Chapter 2: Echos of the Past

Elias found himself amidst the sprawling compound of a majestic castle, its corridors adorned with portraits depicting noble figures. Knights, servants, and maids bustled through the halls, attending to their duties in various sub-complexes. Elias's attention, however, was captivated by a solitary young boy engaging in a solitary swordplay. With his silver hair and piercing purple eyes, Elias deduced that this boy embodied the very body he now inhabited.

Surveying his surroundings, Elias noticed the absence of any onlookers. The boy continued his training, swinging his wooden sword tirelessly, honing his skills with unwavering determination.

Soon enough, a servant's call summoned the boy to the dining hall, and Elias discreetly followed suit. Stepping inside, he was met with the sight of a grand dining table adorned with delicacies. Eight individuals were already seated, among them the young boy who swiftly settled next to an older companion, a few years his senior.

"Elias, what took you so long" inquired the middle-aged man seated at the head of the table. Elias momentarily thought the question was directed at him, but then he noticed the boy's timid reaction.

"I was training, Father," the boy responded with a hint of boldness, though a subtle tremor in his voice betrayed his fear.

A glare from the man silenced any further conversation, and the family commenced their meal in silence. Elias keenly sensed the boy's mixture of fear and anger, his disappointment palpable as he yearned for his father's acknowledgment.

Once the family had finished their repast, Elias observed the boy summoning the courage to make a request of his father.

"Father! Please witness what I have achieved!" the boy exclaimed with a tremor of meekness. The man, on the verge of leaving, paused and fixed his gaze upon his youngest son. The boy, bowing his head in submission, glanced up with hopeful anticipation, realizing this was his moment to showcase his arduous progress. Taking hold of the sword brought by a servant, he prepared to demonstrate a move he had practiced countless times before. Raising the sword above his head, mirroring the familiar motion, he swiftly brought it down.

Elias's eyes widened in astonishment as the boy's strike summoned forth a swirling arc of icy power from the blade. The frigid projection surged towards a guard who, startled by the unexpected display of mana manipulation from his youngest sibling, swiftly erected a barrier of energy to deflect the assault.

"What sorcery is this?" Elias pondered, momentarily tempted to question the authenticity of the scene. However, the lingering pain of his friend's betrayal and his own tragic demise shattered any doubts that this world was anything but real.

Yet, the boy's eager gaze, once brimming with anticipation, now bore witness to a transformation from excitement to shock, anger, and ultimately, profound sadness. Elias keenly felt the waves of sorrow emanating from the boy's heart—a poignant lament for a father's perpetual indifference. The other family members, who initially wore expressions of surprise, quickly masked their reactions and departed the table, leaving the boy alone with his brooding resentment.

Elias's desire to console the boy was abruptly interrupted as a torrent of memories flooded his consciousness. The memories revealed the truth about his new identity. In his previous life, Elias was known as Elias Miller, but in this unfamiliar world, he was Elias Kael—the third son of the prestigious Kael family, the ruling Dukes of the Solstice Empire. Their dominion encompassed a vast, barren expanse of land in the northern region. The harsh terrain rendered agricultural endeavors difficult, with only a meager crop resembling potatoes being able to thrive. Consequently, the people relied heavily on hunting and animal husbandry for sustenance. Despite the family's extensive holdings, their isolation and limited resources meant that they were relatively impoverished compared to other noble houses. The Solstice Empire itself reigned as the most formidable power on the continent, spanning the central expanse and flanked by the arctic mountains to the north, the Luminara Kingdom to the west, the Silver Peak Mountains to the east, and the trade union of Delmar to the south.

While the empire held unrivaled might, the other three powers on the continent had formed an alliance to keep the Solstice Empire in check. Moreover, the bureaucratic intricacies of the empire stifled any ambitions of expansion.

The boy, Elias Kael, occupied the position of the third son within the Kael family hierarchy. He had two elder brothers, an elder sister, and a younger sister. His father, Damascus Kael, maintained three wives, with Elias's mother being the second spouse and Elias himself being her only child. This arrangement led to the indulgence of Elias's every whim. Despite possessing prodigious magical talents, the boy's abilities went unrecognized by his father, and his mother's leniency allowed him to roam unchecked. Consequently, he grew into a wayward scoundrel, heedless of others' well-being. Over time, he gained notoriety as a despotic figure, using his status to exploit and manipulate others. Compounding his outsider status was his physical appearance—a deviation from the typical Kael traits. While every family member, except the mothers, boasted silver hair and blue eyes, Elias possessed dark purple eyes—a conspicuous mark that branded him as an outcast, viewed with disdain by his own kin.

Lacking friendships and burdened by his worsening disposition, the boy descended into a vicious cycle of alienation and acting out. However, he eventually crossed a line that would forever alter his fate.

On one fateful day, as the boy ventured into the fields, he stumbled upon his little sister playing alone. Having seldom interacted with her before, he approached her, demanding that they partake in a game akin to hide and seek. Although the girl had yet to awaken her mana circuits, she agreed to join him. The boy commenced counting, while his sister gleefully scampered away to find a hiding spot.

After reaching the count of ten, the boy embarked on the search, eventually locating his sister perched upon a tree branch. Instead of triumphantly declaring his discovery, he employed a manipulation of mana to maneuver behind her through a specialized movement technique. Startled by his sudden appearance, the girl let out a shriek and tumbled from the tree, hitting her head in the process.

The commotion attracted the attention of servants, who promptly intervened, tending to the unconscious girl and rushing her to the doctor for assessment. The boy faced severe repercussions for his role in the accident, banished to a remote port town, Havenreach, situated in the far western reaches of the family's domain. There, he was to reside until his father deemed him ready to return.

The girl, being the cherished daughter of the third wife—his father's favorite—sustaining an injury at

his hands stoked the ire of the mother. Despite the pleas of the boy's mother, the man had grown weary of the situation, ultimately banishing her from the household for raising such a wayward child.

Left alone in the territory, with only his loyal maid and servant by his side, the boy vented his fury upon the unsuspecting denizens of Havenreach, unleashing his pent-up anger upon them.

Then, on an ordinary day while sipping tea, the boy suddenly collapsed. Unbeknownst to him, the servant and maid had served him poisoned tea. Fear gripped the boy as he overheard their subsequent discussion regarding the poison and the length of time before reporting the incident. They even spoke of the rewards they anticipated from the first and second wives as compensation for their treacherous act.

Elias witnessed the boy's heartbreak, his shattered world compounded by the loss of his mother and the betrayal of the only two loyal attendants he had ever known. An all-consuming anger festered within him, a seething desire for revenge against those who had wronged him. In his final moments of consciousness, the boy beseeched any higher power to grant him the means to exact retribution.

Shocked by the revelation that he had indeed transmigrated into the body of this embittered boy, Elias wrestled with conflicting emotions. Though he harbored no fondness for the boy, he recognized that the boy had unwittingly granted him a second chance at life, compelling him to honor the boy's final wish.

"Fear not, I shall fulfill your last request. I understand the pain of betrayal by those once trusted," Elias vowed solemnly, fully aware of the immense task that lay ahead.

As the cascade of memories subsided, Elias found himself back in the confines of the bedroom, his gaze fixed upon the world beyond the window. Contemplation consumed him as he charted his next course of action, propelled by a newfound purpose intertwined with the echoes of the boy's tumultuous past.