Destiny's Reshaping: A Danmachi Reincarnation Tale

The silence in the canyon was oppressive, broken only by the creaking of the carriage wheels on the stones and the occasional sighs of the horses. The children, who had been chatting and laughing until a moment ago, were now silent, aware of the tension in the air.

Mark, with his ever-vigilant gaze, noticed every small movement around them. The shadows of the rocks shifted with the sun, creating unsettling illusions. Vincent, in the driver's seat, kept glancing nervously at Mark, expecting a sign of danger at any moment.

"I hate this place so much." -Vincent commented.

Auooo!

After a few kilometers, they heard howls. The children and Agata immediately got scared, while Mark and Vincent remained calm.

In the direction the carriage was heading, a group of three wolves watched them hungrily and began to charge.

"Better stop and fight them." -Vincent said, but Mark stopped him.

"I'll handle it."

From a bag near him, he pulled out a rock the size of his fist, and after positioning himself, he threw it with all his might.

The stone traveled the distance between the two groups in a flash, striking one wolf's head and killing it instantly. Shortly after, two more stones were thrown, each killing its target with a single hit, all without even dismounting.

"Let's avoid wasting time fighting if we can avoid it. The longer we stay here, the more problems we'll encounter." -Mark said, dusting off his hands.

"You know what, I'm tired of being surprised." -Vincent said, urging the horses to move on with another pull.

The journey continued over the annoying, uneven terrain. Often, they hit rocks that made everyone jolt, and although Vincent did his best, it was impossible to avoid everything, especially with limited visibility. As for the monsters, they had only encountered the weaker ones, which Mark handled with his deadly throws.

Crack!

"Dodge!"

Seeing that Vincent wasn't reacting in time, Mark pushed him, causing him to shift the reins, allowing the carriage to avoid the falling rocks narrowly.

"That was close."

"Not yet!"

At Mark's shout, the true reason behind the rockfall revealed itself: a group of rock lizards perched on the canyon walls, deciding to attack upon sighting them.

One lizard tried to strike from the side but was hit by a rock thrown by Mark. Although it didn't cause significant damage, it was enough to allow the carriage to pass, but now they were being chased by a group of enraged lizards.

"Slow down, these monsters will catch up to us anyway, so we might as well deal with them now."

Vincent nodded and slowed the horses, while Mark moved to the back where the children were visibly frightened and clinging to Agata, who was trying to console them without success.

"What's the problem, kids?"- Mark asked with a soft expression as if they weren't being chased by giant stone lizards.

"A-Are monsters attacking?" -One of them asked, sobbing.

"Monsters? Nah, just little lizards." -Mark joked.

"So we're not in danger?"

"I'll tell you what, if you close your eyes, in less than ten seconds there will be nothing left."

The children looked at each other, hesitant, but decided to close their eyes and start counting. Mark's expression immediately turned cold, and he jumped off the carriage, drawing his claymore and facing the dozen rock lizards.

The first lizard didn't even have time to react. With a precise and powerful thrust of his claymore, Mark pierced the creature, causing it to fall lifeless. With surprising acrobatic skill, Mark immediately turned to the other approaching lizards.

With a wide sweep of his blade, he executed a circular slash that cut through the air with a hiss. The claymore struck the lizards with devastating force, slicing through their defenses and reducing the creatures to pieces. Fragments of scales and stone flew into the air as the lizards fell one after another, powerless against Mark's concentrated fury.

The speed with which Mark attacked and moved was such that none of the monsters could even touch him, and by the time the children finished counting, Mark was back on the carriage, smiling at them.

"See, everything's taken care of."

The curious children looked behind, but there was no trace of the monsters, and they gazed at Mark with such excitement it was almost blinding.

"Okay, behave yourselves, the journey is just beginning."

Seeing that the children were calmer, Mark moved to the front, repositioning himself next to Vincent.

"Hmph, show-off."

"If you want, next time you can handle the monsters, then you can be the show-off." -Mark replied.

At Mark's response, Vincent decided it was better to remain silent, and their journey continued.

In the hours that followed, there were no dangerous situations like the previous one, and the journey proceeded at a steady pace. When the visibility in the canyon started to decrease even more due to the setting sun, they decided to make camp.

To reduce the chances of being detected, they settled in a spot where the carriage would be well hidden and did not light any fires.

