that would cause a conflict between House Sturm and the Martial Arts Alliance. So, I tried to find someone who could teach you. However, everyone I asked said no. They didn't want to offend my Clan."

I frowned.

"Couldn't you have trained me in secret?" I asked.

My mother glanced back to Caitlyn, who stood right behind her, an exasperated look.

"No. I couldn't. You see, the Martial Arts Alliance assigned me a watchdog, to ensure I didn't break their precious edicts."

Caitlyn smirked.

"Someone needed to keep you out of trouble, Lady Sturm." she said.

I blinked at her in surprise.

"What?!" I said. "I thought Caitlyn was your bodyguard."

"She is," my mother said in an amused tone, "However, her loyalty lies with the Martial Arts Alliance, not me. Otherwise, I would have asked her to teach you martial arts."

Caitlyn looked me over, before shaking her head.

"It wouldn't have mattered." She said. "Lord Gabriel doesn't have the right elemental affinities to learn my techniques."

"You still could have taught him the basics." My mother said in a wry tone.

I looked between my mother and Caitlyn. Their relationship was far from simple. My mother called Caitlyn a watchdog, yet treated her like a friend. It was clear that the two of them had a history together. Maybe one day I would learn about that history.

"So, is that why you insisted that my marriage would fix everything, Mother?" I asked, taking a guess.

"Yes." My mother said, turning to face me again. "If you joined murim by marrying a woman from a Clan, that would solve all of our problems." She frowned. "At least, that was the idea. I'm not sure if it's necessary anymore." She closed her eyes and slumped forward. "I'm such a useless mother."

I pulled my hand free from hers and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"No, you're not." I said. "You made the best of a terrible situation." I grinned. "Besides, you gave me a pretty face. For that alone, you have my gratitude."

My mother opened her eyes and glared at me, before she snorted and gave me a wry smile.

"I suppose that's true." She said.

Silence fell over us as our conversation fell into a lull.

"What are you going to do now, Lord Gabriel?" Grand Priest Darius asked.

I shrugged.

"Form a mana core and join murim." I said. "They're going to find out about me, one way or another." I gave Caitlyn a sideways glance. "I might as well make it happen on my own terms."

My father nodded.

"Your mother and I will do everything we can to support you." He said. "We failed you once before. We won't fail you again."

I opened my mouth to say that they hadn't failed me, but I couldn't. A part of me believed they had. I knew it wasn't their fault, but acknowledging that didn't erase the pain and humiliation I endured.

"Thank you." I said instead.

"I'll do what I can for you as well, Lord Gabriel." Grand Priest Darius said. "If you don't wish to join murim, the Church of the Sun is also an option. We have plenty of martial artists among our ranks. Unlike with the Houses, the Clans aren't a threat to us."

Huh. I hadn't considered that before. After thinking about it for a moment, I shook my head. While enticing, if I joined the Church of the Sun, I would have to abide by its rules. That sounded suffocating.

"No." I said. "At least, not right now. Becoming a priest comes with too many restrictions. I prefer to keep my freedom. Maybe I'll consider it in the future. Regardless, thank you for the offer."

Grand Priest Darius nodded in acknowledgment, before standing up.

"Well then," he said, "My job here is done. I see no reason to linger." A mischievous grin spread across his face. "If I leave now, maybe I can make it back before Kaya discovers I've disappeared."

After he left, my parents and I talked well into the night. We discussed our plans going forward. When midnight passed, I left my father's office and headed back to my room. With everything out in the open now, I could go forward with my plans. It looked like I would be busy for the foreseeable future.