The castle was ablaze, its grandeur reduced to ashes and flames. The once-majestic halls were now a charnel house, littered with the lifeless bodies of royalty, young and old, peasants, and warriors. Among the fallen was a young warrior, barely 20, his mouth smeared with blood as he struggled to crawl towards a woman with vibrant purple hair, dressed in tattered royal attire. She was his mother.
"Mother, please forgive me if only i was stronger" the phrase echoed in his mind as he inched closer, his stomach wound spilling entrails and blood onto the floor. Despite the agony, he persisted, teeth clenched, his hand outstretched towards her. Suddenly, his hand was severed, and a blood-curdling scream tore from his lips.
As he writhed in pain, he noticed a sword beside him. Looking up, he saw his stepbrother, Lloyd, standing over him. Lloyd's green hair was a stark contrast to his own dark locks, and the mole below his eye seemed to mock him. A cruel smile twisted Lloyd's face as he taunted, "Well, well, well. Look what we have here. If it isn't Zoi, the trash son of the Thanatos household."
Lloyd's laughter was like a knife to Zoi's heart. The young warrior's anger surged, veins bulging on his face, but before he could utter a word, Lloyd delivered a brutal kick to his wounded stomach. Zoi coughed up blood, curling into a fetal position.
"You dare yell at me, you worm?" Lloyd sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "The only thing you're good for is curling up in a ball." Lloyd squatted beside him, grasping Zoi's dark purple hair and lifting his battered face. "This is the kind of expression that should be on your face," he spat, before tossing Zoi aside like refuse.
Lloyd, the heir of the Khaos household, was notorious for his exceptional strength and talent within the Sicuria family. Zoi couldn't help but feel inferior, thinking, "He's the strongest son, while I'm nothing but a disappointment." As Lloyd stood over him, Zoi's gaze was met with contempt.
"Ugh, you've stained me with your disgusting blood," Lloyd said, his voice dripping with revulsion. But then, a mischievous glint appeared in his eye. "Wait, I know what to do," he said, walking towards Zoi's mother.
"What if I do this?" Lloyd taunted, grabbing Zoi's mother by the hair and lifting her up. "Stop it!" Zoi yelled, but Lloyd merely laughed. With a dagger in hand, he began stabbing her repeatedly. Zoi watched in horror, helpless and overcome with rage and tears. He felt a deep-seated anger, wondering if his very existence was the cause of their downfall.
Thoughts swirled in Zoi's mind: the betrayal by the head of the Thanatos household and his siblings, the alliance with other households to annihilate the Thanatos, the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, and the royal blood spilled. His anger boiled over, his eyes blazing with fury. "Lloyd, I swear I'll wipe you and everyone involved in this out," Zoi screamed, his voice raw with emotion.
Lloyd's expression remained emotionless as he dropped his mother's lifeless body. He walked towards Zoi, his leg raised high. "I swear," Zoi yelled one last time before Lloyd's leg crushed his head, silencing him forever. "You insect, what can you do? Just die like the worthless trash you are," Lloyd sneered, pushing his hair back with a careless gesture.
Zoi woke up in a familiar room, surrounded by opulent furnishings that seemed fit for royalty. Still in his nightwear, he rubbed his face, confusion etched on his features. As he approached the mirror, a system status window materialized, startling him.
"Congratulations, regression was successful," the window read. Zoi's eyes widened in surprise, and he attempted to punch the window, but his hand passed through it, striking the mirror instead. The glass cracked, and Zoi winced, rubbing his sore fist.
Just then, a knock on the door broke the silence. "Young master, please, it's time for your training. The Awakening Ceremony is just two months away." Zoi's mind racing, he calculated the timeline: if the ceremony was two months away, and he was currently 15, that meant the catastrophic event that led to his regression would occur in three years.
Zoi's face twisted in anger, veins bulging on his forehead. "Lloyd, Father... I swear I'll exact my revenge on all of you," he vowed, clenching his fist. The system window reappeared, displaying a tutorial prompt: "Kill 5 mystical beasts. Reward: 2 random skills." Zoi's gaze lingered on the window before he nodded to himself. "I don't know what or who caused this, but I won't waste this chance."
With determination burning in his eyes, Zoi dressed in black attire: a turtle-neck top, jeans, boots, and gloves. As he walked towards the door, his thoughts turned to his mother, and Lloyd's face appeared in his mind's eye. "I'll avenge my mother," Zoi whispered, his voice laced with bloodlust.
SOME MINUTES LATER....
Zoi stood at the edge of a forest,mount noir, the most dangerous mountain, filled with deadly aura and bloodlust. This was the place his father had chosen for his training, hoping he'd perish among the bloodthirsty mystical beasts. "One attack from them will send you to the medics immediately," Zoi thought, gripping his sword tightly.
He observed his surroundings, searching for any sign of movement. Suddenly, a dark figure, roughly the size of a leopard, darted around him, its speed making it impossible to discern its true form. Zoi instinctively raised his sword to block an attack from behind, but the monster's claws clashed with his blade, sending him flying.
The force of the impact shattered his shoulder bone, and Zoi cried out in pain. His butler's voice crackled through the earpiece, "Young master, I heard a loud clash! If needed, I'll come and rescue you immediately. Just state your location."
"No!" Zoi yelled back, determination etched on his face. "I can carry on." But his butler persisted, "I'll come get you, I'll track you through the earpod." Zoi pulled out the earpiece, crushed it beneath his foot, and said, "Sorry, Val, but I have to do this."
As he clutched his broken shoulder, the monster attacked again, jumping from above. Zoi dodged just in time, and the beast landed with a thud. For a brief moment, Zoi caught a glimpse of its true form – a saber-toothed creature with red veins pulsating beneath its skin. The monster howled, paralyzing Zoi and pounced at him "shit." Zoi said as the monster landed on him pushing him down it pressed down on zoi's chest staring at him face to face and snarled, it widened it's mouth attempting to bite zoi's head off, but the paralyzing roar had already worn off from him.
With a swift motion, Zoi redirected his sword and stabbed the monster through the throat, raising the sword up, slicing it's head off. The beast fell lifeless beside him, and Zoi sighed in relief.
As he struggled to stand, the system window appeared, announcing, "Congratulations, you have killed a saber-toothed mystical beast. Level raised up by one. All stats increased by 5. All injuries have been healed." Zoi's abnormalities were restored, and he flexed his hand in surprise.
"Wow, the system is pretty useful," Zoi said, as another message popped up: "Would you like to store the dead body in the inventory?" Zoi's eyes lit up in suprise, "Yeah, of course." The body disappeared, and Zoi cracked his fist, a smirk spreading across his face. "One down, four more to go."