As night fell, various monstrous sounds echoed through the endless branches of the canyon, but nothing nearby. Initially, the children and Agata had difficulty falling asleep in such a place, but the journey had exhausted them, and they all fell asleep together in the carriage for added safety.

Meanwhile, Mark stayed awake on guard, distractedly watching the magnificent starry sky that stretched beyond what the human eye could see.

'Sometimes even the worst places have certain wonders, don't you think?'

[I don't know. For you, it may be fascinating, but for me, it's something natural.]

'I suppose, but I like to think that among those stars, which are an unfathomable distance away, there's Earth.'

[Even though you know it's impossible?]

'Yes. Let's call it personal gratification. It would be too cruel to deny even this simple thought.'

[I don't understand.]

"Haaaa, how can they sleep in this place."

Distracting him from his conversation with the Guide, Vincent climbed onto the roof of the carriage where Mark was and sat down.

"Unlike us, they're normal. It's obvious that a journey like this tires them."

"True... you seem to care a lot about them." -Vincent said, also looking at the night sky.

"They're the only ones who make me feel at home." -Mark said with a smile.

He had been thrown into an unknown world, with dangers lurking in every corner and every word spoken. The city he found himself living in was ruled by a sociopath commanding a group of people who didn't care about others' lives. Mark had to endure all this in too short a time to process it, but he had no choice. That's why the orphanage was special to him.

When he was tired of everything, of his training, and his mind needed rest, he finally found peace there, but it wasn't always easy. Every time he had to lie to Agata, it was heartbreaking, especially when he knew those maternal eyes weren't directed at him.

"Yeah, they're not bad."

There was a long silence between the two before Mark asked something.

"Did you happen to have a family?"

"...I had a daughter."

"She—"

"She died a long time ago." -Vincent said, letting out a weary, bitter sigh.

"I'm sorry." -Mark said sincerely.

"Don't be, it's not your fault. Now that I think about it, if she were still alive, she'd be around your age."

"Can I ask what happened?"

"Haaaa... my daughter was born prematurely, and the woman I lived with died in childbirth. Imagine me having to manage an infant. The very memory gives me nightmares." -He laughed melancholically.

"Anyway she was beautiful. I, who had lived my life in that wretched place, had finally found something worth living for; so, I did everything to raise her. I paid a woman to nurse her and joined the guards to earn more."

"You seem to have done your best as a father." -Mark said, admiringly.

"Nah, maybe it was just ambition, but I wanted things to go well since I had something worth living for.

The years passed, and she started to grow, but I had to spend more time with the guards, to the point that it felt like my daughter was growing up too quickly. Even so, every time I came home, she would trot towards me cheerfully. Her hands were so small, her steps uncertain but full of energy, her funny smile due to her missing baby teeth are memory truly unforgettable, and for the record, she loved my mustache." -Vincent said dryly.

The two laughed briefly before Vincent sighed again.

"Every memory of her is seared into my mind, both the happiest and the saddest. Being born prematurely, my daughter often fell ill, and one winter, she became so sick that she didn't even have the strength to eat. I asked every doctor for help and worked until I was exhausted to earn enough for treatments, but she got worse day by day.

I was desperate and helpless, forced to watch the only joy of my life crumble slowly before my eyes until she breathed her last."

"This... I have no words." -Mark said, at a loss for what to say.

"The only reason I'm alive is because it would be unfair to take my life when my daughter didn't get the chance to live hers fully.

How I miss my bright little star." -He said in a choked tone.

"What was her name?"

"Astér, which means star."

"A beautiful name chosen by a good father." -Mark said comfortingly.

"Thank you... now I'd like to ask you something."

Mark nodded, indicating he could ask freely.

"You killed Soka, didn't you?"

Mark nodded honestly.

"Why?"

Vincent didn't appear angry or sad as Mark had expected, just curious.

"He had become a danger to me and them. I couldn't let him roam free." -Mark said, looking him in the eyes.

"I understand."

Without saying anything more, Vincent turned to the side, giving Mark his back as he tried to sleep. Mark thought their conversation was over when he heard Vincent's final words.

"Mark, keep them safe. Once you lose what you care about, everything loses meaning, and you remain trapped in a false cage of mere memories."

"I know... I know."