When he got called to the family’s formal meeting room, John knew he was caught. He’d spend the last week avoiding his parents as much as possible, but there were limits to that. He had to eat, and though their interactions at meals had been limited they must have picked up on it there. If nothing else, it was probably obvious that his cultivation was in tatters. Should he have mentioned that? Probably. Yet not mentioning it was also something the original Fortkran Tenebach would have done. What a mess.

“The family is waiting for you, young master,” a servant gestured to the doorway to the formal meeting room. John could vaguely sense a number of people through it. It was nice, actually, being able to sense spiritual energy. He wasn’t that good at it yet, but it was a useful ability. Too bad he wouldn’t be able to use it or anything else he’d learned when he was dead.

“Thank you, Charles,” John nodded his head to the man by the door and opened it.

When he stepped inside, he saw someone he hadn’t recognized by their spiritual energy. Not with his own memories anyway. Once he saw her face the memories of her were triggered much more substantially. They’d only met once or twice in person, but he regularly received paintings of her so he would recognize her as she aged. Her dark skin was reminiscent of her father and grandfather. Their marriage had been arranged by the grandfathers of the clans… before they were even born, in fact. A political alliance, not particularly strange to Fortkran but a bit alien to John. She was his fiancee, Matayal Brandle. Her presence made things more awkward… but not that much. He did note she was in the Foundation Phase, and the second level even.

All of the other figures in the room provided even more pressure, looking at him. His parents radiated a stronger Foundation Phase energy, and he withered under the stares of two of his uncles. But what made him almost collapse unconscious was the most overbearing pressure in the room, his grandfather and the only Soul Expansion Phase cultivator in the clan. His grandfather wasn’t even trying that hard. Even so, Luctus Tenebach had that sort of impression on people. He was the first one to speak. “Fortkran. I am sure you have some idea of why you have been called here.”

He bowed as he stepped into the room and moved to his position. “I have an inkling, yes. Please, allow me to explain myself before you make any judgements.” Luctus waved his hand, which was enough. John tried to pick his words carefully, ignoring the thought that he should just lie. “One week ago… I… Fortkran Tenebach was cultivating.” John closed his eyes as he spoke, unable to stand up to the pressure of looking at those in front of him. “He was attempting to break through to the Foundation Phase. Perhaps he was unprepared or too hasty, or perhaps he was unlucky, but he failed. In that process, his meridians were destroyed… and he died. That same night, at least as far as my memories go, I was traveling. I lost control and went off the road… and then I died. Somehow, my wandering soul found its way into Fortkran’s body, reviving it enough to seek healing medicine.” John shook his head. “I did not take his body of my own intention, but I am sorry to say that Fortkran Tenebach is dead and I have taken possession of it.” When he opened his eyes, the expressions he saw weren’t the anger he thought he might see. Instead, there was disbelief, confusion… and an unreadable face.

John felt as if Luctus was seeing through him, into his very nature. For all he knew, he was. That might be possible, especially at such a cultivation level. He trembled, unable to shake off the fear of death. All it would take was one move by anyone else in the room, and that would be it. Finally, Luctus spoke. “Your words… are difficult to believe. They seem like a convenient excuse to forgive you your… behavioral flaws. Your cultivation mishap… is also disappointing.”

John blinked. He didn’t believe him? But it wasn’t just about his cultivation failure either. Had he… had Fortkran done something that was worth reprimanding so formally? John passed through memories that weren’t really his. Sure, he was quite impolite to the servants. He was a bit of a slacker in his cultivation, and he didn’t choose healthy meals. When he went into town he apparently spent a bit too much money on himself. Then there was the gambling… that hadn’t really come up, because John hadn’t probed that area of memories. Then the prostitutes. That wasn’t a good look for a young master of a clan. John grimaced. That wasn’t the whole list either, but it was all he could handle. “I hadn’t… come across some of those memories.” That was it then. He was going to die either way… or be disowned with no skills of use in the world. He couldn’t even say he didn’t deserve it. Or… that Fortkran didn’t, anyway.

Once again, his grandfather spoke. “Can you… prove you are a different person?”

Could he? Did he even need to? He was so different… but then again, people could act differently for many reasons. Had they not even noticed? “I um… have my memories from my previous life.” Just the eyes told him that wasn’t enough. He hadn’t even told them he was from another world, but substantiating his words would be impossible regardless. He could just make things up. “I no longer have my spiritual totem for the Spiritual Collection Phase. I was planning to connect to a new one…” Nope, not good enough. What else? “... I could go see the guardian beast.”

Luctus stared sternly at John… or at least at the body he was in. “You must be aware that attempting to receive a second blessing from the guardian beast will only result in death.”

“It is… once per person,” John bowed his head. “I don’t even know if it would do it, since I’m technically not a Tenebach.” He couldn’t think of anything else though.

“Fine. You may make the attempt,” Luctus proclaimed. “If you die, you die. If you receive a second blessing… or if you are a different person that receives a first blessing, we can consider forgiving your actions.”

“... thank you.” John didn’t know what else to say. Maybe that wasn’t even appropriate, because he was about to go meet a shadow beast that was going to kill him.

-----

The family’s guardian beast was kept underground… or perhaps it was better to say it chose to dwell there. It lived in a dark cave, as much as it lived at all. Perhaps someone had more knowledge about it, but Fortkran didn’t know much more than that. John probably should have tried to figure it out, but he barely had time for all the things he’d tried to do, and honestly he had been pretty confused about the whole thing. He wondered if he would end up in a new body… but probably not. Even if the guardian beast didn’t tear his soul apart, the chances of ending up in another body had to be pretty slim, though he didn’t know the mechanism for such a transfer to begin with. Maybe he should just kill himself… but he wasn’t brave or crazy enough for that. And maybe a bit too hopeful.

He walked into the dark cave, waiting where the deepest shadows dwelled. “Oh great guardian beast, I come to seek your blessing.”

The sound that came out from the darkness was a strange combination of the growl of a wolf and the hiss of a snake… he thought he heard some bird in there as well. Strangely enough, the shadows pulled away from him, such that he could see most of the cave… except the creature itself. It was merely a silhouette, but not one that remained fixed in any one way. “Fortkran Tenebach… young master of the Tenebach clan. You know I do not provide a second blessing to anyone. How extremely foolish.”

John went into a full panic. “I… umm… how do I explain this…” His mind raced… but the panic suddenly snapped into a sort of honest clarity. “I’m not him. He died and I just happened to end up in his body. I was sort of hoping you could tell that… and wouldn’t choose to kill me. And even though I can’t possibly be from the clan… the only way for me to live is to get this blessing.”

The shadowy voice barked, seemingly from all directions- and even inside him. “Hah! A foolish bluff. You should know I can easily dispel your lie. Like this!” The shadows jumped, spreading back throughout the room and simultaneously seeping into John. It was cold and dark. Freezing, uncaring, concealing… and mysteriously full of more than he expected. “Look! You are…” he felt the darkness swirling around, “... not lying. How curious.” The shadows pulled away, out of their uncomfortable position inside him. He got the feeling of a face pressed up right next to his, though he couldn’t see it. “I don’t give blessings to the same person twice. It’s pointless. Even those I favored… the result was the same. But I can see your cultivation… or at least that of your body… has completely reset. Your meridians are in a bad state… but they will heal. Now I am curious. So you’ll be getting your wish… one way or another. Strange human from another world.”

As those last words were spoken, the darkness dived back inside of him… more forcefully and completely. There was a strange instant where the entire room was revealed around him, without light to make it visible but without a speck of darkness to hide it. Then his mind was overwhelmed and his consciousness faded.