As far as I could remember, there was only darkness—a boundless, silent void where nothing existed. No pain, no suffering, no distress. No sight to see, no sound to hear, no scent to breathe, no form to feel. It was... nice. A peaceful, eternal slumber.

  But… A thought, sharp and insistent, pricked at the core of my being. A whisper that this was not my time, that there was something more important I needed to do.

  What is it? I thought, but the answer was a fog, a word lost on the tip of my tongue. What am I? I could perceive nothing of myself, no form, no shape. How long has it been? Time was meaningless here. I was alone, talking to myself, but even that felt… okay. But who am I? And what is this place?

  Then, the familiar pricking sensation returned, this time more insistent, like a tiny needle prodding a sleeping limb. It was the same feeling that had been trying to wake me all along. It was then that I saw it—a distant light, a small, shimmering blue dot in the endless black. It pulsed with an energy that felt both alien and strangely familiar. What is that light?

  The dot grew, spiraling outward into a massive, twisting vortex of brilliant blue. Soon, I was no longer a passive observer; I was pulled into the shimmering light, consumed by it. I began to travel, soaring through a kaleidoscope of cosmic dust and nebulae, a silent passenger on an exhilarating journey through the universe.

  Where am I going? As I traveled, I saw stars and worlds that defied imagination, nebulae painted in every color. Everything mesmerized me. My journey was long, a blur of countless years and light-years, until I descended towards a world. How beautiful, a single thought, searing itself into the very essence of my being. It was a grand tapestry of vibrant blue and lush green, yet marred by festering wounds—vast, ominous patches of red and black. It was a world cradled not just by bright moons, but by silent sentinels whose light seemed to hold a promise and a threat. It was then that I saw another light, a brilliant blue star, gracefully descend into the same world. I wondered about it as my own light followed, a silent, elegant comet, before I suddenly fell into a profound darkness again.

  The next time I woke, everything felt solid and jarringly real. I fought to open my eyes, my eyelids feeling like two heavy stones. When they finally fluttered open, I saw the faces of the people around me, their expressions a mix of desperate hope and worried grief. I understood instinctively that they had adored the previous owner of this body. The guilt was a heavy stone in my chest. I examined my new form, which appeared feeble, frail. I had no idea how I had come to possess it. When I had died, all that was left was emptiness. I was desperate for a new beginning. I felt the familiar pricking again, but this time it was different. It didn't just tell me to wake up; it spoke to me, whispering two names in my mind: Azuma and Eonvor. I knew nothing about them, but I understood I was here to meet them. I had no idea how I had ended up in this body, but I remembered responding to a call from the beautiful blue light, which had guided me here before disappearing. The blue light seemed to say something, a promise lost in the chaos of my journey, but for some reason, I knew I was in the right place.

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  Seeing the man who was now my father cry as he hugged me made the guilt in my heart swell. I vowed in my heart that I would not let my new parents shed another tear. But I quickly realized how powerless I was, a tiny, feeble thing. I couldn't stop them from crying, not until I grew stronger.

  The Present

  “I can’t accept this,” Valerian said, his voice raw with disbelief. He stood before a group of his most trusted friends, family, and a hundred loyal employees, their faces a sea of unwavering resolve. He looked at each one, trying to find a flicker of doubt, a hint of wavering, but found nothing. They were firm in their decision to follow him to the Cursed Lands, a place everyone knew was a death trap.

  “You have a bright future in this empire,” he stammered, his gaze sweeping over the stern faces of the four royal guards and the three heads of the houses he had helped establish.

  He had thought he had lost all hope in loyalty and friendship when his own brother abandoned him. He couldn’t fathom how or why these people were standing with him. They knew they were walking into a death trap, yet they didn't even bat an eye. Tears welled in his eyes, a stinging testament to the love and devotion they were showing him.

  His body sagged. He felt like a puppet whose strings had been cut. "Why?" he rasped, his voice a hoarse, broken whisper. "You have a life here. A future." His eyes swept over the faces of his most loyal people—the heads of the very houses he'd helped build, his own guard. "This place... it's a grave."

  Anya, one of the royal guards, stepped forward. Her posture was ramrod straight, and her voice was a steady balm in the emotional turmoil. "We know how dangerous the Cursed Lands are, my lord. I have been there with Lady Antheros and…” She paused, her gaze flickering to the broken, silent form of Antheros, huddled in a corner. “I also know your strength. And we,” she said, turning to look at everyone else, “we believe that we can not only survive but prosper in the Cursed Lands.” A dry, mirthless chuckle escaped her lips, but her gaze was firm, full of a fierce, unyielding fire. "After all, we are traveling with this continent's most coveted inventor and champion. The power duo."

  Antheros's body gave a violent jerk, but she didn’t raise her head. Valerian looked at the sorry state of his beloved wife and then back at the group. “But… we… are broken,” he said, the words a weeping confession.

  Leo De Forge, the head of his house, came forward and placed a firm hand on Valerian’s shoulder, helping him to stand. "Did you forget, Valerian? We are also from the slums, just like you. Without you, we would have rotted there. We followed you then for our future, but now..." He paused, wiping a tear from his own eye. "We are following you because of our past."

  Right on cue, Sou De Artisan and Mike De Incriptor stepped up and placed their hands on his shoulders as well. Valerian felt as if he had gained three pillars to lean on.

  Soon, all four royal guards came and placed their hands on him. Not a word was said, but as Valerian felt the weight of the seven pillars supporting him, he felt a tiny, fragile flicker of hope. He wanted to refute them, but then he looked at the sorry state of his wife and his newborn baby and gritted his teeth. He knew he couldn’t survive alone. He needed them to venture out and find a safe place to live in the Cursed Lands.

  His gaze, which had lingered on his baby, now traveled from hand to hand, a silent tally of the pillars that held him up. The weight of their loyalty settled in his heart, not as a burden, but as an ironclad anchor. He straightened, his spine as firm as his resolve. I will live for my family, but from this moment on, my friends are my family as well. I will live for them, too.

  “Okay,” Valerian said after a long silence. He felt a slow, self-deprecating laugh escape his lips as a genuine smile bloomed. "Let’s move to our new kingdom."