What are my goals in this new world, you ask?
Well, my primary goal is to get vengeance on the Eight Monarchs who joined forces to kill me in the Endbringer's Cave.
But vengeance cannot happen immediately. Here's my plan:
First, I must restore the Valeborne Family's image, honor, and finances to how they once were at their peak—when the Valeborne name alone was enough to silence a room and turn heads across nations.
Then, I will seize every opportunity to make myself known, using my ability—Thunder Force. But fame alone isn't enough. I will need allies, both within and outside the Valeborne Family. People I can trust. People who will move when I speak and stand beside me when the Monarchs rise again.
My secondary goal is to resurrect the Draco Monarchical Sector. It has been dead for five long years. I hope my four strongest disciples are still alive, still healthy, and most importantly, haven't betrayed me to serve another Monarch in my absence.
Once my power returns in full and I adapt to this new body, I will begin my revenge. Of course, I'm already strong enough—but every movement in this vessel still feels... unfamiliar. As though I'm wearing a suit of power tailored for someone else.
And as time passes, I know new challenges will arise. Monarchs, conspiracies, betrayals. But I will face them all—because I must.
"Today, I finally get to use my ability without holding back after five long years," Caelum smirks, a current of excitement flickering in his storm-gray eyes.
He and Anna are in the parking lot behind the Valeborne Family's towering skyscraper, descending toward the underground garage to retrieve his vehicle.
They can't arrive at the Red Carpet event without style, can they?
Caelum approaches a sleek black Mercedes-Benz GLE—its body waxed to a mirror shine, the Valeborne crest hidden with black paint on the rims.
He slides into the driver's seat with casual elegance. Anna, graceful even in silence, takes the passenger side. According to Caelum's new memories, this Jeep once belonged to the former Caelum—the man whose life he now lives.
Vroom!
The engine purrs to life, smooth and powerful, and they roar onto the evening streets of southern Europe. The city lights blur past them in quiet, classy style—two shadows moving with purpose.
Far above, on the skyscraper's highest floor, two figures watch from behind a wall of tinted glass: Lord Alaric and his wife, Lady Seraphina Valeborne.
Lady Seraphina speaks after a long pause, her voice clouded with worry. "Will Caelum really pull this off?"
"Hah. I choose to believe in him," Lord Alaric says with a grin tugging at his sharp features. "And if it doesn't work out...well we can always go back to being mercenaries."
He chuckles, but his wife's anxious expression drains the humor from the room.
"Don't worry too much," he adds, voice softening. "No matter what the world throws our way, the Valeborne Family will rise again."
"C-can we not become a family of Ashwing disciples?" Seraphina pleads, her voice trembling. "I'm sure we'd rise in their ranks and eventually start businesses again. Please... try to understand."
Upon hearing these words, Lord Alaric's eyes darken with restrained fury. "And here I believed I chose a wise woman for a wife. You disappoint me, Seraphina."
He turns and storms off, his expression cold as marble. Seraphina collapses onto the velvet chair behind her, overwhelmed by shame and the creeping fear of losing everything once more.
Meanwhile, while driving Caelum's eyes catch a peculiar storefront along the roadside–a bold, flickering sign that reads: Roland's Custom Masks.
He veers the car gently and pulls up. He and Anna step out, entering the dimly lit shop filled with shelves of intricate designs, masks carved from obsidian, bone, crystal, and even enchanted materials.
After a moment of browsing, Caelum's gaze lands on a breathtaking red-and-silver mask, complete with a thin unicorn horn spiraling upward from the forehead. It came as a pair, refined and eerie.
Perfect.
They purchase the masks and return to the car, both now dressed in elegant, tailored suits. Every detail exudes dominance and mystery.
"What's the mask for?" Anna asks curiously as they settle back into the vehicle, the silver trim of her new disguise catching the streetlight.
"Pfft", Caelum burst into a laugh before calming down to reply Anna.
Caelum responded to her question with cool demeanor. "I'm going to kidnap Bari Mulcaster tonight at the Red Carpet. While I do that, You'll need to keep Baro Mulcaster busy."
Anna's eyes widen. "And how do you expect me to fight Baro Mulcaster, Lord Caelum? I'm just a maid in your family."
