The wind laden with rusty iron drags particles of ash over the battlefield while the scarlet light of the sky tinges the inert bodies with false warmth.
The moment Kael Medici took a breath, he coughed loudly and gasped.
Again and again, he coughed up large mouthfuls of blood that stained the green grass beneath his feet. Only after he coughed did the pressure in his chest ease a little.
Looks like I failed in the end... Kael sighed, staring at the scarlet red sky.
He looked at his surroundings, mutilated corpses, rivers of blood, the whole place was in ruins, and there was only the strong smell of blood in the air.
A raven lands on the empty helmet of a knight, sticking its beak into an eyeball half-buried in the mud.
The whole place was a complete disaster.
Cities, kingdoms had fallen. Heroes, villains, demons, elves, and other races lay dead on the ground, creating mountains and large pools of blood.
"...So I failed, didn't I?"
However, Kael had no answer; he was the only one alive at the moment, yet he continued to speak.
"I was so close... Just one step away."
The Calamity War. The last and most devastating tribulation would decide who would occupy the Divine Throne.
The great war had engulfed the entirety of the five regions and the seven heavens of the Immemorial era, but somehow, Kael had survived.
He did nothing but survive.
Persevering again and again, emerging victorious from every battle. Conquering inheritances, dungeons of immemorial ages, impregnable labyrinths. Even overcoming multiple disasters.
Kael had accumulated feats that would inspire legends... but now, of what use were they? Death was already catching up with him.
"This is how it all ends..." Kael reflected. He never expected his second life would end this way.
Just one step away from the desired Divinity.
As the darkness enveloped him, memories of his past life came back to him....
Memories about his past life first surfaced when he was about fifteen years old.
There was no specific trigger. They simply arose as he, as always, half-listened to his tutor.
His memories were incomplete, fragmented, like fragments of a dream. However, his past life bore no parallel to his present one.
In his previous life, he was a scholar and otaku who lost his parents in an accident, forcing him to live among relatives. He was left with no choice but to live by himself and rely only on himself.
In his present life, although he was born into nobility, he faced constant scorn and contempt because his mother was a commoner from the slums and his lack of talent.
The limitations of his birth shackled him, similar to the circumstances of his past life.
He had been branded useless: a worthless parasite, a talentless wretch with untapped potential.
Rejected by his betrothed, who broke off the engagement; betrayed by someone he trusted; persecuted by his brothers; mocked by commoners of such low birth that they barely deserved recognition.
All Kael could do was bow his head and swallow his pride, just to stay alive.
Injustice once burned in his heart.
But the irony was that all those who had branded him useless were now dead, and he alone had survived to the end.
Kael let out a soft laugh and sighed.
All these years that he had been wandering through the five regions flashed before his eyes.
"It's been a long journey..." Kael looked at the sky with a cold and indifferent gaze, feeling the breath of death blowing on the back of his neck.
With his body mangled and his armor covered in blood, he began to walk across the horrible battlefield, littered with mutilated corpses, to the sound of croaking crows feasting. His expression remained indifferent.
The sun began to illuminate the land with beautiful golden rays, and Kael walked, feeling how all the corpses of the dead grabbed him to join them.
However, he continued walking, with an indifferent expression, through this battlefield full of death.
Kael's last breath escaped his lips, and his body, mangled and useless, collapsed among the corpses.
Before his eyes, just before the darkness consumed him, the last thing he saw was a white lily, pristine and immaculate, blooming absurdly in the middle of this hell.
Theo White, also known as Kael Medici, the Earth transmigrant, the outcast who had climbed mountains of corpses to survive, died in silence.
There were no final epiphanies, no regrets.
His eyes went out.
The lily was still there, indifferent.
Then...
A multicolored dragonfly, whose humming sounded like crystal chimes, emerged from her breast, gave off a beautiful jade-colored glow like a rising sun.
...
..
.
The smell of blood faded, replaced by the scent of hay and manure.
"...And this one sure is well trained, I assure you."
"You mean the beast that nearly shattered my young master's skull?"
