When Aries placed the reason for the old woman's change of attitude regarding what he remembered from Rian's words in his previous life in his mind, he realized it was impossible for there to be any connection between them, as he did not have anyone close to her, not even her father, who had died before he reincarnated in this world. And from his memories, he belonged to an ordinary family with no relation to the nobility; he even searched for his relatives and found no trace.
As for the idea that someone could remember an event from a previous life, Aries rejected this notion; even kings do not possess the power to stop in front of the Well of Worlds. Although he did not know the reason for his time reversal, he associated it with the "Well of Worlds," since he would be the only one to gain the power to change the law of worlds.
Aries muttered quietly to himself as he passed through dark alleys, the damp air carrying the smell of moisture and mold, drops of water falling from the roofs of the dilapidated houses onto the stones, producing a faint whispering sound:
"I remember Raphael said that the Well of Worlds is something mysterious and powerful at the same time, even kings do not have the ability to stop it when it works."
As for the reason for his return, even though he had wished in his past life to live for himself and obtain love and comrades worthy of his trust, the Well of Worlds must have responded to him. But in truth, his real desire that had been in his heart was merely a role-playing game as well.
While Aries walked alone among the shadows of the alleys, the shadows seemed to follow him in the darkness, merging with his movements, his footsteps disappearing as if he walked in nowhere. He felt a light chill sting his hands when touching the wet walls, and in the end, it was his fate to live in shadow and darkness, but this time he would emerge from the darkness and stand in the light so that his darkness would gain strength. As it is said, the stronger the light, the stronger the darkness; this balance has existed since eternity.
Aries emerged from the dark alleys and entered crowded streets, where the sun was slanted with a reddish hue, and the air carried the smell of food and freshly baked bread from nearby shops, with sunbeams glimmering on the faces of passersby and flowing over metallic surfaces of the stores.
At the same time, the measures of fate changed; in front of a shop where Aries was, a distinguished guest arrived: blond hair, sky-blue eyes, fair skin, and a face that attracted every woman passing by like a magnet, where the positive pole drew the negative pole.
If Aries saw this person, do you know what he would say?
"Hello, champion of the courtesans."
This was Rian, the hero of this era, possessing the power of the King of Light, the illegitimate son of Duke Hadeed, guardian of the southern empire. Rian was born with a talent for the sword, the element of light, and the charisma of a leader, kind and helpful to anyone in need, a person who could be called a warm sun dispelling darkness. But no one is perfect, and every person has flaws: he never used his days to improve himself, narcissistic, believes everything should be obeyed and revered by all, weak in strategic intelligence despite his leadership charisma, narrow-minded, seeks revenge on anyone who wronged him even indirectly, and complicates things in various ways. Worst of all, he was a womanizer; if Aries asked him how many women he slept with, he would reply, "Countless men." He even went after married women, although he never used force, only sweet words.
Rian stood in front of an old shop.
"My teacher, are you sure this is the place?"
He spoke to himself, and if anyone saw him, they would call him crazy. Suddenly, a sweet voice emerged:
"Yes, it should be here, but Hala has disappeared."
Rian's eyes changed slightly, turning to harshness:
"Damn it, who took my element, when I find him..."
The voice interrupted again:
"Rian, don't insist on that, perhaps this element is not meant for you."
Rian redirected his argument:
"But..."
The voice turned from sweet to stern, unyielding:
"Rian, as I told you, leave this bad habit. Remember, you are the heir of the Sword of Dawn, destined for the top, you must control your actions."
Upon hearing the tone, Rian surrendered and understood that his teacher was right.
Rian wore a black ring, not visually remarkable, but this ring held his greatest secret, inside which was a young, beautiful woman with yellow hair and green eyes, a body of fire that enchanted the hearts of all men, yet her body was transparent in a phantom form. She shook her head with slight disappointment at her pupil's behavior.
She sighed: "If he doesn't change this habit, his fate will be death, perhaps I should have monitored him before leaving and made the deal."
Two years ago, Rian had found the ring in which he was imprisoned, and since he felt close to the Element of Light and his gentle, weak personality, he decided he was a suitable pupil and agreed on a deal: teach him everything, in return help him build a new body and assist with revenge.
Thus, Rian rose as a prodigy, but his true nature began to show, and over time, every action he took caused regret, yet she could do nothing. In the end, where would the heir of the Sword of Dawn be found and helped?
