The air was thick with the stench of blood and ash.
Xavier's breath was heavy as he kneeled in front of his Twelve Apostles who wounded him.
The throne room, once grand and prideful, felt suffocating.
Xavier's blood-soaked robes clung to his body as a reminder that things were coming to an end.
Every step the Apostles took toward him felt like a final countdown toward his death. Their eyes were full of betrayal, yet their expressions were unreadable. He felt their power humming in the air, ready to kill him. They were hesitating to deal the final blow.
Xavier's flames began to flicker out as the last of his magic faded.
He couldn't manipulate his soul script anymore. He stood no chance against his Apostles.
"I never thought it would come to this," Arlen Graves, the first Apostle, said with pity. "You were a God to us once, Xavier. You saved so many lives and changed the world for the better in our eyes. But you've become something... worse. Something that we cannot even defend you on."
Xavier's crimson-red hair, once a symbol of his power and reputation, clung to his face, drenched in sweat. His body refused to get up. It trembled not in fear, but from the loss of control over his Aether flow.
His core didn't have the energy left to access the higher realms of Aether.
Without his Primordial magic, he could not defeat his Twelve Apostles.
Xavier's infamous mastery over blood and flame magic meant nothing in this case.
His eyes were fierce as he locked them onto his traitors.
"Finish it," Xavier rasped, his voice hoarse from exhaustion. "I'm not afraid."
His laugh echoed across the room as Arlen and the other Apostles closed in on the Emperor.
Arlen's eyes softened as he gathered blood-red flames in his hand. "You should've never betrayed the Twelve, Xavier. We believed in you and who you could save out there. You should've never started this war, though. Your greed overtook you."
The heat in the room intensified as the other Apostles stood back. Their expressions were sad.
"I did what had to be done!" Xavier yelled as the last of his voice left him.
"I'm sure you believe that," Arlen said as his voice croaked. "You didn't care who you destroyed in the process. Your heart was in the right place, but we didn't agree with your methods. Maybe in the next life, things might be different."
He raised his hand toward Xavier. The flames surged in size as they consumed Xavier's body.
He could feel the flames searing into his skin. He was being killed by the very thing he was known for in this world. Flames. Xavier finally understood the burning sensation of his millions of victims.
This is it, he thought to himself as his vision darkened. Regret. That was the thing he felt most in this moment. The weight of all his decisions crashed down on him in waves. The flames of war had consumed him.
He wished and prayed that he could go back in time.
He wished he could undo the bloodshed, the destruction, the millions of lives he took for the sake of peace for others. Xavier wanted world peace but achieved it through world war and making himself the villain.
Maybe in the next life, he doesn't have to kill the hero.
Maybe he could even become the hero. Someone who people look up to and not fear.
Darkness consumed him. Xavier Bloodstone: The Tyrant, Emperor, and Hero Killer- died.
________
His eyes shot open.
Xavier gasped in panic as he looked around himself in confusion.
He was in a bed. The cool feeling of the sheets against his skin felt foreign.
The walls looked unfamiliar. This wasn't the throne room. This wasn't the city of Ashenreach.
He caught a glimpse of the world outside the window. A beautiful garden. A water fountain.
He spotted a mirror and saw his reflection.
Immediately, he got out of bed and ran to look at himself in the mirror.
He was in the body of a young boy who shared the same crimson hair he had in his first life.
Xavier brought his hand up to his heart as he felt Aether flow in his veins.
He felt his mana core broken, on the verge of collapse. He shook his head.
This new body was going to take some work to be able to access the Primordial Realm again.
He looked around the room again. The room was unfamiliar. He didn't get sent back in time in his first life because this wasn't his old bedroom. In his first life, he was the son of the King of Eldrath.
From the looks of it, he seemed to be the son of an Earl now.
Thank God, he thought to himself as he dusted off his shoulders.
The door of his room swung open.
"Master Xavier, you have awoken. Please hurry and put these clothes on as your first day of school starts soon," a servant said to him as he handed over red robes. Xavier thanked the servant as the servant left the room.
Xavier changed into his robes.
It must be the first day of going to that academy, the place where it all started, he thought as he walked out of his bedroom in his unfamiliar body. He wasn't going to waste this second life, whatever divine being gave it to him.
Even if he was given a lesser bloodline and a weaker body with a broken core, he wasn't going to give up on changing the world for the better. This time, he would change it differently.
He was armed with the memories of his first life.
He would use this to his advantage.
Xavier's father, Earl Sedor Bloodstone, stood by the entrance of the mansion as Xavier made his way there. The father placed a hand on his shoulder. His touch a sense of warm reassurance. He smiled gently at his son. "You can defy the odds at the institute. Do not let our magic sickness in our family ruin your potential for greatness."
The father ruffled his crimson hair.
My father seems caring, unlike my father from my first life, Xavier thought to himself as he hugged his father and walked outside to get into the carriage. Once everything was set, Xavier was off to the Aetherion Arcana Institute.
This time, things were going to be different.
New body, new family, new Xavier Bloodstone.