Caelum chuckles, his voice low and knowing. "Anna, I know you're a magic caster. I realized it the moment I awakened my abilities when I was six years old."
Anna is stunned. Had she failed to hide her identity so badly? Her breath catches, mind racing. She had trained for years to conceal her power... yet somehow, Lord Caelum had seen straight through her.
Unbeknownst to her, the previous Caelum had always known. Anna specialized in shapeshifting and illusion magic, a rare branch of magic. But she wasn't just any caster. No one who worked under the Valeborne family was ordinary. Each held hidden skills, and abilities carefully veiled from the world.
"If you knew, why didn't you tell me?" Anna asks quietly, her voice tinged with frustration and disbelief. "According to the family rules. I was to reveal it only if you asked, after your eighteenth birthday."
"I didn't feel like it," Caelum replies flatly, eyes never leaving the road. "I decided to tell you only when I needed your help."
With that, silence returned to the vehicle. Caelum's focus on driving, shutting out further questions.
In this world, being born without a supernatural ability is a curse, a doomed existence from birth. Only those awakened are legally allowed to hold reputable jobs, join influential sects, and ascend social ranks. Everyone else? They're discarded. Forced either to awaken illegally or remain chained to menial labor for life.
This cruel system had only taken root in the five years since the Draco Monarch, Darius Drakenhart, vanished from the world. In his absence, the other Monarch's wrote the rules.
When Caelum becomes a Monarch again, he swears to burn this injustice to ash.
As they near the venue, Caelum parks a few streets away, the headlights dimming into the shadows. He's not famous yet, his name no longer holds the weight it once did. He wouldn't be granted direct entry, not until the world remembered who he was.
So they sneak in through the back kitchen entrance, posing as a couple simply looking for the restroom. It works flawlessly.
Moments later, they emerge from the corridor as separate guests, slipping seamlessly into the flowing crowd of aristocrats and supernatural elites.
Just before Anna steps through the golden arch into the central hall, Caelum suddenly grabs her wrist. His voice drops to a whisper, low, commanding.
"From this moment on, whatever you see here... tell no one. Not even the Patriarch."
After a few seconds of silence, Anna nods slowly, puzzled by the intensity in his tone. Then, without another word, they both wore their masks–matching red-and-silver masks with twin unicorn horns, an strode into the hall with calm, regal elegance.
The grand ballroom is a masterpiece of luxury. Reporters in tuxedos swarm around celebrities, microphone enchantments floating beside them. Wealthy disciples of various Monarchs sip from crystal wine glasses, exchanging gossip, power, and veiled threats. On stage, a live orchestra plays a symphonic remix of modern hit songs, while golden trophies are handed out with care.
"The Best Musical Artist of the Year goes to... Lil T'Jay!" the announcer beams.
The American rapper steps forward, dressed in radiant obsidian robes, accepting the trophy with a cocky grin.
BOOM!
The main doors explode in a brilliant shower of debris and electrifying pulse.
In an ordinary world, at this moment the guests would flee in terror. But here? These were no ordinary guests. These were disciples, warriors, heirs and sorcerers, each forged under the gaze of Monarchs. Instead of panic, irritation buzzes in the air.
All heads turn towards the now shattered door.
Two masked figures in sharp suits step through the smoke, their posture calm, their aura colder than steel.
"Security!" the manager shouts immediately, his voice cracking with tension.
Guards leap into motion, supernatural energy bursting around them. Spells ignite mid-air. Blades shimmer into existence. The first wave of guards charges at Caelum and Anna with expert precision.
But in the next second, every single guard collapses to the floor, gasping for breath, eyes wide with terror.
A sudden pressure–dense and merciless–covers the entire hall.
A Monarch's Aura.
Caelum had released the same soul-crushing presence that Lord Alaric once used to silence Bari and Baro Mulcaster back at his office. It was ancient. Overwhelming and Unforgiving.
And in this world, if you couldn't withstand such pressure... it meant only one thing:
They were stronger than you.
Now, across the globe, social media platforms were buzzing about this sudden event.
"The Red Carpet just got hijacked."
"Who are the masked duo?!"
"Was that a Monarch's aura? Did a new player arrive?"
Everything was unfolding exactly as Caelum planned.
This... was going to be thrilling.