(Spoilers until The forgotten shore, you have been warned)
A rather tall, but skinny looking young man was sitting on a park bench, hands spreading across the bevel of the synthetic, woodish looking bench, waiting for his friend. His exams had recently finished and was finally free from hell (school) for a while. He was planning on continuing to read the webnovel he had been into for the past few months called shadow slave.
Out of patience, the young man stood up and started pacing around the park to kill time. For the first time in a while, Kieron noticed the world around him. He had been holed up in his house for too long.
The park was densely packed with beautiful birch trees, leaving off a heavenly atmosphere. The wind blew against his face, making him feel ticklish. It was a good change of pace.
Kieron let out a loud groan as he stretched, "Gahh… I should exercise more."
He checked up on the phone, accidentally opening the webnovel app, suddenly it was as if the world was covered in bright white light, so intense that all he could see was darkness.
"It… hurts… so… mu-"
The light disintegrated the poor young man, leaving behind nothing, not even ashes.
***
A young man who had brown hair and a gentle, handsome face, leaning on the wall suddenly opened his eyes in pain. His eyes were green, with a hint of friendly humor… or not. In an instant it lost all its gentleness.
He hurriedly stood up, his posture, figure and attentive gaze betrayed someone who went through extensive training. Everything about the young man screamed of nobility and strength. Yet… there was a sense of weakness in it.
Kieron finally gained enough consciousness to think. What the hell? That fucking hurt.
In an instant memories worth over a decade flowed through Kieron's mind.
Caster, Han li clan. Patriarch of Han li clan is his father, no immediate sibling, dead mother… Legacy… Lives in NQCS, a hardworking legacy from the Han li clan.
"What is this…"
Ordered assassination of Nephis of the Immortal Flame clan. Arrogant, deceitful and masked evil nature beneath the silken veneer of charm. He wore a thousand faces, not one his own. Each smile was measured, a practiced twitch of the lips that never reached the eyes, which glinted with the polished cold of calculation.
"Did I…"
No, please no, you've gotta be kidding me!
Survived the first nightmare, got an ascended aspect, a nearly crippling flaw if not for a memory provided by the clan. He felt years of training flow through his body. He felt the years of hardships, well… they were rich kid hardships but hardships nonetheless, that Caster went through.
Did I transmigrate? That too into shadow slave… as Caster of all people? What a ridiculous comedy.
In an instant he felt that hell itself was waiting for him ahead. Kieron's mouths curled up into a creepy smile. He hadn't been this excited in ages.
The air grew sharper, more alert, as though the world itself held its breath. His heart pounded with a rhythm not entirely his own, a primal drumbeat echoing from some ancient, hidden place. Death. The word whispered through his thoughts like smoke. formless and impossible to hold.
And yet, beneath the dread, there was a flicker a dangerous flicker. A strange, forbidden exhilaration curled in his chest, something close to awe. To stand at the edge, to peer into the abyss and feel it peer back... what else in life could rival that raw, terrifying clarity?
He hadn't even gone through anything yet... he could already envision a future like that. It was as if there were no lines between reality and fiction. An instinctive recalibration happened instantaneously.
Soft chuckles came out of Kieron's mouth as he muttered, "I'm gonna die."
Kieron felt caster's memories still flow into him. It was as if their souls were merging. Kieron still felt more like himself, as though his soul was in dominance. Caster's soul felt as if it was a part of Kieron's soul.
Just then, Kieron felt everyone's eyes on him as he came to his senses. He was in the middle of the opening ceremony when this transmigration happened. In everyone's eyes the young man who was viewed as the embodiment of masculinity, with a contrasting gentle gaze was now filled with a hint of madness and weakness.
"Did you hear what he said? He's going to die?"
"Even legacies go through trauma it seems. The mask of strength he put up is breaking, heh."
Ignoring the murmuring about his slight outburst, Kieron went ahead and sat with his followers, not listening to a word, not saying a word. Thankfully, I don't have to go through caster's first nightmare. But the situation is less than ideal. I have to assassinate Nephis, if not Han li clan will punish me, but I can't afford to do that. Nephis is necessary for this world to survive. As someone who knows the future to a large extent, I can probably join the cohort and survive the Han Li clan. But the bigger problem is where I am headed next. The forgotten shore…
The gears of Kieron's mind were turning fast, analyzing the situation and trying to think of a plan. Just at that moment, one of his companions was saying with a tone of amazement, continuing the conversation from before Kieron's transmigration:
"Ascended? You have received an Ascended Aspect? What… what was your Appraisal?!"
Observing the effort to smooth over the earlier outburst. the young man smiled humbly. However, he was thinking something that was slightly different from his expression. Shut the hell up. I'm busy dipshit!
None-the-less, he calmy answered, "Oh. It was "excellent."
Just then Sunny stopped in front of the group, as though by accident. After hearing the young man's answer, he frowned and looked at him with disdain.
Then, with a voice full of utter bewilderment, Sunny said:
"Ascended, excellent? That's it? What's the big deal?"
Kieron was baffled for a moment before remembering, Ah, I forgot this happens…