The warmth and joy drained instantly from Lumina's face.
The maternal smile vanished, replaced by an expression of shock and utter alarm. She lowered Egon slowly, her hands trembling as she held him tightly.
"Wha... what did you just say, Egon?" she whispered in a barely audible sound.
Egon, still playing the role of the precocious six-month-old, blinked his wide, innocent eyes, but inside, his little mind was racing.
He had planned to casually ask about Soul Book or the Kingdom's name, something that would confirm the world. He had rehearsed it. But his excitement and the long-suppressed need for confirmation had caused a monumental slip-up.
He had just blurted out the name of the worst nightmares from his novel.
Defasarious Hellacrest. The cruel, ambitious Red Dragon who caused annihilation of many kingdoms and their throne.
Among those Kingdoms, the Oracle Kingdom was one of them.
The destruction of Oracle Kingdom was the event that kicked off the main, dark plotline.
"D... Des... Desy?" Egon stammered, trying to quickly pivot to a baby sound.
Lumina wasn't fooled. Her gaze was intense, analytical, and deeply troubled.
"Egon," she said again, her tone serious now, "where did you hear that name?"
He could hear the subtle tremor of fear underneath her firm voice. This was not a name for casual mention. This was a name that held genuine, pervasive terror, confirming his worst suspicions.
'It's true then. I'm in my novel, The Akashic Records of Supreme Magus,' he realized, a cold wave of dread washing over him. 'And my mother knows that name. That's not normal for a simple housewife.'
Before Egon could force out another meaningless babble, Lumina looked around the cozy room as if checking for eavesdroppers, then leaned in close to her son, her voice dropping to a low, desperate hiss.
"Listen to me, Egon," she commanded. "You must never say that name again. Not to Papa, not to Lucia, not to anyone. Do you understand? It is a very, very dangerous name."
The intensity in her eyes was all the confirmation Egon needed. His life of peaceful freedom had ended before it even began. He was trapped in the ruthless, high-stakes world of his own creation.
---
That very night.
"What are you saying, Lumina? How could our baby boy know that name? You must have misheard."
"No, I haven't. He said Defasarious Hellacrest. I heard it clearly. Now, you tell me how a six-month-old could possibly learn that? We have never spoken that name before."
"Relax, My Dear. He must have heard it from Nurse Achia. I will remind her not to tell our son those kind of tales. Everything will be alright."
"If you say so..."
After the whispering conversation ended, the sounds of the bed creaking echoed in the silence of the night.
Little Egon, who was just awake in his baby bed, quickly shut his eyes and pretended to go back to sleep.
It was fortunate that his parents didn't suspect the worst—that he was an old ghost living inside their son's body or something similar. But from now on, he reminded himself to be very careful.
He also realized the urgency of the situation. He had much yet to discover.
Had the Oracle Kingdom been destroyed or not?
Did Veera get the Forbidden Soul Book?
Egon knew nothing. He didn't even know if he was at the beginning of the plot or in the middle of it.
Still, there was no point worrying about it now. He was just a baby. He had no cheat; he couldn't do anything at the moment.
Truthfully speaking, if he were given the choice, he would never have chosen to reincarnate into his own novel.
Because, deep down, he knew he was just a useless coward. He could never be as brave as the protagonist he created.
He was sure some unknown force had sent him here deliberately to torture him.
Just what kind of sin did he commit in his previous past lives?
Wasn't his previous life enough as a punishment?
So why?
Nevertheless, he would do what it takes to survive. He would learn to fight. He had enough. He no longer wished to stay as a puppet.
But for now, all he could do to learn and grow.
Ego lay still, the heavy blanket of dread momentarily lifted by a fierce, newborn resolve.
He had been Johnathan, a man whose quiet, isolated life was, in its own way, a long, drawn-out punishment. Now, he was Egon, trapped in a dark fantasy born from his own pen, a scenario far more terrifying than the quiet suffering of his past life.
The sheer cosmic cruelty of the situation was almost laughable.
He didn't have the protagonist's plot armor or the antagonist's inherited power. He was an ordinary baby in an ordinary family, scheduled to become a cannon fodder. But the mind of Johnathan ( the creator of this world) was his unique advantage.
'I wrote the book. I know the rules,' he thought grinning. 'I know the hidden paths, the weaknesses of the powerful, and the timing of every catastrophic event.'
He wouldn't seek confrontation; he would seek leverage. He would start by exploiting his current status as a harmless infant to absorb every piece of information available.
He was a sponge, soaking up conversations, sounds, and glimpses of the world outside the window.
The plan was simple, yet demanded absolute patience:
1. Grasp the Geography and Timeline: Confirm the precise location of the Baron's fief and the current year relative to the Veera's rise to power. Time was the most critical resource.
2. Uncover Family Secrets: His mother's terror at the secret name Hellacrest hinted at a hidden past, a connection that contradicted her "simple housewife" façade. He needed to understand the true background of her family.
3. Physical and Mental Preparation: While others of his age would be playing around, he would forge an umbreakable Mental Strength.
For others non Sorcery background means the chance of awakening a Grimoire is almost nonexistent.
But he knows all the secret to Soul Book Awakening.
When he becomes 10 years old, he wouldn't submit to fate like others. He would manipulate it.