Reincarnation of Nikola Tesla in another world-Chapter 23: regret - always

The sky is vast and silent, a deep stretch of darkness punctuated only by faint, flickering stars. Smoke rises in slow, curling streams, blending into the night. The once-dense forest is gone, its remains scattered across the land in the form of splintered trunks, uprooted roots, and smoldering debris.

And in the center of it all, Lilith lies motionless.

She isn't unconscious—far from it. Her breath is slow but steady, her golden-red eyes half-lidded as she takes in the ruin around her.

Her left arm is wrecked—a deep gash running from shoulder to wrist, torn flesh and scorched skin refusing to heal. Dark veins pulse faintly, reacting to the lingering magic that still eats at her wound. The blood has mostly stopped, but the damage remains.

Her legs are in no better shape—slick with blood, long cuts marking where sharp steel had met her flesh. If she tried to move, the pain would likely remind her just how badly she had been pushed in this fight.

But instead of frustration—

She grins.

A breathless, satisfied smile.

"It's been so long... since I felt something this real."

Her voice is hoarse, but the thrill lacing her tone is unmistakable.

She shifts slightly, fingers twitching as she lifts a torn piece of parchment in her right hand.

A paper with drawings

Slightly burnt at the edges, creased from the battle, but still intact.

Her gaze lingers on it for a moment before she chuckles, voice low and amused.

"That boy... he was interesting."

Then, slowly, her eyes flick to the ground beside her.

Something glints beneath the fading embers.

Shattered black shards.

Her obsidian sword.

One of the strongest weapons crafted in this world—now reduced to fragments.

Her fingers twitch—then curl inward.

And then—

She laughs.

Loud. Unrestrained. Wild.

It echoes across the battlefield, mixing with the crackling of dying flames.

She lays there, wounds fresh, mana drained, body heavy from exhaustion—and yet, she has never felt more alive.

Her gaze drifts to the land around her.

A battlefield? No.

A graveyard.

Craters rip through the earth, some still smoldering.

Hundreds of trees uprooted, their trunks shattered beyond recognition.

The hills that once stood tall? Flattened. Split. Warped into unnatural ridges.

And beneath her—

The most ruined ground of all.

The earth is carved apart, reduced to something unrecognizable.

Scattered across the wreckage, remnants of Vaqihr's golems lie in ruin—glowing stone cores cracked, enchanted metal limbs twisted into useless shapes.

Once towering defenses, now nothing but debris.

Lilith breathes in, letting the scent of smoke, mana, and destruction fill her lungs.

She exhales, body sinking further into the scorched ground.

Her grin doesn't fade.

She tilts her head back, eyes closing for a brief moment.

"That was... rejuvinating."

---

The smell of warm food drifts under my nose—freshly baked bread, broth rich with herbs, and slow-roasted meat. Simple, but better than anything I've had in weeks.

I stare at it for a moment.

It's been a while since I had something that looked this... nutritious.

"Come now," the nurse says, settling beside me. "You need to eat properly."

Before I can reach for the spoon, she picks it up herself.

And then—she starts feeding me.

I freeze.

"...You don't have to do that."

She smiles politely, but there's a firm edge to it. "You were injured just hours ago. Let me do my job."

Not wanting to argue, I let her spoon-feed me, mouthful after mouthful. The food is warm, seasoned just enough to be pleasant, and despite the unfamiliar flavors, it goes down easily.

She watches me carefully. "How do you feel now?"

I swallow and shrug. "Fine."

At that exact moment, a translucent screen pops up in front of me.

---

[ New Task Acquired ]

-Task: Gather intelligence about your surroundings.

-Reward: Observation (Passive) – Your eyes see what others ignore. Details once overlooked will now stand out.

---

I narrow my eyes, focusing on the words.

The problem?

Those words are hovering right over the nurse's chest.

From her perspective, it probably looks like I'm just staring directly at her breasts.

A sharp clearing of the throat.

I blink.

