AN: Hello there. Welcome to Born Anew: Relinked. For those of you that do not know, this is a reboot of a previous story I've written. I'm not proud of it, and here I will take many measures to change and fix my story, so my actual good ideas and decent writing skills can show.

Let's not delay any longer. Take a seat, get a drink, and enjoy.

Chapter Zero - A Step into the Unknown

The dark caverns that stretched out, lit only by the shining moonlight that streamed through the cave entrance, seemed like a gateway to another world entirely. The feel of old, sturdy stone underfoot, the soft whistling of wind as it glided in and out of the dark abyss, the steady, echoing drip of water, collecting somewhere in the shadows.

The man that stood at the entrance to the cave let out a soft breath, flicking on his torch as he cast blue eyes around, glimmering with curiosity.

"Looks like the source was on the money." He muttered, grinning a little. "Damn... looks like no one's come here in a long time..."

The man stood, slightly shorter than average height, a simple shirt and jeans combo hanging loosely on his lithe frame, heavy duty boots crunching on the pebbles and gravel as he stepped forward, brushing a lock of curly brown hair out of his glasses-covered eyes.

"Still, I'm glad I brought a torch." He muttered, chuckling to himself as he cast the light around, looking at the smooth, worn walls of the cave entrance. "It'd suck to have to go all the way back now."

He stepped inside, curiosity to explore and the desire to discover driving him into this unexplored place, far from the nearest town.

He was a student, attending a college in his hometown as he studied psychology. A strange thing to find, a psych student out exploring caves. But he had always thirsted for this, for exploring abandoned, unknown places. To sink into the solitude, only himself for company as he discovered and discovered.

The tunnel went on, and on. The light of the moon long since faded, only the sharp beam of light from the torch illuminating the abyss before him. But he didn't mind. He liked the dark, liked the quiet.

He reached out and ran a hand over the walls, noticing the soft, almost entirely faded engravings, written in a language he couldn't understand, even if he could see them completely. Excitement built in his chest, smile working its way onto his lips.

He was onto something. Something interesting.

With renewed determination, the man kept walking, and walking. Time seemed to slip away from him, the dark bleeding into everything around him. His eyes, refusing to adjust, his breath, refusing to slow. The quickening of his pulse, the excitement pumping his blood, audible in his ears in the raw, peaceful silence.

All at once, it shattered.

The man yelped and fell backward as a growling, savage sound lept out at him from the shadows ahead of him, causing him to swat wildly with his heavy torch.

A heavy thump and a yelp entirely not his own followed, and he flicked the torch around just in time to watch a dog, mangy and wild, run out the way he had come.

Silence came again, and he chuckled.

"Figures... scared by a wild dog..." He muttered, putting a hand to the nearby wall to steady himself as he rose.

Only for the wall to slid away under his touch, causing him to fall through the now open doorway with another yelp.

"Oww..."

He grimaced as he picked himself up, checking himself over for any injuries. Finding none, bar a few scrapes and bruises, he stood up and looked around.

He had fallen a good way down... The air was different here. Mustier. He walked over and picked up his fallen torch and flicked it on, looking around.

His eyes went wide as he saw the ruins.

Fallen, crumbling stone. Rusted metal, scorched fabrics. Extinguished torches, warped by fire. In fact, it looked as if nearly everything had been touched by sudden, powerful flames.

He looked around, drinking in every detail as he approached the center of the room, feet sinking into thick, old ash that had gathered around a single thing.

A warped, rusted blade, twisted on itself, plunged into the center of the ashen ring.

The man pulled his phone out, taking a few photos of the sight, before approaching it, entranced by the odd design.

The sword was clearly warped by flames, like so much in this strange, sealed off room. Something was different about this, though...

He reached out slowly, wanting to feel the rusted, worn handle of the blade, but as he did, a the base of the blade, a spark ignited.

"Wha-"

He didn't even get enough time to finish a single word, as the flames suddenly exploded upward, the heat rising and consuming the blade, reaching out toward his outstretched hand.

Even as he began to pull his hand back, the flames had raced forward, swarming up over his hand and covering him.

He screamed, more out of fear than of pain as he fell backward, the flames hot, so, incredibly hot, but not burning him.

Chosen... Arise...

"What...?" The man groaned, mind beginning to shut down, darkness claiming his sight.

Arise, my other...

"Who... what...?"

The two voices resonated in his mind, so different, so at odds, yet both within him.

You must...

You will...

"Rest for now. And see what comes next."

The soft, comforting voice. A voice that was not his own, nor one of the new, powerful voices. In that voice, the man chose to trust.

He closed his eyes, and let his mind fall. Rest for now. And hope that he wakes up.

In another place, a hollow, snow covered hell, where undead are sent to go mad, one cell is suddenly occupied.

A new inmate, a new face, a new soul. One out of place, one entirely foreign.

And one that holds this worlds fate in his hands.

AN: And so ends Chapter Zero, pure set up for the beginning of the story. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you feel so inclined, please leave me a review. And if you are here from the original Born Anew, let me know. I'm curious how many people are sticking around.