Reborn in 100th

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Reborn in 100th

Part 1: Shadow Glaze

> “When a goblin completes 100 years of loyal service, they are reborn as a human… but not all goblins look forward to it.”

– Ancient Goblin Proverb

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In the deepest corner of the goblin world stood a palace carved from black stone, hidden away from light and time. Inside, the air was cold and heavy, filled with old magic and whispers that never stopped.

This was the Undercourt — the palace of the Goblin King.

And in those long, dark hallways walked Kelith, his daughter.

She had walked these halls for ninety years, almost ready for her final decade as a goblin. After that, she would be reborn as a human — like all goblins who served a full hundred years. Many goblins looked forward to it, dreaming of a new life in the upper world.

But not Kelith.

She didn’t care about the human world.

She didn’t care about change.

She didn’t even care about herself.

Kelith never showed her face.

Her long black hair always hung in front of it, like a curtain of shadows.

Her robes were long, dark, and silent.

Her voice was quiet, cold, and rarely heard.

Most goblins avoided her. Not because she was evil — but because she was powerful. And distant. No one could guess what she was thinking, or if she was thinking at all.

But there was one goblin who saw her differently.

One who had never feared her, even from the beginning.

The Goblin King — her father.

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Inside the throne chamber, the King sat on a high black stone seat. He had ruled for centuries — tall, cruel to his enemies, yet strangely gentle to his only child.

Kelith stood before him, silent.

The King looked down at her with eyes that had seen thousands of years, but they softened when they met her shadowed face.

> “Ten years left,” he said calmly. “Only ten. Are you ready?”

Kelith didn’t answer.

The King smiled, just a little. He was used to her silence. He even liked it.

> “You don’t have to like it,” he added. “Just survive it. Then… you’ll begin again.”

Kelith’s fingers curled slightly. A sign of thought. A rare movement from her still body.

> “What if I don’t want to begin again?” she asked finally. Her voice was soft, almost lost in the air.

> “It doesn’t matter,” the King said. “It happens. That’s the rule of our kind.”

Kelith looked down. She didn’t cry. She never cried. But something in her felt heavy — like a stone dropped into water.

> “You were born to become more,” the King added. “You’re not like the others. That’s why I raised you close.”

Kelith raised her head slightly, but the hair still covered her face. The King stood up and walked down the stone steps, closer to her.

> “Whatever you choose… you’ll never be weak,” he whispered.

And for a moment, Kelith felt something she didn’t feel often — warmth. A small thread of connection, between shadow and stone, daughter and king.

But it didn’t last long.

A sound echoed from the edge of the palace.

The King turned his head sharply.

> “The portal has opened,” he said. “Go.”

Kelith didn’t ask why.

She already knew.

Someone had arrived.

Someone she had to collect.

Without another word, her body turned to shadow and slipped away — silent and cold.

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Far above, near the edge of the human world, a faint blue light shimmered in the air.

Kelith stepped out of it — her true form gone. She now looked like a graceful, beautiful teenage girl. A borrowed body, a fake face. She used it only for moments like this.

She waited near the light, her false face calm.

Her real thoughts hidden beneath.

And in the silence, the darkness of Shadow Glaze began.

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