After the war ended, the Remaining Heroes established the Human Empire. Three of them became dukes and founded their duchies: the Ravenshade, Ravenscar, and Ashbourne Duchies.
The last and most powerful Hero became Emperor, ruling the Aureldane Empire, the pinnacle of human civilization.
The other races also built their domains.
The elves established the Eryndor Empire, the dwarves the Anvilgard Empire, the demi-humans the Dravenholt Empire, and the vampires the Noctharyn Empire. Borders, alliances, and fragile peace were drawn.
The world was calm for now.
And then there was the academy, the stage for the next generation of heroes.
In the story, the Main Character, Kael Rivers, would rise as the center of attention, fighting, making allies and enemies, and somehow drawing my sister and fiancée into his orbit.
In my past life, I would have killed him without hesitation. But not now. Not anymore.
I didn't care about them. My sister, my fiancée, and my parents had hated me, betrayed me, and ignored me.
Even if I wanted revenge, the Main Character was untouchable, maybe protected by the so-called invincible Halo.
In this life, I would focus on one thing only: strength. Real power.
I had to surpass him. C rank before the academy, better yet, C+. I would outgrow him, outpace him, and crush anyone in my way.
But before I could chase that goal, I had unfinished business. My parents, my sister, and my former fiancée. I remembered vividly the birthday that should have been mine the day she handed me the engagement nullification agreement.
The day my happiness was ripped away. I should have been furious, but I had been obsessed with her, my sister, their approval, for as long as I could remember. I had craved their warmth and recognition. And what did I receive? Hatred. Coldness. Indifference. Death.
That was the past. Irrelevant.
Three days from now is my birthday. I had decided: I would disappear from their lives entirely. I began packing, carefully selecting what would stay with me: clothes, weapons, potions, manuals, artifacts, skills, all the tools I would need to grow strong.
Then, the things I would discard: letters, gifts, photographs, memories of their fleeting care. Even the engagement nullification agreement went into the pile.
Each item was a reminder of my weakness and my resolve.
I remembered how she had forced that agreement into my hands countless times. How foolish I had been to resist it, to cling to something that was never mine.
Now, I discarded it all. My room, once cluttered with reminders, was empty. Clean. Free.
A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. My personal butler entered, silent and precise, ready to execute my orders. He organized the remaining items, handled fund transfers, and prepared the documents needed for my departure.
I reminded him to keep everything secret until my birthday. Then, I would return, and everything would change.
I left the house quietly. The shadows of the city welcomed me, absorbing my presence. I would not return on my birthday, and when I did not, they would see a different Adrian Kaelthorn Ravenshade, the one who had spent years being ignored, betrayed, and underestimated, now unshakable, unstoppable, and fully in control.
I imagined the scene in my mind: dinner with my parents, the door opening, and me entering silently.
No greetings, no flustered attempts to impress, no desperate yearning for approval.
Just calm, measured movements. Indifference.
I pictured their faces shocked, the confusion, the disbelief.
My sister, perhaps afraid, perhaps wondering who had entered the room.
My parents, struggling to read the change in me they had ignored all these years.
My absence would be a message, a ripple that would shake their world.
Even as I planned my disappearance, I felt a strange pang of something I hadn't felt in years. Not regret. Not longing. But a shadow of what could have been.
If I had been strong in my past lives… would my sister have survived her torment? Would my mother have lived longer, spared by my wealth or authority? Could I have prevented my own death?
But it didn't matter. That Adrian Kaelthorn no longer existed. Weakness, obsession, and despair had been burned away.
I would not be a stepping stone, a pawn, or a side character. My purpose was clear: strength, precision, and control.
I would vanish. I would train. I would grow. And I would return stronger than anyone could imagine. By my birthday, they would not see me, and they would understand, too late, the force they had ignored for so long.
As I walked into the night, disappearing into the city's shadows, a thought lingered in my mind: Kael Rivers. The main character.
He was climbing ranks, making allies, and becoming stronger every day. Would he be ready when our paths crossed?
I smiled, not a happy smile, but one of anticipation. Not fear. No hesitation. But a thrill of the unknown, of the challenge ahead.
And then, just as I thought the night was quiet, I felt a presence. Something unseen, something watching. Not human. Not entirely. My instincts flared. Whatever it was, it was patient, waiting, calculating. I tensed, a cold shiver running down my spine.
It would not be simple.
And for the first time in a long while, I felt something I had not expected: the thrill of danger.