---
Elsewhere, in the academy, in the director's office, an old man sat behind a desk, examining a report. Bald, with a thick white beard, deep brown eyes reflecting wisdom and experience, his face full of wrinkles. He was one of the 12 Pillars of this generation, a man who had reached the rank of 9 stars in dueling.
This was Alan Forster, the academy director, belonging to the royal Forster family, but don't think he reached his position because of his family, but by his strength. This short old man fought thousands of orcs, many of their leaders, as well as vampires and pure-blooded beings. He reached his level through blood and iron.
A quiet, heavy voice spoke:
"So he has arrived, perhaps that old man will be happy to hear this news."
Minutes earlier, his secretary had informed him that a student had applied for enrollment, and at that moment, a registration document bearing his personal seal arrived.
He immediately recalled that he had used his personal seal only three times in his life, using the first two documents, leaving the remaining document with only one seal.
While Alan Forster pondered, light passed through his eyes:
"It seems this year will come with many prodigies, but among them will be a monster."
Memories of decades ago immediately appeared when he began his journey: scenes of a tall man wiping out thousands of monsters with a single swing of his sword, remaining in his mind even after all this time.
"In the end, the monster must have monstrous offspring."
He truly wanted to see the young man who had rightfully been granted the use of the acceptance paper.
---
In a two-story house, Aries sat in an empty room, wearing a short-sleeved white shirt and short pants, as it was summer. He looked at the moonlight slipping through the window.
He muttered quietly:
"I think I need to organize my thoughts and plan."
His body shivered slightly from the cold of the night, feeling the cold air touch his hands, the scent of old wood mixing with the smell of dust, while the silver light of the moon streamed over his face, casting light shadows on his features, as if darkness and light were battling inside his small room.
"First, I have a week before entering the academy for the tests, which is easy, but the problem is waking Hala… although I know many techniques, my body is the problem since it hasn't undergone training."
He closed his eyes and began thinking of a solution from his memories. It didn't take long, and several solutions appeared, but all either required expensive, rare resources or caused side effects.
Suddenly, Aries opened his eyes, which began to sparkle:
"Yes, I can use that method, and resources are available everywhere, but the problem is I don't have much money."
Among his knowledge was a way to enhance his body in a short period, the easiest method, but it required money.
He considered selling the house, where he would gain a lot of money, especially since it was in the heart of the city. Although it wasn't close to the center, he had a strategic location, the city considered a fortress for humanity, and anyone could buy it. But he refused this idea, as he had plans to utilize this piece of land; in his previous life, he sold his house after entering the academy in the heart, and he wouldn't get it back after graduation. That caused him to lose a strategic location that could have been exploited.
In this life, he decided not to sell it, in order to build a plan to earn a huge amount of money in the future and create a quasi-intelligence network.
While he was thinking of how to earn money, he heard the sound of a fight outside. Its sound quickly drew his attention, and he approached the window where he hid and looked at a fight taking place in the street.
The funniest fight was between two gangs: the Brown Bear gang and the Black Snake gang.
The tattoos on their bodies were the clearest proof of their identity. Suddenly, memories appeared from when he reincarnated for the first time, and the first fight between them, seeing blood, remembering himself hiding in a corner like a small mouse.
As for the patrol soldiers? Well, there was an unspoken rule: they don't interfere in gang fights, otherwise, they die, and the gangs must not fight during the day in front of people.
A sparkle appeared in Aries' eyes.
"I needed money… and it has come."
Aries' plan was simple: eliminate both gangs and collect their money.
As for the reason for his confidence, it was the Shadow Necklace around his neck, which allowed him to merge with the shadows after activation using a simple drop of blood, making the Shadow Necklace his and unusable by any other party. This would allow him to eliminate the gangs through assassination and theft.
"With this method, I can get rid of the two gangs… no, why settle for just two? I will get rid of all gangs."
A harsh sparkle appeared in his eyes, recalling his suffering with gangs, which had caused chaos during a terrorist attack on the Heart City.
But before that, he had to prepare before moving.
"I think I need to try the synthesis box."
Aries did not continue observing; instead, he went to the first floor and took out all the knives in the house, gathering all the blades his father had left him.
Among them was a distinctive dagger, black in color, with a handle wrapped in animal leather straps, and a bat skull at the end of the handle. Unfortunately, it was just an ordinary dagger.
Thus, Aries began synthesizing all the knives and blades in order to obtain a dagger and merge it with the black dagger.