The first thing Kaelen felt was a suffocating pressure, a phantom weight on his chest where a rusted enemy sword had pierced through leather and bone. His eyes shot open with a gasp, the scream dying in his throat. He wasn't on a muddy, blood-soaked battlefield. He was in his bed.
Sunlight, soft and golden, streamed through the leaded glass window of his room in Stonefall Keep. The air smelled of clean linen and the faint, familiar scent of mountain pine. He sat up, his heart hammering against his ribs. His gaze fell upon his hands. They were small, unscarred, and pale—the hands of a child.
Panic, cold and sharp, seized him. He scrambled out of bed, his legs unsteady, and stumbled towards the ornate silver mirror on his wall. The face that stared back was his own, yet not. It was the face of his ten-year-old self, with wide, stormy grey eyes and the soft cheeks of youth, not the gaunt, weary face of the 28-year-old man who had died in disgrace.
"It can't be..." he whispered, his voice high and unfamiliar. He checked the calendar on his writing desk. It was a date eighteen years in the past. Eighteen years before his death.
As the impossible reality crashed down on him—the regret, the rage, the searing memory of his uncle's deathbed confession—his mind fractured under the strain. A sharp, piercing chime, like a crystal bell, echoed not in the room, but within his very soul.
A wave of shimmering blue light washed over his vision, resolving into lines of ethereal, glowing text that hovered in his mind's eye.
> Soul Resonance Detected.
> Traumatic Temporal Displacement Confirmed.
> Latent Duality Detected: Mana and Qi...
> Unique Phenomenon: Aurus Potential Unlocked.
> Binding the Akashic System to Host Soul...
> Binding Complete.
> Welcome, Host.
>
Kaelen flinched back, convinced he was going mad. But the words remained, steady and real. With the cautious logic of an adult mind, he focused on them, trying to will them away. They did not vanish. He willed them to show him... himself. The text shifted, displaying his very essence in a way he had never imagined.
> Status: Kaelen Valerius
> Identity: Human (Aurus)
> Condition: Soul/Body Disharmony (Critical)
> Mana: Rank 1 - Initiate (Early Stage)
> Qi: Rank 1 - Qi Sensing (Peak Stage)
> Skills:
> • Mana Affinity: Lightning (Dormant)
> • Mana Affinity: Wind (Dormant)
> • Qi Cultivation: Basic (Untrained)
>
He stared, his breath catching in his throat. Aurus. The System was showing him the truth of his own soul, a potential he never knew he had. The failure, the weakness of his past life—it wasn't his fault. He was a puzzle no one knew how to solve. But this... this System was a guide. A path. A weapon.
A soft knock came at the door, jolting him from his thoughts. "Young Master? Are you awake?"
The voice was like a ghost's whisper, a memory that sent a spear of pure agony through him. The glowing text vanished from his sight. "Come in," he managed to say, his voice trembling.
The door opened and a young girl, no older than eight, entered with a basin of warm water. She had bright, kind eyes and a cheerful smile that Kaelen remembered all too well. It was Lyra, his personal maid. In his first life, she had been utterly devoted to him. And he, in his blind trust of his uncle, had allowed her to be framed for treason and quietly executed, a pawn in Marius's cruel games.
Seeing her alive, so young and innocent, shattered the last of his composure. A profound regret, heavier and more painful than his own death, washed over him. He had failed her. He had failed everyone.
Lyra saw his expression and her smile faltered with concern. "Young Master? Are you unwell?"
Kaelen looked at her, truly looked at her, and made a silent vow. Not this time. In this life, I will protect you.
He forced his expression to calm, shaking his head. "I'm fine, Lyra. Just a bad dream."
She seemed relieved. After setting down the basin, she curtsied neatly. "The Baron, your father, has requested your presence in his study, Young Master. He said it is time to begin your lessons."