Prologue

A burning castle littered with corpses, blood spilled on the ground, and flames ravaging the once beautiful place. Gone now was its former glory and illustrious appearance, only carnage remained.

Amidst this burning castle, two people faced each other. Their gazes never left each other as they ignored the corpses around. It is as if nothing in this world could distract them.

"To think it would end this way," A sigh escaped his lips as he gazed toward the kneeling young man in front of him. His gaze was cold however there was a sliver of intrigue in them. "And here I was thinking that you had no empathy or care left for them. That you may have actually become the cold and ruthless demon that you pretended to be."

"..." His white hair was stained crimson with all the blood he spilled and his blood-red eyes stared right into those bright golden eyes. He was silent as blood continued spilling out from the sword plunged into his chest.

However, deep within his glowing blood-red eyes, one would see an array of emotions. His eyes carried anger that can sunder an army however that anger wasn't pointed at the man in front of him. It was aimed at himself.

He has been betrayed, deceived, and hurt yet he even meets a miserable end. It was truly a laughable and ironic end for him.

"Deon...I will not apologize for deceiving you. However, I will bear your grudge till my end." As these words escaped the emperor's lips, his gaze softened. He didn't speak anymore and abruptly turned around to walk away.

Deon's gaze followed the man whom he served previously as well as someone he regarded as an enemy. He realized that he wasn't the hero in this story. He was the villain and no one would mourn him for those will, have already met their demise. He was left alone as the cold embrace of death approached him.

"Haha..." A small chuckle escaped his lips. His vision slowly turned blurry as the faces of people he knew and cared for flashed through his mind. Then his vision blacked out as his body hit the floor with a 'thud'.

.....

"Huh?" Deon blinked in surprise. He found himself standing in a dark expanse with seemingly no end in sight.

"Welcome to my domain, mortal. No need to prolong this and you have no choice as well. You will be given another life in another world to entertain me, in exchange I will grant one wish of yours." A voice reverberated all over the place. It was not clear whether it belonged to a woman or a man. "Now, tell me your wish so we can proceed."

"..." Deon was momentarily silent. He was sure he died after having that sword plunged into his heart. However, this situation certainly surprised him. "...If you are powerful enough to bring me here after death then surely you know my wish."

"Fufufu~ Indeed," An amused chuckle came from the same voice. "Then consider it done. Now to proceed, you will pick two skills among these randomly generated in which you will have high mastery and another three in which you will have basic mastery."

Soon enough, cards appeared in front of him containing various skills and their description. There are a total of twenty of them to choose from. And Deon didn't even take long to pick.

"So you've chosen those. Then off you–"

"Wait..." He interrupted. His eyes glowed ominously. "How would I know if you really granted my wish?"

"Fufu~ That's for you to decide. Will you trust me or not? You could also become as strong as me to confirm if I upholded my end of the deal. Though I doubt that will happen, many before you tried but failed." The voice was filled with amusement as if watching a mortal struggle to climb to the peak and fail was enjoyable to watch.

"Very well..." His words trailed off as he vanished from the dark expanse.

"Fufu~ What an interesting fellow. To think I cannot see his thread of fate and his destiny." The voice changed from a monotone to a clear alluring female voice. "Perhaps he might actually succeed in reaching where I stand. That would be fun in its own way fufufu~ Though, will he like my present, I wonder?"

.....

House Hart was a well-known lineage within the kingdom of Midgar for producing outstanding spellswords for generations. It was due to this fact and their subsequent achievements that led them to rise to the rank of Count.

However, that was already from a century ago. At present, House Hart has been considered a falling noble house with no outstanding talents appearing from it. The majority of their territory was being ravaged by monsters or bandits and only a small amount of the population resided in the capital of the county with some more scattered in villages around it.

Another thing was the head of the house along with his wife died after being attacked by monsters after they came back from the Royal Capital leaving their son, who just turned 12, alone to inherit the position of count.

Though such a situation may seem unbelievable, in this world where magic existed, such a notion was not unheard of. Though often, it doesn't bode well for the young heir.

At the same time, inside the room of the young Count Hart, the boy with his signature white hair and blood-red eyes gazed outside calmly.

"...What a funny coincidence–" Then remembering his encounter with the unknown entity"...or not. To think I would be reborn in a different version of my family here with the same name to boot." Deon felt like laughing at his situation. He just experienced so many hardships due to this family but here he is now, with a different version of it. However, he didn't despise it. Contrary, he liked it. At least in this life, he wouldn't tarnish this family name. It will be different in this life, this is what he promised himself.

He let out a sigh before smiling. It was another start for him. This was the beginning of his journey towards his goal. His desire to become strong was overflowing. He was too weak. He needed strength and power, enough to break free from just mere 'entertainment'.

He also didn't fully trust that entity. He needed to confirm it or just accomplish his wish by himself. He could do those by climbing to the peak.

"...This time for sure," He muttered.