Saga of the Two-World Emperor
Volume 1: A Spark in the Ashes
Chapter 3 – A Gamble on the Ruins
The feeling of returning was far more violent and savage than the journey out. It wasn't a gentle passage, but a brutal act of a soul being ripped back and forcefully shoved into its original vessel.
The instant Aden's consciousness returned to his flesh and blood, pain erupted like a volcano.
It was real, agonizing, and life-threatening pain. The touch of the cold steel of the knife, still embedded in his side, spread torment through every cell of his body. The smell of blood hung heavy in the air, mixing with the metallic taste in his mouth, nauseating him. Each breath was a monumental effort, like inhaling shards of glass.
He forced his eyes open. The sight before him was a blur at first, then slowly sharpened into a view of an expensive Persian rug, soaked in dark red blood.
He was back. Back in his penthouse in Valeria. Back to the very spot where his life had been destroyed.
The sound of the rain still hammered relentlessly against the windowpane. The room was eerily silent. The shadows of Anna and the three men in black were gone, leaving only the signs of a struggle—an overturned chair, and his body, lying in a pool of its own blood on the floor.
The light-blue system window appeared in his vision again, the only thing that seemed out of place in this horrific scene. Bright white text flashed, along with a warning that sent a chill deep into his soul.
[Condition of body in the First World detected: Critical.]
[Severe internal bleeding in the abdominal area.]
[Estimated time until soul is automatically expelled from the body: 15:00 minutes.]
Fifteen minutes.
Aden understood instantly. This body wasn't "officially" dead yet, but it was in its final moments of operation. The System had pulled his soul out just a fraction of a second before everything shut down completely. And now, he had returned with only a sliver of time left.
*They must think I'm dead...* he thought coldly. *A wound this severe is medically unsurvivable. They left quickly to cover their tracks... Their confidence is my only chance.*
That was all the time he had in this world. Time to accomplish the one thing he had risked his life to return for.
"Cough... cough!"
Aden coughed up blood. He clenched his jaw so hard it trembled. The physical pain was immense, but the vengeance simmering in his chest was even more intense. He could not die yet... not now.
He tried to push himself up with his arms, but he had almost no strength left. Every muscle screamed in protest. The body that was once strong and perfectly maintained was now nothing more than a piece of meat awaiting decay, a stark contrast to Adrian's weak but painless form.
"Must… get there…" he whispered, his voice hoarse.
His target was not far: the large oak bookshelf that stood majestically against the wall of his office.
Aden began to crawl forward, a torturous and agonizing process. Every movement felt like being torn apart. A trail of fresh red blood stained the expensive cream-colored carpet. The image of the elegant, successful young businessman was gone, replaced by a grievously injured man, pathetically struggling to survive.
Finally… his trembling, blood-soaked fingertips touched the base of the bookshelf.
He used all his remaining strength to lean against it, breathing heavily. A cold sweat drenched his face, which was as pale as paper. His eyes focused on one of the most ordinary-looking books on the shelf… "A History of Medieval Economics."
Anna knew about his main safe… the one that held cash, gold, and important business documents. But she never knew… that he had another one.
Aden reached out a trembling hand, pressing the spines of three books in a sequence he had memorized: one… seven… and four. Then, he pulled out the fourth book. A silent mechanism engaged, and the wall behind the bookshelf slid open slowly, revealing a hidden compartment containing a formidable black steel safe.
The system window showed the time ticking away.
[11:32 minutes]
He had no time to waste. He wiped the sweat and blood from his fingertips and tried to turn the safe's combination dial, his memory starting to blur from excessive blood loss.
Click… click… clack!
The safe door swung open silently. Inside, there wasn't the vast fortune one might expect. Instead, it held something far more valuable.
The first item was a small, generic-looking external hard drive.
The second was a sealed brown envelope. Inside were a passport with a new name, an untraceable offshore bank account, and an open-ended plane ticket. It was his "new life" kit, prepared for the worst-case scenario.
And the last thing… nestled in the deepest corner of the safe, was a small, black leather-bound notebook he had kept since he was a teenager. Its edges were worn and frayed, but he had never thrown it away.
Driven by some unexplainable feeling, he reached in with a shaky hand and picked it up. As he opened it… what lay inside was not just the words of his past dreams and disappointments, but a single, pressed flower, perfectly preserved between the pages.
It was a strange flower, with layers of deep blue petals and a silver, shimmering center, like stardust. He couldn't even remember where or when he had gotten it, but its mysterious beauty felt strangely familiar.
*What… is this flower?*
The thought flickered in his mind for only a moment before the pain from his wound pulled him back to his harsh reality.
The key was the hard drive… his "black box." It was a data vault containing the secrets of everyone… It was a nuclear bomb… waiting to be detonated.
[08:17 minutes]
Time was running out. Aden closed the notebook and quickly shoved it into his pants pocket. He grabbed the hard drive and the envelope. He couldn't take these physical items with him to Adrian's world. The only thing he could do… was send it out.
He used his last ounce of strength to crawl back to his desk. The continuous bleeding was making his consciousness fade. The world in front of him started to blur and overlap. He shook his head violently to clear his vision.
He plugged the hard drive's USB cable into his personal computer. The desktop screen lit up, displaying a picture of him and Anna, smiling happily on a vacation… a picture that now seemed to mock his fate.
Aden closed his eyes for a moment, forcing the image out of his mind. He opened an encrypted file transfer program he had prepared long ago. He typed in the recipient's email… an independent investigative journalist he trusted the most, one he had never met, communicating only through anonymous channels.
Then came the most crucial step… decrypting the file.
He typed in the long, complex password he had committed to memory… `VeritasVosLiberabit741`… The truth will set you free…
An upload window appeared.
[Uploading file: Pandora's_Box.zip (Size: 5.7 GB)]
[Upload Speed: 12.5 MB/s]
[Estimated Time Remaining: 7 minutes 48 seconds]
His heart almost stopped… It was too close.
[07:52 minutes]
He collapsed next to the desk, his eyes fixed on the slowly progressing upload bar. The pain in his side began to numb, replaced by a coldness that was gradually spreading through his body. He knew it was the sign of death creeping in.
10%…
25%…
40%…
He had to stay alive… had to watch it finish uploading… This was his revenge. His final legacy to this world.
Ding!
The sound was not a notification from his computer… but the one sound he dreaded most at this moment.
The sound of his private elevator arriving at the penthouse floor.
Aden's heart sank. Someone was back! Did they forget something? Or was it Anna, returning to make sure her work was done?
[03:12 minutes]
The system window flashed in his vision again.
[Life-threatening danger detected! Do you wish to use 1 point to transmigrate back to the Second World immediately?]
He had a choice… Flee now, return to the safe, weak body of Adrian, and leave the upload, currently at 75%, behind… or gamble with the last three minutes of his life to ensure his revenge had truly begun.
The elevator doors slid open slowly, revealing the silhouette of a person standing in the dim light of the hallway.
Aden looked up, his vision almost completely gone. The blood loss made the world spin, but he kept his eyes fixed on the figure… trying to remember the last image before it all ended.
And in that instant… he saw the face of the person stepping out of the elevator.
It wasn't one of the men in black…
It wasn't Anna's cold, unfeeling eyes…
It was a face he never, ever expected to see in this situation.
End Chapter 3.