The blade slipped into his back with the silent precision of a master assassin. It wasn't the pain that shocked Kael Ardyn, but the cold, indifferent faces of his family watching him bleed out on the marble floor. Above him, a grand chandelier cast a mocking, golden light over the Ardyn clan's annual banquet. The music had stopped. The whispers had ceased. Only the quiet, crimson drip of his lifeblood against the pristine stone remained.
His cousin, Eira, stood over him, the hilt of the ornate dagger still clutched in her hand. Her features were as blank and beautiful as a porcelain mask. "The heirship of the Ardyn Clan is a sacred duty, Kael," she murmured, her voice a chilling echo of his grandfather's lessons. "And you, the heir who couldn't even cultivate, were a disgrace to its name."
A bitter smile twisted his lips. 'Disgrace.' They had stripped him of everything: his power, his name, his home. They had sold his birthright for alliances, sacrificed him on the altar of clan politics. He had fought, clawed, and schemed his way back, only to find the ultimate betrayal came not from his rivals, but from his own blood.
As the world blurred and his vision began to tunnel, a single, silent tear rolled down his cheek. It wasn't for his life, but for the allies he had trusted and the chances he had wasted. In his last moment of consciousness, a phantom screen flickered before his eyes—not from the Ardyn's arcane technology, but from somewhere beyond the veil.
[Debt owed: 15 Years of Life]
[Creditor: Heavenly Ledger System]
[Payment Method: Soul Exchange]
The screen dissolved into a blinding white flash, then only silence.
Kael's eyes snapped open to the dim light of a kerosene lamp. The smell of old paper and dust filled his nostrils, and the familiar, musty air of his old bedroom wrapped around him. He blinked, the phantom pain in his back gone, replaced by the dull ache of a body that hadn't seen proper cultivation in years.
His gaze fell upon a worn mahogany desk, cluttered with elementary-grade cultivation texts and a half-finished school report. On the corner of the desk, a small, silver-plated photo frame held a picture of a younger Eira and a boy who looked impossibly naive. The boy's face was him.
He bolted upright, his mind a torrent of frantic thoughts. The blood, the betrayal, the finality of it all—it felt like it had just happened. But the room, the clothes, the date on the calendar hanging by the door…
September 13th, 2025.
Fifteen years. He had gone back fifteen years.
A cold, calculating calm settled over him, smothering the remnants of panic. This wasn't a second chance; it was a weapon. The Ardyns hadn't just killed him; they had given him the ultimate cheat code. He had a decade and a half of future knowledge: who would betray him, who would rise, what powers would awaken, and which deals would make or break the world.
And he had the Ledger.
A new screen shimmered into existence before him, its text a stark white against the dim room.
Heavenly Ledger System
Host: Kael Ardyn
Status: Activated
Current Karma: -98 (Highly Reckless)
A snarky, female voice echoed in his mind, sharp and clear. "Greetings, Borrower. Your debt has been settled. All prior contracts are null and void. Consider yourself a new ledger entry. Now, about that negative karma…"
Kael ignored the voice, his mind already spinning. The Ledger, a mythical system whispered about in ancient lore, was a reality. He remembered its cryptic mention in his grandfather's most forbidden texts, texts he had only found in his previous life's desperation. It wasn't a resource tracker or a skill tree; it was something far more insidious. A system that didn't grant power, but instead tracked every debt, every favor, every opportunity, and every betrayal.
His eyes fell on the calendar again, specifically a small circle marked in red pencil. "Clan Academy Entrance Exam." It was a critical day in his past life—the day he was first humiliated for his weak cultivation base. A day that would set him on the path to being stripped of his heirship.
Not this time.
He slipped out of bed, his movements fluid and precise despite his uncultivated body. He made his way to a hidden floor panel beneath a loose tile he remembered from his childhood. The panel creaked open, revealing a small, velvet-lined box. Inside, not a trinket, but a small, smooth stone the color of midnight. The stone hummed with a dormant power. The "Crimson Heart of Ardyn," a family relic rumored to hold the key to their most powerful techniques. He'd never found it in his last life. But in his memories of the future, he'd witnessed Eira use it to kill him—a technique she had stolen and perfected.
He closed his hand around the stone, the soft hum of power a promise. This time, he wouldn't beg for power. He would take it. Every secret, every technique, every favor he earned in this life would be a debt his enemies would have to repay.
"Host, a new notification has been logged," the Ledger's voice chimed. "A new debt has appeared within a one-mile radius. It is not tied to your actions, but to another anomaly. A significant karmic imbalance is detected."
Kael froze, his grip on the Crimson Heart tightening. An anomaly. Another debt.
He wasn't the only one who had been reset.
The smirk from his grandfather's face in his last moments echoed in his mind. The patriarch hadn't been watching with indifference. He had been watching with something far more terrifying: recognition.
The game wasn't just starting again. He had just discovered he was only a pawn on a board that someone else had already been playing on.
I hope this revised version helps you with your novel! Does this feel right to you, or would you like to make any other changes?