A Duel Against Fate

  The carriage roared forward, kicking up a storm of dust and dirt. Renji’s pulse pounded in his ears, but unlike the hundred other times he’d been blindsided by Truck-kun’s sudden attacks—this time, he was ready.

  His feet dug into the ground. Muscles tensed.

  He wouldn’t run. Not again.

  The carriage was almost upon him. Its wooden frame groaned as something inside strained against its confines. Shadows pulsed beneath its wheels. The twin yellow lights—headlights—locked onto him like a predator locking onto prey.

  HONK. HONK.

  Renji’s smirk widened. "Predictable."

  At the st second, he leaped to the side—but the carriage reacted. Its entire form twisted, its wheels pivoting unnaturally, allowing it to veer toward him mid-charge.

  His eyes widened. "What the hell—"

  A force like a colpsing building smashed into him, sending him flying. His body crashed through thick underbrush, breaking branches as he tumbled into a clearing.

  He groaned, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. "Okay… it’s learning."

  The carriage slowly rolled to a stop, its wheels cracking the earth beneath them. The moment stretched long and unnatural, as if the very air held its breath.

  Then—

  CREEEEEAAAAK.

  The carriage’s doors swung open.

  Something stepped out.

  Renji barely had time to process the dark, towering figure that emerged before it was already upon him.

  A massive wheel-shaped arm came crashing down toward his head.

  The Unwanted Blessing

  Dodge!

  Renji rolled to the side just in time, the impact sending a shockwave through the ground. Dirt exploded outward like a grenade detonation.

  His heart pounded. What the hell was this thing?!

  The figure loomed over him, bathed in the unnatural glow of the carriage’s headlights. It was a twisted humanoid, cd in metallic, otherworldly armor. Its right arm was a carriage wheel, its left a massive steering handle. A ghostly horse’s skull rested where its head should have been.

  Its presence was suffocating. Like the weight of a thousand untold stories pressing down upon him.

  Renji gritted his teeth. "What are you?"

  The entity’s hollow sockets fred with spectral light.

  > “You who have defied the Cycle…”

  “The Eternal Wheel will not allow it.”

  Renji barely had time to curse before it lunged again.

  This time, something inside him reacted.

  A sudden surge of energy burned through his veins. His vision shifted. Time seemed to slow—not completely, but just enough for him to see the attack coming.

  Is this…?

  His body moved on instinct. With a burst of speed he didn’t know he had, he dodged backward, the wheel-arm missing him by mere inches.

  A strange sigil flickered in his vision. Faint, but unmistakable.

  [Blessing of the Reincarnator: Awakened]

  Renji’s breath hitched.

  "This—this is new."

  The Blessing’s Power

  The monstrous knight cocked its skeletal head, its sockets narrowing. It had noticed.

  Renji clenched his fists, focusing on the strange energy flowing through him. He understood now—this power was a gift from his endless reincarnations. A skill born from surviving a hundred lifetimes.

  > [Blessing of the Reincarnator]

  (Passive) Grants instinctive knowledge and reflexes from past lives. Improves reaction speed in life-threatening situations.

  (Locked Abilities: ???)

  Renji exhaled slowly. "Alright… maybe I do have a chance."

  The knight charged again.

  This time, Renji was ready.

  A Fight for Survival

  Their battle erupted in the clearing.

  The knight’s wheel-arm came crashing down again. Renji sidestepped, his movements sharper, faster than before. He ducked under another swing, then retaliated—a palm strike aimed at the thing’s chest.

  CRACK!

  To his surprise, the force actually staggered the creature. It wasn’t just instinct—his physical strength had increased.

  He grinned. "Not so tough now, huh?"

  The knight didn’t respond. Instead, it reared back—and then its entire body began to shift.

  The wooden frame of the carriage split apart. Its form distorted, reshaping itself. The wheels expanded. The ghostly horse’s skull elongated, becoming more mechanical.

  Renji’s smirk vanished.

  The Carriage Form was disappearing.

  In its pce, something new emerged.

  Something far too familiar.

  The ground shook. The air trembled.

  A truck.

  A goddamn truck.

  Renji’s mind screamed. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

  The headlights fred like twin suns. The engine roared to life.

  Truck-kun had finally taken its true form.

  To be continued…