"That only happened because the seventh young master carelessly approached."
"In other words, are you saying that our young master is so inept and stupid that he practically invited the wrath of the beast upon himself?"
They stopped in front of a stable full of magical creatures: three-horned blue horses, red-eyed green bulls, two-headed ostriches, and more.
A hunchbacked, ugly-faced servant rubbed his hands together and cleared his throat, "That's not exactly what I meant..."
Before that, the woman pointing the sword at him with an icy expression turned slightly:
"What do you wish, young master?"
"Huh?" Kael raised an eyebrow, confused.
The woman had brown hair with a pair of earrings made of gems. On her head rested a headdress that matched perfectly with her skirt, which reached just below her knees, and her apron, of immaculate white. In short, she was a supernatural, unimaginable beauty.
"Lydia?" asked Kael, with a blank stare.
"Young master, were you asleep with your eyes open?"
It seems real enough, not an illusion? Could it be? With that thought, Kael's eyes shone with understanding, and to confirm his suspicions, he asked:
"Where are we?"
Lydia, with a confused expression, replied, "Young master, we are in Medici territory - why are you asking such an obvious question?"
Medici Territory... Kael muttered silently. The fog that hid his memories dissipated almost completely.
Medici Clan.
It was a clan located in the northernmost region of the Aragon Kingdom, in the Northern Frontier. They were known by many names: The Sovereigns of the Aragon Kingdom, The Fathers of the Warlords, among others.
Its millenary history was interwoven with countless myths and legends. In addition, members of the Medici clan were born with exceptional talent; they were said to be descended from some god or immortal.
I see... So I have returned to this time. But what caused my rebirth? Kael quickly concluded that he had returned to the past, to the days when he had not yet left the Medici Clan.
"Young master, did the blow the blue three-horned horse gave you dumb?"
Kael snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the maid, his exclusive servant, assigned by his father.
Though he knew this maid had been sent to watch him and record his every move.
"What date is today?" he asked.
"Wednesday."
"I don't mean the day, I mean the month and the year."
"Did you get stupid? Was that animal's blow that bad?" Lydia arched an eyebrow, confused, but still answered.
Wow, so the Awakening Ceremony is still six months away. Kael thought.
As Lydia narrowed her eyes and watched him with concern, Kael crossed his arms and fell into thought. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he touched the bandage around his head.
"Wait, what's going on right now?"
Lydia sighed and began to explain everything, not leaving out a single detail: how he was attacked by a baby blue three-horned horse, how it kicked him, and more.
"And that's all, young master, what do you wish to do with this servant?"
"I see... So that's what happened," Kael murmured, looking at the hunchback with eyes glowing with a cold light. "Then what should I do with you?"
"It's not my fault at all! It's the young master's fault for provoking the fourth young master's prized Three-Horned Blue Horse! If anything, it should be the seventh young master who should apologize."
Seeing the smirk on the servant's lips, Kael understood exactly who was pulling the strings.
So... it was my dear older brother's doing again.
Among the young masters of the Medici Clan, the fourth-oldest brother and his sixth-oldest sister had tormented him relentlessly in his past life.
Yes, my dear brother was behind all this; no matter how much he scolded the servant, it wouldn't do any good. Kael thought calmly.
In this world, the law of the strongest ruled. Only the powerful prospered.
So, in the end, someone with no strength to back him up could do nothing, no matter what he told this servant.
With a sigh, Kael waved his hand indifferently and commanded:
"That's the way it is, Lydia. Kill him."
The hunchback began to plead quickly, "Seventh young master, I apologize, please...!"
Smack!
He couldn't finish speaking when Lydia decapitated him with a single slash.
The hunchback's head rolled on the floor, leaving a trail of blood, his expression frozen in pure horror.
A pathetic end.
Kael watched the scene with cold indifference before turning around and walking with his hands behind his back.
This time, I will not grovel. I will not apologize. I will not beg. I will do what it takes to achieve my goals, no matter what it takes... even if I have to become a demon.