The nurse raises an eyebrow, arms crossing slightly. "You boys are growing fast these days."

...Oh.

Oh, damn it.

Realization hits like a brick.

I quickly divert my gaze, coughing awkwardly. "I wasn't—"

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

She smirks.

I have already lost.

Moving on like nothing happened, she hands me a small vial of blue liquid. "Drink this. The pain should ease up soon."

I down it in one gulp. The taste is unexpectedly sweet, like honey mixed with something citrusy.

The nurse nods in approval before getting up. "Try not to move too much yet."

And with that, she leaves.

The door clicks shut behind her.

For a few moments, I just sit there, waiting to see if someone else is going to come in.

No one does.

Finally, I stand.

The bed sheets are crisp and clean, but the folds near the edge are too precise, like someone smoothed them out after checking something beneath them.

I walk over to the door and try the handle. Locked.

Figures.

The windows, though—

Large. Wide. Enough to let in plenty of sunlight.

But also lined with iron bars.

Escape prevention.

Or maybe suicide prevention.

...Whichever it is, it means they don't trust the people in these rooms.

I step closer, peering outside.

And what I see is—beautiful.

Lush gardens, wide roadways, carefully paved walkways.

A cathedral-like building stands in the distance, its architecture grand and majestic.

It's nothing like the cramped, unpolished streets of the villages. This place was built for power. For aesthetic.

And yet—

My mind flickers to something else.

I recall them. The castles of Britain.

The ones my mother always talked about, the places she dreamed of visiting.

Outside, the world is untouched by my thoughts—calm, still, beautiful. But inside, a storm brews.

Memories creep in, uninvited. Actions I took. Actions I didn't.

Regret lingers like a bitter aftertaste.

I may have been a good inventor, but was I a good son?

A good brother?

A good husband?

I helped men build empires, fortunes so vast they could feed generations—yet that wealth sits untouched, hoarded away.

But did I help my own family when they needed me the most?

Was I there for my parents in their most vulnerable moments?

My sisters, leaving for distant lands with their husbands—did I even wave goodbye?

My nephews and nieces, wide-eyed, longing for simple toys that cost next to nothing—yet I spent my days surrounded by million-dollar components, never sparing them a thought.

The weight of it presses against my chest.

What was all my brilliance worth, if I failed where it mattered most?

I exhale slowly.

The sun outside dips lower, setting the sky ablaze in deep crimson and gold. The light stretches across the rooftops, bathing the elegant buildings in an indescribable glow.

And then—

Darkness creeps in.

Night takes over, swallowing the last traces of warmth.

Above, the twin moons rise.

I've always watched them, tracing their spiraling paths, two celestial bodies caught in an endless dance.

They remind me of something simple.

Two playful cats, chasing each other, my cats from the childhood.

---

History 101

Dwarves are creatures of the mountain

Deepstone Chambers – Small, insulated dwellings carved into the bedrock, built for warmth and security

.Ironhold Domes – Surface homes, round and reinforced with metal, designed to withstand extreme weather and siege

The dwarves of Khaldurr's Spine tell the story of a tremor so strong it shattered human fortresses, yet their underground city stood untouched—thanks to reinforced load-bearing stone and centuries of careful excavation.

Bellowhearth Foundries – Forges with multi-tiered smelting systems, where molten metal flows like rivers into carefully crafted molds.

Embervaults – Hidden chambers where dwarves store rare enchanted alloys, accessible only through mechanical doorways activated by pressure plates.

The Anvilspire – A legendary forge said to be carved from the remains of a fallen meteor, where weapons wielded by ancient kings were crafted.

The Forge of Thundrik, lost beneath a collapsed mountain, was said to contain an ever-burning flame that could melt even divine metals. To this day, dwarves seek to uncover its resting place

The Great Hall of Dûrmok's Bastion was built without a single supporting column, yet it has withstood centuries of war, quakes, and even a dragon's assault. How? The exact technique remains a dwarven secret—one that no outsider has ever fully uncovered.