General Jack's Rebirth

THE TRAITOR

The night market glowed beneath a thousand lanterns as General Jack followed Kao through the narrow stone alleys. People laughed, vendors shouted, and firecrackers burst—too bright, too alive for a world Jack knew would soon be formed from ashes if he didn't do something.

His fingers twitched with the urge to strangle the man walking ahead, Kao, the smiling traitor, the first domino in the fall of the kingdom.

Jack could still taste the last moments of his past life, the cold ground beneath him, Elena's dying breath, and the shadows of the one who hovered over their corpses: the God of War and Kao standing tall above them, the memory burned like iron.

Kao led him towards a quiet corner of the market. "This place is less crowded," he said lightly. "We can speak freely here."

Jack smiled without warmth. "Good."

They stopped near a row of shuttered shops; a cat darted past, vanishing into shadows. Kao crossed his arms. "General, you've been strange today, jumpy, distracted. Is something wrong?"

Jack studied him closely, this man who laughed with him, drank with him, and fought beside him, then stabbed him in the back.

No, Kao didn't remember the past life; his eyes were too clear, too confident. This was betrayal still in seed, not yet sprouted, yet Jack knew the future; he had seen it as he died.

"You've been meeting with unusual people lately," Jack said calmly. "People connected to the God of War."

The torch nearby flickered violently; Kao's face froze. "What?" Bullseye

Jack maintained his composure; he played along like a hunter trailing its prey, and he stepped closer. "You heard me."

Kao barked a nervous laugh. "General, that's absurd. Why would I?" He's a matter of pretense.

"Because I saw you."

Kao's brow furrowed. "Saw me? Where?" Jack's voice lowered, as cold as a blade: "In the moment I died."

Kao stumbled back a step. "G... General, are you feeling well?"

Jack grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "I saw you kneeling before the God of war," he growled. "You traded our kingdom's future for his favor."

Kao's lips trembled, real fear flashing in his eyes. "That... That's impossible. I've never praised any god except, except the empire's gods."

"Don't lie to me," Jack snapped.

Kao was shaking now, not because he was guilty, but because Jack knew something he shouldn't know, something no living man could have seen, something that was still hidden as of that year; it was a plan that was supposed to remain a secret for now.

"General... Please," Kao whispered. "This is madness, you're accusing me of treason based on a dream?"

"Not a dream," Jack said softly. "A warning." Jack's voice sounded so serious and sharp.

Kao pushed him back. Desperation replacing fear. "Listen to yourself! Even if I wanted to betray the empire, why would I serve the God of War? That god hasn't answered prayers in years!" He tried to pull it off his shoulder. "I don't have any cordial relationship with your father-in-law."

Jack's heart hammered in distrust? Or making his own moves behind the veil? King George knows what he's doing when he picks Kao for the job. The closest to my enemy.

Jack tightened his grip. "You don't need to understand; you just need to stop breathing." Jack's wife, red with anger, said, "You'll serve as an example to the rest that would betray me."

Kao went pale. "General Jack ... Don't do this, not here; there are people." Jack turned his head and saw them, a crowd beginning to gather, whispers spreading, and eyes gleaming with curiosity and fear. Good, let them witness.

****

Without warning, Jack drove a punch into Kao's gut. The commander choked, doubling over, and people screamed as Jack dragged him into the center of the market.

"General Jack! What are you...?"

Jack grabbed him by the hair and slammed him down on a vendor's table, fruits scattering like spilled jewels.

"Confess," Jack said, voice low and deadly. He moved so close to him that Kao stepped backwards an mm away from him. Jack signaled to his men.

"I... I don't know anything!" Kao cried. "Please have mercy!" He pleaded continuously. He knows he has been caught red-handed; he knows he can't escape anymore.

"Mercy?" Jack tilted his head. "You won't have mercy on Elena or Cara." Kao's eyes widened in genuine confusion. He truly didn't know yet; it didn't matter, he would.

Jack lifted Kao by the throat. "You'll betray us; you just don't know it yet," Jack whispered in his ears.

"General... Stop!" The captain of the guard shouted. "He's unarmed!" His words disrupted him for a while, but he continued after a few seconds.

"He won't be needing a weapon," Jack replied, and in one brutal motion, he snapped Kao's neck; the crack echoed louder than any war drum, silence crashed over the marketplace, and people stared in horror.

A woman fainted, a child cried, and whispers slithered through the crowd: "General Jack killed his lieutenant!" They murmured. "He's gone mad—no trial, no warning!"

"He's a dangerous man now; he's ruthless!" The people of Mooresville still remain shocked at what their general has become all of a sudden, but then, a cold gust swept through the market, extinguishing half the lanterns. The flames snuffed out in a perfect circle around Jack.

"I need you to make a circular invitation to all four kingdoms." Jack turned to Fabian, one of his trusted commandants, one of the few who never betrayed him.

"Yes, General, what's the message, sir?" he asked, his voice laced with confusion.

"I am inviting them to a PEACE TREATY PARTY," Jack said,

Reaching for a piece of cloth to clean off the blood stain gotten from Kao's body. "I want my brother, Damian, in charge of receiving those guests in my palace," he declares sharply.

Fabian quickly bowed and turned to carry out the assignment at hand without hesitation, followed by other soldiers.

"Damian and others are next!" He whispered. "How do I explain that my own BLOOD BROTHER BETRAYED ME OR THAT HE HAS TO DIE BY MY OWN HAND!"